Jaden Kitchen Cookbook Testing

A few months ago before I went off for my holiday, Jaden asked for some volunteers to test out recipes for her up and coming cookbook. I jumped on it straight away! An opportunity to try Jaden Hair's recipes is a privilege.

Obviously it will not be right for me to post the recipes here as it will be disrespectful towards Jaden. But here is a sneak peak of some recipes and my experiences:

Test 1

Walnut Lemon Butter Pound Cake

The baker in me could not resist trying out a baking recipe! This light and buttery pound cake resembles what you will find in a typical Chinese bakery. Hmm..I think this cake was more commonly found 10 years ago then now though. Still, the recipe yielded fluffy cakes. I think I undercooked it a little as it was still abit moist.

Test 2
Rice Paper Wrapped Fish Cakes with Thai Dipping Sauce

Great finger food! The crispiness from the Viet paper wrappers was a big hit. The sauce accompanied the fish very well.

Test 3
Crab and Fuji Apple Salad with Vietnamese Dressing

MY favorite so far! So summery and easy to assemble!!!! I brought it to a church picnic and they were a hit. Seriously good stuff. Who would have thought that crab and apple goes so well?

Test 4
Chicken Pad Thai

This was suppose to be shrimp pad thai but I substituted it with chicken. I did make it the 2nd time with shrimps. The first time I attempted this dish, I ran out of fish sauce! So the outcome was that the noodles were abit dry (as seen in the photo). But the 2nd time I tried it, the sauce was terrific! I might reduce the sugar amount the 3rd time round, however.
I do ike the tips given for this recipe. For instance, the preparation of the noodles and tamarind juice.

Notes:

It's good fun testing out these recipes and resisting the urge to alter recipes the way I would usually do. I do have a greater appreciation and awareness of how difficult it is to put together a cookbook-especially when it has to cater to the masses with different tastebuds/habits/ingredients around the world.