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Order Online | Hungry Homebakery
Author: Zoe Wong
Fluffy Bread Loaf
Hello, hello, hello. It feels like it has been some time since I’ve sat still to write a blog post. I actually panicked internally when I realized just how fast June was passing by!
Despite only being halfway through, I think we can all agree that 2020 is an impactful year. It’s extremely difficult to summarize all the past and current 2020 events, but generally, all have seen disruptful changes that has forced people to re-examine the status quo.
*In America:
- the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the workings of government leadership;
- health care and health insurances are legally able to discriminate against LGBTQ people
- the anti-racist movement is in high gear;
- people are fighting to reallocate police funding to social services instead;
- and media biases are proving how businesses and money have the most influence in a capitalist system.
*I also recognize that there are pressing international issues such as in Yemen, Poland, Hong Kong, and Palestine.
In my personal life, 2020 has presented endless obstacles on top of the usual ones expected post-grad. After obtaining my B.A in December, I moved back home with my parents and tried to find my first big-girl job in the real world while trying to form some coherent life plans. The job search proved much more difficult than anticipated.
Things I wish I knew before graduating:
- Beware of job scams, especially ones sent through email;
- Be wary of sales jobs in the guise of a “marketing” job;
- Be ready to commute upwards 30 miles;
- An interview is not an interrogation but a two-way street;
- Research pay rates for the industry to make sure you’re not under-paid;
- Be ready to take in-person tests as part of the interview process;
- Your university curriculum will not cover the practical knowledge desirable to employers so you’re responsible for your own learning afterwards. Invest in resources like LinkedIn learning, Google Academy, SkillShare, etc. and get certified if applicable!
Just when I thought I secured my first decent job, COVID-19 hit and my offer was rescinded on my supposed “first day of work.” It was a tough time-period and I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. I allowed myself to mope for a bit before gradually picking myself up but life would never be the same. Reality was hitting everyone hard.
Truthfully, I never thought that I would bring social and political issues onto my Instagram and blog since my initial vision was to foster a place of inspiration, positivity, and perhaps even of rest from the anxieties of the real world. Social and political issues hardly sparks happiness; however, 2020 has made rethink and call into question the use of my knowledge if I don’t do anything with it.
It’s been months now and while at home, I’ve been thinking more about my university discourses. I was a Communication Major and minored in Ethnic Studies briefly, so the current BLM movement exposing systemic oppression hit a lot of the topics I spent countless hours mulling over during undergrad.
With the knowledge that I already had, the movement’s voices became impossible to ignore and because I know very well of the importance of media’s application, I was convinced that not using my social platforms would be a moral crime. And thus…the “not so fun” COVID and BLM topics have made it into this recipe blog as well and I won’t apologize for it.
Some ways to aleviate some negativity in the world:
- Wear a mask! COVID disproportionately affects Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (collectively abbreviated as BIPOC).
- Support black businesses. Supporting local black businesses is even better. How you choose to spend your money matters because money is power and the act of ‘buying’ means approval. That said, give power to those that need it and have been slept on essentially forever.
- Sign petitions! Call and email your government representatives if you can. Also, make sure you’re registered to vote if you’re able. BTW, a third of the states allow those who are 17 but will be 18 by the general election to vote in primaries.
- Donate if you’re able. Consider donating to smaller organizations like MPJI or The Loveland Foundation.
- Download an app called “Free Rice” to help feed countries in need (i.e. Yemen). You can donate as well, but I think “Free Rice” is a more sustainable action.
- Make baby steps towards sustainability. Systemic racism and environmental justice go hand in hand. BIPOC communities take the brunt of environmental hazards. A more detailed explanation here.
- Normalize changing opinions.
Anyways, during quarantine, I, alongside many of my foodie peers, have been baking a lot. Especially bread. But while it seemed that most people were caught up on making Sourdough bread, I was making Milk Bread by Kirby’s Cravings, who was inspired by Christine’s Recipes!
