Sweet Potatoes Donuts aka Kuih Keria (甜薯圈）

INTRODUCTION

Kuih keria is a type of local Malay snacks and I really do not have much things to write about this kuih commonly sold in Malay kuih stalls.

I do not have the  literature to support the name , I do not know how it evolved and I only know that it is a type of sugar coated sweet potatoes donuts. It is aromatic, slightly denser than normal donuts and delicious.

Since I have some sweet potatoes and I am trying to finish off as many kuih recipe as possible, I have decided to try out preparing it. Preparation is not difficult though the dough can be slightly sticky when doing the shaping. As for the sugar coating, you can either do the coating or you can dust with icing sugar just like the normal donuts..

As per Wikipedia Bahasa Malaysia, it was written that:

“Kuih keria (atau kuih gelang) merupakan sejenis kuih tradisional Melayu. Berasaskan keledek dengan campuran tepung, gula dan garam. Ia dicanai dan dibentuk seperti cincin ataupun gelang tangan. Biasanya, kuih ini disaluti dengan gula mahupun cairan gula (gula cair). Kuih ini sering dijamah dan dihidang ketika sarapan dan waktu minum petang.” (Source: https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuih_keria)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: prepared 10-15 kuih keria depends on size

• 300 grams of sweet potatoes
• 80 grams of self raising flour
• 30 grams of rice flour
• Pinches of salt

Sugar coating

• 50 grams of castor sugar
• 1 tablespoon of water

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Steam the sweet potatoes until soft. Put all the ingredients in a food processor, blend until fine.

• Lightly knead the dough and shape oblong. if it is too sticky, add more self raising flour until your hand can handle the stickiness.

• Use a knife to cut dough of about 1-2 cm thickness. Shape round, lightly press down using the palm, use something round to make a hole in the centre. The hole shall not be too small as it will expand when deep frying hence closing the gap. If you have a donut cutter, you can use too. Alternatively before throwing into the hot oil, insert your fingers in the cavity and slightly pull the hole bigger.

• Deep fry in a pot of hot oil under medium heat until the donut turns golden brown. Drained and set aside.

• Heat up the sugar and the water in a pot and bring to boil. Boil until it resembles a thick syrup. Take a tablespoon out and if it coated the tablespoon when touches cold air, the syrup is considered as ready. Put the donuts in and use a ladle to “stir fry” the donuts until it coats well.  Transfer out and cool completely before serving.

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CONCLUSION

Pardon me for this short post as i really do not have much to say about the kuih except that it is delicious kuih.. Remember that you can always dust with icing sugar and you will be able to adjust to the sweetness that you like.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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

INTRODUCTION

This is a huat kuih that is not common in Singapore and Malaysia but it is a very famous traditional huat kuih in Taiwan..

One my be surprised that why dry longan (桂圆） is paired with black sugar (黑糖）。。In fact, this combination together with red dates (红枣） is a very famous combination in tea believed to be very beneficial in promotion blood circulation and replenish blood supply for the body.

There are beliefs that ladies who have menstrual pain should drink tea with this combo together with a piece of ginger and it will warm up the body. Therefore, this huat kuih is especially beneficial to ladies who have inadequate blood supply, pale face and cold body temperature.. As contrast to the other huat kuih, this is consider is a healthier traditional huat kuih recipe that have properties of soothing our body conditions.

I have known the existence of this huat kuih for a long time except I did not make an effort to prepare it.. Well, today, I have decided to buy a small pack of black sugar in the provision shop and used it to prepare this huat kuih since I have quite a lot of dried longan in the house. I am happy that my recipe works very well and they did smile as intended.. When you saw the huat kuih smile happily, I am sure you will smile too… Honestly, I do like this special huat kuih, the only regret I have is not putting enough dried longan.. I should have added more or in my next attempt, I may boil the dry longan overnight to extract the concentrated longan solution for the cake.

As per a Chinese website, the benefits of dried longan are:

“According to the record in The Chinese Materia Medica, it is sweet in taste and warm in properties and it goes to meridians of heart, kidney, liver and spleen. Its fundamental functions include tonifying heart and spleen, replenishing qi and blood, and achieve a peaceful calm state of mind. Essential longan fruit uses and indications are heart-spleen deficiency, fright caused by insufficiency of vital energy and blood, palpitation, insomnia, forgetfulness, a sallow facial complexion due to deficiency of blood, irregular menstruation, and uterine bleeding.” (Source: http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/longan-fruit/)

As for black sugar, this website have a very good account of the benefits of black sugar. It was written:

“Black Sugar (Kurozato) is a common ingredient in Asian cooking and baking. This type of unrefined sugar comes from the island of Okinawa and has many health benefits not found in white and brown/red sugar. It is believed to help lower cholesterol levels and neutral blood fat contains molasses, potassium, iron, calcium and other minerals necessary to our diet. While chocolate might be the comfort food of choice in the west for many women during painful periods; in Japan (and Taiwan as well), black sugar is the soothing medicinal of choice as iron and calcium help ease the discomfort, bringing ease and relief during the menses while the mellow sweet taste and calories muster up energy to help endure it. In Chinese medicine terminology we would say that it treats painful menstruation by moving and nourishing the blood. Black sugar looks a lot like brown sugar, only darker in color and more complex in taste, smoky-malt like with a bit of saltiness. Some common serving styles include dunking it in a cup of ginger tea (excellent for cold days or people suffering from cold syndromes), melting it into a caramelized sauce, processing it into crystalized lollipops with a sour plum surprise waiting in the middle or having it straight up in cubes as a mildly sweet snack. (Source: Health Benefits of Black Sugar – Chinese Medicine Traveller)

“黑糖桂圓紅棗茶: 功效：補血益氣、養顏美容、溫暖腸胃、子宮。桂圓肉】別名龍眼，又稱「益智」，性溫、味甘，有補心脾，益氣血的功效，是傳統上常運用的補血藥之一，對於氣血不足引起的倦怠乏力、面色萎黃、體虛冒汗等症，桂圓是很好的補充食品【黑糖】味甘性溫，中醫認為黑糖有健脾暖胃、活血化瘀的功效，適量的黑糖水能舒緩經痛，幫助經血排清，但拼命地喝也不好，火氣大的人要注意用量。據專家分析，黑糖中的鈣含量都比白糖要高，還含有白糖中所沒有的胡蘿素、維生素B2等，更不像白糖那樣甜膩。黑糖的葡萄糖含量很高，很容易被人體直接吸收消耗掉。” （source: 黑糖桂圓紅棗茶養身與養顏秘方)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 7-8 Huat Kuihs

• 250 grams of self raising flour （自发面粉）
• 150 grams of Chinese black sugar（黑糖）
• 1 teaspoon of double acting baking powder or baking powder (双重发粉或发粉）
• 250 grams of ml of plain water （白水）
• 30 grams  of cooking oil（食用油）
• 50 grams of dried longan (桂圆干）

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Get ready a steamer with water capable of steaming the Kuih for at least 20 minutes.

• Put the black sugar, water and chopped dried longan (reserved some for decoration) in a pot. Heat up over the stove until the sugar melted. Set aside for cooling .

• In another bowl, sift the self raising flour and double acting baking powder. Add the sugar solution, cooking oil and stir until well mixed. Add the black sugar solution in 3 stages, stir until well mixed. Transfer it to some cupcake cups and fill the cups with the batter until at least 95% full.

• Prior to steaming, lightly grease a scissor or a knife and cut a criss-cross on top of the batter. Steam in the steamer for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre come out clean. It is best that the cupcakes cups be pre-steamed before filling of the batter. You shall use high heat in the entire process of steaming. Best served hot as a snack.

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CONCLUSION

Unlike the huat kuih or fatt koh recipes here, we will use all sort of ingredients to flavour the huat kuih. However, for this recipe, it is unique as the ingredients do have medicinal benefits according to the Traditional Chinese medicines. It is especially beneficial to ladies who have irregular menstrual symptom, low blood counts and etc. Of course, it can also be eaten by guys, ha-ha. Lastly, this huat kuih is also being sold in Taiwan as a road side snack.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Braised Pomelo Pith （卤柚子皮）

INTRODUCTION

Whenever friends have wanted to get old traditional recipes that they do not know how to replicate, they will ask me.. They always said that they missed their late grandparents or parents cooking on certain dishes and they did not have a chance to get the recipe from them…They will ask for the recipe.

This is one of the most common recipe that friends requested from me.. They have eaten it before, they know it is a waste to throw the pomelo pith away but they do not know how to cook.. They will describe as a very nice dish that walked them down the memory lane.

Hmmm, unsure which dialect dish is that but I have never tasted it before.. I suspected. it is related to Cantonese cuisines since Hong Kong Facebook groups seems to recall such dish whereas Taiwanese food group have never seen the dish before Since there are request for the recipe, I tried to search for recipe and it seems there are quite a lot of recipes in the  Chinese website..

I tried and I seriously like it.. It is soft and flavourful. As to the flavour, you can choose the type of braising sauce that you want. Essentially, it was treated as a vegetable . You can cook in 1001 ways. Since I am still on my vegetarian diet, I have decided to braise it on a vegetarian sweet sauce. That goes well with the pomelo pith, in my humble opinion.

The preparation is not difficult but it take time and patience. I have expedite the cooking part by using pressure cooker to cook the pomelo pith. The challenge of this recipe is to get rid of bitterness associated with the skin.  My end product still have slight bitterness but I can take it as it is. I especially loved the texture.

