CAKES, COOKIES AND COOKING

Traditional Chinese Steamed Egg Cake

2011-09-19T21:33:00.021+08:00

I have wanted to make this traditional steamed cake for a long time, someone told me it was very easy, just 1 cup egg, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour and using a coil spring whisk, whisk till one joss stick finish burning and of course it was not successful. Not until this friend of mine from Sg. Pelek showed me how it was done and got to taste the final product too. By the way her mother demonstrated to me how she make the Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake "tei yar ker".

INGREDIENTS
450g Eggs nett weight without shells
350g Flour
400g Castor Sugar
1 Tbsp cooking oil

METHODS:
1. Line a rattan basket with baking paper and set aside
2. Sieve the flour and set aside
3. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl until thick for about 30mins
4. Transfer the egg mixture into a larger mixing bowl and gently fold in the flour.
5. Lastly add in the 1 tbsp of cooking oil and mix well.
6. Pour mixture into the prepared rattan basket and steam over rapid boiling water for 30mins

Have fun and be happy!♥

Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake "ti yar ker"

2011-08-26T21:47:00.021+08:00

This "ti yar ker" is a must for Hokkien during their festive season. When my Sg. Pelek 's friend heard that I am interested to learn this traditional steamed cake, she arranged his 80 years old mother to show us how she prepared them. No measuring needed cos she using estimation method to make all her kuih.

1500ml water
1 packet of rice flour (500g)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp "pang sar"
3/4 tbsp soda

METHOD
1. Mix the flour with 750ml water
2. Mix the salt, "pang sar" and soda in a small bowl
3. Bring to boil the balance of 750ml in another pot
4. Pour the batter into the boiling water and keep stirring till almost cook
5. Add in the soda mixture into the half cooked batter and turn off heat
6. Using a wooded ladle keep stirring the mixture till thicken and smooth

7. Greased a 9" round tray with some cooking oil and pour in the mixture
8. Steam on high heat for 1½ hours and remove cover and steam another 10 mins so the surface will turn dry.
9. Leave it to cool completely and it will be tougher and chewy
10. Best served with "lor bak", stewed pork

Cheese Tartlets

2011-04-22T00:53:00.016+08:00

This is my children favorite and each of them can easily consume 5 cheese tarts at one go. This recipe is for 42 to 47 pieces cheese tarts depending on the thickness of the pastry press onto the tart mould

Ingredients:

375g Red Rose Flour
100g Corn Flour
125g Icing Sugar
½ tsp salt
250g Butter
5 Egg Yolks
½ tsp Vanilla Essence

1. Sieve the red rose flour, corn flour and icing sugar onto the butter in a mixing bowl.
2. Using a pastry cutter to mix the dried ingredients with the butter by cutting them till you have created a uniform mixture that is crumbly and about the size of frozen peas.
3. Lastly add in the egg yolks and vanilla essence to make into pastry

4. Press the pastry onto the tart mould. Prick using fork on the pastry shell.
5. Chill for 10 - 15 mins and bake at 190°c for 15 mins or until light golden brown. Leave to cool.

FILLING
500g Cream Cheese
250g Home made yogurt
150g Castor sugar
40g Gelatine
115ml Hot water

1. Beat together the cream cheese, yogurt and castor sugar until soft and creamy
2. Mix the gelatine with hot water till totally dissolved
3. Gradually add the gelatine into the cream cheese mixture
4. Using an ice cream scooper to fill ready tart casing with the cream cheese mixture and chill them before serving

Have Fun and be happy! ♥

Agar-agar (Jelly)

2011-04-02T22:29:00.014+08:00

This recipe was given by Junaidah, our Shaklee member who always bring this refreshing agar-agar or jelly during Shaklee potluck.

Ingredients:-
2 packets Agar-agar strips
2400ml water
4 eggs
400g Gula Melaka (palm sugar)
1 cup of castor sugar
400ml coconut milk

METHOD
1. Cook the agar-agar strips with 2000ml of water till dissolve completely

2. Cook the 400g of gula Melaka and 1 cup of castor sugar with 400ml water and sieve them

3. Mix the 4 eggs with the coconut milk and sieve them and set aside.

4. Mix the sieved sugar syrup into the cooked agar-agar and off the flame and let cool for 5 mins

5. Pour the coconut and eggs mixture into the agar-agar mixture and stir constantly and bring to boil

6. Pour the mixture into 2 trays and set aside to cool then put in the fridge for 1hr or ovenight

7. Remove jelly from tray and using the "zig-zag" jelly knife to cut before serving

Red bean kuih

2010-12-22T00:35:00.010+08:00

This red bean paste kuih is very easy to prepare.

500g red bean paste
250g castor sugar
250g "Rabbit" tapioca flour

Mix all the ingredient in a mixing bowl and pour the batter into a lightly greased square tin. Steam over rapid boiling water for 20 minutes till cook.

Remove kuih from the steamer. Leave aside to cool completely in the tin. Turn out kuih and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

2010-12-22T00:35:00.001+08:00

Thai Salad

2010-11-16T17:13:00.004+08:00

We were treated to this dish at China Press Canteen. The cook told me how to prepare this simple salad to go with any fritter or fried rice.

Slice cucumber, mango and carrot. Cut onion into thin slices. Mix them with Thai chili sauce and lemon powder. Bravo..there you are the Thai salad to go with fried fish balls.

Cuttlefish Groundnuts Porridge "Yau Yee Fah Sang Chook"

2010-08-24T00:06:00.010+08:00

We volunteered to cook "Yau Yee Fah Sang Chook" (cuttlefish groundnuts porridge) for Nalanda Food Fair on 22 August 2010. The last food fair we cooked "Tong Sui" such as red bean, green pea with barley and the popular demand "bobo chacha". During the Bazaar Sale Fund Raising Campaign at "Ah Pak San" we cooked this porridge for fund raising for the Sze Chuan Earthquate (China) and Myanmar Cyclone Nargis . This portion is for 100 bowls and above.

■ 2 kg rice, washed and soaked overnight
■ 1½kg "tai tau choy" (preserved salted radish), wash and soaked for 10 minutes. Cut into thin
slices.
■ 200g "yau yee see" (cuttlefish slices), washed
■ 250g "mak yee" (squid), washed.
■ 2kg groundnuts, boiled groundnuts with just enough of water for 25 minutes over slow fire.
wash groundnuts thoroughly and drained. Cooked them in pressure cooker till soft.

Bring water to boil in a large pot, add in rice, "tai tau choy" and "mak yee" and cook over a gentle flame for 1½ hours until rice turn into congee. If congee is too thick, add in more water. Keep stirring the congee to prevent it from being burnt on the bottom of the pot. Lastly add in the cooked groundnuts, "yau yee see" and enough of salt to taste. Dash some pepper just before serving.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Chicken Salads

2010-07-17T22:42:00.005+08:00

Went to Cameron Highland to deliver Shaklee products to Soo Yin's cousin. We had breakfast at the Sg. Palas Boh Teh Plantation. We had scones, sandwiches, strawberry tarts, nasi lemak and the famous Cameronian Tea. The scones are really good especially taken in that enviroment overlooking the tea plantation. Mama J♥ shared with us this chicken salad recipe which can be made into sandwiches too.

2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
4-6 Tbsp Mayonnaise
Shredded Chicken meat
Mango slices
Mini Tomato (slice)
Lettuce (cut into pieces)

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice and mayonnaise in a salad bowl. Add in the shredded chicken meat, mango slice, mini tomato slices and the coral lettuce.

Breadsticks

2010-06-09T00:32:00.008+08:00

Our Gunung Benom trip have been postponed to 2nd week of July so do my Wholemeal English Muffins . On the 1st week of July we plan to go to Cemerong Waterfall again. (refer to trekking blog) During this trip I planned to bake some breadsticks for our lunch during trekking. Will coat the breadsticks with salt because we really need them. These breadsticks are light to carry.

200ml Water
350g Bread Flour
3 tbsp Olive oil
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp Yeast

poppy seeds/sesame for coating

Mix all the ingredients using a dough hook. Knead dough for 3-5 minutes till dough are elastic.

To shape breadstick, roll the dough to a rectangle (8"x9") about ½" thick. Cut into three 8" long strips. Cut each strip width ways into ten. Roll and stretch each piece to 12" length. Roll in poppy seed and leave them to prove for 10 minutes. Brush lightly with olive oil and bake them for 15-20 minutes at 200°C. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and store them in a airtight container.

By the way, need to break the breadstick into 2 for storing purposes!

Have fun and be happy!♥

Scone with Tea

2010-06-07T20:21:00.011+08:00

Last week we went to Cameron Highland with Soo Yin, BH Gan and Mama J♥. Soo Yin was once a local there since 16 years ago. On a previous trip a group of more than 30 of us went there to climb Gunung Irau (refer to blog trekking). We have been to Cameron Highland many times but have not eaten the famous scones. Our friend BH Gan had suggested to have scones this trip but unfortunately we did not make it due to time constrain. I told him I will make some scone and serve him when we are back in KL. Search on the net and found many recipe on scone. This is the simplest recipe and easy and fast to prepare.

230g Red Rose Flour
10g baking powder
40g Cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup milk

Combine both the dried ingredients and cut in the cubes butter using a pastry cutter until mixture look like coarse crumbs. Add the milk into the flour mixture. Knead it into smooth dough and shape into round shape and bite size. Preheat the oven 200°C and bake them for 20 minutes.

Best eaten while it it still warm and serve with lots of jam or butter. Having scones served with hot tea overlooking the tea valley in Cameron Highland definitely will taste better anytime.

Yummy! Yummy! Soo Yin always said that whenever she tasted delicious food. Yet to let BH Gan taste them!

Have fun and be happy!♥

Wholemeal English Muffins

2010-05-19T22:37:00.007+08:00

I have thought of making this wholemeal English Muffins for our coming trip to Gunung Benom in June. So have to test them out first!

Ingredients

350ml Milk
225g Bread Flour
225g Wholemeal Bread Flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1½tsp salt
15g butter
1½tsp Instant yeast
Rice Flour for dusting

1. Using a dough mixer, mix all the dry ingredients and add in the milk and lastly the butter.
Continue kneading the dough for 5 minutes.

2. Place the ready dough on a floured surface (Rice Flour) and knock it back gently. Roll out the dough until it is about 1cm thick. Using a floured 3 inch plain cutter, cut out 14 muffins. Cover the muffins and let it rise until double in size.

