Chilled Honey Cheesecake (免烤蜜糖芝士蛋糕）

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INTRODUCTION

My son was asking me what is the birthday cake that I am going to prepare for him.. I told him and his sister that daddy is never good in any cake decoration, frosting and even dealing with cream… The most I can prepare is just a cheesecake for him.

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I passed them my favourite cookbook : The Essential Dessert Cookbook for them to choose…After their discussion, they provide me with the picture of a honey cheesecake… As expected, honey is something that they knew and I have concur to “try my best” to prepare the cake for them…Knowing my abilities, I have decided to simplify the cake decoration  using fresh strawberry instead of the praline almond crust decoration.

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It is a simple and easy chilled cheesecake but taste is very creamy and good.

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As contrast to the original recipe, I have make the following modifications as follows:

  • Substitute the mascarpone cheeses with normal cream cheese as mascarpone cheeses are too strong for my liking.
  • Added 3 pieces of gelatine sheets to enhance the holding of the cheesecake (about 1.5 teaspoons of gelatine powder equivalent)
  • Reduction of condensed milk portion as it is too sweet for my taste bud.
  • Uses thicken cream instead of the normal whipped cream as I am running out of normal whipped cream in the house. In addition, I did not whipped the cream as required .

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As the cake was cut in the rush and very late at night, I do not have many pictures of cut cake  to show readers. I hope readers wouldn’t mind about  the images.

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However, I have to warn readers that before proceeding, if you like rubbery cheesecake that are full of gelatine powder (about 4 tablespoons of gelatine powder for 500 grams of cream cheese), this cheesecake is not for you… It will melt rather fast at about 15 minutes in room temperature.  Or you will have to increase the gelatine powder to the amount that you usually used for your normal cheesecake recipe. However, if it is served out of the fridge, it will definitely impress your guest.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Frozen Honey Cheesecake With Praline Crust – “The Essential Dessert Cookbook Page 55 Published by Murdoch Books, 2007”

Servings: 9 “ diameter (23 cm) baking tin

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Biscuit Crusts

  • 100 grams of cashew nuts or other nuts such as almond flakes
  • 225 grams of plain sweet biscuits
  • 100 grams of unsalted butter, melted

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Fillings

  • 250 grams of mascarpone cheese (I used normal cream cheese)
  • 250 grams of cream cheese , softened to room temperature
  • 350 grams of condensed milk (original recipe is 400 grams)
  • 85 grams (1/4 cup) of honey
  • 315 ml (1 & 1/4 cups) of fresh cream for whipping
  • 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder (or cocoa powder)
  • 6 sheets of gelatine (3 teaspoons of gelatine powder) – dissolved in 4-6 tablespoons of hot water – optional and not in original recipe

Others

  • A  baking tin with detachable base or spring form tin.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Lightly grease a 9” diameter spring form tin with cooking oil and line the base with baking paper. If you do not have a spring form baking tin, you can use a baking tin with detachable base as in the illustration. In this case, you will need to line the side of the baking tin with baking paper.

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  • Put the biscuits and nuts in a food processor and blend until fine. If you do not have a food processor, put it in a plastic bag and bang the biscuits or nuts with something hard. The finer your biscuit and nuts it is, the easier it is for you to prepare the biscuit crusts. Add the melted butter and stir until well mixed.

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  • Spoon the biscuits into the baking tin, press firmly up the side or over the base and refrigerate for about 30 minutes

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  • Dissolve the gelatine sheets/gelatine powder in 2-3 tablespoons of warm water. Stir until well dissolve. Set aside for later use. Note that this step is optional and not requested in the original recipe. If you want to have a firmer cheesecake, you have to dissolve at least 3-4 tablespoons of gelatine powder in about 100 ml of water using double boiling method or heat by microwave,

  • Cream the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese until soft, light and creamy. Add honey, stir until well combined.

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  • Add condensed milk, followed by gelatine (optional) and cream. Stir until well mix. For the cream, you can either add in this manner without whipping or you can whip until soft peak and manually fold in the whipped cream. Folding in whipped cream will yield a lighter cheesecake and non whipping will yield a slightly denser cheesecake.

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  • Once done, transfer the cheesecake batter to the prepared chilled biscuit crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder or cocoa powder and swirl gently with a skewer. Chilled in the refrigerator for several hours or until firm. It is best to chill overnight. Decorate with your preferred fruits before cutting and serving.

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CONCLUSION

The recipe source is from one of my two favourite cookbooks that I have never doubt any recipe written in it. I have tried most of the recipes in the book and all are successful.

