Delicious Popiah (fresh vegetables spring rolls)

The Popiah(fresh vegetables spring rolls) is different from the fried spring rolls. The Popiah that I have been eating for decades is evolving, because the cook gets older and lazier. However, it is still as delicious as ever.

When we were children, the Popiah my mother and grandmothers cooked would have crab meat, belly pork and yellow tau kwa(soya bean cakes).

Over the years, we now have a healthier version, replacing the belly pork with chicken breast meat, fresh crab meat has been omitted because of the hard work, (unless you get the frozen crab meat) and the frying of taukwa simplified!! I now like the flavour of the leeks and have added them into my Popiah.

 For 3 -6 pax 

 Ingredients :

2 kg or 3 large sengkuang (yam bean)

2 carrots

300 gm french beans, thinly sliced

300 gm leeks, thinly sliced

8 pieces small squares of firm tau kwa (soya bean cakes)

1 big piece of chicken breast meat finely, shredded and seasoned with salt, pepper and some light soya sauce

300- 400 gram large prawns, peeled and minced, and seasoned with salt, pepper and some light soya sauce.

Fried Shallots : 20 – 30 shallots thinly sliced, deep fried and stored in an air tight jar  

Coriander (cilantro) leaves, for garnishing and flavoring  

Lettuce leaves (optional)                           

2 pkts of Popiah skin (500 gm each), these can be bought from Tesco Hypermarket or if you could get some freshly made, that would be great.

Chillie Paste : Grind together, 8-10 fresh chillies, 10-12 pips of garlic and chillie padi (bird eye chillie) Season with some salt and sugar.

Sweet paste, (these can be bought from provision shops from Chinatown

Cooking oil and 1 head of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

 Method : 

1. Deep fry the shallots (these can be prepared earlier).
2. Prepare the chillie paste.
3. Thinly shred the tau kwa(soya bean cakes) and fry in oil till dry and fragrant.(season with salt to taste)

4. Use a shredder or food processor to shred the sengkuang(yam bean) and carrots.
5. Fry the minced garlic in oil till fragrant, add in the chicken meat shreds
6. Add in the minced prawns. Fry till fragrant.
7. Add in the sengkuang (yam bean) and carrots. Try to keep dry and not to add water.
8. Fry till vegetables are soft and done, then add in the greens. (French beans and Chinese leeks), fry till done.
9. Finally add in the fried taukwa (soya bean cakes), allow it to cook thoroughly.
10. Season to taste. The dish should not be too wet, (the popiah skin will break up) especially after the addition of the fried taukwa.

  Skin Preparation before Serving :

1. After defrosting,(those bought from Tesco) peel the Popiah skin, (they usually stick to one another) to overlap. Just peel those you are going to use.
2. Steam over gently boiling water on a plate larger than the skin for 5-8 minutes.(even those bought from the market, unless it is freshly made), (Not too long, otherwise they stick together).

If steaming a big stack of the Popiah skin, please do flip over a few times for even distribution of steam over the skin. Alternatively, you could just steam only a few at a time.

To Serve :

1. Place Poh Piah skin on a clean plate.
2. Spread a row each of the chillie paste and sweet sauce paste on the poh piah skin.
   
   
3. If using, spread a small piece of lettuce on the skin.
4. Scoop 3-4 tabsp. of the cooked Popiah vegetables, arrange in a row on the center of the skin.
5. Garnish with fried shallots and coriander (cilantro) leaves.
6. Flip one side of the skin over the vegetables, compact and roll it in a little, bend the ends, and finish the rolling.
7. Now, you get to enjoy the delicious Popiah as you bite into it. Yummy!
8. Alternatively, cut the Popiah into 4 -5 pieces and serve.

