Food all isnt about cutting it up, throwing into a pan, a fryer, a steamer or an oven, take it out and swallow it. Its about the love being put in.
Cooking for my family, my loved ones or my friends will never be good
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Choux Paste
Saw a Japanese tv series about a week ago when there was really nice looking Sho cream(Japanese cream puff like beard papa) and decided i should give it a go.
After searching for my Shatec recipe file on Pâte à choux and compared with the Sho pastry i found online. And there i go. Starting to bake my first batch of Sho cream. Calling for
60g butter
64g flour
113ml water
40g sugar
40g eggs
Damn! The recipe didnt let the pastry puff and off i go for round 2. And the second, puffed a little. So round 3 is made. It was the most flat one. Feeling for a little creativity, added some salt and changed the all purpose flour to bread aka high protein flour.
Puff! With a real light texture and a crunchy top.
Then goes the cream.
113g sugar
40g flour
30g egg yolk
10g vanilla extract
113g milk
The ingredients were easy to assemble and finally the cream is cooked and cooled. Piping time! And within 5 minutes of piping, they were gone.
Choux paste, mastered!
After searching for my Shatec recipe file on Pâte à choux and compared with the Sho pastry i found online. And there i go. Starting to bake my first batch of Sho cream. Calling for
60g butter
64g flour
113ml water
40g sugar
40g eggs
Damn! The recipe didnt let the pastry puff and off i go for round 2. And the second, puffed a little. So round 3 is made. It was the most flat one. Feeling for a little creativity, added some salt and changed the all purpose flour to bread aka high protein flour.
Puff! With a real light texture and a crunchy top.
Then goes the cream.
113g sugar
40g flour
30g egg yolk
10g vanilla extract
113g milk
The ingredients were easy to assemble and finally the cream is cooked and cooled. Piping time! And within 5 minutes of piping, they were gone.
Choux paste, mastered!
Friday, November 13, 2009
How it all started
A brief history of how dad started his career.
Dad stopped school at the age of 14, secondary one. He later persued his culinary adventures at grand dad's cafe(which was pretty high class during those times) at Clifford pire, Shenton way. Catering to sailors who'd habor at the pire.
Dad later persued his career at Royal Copenhagen and left as the executive chef and Swensens(that non-halal times) where he met mom.
Dad later held 2 jobs during his career in Swensens as a baker at home catering to several upscale companies, baking the then popular cakes like the mango mirror, black midnight, baked cheesecake and black forest.
He later left Swensens and concentrated his baking business.
There was where he striked his first bucket of gold.
He later took the tender of Fantasy club, National University Singapore in 1985 at the age of 26. And Lim's Catering Service is borned. Not a cent was being paid by anyone els but himself.
On 25 May 1988, my mom being pregnent cutting chilli misc en place for dinner service was about to give birth while dad was away at Sing ming avenue obtaining his outdoor catering license for his new shop at Jalan Pelikat where it had operated for exactly 21 years, 2 months.
Mom later gave birth to her son(aka me) at 2015hours 26 may 1988. The birth of a cook.
An afternoon in 1991, with me sitting on the chest freezer at the back yard next to several cakes and dad walked away for whatever reasons, i started to act like the bulldozer! Digging into the cheese cake next to me and stuffing whatevers on my hand into my mouth. You know what happend after that.
At the age of 12, looks like dad has planned my path in life. Go to school, dont have to really excel in studies, get to some culinary school and work for him.
But i screwed it up badly. Went to SHATEC and 50% of my attandence were absentence without official reasons or on medical leave. But 1 thing in mind. To cook the best i can and respect my ingredients and tools which were fed to me in the hard way since i was 12, cooking a 1.5m wide 1m deep wok of everything from fried rice to curries to spring roll fillings.
Dad re-located to Hong kong serving authentic south-east asian cuisine.
My first job was at pizza hut where i made pizza, became a waiter and cooked lousy pasta.
