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

NONYA OTAK-OTAK

Nonya Otak-Otak

This Traditional Peranakan Otak-otak

(Fish Cake)

is shared by Molly Leong @Bishan

This otak-otak is cooked over a stove,

with a simple wok or pan at home.

Although the method of cooking has been simplified,

its flavour has not been compromised.

If you doubt, make some to proof it!

Ingredients:

1 kg mackerel / ikan tengerri / ikan Ba-Tang

6 pcs banana leaves

2 eggs

1 thick coconut milk extracted from 1 coconut

Seasoning:

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp cornflour

2 tsp salt

Chilli Paste:

10 red chillies

10 dried red chillies

10 slices galangal (I used 1/2 tsp galangal powder)

2 stalk lemongrass, sliced thinly

50g belachan (I used 35g belachan powder)

8 candlenut

2 big onions

10 shallots

2" turmeric (I used 2 tsp turmeric powder)

Method:

1. Prepare the banana leaves

    -Run banana leaves over medium-low fire on the stove to soften it.

    -cut into 6"x6" squares. wash & set aside

2. Fillet the fish

    -using a spoon to scrape the fish meat from the skin. 

    -divide the portion into 1/2

3. Prepare the chilli paste

    -Into a food processor, all ingredients for chilli paste and seasoning, chop finely

    -add 1/2 portion of fish, slowly drizzle in the coconut milk. 

      DO NOT POUR in the coconut milk all at once!

      You should get a smooth paste, not watery!

      You may not use up all the coconut milk.

4. Using a spatula mix in the eggs & the remaining fish.

    if the mixture is too dry, can add coconut milk by the Tablespoon at a time.

5. wrap & grill the otak

  -scoop 50-100g otah into each banana leaf

   -secure with a toothpick on both ends

6. heat up a flat frying pan. 

    - grill the otak for about 10-14min, 

    - flip over occasionally until the leaves have browned.

    - the meat is cooked when the otak is firm to the touch

Feedback:
Loke Peng, Jo Lim and Carolyn Chan suggested to use
Daun Kaduk or Kah Lau Yip to
1) line the banana leaf before putting on the otak paste
2) if steaming in a tray, line the tray & cover the paste with daun kaduk
Thank you my friends, I appreciate your feedback.

MIKU SPONGE DOUGH METHOD

Miku comes in red colour most of the time.

It is either shaped round or pillow shaped.

I run out of red coloring

and 

also conveniently forgot about the pillow shaped buns.

And as a result, here is my

round and white Miku 

 These Miku or buns,

using the sponge dough method

rose beautifully and remained soft even on the 3rd day

according to its recipe owner,

Kimmy from Cookingpleasure.

Yes, the following photo is taken on the 2nd day.

Sponge Dough

(makes 4 pieces)

225g plain flour, sifted 

2 tsp instant yeast

125ml water

1. mix all ingredients into a soft dough.

    Cover to proof for 1-2 hours

Bun Dough

75g plain flour, sifted with

1/2 tsp double action baking powder

75g castor sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 Tbsp coconut milk

1/2 tsp shortening

Others

red colour diluted with water, for brushing bun

4 pieces grease proof paper round or 3"x5"

1. add bun dough ingredients to risen sponge dough.

    knead in bread machine, dough cycle, until soft and smooth.

    Allow to proof 30min or until double in size

2. divide dough into 4 parts and shape either

    a) roll each piece into a smooth ball or

    b) using the thumb and the index fingers,press in the centre of the ball to form an oblong

3. put dough onto a piece of paper

4. leave to proof until double, about 30min

5. before steaming, brush dough with red colour water

6. put buns into the cold steamer, fill with enough water, and steam on high heat for 20min

7. off heat & let bun remain in the steamer for 3 min before opening.

    The purpose is to get a smooth skin bun

Note:
The dough is quite stiff

SAMBAL BELACAN

Sambal Belacan
a popular Malaysian Chilli Sauce,
goes well with any form of noodles, either fried or soupy.