Fluffy Bread Loaf
Ingredients
- ~5 Cups Bread Flour
- 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Milk
- Tangzhong (1/3 cup Bread Flour with 1 Cup Water)
- Yeast (2 tsp Yeast, 1/2 Cup Warm Water, 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar)
Directions
- See directions by Kirby’s Cravings.
If kneading dough by hand, expect to be kneading upwards an hour. When ihe dough is kneaded enough, the dough will not be as sticky and will form a ball on its own. If you pinch a piece of the dough and stretch it outwards, a hole will slowly form in the middle of the stretched out portion.
Use 1 beaten Egg White to brush the tops of the bread before baking. Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Black Sesame Tarts with Ube Custard Filling
Shout out to my friends “Chef Ramsey’s Right Hand Pan,” “All Might,” and “Chickpea” for helping me come up with a title!
Names suggested: tarts de la custard ubé, sesame street tarts, ube custard me me tarts, and ube bae bae.
What’s Ube?
If you’re unfamiliar with ube, it’s a yam that’s purple on the inside but a lot sweeter than your average yam! Some people mistake it for taro, but taro, while also delicious, is not a yam to say the least.
Ube is also known for its rich purple color and while taro can also be purple (or white), it’s a lighter shade than ube. Because of it’s intense purple color, ube-flavored foods like breads or lattes are visually captivating.
For example:
Sweet Potato / Ube Latte
A beautiful drink that’ll fill you up and keep you warm ❤
Around 2015 in California, ube sweets were trending in California and prompted many ube-oriented sweets shops to open in LA. Although I live in a suburb of LA, I’ve never had the opportunity to visit one of these stores.
Flash forward five years, and having the time, motivation, and adequate knowledge, I decided to create my own ube treat instead of making the trip to LA (not that I could during the quarantine anyways). I decided on a tart theme.
Initially, I imagined making an ube cheese tart or ube mochi tart. Unfortunately, I didn’t have cream cheese on hand to make a cheese tart and while I was very tempted to make a mochi tart, I wasn’t sure how successful my endeavor would be. Thus, I settled with a custard tart.
No Tart Tin? That’s Okay!
There was one small problem with making tarts — I didn’t have tart tins so I had to use cupcake tins and a 5-inch cookie cutter. You’ll soon see that it turned out to be hardly a problem at all.
I cut some parchment paper rounds to line the bottom of the tins, but I found that it would probably be fine without since there’s so much butter in the dough.
Since I wasn’t too confident in making a tart shell, I did a small batch of tart shells first as a trial run though. For the sake of science, here were the ingredients I used:
Trial 1 – Crust was too thick!
- 5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Large Egg White
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 13 Tbsp Flour (or 1/2 Cup + 5 Tbsp)
Crust was too thick at a quarter inch!
The result was a tart that was kind of chewy but also kind of dry. I think it tasted dry because I didn’t roll out the dough as thin as I should’ve. Regardless of the thickness, I felt that this wasn’t the kind of crust that I wanted. I envisioned something more crisp and delicate, not chewy.
After I eating the tarts with the ube custard, I also felt that there was a certain depth missing. I started to think that adding black sesame’s earthy and aromatic flavor profile might help…so I did just that for trial #2.
Except that while I usually have plain black sesame powder on hand, I didn’t this time. I did have instant black sesame powder paste though — the kind that makes instant black sesame dessert soup. I decided to use it anyways because it claimed that it was low sugar anyways, so I took a chance that it would work.
If you use plain black sesame powder (not for instant dessert soup), try substituting with roughly 6 Tbsp black sesame powder and 1 Tbsp sugar.
Anyways, I modified the first tart recipe as follows:
Trial 2 – Winner!
- omit sugar since the instant black sesame powder already has sugar
- add cornstarch for a more delicate pastry
- use less flour to account for flour needed for dusting
- roll out the dough thinner (about an eighth of an inch thick)
I couldn’t be happier with this trial’s results! The pastry was delicate yet crisp, and the black sesame perfectly complemented the ube custard and brought out a “natural” ube flavor.
