PULUT PANGGANG

Pulut Panggang

is a favourite among both the 

Chinese Community and our Malay friends.

These are either made with sambal (spicy) or kunyit.

My late mom liked these non-spicy type

but they may be hard to come by

because the spicy ones are more popular.

My brother Richard started to plant bananas recently

and 

I managed to get some banana leaves from his farm.

And, I was told that I must not use the leaves from pisang emas 

because it makes the kuih bitter!

Try, if you want to prove my friend wrong!

Pulut Panggang

(A) 1 cup glutinous rice, soaked for 4 hours)

       100 ml water

       50ml coconut milk

       3/4 tsp salt

(B) 3/4 cup shredded coconut
       1/2 tsp kunyit powder
       3 shallots
       1/2 old ginger
       1 lemongrass
       2 Tbsp dried shrimp, washed, soaked & keep the soaking water
       2-3 Tbsp cooking oil
       salt & sugar to taste

(C) 1-2 banana leaves for wrapping
             a) soften by heating over the griddle
             b) cut into 5" or 6" squares
       few tooth picks for securing
                         

Method:
1) steam (A) until glutinous rice is cooked
2) slice shallots, ginger and lemongrass thinly
3) blend them together until fine, add kunyit powder
4) blend the soaked dried shrimp
5) Heat up the oil & add the blended ingredients and fry
6) add dried shrimp & continue frying until fragrant
7) add shredded coconut, soaking water and salt & sugar to taste.
8) remove from heat when the ingredients bind together. Let cool
9) wrap as shown in the photo below & secure the ends with tooth picks
10) heat the griddle with a little oil & arrange the kuih on it to 'char'
11) serve warm is nicer

SWEET POTATO ONDE ONDE

Sweet Potato Onde Onde

is shared by Zoe Liu @zoebakeforhappykids

I have to agree with Zoe Liu 

that these onde onde are better 

than those made traditionally with tapioca flour and glutinous rice flour.

Besides rich in fibre,

they remain soft & chewy a long time.

They get their natural colour from the sweet potato,

orange, yellow or purple

the choice is yours.

Sweet Potato Onde Onde

makes 20 pieces

Dough: combine & knead to form a pliable, non-sticky dough:

             160g warm freshly steamed potato, mashed

             50g glutinous rice flour

Filling: 80g chopped gula melaka

Coating: mix and steam together, leave aside to cool:

              100g freshly grated coconut

               pinch of salt

Method:

1. divide dough into 20 parts & shape into balls

2. flatten dough & wrap adequate amount of filling inside, dorm into a ball

3. cook these balls in a pot of boiling water

4. once these balls float, remove and drop into the bowl of coconut to coat

5. set aside to cool completely

6. enjoy

NASI LEMAK

Nasi Lemak

I have never dreamed of cooking Nasi Lemak

because I am not a fan for spicy food.

Moreover, I do not fancy dishes that require hard work!

Somehow, I got the inspiration from both 

Loke Peng and Regina Lim.

Regina's Sambal comes at the right time.

 Loke Peng's encouragement, detailed guidance

and the secret ingredient all helped to bring this dish on the table!

Love it,

a bit too spicy though!

Ikan Bilis Sambal

2-3 Tbsp of sambal from my earlier post

a handful of fried ikan bilis

1-2 big onion, sliced

1 Tbsp tomato ketchup

seasoning: sugar and salt to taste

1) heat up a little oil, fry the sliced onions until fragrant

2) add sambal and ikan bilis, saute'

3) add tomato ketchup, a little water if necessary

4) add seasoning

5) serve with blue pea flower rice, hard boiled egg and sliced cucumber

Notes:

1. For the rice:

    a) Soak blue pea flower in boiling water for 1/2 hour or so

    b) wash rice & add the strained blue pea flower water, 

    c) top up with some coconut milk 

    d) add a little salt

    e) put 1 knotted pandan leaf & 1 smashed serai on top

    f) cook it

DIPPING SAMBAL SAUCE

This Sambal Sauce

can be used as a dipping sauce

or used to cook spicy dishes like ayam masak merah, nasi lemak etc.

