Mango pudding

Spring has come and time to have some cold dessert that keeps me cool. I fancy some mango puddings with some fresh and sweet mangoes. Can't believe it's actually super easy and quick to make but I have never done it before.

The mango puddings are so yummy and keep me cool and calm. Definitely gonna make it again and again in summer. I love to eat it with lots of evaporated milk and top up with some extra fresh mango. Snowy loves mango too, but he can only eat little bit of mango and not the pudding.

Serves 3 cups

Ingredients 

Mango jelly powder 1 box
1 egg
Hot water 300ml
Full cream evaporated milk 1/3 can, 100g
2 fresh mangoes, diced

Directions

1. Add egg into jelly powder and whisk to mix
2. Pour hot water into the jelly mixture while whisking quickly to avoid curdling
3. Pour in the evaporated milk and mix well
4. Put the diced mango in the mixture
5. Pour the mixture into glass and keep in fridge to chill

Veal osso buco with gremolata

Since I bought my first Le Creuset pot, I have been only using it to cook chilli con carne for hubby! It's time to cook something else with it. I have never cooked braised meat before, and LC is just perfect for braising. Let's give it a try.

The ingredient list is rather long for this dish and just the herbs alone costed me $60!! That's so expensive but I decided to buy them all because I want the dish to have authentic Italian flavor. I also never cooked with wine before coz I'm not a big fan of wine. But god, the white wine was actually the hero of the dish. The house smelled absolutely divine when the veal was braising! Can't believe the wine enhanced the flavor of the dish and it should not be missed.

The veal shank was braised for an hour. It was quite tender but I could have cooked it 30mins longer and made it melt in the mouth if the pot has not started to get burnt. So, I just turned off the fire and kept cooking with the lid closed for 20 mins more. OMG! The veal was so delicious. The sauce was sooo rich and flavorsome. It was so delicious that I couldn't believe I actually cooked it myself. It tasted just like a restaurant dish. The bone marrow was aromatic and creamy. It was good to eat with mashed potato coz the potato absorbed all the beautiful juice. The gremolata was not just for garnish. It completed the whole dish with the extra freshness and flavor. The dish totally brought me back to Italy. I love it very much and will definitely cook it again.

For two people

Ingredients

Veal osso buco
2 veal shanks
Pancetta 60g, diced
1 canned tomatoes (I added 2 small cherry tomatoes for extra sweetness)
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stick, diced
New potatoes 7pcs
1/2 cup white wine ( I used chardonnay)
1/2 beef stock
butter (for making the mashed potatoes)
Salt & pepper
flour for dusting the meat before browning
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Olive oil

Gremolata
1 lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, chopped
fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Season the veal with salt & pepper. Dredge the veal shanks through some flour, shake off any excess.
2. Fry the pancetta in the pot with medium heat, add extra olive oil if it's dry. Cook, stirring occasionally until most of the fat has rendered (about 2mins). Remove the pancetta to a plate and set aside.
3. Turn the heat to medium high. Brown the veal shanks in the pot (about 2mins each side). Set aside.
4. Add olive oil and fry the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook the vegetable for about 3mins.
5. Pour in the white wine and simmer until the wine has evaporated (about 1 min). Add the beef stock and canned tomatoes. Bring it to simmer.
6. Return the veal and pancetta to the pot and bring it to boil. Then reduce the heat to small, cover the lid and allow to simmer for 1 hr at least or until the meat is fall off the bone tender and the sauce is deliciously rich.
7. Cook the mashed potato about 20mins before the veal is cooked. Peel the skin and boil them in water for 20mins.
8. Prepare the gremolata while the veals are cooking. Mix the lemon zest, garlic and parsley together.
9. Once the veal is done, serve on top of mashed potato and garnish with gremolata.

Seared duck breast with orange, honey and soy sauce

I'm getting bored of eating the same protein and cooking the same dishes all the time. So tonite I decided to cook something different. I saw some really beautiful french duck breast in Three sixty and I wanted to cook duck. I have never cooked duck before so I was a bit worried I would ruin the duck.

After scoring the duck skin, I seared the duck with skin side down. Recipe said sear it with 3-4mins but the skin was already burned with just 2-3mins. Byebye crispy skin. haha Then I roasted it in the oven for 8mins at 200C and rested it for 5mins. The duck breast was lovely pink. Duck should always be served medium rare otherwise it gets dry and tough. I think I like it even more rare next time, probably 1 min less would be perfect.

I have read that duck and orange is a good match. It was a bit tricky to balance the flavor of honey, orange juice and soy sauce so it didn't get too sweet and remained a bit tangy. Luckily I nailed it. The orange marmalade and soy sauce glaze matches perfectly with the rich and gamy taste of duck. It tasted so refreshing with a copious amount of my favorite herb, coriander. :) It's a really appetizing dish for spring or summer. My dog loves duck very much too, though his duck was cooked to well done! haha

For two people

Ingredients
1 Duck breast
half an orange, peel off skin and cut into small pieces
some green leaves for the salad
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light soy sauce (1tbsp should be enough coz I used the bottled orange juice with much sugar in it)
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
coriander, for garnish

Directions

1. Pat the duck breast skin dry and score it in a cross hatch pattern. Season both sides of the breast with salt and pepper
2. Place the breast skin down in a cold non stick pan on a medium heat without oil for about 3-4 mins or until golden brown. Seal the other side for 30 seconds.
3. Place the skin side up in the preheated oven at 200C and cook it for 8mins for medium rare.
4. Rest it for 5 mins at room temperature.
5. While the duck is cooking in the oven, prepare the sauce. Mix garlic, orange juice, honey and light soy sauce together. Taste it to check the sweetness and adjust if necessary.
6. Pour off the duck fat from the pan and deglazed the pan with the sauce. Ready once it's boiled.
7. Place the duck breast on top of veggies and orange salad. Pour the sauce on the duck or serve on the side and garnish the duck with coriander.