Recipe : Kueh Bakar Pandan Santan

Kueh Pandan Bakar Santan

Kueh Pandan Bakar Santan is a traditional Malay dessert with custard like texture and flavoured with pandan extract and coconut cream.

The very first time my daughter had this kueh, she loves it immediately. She even ask me for the recipe and very eager to assist me in baking this kueh.

I always use the freshly squeezed pandan extract.

I am pleased to share with you the following recipe :

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar

25 gm salted butter (room temperature)

2 ½ cup plain all purpose flour (sifted)

3 eggs

1 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds

500 ml coconut cream (Kara brand)

1 cup homemade pandan extract (made using 10 matured pandan leaves)

1½ cup water
(Combine coconut cream, pandan extract and water in a bowl)

Procedure

Heat the oven at 180 C.

Grease your baking pan with butter.

In an electric mixer, place the sugar and butter, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until all the mixture incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, add one third of the combination of coconut cream, pandan extract and water followed by the sifted flour. Repeat with another one third of the mixture and the remaining last flour.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and continue mix for a minute or two till no lumps.

Pour your batter into the baking pan, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the batter and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre and comes out clean.

Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Basil Pesto recipe

Basil Pesto

Pesto means sauce.

If you have too much fresh Basil leaves in your garden, use it to make it into sauce.

I use the sauce to serve it with pasta.

Fresh basil leaves

 

 

Pine nuts and garlic

Ingredients

70 gm fresh Basil leaves

25 gm roasted pine nuts or walnuts

2 cloves garlic

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

½ cup parmesan cheese

Procedure

Blend Basil leaves, nuts, garlic and oil into paste in a food processor.

Season it with salt and pepper.

Transfer it into a bowl.

If you are using it immediately, add parmesan cheese.

Otherwise store it in an air-tight glass container and place it in a refrigerator or freeze it.

Allow me to share with you how I cook the Basil pesto for my pasta :

Blend a brown onion. Heat a pan. Sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil. Saute the onion till golden brown. Add in Basil pesto. Stir and mix together. Add more salt or pepper to taste. If you love having more cheese, add another ¼ cup of parmesan cheese. Turn off heat.



Cooked basil pesto with additional cheese



Agar-agar palm sugar (gula Melaka) with coconut cream and egg

Agar-agar palm sugar (gula Melaka) with coconut cream and egg.

 

This jelly is my all time favourite. One piece is always never enough.

It is advisable to use a good quality Gula Melaka for making this jelly. You could smell and taste the difference between a good quality as compared to low grade Gula Melaka. I bought my Gula Melaka from a sundry shop at Jalan Kubu in Melaka.

A good quality Gula Melaka is sold in blocks, dark in colour, soft and crumbly and as mentioned earlier, it smells more fragrant.

I use the following recipe to make my Agar-agar Gula Melaka :

Good quality gula Melaka

Ingredients :

(A)

4 cups water

10 gm agar-agar powder

200 gm gula Melaka

¼ cup brown sugar

1 pandan leaf (tie into a knot)

 

(B)

250 gm coconut cream (kara brand)

1 egg

A pinch of salt

(Mix the 3 ingredients together and set it aside)

 

One 9 inch line baking tray (wet it)

 

Procedure

Prepare a pot. Place (A) in the pot. Let it boil and at the same time keep on stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove pandan leaf.

Add (B) into the same pot. Continue stirring and let it boil rapidly for 2 minutes.

Turn off heat.

Pour the agar-agar mixture into the baking tray. Let it cool.

Place it in the refrigerator for the agar-agar to harden.

Slice and serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Sambal prawns and calamari

Sambal prawns and calamari

This dish is my favourite. Both my kids love it too. It is very easy to prepare and cook.

I make my own sambal but if you find that it is time consuming to make, it is easily available in any grocery stores or wet markets in Malaysia. You can purchase sambal from the Asian grocery stores in Sydney too.

Ingredients

300 gm calamari/squid (cleaned, scored and cut into pieces)

300 gm prawns (de shelled and deveined)

1 brown onion (finely chopped)

1 tbsp sambal (Recipe : http://5foodway.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/recipe-for-making-sambal.html )

1 tsp tamarind juice

½ anchovy cube

1 to 1½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp shallot oil (Recipe : http://5foodway.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/jennifers-secret-ingredient-in-her.html )

 

Procedure

Heat a wok or pan.

Drizzle with 1 tbsp of shallot oil.

Add in sambal. Give a quick stir. Add squid/calamari. When squids are cooked, 

add prawns. Mix and stir fry all until prawns are cooked.

Add cube and sugar. Cook and combine both the cube and sugar until dissolve. Lastly add tamarind juice.

Mix all. Remove and dish on serving plate. Serve hot with white rice or nasi lemak.

