Purple sweet potato ondeh-ondeh

This is a really long overdue post. I was just too busy to upload this post.. Today I finally forced myself to have it done before the end of 2016. Thanks to the school holidays, my daughter helped to take videos of some of the preparation process.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

(A)

250 g purple sweet potato, without skin (steamed and mashed)

150 g glutinous rice flour

(B)

1/2 white grated coconut (I bought S$1 from market and is more than enough for this recipe).

A pinch of salt

(C)

3/4 bowl about 250 g of chopped pure gula melaka or palm sugar 

Method:

1) Steam the white grated coconut with salt for 5 - 7 minutes (toss before you steam). I find that by steaming it together with pandan leaves, the coconut comes out more fragrant.

2) In a large mixing bowl, place glutinous rice flour and purple sweet potato. Knead well till it forms smooth pliable dough. (If the dough is too dry, add a little water; or if it is too wet, add a little flour).

3) Pinch a small amount of dough (about the size of a calamansi lime) and roll it in your palm to form a smooth ball.  Make a small well in the centre of the dough and fill it with chopped palm sugar. Pinch dough to seal, roll into ball again. I strongly suggest to make only 5 or 6 balls at a time and boil them (refer to step 4) as soon as possible because if  you leave the balls stand too long, the dough will crack and the gula melaka will start to leak.

4) In a pot of boiling water, drop the balls in and and when the balls float, remove them with a slotted spoon and allow the excess water to drip off.

5) Drop the balls onto the grated coconut and gently coat them evenly, then transfer to a plate . Serve along with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Enjoy.

Mexican Coffee Buns (Roti Boy/ Paparoti Bun)

The buns from Roti boy or Paparoti used to be my favourite. Does anyone remember when the chains in Singapore closed? Are there any outlets remaining? I do know that they are still available in Johore Bahru and other states in Malaysia.

I went to search for similar recipes on Google. I finally selected a recipe from Bake Cook and Create. I like that the bread texture is soft and fluffy and the topping is fragrant. However, I made very minor changes from the original recipe. My family gave the buns thumbs up.


Recipe:
makes 9 buns

Ingredients for the dough:
190 g bread flour
45 g fine sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 g instant dry yeast
12 g milk powder
1/2 teaspoon  bread improver (I did not use)
165 ml warm water ( do not pour all the water at a time it has to depend on the size of the egg)
35 g softened butter (room temperature)
1 small egg- lightly beaten

Ingredients for the topping:
100 g softened butter
90 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence ( i did not use)
2 small eggs
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder (I used Nescafe Gold Blend)
2 tablespoon warm water
100 g cake flour (I used plain flour)- sifted
(A little milk to adjust consistency if required)

Ingredients for the filling:
100 g good quality salted butter cut into 9 cube pieces
After cutting freeze the cubes

Method:

Dough making:
1) Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. With the dough hook attachment, whisk slowly to mix the ingredients together, add in egg and water (remember to reserve 30 ml), continue to mix and beat all the ingredients  to form a rough ball (at this stage if the dough is dry, add water to beat). Then add in softened butter, continue to beat dough till smooth and elastic. Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place at a warm place and let it rest till it doubles in size (about 50-60 minutes).

2)  When the dough has doubled in size, punch down dough to release gas. Divide dough into 10 equal portions. Roll them into balls, Take one of the dough divide into 9 even small balls. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 5 - 10 minutes.

3) Lightly flatten the small ball of dough and wrap the frozen cubed butter. Then flatten the big dough.  Place the wrapped butter on the main dough. Pleat and seal the edges and roll into balls. Cover  with plastic wrap and to rest in a warm place to proof to about 1,1/2 times in size (about 50-60 minutes.

4) Pipe topping on buns in spiral motion. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 15 minutes or till golden brown.

Method for the topping:
1) Dissolve instant coffee powder with 2 tbsp warm water.
2) Beat butter for a minute or so, add in sugar continue to beat till pale and creamy, then add in egg  one at a time. Pour in the coffee mixture, beat for a while.  Then add in the flour in 2 batches. Beat the mixture till smooth and lumps free.
3) Fill piping bag with topping and set in the fridge for later use.