3. Heat a griddle over a medium heat. Cook the muffins slowly for about 5 minutes on each side. Serve warm. Cut it apart and spread thickly with butter.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Pancakes

2010-05-15T00:00:00.009+08:00

These thick, succulent pancakes are often served during American breakfast in the hotel. Served them with maple syrup and butter or your favorite jam.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
280ml milk
15g Butter (melted)
225g Bread Flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Instant yeast

1. Separate one egg and set the white aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the 1 whole egg plus the reminder egg yolk and milk. Mix in all the dry ingredients together, breaking up any lumps. Blend in the melted butter. Whisk the reserved egg white and fold into the batter.

3. Heat up the griddle and place over a medium heat. Using a ladle to pour the batter, letting it spread out to form a pancake about 8cm wide.

4. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges and lightly brown on the bottom, turn and brown the other side.

When your children are bored with the bread, try making these pancakes and you will know how easy it is. These pancakes are delicious when served warm. The butter will melt and maple syrup soaked into them, yummy! yummy! My youngest son can take 8 pcs at one time.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Honeydew Sago Desserts

2010-05-13T23:57:00.010+08:00

This sago dessert can be served either hot or cold. Both taste very good!

Ingredients:
200g Sago (washed and drained)
1500ml water
200g Creamer
200g Castor sugar
2 pcs Pandan Leaves
200g-300g Honeydew (cut into cubes)

Method:

1. Bring half pot of water to boiling, add in the sago and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom. Remove from heat, cover and allow to stand for another 10 minutes or until sago becomes translucent. Rinse sago in running cold water, drain and set aside.

2. Cook 1500ml water with pandan leaves till you get the aroma. Add in creamer, castor sugar, honeydew and lastly add in the cooked sago. Once it boil, remove from heat and discard pandan leaves.

This sago dessert can be eaten immediately or cool them and keep them chilled.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Chinese Steam Bun or PAU

2010-05-13T00:53:00.008+08:00

Got this vegetarian pau recipe from Mdm Foong from Broga Fruit Land. She sell this vegetarian pau for RM1 each. Simple to make and delicious too.

You can cook the vegetarian filling overnight and store them in the refrigerator. Cut turnip into thick slices and fry them in a wok with oil. Add in thick soya sauce, pepper and vegetarian stock. Add enough of water and simmer till soft. Set aside to cool.

Ingredients:

500g Pau Flour
6g Instant Yeast
100g Castor Sugar
50g Corn Oil
230g Water

1. Mix all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Using the electric dough mixer and knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

2. Scale the dough at 60g each, round it and leave it to rest for 10 minutes (15 pcs).

3. Flatten the dough and leave the center thick.

4. Place the filling and wrap by folding the edges of the dough.

5. Place each dough on a small piece of square grease proof paper. Allow the pau doughs to rest for approximately 35 minutes or double.

7. Place the dough with filling in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes over high heat.

Here are the home made pau for my children breakfast!

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Chelsea Buns

2010-05-11T00:53:00.005+08:00

For this Chelsea Buns I used the (click for more details) Sweet Buns dough method. Once the final dough is ready, cut out 1000g and the balance 800g I used for sausage buns.

FILLING

Melted butter
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 cups raisins

Glaze

1 tbsp apricot jam
1-2 tbsp water

Roll the dough into 18" x 10". Spread the melted butter on the flatten dough. Sprinkle mixed spice, cinnamon, brown sugar and lastly the raisins. Roll up the dough like swiss roll and cut into pieces and put them into square baking dish. Proof till double and bake for 10 minutes. Take out from oven and brush with the apricot jam mixture.

Hurray! Here is the freshly baked Chelsea Buns!

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Fruits Salad

2010-05-09T01:26:00.013+08:00

This lovely fruits salad recipe was given by Mama J♥. I have served them a couple of times during my children birthday party. This special fruits salad sauce can be prepared and refrigerated for later use. This fruit salad is a very elegant and lovely dessert to be served during party.

To prepare the sauce, squeeze 1 lemon juice and measure the content. In a sauce pan cook the 1 portion of lemon juice with one portion of water, 2 portion of brown sugar, 5 Star Anise pods and 5 Cadamon pods (seeds only). Cook over low heat for approximately 20 minutes or till you get the aroma. Sieve the sauce and set aside to cool.

With so many fruits to choose from, the possibilities really are endless when it comes to putting together a fruit salad. I uses Honey Melon, Mango, Kiwi, Grapes, Pear and Apple in this fruit salad recipe. Other than fruits, do not forget the mint leaves. Otherwise you will not get the minty and fruity taste.

Cut all the fruits into cubes and refrigerate them. Just before serving, combine all the fruits in a large mixing bowl. Lastly add in mint leaves and lemon cadamon sauce. Toss well and serve them in an ice cream cup.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Sweet Potato Kuih

2010-05-06T23:54:00.009+08:00

Sweet potatoes are commonly use for kuih in Malaysia. It can be boiled, steamed, fried or baked. During my camping trip I will just steamed the sweet potatoes and distribute it to our members to be eaten during our lunch stops.

This is a very simple and delicious dessert snack. Instead of sweet potato you can replace it with yam or pumpkin.

550g sweet potato
250g Tapioca Flour (Rabbit Brand)
250g Castor sugar
350ml coconut milk

1. Steamed sweet potatoes and blend them to get a smooth paste.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the coconut milk. If the sweet potatoes are sweet, just less 50g of sugar.
Mix tapioca flour into the coconut mixture. Add the mixture into the blended sweet potato paste and mix them using the blender.

3. Steam the mixture in a 9" square tray for 30 minutes till cook. Leave it to cool completely before cutting them into diamond shape for serving.

Have fun and be Happy! ♥

Steamed Tapioca Dessert With Grated Coconut

2010-05-04T23:02:00.011+08:00

The left over of the huge tapioca which Sau Lan gave me as promised, will post another tapioca recipe. Sau Lan said she will bring back more tapioca the next time she goes back to RAUB. She commented both the tapioca kuih are very nice!

1kg Tapioca (grated)
250 Castor sugar
800ml water
1 grated coconut (use white part only)
½ tsp salt
a few pieces of pandan leaves

1. Using multi-function Grinder/Juices grind the tapioca. Get a net weight of tapioca without juice.

2. Dissolve the 250g castor sugar with 800ml water and mix them with the grated tapioca in the tray. Lay the pandan leaves on top the mixture.

3. Steam for 40-45 minutes over medium heat. Remove the steamed kuih and set aside to cool completely.

4. Mix the grated coconut with salt and steam for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

5. Using two spoon to scoop the steamed tapioca kuih into bite-size pieces and toss them in the prepared coconut before serving.

Have fun and be happy!♥

Tapioca Dessert with Coconut Topping

2010-05-02T22:54:00.018+08:00

Sau Lan went back home town (RAUB) and brought back this big tapioca which weight more than 6kg. Her hometown is famous for durian where I got my supply of durian (D24 and IOI) to make durian soufflé. Her hometown is also the intake to Gunung Benom which we will be climbing in the month of June 2010.

This huge tapioca is more than enough for this recipe. Have a few more tapioca kuid recipe and will post them later.

Get all the following ingredients ready:

1 kg tapioca
100g castor sugar
½ tsp salt

Topping
(A)
150g Gula Melaka (chopped into pieces)
30g sugar
100ml water
3pcs pandan leaves

(B)
1 grated coconut
½ tsp salt
2 tsp corn flour

Method
1. Peel tapioca, wash and cut into chunk. Steam 45 minutes until very soft.

2. Remove and put into a big mixing bowl. Add the Castor sugar and salt and mash the tapioca while it is still hot. Mash the tapioca till fine and sugar dissolved.

3. Line a 22cm (9") square tin with banana leaves. Pour in tapioca mixture and press until very firm and level the top.

4. For topping: Put ingredients (A) into a saucepan, stir and cook until gula melaka dissolve and add in ingredient (B) , stir and cook till dry.

5. Pour the topping on top of the tapioca and press lightly to level the topping. Leave to cool.

6. Cut into bite-sized and serve as snack or desserts.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Tuna Sandwich Spread

2010-04-15T00:13:00.010+08:00

This tuna spread is easy to prepare especially when your children are bored with jam or "kaya" (coconut jam).

Ingredients:

1 can Tuna, Flaked and drained
5 - 6 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoon finely chopped red onion
Salt, pepper and black pepper for seasoning

In a medium bowl, toss tuna with red onion. Stir in mayonnaise until desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper and black pepper to taste. Served with Pullman Bread. Simple and delicious!

Have Fun and Be Happy! ♥

Rich Chocolate Moist Cake

2010-04-13T23:19:00.012+08:00

I baked rich chocolate moist cake for February(Jane) and March (Mavic) birthday party. As requested by my daughter because she said I have not been baking this cake for a long time. This was an opportunity to post them in my blog.

The below recipe make three pieces (7" round tins) cakes, the usual tins that is used for the traditional butter cake. As usual being business minded, I am prepare to take orders. One of my friends commented that it taste much better than those on the market. Well I learned when you received good compliments just accept them in good faith.

Prepare all the below ingredients:

250g Butter
300g Brown sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Essence
2 Tbsp Honey
1½ Tsp Chocolate emulco

4 AA Eggs
225ml Chocolate flavored UHT milk

350g Red Rose Flour
3½ Tsp Baking Powder
70g Cocoa Powder

Optional
100g Crushed Walnut

Line three 7" round tins with greaseproof paper. Preheat oven to 150°C

Sift the cocoa powder, plain flour and baking powder.

Beat butter, brown sugar and essence until light and fluffy. Add honey, chocolate emulco and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in sifted dry ingredients and chocolate milk alternately until mixture is smooth. Lastly add in the crushed walnuts.

Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 55 - 60 minutes or until cake is cooked through.

Have fun and be happy!

Caramel Custard

2009-05-27T23:00:00.012+08:00

During my recent trip to Ipoh to climb Bukit Keladang which is well known for the local for morning and evening trekking. (Refer to blog malaysiatrekking.blogspot) Our Ipoh friend took us to this coffee shop which is always crowded in the morning.

Most of the food served here are famous such as "kei si hor fan", "chee chong fan", pork satay and etc. Our Ipoh friend told us that the caramel custard is famous and many local order for their party at home. I tried them and it is good. Yoke Sim told me she make them at home and this prompted me to ask her for the recipe.

8 tbsp sugar
4 eggs 'A' slightly beaten
2 tbsp sugar
3 cups of milk

1. Heat 8tablespoon of sugar in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and golden brown. Divide sugar syrup among eight custard cups, tilt cup to coat bottom. Allow syrup to harden in cups.

2. Mix the lightly beaten eggs with 2 tablespoon of sugar. Gradually stir in milk. Strain the mixture and pour over syrup in cups and cover with aluminum foil.

3. Steam over low heat for 30 minutes or until knife inserted halfway and edge comes out clean. Remove cups from steamer and cool them. Refrigerate until serving.

