Banana Pancakes

Banana Pancakes

Recipe source :  The Malaysian Cookbook

Bananas grow abundantly in Malaysia. We have a wide selection of bananas to choose from. Almost all varieties are tasty. 

My favourite is "pisang mas" and I shall use them to make banana pancakes for breakfast today.

Ingredients

2 eggs, beat until light
20g sugar
120g self-raising flour
1/ tsp salt
2/3 cup coconut milk
5 bananas, mashed
margarine or cooking oil, optional

Method

1.  Mix together beaten egg, sugar, self-raising flour, salt and coconut milk to form a batter. Mix well.
2.  Heat a non-stick frying pan until hot.
3.  Add margarine or cooking oil to non-stick frying pan (optional).
4.  Pour in 2 tbsp of batter and turn frying pan so that the batter is spread out evenly.
5.  Fry until brown on both sides.
6.  Dish up and serve with banana slices. 

I am linking this post to Little Thumbs Up

The theme for March 2015 is Banana

Hosted by BitterSweetSpicy

This event is organised by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids 
and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY

Mixed Vegetables Curry 素咖哩

Mixed Vegetables Curry 素咖哩

Recipe :  Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours


My sister's Indian friend taught her to use radish to cook curry. Since then, my personal preference has always been radish in my curries instead of using potatoes. However, because of my family's preference for potatoes, I have always refrained from using radish. Today I made an exception. I re-introduced the use of radish for cooking a mixed vegetables curry. 

I am not sure whether it was because I have not been cooking mixed vegetables curry for a long time or because the family has a change of preference, but the bottom line was that the two large bowls of curry were demolished. Nobody grumbled about not finding potatoes. Everybody ate happily and polished off the rice and the vegetables. The quantity I cooked could easily feed five to six people yet the three of us wolfed down everything. 

Ingredients

500g radish, cut into pieces
250g snake beans, cut into sections of  4 cm
15 pieces of tofu puff
400g cabbage, cut into sections of 4 cm
100g minced chilli
3 tbsp curry powder
300ml coconut milk (santan)
8 shallots, minced
6 pips garlic, minced
3 sprigs curry leaves
3 stalks lemon grass, bruised
6 tbsp oil
1250ml water

Seasoning

2 tsp salt
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce

Method

1.  Heat wok until hot. Add in oil. Saute minced garlic and shallots for 1 minute over medium flame. Keep stirring to prevent burning. Add in the bruised lemon grass and curry leaves. Continue to fry until fragrant. 
2.  Add in minced chilli paste and stir to mix well. Add in half a cup of coconut milk and stir-fry until oil oozes out. 
3.  Add in radish and snake beans and fry for 2 minutes. Add in water and the remaining coconut milk.
4.  Bring to a boil. Then add in tofu puff and cabbage. Let it boil for 15 minutes or until the radish is tender.
5.  Add in seasoning ingredients.
6.  Switch off flame and dish up.

I am linking this post to My Treasured Recipes # 3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)

Hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders and 

co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

Mini Kampar Chicken Curry In A Bread 咖哩面包鸡

Mini Kampar Chicken Curry In A Bread 咖哩面包鸡

Recipe source for the bread :  Frozen Wings
Recipe source for the chicken curry :  Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours

A few weeks back I made Special Steamed Chicken Curry Pau, which is a modified version of the famous Kampar chicken curry bread. My youngest son, YS has been pestering me to make the baked version. I know the normal size bread ( 面包鸡 ) will be too big for the three of us at home, so I used the same concept of the special steamed chicken curry pau to bake three smaller bread. We gave one to my sister-in-law who lives a few blocks away while we polished off the remaining two bread. 

Yummy, yum! They were truly scrumptious and finger-licking good!

Ingredients for Chicken Curry ( recipe by Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours )

1/2 a chicken ( about 550g )
1 large potato, peeled and cut into cubes, then deep-fried
2 1/2 tbsp curry powder
80g minced chilli
80g shallots, finely chopped
30g garlic, finely chopped
1 cup coconut milk  ( santan)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soya sauce
4 tbsp cooking oil 

Utensils required

3 aluminium foil cups
3 pieces of aluminium foils

Preparation 

1.  Heat wok until hot. Add in 4 tbsp cooking oil.
2.  Saute chopped garlic and shallots until fragrant. Reduce to medium flame. Add in minced chilli. Stir to mix well.  
3.  Add 2 tbsp coconut milk , followed by the curry powder. Stir evenly until red chilli oil oozes out. 
4.  Add in chicken pieces and mix well. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. 
5.  Add in 4 Chinese rice bowls of water. Bring to a boil.
6.  Pour in the deep-fried potatoes. Stir to mix well.
7.  Allow to simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes until done.
8.  Remove and let it cool down before spooning the chicken curry into 3 aluminium foil cups.
9.  Cover the foil cups with pieces of aluminium foils.   