If you do not know how to skin the pomelo beautifully, you can refer to this post: Pomelo Honey Jam (柚子蜂蜜酱）

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 6-8 adults

• 1 pomelo crust

Braising sauce

• 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce
• 3 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon of five spice powder
• 3 slices of ginger
• 1 medium piece of rock sugar

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Wash the pomelo crust and skin off the pomelo rind leaving the white spongy pomelo pith.  Cut into big pieces and transfer to a pressure cooker pot. Add adequate water to cover the pomelo pith.

• Pressure cook the pith for 20 minutes . If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can boil over the stove until the skin can be pierced through by a chopstick.

• Drain and squeeze away the water trap in the spongy pith. Transfer this pith to a container of cold water. Soaked the partially cooked pith in cold water overnight. Change water 2-3 times. For every changes of water, ensure that the water trapped in the pith is squeezed out.

• In  a pot, put all the braising sauce ingredients and adequate water to cover the pith. Bring to boil. Cut the pith into desired sizes and put in the braising sauce. Turn the heat to medium and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Let the pith rest in the pot for at least one hour before servings.  Timing of cooking will depend on your desired texture of the pith.

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CONCLUSION

Well, the basic recipe is shared in this post but what is most important is your braising sauce. The cooked pomelo skin is tasteless and it depends very much on your sauce. This recipe serves as a guideline, after pressure cooking the pomeo pith, you can either stir fried it in your style, or even braised with your favourite recipe. Meat can be added to enhance the taste and some recipes suggested to braise the pith with duck as well..There are also recipes that called for steamed pork ribs with these pomelo pith.  Leap out from this recipe, just take this as another vegetable and feel free to cook in the manner that you like.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

Sesame Sweet Chinese Pancake (芝麻糖烧饼)

INTRODUCTION

People’s Republic Of China has a massive land area and there are many many different type of cuisines in different part of China. While most of the immigrants are migrated from southern costal cities of China, there are still many traditional cakes and breakfast items in other parts of China that are not common in South East Asia.

These items can be healthier and tastier too.. From my years of travelling in China, I did have some limited exposure of various types of pancakes or cakes served in China. They are delicious but is totally not common here. Therefore, I have decided to take a plunge and introduce recipes that I think the locals may like it.. Well, promoting a new recipe is tough and it will indirectly hit my readership.. But since I like to eat, I like to try and who know some readers may think the same as me..

Shao bing you tiao (烧饼油条） is such a popular term in Chinese literature to denote humble breakfast items that usually goes with soya bean milk or very watery porridge made of quinoa or rice..

While you tiao or Chinese crullers are very popular in this region and I doubt if any readers do not know of this well liked breakfast item, I presumed not many readers will know its counter part – shao bing. Well, i have eaten a few times when I visited in Taiwan and stationed in Shanghai. It can be sweet or savoury.

As personally, I like sweet shaobing, I will share with all a recipe of sweet shao bing which is crispy, flaky and aromatic.. It did not turn soft easily and even after 3 days, it is still very crispy. I have made a mistake in the shape, it should be round for sweet version whereas oblong for savoury version. Hope readers will pardon me for that.

Readers may be surprised that there is a lot of write up of shao bing in Wikipedia, as per Wikipedia:

“Shaobing (shāo bǐng), also written shao bing or sao bing,is a type of baked, unleavened, layered flat bread bread in Chinese cuisine. Shaobing can be made with or without stuffing, and with or without sesame on top. Shaobing contains a variety of stuffings that can be grouped into two main flavors: savory or sweet. Some common stuffings include red bean paste, black sesame paste, stir-fried mung beans with egg and tofu, braised beef, smoked meat, or beef or pork with spices. Shaobing is not very well known in southern China, unlike other northern dishes like mantou, baozi, and youtiao. Some unique varieties of shaobing can be completely unheard of in the south. Different types of shaobing are often associated with certain cities and towns. Shaobing is a common breakfast item. Filled shaobing are usually eaten with soy milk and tea, while unfilled ones are usually eaten with steamed eggs or a breakfast meat dish. In the Mandarin cuisine tradition, shaobing are served with hot pot (huǒguō) in winter or soy milk. “ (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaobing)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 8 烧饼

Water dough

• 120 grams of plain flour or all purpose flour
• 50 grams of plain water
• 40 grams of cooking oil or lard
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar

Oil dough

• 80 grams of top flour or low protein flour
• 30 grams of cooking oil or lard

Fillings

• 80 grams of castor sugar
• 15 grams of top flour or low protein flour
• 10 grams of sugar
• 10 grams of maltose
• 1 tablespoon of milk powder (optional)

Coating

• Some white sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon of corn syrup mix with 1 tablespoon of water

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius

• Put all the water dough ingredients in a big  bowl, stir and knead until well mixed. Divide into 8 equal portions. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

• Put all the oil dough ingredients in a big bowl, stir and knead until well mixed. Divide into 8 equal portions. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

• Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl, stir until well combined. If it is very difficult to handle, put the most additional one tablespoon of top flour. Should the need arises, chill until firm before dividing into 8 equal portions.

