No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

Finally, yes finally I managed to see the 'Huat Kueh', 'huat' or smile beautifully at me.  I can't believe my eyes and was elated because this is my first attempt at this recipe and I'm so glad I succeeded and achieved what I wanted.  I had tried to make Huat Kueh a few times during the MCO (Movement Control Order) but none of them 'huat' so much as this one and some of the recipes I tried, left a weird after taste perhaps due to the amount of baking powder.  This kueh is soft and nice and remained soft the next day, kept in an airtight container.   But you can always steam them again for a short while if you prefer piping hot ones.  I'm very grateful to Marvellina of  'What to Cook Today' and I'm glad I found you.  Thank you! Steamed Cocoa Huat Kueh aka Fatt Koh  ~   蒸可可发糕  Ingredients 250 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 65 gm brown sugar ) reduced from  65 gm caster sugar...

Each Chinese New Year, I would get a Nian Gao, sticky rice cake as an offering for prayers as Nian Gao is a homonym for  'higher year',  which symbolises increasing prosperity and higher achievement for the coming year.  Therefore it is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao during this period.  Instead of frying the Nian Gao with batter like what I did 'here' , this time I chose to just wrap it up with a piece of puff pastry and dump it into the oven, and the ultimate result,  yummy gluey Nian Gao with crispy pastry! Puff Pastry Nian Gao   ~   酥皮年糕 Ingredients 10 small pieces of Nian Gao about 1.1/2 x 3/4 x 1/2 inch  10 pieces of 4 x 4 inch Kawan puff pastry Egg glaze Method Place a piece of Nian Gao onto a piece of puff pastry Apply beaten egg all round the edges Roll up, and use a fork to seal the two ends Place seams side down onto a parchment lined baking tray Apply egg glaze ...

After successfully making the   Kuih Talam   with much trial and error, I ventured into trying out making this Gula Melaka Kuih Talam.  What is gula melaka one may ask?  Simply put, it's just palm sugar made from coconut palm.  The slightly saltish top coconut layer pairs very well with the dark and intense flavour of the palm sugar from the bottom layer, and this kuih can be served for breakfast or snack on at any time of the day. Gula Melaka Kuih Talam ~  椰香打南糕   Ingredients (A) 150 gm gula melaka/palm sugar 350 ml water 2 pandan/screwpine leaves 60 gm rice flour 25 gm green pea flour 1.1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour 100 ml thick coconut milk 1/4 tsp lye/alkaline water (B)  Top coconut layer 1.1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour 30 gm rice flour 15 gm green pea flour 100 ml thick coconut milk 250 ml water 1/2 tsp salt Method for (A) Cook gula melaka, water and pandan leaves till gula melaka is dissolved, strain into a bow...

This is a delicious recipe that is easy to make and great to serve as a snack or a gathering.  It tastes somewhat like the yam cake except that there are plenty of beans to bite in this steamed cake.  The combination of dried shrimps, Shitake mushrooms and bits of pork made this steamed cake all the more flavourful.   Leftovers can be kept in the fridge and either reheat or pan-fried. St eamed Black-Eyed Bean Cake  ~   五香眉豆糕   (adapated from 'here') Ingredients   (A)  300 gm rice flour         75 gm tapioca flour         1050 to 1070 ml water         1 Tbsp Knorr chicken powder         1 tsp salt or to taste         2 tsp fish sauce         1/4 tsp pepper         1/2 tsp lye water (B)   4 Tbsp oil         1 Tbsp chopped garlic       ...

Kuiih is commonly referred to as a Malaysian or Nyonya dessert which can be sweet or savoury.  It is normally served in bite-size portions, at breakfast, tea, snack or at the end of a meal.  Kuih Talam literally means kuih steamed in a tray and mostly kuih are steamed rather than baked or fried.  Kuih Talam consists of two layers, a sweet bottom green layer with natural colouring from the pandan or screwpine leaves and a slightly salty top layer made with coconut milk.  The green layer is made with rice flour, green pea flour and tapioca flour and its texture is dense compared with the top layer of rice flour and greeen pea flour which is softer in texture. Kuih Talam ~  绿白双层香兰糕 120 gm rice flour 40 gm tapioca flour 20 gm green pea flour 180 gm sugar 350 ml water 1 tsp alkaline/lye water 15 pandan/screwpine leaves, cut into  small pieces and blend with approx. 350 ml water or more to get 300 ml pandan juice Ingredients fo...

