Orange Peach Jelly

I happened to come across one Facebook member posting her beautiful Orange Peach jelly the other day and she used the "Ingots" mould to make this and it just captivated me how lovely those ingots jellies are.  

The "Ingots" ( 元宝) as for the Chinese regarded as a very auspicious symbols of wealth and good fortune.  Usually the Feng Shui master will advise to place the ingots in the wealth area of your home to attract and to bring abundance and financial success to you.

And as Mooncake Festival is just around the corner, why not make this Ingots jelly to welcome your guests.

Orange Peach Jelly 

Ingredients 

1 pack (10g) agar agar powder
150ml water
200ml peach syrup
550ml fresh orange juice
100g sugar (adjust accordingly; based on the sweetness of your orange juice)
2-3 slices peach, cut small to fine 

Method 
Pour the water, sugar syrup, sugar, agar agar and sugar to a medium size saucepan and bring to boil till the sugar dissolves stirring it constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add in the finely chopped peach in.  Pour into mould.

Chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours till set.

MAPO TOFU

I hardly posted any cooked dishes to my blog; but just the thought of writing out the recipe and taking photos during the late evening for my cooked dishes just doesn't get me out to do so sometimes.

I posted this Mapo Tofu picture in my facebook page and one member requested for the recipe..... well anyway, here goes my home cooked Mapo Tofu version.

MAPO TOFU 

Ingredients 

1 block soft tofu, cut into small cubes
100g mince meat
1 tbsp chopped shallot
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp Chilli Bean sauce (“Dou Ban Jiang”)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ cup water  (adjust to your preference)
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 stalk spring onions, chopped small
(Some salt or soya sauce to your preference taste) 

Method 

Marinate the mince meat with 1 tbsp light soy sauce.  Set aside.

Heat up frying pan/wok with cooking oil.  Add in the chopped shallots and garlic, stir fry a minute till fragrant.  Add in the marinate mince meat and stir fry till the meat half done.

Then add in the chilli bean sauce and chilli powder and stir fry till aromatic.  Add in the tofu and water,  gently stir in the blend into the sauce.  Lower the heat and let simmer for 3-5 minutes till sauce slightly thickens.  Add in the chopped spring onions.

Dish up and serve hot.

Seriously with this dish alone can just have you go for another bowl of rice; and really you don't need to cook any other dishes anymore unless you have someone who is picky eater at home!!  LOL!!

Pandan Jelly Mooncake

Next week is already Mid Autumn Festival.  I been seeing lots and lots of mooncakes posting on the blog, various flavours coming up this year too.  I guess the latest trend is the chocolate flavour. 

Well, on the festival day itself too much mooncakes can get you satiated and why not make something else....... Jelly or agar agar mooncake.  

I really love this Jelly Mooncakes when Esther of CopyCake Kitchen posted hers!  And even the jelly mooncake have filling too; using grass jelly (cincau). 

PANDAN JELLY MOONCAKE 
Recipe sourced from Esther of Copycake Kitchen

Ingredients
300g water

400g pandan juice  (blend 4-5 pieces of pandan leaves in 400g+ water)

100g coconut milk

Few drops of pandan essence (I didn't add this)

3 pandan leave (tie into a knot)
120g sugar

8g Agar agar

Filling

Honey grass jelly, ready made (cut into small square size; smaller than your mooncake mould)

Method

In a medium pot, pour in the water, pandan juice, essence, coconut milk and pandan leaves and bring to simmer boil.

Add in sugar, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Add in agar agar keep stirring.  Once start to bubbles, turn off heat. Sift the agar agar mixture.

Pour some agar agar mixture into jelly mould. Put it in your freezer to set for 1-2 mins. Add in grass jelly, pour again agar agar mixture until full.

Let it chill and set in the fridge.

                                           A refreshing dessert and the kids will love it!!!

Pak Thong Koh (Steamed White Sugar Cake)

This is my second round of making this Pak Thong Koh.  The "traditional way" of Pak Thong Koh would take days (I think 4-5 days) but I'm not that kind of patient to wait for the dough to ferment that long.  I found this fast way recipe that just took 2-3 hours to ferment the batter and the result is unbelievable good! 