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This is a simple cheesecake with great taste and remember, if you want a cheesecake that hold longer in room temperature, you will need to increase the gelatine powder substantially (to about 3-4 tablespoon) and please refer the above procedure for how to add the gelatine.   For those who are vegetarians, note that gelatine powder is not vegan and you will have to substitute with some other holding agent or nothing at all as per the original recipe. Rest be assured that without gelatine, the cheesecake still taste awesome when it is served  right out from the fridge.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Don’t Worried, I Am Using Natural Colour To Prepare These Cookies–Red Velvet White Chocolate Chips Cookies (天然红色天鹅绒饼干）

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INTRODUCTION

I have a red velvet cupcake post but I prepared them rather uncomfortably due to the large amount of red colouring used. Since then it is always in my mind to look out for natural colours that can substitute the red colouring.  Items  that comes to my mind are beet root, dragon fruit and red yeast rice.

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I remembered steamed some buns prepared using beet root juice and the colour just become dark brownish after steaming. As for red dragon fruits, some used it in the preparation of chiffon cake, the colour also disappeared after baking. For these two natural colour, just like my matcha post, I honestly believed that lemon juices or other acidic medium may need to be added to prevent the colour changes.

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When I was shopping in a Singaporean baking shop, I saw some red yeast rice powder being sold. I have intended to buy some to prepare my char siu or Chinese barbecue pork. For those who are interested to understand more about red yeast rice, Per Wikipedia:

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“Red yeast rice (simplified Chinese: 红曲米; traditional Chinese: 紅麴米); pinyin: hóng qū mǐ; literally: “red yeast rice”), red rice koji (べにこうじ, lit. ‘red koji‘) or akakoji (あかこぎ, also meaning ‘red koji‘), red fermented rice, red kojic rice, red koji rice, anka, or ang-kak, is a bright reddish purple fermented rice, which acquires its colour from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus. Red yeast rice is what is referred to, in Japanese, as a koji, meaning ‘grain or bean overgrown with a mold culture’, a food preparation tradition going back to ca. 300 BC.[1] In both the scientific and popular literature in English that draws principally on Japanese, it is most often known as “red rice koji“. English works favoring Chinese sources may prefer the translation “red yeast rice”.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_yeast_rice)

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On second thought, I might experiment these red yeast powder in some common bakes.  Unwilling to invest too much in this experiment, i have looked out for recipe for red velvet cookies,  a rather common bright red chocolate cookies in the America, Europe and Australia. In fact, last year, my neighbour just bought me some red velvet cookies when she visited Australia.

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The original recipes called for 1 tablespoon of red colouring, however, I have substituted it with 1.5 tablespoon of red yeast rice powder. The results were encouraging, though not as red as the original recipe, it is acceptable to me since there are some cocoa powder in the cookies that had darken the colour shade.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipes adapted from: Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies.

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  • 200 grams of plain flour or all purpose flour
  • 180 grams of white chocolate chips
  • 115 grams of unsalted butter, soften at room temperature (you can substitute half of the butter with vegetable shortening to enhance the crispiness)
  • 120 grams of light brown sugar (original recipe is 150 grams but it is too sweet for my taste bud)
  • 50 grams of castor sugar
  • 30 grams of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon  of milk
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1.5 tablespoons of red yeast rice powder

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 175 degree Celsius and line some baking trays with parchment paper.

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  • In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add it the egg and vanilla essence, beat until well combined.  Sift in the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, plain flour and red yeast rice flour. Either manually fold in the flour or use the machine’s lowest speed to mix the batter until well combined. Add the milk in between the folding.

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  • Add the white chocolate chip and stir until well mixed. Scoop a tablespoon of the batter to the baking tray and repeat the same for the remaining batter. If desired, you can transfer the batter to a piping bag and top the batter with additional chocolate chips. There is no need to press the cookies as the cookies will spread when baked. Therefore, please leave adequate space for the cookies to expand during baking (at least 1-1.5 cm spacing).

  • Bake in the pre-heat oven of 175 degree Celsius for about 10-12 minutes and let it rest in the baking tray for additional 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack for cooling. If you want the cookies to be crispier, you can bake for additional 3-5 minutes at lower temperature of 150 degree Celsius. When completely cooled, store in an air tight container.

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CONCLUSION

If you are wondering how these cookies taste? It is a red colour chocolate cookies. It is rather addictive but I feel more comfortable with this natural colour alternative…It will definitely become outstanding in a tray of common colour cookies.  You can get these red yeast powder in most Asian bakery shops and do expect more “red colour” post from me in the near future. Ha-ha

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Vegetarian Matcha Almond Muffins (绿茶杏仁小松饼）

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INTRODUCTION

If you like Japanese green tea – Matcha, you will like this muffin. This recipe is an eggless, butter less and milk less recipe specially designed for vegetarians

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It is a pure, aromatic matcha flavour muffin and  the fragrance was not masked by butter and eggs. However, if you want to have eggs and butter fragrance, feel free to use my other earlier muffin recipes and add 1-2 tablespoons of matcha powder. Then the matcha flavour will not be that distinct.

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I have to be frank that I am not happy with the colour inside the muffins. After baking, it turned slight brownish and I am puzzle why some of the images in the internet appeared to be bright green!