If you love spicy sauce
you will love this
as it has the extra flavour of sourness of added lime juice!

Lime is rather rare and expensive,
so many use calamnasi or lemon to replace it.

Some like the chilli blended fine like mine
while others prefer it to be a bit coarse like the one shared by Linda Ooi.

Only 3 simple ingredients, namely chilli, belacan and lime.
Just combine them!

Sambal Belacan 

1.5 Tbsp belacan, toasted in a dry pan

8 fresh chillis, seeds removed & cut rounghly

2 chilli padi (can add more if prefer more spicy)

juice from 1 lime

1. all ingredients except lime juice, blended to the texture you like

2. add lime juice and mix well

3. serve in a saucer

4. store reminder in the refrigerator

If you cannot finish, you can use it to cook

Sambal Belacan Fish

by blending some shallots
 and
mix it with the Sambal Belacan
to stuff inside the fish.

Fry until fragrant!

Sambal Belacan Prawns & Pineapple

BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE DESSERT

Pulut Hitam

or Black Sticky Rice

is unpolished Black Glutinous Rice,

full of beneficial minerals.

Recent research has found it to be a cancer-fighting Superfood.

Black Pulut Porridge 

is one of the few desserts that 

a new mother is able to enjoy during the confinement month.

You will get a plain black pulut dessert in most of the hawkers' stall,

served with a splash of coconut cream on top.

If you are cooking your own,

you can cook it with either dried longan or red beans.

Sometimes, white glutinous rice

 is added to give the extra smooth texture to the dessert.

Sharing with you this recipe:

Black Glutinous Rice Porridge

150g black pulut rice, soaked 2 hours & drained

800ml water

2 pandan leaves, knotted

75-100g sugar

pinch of salt

To serve:

thick coconut cream or santan 

1. combine black glutinous rice, water & bring to a boil

2. once boiled, add pandan leaves & cook until soft. 

    Add more water if the liquid dries up. 

    I used the pressure cooker to do the job.

3. once done, remove pandan leaves & add sugar and salt

4. serve with some coconut cream as topping.

Have some left over dessert?

Convert it to 

Black Pulut Ice Potong!

Oh dear, cook too much?

Still have?

Make a Black Glutinous Rice Sponge Cake like me.

NONYA CHANG

My Nonya Chang

has lost its glamorous blue colour!

Traditional Nonya Chang has a distinctive sweet and savoury taste

with a patch blue glutinous rice 

coloured with blue pea flower juice.

Was my blue pea flower juice too diluted

or

was it the reflections

that make it lost its glamour?

I know it is definitely my fault.

I refer to Mykitchen101en for the recipe

and followed very closely.

First, I started with the spices.

Since I was told that this recipe is rather spicy,

I reduced the spices to 1/2!

If you are curious, here is how I did it...

Spices:

I used 1/2 of the following amount

25g coriander seed

20g white pepper seed

1. combine both seeds in a frying pan

2. stir fry until fragrant 5-6 min, let cool

3. blend the seeds until fine, sift & discard any coarse leftover

Pork Filling:

450g skinless pork belly, diced

30g mushroom, soaked & diced

110g winter melon sugar, diced

4 Tbsp cooking oil

60g chopped shallots

40g chopped garlic

35g minced bean paste/taucu

40g sugar

Note: 

to make dicing easier, blanch the pork belly in hot water for 2 min to firm up

1. preheat frying pan, add oil & fry shallots & garlic until golden brown

2. add bean paste & cook until fragrant

3. add pork, cook until the outer layer turns white

4. add mushroom & continue cooking for 1 min

5. add spices gradually, mix well

6. add winter melon & season to taste

7. divide the filling into 12 equal parts

Ingredients for Glutinous rice

500g glutinous rice, soaked for 4 hours, drained

1 Tbsp cooking oil

25g chopped shallots

1 tsp fine salt

200ml mushroom soaking water

3 Tbsp thick blue pea flower juice

  

