Madeleines Recipe

Ever wondered why the shell-shaped cakes, madeleines, have been fascinating French people so badly, more than the palmiers (also known as elephant ears) like me? It could be the delicious taste or the hump of the sponge cakes, I guess. Eventually, I understand why the madeleine has gathered countless die-hard fans around the world until I made and tasted some fresh from oven the other day. To elevate and ensure the softest texture of the end products, I decided to use cake flour instead. The madeleines were extremely soft and fluffy inside and crispy around the edges, perfect for tea snacks. Best of all, you can make the batter in advance and entertain your family or guests within minutes. They will sure enjoy warm madeleines, fresh from oven.

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Hong Kong ‘Zha Jiang’ Noodles (炸醬麵)

The Hong Kong style Zha Jiang Noodles is very different from the Shanghai one. My first encounter with this version was introduced by a friend to an old fashioned noodle specialty shop in Hong Kong many years ago. Both Shanghai Zha Jiang noodle versions are totally different tastewise. The only one thing in common is that they are “lo mein”, meaning “stirred noodles” (“撈麵” in Chinese).

As for this Hong Kong version, the sweet and spicy sauce goes pretty well with the springy egg noodles. Every bite of the noodles stirred with the sauce will entertain your taste buds. Best still, you can whip up this noodle dish as a light meal on a hectic day. All you need is to find the good quality noodles. For making the sauce, I used a secret ingredient to make the traditional sauce more delicious. Wonder what’s the secret ingredient? Are you curious enough to give this dish a try?

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