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Out of curiosity, I prepared another batch of muffins with a slight twist of adding 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Yes, the outcome is encouraging with a green interior.  It somehow “confirm” my suspicion that without green colouring in the recipe, acidic medium like lemon juice or vinegar may be able to inhibit the oxidation of green tea and prevent colour changes. However, this shall not be construed as a confirmation since the experiment was not done in a scientific manner.

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In this recipe, I have adjusted to add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice or vinegar to the batter and I hope that the final colour are greener than what is in my illustration here. Some may be wondering about whether the taste will blend! Surprising, the vinegar flavour is not distinct at all. It remain the same flavour as the first batch.

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The muffins are healthier, definitely edible. For those who prefer a stronger flavour, you can add additional 1/2 tablespoon more of matcha powder but I have to caution that adding too much matcha powder may make the muffins bitter.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepared 5-6 cupcake size muffins

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  • 200 grams of self raising flour
  • 135 grams of sugar
  • 50 grams of almond flakes or almond nibs
  • 75 grams of cooking oil
  • 100 grams of plain water
  • 1-1.5 tablespoons of matcha green tea powder
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat oven to 170 degree Celsius.

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  • Shift the flour, baking soda and green tea powder in a mixing bowl. Add all other dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre. Add in the cooking oil and water in 3 stages. Use a knife or fork to lightly mix it. Slight lump is acceptable. Transfer to the cupcake cups and bake in the pre-heated oven of 170 degrees for 25-30 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Note that timing will very much depends on the size of your muffins. Final test is the skewer test. To avoid browning too fast, placed the muffins at the lowest rack of the oven.

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CONCLUSION

I have to be frank with you that today, I have in fact prepared 3 batches of muffins. The first batch is with milk, eggs and butters. However, I am unhappy with the interior colour and the weak matcha flavour, I have decided to prepare the second batch. For the second batch, I have transformed it to a vegetarian version of excluding eggs, butter and milk in the muffins. The taste is okay but the interior is slightly brownish that make me try to make the third batch by adding some vinegar to the batter. Yes the third batch meet my expectations, both in terms of colour, texture and taste. The headache I have now is my house is full of muffins now… to be exact, 18 muffins but none shall be thrown away……

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Fish Head/Fillet Rice Vermicelli Soup (鱼头/片米粉汤）

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INTRODUCTION

This is long awaiting post. Hiding in my list of recipes to be issued for more than 2.5 months. I told myself that I shall not hold on this recipe anymore.

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Fish soup bee hoon is very common hawker dishes in Singapore and it was so popular that Wikipedia had a write up on this famous dish. Per Wikipedia:

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“Fish soup bee hoon, also known as fish head bee hoon, is a Singaporean soup-based seafood dish, served hot usually with bee hoon. The dish is viewed as a healthy food in Singapore. Catherine Ling of CNN listed fish soup bee hoon as one of the “40 Singapore foods we can’t live without”. Fish soup bee hoon has been available since at least the 1920s; one source credits Swee Kee Fish Head Noodle House with creating the “definitive version” of the dish in the 1970s.

Snakeheads are most commonly used for fish soup bee hoon.Other stalls may offer pomfret, batang.or garoupa. While fish heads or the whole fish may be used, some diners prefer having just fish slices. The fish soup is made out of either fish stock or actual bones, water, oil, yam, and milk,] with vegetables and select fruits.

The noodle in the soup is often bee hoon, although a healthier alternative except for irritable bowel syndrome sufferers would be spaghetti made from brown rice. Another noodle variant would be fried noodles. Additional ingredients include eggs, anchovies, pepper, salt, and alcoholic products such as brandy, Chinese wine, or cognac, chilli slices, fried shallots, and fish roe. For the vegetarian version of the dish, fish meat is substituted with tofu.” (Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_soup_bee_hoon)

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Since Wikipedia already provide such a detail account on this popular Singaporean cuisine, I shall not dealt into details.

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I have prepared this noodle dish from scratch. I went to the wet market to buy a red snapper of about 1.5 kg and ask the seller to help me to debone, cut into fillet size suitable for preparing the noodles soup, and return me with the head, tails and the bones. For readers who are short of time, you can always prepared the dish starting from the point of the recipe that you feel comfortable with.

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Again, since it is a savoury dish, quantities are for your reference and feel free to change the suggested amount of seasonings to suit your taste buds.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepared 4-6 adult servings

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  • One fish of 1-2 kg (Slice the fish flesh in thick pieces and set aside fish head, bones and tails)
  • 5 stalks of spring onion – White portion
  • Few stalks of choy sum (Chinese flowering cabbage)
  • 5 cm of ginger, sliced into thin pieces)
  • 1/4 cup of evaporated milk

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  • 250 grams of rice vermicelli – blanched and set aside.
  • 3-4 leaves of salted vegetable (sliced into thick pieces)
  • 2 fresh tomatoes (cut into 4 quarters each fruit)
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of anchovies
  • 1 cube of chicken stock
  • 1 – 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine
  • Dashes of white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of XO alcohol (optional)

