Dorayaki (Japanese Pancake with Red Bean Paste Filling)

One of my favorite Japanese desserts/cake is Dorayaki. It looks like 2 silver dollar pancakes filled with sweetened red bean paste in the middle. The pancake is slightly sweet and a little more dense than the regular western pancakes. This pancake is great for dessert or for breakfast and can be very portable! 

I made a healthier version of dorayaki a few years ago. Although it tasted pretty good, this recipe that I'm sharing with you today will taste more authentic! It takes quite a bit of patience to cook this pancake so that the color is nice and even. When making this, I also realized that the pan used is very important to achieve the perfect texture and color. I think it has something to do with the heat distribution of the pan. I made the dorayakis using a crepe pan from Crate and Barrel and they turned out perfect. The color was nice and even, and the pancakes developed bubbles as they cooked (see below) which  made them slightly lighter. Upon tasting the dorayaki I made, my neighbor asked me to show her how to make it. This time, we used 2 pans to cook the dorayaki in hopes that we can finish making this quicker. Little did we know a difference in the pan used will give us different results in the dorayaki. The ones I made using the crepe pan turned out perfect. The ones my neighbor made using a regular non-stick pan was a little dense, no bubbles developed when the pancakes were cooking and the color was not as even. We eventually used my crepe pan to finish the rest of the batter and it came out perfect! 

Anyway, I turned to my now favorite Japanese food blog for a dorayaki recipe and loved the end product. It was overall quite easy to make these yummy Japanese desserts. I made my dorayakis just a tad smaller so that I can make a little more dorayakis! =) Nami's blog is excellent with step by step instructions on making dorayaki. Here's the recipe extracted from Nami's blog. 

 DORAYAKI RECIPE

*Makes about 14 (2-1/2") dorayakis

Ingredients

• 4 Large Eggs
• 2/3 Cup Sugar (OK to reduce to 1/2 Cup)
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1-2 Tbsp Water
• 1 Can/Package Sweetened Red Bean Paste (You will have some leftovers)

Method

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and honey. Whisk well until mixture has a lot of bubbles and is fluffy. Sift flour and baking powder into the egg mixture and mix well. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. 

Stir in 1/2 tbsp of water at a time to get the right consistency. The batter should be slightly thicker than regular pancake batter. If batter is too thin, dorayaki will be too flat and not fluffy. 

Heat a large non stick frying pan (in my case, crepe pan works perfectly!) over medium low to medium heat. Dip a piece of paper towel in oil and rub the bottom of the pan with oil. The pan should be slightly oiled but shouldn't be visible. Scoop the batter with a table spoon (for a smaller dorayaki) and drop the batter from about 1" above the pan to create a 2" diameter pancake (batter will continue to slightly spread). When you see the surface of batter starts to bubble, flip over and cook the other side just till it's slightly browned. Transfer to a plate and cover up with damp towel to prevent from drying. Repeat until all batter has been used up.

Before assembling, roughly pair 2 pancakes together to ensure they "match" properly. The nicer/more even surface will be the outer layer. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of red bean paste and place it in the center of the one the pancakes. Slightly spread the red bean paste to the side, but ensuring the center is slightly higher. Sandwich with another piece of pancake, gently pieces together. Wrap each assembled dorayaki with saran wrap until ready to serve.

Serve the dorayaki with some green tea or coffee. It's great for an afternoon pick me up!

June's Notes: I ended up adding 1 tbsp of water to the batter to slightly dilute it. Oiling the pan is very important. You need to ensure that no oil is visible as this is the trick to get a nice and even color on the pancake. I also noticed that the first batch after oiling the pan will usually turn out a little ugly; though still edible. The heat is also important, too high heat you'll get a burnt (and slightly under cooked) dorayaki. Too low, the dorayaki might not develop bubbles that it needs. It literally made about 3-4 bad pancakes to learn from my mistakes and yield perfect ones after. So, don't be discourage if you had some bad pancakes in the beginning! 

Amount of red bean paste to fill is up to your personal preference. Fill more (without it spilling out from the sides) if you like more, less if not..If you're not a fan of sweet red beans (though I think you're missing out!!), fill it with some peanut butter or perhaps nutella! 

Since these dorayaki does not have any preservatives, I wouldn't keep this for more than 3 days. The husband and I had no problems finishing the dorayakis in 2 days... They are so good and convenient to eat! 

Enjoy!

Simply June 

Kuih Ketayap

I don’t know what “Kuih Ketayap” means. All I know is “Kuih” means cake or some times associated with cookies. For convenience sake, we could just call this Malaysian Crepe with coconut filling. This is another one of Malaysia’s variety to cakes/desserts and can be eaten at any time of the day. You can get this crepe (already assembled) from “kuih” vendors at any time of the day. And it’s a norm for one to eat “dessert” for breakfast. In fact, in Malaysia (and some other Asian countries) we eat even eat rice, noodles, etc for breakfast.