 

For the bread ( recipe from Lena of Frozen wings )

Ingredient A
450g bread flour
25g milk powder
15g instant yeast
60g sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredient B
1 large egg, beaten mixed with 130ml cold milk + 130ml cold water

 40g butter

Method

1. Add  all ingredients A into a mixing bowl of a machine and use a fork to stir till well mixed. Using a dough hook, add in ingredients B slowly and beat roughly for about 5 minutes until it forms a moist firm ball.
2.  Add in butter and beat for around 5-10 minutes until the dough looks smooth. Remove dough into slightly floured table and knead into a big ball and let it proof for about 45 minutes.
3. After proofing, lightly knead the dough again and let rest for another 10 minutes.
4. Divide dough into three portions. Roll out the dough into three rounds with the middle thicker than the sides. ( See picture below )  Place this on top of the sealed aluminium cups. Seal the edges below the aluminium cups and place each on three different pieces of greased-proof paper. Transfer this to a baking tray and let it rise for another 40 minutes.
5. Apply egg wash (optional) and bake it in a  preheated oven at 170 C for 20 minutes.

 Let the middle portion be thicker than the surrounding edges.

Place this dough on top of the sealed aluminium cup containing the chicken curry. 

This way - It will be easier to seal the thinner edges below the aluminium cup. 

Yum! Finger-licking good!
 

I am linking this post to Little Thumbs Up

The theme for August 2014 is Flour

Hosted by  Domestic Goddess Wannabe

This event is organised by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids 
and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY

Special Steamed Chicken Curry Pau 蒸咖哩面包鸡

Special Steamed Chicken Curry Pau 蒸咖哩面包鸡

Recipe source :  Inspired by Coco Kong ( Y3K magazine )

While browsing at a bookstore I came across a recipe by Y3K magazine featuring  Coco Kong's cookbook on various "pau", including this steamed version of a pau filled with chicken curry.  As I was reading, I remembered my friends telling me about a coffee shop located in Klang which sells this speciality pau.  I have yet to visit that shop to sample their speciality, but after reading the recipe from Coco Kong, I guessed I am gamed to try it out. 

Now, here I am sharing my humble experience. Half-way through making it, I  realized that these pau are going to be huge because I needed plenty of dough to wrap up the foil cups! The end results was totally out of my expectation. I did not envisage the pau to be this big. Anyhow, I managed to make four gigantic pau, measuring more than six inches in diameter each. 

It was very satisfying when my son showed me the thumbs up!  We both agreed that they were truly finger-licking good!

A point to take note - the pau dough was enough to make four huge pau but there were plenty of chicken curry left over. So, if you are making this, do remember to reduce the amount of chicken curry or alternatively, make more pau dough to use up the chicken curry.

Double thumbs up!!

Ingredients for Chicken Curry ( recipe by Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours )

1/2 a chicken ( about 550g )
3 large potatoes ( about 500g) - peeled and cut into pieces, then deep-fried
2 1/2 tbsp curry powder
80g minced chilli
80g shallots, finely chopped
30g garlic, finely chopped
1 cup coconut milk  ( santan)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soya sauce
4 tbsp cooking oil 

Utensils required

4 aluminium foil cups

Potatoes - deep-fry the potato pieces

Top left : minced garlic. Top right : minced shallots

Centre :  curry powder

Bottom left : santan. Bottom right : minced chilli

Preparation 

1.  Heat wok until hot. Add in 4 tbsp cooking oil.
2.  Saute chopped garlic and shallots until fragrant. Reduce to medium flame. Add in minced chilli. Stir to mix well.  
3.  Add 2 tbsp coconut milk , followed by the curry powder. Stir evenly until red chilli oil oozes out. 
4.  Add in chicken pieces and mix well. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. 
5.  Add in 4 Chinese rice bowls of water. Bring to a boil.
6.  Pour in the deep-fried potatoes. Stir to mix well.
7.  Allow to simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes until done.
8.  Remove and let it cool down before spooning the curry chicken into 4 aluminium foil cups.