4. To remove, carefully loosen side of custard with knife. Place dessert dish on top of cup. Holding tightly and turn dish and cup upside down. Shake cup gently to loosen custard.

Bravo! Here is the Ipoh famous caramel custard which are sold at Rm2 each. Thanks Y.S for this wonderful recipe.

Coconut Agar-Agar (Fresh Young Coconut)

2009-04-05T17:50:00.001+08:00

On my daughter's birthday I tried out this new agar-agar recipe given by Lilian from Sg. Pelek (refer to post). She is one of my Shaklee member since 2 years ago and with consistent persuasion she tried our GLA for her allergy problem, actually it is a hormonal problem. She is very sensitive to various types of food products. Since then she has not stop consuming GLA and other Shaklee products.

This agar-agar is easy to make but is costly. Young coconut normally cost RM2.50 - RM3 each. This coconut have to be freshly cut and sieved. Use a spoon to scrap out the flesh from the coconut.

25g AAA agar-agar powder.
2200g sieved fresh coconut water (approximately 10 coconuts)
200 - 250g sugar (depending of the sweetness of the coconut water)
Coconut flesh.

Bring the coconut water to boiling and add in the agar-agar powder and sugar till dissolved. Lastly add in the coconut flesh and bring it to boiling.

Pour the mixture into a square tray and cool them completely before putting them into the refrigerator. In Betung, Thailand this dessert is widely served.

Have Fun And Be Happy!

Butter Cake II (Victoria Sandwich)

2009-04-02T01:09:00.014+08:00

Ever since I got hold of the recipe on butter cake, I have tried baking them many many times using the margarine that my friend's wife mentioned in her recipe. Later I tried one brand which contain buttermilk and vegetable oil. This particular brand is more expensive because it contains buttermilk. Not until my Hainanese friend commented that "not bad but it is a stingy butter cake". He is the person who told us that he help his mum to bake this cake during his younger day. They used a certain brand of butter which is no longer available.

Knowing very well that margarine is not good for health. I have not use them in all my pastry and cakes. Not until this particular recipe, no wonder in the morning market this so called 'butter cake' can be sold at RM5.

I have make a search in the internet on margarine vs butter. Margarine is a product next to plastic. So with this understanding, my advice is never substitute butter with margarine.

In my last post, I mentioned that I have not tried this simple recipe that uses 1kg of butter, 1 kg of self raising flour, 1 kg sugar and 20 eggs. This recipe is actually known as Victoria sandwich by Good Housekeeping Institute.

"Stingy butter cake" comments prompted me to bake the cake again using only pure butter.

500g Butter (2 x 250g)
500g Castor sugar
500g Plain Flour with 1 tsp baking powder (sieved)
10 egg, separate egg yolk with egg whites

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add in the egg yolk and lastly add in the flour and set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg whites till stiff and fold them into the above mixture. Line four 7" baking tins and place the mixture into the prepared tins. Each weight about 520g. For marbled effect mix some cocoa powder with the plain mixture and lightly swirl the cocoa mixture with a knife.

Lightly smooth the surface in the tins with a palette knife to ensure an even surface when cooked. Bake them at 190 C for about 25 minutes until they are well risen, golden, firm to the touch and beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Turn out and leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack.

With this new recipe, I managed to sell 8 pieces of them at RM9 each.

Butter Cake (Malaysia Coffee Shop Favorite)

2009-03-27T11:10:00.011+08:00

This all time favorite butter cake is still very popular in many old coffee shops in small towns of Malaysia. It is displayed in glass cabinet and sold in slices. During Chinese New Year this butter cake is very popular as offering at the praying alters of Chinese home. It is best to be taken with hot beverages such as kopi 'O' (black coffee) or tea 'O' (tea without milk). Our Hainanese (Chinese Dialect Community) friend told us that during his younger days, he used to help his mother (coffee shop in Kajang) to make this cake during Chinese New Year when they received overwhelming orders (60) for this cake. They sell them in slices in their coffee shop during the day. 30 years ago it cost 10 cents per big slice but today is RM1 per small slice.

There are many ways of making this butter cakes. One kg (kilogram) of butter/margarine to one kg of flour and one kg of sugar and 20 eggs. I have not tried this method. During Chinese New Year Simon's wife gave this recipe to me and immediately I proceeded to bake them. I was told this recipe is from her friend in Kuantan. It was delicious and reminded us of the old time when we had this type of cakes in the Hainanese coffee shop. In olden days in Malaysia many coffee shops were operated by members of the Hainanese community.

9 AA size eggs (separate egg yolks and egg whites)
450g Butter/Margarine
400g Castor Sugar
425g Red Rose Flour + 1/2 tsp Baking Powder (sieved)
1tsp Vanilla Essence (optional)
1tbsp Condensed Milk

Cream butter and castor sugar until white and fluffy. Add in the egg yolks one at a time. Lastly add in the flour and vanilla essence and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till soft peak and fold into the above mixture. Add in the condensed milk. I used 4 pcs of 7" cake tins and lined them with parchment paper. Each weight about 450g excluding the cake tin. For marble effect mix some cocoa powder. I was told in the morning market this cake was sold at RM5 each. Looking forward to have 60 butter cakes orders in the next Chinese New Year. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Have fun and be happy!

Meringue (Pavlova)

2009-03-26T00:12:00.018+08:00

Have not been doing any posting since last year June. As usual in the month of February and March there was two birthday party. In every birthday party I will try to have new dishes or new desserts. This dessert recipe is from a friend in Ipoh. She served Meringue to us and this prompted me to ask her for the recipe.

This classic meringue is named after Anna Pavlova, the famous Russian dancer.

4 egg whites
250g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp white wine

In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar till finish and continue to beat until egg whites are glossy and hold a firm peak. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Lightly fold in the corn flour, vanilla essence and white wine into the meringue.

Draw an 7" circle on non-stick paper and place the paper on a baking sheet. Spread the meringue mixture over the circle and approximately 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 120 to 130 degrees for 2 hours. Leave to cool on the baking sheet then carefully remove from paper. The meringue should be hard on the outside and slightly moist on the inside.

To make up the the filling, whisk 300ml of whipping cream until thick. Spread the whipping cream on the meringue and arrange the fruit on top. Freshly cut fruits such as kiwi, strawberry and mango. I used canned cocktail mixed fruits, drained. During my son birthday, I served a small portion meringue with a piece of cheese cake.

Have fun and be happy!

Steamed Caramel Cake

2008-06-24T22:21:00.009+08:00

I found this recipe from one of the Periplus Mini Cookbooks. It is a Malaysian traditional cake. This steamed caramel cake can be prepared within one hour. Cooked 150g of fine sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until sugar melts and caramelizes to golden brown color. Take care to keep pan on very low heat to avoid burning the caramel and remove pan from heat once it reaches a golden brown color. Pour 100ml of water onto the caramel. Be careful not to get burned from the sputtering caramel. Boil caramel until completely melted and a syrup is obtained. Cool the syrup and pour it out into a measuring cup - 180 ml. If you have less, just add a little water to make up the specified quantity.

Melt 70g of margarine (butter) and cool them. Add 1 beaten egg and 75ml of evaporated milk to the melted margarine and cooled caramel syrup and stir well to combine.

Sift 150g of plain flour, pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Stir in 70g fine granulated sugar. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid, stirring gently with a wooded spoon to form a smooth batter.

Pour batter into prepared tart let mold till three quarters full and place in a preheated steamer for 30 minutes. Do not open the steamer before the 30 minutes is up or risk your cake collapsing.

Bak Chang (Dumplings)

2008-06-13T23:14:00.016+08:00

Last weekend was a bak Chang festival. Friends will bring their homemade bak chang to our regular coffee shop to treat us. We do not really celebrate bak chang festival like most chinese household. We will make bak chang as and when we feel like eating them. Bak chang is available in morning market and night market. Unlike olden days we only get to eat bak chang during the festival.

Almost every Sunday a group of friends from Klang will visit Broga for mountain trekking, so we decided to make the Bak Chang to treat them. We do not have the exact measurements of the ingredients. Just prepare the following ingredient using your own estimation.

Soak the dried bamboo leaves and hemp strings overnight. Clean bamboo leaves with a damp cloth, wipe dry and set aside.

The last trip to Kelantan we bought 5kg of Thai Glutinous rice. Just washed and soaked 1kg of glutinous rice, drained and set aside. Prepare some shallots, thinly sliced and some coarsely chopped garlic. Heat 250ml of oil in a wok and fry shallots and garlic until fragrant. Discard the shallot and garlic from wok and uses half portion of the fragrant oil to fry the rice. Add in some salt, pepper, Five Spice Powder and thick soy sauce. Remove the fried rice to a basin.

The following ingredients have to be cleaned and half cooked for the filling:-

400g Belly pork, removed skin
150g Chinese Mushroom, soaked and halved
100g dried prawns, soaked in water and cleaned.
150g dried chestnuts, soaked with 1 tsp of alkaline water for 15 minutes. Blanch for 15 minutes in boiling water twice. Boil them for another 15 minutes over low heat.
20 salted egg yolks, halved them and sprinkle with rose wine and steam for 1 - 2 minutes
300g Black eye peas, boiled with a pinch of salt and drained.

Uses the other half portion of fragrant oil to saute the belly pork, Chinese mushroom, dried prawn with some seasoning and dish out and separate them.

Take 2 bamboo leaves, arranging them so that one sits on top of the other. Fold into a conical shape, bringing the two ends together. Put 1 tbsp rice into the case, arrange one piece of belly pork, Chinese mushroom, some dried prawn, black eye peas, dried chestnuts, salted eggs. Cover with more rice. Fold the leaves over the rice to form a pyramid shape. Tie with hemp string. Repeat process till all is done. Do not make too big a dumpling otherwise you will have trouble of tying and cooking them later. Traditionally the dumplings are boil in a large pot of water with some salt for more than 3 hours over medium slow fire. We used pressure cooker to boil the dumplings and the cooking time was only 30 minutes. With pressure cooker we can only cook 20 pieces medium size dumplings at one go. When done, hang dumplings to dry.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Sweet Potatoes and Green Bean Sweet Porridge

2008-06-13T22:50:00.006+08:00

The last trip to Ipoh, a friend of us served us this sweet porridge dessert - green bean with sweet potato. We usually cook green bean with brown sugar and coconut milk. During durian season you can add in some 'durian' (Thorny King of Fruits) flesh.

Boil green bean till soft otherwise use pressure cooker to cook for 5 minutes. Our government encourages us to use pressure cooker to save gas. Soak one cup of sago and drain them in a colander. Cut sweet potato into cubes. Clean a few pieces of pandan leaves and tie them into knots. Put the sweet potato cubes, pandan leaves, sago and the cooked green bean in a big pot. The sago should no longer have any opaque bits, indicating that it is cooked. Add require amount of sugar to taste.

