Mochi - 'Malaysian Monday no. 13'

I googled and stumbled upon this Mochi recipe that requires wheat starch and the method is slightly different from the norm.  As it looked pretty simple and easy enough, I set out to try as I've some wheat starch sitting in the pantry.  I could envisage a disaster looming when the dough was so wet and gluey and as there was excess glutinous rice flour, fortunately, I loaded in an extra 3 ounces before the dough became pliable enough to work with.  Phew ..... that was close!  Oh, you must be wondering what are those  'Bunga Telang' doing in the picture above.  For decor?  Yes, it was one of the ingredients that I used to make these Mochi, but alas, their bluish colour was not overpowering enough, hence the end result was Mochi with a very faint shade of grey!

Just a short introduction about these 'Bunga Telang' .... they do resemble the Morning Glory and while Bunga Telang is in Malay, it's Butterfly Pea ~ Clitoria Ternatea in English.  This is a perennial creeper, thrives well on moist soil and requires a lot of sunshine.  The colour from this flower acts as a natural blue dye or colouring for cakes and Malay kueh.  Do hop over to   'Wikipedia'    if you want to know more about this marvellous flower!

Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

Fried Bihun ~ Rice Vermicelli

There are two types of Bihun~Rice Vermicelli, one is thin and fine which is suitable to serve with soup as they soften easily when soaked.  The other is thicker and tougher which is best for stir-frying.  These take a longer time to soften and as such they don't break easily during the stir-frying process.

Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

Fruit Pastry Cake ~ Revisited

I made this again for a friend's birthday.  I doubled the recipe and made it into a 9 inch square cake.  As it's thicker and bigger the cake took an extra 10 mins. baking time and do remember to cover it with foil for the remaining 15 mins.  As it is now, compared to my previous post, this cake is more brown. 

Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

Three-Cup Chicken

Recently, I had this dish 'Three  Cup Chicken' @   Topwok  restaurant and remembered having seen this post in some blogs.  Yes, it was in  3 Hungry tummies  and it was well illustrated with step by step pictures.  I ventured to try this out but tweaked it a bit and yes it was ......... yummy!  This recipe is a keeper for sure and I will definitely cook this again.

Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

Bacon Buns

It's been quite a while since I've made bread, so here's a simple bun recipe that's savoury and yummy.  Shall I refer to them  as buns or rolls ......... whatever as long as they taste good!


Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

My Birthday Cake ~ Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Topping

I've noticed that many fellow bloggers have been baking their own Birthday cakes and so I too made one for myself, just for the record.  I made this chocolate cake for my birthday yesterday, yes it was yesterday.  I adapted the recipe from  Chocolate Cupcakes  and just doubled the amounts to fit into a 9 inch sq. springform tin, dressed it up a little with chocolate topping and walnuts.
Well, a lady's age is a guarded secret and not revealing it is her prerogative, but age is merely a number.  This much I can reveal  .....  I'm already a senior citizen and enjoying all the little perks that come with being one!  Oh, can you spot the card in the background?  It's handmade and it's from my three musketeers!  Thanks, dears!

Read on for the Recipe

Baca selengkapnya »

Steamed Egg Custard

Steamed egg custard, Chinese style aka 'Ton Kai Tan' is one dessert that I'm extremely fond of.  Simple steamed egg custard, not too sweet, can be eaten warm or chilled  When it's warm, it's soft and smooth, once chilled, it's a  bit firm but just as delectable.

I remember that when I was little, the hawkers used to carry a pole on their shoulders and had a basket at each end and in each basket were  his products and other paraphernalia used for his sale.  The egg custards were sold warm as there was a small charcoal fire beneath the bowls of egg custard.

Eggs used to be a 'forbidden' food because the egg yolks have cholesterol in them and consuming them will raise cholesterol levels in our blood as well.  Now studies have shown that this theory is seriously flawed.  Eggs are a great source of protein and full vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K as well as iron, zinc and antioxidants.

see the marks where the knife has been inserted to test the custard

see the mini pandan/screwpine leaves, they are homegrown, don't misjudge them, tiny ones are more fragrant than those big fat ones

oops, better  snap another picture before the whole thing disappears into my tummy

Recipe for Steamed Egg Custard

Ingredients

3 eggs

320 ml water

60 gm rock sugar

3 to 4 slices young ginger

3 or 4 screwpine/pandan leaves

Preparation

Boil the water with the rock sugar, ginger slices and

pandan leaves till sugar dissolves

Let the syrup cool for about 10 mins.

Meanwhile, heat up a steamer,

once the water boils, lower to medium heat

Lightly beat the eggs and

add in the warm syrup, mix well

Strain the egg mixture into ramekins

Remove any foam from the mixture

Cover the ramekins with a piece of foil,

place them in the steamer

Steam over medium heat for about

20 to 25 minutes till custard is set

To test whether the custard is done,

insert a thin knife into the custard

The knife should come out clean.

Can be served warm or chilled

mmmm ....... heavenly, 'forbidden' food no more!

Baca selengkapnya »