1. preheat frying pan, add cooking oil, fry shallots until fragrant

2. add glutinous rice and cook for 1 min

3. add salt to mushroom soaking water, mix well

4. add this water gradually to glutinous rice while stir frying

5. cook until water has dried up

6. dish out 600g of rice, divide into 12 portions

7. add blue pea flower juice to the remaining rice & cook until dry

8. divide into 12 portions too

Wrapping:

24 pc bamboo leaves, soaked & cleaned

some strings to tie, soaked

6 pieces pandan leaves, cut into halves 

1. fold 2 pieces bamboo leaves into a cone, add 1 pandan leaf

2. put one portion of blue colour rice into the cone, press down

3. add with one portion of the filling

4. top with a layer of white rice

5. use a wet hand to press the rice until firm

6. fold to shape & tie with a string

Cooking:

1. bring a large pot of water to the boil

2. put in the dumplings, the water level must be higher than the dumplings

3. bring to a boil again, reduce to medium heat, cover & cook for 2 hours 30min

4. if using the pressure cooker, use bean function.

Notes:

1. cooled dumplings should be refrigerated

2. can be freezed up to 3 months

NONYA APOM BERAS

Nonya Apom Beras

a traditional rice pancake

with sweet filling, peanuts & banana

Sorry my photo does not look as appetizing

but I can tell you it is soft and fragrant

and 

it is definitely yummy if you are a fan of Nonya kueh.

As the author of  this recipe of kristygourmet.blogspot.com says,

you will be fascinated how beautiful this apom looks,

with holes all around!

I am afraid I fail to show clearly the special feature in my photo.

Luckily I have one while still in the frying pan.

This Nonya version of apom is thicker and more like a western pancake.

This is kristy's recipe (I have reduced the portion), if you wish to try:

Nonya Apom Beras

(A) 1/4 tsp yeast

      1/4 tsp sugar

      15g water

(B) 75g rice flour

       1/2 tsp glutinous rice flour

       1/2 tsp tapioca flour

       1/8 tsp salt

       125g coconut milk

(C) 15g rice flour

      100g coconut water

      1 pandan leaf, knotted, optional

(D) 1 Tbsp blue colour from blue pea flowers

Method:

1. mix togther (A) and leave aside for 15min until frothy

2. combine ingredients (B)

3. mix ingredients (C) & heat over medium flame to get a smooth paste, let cool

4. combine and mix well all 3 (A) (B) (C) & leave aside for 2 hours

5. remove 1/2 cup of the mixture & add blue pea colour to it

6. heat up a frying pan, rub surface with a little oil

7. pour 2 Tbsp of batter onto the pan & cook uncovered, over medium heat till bubbles appear

8. add some blue colour batter on the apom, gently swirl with a chopstick

9. the apom is done when it is no longer sticky, pick up & serve 

Note:

These can either be served with filling as I did

or serve with curry if you like.

NONYA KAYA POTONG

Nonya Kaya Potong

We are familiar with Kaya spread on toast. 

All heads turned when Rosalind Chiew posted this 

Nonya Kaya Potong.  

This nostalgic Kaya Potong is steamed

in Jacobs cream crackers rectangular biscuit box 

which many of us are familiar with. 

Many of those who know about this seri Kaya, 

gave thumbs up for it, 

while others like me were eager to try steaming one! 

Thank you Rosalind Chiew for this recipe. 

Curiosity has made me rolled up my sleeves 

and 

stand by the stove stirring. ....

Ingredients:

 1:1:1 ratio 

of eggs : white sugar : santan.

