Millionaire’s shortbread
If you don’t know, millionaire’s shortbread comprises layers of biscuit, caramel and chocolate and is one of the best things ever. This is a recipe of my dad’s which makes the same version that I always used to have when I was younger. Unlike most versions, it uses coconut in its base which adds some lightness and a really tasty coconutty flavour.
Makes about 20 squares
Base:
125g butter
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
90g desiccated coconut
110g caster sugar
Caramel:
100g butter
100g brown sugar
400ml tin condensed milk
2 heaped tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate:
150g good-quality dark chocolate
15g butter, extra
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease and line a 20 x 30cm baking tin with non-stick baking paper.
Melt 125g butter. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add coconut, caster sugar and melted butter and stir until well combined.
Press the mixture firmly into the base of the tin, place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until light golden.
Meanwhile, place 100g butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, golden syrup and vanilla extract in a medium size saucepan over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring to the boil then continue to cook, stirring over a low heat, for a further 5 minutes or until light golden. Remove from heat and pour evenly over the biscuit base.
Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Once the caramel is cool, place the chocolate and the extra butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted. You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave which is so much easier. Spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel and lightly scatter some salt flakes over the top if you’re feeling fancy (would 10/10 recommend to a friend).
Leave the chocolate to set, which can be done in or out of the fridge. I find the millionaire’s shortbread is better if kept out of the fridge as everything tastes fresher and feels a bit less solid but this method does take considerably longer.
When the chocolate has set, cut into evenly sized pieces.
Super versatile flatbreads
This recipe is for the most versatile flatbreads ever, in case you didn’t get that from the title. Serve them as chapatis with curry; use them as flour tortillas for tacos; eat them with fillings; the list goes on…
Makes 10 flatbreads of around 6 inch diameter, however you can make them larger or smaller according to their use.
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 tbsp wheat flour, for rolling and dusting
Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and add 3/4 cup of the water. Stir gently with a knife until the flour starts to gather. Add 1-2 tbsp more flour if the dough looks too sticky. Add more water if it looks too dry and firm.
Knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth and doesn't stick to your fingers. Kneading it with a small amount of oil will help to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest for at least 1 hour, at room temperature or in the fridge (if in the fridge, allow it to get to room temperature before using it).
Divide the dough into 10 equal-sized dough balls, or more or less depending on how large you want them to be.
Place a frying pan on the stove on medium-high heat. While it heats up, roll a dough ball in 2 tbsp of flour and flatten it a bit with your hands. Transfer the flattened ball to a clean flat surface and roll it with a rolling pin into a 6 inch disc. If the dough sticks to the surface, dust the surface with more flour.
Take the disc and place it in the frying pan. Leave it until small dark spots form on the surface, which usually takes around a minute. Meanwhile, roll out the next flatbread. When the first side of the flatbread in the pan is sufficiently coloured, flip it over with tongs and leave it for around 20-30 seconds or until dark spots form on the surface. Remove it from the pan and place it in a folded over tea towel, which should keep it warm.
Repeat step 5 for all the remaining dough balls, stacking the finished flatbreads on top of each other in the tea towel.
Vegetarian dan dan noodles (澹澹面）
These spicy noodles are simple yet super flavourful and make the perfect snack or meal (or midnight snack if that’s your thing - it certainly is for me). Here I’ve adapted the recipe to make it vegetarian. It’s just as delicious and satisfying without the usual minced pork or beef but you can easily substitute either of these in if you wish. Don’t be deterred by the number of steps - it really is worth it - though be prepared to start cooking a bit earlier than normal to avoid a 5pm lunch (to be honest I’m doing that anyway but thought I should give you a heads up).
Makes 2 meal servings / 4 snack servings
Noodles:
250g strong plain bread flour (can be substituted with plain white flour if you forgot to get it in the first shopping lot and can’t be bothered to go out again)
Roughly 120ml water
Pinch of salt
Topping:
1 tbsp groundnut oil
3 Sichuanese dried chillies, snipped in half, seeds discarded
½ tsp whole Sichuan pepper
25g Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetable
110g crumbled firm tofu
2 tsp light soy sauce
Sauce:
½ tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper
2 tbsp sesame paste
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp chilli oil with chilli sediment
Optional:
Pak choi or other Chinese leafy greens
Finely sliced spring onions
Sesame seems
Add the flour and a pinch of salt to a deep bowl and then pour in the water slowly while stirring the mixture with a butter knife. Stop pouring the water when there is no dry flour in the mixing bowl (you may need more or less than the recommended 120ml depending on the flour used).
Stop using the knife to stir the mixture and instead knead it with your hands until you have achieved a smooth dough. If your arms can take it, continue to knead for another 10 minutes.Cover the dough in the bowl with a damp cloth and leave it for roughly half an hour, before transferring it to a large floured surface.
Just before proceeding to the next step, place a large pot of water on the stove and leave it to boil.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is paper thin, only rolling out a fraction of it at once if necessary. This can either be rolled into a rectangle or circle.
Fold over 5cm of the dough, sprinkle some flour then fold this over again and again (sprinkling some more flour each time) until the sheet has become a 5cm wide strip of layered dough.
Start slicing the noodles from this. I would recommend cutting 3mm strips, though you can do whatever thickness you like.
Unfold the strips one by one to reveal your noodles and then shake off the excess flour. Set the noodles aside.
Heat the groundnut oil in a wok over a moderate flame. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly, ensuring that you do not burn them.
Add the ya cai or preserved vegetable and stir fry until it is hot and fragrant.
Throw in the crumbled tofu alongside the light soy sauce and cook until the tofu becomes slightly crisp, but not too dry.
Season the topping with salt and set aside.
Cook the noodles in the boiling water for around 4 minutes. Add around ¼ cup of cold water when the water in the pot first comes to boil after the noodles are added, and then repeat this the next time the water boils.
Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and then divide this among the serving bowls. Alternatively, you can divide the quantities by the number of servings and mix the sauce in each individual serving bowl.
Remove and drain the noodles and quickly throw a handful or two of pak choi into the boiling water.
Place these noodles into the serving bowls with sauce in them immediately and then add the topping.
If using pak choi, remove this from the boiling water and place on top.
Add the sliced spring onion and sesame seeds if using.
Before eating, give the noodles a good stir until the sauce and tofu are evenly distributed.
Chocolate sauce
This is so simple it’s probably not even considered a recipe but anyways… My sisters and I rediscovered chocolate sauce a few weeks ago and have since had a bit of an obsession with it on ice cream. Our obsession then extended to chocolate sauce with berries and eventually by itself, and we have since realised that any of the above concoctions are the perfect accompaniment to a family viewing of ‘Becoming’, online lessons and pretty much everything else we’ve been up to in quarantine. I’ve written the recipe out with very approximate quantities as it really doesn’t matter too much, so don’t be afraid to change it a bit to suit personal tastes.
2 bars dark chocolate (200g) - sometimes I add a bit more
1 container pouring cream (300ml)
Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to boil. Meanwhile break the chocolate into pieces.
Add the chocolate to the cream and stir until you have a smooth sauce. Be careful not to overheat.
Pour the sauce into a bowl and ideally leave it to cool for a couple of minutes before using to allow it to thicken.
Store leftover sauce in the fridge and then heat it up in a small saucepan over low heat (with a double boiler if you’re not going to be watching the sauce - this way it’s much less likely to burn or cease) or in the microwave (much easier if you have one).
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