I later worked at Bliss Resturuant after my GCE 'N' levels for about 4 months where i learnt how to cook a decent steak with powdered demi glaze, bake betty cockers pre mixed brownies and saute decent aglio olio spaghetti.
Not completing Shatec by the last semester of attachment since i was abused by the boss at Bliss where i opted to go for attachment.
I then worked at resturants like Modestos, Spageddis, The cellar door and The beacon.
I was later enlisted into the army being a Supply assistant and then assigned to the mess where i seriously slacked for that peroid of life.
Now, being out of the militry and a part time cook at a all day breakfast resturuant. Searching for a path for life. Considering a Human resource company, trading company that deals on cakes(but selling price per cigarette box sized cake cost S$12) that cant work.
And the food and brevage line is being flooded with forginers grabbing jobs and getting paid an amount that an average Singaporean will not be able to even survive on.
And now, almost that i cant bake, i am learning.
Blogging my journey of being a cook that cant bake to.... Hopefull a successful chef, business man.
Dad stopped school at the age of 14, secondary one. He later persued his culinary adventures at grand dad's cafe(which was pretty high class during those times) at Clifford pire, Shenton way. Catering to sailors who'd habor at the pire.
Dad later persued his career at Royal Copenhagen and left as the executive chef and Swensens(that non-halal times) where he met mom.
Dad later held 2 jobs during his career in Swensens as a baker at home catering to several upscale companies, baking the then popular cakes like the mango mirror, black midnight, baked cheesecake and black forest.
He later left Swensens and concentrated his baking business.
There was where he striked his first bucket of gold.
He later took the tender of Fantasy club, National University Singapore in 1985 at the age of 26. And Lim's Catering Service is borned. Not a cent was being paid by anyone els but himself.
On 25 May 1988, my mom being pregnent cutting chilli misc en place for dinner service was about to give birth while dad was away at Sing ming avenue obtaining his outdoor catering license for his new shop at Jalan Pelikat where it had operated for exactly 21 years, 2 months.
Mom later gave birth to her son(aka me) at 2015hours 26 may 1988. The birth of a cook.
An afternoon in 1991, with me sitting on the chest freezer at the back yard next to several cakes and dad walked away for whatever reasons, i started to act like the bulldozer! Digging into the cheese cake next to me and stuffing whatevers on my hand into my mouth. You know what happend after that.
At the age of 12, looks like dad has planned my path in life. Go to school, dont have to really excel in studies, get to some culinary school and work for him.
But i screwed it up badly. Went to SHATEC and 50% of my attandence were absentence without official reasons or on medical leave. But 1 thing in mind. To cook the best i can and respect my ingredients and tools which were fed to me in the hard way since i was 12, cooking a 1.5m wide 1m deep wok of everything from fried rice to curries to spring roll fillings.
Dad re-located to Hong kong serving authentic south-east asian cuisine.
My first job was at pizza hut where i made pizza, became a waiter and cooked lousy pasta.
I later worked at Bliss Resturuant after my GCE 'N' levels for about 4 months where i learnt how to cook a decent steak with powdered demi glaze, bake betty cockers pre mixed brownies and saute decent aglio olio spaghetti.
Not completing Shatec by the last semester of attachment since i was abused by the boss at Bliss where i opted to go for attachment.
I then worked at resturants like Modestos, Spageddis, The cellar door and The beacon.
I was later enlisted into the army being a Supply assistant and then assigned to the mess where i seriously slacked for that peroid of life.
Now, being out of the militry and a part time cook at a all day breakfast resturuant. Searching for a path for life. Considering a Human resource company, trading company that deals on cakes(but selling price per cigarette box sized cake cost S$12) that cant work.
And the food and brevage line is being flooded with forginers grabbing jobs and getting paid an amount that an average Singaporean will not be able to even survive on.
And now, almost that i cant bake, i am learning.
Blogging my journey of being a cook that cant bake to.... Hopefull a successful chef, business man.
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