1 pandan leaf, cut

Note: 
1. I used only 2/3 of the amount of sugar
2. Duck eggs are recommended for better taste
      

Method:

1. Stir the eggs & sugar till combine.The mixture will be smooth & slightly shiny.
2. Sieve into a bowl. 
3. Add 1/2 of the santan & continue to stir over stove using double boiler (baine maire).

4. Add the remaining santan slowly & pandan leaves, continue to stir till all sugar dissolve.

5. Continue stirring till the mixture is slightly thicken (abt 1hr ) 

6. Remove from baine maire & pour into a parchment lined steaming tray 

7.

7. Cover with parchment paper & aluminium foil.

8. steam in a slow cooker @ low temp for 8 hrs 

9. Let it cool before cutting.

SAMBAL VEGETABLES

Sambal Ladies’ Fingers

is a common dish among the locals here.

We can order this dish in most of the 'ju chow' or 'siou chow' shops.

It may be considered a Nonya dish 

because of the Sambal used for cooking this dish.

Nevertheless, the taste of the dish depends a lot on the Sambal used.

There is no special skill required to cook this dish
but a good Sambal is necessary.

I have a good Sambal recipe to share with you if you are interested.

Beside cooking with lady fingers,
more types of vegetables can be added and it becomes

'Si Tai Tin Wong'

4 types of vegi, namely lady's finger, brinjal, long beans and petai,
fried together with Sambal Belacan.

How about this?

Sambal Long Beans
just as appetizing!

Yummy!

SAMBAL HAEBEE - HAEBEE HIAM

Sambal Haebee

gives a finishing touch to whatever food that you are having.

I express my special thanks to my Facebook friend

Ding Mee Ling

from Sitiawan

for this Classic Nonya recipe

It may be time consuming to prepare

but it really worth the trouble.

Remember, never reduce the amount, you will regret cooking too little!

Ingredients:

500g dried shrimps, soaked & chopped 

600g shallots, peeled & sliced

1 bulb garlic, peeled & sliced

10-15g dried chilli, soaked & sliced

5-10 fresh chilli, big

5-10 chilli, spicy type
8 lemongrass, white part only

3" fresh turmeric

1" belacan

1 ball assam jawa. add water & squeeze out juice

10 limau perut leaves, torn 1/2 (optional if you do not have)

brown sugar & salt to taste

1. blend shallots, garlic, lemongrass all chillis, turmeric & belacan together

2. heat kuali and fry chopped dried shrimp until dry, remove

3. heat 2-3 cups oil in the kuali, add the blended ingredients & fry until fragrant 

4. when oil emerge from the chilli, add the fried dried shrimp

5. add limau perut leaves, if used

6. add assam jawa juice, brown sugar & salt to taste

7. leave to cool before storing in bottles

TAPIOCA CAKE WITH EGG

Tapioca Cake
is made from 3 main ingredients,
namely, tapioca, sugar & coconut milk.

You can very well make a Tapioca cake with just the 3 ingredients mentioned.

Other ingredients are added
to improve its texture &
to enhance the flavour.

I have been experimenting with various methods & ingredients
and
I have come out with this recipe
which I gladly share with you.

Tapioca Cake With Egg

800g tapioca (blend with 2 cups water, until fine)

175g sugar

250g santan

50g water

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp fresh pandan juice

20-30g butter (to oil the baking tray & balance added to main batter)

1. chop tapioca into pieces & blend with 2 cups water, until fine

2. squeeze out all the water & leave the liquid to settle

3. After 15-20min, pour away the water & add the starch back to the tapioca

4. Combine all ingredients & mix well

5. pour batter into oiled baking tin

6. bake in preheated oven 180'C for 60min

7. and another 10-15min @200'C for browning.

Baked by Facebook friend
Connie Lim:
Soft and fragrant tapiaca kuih👍👍
Thks toKatie Foong for the lovely recipe

NONYA RENDANG CHICKEN

Nonya Dishes are my favourite

Many times I gave up the idea of cooking these dishes

because of the tedious preparation

However, I still need to roll up my sleeves and start cooking

because good Nonya food are hard to come by. 