On another note, I’m so glad that the ube custard set after baking. It was one of my main concerns going into this project but it turned out alright the first time around so I focused on the tart shells instead.
Without further ado, here are the recipes for the ube custard and black sesame tarts:
Ube Custard
Ingredients
- roughly 1 and 1/2 Cups Steamed Ube, mashed
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 2 Tbsp condensed milk
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3 egg yolks
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients except the egg yolks in a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat and stir continuously until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Some small chunks of ube are ok. Turn off the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Transfer back to the saucepan.
- Beat the 3 egg yolks together in a small bowl. Add two tablespoons of the ube mixture to the eggs and mix to temper them. Add the tempered egg-ube mixture into the pot.
- Whisking continuously over medium-low heat, heat the custard becomes very thick (should be able to hold shape even when it’s hot). Turn off the heat.
- Pass the mixture through a sieve and let it cool. Cover the custard with plastic wrap directly touching the custard. Store in the fridge until needed.
Sesame Tart Dough
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 Large Egg White
- 2/3 Pack Sesame Powder Paste (Torto brand)*
- 3 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Flour
- 1 Tbsp Flour mixed with leftover sesame powder (for dusting)
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl until it becomes a cohesive ball. Roll out dough between two sheets of plastic wrap until it is around a quarter inch thick.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Meanwhile, cut out parchment paper rounds to line the bottoms of the cupcake molds.
- Sprinkle a work surface with a bit of flour and sesame powder and roll out the dough to an eight-inch thickness. Dust the top of the dough with flour/sesame as needed to prevent sticking.
- Use a 5″ cookie cutter to cut out 7 tarts. Place cutouts into the cupcake molds.
- Prick holes at the bottom and sides of the tarts with a fork. Place a small square of parchment paper on top of the the tarts and place pie weights on top. The parchment paper makes it easier to remove pie weights onced baked.
- Blind bake the tarts at 375°F for 7 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking to ensure even baking.
- Take tarts out of the oven and allow tarts to cool for at least 5 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper squares.
*If you use plain black sesame powder, try substituting with roughly 6 Tbsp black sesame powder and 1 Tbsp sugar.
Black Sesame Tarts with Ube Custard Filling
Ingredients
- Half of the Ube Custard
- 7 blind-baked Sesame Tarts
Directions
- Fill each tart shell with roughly a tablespoon and a half to 2 tablespoons of ube custard. Smooth out the tops of the custard.
- Bake tarts at 350°F for 20 minutes in the middle-rack of the oven or until the tops of the custard forms a skin. Turn off the oven but let the tarts rest inside for an additional 7-10 minutes or until tart crusts brown to your liking.
- Cool tarts at room temperature for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Creamy Tomato Soup – Medieval Times Copycat
Have you ever been to Medieval Times? If you haven’t or have never heard of it, it is a dinner theater with live jousting knights while you eat your “medieval” chicken dinner. My parents had taken the family to dine there once when I was a kid and while the knights and castle were cool, my fondest memory of that place was the tomato soup.
Admittedly, I didn’t have tomato soup very often growing up, but I always appreciated the homey aspect of it; as such, it is a soup that is close to my heart regardless. That said, the Medieval Times tomato soup was THE best tomato soup I had ever tasted and that fact holds true even to this day. So, it is no surprise that I had the urge to recreate it.
This particular tomato soup is thick and creamy with small bits of vegetables in it for texture. If I had known that there were onions in this soup as a kid, I probably would’ve refused to drink it, but since the food was served in the dark, I couldn’t tell. In fact, I had thought that the small chunks were ground meat or mushrooms.
The secret to this “meaty,” rich flavor is actually browning or caramelizing the vegetables before pouring in chicken stock.