Anyway, back to the the green Malaysian crepe. The main difference in this crepe batter compared to the Western kind is perhaps the coconut milk (an essential in many Malaysian desserts) and the green coloring which is either the natural juice extracted from the pandan leaves or in my case artificial pandan paste which gives the batter a bright green hue (and a slight pandan flavoring).

The kuih is rather easy to make. The harder part is probably cooking the crepe and ensuring that it does not stick to the pan or tear. I use frozen grated coconut in this recipe and a combination of gula melaka (palm sugar) and brown sugar for the syrup part. I was running low on the gula melaka hence I decided to combined 2 different kinds of sugar. If you have plenty of gula melaka to spare, by all means feel free to use it. If you’re unable to find gula melaka, brown sugar is perfectly fine. Here’s the recipe.

KUIH KETAYAP RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Coconut Filling):

• 3 Oz Gula Melaka
• 3 Oz Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Water
• 6 Oz Frozen Grated Coconut, Thawed
• 2-3 Pandan Leaves
• 1 Tbsp Corn Flour + 2 Tbsp Water

Part B (Crepe):

• 2/3 Cup Flour
• 1-2/3 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1 Tsp Oil
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• 4 Tbsp Water
• 1 Large Egg, Beaten
• Pandan Paste
• Oil (For cooking crepe)

Method:

In a pot, heat gula melaka, brown sugar, water and pandan leaves over medium high heat. Once sugar has melted, stir in grated coconut. Let coconut cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then, mix 1 tbsp of corn flour with 2 tbsp of water and stir that into the coconut mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes then remove coconut mixture from heat. Let it cool.

In a bowl, add flour, sugar, salt and make a well. Slowly pour in coconut milk, oil, egg and water into the “well” and whisk mixture until you get a smooth batter. Add green coloring according to your preference. Note that the color will turn slightly darker as the crepe cooks. Sieve mixture and set aside.

Lightly oil (with a brush perhaps) a 10” pan and pre-heat it over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and quickly swirl batter around pan to get a nice thin and even layer. Cook the crepe until edges are slightly brown. The center of the crepe should be cooked by then. Gently loosen the crepe from the pan, using a silicone spatula. Quickly and gently transfer or flip crepe onto a plate. Continue until you use up all batter.

To assemble the “kuih”, place about 2-3 tbsp of the coconut mixture on a piece of crepe. About 1”-1.5” away from the edges. Take the edge closest to you and cover over the coconut mixture. Tuck in the two sides, and continue rolling forward making as tight roll of a roll as possible but gently. The crepe is very fragile!

Serve this at room temperature for breakfast or afternoon tea! This makes about 9-10 pieces of Kuih.

Pulut Tekan

Qi, my brother’s gf said she misses the Malaysian Kuih eaten with Kaya, which now I found out is called Pulut Tekan. Kuih basically means cake in the Malay language can be both sweet and savory. Thanks to Lily’s blog, I was able to find the recipe there. It was a simple recipe especially since I already have the Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam) part made a few days earlier!

“Pulut” means Glutinous Rice in the Malay language while “Tekan” means press. So, this Malaysia kuih loosely translates to Pressed Glutinous Rice and is often served with Kaya. The kuih has a blue white marble effect where by the blue coloring is actually natural. The natural blue coloring comes from a flower call Clitoria (Bunga Telang) but since I can’t get hold of it, I ended up using blue food coloring!

So, here’s Lily’s recipe. Her original one be found HERE.

PULUT TEKAN RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 500 gm Glutinous Rice
• 350 Ml Coconut Milk
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 2-3 Pandan Leaves, Knotted (Optional)
• 1/2 Tsp Dried Bunga Telang -(Reconstitute with 1/4 cup of boiling water) **
• 1 Large Piece of Banana Leaf

**Blue food coloring works fine too.

Method:

Wash and soak glutinous rice for 4 hours. Drain rice. Mix first 4 ingredients together and place them along with the Pandan leaves into a steaming tray and steam on high heat until rice is cooked. This should take about 45 minutes. Discard Pandan leaves. Remove 1/3 of the cooked glutinous rice into a mixing bowl, add a little of the bunga telang extract and mix well to obtain a blue glutinous rice.

Add in the remaining 2/3 cooked glutinous rice and mix lightly to obtain a marble effect.Using a piece of banana leave, press glutinous rice into a 7 inch square cake pan which has been lined with banana leaves. Cut a piece of 7 inch square thick cardboard and cover it with heavy duty aluminum foil. Use this as a lid and press it down on top of the pressed glutinous rice. Use something heavy (i use a 6 inch saucepan filled with water) on top to weigh down cake until cool and firm.

Serve the glutinous rice with some homemade Kaya; recipe HERE.

June’s Comments: Since I was not able to get my hands on the naturally blue color flower, I used some Wilton Blue coloring to get the blue hue. Slowly add the artificial coloring especially when you use the paste kind. A little goes a long way since the colors are more intense. If you prefer not to use artificial food coloring, you could just leave the cooked rice to be naturally off white or use other natural food coloring as substitute. Blue is just more original/traditional.