Homemade Yogurt

2008-05-05T00:20:00.009+08:00

In my last blog on smoothies, I used homemade yogurt. My children love yogurt with honey or sometimes they mix cranberry, raisins or freshly cut fruits.

To prepare the home yogurt, firstly buy some plain yogurt from the supermarket as culture.
Mix 500ml luke warm water with 12 tablespoon of milk powder. Stir till milk powder dissolve completely. Sieve them with a plastic sieve into a clean container. Mix 3 tablespoon of the plain yogurt culture with the milk. Cover the container with a cardboard and leave them in a warm place. After 8 hours the milk will begin to thicken around the edges and the yogurt is set.

Place the homemade yogurt in the refrigerator until completely chilled. Reserve 3 tablespoon of this yogurt to begin next batch. Homemade yogurt can be refrigerate up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Have fun and be happy!

Smoothies

2008-04-27T22:22:00.012+08:00

I received an enquiry from Angie on the best blender use for fruits and this prompted me to share about smoothies. Smoothies are usually served in hotels at international breakfast. It is a very healthy drink and easy to prepare. Just blend your favourite fruit with yogurt, fruit juice and ice cubes.

We usually have home made yogurt serve with fresh fruit cut into cubes, raisin, cranberry or just honey alone.

Just put in some plain yogurt, ice cubes, mango juice/orange juice, bananas or strawberry and
blend them until smooth.

Ta-Da! Smoothies!

Yam Rice

2008-04-05T11:29:00.014+08:00

This Yam rice is quite easy to prepare unlike glutinous rice instead of steaming, you can boil them in the electric rice cooker. One can easily consume 3 to 4 bowls especially to go with 'chili padi' and light soya sauce.

These are the following ingredients:-

4 cups of rice (cleaned and drained)
600g yam (cut into cubes)
500g Long bean (cut into 1" length)
300g Dried Shrimp (wash & drained)
5 pieces shallots (cut into slices)

In a wok deep fried yam cubes till cooked, dish out and set it aside. Saute dried prawn till fragrant, dish out and set aside.

Leave behind some oil to fry shallots till fragrant, then add in the rice and long bean. Add in dried shrimp and cooked yam cubes. Flavour these with some dark soya sauce and pepper. Dish rice mixture into the electric rice cooker and add 6 cups of water instead of the normal 4 cups.

Omit the dried shrimp and it become a vegetarian dish.

Achar-Achar (Spicy Salad)

2008-04-01T00:00:00.015+08:00

Achar-achar is actually a Hindustani word for spicy variety of pickle. In Malaysia this spicy salad is known as acar-acar. Achar-achar goes well as an accompaniment to any spicy meal (nasi lemak) or eaten by itself. Use it as a dip with prawn crackers. My children will sandwich achar-achar with two pieces of prawn crackers.

This dish is quite laborious. You need to prepare the ground spices and the amount of ground spices depend on how much vegetable you prepare. Always prepare more because any extra can be kept.

Pound or blend all these ingredients: Shallots, Garlic, Lemon grass, Candlenuts, Fresh turmeric root, Galangal and Dried chillies (soaked and seeded). Instead of pound the dried chilies, you can buy chili paste from the market.

Fried all the ground spices with oil till fragrant and oil separated. Add sugar, salt and tamarind paste to taste. Lastly add in pounded peanuts and sesame seeds. Set aside to cool.

Cut cucumber into quarters lengthwise. Cut away the soft center. Slice into strips (4 x 1 cm). Cut carrot into strip (4 x 1cm). Combine cucumber and carrot in a mixing bowl. Mix with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Wash thoroughly with water then drain and squeeze out excess water.

Cut long bean to 4 cm lengths. Cut cabbage into 2 cm square. Prepare a pot of boiling water for scalding vegetable. Mix some vinegar and salt into the boiling water. Scald long bean and cabbage separately for 2 - 3 seconds. Pour the vegetables into a colander and drain well. If possible sun all the prepare vegetables.

In a big mixing bowl, mix the cooked ground spices with the four type of vegetables. You can add in pineapple slices too. Allow the achar-achar to pickle for a day before storing them. Before serving, sprinkle some pounded peanuts and sesame seeds.

Jellyfish Salad

2008-03-29T23:32:00.011+08:00

On 25th March, during my son's birthday we served Jellyfish salad, salad sticks (carrot, celery, cucumber, turnip) dip with thousand island sauce. These two salads go very well with fried chicken wings and the children love it too!

Wash the shredded jellyfish throughly. Blanch in boiling water for less than a minutes. Toss in vinegar and leave for 15 minutes. Wash off the vinegar through slow running tap water. Drain and immerse the jellyfish in ice water. This makes the jellyfish more crunchy. Drain then chill in the refrigerator.

Shred cucumber and onion finely and keep them chilled. In a salad bowl, combine the shredded cucumber, onion and the chilled jellyfish. Stir in Thai chili sauce and a few dash of Thai fish sauce. Serve immediately.

Mua Chi (Glutinous Rice Flour & Sesame Peanut Kuih)

2008-03-28T22:47:00.016+08:00

Since my last blog on Tang Yuan, I have been so busy baking CNY cookies to meet orders and during Chinese New Year there were many orders for "Yee Sang". We Visited Kelantan and Penang during Chinese New Year. Celebrated my daughter's birthday on 18th Feb. On 22nd March hosted our HHH run and on 25th March just celebrated my youngest son birthday. We served Mua Chi as one of the desserts because there is a lot of roasted peanuts and sesame left over from "Yee Sang". Mua Chi is famous in Penang and it is a street hawker's favorite that is liked by everyone. It is so simple to prepare at home.

Dry-fry peanuts in a wok till roasted and skinned. Put peanuts into a food processor and blend coarsely. Dry-fry sesame seeds until golden in color. Combine the peanut a blend sesame with castor sugar and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 250g of glutinous rice flour with 300ml cold water and 1 tablespoon of oil. Pour batter into a lightly greased tray. Steam over high heat for about 30 minutes or till cooked. Leave to cool.

Using a plastic spatula to cut Mua Chi into bite-sized pieces. Coat them with the sesame peanut mixture and then place Mua Chi into individual serving plates and serve immediately.

Tang Yuan (Dong Zhi)

2007-12-24T23:18:00.000+08:00

Dong Zhi or Dong is the most important date in the Chinese calender. It is also the last festival of the Chinese Calender and falls six weeks before the Lunar New Year. During Dong Zhi, or the Winter Solstice festival, it is a traditional Chinese practice for tang yuan to be served as a reminder that one more year has passed by or one have grow one year older. Tang yuan is made from glutinous rice flour and sometimes stuffed with peanut, black sesame seed or red bean paste filling.

This year it fall on 22th Dec (Saturday) and it is also one of our HHH member's run (Goldprick). So I have prepared tang yuan for 40 hash members but the turn up was only 22 members because it was a big day for the Chinese. We managed to finish the tang yuan because one person have more than 2 servings. Some even commented that the tang yuan taste so much better from what they have tasted before.

Tang yuan is made from glutinous rice flour. You can buy ready made tang yuan dough normally white and pink in color from the wet market. But I prefer to make my own home made glutinous rice flour dough without coloring (pink). I steamed the 'Indonesia Sweet Potatoes' and mashed them (approximately 350g). Mix them with 500g glutinous rice flour and 500ml of water. Add the water bit by bit to get into a consistency and knead it into a dough. You will get a natural gold color dough. Pinch a piece of the dough off and shape into small balls using both the palms.

Heat a big pot of water with pandan leaves and lots of ginger to make the sweet syrup soup. Add in sugar and cooked till sugar dissolved. Make sure to scoop out the pandan leaves and ginger. Lastly only add in the cooked tang yuan which are cooked separately.

In a separate saucepan heat up a pot of water. Add the glutinous rice balls into the boiling water and when the rice balls float to the top (indication that it is cooked!) scoop them out and place them in cold water. Mix the cooked tang yuan with the ready boiling sweet syrup soup.

I brought along the mini stove and heat up the tang yuan and served them hot. The run site was at Genting Sempah which is approximately 1500ft above sea level and the weather was cold after a heavy rain.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

2007-12-16T09:43:00.000+08:00

Nasi Lemak is literally translated as "rice with fat" or "rice in coconut milk". The name is derived from the cooking process whereby the rice is soaked in rich coconut milk and then the mixture is steamed or cooked. Nasi Lemak is a dish that commonly sold in every street corner and local themed restaurant (cafe) in Malaysia. It is served as breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper especially in most of the 'mamak' stalls.

Kajang Buddhist Center just organized its 6th Teenage Camp on 13th - 16th Dec 2007. I have volunteered to prepared one lunch and one breakfast for all the participants and helpers approximately 100 of them. For the lunch I have prepared Nasi Lemak and 104 pieces of sausage pizza breads for breakfast.

There are few methods of cooking this nasi lemak. The simplest method is just cook the rice with coconut milk in the electric rice cooker. Another method is still using electric rice cook, wait till the rice is almost cook just mix the coconut milk evenly and let it stand for 10 to 15 mins to allow the rice to absorb the coconut milk. The method I use is a steaming method which I have learned from a friend. I was told this method is originated from Melaka. One cup of rice to one cup of water or coconut milk. Cook the rice, water, coconut milk, knotted 'pandan' leaves and few pieces of young ginger in a wok until dry and steam them in a steamer till cook. I went to Malacca to purchase a wooded tub to steam the nasi lemak. Because the amount of rice (10kg) are too much therefore I have to use the big steamer to steam them first and when the rice are cooked, only transfer to the wooden tub. I will place banana leaves around the wooded tub.

Other essential condiments to be served with Nasi Lemak are:-

1. Sambal ( Hot spicy sauce plain with big onion or with ikan bilis)
2. Fried Ikan Bilis (Fried Anchovies)
3. Fried Kacang ( Fried Peanuts)
4. Hard Boiled Egg (served quarter or half)
5. Slice cucumbers

Method of preparing sambal (Plain Sambal with big onion)

2 kg of Chili Paste
3kg of Big onion
Tamarind sauce (Asam Paste)
Belachan (Shrimp Paste) - toasted in the wok
Sugar/salt to taste
Vegetable oil

Heat vegetable oil over medium heat and cook chili paste, stirring occasionally until chili paste become dried and the chili oil emerged. Add in the toasted shrimp paste, tamarind sauce, big onion and lots of sugar. Cook until gravy thicken and dark reddish brown.

Fried the peanuts over medium heat in vegetable oil until lightly brown. Remove peanuts and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Sprinkle some salt over the peanuts.

