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Father’s Day : Durian 'Bread Bowl'
“I
created this recipe in honour of my 86-year-old
dad, who loves eating durians and coconuts
and grooming plants. However, he has been
advised to cut down on sugar, hence I have layered
this durian dessert with lean bread instead of the
usual cake. I know this dessert will bring a smile to
his face for sure!” says Chef Koh when asked about
the reason behind this creation.Durian Cream
Chef Koh heats coconut cream, milk, trehalose and
half of the sugar in a cooking pot to a boil. She then
whisks sugar, cornflour, egg yolks and trehalose
in a mixing bowl. “Remember what I said before?
Never leave a mixture of sugar and egg yolks for
too long without stirring, or else it will ‘burn’. The
French call it "burning" because the sugar will dry
out the egg yolks.” As such, Ho whisks the mixture
constantly till sugar has dissolved. Immediately,
Chef Koh pours one-third of the boiling coconut
milk mixture into the whisked egg yolk and sugar
mixture and whisks.“We’ll be making a liaison here. Make sure to use
a heat-proof spatula or you’ll end up with plastic
in your mixture. That would definitely add to the
gooey texture though,” Chef Koh jokes. Ho pours
the mixture back into the cooking pot and heats it
to a boil. Prasad takes over the whisking as Chef
Koh stresses that, “We have to be careful with this
recipe as the mixture will thicken quickly because
I’ve replaced a part of the liquid with more durian
pulp.” Once the temperature has reached at 75°C
and coats the back of a spoon, Prasad adds in the
durian pulp. She continues to whisk until the aroma
of durian fills the room. Prasad turns off the heat
and sets aside the durian cream to cool slightly
before scrapping the mixture into a piping bag
with a nozzle attached. Chef Koh pipes the cooled
durian cream into chocolate shells.Dad, you have been the pillar of strength
for the whole family and taught us
invaluable lessons on honesty and caring
for others. You will always be in
my heart and memories.
Beena PrasadMy dad instilled in me the appreciation for
art, food and hard work. He planted the
seed of interest of being a chef in me.
Judy Koh爱
心
烘
焙
The durian 'bread bowl'
goes well with a light amber cup of Newby's
Darjeeling tea. The floral and muscatel
notes are the perfect complement to the
richness of the durian.'Bread Bowl’
Chef Koh places flour, sugar, salt, butter and yeast
into an electric mixer bowl fitted with a paddle
attachment. She adds in water and egg whites and
beat the mixture on a high speed, until a dough
comes together – for about ten minutes. Chef Koh
takes out the dough and starts kneading. “Kneading
the dough by hand strengthens the gluten strands
that gives bread structure. As this is a very lean
dough with only ten grammes of butter, you must
knead it until a ‘gluten window’ is achieved. The
yeast gets activated once it comes into contact with
water, and the conversion of the sugar in the dough
will produce carbon dioxide. So, if you don’t reach
the ‘gluten window’, and shape it for proofing, it
won’t reach the volume it’s supposed to reach,” she
educates Prasad, Ho and Seow. She takes a piece
of dough and stretches it thinly to demonstrate a
‘gluten window’. Chef Koh divides the dough into
three portions, shapes them into balls and proofs
for about an hour. The proofed dough balls are
baked in a pre-heated combi oven at 220°C with
some humidity for about 30 minutes till a golden
crust is formed.