Kombucha

batches ingredients ratio:

ml	scoby	kombucha	boiling water	sugar	tea bags	cold water
600	1 oz	1/2 cup	1/2 cup	1/4 - 1/2 cup	2	2 1/2 cups
1205	1.5 oz	3/4 cup	1/2 cup	3/8 - 3/4 cup	3	4 cups
1660	2 oz	1 cup	1 cup	1/2 - 1 cup	4	5 cups
2500	3 oz	1 1/2 cups	1 1/2 cups	3/4 - 1 1/2 cups	6	7 1/2 cups
3320	4 oz	2 cups	2 cups	1 -2 cups	8	10 cups

1. Clean the storage bottle with vinegar. Prepare scoby and kombucha in a clean bottle and set aside.

2. Boiling water, add sugar until dissolve.

3. Remove from the stove, add tea bags at the correct temperature and brew for the best steeping time. (See the brewing tea chart)

4. Remove the tea bags. Add the cold water.  Set aside until room temperature.

5.  Add to the sweet tea to scoby and kombucha bottle.  Cover with the bottler with breathable cloth.

6. Store it between 75-85F degree (24-29C), out of direct sunlight. Allow it to ferment for 3 to 7 days or longer.  It is ready to drink, or it can add flavors from now.

7. Remove everything and clean the kombucha bottle at least once of a year.

Brewing tea chart:
Black Teas:

tea type	Assam	Ceylon	Darjeeling	Golden Monkey
water degree	200F	212F	200F	200F
brewing time	4-6 mins	3-5 mins	3-5 mins	2-3 mins

tea type	Keemun	Yunnan	English Breakfast / Irish breakfast
water degree	195F	195F	212F
brewing time	3 mins	2 mins	4-5 minutes

Green Teas:

tea type	Bancha	Dragonwell	Gunpowder	Sencha
water degree	180F	185F	150-160F	170F
brewing time	2-3 mins	3-4 mins	2-4 mins	3-4 mins

White Teas:

tea type	Silver Needle	White Peony	Oolong	Pu-erh
water degree	180F	180F	190F	212F
brewing time	3-5 mins	4-6 mins	5-8 mins	4-6 mins

Teas, Tisanes, And Herbs for Blending:

tea type	Cinnamon	Earl Grey	Ginger / Hibiscus / Rooibos and Honeybush	Yerba  Mat
water degree	slow boil	200F	212F	170F
brewing time	15-20 mins	4-6 mins	4-6 mins	3-5 mins

Ref: The Big Book of kombucha

Honey Meyer lemons with gingers

Ingredients:

- 1 : 1; Meyer lemons : honey
-  ginger (optional) (I use 1 to 2 slices of ginger per lemon)

1. Clean the Meyer lemons with salt, soak them in baking soda water for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Slice the lemons into thin slices.

3. Add a layer of honey in sanitized bottle.

4.  Add lemons slices, ginger slices and honey by layers.

5.  Add the honey for the final layer.

6. Store the bottle in the refrigerator.  Service with sparkling water or water.

* Meyer lemons can be substitute by regular lemons or mandarins.  But regular honey lemon will carry bitter taste.
* Meyer lemon is seasonal critus.  Supermarket won’t carried it all the time.
* It’s good to service with warm water during the cold or flu period.

Homemade Dried Mandarin Peels ( 陳皮)

ingredients:

- mandarins
- salt (for cleaning)
- baking soda (for cleaning)

1. Soak the mandarins into salted water and use brush to clean the skin.

2. Rinse the mandarins, then soak in baking soda water for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Rinse the mandarins and pat dry.

4. Use a knife to run around from top almost to the bottom and then peel open.

5. Place the peels under the direct sun for about 3 days or more, until dried thoroughly, and become shatteringly crisp.

6. Turn to another side once in a while during the sun-drying process. If you’re living in an area without much direct sun, you can place the peels in a low oven to dehydrate them. 

7. Store them in an air-tight jar or container. Place in a cool place. 

8. After one or two years, the peel will turn dark. You can use it to make any dish you like. The longer the mandarin peel is kept, the more fragrant it will develop.

Ref: https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2013/10/homemade-dried-mandarin-peels.html

橘子蜜

ingredients:

- 1 : 1 : 1, mandarin juice : slices mandarin : honey
- sugar for top layer

1. Soak the mandarins into salted water and use brush to clean the skin.

2. Rinse the mandarins, then soak in baking soda water for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Rinse the mandarins.

4. Some make 1 part of juice.

5. Some slice 1 part of slices.

6. Put them in sanitized bottle, add 1 part of honey.

7. Add a thin layer of sugar on the top.  Close the lid, and store in a dark and cool place.

* also can use orange, lemon, lime, etc critus fruit.

