Bingka Beras Improved

This kuih has been one of my favorites and i have to tweak for an improvement to the previous recipe Kuih Bengka Beras.  The tinge of fragrance from the pandan leaves obtained by squishing and crushing the pandan leaves with your fingers into the flour mixture is great, learned by watching how the Thai Chefs do their magic.  Do not reduce the sugar as all nyonya kuih has to be sweet enough.  I would prefer to enjoy a single piece of goodness than a whole tray of tasteless kuih.  The coconut milk played a very important part to this kuih, that is why a can of coconut milk with the highest saturated fat is recommended.

Polo Bun Revisited

Baked Nian Gao

I had the opportunity to eat this Baked Nian Gao when i was at a temple lunch and it was so delicious  but unfortunately the contributor could not be found and therefore no recipe.  I am sure there must be a recipe somewhere in the net, so googled and found an image of the cake which looked very similar to the one i ate.  It is HERE and i decided to try it and scaling down the recipe to a third.  The result is very acceptable and i think i should share with all my readers as it is a very easy recipe and can be made in a jiffy.

Orange and Lemon Chiffon Cake

I am sharing this more diabetic friendly recipe as it calls for less flour and sugar.  Baking too is different as this recipe is steamed baked with a lower oven temperature too.  To obtain a very fine texture, this cake has to rise above the cake pan and then for the last 20 minutes, it will fall back to the height of the cake pan.  The cake will only start rising at about 15 to 20 minutes and continue to rise.  This recipe will enable you to hand press to dislodge the cake.

Kuih Talam Revisited

Although my previous recipe Kuih Talam is ok but my need to tweak more for a better texture has been on my mind for the longest ever.  I think i have found what i tweaked is to my satisfaction and i have to post it, not for my own reference but for everyone or anyone who will be interested to make a perfect kuih talam. Sweetness is just nice, just as what kuih should be, sweet enough to please the palate and the tinge of saltiness is there, complementing the sweetness.  Oh yes, the richness of the coconut milk is just right from the whole can of CHAOKOH coconut milk which has 50% of saturated fat.

Flaky Pastry Egg Tarts

 When my friend, Peng, linked me a video about a hong kong grandpa retiring and teaching his grand daughter to make his famous flaky pastry egg tart, i remembered that i have also made the flaky pastry this way but have not posted cos i have been neglecting my blog, but this recipe will be lost if not shared.  All flaky recipes have been following the western way of layering by wrapping the butter dough with the less butter dough(the chinese called this the water dough and the butter dough, oil dough), but for this egg tart, it is the other way round, the water dough is wrapped by the oil dough.  It is really flaky and easy to roll.  I have used the traditional ingredient - LARD but vegetable shortening can be used.  LARD  is available in 1 lb block in all our supermarkets and it is inexpensive.  Follow my instructions and you will have perfect flaky egg tarts.

Orange Chiffon Cake Revisited

I would like to share this new method of heating up the liquid and mixing it to the dry ingredients while it is hot.  Also the sugar is sieved with the flour, salt and baking powder. It does give a finer crumb and improved the texture.  i too find that there is no need to add the sugar slowly while whisking the egg whites.  It makes no difference, so just add egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar all at once and whisk at a constant slow speed.(speed 4 in kitchenaid mixer)

Kaya Rich Egg Custard Improved

Kaya is a food spread/curd  or custard made from coconut milk,eggs,and sugar. It is wildly popular in Malaysia and in the malay language the word kaya means rich, hence represents the texture. To acquire perfect texture, requires patience and slow cooking under low heat is the way to go.  Knowing me, the most impatient side of me, must find ways and means to achieve with the least amount of effort.  I have found that making this Kaya - Rich Egg Custard  is possible in the microwave and with an addition of one more ingredient, the custard now is no fail if you should follow the instruction of cooking it low and slow

I have added a little STARCH to the recipe and it helps to prevent the eggs from overcooking and gives more lead way to the success of the egg rich mixture.  The starch molecules slow protein coagulation, making the egg proteins more resistant to curdling..