Fish meat marinating (depends on the quantity of fish meat that you have)

  • Some sesame oil
  • Pinches of salt
  • Some corn flour (adequate to coat the meat) – 10% of which can be replaced by rice flour to preserve crispiness
  • Dashes of white pepper

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Marinate the fish meat with white pepper, sesame oil, corn flour and salt for about 1 hour. (if you want the deep fried fish meat to stay crispier in a longer time, add a small proportion (1:10) of rice flour to the marinate) In a hot pot with adequate cooking oil, deep fried the fish meat until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

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  • Use the same oil to deep fried the  fish head, bones and tails for 2-3 minutes or until the exterior is cooked. This step is optional and the main purpose of this step is to remove some fishiness of the fish and to preserve the exterior texture of the fish. You can deep fried these either with flour or without flour. Dish up and set aside.

  • In another stock pot, put 1-2 tablespoons of oil and the sesame oil above, Sauté the ginger slices until fragrant, add the anchovies, the white part of spring onion, add water gradually just adequate to cover fried fish head and bones earlier. You can always adjust the water later.

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  • Put in the fish head, fish bones and tails. (Note that at this stage, you can add in the salted vegetables if you want to. However, it will be very difficult to serve the  vegetable as it will mix with the fish bones. Therefore, I have advised to add it at a later stage though adding the salted vegetables at this stages will yield a tastier soup). Bring to boil and let it simmer at medium heat for at least 30-45 minutes. Add water gradually if you find that the water level is low.  In this process, you will witness the fish stock will become milkier (ideally, the stock should be boiled long enough until it is milky and no evaporated milk need to be added. It is attainable but may take at least an hour more). Once done, sift the stock from the first pot to another pot. Throw away the fish head and fish bones.

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  • In the new pot, add the chicken stock, Chinese cooking wine, salted vegetable, diced tomatoes and followed by the evaporated milk. Bring to boil and add seasonings of your choice (fish sauce, dashes of white pepper). Once boiled, off the heat, add the XO (if any) and set aside for assembly. Meanwhile, have a pot of water, blanched the choy sum with some drops of oil and followed by the bee hoon. Drained and set aside.

  • For assembly, have a bowl, put some bee hoon in the serving bowl and followed by some gravy adequate to cover the bee hoon,  put some blanched choy cum, tomatoes and fish meat on top of the rice vermicelli. Garnished with deep fried shallots, dashes of white pepper and chopped coriander or Chinese celery if preferred.  Best served with red cut chilli and some light soya sauce and usually served as a standalone noodle dish. If you do not like rice vermicelli, it can be served as a soup dish that goes well with white rice.

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CONCLUSION

In the current society when time is a constraint,  I am unsure how many readers will go to extent to prepare this noodle dish from scratch. It is slightly laborious but once you take your first bite, you will not regret of the hard work putting in. Based on this pictorial illustration, readers can always choose to start the preparation from the steps that you care comfortable with.

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This recipe was included in Page 30-32 of the “One Pot Noodle E-book”. For more One Pot Noodle Dishes, you can have a copy of “Easy One Pot Noodles  – A step by step guide” that was packed with 30 recipes, 60 pages at a reasonable convenience fee of USD5.00. The recipes covered various recipes from curry laksa, prawn noodles to fish head beehoon and etc. Of course not forgetting the well like Economy Bee hoon and Mee Rebus . You can purchase by clicking the link above.You can either pay using Pay Pal or Credit card account. Please ensure that you have an PDF reader like Acrobat or iBooks in your mobile phone or iPad if you intended to read it in your ipad or mobile phone. Should there be any problems of purchasing, feel free to contact me at kengls@singnet.com.sg and separate arrangement can be made.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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I Am Unsure If The Name Of This Traditional Cake Is Correct… Kuih Manggis, Kuih Syara (香兰小青糕）

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INTRODUCTION

This is one of the my childhood snack in Kuching, Sarawak. Even until today, it is still very common in Kuching.. A pack of these 10 small cakes will cost about RM2. It is spongy and full of pandan and coconut fragrance.

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However, I am unable to find a consistent name for these small cute green kuih. In Kuching, it was called kuih manggis possibly the shape looked like the flesh of a mangosteen. In my original recipe, it was called traditional Bahulu. My friend who have the recipe told me it is called apam balik.

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Subsequently, some said that it is kuih syara and a few bloggers have used this name for the kuih.  Some West Malaysians and Singaporeans believed it s called Kuih Cara or chara though I have told them that this is slightly different since kuih cara bakar have no airy holes in the cake but this cake have lots of airy holes, making it very spongy to bite. Having said that, I believed that there is possibility of this kuih is a variant of kuih cara but leavened by baking powder or traditionally, natural fermentation.

