065 - DULCE DE LECHE

Oh my God, I’m back! I’m finally back people!

I know, I know, it’s been too long, I miss you guys, I miss cooking, I miss doing photo shoot, man, I miss everything!

If you’ve been wondering where the hell I went, well, I didn’t go anywhere. But my trusty Laptop (which is an old, beaten-up Alienware M11x R2) did. Long story short, she (my laptop, who else?) went to the ER to get her internals fixed. I did wanted to send her to the ER since a very long time ago, but since my trip is coming up (more on that later this week), I just can’t stand her dying on me every time I render High Definition videos. Seriously, it’s getting old!

With a simple Google search, I stumble upon this store called Pemmz. I looked to their website, and I shit my pants. They’re selling premium gaming laptop, like, almost every brand in the market for a very hefty price tag. So I thought, “hmm, a place like this should have an after sales service right?” and Yes, they do have one!

So I deliver her to the store at the far west (no, seriously, It’s so far from my house) at Tanjung Duren, and asked them to clean her up, change her battery, and add more RAM for more computing ability. After a week and U$ 300 later, she is now working as if she just came out of the box! Couldn’t be happier! So if any of you guys have any problem with your Computer, I highly recommend this place!

Anyway, this week recipe is hardly a recipe; it’s a life hack I must say. We’re making DULCE DE LECHE out of a sweetened condensed milk!

Dulce De Leche is basically a confection made by slowly heating milk and sugar until Maillard reaction occurs, resulting in a smotth, velvety, caramelized flavor. It is widely popular in the South America, and I’m pretty sure you will love it too.

This version is NOT authentic. This is a simple cooking method to imitate; I’d say 60-70% taste of the real thing. But hey, I’m not complaining

Without further ado, let’s begin shall we?

=====================================================================

For 1 Can equivalent of Dulce De Leche, you will need;

1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. Choose any particular brand you like, they should work the same. Remember, as long as it has sugar in it, it’ll work just fine.

Water for boiling

=====================================================================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Tear off the label from the can, cause, we don’t want paper in our Dulce De Leche no? Make 2 holes, 1 in each opposite direction of your choice with a can opener. PLEASE DO NOT SKIP THIS unless you want to have a BLOODY GOOD TIME cleaning all those milk because they exploded!

Find the spot where the ends meet

TEAR IT APART! THEY DON'T BELONG TOGETHER!

This, my trusty can opener

Poke a hole on one side

Poke a hole on the opposite side

See? there's the first hole

And the second one!

Step 2 – Get a large pan, put your can in, and fill it up with water until it reaches ¾ of the can. Turn the heat up to high, and let it boil before turning it down to a medium heat to simmer for 2 Hours (Light Dulce De Leche) or 3 Hours (Dark Dulce De Leche). When you’re ‘cooking’ the can, you’ll notice that they’ll start to rattle. 

To avoid this, add a small piece of cloth underneath it prior to boiling, so, you know, the rattling will subside.

Don’t forget to refill the water to the same level it started as you go! Water evaporates, and we need to keep ¾ of the can submerged to reach this desired consistency!

Add the water

Simmer!

Step 3 – Once you’ve reached your destination, err, sorry, your desired doneness, carefully. By ‘carefully’, I mean, REALLY CAREFULLY, take out the can and leave it to cool in either an ice bath or a wire rack for at least 30-40 minutes before you can handle them. Once that period passes, you’re basically done!

Step 4 – Serve!

Man, I love this stuff. I can’t believe a can of regular sweetened condensed milk can turn into this creamy caramel that you can ‘abuse’ in every form of dessert possible! I tried it on top of an ice cream, on top of a whipped cream, and man, I’m gaining pounds already.

Kept in a jar, this should last for at least 2-3 weeks. Just make sure you use a clean utensil every time you took a spoonful of it, or else, bacteria can grow and ruin everything.

Give this a go, hashtag me on Instagram #mybigfatcookingblog, I’ll repost your attempt!

Cheers

xx

064 - PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE!

Word of advice: this dish has the ability to give you diabetes if you eat the whole batch!

Anyway, here's PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE!

=====================================================================

For a lot of this stuff, you will need;

120 grams of Butter

100 ml of Milk

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

1,5 Cup of Powdered Sugar

1,5 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

150 Grams of Chocolate

=====================================================================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Chop the chocolate into fine pieces, set aside for later

Step 2 – Melt the butter on high heat, add the brown sugar, stir to combine. Add the vanilla extract, stir again.

Butter

Brown sugar

Vanilla extract

Combine!

Step 3 – Add the milk little by little, and turn the heat to medium.  Add your peanut butter, melt it completely, then bring the heat back up to high.