 

Ingredients For Pau Skin ( recipe is from Blue Key Pau Flour )

1 tsp instant yeast
180ml warm water
330g pau flour (sifted)
50 fine sugar
1 tsp double action baking powder
25g shortening

Method

1.  Place pau flour, baking powder, sugar and shortening into a mixer bowl. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Pour yeast into the mixture and knead until a smooth dough is form. 
2.  Cover dough with cling film and let it rest for about 30 to 40 minutes or until it has doubled its size.
3.  After proofing, divide dough into 4 portions. 
4.  Roll out one portion of dough into a large circle. Place one aluminium cup containing the curry chicken onto the dough and wrap it up and gather the edges together on top of the pau,
5.  Alternatively, wrap a piece of rolled-out dough on top of the aluminium cup and gather the edges to seal at the bottom of the cup.

Step 4 and 5 of wrapping the pau

Bottom left : the edges are sealed underneath the pau.

Bottom right : the edges are sealed on top of the pau.

 The result of method 4

 The result of method 5

 

 Chicken curry inside a steamed pau!

I am linking this to Little Thumbs Up

The theme for July  2014 is Potato

Hosted by Jasline of Foodie Baker

This event is organised by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids 
and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY

 

Kuih Bingka Ubi (Cassava Cake ) 木薯糕

Kuih Bingka Ubi (Cassava Cake) 木薯糕

Recipe source :  Adapted from here

I love to eat this baked cassava cake which I often buy from Malay stalls selling an assortment of kuih-muih. The vendors usually displayed a wide array of choices which at times I find it hard to make a choice as to which kuih or cake I wish to eat!

Now making this kuih at home is another story. Grating the tapioca is no joke. It is a lot of hard work. But it is well worth the effort as the end result yielded a very fragrant and tasty cassava cake.

I made this for a family gathering and everyone likes it. As I was baking this for the first time, I only made a small loaf.  I have to take note to increase the amount the next time.

 

Ingredients

700g grated tapioca (cassava )
450ml coconut milk
50g grated coconut
70g palm sugar ( gula Melaka)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 pieces pandan leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Tapioca or cassava

Method

1.  In a pot, mix coconut milk, palm sugar, granulated sugar, salt and pandan leaves. Heat over low heat until palm sugar and granulated sugar melted. Add butter. Stir to mix well. Discard the pandan leaves.
2.  Add grated coconut and grated tapioca.
3. Stir over low heat until slightly thicken. keep stirring to prevent burning at the bottom of pot.
4.  Line a loaf pan with aluminium foil. 
5.  Pour thicken tapioca mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
6.  Bake at preheated oven at 180 degree C for about 1 1/2 hours or until firm. 
7.  The top should be browned. 

Hong Kong Curry Fishballs 香港咖喱鱼蛋

  Hong Kong Curry Fishballs 香港咖喱鱼蛋

Recipe source :  Doris Choo @ Sumptuous Flavours

Curry fishball is a popular street food of Hong Kong. They are easily available from vendors along the streets. I remember my youngest son never seemed to get tired of eating them while we were in Hong Kong. He requested to buy curry fishballs every time we turned a street corner when he saw a vendor selling them. 

My son, YS, is most happy today when he saw me making these curry fishballs.  

Ingredients

20 home-made fishballs
2 tbsp curry powder
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 chilli padi, pounded or finely chopped
3/4 bowl chicken stock
4 tbsp coconut milk
2 tsp sugar
1/2 salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Satay sticks ( optional )

 

Thickening Solution

1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Mix together to form a thickening solution

Method

1.  Heat oil and fry the fishballs until golden. Remove and set aside.
2   Heat oil in a wok and saute the garlic and shallots and minced chilli until fragrant.
3.  Add curry powder, chicken stock and coconut milk and stir to blend the mixture.
4.  Add in salt, sugar and pepper. Adjust to taste.
5.  Add in the fried fishballs and stir well.
6.  Add thickening solution to the curry fishballs. Make sure the fishballs are well coated with curry paste.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest : Hong Kong + Macau - Jan & Feb 2014, hosted by Annie from Annielicious Food

 

Kuih Lapis 九层糕

Kuih Lapis 九层糕

Recipe source :  The Malaysian Cookbook....page 29


I made this kuih lapis to be offered among the foods which I have prepared as Thanksgiving at a Taoist temple. It is now fast approaching the end of the Chinese lunar calendar and it is time to offer prayers in gratitude for blessings from the deities for the entire year. 