Ref: Korean show - Coffee Friends, Ep2

Brown sugar pearls and brown sugar milk tea

Brown sugar pearls:

ingredients:

- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 cup tapioca flour

1. Ready the tapioca flour in a big bowl on aside.

2. Boil the water until boiling.

3. Add the sugar, until the sugar water boiling again, continue to boil for 1 minutes.

4. Pour the boiling sugar water to the tapioca flour and mix it.  Until it like a dough.

5. Shape it in small pearls quickly.

6. Save the leftover in a zippier and store in freezer.

7. Boil at least half pot of water in a big pot.

8. When the water boiling, add the pearls and make sure they’re not stick together.

9. Cook for 20 minutes with the lid on.

10. Turn off the stove, and leave the lid on and rest for 30 minutes.

11. And ready to eat.

Brown sugar milk tea:

ingredients (for 4 cups):

- Pearls cook for 20 minutes and use cold water to drain, set aside
- 100g brown sugar (黑糖)
- 200ml water

1. Boil the water and sugar together, until it reach 230F.

2. Add pearls and cook until it reach 234F.

3. Divide the pearls and syrup into 4 cups.

4.  Add milk, ready to drink. 

japanese rice cake - soy sauce flavor

ingredients:
- Japanese rice cake (kohaku maru mochi)
- seaweed

Soy sauce flavorr:
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cold water

1. Heat up soy sauce, sugar and sake together until it starts to bubble.

2. Mix cornstarch in the cold water first, then stir in the soy sauce, cook until thick.

3. Remove from the heat and ready to use.

4. Preheat the oven to broil/grill.

5. Grill the rice cake on parchment paper 2 mins each side.

6. Take it out and add the sauce on the both sides of the rice cake.

7. Wrap it up with seaweed.  Enjoy!

Tips:
1. Mochi can heat up by microwave, too.  Medium low by 30 sec, then 20 sec on the other side.
2. When mochi is soft, it can wrap chocolate inside to serve, too.

homemade wine from juice

ingredients:
- 3 litres juice (grape, raspberry, blueberry, apple, etc)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 pack of wine yeast
- 1 airlock

1. Clean the bottle, which can contain more than 3 litres, and sterilize it.

2. Shake the sugar and juice until all dissolve.

3. Add the wine yeast and juice and shake until the yeast dissolve.

4. Close the bottle with an airlock.

5. Wait for 4 to 6 months and ready to drink.

japanese cheesecake

ingredients:
- 5 large eggs
- 250g cream cheese
-50g unsalted butter
- 165ml heavy whipping cream
- 50g sugar
- 65g cake flour
- 85g sugar for egg white
- 5 tsp lemon juice

1. Preaheat the oven to 320F.  Set a pan with 1 inch water for baking bath later. Lined parchment paper in the pan(s).

2. Double boil butter and cream cheese until very smooth.

3.  Add sugar and use silcone spatula to mix well.

4. Add 1/3 of whipping cream each time. And mix well.

5. Remove the cream cheese from th heat.  Add egg yolk one at a time.

6. Add sifted cake flour and use whisk to mix well.

7. Add lemon juice to the batter.

8.  Whisk egg white on medium speed (speed 4) until the egg white become opaque, foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Then slowly add 85 g granulated sugar, 1/3 portion at a time while the mixer runs.

9. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to high (speed 8-9) and beat the egg whites until “soft” to “medium” peaks. When lift the whisk, the egg whites shouldn’t fold ribbons (drizzle) anymore. When you turn your whisk upside down, the egg whites should cling to the whisk and hold their shape for a few second, but then start to flop over.

10. Using a whisk, mix in 1/3 of egg whites into the cream cheese mixture until incorporated. Then gently fold in another 1/3 into the mixture.

11. Lastly, pour the mixture back into the mixer bowl (with 1/3 of egg whites still in it) and fold in very gently.

12. Pour the mixture into the baking pan in all at once, avoiding air pockets while pouring. Tap the cake pan a few times on the kitchen counter to release any air pockets in the batter.

13. Bake for 70-75 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F  and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and skewer inserted comes out clean.

14. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar for 15-20 minutes with the cake inside. If you take the cake out immediately, the sudden change of temperature could cause the cake to shrink or collapse. You want the cake to slowly shrink down to half the height, roughly 4 inch to 2 inch. Remove the pan from the oven. Gently pull out the cake using the 2 parchment paper straps (with another set of hand).

15.  Let cool to room temperature. Chill the cake for 1-2 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or 3-4 weeks in freezer.

R: https://www.justonecookbook.com/souffle-japanese-cheesecake/#wprm-recipe-container-56472