Milk

Peanut butter

Step 4 – Once the mixtures thickens a bit, turn the heat off and combined with the sifted powdered sugar. Combine that sh*t up!

Step 5 – Get a mold, and fill it up whichever way you like. The one I’m doing here is PB and Chocolate. Oh, don’t forget, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 seconds interval.

Step 6 – Keep it inside the fridge for 3 hours or even more.

Step 7 – Serve!

(P.S: i screwed up the once pictured with the blue mould above, so i'm going with the square cut instead, apologize!)

Give this a go!

Cheers

xx

063 - BUTTERED CHAMPIGNON MUSHROOM

Ever had one of those Steak dinners where the side dishes were almost as good as the mains? Well, I had, and this side dish I’m about to teach you how to cook is just that.

Meet Buttered Champignon Mushroom.

For the record, I had no clue how to make this dish in the first place. But you know, wise people say, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. So I was mixing things up in the kitchen with some leftovers Mushroom I got lying around inside my fridge and,…voila. Here it is.

Do pay attention to what I’m about to say; the amount of seasonings shown in the picture ARE NOT accurate to the list below. Long story short, I f*ck up the amount of seasonings used prior to the photo session. But don’t worry, I’ve adjusted it, so your end product will look even better than mine!

=====================================================================

For 2 Servings, you will need:

140 grams Champignon Mushroom

1 Tbsp Butter/Margarine

Salt to taste

White Pepper to taste

1 Garlic, minced finely

¼  tsp Garlic Powder

¼  tsp Onion Powder

2 Tbsp Water

1 tsp Parsley

Oil for sauteeing

=====================================================================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Grab a sharp knife, and proceed to cut the Mushrooms into halves and cut it again into quarters. Set aside.

Step 2 – Get a non-stick pan, heat your oil on high heat. Once smoking hot, turn the heat down a bit and put Garlic in. Quickly stir to avoid burning and add your Mushrooms. Continue stirring constantly to avoid burning. After about 20 seconds, add Salt, and stir. Add the splash of Water and cover to steam for 1 minute.

Canola Oil

Garlic

Salt

Water

Step 3 – Once all water had evaporated, add the Butter, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and White Pepper, quickly stir to combine. Be gentle, by this time, the mushroom had turn soft. Give this process about 30 seconds. Finish with Parsley, and you’re done!

Butter, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, White Pepper

Parsley

Step 4 – Serve!

As you can see, I’m serving the Mushroom with a nice Striploin cooked to a tender Medium Rare (or was it Rare?). It was a lovely combination.

Give this a go!

Cheers

xx

062 - OYSTER SAUCE SHITAKE MUSHROOM!

Side dishes are often forgotten. They’re like a supporting actor, needed in time, but never get to be in the spotlight. Think Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club.

…wait a minute. He did get a spotlight.  (-__-)

Anyway, this dish I’m about to show you is a side dish that deserves a spot light. Eaten right after it’s finished, tasty as f*ck. Eat after refrigeration overnight? EVEN BETTER.

Give a round of applause to the OYSTER SAUCE SHITAKE.

=====================================================================

For 2 servings (as side dish), you will need

100 Grams of Shitake Mushroom. Make sure you clean it with damp towel, NOT water. NEVER.

2 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce.

1 Tbsp of Rice Vinegar. Regular vinegar would do fine as well

1 Tbsp of Sesame Seed Oil.

1 Garlic. Minced finely

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Oil as required

Water as required

=====================================================================

Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Cut your mushrooms into strips. Make it rather thick, because, *ahem*, ladies like it….OH NEVERMIND THE SEXUAL INNUENDO. Anyway, set it aside.

Step 2 – Get a non-stick pan, pour the oil and turn the  heat up to medium-high. Once smoking, pour the Garlic in and quickly stir to avoid scorching it. After about 10 seconds, the Shitake goes in and gets stirred. Add the Salt and quickly stir. This will help draw out moisture. Add a splash of Water and cover to steam for 30 seconds

In case you're wondering, this is Olive Oil i'm using

Garlic

Shitake goes ga-ga

Salt will help to bring out the moisture

Splash of h2o

oow, i bet it's hot in there

Step 3 – Turn the heat to medium and add the Oyster Sauce, Vinegar, Sesame Seed Oil and stir to combine. After 30 seconds, add the Pepper and splash of Water. Cover to steam for another 30 seconds.

Step 4 – Finished!

Serve this alongside a piping hot White Rice, hearty Mackerel, and Pickles. Leftovers? Keep it in the fridge, it’ll keep for 2-3 days just fine.

Cheers

xx