"Naked" Nonya dumplings aka pie dumpling

This is just a post to show what you can do with left over glutinous rice or when you don't have the leaves to wrap your dumplings with. Whatever the reason, you can still have your "zhang" and eat it,

Ingredients - can be found in my dumpling recipe here http://peranakanandmore.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/nonya-dumplings-aka-nonya-bak-chang.html

Put glutinous rice in a microwaveable bowl and add water just to the top of the rice. Microwave on high for 5 mins and then take out and stir. If the rice is not fully cooked, add a little bit more water and cook for another 3 - 5 minutes.

Remove and add salt and pepper.

Line the container with cling film and add cut pandan leaves and then add a layer of rice

Add the filling

Finally, add the last layer of rice

Cut and eat!

Kaya

I had extra eggs that I wanted to use up and what better way to use it than make kaya! Kaya is our local word for egg coconut jam. It is sweet and moreish!

In the olden days pre slow cooker, I watched my mum making kaya by cooking it in a double boiler and standing over it and stirring away to prevent it from being burnt.

I think you will all know by now that I always try to find short cut ways to cook, and I have seen my friends making kaya with a slow cooker and here is my way.

Ingredients:

400ml thick coconut cream 
10 eggs, lightly beaten
400g regular fine sugar *
10 pandan leaves, washed and tied into a knot

Method:

1. Wash pandan leaves throughly & knot them.
2.Assemble all ingredients in a slow cooker.
3, Switch on slow cooker on high and stir mixture till sugar thoroughly dissolves.
4. Remove cover & stir mixture from the bottom every 30 minutes.
5. Cook for a total of 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

 The kaya will be lumpy and there will be some liquid at the bottom of the slow cooker. Dont worry about this as once it has been blended, everything will be fine.

After blending, this is the final result

Kaya on muffin!

Note: I did not add any pandan colouring to the kaya, hence it is very light green from the pandan leaves. But if you like you ca  fry one or two tablespoons sugar separately and stir in the caramel. Add this to the kaya to achieve the golden colour.

400gm of sugar may seem sweet but when spread on bread, it is just nice!

Rendang

There are so many versions of rendang and mine is kind of a shortened or easier version. I have used curry powder whereas purists may want to use star anise, cumin, coriander, etc. But for me, even with this easier version, it still tastes just as good. Oh yes, if you are worried about cholesterol from the coconut milk, you can even use light evaporated milk and it tastes just as good as the coconut milk version!

Ingredients:

(Spice paste - rempah)
1 big onion
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger
3 cloves garlic
4 candlenuts
3 stalks lemon grass (white part only)
10 dried chillies (soaked)

700 gms stewing beef cut into cubes
2 stalks lemongrass - white part only (bash the thick part with cleaver or mortar)
400 ml coconut milk or
evaporated milk
1 - 2 tbsp curry powder *
3 kaffir lime leaves (cut into small strips)
3 tbsp dessicated coconut (dry fried to light brown)

Seasoning:
1 tsp sugar
salt

Method:
1. Combine all the spice paste ingredients and blend into a fine paste. Set aside
2.  Heat a saucepan till hot and add oil, then add the blended paste ingredients and fry for a few minutes until  
fragrant. Add curry powder and mix well and then add the cubed beef and fry till beef is browned.
3. Add coconut milk or evaporated milk and bring to the boil. Add bashed lemongrass. Once mixture has come to the boil, cover with lid and simmer for about half and hour.
4. After half an hour, add in the fried coconut, sliced kaffir lime leaves, seasoning and cover again and simmer till beef is tender.
5. Once beef is almost ready, if gravy has not thickened, remove lid and simmer till gravy is thickened.

Nonya Dumplings aka Nonya Bak Chang

Updated with pictures on how to wrap the dumplings.

Most years I miss the date for making the bak changs or dont manage to get the leaves but last year, after teaching a friend how to tie the bak changs and then because I had balance of the leaves, decided to make some for myself this year. But just enough for myself and Pat does not like glutinous rice.

This recipe is taken from Mrs Leong's book with with modifications.

In her book and my mum's recipe, they both ask to steam the rice and wrap the dumpling with the cooked rice. Tried that and found that the dumplings do not wrap nicely. So tried it again but this time with uncooked rice. Lo and behold, it is actually easier to wrap  uncooked rice!

Also for my friends who do not take pork, you can use chicken instead!