Making this soup actually made me curious about medieval food- how accurate was Medieval Time’s depiction of the real medieval times? My curiosity led me to binge-watch a bunch of YouTube videos on medieval life. While I never found enough information to conclude whether this soup is true to the period, I did learn four medieval “fun” facts:
- Lunchtime was the “main” meal of the day and was the heaviest because the activities were limited by the hours of daylight. Dinner was usually something cold and light.
- Chicken was one of the most expensive proteins while salmon was one of the cheapest. Because a chicken lays eggs, killing it meant sacrificing a constant protein source. On the other hand, salmon was readily abundant in streams and could be caught freely. As such, a salmon meal was considered a “peasant’s lunch,” while the lords and ladies had fancy chicken.
- The browner the bread, the cheaper it was. Lords had white bread on their tables but often didn’t eat it in lieu of all their other foods. The unfinished bread would be given away.
- Spice in food was an indicator of class, so if a lord wanted to impress their guests, they would tell the chefs to not be shy with the seasoning. Peasants ate blander food and made do with home-grown herbs.
How to Store Extra Tomato Paste
For whatever reason, tomato paste comes in a large can even when the majority of recipes only ask for a couple tablespoons … or maybe only one. What do you do with the remaining paste? How should you store it so it’ll last longer? Fortunately, there is a way to store tomato paste so that…
Anywho, after browning the vegetables, flour and tomato paste are added. As it cooks, you’ll start to notice that brown stuff will stick to the bottom of the pan. My mother would freak out if she saw this, believing that it’ll cause cancer and would need to be painfully scrubbed away later. I’m no expert on cancer so I can’t say much about that, but as someone who watches a lot of cooking shows, I can say that this brown stuff is GOOD stuff at least to the palate. All the flavor is collected there.
When the broth is added, I scrape away the bottom bits and combine it into the soup so that it absorbs all the flavor. Scraping it also means that the pan won’t need to be scrubbed contrary to my mom’s expectations. You’ll also find that the bottom bits come off easily- no workout here.
After the soup had been boiled, simmered, and cooled to a reasonable temperature to be handled, I blend roughly half of the soup in my trusty blender, no more than 2 cups at a time. I don’t own an immersion blender, but if you do, lucky you- I’m sure this step would be much more efficient!
The original Medieval Times soup was creamy with some bits of vegetables in it which is why I only blend half the soup, but if you’d prefer to have an entirely creamy soup with zero chunks, blend the whole soup. Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of creamy soup, don’t put it through a blender at all. I’m sure both variations would still taste great because this is a great soup!
As for fellow vegetarians and vegans, feel free to swap butter and chicken stock with substitutes and let me know how it goes. I hope you all enjoy this soup as much as my family and I did ❤
Creamy Tomato Soup
🌱 Make this soup vegan by using vegan butter and vegetable stock.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Carrots, diced
- 1/2 Cup Celery, diced
- 1/2 Cup Onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 29 oz Chicken Broth (2, 14.5 oz cans)
- 14.5 oz can Diced Tomato
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions
- Saute diced vegetables with butter and oil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until vegetables start to brown (about 12-15 minutes). Turn the heat down to medium and add minced garlic.
- Add flour and stir to coat vegetables. Once coated, make a well in the center of the vegetables and add the tomato paste. Keep stirring the paste in the middle of the pan over medium heat until it begins to latch onto the vegetables. Combine all the vegetables with the paste and cook until the bottom of the pan develops a brownish crust.
- Add one can (14.5 oz) of chicken broth to the pan. Try to scrape off as much crust on the bottom as possible while combining the vegetables with the broth. Once most of the lumps have dissolved, add the rest of the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, put a lid on the pan and simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
- Let soup cool down to at least a warm temperature before blending. Use a blender or an immersion blender to puree half of the soup. If using a blender, be careful to not load more than half your blender capacity. Combine the puree with the rest of the soup.
- If serving immediately, heat soup back up and serve.
- The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt levels of the chicken broth you’re using. If you’re unsure of how much salt to use, try adding half a teaspoon at a time, taste-testing between each half.