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I am rather confused and I have decided to the name of my home town, kuih manggis aka kuih syara for this post. Sorry if the picture used apam balik as the title…

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As mentioned above, this is a spongy cake. It taste like coconut jam (kaya) in solid form. I  have prepared it using the brass bahulu mould over the stove. However, I am unsure if it can be baked in the oven. If I am going to experiment, I will preheat the oven with the mould at 200 degree Celsius, fill the mould and  baked at 180 degree Celsius.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from : Traditional Bahulu

Servings: Prepared 20-30 small bahulu shape kuihs

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  • 220 grams of cake flour or other low protein flour
  • 200 grams or ml of coconut milk (1 packet)
  • 100 grams of castor sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 teaspoons of double acting baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of green pandan paste (optional if fresh pandan juice is used)
  • 10 pandan leaves
  • A kuih bahulu mould

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Pound the fresh Pandan leaves and extract juices. If it is too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water. In a big bowl, crack eggs, put pandan juice, double acting baking powder, sugar and cake flour. Use a whisk to whisk until well combined, sugar have dissolved and free of lumps.

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  • Grease the kuih bahulu mould using cooking oil. Heat the mould over the stove under medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Spoon the batter into the mould and cooked for until holes appear on the surface. Cover the the kuih and cook until the surface of the kuih dries and well cooked. Use a skewer to take out the kuih. It should be noted that ONLY LOW TO MEDIUM HEAT  shall be used. You have to be patience and it took about 15 minutes to finish one batch.

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CONCLUSION

Traditionally, it is my honest believed that natural fermentation using coconut water were used to prepare kuih. However, in recent years, baking powder were used to expedite the process of preparation. The kuih shall be spongy and full of holes. If there is not holes, the kuih will be mushy.

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Whatever name it is, I hope that you can give it a try. I have decided to issue this niche recipe for the sake of Sarawakian cuisines and curb my cravings of this kuih.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Special Compilation Of 45 Chinese Steamed Cakes And Kuihs (45 种华人蒸糕特备汇编）

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INTRODUCTION

This is a special recipe compilation for common traditional Chinese Steamed Cakes and Kuih to facilitate readers in finding the recipes and select those that are suitable for their religious purposes. These are also healthier snacks that have less oil and do not need an oven.. This is an updated post on 26-5-2015. The post will be updated once a year. Some of the compilation may have overlapped with other compilations.  The 4 major categories are as follows:

  • Steamed sponge cake (鸡蛋糕类）
  • Huat Kuih （发糕类）
  • Steamed Buns (包点类）
  • Other steamed kuihs and snacks (粿，糕类）

For individual recipes just click on the title or individual recipes to go the respective posts.

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CHINESE STEAMED SPONGE CAKE (鸡蛋糕）

Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake 汽水鸡蛋糕 – This traditional kuey neng ko uses gassy drinks and self raising flour to enhance its shape.

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Peach Flavoured Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake 桃味鸡蛋糕 – Besides the above recipe, you can also used this recipe and have some fruity flavoured kuey neng ko

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Traditional Steamed Sponge Cake （古早味鸡蛋糕）  – If you do not fancy the shape but purely want some kuey neng ko that is full of egg’s aroma, you can try this recipe. This is the simplest traditional recipe that provide aroma but shape is difficult to achieve unless you have a very tall traditional type of steamer cover.

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Meat Floss Steamed Sponge Cake (肉松鸡蛋糕）

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Osmanthus Steamed Sponge Cake (桂花蒸糕）

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Mandarin Orange Steamed Sponge Cake (芦柑鸡蛋糕）

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Ma La Gao/Ma Lai Gao (马来糕）

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HUAT KUIH (发糕）

Pandan Huat Kuih (香兰发糕) – Note that this recipe have butter and eggs and therefore, depends on individual, whether it is suitable for your religious purposes.

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Palm Sugar or Gula Melaka or Gula Apong Huat Kuih (椰糖发糕）– Another Huat Kuih using wheat flour for you to choose.

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Orange Huat Kuih (香橙发糕）

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Oolong Tea Huat Kuih (茶香发糕）– you can always used green tea instead of oolong

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Pumpkin Huat Kuih (金瓜发糕）

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Dried Longan Black Sugar Huat Kuih (桂圆黑糖发糕）

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Sweet Potatoes Coconut Milk Huat Kuih (番薯椰奶发糕）

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Chinese Rice Flour Cake (粘米粉发糕） – This is the type of Huat Kuih being prepared for offering using rice flour and use of Eno, a type of fruit salt.

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Chinese Rice Flour Cake (粘米粉发糕） – In the same post, there is another recipe of rice flour huat kuih. Instead of using en, baking soda was used to make the kuih flourish.

