Buah Melaka (Glutinous Pandan Flavoured Balls)

This is another Malaysian favorite for tea time. My late father used to love this and mum always makes them using the pandan leaves from the backyard for that lovely aromatic flavour and the lovely green colour. Buah Melaka gets its name from the sweet palm sugar also known as Gula Melaka that fills the center when you bite into this treat. You can easily get  palm sugar from any Asian grocer. This dessert is also known as Onde Onde but dont ask me why it is named so. 

Ingredients:

250 g Glutinous Rice Flour
200 ml Pandan Juice (see note)
150 g  Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar), finely chopped
100 g dessicated coconut
A Pinch Of Salt

METHOD:

In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with Pandan juice and knead lightly. 

Mix the coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about 2 – 3 minutes and let it cool completely.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Pinch a small piece of dough (about 15 g each) and flatten lightly. Fill the center of the dough with palm sugar. Roll them in your palm to form a smooth ball and cook the glutinous rice balls in the boiling water. When the rice balls float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water.

Coat the rice balls with the coconut and serve immediately.

Pandan Juice:

 Blend 10 Pandan leaves with 220 ml water and sieve through muslin cloth to obtain the clear juice.

Sambal Tempoyak Daun

Sambal tempoyak daun

Finely chopped leaves

OK those who knows this dish, needs no introduction. Its a Negeri Sembilan (my parents are both Nogorian) specialty and any true blue Nogorian has to know how to make this, otherwise you cant claim to be from this state.

Before we proceed, you would need the essential ingredient Tempoyak prepared before hand (see earlier post). If you dont have this in your pantry then you can either buy or make some.

This dish is a delicacy normally prepared during the fasting month because it keeps very well and can actually be tasty enough to be eaten on its own with plain rice.

You would need:

A.

5 birds eye chilies

1/2 cm fresh turmeric

B.

1 bunch tapioca leaves ( pucuk ubi kayu)

2 pieces turmeric leaves ( 1 grow mine in my herb garden)

5 pieces daun kaduk (wild pepper leaves) - available from your Vietnamese grocer

2 stalks lemon grass (finely chopped)

C.

10 pieces anchovies

1/2 cup petai (sator)

1 small box(200 ml) of Kara coconut cream

3 tbsp Tempoyak

Method:

Pound A in mortar and pestle until fine.

Chop all of B (see above photo).

Add all ingredients A, B & C into a pot and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with hot plain rice.

daun kaduk (wild pepper leaves)

Tempoyak (fermented durian)

Tempoyak or fermented durian flesh is a must in my mother's kitchen. My late father will request for tempoyak mixed with freshly pounded chili paste to be eaten with plain steamed rice, and he will be a happy camper.

I really cant put into words how good tempoyak is eaten as a side dish with chili or added into any dish like Gulai Ikan Patin Tempoyak, or Sambal Tempoyak Daun. When added to a coconut cream based dish, it adds another dimension in flavour and cuts through the creaminess of the coconut milk.

Just because tempoyak is not readily available in Australia, does not mean I cant have tempoyak in my pantry, right?

As durian is readily available here, all I need is to grab myself a durian, crack open the thorny shell and start separating the flesh from the seeds.

You will need:

1 glass jar with lid
durian flesh from 1 durian
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
Plastic cling wrap

Fill your jar with the durian flesh and add salt & sugar. Mix well and leave out on the counter overnight covered with cling wrap. The fermentation process will take place within 24 hours but please do not cover your jar with the lid as the bottle may actually explode with the gas buildup.

The next day you can close the lid on the jar and place your tempoyak in the refrigerator for up to 12 months.

Chocolate Molten Cake

A cold rainy night would be perfect for a warm chocolate cake with a soft gooey centre, dont you agree? I must share how easy this was to make and how good it taste, especially if you are a chocoholic like me.

I must thank Sis Melissa for posting this recipe and I have been waiting for the weekend to prepare this. So here is the video of this recipe, it is in Italian with English Subtitles, thankfully.

I served mine with fresh blueberries as it is now in season. It was quite a treat!

Click to see recipe

Bon Apetit!

Banana Crumble Muffin

If you are like me always running against time to bake the quickest but yummiest deserts, here is a quick and easy way to prepare a sweet treat. I like this recipe because I dont need to actually whip up a topping as the topping is baked together with the muffin. You can dive right into these once the muffin are cooled.

The crumbled topping is crunchy and coconut gives is a nice texture and flavour. Go ahead give this a try, and soon you will be making batches of these delicious treats!

Ingredients:

Muffins:

2 bananas mashed,
2 ½ cups self-raising flour,
2 tsp ground cinnamon,
2/3 cup brown sugar,
½ cup finely chopped walnuts (optional),
1 1/3 cup milk,
2 eggs,
1 tsp vanilla essence,
150g melted and cooled unsalted butter.


Crumble topping: ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup plain flour, ¼ cup (45g) desiccated coconut, 35g unsalted butter

Steps:

Preheat the oven to moderate, 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift the self raising flour and cinnamon into a large bowl.
Add the brown sugar and walnuts and stir together.
Make a well in the centre.

Add eggs, butter, milk, vanilla and bananas. Mix well and pour into the well in the dry ingredients. Fold the dry mixture into the wet, mix well until just combined.


To make the crumble topping combine the brown sugar, flour and desiccated coconut in a small bowl, then rub in the butter until the mixture resemble breadcrumbs. Place tablespoonfuls of the crumble mixture onto the muffin mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted through the centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack

Makes 12

Kerabu Pegaga

I love Sunday Markets, fresh produce at half supermarket prices and best of all, I can find a great many variety of produce I normally cant find elsewhere.

