Kaya Puffs/Kaya Kok

It has been many years since I had kaya puffs. This is one snack that I will ask my sisters to bring if they come to visit me but I totally forgotten about it when my youngest sister came to visit in July. In order to get over the craving and also used up my homemade kaya I decided to make these. For non Malaysian/Singaporean readers, kaya is a jam made from coconut milk, sugar and eggs. It is eaten like regular jam or sometimes make into these puffs.

I used the recipe from Kuali but the result was not the same like the one I had back home. The pastry is flaky but on the dry side as I prefer the pastry to be on the tender side but nonetheless it is good enough to get over my craving. I have to try out another recipe soon.

Fried Sweet Potato Balls

This is a well-know snack in Malaysia and mostly sold by the street vendors. These deep-fried sweet potato balls are called ‘fan shu tan’ in Cantonese and it is slightly smaller than the size of a ping pong ball. They are cruncy and golden brown on the outside,soft and sweet on the inside. I remember eating this ages ago at Cameron Highlands. Cameron Highlands is a highland region located around 200km from Kuala Lumpur at the state of Pahang. It is well known for its agriculture and also cool weather which is very popular among tourist. Due to its weather, tea and strawberries, which are rarities in the places under the Equator, are substantially planted here. There is this one street vendor that sells these sweet potato balls at the market and we have to get it each time we visited this place.

I Google for the recipe and there are a few version of it. I finally settle with the one by Angie of Seasaltwithfood . This is a full recipe but I did only half of the recipe which yield about 24 balls

 

Pekan Beef Curry/Opor Daging Pekan

PAHANG is the largest state in Peninsula Malaysia and is situated in the eastern coastal region. The cuisines of Pahang were influenced by the Indians, Chinese and Arabs, who came as traders during the busy spice trade days. I am not too familiar with their cuisine actually. I’ve been to a few beach resorts there but that was a long time ago and during that time I never take note of any of the food served but with this MFF event I am learning more about the cuisine of other states in Malaysia.

For the state of Pahang I am making this dish called Opor Daging Pekan or in English Pekan Beef Curry. This is a traditional dish of the people of Pahang especially in the kampong/village around the royal town of Pekan. It is usually served at traditional Malay weddings or festival. The taste of this dish is pretty similar to Beef rending because of coconut paste/kerisik also slight tangy with the editions of tamarind paste in it. I really like this dish and planning to cook another big batch of it so I can freeze it up. Besides using beef you can cook it with chicken or mutton/lamb. It goes really well with rice, nasi impit/ketupat or even bread.

Kari Udang/Prawn Curry

I bought a box of large prawns from the Filipinos supermarket the other day thinking of using them to cook Sang Har Mee for Diana. On the packet it says 9-10 prawns in it but when I open it I found there were about 18 of them in it. So I decided to use half of it to cook this dish so I can submit it to MFF.

Ingredients:
Adapted from MyRecipe.com

10-12 large prawns
½ fresh pineapple – removed skin and cut into 1” chunks
500 ml coconut milk
2 stalk lemongrass – smash
2 tbsp fish curry powder
Salt to taste

Kanji Kedah/Kedah Rice Porridge

I was talking on the phone with my good friend Shereen last week and we were discussing MFF theme for this month and I told her I don’t really know much about food from Kedah or Perlis. She gave me a few suggestions including this rice porridge. Well, since I have all the ingredients in hand I decided to do just that.

Every state in Malaysia will have its version of Rice Porridge also known as Bubur Lambuk. What make this heartwarming dish so popular? It is available during the Ramadan month and it is prepared and distributed to the public for free throughout the whole month of Ramadan in the spirit goodwill. Usually this rice porridge would be cooked at the mosque compound for easy distribution. Cooking this involves a lot of effort and many volunteers will help stirring many big pots of this rice porridge. This rice porridge is very similar to Chinese version except for the addition of coconut milk, lemongrass and fenugreek in it. I actually like it a lot and will definitely cook this again.

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.

 

 

Lempiang Ikan/Fried Fish Cake

I am missing out quite a bit on the MFF for the past 2 months because of my travelling and being sick so for this month I will tried my best to participate and submit more than one dish. Let’s start off with this fish cake. This fish cake is one of the many dishes from the Northern part of Malaysia. I am not familiar at all with the food for the state Perlis and Kedah but since they so near to Thai I presume there are some Thai influence in their cooking. Like this particular dish it has Kaffir Lime leave in it and as your know Thai love using Kaffir lime in their cooking.

I actually feature a dish called Thai Fish Cake which is very similar to this in 2008 and you can check it out the recipe here . Taste wise I find them pretty similar.

Spiral Curry Puffs/Karipap Pusing

It is good to be home and get back to my regular posting after being away for a while. You might have notice I schedule the posting here as I’ve been so busy for the past 2 months and hardly try out any new recipes or complicated cooking. I still cook but just some simple dishes. For this posting it is something that I made a few months ago and only get to post it now.

Who doesn’t like curry puff? This is by far one of the most favorite snacks of our household. We can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even tea time. I will usually make a large batch of it and freeze them up and will fry a few pieces at a time when craving strikes. I will usually make the one with just the regular pastry but when I am in the hardworking mood I will do the spiral pastry. Well, this is one of them. I posted this recipe in 2008 but that was over 4 years ago and there are so many recipes lost in the archives that I’d love to re-photograph and rewrite some of it. It will take me awhile to do it, but I am placing our favorite ones in the forefront and I am starting with this Spiral Curry Puffs.

