PULUT TEKAN

Pulut Tekan or Pulut Tai Tai is a popular Nyonya dessert kuih. 

Pulut tekan literally translated as pressed glutinous rice. 

PULUT TEKAN OR PULUT TAI TAI 

Ingredients

300gm glutinous rice

200ml thick coconut milk

100ml water

½ tsp salt

3 pandan leaves (cut into 3" long)

50 - 60pcs blue pea flowers or bunga telang

Method 

Boil about 300ml water and add in the blue pea flowers. Let it turn into a nice vibrant blue colour and let cool.

Wash clean the glutinuous rice and divide into two portions. Soak one portion rice in plain water and the other portion, sieve out the flowers and pour the blue water in.  Soak the rice at least 4 hours. 

Prepare your steamer or wok.

After 4 hours, drain dry the glutinuous rice. Pour into 2 separate steaming plates (you may just pour into one plate; half white half blue in a steaming plate).   Put the pandan leaves on top.

Mix the thick coconut milk, water and salt together.  Stir till combine.  Pour into the glutinous rice (divided into equal portion if you are steaming separately the white and blue stained rice).  Steam for 30 minutes in medium heat.

Once done, remove and fluff the rice.  Add the glutinous rice into your pan or mould with banana leaves at the bottom pan (if you have,  else you can used greased proof paper).

Press the glutinous rice with a  "penekan kek lapis" or cake press.

Slice the glutinous rice to your desire size and serve with a dollop or spread kaya on top

Yummy! 

Love to look at the beautiful stained blue rice 😊

Pulut Inti

It has been raining daily here and with the cooling weather it makes me feel craving for some Malaysian desserts lately 😆.

Today I have made this simple Pulut Inti (Steamed Glutinuous Rice with Grated Coconut Topping). 

PULUT INTI

(Makes about 7 to 8 pieces)

Ingredients

180gm glutinous rice

125ml thick coconut milk

½ tsp salt

20 pcs blue pea flowers, rinse washed

30ml hot boiling water

1 pandan leaf,  cut into 2" or 3"

Coconut Filling

45gm palm sugar, roughly chop 

½ tbsp brown sugar

30ml water

½ grated coconut flesh

½ cornflour

1 pandan leaf, knotted

Banana leaves, cut into 5"×6", and lightly blanched the leaves to soften it

Method

Add the blue pea flower in a small bowl and pour in the hot boiling water. Let it sit for 15 minutes.  Sieve through a strainer and press the flowers with a spoon to squeeze out more blue colouring. Set aside.

Combine the glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt in your steaming  plate. Mix till well combined.  Scatter the cut pandan leaves on top and steam for 20 minutes. Stir the rice occasionally till the rice is cooked. 

Remove ¼ of the rice and stain with the blue colouring.  Return the blue coloured rice to the steamer and cook another 5 minutes.  (Or you can just sprinkle the blue pea colour on to the rice). Remove from heat. Fluff the rice with a pair of chopsticks and mix the white and blue rice together. Set aside. (If u have extra banana leaves, covered with it).

To cook the filling.

Add the palm sugar, brown sugar, pandan leaf and water in a medium size saucepan. Cook till the sugars melted. (You may want to strain the sugar syrup as there might be some residue from the palm sugar).  Add in the grated coconut and cornflour and stir till all are well combined and thickens up. Dish up and let cool.

To assemble 

Place about 2 tbsp or 50gm of the cooked glutinous rice in the centre of banana leaf and top with one heap tablespoon coconut filling on top .

Fold up the longer sides to the centre to overlap slightly. Tuck in the two ends under the parcel. Place on to your serving plate or tray. 

I'm generous with my coconut filling 😊😜

Kuih Talam

I'm not very good in making kuih. I always find making kuih muih is very daunting and challenging eventhough by the look of it, what is so difficult to make? Just mix it up the ingredients and send to steaming only mah .. 😅

Sometimes it is the small little things that you need to look into eg. during steaming time either it is needed in low heat or high heat to steam the kuih. Or you need to open the lid every 5 minutes just to adjust down the temperature during steaming... or after the steaming done do not open the cover yet.
So this is those little things you need to be careful and adhere to perfect your kuih 😊

Today I'm sharing with you is Kuih Talam which is one of my favourite kuih. I like it with balance of sweetness and saltiness from the coconut layer.

KUIH TALAM 
Recipe reference from Nyonya Flavours

Ingredients

Pandan Layer
80gm rice flour
40gm tapioca flour
30gm green pea flour /or hoen kwe flour
210gm sugar (sweetness is just right)
700ml pandan juice (Ive used 18 leaves)
1 tsp alkaline water

Coconut Milk Layer
500ml thick coconut milk /or coconut cream
40gm rice flour
30gm grean pea flour/or hoen kwe flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour
½ tsp salt

Method

Prepare an 8" square pan. Lightly grease the pan and line a baking paper (with an inch overhanging on two sides for easy to lift up), grease the baking paper again.

Prepare and heat up your steamer.
(Im using a big wok).

Add in all the ingredients for the bottom pandan layer into a saucepan and cook under a low heat; stirring occasionally till it thickens slightly.

Pour the batter into your prepare square greased pan. Spread the batter in an uneven surface (this is to help both layers to stick together).
Steam for 10 - 15 minutes under low medium heat. Open your steamer lid every 5 minutes.

As the pandan layer is steaming, you can start to cook the coconut layer.