Makes 10 dumplings

Ingredients:

500 gms glutinous rice (soaked overnight)
salt and pepper
oil*
20 bamboo leaves, cooked in boiling water till soft (about 15 mins)
* Note: After soaking the rice and when ready to wrap, season the rice with salt and pepper and oil as this makes sure that the rice will not stick to the bamboo leaves upon unwrapping it.

Filling Ingredients:
500 gms belly pork or chicken thighs
6 pcs dried mushrooms (soaked)
60 gms sugared winter melon
4 cloves garlic ) ground
2 big onions    ) together
sugar to taste*
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 - 2 tbsp coriander seeds - toasted and ground

Note: Please be heavy handed with your seasoning as it is going to be covered with rice, so even if you think it is too sweet, rest assured it is not as the rice will balance out the sweetness!

Method:

1. Place belly pork in saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to boil. Boil over moderate heat for about 20 mins. Cool and set aside and cut into cubes. Continue boiling stock till it is reduced by half.

2. Cut soaked chinese mushrooms and sugared winter melon into tiny cubes.

3. Heat oil and fry pounded garlic and onions. Add pork, salt sugar, pepper and dark soya sauce. Fry for a few minutes. Add stock, mushrooms and sugared melon. Continue cooking over medium heat for about 1/2 an hour.

4. Add coriander powder and stir well. Reduce heat and simmer till almost dry. Remove and cool.

5. After wrapping the dumplings, put them in water and boil for about 30 - 45 mins, making sure that the water covers the dumplings.

Note: Since I did not have the cowpea flower, I used blue colouring instead.

kuih pie tee/popiah

Kuih Pie Tee/Popiah
Since I am on holiday till the New Year, there are a number of things that I have been wanted to make, so what better time than now?

On one of my mum's visit a couple of years ago, I asked her to bring me a kuih pie tee mold and it has been sitting in my kitchen drawer since then. So I resolved to dust off the cobwebs off it and make some pie tee shells.

After a couple of dud shells, ie, with holes in the bottom or very open tops, I managed to get the hang of it and got decent looking shells!

Recipe I got from my mum is as follows:

Batter for pie tee shells
100g plain flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
180ml water
Enough oil for deep frying

MethodFor the shells :

1. Sift plain flour and rice flour together. Place sifted and salt into a mixing bowl. Add egg and mix with water to make a runny batter.

2 Heat oil in a deep wok or pan. Place pie tee mould in the hot oil for one minute. Remove the hot mould and dip 3/4 way into the batter.

3.Put mould in hot oil until shell is golden in colour. Jiggle the mould a bit and it should dislodge the shell, but if it does not, use a knife to slide it out. Remove the shell with chopsticks or a pair of tongs and place on absorbent paper to cool. Store in an airtight container or tin until needed.




Filling: (same as for popiah)

2 medium sized bangkwang/yam bean/jicama - julienned
2 carrots -julienned
1 thsp taucheo (salted soy beans)- mashed
2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
soy sauce to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in kuali and when hot, fry the taucheo for a few seconds, then add in the chopped garlic. Fry for another few seconds, then add in the julienned bangwang and carrots. Add soy sauce to taste and half cup of water.
2. Bring to boil then turn fire down to low and let it simmer for about 15 mins.
3. It is now ready to be used as filling for pie tee or bangkwang.

Note:

I do not add anything else in my popiah fillings but my mum adds in slice belly pork and tau kwa.

Garnish for pie tee:
Chopped boil egg
Cooked prawns
coriander
pounded chilli with a little vinegar

1. Fill pie tee shell 3/4 way with above filling.
2. Then add chopped egg, prawns, coriander and top with chilli sauce.




Egg Skin

Ingredients:
100 gm plain flour
50 gm tapioca flour
2 eggs
200 ml water - more or less
1 tbsp oil
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix flours and egg together, then add in water, slowly till you get a runny batter.
2. Add in the oil and mix well.
3. Heat a pan and brush with a little oil. Then pour in 3/4 ladle of the mixture and swirl round the pan.
4. Once the edges curl, and the skin moves easily, remove from pan.




Garnish for popiah:

Cucumber - julienned
Bean sprouts - blanced in boiling water for 20 seconds
Hard boiled eggs - chopped
Boiled prawns
Round lettuce
Coriander leaves
sweet flour sauce
pounded chillie

Optional:
Ground peanuts

Method for folding popiah:

1. Take one egg skin. Place a piece of lettuce leaf on it. Place some sweet flour sauce and chilli paste and spread round.
2. Add bangkwang filling on the lettuce leaf. Top with cucumber, bean sprouts, egg, boiled prawn and coriander leaf.
3. Fold egg skin into a packet and enjoy!