I pressed my rice into a 7 inch round removable bottom pan. It was definitely easier to remove the cooked glutinous rice after. I used my hands and a bottom of the glass to press the rice down and get a smooth top layer. The texture came out just fine!

NYE Dinner

It’s been too long since hubby and I are out counting down to the New Years. The biggest New Year countdown event we did was about 7 years ago. We count down to the 2003 at Times Square, NYC. It was fun yet torturous coz it was freaking cold that night. We got into the highly secured Times Square vicinity at about 6-7pm and waited all night for the Countdown Ball to drop and to usher the New Years along with hundred thousands of people from all over walks of life! We’re proud that we did it once and vowed never again to go back! Just imagine holding your pee for hours, in the cold. No public washrooms are available, unless you’re dining at a nearby restaurants!!

For years now…we only celebrate New Years at home. Just us and/or with family and close friends. No NYE dinner at a fancy restaurant where prices are hiked up..….just a fancy home cooked meal at home! =) This year, like many others…it’s another at home celebration with great company, yummy food and bubbly champagne.

We invited Chris over for dinner along with my brother and his gf who are still in town. =). Dinner was easier this time as the oven does most of the work. I baked some mini frozen ham and cheese puffs from Trader Joe’s ($4.99 for 12). These were delicious and saved me time from making some on my own! =)

Don’t get me wrong…I did make my own appetizers too =). Inspired by bacon wrapped scallops and the Japanese Beef Enoki wraps, I came up with Bacon Enoki (Bottom Left) which was easy to make and was quite delicious! Enoki is a kind of long thin mushrooms often used in Asian cuisines. You can get them canned or fresh in bags in most Asian stores. For this dish, fresh Enoki mushrooms were used.

Bruschetta (Bottom Right); chopped tomatoes over toasted French loaf. Bruschetta is an Italian snack now very commonly found in restaurants and is served as an appetizer. There are many variations out there, but the basic idea is chopped tomatoes over toasted (oiled with garlic rub)French loaf slices. I made mine using some quartered grape tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil leaves, salt and pepper and served it over slices of toasted French loafs. I actually enjoyed eating them, which was unusual since I’m not a big fan of eating raw tomatoes. 

I made some Stuffed Mushrooms (Bottom Left) using a recipe I found on www.allrecipes.com and modified it a little. The mushrooms were gigantic, cheesy and were delightful. It was a tad spicy, so I would probably reduce the cayenne pepper next time.

For entree, it was huge stuffed Tiger Prawns (from Costco). I used a recipe I found HERE and again modified it a little and added some crab meat to the mixture. I topped the baked Stuffed Tiger Prawns with some homemade Spicy Mayonnaise and served them with some Garlic Asparagus. YUMS!

And what is a countdown without some bubbly champagne. Sparking wine (Asti Spumante) to be exact since this bottle of bubbly is from Italy and not the region of Chamgpane, France best known for sparking wine that bears its name; Champagne. Chris was generous to bring a huger 1.5L bottle of bubbly over to go with our meal. We had a great time finishing that bottle, plus another 1.5L of Muscato among the 5 of us! Thanks, Chris for the bubbly sparkling wine!!

And when I organize a dinner party, I try to include dessert(s) to complete the meal/party. It was a trio of desserts; 2 of them French origin. I stumbled upon some French Macarons from Trader Joe’s ($4.99 (I think) for 12) and just had to get them!! Especially, since I had 2 failed French Macarons baking attempts. Boo! The French Macarons were delicate, light and delectable. It was my first time eating store bought ones and I’m quite pleased. Now, all I need to do is replicate them at home – successfully!!!!

Raspberry Napoleon (Bottom Right) was the next French origin dessert. It was baked puff pastry, layered with raspberry flavored Cool Whip, topped with a fresh raspberry and a dusting of powdered sugar. This was my first time using Cool Whip. Though, it may not be the healthiest product, Cool Whip is my new best friend. =)

And sticking to something truly Malaysian was a slice of “Pulut Tekan” (Pressed Glutinous Rice) served with Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam). Recipe to make this Malaysian “Kuih” will be posted!

  

We spent the rest of the night watching movies past midnight….and actually FORGOT to countdown!! It was 12.30am or so, when we actually wished each other “Happy New Year!”. Well, at least we had great company and loved ones by our side. Isn’t that most important of all? =)

Hope your New Years was fun!

PS: What’s your New Year resolution?????

Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam)

Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam) is almost a staple condiment in Malaysian breakfast or cakes/snacks. Kaya to Malaysians is like jam to the westerners. We spread Kaya on toasts, waffles and local cakes. You could also find Roti Canai /Roti Pratha with Kaya filling. It’s simply delicious!

Kaya/Coconut Egg Jam is made from 3 key ingredients; coconut milk, sugar and eggs! Pandan leaves are used most of the time to enhance the flavors. It is tedious to cook this jam, but it’s surely worth the work and the anticipation! Plus, you get a little work out using those arms to stir the jam till it’s cooked and thicken to the right consistency! The cooking of Kaya is like cooking custard since you’re actually slow cooking eggs until they are cooked and have thicken.