The texture of this 'kuih' resembles somewhat like jelly and is most appropriate to serve as a snack or a dessert after a meal.  It's best served chilled as it's light and refreshing, especially after a heavy and sumptuous meal, like our Chinese New Year reunion dinner! 祝大家鸡年快乐 Marble Pumpkin Kuih ~  大理石南瓜糕 ( adapted from 'Here' with some changes) Ingredients (Pumpkin layer) 600 ml water 65 gm green pea flour 200 gm mashed pumpkin 150 to 160 gm sugar (Coconut layer) 150 ml coconut milk 160 ml water 25 gm green pea flour 40 gm sugar 1/4 tsp salt 4 to 5 pandan/screwpine leaves  Method Mix all the ingredients for pumpkin layer and cook on low heat till the batter starts to thicken. Pour the batter into an oiled , 8 inch square pan. Mix all the ingredients for coconut layer and cook on low heat till the batter starts to thicken. Pour the coconut batter onto the pumpkin batter. Swirl with a skewer to create a marble eff...

This Steamed Purple Sweet Potao Kuih is my second attempt as the top layer was too thick on my first try.  So, this time around I decided to reduce the recipe for the top layer and it does look much better!  Taste wise, you may ask .... mmm, soft and not too sweet, good for breakfast or snack, any time of the day! Recipe for Steamed Purple Sweet Potato Kuih Ingredients - Bottom Layer 180 gm rice flour 30 gm green pea flour 300 ml water 480 ml water 220 gm granulated sugar 50 gm steamed sweet potato bits Method Mix the rice flour, green pea flour and 300 ml water thoroughly.  Sieve the mixture into a pot. Add in 480 ml water and sugar, keep stirring and cook on low heat. Once the mixture  starts to thicken, turn off  heat.  Pour mixture onto an oiled 8.1/2 inch square tin. Toss in the steamed sweet potato bits.  Steam on medium heat for 25 mins. or till the surface is a ...

This is my first attempt at making this 'Savoury Steamed Pumpkin Cake'.  I was a bit hesitant in the beginning and after googling here and there for the recipe, decided upon trying it out.  Fortunately, it turned out well and family members gave the thumbs up.  Phew  ....... worth all the effort, chopping and frying in this weather!

These Black glutinous rice Angku Kuih was made quite some time ago but I had to put the post on hold as I was pre-occupied with the posts for  Chinese New Year Cookies.   The dough was prepared a day before and kept refrigerated till ready for use.  These angku kuih was soft and chewy and I must thank  Happy Flour  for sharing this recipe. Recipe for Black Glutinous Rice Angku Kuih Ingredients  (Dough) 130 gm glutinous rice flour 50 gm sweet potatoes, peeled, steamed, mashed 20 gm black glutinous rice flour 125 ml water (to add sparingly) 1/2 Tbsp oil Filling 150 gm split mung beans 80 gm - 100 gm   sugar 1.1/2 Tbsp oil Method  (Filling) Soak the beans overnight, steam for 35 to 40 mins. or till soft. While hot, blend the beans with 1 cup of water. Heat up oil in a pan and fry the bean paste with sugar till it forms into a paste, leave to cool. Method  ...

These Pumpkin Angku Kuih were made using the same recipe as my  Pandan Angku Kuih but I substituted sweet potatoes with pumpkin.  Another minor adjustment that I made was  I used water in this recipe instead of green pandan juice.  Also, I made the mung bean filling a little bit savoury by adding in finely chopped shallots and some salt.  So these Pumpkin Angku Kuih tasted a bit sweet and salty and they were soft and chewy..... Yum! Pumpkin Angku Kuih ~ 南瓜龟糕 Ingredients for Pre-prepard dough 150 gm glutinous rice flour 125 ml water Mix these two ingredients to form a dough, cover and refrigerate overnight. Ingredients for Filling 150 gm split mung beans, soaked overnight 80 gm granulated sugar 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) 2  Tbsp oil 4 small shallots, finely chopped Method Rinse, drain and rinse the mung beans, steam for about 30mins. or till soft.  While hot, blend them with abou...

I've never thought of making Angku Kuih or Red Tortoise Cake simply because it's so readily available in my daily market place.  But there have been so many posts of this traditional kuih by my fellow food bloggers and  they look so cute and beautiful that I just cannot resist the temptation of not trying my hands at it. I must admit that making this kuih can be rather tedious and the amount of work can really make your head spin.  But if you prepare the mung bean filling a day ahead, then it does help to lighten your work quite a fair bit.  For all the  effort, these Pandan Angku Kuih came out beautifully.  To see how the kuih will be like the next day, I kept some in a container at room temperature.  To my surprise the skin of the kuih stayed soft till late the next day.  I didn't have to steam them again.  All I can say is that my efforts paid off handsomely and I'm so pleased.  Now, I've no qualms  experimenting this Angk...