Meat Floss Steamed Sponge Cake (肉松鸡蛋糕）

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INTRODUCTION

I have always wanted to prepare this savoury steamed sponge cake after a member in my Facebook Group asked if any one have the recipe.. I have the recipe from a book but I did not have a chance to try out..

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Today, while scrolling my cook book, I found the recipe and decided to try preparing it. It is a Taiwanese cook book and apparently this is a common roadside snack for the Taiwanese..

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The recipe required the preparation using minced meat . However, I am rather lazy to prepare the minced meat early in the morning, I have decided to use pork floss instead. Whether pork floss or minced meat, I believed the taste will blend well..

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Feeling guilty after steaming the cake and as a respect of traditional cuisines, i have stir fry some minced meat for purpose of this illustration so that readers can have a choice of using pork floss or minced meat.

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This is a rather healthy recipe.. very little fats were used. The cake is fluffy and definitely a good breakfast item.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: An 8” round baking tray of steamed sponge cake

Recipe adapted from: 面点新手， 胡娟娟， 2013年3月 肉燥蒸蛋糕 Page 269

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  • 100 grams of meat floss (or minced meat as follows)
  • 160 grams of self raising flour
  • 160 grams of castor sugar
  • 30 grams of cooking oil
  • 5 eggs

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  • 100 grams of minced meat
  • 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of minced Chinese celery or spring onion
  • 1.5 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
  • 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
  • Dashes of white pepper

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Lightly greased a baking tin with cooking oil.and get ready a steamer with enough water capable of steaming at high heat for at least 30 minutes.

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  • Sauté the minced garlic until fragrant, add the minced meat and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until the minced meat is cooked. Add the Chinese cooking wine, chopped Chinese celery or spring onion, dark soya sauce and white pepper. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until dry. Dish up and set aside . (Note that this step is optional if meat floss was used)

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  • In a whisking bowl of a standing mixer, crack the eggs and beat until foamy (1-2 minutes). Add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. Beat the egg until volume expands to at least 2 times and reach ribbon stage which took about 8-10 minutes at high speed. Ribbon stage means when you took out the whisker, the beaten eggs drip slowly instead of flowing down. Take out the beaten eggs, add the cooking oil slowly and use a spatula to lightly and swiftly mix the batter until well combined.

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  • Sift the self raising flour in 3 stages, use a spatula to fold the batter swiftly and lightly until the batter is well combine. Transfer half of the batter into the baking tray. Steam the cake for 10 minutes. Prior to steaming, make sure that water in the steamer is boiling.

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  • Take out the steamed cake, layer with half of the meat floss or all minced meat above. Pour the other half of the batter on top. Sprinkle again the remaining half of the meat floss (note that minced meat cannot sprinkle on top as it will sink down). Steamed for at least 20 minutes or until a skewer inserts into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Best served warm as a snack.

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CONCLUSION

Remember that you have a choice of either using minced meat or meat floss.. I would think that minced meat will be a better choice as it is moister but I leave the decision to you.

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

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Shredded Chicken Braised E-Fu Noodles (鸡丝韭黄伊府面）

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INTRODUCTION

I am happy to have found this set of images that I have taken in December 2014.. I thought it was corrupted . Then, I was busy preparing new year cookies until I totally forgot about this recipe.

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This is another dish that was requested by my wife. Every time when we went for wedding reception, she will mumble and say why we never cook this dish at home… This noodle dish has never been appeared in our noodle menu possibly because both of us are not Cantonese. But like many other families, we shall be all  very familiar with the dish because the noodle dish was usually served as the last hot dish in a wedding reception.

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I swore I never buy this special Cantonese noodles if I am not preparing it  for this illustration. But I think I will continue to buy the noodle after my first attempt of preparing this. As per Wikipedia:

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“Yi mein (also called e-fu noodles, yee-fu noodles, yi noodles, or yifu noodles) is a variety of flat Cantonese egg noodles made from wheat flour. They are known for their golden yellow color and chewy characteristics. The slightly chewy and slightly spongy texture of the noodles is due to the soda water used in making the dough (as opposed to regular non-carbonated water), which was then fried and dried into flat patty-like dried bricks. The noodles may be cooked a number of ways. They are boiled first, then can be stir fried, or used in soups or salads. Good noodles maintain their elasticity, allowing the noodles to stretch and remain chewy.”  （Source： http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_mein)

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In Cantonese preparation, there is another rather unique ingredient that I seldom cooked. This vegetable is usually cooked together with E-Fu noodles and it is called yellow Chinese chives (韭黄）。It is the normal green garlic chives that were planted in dark, avoiding this vegetable to have direct contact with sunlight and hence produce chlorophyll.  In www.foodmayhem.com , it was written that:

“They are the same plant as garlic chives, only grown without direct sunlight, which prevents them from turning green. Garlic chives and yellow chives are more pungent than American chives with a distinct garlicky flavour. They have flat (not hollow) leaves, and are used as a vegetable in Chinese cooking as opposed to the sprinkling use of herbs. It seems that some people love them and some people find them too stinky (in a garlicky way).” (Source: http://www.foodmayhem.com/2009/05/pork-bean-curd-and-yellow-chives.html,)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