• Take one portion of water dough, shape round, flatten it , put a portion of oil  dough on top of the water dough, seal it and shape it round. Use a rolling pin to roll the ball into a rectangular shape as evenly and as thin as possible. Roll it up like you are preparing Swiss roll. Turn the “Swiss roll” direction with the shorter side pointing at you. Use a rolling pin to roll it again in a rectangular shape as evenly and as thin as possible.

• Roll it up again like you are preparing Swiss roll. Use the rolling pin to flatten it into a circle shape.. Put a filling ball on top of the rolled dough, seal the edges, shape it round, sprinkle with some water, coat with sesame seeds and use the rolling pin to roll it flat such that it look like a circular disc shape or oblong disc shape.

• Baked in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius  for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry puff up. Best served with traditional breakfast beverages such as soya bean milk.

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CONCLUSION

I like this Shao bing. Possibly because it is sweet with bits of sesame seeds. it is flaxy and the sweetness is just nice to eat together with the flaky crust. For savoury version, just forget about the sweet fillings and substituted with spring onions , salt and sesame paste.  Of course you can also use the leftover moon cake paste for this shaobing. Lastly, be careful when you are eating, the debris will drop on the flour and best that you eat together with a plate.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes. I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

Adzuki beans Lotus Seeds Soup (莲子百合红豆沙)

INTRODUCTION

I have to be frank that I do not like to issue this type of dessert sweet soup recipes.. The main reason is that I have to do a lot of researches before I can issue my post..

I do think I will issue a simple recipe without providing readers any information.. I believed readers should always understand what they are consuming or at least, in Chinese dessert sweet soup, why ingredients A is paired with B and etc. or benefits of having such desserts. All these traditional recipes have been prepared for many years and there must be reason of its benefits and  behind such pairing.. 

What I am sharing to day is a very common dessert prepared be it in restaurants or households. Again, it is a Cantonese cuisine and I presumed most household will now how to prepare. Depending on your dialects, Cantonese  believed that for a good bowl of this dessert, the red beans must be cooked until very soft and resembling  the paste form..For other dialects, soft but still grainy is considered as acceptable.

The recipe basically involved boiling the red beans in water until the red beans are very soft and mushy. Add sugar and it can be served. The challenge is to achieve this effect as fast as possible. There are many ways of cooking but I believed using pressure cooker is the fastest among all. Other cooking methods that can be considered are:

• boiling over the stove with a porcelain spoon ;
• Slow cooker over night boiling
• Rice cooker soup function
• Thermal flask cooking by bring the red bean to boil and keep in the thermal flask overnight

The main ingredients in this recipes are dried lily bulbs (百合）, red or adzuki beans (红豆）, lotus seeds (莲子） and dried tangerine peel.（橘皮） 。 At times when the ingredients are a lot, I will only share the benefits of the two most important ingredients. Per http://chinese.herbs.webs-sg.com/articles_9.html, the main functions of lily bulbs as per Chinese medicine are:

• For treating of ulcer of the stomach.
• For treatment of pain in solar plexus because of spleen deficient.
• For treatment of Dengue Fever during frequent urination period.
• For treatment of neurasthenia.
• For treatment of boils.

As per http://www.pingminghealth.com/article/259/red-bean/, red beans have the following benefits :

• Reduce Fluid Retention as in oedema cases
• Aids in weight loss due to excess fluid retention
• Avoid effects of external pathogenic dampness
• Reduce heat and toxin in the blood that causes rashes, pimples and boils

“莲子百合红豆沙 – 红豆有清心养神、健脾益肾功效，加入莲子、百合更有固精益气、止血、强健筋骨等作用，能治肺燥、干咳，提升内脏活力，增强体力。莲子有养心安祥的功效，中老年人特别是脑力劳动者经常食用，可以健脑，增强记忆力，提高工作效率。百合具有养心安神，润肺止咳的功效，是著名的保健食品，也是老少皆宜的食物。莲子百合红豆沙具有补脾、和胃、清肺功效，老少皆宜。养生也是护肤的重要的一部分，外调加上内养，才能造就一个水灵灵的女人。” (http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E8%8E%B2%E5%AD%90%E7%99%BE%E5%90%88%E7%BA%A2%E8%B1%86%E6%B2%99)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings： 4-6 adult servings

• 300 grams of adzuki red beans (红豆），soaked for 1-2 hours
• 250 grams of rock sugar (冰糖）
• 25 grams of dried lily bulbs （百合） , soaked until soft
• 50 grams of lotus seeds （莲子）, soaked until soft
• Some tangerine peels （陈皮）
• Few pandan leaves (香兰叶）

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Wash the red beans, add sugar and pandan leaves. Add water until it is about 2 cm above the red beans. Pressure cook the beans for 30 minutes.