There are many versions and recipes to make Kaya. Some uses more eggs, some more sugar, some different sugar and some different cooking method. Some Kaya has a thicker or thinner consistency, some smoother or coarser consistency, some darker or lighter in color, and some colored naturally or artificially.The result of the Kaya is most likely the same = DELICIOUS!!

Here’s how I made mine…..

KAYA (COCONUT EGG JAM RECIPE)

Ingredients:

• 6 Large Eggs
• 1 Lb Granulated Sugar
• 1 Can Coconut Milk (about 13.5 Fl Oz)
• 4-5 Pandan Leaves, Knotted
• 1-2 Drop Pandan Paste (*Optional)

Method:

Whisk (hand whisk) eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until sugar has dissolved. Once sugar has dissolved, add coconut milk. Then, pour coconut milk and egg mixture through a sieve into a mixing bowl. I use a Pyrex glass mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl will sit nicely on top of a pot which would be used to boil water and cook the mixture.

Bring a pot of water to boil and reduce to about medium heat. Place the mixing bowl with the coconut egg mixture on top and place knotted pandan leaves into the mixture. Slowly cook mixture and stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Mixture will start to thicken after 30-40 minutes. If you like to add pandan paste to the kaya, you can do so at this point. Continue stirring and cooking mixture for another hour until it reaches a thicker consistency.

Remove the bowl from the pot and let cool. The kaya will thicken a little more as it continues to cool down. Store kaya in a clean container and refrigerate it. This recipe will give you about 2.5-3 cups of yummy in your tummy home made kaya.

Serve Kaya with toasts, waffles, pancakes and also Pulut Tekan (recipe to follow); a Malaysian kuih.

June’s Comments: If you have a double boiler…USE IT! That’s the perfect pot to cook Kaya. I did not have a double boiler hence I resorted to a make shift double boiler; pot and (a glass) bowl. You could also cook the Kaya directly in a pot on a stove. However, you will need very low heat to cook the Kaya and stir ever so constantly or risk having a lumpy or burnt Kaya. That’s why, I highly recommend you cooking the Kaya over a pot of boiling water!

I did not stand in front of my stove the whole time to stir the kaya. I did walk away for 5 minutes or so, returning to stir it for another few minutes, etc. The Kaya still turned out well! Don’t multitask until you forget to stir the kaya though!!

Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Balls)

On every Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi in mandarin) which usually falls on Deember 21 or 22 each year, the Chinese community will gather together and make and eat Tang Yuan (Mandarin) or Tong Yuen (Cantonese) which is glutinous rice balls served in a syrup. The roundness of the glutinous balls symbolizes unity and harmony in a family. Hence, this dish/event is widely celebrated. These days, you don’t need to wait till Dong Zhi to eat these delicious Tang Yuans.

I remember when I was younger, mommy said that I’m a year older after eating the Tang Yuans. Recently, I heard that traditionally, you’re supposed to eat Tang Yuans according to your current age, plus one. So if you’re 10 right now, you’ll have to eat 11 Tang Yuans….hence making you an 11 year old after you finish your bowl of Tang Yuans. I’m 28 turning 29…..that means I would have to eat 29 Tang Yuans…….Imagine if you’re 60, 70, or 80! How on earth would one be able to eat that many Tang Yuans without getting a bad case of indigestion??? Hubby suggested to make big round ones…imagine him  eating 30 big round Tang Yuans. I don’t know if he will choke first, puke first or go right into sugar high!

I like my Tang Yuans in sweet ginger syrup. Some of these sweet versions of Tang Yuan will have a red bean paste filling, black sesame paste filling or just sugar. It’s really a personal preference! You could also make them savory by boiling them in a soup along with vegetables and/or meat.

I will make Tang Yuans during Dong Zhi, not that I like getting “old”, but I love this tong sui. And I’ll make them randomly a couple times a year….whenever I have a Tang Yuan craving!

I usually mix cold water to the glutinous rice flour and serve them in a ginger syrup mixture. This year, my mom suggested that I try mixing the dough with boiling water. It apparently gives the dough a slightly more springy texture to the Tang Yuan instead of a gooey one. She told me to serve it in some brown sugar syrup. I took her advice and made it differently this year. It was definitely better. Hubby even commented that the Tang Yuans are nice to chew. Thanks Mom for the tips. Here’s the Tang Yuan recipe based on Mom’s tips.

TANG YUAN (TONG YUEN) RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Dough)

• 1 Cup Glutinous Rice Flour (Plus more if needed)
• 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Hot Boiling Water (Plus more if needed)
• Food Coloring Gel (Optional)

Part B (Syrup)

• 2 Inch Ginger, Cut into 4 slices
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2-3 Pandan Leaves, Knotted
• 2-1/2 Cup Water

Method:

Bring Part B (Syrup) to boil until sugar melted. Set aside and keep warm. You can adjust sweetness of the syrup by adding more or less sugar and or water. It’s personal preference for this!