Recipe adapted from: Braised E-Fu Noodles with Straw Mushrooms | Hong Kong …

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  • 500 grams of chicken breast
  • 300 grams of e-fu noodles
  • 200 grams of yellow chives , cut into 2-3 cm length
  • one packet of straw mushrooms

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  • 3 dried shitake mushrooms , soaked and cut into pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon of minced garlics
  • 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
  • 1 tablespoon of corn starch (mix with 2 tablespoons of water) – optional
  • 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • Sugar to taste
  • Dashes of white pepper
  • Pinches of salt

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a pot with adequate water to cover the chicken breast, bring to boil. Cut the chicken breast into small pieces. Add the chicken breast and poach the chicken until cooked. Drain and set aside the chicken stock. When the chicken is cooled, use hand to shred the chicken until floss like. You can also use a fork to assist in the shredding.

  • In another pot, put some water and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Bring to boil. Add the E-fu noodles. Blanch the noodles until soft which took about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. It is best that you read the cooking instruction in the plastic packaging. Every brand will have different cooking time.

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  • In a wok, sauté the garlic and mushrooms until fragrant and slight brownish, add the yellow chives followed by straw mushrooms. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add about 2-3 cups of chicken stock from cooking the chicken breast  (estimation) and bring to boil. Add all the seasonings (oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper and sesame oil). 

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  • Add the starch solution followed by the blanched E-fu noodles. Stir until well mixed and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. If it is too dry, add more water just enough to cover the noodles. Off the heat and let it rest in the wok for at least 5-10 minutes before dishing up. Flavour will continue to develop during this 5-10 minutes.. Topped with shredded chicken before serving.

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CONCLUSION

The colour of the noodles will very much depends on the noodles you bought. Some looks very pale  yellowish whereas some looks darker brown. I loved my noodles to be a bit soupy and starchy if you prefer drier, add less water and omit the starch… The whole family like this adventure and finished off the noodles in seconds.

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This recipe was included in Page 45-47 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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Cuttlefish Like Kangkong, Is It Not Weird? Sotong Kangkong (鱿鱼蕹菜）

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INTRODUCTION

I totally have no idea as to why water spinach or Chinese convolvulus, or kangkong (as in Malay） are teamed up with Chinese style dry cuttlefish… I cannot seems to trace the origin of this dish… I am also unsure the dish belong which races.

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Some said that it is a Penang and Ipoh well known snack but I have to object that as it was found in many parts of Malaysia and Singapore.including Sarawak. I also understand that Rujak Bandung is also quite similar in terms of the ingredients used.

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It is also one of  my childhood snack in Sarawak and was usually sold in the Rojak stalls.. However, it was an occasional treat this as it was a rather costly dish because of the soaked cuttlefish. Those who have purchased dried cuttlefish will know that it is not cheap as with other dried seafoods.

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But I was surprised to find that these soaked cuttlefish are rather cheap in Singapore. I bought a whole cuttlefish for only S$3.50.

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The dish is very simple, just some blanched kangkong, some blanched soaked cuttlefish and served with a special sweet and tangy sauce. The dish was sprinkled generously with some peanut powder and sesame seeds.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

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  • 1 bundle of kangkong (washed and cut into about 5 cm in length) （空心菜）
  • 1 medium size soaked cuttlefish （发好鱿鱼）
  • 3 tablespoons of petis udang (Hae Ko) （虾膏）
  • 3 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce (海鲜酱）
  • 2 tablespoons of plum sauce （酸梅酱）
  • 1 tablespoons of white sugar (白糖）
  • 1 tablespoon of chilli flakes or chilli powder (辣椒粉）
  • 1 tablespoon of plain water （白水）
  • Some toasted sesame seeds (芝麻）
  • Some ground peanuts (花生）

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Wash the cuttlefish and cut into small pieces. Note that cuttlefish when blanched will shrunk in size. At such, the ideal size will be about 2cm x 1 cm. Wash and cut the kangkong into your desired size.

  • In a pot, put the thick shrimp sauce (Hae Ko), Hoisin sauce, plum sauce, white sugar, chilli powder and plain water. Stir until well mix and bring to boil under medium heat. The main purpose of this step is to integrate the sauce and the boiling will help to thicken the sauce. It took about 2-3 minutes.

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  • In a pot of hot boiling water, put few drops of oil, blanched the kangkong for about 1-2 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry and transfer to your serving plate. Blanch the cuttlefish for 1-2 minutes, drain adequately (at least 1/2 minute to ensure no water in the cuttlefish) and put on top of the blanched kangkong. Pour the sauce on top of the cuttlefish and dust sparingly with the sesame seeds and grounded peanuts. Best served immediately with calamansi (optional) after it was prepared.

Note:

  • Timings of blanching kangkong and cuttlefish are the critical success factors of this dish. Over blanched kangkong will make the kangkong looked yellowish and lack of crunchiness. Over blanched cuttlefish will make the cuttlefish shrunk in size and become chewy.

