Pho Ga – Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Since I am feeding 2 boys in my own kitchen, preparing dinner for them daily is one of my major tasks (unless we are going to eat out). And recipes from the internet (from Mr. Google and Ms. You tube) or from my cook books are what seem to be my great kitchen assistants. I love to test recipes every now and then since we love to try dishes from different cuisines at home. And recently, I saw this PHO GA – Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup post from Ms. Tina Pham while I was looking for a hot dinner recipe since all of us were not feeling well during that time. And we all love Vietnamese noodle soup! So this actually looks like a nice recipe to try and from the looks of it, I think I can cook it. Since not all ingredients from Ms. Tina Pham’s recipe are available from our nearest supermarket, I adjusted some of the ingredients based on my own taste and budget. You can check out the original recipe from her site if ever you want to try the original version.

But if you want to try my own version, you are very welcome to do so. 🙂 My boys actually loved it and they are requesting for a part 2 next week. : ) Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS for Phở Gà – Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Estimated Servings: 4-5
Step 1: Cook the broth
16 cups water
3 inches ginger
5 small peeled white onion (small/shallot)
2 ½ tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
5 pcs regular size sliced chicken (thigh and breast part)

2 pcs knorr chicken cubes

– Boil the water, add salt, sugar, toast ginger and onion and the chicken.

– I didn’t roast the ginger and onions in the microwave (as instructed from Ms. Tina’s video) because I don’t have one. 🙂 So, I toasted it in a pan instead.

– Simmer the broth at low heat for 10 minutes and skim the scum. And let it simmer again for another few minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.

– I added chicken cubes since I only bought just enough chicken for us. And since the essence of chicken was  still not there after a long period of putting it to a boil, I decided to improvise. 🙂

Step 2: Toast the spices
5 star anise
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

– I didn’t find any coriander seeds, cloves and cumin seeds while shopping so, I just omit it from the recipe.

– Anyways, I toasted the anise, cinnamon stick and black peppercorn until I can smell its aroma and then added it into the broth.

Step 3: Boil the noodles
1 package Phởnoodles
8 cups water

– Follow the packaging directions. Rinse and drain.

Step 4: Assemble the dish
Fresh basil
Bean sprouts
Cilantro ( A lot!!)
Lemon wedges
½ cup sliced red shallots
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Chili Garlic Sauce
Hoisin Sauce

– Wash and clean all the vegetables and prepare it on a separate plate.

– Since our little boy doesn’t like basil and cilantro, we put in separate containers and decided to just add the herbs to our own tastes.

It was indeed a great meal. Thank’s to Ms. Tina for the great recipe. I will be adding this to our BIG Recipe book. : )

If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that’s exactly what I did. -Gordon Ramsay

Andrea’s Barbie Cake

This cake is especially made for my dear goddaughter Andrea on her 3rd Birthday last June 18, 2013. I used a 3-layer moist chocolate cake sponge with chocolate ganache for Barbie‘s gown. For the recipe, visit my other posts at https://myorangetoque.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/moist-chocolate-cake/. And for the dress, I used a simple royal icing recipe.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

30 grams Egg Whites

165 grams Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted

5 grams Cream of Tartar / Lemon Juice

Food Color (Red & Yellow)

Procedure:

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice or cream of tartar.
2.  Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar or water.
3.  Add food coloring.

Notes:

You can replace Cream of Tartar with lemon juice to add more flavor but only about 1/2 tsp or less. Since we are not baking / cooking the egg whites, we need to add acidity to avoid bacteria and molds. You can add more confectioners’ sugar if the icing is still runny or add water or more egg whites if it is already hard to pipe.

You can choose whatever piping tip you desire for the decoration but for this cake I used star tip #30.

Just make sure the doll your using for the cake is clean and with no toxic materials.

* Happy Birthday Andrea! Ninang wish you all the best in life. Will always be here for you forever. Lots of love.

*Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. – Albert Einstein

 

Moist Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge

200 grams Cake Flour, sifted

5 grams Baking Soda, sifted

2 grams Baking Powder, sifted

50 grams Cocoa Powder, sifted

316 grams White Refined Sugar

5 ml Vanilla Extract

117 ml Warm Water

17 grams Glucose

53 grams Unsalted Butter, melted

53 grams Corn or Canola Oil

3 pieces Eggs, large

Chocolate Ganache

500 grams Dark Sweet Chocolate Compound

250 grams All Purpose Cream

25 grams Unsalted Butter, soft

Mise en Place:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
• Brush cake pan with shortening and line with wax paper
• In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa powder.
• Melt butter in hot water bath and keep warm.
• Combine warm water and glucose, stir to dissolve.

Procedure:

Chocolate Sponge

1. Combine sugar and the dry ingredients, blend the eggs in three additions, using the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition scraping side down of the bowl as needed.
2. Add the melted butter and oil and mix until well blended.
3. Add the water-glucose mixture and vanilla extract and mix, scraping side down of the bowl, beat until smooth consistency and evenly blended.
4. Pour batter onto prepared pan.
5. Bake at moderate heat about 35 minutes depending on the size of the pan.
6. Cool the cake on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer on the racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Heat the cream over to a boil, stirring gently, and then add into the finely chopped chocolate.
2. Stir in the soft butter, strain and cool down.
3. Fill and decorate chocolate sponge. 