In a large bowl, add glutinous rice flour and form a well. Gradually pour in hot water into the “well”, while stirring mixture with a wooden spoon. Stir to combine. When the mixture is not as hot ( and you’re hand is comfortable to the temperature) use your hands to knead the dough. Knead dough until it’s no longer sticking to the bowl or your hands (as shown below). For any reason, If you think you need more water or flour, do so gradually.

At this point, you could roll the dough into a log and pinch them to make smaller balls. I like my Tang Yuans slightly colorful and divided my dough into 3. I added some Pandan paste to one dough and Wilton red food coloring gel to another dough. Dap a little coloring at a time. A little goes a long way. Knead them until all colors are incorporated. Because I’ve introduced some liquid to the dough, I needed more glutinous rice flour to bring the texture back to a non-stick texture. Gradually sprinkle a little glutinous rice flour at a time and continue kneading the dough until it’s no longer “non-stick” again.

When you get the colors you want (the colors will turn slightly darker when cooked), roll each color into a log, before pinching of bits to roll them into a ball. Place the balls on a plate lined with some parchment paper.

 

Bring a pot of water to boil, then drop the Tang Yuans into it. Do not over crowd the pot. The Tang Yuans will float when they are cook. Let them cook another minute or two after they float to make sure everything is cooked through. Strain Tang Yuans and run cold water through.

 

Drop the cooked Tang Yuans into the pot of syrup. Bring syrup to boil with the Tang Yuans for about 1-2 minutes before serving. This should feed about 2 people.

June’s Comments: If you don’t want plain Tang Yuans, you could fill them them Red Bean Paste or Black Sesame Paste or even roll some Black Sesame Seeds onto the dough. Filling the Tang Yuans and rolling them was tough for me. so, I only made 4 Red Bean filled Tang Yuan. =)

Disastrous Sesame Balls

(Sweet) Sesame Balls are one of my favorite dish at Dim Sum. Sesame Balls often have either sweetened red bean paste or lotus paste as the filling. My favorite ones are the red bean paste filling. The dough is made from glutinous rice flour, coated in sesame seeds then deep fried. Who wouldn’t love some deep fried goodness??

The other day, I was itching to make some at home. How hard could it be? Without doing any research, I went for it and mixed the glutinous rice flour in water, stuff them with sweetened (store-bought) red bean paste, rolled them in sesame seeds and deep fry them until black they float.

My sesame balls were a disaster. For a start, it took me quite a while to deep fry them until they float (which means they are cooked). By then, the sesame seeds have turned so so so black…it’s no longer recognizable and definitely no longer appetizing. And then, for some reason my sesame balls will poof up then crack and they ended up looking almost like Japanese Shitake Mushroom caps. I tried frying the sesame balls in 3 different kind of heat……. none really helped….the sesame seeds still turned black.

After some deduction, I concluded that I may have used the wrong kind of sesame seeds; I used the toasted ones. Perhaps, if I were to use the raw ones..it would have looked better. Well, definitely will reattempt this (this time following a recipe!!) or just head to my favorite Dim Sum place for some!

Serimuka

I was somehow craving for some Nonya kuihs and I really need to use up some of my glutinous rice. I bought a little way too much glutinous rice when I was doing my “Bak changs” (chinese rice dumplings). I bought 2 bags of rice, and I did not even finish a bag. Yes, I overestimated.

So, every now and then I’ll be looking for ways to use up the remaining 5 lbs of glutinous rice I have in my pantry. And making this kuih is an excellent way to get rid of some. Serimuka is a type of nonya kuih with glutinous rice layer on the bottom and green custard layer on the top. Here’s the Serimuka recipe adapted from Lily. It was surprisingly easy to make with the exception that the surface of my kuih wasn’t the smoothest!! But it was definitely delicious! I should have cut the kuih when it was completely cooled. I just can’t resist to taste it when it was done and cut it when it was still warm. Perhaps my kuih cutting skill was to blame. =P

SERIMUKA RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A (Rice Layer):

• 300g Glutinous Rice, Wash & soak in water for 4 hrs.
• 180ml Coconut Milk
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Sugar

Part B (Egg Custard Layer):

• 3 Large Eggs
• 4 Tbsp Flour
• 4 Tbsp Rice Flour
• 350 Ml Coconut Milk
• 150g Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Pandan Paste
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• Green coloring (*Optional)

Method:

Drain rice and steam on 22cm tray for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff up the rice and pour in the coconut milk, sugar and salt. Mix well. Steam for another 20-25 minutes or till cooked. Using a spoon or spatula,press cooked glutinous rice firmly and use another tray to level pressed rice.

Sieve the 2 flours mixture and add them to lightly beaten eggs. Strain mixture. Add coconut milk, pandan paste, green color,salt and sugar. Cook on high in the microwave, 1 min at a time until mixture is slightly thicken.

