Snowskin Mooncakes

Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away and is time to make some mooncakes. This year I just did the snowskin kind as I don’t have time to do the bake ones. I’ve been pretty busy with some orders and also social life. Have invites to gatherings most weekends. Anyway, I made these mooncakes for a Malaysian get together a couple of weeks ago and I just used back the same recipe from my previous one.

Traditional Cantonese Mooncakes

Is Mid Autumn Festival again and every year the festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month according to the Chinese calendar. This year Mid-Autumn festival falls on September 8th. I am feeling really homesick especially during the traditional festival where my family will get together to have dinner. Our family groups are getting smaller as most of my nieces are away from home either working or studying overseas. Anyway my heart will always be with my family even though we are thousands of miles apart.

I actually have no intention of making these mooncakes but after looking at the prices of mooncakes sold here I just can’t bring myself to buy any. The cheapest box of 4 pieces cost over $20.00 and they are mostly from China. The one from Hong Kong cost over $40.00 a box. I can’t bring myself to pay this kind of money for it. So I decided to make some myself this year.

Purple Sweet Potato Angku Kuih/Steamed Purple Glutinous Rice Cake

It has been a long while since I last made this kuih/cake. I’ve been having huge craving for the past few weeks and finally made some. I freeze some of it up in case of future craving. The name “angku kuih” or in English translates as “red tortoise cake” is a type of traditional glutinous rice cake with mung bean fillings that’s made into an oval shaped like the back of a tortoise. This kuih/cake is usually used for prayers, during birthdays or baby full moon because it’s symbol of longevity. Normally made with red coloring but I decided to make it with natural color of purple using purple sweet potatoes. The recipe I am using here is the same one that I used before. You can check out some of the step by step pictures here .

Snow Skin Mooncake with Mung Bean Filling

Mid autumn celebration is just around the corner and I’ve seen so many bloggers posting mooncakes. I too get excited and eager to try my hand in making Snow skin mooncake or also known as crystal mooncake. Since I still have a packet of cooked glutinous rice flour in my pantry I decided to make some last week. I just love the moulds that Ann helps me to purchase from Singapore. Don’t you think they are very pretty?

This is my first time making it so it didn’t turn out too well. The texture of the skin is not as smooth as I wanted it to be. I blame it on the glutinous rice flour that I purchase here as I find the texture a bit too coarse. Nevertheless, it tasted ok. Since I am not a fan of snow skin mooncake, I tried a piece and took the rest to my workplace. Everyone seems to like it a lot.

 

Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month Round-Up

When the hosting date of the Malaysian Food Fest for the state of Kelantan drew near I was very worried as I knew that it would be a very busy and crazy month for me. A new chapter in my life is starting as I am back into working world again. I know I will be crazy trying to juggle everything at once, my new daily routine and having to blog as well. As I had already said 'Yes' to hosting the Kelantan month, I would just do it and I intended to do it well.

Throughout my blogging years, I have come across some not so nice characters but for each of that, I have encountered the good ones that come tenfold. For that, I am very blessed indeed, as these good people come to my rescue when I needed them the most. I was very worried that I would not have enough time to do research, the write ups and not forgetting the cooking itself which is the very essence of this whole scheme. The cooking is relatively easy but finding an authentic recipe and the ingredients is a bit of a challenge as living far away from home means I have to do without so many ingredients that are essential in many of the Kelantanese recipes.

Throughout the MFF events I’ve learned many things and dishes from other states. One thing that stands out for me is authenticity of a dish. It cannot be determined per se as who is to say the dish originally came from one states. It is not uncommon in Malaysia for dishes to be begged or borrowed from other states, modified to suit local tastes and then claimed as their own. So let’s not be too critical or harsh if any of the dishes featured during this Kelantan MFF are not truly authentic. The whole idea of this feature is to introduce a specific region's food and encourage readers to try new and different foods outside their normal comfort zone.

I am glad that so many of you accepted the challenge and joined in the fun. A special thank you to Nor of Secubit Garam for spreading the word amongst the blogger community and to get so many of you to participate, and also going the extra mile of providing me many of the pictures that appeared in the introduction posting. Also a special thank you to Cik Manggis of Jom Masak Jom Makan Makan for being my number one supporter... cooking a Kelantan based dish almost on a daily basis and also my good friend Shereen for being there for me. Also thank you to those of you who have let me use your photos and recipes, and who answered my many questions. Once again, a big, big thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who participate and made Kelantan MFF a huge success with 99 entries and if I left out any of your dish in the round up please let me know and I will put them up. So without further ado here are all the dishes that I received.