PAK THONG KOH (STEAMED WHITE SUGAR CAKE) 
Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Snippets 

Ingredients
280 grms rice flour
200 grm sugar  (sweetness is just perfect)
600 ml water
1 tsp dried yeast + 3 tbsp of lukewarm water
3 pandan leaves – knotted
½ tsp salt
½ tbsp cooking oil 

Method 

In a mixing bowl add in rice flour and 300 ml water. Mix well and set it aside.

In a small saucepan, boil the balance 300 ml water, sugar, salt, and pandan leaves. Once boil remove the pandan leaves. Pour the syrup right away inside the rice flour mixture and leave it aside to cool.

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and pour it into the cool rice flour mixture. Stir well and cover and let it ferment for 2 to 3 hours or until small and tiny bubbles appears on top of the batter.

Prepare the steamer; bring the water to rapid boil. Grease and pre-heat an 8” baking round or square tray.

Add in ½ tbsp of vegetable oil to the mixture, stir well and pour into the heated tray and steam for 20-25 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when tested.

Cut and serve once it is cool.

Just make sure that after the 2 hours fermentation of the rice batter that has small bubbles surface on top.  If you don't see any that's mean your yeast might have expired or your water might be too hot when you dissolve the yeast in.

I think this steamed cake is so easy to make; mix everything and let it sit to ferment and then steam and you can have your "Pak Thong Koh" to enjoy!

Strawberry Yoghurt Bavarois

When my sister whatsapps and showed me the picture of her Strawberry Yoghurt Bavarois, it just tempted me to try it immediately as I am sure it it really delicious!!

Strawberry Yoghurt Bavarois 
Recipe adapted from Sandy's of My Happy Apron

Serves 8 

Ingredients 

15g gelatin powder

6 tbsp water
300g strawberries
1 tsp lemon juice
180ml milk
150g sugar
180ml heavy cream
240ml plain yoghurt

Method
Soak the gelatin in the water.
Wash and hull the strawberries, then drain.  In a bowl, mash the strawberries with a fork and sprinkle with the lemon juice.  (Alternatively, you can lightly blend the strawberries in your blender).

In a small saucepan, scald the milk and add the sugar and the gelatin-water mixture.  Stir gently until the sugar and gelatin dissolves.  Let cool.

In a bowl, beat the heavy cream till soft peaks form.   Add the mashed strawberries and stir well. Add the yoghurt and gently stir.  Add the milk, sugar and gelatin mixture.

Pour into a large mould or several small individual moulds.

Chill in the refrigerator until set .  Serve with strawberry and whipped cream.

                                              I made half of the recipe only.

                           

                                                              Yummy....yummy.....

Walnut Butter Cake

I had wanted to bake a simple cake for the past few days and when I saw Sonia posted her Walnut Butter Cake  and immediately I felt in love with that cake.  

Whenever I want to bake a simple cake, Walnut Butter Cake always come to my mind  but the recipe which I have been using previously yields lots of eggs in the ingredients.  And when I saw Sonia's ingredients have only 2 eggs, I just got to try it out.  Nowadays I try to cut down eggs consumption in my bakes if I could.

WALNUT BUTTER CAKE
Recipe sourced from Sonia of NasiLemakLover

*makes a 6” round cake 

Ingredients

125g butter (salted), room temp.

80g caster sugar

2 eggs (A size)

1tsp vanilla extract

2tbsp milk

110g cake flour

1tsp baking powder

60g walnut, process in a food processor till fine 

Method

Line paper on the bottom of the cake pan. Sift cake flour and baking powder, set aside

Cream butter, vanilla extract and sugar till fluffy and pale (take about 4mins using hand electric mixer at speed 2).

Add in egg one at a time, mix well with each addition.

Add in flour, walnut and milk, combine well. Sprinkle walnuts on top.

Bake at a pre-heated oven at 170C for 40-45mins or 180C for 30-35mins.

If you want to have some bite of crunch in the cake, just put the walnuts in a plastic bag and pound it with your rolling pin.  No need to process till fine.  Believe me, the cake taste good biting into the walnut bits.  