NOTES : 

1. If you are able to get Popiah skin from the market, which usually comes in packs of 300 gram, you will need 3 packs.
2. The Popiah vegetables can be kept in the fridge, heated up and will then be ready to be served again. If you cook a lot, you may want to spread out your Popiah skin purchases especially since those popiah skins go stale very easily.
3. Any left over skin are best sealed in a plastic bag. Cover the plastic bag with a damp cloth to prevent drying up. Store in coolest part of your fridge.
4. I personally find frying the tau kwa (soya bean cakes) tedious, as it is difficult to source for the hard ones, they are normally too soft to fry well from shreds. I now fry the whole pieces, then shred them and re-fry till as dry as you possibly can.

Most of the preparation can be done in advance, so fret not.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :-D

Perut Ikan Curry (Preserved Fish Stomach Curry)

I usually would have some frozen Preserved Fish Stomach in my freezer (preserved by generously

covering the stomachs with salt, something like 2-3 pieces of finger length fish stomachs with 2-3 tsp. of salt).I usually request for some fish stomachs from my fish monger, enough to at least fill a small jam jar, as it is not very pleasant to clean these stomachs, so I do prefer to do more of it and less often, rather than doing less of it and more frequent.

Besides, I prefer the homemade to the commercial ones, that is one of the reason, I endure some unpleasantness to savor a wonderful curry, picked up from the culinary skills imparted by my late mother-in-law.

To describe it simply, I would say it is a potpourri of aromatic herbs, vegetables and seafood cooked in a medley of spices, tamarind juice and coconut milk.

This recipe would give you a about 3- 4 litres of Perut Ikan curry. You could half the recipe or freeze the balance.

Ingredients :

2 -3 pieces of approximately finger length preserved fish stomachs (leave the salt, or saltish gravy behind, only to be added if your curry needs more salt to taste.)

300 to 400 gm large or medium sized prawns 

Spices to be grounded :	Herbs to be thinly shredded
10 - 12 dried chillies seeded	Some limau purut/kaffir lime leaves (thinly shredded)
12 shallots/onions	15 sprigs Daun kesum/ Vietnamese coriander(or Vietnamese mint)
6 pips garlic	1-2 bunga kantan(torch ginger flower)
2 lemon grass
1 tsp shrimp paste/belachan

  

Other spices : 5 tabsp of fish curry powder, or 4 tabsp of wet curry fish paste(this can be bought from the market)

Vegetables :

One 454 gm tin canned pineapple cubes, cut the larger pieces into 2

2 bunches or 200 gms 'daun kadok' or wild betel leaves(a type of aromatic ground creepers)

200-300 gms long beans

2 round medium-sized brinjals or 1 large long brinjal

Half grated coconut, to get about 150-200 ml of thick coconut milk

Half cup tamarind /(assam jawa) from about 1/2 tabsp of the paste (I usually bought those seedless tamarind paste                                                                                               

Preparation :

1. Grind the chillies, shallots, garlic, lemon grass and belachan together.
2. Clean the prawns, by trimming off the heads, sharp tails and trim open the back to remove intestines with a pair of scissors. I prefer not to remove the shells.
3. Cut long beans into 2 cm. lengths. Cut the brinjals into similar sizes as the long beans. (Remove the skin).
4. Fry/sauté ground spices in oil till fragrant and oil surfaces. Then add in the fish curry paste. Fry till fragrant.
5. Add in the fish stomach(s).
6. Add in the long beans, followed by the brinjals and lightly fry.
7. Next add in a cup of water, bring to boil.
8. Add in the prawns, cubed pineapples, shredded herbs (daun kesum, limau purut leaves and bunga kantan) and assam jawa juice.
9. Add in more water if necessary.
10. Bring to boil till vegetables are almost done.
11. Then add in the thick coconut milk and shredded daun kado leaves.
12. Simmer till the coconut milk comes a boil to finish cooking and test for taste. Add in more salt if necessary.

 You could serve the curry with rice or bread. It is equally delicious with either one.

NOTES :

1. I have always use canned pineapples, (please drain them, you may use some of the syrup if necessary)

as they are less sour and they save me the hassle of cutting them. It is not easy to buy ready-cut fresh pineapples 

over here.

2. If you do not have preserved fish stomachs, you may substitute them with salted fish. The taste would not

deviate too much, you would still have a great dish because of all the other great ingredients.