Sambal chilli and hae bee hiam

Sambal chilli and hae bee hiam (Dried prawn sambal
Everytime I go back to Singapore, I will get my mum to buy me a few packets of this chilli which I will then freeze and when I run out of my sambal chilli, I will make.

Not very difficult to do and you can use this chilli for all sorts of things, eg, nasi lemak chilli, mee siam chilli - you get my drift!

Ingredients:
1 packet of chilli paste
a couple of shallots

Method:
1. Slice shallots finely. Heat oil in pan and when hot fry shallots. Sweat the shallots but do not let it brown. Then add the chilli paste and slowly fry till it changes colour. Add sugar to taste. Shiokadooo!

Chilli paste


Sambal


The other thing that I like to make and store (although it does not last me a week)is my ration of hae bee hiam or in English - dried prawn sambal.



Sambal Hey Bee

Ingredients:
1 cup hey bee (dried prawns) – soaked and finely ground
6 – 8 fresh chillies )
10 small onions ) pound together
a knob of blachan (optional) )
salt to taste
sugar to taste

Method:
1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a fry pan and fry the pounded ingredients for 2 minutes.
2. Add the dried prawns and continue frying till quite dry.
3. Add a little salt and sugar to taste.

Popiah Dinner

Popiah Dinner!

As Kris was coming down from Wales, we invited Siat as well so we could play a 3 kaki mahjong game. Kris was going to buy a roast duck from Bayswater to supplement our dinner, but as Circle line was not operating she came directly to my place instead. So I offered to make popiah. Of course I did not have bangkwang and and instead of using celeriac as I normally do, thought I would try something different and use kohlrabi to see what the difference in taste would be like. Went to Tesco, walked round the vegetable department and couldn't find it. Asked the helpers there but unfortunately, they were no help as they didnt know what a kohlrabi is and made it seem like my pronunciation was so bad that they did not understand me. Geesh!Hopefully I will be able to find kohlrabi in another supermarket another day and try it and I will let you know which is better! Anyway, am showing pictures of celeriac and kohlrabi here.

Celeriac


Kohlrabi


In addition to popiah, I made Tau Yew Bak as well and remembered that I had some Bak Kwa left over from? Anyway defrosted that and grilled it! Yum!

After dinner, played mahjong till 0230. Hurray!

Ikan Chuan Chuan

The fish dish is a peranakan dish called Ikan chuan chuan. But I don't think I've seen it in restaurants before. Must be a home dish. Anyway, my mum used pomfret and fries it till crispy then adds the sauce over. Trying to be healthy, so instead of frying and because the pomfrets here are frozen and secondly, my darling hubby doesn't like fish with bones... haha ... I digress.. but anyway to continue... I steam the fish with the sauce instead.



Ingredients:
Pomfret or fish fillets
2 tsp tau cheo (Preserved salted soy beans)
2 slices ginger - julienned

Method:
1. Steam fish.
2. Heat a little oil in a fry pan. When hot, add sliced ginger and tau cheo. Add a little water and simmer for 2 mins.
3. When it sauce is ready, pour over the fish.

Fried bean curd puff with mixed mushrooms

New Year Eve Dinner

Happy New Year 2009!

Quiet New Year Eve Dinner with family. As mum was with us, did not have any party or go to any, so had peranakan dinner of Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs/Chicken Wing, Mango Fish, Papaya masak Titek, babi assam garam (pix posted previously)and Aubergine with minced pork. Forgot to take pix of the aubergine.

Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs and Chicken Wings


Ingredients:

(A)
10 Buah Keluak (soaked in water for about 1 week - change water every 3 days)
15 raw prawns
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt

(B)
1 inch galangal
3 stalks lemongrass
4 pcs candlenut
50 gm shrimp paste
4 red chillies
2 dried chillies
1 big onion or 15 shallots
1 tsp tumeric powder

(C)
50 gm tamarind soaked in 150ml water, squeezed and strained
700 ml water

500 gm pork ribs or
10 chicken wings or half and half of both

Method:
1. Remove nuts from water and brush them to remove sandy particles.
crack nut at opening and remove meat. Pound or grind together with raw prawns to form a smooth paste. Add salt and sugar, then refill shells.
2. Grind (B) to a paste. Heat oil in sauce pan and fry pounded ingredients B till fragrant. Add (C)and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pork ribs and let it boil for 5 mins. Reduce heat and cook for about 1/2 hour. Add chicken wings and black nuts and cook for 1/2hour or till chicken is tender.