  • Blanched kangkong will secrete water after it was blanched. Therefore, before transferring to the serving plate, it is imperative that the kangkong have to be as dry as possible. Otherwise, the sauce will become very dilute when pour on top of the kangkong.

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CONCLUSION

I am generally happy with the sauce as I find that it is delicious. However, it is still slightly different from what I have tasted before in Kuching when young and  I am unsure of the reasons. Well there are many recipes in the internet and every stalls will have its own version of sauce and it is definitely difficult to crack their secret code.. But trust me, it is definitely a delicious and pleasant sauce.

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

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Chinese Sweet Potatoes Pancake (地瓜烧饼， 番薯饼）

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INTRODUCTION

I have a weak point for this type  Chinese pancake.. I love the yeasted flavour of the crust and the soft sweet fillings.

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I have recently just issued a recipe: Glutinous Rice Flour Red Bean Pancake (豆沙烧饼-糯米皮）， but the crust is made with glutinous rice flour.

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This crust lacks the yeasted flavour that I liked.. Therefore I have searched for another recipe that have a yeasted crust.. Since the last recipe is using the red bean paste, therefore for this recipe, i have decided to use homemade sweet potatoes paste..

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Unlike the type of sweet potatoes pancake (番薯饼）sold in the market, this recipe uses glutinous rice flour to soften the filling. In addition, condensed milk were added to sweeten and smoothen the paste.

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For readers, you can always mix and match in between the crust and and fillings. More fillings will be lined up to give readers a choice..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Dough recipe adapted from: 萱妈的烘焙厨房: 豆沙烧饼

Servings : Prepared about 10 big sweet potatoes pancake

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Fillings

  • 400 grams of sweet potatoes (mashed)
  • 100 grams of glutinous rice flour
  • 4 tablespoons of condensed milk

For dough

  • 250 grams of plain flour
  • 60 grams of white sugar
  • 6 grams of instant yeast
  • 30 grams of vegetable shortening or cooking oil
  • 60 grams of lukewarm water

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STEPS OF PREARATION

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  • Steamed the sweet potatoes until soft. Transfer to a blender, blend until as find as possible. Add the condensed milk and glutinous rice flour . Blend until it form a pliable dough, Divide the filling into 10 equal pieces. Shape round and set aside.

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  • In a mixing bowl, add all the dough ingredients. Knead until the dough is smooth. Transfer out and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Divide into 10 pieces.

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  • Take a dough, shape round, flatten the dough, put a filling on top of the dough , seal the edges and shape round again. Put the ball in a 8 or 9 cm round shape cutter, press to get the even round shape. This step is optional, if you do not have the cutter, you can just use the palm to press down.

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  • Let it proof until double in size. In a lightly greased non stick pan, pan fry until golden brown, Turn and pan fry another side until golden brown. Best served warm as a snack to go with Chinese tea.

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Note:

  • The pancake is rather big  with a diameter of about 8 cm. You can also divide the dough into filling into 15 or 20 pieces to make a smaller pancake. Smaller pancake are easier to pan fry and get cook.

  • If you do not wish to pan fry, you can bake in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 8 minutes one side. Put another baking tray on top of the pancake while baking to ensure flat top pan cake.

  • During the pan frying, if both sides (top and bottom) are cooked but the sides are still sticky, you will need to pan fry the side slightly.

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CONCLUSION

This is a simple and fast recipe and personally, I really love the pancake. Remember if you do not like the sweet potatoes fillings, you can always change to red bean paste.

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

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Siamese Laksa (Laksa Thai, Laksa Siam or 暹罗辣沙）

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INTRODUCTION

About 10 years before my mum passed away in late 80’s, a family friend from Penang taught her to cook this dish in Sarawak.. It is a yellowish colour of Laksa that was made with fish broth and served with shredded pineapple and cucumber.. I loved this dish and since my mum passed away, I have not eaten this dish for more than 20 years as it was not sold in Singapore and Malaysia..

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I do not know the exact name of the noodle dish but I can remember that she called it Siam Lo Laksa.. Well I hope that I do not remember wrongly but a search of Siam Laksa do not yield many recipes. After my issuance of my Assam Laksa recipe, I found that the main ingredients are very similar. Being in Sarawak, Bunga Kantan and daun Kesom is not popular at all, I believed that due to this reason, my Penang family friends who based in Kuching also did not use this.. However, for this recipe, I have decided to include this..

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The main difference with Assam Laksa is the creaminess of Laksa. It is milky because of the coconut milk used. My first bite immediately told me that this is very close to my late mum’s version. 

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I remembered there are friends that told me that there is a variant of Assam Laksa  with coconut milk which they called it Laksa lemak..Some say that it resembles Johor Laksa and another member of my Facebook Group says that she had eaten this type of Laksa cooked by Myanmar friends… Looking at Wiki’s definition, I am even more confused under the variants of curry Laksa and Assam Laksa. It seems that they are all intertwined. Well whatever name it is, I shall let the reader decide..For purpose of this post, I shall name it as Siamese Laksa.