This recipe is adapted from Regina Lim's 

Regina Dipping Sambal.

The following amount is 1/2 of her recipe.

Dipping Sambal Sauce

Ingredients:

(A) 150g dried chillies, (see Loke Peng's instruction for easy preparation.)

      

(B) 50g dried shrimp, soaked, drained & blended

(C) blend together until fine: 

      250g shallots, sliced

      100g garlic, sliced

      25g serai, sliced

      25g buah keras, banged

      25g lengkuas, chopped

      1" kunyit hidup, cut

(D) 200g assam jawa squeezed with

       150g water

(E) Seasoning to taste: gula melaka

                                     salt

                                     sugar

(F) 1.5 cup cooking oil, approx

Method:

1. cut chilli lengthwise with scissors, soak in hot water

2. use chopsticks to pick up chilli, rinse again. Most of the seeds will come out

3. blend chilli finely and leave aside

4. heat up oil in a kuali, saute' (C) until fragrant

5. add finely blended dried prawns, fry until fragrant

6. add blended chilli paste and fry until red oil surfaced

7. slowly add the assam juice, keep stirring

8. add seasoning according to your liking.

MAI'S EASY RENDANG AYAM

Rendang

many will shy away 

because it is a tedious long hour cooking dish

Yet, it is loved by many.

I have this recipe shared by my Malay colleague, Mai

It is her mom's no fuss recipe

Mai's Easy Rendang Ayam

A) 1/4 chicken, chopped into bite size

B) 2 slices ginger

     2 slices galangal

     5 shallots

     10 dried chili, remove seed & soak in hot water

      

C) 1/8 tsp turmeric powder

     1 pc dried tamarind slice (assam keping)

     1 lemon grass, smashed

     50ml coconut milk

     1-2 Tbsp grated coconut

     1/2 daun kunyit (turmeric leaf), shredded

      salt & sugar to taste

1. blend ingredients (B), no need to be very fine

2. marinate chicken pieces with blended (B) in a stewing pot

3. add turmeric powder, tamarind, lemon grass, grated coconut, mix well

4. add coconut milk & cook in Low fire, stirring often (add more water if necessary)

5. when chicken is soft, add turmeric leaves, salt & sugar to taste.

6. Enjoy

Important Note:
She says if you use packet coconut milk, you need to fry (B) with 2 Tbsp oil
in a wok before adding the rest of the ingredients. This is because oil has been
removed from packet santan! 

AYAM MASAK MERAH

Ayam masak merah
is the 1st Malays dish that I learn to cook

I was attracted to its colour
and then the taste

There are many ways of cooking this dish
depending on the various spices used
but
I prefer this simple method

Ayam Masak Merah

1 chicken thigh, chopped into bite size & marinate with turmeric

Seasoning:

1 big onion, chopped finely

1 serai, sliced thinly

1 Tbsp chili sauce, spicy type

1 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp soya sauce

1-2 tsp tamarind, pressed & soaked in 1/4 cup water, & seeds removed

1/2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

1. fry chicken pieces in oil until dry & slightly brown, remove

2. heat up 1-2 Tbsp oil in the wok, tumis onions & serai until fragrant

3. combine the rest of the seasoning sauce in a small bowl

4. pour the seasoning into the wok & allow to cook through

5. add chicken pieces & salt if necessary

6. remove from heat & allow chicken to soak in the sauce until serving time

KETUPAT DAUN PALAS

A Malay Traditional Kuih

made during Hari Raya Puasa

Recipe adapted from: www.nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2011/0//homemade-ketupat.daun-palas.html

Ingredients:

330g glutinous rice - soaked overnight

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 tsp salt

daun palas

Optional: beans of any kind - pre-cooked until soft

1 tsp salt to be added to the boiling water

Method:

1) steam rice with coconut milk & salt, until half cooked (20min)

2) fill ketupat pouch with half cooked rice

3) if beans are used, mix beans into rice

4) boil a pot of hot water enough to cover the ketupat

5) add 1 tsp salt to boilng water before putting in the ketupat

6) boil ketupat over low heat for 2 hours

7) drain and let cool before serving