Nonya Style Steamed Fish

This recipe has been with me since 2001. Only till today I have the chance to cook it. Quite similar in taste to Thai steamed fish in that it is spicy and sour, however the colours vary. The primary flavour of this dish comes from the distinctive fragrance of  wild ginger bud . Plus tangy lime juice and finely chopped chilli - soon you will find you'll need another bowl of rice.

Side tip - finding it tedious to finely chop chilli, garlic or ginger? Recently I found an excellent lifesaver. I bought this mini cutter for just $5.90 at Isetan. When I usually needed 5 mins or so to chop up all the ingredients with a knife, the mini cutter does the same job in 15 seconds. It's really useful and easy to take apart and wash under running water!

Recipe: adapted from "Home Dining " June  2001 with minor changes

Ingredients:
(A)
1 fish about 600 g or a fish head

Spring onions and coriander leaves for garnishing.

(B)
 Chopped finely
~ 1 stalk wild ginger bud (bunga kantan)
~ 2 stalks lemon grass
~ 10 chilli padi
~ 4 red chlli
~ 50 g ginger
~ 3 pips garlic

(C): Sauce:
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~  2 tablespoon fine sugar
~ 5 tablespoon fresh lime juice
~ 1 tablespoon ikan bilis powder
~  3 tablespoon assam juice  (about  1/2 tablespoon assam paste add water)
~ 2 tablespoon cooking oil
~ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
~ 2 tablespoon corn flour

Method:
1)  Combine ingredients (B) and (C) mix well. Place fish on a steaming plate, pour the mixture on top.
2)  Steam over high heat for about 15 minutes and till done. Sprinkle spring onions and coriander leaves on top. Serve.

TIPS:
This sauce is very versatile. It can be used to cook any other seafood or meat dishes.

Pumpkin Mee Hoon Kueh - 金瓜面粉粿

The photo above appears to be of wanton soup, but actually the yellow ingredients are not wanton skin! This dish is my own unique creation. Mee Hoon Kueh (面粉粿) has always been my family's favourite. Being of Cantonese descent, they love soup very much and always finish down to the last drop! The soup stock was my usual and today, I was feeling adventurous and added pumpkin puree into the dough for the kueh.

Recipe: serves 4 to 5

Ingredients:
(A) Dough:
500 g plain flour
100 g  pumpkin without skin (steamed and mashed)
1/2 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon corn flour
200 g tap water (if it is too dry add a little more water or if it is too wet add a little more of  flour).
1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil

Method:
Knead the above ingredient into a smooth and an  elastic dough. Divide them into a few small dough pieces. Put in a container or plastic bag and put them in the fridge for later use.

(B) Make the stock:
Vegetable (cai xin or mali vegetable)
50 g ikan bilis (lightly fried)
500 g pork ribs
2500 ml to 3000 ml water

(C) Prepare ingredients such as minced meat, fish ball, prawns, meat balls, fried ikan bilis, and others to your liking.

Method:
1) Boil the above stock ingredients for 1/2 hour or more. Add salt to taste.
2) Using your fingers, gently pull a corner of the dough into a thin, bite-sized piece. Peel off and place into the boiling stock.
3) Continue to peel and add pieces. Once in a while, lightly stir.
4) While the dough is 3/4 cooked, add in ingredients from (C).
5) Dish out when meat is cooked/soup has boiled.
6) Serve.  Garnish with fried shallots, fried ikan bilis etc

Blueberry Cheese Muffin

What do you like to snack on in the middle of the day? Almost definitely, you would make yourself coffee or tea. It is true for me too. I even made blueberry cheese muffin to go with my coffee today. I like plain muffin but it is usually too dry on its own. So, I added moist cheese and tangy blueberry today and it resulted in a more varied flavour and crumbly texture in every bite. Wash down with a cuppa hot coffee/tea, and the taste is even enhanced.

Bon appetit!