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I will not claim that this Laksa recipe as authentic but it is what I am looking for. The recipe is exactly the same as Assam Laksa but the rempah or spice mix were first sauté until fragrance and the addition of coconut milk. Therefore, for those who are interested in Assam Laksa recipe, you can refer to this post: Penang Assam Laksa (亚参叻沙）.

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For this illustration, since I did not have bunga kantan and cucumber, I have omitted bunga kantan and substitute cucumber with lettuces.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

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Spice paste (rempah)

  • 6 shallots
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 5 cm of fresh turmeric
  • 3 cm of galangal
  • 3 stalks of lemon grass
  • 10 dried chillies , soaked
  • 2 red chillies
  • 1/2 bud of bunga kantan
  • 2 tablespoons of shrimp paste (belachan)

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  • 5-6 mackerel (Ikan kembong)
  • 4-5 stalks of Vietnamese mint (daun kesum)
  • 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste
  • 3 pieces of tamarind peel (Assam keping)
  • 8-10 cups of plain water
  • 400 ml or grams of thick coconut milk (not in picture) – About 2 packets
  • Pinches of salt or 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

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Assembly and garnishing

  • 500 grams of Laksa noodles or thick rice vermicelli , blanched
  • 1 small pineapple , cut into small pieces
  • 1 red big onion – sliced thinly
  • a handful of mint leaves
  • 1 cucumber , julienned into small stripes
  • 1 red chilli  or 2-3 bird eye chillies, cut into small pieces
  • Some lettuces , sliced thinly

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Put all spice mix or rempah ingredients in a blender. Add adequate water to cover the herbs. Blend as fine as possible. Set aside.

  • Put the tamarind paste in a bowl, add 1-2 cups of water, use the hand to squeeze the tamarind paste in the water until all the seeds comes out. Drain the Assam juices and sift them onto another bowl. Throw away the seeds and set aside.

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  • Put the water in a pot. Bring to boil. Once it boils, add the fishes. Boil the fish until cooked which took about 10 minutes.  Off the heat. Take out the fish and keep the fish stock. Debone and mash the fish.

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  • Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. Sauté the rempah or spice mix until fragrant and oil starts to separate from the spice mix.  Transfer the rempah to the fish stock earlier. Add the daun kesum,  tamarind juice and tamarind peel. .

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  • Add the fish meat and bring to boil. Once it boils, let it simmer at low heat for 15-20 minutes for the flavour to develop. Once it is done, add the coconut milk followed by seasoning (fish sauce or salt and sugar).  Bring to boil and off the heat.

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  • For assembly, have a bowl. Placed some Laksa noodles. Pour some soup until it covers the noodles. Garnish with mint leaves, pineapple slices, red chilli, shredded cucumber, sliced red onions and lettuces. Best served warm as a one dish noodle meal.

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CONCLUSION

As I have mentioned before, I am unsure whether  or not this is authentic but what I know is that it suits my family’s taste buds. Laksa is such a big category of South East Asian cuisine  well liked by many people in the region. It is therefore not surprising that there are many variants and crossovers between the 2 main category of Laksa: Assam Laksa and Curry Laksa..Such crossovers have resulted in many regional Laksa like Thai Laksa, Perlis Laksa, Kelantan Laksa, Johor Laksa, Kedah Laksa, Ipoh Laksa and many many more. Not to mention the nonya Laksa lemak, Sarawak Laksa and Katong Laksa. They all taste goods, looks a bit similar with a bit of differences…Who claims who is authentic, in my humble opinion, is unfounded..If you found that this Laksa do not fit the Siamese Laksa that you know, you can always changed it to the name that you like.. and I would be glad if one can tell me what is the Laksa that my late mum have cooked..

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

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Preserved Long Beans (酸豆角）

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INTRODUCTION

“酸豆角是指腌制过的豆角。豆角含有丰富的优质蛋白质、碳水化合物及多种维生素、微量元素等，可补充机体的招牌营养素。其中所含B族维生素能维持正常的消化腺分泌和胃肠道蠕动的功能，抑制胆碱酶活性，可帮助消化，增进食欲。” （Source：http://baike.baidu.com/view/1184819.htm）

Literally translated from Chinese Baike Wikipedia, preserved long beans refer to marinated long beans. The beans are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins that are beneficial and provide nutrients for the body. Among which is Vitamin B that helps to maintain a normal digestive gland secretion, gastrointestinal motility function, inhibition of cholinergic activity, aids in digestions and increase appetite.。

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This is a dish that I have never forget to order when I dined in Hunan restaurants in China. The preserved long beans are sour and crunchy. Most of the time it was stir fried with minced meat and chillies. It is definitely a very appetizing dish.

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Last year when I was dining with my wife in a Hunan restaurant in Singapore, I ordered this dish and my wife, who love any types of preserved vegetable like kiam chai (preserved mustard), Sichuan vegetable etc. immediately “hooked” on it. She loved the tanginess and crunchiness of the preserved beans. She requested me to search for a recipe and prepare this.. I never promised her but on the next day, she bought one bundle of long beans and asked me to prepare..