- If you’d like a completely creamy soup with no chunks, feel free to puree the entire soup! Alternatively, you can choose not to puree the soup at all.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garlic bread or grilled cheese 😋
Kale and Potato Hash (Updated)
Do you ever just have leftover kale…maybe from making Kale and Butternut Squash Orecchiette?
Shameless plug aside, I’m honestly not the biggest fan of kale. I know that my previous statement is contradictory since I now have two published recipes with kale as a main ingredient- but, you have to admit that when kale is stir-fried with garlic and other veggies, it transforms into savory goodness. If you’ve yet to experience the formidable flavor pairing that is kale and garlic, I commend you to try out this recipe!
I think that the key to making kale appetizing is to de-stem it. I once bought bagged kale on accident and was appalled to find that kale from the bag came with their stems on. Some people do eat kale with the stems, but I can’t seem to bring myself to enjoy the stem part even after pan-frying it with heaps of garlic.
Since finding ways to make kale taste good, kale has become a staple in my fridge. I’m also glad that it’s a pretty cheap vegetable at 99￠a bunch during the spring and summer. Somehow, its presence in the fridge is also a reminder to feed my body healthier food.
Be sure to thoroughly wash and de-stem your kale leaves. You can either use a knife to cut around the stem, or slide the leafy part off like so:
I love this breakfast idea because it’s hearty and healthy. So, if I have time and leftover kale, chances are, I’ll be making this for brunch. Plus, it’s a breakfast idea that doesn’t have spinach for once. Nothing against spinach, but variety is very welcome in my kitchen. Then again, if you would like to substitute kale for spinach, go for it. Speaking of substitutions, sweet potato hash instead of potato would also be yummy too.
Whatever your choice of starch, be sure to rinse the chopped cubes in a bowl of water a couple times to remove the starch on the outside. Then, pat dry the cubes as much as possible. Removing the starch and drying them will help the cubes fry up faster and more evenly.
After cooking, I recommend serving it in a big bowl fit for a hearty meal. I love my breakfasts in bowls because it makes it easy to consume by the spoonful- real classy, I know- but such a simple thing makes me feel so free and happy. So, I’m going to recommend that you serve this in a bowl too. Thank me later.
Feeling something sweet instead? Try this:
Dairy-Free Berry Crepes
Oh, crepe! You mean I can make fancy flat pancakes in my own kitchen? In-crepe-able~
Kale and Potato Hash
Ingredients
- 3-4 Kale Leaves, de-stemmed and cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 large Russet Potato, cubed, rinsed, and dried
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 Cup Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large skillet, infuse the garlic in vegetable oil by heating together over medium-low heat until fragrant.
- Add the potatoes, and crank up the heat up to medium-high. Let the potatoes sit untouched until the bottom begins to crisp and brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the potatoes and allow the other sides to crisp and brown as well until all sides are nicely browned.
- Add kale, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and water. Put a lid over the pan and let everything cook for about 5 minutes or until kale is cooked.
- In a small frying pan, make sunny-side up eggs to top the hash with.
- After cooking the hash for 5 minutes, open the lid and continue to cook to evaporate any excess water.
- Serve hash in a bowl and top with a sunny-side up egg.
- Substitute kale with spinach and/or potato with sweet potato.
- Make scrambled eggs instead of a sunny-side up egg and mix it into the hash.
- When eating the hash with a sunny-side up egg, break the yolk and mix it with the hash for a creamy texture.
While I was writing this updated recipe and looking over the old version, I got a bit emotional at the note I had written at the bottom of the old recipe.
I initially published this recipe on March 17, 2019, almost a complete year ago. I had written that I was proud of how far I had come since the thought of making a cooking blog back in November 2017. Now, in February 2020, I’m in disbelief that blogging has been with me for this long, granted I wasn’t regularly updating until January 2019 when I moved the blog here on WordPress. Regardless, I am still proud of myself for sticking with this blogging thing.
In the old post, I also wrote about starting an Instagram account. Not to keep tooting my own horn, but yeah, I did that and I’m doing pretty good!