This is my first attempt at making this kuih lapis which is a Malaysian delicacy using rice flour and coconut milk as the main ingredients. The santan or coconut milk and the pandan leaves made this kuih very fragrant.

The Chinese refer to it as 'nine-layered cake'. I love to eat this by peeling off layer by layer to savour the fragrance and its sweetness. 

Ingredients

185g rice flour
125g tapioca flour
450ml santan or coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
drops of food colouring

Syrup ingredients

280g coarse sugar
150ml water
4 pandan leaves (screw-pine)
 

Method

1.  Sift the two types of flour together. Add santan gradually to the sifted flour. Blend into a smooth batter.
2.  Boil syrup ingredients over moderate heat till sugar dissolves. Strain the syrup and add hot water ( if necessary ) to bring it to 225ml. Pour hot syrup into the blended flour mixture.
3.  Reserve about 160ml of batter and add red colouring ( this is for the top most layer ).
4.  Divide the remaining batter into two portion, one white and one pink. (if you prefer to have more layers of different colours, then reserve a portion of about 160ml each to mix in the colour of your choice)
5.  Boil water in a steamer.
6.  Lightly grease a round cake tin ( 18cm diameter x 5 cm height  ).
7.  Place the cake tin in the steamer.
8.  Pour in a white layer of batter and steam for 4 to 7 minutes till cooked.
9.  Once the white layer is cooked, add in the pink layer and steam the same way.
10. Repeat the process with the batter, alternating the colours, layer by layer. 
11.  Use dark red for the top most final layer.
12.  Cool cake completely (preferably overnight ) before cutting.

Tip :  

Make sure each layer is thoroughly cooked before adding the next layer. The batter will  become opaque once it is cooked.

Mango & Sticky Rice With Coconut Sauce (Koa-Niew Moon Mamuang)

Mango & Sticky Rice With Coconut Sauce (Koa-Niew Moon Mamuang)

Recipe source :  Appon's Thai Food

Mango and sticky rice with coconut sauce is another one of my favourite Thai desserts. I usually order this mango rice or the red ruby dessert after a meal at Thai restaurants.

Mango rice is very filling, so we normally order only one portion and share it among ourselves. The saltiness from the coconut sauce balances beautifully with the sweet sticky rice. The mangoes were of course excellent!

This is a classic Thai recipe.

Ingredients

100g glutinous rice
2 ripe mangoes
200ml water
100ml coconut milk
100g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rice flour

 Fresh mangoes

Instructions

 
1. Soak the glutinous rice in some water (enough water to cover it) for 3-4 hours. This will make the sticky rice easier to cook.
2. Steam the rice for 15 minutes to cook it thoroughly.
3. Put the water and sugar into a pot and bring to the boil. The sugar should dissolve completely.
4. Add the cooked sticky rice into the pot and stir well to mix.
5. In a different sauce pan, put the coconut milk, the rice flour, and salt and cook it on a low heat for 5 minutes or until the coconut milk thickens.
6. Peel the mango and slice the flesh into slices.
7. To serve, put a bed of the sticky rice on a plate, followed by a layer of mango slices, and pour some of the coconut sauce over the top.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month

hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings

Red Ruby Dessert (Tub Tim Krob)

Red Ruby Dessert (Tub Tim Krob)

Recipe source :  The Malaysian Women's Weekly - May 2011 (courtesy of Chef Simon Seow)

This is a popular dessert in Thai restaurants. It is sweet, fragrant and very refreshing. Downing it is very satisfying after a hot and spicy Thai meal.

The crunchy water chestnut cubes look like red rubies, while the transparent sago looks like diamonds floating in a bowl of chilled coconut milk.

And the taste is simply awesome!

My whole family likes this very much. Excellent!