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Since she is very serious wanting to have some homemade preserved long bean, I have “no choice” but to search for a recipe.. Well, there are plenty of recipes in the Chinese website and basically are the same…. Since I do not have any pottery urn in my house, I have used a glass bottle to preserved these vegetable.

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It is considered as a successful attempt though the crunchiness was not as good as what I tasted in the restaurant.. Since member in my Facebook group are asking for my recipe , I have decided to share this recipe after almost one year of delay.. I will like to the take this opportunity to convey my apology to Ms. Cathryn who have been waiting for the recipe..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

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  • 10-15 stalks of long beans
  • 2 red chillies 
  • 10 Sichuan peppercorns (花椒） – optional
  • 5-10 cloves of garlic
  • Adequate boiled water or unopened mineral water to cover the bean
  • 4 tablespoons of coarse sea salt
  • Some cooking wine to cover the top

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Wash the vegetables and wind dry or sun dry under the sun until the vegetables are dry to touch. You can wipe the vegetables first before drying for at least 4-5 hours..

  • Meanwhile, get ready a metal bowl. Put the salt and pour boiling hot water on the salt and let the salt dissolved. Cool completely before the next step. If you are using bottled mineral water, this step can be omitted.

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  • Get ready a STERILIZED glassed container. You can sterilize the container by pouring some hot water and use a clean towel to wipe dry the container. The container must be totally dry before the next step.

  • Stuff the dry long bean into the glass container. Add the chillies. garlics and Sichuan peppercorns. Pour the cooled saline solution until it completely covered the vegetables. pour some cooking wine to seal the top the the vegetable. Close the lid tight and place in a cool airy area without sun exposure if possible.

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  • Marinate the long beans for a period of at least 7 days. The longer you marinate, the more sour it will be.

Notes：

  • When you purchase long beans, select those that are firm to touch. A bit skinny is okay . Do not buy those that are fluffy to touch. Those type of long beans will not give you a good texture.

  • The long beans, container and other vegetables shall be free of any oil and raw water  . If there is any oil in the long bean, the long bean will not be crunchy. Instead, it will become rotten.

  • Once the preserved long beans are taken out from the bottle, it is best to consume as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will have to be kept in the fridge in Singapore’s weather.

  • To prepare this long beans, just cut into small pieces and stir fry with minced pork and red cut chilli. It is sour and very appetizing to go with porridges and white rice. It taste very much like salted vegetable.

CONCLUSION

This is a niche recipe, meaning I do not expect many readers will try in this region. For those who have never try the dish before, in the even that you have a chance to try the dish in the Hunan or other Chinese restaurant and you like it, you can come back here and try preparing yourself.

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

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Penang Assam Laksa (亚参叻沙）

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INTRODUCTION

I have been holding on the preparation of Assam laksa because of 3 herbs and 2 of which create the distinctive flavour as compared to other laksa. These three herbs are laksa leaves (daun kesom) , torch ginger (bunga kantan) and normal mint leaves. Usually, the supermarket are selling a bundle or a package and other than this recipe, I have no idea what to use for the leftover laksa leaves and torch ginger.

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After blogging so many one pot noodle dishes, I have no other reasons to further delay the sharing of this famous Assam laksa.

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If you look at the definition of laksa in Wikipedia, one will know that laksa basically belong to 2 broad categories – tamarind based as in Assam laksa or coconut milk based laksa as in curry laksa. The third category is the Sarawak laksa which is both tamarind and coconut milk based laksa..If you are interested in learning Sarawak laksa you can refer to this post: Hi, Let Start Cooking the Laksa …. An In Depth Analysis and Pictorial Procedural Description Of The Famous Sarawak Laksa (Part III)

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If you are interested in the curry based laksa, you can refer to this post: Another Hawker Centre Noodle Dish–Curry Laksa or Curry Mee (咖喱叻沙, 咖喱面）

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This post is to detail the recipe of Assam laksa. Assam is tamarind in Malay and as the name suggest, the noodle dish is slightly tangy and balanced by the sweetness from the fish broth. Unlike the curry laksa of which the broth is mainly prepared from chicken stock, Assam laksa’s tasty broth is prepared from fish.. Besides tamarind, assam laksa will not be much difference from other laksa if not because of the following 2 special herbs. One of them is the bunga kantan or ginger torch  or Etlingera elatior as follows. If you are interested to read more about this aromatic flower, you can refer to : Etlingera elatior – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

Another special herb for this laksa is what is called laksa leaves or daun kesum. Per Wikipedia, it was written that :

“Persicaria odorata, the Vietnamese coriander, is a herb whose leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking. Other English names for the herb include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint, hot mint, and laksa leaf.In Singapore and Malaysia, the shredded leaf is an essential ingredient of laksa, a spicy noodle soup, so much so that the Malay namedaun laksa means “laksa leaf.”

