Homemade mixed berries jam

I love eating fruit jam on toast. But most jams from the store are way too sweet. You taste the sugar more than the real fruit. It is very hard to find a jam that is less sweet in supermarkets here.

So, I decided to make my own at home.

My Simple Ingredients

• 1 packet of frozen mixed berries

• A handful of fresh mulberries from my garden

• 1 Local gula nisan (palm sugar) for sweetness

• Chia seeds to make the jam thick without adding too much sugar.

• White wine (optional)

• Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Even though it was a bit sour, I was happy with the outcome.

Tips I found online.

If your homemade jam is too sour, here are a few simple ways to fix it without adding cups of white sugar:

1. Add a tiny pinch of salt: A little salt helps cut down the sour taste and brings out the natural sweet flavor of the fruit.

2. Try honey or maple syrup: Mixing a little honey with gula nisan can help soften the sharp sourness of berries.

3. Let the chia seeds rest: Chia seeds take 15 to 20 minutes to soak up the juices and thicken the jam properly. Let the jam sit off the heat before putting it in a jar.

*update: After 2 days in the fridge, the jam tasted so good, not too sour anymore.

Crispy Donuts with Glaze

Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside donuts.

Inspired by the crisp milk donuts in Ximending, Taiwan.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to 43°C
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant  dry yeast
• 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour (sieved), plus more as needed
• 1–2 tbs vegetable oil to coat the resting dough. And more for frying.

Donut Glaze

• 2 cups (240g) powdered/icing sugar, sifted/sieved
• 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon sugar together in a bowl. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top.
2. Add the remaining sugar, the eggs, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and 2 cups (about 250g) flour. Add remaining flour and beat/combine until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If needed, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the bowl, knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise.
4. Let Dough Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5–2 hours or until double in size.
5. Shape Doughnuts: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick and shape into donuts.
6. Loosely cover and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes as you heat the oil. They will rise a bit as they rest.  You can also shape the dough at night and ready for frying in the morning for breakfast.
7. Deep fry the donuts in hot oil, and serve with sifted sugar or glaze.

Make the glaze: Whisk all the glaze ingredients together. Dip each warm doughnut (don’t wait for them to cool!) into the glaze, making sure to coat both sides. Place back onto prepared rack, as excess glaze drips down. After about 20 minutes, the glaze will set.

For keep: Wrap the dough in a container and place it in a fridge (not freezer) for up to 3 days if you cannot finish it within the same day.

1st try: 30 Jan 2025
I am too lazy to make the glaze, so just icing sugar it is.

Crab Stick Snack

Ingredient:

• 1 packet crab stick 
• Curry leaves
• Flour
• Curry paste and salt to taste
• Oil

Method:

1. Wash the crab stick and let it dry.
2. Separate it into smaller stick (siat-siat).
3. Marinate it with flour curry paste, salt and curry leave.
4. Leave it in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Heat up the oil and deep fry (medium heat).
6. Make sure the color turns to golden brown to make it crispy.
7. Ready to serve or keep in air-tight container.