For the anchovies, wash and drained away excess water. Deep fried briefly until crispy and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.

Place eggs in a big pot and cover with water and a dash of salt. Cook over low heat and stirring all the time to prevent the egg yolk to set on one side. Bring water to boiling and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and soak with cold water for peeling. Slice them into half.

Extra condiments:-

1. Fried chicken
2. Chicken curry or rendang
3. Beef curry or rendang
4. Mutton curry or rendang
5. Cuttlefish or cockle sambal

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Pineapple Jam For Nastar

2007-12-03T20:01:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is two months away. I have just started preparing the pineapple jam for the pineapple rolls or some call it Nastar, or tananas which are pineapple jam filled cookies. These cookies are popular treats for most of the festivals in Malaysia. In Malacca you can find freshly baked Nyonya pineapple tarts/rolls through out the yea

I have been selling this pineapple rolls for a number of years. It is very popular because the pastry with strong hint of butter, melt in your mouth, especially the pineapple jam is home cooked which is not too sweet nor sour.

I will normally prepare the pineapple jam filling in big quantities. I bought 40 pieces of pineapple fruit from the market and make sure you wear glove before you cut the pineapple otherwise your hand will bleed easily at the end of day.

Do not cut the stem away, use it to hold the pineapple while slicing off the skin and carving out any remaining "eyes" with the tip of knife. Chopped the pineapple into smaller pieces and blend them with a juice blender.

Cooking pineapple jam is the most tedious job. Put all the blended pineapple in a big pot without draining the juice. Add in some cinnamon powder and 8kg of sugar. Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Stirring frequently until pineapple jam is thicken and sticky. This process normally takes about 6 hours or more. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. I will normally weigh the jam into 5g each and roll them into a cylinder shape to prepare for making Pineapple Jam Rolls or Nastar for the coming festive season.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Pullman Bread (Pain de Mie)

2007-11-12T23:41:00.001+08:00

Pullman Bread (Pain de Mie) is a French recipe, however, it was served extensively on Pullman railroad cars, hence the name Pullman Bread. This loaf when sliced have a fine compact crumb and a shape that is almost perfectly square. In general this type of bread is used for sandwiches.

Sponge Dough

600g High Protein Flour
350g Cold water
15g Instant Yeast

Mix the high protein flour and instant yeast with cold water to form a dough. Leave it to prove for 2 - 3 hours in a big container with cover.

Main Dough

400g High Protein Flour
70g Sugar
15g Salt
20g Milk Powder
200g Whipping cream
60g Shortening

Mix all the ingredients in the main dough with the sponge dough. Lastly add the shortening and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough. Divide it into 8 equal pieces (207g each), mould them into balls and let them rest for 15 minutes. This method is similar to making sweet bun dough. Flatten the dough then roll it up like Swiss rolls. Place 4 pieces of dough into the Pullman bread tin with lid (20cm x W11.5cm x H11.5cm). Let it prove for 45 minutes, or fill it till 80% of the loaf tin. Preheat the oven at 200ºC and bake for 35 minutes. Remove it immediately from the loaf tin when baked.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Bread (Sweet Buns)

2007-11-11T15:48:00.000+08:00

The price of bread and baking ingredients have increased. I have not been buying bread from shops ever since I attended a basic bread baking course. I bought a numbers of books on baking bread. Once you know the basic methods of bread making , just refer to the recipe books and you can make wonderful home baked bread. My favorite is sweet bun because with this sweet bun dough you can make many types of buns with fillings such as sausage bun, cocktail bun, cream horns, cheese stick, meat floss bun, peanut, tuna, sardine, curry chicken, red bean, and the list can be endless. I even baked multi grains buns for my camping trip to Gunung Chamah.

My daughter is having her SPM examinations starting tomorrow and I have started preparing a few type buns since last week. She told me she would prefer to have bread rather than the food sold in the school canteen or food court nearby. I have prepared some plain buns that can be topped with cheese or garlic or mixed herbs, mixed fruit plait bread and sausage pizza bread. I store the ready shaped buns in the freezer and take them out to prove before baking, normally it will take a least 2 - 3 hours for proving.

There are 3 methods of making basic sweet bun dough. First method is 'no time dough' method which does not need to go through basic proving. Second method is 'straight dough' method which needs one basic proving for about 45 - 60 minutes. The third method which I have learned is 'sponge and dough' method. This method needs longer preparation time. First of all a sponge dough is prepared which needs to prove for 4 - 5 hours or even longer. After a second mixing, it has a 10 minutes rest. Then divided, mold it round, then fill it with filling and shaped. This method produces a softer, bigger buns which last longer.

Sponge Dough

630g High Protein Flour
7g Instant Yeast
383g Water

Mix the high protein flour, instant yeast and water to form dough. Keep them in a big container with cover for proving at least 4 - 5 hours.

Main Dough

270g High protein Flour
38g Milk Powder
14g Salt
180g Sugar
18g Instant Yeast
45g Water
113g Eggs
135g Butter

When the sponge dough is ready, prepare the main dough by mixing all the dry ingredient with water and eggs. Add the sponge dough to the main dough. Lastly, add the butter and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough. Divide the well proved dough into 55g each and there will be 33 pieces. Shape them into balls and allow to rest for 10 - 15 minutes. For shaping and filling , just flatten the dough and put in the filling or make bread into the required shape. When the bread has been throughly proved and is ready for baking, brush the top with egg wash. Preheat the oven at 190°C before baking. Baking time is less than 10 minutes or till the buns become golden brown. When is ready glaze them with butter.

Last but not least, try them out and practice a lot.
Have fun and be happy! ♥

Homemade Pan Mee

2007-10-02T12:47:00.000+08:00

Pan Mee is the literal translation of "flat flour noodles". Pan mee is a type of noodles that is handmade from kneaded flour or the dough can be kneaded using dough mixer. The kneaded dough can be cut into strips using noodle processor or the traditional way using hand by taring into bite size. I have often made this dish during our camping trips and during weekend when we do not feel like eating rice. It is easy to prepare and yet it taste good.

The last trip to Gunung Datuk, I prepared the dough on the night before the trip and kept them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Ikan bilis (anchovies) and chili padi is a must in this dish! Imagine eating hot and spicy soup that make you sweat and even have running nose! Some Malay camper were amazed with our Pan Mee because normally they will just have instant noodles. In our trip to Gunung Chammah I prepared the dough early in the morning before climbing the peak. Only cook them when we desend to the campsite after almost 12 hours trekking.

To prepare the Pan Mee dough for 10-20 servings just mix 1 kg of flour with 1 eggs, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, water 300ml or enough to bind them without sticking to your hand. Do not put all the water at one go, bit by bit. Reserve some flour in case it is too wet. Just add flour and continue to knead by hand or machine till it does not stick to your hands.

Fry ikan bilis (anchovies) and garlic till fragrant and add enough of water to make the soup. For seasoning use white pepper and salt. Boil the ikan bilis soup for 10 to 20 minutes. Use hand and tare the dough into the boiling ikan bilis soup. You can cook them with any leafy vegetable of your choice and the best is "pucuk manis". Serve them with chili padi soak in light soya sauce.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Hakka Cheen Loong Pau

2007-09-29T12:06:00.000+08:00

There are many Hakka in Kajang so Hakka Cheen Loong Pau is not an uncommon kuih. It look more like pancake and you can have a variety of filling such as red bean paste, coconut, groundnuts and sesame seeds. We have an order for Ang Ku last week and there are some balance of red bean paste and already in round shape (20g). So we decided to make this Hakka Cheen Loong Pau. Normally one portion of the recipe can make about 20 - 22 pcs.

Hakka Cheen Loong Pau Recipe

400g Low Protein Flour (sieve)
1 tsp baking powder (dissolved in a little water)
2 tsp instant yeast
60g caster sugar
80g shortening
280ml water

Mixed the above in a mixer and leave the dough to prove for 2 hours in a big plastic container with cover. Scale risen dough at 35g - 40g each and shaped them into balls. Rest for another 10 - 20 minutes. Flatten each ball of dough and wrap with 20g red bean paste. Flatten the pau and leave to proof for another 30 minutes in a tray. Spray surface of pau with some water. Heat up a flat frying pan and with low heat (without oil) cook the both side of pau till golden. Best to serve them hot.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Cendol Agar-agar (Pudding)

2007-09-13T22:34:00.000+08:00

In Malaysia agar-agar (pudding) is a popular dessert. You can find many types of agar-agar such as plain agar-agar with some red coloring, mango, pineapple, lychee, longan, dragon fruit, and many many more. There are many types of pudding powder with all kind of flavour too.

My friend had ordered a tray of cendol agar-agar from me. In my earlier blog I have posted the making of cendol. It is very difficult to purchase a good tasting cendol from the supermarket so I decided to make it myself.

Cendol Agar-agar Recipe

Bottom Layer
1500ml water
300g sugar
500g cendol
25g agar-agar powder
250ml thick coconut milk
1 tsp salt

1. Dissolve 25g Agar-agar powder in 250ml water.
2. Mix 1 tsp salt with 250ml thick coconut milk. (Remember to sieve!)
3. Bring 1250ml water to boiling and dissolve the 300g sugar.
4. Add in the agar-agar mixture together with the coconut milk.
5. Lastly add in the cendol and pour into two (7" x 7") square trays.
6. Prepare the top layer while waiting for the bottom layer to half set.

Top Layer
1500ml water
450g gula Melaka
25g agar-agar powder
250ml thick coconut milk
1 tsp salt

1. Dissolve 25g Agar-agar powder in 250ml water.
2. Mix 1 tsp salt with 250ml thick coconut milk. (Remember to sieve!)
3. Bring 1250ml water to boiling and dissolve the 450g gula Melaka.
4. Add in the agar-agar mixture together with the coconut milk.
5. When the bottom layer is almost set, slowly pour in the top layer mixture. Take care not to break through the surface of the bottom layer. If the bottom layer is set, scratch the surface with a fork before pouring in the top layer mixture.

Chill the agar-agar cendol in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight. Before turning out use a plastic spatula, loosen the side. Cut the agar-agar into diamond shape and serve. One portion for my friend and the other portion for own consumption.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Cendol Dessert

2007-09-11T22:57:00.000+08:00

In Malaysia, you can easily find Cendol stall along the roadside or under a big tree. This dessert or beverages are normally serve in a small bowl full of shaved ice, rich coconut milk and sweetened with thick brown color syrup made from palm sugar (Gula Melaka). Cendol is often served with Ice Kacang or ABC (a mixture of cendol, red bean, black jelly, sweet corn). It is a perfect beverage especially during the hot days.

I have not serve this dessert before. I have decided to make this cendol because it is easy and normally those bought from the supermarket doesn't taste good and no pandan (screwpine leaves) flavor. I made them because this weekend there is an order for Cendol Agar-Agar (Pudding).

Cendol Resipe

Blend 20 pieces pandan leaves with 2 cups of water to obtain the green juice. Strain them.

Blend 150g green pea flour, 10g Hoen Kwe flour with 430g water. Add 1 tsp of alkaline water to the pandan juice and mix with the flour mixture. You can add in 1 tsp of Pandan Paste. Cook the mixture over medium flame, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture is transparent and thick. I do not have a cendol frame so I use a stainless steel colander to press out strands of cendol into a basin fill with ice-cold water with a few ice cubes floating in it. Leave cendol in the cold water for 10 minutes to harden. Drain and soak in fresh water until ready for use.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Mee Goreng "mamak" or Fried Mee "mamak"

2007-09-10T17:08:00.000+08:00

I have often ordered 'mee goreng mamak' in the Indian Muslim restaurant. There is one 24 hours 'mamak' restaurant outside our housing area. I love this noodles because it is sweet, spicy and sour. My children always ask for supper and I will usually prepare 'hokkien mee', tuna mee hoon, black pepper mee and 'mee sua' for them. I took the chance to 'goreng' (fry) this noodles for them. My younger son commented that the smell of this noodles very familiar with the one that was fried by the Indian Muslim restaurant and tasted similar.

To fry this 'mee mamak' you need to use the yellow mee. Other ingredient are as follow:-

eggs
'tow foo pok' or 'tow foo kua'
bean sprouts 'tow gay'
cabbage/'sawi'
tomatoes
garlic
ground chili
dark 'soya sauce'
light 'soya sauce'
green chili
shallots crisp

Heat 3 - 4 tablespoon oil in a 'kuali' until hot. Fried garlic until light brown and fragrant and add in the ground chili, tomato, tow foo pok, cabbage and stir fry. Push all the fried ingredients to one side. Add in some oil and fry the eggs with a few dash of light soya sauce. Add in the yellow mee and dark soya sauce and stir fry well. Keep frying to avoid sticking to kuali and sprinkle with a little water (can be omitted because the bean sprouts will contain some water!).
Lastly add in the bean sprouts and stir fry well. Garnish with green chili and shallots crisps. Squeeze half a lime and serve hot.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Tuna Mee Hoon

2007-09-08T12:13:00.000+08:00

Tuna Mee Hoon is one of our favourite party food and it is easy to prepare and delicious too! If I have 'bunga kantan' (wild ginger buds) in my fridge and canned tuna chili, I will prepare this mee hoon for supper for my children. 'Serai' ( lemon grass) is available in our garden and I will always have mee hoon in my shelf. This tuna mee hoon is very spicy even without adding chili padi. It is dry and taste good even when serve cold. Add some 'limau kasturi' (lime) if you prefer them sour.

Tuna Mee Hoon Resepi

400g mee hoon (1 packet) (rice vermicelli)
soaked for 10 - 15 minutes to soften and drained
(never! never use hot water otherwise your mee hoon will be soggy)

3 - 4 tbsp oil

Tuna chili (Ayam Brand) - mashed

Slice the following ingredients:-
2 pcs Big onion
1 pc Bunga Kantan (wild ginger bud)
1 pc Serai (Lemon grass)
Chili padi (if you prefer spicy!)

Seasoning
Fish sauce

Heat oil and fry the sliced lemon grass and bunga kantan till fragrant. Add in big onion and the mashed tuna, stir fry for a while. Stir in mee hoon and mix well. Add fish sauce for seasoning and do not use salt because the fish sauce is already salty.

Try frying this mee hoon. Guarantee your children will like it.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Black Pepper Noodle (mee)

2007-09-07T13:16:00.000+08:00

My son's friend always come over for basketball training & 'computer games'. When I am at home I will sometimes prepare food for them. This is a simple, fast, healthy and delicious meal.

Black Pepper Noodle

660g 'CINTAN' Non-Fried Noodles - Jumbo Pack
Capsicum - slice
Carrot - slice
Button mushroom - slice
Chinese cabbage - slice
Garlic - chopped

Seasoning

Vegetarian sauce
Black pepper (pounded)
salt to taste

Cook noodles in boiling water to soften. Remove and put noodles in a colander and refresh with tap water running through it. Drained and set aside.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the the wok and fry garlic till fragrant. Add in pounded black pepper, button mushroom, capsicum and chinese cabbage and stir fry well. Add the cooked noodles and vegetarian sauce and toss well. You can even add in sliced fish cake.

This black pepper noodles can serve for more than ten persons. My son told me he had taken 4 plate of them and his friends had taken more than 2 plates.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Banana Walnut Cake

2007-09-05T00:33:00.000+08:00

Yesterday my friend (Mei Leng) had given me two bunch of bananas. She is having a chocolate fountain business and happen to have extra lots of banana. So I have decided to bake banana walnut cake instead of the normal plain banana cake which you can buy from "pasar malam" (night market).

Banana Walnut Cake Recipe

500g Butter
400g caster sugar
8 eggs (AA)
3 tsp vanilla essence
700g banana (ripe & mashed)

Sift
500g self raising flour
1 ½ tsp double action baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine and set aside (optional)
160g UHT fresh milk
2 tbsp lemon juice

120g walnuts (coarsely chopped and toasted)

Prepare and line 7 loafs (3" x 7") tins and preheat oven to 190°C

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Stir in mashed banana and vanilla essence. Fold in sifted dry ingredient. Add in combined milk and lemon juice mixture and lastly walnuts. Milk and lemon juice mixture is optional. I have tried baking one portion without the milk mixture yet it taste good and of course it is not so moist.

Pour into prepared loaf tins weight 400g each (7 loaf). Bake at190°C for 20 minutes, then reduce to 170°C and continue to bake for 25 minutes . Test with a wooded skewer or until cakes shrink away from sides of tins. Remove from oven and turn it out onto wire rack to cool.

I use a serrated knife to slice the cake while it is still hot. It taste good when it is hot and the top is still crispy.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Full Moon Fare (Angku Kuih)

2007-09-03T01:33:00.000+08:00

My friend is celebrating her new born baby girl "moon yit" (full moon). For the Chinese, "full moon" is the day when a newborn turns one-month-old. On this auspicious day, a celebration is held and food in the form of "angku kuih", red eggs and preserved or pickled young ginger are distributed to relatives and friends. The words "ang" means red in Hokkien. Some even includes curry chicken and nasi kunyit. This practice is very popular among the Hokkiens, and the babas and nyonyas.

My friends are having a 'pot-luck' party in our Shaklee meeting center and also to introduce her new family member. I couldn't attend because on that day we are attending the Sepang HHH count down dinner in Sg. Pelek. I prepared 10 pieces of red eggs, some preserved ginger and 15 pieces "angku" for her. Earlier she bought some "angku" but it doesn't taste good and I jokingly said that my "angku" taste better. I made some "angku" for her to proof to her what I have said. My "angku" is not "ang" (red) because I uses sweet potatoes and if I uses pumpkin it will be yellow in color. Some prefer them to be red or green, just add a dash of red or green coloring. Her mother-in-law had ordered green "angku" from the market on the same day but it doesn't taste good.

The filling of the angku can be green beans or red beans. The filling is usually prepared by my mother-in-law. She uses 400g split, skinned mung beans (green beans), wash and soak overnight. Drain and steam beans for 30 to 40 minutes. Mash through a wire sieve or blend until fine whilst hot. Heat a non-stick saucepan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry shallots till golden brown then discard the shallots, leaving the aromatic oil in the saucepan. Add 300g of sugar and a bit of water to cook until sugar dissolves and turns syrupy. Add mung beans and half teaspoon of salt and stir-fry until it does not stick to the sides of the pan. Remove and set aside to cool. Divide into small balls weight about 20g each. Prepare the filling earlier and refrigerate them.

For the "Angku" skin, uses 700ml water to boil 300g skinned sweet potatoes (or pumpkin). Take out the sweet potatoes and mashed them and set aside. Mix 140g of sugar into the above hot water to dissolve. In a big mixing bowl, mix 800g glutinous rice flour, 30g corn flour, 60g corn oil, the mashed sweet potato and the above hot water. Mix and knead into a shiny and pliable dough. Divide dough into 35g each and roll into a ball. Flatten slightly and place the filling in each of the dough. Pinch and seal the edges to form round shapes and press it into an angku mould with dusted glutinous rice flour. Knock or tap mould lightly on the surface of the table to dislodge the angku. Place angku on oiled banana leaf circles and steamed over boiling water for 4 - 5 minutes. Remove the lid from the steamer and continue to steam for a further 6 - 7 minutes or until cooked. If you do not remove the lid the angku will be out of shape. When ready brush the angku with a bit of corn oil.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Mango Kerabu - Northern Malaysian Salad

2007-08-30T00:56:00.000+08:00

Mango kerabu is a spicy sweet salad which you can normally find in the northern side of Malaysia. This kind of salad is very popular in Thailand. It is very appetizing and easy to prepare. This salad which can include both fruits and vegetable. There are many types of kerabu such as kerabu chicken, kerabu nenas, kerabu nasi, kerabu mee hoon and etc.

Green Mango - skin and shredded
Big onion - skin and shredded
Chili Padi - cut into small pieces
Shredded 'sotong' (squid) - pan fried them till crispy. ( you can substitute it with dried shrimp, ikan bilis)
Kiffir lime leaves - finely sliced

Mixed the above in a big mixing bowl and add sugar, salt and lime if you prefer them to be sour. Chilled them and serve them cold.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Capsicum Rolls (Bread Rolls)

2007-08-27T01:40:00.000+08:00

On my son's birthday I have made this popular finger foods which most of the children will love it. No matter how much you serve it is always not enough. It is easy to prepare and you can prepare in advance and bake them just before serving.

Halve capsicum and remove seeds and membrane. Grill capsicum till skin turn brown. Peel and discard skin. Finely chop the flesh and combine in a medium mixing bowl with cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, finely chopped parley, salt, pepper and oregano herbs or any herbs you can get hold of such as rosemary or mixed herbs.

Cut crust from bread, flatten slices with rolling pin. Spread capsicum mixture on the bread and roll up and secure with toothpick. Cut each roll into three small rolls and secure each with a toothpick. Place on oven tray and bake in a preheated moderate 180º C oven for 10-12 minutes or until rolls are crisp. Serve warm.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Penang Asam Laksa

2007-08-23T18:37:00.000+08:00

On the 21st August is my elder son T.K's 14th birthday (which I mentioned in my last post Birthday Party) and he preferred to celebrate on the 22nd which most of his friends can attend his party. I have planned the guest list (40 persons) and menu list much earlier so that the dishes are different from the previous party. The main dish is Penang Asam Laksa and "Loh Mai Fun" or Sticky Rice as named by my children. Sticky rice is actually steamed glutinous rice with dried shrimp and mushroom cubes. Bread rolls or Capsicum Rolls is a finger food which is very popular among the young children because it is very cheesy and taste like mini pizza roll.