Homemade Powdered Mushroom

I am always learning new things and if i discover an ingredient or technique which is inexpensive, i would try is out. If it is a good thing, i will certainly share it with all my readers. It has been a rage in the food world a while ago and still is, an important item in the pantry. It is mushroom powder which will add much-desired 'umami' to everything you cook. What is 'umami'? It is that ubiquitous flavor that no one can really pin down and that is best described as a 'meaty' flavor. Being asian, i love dried shitake mushrooms more than other dehydrated mushrooms and will always have stock of these shitake mushrooms anytime. Have you wondered what you should do with the stalks of these dehydrated mushrooms? I would usually reserve them for soups as they are too woody and fibrous to consume. But now i have discovered that i could turn them into 'mushroom powder' saving an arm or a leg as Magic Mushroom Powder selling online is costly. You could use the whole cap of the shitake instead of the stalks but i prefer to keep the caps for soups, stew and stir-fries for their wonderful texture and flavor. Now you will ask - how to use 'mushroom powder? you use it as an enhancer like MSG. Add this enhancer to your cooking for an extra 'wow' factor, it is a natural ingredient. Be sure to add this enhancer at the end of the cooking time like you would normally do with MSG and use it sparingly as a little goes a long way.

Homemade Pickled Mustard Greens aka Kiam Chye/Hum Choy

i have been pickling my own kiam chai/hum choy and it has been very satifying as the taste can be adjusted to your own liking.  I am sharing my experience and hope that all who are far away from home and good freshly pickled kiam chai/hum choy is not available.  Nothing is better than a bowl of hot kiam chai/hum choy soup in a cold winter's day.  This soup is also good for the hot summers as the chinese consider salt to 'har for' (cantonese) - in english to douse the fire in you, especially when a piece of tofu is also added to the soup.

Japanese Style Spinach

This Japanese specialty is know as O-hitashi and is a simple to prepare side dish for chicken or fish, such as salmon or tuna. What i made might not be called O-histashi as i have changed the dressing to my taste. Well, whatever, not only is this recipe simple to prepare, it only needed everyday ingredients, plus water and two very simple, quick cooking techniques - blanching and dry-toasting.  Some easy plating tricks, will at the end, result to something that is visually quite stunning, delicious and healthy too.  

Tofu Fah II/Douhua 豆花

If you are asian you should be familiar with soya bean products.  Products made from soya beans are a staple or a must have in any asian pantry.  Recipes using these products are limitless.  I don't think i need to introduce these products and i am sure all you readers already know what they are.   I am a soya bean fan and my brothers have mentioned that i will and can survive if i am to be put in tofu land.  Soybeans are considered to be a source of complete protein.  A complete protein is one that contains significant amounts of all the essential amino acids that must be provided to the human body because of the body's inability to synthesize them.  

I have tried  making tofu fah/douhua using the way of pouring the hot soya bean milk into a tall pot which has diluted gypsum powder mixed with water at the bottom(this is called 'chong kau' in cantonese) but, at that time i made a very very large batch of soya bean milk and it was scary for me, as it was a  huge large pot of hot boiling soya bean milk!!!!!  So, i tried another process by just stirring in the diluted gypsum into the hot boiling milk, the recipe is here HERE.  I went through the comments in this post and found so many unsuccessful attempts by my readers and would like to comment further as to what might have caused it.  Most of the time,  the result is like scrambled eggs.  First caution is - the boiling has to ceased and the heat from the stove turned off before adding in the diluted gypsum and when you are  stirring the hot soya bean milk, do it in a front and back motion and then bring the wooden spoon or wooden spatula to the middle of the pot and hold it there.  This will stop the motion of the soya bean milk , cos vigorously movement will break up the protein which the gysum has just coagulated it.  So, do not stir round and round when the gypsum solution is added, just move front and back and stop at the center of pot, hold the spatula/wooden spoon at this position until the movement stops.

What i am about to share is a recipe using less beans with the same amount of water and instead of using cornstarch/potato starch, i have used RICE FLOUR.  The method will the pouring method and this time is not so intimidating  as it is a smaller portion and can be managed in any home environment.

