madeleines

Each madeleine is deliciously light and lemony with a little crunch on the edges. I decided not to flour the mold so the butter made shiny crackling ridges on some of the cookies. I had chilled the cookie batter overnight. The next day I piped batter into each mold, buttered generously, filling each one two-thirds full, with a tiny button in the middle to made the hump. Proust was right; food has the power to awaken memories. And to make new ones.

Madeleines (Adapted from Nami Chen, Just One Cookbook)

Time: 30 minutes plus 2-12 hours chilling time

Yield: 24-36

Have at room temperature:

1/2-cup/113g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the molds

3 large eggs

2/3-cup/139g superfine sugar

1/8-teaspoon fine table salt (or 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon zest (use more if you want a stronger lemon flavor)

1 cup/120g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon/4g baking powder

1/2 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, for dusting, optional

Special Equipment: 2 12-cup madeleine molds. If you only have one, be sure it is completely cooled before adding subsequent batches

Melt the butter in a measuring cup. Microwave it in 10 second increments until it is almost melted, about 1 minute. Let it cool completely before adding it to the other ingredients.

Prepare the molds. Butter the little cups generously. It’s not necessary to flour them either. Freeze or chill the molds. This can be done ahead of time.

Make the batter in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the eggs on medium speed until frothy, 2 minutes. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Using a microplane zester, zest half a lemon to yield 2 teaspoons of zest. Increase it to 3 teaspoons if you would like a stronger lemon flavor. Beat the batter until it is light, a little pale, and thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl with a fine mesh strainer. Gently fold in the dry ingredients until lightly incorporated. Gradually pour the cooled butter into the batter, mixing until no streaks show. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and at most 12 hours.

Heat the oven to 425 ˚F/220˚C. Spoon half of the batter into a piping bag. Snip off the tip. Working quickly, remove a prepared cookie mold from the freezer. Pipe batter into each cup until it is two-thirds full. Pipe a dab of batter in the middle to make the hump when the cookie bakes.

Bake at 425/220 for 3 minutes.

Bake at 375/190 for 5 minutes, until the edges are browned and the top is golden and springs back when lightly touched.

Remove the pan from the oven and rap it smartly on the counter to get the madeleines to release. Let stand on a wire rack 2 minutes to cool. Don’t let them sit longer or they will become dry.

Remove the madeleines from the pan using a small thin blade spatula to gently release them from the molds. Put them directly on the wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat the process until all the batter is used up. Be sure to let the pan cool completely before baking another batch. If desired, sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar on top of the cooled cookies. The sugar will be absorbed into the cookies if not eaten right away.

The madeleines taste best when they are fresh-made. You can store the extras in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2 days. Afterwards refrigerate them. Madeleines can also be frozen once they are thoroughly cooled.

soft multigrain bread

One of the very first loaves of bread that I ever baked was a multigrain recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. It was ambitious, I admit, because I had no idea how to troubleshoot bread dough problems. For example, what do you do when the dough doesn’t come together? Every week or so for almost a year I tried the recipe again and again, but never got the same result twice. Then I tried an Amish White Bread recipe that I had baked once before. I learned what I was looking for in a good loaf of home-baked bread: soft, tender, moist crumb, golden crust, and a smooth spongy texture that yields to a slight pressure. This loaf of Soft Multigrain Bread comes fresh out of the oven, chewy and springy like a good white bread. There is nothing so comforting as a slice of new bread spread with butter. Prepping it was quite straightforward. But then I had to add 7 extra tablespoons or 1/2-cup (56g) bread flour to the dough to make it come together. At first I was afraid it would be too much extra flour but it was perfect. And fortunately, because of Bangkok’s high humidity, proofing was a breeze. It took just 40 minutes during the first rise for the dough to double; and for the second rise, 10 minutes to reach one inch above the rim of the loaf pan. There’s something I learned from all my mistakes doing this bread baking journey. Bread baking is not so much about the time spent mixing, rising, then baking. It is about what the dough looks like, feels like, and smells like. And then how the bread makes you feel happy and loved as you bite into a warm slice spread with ricotta cheese and fresh peach-ginger jam.

Soft Multigrain Bread (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

1/2 cup/60g 5-grain multigrain dry cereal mix

1 3/4-cups/410ml boiling water

2 1/4-teaspoons/7g instant dry yeast

3 tablespoons/37g light or dark coconut flower sugar (cane sugar in original recipe)

3 tablespoons/45g unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature (70˚F)

1 1/2-teaspoons fine salt

3 1/3-cups/433g bread flour, plus more as needed (I added an additional 1/2-cup/56g flour)

Mix-ins (optional)

1/2-cup/60g seeds, nuts, dried fruit, or a mixture, e.g. sesame seeds, chopped almonds, raisins or dried cranberries (I used a mixture of flaxseeds and sunflower seeds)

Rice bran oil or canola oil for greasing the bowl

Make the Cereal Mix: In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the cereal. Then pour the boiling water on top. Let stand until the mixture cools to 110˚F/43˚C. This took 40 minutes in my warm kitchen. In cooler climates this may take half the time. The bowl bottom should feel cool to the touch.

Mix the Dough: Add yeast and sugar to the cooled cereal mix. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, 5-10 minutes, until the surface of the mixture becomes foamy. Add the butter cubes, salt, and 1 cup flour. Fit the dough hook on the machine. Beat on low speed 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides. Add an additional cup of flour. Increase speed to medium and combine until most of the ingredients are moistened. Butter may still be visible, but that’s fine. Add the remaining cup of flour with the mix-ins, if using. Continue to knead 2 minutes. The dough should come together in a cohesive ball. Do the windowpane test to check that the dough is well-kneaded. It should be stretchy and when held up to the light, translucent. If it is still shaggy, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and adding up to 56g or 1/2-cup. Beat 2 minutes after each addition. Add flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and bottom.