Fruit Rojak (mixed fruits) is one of my favorites because you don't have to really think what fruit to serve. A mixture of raw papaya, pineapple, guava, raw mango, cucumber and turnip. Dip them with the famous Kelantan Rojak Fruit Sauce. I serve lemon jasmine tea (light and sweet) and desserts was dragon fruits pudding and sago kuih. Not forgetting the birthday cake which was a 12" x 17" chocolate moist cake top with chocolate whipping cream. This is my first time baking such a big cake and it turned out to be not bad. On his 7th year old birthday, I baked him a 9" round chocolate banana cake.

This was my first time preparing Asam Laksa for 40 servings. I bought 4 kg of Ikan Kembong from Tg. Sepat. The Asam Soup should be prepared one day earlier. This Asam Laksa recipe is from Bro. H.W.Tan of Kajang Buddhist Centre. His mother used to sell Asam Laksa in Kota Baru, Kelantan. He and his family were invited for the party and he commented that the Laksa was 70% successful for a first timer and even his children said it was not bad!

Boil "asam pei" (dried tamarind skin), "lengkuas" (galangale), "serai" (lemon grass), "bunga kantan" (wild ginger bud) and lots of "daun kesom" (polygonum) in a big pot. You can boil the "ikan kembong" in the same pot. Scoop up the fish to remove the fish meat and later smashed the fish head and bones for further reboiling. Boil the stock for 1 hour or more and strain the stock.

Prepare the chili paste by grinding soaked dried chili, lots of small onion, "serai" and 'lengkuas'. Add the chili paste, "hay kor" (prawn paste), "belacan" (dried shrimp paste), "asam jawa" (tamarind) , salt, sugar and flaked fish to the boiling strain stock. Boil laksa noodle in another pot till cooked and strain and add a bit of oil to prevent them from sticking together.

For garnishing, slice cucumbers, pineapples, big onions, "bunga kantan" and 1-2 teaspoons of diluted shrimp paste to be added to the "asam" soup. Do not forget mint leaves without them the Laksa will not taste like Penang Asam Laksa although some don't like them. Add some lime if you like it sour. Keep the laksa stock simmering over very low heat because the garnishing and noodles are usually cold and it taste when served hot.

Brother HW Tan gave some tips to improve the Penang Asam Laksa and he commented that it is ready for taking orders. Not a bad idea!

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Fruit Cakes

2007-08-14T12:20:00.000+08:00

This is one of my family's favorite fruit cake snack and sometimes I would bring this along during my camping and mountain climbing trips. This fruit cake can be stored frozen for a long time and just before eating you should slice it and brought to thaw at room temperature for about half and hour before serving.

Fruit Cake Recipe

1kg mixed cherries fruits
250g cashew nuts, split into halves
150g strawberry jam
2 tbsp honey
250g rum

Combine the above in a basin with cover and allow to macerate for 7 days. Stir the mixture well every day. On the day when the well macerated fruits and nuts mixture are to be used, add 50g plain flour.

Beat the below ingredients till well combined, pale and light. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

250g butter
125g soft brown sugar
1/2 tbsp treacle
2 tsp vanilla essence
5 egg yolks

Combine and sift:

175g plain flour
75g self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

Beat till soft peaks form:

5 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
50g Castor sugar

Add creamed mixture (butter/brown sugar/ egg yolks) into the fruits mixture in the basin using hand. Fold in sifted flour and mix evenly. Lastly fold in the the soft peaks egg whites and mix thoroughly

Line the 5 tins (3" x 7") with 2 layers of grease proof paper. Wrap the outside of the tin with aluminum foil to prevent cracking. For easy storing use small rectangle tins otherwise 22cm square cake tin can be used.

Turn mixture into the prepared tins and level up evenly and then bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees C for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a wooded skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Turn cake out from tin, remove the lining paper then wrap with fresh grease proof paper and lined with aluminum foil. Store cake in cool place to mature (at least 2 to 4 weeks). This cake can be kept up to a few years in the freezer. Cut fruit cake while it is frozen hard otherwise the fruits and nuts will break easily. One 3" x 7" loaf will weight more than 510g (RM$20). Enjoy it with hot tea or coffee.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Vegetarian Dishes

2007-08-12T09:48:00.000+08:00

Vegetarian dishes are our normal diet in our household. We are not vegetarian but we consume lots of vegetable, low meat diet except for fishes. During first day of Chinese New Year we will cook one big serving of vegetarian dish for the day. In our Buddhist center we always cook vegetarian dishes for the public and Sunday school children. The normal fried mee or meehoon always taste great even though it is cook with only cabbages. On 12th August, we are celebrating ' hungry ghost festival' in our center and we volunteer to cook two dishes and another member Bro. HW Tan will cook another two dishes in the center. Our cooking is simple but it always taste nice maybe because lots of "compassion" ingredient added to it.

We have been cooking vegetarian dishes like preserve vegetable such as "harm choy", "mui choy", "char choy" and all the different "choy" (vegetable in Chinese). Sometimes we have to plan what vegetable dishes to cook especially for more than 150 persons. Our normal Sunday School children and parents already more than 80 persons. My mother-in-law (Sis Kam) will be in charge of cooking and I will be in charged of buying the vegetable and discuss with her what and how to cook them.

Chinese cabbages sliced into big pieces and cooked with 'tow pok' and lots of gingers pounded with black beans. Another dish is 'yaw mak tam' cooked with ginger slices and 'foo yee'.
Bro. HW Tan prepared a curry vegetables (brinjal, long bean, lady fingers, potatoes) and 'tow foo' dish which he fried the cinnimon stick and five star and simmer the five types of 'tow foo' with black sauces and mushrooms. It tasted like 'bak ku teh' without the 'bak' (meat).

Our popular vegetarian dishes which we always prepare for our center are:-
1) 'mui choy'/peanuts/'foo chok'/dried chili
2) 'harm choy'/'tow pok'/tomatoes/chili sauces
3) pumpkin/yam
4) 'kei chee'/'kam cham'/'mok yee'/'foo chok' & chinese cabbage
5) turnip slices/carrot slices/'foo chok'
6) potatoes/curry powder
7) 'tow pok'/ginger pounded with black beans

Most of the green vegetables fried with ginger, vegetarian sauce or 'foo yee'. No garlic is use because some vegetarian cannot take garlic. All the cooking are simple yet taste good.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Children Birthday Party

2007-08-07T20:53:00.000+08:00

I have one girl and two boys. One year three birthday parties to celebrate, February, March and August. My daughter is now 17 and the boys are 14 and 12. My husband and myself are in the Shaklee business and active in our Kajang Buddhist Center, mountain climbing and hashing. As the children are growing so do their circle of friends, plus our networking members and friends. From a small party of 6 family members to 50 guests now. Sometimes we even have to decide which groups of friends to invite together with our children's friends.

To organize a party, one have to make up the guest list, invite people and get firm responses, being Malaysian the responses are always "If I can make it I will come" and "Maybe", therefore I always prepare extra. Beside the guest list I also have a food list, consist of main course, deserts and cake, drinks, salad and fruits. I even recorded the previous party menu and guest list.

The main course are usually heavy stuff such as fried noodles, fried or BBQ chicken wings, lamb chops, sausages, nasi lemak, 'popia' and etc. The drinks can be chinese tea, barley, cincau (black jelly), cordial drinks such as orange or mango. We always have fresh fruits such as watermelon, honeymelon and pineapple. "Rojak" and is the best fruits to serve. It is a mixture of pineapple, guava, raw papaya, turnip, cucumber and raw mango. All cut in bite-size pieces and dip in the 'rojak' sauce. Dessert can be jelly, pudding, local 'kuih-kuih' and the birthday cake.

I have two banquet table and a ping-pong table for placing the food. Some square table for guests to sit and 'makan'. Always have a corner by itself for drinks with cups or paper cups. If you plan to have parties often, do not use paper plates or cups because it is costly. The main food and salad will be place at one corner and the desserts and fruits at the other corner. Plates, spoon and fork or chopstick in a trolley. Make sure to have rubbish bin or big plastic bag ready for disposing unwanted food and rubbish.

My daughter's birthday fall on the 2nd day of CNY and she invited some of classmates from Convent Kajang. I have prepared a pandan layer cake and 'yee sang' for her birthday party. My youngest son's birthday was on 25th March and I have baked two Suprise Cheese cakes and 'mee rojak' as the main course. The next birthday will be on 21st August and I have to start preparing the guest list and food list.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Red Bean Dessert Soup

2007-08-06T16:30:00.000+08:00

Red bean soup is a popular Chinese sweet dessert soup ('bubur kacang merah' in Malay). It can be serve hot or cold and it is very common and can be found in most of the "tong sui" stall in the food court, noodle stall or those specialize in sweet dessert. There are many types of sweet dessert soup, the most common one is red bean, follow by green pea, bubur 'cha-cha', pulut hitam, sweet potato, 'mak chok', 'foo chok pak kor', 'hoi tai yer' red dates and etc. Bubur is one of my favorite dessert and sometimes when you eat these bubur you can't get the 'oomph' just like a coffee lover or tea lover, something is missing either too sweet or not enough bean.

Red bean bubur is very common and easy to prepare. I have seen people cook red bean in slow cooker overnight and add sugar when ready for serving and I can guarantee you that it won't taste that good. I have got comment from lots of friends saying our red bean bubur taste very good and I would said most of the bubur that we prepared are very good especially bubur cha-cha. We even received orders for bubur cha-cha for 40 to 50 bowls for party and we only charged RM60 despite all the cutting and steaming of yam, sweet potato and tapioca and lots of coconut milk.

The red bean soup for 50 - 60 bowls will cost only RM50. For preparation of 60 bowls red bean bubur you need more than 2 ½ kg red bean, 2 kg of sugar and 300g of sago. Cook the red bean in pressure cooker for 15 to 20 mins and later mix with water and pandan leaves and cook till boiling and when ready add in sugar and the cooked sago. To prepare cooked sago just boil sago over boiling water and keep stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom and when cooked, wash them over running water in the sieve.

I have three big pot of different sizes (40cm, 45cm & 50cm) and these pots are always admire by many people because it is stainless steel and too big for normal household use. They always ask where I bought these pots from and the answer is from Thailand. My father-in-law bought them for me and I can't imagine how he managed to carry them back by bus. I always tell my customer to take care of my pot because it cost more than its content. We have sponsored red bean bubur for many events such as food fair, charity sale and hash runs. We are sponsoring one big pot of red bean soup for the upcoming Nalanda Food Fair on 19th August 2007 in Serdang (last food fair we sponsored peanuts cuttlefish porridge). See you there!