Since Wikipedia have a very detailed description of Assam laksa, I am rather reluctant to rephrase the well written description of this unique laksa dish. As per Wikipedia,

“Asam laksa is a sour, fish-based soup. It is listed at number 7 on World’s 50 most delicious foods complied by CNN Go in 2011. Asam is the Malay word for anything that makes a dish sour (e.g. tamarind or kokum). Laksa typically uses asam keping, known as kokum in the English speaking world), which is a type of dried slices of sour mangosteens. The modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used. The main ingredients for asam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, “daun kesum” (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and pink bunga kantan (torch ginger). Asam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with “petis udang” or “hae ko” (蝦羔), a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste.”

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Though I seldom ordered Assam laksa when I dined out, but it is my wife’s favourite dish as she was educated in the Penang, Malaysia where the state is famous forits Assam laksa…

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The outcome of this adventure is very satisfactory.. I have asked my wife to taste and give objectives comments to the dish as I am afraid that I will be prejudiced.. Asking her if there is anything wrong, her comments was “good”..otherwise, she would not have finished two bowls for dinner.. But I am very happy that my kids who are never exposed to this dish also like the noodle dish.. Of course minus all the garnishes that kids will not like at their age such as big onions, calamansi etc.. Eventually, they only ate the noodles with the gravy and some cucumber.. Haha.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Family Recipe for Asam Laksa – Season with Spice

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

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Spice paste (rempah)

  • 6 shallots
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 5 cm of fresh turmeric
  • 3 cm of galangal
  • 3 stalks of lemon grass
  • 10 dried chillies , soaked
  • 2 red chillies
  • 1/2 bud of bunga kantan
  • 2 tablespoons of shrimp paste (belachan)

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  • 5-6 mackerel (Ikan kembong)
  • 4-5 stalks of Vietnamese mint (daun kesum)
  • 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste
  • 3 pieces of tamarind peel (Assam keping)
  • 12-15 cups of plain water
  • Pinches of salt
  • 2 tablespoons of white sugar

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Assembly and garnishing

  • 500 grams of laksa noodles or thick rice vermicelli , blanched
  • 1 small pineapple , cut into small pieces
  • 1 red big onion – sliced thinly
  • a handful of mint leaves
  • 1 cucumber , julienned into small stripes
  • 1 red chilli  or 2-3 bird eye chillies, cut into small pieces
  • 5 tablespoons of Heko (Sweetened thick shrimp sauce)
  • 3 calamansi, cut into half
  • Some lettuces , sliced thinly
  • half a bunga kantan, sliced thinly

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Put all spice mix or rempah ingredients in a blender. Add adequate water to cover the herbs. Blend as fine as possible. Set aside.

  • Put the tamarind paste in a bowl, add 1-2 cups of water, use the hand to squeeze the tamarind paste in the water until all the seeds comes out. Drain the Assam juices and sift them onto another bowl. Throw away the seeds and set aside.

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  • Put the water in a pot. Bring to boil. Once it boils, add the fishes. Boil the fish until cooked which took about 10 minutes.  Off the heat. Take out the fish and keep the fish stock. Debone the fish.

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  • Put the spice mix into the fish stalk followed by tamarind juice, daun kesom and fish meat. Bring to boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Add the salt and sugar. Off the heat.

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  • For assembly, have a bowl. Placed some laksa noodles. Pour some soup until it covers the noodles. Garnish with mint leaves, pineapple slices, red chilli, shredded cucumber, sliced red onions, lettuces, bunga kanatan, calamansi and drizzle with the thick shrimp sauce (Heko). Best served warm as a one dish noodle meal.

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CONCLUSION

This is a rather long post. I am happy that my family have finished it all. If these pictures entice your appetite, why not give it a try? Remember that this is a savoury dish, do feel free to adjust to the one that used to eat locally. How about adding a hard boiled egg? 

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This recipe was included in Page 1-3 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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Japanese Milk Pan With Milk Puddings Fillings (日本牛奶面包）

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INTRODUCTION

I do not know the origin of this bread and I only that it was called “milk pan” by the bakery…Using English pronunciation, it shall be pronounced as “pun” as in puncture. ..”Pan” is a Japanese word meaning “bread” and believed to have been borrowed from Portuguese “Pao” ..Therefore essentially, milk pan means milk bread..

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Whenever the family frequented Tampines mall, Singapore, my girl never failed to remind me to buy these buns… While doing some shopping in a hot Sunday afternoon, my girl saw the bakery and requested me to buy again… I rejected her saying there are already lots of snacks at home and we can hardly finished all these snacks.. But my wife concurred with her and bought two, one for my boy and one for my girl…

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At the spot when i rejected her request to buy, both mother daughter teamed up and challenged me to prepare these buns at home…. After pondering a while, I have decided to accept the challenge..

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This is an extremely soft bun with some sweet custard being wrapped.. It is milky flavoured and the custards are sweet and soft… I know it is delicious  bun as I have tasted several times before. When I reached home, I goggled for recipes but not successful… At least none looked like the one being sold.. I have therefore decide to design my recipe and come out with these buns..

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Since Japanese bread recipes like to use milk roux or tangzhong, for this bread recipe, I have also decided to use tangzhong.  Bread with tangzhong are generally able to stay soft for a longer period of time.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 9 medium size buns

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Milk Roux

  • 100 grams of milk
  • 25 grams of bread flour

Bread dough

  • 100 grams of milk
  • 250 bread flour
  • 30 grams of butter , at room temperature
  • 30 grams of milk powder
  • 30 grams of castor sugar
  • 6 grams of instant yeast
  • Pinches of salt

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Milk Puddings

  • 125 ml of milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

 

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  • In a pot, heat 100 ml of milk under medium heat, add the 25 grams of bread flour. Use a whisk to whisk the mixture until smooth and starts to form a sticky dough. Off the heat and let it cooled completely.

  • Once the roux cooled completely, transfer to a mixing bowl of a standing mixer. Add bread flour, milk, sugar, yeast, milk powder and salt.. Use a spoon to slightly stir until it form a sticky dough. Use the dough hook in the machine to beat the dough at medium to low speed (speed 2 in Kenwood Chef or Kitchen Aid) for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, put the butter, change from medium to high speed (speed 4 kin Kenwood Chef or Kitchen Aid) for about 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and leaves the side of the mixing bowl. Take a small piece of dough and lightly stretch the dough. If it can form a thin film of dough without breaking, the kneading is considered as adequate.. This is called windowpane test.

  • Transfer the dough out to a lightly flour surface. Shape round and let it proof for about double in size. Cover with a clingy wrap or wet towel during proofing.

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  • While the dough is proofing, in a microwaveable bowl, put sugar, egg and milk. Stir until well mixed. Microwave for 2 minutes or until the puddings have set. Set aside for later use.  Alternatively, heat the milk mixture over a stove under low heat until custard starts to form.

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  • When the dough double in size, divide into about 9 equal pieces. Take a piece, shape round, flatten it, put a tablespoon of the milk puddings on the centre, seal the edges and transfer to a baking cups with the sealing part facing downwards.  Transfer to a cupcake cup and let them proof until 2 to 2.5 times.

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  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

  • Once the dough reaches 2 – 2.5 times, bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the desired colour tone.

Note:

  • If your custard is wet, you may want to put the cooked custard over a sift and drained away the water. The drier it is, the easier will be the wrapping. If the liquid touch the sealing part of the dough, it will be very difficult for you the seal the dough. Therefore, make sure the fingers are dry and clean before sealing.

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CONCLUSION

I believed that this adventure was at least 80% successful. The bread is softer than my original recipe though it is still not as soft as those sold in the bakery but the taste and texture  of the custards are very close. Of course there are commercial secrets for bread sold in the bakery that will not be leaked out to others…Haha..

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

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(updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

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Greek Apple Cake (Milopita) With Brown Sugar Walnut Glaze (希腊苹果蛋糕）

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INTRODUCTION

The name of this cake is called Milopita in Greek and I was introduced to try this cake by a member of my Facebook Group, Sis Lianlian Gliptis..

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She posted the cake picture plus the recipe… I promised to try the cake since I never have had any cake recipes on apple.. If you are interested to read the original recipe, you can read it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Bloggerfoodies/permalink/791285677627435/

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It is a rather nice cake, moist and cinnamon flavoured. What I like about the cake is that it is very easy to prepare. In fact it is a  mixed and baked recipe.

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Realizing the cake may look too simple for the readers, I have decided to pair it with walnut brown sugar glaze… Hmmm, it is such a wonderful pair . Apple and walnut pairs very well.. The brown sugar sauce is very addictive and complement the moist cake..

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I did not change the recipe… If any must be the conversion used. She used cups in all the measurements. She had laid the apple horizontally layer by layer whereas I have slotted it vertically… I did not manage to finish using up all the sliced apples as suggested by her. The verdict by my daughter is ; “the cake should have more apples” which I concurred. Therefore, for readers, it is up for you to decide the way you wish to sandwich the apple and the batter..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare a 9” Bundt Cake tin

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For cakes

  • 4-6 large apples
  • 375 grams (3 cups) of self raising flour
  • 240 grams (1 cup) of cooking oil
  • 225 grams (1 cup) of castor sugar
  • 100 grams (1/2 cup) of brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of mixed spice (cinnamon and nutmeg)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice or water (optional)

(Since original are in cups, it is best to use cups in all measurements)

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For Brown sugar walnut glaze

  • 80 grams of butter
  • 125 grams of brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional)
  • 1 cup of chopped walnuts

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 170 degree Celsius and lightly greased a 9” baking tin or Bundt tin and set aside.

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  • Skinned the apple and cut into small slices. To prevent oxidation, you can soak the sliced apple in some saline.

  • Put brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl of a standing mixer. Beat under medium speed until the batter is well mixed.

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  • Sift in the mixed spice (cinnamon and nutmeg), self raising flour and baking soda in 2 stages. Fold until well combined. If the batter are too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice or water. Transfer the batter to the greased baking tin. Slot the sliced apples into the batter as closely as possible. If you are using a square baking tin, you can consider to layer the apple and the batter horizontally.

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  • Bake in the pre-heated oven at 35-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Timing will depend on the size of your tin and the thickness of the batter. For such a tall cake, it took me about 45 minutes. For square baking tin, ensure that the centre are cooked and timing may be slightly longer.

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  • In a pan, put brown sugar, butter and milk, stir until the butter melted and sugar dissolved. Add the chopped walnut. Stir until your desired consistency. Drizzle on the cake sparingly..

Note:

  • Besides the brown sugar walnut glaze, you can also have the cake with vanilla ice cream.

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CONCLUSION

I have to thank Sis Lilian Gliptis for sharing with us this delicious recipe. It is moist but not oily because the apple juices sipped out to the cake when baked. It is aromatic and goes especially well the the brown sugar walnut glaze.

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

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Coconut Egg Jam – Pandan Kaya (香兰加椰）And Caramel Kaya (焦糖加椰）

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Updated post on 23/3/2015

A new illustration for caramel kaya was presented. For this illustration, I have used the quick method of cooking the custard and blending the custard to the consistency I want.

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INTRODUCTION

There is nothing to shout about this post.. Most families will know how to prepare kaya or coconut jam… I believed most readers grow up with this breakfast spread on bread.. The recipe is very simple, in essence, it is just coconut milk, sugar and eggs.. The egg mixture was cooked via ban marie method until the custard is set.. For nonya style, pandan leaves were added.and therefore give a green hue.. As for Hainanese style of coconut jam, sugar were caramelized to get the brownish orangey colour and flavour, it was then added to the milk mixture cook using ban marie method.

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The ingredients are common but the preparation is slightly laborious… Those who have prepared custard before will know that the eggs and milk tend to curdle if no constant stirring was done.. Lumps will be formed.. To  have smooth silky kaya, constant stirring is required and you may need to stir for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes….

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However, there are other easier method.. You can cook the kaya and use a blender the kaya to make it smooth.. Taste will be exactly the same but the texture will not be as smooth as you constantly stir the kaya for 1/2 hour. For purposes of caramel kaya, I have resorted to the use of this method

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As a respect to traditional recipe, for Pandan Kaya illustration, I have used the steam stirring method (like the ban marie) to get until the texture that I want. It took me about 40 minutes to do this.. most of time stand by the stove…

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As per Wikipedia:

“Kaya, also called Srikaya or coconut egg jam, is a sweet creamy coconut spread made from coconut milk (also known as santan),duck or chicken eggs which are flavoured by pandan leaf and sweetened with sugar. The colour varies depending on the colour of the egg yolks, the amount of pandan and extent of caramelisation of the sugar. As a popular local spread, kaya is typically spread on toast to make kaya toast and eaten in the morning[1] but is enjoyed throughout the day. Different varieties available include nyonya kaya, which is a lighter green colour, and Hainanese kaya, which is a darker brown and uses caramalised sugar, and is often further sweetened with honey. Kaya is used as a topping for several desserts including pulut taitai or pulut tekan, a dessert of sweet glutinous rice coloured blue with butterfly pea flowers (bunga telang), and pulut seri muka, a similar dessert but coloured green with pandan leaves. It is also used with glutinous rice to make kuih seri kaya. （Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_jam)

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If you are interested to have the above Nonya snack recipe, you can refer to this post: Simple Yet Elegant Nonya Kuih–Kuih Pulut Tai Tai, Pulut Tekan, Pulut Tatal (娘惹兰花加椰糕）

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

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  • 5 eggs
  • 10 pieces of pandan leaves
  • 300 ml or grams of coconut milk
  • 200 grams of castor sugar

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Get ready a steamer capable of steaming at least 45 minutes at medium heat.

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  • Put all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until fine. Sift into a pot. Put the pot on a steamer with hot boiling water.

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  • Cook the custard above the steam, stir using a balloon whisk  until the kaya have set. Constant stirring is required. For the first 15 minutes, stirring once in every 5 minutes is required. For the next 30 minutes, it is advisable to give a quick stir for every 3 minutes. In the process, you will see the egg mixture getting stickier and stickier. If the jam thicken until a stage whereby when you stir, the line appeared on the jam, it is considered as done. Cool completely before storing in sterilized glass container.

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Caramel Kaya

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  • Melt the sugar in a pan under medium heat until the sugar turn brownish. Off the heat and add coconut milk. Stir until the sugar dissolved. Note that when you add the coconut milk to the syrup, the sugar will recrystallized. Constant stirring will help to expedite the dissolving process. Keep aside for cooling.

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  • Once the coconut sugar solution have slightly cooled, add the beaten eggs. Transfer the mixture to a wok or pan. Using medium heat, cook the custard until set. Lumpy is okay and it will take about 5-8 minutes depending on your heat. Transfer the cooked custard to a blender. Blend until as fine as possible.

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CONCLUSION

Depending on your requirements, you can either use the short cut method by quick cooking the custard and use blender to blend the mixture or using this traditional method..  If I do not tell you which is cooked using traditional method of stirring and which is using the short cut method, can you note the difference?

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Do give it a try and see if it suits your taste bud.

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

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