Indeed, this cake is not that greasy and the sweetness is just right for me too!  But to those who like a little more sweet, you can add extra sugar.

Thank you Sonia!  Love this cake alot!  I will be using this recipe from now on.....

Magic Custard Cake

So, have you heard of Magic Custard Cake?  A cake with one batter but after baked it will have 3 layers!  Yes, that is the magic of this cake.

I have bookmarked this cake months ago and when my sister asked me what cake to bake for her husband coming birthday, I suggest to her to try this Magic Custard Cake.  When she show me her finished cut slice cake, oh...I was so envy that she achieved the 3 layers!

And I really got to try it too when she told me that the cake taste so delicious!

If you google search for this Magic Custard Cake, the ingredients measurement are all the same but I do some adjustment and go for Anncoo Journal  on adding 1 tbsp sugar to the egg whites as well as adding the orange zest as I'm afraid the taste might be too eggy.

MAGIC CUSTARD CAKE 

Ingredients:

½ cup (113g) unsalted Butter

2 cups (480ml) Milk
4 Eggs, separated
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 ¼ cups (140g) Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tablespoon (15ml) Water
1 cup (115g) Plain Flour
zest from one orange
1 teaspoon (5ml) Vanilla Extract
extra confectioner's sugar for dusting 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line an 8"x8" baking pan.

Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. 

Warm the milk to lukewarm and set aside. 

Combine sifted flour and orange together, set aside.

Whip the egg whites and 1 tbsp caster sugar to stiff peaks. Set aside.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Mix in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.

Mix in the flour until evenly incorporated. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla extract until everything is well mixed.

Fold in the egg whites, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all of the egg whites are folded in.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow cake to completely cool before cutting and then dust with confectioner's sugar .

When I took the cake out from the oven and when I remove the grease proof paper, I thought I only achieve 2 layers until I cut out to slices...... yay I have 3 layers!  

If you have not bake it and wondering how this cake taste, well, it does taste like eating egg tart...the egg filling!  It is just simply delicious! 

Pulut Tai Tai

Everytime I went to the wet market I will be passing one corner at the road side where there is a plant with this blue flower bloom beautifully.  I know that plant is that blue pea flower or another name to it is Clitoria.   

I wanted to pluck it everytime I pass by but the thought of not knowing what to do with it first so I just pass by admiring it.  

Here today, I make my first pulut tai tai using the blue pea flower. 

Pulut Tai Tai
(Steamed Glutinous Rice Stained With Blue Pea Flower 
With Coconut Egg Jam)
Recipe sourced from Cooking Momster 

Ingredients :

300gm glutinous rice, washed and soaked in water overnight
Few pieces of pandan leaves
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
30 pcs bunga telang
1/2 cup water 

Method :

In a small pot, add in theblue pea flower and 1/2 cup water. Bring it to boil in order to get the blue colour. Remove from heat and discard the flower. Let it cool.

Soaked 1/3 of the glutinous rice with blue colour water and the balance of the glutinous rice with water. Soaked overnight.

Next day, drained the rice and put the rice and pandan leaves in a steaming tray.
Mix coconut milk with salt. Pour 1/2 the mixture of coconut milk over the glutinous rice in the steaming tray.

Steam over high heat for about 15 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a pair of chopstick and add remaining coconut milk mixture and steam for another 15 minutes.

Prepare a 7′ X 7′ square tray. Line the bottom of the tray with banana leaves.

Pour the glutinous rice into the tray and create the marble effect of blue and white. Press down the glutinous rice on the tray till compact and line the top with a piece of banana leaves. Leave it to cool completely.

Cut into small square pieces and serve with Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam)

   

                           In the midst of steaming...............

Prawn Fritters (Cucur Udang)

PRAWN FRITTERS (CUCUR UDANG)
A recipe from Rohani Jelani with slight adjustment 

Ingredients

For the fritters:

150 g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt 

¼ tsp tumeric powder (you can add more for extra aroma and flavour)

50 g onion, sliced thinly
30 g carrot, finely shredded
30 g Chinese chives, cut into 4 cm lengths
150 g prawns, shelled and de-veined
1-2 waterchestnuts, chopped into small cubes
200 ml water 

For the chilli sauce:

6 fresh red chillies (120g), sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2-3 Tbsp tomato ketchup
2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the onion, carrot, Chinese chives and prawns. Stir in water and mix well.