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Teochew Huat Kuih or Ka Kuih (潮州发糕，潮州酵糕，米糕， 松糕）

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Yeasted Huat Kuih (酵母发糕）

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STEAMED BUNS, MANTOUS AND OTHER CHINESE BUNS (包点，馒头等）

Chinese Steamed Buns With Red Bean Paste (豆沙包）

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Char Siu Bao (蜜汁叉烧包）

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Dabao or Pork Bun (大包/生肉包）

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Salted Egg Yolk Custard Buns or Liu Sha Bao or Nai Huang Bao (流沙包 / 奶皇包 /奶黄包）

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Vegetarian Steamed Buns (素菜包）

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Mantou (刀切馒头)

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Pandan Flower Buns (香兰花卷）

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Longevity Peach Buns (寿桃）

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Steamed Turtle Buns–Miku (米龟）

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Lotus Leaf Buns (荷叶包）

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Pan Fried Buns, Shengjianbao (生煎包，生煎馒头）

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OTHER CHINESE TRADITIONAL KUIHS AND STEAMED CAKES (其他糕点）

Hee Pan or Xi Ban (古早味喜板）

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Sweet Potatoes Hee Pan (番薯喜板）

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Garlic Chives Steamed Rice Cake–Teochew Ku Chai Kuih (潮州韭菜粿）

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Png Tao (饭桃， 米包米， 饭粿， 潮州红桃粿）

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Red Tortoise Steamed Cake, Angku Kuih （红龟粿）

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Black tortoise Kuih （艾叶咸香黑龟粿）

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Teochew Chi Kak Kuih (潮州鼠麹糕）

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Soon Kuih Or Chai Kuih? Teochew Soon Kuih (笋粿）

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Hainanese Coconut Kuih or E Bua or Yi Ba (海南薏粑粿）

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Flour Vermicelli Steamed Cake or Mee Sua Kuih (面线糕）

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Steamed Yam and Pumpkin Cake (芋头金瓜糕）

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Radish/Turnip/Carrot/Daikon Cake （腊味萝卜糕）

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White Sugar Sponge Cake or Pak Thong Ko (白糖糕）

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Chwee Kueh or Steamed Rice Cake With Preserved Radish

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Hong Kong Red Bean Steamed Rice Cake aka Put chai ko (砵仔糕)

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Glutinous Rice Cake, Nian Gao (年糕）

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This Is A Savoury Muffin–Luncheon Meat Cheddar Cheese Muffin (午餐肉芝士小松饼）

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INTRODUCTION

One of the readers have told me that she wished to have some savoury muffins as a twist to the common sweet muffins. I promised that in this new series of muffins , I will share some recipes for savoury muffins.

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The first thing that comes into my mind is ham and bacon. On second thought, as these two items are rather pricey and less common compared to luncheon meat in this part of the world, I have decided to use luncheon meat instead.

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Savoury means that there are great flexibility in selecting the side ingredients and seasonings used. Yes, sugar is usually not added but seasonings such as chicken stock powder (or your preferred seasoning) is used to sweeten the muffins. Readers should have the full discretion in adding seasonings such as salt, pepper or even types of greens  (Chinese celeries, corianders leaves , basil or spring onion).

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Cheese amount is for reference. Those who like cheesy muffins can add more but be wary that certain cheeses are very salty and this have to be taken into consideration.

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I am happy with this muffin as it is aromatic, fluffy and moist. As expected, kids loved it as it taste like buns with luncheon meat but in a cake form.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 5 big commercial size muffins (or 6-8 medium size muffins)

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  • 200 grams of self raising flour
  • 100 grams of cooking oil
  • 100 grams of cheddar cheeses, shredded
  • 150 grams of luncheon meat, cut into small pieces
  • 50 grams of fresh milk
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped herbs (coriander or spring onion or Chinese celery or basil etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon of chicken stock (powder form or liquid form)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 3 eggs
  • Dashes of white pepper

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 190 degree Celsius

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  • Dissolve the chicken stock in the fresh milk by stirring using a spoon, add this to the egg and cooking oil. Slightly beat it until an emulsion is formed. If chicken stock powder is used, you can sift it together with the self raising flour and by passed this step.

  • In a big mixing bowl, put the sifted self raising flour, add baking soda, white pepper, luncheon meat, shredded cheeses and chopped herbs. Use a fork to lightly stir it until it is crumbly and the flour coated the other ingredients. Make a well in the centre, add in the liquid ingredients (mixture of milk, egg, chicken stock and oil) above in three times. Use a fork or knife to lightly and swiftly stir it until the flour are wet. Slight lumpy batter is acceptable and avoid over mixing.

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  • Transfer the muffins to the muffins cup (about 3/4 full) and baked in the preheat oven of 190 degree Celsius for 10 minutes and reduce the oven temperature to 180 degree Celsius and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes or when a skewer inserted comes out clean.

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  • Note that baking timing will depend on the volume and height of your cups used. Do keep a close eye at the last 10 minutes of baking or when the fragrant of the muffins starts to penetrate in the house. If it browns too fast, turn off the top heat,As this muffins have some cheddar cheeses, it can brown rather fast in parts where the cheeses have exposed.