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Carrot Cake

2007-08-02T00:24:00.000+08:00

My children have mentioned that they have not eaten carrot cake for a long time. So it prompted me to bake for them despite busy making durian soufflé. Checked the recipe to make sure all the ingredients are available.

350g grated carrot
200g brown sugar
4 eggs
150g corn oil
50g raisins
100g toasted almond nips
4 slices of pineapple (canned) cut into small cubes
220g self-raising flour

I have always prefer to bake this cake in a square pan because it is easier to cut into square or rectangle pieces for serving. This cake must not be thick so that it bakes easily. Imagine when you bite them crispy on the outside and when you chew them you get to taste the raisin, pineapple, almond nips and lots of carrot. This cake has to be eaten fresh because it will get soggy easily because of the carrot.

Tapioca Cake Dessert (Kuih Ubi Kayu)

2007-07-30T23:56:00.001+08:00

I volunteered to prepared tapioca kuih for 400 persons' consumption for Kajang HHH Rotation run on Saturday (28th July 2007). It is not only volunteer job but also a fully sponsored. I can choose to purchase them (of course from my own pocket) but I decided to make it myself for two reasons. No. 1 is home made kuih always taste better because the ingredient use are of the top quality. No. 2 is of course it is cost effective. Many people will choose to buy from the local kuih market because it is quite a big task to make it yourself.

This tapioca kuih recipe is very simple but you still need to do a few test runs. My first attempt was using grated tapioca (1kg nett without juice) mixed with 800g of water and 250g of sugar and steamed for half an hour and serve with grated young coconut. Not a good idea to serve 400 persons because you have to cut and roll them on the grated young coconut (must be properly steamed otherwise it will spoil easily). Second attempt was yellow tapioca (rare species and very hard to get) mixed with brown sugar and water, not bad but need some improvement. Last attempt was white tapioca mixed with 150g white sugar and 150g Gula Melaka (brown sugar made from coconut) and instead of 800g of water replaced with 500g of coconut milk.

I needed a nett weight of 12kg tapioca. I have ordered 38 kg tapioca from Ah Leong of Broga and it only cost me RM25. The tapioca from Broga was so huge and the size is as big as our body size. After discarded the skin and those unusable. After grating, it was left with only 7kg nett weight (cheap things no good, good things no cheap). I still need another 5kg and somebody told me that I can get good tapioca from Dengkil near the river and the place happen to be next to our buddist meditation centre. I bought 15kg for RM15 and the normal price is RM1.50 per kg.

Time to make 4 trays (15" x 15") and 2 trays (11" x 11") and imagined the big steamer you need to steam such big tray. I have grated the tapioca earlier and kept in the refrigerator. I started mixing and steaming the tapioca kuih at 12 midnight and was ready at 3am. The tapioca kuih can only be cut when it is fully cool down and I am expected to serve them at around 4pm. Some of the members commented that I am 'Jill of all trade' and anyway it was successful and tasted good. Some even can't figure out what kind of kuih it was and I even sold around 70pcs bite size to a friend for RM15.
The next time I will try making spicy tapioca kuih.
Have fun and be happy! ♥

Chinese New Year 'Yee Sang'

2007-07-11T00:47:00.000+08:00

"Yee Sang" is a chinese-style raw fish salad, consist of strips of raw fish (salmon) and shredded vegetables and a variety of sauce. "Lo Hei" - tossing "yee sang" during CNY is a custom for families and friends to gather around the table and, on cue, proceeding to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while uttering wishes and good luck. You can get lots of 'yee sang' recipe from the internet and cookbooks. My family love 'yee sang' very much and during CNY we will queue up to pack 'yee sang' and normally one 'mei' (portion) is always not enough for us not to mention half 'mei". One 'mei' of 'yee sang' will cost RM38 and its portion is getting smaller and smaller. That is the reason one 'mei' is never enough for family of 6. So I started research into ways to prepare 'yee sang' for my family. I even bought big plates meant for the 'yee sang' purpose only. The dishes was presented and served exactly like those in the restaurant. My one 'mei' of 'yee sang' is definitely enough for 10 person.

On the 2nd day of CNY it was my daughter's birthday and beside the birthday cake we have 'Yee Sang" for "Loh-Hei". I have prepare 6 'mei' and most of my family members and guests were surprised that it tasted so good. I didn't use raw fish instead I substituted it with jelly fish and for vegetarian just leave out the jelly fish. Some even placed orders and they were so happy because they can do the "loh-Hei" straight away because if you "tar pow" (pack) from the restaurant, most family will not have such a big plate to "loh" the 'yee sang' and I will only collect back the plates the following day. I have 10 pieces of them for recycling and sometimes I even run out of plates. Need to invest on more plates next Chinese New Year. I managed to sold around 30 "mei' for RM28 each.

Have fun and be happy! ♥

Bread and Buns

2007-07-10T16:06:00.000+08:00

I attended one bread baking demonstration which cost me only RM100. Since then I have always bake my own bread. Once you know the basic you can bake most of the bread from most of the recipe books. I baked Pullman loaf (white bread loaf) and it is so good that you will not buy the normal bread loaf of the shelf. So I suggest you take some basic course on bread baking if you are interested in baking your own bread. The bread from Bread Making Machine taste different. Most of my friends find it troublesome because you have to prove them fews hours earlier. I normally prove the bread at 6pm and only get to bake the bread around 10pm and my family will always get to eat them straight from the oven. The bread is soft and hot and you can easily take more than one piece.

Once you know how to make sweet bun dough, you can make all kinds of bun with different fillings and shapes. Children always love sausage buns and whenever I bake this bun I make sure it is more than 12 pieces otherwise you will not have enough for tomorrow's breakfast. My sons have big appetite and can easily eat 6 - 8 pieces among them.

Durian Cake (Soufflé)

2007-07-05T00:59:00.001+08:00

Hurray! Hurray! It is durian session now. Durian is the king of fruit in Malaysia. Its name comes from the Malay word 'duri' (thorn) together with Malay suffix that is '-an' (for building a noun in Malay), meaning "thorny fruit". Every year we have two season where the durian fruit is available. That is mid year and at end of the year. Most Malaysian love durian and only a rare few don't like it but eventually they will learn to love it. Especially when they eat this durian soufflé cake. I have made 10 of them since last week and 5 of them were sold to close friend for RM60 each and the weight is more than 1.1 kg. Some of them who have never tried this durian cake was surprise when they tried it. I gave one of them to our durian supplier from Broga where I bought most of the durian. I use the grade 101 durian which is sweet and golden in colour. It cost me around RM5 to RM8 per kilo. Many of them have not eaten this souffle cake because it was not sold in most of the cake shop. When I mentioned about durian cake most of them said they don't like durian cake and I told them not until you try this durian soufflé cake. I have eaten them in Ipoh a few years ago and only manage to make them myself this durian session.

On 8th of July 2007 I took one whole cake readily cut and brought to Broga for a group of 12 friends from Klang, Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, Bangi, Damansara and 5 of us from Kajang. One of our friend Wong who only eat fresh durian and will not eat anything made from durian, be it durian cake, durian ice-cream, durian candy and etc, he has given himself a chance to try this durian soufflé and commented that it tasted so original.

Next weekend we are organising "eat all you can durian party" at only RM10 per head in one of the durian orchard in Broga.

Have fun and be happy! ☺

Cookies

2007-06-12T17:36:00.000+08:00

I have started baking during my secondary school days. Especially during chinese new year that is when you need to bake quantity and varieties. When I started my own family, I continue baking because my children love buttery and cheesy stuffs. I have never thought that my home bake cookies will turn into a business not until one of our friend suggested that I baked and sell for charity. The charity sale was good and successful. During Wesak or food fair I will pack in small packing for sale and money collected will go to charity.

Almond Biscotti

I have 3 sisters and 3 brothers and when all the sibling started their family and they are very busy with their life, they just have no time to bake or rather do not like baking. They will just conveniently order the cookies from me during Chinese new year. The business also extended to close friend and business associates. One month before Chinese new year I will take orders from all the previous customers. I have a customer list and and record of the type of cookies they have ordered and also the quantity. Some of them even buy as hamper ( 4 in a red paper bag - auspicious color) for their friend and family during Chinese New Year.

London Almond
There are four types of cookies, mainly Almond Biscotti, London Almond, Chocolate Chips and Nastar (pineapple roll). All the ingredients are of top quality. The pineapple jam are home cooked. I uses pure butter, imported chocolate chips, California whole roasted almond and etc. I bought the cookies canisters directly from the manufacturer which uses good quality raw material (they do not use recycle material which is harmful). My mother-in-law will cooked 40 pineapples to make pineapple jam at one go for about 6 hours or more. One of our friend from Singapore has commented that she has tried so many types of pineapple tarts/rolls and nothing compare to ours. I guess it must be the home cooked jam and the pure butter that makes the difference.

Chocolate chips

Nastar

Cheese Cakes

2007-06-02T00:17:00.000+08:00

Today I have just baked two Surprise Cheese cakes. One ordered by my friend (half chicken) and it cost him RM58, the other for our own consumption plus treating friends over afternoon tea. How the name came about because this cheese cake have a bit of coffee (8g) and a lots of Chocolate stuffs, dark cocoa powder (30g), chocolate paste (25g) and melted chocolate (150g) so it will definitely surprise you when you have a bite of them. It take one hour to bake them and one more hour to solidify in the oven with the door ajar. Cover the cake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours preferably overnight. After baking it weight about 1400g. Always cut baked cheese cake with knife soak with hot water. I found burning the knife with flame on the cooker is not hygienic. And again you need to wipe them clean after burning. I baked two Surprise cheese cakes for my son birthday on March this year, one for him to blow with birthday candles and the other precut ready for serving once he blows the candles. Not a bad idea!

My favorite and popular cheese cake is Classic Lemon cheese cake because you can taste the original cheese taste. Use the same recipe and add some strawberry filling into the cream cheese and later after baking use strawberry filling for topping and you will have a strawberry cheese cake. There are blueberry, raspberry, kiwi filling as well. Zebra cheese cake will have a soft texture because the eggs white are whisked into soft peak, melted chocolate with chocolate paste to make the spiral mixture. Oreo cheese cake is a cheese cake with Oreo cookies inside and I have baked them once. I will prefer to eat the cookies and the cake separately. Rum and Raisin Cheese cake is more for those who enjoy liquor. I soaked the raisin with rum and also add some grated dark chocolate.