Banana Fritters Cecodok Pisang 炸香蕉丸

This is a typical Malaysian comfort food and the dish itself brings back many childhood memories. 

Although lacking in appearance, it more than made up for it with its taste. These humble banana fritters are crispy on outside and soft inside. I especially like it with lots of banana flavour, just perfect with a cup of of good-old teh tarik.

The Malay word for this dish is also jemput-jemput pisang. This is because the batter is pinched (jemput) into the oil with your fingers and thumb. I have to admit these banana fritters are sinfully oily. My only advice is to put on the highest heat when you are about to take it out from the oil and use lots of kitchen towels afterwards. 

Wat tan hor 滑蛋河 Cantonese Fried Kuey Teow

 

First and foremost, let me do a little introduction on the term Wat Tan Hor. Wat Tan basically means smooth egg and Hor basically means kuey teow or flat rice noodle. It is a well-known dish in Malaysia and its neighbouring country, Singapore. 

Easy Recipe - Minced Meat Tofu 肉酱豆腐

Hi, again!

Today I will be introducing a Chinese Style Minced Meat Tofu. There are many variations to Minced Meat Tofu, some like to fry the tofu, some like to cut the tofu into small pieces and some like to use sliced Japanese tofu. In line with my easy recipe theme, I am using steamed whole tofu. No cutting, no frying. It is also my personal preference as I like soft tofu.

Easy Recipe - Chinese Stir-fry Pumpkin 炒南瓜

In view of the extended Movement Restriction order, I believe most of you have ran out of ideas of what to cook for your family. Hence, I would take this opportunity to introduce a series of easy-to-cook recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. Hope these recipes would be able to give you an idea in this trying time.

Kuih Kaswi Pandan/ Kuih Kosui Pandan 香兰卡穗糕

I made this Kuih Kaswi Pandan talam style (in a tray) and then cut it into individual pieces. This is how it is supposed to be; cut and rolled in fresh shredded coconut. Some does it in mini cups that makes it similar to Kuih Lompang. Similar but not the same. The main difference besides its appearance is the flour used. Kuih Kaswi uses wheat flour whereas Kuih Lompang does not. Taste wise, there is not much of a difference. If you are curious about Kuih Lompang, I blogged about it here a couple of years ago.

Kuih Kaswi Pandan is a traditional Malaysian/Indonesian delicacy. Like most of our local desserts, it uses plenty of coconut and pandan leaves (screwpine leaves). There is another variation that uses gula melaka (palm sugar) that is equally as good. Kuih Kaswi Pandan has a dense and bouncy texture . It is sweet with a hint of saltiness from the salted shredded coconut. It is also spelled Kuih Kosui.

Pandan Huat Kuih 香兰发糕

Huat kuih gets its name from its explosive top. The word huat in this context means expand, and kuih basically means our local traditional cake. Traditionally huat kuih is used by the Chinese as a prayer offering to deities or god. The more explosive it looks signifies the more prosperous and good fortune for the family.

Beef sinew and daikon soup (presure cooker method) 清湯牛筋肉白萝

A brisket or tendon is normally paired with daikon instead of sinew. The sinew is actually a tough tissue in between the muscles. It is often sliced off and discarded when we cook the beef to prevent any chewiness. It is tough and chewy. However, with the right cooking method, it will turn springy and soft, with just the right resistance for a good chew, jut like a tendon would. I prefer to use sinew as it is often the cheapest as it is considered discards. This is just a way you can turn unused parts into something yummy.

Dorayaki 铜锣烧

Ah, Doraemon's favourite food, what not to love about this? Dorayaki originates from Japan. It consists of two round pancake-like patties with a filling in between, traditionally red beans. Nowadays, you can put almost anything that you could imagine from the more commonly used matcha green tea to black sesame seed paste.

Three Cup Chicken 三杯鸡

Today I tried the famous Taiwanese San Bei Ji which directly translates to Three Cup Chicken. What prompted me to try this Three Cup Chicken is the simplicity of the recipe. It was originally designed to use only three cups of ingredients comprising soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine. However, what the recipe doesn't tell you is that even in the three ingredients itself it has vast difference. For example, some soy sauce are darker and thicker whereas some are more salty. I would advise you to be careful with the soy sauce as we do not want the dish to be overly salty.

Lapis Legit / Spek koek 印尼千层蛋糕 (less rich version)

This is one of my favourite cakes but I have been putting off making this cake for the longest time. It is not a cake for the faint-hearted, literally saying. An original lapis legit uses about 30 egg yolks to make, not to mention about half pounds of butter. If the richness of the cake doesn't give you a heart attack, the process of making it will. Also known as a thousand layer cake (of course there is no thousand layer), it is very much a labour intensive endavour. You have to be at the oven most of the time watching the cake gets browned, levelling and then adding another thin layer. The process repeats itself at least 20 times to be considered a good bake. You need a lot of care and attention to produce even layers of straight-lined cake. After making this, I actually appreciate this cake more. It is a labour of love, a patience-endurance cake. This rookie here took 2 hours to finish my 20 layers. If you are making this for your loved ones, make sure you receive a well deserved recognition. Otherwise, just buy the lapis legit (better yet, at his/hers expense).

Lapis legit, also known as spek koek has its origins from the Nederlands whereby spek koek basically means bacon cake or cookie. Even the preferred butter is a Dutch butter called Wjisman. Having said that, the cake has evolved, since its colonial days, into what is uniquely Indonesian. If you haven't tasted this cake, it is rich and dense with a hint of spice to bring out the flavour of the cake. It can also be made into various variations, the popular one being added with prunes. The Chinese in Indonesia has adopted this cake as a celebration cake as well, a must-have luxury during Chinese New Year celebration.

Pineapple Prawn Curry (Udang Masak Lemak Nenas) 香辣黄梨虾

The Peranakans* have a rich culture in food and cooking. This dish is no stranger to the Peranakans. It has that distinct sweet-sourish spicy taste that is so synonymous with Peranakan dishes. I am not of a Peranakan descendant but I do appreciate their dishes well.

Chicken Korma/Ayam Kurma

Chicken Korma has its origins from India. It uses primarily yogurt and spices as base. In Malaysia, it is known as Ayam Kurma. The Malaysian version is paler in colour and uses mostly coconut milk and kurma powder (a premix of spices). It has a milder spiciness compared to its curry peers. It is rich in coconut milk taste with a slight tang from the tomatoes added in.

Simple Apple Salad with Crunchy Calamari Rings

This whole week has been really hectic for me with the preparation of an upcoming bazaar participation besides my usual work rush. I have been taking economy rice as lunch for most of this week. I have been wanting to eat something different, something healthy but I hardly have the time to cook. Then suddenly, I remembered I received a packet of Calamari Rings and some fish fillets (they have quite a few types) from PACIFIC WEST recently. Perfect! I then quickly chucked the calamari rings into my preheated oven. You can also have the option to deep-fry or air fry the Calamari Rings.

Easy Turmeric Rice/Nasi Kunyit 黃薑飯 (Rice Cooker Method)

My mother told me today that she would be cooking chicken curry. Immediately I thought of cooking a small portion of nasi kunyit or turmeric rice to go with it. But how?

The traditional nasi kunyit requires us to pre-soak the rice for hours in turmeric and then steam. It also requires us to add coconut milk in 2 to 3 intervals, mixing in every intervals. Frankly saying, the amount of work for such small amount of yellow rice is often a put off, what more when I am in a hurry to cook some? So I improvised. I used the rice cooker. Yes, it can be done.

Pumpkin Kaya Wholemeal Milk Bun 金瓜加椰全麦面包

Guess what I did to my yummy pumpkin kaya that I made yesterday? Yes, I paired it together with my Japanese milk bread recipe to make this Pumpkin Kaya Wholemeal Milk Bun. In line with the healthy nature of the pumpkin kaya, I braved myself to adapt my Japanese milk bread recipe to include wholemeal flour for a wholesome recipe. The experiment paid off handsomely. It was super delicious! A perfect combination. The bread remains soft and fluffy for two days because of the use of tangzhong method. Don't know about Day 3 though because we have already finished all the bread!

Braided Japanese Milk Bread 编织牛奶麵包

It has been a while since I last baked soft breads. Normally, the lazy me would just roll out the proofed dough and slather something in between before rolling it into a log and cut it into pieces. Today, I attempted something different. I have always been intrigued by the patterns on a Challah, a braided bread that the Jewish eat on Sabbath.

The Challah has many meanings related to the braids and shape of the bread. The strands that intertwine signifies love, whilst the round shape (which I am attempting today), signifies continuity. Instead of using an original Challah recipe, I am just using my prized Japanese milk bread recipe. I can't seem to divorce myself from this Japanese milk bread recipe ever since that faithful day I tasted it. Weird? Definitely! I use it on every recipe that requires soft bread. This recipe for Japanese milk bread yields some really soft fluffy bread. The tangzhong method used enables moisture to be retained, keeping the bread soft for days. You could read more about it from my older post here.

Yam Cake/Taro Cake 芋头糕

Taro cake or yam cake? Well, in this part of the world, it is called yam cake. Don't be deceived by the name. It is not a cake per se. This cake is savoury with lots of yam and other ingredients such as mushroom, dried shrimp and five-spice powder. I guess most of my Asian peers would have known that already. There is a slight difference between the Hong Kong version and our Southeast Asian version though. Ours is normally eaten steamed while the former is pan-fried after steaming. The Hong Kong version also have Chinese sausage and dried scallops added to the dish.

Salted Egg Yolk Cookie with Curry Leaves 咖喱叶蛋黄酥饼

Nope. You wouldn't find curry taste in your cookies. But this is one darn good recipe.

Salted Egg Yolk Cookie seems to be the craze now. I am intrigued to say the least. Curiosity prompted me to try this phenomenon of mixing savoury with sweet. Well, I wouldn't be surprised at all with the outcome since the liu sha bao (Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun) uses similar ingredients and has been a hit for the longest time.

There are many recipes for this salted egg yolk cookie available, each having their own uniqueness. I couldn't decide on which one to use. I did not want cookies that have too much milk powder taste. Neither do I want shortening, which is basically tasteless, in my cookies. In my opinion, salted egg yolk's perfect partner would be butter, just like in the liu sha bao. Therefore, I adapted from my own liu sha bao custard filling recipe. I saw from somewhere that adding curry leaves would add to the taste and I was all the more intrigued. So I divided my little batch of trial cookie and made one with curry leaves and the other without for comparison.

Braised Peanuts 卤花生

I have dinner gatherings in Chinese restaurants pretty often. Often, these restaurants would serve a meager plate of braised peanuts as a snack before dinner is served. And often, it gets polished off in no time. Maybe it is the hunger before dinner, maybe it is just plain delicious, but it seemed braised peanuts are one very well received snack.

Crispy Roasted Pork Belly (Siu Yuk) 脆皮烧肉

UPDATE 26/7/2018: 

This post was written in early 2016. Two years down the road, I think I have learned much. I am not going to be long winded, just adding a few tips on how to get that brittleness to make a perfect crispy yet tender roasted pork belly.

1. Keep the skin as dry as possible - the longer you keep it in the fridge, the easier to get that brittleness. I have tried 3 days.

2. Scrape the skin, apply some vinegar and continue - that would thin out the skin a little and ensure the lower layer is able to crisp up as well. This will leave no chewiness on the skin.

3. It is ok to have charring on the skin - don't get intimidated when you see burned skin. Scrape it off and continue.

4. Put it as near to the heating element as possible. Level the pork so that the roasting can be equal on all the skin. Shift the unroasted side of the skin direct to the heating element until all the skin are equally roasted.