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.

Ayam Masak Hitam Sarawak/Chicken in Black Sauce

I actually cooked this dish back in April but didn’t publish it until now. Well, I am actually waiting to publish it this month in conjunction with Malaysian Food Fest Month for the state of Sarawak hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feasts . My friend Shereen gave me some Masak Hitam paste all the way from Sarawak. This dish is very famous is Sarawak. It can be cook with beef or chicken. I used chicken since I have it in my freezer. I know this dish might not look too appetizing but let me tell you it is delicious. The chicken turns out really flavorful with great aroma of spices like lemongrass, galangal, cinnamon and etc in it. If you can’t find the Masak Hitam paste and like to cook this dish from scratch you can refer to the recipe here or just Google it and you will find many recipes out there in the web world.

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.

Ayam Buah Keras/Candle Nut Chicken

Wendy from Table for 2…or more organized an event called Malaysian Food Fest . It is an online event to introduce the specialty food from each state in Malaysia. For each state, the event will run for a month and the whole event will conclude by the end of August 2013. Bloggers or non bloggers, Malaysians or non Malaysians are encouraged to take part in this event; all you have to do is cook and submit your entry/ entries to the respective hosts for the month. This is such a great event especially for us living oversea as we can refer to all the recipes features when we are missing food from our home country. I will be hosting the State of Kelantan in the month of April 2013 and I need all your support. To kick off event the very first state feature will be Malacca, hosted by Cindy from Yummylittlecooks . You can find out more details of the event and the schedule ahead here .

Of all the states I think I’ve visited Malacca the most as it is one of the nearest state to Kuala Lumpur. I am able to make a day trip there mostly for shopping and their food especially for their cendol , chicken rice balls and also the Nyonya Food. Since Wendy of Table for 2 told me about Event I’ve been cracking my head on what to cook for Malacca/Melaka. I don’t want to cook the usual Chicken Rice Balls, Ayam Pogteh , Sambal Petai or Kapitan Chicken as I already feature them in my blog previously. So I consult my good friend Shereen who is a pure Nyonya from Melaka about the dishes that her mom’s used to cook for her. She told me many of her mom’s favorite dishes, but I don’t think I am able to cook most of it because of the lack of ingredients that I can get here in the US. So we settle for some of the easiest ones. So thank you Shereen for sharing your mom precious recipes with us here. Do stay tune for other authentic Nyonya dishes coming up soon.

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.

Chicken Varuval

Have you try taking pictures on a gloomy day? I choose the wrong day to cook this dish but I already marinate the chicken the night before so I have no choice but cook it. I took over 50 shots of this dish but only a handful turns out decent. The rest, dark, blur, out of focus and etc.

Anyway, this is a must order dish for me if I eat at the Nasi Kandar or Indian Rice stall in Malaysia. I just love the taste of this flavorful dish. I’ve been cooking this dish so many times, and each time I tweak the recipe and came up with this. Finally I think I nail the taste of it. I hope you try this out, as I am pretty sure you are going to like it too.

Chicken Satay – Quick and Easy Way

This is another quick and easy recipe coming out of my kitchen. Taste like satay but minus all the work. Since Carlos has yet to set up our backyard furniture and grill I have to do it in the oven. All I have to do is marinate it and bake/grill it in the oven. I love this dish and never get tired of it as it always reminds me of home. I will definitely make this dish again.

Prawn/Shrimp and Pineapple Curry

It was good to take a short vacation with my husband. Every weekend were occupied with something since we moved here until last weekend. Carlos took time away from work and we went to Monterey Bay and Carmel . We had such a great time and I took tons of pictures of the scenic views especially the 17th Miles Drive . We plan to go back again soon as we want to go for dolphins and whale watching. I will post up the pictures on my FB and my other blog later. In the meantime here is the sneak preview of one of the many pictures I took.

Now, let’s get back to this dish. I cooked this last week and I just love it. It goes really well with rice. My rice was swimming in the wonderful gravy and that is how I like to eat it. Yummy!!

Oven Baked Chinese Five Spice Chicken Wings

We still don’t have internet connection at home yet but it will be installed this Saturday. I managed to sneak out to the Starbuck right behind our house to make a quick update here.

This was the last batch of frozen chicken wings I had in my freezer before the move so I made it into this delicious finger food. I love the taste of five spices power as it added a nice aroma to the wings. Don’t be alarmed by the long list of seasonings as most of it can be found in your pantry. Make sure you let the wings marinate for at least 2 hours before baking for the flavor to blend into the wings.

Egg Floss Butter Prawns

This is by far my most favorite prawn’s dish. I love the crunchy egg bits, the taste, the smell and the presentation of this dish. I usually like using the whole big prawns but I can’t get them from the regular supermarket so I have to make do with the headless prawns. Instead of deep fried them I pan fried them till lightly brown and as for the egg floss I used my leftover egg yolks from my French Macarons , they should be in thinner strands which I still couldn’t perfect it. But what the heck, they still taste divine. I will definitely cook this again but not anytime soon as I have to watch my cholesterol. I just saw my doctor last week and my cholesterol reading was good so no problem. Can indulge again, maybe ;) Nah, I think I just wait till Diana come home for Thanksgiving and cook this for her.

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.