I feel like a kid in a toy store when I shopped at the Underwood market. With summer around the corner, the market was filled with a more tropical variety of vegetables, bamboo shoots, tapioca leaves (pucuk ubi), kangkung and daun pegaga (pennywort leaves or otherwise known as Gotu Kola).

I have a pot of pegaga growing the backyard but I am far from harvesting them as its barely enough to feed the whole family.

Well enough said, here is the wonderfully fresh and tasty kerabu pegaga.

Ingredients

Daun pegaga (pennywort leaves)
2 tbsp grated coconut (dessicated coconut)
2 Dried Chilies
1 tbsp Dried Shrimp
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 cm belacan (shrimp paste)
Juice from one lime/lemon
Oil for frying
Fried tempe cut into cubes

Method

Wash leaves and soak in salt water for 10 minutes. Drain.

Fry shrimp paste, dried shrimp and chilies in hot oil for about 1 minute. Drain on paper towel. Add into mortar and pestle, pound into a fine paste.

Add salt & sugar & lime juice and taste accordingly to achieve a good balanced flavor.

Add 2 tbsp shredded/dessicated coconut.

Toss with pegaga leaves and add the fried tempe.

Serve with steaming hot rice.

Churros

I love most things Spanish, from it's beautiful language, its beautiful Moorish-inspired architecture, and its famous sporting figure who, this weekend is on the verge of winning his third Formula 1 Driver's championship, Fernando Alonso. Good luck keeping Webber biting at your heels....may the best man wins.

Spanish food is definitely one my favorite foods, from Paella, Tapas and the simple but elegant, cinnamon flavoured Spanish doughnut, the Churros.

Its basically choux pastry deep fried and also very popular in Mexico, Morocco, Latin America, Portugal and America. Its a great afternoon snack for tea time and I leave you with the recipe now....off to enjoy my Churros, Muy Bien!


Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

Directions:

Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

In a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

Fill your decorating tool with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star tip you have.

Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way.

Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long. I used my finger to release the dough from the decorator. Careful not to burn yourself.
Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color.
Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease.

While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

Fruit Pavlova

Ingredients


150ml egg white (approximately 4 eggs)
1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
2 tablespoons corn flour (corn starch), sifted
2 teaspoons white vinegar


1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

2. Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.

3. Reduce oven to 120°C (250°F) and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

4. Decorate with your desired toppings.

Apam Balik (Pancakes with peanut & sweet corn filling)

Kuala Lumpur is a food haven, everywhere you turn, there is multitudes of street/hawker food from breakfast to lunch, tea time, dinner and through to supper. Malaysians simply loves food!

One of the many street food that we miss in Malaysia is this sweet treat, the "apam balik" normally served during tea time. It is basically pancake filled with creamed sweetcorn, sugar and crushed peanuts. So off to google I go and found this recipe from the net and tried it out. It turned out quite nicely and I suggest you give it a try.


Ingredients

Batter

2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 medium egg
1 3/4 cup milk
a few drops of yellow coloring

Filling

1 cup roasted peanuts - crushed roughly
1 can creamed sweetcorn
1 cup sugar
butter

Instructions:

Add all batter ingredients into mixer and mix well until no lumps are present. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat non stick pan and brush lightly with butter.
Pour 1 ladle of batter onto the pan once hot on medium heat. Cover pan and wait till bubbles are formed on the surface and sprinkle sugar, peanuts,corn and a pinch of butter.

Remove once sugar is melted on the surface, fold into half and serve.

Repeat until all batter is used. Enjoy!

Grilled Stingray in Special Sauce ( Ikan Pari Bakar Pantai Timur)

We went fishing yesterday and landed two stingrays and a bucketful of breams. What does a Malaysian do with fresh stingray? Well what else but the tasty street food famous and easily found along the beach in Kuantan or Terengganu, Grilled fish in Banana leaf with special sauce. You can find frozen banana leaf from your local Asian Grocer, otherwise just using aluminum foil will do. The purpose of using the foil is to keep the fish and the marinade contained in a pocket while cooking under the grill. Using banana leaf to line the inside of the foil lends a nice aromatic flavour.The fish is cooked in the marinated pocket for 20 minutes and some caramelization will be formed when fish is grilled on high heat.

The special sauce used to marinate the fish while grilling makes all the difference. Here is the recipe if you are keen to try.

You can make this paste ahead of time and freeze it for future use. Will come handy when you need a quick dinner idea.


INGREDIENTS
2 pieces cut from the sides of 2 lb Stingray
2 tbsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
salt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp tamarind paste
a large piece of banana leaf or aluminum foil

Ingredients A (Marinade sauce)

1 onion, sliced, for garnish
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
2 stalks lemongrass, tender ends only
1½ tsp toasted belacan [dried shrimp paste]
3 tbsp chili paste


Rub stingray with lemon juice and salt, set aside for 10 mins

Blend A in processor to form a fine paste.

Heat wok on high, add oil, stir fry paste until browned and caramelized about 5-6 mins.

Add tamarind juice, sugar, salt to taste, reduce heat to medium, simmer till sauce is slightly thickened.

Remove from heat, allow sauce to cool.

Soften banana leaf in hot water, dry well with a tea towel.

Spoon and spread half the sauce on the banana leaf and, lay the stingray fillets on top, spoon the rest of the sauce on the fish.

If using banana leaf, you can still use the foil for the outer layer and secure foil by creating a pocket.

Grill on a hot charcoal bbq grill or pre-heated grill oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice and salad.