Simple, Easy ‘Ice Kacang’

Our local ‘Ice Kacang’ or literally translated as ‘Peanut Ice’, is undoubtedly a favorite dessert for many, including yours truly.

Aahh, it was so hot and you were so thirsty, and images of your favorite dessert keep floating across your rapacious mind.

You headed for some leftovers of your red bean soup, in the fridge. Voila, your expedition to concoct your own ‘Ice Kacang’ that hot afternoon was just about to begin.

That's my concoction

You eagerly filled your bowl, with four spoonfuls of the thick, leftover red bean soup. Then you reached for your freezer and your favorite Nestle Vanilla Ice Cream, 2 scoops should be adequate, (you thought to yourself). Somehow I have a weakness for Nestle Vanilla Ice Cream, I find it creamier and being not so sweet, the light vanilla taste is so very good. It is simply scrumptious for me. I find other brands not so delectable. Then you stretched out your hand for that cookie jar filled with great tasting roasted peanuts. You sprinkle some on top of your red bean soup, and there, you have it, undeniably a marvelous companion. With your cool, sweet companion, you headed toward your comfortable chair in front of the television. Isn’t that a great way to spend a nice, lazy, relaxing afternoon.

Is this the original?

I assure you that you will enjoy it very much, although it might not look and taste exactly like the original and traditional ice-kacang.

Traditional or original, all are just so good

All you need is some of the ubiquitous red bean soup, which we all had, at one time or another made some. Make use of the leftover/ balance of the red bean soup. (Especially if what is left is thick and gluey, your family and friends may have taken most of the liquid.) Try adding some ice cubes, or ice shavings, or any confections, jellies or delicacies that you fancy. How about adding some ‘chendol’, blueberries or cranberries? Yummy! There goes my dieting plan through the window, but who cares!

Dry Ray Fish Curry

As I upload my posting for my Assam Pedas Ikan (Tamarind Spicy Fish Curry),

I could not help thinking about my Dry Ray Fish Curry which I had recently prepared.

It should be the sequel to my Assam Pedas Ikan, both dishes are almost identical to me.

The ingredients used are almost the same, except the amount of each ingredient is increased so that the flavors of all the ingredients will penetrate well into the meat of the ray fish. The dish is somewhat similar to the 'Ikan Bakar' that is sold at some hawker centres.

You could opt to keep the piece of Ray Fish (approximately the size of an 8 inch round plate, or +/- 400 gms) which you bought from the market or cut the ray fish into small pieces. If the Ray Fish is too big, not only will it be fishy, the meat will be much thicker and that would take a much longer time to cook. There are different species of Ray Fish. There is a specie which will not grow much larger than a plate, with not much flesh. I cut my Ray Fish into small pieces for serving purposes, as dinner time can vary for some of us and the dish will look neater for late diners.

If you are using a whole, or an intact piece of Ray Fsh, you could shallow pan fry the fish over low heat in the oily, fried spicy ingredients till cooked and dry.

Ingredients :

+/- 400 gm fish Ray Fish/Ikan Pari

8 dried chilies (seeded for a mild flavour), less chilies as it is a dry curry.

15 shallots

6 pips garlic

1 inch piece of fresh turmeric (about the size of your distal phalange of middle finger

1 thick lemon grass

1 ½ inch piece of belachan(shrimp paste), more belachan for this dish too

Some limau purut/kaffir lime leaves (finely shredded or torn up)

Daun kesum/ Vietnamese coriander(or Vietnamese mint), optional for this dish

Assam jawa/tamarind paste (about ½ teaspoon) mixed with a quarter cup of water.

Salt and pepper to taste

Try to get it drier than this, if you like those 'Ikan Bakar', at the hawker centres.

Banana leaves or pandan leaves to line your pan, i.e. if you are not cutting your Ray Fish into pieces, i.e just one big piece. It will help you flip your Ray Fish and they do give a very nice aroma too. The skin of the Ray Fish is gelatinous and sticky. Another alternative is to use a non-stick pan.