Notes:

For cocoa powder, I use Bensdorp cocoa powder for richer chocolate taste.

For chocolate ganache, Nestle all purpose cream is better than other brands. But you can use heavy cream if you want a creamier ganache.

Recipe is for 6 inch cake mold only. Adjust ingredients quantity for bigger cake.

* This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe and one of my bestsellers too. You can also use the chocolate sponge recipe for chocolate cupcakes and as a base for fondant cake since it is a moist and heavy cake. The photos I have attached from this post was a cake I made for a friend of mine for her grandparents’ birthday. I added some gum paste decor to add cuteness. Enjoy!

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream. – Paulo Coelho

Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge

6 Tablespoons (84 grams) Unsalted Butter, soft

2  1/2 Tablespoons (33 grams) Vegetable Shortening

4 Tablespoons (50 grams) White Refined Sugar 1

4 Pieces Eggs yolks, large and fresh

1/2  Cup (67 grams) Cake Flour, sifted

3 Tablespoons (25 grams) Cocoa Powder, sifted

1 teaspoon Coffee powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda, sifted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Essence

4 Pieces Egg Whites, large and fresh

3/8 Cup (83 grams) White Refined Sugar 2

Whipped Cream Frosting

2  1/8 Cups (500 ml) Heavy Whipping Cream (Double Cream)

3/4 Cup (100 grams) Confectioner’s Sugar or Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Essence

Filling

12 ounce (360 ml) Cherry Filling, canned

2 Tablespoon (10 grams) Kirsch Liqueur, optional

For Decorations

Chocolate Shavings or Chocolate Vermicelli, as needed

Rosette of Whipped Cream, as needed

Maraschino Red Cherries with stem, as needed (approximately 8 pieces)

Confectioner’s Sugar or Bianca Powder, as needed, optional

Methods:

Chocolate Sponge

Mise en Place:

Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).

Line the 8 inch cake mold with wax paper or aluminum foil. Set aside.

Combine sifted dry ingredients and mix (stir) to lighten it. Set aside.

Procedure:

Combine butter, shortening, vanilla extract and sugar 1 in a mixing bowl fitted with paddle attachment, and beat on medium speed until light and fully blended.

Gradually add the egg yolks, scraping side down of the bowl, and continue beating on medium speed about 3 minutes, beat on low speed, and then add dry ingredients just to incorporate, transfer on a large bowl. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl fitted with wire whisk attachment, whisk egg whites to soft peak, and gradually add the sugar and whip until medium-stiff peak.

Stir in 1/3 of the meringue onto the batter mixture to lighten it; gently fold the rest of the meringue until smooth.

Pour onto the cake mold approximately 2/3 full and bake in moderate heat about 45 minutes.

Check the sponge by inserting a toothpick or cake tester in the middle, if it comes out clean, the sponge is already baked.

Take out from the oven and cool down on a wire rack before unmolding.

Wrap loose with cling film and then refrigerate until ready to use.

Whipped Cream Frosting

Procedure:

In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, whisk whipping cream and vanilla extract to soft peak. Add sifted confectioner’s sugar until medium stiff.

Transfer on clean-dry bowl, cover with cling film and keep under refrigeration.

 Black Forrest Assembly:

Mise en Place:

Cut the chocolate sponge into 3 slices.

Prepare whipped cream.

Strain cherry filling juices about 50% of it and mix in kirsch liqueur. Set aside.

Procedure:

Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on top of the sliced chocolate sponge. With a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, filled with the whipped cream, pipe a circle on the center, and then at the edge.

Fill the two spaces with the cherry filling. Sandwich with two more layers of chocolate sponge and then gently press to bind them together.

Coat cake evenly with the same whipped cream

Mask the sides with chocolate shavings or chocolate vermicelli and sprinkle the center of the cake.

Pipe a rosette of whipped cream on each portion of the cake. One rosette on each slice.

Place maraschino cherries with stem on top of the rosette cream and then dust the top with Confectioner’s Sugar or Bianca powder.

Notes:

You can always use your own favorite chocolate sponge cake.

Whipped cream can be substituted with whipped topping.

If using whipped topping (non-dairy cream), add 150 grams of whipped cream in every 1 liter of whipped topping to make it creamier. Method: Whip the whipped topping to stiff peak and gradually add the whipping cream, vanilla and the confectioner’s sugar.

To stabilized heavy cream; soak 4 grams gelatin powder in 20 grams of cold water for 10 minutes and then dissolve in warm water bath. Fold in at last before using. Use at once.

You can add 1 gram of cinnamon powder to the cherry filling to add flavor.

*Black Forrest is one of the most basic cakes that I have learned from being a pastry chef but it is also one of the bestsellers. In every cake display, this cake must always be on that display chiller. Simple but definitely a bestseller!

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. – Paulo Coelho

Chocolate Chip Cookies