Yuzu Jam

I babysat my nephew's pets recently when he went for holiday in Japan. He bought me 4 fresh yuzu and I turned them into yuzu jam (after using the zest and juice for my bakes). I've distilled the steps shared in these websites (Just One Cookbook, umamimart and Chopstick Chronicles) into the following simplified method:

Ingredients:

fresh yuzu

sugar

water

Method:

1. Wash the yuzu and wipe dry with kitchen towel.

2. Cut the yuzu into half, remove the segments containing the juice sacs and remove the seeds. Keep the seeds in tea bags for use later. Squeeze the juice and keep the membranes for use later. Use a spoon to remove most of the white pith, which are slightly bitter, underneath the peels. Then cut the peels into thin slices.

3. Place the membranes in a pot of water (just enough to cover) and boil for 10minutes. Strain and let it cool down. Then chopped into small pieces.

4. Place the peels in a pot of water (just enough to cover), boil for 1 minute and strain the peels. Repeat this for 2 more times. This is to remove the bitterness in the peels. 

5. Weigh the membranes and the peels to calculate the amount of sugar to use. I did not want the jam to be too sweet, so for me, sugar is 40% of the combined weight membranes and peels.

6. Place the membranes and peels in a pot. Add in sugar, water (just enough to cover) and seed bags. Bring to a soft boil and lower heat to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30minutes (or until the jam thickens to desired consistency).

7. Sterilise the jar and lid with boiling water.

8. Transfer the jam into the jar. Once cooled, store in fridge.

Cantonese Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken - Improved Recipe

粤式糯米鸡饭

This is an improved version of my Lo Mai Kai recipe (click here). Improved because it is more straight forward to make, has fewer ingredients but still taste great.

Ingredients (for 3 to 4 pax)

240g glutinous rice

252g water (105% of weight of glutinous rice)

Dried shiitake mushrooms (quantity based on your preference)

Dried shrimps (quantity based on your preference)

Dried scallops (quantity based on your preference)

500g chicken wings (mid joints)

Method

1. Soak mushrooms, dried shrimps and scallops overnight.

2. Drain the mushrooms, dried shrimps and scallops. Trim the mushroom stems (and save for future use e.g. in soup) and squeeze the mushrooms dry. Reserve the soaking liquid. Slice the mushrooms and shred the scallops and set aside.

3. Measure 252g of soaking liquid (top up with water if required), add 3g salt (around 1.5% of glutinous rice) and 6g sugar (around 2.5% of glutinous rice), mix well. Soak the glutinous rice in this liquid for at least 4 hours. 

4. Wash and dab dry the chicken wings with kitchen towel (or air dry). Marinate with salt for at least 2 hours.

5. When it is time to cook, add some corn flour and soy sauce to the mushrooms, dried shrimps and scallops, and mix well. Heat up wok until it smokes. Fry the chicken wings over low heat until the fats are released and the wings are cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken wings from the wok and set aside. Add the mushrooms, dried shrimps and scallops to the wok. Stir fry on medium heat until fragrant, then remove from wok. 

6. Put the glutinous rice and all the soaking liquid into a big and flat dish. Lay the chicken, mushrooms, shrimps and scallops on top of the rice. Do not stir. Steam the glutinous rice under medium-high heat for 25 minutes. Check water in the steamer and top up water accordingly.

7. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.