Once again, I am so thankful for my friends, family, and other online supporters that continue to motivate me to keep going!
As always, let me know if you’ve tried out this recipe! I’d love to know how it goes.
Colorful Vegetarian Kimbap
My parents hauled stacks of Korean seaweed home from their trip in Korea!
I have yet to try all three flavors yet, but they are certainly tasty! I would eat them by themselves or with plain rice, and yet, it still seemed like we had an endless supply of seaweed. I felt bad for the older seaweed in the pantry that would mostly likely continue to be neglected in favor of the newer products…so I decided to make kimbap with both the old and new seaweeds.
It’s not really right to call this a recipe since everything is so customizable, but I’ll try to give some pointers!
If you’re looking for a recipe, check out my other Korean-inspired recipe:
One Wok Japchae
A faster and healthier recipe for japchae!
Ingredients
Most kimbap includes meat and vegetables. The meat could be anywhere from expensive marinated beef or mystery spam. Vegetables could also be whatever is available, but almost every kimbap has danmuji, or pickled radish, within the mix. Ideally, kimbap is colorful, so the vegetable choices reflect that, but I wouldn’t say that you must make kimbap colorful if you don’t care or can’t afford to.
I’m not vegetarian, but I’m averse to cooking raw meat and am not fond of canned meat, so I opted for imitation crab and fried egg for my “meat” choices. Some other vegetarian options could also be marinated tofu or tempeh, or you can choose to opt out of “meat” entirely.
For my veggies, I chose to use: spinach, cucumber, carrot, and kimchi, and danmuji. I don’t think kimchi is common in kimbap, but I thought that I would add it in to complement the pickly-sour taste of the danmuji.
Again, you patrol what you put in your roll. So, stick to ingredients you’re comfortable with! That is the beauty of customizable kimbap!
I cooked about one cup of rice for about 3 rolls. After the rice was done, I mixed in some salt, sesame oil, and a little bit of rice vinegar for flavor. Then, I set it aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, I was chopping and slicing all the ingredients into strips.
I used a bamboo mat to shape my kimbap rolls. Using a bamboo mat helps make the wraps as tight as possible without squishing it too much, but it’s possible to make rolls without it using plastic or cling wrap. It might be slightly more difficult to control though.
Over a stovetop on medium-flame, I quickly swiped my plain seaweed sheets across a couple times to “roast” it. I left the seasoned seaweed as is.
Making Rolls
On the bamboo mat, I placed a sheet of plain, now roasted, seaweed flat, shiny side down. I covered the non-shiny side of the seaweed sparsely with rice. You really don’t need a lot of rice. There could be tiny gaps of rice, but I promise it’ll be fine! The hardest thing about kimbap or sushi is avoiding adding too much rice. I wet my fingertips with water before spreading the rice around. The water prevents the rice from sticking to your fingers.
Afterwards, I arrange the fillings horizontally, about 3 inches away from the edge facing you, in no particular order. Then, I lift the edge of the bamboo mat nearest me and try my best to cover all the ingredients. Squeeze everything together gently, and put the bamboo mat back down. The seaweed, rice, and kimbap fillings should stick together. Proceed to continue rolling the rest of the rice/seaweed flap. Then, use the bamboo mat to squeeze everything into a roll-shape again. Repeat with remaining rolls and ingredients.
I realize it’s difficult to explain “how to roll” without visuals (I couldn’t take pictures with dirty hands), so here’s a helpful video from my favorite Korean homecook that I’ve learned lot from:
This step is optional, but I like to brush some sesame oil on the outside rolls before cutting them up.
Seasoned or Unseasoned?
I do think that the kimbap using seasoned seaweed had that extra flavor punch that made it slightly better than plain seaweed, but I think as long as you season the fillings well, it should make up for the lack of flavor outside. I made the mistake of undersalting the rice and fried egg, so my kimbap was pretty plain, but still delicious!
HUNGRY CRAVING 
