Steamed Hairy Gourd Cake -节瓜糕

The first time I saw this recipe I found it hard to accept - I mean we have always been using yam and pumpkin to make kueh. How would hairy gourd taste in this dish?! Isn’t that used to cook soup or to fry with meat, prawns? Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to experiment.

So it turned out that generally it tastes similar to normal kueh but however, it does not have the fragrance of yam nor pumpkin. Quite bland. That said, the hairy gourd does add some interesting addition to the traditional taste and texture. I personally still prefer using yam as yam tastes most fragrant and old-school, street side hawker feel to it.

Recipe: source from Steamed Cake &  Kuih Muih

Ingredients:
300g hairy gourd (peeled, shredded)
50g dried shrimps (chopped) -original recipe calls for 150 g
150g shao rou烧肉- roasted pork - shredded
1 tablespoon of shallots -diced

Batter:
300g rice flour
1 tbsp wheat starch 澄面粉
1 tbsp. corn flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp sugar
800ml water

Seasoning:
1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp chicken stock granule

Method:
1.  Combined  batter ingredients, keep aside.
2.  Heat up 2 tbsp oil, stir-fry diced shallots and dried shrimps until fragrant, add in roasted pork and  stir-fry for few minutes.
3.  Add in hairy gourd and seasoning, toss well.
4.  Pour in batter mixture, keep stirring until the batter becomes almost thicken. Transfer into a greased 9" round steaming tin/pan.
5. Steam over high heat for 30-40 minutes and until cooked.  Leave to cool and cut into desire shapes. Serve with garnishing (fried shallots, spring onions and sesame seeds).

Fried Yam Abacus -客家算盘子

Ingredients:
500g yam
150g -200g corn flour
1 small piece of bean curd , slice into flat small pieces
4-5 mushroom, diced
30g dried shrimps, soak and drain
100g  minced pork
15g cuttlefish strips
some black fungus, soak and  cut into strips

Seasoning:
1 tbsp cooking oil, salt, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, sugar.

Garnishing:
spring onion, chillies, fried shallots, and coriander leaves.

Methods:
1) Peel yam skin and cut into pieces, steam for 20 minutes till soft. Mash while hot.  Add in corn flour (see note 1 below), 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper,  knead till a pliable dough is formed.

2) Roll into small round balls and use index finger to press gently at the center  to make it looks like an abacus .

3)cook abacus in hot water until they  float on the surface, dish out and put under running water till cool, drain. toss them with some oil to prevent them from sticking together.

4) Heat up wok, add 1 tbsp oil to fry sliced bean curd till light golden brown, add in dried shrimps and cuttlefish strips and fry till fragrant. Add in minced pork, mushroom, fungus and continue to fry till minced  meat is just cooked.

5) Add in abacus , seasonings (to your liking) and stir-fry for few minutes till cooked. Garnish and serve.
(You may add some water if you want a wet version).

note 1 : use 150 g of corn flour to start with. if the dough is still too wet , add some more corn flour to firm up the dough.
.

Cheese Cake Bread

It is so awesome. The combination of fragrant cheesecake and soft bread is very unique. You will ask for more after each bite. It is really nice. Give it a go.

Ingredients: BREAD DOUGH
(A) 250 g bread flour
45 g caster sugar
2.5 g salt
2. 5 g instant yeast (about 1/2 teaspoon +1/8 teaspoon)
4 5g whole egg
50 g cream cheese ( room temperature)
90 g - 100 g water

(B) 20 g melted butter

CHEESECAKE Ingredients:
150 g cream cheese ( room temperature)
37 g castor sugar
23 g egg yolk
37.5 g melted butter
7 g corn flour

40g of jam for decoration

Method:
1) Beat cream cheese till soft add in sugar to beat till creamy and fluffy. Add in sifted corn flour and egg yolk, mix well. And lastly add in melted butter,  mix well till well blended.

2) Place ingredient A  in a big mixing  bowl, beat until a rough dough is formed (about 8 minutes). Add in butter and continue to beat until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

3) Cover with a piece of damp cloth and rest for 20-30 minutes.

4) Divide dough into 25 equal portions, shape into small balls. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

5) Roll the smalls balls once more. Arrange them in a 9"x9" greased baking pan. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

6) Pour cheesecake batter on top, use a rubber spatula to spread evenly, pipe fruit jam  to make some designs.

7) Bake in preheated oven  at 200 degree  C top heat, bottom  heat at 150 degree C for 15 minutes. Change top heat to 150 degree C and bottom heat 0 degree C for 15 minutes. Take out  from oven and remove from mould.