Method :

1. Grind the chilies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, lemon grass and belachan together.
2. Fry the ingredients in oil till fragrant. You will need a little more oil for this dish.
3. Add assam jawa/tamarind water, about a quarter cup, or just enough for the fish to cook.
4. Add in the kaffir lime leaves.
5. Bring to a boil and add in the pieces of Ray Fish.
6. Add in salt and sugar to taste.
7. As Ray Fish is a bit bland, you will have to add in more sugar for this dish.
8. Simmer till the sauce thick and dry.
9. It would taste better, if you end the cooking process by some slow frying in the oily spices.

Assam Pedas Ikan/ Tamarind Spicy Fish Curry

Could not help wondering if the naming it Tamarind Spicy Fish Curry is misleading, as there is another dish, (the Assam Gulai) using almost all the same ingredients, but without frying the ground ingredients in oil till fragrant. You just put all the spices and herbs into the tamarind juice, bring to a boil, simmer a while then add in the fish. Complete the cooking with the requisite salt and sugar seasoning. Absolutely delicious if you add some mint leaves and shredded bunga kantan (torch ginger flower).

I hardly cook that now as my family does not like it and freshly ground ingredients are a must for the Assam Gulai dish.

I normally will use a chopper to grind/chop the ingredients in bulk. Anytime I need to dish out a curry, I just thaw some and voila! time to enjoy a delicious meal. Depending on the dish, I sometimes have to change or adjust the ingredients/spices used.

Assam Pedas Ikan/Tamarind Spicy Fish Curry
(the tail portion of the Threadfin that I cooked)
The shredded Torch Ginger Flower provides an occasional change of flavour.

Ingredients :

400 gm fish meat or 2 pieces of fish steaks ( I used ‘senangin’or threadfin)

10 dried chillies (seeded for a mild flavour)

12 shallots

6 pips garlic

1 inch piece of fresh turmeric(the older rhizomes taste better)

1 thick lemon grass

1 inch piece of belachan(shrimp paste)

Some limau purut/kaffir lime leaves (shredded or tore up)

Daun kesum/ Vietnamese coriander(or Vietnamese mint)

Assam jawa/tamarind paste (about 1 teaspoon, mixed with a cup of water and strained.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Aternatively,

i)  use any fish you like (suggestions: red snapper,garoupa)

ii) use the bunga kantan (torch ginger flower), shredded finely, instead 

of the daun kesum and kaffir lime leaves

 Method :

1. Grind the chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, lemon grass and belachan together.
2. Fry the ingredients in oil till fragrant.
3. Add assam jawa/tamarind water, about a cup. (depending on whether you prefer a thicker or thinner curry)
4. Add in the Vietnamese mint and kaffir lime leaves.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Add in the fish, and add in salt and sugar to taste.
7. Simmer till fish is cooked.

In this picture, I used red snapper steaks which I cut into smaller pieces to hasten cooking time.(and Vietnamese mint)

Simple Stir-Fried Mee Sua (wheat vermicelli)

I recently received a gift packet of thick mee sua. I have never tried frying mee sua but decided that it could not be much different from frying beehoon or mee. I did not deep fry the mee sua as that would make it a very unhealthy dish.

The dish ended up tasty, not unlike stir-frying noodles or spaghetti. Yes, I do fry spaghetti in the same manner that I fry my noodles or beehoon. It is a good, localized change from the usual fare of tomato based spaghetti.                      

For 3 pax

Ingredients :

300 gm thick Mee Sua (wheat vermicelli)

5 pips garlic, minced

Some chicken meat and/or pork slices (seasoned with some salt, pepper and light soya sauce, and some cornflour) or prawns

3 pieces of cabbage thinly sliced

Some carrot strips

5 shallots thinly sliced and 3 pips of minced garlic, fried in oil for garnishing

Coriander(cilantro) leaves, for garnishing

1 cup chicken stock

Cooking oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method :

1. Lightly boil the mee sua in boiling water to soften it a little, but not too long, otherwise it becomes too soggy to fry.

