CRANBERRIES SHORTBREAD

Cranberries Shortbread ~ another great recipe to share with you all. Simple in ingredients and easy to make; and most of all, so yummy 😄.  Love the soft crunch texture. 

Highly recommended to try this !!

CRANBERRIES SHORTBREAD

Ingredients 

200g salted butter (at room temperature)
75g icing sugar
300g plain flour/or all purpose flour (sifted)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
80g dried cranberries (chop coarsely)
Zest from 1/2 lemon (optional)

Method

Using your hand whisk or stand mixer, cream the butter till glossy (about 5 to 6 mins).

Add in the icing sugar and whisk for about 4 to 5 mins.  The texture should be light and glossy look.

Pour in the vanilla extract. Lightly whisk it  before adding the plain flour into the mixture. Do not overmix.

Add in the dried cranberries and lemon zest. Mix till well combined with a spatula.  Divide the dough into half. 

Place the dough on your kitchen benchtop, shape the dough into long rectangular shape (you can use a plastic scraper to help or roll it into long shape.  I formed my dough into 2"x 1.5" measurement).  Wrap your rectangular dough in clingwrap and chill the dough for at least 2 hours in freezer.

Preheat oven at 160°C.   Remove the frozen dough and using your sharp knife,  slice it about 0.5cm to 0.7cm thickness.  

Place the sliced cookies on your lined baking pan and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes till the edges are slightly golden brown.

Allow to cool on wire rack before storing in an airtight containers.

Note:

* you dont need to thaw the dough to soften to slice it.

*  the rolled up dough can be kept in the freezer up to 3 months so you can bake it anytime you want. 

* you can substitute to use raisins or dried blueberries instead dried cranberries

CHOCOLATE ALMOND COOKIES

Christmas is nearing and Im sure those celebrating Christmas celebration is planning for their coming dinner dishes meals, cookies and exchanging gifts.

Today, I would like to share this yummy Chocolate Almond Cookies.  So soft and melt in the mouth, it is definitely a keeper's! 

CHOCOLATE ALMOND COOKIES

Recipe sourced from Minty's Kitchen with slight changes

Ingredients

250g butter (at room temperature)
125g icing sugar
350g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
60g cornflour
150g almond flakes
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method 

Beat the butter for about 5 mins then add in the icing sugar  and beat until light and fluffy.

Add in egg and vanilla extract, beat the mixture till all combined.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and cornflour together and fold into the butter mixture.  Then add in the almond flakes and combine to form into a dough.

Divide the dough into two and shape into square logs (about 1.5" x 2").  Wrap the square logs with clingwrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 mins or an hour.  (Or you can put in the freezer for about 15mins)

Cut the logs into slices (about 0.8cm thickness)  and bake in a preheated oven of 175 deg C for about 20 minutes.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack and store them in an air-tight container.

PULUT TEKAN

Pulut Tekan or Pulut Tai Tai is a popular Nyonya dessert kuih. 

Pulut tekan literally translated as pressed glutinous rice. 

PULUT TEKAN OR PULUT TAI TAI 

Ingredients

300gm glutinous rice

200ml thick coconut milk

100ml water

½ tsp salt

3 pandan leaves (cut into 3" long)

50 - 60pcs blue pea flowers or bunga telang

Method 

Boil about 300ml water and add in the blue pea flowers. Let it turn into a nice vibrant blue colour and let cool.

Wash clean the glutinuous rice and divide into two portions. Soak one portion rice in plain water and the other portion, sieve out the flowers and pour the blue water in.  Soak the rice at least 4 hours. 

Prepare your steamer or wok.

After 4 hours, drain dry the glutinuous rice. Pour into 2 separate steaming plates (you may just pour into one plate; half white half blue in a steaming plate).   Put the pandan leaves on top.

Mix the thick coconut milk, water and salt together.  Stir till combine.  Pour into the glutinous rice (divided into equal portion if you are steaming separately the white and blue stained rice).  Steam for 30 minutes in medium heat.

Once done, remove and fluff the rice.  Add the glutinous rice into your pan or mould with banana leaves at the bottom pan (if you have,  else you can used greased proof paper).

Press the glutinous rice with a  "penekan kek lapis" or cake press.

Slice the glutinous rice to your desire size and serve with a dollop or spread kaya on top

Yummy! 

Love to look at the beautiful stained blue rice 😊

Braised Chicken in bean paste (Terengganu style aka "Kay Hong")

Now that we are in full lockdown for 14 days, we are not allowed to dine in in restaurants but only for takeaways.  As Covid19 cases are rising higher day by day here, I try not to go out too often.  So I will try to cook our meals as simple as possible ~ possibly in a one pot dish, less utensils pots and pans to wash up too 😅.