Pour 1/2 of this egg custard over the steamed glutinous rice and steam for 10 - 15 minutes until cooked. Use a fork and scratch surface, then pour in the balance of the custard, steam further another 10 - 15 minutes until cooked. (Steaming time varies depending on the heat of steamer)
Cut kuih into serving slices when cooled.

June’s Comments: I soaked the rice overnight (about 10 hours). I only steamed the rice for 15 minutes each time. I pressed the rice into a 6 inch pan with removable base. It was easier to remove my “kuih” when it was done.I use Koepoe Koepoe brand pandan paste which is easily found in Asian stores and sells for about $1.50-$2.00 a bottle. I use 1/2 tsp of the paste per Lily’s recipe and thought it might be a little to green for me. I might try to reduce it by a little next time or use real pandan juice?

I cooked the custard mixture over the stove instead of using the microwave. That worked out well. When steaming the custard layer, it took me a longer than 15 minutes maybe because my heat was a little too low. I was afraid that the heat was too high and that would would give me a uneven surface.

I also placed a few pieces of paper towel under my pot cover when steaming the serimuka to prevent the water from the condensation to drop into my kuih.

Durian Butter Cake

Hubby and I bought 2 frozen (Thai) durians the other day and we ended up with one that didn’t taste that great. It wasn’t very “Duriany” and to us it was quite a turn off. Since we’re having a hard time eating a bland durian, I suggested that I make some kind of cake out of it. That way we don’t waste too much of it. I looked online and referred to some of my cook books and found a recipe for Durian Butter Cake. The book was one of many hand me downs from my mom and I’m glad I had a chance to experiment a recipe in that book. This recipe is adapted from Alex Goh’s Creative Making Of Cakes.

The cake was indeed rich and well definitely buttery. The durian flavor wasn’t very prominent I guess largely due to the quality of durian I used in this cake. It could just pass as a regular butter cake with a very (and I really mean VERY) slight hint of durian. I guess if you use a stronger tasting durian, you should be able to taste the durian more significantly!! Perhaps I could add more durian in the cake next time. But this is a very good way to discard whatever extra durian or not so great durian you may have! =)

DURIAN BUTTER CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Part A:

• 120 gm Durian Flesh
• 60 ml Milk (1/4 Cup)
• 40 gm Flour

Part B:

• 250 gm Butter
• 220 gm Sugar

Part C:

• 5 Eggs

Part D:

• 200 gm Flour
• 50 gm Custard Flour
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Blend durian flesh and milk until smooth. Add flour from Part A into mixture and mix till well combined. Cream Part B until light and fluffy. Add the eggs (Part C) one by one to Part B and cream till smooth and light. Then add Part A and mix until well combined. Lastly sieve in Part D and mix well.

Pour batter in a greased 10” round tin or a loaf tin. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted.

June’s Comments: I baked mine in a loaf pan for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes as the cake was still trembling in the middle at 50 minutes.

Bee Koh Moy (Black Glutinous Rice Porridge)

Bee Koh Moy (Black Glutinous Rice Porridge or Bubur Pulut Hitam in the Malay Language) is hands down my #1 favorite Chinese dessert/tong sui! Bee Koh Moy is a thick, creamy, nutty dessert made with the simplest ingredients; Sweet Black Glutinous Rice, Water and Sugar. Just before serving, you can opt to add a splash of creamy coconut milk and you’ll have a yummy treat!

I’ve always wanted to share the recipe for this easy yet yummy dessert. However, it always took me a very long time to cook it and lots of water to boil the rice until it’s soft! I always lost count of the amount of water I’ve added and the amount of time I spent cooking it! I guess it might be the type of Sweet Black Rice I used or something!

I made some of my favorite Bee Koh Moy the other day. This time, I added some red beans to cook along the black rice and tapioca pearls towards the end of the cooking. It was delicious nevertheless. I will definitely repeat this recipe in the future. Hopefully, I’ll be able to remember the amount of water and cooking time need to make this yummy treat! Perhaps, I should also start with buying a new bag of black glutinous rice? =)

Banana Fritters / Cokodok

Don’t like to eat overripe (and sometimes very mushy) bananas? Turn them into banana fritters! Banana Fritters is better known as Cucur Kodok or Cokodok in Malaysia. Some recipes for the banana fritters uses some coconut and some uses less flour. Nevertheless, banana is definitely the key ingredient and here’s my version!

BANANA FRITTERS (COKODOK) RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 /2 Lb, Peeled Ripe Bananas
• 1 Egg, Beaten
• 3-4 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour, Sifted
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• Oil

Method:

Heat oil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, add bananas and lemon juice. Mash bananas with the back of a fork. Stir in egg, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix well before stirring in flour and baking powder. Scoop batter with a teaspoon and drop it into hot oil. Let batter cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove, cool slightly before serving.

Jalebi

After reading Archana’s FB status that she made some Jalebi, I found myself grabbing a container of Jalebi in an Indian Store a few days after! Perhaps, I’ll attempt to make it one day? I love Jalebi, though it’s not something that I will eat everyday. I’ll get diabetic at the end of the week, if I were to eat it all day long for 7 days!!