Enjoy!

Recipe : "Savoury Glutinous Rice"

Savoury Glutinous Rice

Most of my family members love Savoury Rice. My mum visited me recently and she made this dish for us. Mum’s simple recipe as follows:-

Ingredients

500 gm white glutinous rice

100 gm meat (cut in pieces)

20 gm dried anchovies (cleaned)

30 gm dried prawns (de shelled and de skinned)

4 dried shiitake mushrooms

Crispy Fried shallots (4 tbsp)

Recipe :- (http://5foodway.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/jennifers-secret-ingredient-in-her.html)

Shallots oil (1 tbsp)                  

Water

Sauces and spice

 

2 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tsp Dark caramel sauce

Dash of Pepper

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

Procedure

 

Rinse and soak the rice for half an hour. Remove and sift the rice with a colander.

Set aside.

Marinade the meat with salt, pepper and some corn starch.  Set aside.

Rinse, soak the dried anchovies and prawns. Sift the two items. Blend or pound it respectively. Set aside.

Wash and soak shiitake mushrooms in hot water. Once soften, cut into strips. Lightly fry the mushrooms and drizzle with few drops of light soy sauce. Set aside.

Heat a pan or wok. Add shallot oil. Fry the dried anchovies and dried prawns till aromatic and fragrant. Add the marinated meat and fry till the meat cooks. Add rice. Fry and combine. Add the sauces and spice. Stir fry all for 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn off heat. Transfer the aromatic rice (mix 2 tbsp of the fried shallots into the rice) into a line baking tray. Use the back of the spoon to even/flatten the rice. Add hot water to the level just cover the rice. Steam the rice for 40 minutes in a rapid boiling steaming wok or pan.

Remove into a serving plate. Garnish with fried shallots, chopped spring onions and shiitake mushroom strips. Serve hot.

Recipe : Sweet and sour Chicken

Sweet and sour chicken

Sweet and sour Chicken

 

Sweet and sour Chicken/Pork is also known as ‘Ku Lo Yoke’.  This is a Cantonese dish. My son loves it.

 

Ingredients:-

500 gm chicken thigh fillet (cut into pieces)

1 brown or spanish onion (cut into 8)

Fresh pineapple (cut into bite sizes)

Chilli (julienned)

1 tsp minced garlic

Oil for deep frying

 

Marinade (A)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Shao Xing cooking wine

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp cornstarch

 

Sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp chilli sauce

1 tsp white/rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp oyster sauce

300 to 500 ml chicken stock

½ tsp salt

1 tsp tapioca flour (dilute with 2 tbsp cold tap water)

 

Batter

2 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp rice flour

1 egg

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 tsp of salt

water

 

Procedure

 

Marinade chicken with (A) for an hour.

In a bowl, mix all the sauces except for tapioca starch and set it aside.

Mix the batter ingredients. Combine and incorporate till no lumps. Place pieces of chicken into the batter.

Heat a wok or pot with sufficient amount of cooking oil.

Deep fry the chicken meat till golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper towel.

Heat a clean wok. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

Saute the brown/spanish onion. Add minced garlic and fry both till golden brown.

Pour the sauce into the wok. Stir and let it boil. Add pineapple and chilli. Simmer the sauce for 2 minutes. Keep on stirring while you pour the tapioca starch mixture.

Lastly add the fried chicken. Turn of heat. Give a quick stir to combine chicken with the sauce.

Serve hot with rice.

 

Chicken in batter

 

Deep frying

 

Deep fried chicken

 

Recipe :- Appam Made Easy



Appam

Appam Made Easy Recipe

Who likes eating Appam? I do because it is tasty, healthy and light. It is an all time favourite breakfast.

Appam is a type of pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It is popular in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

I would like to thank my Sri Lankan friend, Pauline for giving me a seasoned Appam pan and sharing with me the following easy recipe making Appam.

Ingredients

 

(A)

½ box rice flour

½ cup self raising flour

1 tsp sugar

½  tsp instant yeast

¾ cup room temperature water

(B)

250 gm coconut cream (Kara brand)

¼ tsp salt

 

Gula Melaka

Fresh grated coconut

 

Procedure

Sift both the flour. Combine ingredients A until it forms a thick batter.

thick batter

Cover and keep aside overnight for fermentation.


The batter will rise and increase in volume the next day.

Overnight fermentation

Add coconut cream and salt into the batter. Stir and mix well.

Batter after mixing coconut cream and salt

Heat an Appam pan and grease it lightly with oil.

Pour a ladle full of batter into the pan and slowly rotate the pan in circular motion so that a thin layer forms on the side while the middle remains thick.

Cover with lid and let it cook.

Appam cooking in the pan

Serve hot.

I love to devour my hot Appam with gula Melaka and grated coconut.



Yummylicious