2. Fry the minced garlic in oil till fragrant, add in the chicken meat/pork slices .
3. Add in the drained ‘mee sua’, fry a little. Add in chicken stock and vegetables.
4. Stir well, add seasoning to taste.
5. Fry till, the chicken stock is nearly all absorbed.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and fried onion slices.
7. Serve warm with some sambal belachan.

Baked Otak Otak

The Otak Otak, a fish dish cooked in a blend of spices, thinly shredded limau purut(kaffir lime)leaves and coconut milk. My mum’s signature dish, I remember how she would fill banana leaves that have been folded into packages with the fish mixture for steaming. The waft of delightful spices and aroma filling the air would not fail to stir our appetites.

I have modified the recipe a little, using only the daun kadok(aromatic wild betel leaves), omitting the banana leaves to simplify the preparation a little. My mum would say, “not bad at all.”

  

Baked Otak Otak Recipe

Ingredients :

300 to 400 gm white fish meat (2 blocks of Red Snapper or Garoupa or other similar fish meat)

8 dried chillies (seeded for a mild flavour)

12 shallots

5 pips garlic

1 inch piece of fresh tumeric (about the size of your distal phalange of middle finger

1 lemon grass

½  inch piece of belachan (I do not like it too strong for this dish)

4 tabsp of fish curry powder, or 3 tabsp of wet curry fish paste(this can be bought from the market)

Some limau perut/kaffir lime leaves (thinly shredded)

Half grated coconut, to get half a cup of coconut milk

3 eggs

Sufficient 'daun kadok' or wild betel leaves(a type of aromatic ground creepers) for lining tray or pan

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation :

1. Grind the chillies, shallots, garlic, tumeric, lemon grass and belachan together.
2. Mix the ground ingredients with the fish curry powder or wet curry fish paste.
3. Add the beaten eggs, and mix well.
4. Add the thinly shredded kaffir lime leaves.
5. Add in the fish meat that has been thinly sliced.
6. Stir well, add salt and pepper seasoning.
7. Line a baking or steaming tray with ‘daun kadok’.
8. Scoop the fish meat and egg mixture into the tray, leave about ¼ cup of the gravy for spreading over the top of the top 'daun kadok'.
9. Cover the fish and egg mixture with a layer of ‘daun kadok’.
10. Pour the remaining gravy onto the ‘daun kadok’ and bake for about 30-35 minutes at at 180 deg. till sides of tray are slightly brown.

NOTES :

·              You could steam the Otak Otak in a plate/tray for about 15-20 minutes instead of baking it.

·              You can estimate the proportion of coconut milk used. It should be approximately 1.5 times the volume of eggs.

·              Some cooks omitted the curry powder and some do add some rice flour to thicken the gravy.

Focaccia Bread

I was looking for something new to bake and chance upon a recipe for the Focaccia Bread.

It is an Italian bread. There are various variants, slight variations to the olive oil content and to the flavourings or toppings. You could use Focaccia Bread as a pizza base, eat it on its own or use it for sandwiches. You can top it with cheese too.

The recipe that I am using is oily but with the heavy use of the olive oil you do get a very tasty crust. I did some amendments to the amount of olive oil and to the herbs that I use, as we practically could not find these fresh herbs here in Malaysia, especially in Alor Setar.

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Ingredients

300 gm bread flour

1tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

½ tabsp  sugar

2 tabsp extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tabsp herb oil (instead of 3 tabsp olive oil)

200 ml water

Olive oil for greasing your tray

Herb Oil  

2 ½ tabsp extra virgin olive oil (1 ½ for spreading on top of the dough before baking)

2 tsp dried herbs (plump the herbs in a little hot water)

(I used mixed dried herbs which consisted of mixture of Oregano, Rosemary, Sage,      

Thyme, Basil, Savory and Majoram, bought all packed in a bottle from the supermarket)

2 tsp freshly ground/pressed garlic

 

Preparation

1.   As usual I prepare a yeast starter dough, using 50 ml warm water, 1 tsp yeast and ½

      tabsp sugar. Let the yeast mixture rise for 10-20 mins.