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CONCLUSION

This the sixth recipe in this new muffin series. It is a twist of the sweet breakfast muffins. If you like to have a luncheon meat sandwich, I believed you will like it.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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A Healthy, Vegetarian Cookie–Miso Tofu Cookies (味噌豆腐饼干 or 味噌豆腐ビスケット)

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INTRODUCTION

I stumbled across this healthy recipe from a Japanese website. After reading through the recipe and knowing the simple ingredients and simple steps, I have decided to give  it a try since I have all the ingredients at home. It is a rather unique recipe using miso (Japanese’ fermented soya bean paste usually use for the preparation of miso soup) and tofu.

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After my preparation, I realized that the colour of the cookies are rather dark because of the type of miso paste that I used. I have used the dark brownish type of miso. I am hesitating whether or not to issue this recipe and I have posted in two Facebook Groups to seek members’ opinion. To my surprise, there are many members requesting for the recipes despite the less than desirable look…

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On second thought, this recipe may benefit readers or friends who are vegetarian. The cookie is eggless and butter less. I have therefore decided to share with readers this recipe.

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To make it look better, I would advised readers to use the miso paste with a lighter colour..  The look of the cookies will then be more appealing. One thing good about the cookie is it is very easy to pipe to the shape that you liked. In addition, it will not distort the original shape when baked. Therefore, you can create the type of flower that suits you.

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Taste is a bit of savoury sweet full of miso flavour. Since the original recipe have sugar in it, after taking the first bite, I honestly believed that the sugar can be safely omitted to make it a savoury cookie. Don’t worry that it will be too salty, the saltiness is just like the level in the miso soup we drink. However, I will leave this for the readers to decide.

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The cookies can  either be chewy or crispy as per the original recipe. Following the initial timing produced a softer chewy cookies, upon extending the baking time and lowering of the baking temperature, the cookies are much crispier.

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Readers will have to be psychologically prepared that since it is a non-egg cookie, the baking time will be much longer and the crispiness will not be the same as those uses egg and self raising flour. Those who are adventurous enough can try substitute the cake flour with self raising flour, but the imprint of the cookies may not be obvious.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe from: Tofu and Miso Spritz Cookies

Servings: Depend on the size of your cookies (about 20-30 small cookies)

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  • 140 grams of tofu
  • 20 grams of miso paste
  • 40 grams of vegetable oil
  • 30 grams of sugar (advised to be optional)
  • 140 grams of cake flour

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and get ready a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

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  • Put tofu, miso paste, sugar and oil in a mixing bowl. Use a hand whisk to whisk until smooth. Add in the sifted cake flour, Use a knife to fold in the flour in cutting motion, fold until the flour are wet and combined (This step is the same principle as preparation of muffins to avoid over mixing). Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with your preferred nozzle. Pipe the batter into your desired shape. 

  • When the piping is done, for crispy cookies, lower the oven temperature to 170 degree Celsius and baked in the oven for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown. (Note that timing will depend very much on the size of your cookies. If your cookies are small, it will be faster than 30 minutes.) If you prefer softer cookies, baked in 180 degree Celsius for 20 minutes.

CONCLUSION

A simple fuss free cookie and readers who like miso will like this cookie. This is a rather healthy cookie It is eggless, butter less,  savoury and aromatic. In addition, it is pure vegetarian. Please remember to buy the type of miso paste with lighter colour and the cookies shall look more presentable.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

 

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Sweet Potatoes Balls (Cucur Badak or 番薯蛋）

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INTRODUCTION

I have prepared these potatoes from one of my recipe books. In my recipe book, these were called “Nonya Sweet Potatoes Balls”. I am very doubtful about whether this is Peranakan cuisines since I have never seen these being sold in Nonya Kuih stalls….

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To double confirm, I have posted the images in my personal timeline and a Peranakan Facebook Group. Friends and members of the Group have concluded that this is not a Peranakan cuisine but belong to our Malay brothers called “cucur badak”.

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In fact, Chinese do have its own version of sweet potatoes balls but the filling are different. For Chinese, the sweet potatoes balls can range from peanuts to mung beans to red beans and etc…It can also be eaten plain as it is and it commonly known as “fanshudan” (“番薯蛋“）。

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Therefore, in this post I am not going to share the sambal filling that I used and feel free to change to any fillings that you like. This is an easy recipe and if you like sweet potatoes, you will like this.

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Singapore do have a stall in Maxwell market that sells these sweet potatoes. But in West Malaysia, I was told that it is commonly available in night markets.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare about 10 sweet potatoes balls

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  • 200 grams of sweet potatoes (steamed and mashed until puree form)
  • 40 grams of tapioca flour
  • 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
  • 10 grams of castor sugar (not in picture)
  • 100 grams of dry shrimp floss (hae bee hiam or sambal udang kering) or any other type of fillings *
  • Adequate cooking oil for deep frying

*As for the filling, feel free to change to the type of fillings that you like.. I have used ready made shrimp floss, but you can always use sweet fillings such as mung beans, lotus paste, peanuts etc.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a mixing bowl, place the mashed potatoes, plain flour, sugar and cooking oil. Use hand to knead until become a pliable dough. Pat your hand with flour if it is too sticky. Divide the dough into your desired size (I have prepared 10 balls of about 25 grams each). Take one portion. Shape it into a ball, use hand to flatten, put a tablespoon of fillings on top of the dough, seal the edges, shape it round and set aside. Perform the same for the remaining dough.