I would like to express my thanks to 

Soon Kowmin for sharing this recipe

Nonya Rendang Chicken

1/2 kampong chicken. chopped large pieces

5g old ginger

10g turmeric (I replaced with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder)

5 shallots

3 slices galangal/lengkuas

3 lemon grass, smashed

1.5 Tbsp curry powder+1 Tbsp water

125g coconut milk

80g water

To enhance the aroma:
few daun limau purut, shredded
1/2 daun kunyit, shredded
2-3 Tbsp kerisik, fried dry 

1. blend ginger, turmeric, shallots & galangal to a paste

2. Heat 2-3 Tbsp oil in a wok & fry paste until fragrant

3. add curry powder paste & lemon grass, continue frying

4. add chicken & fry until chicken meat starts to shrink

5. add coconut milk & water, leave to simmer until cooked
6. add shredded leaves (B) for added fragrance

7. enjoy

 I appreciate my friends out there, especially Jenny Lim & Sharon Rachel Quah 
giving valuable advice on how to improve the dish,
bringing the aroma to the next level. 
I welcome your comments and goodwill. 
Once again, thank you very much.I 

TRADITIONAL TAPIOCA CAKE

A relatively simple recipe 

with only 4 ingredients

 Some like crispy top

(can still be more crispy)

spread a little melted butter on top will add more flavour & crisp

 My mom likes soft top

and less sugar like this

The top 2 photos show pandan flavour 

while this one below is made from yellow tapioca

Ingredients:

1 kg tapioca (1) grated or blended FINELY,
                     (2) squeeze out the juice and left aside to settle,

                     (3) bring the settled starch back to the lot & throw away the bitter water

220g sugar

300g santan

1/2 tsp salt
some melted butter, for added flavour (optional)

Method:

1) mix all ingredients & pour into oiled baking pan

2) bake @ 175'C for 1 hour 15min until cooked

Note:
1) The mixture should be wet
2) you can also steam on High for 45min to 1 hour until cooked
3) alternatively, you can steam 30min & bake another 30min @180'C

Variation:

1) grease pan with butter will give aroma of butter when baked

2) if tapioca is white, add pandan juice will give colour & pandan smell.

KUIH KAPIT

Kuih Kapit

fondly called Love Letter

is traditionally made and enjoyed 

during Chinese New Year Celebration

Nice to eat

but

not easy to make

as it takes a lot of effort and patience

For so many years,

my mother has been getting us children together

to make these Kuih Kapit

every year without fail

Kuih Kapit making is time consuming

It may take the whole day sitting in front of the hot charcoal stove!

Like most of the elderly

my mother does not have a recipe for Kuih kapit.

It is based on her memory, 

the look and the feel of the consistency of the batter.

The beauty of it 

is it works every time!

With my new toy

the electric Kuih kapit Toaster,

I have consulted her

and

through several trials and error

I have finally come out with this recipe

A word of caution:

This recipe works with the electric toaster

but may not work with the traditional tong method.

Kuih Kapit

50g rice flour

20g plain flour

10g tapioca flour

200g thick coconut milk, adjust consistency

1 AA egg

50g sugar

180g water, to adjust consistency of batter if necessary

1. beat egg & sugar

2. add coconut milk & mix well

3. stir in sifted flours, mix well & strain batter, allow to sit for an hour

4. heat up the electric toaster, oil the surface

5. pour 1.5 -2 teaspoon batter onto the centre of each mould, cover & toast

6. when colour turns brown, fold the biscuits into 1/2, then 1/4 while it is hot

7. leave to cool before storing

8. continue with the rest of the batter until finished

Note:
Electric toaster does not work as the traditional tongs,
so the following precautions need to be taken:
1. control the amount of batter pouring onto the mould 
    so that it does not overflow
2. not possible to make sure that it is a perfect round, 
    so need to use your artistic mind to fold it to look like one!
3. edges may not be smooth as you can see from the photo,
    if you are particular about it, trim it while it is still hot.