Jalebi is an Indian sweet made from a bright orange fried batter than soaked in lots of thick sugary syrup. Hence, it’s super sweet (and super yummy!!). In Malaysia, we usually see plenty of this sweet during the Festival Of Lights (Diwali/Deepavali) season. I’m always looking forward to a friend’s or neighbor’s open house during that time to munch on the delectable sweets!

I got my supply of Jalebi and other Indian groceries/spices here at Global Flavors in Nashua, NH.

Onde Onde

Onde-onde if I’m not mistaken is a Malaysian dessert. The only time I’ve also seen this dessert in the US was at an Indonesian Cafe in Los Angeles. And I bought a packet to please my urges! Onde onde is made of glutinous flour, filled with Gula Melaka (Malaysian Palm Sugar) and has shredded coconut on the outside. A perfect (to me) onde onde needs to have the right amount of gula melaka oozing out once you take a bite at it! Mmm…..

I’ve made Onde onde in the past using my favorite method of eyeballing each ingredient. It turns out good all the time. This time, for the sake of sharing an Onde onde recipe, I followed Terri’s Onde Onde recipe. It turned out great (minus the frozen shredded coconut I used), just like how I made it in my precious attempts! Here’s her recipe!

ONDE ONDE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Glutinous Rice Flour
• 150 Ml Water
• 5-7 Pcs Pandan Leaves
• 1/3 Cup Gula Melaka, Finely Chopped
• 1 Cup Shredded Coconut

Method:
Pound or whizz the Pandan leaves into a fine mess. Mix the leaves with the water and massage the mixture well to release the juice. Squeeze into a large glass and strain into a measuring jug to remove any leaf bits. If you don't get 150 ml, top it with water.

Mix the pandan water with the glutinous rice flour until it comes together. You may need to add 2-3 tablespoon of water. Don't make the dough too wet or the balls won't hold up and will stick to your plate. If dough is too wet, you can flour your palms. Break off bits of the dough, or roll it into a log and break off from there. Make the ondeh ondeh small so that you can pop it into your mouth without biting into two. Roll each dough bit into a smooth ball.

Boil water in a medium pot.

Using your thumb, make a dent in the middle of the ball and spoon about 1/3 teaspoon of Gula Melaka into the dent. Push the dough together to seal the dent. Roll until smooth. Do not make the dent too big because if the dent is big and not fully filled up with sugar, the ondeh ondeh will collapse after it cools.

Drop the balls into the boiling water. Use a slotted spoon to move the ondeh ondeh so that they don't stick to each other. When the balls are cooked, they will rise to the surface. Give them another minute or more so that the gula melaka melts. You should test one to see if the gula has melted. Roll the balls in the grated coconut to coat. Let cool and serve.

June’s notes: I blended my pandan leaves instead of pounding it. I found my pandan leaves at a Southeast Asian store at the frozen aisle. If you’re unable to find pandan leaves, you could use those artificial pandan flavorings to get the color. Just dip the end of a toothpick/skewer and dap the color onto the dough. Gradually mix the dough until color is well combined. Remember to “color dough” slowly.

If you cannot find freshly grated coconut, frozen ones are edible. Let the coconut thaw (or zap it in the microwave fro a couple seconds) and add a pinch of salt before using. There are many kinds of frozen grated coconut. The ones I got this time were not very tasty and did not go well with my Onde onde. I’ve had better frozen shredded coconut in the past!

Mango Sai Mai Lo

A few weeks ago Elaine Leo emailed and requested asked me if I have a recipe for Mango Sai Mai Lo. I’ve had it before but have never attempt making it. I told Elaine that I’ll try to make it once I get whole of some juicy sweet mangoes. With mangoes not always readily available where I am, it took me a while to get some good looking mangoes.

The verdict of the Mango Sai Mai Lo… YUMS! I do wish my mangoes did not have so much fiber. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers!! Here’s the recipe! You do need to make sure that you use sweet juicy mangoes to get the yummiest result! Elaine, I hope you like this!

MANGO SAI MAI LO RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Lb Sweet Juicy Mangoes
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Can Evaporated Milk (12 Fl Oz)
• 1/2 Cup Tapioca/Sago Pearls
• Water
• 2 Cups Ice

Method:

In a small pot, boil sugar and 1/2 cup water over high heat until sugar dissolved. This should take about 5 minutes and will give you about 3/4 cup of simple syrup. Let syrup cool.

In another pot, boil 4 cups of water over high heat and add in sago/tapioca pearls once water is boiling rapidly. Boil sago/tapioca pearls for 10 minutes and switch of flame. Cover sago /tapioca for about 10 minutes. Then sieve tapioca and run cold water thru. Set aside.

Peel mangoes, dice them up and discard pit. Set aside 1-1/2 cups of diced mangoes. Blend the rest of the the diced mangoes and 1/2 cup of simple syrup until smooth. Add sago, pureed mangoes,  diced mangoes, evaporated milk, ice and 1 cup of water into a bowl. Mix well, taste and add remaining simple syrup to achieve desired sweetness. Chill a little longer before serving if you like.