Appetizer/Salad

Kerabu Sotong Kering by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets

Somtam/Papaya Salad by Vivian of Vivian Pang Kitchen

Somtam by Peng of Peng's Kitchen

Chicken Kerabu by Lena of Frozen Wings

Kerabu Taugeh Bersantan by Sheila of Nshafearee

Kuih Akok Kedut - Kelantan Dish 11

I was set to make this kuih for the MFF event after so many people raved about it. Apparently, in Terengganu (a state in Malaysia) kuih akok is smooth looking as they use a higher ratio of flour to eggs whereas their neighbor, Kelantan uses more eggs compared to flour. When a batter has more eggs than flour, the kuih will puff up and then it will shrink upon hitting the cool air hence, the kedut / wrinkly in the name. This kuih is pretty similar to Yorkshire pudding where the kuih will puff up and even the taste is a bit like Yorkshire putting too except that this is the sweet version. As there is quite a substantial amount of eggs in it, the bottom part of the kuih is almost custardy. So, do I like this kuih? I wouldn't sing lyrical on how fantastic this kuih is but it’s a nice enough kuih but not that nice for me to go and hunt for it.

 

 

Kuih Lepat Liat/Steamed Glutinous Rice Cake in Banana Leaf

When I saw Wendy post this up I knew I have to try it out. I am a sucker for dodol and she said that the texture of this kuih is very similar to it so I gather all my ingredients and made it the same week. Like she said it is sweet, sticky, chewy and coconutty. I made a bit more so I can freeze them up and have it whenever I want to. Half of it I wrapped it with banana leaves and the other half I just steamed it on silicon muffin moulds. I find it is easier doing it that way as the banana leaves here are a bit hard and tough and it tear easily when I tried wrapping it.

 

 

Sarawak Seri Kaya Cake/Kek Seri Kaya Sarawak

This steamed cake originated from Sarawak that uses browning sauce that is why the cake is brown in color. It comes in different names like Seri Kaya cake, Kek Hitam Manis and some called it Belacan cake. The appearance of the dark cake does resemble a piece of belacan, the dried fermented shrimp paste.

This is the second time I tried out this cake. The first time was 2 years ago when I made it for a friend using Homecreation recipe. I didn’t taste it but my friend told me that it was a bit too sweet for her. So for this cake I did some changes to the recipe and also cut down the sugar and condensed milk. With the reduction of the two I still find it a bit too sweet but Carlos said it is just perfect. Well, he has sweet tooth so to him it is alright. The next time I make this I might need to make adjustment to the recipe again.

Agar Agar Gula Melaka /Palm Sugar Jelly

It has been a while since I make Jelly. Actually this is Diana’s favorite agar agar but since she can’t visit me every month now so I hardly make any of it. Anyway, we are having some pretty warm weather and in the time like this I like to make something cooling to cool myself down.

So what is gula Melaka? Gula melaka, otherwise known in English as Palm Sugar or 'Malacca Sugar' originated from Melaka (Malacca) a historical state in Malaysia. Palm sugar is made from the sap of the flower bud of a coconut tree which then boiled until thickened and packed into bamboo tubes forming its cylindrical shape. The colour varies from dark brown to a light golden colour. It is widely used in South East Asia to flavour desserts. When cook it water it will give a rich dark caramel and butterscotch flavors.

Kuih Koci Pulut Hitam/Black Glutinous Rice Cake with Coconut Filling

It has been a while since I made this kuih. Kuih koci is one of the traditional snack or dessert popular among the Malay and the Chinese Peranakan. Instead of using just the regular glutinous rice flour, I add some black glutinous rice flour to it. Kristy of My Little Space sent me flour and I’ve been keeping it in the fridge for a while now. It is time to put it to good use. Basically it’s steamed soft glutinous rice dough wrapped in banana leaf. The filling of this kuih is usually grated coconut cooked with palm sugar/gula Melaka.

Kuih Keria/Sweet Potato Rings

My sister already left for Malaysia and I am missing her already. It is good to have her here for over a month. We had a great time bonding with each other. Thank god I have little Bella with me but I know the house will be real quiet when she leaves too :(

Anyway, this is another popular Kuih from Malaysian. It is also known as ‘Malaysian Donuts’ that are made from sweet potatoes. This type of donut is much easier to make than the yeasty donut. All you have to do is steam the sweet potatoes, mash them up and add some flour to it and form it into ring shapes. Then fry them up till golden brown. Getting the right type of sweet potatoes is important. I remember I tried making it once, and the sweet potatoes I got were the soft watery kind. I kept adding flour to it until I am able to handle the dough and end up with very hard donuts. I threw out the whole batch.

For this, I got the orange kind but the yellow kind works well too. Instead of boiling it I steamed it so not too much water seep into the potatoes. It turns out really well, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. This recipe is from my good friend Shereen’s blog. I can’t link it here as her blog is private so I am just going to type her recipe here.

Aiyu Jelly with Lemon and Longan

I remember eating this jelly in Malaysia. There was this lady near my mom house selling it together with her ice-kacang (shave ice) She will mix this soft golden jelly with some syrup and calamansi juice. A perfect thirst-quenching drink that is both healthy and delicious especially having it in our hot tropical afternoon.