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  • In a pot, heat up adequate cooking oil. Deep fried the sweet potatoes balls under medium heat until golden brown. Drained and served as a snack or breakfast items.

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CONCLUSION

This snack is simple to prepare and you can use any fillings that you like. Do give it a try and see if this suit your taste buds.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Mushrooms and Spinach Quiche (蘑菇菠菜乳蛋饼）

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INTRODUCTION

I seldom issued Western dishes recipes because I seldom cook this at home. My mother in law do not really able to take Western food and when she is staying with us, I have shelved the idea of cooking Western food.

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Since she is back to her home, I have decided to prepare quiches for dinner. I love quiches for its rich cheesy taste and I am very sure that my kids will love this since they like all types of diary products from milk to cheese to yoghurt to butter….

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In fact, in my home town, Kuching, there are shops selling chicken quiches. However, they termed it as chicken pies. They sell in a cupcake sizes and we used to buy this and eat as a snack or breakfast items.

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I did not go until the extend to look for gruyere cheeses, the cheese usually used for the preparation of quiches. Since I have lots of cheddar cheeses at home, I have use cheddar cheeses instead..

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Just like any savoury recipes, variations are many. I have used spinach, mushrooms and ham for these quiches. But you can always used onion and bacon to make it into the famous Lorraine quiche.

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Other possibilities are many: salmon, crab meat, asparagus, artichoke or any other things that suit your taste buds.. What you need to remember is the ratio of beaten egg mixture and the pastry recipe, all the other side ingredients are easily adjusted to suit your taste buds.

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Per Wikipedia,

“Quiche (/ˈkiːʃ/ keesh) is a savoury, open-faced pastry crust with a filling of savoury custard with cheese, meat, seafood, or vegetables. Quiche can be served hot or cold. It is part of French cuisine but is also popular in other countries, particularly as party food. Although known as a classic French dish, the quiche originated in Germany. The word quiche means “cake” which came from the German word Kuchen. Today, quiche is considered as typically French. However, custards in pastry were known in English cuisine at least as early as the 14th century. Recipes for custards baked in pastry containing meat, fish and fruit are referred to Crustardes of flesh and Crustadein the 14th-century” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiche)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 5-6 adult servings (about two 8” diameter pie baking tin)

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Pastry

  • 300 grams of plain flour (sifted)
  • 150 grams of cold butter
  • 1 egg yolk (lightly beaten)
  • 1-2 tablespoon of cold milk

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Fillings

  • 100 grams of ham (cut into small pieces)
  • 100 grams of spinach (chopped into small pieces)
  • 200 grams of button mushrooms (cut into small pieces)
  • 150 grams of gruyere cheese or cheddar cheeses (in the diagram below)
  • One big onion chopped in small pieces
  • 10 grams of butter
  • Dashes of black pepper
  • Pinches of salt to taste
  • Pinches of sugar to taste

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Custard Mixture

  • 1 cup of cooking cream
  • 1 cup of fresh milk
  • 6-8 eggs lightly beaten

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

Preparing the short crust pastry

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

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  • Cut the cold butter into butter cubes. In a big mixing bowl, put butter cubes and sifted plain flour together. Use the finger tips to rub the butter cubes and flours together until it become crumby.  Add in eggs and milk bit by bit, mix slowly until it become a dough. Put it in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Note that if you are able to handle soft dough, you can by pass this step. In fact I have bypassed the step due to time constraints.

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  • Put the dough on a flat surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat sheet with about 0.5 cm thickness. Transfer the dough to the pie tin and use your hand to press the dough against the sides and make it as even as possible.  In this illustration, I have prepared it into different sizes so that I can give it to my friends.

  • Baked in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry shrinks from the sides of the pastry tin. Set aside for later assembly.

Preparing the fillings

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  • In a frying pan, put butter and sauté the onions until fragrant. Add in mushrooms followed by ham and chopped spinach. Stir fry for a few

    2-3 minutes until the ingredients are soft. Add dashes of black pepper, pinches of salt and pinches of sugar to your taste. Set aside for later assembly.

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Preparing the egg mixture and assembly for baking

  • Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Add milk and cooking cream. Stir until well combined.

  • Transfer the filling to the baked pastry, even out and sprinkle sparingly with the cheeses.  Pour the egg mixture over the pastry. Bake in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and set.  Timing is for reference and very much depends on the tin you used. Cover with foil if the pastry becomes too brown before the filling is fully set.

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CONCLUSION

If you are able to get ready made pie crust, you can use that and it will save you lots of time. What is in the filling will depend on your family’s preference. Do give it a try and let me if this simple quiche is what you are looking for.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 8 June 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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