• Add the soaked lily bulbs, lotus seeds, rock sugar and tangerine peel. Add additional water such that it about 2cm all the ingredients. Pressure cook again the beans for another 30 minutes. Use the ladle and move in a circular motion and grind the the red beans for a few minutes. While doing this action, avoid breaking the lily bulbs and lotus seeds which should be rather soft now. Best served warm with additional tangerine peel.

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CONCLUSION

To conclude, this dessert aids to improve the spleen function (and hence blood production and transportation 补脾 leads to less easy to become tired）， strengthen  the stomach (and hence better intestinal digestion system  和胃  leads to better appetite） and lungs clearing (reduce chronic cloth and etc. 清肺）。It is also beneficial to ladies as it contained lots of iron in adzuki beans and good in blood replenishment。Lastly, it is good for skin conditions resulted from damp heat as per Chinese Tradition Medicine.  I hoped I am clear and I know I am not as I am as new as you are.. lol . I hope to learn together with all of you.. Whatever it is, this is bowl of delicious traditional dessert that is believed to benefit our bodies.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Pumpkin Coconut Jam aka Pumpkin Kaya (金瓜加椰）

INTRODUCTION

This is the long overdue recipe that I have never blog.. It was very trendy 2 years ago. I still remembered then I just started my blog and I can remember that a few bloggers started sharing recipe and it become so common that Facebook are flooded with this pumpkin kaya recipe.

Since I have a lot of pumpkin at home, I have therefore decided to prepare some. After digesting for 3-4 recipes, I have designed my own, making it creamier and easier.

I am happy that the adventure works, and family members like it too. Actually, the taste did not differ much from the traditional egg kaya or coconut jam. It is silky smooth and good as spreads for bread.. It is addictive too possibly because of the creaminess from the addition of condensed milk.

Well, if you are someone who  have condensed milk phobia, I have another recipe to use castor sugar. You can choose either one but the one with condensed milk is definitely a better recipe. The illustration will show the use of condensed milk.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare a small bottle of pumpkin coconut jam

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• 400 grams of pumpkin
• 8 Pandan Leaves
• 80 grams of condensed milk or 60 grams of brown sugar
• 200 ml or grams of thick coconut milk

Note: Both the sugar and condensed milk quantities stated here are rather conservative. Feel free to add more if you found that it is not sweet enough to your liking.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Steam the pumpkin until soft. Put all the ingredients (except pandan leaves) into a blender and blend until as fine as possible. Transfer to to a non stick pan and add pandan leaves. Cook under low heat until it thickens. Constant stirring is required and it took me about 30 minutes of stirring.  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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CONCLUSION

Trust me, if you have never try pumpkin kaya before, you should give it a try. If you have tried it before, do give this recipe a try and let me know if there is any differences.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Pomelo Honey Jam (柚子蜂蜜酱）

INTRODUCTION

First of all, I have to apologize that I got confused with term Yuzu and pomelo.. I was confused because of the Japanese Kanji 柚子 is different from the Chinese character 柚子. Though both characters are the same but Yuzu in Chinese is 香橙 and 柚子 for Chinese character means pomelo.. Are you as confused as me? Well, I hope not, I do not intend to change my picture wordings as the recipe is equally applicable to the preparation of yuzu jam if you are able to get hold of it.

This post is concerning pomelo or 柚子 or 文旦, another type of fruit in the citrus family. As per Wikipedia,

“Citrus maxima (or Citrus grandis), (Common names: shaddock, pomelo, pummelo, pommelo, pamplemousse, or shaddok) is a natural (non-hybrid) citrus fruit, with the appearance of a big grapefruit, native to South and Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white (or, more rarely, pink or red) flesh and very thick albedo (rind pith). It is a large citrus fruit, 15–25 centimetres (5.9–9.8 in) in diameter, usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2.2–4.4 lb). Leaf petioles are distinctly winged. The fruit tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit (which is itself believed to be a hybrid of Citrus maxima and the orange^[6]), though the typical shaddock is much larger than the grapefruit. It has none, or very little, of the common grapefruit’s bitterness, but the enveloping membranous material around the segments is bitter, considered inedible, and thus is usually discarded. The peel is sometimes used to make marmalade, can be candied, and is sometimes dipped in chocolate. In Brazil, the thick skin is often used for making a sweet conserve, while the middle is discarded. Citrus maxima is usually grafted onto other citrus rootstocks but can be grown from seed, provided the seeds are not allowed to dry out before planting.”Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomelo)

The benefits of pomelo are many and as per http://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-pomelos/, the 13 major benefits of pomelo includes the following. However, it is advised that you do some read up on the above link before you place reliance on such information,