2.   Mix together the bread flour and salt.

3.   Mix together the herb oil (heated to 100 deg. C) and add 1 tabsp to the flour.

4.   Add another 2 tabsp of extra virgin olive oil to the flour mixture.

5.   Add starter dough to the flour mixture.

6.   Add the balance of water. Leave some and check that it is pliable and of the right consistency.

7.   Knead well for about 10 mins.

8.   Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for 1 hr. or double tin size. 

9.   Liberally oil a baking tray with olive oil (about 1 tabsp)

10. Punch down the dough to knock down the air and spread it out on the baking tray.
      Press out but do not pull too much.

 

11. Cover and let rise again till double in size.

12. Preheat the oven to 425 deg. Depending on your oven, or tray(s) and if

      you prefer something really crispy, you could even try for 450 deg. This would

      also depend on the thickness of your dough. I prefer mine, crisp on the outside and

      soft on the inside, besides with my tray of diameter 9 inches, the dough is not spread

      thin. Just the way I like it.

13. While preheating the oven, use your finger to poke the dough to make regular, little holes.

14. Liberally spread herb oil on the dough.

15. Bake for 20 to 25 mins. till golden brown. (depending on your tray and oven too).

      Turn your baking tray 180 deg around half time.

16. Cool your Focaccia bread before cutting.

I used a round stainless steel plate, which does not brown as fast as a baking tray, thus calling for some additional time. I like to eat the bread as it is, and it is fabulous.I love it. You could use a 10” x 13” tray. Normally, a rectangular baking tray is used for Focaccia Bread.

Recipe adapted from Michelle, The Brown Eyed Baker

Walnut Raisin Bread

I had not planned to do any baking that morning but it was such a waste of some extra time since I had got up earlier than usual. Besides, I had bought some walnuts, but have yet to get active with the walnuts that I had toasted.

Toast walnuts at 375 degree for 5-10 minutes on foil/parchment paper till fragrant. Be careful not to over brown them. Keep them fresh in a jar for later use.

Looking through my recipes and bread ingredients, I found that I am short of 100 gm of bread flour. Not to be deterred, I substituted the shortage with wheat flour, and it turned out just great.

Walnut Raisin Bread

Ingredients :

300 g high protein flour or 200 g bread flour and 100 g wheat flour

7 g active yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

½ yolk (original recipe is 1 yolk)

40 g castor sugar

¼ tsp salt

140 g water

50 g walnuts coarsely chopped, 50 g raisins

3 tabsp olive oil (original recipe is 20 g butter)

3 extra walnuts, chopped, for decoration

3 tabsp water and 1 tsp red wine (original recipe is 2 tabsp orange juice or rum), I add an extra tabsp water to replace the half egg yolk

¼ tap instant coffee granules (omitted by leehwa)

10 g milk powder (omitted by leehwa)

The reason, I substituted the butter with olive oil and omitted the milk powder is that my hubby does not take milk products (even a teeny bit) and does not like eggs in his bread. I do not like to use margarine, a trans fat which is not so healthy.

I find the consistency a bit wet when I add the 3 tabsp of water, otherwise it is pretty dry from but then I find difficult to handle dough always taste so much better.

Method : (as modified by leehwa)

1. Prepare starter dough with some sugar, yeast and 40 gm water. 
2. Allow it to ferment well for about 10 mins.
3. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients together. ( flours, sugar and salt). Add int the egg yolk.
4. Mix in the olive oil and water gradually. (including rum mixture if using)
5. Knead well till smooth and elastic.
6. Spread or roll out dough a little and spread the raisings and walnuts on the dough.
7. Knead lightly, shape into a round ball and leaving in a oiled bowl, covered with a piece of damp tea-towel. Let it proof for about 40 minutes or double in size.
8. Punch down dough and divide into 4 equal portions.
9. Roll into long buns, leave aside on a lightly greased try. Let it proof for another 30 minutes or double in size.
10. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the extra chopped walnuts. (you could brush with milk or egg mixture too).
11. Bake at 375 deg/190 deg. for 15 to 20 mins. or until cooked.