First Rise: Lightly grease a spot on the countertop and your hands. Turn the dough out onto the counter, then pull and pinch the edges towards the center, smoothing the top into a taut ball. Lightly grease the mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon rice bran oil or canola oil. Place dough ball in the bowl. Turn the ball to thoroughly coat in oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Place bowl in microwave (off, of course) and let it rest 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Check the rise after about 40 minutes, then adjust rising time as needed.

Heat oven 350˚F/175˚C. Adjust oven rack to the lower third of the oven.

Shape the Loaf: Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Grease one 9×5 inch loaf pan. Set aside. Using your fingertips, press out the gas in the dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into one 8×15 inch rectangle. Starting from the short side furthest from you, roll the dough tightly towards you, sealing the roll as you turn. When you reach the end of the roll, pinch the seam closed. Roll the loaf back and forth on the counter to smooth it out. Center the log over the prepared pan and drop it in, seam side down. Press into place.

Second Rise: Cover loaf with clean cloth. Let rise until the loaf is about 1-2 inches above the rim of the pan. It took 10 minutes in my warm kitchen. But in cooler kitchens it may take up to 1 hour. Here’s how to test that the loaf is ready to bake. Flour your finger and poke the dough. If the indentation fills in slowly, and you can still see it, the loaf is ready for the oven. The “hole” will fill in as the loaf expands as it bakes.

Bake: Place the pan in the oven and bake 30-35 minutes. The center of the loaf should read 195-200˚F/90-93˚C on an instant read thermometer. Using oven mitts, remove the pan from the oven and let it stand, 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack. Turn out the bread on the rack and let it cool to room temperature, 60-90 minutes, before slicing. Freeze tightly wrapped if not eaten right away. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature 2 days. After that refrigerate.

new england fish and potato stew

These fish stews are light and filling. I made this with pangasius dory fillets which vary in thickness from 1/4-inch at the tip to 3/4-inch in the middle. Other light white fish that are ideal is haddock and cod, bass, hake, and halibut. The advantage of cooking a fish stew is that it doesn’t need a lot of time so dinner can be on the table after about 30 minutes cooking time. I adapted this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen but I made some changes based on what is available in my pantry.

New England Fish and Potato Stew

1 slice bacon, chopped fine, for garnish, optional

1 onion, chopped, about 1 cup

1 teaspoon rice bran oil (can use olive oil or canola oil)

4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

243g/8oz chicken stock (clam juice in the original recipe)

125g/1/2 cup water

62g/1/4 cup Chinese rice wine (dry white wine in the original recipe)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 teaspoon dried Jamaican thyme (1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme)

1 bay leaf

750g/1 1/2 pounds fish fillets, rinsed and patted dry then chopped into chunks

75g/1/3 cup whipping cream or milk (half-and-half in original recipe)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon Golden Mountain sauce (or use light soy sauce)

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (can use flat-leaf parsley)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a medium Dutch oven until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 8-10 minutes. Scoop out the bacon and set aside on paper toweling to drain. To the fat remaining in the pot, cook the onion until it is soft and translucent, 6-8 minutes. If there isn’t enough fat, add 1 teaspoon rice bran oil. Stir in the flour and whisk as it cooks and until the flour becomes lightly golden. Gradually whisk in the stock, water, and wine. Let the mixture come to a gentle simmer.

Add the potatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Return the mixture to a simmer and cook the potatoes until just tender, about 12-15 minutes. Add the fish chunks to the sauce and bring it back up to a simmer. If the fish chunks are meaty and thicker than 1 inch, cook 7 minutes. If the fillets are thinner, cook just 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. The fish should be white, opaque, and no longer translucent. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the cream or milk and season with the fish sauce and Golden Mountain sauce. Taste and add salt if needed, then grind black pepper generously all over the fish and potatoes. Spoon into pasta bowls and sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and bacon.

korean style steamed eggs

Steamed eggs are a home-style favorite throughout Asia. My mother made a Hakka version with salty pungent shrimp sauce. However Fuchsia Dunlop has a Fujian version in her cookbook Every Grain of Rice which is mellow, sweeter, and delicate. This fluffy version surprised me by its resemblance to scrambled eggs. The recipe is adapted from a recipe by Seonkyoung Longest. To cook these eggs, she recommends using a 3-cup earthenware bowl with lid called ttukbaegi gyeranjjim. I didn’t have one but I had a 3-cup donabe, a Japanese earthenware bowl with lid. These eggs cook up on the stove top in just 5 minutes. After this picture was taken, the eggs promptly deflated. They were still delicious!

My gas stove flame is very close to the pot bottom so I use a burner pan support to elevate the donabe so that the flame doesn’t burn the bottom of the pot.

Korean Steamed Eggs

Yield: 2-4 servings

3 large eggs

1/2-teaspoon salt

1/2-teaspoon fish sauce

1 1/2-teaspoon mirin (can substitute Chinese rice wine)

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock or water (original recipe said Korean stock)

1 scallion, sliced thin, for garnish (optional)

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

Special Equipment: burner pan support

Pour the stock or water into the donabe and bring to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, fish sauce, and mirin, until well combined and frothy. Add the egg mixture to the simmering broth, stirring well to combine.

Cover the pot and simmer 5 minutes until the eggs are fluffy and set on top. If you wish garnish with about half the scallions and the sesame oil, reserving the remainder of the scallions to serve at table. Or skip this step and serve with scallions on the side for individual sprinkling. Serve with hot rice. The bottom of the eggs will be browned and the liquid may separate when you spoon over the eggs onto your rice.