2. Heat the oil in a wok or shallow pan on medium heat. Test by placing a small drop of batter into the oil – if it sizzles, the oil is ready. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter into the oil, leaving at least 1 cm of space between them. Fry until lightly puffed and golden brown on both sides. Drain well in a wire basket. Fry fritters in batches until all the batter is used up.

3. Meanwhile, measure all the ingredients of the chilli sauce into an electric chopper/blender and blend finely. Transfer into a small bowl. Serve the fritters hot or warm, accompanied with chilli sauce.

With the added of chopped waterchestnuts, there's some crunch in the texture when bite; and it taste good too.

Yam Abacus Beads 算盘子

I love to eat yam (another word for yam is taro).  What about you?  There are so many delicacies that can be made with yam such as bubur cha cha, woo kok, woo tao koh, orh nee,  stir fry with pork belly.......etc...etc....

Seriously I never heard of Yam Abacus Beads until I watched one cooking/travelling show on TV.  Aigh....eventhough I'm a Malaysian and yet was so ignorant of this delicious delicacies available here in the country.

I've never eaten this before and love to give this a try and see how it goes but I'm sure I would love this lots.

Yam Abacus Beads 算盘子 (Yam Gnocchi Fry in Dried Shrimps & Woods ear) 
Recipe sourced from Billy Law (A Table For Two) 

Abacus beads
500g taro, sliced into cubes
80g tapioca flour, plus extra for dusting
A pinch of salt
Few tablespoons of hot water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

For Stir Fry Abacus Beads 
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
A small knob (5 gram) ginger, peeled then julienned
120g water chestnuts, cut into cubes  (I forgot to add this)

30g dried shrimp, soaked in hot water

1 medium dried squid, soaked and thinly sliced
6 dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, thinly sliced
15g wood ear, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, thinly sliced
2 block firm tofu, cut into small cubes (I didn’t add this)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon Shaoxing Wine
2 sprig spring onion, thinly chopped

A bunch of coriander
2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method
1. First, prepare the abacus beads a day ahead. Place taro in steamer and steam until the taro has soften, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer taro to a large mixing bowl, mash with a fork while taro still hot. Add tapioca flour a little bit at a time and mix it in until combined, repeat until all flour used and knead the dough until no lumps. Add salt and oil to the mixture and knead for another minute. In this stage, if the dough is dry, you may add tablespoon of hot water.  Wrap the bowl in cling film, set a side to rest for at least 10 minutes.

2. Roll the dough into a long long and cut into small chunks.  Take one one small chunk and roll into a ball size of a marble, poke into the center of the ball with index finger to make an indentation then place the taro bead on the tray. Repeat until all dough is used.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil on high heat, and also prepare a large bowl of chilled water on the side. In batches, drop the abacus beads into the hot water, once the beads are cooked and float to the surface, scoop them out with a strainer and transfer them to the chilled water. Drain and transfer to a bowl, pour some oil into the bowl and keep it a mix so the beads won’t stick together. Transfer the abacus beads to refrigerator and let it cools down. 

Note: If you are don't intend to use it immediately, put into a zip lock bag and store in the freezer.

4. Add a dash of oil in a frying pan on medium-low heat, in batches, fry the abacus beads until golden brown on both sides. Place them slightly apart to prevent sticking together. Once all done, place them on a plate and set aside.

5. In a wok, heat 2 tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat, add garlic and ginger, stir-fry for a minute. Then add mushroom, wood ear, tofu and water chestnuts, stir-fry for few more minutes. Add abacus beads and spring onions, then season with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, white pepper and sesame oil, now stir-fry gently for another minute and is ready.

 

The Chinese called this Yam Abacus Beads..... and the western or Italian can called this as"Yam Gnocchi"

 

 YUM !!