They tasted just great, soft and fragrant. You could reduce walnuts a little if you do not like their slightly natural bitter taste. It’s a yummy!

Dry Sambal Prawns

Ingredients :

300 gm white fresh sea prawns (large)

8 dried chillies (seeded for a mild flavour)

10 shallots

5 pips garlic

1 inch piece of fresh tumeric (about the size of your distal phalange of middle finger)

1 lemon grass

1 inch piece of belachan

Some limau purut/kaffir lime leaves (shredded or tore up)

Assam jawa (about 1 teaspoon), mixed with some water, a few tablespoon will do
Salt and sugar to taste

I usually buy large prawns as they are easier to work with.

Trim off the heads and sharp tail. It is so much easier to work with a pair of sharp scissors.

I would cut and slit down the back, to remove the intestines. This would also help the flavour of the ingredients to permeate into the prawn better. The slit down the back makes it easier to shell the prawns when you eat them. I do not shell the prawns to retain the sweet taste of the prawn. You could remove them if that is how you like it. And trim off legs (or swimmerets) if they seem untidy.

Method :

1. Grind the chillies, shallots, garlic, tumeric, lemon grass and belachan together.
2. Fry the ingredients in oil till fragrant.
3. Add prawns, fry in curry paste for a few minutes.
4. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
5. Add assam jawa juice, not too much if you like it dry.
6. Add sugar and salt to taste.
7. Simmer till prawns are cooked and sauce reduced.

 

Try it for yourself. Need I say more?

My Chinese New Year Baking Endeavors

You may wonder, why I would go through all the trouble baking Chinese New Year cookies when, we (my family and I) are so… health conscious.

I have not baked any cookies for the past 18 years.

Some of the reasons being :

1. I do not have the time
2. I had a wonderful supplier, who supplied me some of the best and reasonably priced cookies.
3. My late mother-in-law helped to make arrangements for our needs.

 My wonderful friend, has started her young family and she can no longer supply those great cookies. So I am stuck, no supply, you pay expensively for below par cookies.

Recently retired, I definitely could not use the excuse of being too busy to bake, although sometimes, mother nature seems to work extra hard reminding me that age is catching up and that I cannot do ‘all’ I  want, the way I want.

My family and I love Kueh Bangkit, although, I do not even remember baking Pineapple Tarts.  Kueh Bangkit, yes, the last time being in year 1993 but not pineapple tarts.

I checked out the internet for some recipes. There are more than you care to read, and no 2 recipes are the same. All I had to do was just to compare them, adjust them a little to my own traditional (for Kueh Bangkit) recipe.

Similarly, I checked for some Pineapple Tart recipes, however… I do  not have a traditional Pineapple Tart recipe, just a Short Crust Pastry recipe, picked up a long time ago from my secondary school Home Science lessons. Came across a long filed up baking tip on pastry too, which advises to add eggs for Pineapple Tarts but omit that if you are using the pastry recipe for Curry Puffs.

My Kueh Bangkit 2012

I decided on starting off with my favourite, the Kueh Bangkit. Checked out the wet markets for fresh, pure coconut milk. No, one seller was honest enough to tell me no, they do add some water, another seller vehemently denied adding any water. Finally, the neighbourhood grocery shop was happy to sell me an old freshly grated coconut. To get all that wonderfully thick and rich ‘santan,’ kneaded and worked the coconut well with 2 tablespoons of hot water, then squeezed out the rich ‘santan’ using a muslin cloth.

I had fried the tapioca flour a couple of days earlier and make some preparations to ease the workload on the actual baking day.

