Pandan Min Chiang Kuih with Coconut Filling

 

Traditionally Min Chiang Kuih is made from plain wheat flour or all-purpose flour with fillings of peanut, sugar and butter. However, I have modified my recipe of this kuih by using pandan juice instead of water in mixing the batter. I have used coconut flakes to replace roasted peanuts as the filling.

Ingredients (for making 2 thick pieces of 24 cm in diameter):

Fillings:

• 120 g fresh coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 25 g castor sugar

Batter:

• 250 wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 50 g sugar
• 300 ml pandan juice (made from 10 pandans leaves)
• 2 eggs

Pan:

• 24 cm non-stick with cover

Method:

• Prepare the fillings.
• Steam the coconut flakes with salt.
• After steaming, set aside.

• Prepare the batter.
• Blend the pandan leaves with water to obtain 300 ml of pandan juice.
• Put the dry ingredients - flour, instant yeast, baking soda and sugar into a mixing bowl.
• Add the pandan juice to the dry ingredients.
• Whisk till the batter is smooth.
• Crack the two eggs into the batter.
• Mix until they are incorporated into the batter.
• Cover the batter with a cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. (Important step for the batter to rise well during cooking.)

• Making the kuih.
• Put the non-stick pan over very low heat.
• Without greasing the pan, scoop 1/2 of the batter into the pan (to get a thick kuih).
• Swirl the pan so that the batter is spread evenly throughout.
• Cover the pan and let the batter cook for about 4-5 minutes or till holes are formed on the surface and the bottom is brown.
• Once the batter is cooked, remove the kuih onto a cutting board.
• Cut the kuih into 2.
• Sprinkle the coconut and sugar onto one half of the kuih.
• Cover it with the other half.
• Repeat the process until the other half of the batter is used up.
• Serve.

Yam Pork Rolls

My family and I love yam. I can easily buy yam during pasar tani days near my house. And most important the yam are very good; they are powdery and soft when cooked. Today I modified my Bak Kian recipe to incorporate yam into it to add a new dimension to the rolls. They are as tasty as the bak kian.

Ingredients:

• 500 g minced pork
• 300 g yam (without skin)
• 50 g finely chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 9-10 bean curd sheets cut to the size of 1/2 of an A4 paper
• A small bowl of water
• Cooking oil for frying

Method:

• Steam and mash yam. The texture depends on whether you would like to bite into the yam or not. I mash them roughly so that I can bite into tiny bits and pieces of them.

• Add minced pork to a large bowl.

• Add all the other ingredients to it and mix till they are well incorporated.

• Apportion these meat fillings into 9 or 10 portions as we do not want any leftover or insufficient fillings at the end. (Nine portions for a thicker roll and ten for a thinner one.)

• Get ready a small bowl of water for sealing the roll.

• Take a piece of the bean curd sheet and put 1 portion of the filling on top of it.

• Bring each shorter sides in.

• Then roll up the bean curd sheet with meat fillings from one end of the longer side to the other.

• Or, you can just roll up the longer side to the other end and just tuck the ends under the roll. (But I think you will get a neater roll with the earlier method.)

• Heat up a pan with cooking oil.

• When the oil is hot, put the rolls side by side.

• When the bottom has turned brown, flip the roll to the other side.

• Once this side has also turned brown, dish it out onto a plate lined with kitchen towel to soak up excess oil.

• Serve.

Cheesey Sweet Milk Buns

 

I love eating milk buns as they are rich, soft and fluffy. Sometimes I add fillings such as grated coconut cooked with gula Melaka to my milk buns to make them into Coconut Buns. At other times I add chocolate chips, garlic butter, sausages, chicken cocktails or cheese slices to my milk buns. Shaping of the buns depend on the fillings.

This round I added more sugar and topped the buns with lots of Mozzarella cheese to make them into Cheesey Sweet Milk Buns.

Ingredients:

• 550 g bread flour
• 40 g milk powder
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 100 g sugar
• 120 g warm water
• 130 g whipping cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 50 g butter
• 100 g Mozzarella cheese or more

Instructions:

• Activate the yeast:
• Add warm water to a bowl.
• Add about half of the sugar to the bowl.
• Add instant yeast to the bowl.
• Stir and wait for 5-10 minutes for bubbles to be formed.

• Add bread flour, remaining sugar and salt to the bowl.

• Add yeast mixture, whipping cream and eggs to the bowl.

• Knead till a dough ball is formed.

• Add butter to the dough ball.

• Continue to knead till window pane is achieved.

• Grease a clean bowl and transfer the dough to it. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to your counter top.

• Punch down the dough to degas.

• Form the dough into a ball.

• Divide your dough ball into smaller dough balls. (My small dough ball weighs 30 g each.)

• Roll each dough ball and place them onto a greased and lined 15 inch x 11 inch pan. (This is my Swiss roll pan.)

• Cover the pan with cling wrap and let the dough balls rise till double in size.

• Meanwhile pre-heat your oven to 175 deg C.

• Once the dough balls have double in size, sprinkle grated Mozzarella cheese on top of them.

• Bake them for 20 minutes. (Tent your pan with aluminium foil if your oven is too hot and the top of the buns are turning dark too soon.)

• When baked, remove the buns from the parchment paper and pan onto a metal rack to let them cool down.

• Enjoy.