• Prevent urinary tract infection
• Promote fast healing of wounds
• Promotes healthy teeth and gums
• Prevent anaemia
• Prevent colds and flu
• Regulate blood pressure levels
• Prevent osteoporosis
• Prevent leg cramps
• Cure Constipation
• Aids in weight loss
• Fights against Cancers
• Treats atherosclerosis:
• Anti-aging

This fruit is very common  during Chinese New Year and big festivals like moon cake festival. As to why moon cake festival was associated with pomelo, according to some website, it was written that the homophone of 柚子 is the same of having son (有子）.  Some others believed that eating 柚子 or pomelo will lead to moon goddess’s 嫦娥 blessing 保佑平安。Some said that during the period of moon cake festivals, it is the harvesting time of pomelo in northern hemisphere. Some even believed that putting the pith of the pomelo at the head of a kid will give additional blessings during this period.

I am also rather new to this belief as it was not common during my childhood in my small town. What I know now is that this is common in PRC when I was staying there, Hong Kong and Taiwan Facebook Groups. Singapore supermarkets was loaded with pomelo and prices can be steep before the festival. Gift sending always include moon cake and pomelo..

I believed many families are loaded with pomelo.. Most will eat the juicy flesh in throw away the skin. What most may not know is that the skin can be churned into dishes and jam and etc. What I am sharing today is how to skin the pomelo beautifully and how to make jam from the fruits. You can use the jam for as bread spread, baking cakes or dilute with water and become a refreshing drink. . In fact, you can also use for stir frying pork ribs, chicken and etc. as a flavouring agent.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare a small jar of pomelo jam

• One medium to big size pomelo
• 500 grams of pomelo flesh
• 120 grams of white sugar
• 200 grams of honey or golden syrup or maltose
• 50 grams of water

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Wash and scrub the skin of the pomelo as clean as you can. Use a sharp knife to cut shallowly a circle at the middle of the pomelo. Do not cut too deep as it will cut into the flesh. Use a spoon to push inside the pith and push around the fruit. When the cavity is big enough that your finger can go in, use your finger to push around the segments. Take out the rind and the pith. Perform the same for the bottom.

• Use a knife to cut lightly following the segment patterns. Use hand to lightly pull apart the segments. Use a knife to cut away the core connecting part. Use your hand to pull away the white membrane. During this process, you have to hold the pomelo segment tight to facilitate pulling. Otherwise, you are likely to break the fruits.

• Use a peeler to peel the rind (do not go into the white pith). If you are weary that it is bitter, you can blanch in hot water for 2-3 minutes but the fragrance will be reduce in the next step.

• In a pot, put the pomelo flesh, sugar, pomelo rind and water. Bring to boil. Though the water seems to be very little, however, when you boil, the pomelo juices will be excreted.

• Once the flesh and rind has slightly softened (after boiling for 5 minutes), transfer to a blender and blend until fine. This steps is optional but it will save you at least 30 minutes of high heat boiling. You can omit this step but you will need to boil until the flesh and rind is soft which took about one hour.

• Transfer the blended flesh back to the pan, add the honey, continue boiling under high heat until the jam thicken. Give it an occasional stirring to avoid sticking to the sides.   Cool completely before store in a sterilized glass container.

• The jam can be used to prepare drinks , as a bread spread , baking cupcakes or chiffon cakes or as a flavour enhances in the cooking of savoury dishes.

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CONCLUSION

I hope this post will help  those who are looking for a way to fully utilize the pomelo. If you are overloaded with pomelo, you can consider this recipe.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

Snow Fungus Papaya Sweet Soup (木瓜银耳炖冰糖）

INTRODUCTION

This is quite a classic Cantonese dessert commonly served in Cantonese restaurants and believed to “clear” lungs, improved complexion, improved intestinal conditions and breast enhancement. It can be as simple as the three ingredients as in this recipe or there are many things that you can add to the sweet soup..

I accidentally double boiled the dessert for a solid 16 hours.. It become gelatine like dessert, gooey and yummy.. Such type of texture is the same as those concentrated bird nests desserts and that is the reason that people are preparing this costly bird nest sweet soup with the belief that it will enhance moisture retention in the skin.. I cannot vouch that it is true but it did convinced me with such texture. In fact, white fungus or snow fungus is long considered as an excellent ingredients to improve skin complexion and as an alternative for bird nests. A good grade snow fungus can be rather costly too.

Most recipes called for braising or double boiling of 3-4 hours, I did that and i took my images immediately after 4 hours since I am rushing out. You can see that in some picture, the white fungus has not disintegrated yet and looks rather crunchy. After the photo shooting session, I put the dessert back to the slow cooker and I totally forget about it until I woke up in the next morning. It really transformed into gelatine or collagen type of gooey liquid. It is extremely yummy that my kids did not complain at all.