I have cooked this Braised Chicken Terengganu style (aka "Kay Hong"), back in 2012.  It was so flavourful and easy to prepare and cook.  So to those who is looking for a simple yet flavourful dish, why not try this braised taucu palm sugar chicken !

Today I am just using only chicken drumsticks instead of two types of protein.  

BRAISED CHICKEN IN TAUCU PALM SUGAR SAUCE

Ingredients
4 -5 (abt 500gm) chicken legs (cut into bite sized pieces)
3 or 4 hardboiled eggs
15 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp preserved bean paste (taucheow)
2 tbsp sweet soya sauce (I used ABC dark sauce)
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
Palm sugar (gula Melaka) abt 80-100gm
700ml water (adjust for consistency to your preference thickness of gravy)


Method
Blend shallots, garlic and taucheow. Saute the blended paste until fragrant.

Add in chicken pieces. Stir fry for about 2 mins.

Add water, sweet soya sauce, dark soya sauce, gula Melaka and hard boiled eggs.

Simmer until chicken is cooked and tender.

Enjoy .... hope you will love this easy to cook dish

Pulut Inti

It has been raining daily here and with the cooling weather it makes me feel craving for some Malaysian desserts lately 😆.

Today I have made this simple Pulut Inti (Steamed Glutinuous Rice with Grated Coconut Topping). 

PULUT INTI

(Makes about 7 to 8 pieces)

Ingredients

180gm glutinous rice

125ml thick coconut milk

½ tsp salt

20 pcs blue pea flowers, rinse washed

30ml hot boiling water

1 pandan leaf,  cut into 2" or 3"

Coconut Filling

45gm palm sugar, roughly chop 

½ tbsp brown sugar

30ml water

½ grated coconut flesh

½ cornflour

1 pandan leaf, knotted

Banana leaves, cut into 5"×6", and lightly blanched the leaves to soften it

Method

Add the blue pea flower in a small bowl and pour in the hot boiling water. Let it sit for 15 minutes.  Sieve through a strainer and press the flowers with a spoon to squeeze out more blue colouring. Set aside.

Combine the glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt in your steaming  plate. Mix till well combined.  Scatter the cut pandan leaves on top and steam for 20 minutes. Stir the rice occasionally till the rice is cooked. 

Remove ¼ of the rice and stain with the blue colouring.  Return the blue coloured rice to the steamer and cook another 5 minutes.  (Or you can just sprinkle the blue pea colour on to the rice). Remove from heat. Fluff the rice with a pair of chopsticks and mix the white and blue rice together. Set aside. (If u have extra banana leaves, covered with it).

To cook the filling.

Add the palm sugar, brown sugar, pandan leaf and water in a medium size saucepan. Cook till the sugars melted. (You may want to strain the sugar syrup as there might be some residue from the palm sugar).  Add in the grated coconut and cornflour and stir till all are well combined and thickens up. Dish up and let cool.

To assemble 

Place about 2 tbsp or 50gm of the cooked glutinous rice in the centre of banana leaf and top with one heap tablespoon coconut filling on top .

Fold up the longer sides to the centre to overlap slightly. Tuck in the two ends under the parcel. Place on to your serving plate or tray. 

I'm generous with my coconut filling 😊😜

Kuih Talam

I'm not very good in making kuih. I always find making kuih muih is very daunting and challenging eventhough by the look of it, what is so difficult to make? Just mix it up the ingredients and send to steaming only mah .. 😅

Sometimes it is the small little things that you need to look into eg. during steaming time either it is needed in low heat or high heat to steam the kuih. Or you need to open the lid every 5 minutes just to adjust down the temperature during steaming... or after the steaming done do not open the cover yet.
So this is those little things you need to be careful and adhere to perfect your kuih 😊

Today I'm sharing with you is Kuih Talam which is one of my favourite kuih. I like it with balance of sweetness and saltiness from the coconut layer.

KUIH TALAM 
Recipe reference from Nyonya Flavours

Ingredients

Pandan Layer
80gm rice flour
40gm tapioca flour
30gm green pea flour /or hoen kwe flour
210gm sugar (sweetness is just right)
700ml pandan juice (Ive used 18 leaves)
1 tsp alkaline water

Coconut Milk Layer
500ml thick coconut milk /or coconut cream
40gm rice flour
30gm grean pea flour/or hoen kwe flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour
½ tsp salt

Method

Prepare an 8" square pan. Lightly grease the pan and line a baking paper (with an inch overhanging on two sides for easy to lift up), grease the baking paper again.

Prepare and heat up your steamer.
(Im using a big wok).

Add in all the ingredients for the bottom pandan layer into a saucepan and cook under a low heat; stirring occasionally till it thickens slightly.

Pour the batter into your prepare square greased pan. Spread the batter in an uneven surface (this is to help both layers to stick together).
Steam for 10 - 15 minutes under low medium heat. Open your steamer lid every 5 minutes.

As the pandan layer is steaming, you can start to cook the coconut layer.

Add in all the coconut layer ingredients into a saucepan and cook under the lowest heat stirring occasionally till the batter slightly thickens.

Remove from heat and immediately pour into pandan layer.  Steam for 15 minutes under low medium heat.  Open the steamer lid every 5 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy .... yum ! 😊

Once thickens, give it a thorough whisk before pouring into the pan.

Will do better next round on my top layer... alot of air bubble holes 😏

Cut into 5 long strips (1.5") 

           This recipe definitely a keeper!

Best eaten in 1 to 2 days. Any leftover, please refrigerate in airtight container.

Purple Sweet Potato "Angku" Kuih

So craving to eat Angku kuih for the past few days.  I know I can easily get Angku Kuih at the market or at the nyonya kuih stalls/or shops, but I would love to try out some new recipes.

I have made the traditional Red Angku Kuih and Pumpkin Angku Kuih in year 2013.
So this time, let's try out purple sweet potato!  No artificial colouring added and the end result after steaming, the purple colour look so vibrant and gorgeous!

PURPLE SWEET POTATO ANGKU KUIH

Ingredients

Filling

180g mung bean without skin, washed, soaked for 4 hours, steamed for 20 mins & mashed

120ml oil

110g sugar

¼ tsp salt

3 shallots, sliced

Dough Skin
100gm purple sweet potato, steamed & mashed
150g glutinuous rice flour
1 tbsp sugar
130ml hot boiling water (you may need to add more)
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Some banana leaves
Some oil for brushing

To do for filling:
Heat up oil, stir fry sliced shallots till golden brown.  Discard shallots.  Add in the mashed mung beans, sugar, salt and stir fry until it can leave the side of pan.  Remove and leave to cool.  Form  into small balls (approx. 13g per ball, my mould size is 5cm long).

Note: if you feel the filling is abit dry, you can sprinkle some water in.

To do the dough skin:
Put glutinous flour, sugar in a mixing bowl.  Make a well in the middle, pour oil and hot boiling water in and  mix into a rough dough. Knead in mashed purple sweet potato to form into a pliable dough. Covered and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16gm per ball.

Wrap up 1 part of filling with 1 part of skin, press into the Angku mould and knock out.  Line with a piece of greased banana leaf and steam with high heat for 5-6 minutes.

Remove and brush the Angku kuih with oil.

                           Before steaming 

Note:
. Any left over Angku kuih, the next day you can steam it for 1-2 mins.

. There are still some fillings left based on this recipe.  So either you can make using half or ⅔ of the filling recipe 😊

Broccoli Quiche

I have not been as active like before in updating my blog post here for the past few years.   But if you see any new post is updated, the dishes or bakes are the one that I love to eat and I have been cooking it numerous times; its a keeper recipe for me! 😘.

You may like to try those recipes I recently updated and see if your taste buds are same like mine 🤣🤣.

BROCCOLI QUICHE

Shortcrust pastry
Adapted from Recipetineats with slight changes

Ingredients
185gm all purpose flour or /plain flour
100gm cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried thyme (chopped fine)
2½-3 tbsp cold water

Method
Using your food processor equipment, place in the all purpose flour, thyme, butter and salt .

Pulse and blitz until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
With the motor still running on lowest speed, add in 2½ tbsp icy cold water through the tube feeder.

Continue to blitz for 20secs till it turn into a ball dough. (Do not blitz for more than 30secs).  Remove out and if there are still some crumble bits gather it together and form into a disc snd wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 - 3 hours.

Start preheating your oven to 180°C.

Sprinkle some flour on your table top and roll out the pastry to fit to your 9" tart/pie mould or into 4 pcs 4" diameter tart mould (as I'm using here).

Refrigerate the pastry cases for 15 to 30 mins.

Line pastry cases with baking parchment paper and fill in with ceramic baking beans to stop the pastry from rising up during cooking.

Bake the tart shells for 15 minutes .
Remove the paper and baking beans and continue to bake another 5 - 8 minutes.


Filling Ingredients 
25 gm butter
1 large onion, thinly slices
Few slices smoked bacon or ham, chopped small
1 cup (or abt 200gm) chopped broccoli florets
2 large eggs *
1 cup full cream milk /whole milk *
60gm grated cheddar cheese

Method
Fry the chopped bacon till fragrant and dish out.
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in the onion, stir fry till light brown add in the broccoli florets. Fry till about 2 - 3 mins.  Season with salt and pepper. Dish out.

Whisk eggs and full cream milk till well combined. (Add pinch of salt if necessary).

Arrange the broccoli in the blind baked pie crust, top with bacon bits, sprinkle in the grated cheese all over and pour in the egg milk mixture.

Bake the quiche for about 30 minutes (20 mins for small tart mould) until golden top brown.  Remove from oven and let the quiche cool in the baking pan for 5 - 10 minutes.

Serve warm !

Note:
* The ratio between eggs and milk is dependable on individual.
Some would prefer 3 eggs to ¼ cup milk
Or 1 egg to ¼ cup milk. (I prefer my quiche not too  to be eggy and rubbery in taste).

* Broccoli - you may either stir fry it or lightly steamed it.
The fillings in the quiches are quite versatile; you can add in anything that you like to eat.

With the added of dried thyme in the pastry, it does bring out fragrant flavour after it was well baked !

Pineapple Sambal (Sambal Nenas)

Sambal is a popular condiment in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.  It is a hot spicy sauce made from chilli, spices, herbs, plus some other combination of onion, garlic, ginger etc.

In sambal recipes, some used fresh chilli, or dried chilli or store bought chilli paste (chilli boh).

Today my post of Sambal Nenas, I used my own grind chilli paste.

PINEAPPLE SAMBAL 

Ingredients

1 medium size medium ripe pineapple

Blended Spice Paste
20gm dried prawn
10pcs shallots
4 cloves garlic
1" knob belacan
2-3 tbsp chilli boh (dried chilli grind to paste)

½ tsp salt (or accordingly to taste)
1 tsp sugar

Method

Peel pineapple and cut into bite size pieces.

Blend the spice paste ingredients finely.

Heat about 5 to 6 tbsp oil in a wok and add in the blended spices paste. Stir fry till it fragrant (about 5 minutes); till oil separated.

Pour in the pineapples and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add in few tablespoon water and add in salt and sugar and mix well.

Delicious!!! 😘

This is a very delicious sambal dish and ... addictive too. If you are inviting your friends over for dinner,  I guarantee they will give you 2 thumbs up!  😅 And do cook extra rice too !


Note:
You may substitute with anchovies (ikan bilis) with dried prawns.

You can buy the store bought packet chilli boh instead of grinding the dried chilli yourself.

Cream Cheese Brownies

Two days ago, our Prime Minister has announced to further lock down to another 2 more weeks till 28th April! I know there are a lot home cooks out there dreaded to hear this news as cooking for 3 meals a day for their family has been a tiring chores.  And I believe these words are getting common for them ..."what to cook?" Or "what to eat". 😂.

Today post is this yummiest Cream Cheese Brownies. This is my 

CREAM CHEESE BROWNIES
Recipe sourced from Bake For Happy Kids
Makes one 20 cm / 8 inches square

For the cream cheese swirl:
250g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
50g caster sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

For the brownies:
250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), coarsely chopped
100g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
35g cornflour
25g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS 

For the cream cheese swirl:
Spoon mix the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until mixture is smooth. Set aside.

For the brownies:
Preheat oven to 180°C.  Line baking pan with 2 overlapping layers of baking paper, leaving an inch overhang on all sides.

Whisk combined cornflour, cocoa powder and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Place the coarsely chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionaly until the chocolate butter are melted and smooth . (You may do this in your microwave if you have one).

Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla. Then, mix in the eggs, one at a time. Sift in cornflour, cocoa powder into the mixture and use a spoon to mix until just combined and batter is smooth. (Do not over-mix.)

Pour chocolate batter into your pan. Dollop half the cream cheese mixture over batter, using your butter knife or small spatula to create swirls in the batter. Then, dollop the remaining cream cheese mixture over batter to create more swirls in the batter.

Bake the brownies for 30 minutes until the top is just set (do not over baked it). It is alright if the center still looks jiggly. 

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Lift the overhang parchment paper, to cool further on the wire rack before cutting the brownies.

NOTE

Do not cut down the 200g sugar, as we are using a dark chocolate with 70% cocoa , the brownies turn out just the right sweetness .

Any left over, store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. 

I love chocolates, and this brownies absolutely so yumm. My kind of desserts... hahaha

Wish I can share a piece with you  😘