Love Fried Rice For Valentine's Day

According to Wiki,  Qixi Festival (Chinese: 七夕), also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: 乞巧節), is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology and this festival is the chinese Valentine's Day.  Although the chinese does not celebrate Valentine's Day like the West does by giving flowers and gifts, they demonstrate their love by cooking their favorite foods.  and since rice is a symbol of life itself, to the chinese, and we have all heard the line that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”  For sure, who doesn’t love a great meal, especially when someone cooks it for you?  You do not have to spend alot of time and money, just fry these simple fried rice following these recipes.  I have shared 2 ways and these ways are the simpliest ways to good fried rice.

Please give me a feedback if you should woo your love ones if you should cook this,

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

Cream Cheese Pineapple Tarts For The Chinese New Year

Is it coincidence or what?  When my daughter, Sharon asked me to have a look at the pineapple tarts she just made, i could not believe my eyes, the both of us used the same pineapple tart mold!!!!  We had a good laugh.

When i was asked what i am grateful for, i will not hesitate and mentioned that the internet is what i am most grateful for.  It has given me a chance to posts my tested recipes on this blog and share with friends and strangers(who will and have become friends) to try out these recipes.  I  do not have to carry hard copies of recipes whenever i wish to bake or cook - google is my best friend.  The next grateful aspect is skype, i am now able to teach or discuss on video chat with friends and family , especially with Sharon who is into baking and i am most proud of her.  Keep up the good work, dear Sharon.

  I have been baking pineapple tarts with all these 3 pastries that i have posted -
Pineapple Tarts , Pineapple "Open" Tarts and Pineapple Roll and it is about time to post another pineapple tart pastry for all of you to try.  This pastry is very light because i did not use any liquid.  I hope that sour cream is not hard to come by in Malaysia or other parts of the world, if so, Sour Cream substitute link is HERE

Pumpkin Tang Yuan/Tong Yuen With Dried Persimmon in Cinnamon and Ginger Sweet Soup

Winter may just be getting started, but those looking forward to a bit more daylight have not much longer to wait. This Saturday that is today is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and it will experience the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.  So to keep up with traditions, i have made Pumpkin Tang Yuan/Tong Yuen and served with a sweet soup that has Korean influence Cinnamon And Ginger With Persimmon (Soojunggwa).

With this recipe i would like to wish all family and friends HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE

Indonesian Mee Soto Ayam

 

When i was working with a Government Board in Malaysia, I have many friends who were of Javanese descent and they have introduced me to their favorite Mee Soto Ayam. Although they called it Mee, it was actually Chicken soup with glass noodles(suon) and i have been served the alternative to glass noodle(suon) which was with rice cake(nasi impit).

The soup is very fragrant from the spices used and tumeric is responsible for the beautiful yellow hue of the chicken soup. Besides remembering the fragrant chicken soup, the begedil served together was to die for, my friends will always repeat this like a broken record - no begedil, no mee soto ayam.

Square Pork Balls

If you are older or as old as i am, it is better not to make promises, either you forget to keep it or multi-tasking is harder and chores are taking too much time to complete.  Anyway, i did try posting it sometime back and somehow it was so frustrating as the whole post just vanished without a trace, all my effort for nothing but frustration.  This is not an excuse, a promise is a promise and it has to be kept however or whatever and here is how to make these Square Pork Balls.  I do not mean to confuse the name of this recipe, it is so strange, balls are always round or olive-shaped but these are square, so, since these are to eaten and not to play with, it is fine to be square, agreed?????

Chung/Rice Dumpling Special

This year the chung/rice dumpling festival falls on June 12th and this recipe has to be shared before it is too late.  I am noted to be late as the chinese saying goes 'Kor How Chui Peng'.  If this recipe is not shared now, we will be chasing the solders after the war(Rice Dumpling Festival).  So, as i promised to continue with the Square Ball Soup recipe  i guess i would have to put that on hold until the next posting.

This chung/rice dumpling is special as this is how my mother in law made them and we have not tasted this kind since she passed away in 1991.  This kind of filling is not available for sale and the family has been dying to taste it again.  Asking around the older relatives for recipe is no good, most of them are gone and those who are alive do not have a clue as to what i am looking for.  So, have to close my eyes and try to imagine how this filling tasted and when i opened my eyes, went into action and came up with this recipe.   My daughter, Sandra commented that it is not the Mccoy but she liked it and it tasted good.