So what is Aiyu Jelly? Aiyu jelly is a jelly made from the gel of the seeds of a variety of fig, and is commonly found in Taiwan and Singapore. Aiyu” 愛玉 jelly means fig jelly. To produce it, the aiyu seeds are first placed into a cloth bag and then submerged into cold water. After massaging the bag of seeds, the aiyu seeds will release a gel-like substance, which will eventually turn into jelly through refrigeration. The texture is similar to agar agar and konyanku, and makes a light and refreshing dessert. You can read more about it here .

Tofu Fah/Tofu Pudding

I love tofu fah or everything made of soy beans. It is not easy for us to get tofu fah here like back in Malaysia where you can get it from the road side stalls. I can only get it from the Asian supermarket and that also not always freshly made. They will have containers of it sitting on the shelf together with other tofu products. Tofu fah is a type of Chinese dessert made from soymilk, the texture is soft and silky and eaten with syrup. After seeing Sonia homemade tofu fah I decided to make some myself too but the easy ways. I used store bought soy milk and without the gypsum. Knowing that gypsum is not good for health I decided to use gelatin. I tried using agar agar power but I still prefer the texture of the tofu fah using gelatin. It might not be 100% like the original tofu fah but it is good enough for me to get over my craving.

No-baked Mini Swiss Roll with Red Bean Filling

My friend Lynn Yew Evers posted a picture of these rolls at her FB page and I was immediately smitten by it and ask her if she can share the recipe with us and she agreed. Lynn, not only can cook but also an accomplished concert pianist, a teacher, she perform with rock band, and served as a judge for piano competitions. You can read more about her at her website .

Now back to the Mini Swiss Roll. This Swiss roll is made on the non-stick pan. The texture is very much like pancake and the thick apam balik. I really like it. I did tweak the recipe a little bit to suit my taste.

Meat Spring Rolls

Hi everyone!! Greetings from SF. Carlos and I are here already but still living in the hotel the company set up for us as our things are still on the way here. Hopefully it will arrive by this week. Anyway, hope all of you are having a wonderful Chinese New Year celebration especially spending time with your family and friends and not to mention all the yummy food. This year CNY is a very low key one for us. We just went out for dinner on the 1st day of CNY but I plan to cook something either on the 9th day or the 15th day of CNY once we are all settle into our new home. I will post some pictures here later on of our new home.

Now back to these spring rolls. I made these last month with some leftovers spring rolls wrappers. Instead of the usual vegetables filling I used meat instead. It tastes pretty similar to the Vietnamese fried spring rolls or the Filipino lumpia and goes really well with rice or you can serve it as appetizer. Some people do pre-cooked the filling first but I don’t. Just make sure you don’t put too much filling in it and fried them over medium high heat so that the filling gets cooked inside.

Bok Choy Gyoza/Bok Choy Dumplings

I like making dumplings and I will normally make a big batch and freeze them up and we can have it whenever we want to. They are not difficult to make as now you can get the ready made gyoza/dumpling wrappers from the Asian Supermarket. Over the years I made lots of it and each time I will try using different type of meat and vegetables. You can basically put any type of fillings you like in it. Instead the usual napa cabbage I replace it with baby bok choy for this batch of dumplings.

Kuih Talam Gula Melaka/Steamed Palm Sugar Cake

This is another popular snack from Malaysia and Singapore. ‘Talam’ is a Malay word meaning ‘tray’, because the kuih is steamed in a tray-like steaming pan and it is made into two layers, one layer is sweet and the other is on the salty side. One can easily find these kuih (cake) sold at in the morning or night market. Instead the usual green and white one, I tried it with palm sugar. The top coconut milk layer is slightly salty and it compliment well with the sweet fragrant taste of the palm sugar from the bottom layer.

Abok Abok Sago/Tapioca Pearls with Palm Sugar - Day 14

I wanted to make this kuih for the longest time but never get to do it. I always think they are very difficult to make because I have to use the banana leaves to make it into a cone casing and it is a daunting task as I’ve done that before for the Kuih Koci. Fear no more. Now I have these cone shape jelly moulds to use and they are just perfect for this kuih. The shape came out nicely.

This kuih is one of the easiest kuih to make actually. With just a few ingredients you will have perfect kuih for your afternoon tea.

Pulut Inti/Glutinous Rice with Coconut Sauce - Day 12

This is another version of Pulut Inti , Pulut is glutinous rice and inti means fillings. The rice is steamed with coconut milk and the brown filling is coconut cooked in palm sugar. I tinted some of rice blue with blue pea flower/bunga telang given to me by my friend Lesley. Instead of wrapping it in banana leaves I shape them with the Jelly mould and serve them in a bowl drizzle it with coconut sauce. This is one of Malaysian favorite tea time snacks or as dessert especially if you have guest over.

Dried Longan with Wolfberry Jelly - Day 3

I thought we are having some nice autumn temperature but it turn out hot and humid again a few days ago. With weather like this I normally like some cold sweet soup of grated winter melon and dried logan but since it is the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge I make it into jelly. I omit the winter melon and added agar agar powder to it. Nice little dessert for the hot summer like weather.