28 March 2011

how to know meat is cook


·  Know the meat you are cooking (poultry, beef, pork), the cut (brisket, ribs, breast, etc.), thickness, and size.
·  The temperature of your barbecue should be kept constant for the best results. Don’t open the lid just to look, open it when you have a reason, such as adding coals, checking temperature, rotating food.
·  When slow cooking your foods, a "smoke ring" will develop as your meat is being cooked. This smoke ring is commonly red in color and may be anywhere from 1/8 inch to perhaps ½ inch or more.
·  using instant read thermometers to tell when your food is cooked. You can position the probe in the food that is being cooked. Connect it to the digital thermometer unit (which sits outside the barbecue). Close the lid and monitor the internal temperature of the food without opening the lid. Remember to insert the probe of your thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, staying away from bone since bone gets hotter than the actual meat

Food Doneness Internal Temp. (Fahrenheit)
BBQ Beef Brisket

Done

210

Beef Steaks RareMedium-Rare

120-130
Medium
135
Medium-well
150
Beef Roasts
Rare Medium-Rare
115-125
Medium
130
Medium well
140
Kin phng 


After reading the previous post typed out by Geraldine, I browsed through different websites which provides information regarding on the different type of cooking methods for ba kwa. To my surprise, I happened to get to a website which show us how to make organic chicken ba kwa!

Ingredients:
  • 1/3 lb (150gm) organic ground chicken
  • 1tbsp light soy sauce
  • 3 tsp brown sugar
  • few squirts of honey
  • 1/2tbsp cooking wine
  • 1-2tsp canola oil 
Directions:
  • Mix all the seasonings in a bowl. 
  • Add 3/4 of seasonings (keep remaining in a bowl) into ground chicken
  • Add in cooking wine, canola oil. Mix and combine well in a separate bowl, marinating the ground chicken, set aside for about 15-20mins. 
  • Preheat oven 350 degrees F. 
  • Lay the marinated chicken onto parchment paper lining a flat baking tray. Use another parchment paper* as the "tool" (or acting like a "glove") to press down the chicken, flat and thin.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-20mins (Note: Do not cover the ground chicken with *parchment paper when baking). 
  • At the halfway mark, remove tray from oven, brush the chicken with remaining seasoning + more squirts of honey; turn chicken jerky over on the parchment paper, then brush with more seasonings + more squirts of honey - this ensures more caramelization at the surface due to the honey and sugar.
  • Send it back to oven with other side up and continue baking for the rest of 20 mins.
Instead of using barbecuing method,  oven can also be used to bake ba kwa. Using organic chicken not only allow us to consume healthier ba kwa, people like Norlina can also get to enjoy ba kwa too! How cool is that?

Vincent

what make mad cow disease dangerous

Mad Cow disease affects the brain and spinal cord of the cattle. the disease is cause by prions which are abnormally folded proteins. prions will cause a domino effect, which means one prion will cause the proteins nearby to also fold in a similar shape. this will affect the nervous system of the host. After a peroid of time, it causes the brain of a cow or a human being to turn into a large mass of folded proteins, which is sometimes called Mad Cow mush.
The strange thing about prions are that they are contagious, which means that when a human consumes infected brain or spinal cord tissues, the human will get infected too. The problem is cooking or processing will not destroy the prions as they are not living microorganisms or viruses. they are just folded proteins. The only way is to not use the brain or the spinal cord of the cattle in food

kin phng

Nutrient Content of Bak Kwa

HI EVERYBODY! :)

this is an extract from http://www.todayonline.com/Health/EDC110125-0000148/Love-bak-kwa

"A little won't hurt, will it?

Even small doses of Chinese New Year goodies, most of which are high in fat and sugar, can pack a hefty amount of calories (see box).

According to Ms Lydia Tan, a dietician at Health Promotion Board, a kilo of body fat contains 7,700 calories worth of stored energy. If you consume an excess of 1,100 calories every day, you would be on your way to gaining an extra kilo by the end of a week.

And it doesn't take much to consume an extra 1,100 calories, especially if you're snacking from house to house.

"For example, if you eat six pieces of pineapple tarts, six pieces of cashew nut cookies and drink two cans of carbonated drinks, you would have already consumed 1,100 calories," said Ms Tan.

According to HPB, the estimated daily calorie requirement of an average sedentary adult in Singapore, consuming normal-portion meals, ranges from 1800 to 2000 calories.



Count your calories

A savvy snacker budgets his calories and focuses on quality rather than quantity. Here's a list of Chinese New Year goodies and their calorie content.


- 1 whole mandarin orange (60g) 28 calories

- 2 pieces of kueh bangkit (10g) 38 calories

- 1 piece of nian gao (20g) 46 calories

- 2 pieces of love letters (26g) 112 calories

- 1 handful of peanuts (20g) 113 calories

- 1 handful of cashew nuts (20g) 116 calories

- 2 pieces of cashew nut cookies (24g) 124 calories

- 2 pieces of pineapple tarts (50g) 164 calories

- I handful of prawn rolls (45g) 228 calories

- 1 slice of pork bak kwa (57g) 229 calories
- 1 handful of melon seeds (45g) 251 calories


I didn't know delicious bak kwa has such a high calorie content, and it's like one of my favourite foods, especially the spicy ones. Om nom nom nom! :D
I shall have it in moderation next time! :)
AMANDA