Recipe: adapted from here
Ingredients: makes approx. 6 muffins

Filling (cheese mixture): 115 g cream cheese (room temperature)
                                           1 tablespoon sugar

Method: Beat till fluffy, set aside.

Muffin:
135 g all purpose flour              )
1 teaspoon baking powder         ) sieve together ==> Flour mixture
1/3 teaspoon salt                        )
56 g unsalted butter, room temperature
105 g castor sugar
60 ml fresh milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

140 g fresh blueberry, reserve some to put on top of muffins (about 18 pieces 3 for each muffin)

Method:
1) Using a hand whisk or electric mixer, mix sugar and butter until you get an even mixture. Add in egg and vanilla essence into the sugar-butter mixture and mix well till well combined.
2)  Gradually add in the flour mixture, alternatively with milk in 3 batches (remember do not beat  just fold in).  Add blueberry into the mixture.
3)  Spoon some cake batter into a cupcake cup, followed by cheese mixture and top with cake mixture. Repeat for the remaining five cups.
4)  Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 30 minutes.

Salted Egg Yolk Fried Chicken Wings 炸咸蛋黄鸡中翅

Don’t worry my friends, I am still alive and kicking. I hope you guys have been doing ok!

Whatever free time I had playing Candy Crush and blogging last time are now used taking care of my first grandchild, who is 7 months. I take care of her daily needs and wants including feeding, bathing and pooping. Thanks to my hands on husband, I can still cope with preparing daily meals for my family. Haha. In fact, I am eager to share many photos and recipes of new dishes! Please allow me some time.

For today, I would like to share salted egg yolk fried chicken wings. 


I adapted the recipe from Table for 2.

Steamed Pork Belly With Yam 芋头扣肉

This dish is a MUST for my family during Chinese New Year, and I think the same for some families too. Mention 'Chinese New Year' and this is one of the first dishes my family will request for (along with braised duck and arrow head...). 

In Chinese, YU TUO 芋头 (yam) has the same pronunciation as 预头. It means good omen. Hehe, the secret why I hardly prepare this dish once a year is because the preparation for this dish is really tedious!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

600 g pork belly with skin

400 g yam

Seasoning:

2 cubes red fermented beancurds

2 tbsp soy bean paste

1 tbsp fresh ginger juice

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine)

1 tsp five spice powder

1 anise star

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

4 cloves garlic

4 shallots

1 tsp chicken granule

1/2 cup water

Method:

1)  Cook the pork belly in boiling for 30 minutes, remove and drain well. Use kitchen tissue paper to wipe and pat dry.

2)  Prick holes over the pork skin, then rub with 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce.  Deep-fry the pork (pork skin facing down) until golden brown.  Remove and soak into cool water for 30 minutes or more. Drain and slice into pieces of 2 cm thickness each.

3)  In the meantime, peel the yam and cut into slices, like the same for the pork in step 2.  Deep-fry  the yam until the external of the yam is just cooked. Dish up.

4) Heat up wok with enough of oil to saute the chopped garlic and shallots till fragrant, add in fermented red bean curd and soy bean paste and stir-fry for few minutes. Now, add in the remaining seasoning, bring to a boil. Turn off the fire, put pork belly and yam to toss evenly.

5) In a deep bowl, arrange one piece of pork belly (skin facing down) alternately with a piece of yam (i.e. belly-yam-belly-yam). Press lightly. Pour the remaining sauce over the dish.

6)  Steam over high heat for 1 hour or till the meat is tender.  Invert the steaming bowl onto a serving plate, garnish with coriander leaves, serve.

Ho jiak!

Thai Steamed Fish With Garlic And Lime Juice

"I feel like I'm in Thailand!" chirped my elder son, as he sipped another spoonful of the sauce.

He was referring to my new recipe - Thai style steamed fish. I have always steamed fish using
Chinese methods, e.g. Cantonese (soy sauce, tomatoes, ginger, preserved salted vegetable, mushrooms and others), or simply with bean paste.

