Thursday 24 May 2007

Spring Roll Cracker

During Chinese New Year, my mum and sis will make this snack. It is so easy to do and taste really nice. My kids ate it finish in 20 minutes which I make it about an hour.

Source: Do What I Like, My mom

Ingredient:
1 package Spring Roll Skins
some sugar enough to coat
Oil to fry this crackers
1 egg white

Method:
1. Roll it up swiss roll style with a help of a chopstick.
2. Seal the edge with some egg white.
3. Cut it into desired size and deep fry them till golden brown.
4. Drain well, absorb the oil with kitchen paper towel.
5. Toss them into a big bowl of sugar so that they coated with sugar.
6. Store in a air-tight container after it cooled.

Notes:
1. Store it only if they cool completely.
2. Oil must enough hot before frying them.
3. Must absorb the excess oil before toss them with sugar.
4. You can roll it with seaweed paper for a savoury taste.

Chinese Claypot Pudding ---Mini Put chai koh 砵仔糕


This is a Hong Kong street snacks which they steam it with claypot. It is tasty and nice to eat it when it is lightly warm and very easy to do. It cost 1.50 euro each but luckily I found a lots of recipes in internet. Now I can make it anytime and enjoy it anytime I want.

Source: Bluerain

Ingredient:
100g rice flour
100g slab sugar
300ml water
some sweet cooked red beans

Method:
1. Cook the clean red beans till soft and add sugar to sweetened it. Set aside.
2. Sift rice flour in a big bowl. Add 100ml water and mix well.
3. Boil the slab sugar with the remaining 200ml water till dissolved. Pour into the rice flour batter, stir quickly and mix well.
4. Pour into greased mould and steam it over rapid boiling water for 20 minutes. If the batter is thick, add the red bean and steam but if the batter is very waterly add the red beans after 50seconds steamed.

Notes:
1. The second version of put chai koh, I placed light brown cane sugar in stead of slab sugar and I add 2tbsp of cornflour which the result is softer and fragnant without rice flour smell.
2. You can use cake mould in stead of mini cake mould, remember to grease mould with some cooking oil to prevent sticking, you may get ugly put chai koh.
3. You need to prepare heat the steam before you do, after you pour hot syrup into the rice batter, steam immediately.
4. It taste better when it is warm, you can warm it with microwave too.

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Hong Kong style Mah Lai Koh 馬拉糕

Mah Lai Koh is usually served during eating 'dim sum' at chinese restaurant. It is very tasty, simple and welcome by olds and youngs. I tried many time to make it but everytime end up with hard normal cake. But I tried this recipe today and it satisfied me and my kids loves it very much.

Source: Playing With My Food

Ingredients:
(A) 175g flour
1/2tsp yeast
11/2tsp sugar
160ml water
(B) 4 eggs
240g sugar
60g cake flour
2tbsp custard powder
30g oil
1tsp double acting baking powder
1/2tsp vinegar
1/4tsp lye water

Methods:
1. Mix ingredients (A) and prove it for 2-4 hour or overnight till double size.
2. Use your hand to mix all ingredients, start with sugar. Mix till sugar is dissolved and add eggs one at a time. Then followed by oil, custard powder, flour, vinegar, lye water and baking powder, mix till smooth.
3. Grease a cake mould about 9", steam the empthy mould for 5 minutes.
4. Pour into the heated mould and steam over high heat for 30 minutes.

Notes:
1. You may think this recipes is quite rare but i told you using this method will ensure you get a nice and tasty mah lai koh.
2. Dissolve sugar with the yeast dough is easier than you think cause sugar will melt as soon they in contact with liquid and the yeast dough contains water.
3. Mix by your hand and not by mixer to prevent overmixing- it will causing hard and unsmooth cake.

Emperess Chi Xi dessert 豌豆黃(yellow split peas pudding)

This dessert is a typical northern-china snack. Emperess Chi Xi loved this dessert, nowadays everyone can eat it and it is very easy to make. It is sweet and refreshing too and it smelt in your mouth. You can buy yellow split peas at supermarket, chinese shops or asian supermarket.

Source: Eupho Cafe

Ingredients:
450g Yellow split peas
5 cups water
1/2tsp baking soda
6 cups water
11/3 cup sugar

Methods:
1. Wash yellow split peas, drain it.
2. Soak the peas with 1/2tsp baking soda and 5 cups of water for 6 hours.
3. Drain out the soda liquids, wash the peas again for at least 5 times. Drain out the excess water.
4. Put the peas into a pan with another 6 cups clean water and cook it over medium-high heat till boiled. When it is boiling, you will see a lots of white bubbles. Scoop out all the bubbles. Turn to medium heat and cook it till soft.
5. Place the soft cooked peas and the rest of liquids into blender and blend it till very smooth.
6. Then place the blended peas into pan again and add in sugar. Cook over low-medium heat till the mixture is dry enough to form.
7. Place the mixture into a mould which covered with plastic bag. Press to compact and cover it again with another plastis bag. Brush the surface with a brush for a smooth pretty look. Refrigerated for at least 4-5 hours before cutting.

Notes:
1. The reason soaking the peas with baking soda is to soften the peas and reduce the beans flavour.
2. Must cook the peas till very soft before blend it.
3. Cook the peas mixture till dry enough or you may failed.
4. I put plastic bag under and on the mould to prevent sticking on the mould, i brushed the plastics bags because i want a smooth shinny surface.
5. Cut the pudding only when it is cold or you won't get a smooth face pudding.
6. Yellow split peas is known as chickpeas (english), kacang kuda (bahasa melayu), 豌豆 (in mandarine)or 馬豆 (cantonese).
7. You can used this dessert as filling for mooncakes, biscuit etc and it is also healthier cause contain no oil.

Wednesday 2 May 2007

Ang Tau Sah Piah--Red Bean Biscuit 紅豆沙酥


These small sweet patties is a very famous snack from my hometown Perak, Malaysia.It suppose filled with red bean paste or mung bean paste or something sweet filling. It is smaller than Hong Kong Lou Poh Peng which filled with candied melon. Anyway, every place got their own nice food.

Source: Seadragon, Jo's Deli And Bakery

Ingredients:

Pastry:
Water Dough:175g plain flour
pinch salt
60g ghee or lard or shortening
35g icing sugar
90ml lukewarm water
Fat Dough:
130g plain flour
30g cornflour
80g ghee or lard or shortening

Filling:
160g red bean paste for 20 portions
http://fcngoleong.blogspot.com/2007/04/red-bean-paste.html

Preparation:
1. Make the water and fat dough separately. You need to rest the water dough for 15-20 minutes before using.
2. Divide into 20 portions each. Make sure both doughs have about the same pliability/flexibility. Wrap each fat dough into each water dough, do all the rolling necessary to get the layering.
3. For the filling I used my own homemade red bean paste.You can buy red bean paste at chinese supermarket too.It is much easier. But I prefer less sweetness and it is healthier.My red bean paste recipe is here, I used 160g red bean paste for 20 portions. http://fcngoleong.blogspot.com/2007/04/red-bean-paste.html
4. Wrap the filling inside the pastry. Flatten slightly with your palm.
5. Bake at about 210°C for about 12 minutes.

Notes:
1. Becare when you roll up water dough and fat dough. If they leaks, it might be look not nice and taste not good too.I recognise you take a look at http://www.desserthut.com/ for more information.
2. Before I bake it, I brush it with some egg wash(1 egg-slightly beaten and add with some water) for more shinny golden result.