STEAMED PAK TONG KOH

When I was small

I love to eat Pak Tong Koh.

It is a sweet white rice kuih

called Pak Tong Koh in Cantonese.

Suppose to be a Nonya Kuih but what is the Hockien name?

I think it is more appropriate to call it Honey Comb Kuih

because of the honey comb apprearance.

When Gula Melaka is used to replace the sugar

it becomes 

'Wong Tong Koh' in Cantonese

meaning yellow colour kuih. Haha!

I have adapted this recipe from:  Rose Kitchen

Pak Tong Koh
90g sugar
4 pandan leaves, knotted
1/4 tsp salt
300g water (divide into 2 portions of 150g each)
140g rice flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast, mix with 1 tsp water
1 tsp oil (I forgot to add in before steaming)

1. In a pot boil sugar, 150g water, salt & pandan leaves until sugar dissolves
2. In another pot, combine flour & 150g water. stir until no lump
3. add sugar solution (when cooled) to batter, mix well
4. mix yeast with 1 tsp wate, stir into the flour batter as well
5. cover with a wet towel & leave aside for 2 hours
6. after 2 hours, bubbles appear on the batter.
7. pour batter into an oiled 6" square pan & steam on HIGH heat for 25min

AYAM PONGTEH

Ayam Pongteh

(Nonya Chicken Potato Stew)

I have heard so much about this Nonya dish

but have never tasted it 

until Felicia Khaw shared it in Facebook

http://rasamalaysia.com/ayam-pongteh-nyonya-chicken-and-potato-stew/#rlz6TXluSJfGyyBx.99

When I cooked it for dinner that night

To my surprise

my hubby said

"my mom used to cook this!"

I have to agree that it was very nice

Happy to share with you the recipe:

2 shallots, peeled & chopped

5 pips garlic, peeled & chopped

1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp taucheo (fermented bean sauce)

1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp palm sugar. chopped

1/4 chicken, cut into bite size

2 small potatoes, peeled & cut into large pieces

2 cups water

1) pound shallots & garlic into coarse paste (optional)

2) heat oil in wok, add shallots & garlice & fry until fragrant

3) add chicken pieces & potato, mix well

4) add taucheo, dark soya sauce & palm sugar, continue frying

5) add enough water to cover chicken, and bring to a boil

6) lower heat and let simmer until chicken is cooked, stirring

7) season with soy sauce to taste. serve hot with steamed rice.

TRADITIONAL STEAMED QI DAN KAU

During the olden days

Traditional 

Qi Dan Kau

is 

made in every household

This is either steamed in one big bamboo tray

or 

in individual cups

The light & soft texture
together with its unique flavour
has brought back many  childhood memories


My hubby said

when he was a kid

he dread to help beating the eggs 

because it was really very tiring
and
every child in the family must take turn to beat

so

when they saw the eldest sister

took out the utensils

he & and the younger ones

would quietly sneak out of the house!

Following the traditional ratio
of 1 : 1 : 1
to steam
Qi Dan Kou
I was never successful 

I have adapted this recipe from
 Melissa Ho Lee Cheen's

Thank you Melissa

Traditional Steamed Qi Dan Kou

2 eggs AA

70g sugar

150g self raising flour

50ml 100PLUS
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

1. beat eggs and sugar until pale & fluffy using mixer

2. add 100PLUS slowly while the mixer is still beating (can add last)

3. fold in carefully the sifted flour in batches, do not over mix

4. pour into lined bamboo tray or lined muffin cups

5. put some coarse sugar on batter to make a cross if you want the cake to crack at the top after steaming

6. steam on HIGH for 20 min (cupcake), 35-40 min (tray) from boiling water

7. check with a skewer if it is cooked