Add in all the coconut layer ingredients into a saucepan and cook under the lowest heat stirring occasionally till the batter slightly thickens.

Remove from heat and immediately pour into pandan layer.  Steam for 15 minutes under low medium heat.  Open the steamer lid every 5 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy .... yum ! 😊

Once thickens, give it a thorough whisk before pouring into the pan.

Will do better next round on my top layer... alot of air bubble holes 😏

Cut into 5 long strips (1.5") 

           This recipe definitely a keeper!

Best eaten in 1 to 2 days. Any leftover, please refrigerate in airtight container.

Pumpkin Steamed Buns / Pumpkin Xi Pan

Wow.... it has been months I have not updated my blog.  I guess I wasn't as active like before and I know some of you have long forgotten who is Mel of Through The Kitchen Door already.

It is not that I have not done any new recipes to try out, it just I haven't found myself up to do anything else and some failure in my try out recipes which resulted making me feeling down .... see I don't even know what am I talking about here... !

Well, my post for December 2015, is Pumpkin Xi Pan.  This is my 2nd time try out as the 1st time the dough is too  wet resulting too difficult to handle to shape it round at all.  So this time I make sure I won't over steamed the pumpkin.    

Pumpkin Steamed Buns (Xi Pan / Hee Pan)

Recipe adapted from My Little Favourite DIY

Ingredients: 

Sponge dough:  

80g plain flour  
1 tsp instant yeast  
75ml water

120g pumpkin

60g glutinous rice flour  
30g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder  
50g sugar  
2 tbsp cooking oil

some banana leaves or greased proof paper ( cut into round shape)

Method 

In a medium bowl, combined the Sponge dough ingredients together and mixed well. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 – 2 hours.

Peel the pumpkin and cut into small size and steamed till soft. Mashed into

puree.

After the sponge dough done in proofing, scatter in the baking powder and mixed to combine. Then add in the rest of the main dough ingredients (glutinous rice, plain flour, sugar, oil and mashed pumpkin) and knead into a smooth and soft dough. 

Brush a thin layer of oil on the surface of the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Roll the the dough long and divide into 30g each.

Shape it round then flatten it a little and place on a greased round banana leaf.

Let it proof for another 20 minutes.

Steam over medium high heat for 10 minutes.

 

Note: The dough might be quite soft and sticky. Oil your hand while kneading or use disposal ploythene gloves or a plastic spatula to help to manage this sticky dough.

                                   Love this pumpkin buns as it is so soft and fluffy

Chwee Kueh 水粿

For the past few years I'm still in searching to look for the Chwee Kueh recipe that has the smooth and soft texture.

In Singapore, everyone knew the Tiong Bahru's Chwee Kueh  has the best chwee kueh!  Usually there will be long long queue to get to buy the Chwee Kueh. Instead of going all the way there, I guess the better way is to make Chwee Kueh myself.  I have made Chwee Kueh once back in 2012, and thinking I could use another recipe this time.

CHWEE KUEH 水粿

Batter

(Makes about 20pcs)

280g rice flour

4 tsp tapioca flour

2 tsp salt

300ml cold water

830ml hot boiling water * (weigh the water and boil the water under hot stove!!)

4 tbsp cooking oil

Method

In a heat proof medium bowl, mix the rice flour, tapioca flour and salt together.  Using your whisk, pour in the 300ml cold water and whisk in one direction till all combined.

Pour in the hot water all at once into the flour water mixture and whisk in till no lumps and mixture is thicken.  Lastly, add in the oil and stir till all blended together.

Pour into a jug for easy pouring into the mould.

Prepare your steaming wok or steaming pot.  

Brush around the moulds with some oil.  Place the oiled mould into the hot steaming wok to heat the mould for 1 minute.  Uncover the wok and pour in the batter just below the rim of the mould.  Wipe dry the cover of the wok and steam for 15 minutes under medium heat.  Cool to set.

To serve

Using a spatula, run the edge of the mould, lift and slide the steamed cake on to the plate.  Top the cake with 1 teaspoon fried chai poh.

Chai Poh Toppings

150g mince preserved chai poh (preserved radish)

20g dried scrimp, soak and mince/blend in the blender

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp mince garlic

1 tbsp mince shallot

1 ¼ cup cooking oil  (you can just use 1 cup)

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp dark caramel sauce

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt (or less)

Pepper

Method

Using your strainer, rince the preserved radish under running water briefly.  Squeeze out any excess water.

Heat up your frying pan.  Put in the sesame seeds and dry fry to toast the sesame seeds for 1 minute.  Dish out and set aside.

In the same frying pan, put in the radish to dry fry the radish 1-2 minutes to remove any excess water.  Dish out and set aside.

Pour in the cooking and sesame oil into the frying pan.  Add in the dried shrimp and fry for a minute till fragrant.  Add in the mince shallots and garlic and fry under medium heat for a few seconds.  Add in the chai poh and under low heat, stirring occasionally  fry the chai poh till blended in the fragrant oil about 10-15 minutes.  Add in the seasonings and toasted sesame seeds.  Stir fry till all combined well.  Dish up and let cool.

This Chwee Kueh & Chai Poh topping adapted from Roxana Ng of My Bakes, My Story, My Life

 

                                        This Chai Poh is fragrant and just the way I like it.  

                               This is already my second time making this Chwee Kueh, 

                               so I guess this is it...... I love this Chwee Kueh!!

            

I am submitting this to Asian Food Fest Singapore Month, 

hosted by Grace of Life can be Simple