The main ingredients in this sweet soup are snow fungus and papaya. As shared before in my previous post: Snow Fungus Pear Sweet Soup （冰糖银耳炖雪梨）Snow fungus is a type of mushroom and has long been famous to have the following properties by Traditional Chinese Medicine:

• Improve the skin completion
• Nourishes and moistures the lungs
• Probable  lowering of blood sugar and inhibit increase in cholesterol level
• Reduce symptoms of constipation, dry cough, dry skins and respiratory discomfort.
• improve immune systems
• Improve retention of bodily fluids

As for papaya, Chinese medicine believes that papaya is warm in nature (性温）， it is neither too heaty nor cooling. According Chinese Medicine, papaya is believed to: have the following properties  (Source: http://www.askdrmao.com/natural-health-dictionary/papaya/)

• Lung lubrication
• Kill intestinal worms
• Increase milk production in lactating women
• Heal skin lesions
• Sooth Indigestions and stomach aches
• Alleviate irritability brought by warm weather

Putting these two together apparently is a very good dessert for lung lubrication that is suitable for this hazy weather. 

” 木瓜银耳糖水是一道美味可口的汉族名点，属于粤菜系。制作简单，口感良好。滋补美容丰胸的佳品。补充营养，提高抗病能力。将银耳用温水浸透泡发，洗净撕成小朵，削皮去籽，切成小块；银耳、木瓜和冰糖一起放入锅里，加适量水煮开，然后转小火炖煮30分钟-1个小时，即可食用。木瓜含有丰富的维他命a及c和纤维，当中的水溶性纤维更加有助平衡血脂水平，还能消食健胃，对消化不良具有食疗的作用。有丰胸作用! 银耳性平、味甘淡，有滋阴、润肺、养胃、生津、益气、补脑、强心之功效。不但适宜于一切妇孺、病后体虚者，且对女性具有很好的嫩肤美容功效。银耳和燕窝的功效差不多~~所以我真的超级爱银耳的~~这道银耳木瓜糖水是一道滋养糖水。常食用能养阴润肺，滋润皮肤，防止皱纹过早出现，保持皮肤幼嫩，延缓衰老。可治疗燥热咳嗽、干咳无痰等等。“ （Source: http://baike.baidu.com/view/4702571.htm)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

Main Ingredients

• Some papaya （木瓜）
• Some snow fungus （雪耳）
• Rock sugar to taste (冰糖）

Optional Ingredients

• Some apricot kernels (南北杏）
• Pandan leaves (香兰叶）
• Lotus seeds (莲子）
• Goji berries (枸杞）

* Quantity is intentionally omitted as this is a flexible recipe. A bit more or less of each ingredients are acceptable, If you are unsure, use the equal volumes of papaya and snow fungus.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Cut the papaya into small pieces , You can also chopped the papaya, if preferred. Set aside.

• Soaked the snow fungus until full expandable. Cut away the yellow stem at the bottom. For the white colour portion, cut into small pieces. Transfer the snow fungus to a small porcelain pot that can fit into a slow cooker. Add the chopped papaya and rock sugar. Add enough water to cover the snow fungus. Double boil using slow cooker for at 3-4 hours or until your desired texture.

Note:

• In this illustration, I have double boiled the snow fungus for about 18 hours. if you have time, let it continue boiling and snow fungus boiled for 4 hours will have very different texture with those snow fungus who have been stewed for long hours. As it boils, the snow fungus will secrete gelatine like of substances which is very soothing to the throat.

• If you do not have slow cooker, you can try boiling over the stove, pressure cooker, thermal flask or even rice cooker soup function. The final ultimate desired outcome is a thick and concentrated dessert. Timing will differs between different gadgets.

• If your volume is a lot, you do not need double boiling. You can just put everything in the slow cooker and add enough water to cover it.

• Feel free to add things that you liked such as apricot kernel, pandan leaves etc. Even red dates can be added.

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CONCLUSION

Once again, a bowl of dessert will not create a difference but it will make a difference if it was factored into your dessert menu. I hope readers will give it a try on this simple, delicious and cheap Chinese traditional dessert commonly served it is restaurant.It is extremely timely for this hazy weathers. If you never try, just imagine you are enjoying a cheaper bowl of bird nests sweet soup.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Pumpkin Pie (南瓜派)

INTRODUCTION

Every time around October, I will see a lot of recipe on pumpkin by Western bloggers.. One of the most common recipe will be pumpkin pie.. I have never tried this pie before but it has always in my to-do list. I can imagine the taste of the pie.. It should be creamy and yummy..

When I was shopping in a supermarket a few days ago, I saw 3 kg pumpkin was sold at a very reasonable price. Unknowingly, I bought a big pumpkin home. I remembered that it was less than S$3 and i know it is very heavy, probably about 2 kgs ..Ha-ha.. Therefore I must churn out recipes using pumpkins.

First thing that come to my mind is this pumpkin pie.. It is time to try out a recipe and if successful, I shall share with the readers. I searched for recipes but most are Western recipes that uses ready made canned pumpkin puree. After digesting a few recipes, I have decided to design my own recipe to suit Asian taste..

Bingo, the pumpkin pie is so delicious and make me wonder why such delicious pie is not common in this part of the world. I posted this western dessert in 3 Chinese food groups – One each in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. The response is overwhelming. The likes are escalating and members are requesting for recipes. That is also the reason why I rush out to issue the recipe today.

Preparation is not difficult at all.. I have simplify the version of using food processor. Don’t worry, if you do not have food processor, you can easily do it manually or using a stand mixer or use hand rubbing method.

As per Wikipedia,

“Pumpkin pie is a traditional sweet dessert, often eaten during the fall and early winter, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States and Canada. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time and featured also at Halloween. The pie consists of a pumpkin-based custard, ranging in colour from orange to brown, baked in a single pie shell, rarely with a top crust. The pie is generally flavoured with cinnamon, powdered ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Allspice is also commonly used, and can replace the clove and nutmeg as its flavour is similar to both combined. Cardamom and vanilla are also sometimes used as batter spices.” (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_pie)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About two 6 inches diameter pies

Short crust pastry

• 160 grams of plain flour
• 100 grams of butter, chilled
• 2 teaspoons of castor sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 teaspoon of milk

Fillings

• 500 grams of pumpkin flesh
• 80 grams of condensed milk
• 30 grams of castor sugar – optional
• 2 eggs + 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon of mixed spice (cinnamon+nutmeg+ginger) – optional

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

• Put all the butter, sugar and plain flour in a food processor. Use pulse mode to blend until the flour become crumble. Add eggs and milk, blend for 1/2 minute until it forms a liable dough. Divide the dough into two portions. Put one dough on top of a piece of clingy wrap. Put another clingy wrap on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry to about 2mm thick . Transfer the pastry to your baking dish, press down follow the shape of the dish. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. If you have baking beads, you can place on top of the pastry and take it out once the baking is done.. Set aside for cooling.

Note

• If you do not have a food processor, you can rub the butter and sugar using finger tips, add eggs and milk, LIGHTLY knead until if forms a pliable dough.

• Steam the pumpkin until soft.

• Transfer the pumpkin to the blender. Add eggs, sugar, condensed milk and mixed spice. Blend until fine. Fill  the baked pastry shell with the puree to about 95% full. Bake in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius for about 25 –30 minutes or until the puree is set. Cooled completely before cutting and serve at room temperature.

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CONCLUSION

I love this pie and my kids love them too. I hoped more readers in this region will try this recipe and let me know if it suits your taste buds. If you do not want to prepare the pastry, store bought pie cups can also be used.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Light Fruit Cake (轻杂果蛋糕）

INTRODUCTION

I have a pack of dried fruits sitting in my shelves for a long time, by hook and by crook, I must get rid of it..

Since I do not have a golden or light fruit cake recipe, I have decided to design a recipe…. What disappointed me is that I have only used on 1/3 of the fruits in my recipe… The outcome is my fruit cake have very little fruits and my kitchen still have another 160 grams of mixed fruit sitting there. What a blunder and it is best not to do any baking before I drink my morning coffee..

Well there is no fault to the recipe and in fact the cake is delicious. Well, it is easy to imagine the taste, a butter cake with mixed fruits. In my case, since fruit is less, it will be more like a butter cake. Haha.

Since I am still on my vegetarian diet, in this illustration, I did not use any alcohol. I used orange juice instead. Therefore, this recipe is equally applicable to Muslim readers.. If you preferred, you can substitute the orange juices with cherry wine or rum.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare an 8” fruit cake

• 250 grams of butter, softened at room temperature
• 250 grams of mixed fruits
• 250 grams of castor sugar
• 150 grams of self raising flour
• 100 grams of plain four
• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• 50 grams or ml of fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 degree Celsius.

• Soaked the mixed fruits in orange juices for 15 minutes, drain, collect the orange juice and set aside.

• Cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs one by one , beating thoroughly after each addition. Scrap the sides to ensure that there is none stick to the bottom and the sides.

• Fold in the soaked fruits, flour and collected orange juices in 3 stages until well combined. Folding shall be light and fast.

• Bake in the pre-heated oven of 160 degree Celsius for 45 minutes to 1 hour or when a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turnout into a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.

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CONCLUSION

If you follow the recipe exactly, your outcome will be difference from what you saw in the picture. you will have more fruits in the cake.  Hope this recipe will benefit those readers who are looking for a simple, fast and easy fruit cake recipes.

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 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.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  and FOOD PARADISE 美食天堂 to see more recipes.  I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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