My Kueh Bangkit Recipe

• 500 g tapioca flour (fry with 4 pandan leaves, till dry and smooth)
• 1 egg and 2 egg yolks beaten up with 180 g castor sugar
• 1 coconut (I gently cooked the coconut milk (+/- one cup,to thicken it without boiling, have to be careful not to bring out the oil)

1. Alternatingly, mix egg batter, coconut and flour. Leave some of the batter and coconut milk for keeping your dough the right consistency. (if the dough gets too dry later on , you could add a some of the remaining egg batter and coconut milk)
2. Knead dough well.
3. Dust bangkit moulds with adequate amounts of flour (use a brush to help you)
4. Press dough on moulds and bang to dislodge the cookies.
5. Bake at 160° for 15-20 mins. on lightly floured baking paper.

For my oven, the bottom browns faster than the top. The dough cannot be too soft otherwise it will stick to the moulds, of course if too hard than it will not taste nice.

The Result :  They are good but not good enough as they are a bit too crunchy, not soft enough, although they did shatter when I dropped them. (LOL)

 

I think it would taste better to switch the eggs to 3 egg yolks. Most recipes use only egg yolks, but that’s for Y2013.

My Pineapple Tarts 201 2

Actually, the thought of stirring for hours to get the pineapple jam just right, puts me off.

Somehow, I told myself, all you have need are pineapples, sugar, flour and butter or margarine. All easily available, just had to get my butt going. Then…my bulb lit up.

My pineapple tarts are going to taste better than those on sale.

I found a recipe that says add the sugar after your grated Pineapple is dry.

My Pineapple Tart Recipe

Pineapple Jam

• 1 ripe pineapple (the last one at the neighbourhood shop, all green ones at the market, some recipes advised using not so ripe). I manually chopped it up about 450 gm of pineapple only as it is so ripe and soft.
• 5 tablespoons castor sugar, it is probably about 125 gm
• Cook till caramelized, and do test for your preferred sweetness.

The Pastry

• 300 gm plain wheat flour
• 150 gm salted butter (skip the sugar if using salted butter)
• 80 gm of icing sugar (only if using unsalted butter)
• 1egg and 1 egg yolk
• 2 tabsp. of ice cold water

1. Cut cold butter into flour with pastry cutter, thereafter use a food processor or chopper to chop it into ‘breadcrumbs’ like mixture.
2. Add beaten eggs and cold water to get a smooth dough.
3. Refrigerate dough for an hour before working.
4. Roll out pastry, and cut into 5 cm lengths.
5. Fill pastry with pineapple filling (rolled into cylindrical strips), do not overlap pastry ends.
6. Brush pastry with egg or yolk mixture.
7. Bake at 175° for 15-20 mins.

Most pineapple tart recipe uses more fat than my basic pastry recipe. I prefer less fat. I used a chopper to help me get the pastry into fine breadcrumbs texture. (I split it up into about 5 portions, with 2 short spurts for each portion. You could try doing it in 3 portions, and maybe 3 short spurts).

The Result :  They are good but not very nice to look at, no consistency in size, real amateurish. As I only used 40 gm of sugar for the pastry (did not want it too sweet) it ended up rather flat as my butter was salted. I like it though.

Should I change the eggs to 2 yolks? I have about a third of the pastry left, so if your pineapple is small, adjust the portions accordingly.

Now, these Almond Flakes Bites and London Almond Chocolate Cookies were baked by my sister-in-law. They look and taste so very professional.

Suggestions

All in all, I fried my Kueh Bangkit flour while I was doing something else (multi-tasking) so that it will not seem too long. A word of caution though, do not leave the stirring if you are going to be gone for too long (you surely do not want burnt flour). Just switch off your gas, you can continue frying when you are back after 2-3 minutes.

It was the same for my pineapple jam too, multi-tasking makes it all so much easier. Add sugar only after your pineapple jam has become dry. Our local pineapples taste so much better and the juices are full of flavour.

Another way to cut down your work is to buy pineapple roll pastry press or mould and of course a food processor.

I wonder if I am able to get a Kenwood multi pro compact FP250 with 15 functions (not available anymore, that’s what I have been told). Otherwise, I shall have to settle for something else.