Ingredients

100g water chestnut, cut into small cubes
10 drops red food colouring
100ml sugar (for syrup)
70g sago
80ml water
180g tapioca flour
200ml coconut milk, chilled
Ice cubes
Flesh of one piece of jack fruit, cut into small cubes

Top: sago- Left: jackfruit- Right: water chestnut

Method

1. Skin the water chestnuts and cut into small cubes. Place them in a bowl of water and add red food colouring. Set aside to let the chestnuts absorb the colour.
2.  Boil sugar in 80ml water until the sugar is dissolved. Cool and put the syrup in the refrigerator to chill. 
3.  Bring 200ml of water to boil in a pan over medium heat.
4.  Rinse sago in cool tap water and put immediately into the boiling water for about 1 to 2 minutes or until the sago turns transparent.
5.  Remove pan from stove and pour into a large sieve. Rinse under running tap water then leave to soak in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from sticking together.
6.  Strain the water chestnuts. Leave them in a sieve for 30 seconds to drain off the coloured water.
7.  Place tapioca flour in a large bowl. Mix the water chestnuts with the tapioca flour. Pour over a sieve to shake off excess flour. Use hand to shake further to remove as much flour as possible.
8.  Cook the water chestnuts in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes or until they float to the surface.
9.  Remove water chestnuts with a slotted spoon and mix immediately with chilled sugar, coconut milk, ice cubes and sago in a large bowl.
10. Add in jack fruit cubes.
11.  Serve chilled.

Extremely delicious! 

Highly recommended!

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month
hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings


I am also linking this post to Cook-Your-Books #6

hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

  

Pork & Pineapple Red Curry (Gang Mu Tay Po) 泰国猪肉黄梨咖哩

Pork & Pineapple Red Curry (Gang Mu Tay Po) 泰国猪肉黄梨咖哩

Recipe source :  Adapted from Appon's Thai Food

November is going to be a spicy month for my family! I have bookmarked many more Thai dishes to try out. I believe my family is looking forward to them as well, as we love hot and spicy food. 

I have always love pineapples, either eaten fresh as a fruit, or made into sweet desserts or cooked into savoury dishes. One of my friends once commented that having pineapples in a savoury dish, makes the dish "exotic". I tend to agree as I think this pork and pineapple red curry look rather exotic. 

It sure looks exotic and tastes scrumptious! What a wonderful dish!

Ingredients

500g pork shoulder, cut into thick pieces
300g pineapples, cut into thick slices
450g snake beans, cut into sections of 4 cm
2 limes, extract the juice
250ml coconut milk
4 pieces kaffir lime leaves
700ml water
2 tbsp sugar
100g Thai red curry paste
1 tsp soya sauce

 

 Kaffir lime leaves and limes

Snake beans

 Pineapple cut into slices

Thai red curry paste

Instructions

1.  Heat wok and fry the Thai red curry paste for 1 minute.
2.  Add coconut milk, water and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil.
3.  Add pork pieces, pineapple slices and snake beans.
4.  Add in the lime juice, sugar and soy sauce.
5.  Continue to boil until the meat is tender, about 20 minutes.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month
hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings

Thai Green Curry With Chicken 泰国青咖哩鸡

Thai Green Curry With Chicken 泰国青咖哩鸡

 
Recipe source :  Adapted from Bill Granger

I used to eat Thai green curry at restaurants and it has never crossed my mind that I would cook this one day. But I have always wondered what ingredients were used to make the green curry paste resulting in the greenish tinge of the cooked curry. Bill Granger's recipe provided the many ingredients used to make the green curry paste as well as provided the instructions to make it. But it seemed like a big portion to me.  Anyway, I did not feel like making green curry paste from scratch. 

So, I browsed through the shelves of supermarkets looking for Thai green curry paste. There were plenty of varieties to choose from. Most of them were in bottles and instructions given was to use only two or three tablespoons of the paste. I was not keen to buy them because I do not wish to store too many jars of leftover foodstuffs in my refrigerator which is already too crammed for space. I continued my search until I came across a package which mentioned the portion was just for one meal and it suited me just fine. Further reading of the labels and composition of the ingredients convinced me to buy it as it was more or less similar to Bill's recipe.

Ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil 
100g green curry paste
700ml water
130g coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 kg chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
240g snake beans, cut into sections of 4 cm
180g aubergines, cut into chunky pieces
juice from 1 small lime

Left :  aubergines. Right : snake beans

Bottom : kaffir lime leaves and lime

Chicken

Green curry paste

Instructions

1.  Heat oil in a wok. Fry the green curry paste for 1 minute until fragrant.
2.  Add coconut milk, water and kaffir lime leaves. Cook for 5 minutes.
3.  Add in chicken pieces and cook for another 5 minutes.
4.  Add snake beans, aubergines and lime juice.
5.  Simmer over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until chicken is cooked.

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month
hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings

I am linking this post to "Cook Like A Star"

 

Hosted by  Zoe from bake for Happy Kids and Yen from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake