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.

Pineapple and Cucumber Pickle/Jelatah Nenas Dan Timun 啊杂

Yes, this is a very easy recipe to prepare but I can assure you it packs a punch. It is sweet and and sour in taste but at the same time hot and spicy to the palate. Whenever I buy rice from a Malay stall, I will automatically look for this dish. This pineapple and cucumber pickle dish goes really well as a side to heavy and rich mains such as curry or nasi briyani. It complements these dishes and give it that perfect balance. Some also call this pineapple and cucumber pickle acar or pencuk. They are all the same.

Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart - Valentine Edition

Oh my, I have been so busy cooking for Chinese New Year I have no time to concentrate on this special day we call St. Valentine's Day. I have been scratching my head on what is an appropriate gift to celebrate this day on such a short notice. Fortunately, something just struck me (and it is not the cupid's arrow. I am too old for that). I have the perfect Valentine gift - a special edition Valentine's Day pineapple tart. I am packaging my pineapple tart into lovely heart shaped cookies to represent Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year. How's that for killing two birds with one stone?

There is really no secret recipe here. All you have to do is use the same recipe for the pineapple tart. It is the moulding and packaging that changed. This post will give you a step-by-step guide to making your very own heart shaped pineapple tart. Hope you enjoy the process. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart

Makes 42 pineapple tarts (depending on the size of the mould)

Ingredients

1 portion pastry (click here for recipe)
350 g pineapple jam (click here for recipe)
1 heart shaped mould
egg yolk for egg wash

Instruction

1. Get a reasonable sized heart-shaped mould that has a wall of about 1 cm. Fill the mould with dough. Weigh the dough to find out the quantity needed. Mine is about 20 grams, just the perfect size that I need. I allocated 9 grams of filling and 12 grams of pastry for each pineapple tart.

2. Roll the 12 grams of pastry into a ball. Flatten and put pineapple jam in the centre. Wrap dough around the pineapple jam. Make sure all the fillings are nicely wrapped up. Roll into a ball.

3. Gently fill the mould with dough. Press the dough a little to make sure all the sides are filled. Carefully remove the dough from mould.

4. Put moulded dough onto baking tray. Repeat until finish. Brush with eggwash.

5. Preheat oven at 170C. Bake for 20 mins turning the tray once or twice to get even browning.

6. Remove and cool completely before putting into boxes.

Note:
There are many ways you could decorate your heart-shaped pineapple tarts such as sparkles, imprints or even chocolate. I personally prefer my pineapple tarts original, hence, the plain eggwash.

Chinese New Year Cookies - Delicious Melt In Mouth Pineapple Tart 凤梨酥

What is Chinese New Year without pineapple tarts. It is a must have. Maybe it is because of the meaning behind these tarts. Pineapple in hokkien is "ong lai". The same slang also depicts wealth arriving. Yes, we Chinese are a funny lot. We like to use simple things or actions to signify prosperity. Another example would be "fatt gou" which basically means a leavened cake. At the same time, it also means high in prosperity or something of that sort. But please don't laugh. We Chinese take this seriously. It is a lucrative industry just by selling meaning.

Pineapple Jam/Pineapple Tart Filling 凤梨果酱

The day that has finally arrived for me to make pineapple tart. I have been making it for the past two years. Last year, I sold quite a number of jars. The orders kept coming in and I had to keep redoing my jam. I was truly spent. I vowed this year I am not making any. It was meant to be fun baking in the spirit of Chinese New Year.

I just broke my vow today. Somehow, Chinese New Year without pineapple tart is lacking something. It is like the numero uno thing to have during Chinese New Year. What is Chinese New Year without "ong lai"? Well, I know I asked for trouble but homemade ones are way better than those pineapple "flavoured" tarts outside. Homemade jam is flavourful and less sweet (I prefer less sugar) without the artificial pineapple flavouring that is evident in some jams. Your whole house would smell of the fragrance of pineapple when you are cooking the jam. Call it natural perfume. It just smells so good!