Using kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, lime juice as the main ingredients, they add a tangy taste to the dish which immediately tantalizes your appetite.  For the more daring friends out there, add more sliced chilli padi to bring up the  flavour one notch.

The preparation is not tedious and ingredients are easy to get.  I must admit this is another one of my family's dinner favourite.


Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 whole fish  about 600 g to 700 g   (sea bass or red snapper or any fish you like)
1 stalk lemon grass, torn

Sauce:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 chilli padi (you can put more if you want more spicy)
4 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2.1/2 to 3 tablespoon fish sauce (adjust to your taste)
2 teaspoon fine sugar
4 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chicken stock

Method:
1) Clean the fish, score the fish with 3 to 4 diagonal incisions on each side of the fish.

2) Place the fish onto a deep dish and steam over rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes (or 80% cooked)

3) Make the sauce while the fish is seaming.:
      Boil chicken stock and sugar till just boil.  Remove away from heat. Add in the sauce ingredients except coriander leaves.

4) Open the lid pour the sauce over the fish and continue to steam for 5 to 8 minutes or the fish is fully cooked. Sprinkle coriander leaves and more chilli padi ,serve.    


ENJOY

蒜茸白肉 Poached Pork Belly With Garlic Sauce

Ate this dish at one of the famous restaurants in Singapore. The price is not cheap at all for 6 small pieces. Today  I had the desire to make it myself  so  I decided to  give it a try.  I am quite happy because it turned out  better than I expected.

Recipe:

500 g pork belly

1 to 2 cucumbers, cut into thin slices or shredded

Garlic Sauce ingredients:   Mixed together

2 tbsp garlic paste  (use a grater)

2 tbsp spring onions (diced)

2 to 3 tbsp soy sauce paste (if you can't get may replace with oyster sauce)

1/2 to 1 tsp sugar 

2  tbsp chilli oil

3 tbsp cooked cool water

1/3 tbsp vinegar

Method:

1)  Wash and clean the pork belly.  Place it into a pot with boiling water, cook till it cooks through.

When cool, cut  them into thin slices

2)  Place one piece of cucumber on a plate, lay one slice of pork belly over it, roll outwards to form Swiss roll shape.

3) Serve with the garlic sauce.

食谱：

材料：

A）500 克 三 层肉

B）1 至2条黄瓜，切成长薄片状或者丝条状

C）

2  汤匙蒜泥

2  汤匙葱花

3 汤匙酱油膏
1/2 茶匙白糖
2 汤匙辣椒油
3 汤匙凉开水
1/3 汤匙白醋

制法：

1）把肉洗干净，然后放进滚水煮熟。 提出肉待冷。切成薄片。

2） 把（C）料搅拌均匀。

3）把一片肉片放在黄瓜片上，然后向外卷起来就成。吃时沾上醮料。

Lamp Soup with Chinese Herbs - 药材羊肉汤

第一次做这道汤，味道很香也带一点甜。不妨一试。

This is the first time we made this soup. We felt that the soup was quite sweet.   This is worth a shot as it is very simple  and delicious too. You can  tweak the recipe depending on your preference.

Recipe: source from ONE DAY ONE DISH

Ingredients:

500 g lamb

20 g astragalus (bei qi 北芪）

20 g codonopsis (dang shen, 党参）

20 g Chinese angelica root (dang gui, 当归）

25 g Chinese wolfberry ( 枸杞）

25 g dried longan (龙眼干）

1 small piece of dried tangerine peel (陈皮）

Method：

1）Wash lamb, scald in boiling water for a few minutes, rinse under running water. Drain and cut into big pieces.  ( I used leg of lamb as the bone enhances the flavour)

2)  Rinse the ingredients  (Herbs) and drain.

3)  Bring  1 litre of water in a claypot to a boil. add in the lamb and the ingredients .

Cook over low heat for about 3 hours.  Add salt to taste before serving it.   Add pepper and chopped fresh coriander leaves if desired. 

     Note :  if you find the soup is too concentrated at the end of cooking,  add some hot water.

               you can use a slow cooker  instead of claypot