Easy Fried Biscuit

Fried Biscuit reminded of those sugar duster donuts we get in Malaysia.I was first introduced to this “donut” at a Chinese Buffet Restaurant about 8-9 years ago. I never knew how easy it was to make it until a friend of mine leaked the secret!. All you need is a can of plain biscuit, oil and granulated sugar for dusting! It was a easy, yummy treat which reminded me of home and my younger days chasing down the cake van that drives around the neighborhood to buy a sugary donut skewer and other baked goodies!

EASY FRIED BISCUIT / EASY DONUT RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Canned Biscuit (Regular Buttermilk)
• Oil (for deep frying)
• 1-2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar (pr more depending on preference)

Method:

Heat enough oil over medium low heat. Once oil is hot, drop in biscuits and deep fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Be sure not to over crowd your pan with too many biscuits (they will also poof up a little) at one time. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle or coat the fried biscuit with some sugar. Serve warm! Now wasn’t that EASY??

You do have to make sure your oil is not overly hot. You will end up with a golden brown outside and a gooey uncook dough inside. Alternatively, you can cut the biscuits into half and roll it into smaller balls before deep frying them to ensure that the fried biscuit will cook thoroughly. Another way is to use a small round cookie cutter to stamp out the middle of the dough, and deep fry mini “donuts” and “donut-holes” you get from this method. Enjoy!

Coconut Corn Konnyaku Jelly

I’ve heard about Konnyaku Jelly for a while and had no idea what it was and how was it different from agar-agar (from seaweed) or gelatin (from collagen inside animal’s bone/skin). Konnyaku (also known as Konjac) is derived from a plant native to eastern Asia. Konnyaku can therefore be used as a vegan substitute to gelatin.

I got a bag of it from the Malaysian grocer in Flushing Mall a couple months back and have finally decided to try it. I forgot how much I got it for, perhaps about $3-4? The instruction on the back asked for canned fruit /fruit juice but I wanted to try something different. I googled for some recipe ideas and found a recipe for Sweet Corn Konnyaku Jelly. I used that recipe and made modification to mine since the instructions on the bag of my Konnyaku Jelly called for more powder than Aunty Yochana’s Sweet Corn Konnyaku Jelly recipe. Here’s my recipe, based on Happy Grass brand Konnyaku Jelly. The way the Konnyaku Jelly thickens reminded me of corn starch! I finally was able to use the different kind of molds my friend Anna sent me months ago. Thanks, Anna!!

COCONUT CORN KONNYAKU JELLY RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 125gm Happy Grass Plain Konyaku Jelly (1/2 Packet)
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 250 Ml Sweet Creamed Corn (8.5oz can)
• 400 Ml Water
• 200 Ml Canned Coconut Milk

Method:

Add sugar and Konnyaku Powder into a pot. Slowly pour in water, coconut milk and creamed corn while stirring mixture to prevent clumps from forming. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat and continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes. The mixture will start to thicken. Add 1/2 packet of the Malic Acid (came with the Happy Grass Konnyaku Jelly) and stir until dissolve. Pour (or spoon) mixture into molds/bowls. You may have to work quickly as the mixture hardens very quick! Allow jelly to set before chilling it in the fridge. Remove from mold and serve. Here are the different kind of molds I used for my Konnyaku Jelly. If you dun have fancy ones, ice cube tray would probably work too. Or you could use other containers.

Agar Agar

I made agar-agar today……. it’s almost like gelatin, except it’s a gelatinous substance which is derived of seaweed instead of from the collagen of an animal’s bones or skin. So, I guess this is considered vegetarian?

Here’s how agar-agar looks like for those of you whose not familiar with this “animal free gelatin”. It looks kinda like strands of raffia string, but of course edible and is white/ semi translucent in color. You should be able to get a package of this from an Asian grocery store for less than USD2 per packet. I got mind for about $1.45 per packet of 30 g.

I used about half of the agar agar in the packet; about 15g and added about 6 cups of water (including whatever syrup/juice) to it.  I also added some heavy syrup from the canned peach I added to my agar agar. I boiled the 6 cups of water (mixed with syrup) with some knotted pandan leaves and sugar to taste. After all the agar agar has been dissolved, I sieved the mixture into a shallow dish (about 1-1/2” deep) so that the agar agar hardens quickly and will be smooth. Before that, I placed some cut up peaches and arranged them onto the dish. I made sure, I’ll have a piece of fruit with each bite size cut I will be doing later.

After pouring the mixture into the dish, I still need to roughly rearrange the peaches and space them out accordingly. I let it cool down first almost completely before putting it in the fridge to further cool it down. It will turn slightly opaque when it’s cooled down.

 

Cut it up into bite size pieces and savoring every piece of it. Ideally each piece should have a piece of fruit in it. You could use other fruits as you wish, as long as it’s bite size..(though it might be tougher to cut the agar agar with fruits in it……. =)..Totally yumilicious for a hot summer day =)