Mango Fish


Ingredients:
2 pcs fish fillet (White) - sliced
1 green mango (peeled and shredded)
1 carrot (peeled and shredded)

Sauce/Seasoning
1 - 2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp marmite
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper
3 tsp oil
2 tbsp tapioca starch/flour

Method:
1. Mix shredded mango and carrot. Add 1/2 tsp salt and set aside for 5 mins. Add 1 tsp sugar and marinate and set aside.
2. Marinate the fish fillet slices with seasoning for 10 - 15 mins.
3. Heat up enough oil to deep fry the fish fillets. Before frying the fish, coat in tapioca flour and fry until golden brown. Dish out onto kitchen paper.
4. Put remainder of seasoning/sauce mixture in small saucepan and add 1/2 cup water and boil until it thickens. Put in fried fish and coat evenly with sauce.
5. Place shredded mango and carrot onto a plate and place fish fillets onto the shredded ingredients.
6. Serve

Papaya Masak Titek


This is another peranakan dish that is seldom seen in restaurants.

Ingredients:
(A)
3 candlenuts
1 tbsp shrimp paste
1 big onion or 10 shallots
1 red chilli
1 tbsp ground black pepper

1 Fish Cube
2 green papaya
12 big raw prawns or 2 fish fillets - sliced into pieces (white fish)
700 ml water
50 gm dried prawns - ground
50 gm salted fish

Method:
1. Grind A to a fine paste
2. Skin papaya and cut into pieces
3. Fill pan with the 700 ml water, add A, ground dried prawns and fish stock. Bring to boil. Put in the papaya pieces and boil till almost tender. Add fish slices or prawns or both for 5 mins till seafood is cooked. Remove from heat and serve.

Babi Assam Garam

Edited to break up the posts into separate posts. Apologies if the comments don't make sense here!

Babi Assam Garam
This is another peranakan dish that you do not get in restaurants - or rather I have not seen in the restaurants. This is belly pork marinated in assam water and sugar, then boiled for about 15 mins till the pork is cooked. Cooked pork can then be kept for up to a week in the fridge.

Ingredients:
500 gm belly pork - in strips
80 - 100 gm tamarind mixed with 1 cup water
pinch of salt
3 - 4 tbsp sugar

Method:
1. Put belly pork and assam water into saucepan. Add enough water to cover pork but not till the assam water gets too thin. You want a thickish sauce.
2. Bring to boil and add sugar. Once pork is cooked, you can taste to see if you need more sugar. Taste of this dish is tangy, so dont add too much sugar.
3. Boil for about 20 mins and turn off the fire. You can either keep in the fridge for the flavours to intensify or you can cook it straight away.
4. To cook, slice the strips into thin slices and fry till pork caramalises.
Serve hot with rice. Yum!

Mee Siam

Last minute request by dd. She wanted it for dinner last Saturday. Luckily had all the ingredients!


Mee Siam

This is my mother’s recipe which has been enjoyed by so many people. My mum cooks this for the church canteen once a month and it is so well received that it is also sold out before the last mass is over!

Here is my mum’s recipe. (She bases it on a bowl method)

Ingredients:
Gravy
½ bowl shallots or onions (finely ground) – After grinding, leave it in a sieve to remove excess water
Knob of belachan – to grind together with shallots above
½ bowl of taucheo (ground)
Half a fist full of tamarind paste – add 1 cup water
Chilli paste – depending on your heat tolerance (she uses the ready made ones that you can get from the market) – for me, since I am unable to get ready made paste, I make my own by soaking dried chilles in hot water till soft and grinding them. (make extra to keep in freezer)

Noodles
1 pack of bee hoon (rice vermicelli) – soaked in hot water till soft
Handful of beansprouts
300 gms fresh prawns

Garnish:
Hardboiled eggs
Tau kua
Chinese chives – chopped

Sambal for the mee siam:
Chilli paste
sugar

Method:

1.Heat fry pan and dry fry the pounded onions for a few mins. Move to one side and add oil and when the oil is hot, fry the onions for about 5 mins, then add the ground taucheo and 2 – 3 tbsp of chilli paste (according to your heat level). Fry the rempah till fragrant. Remove from heat.

2.Heat wok and add oil. When oil is hot, add about 2 tbsp of prepared rempah and softened beehoon. If beehoon looks too dry, sprinkle some water to moisten, then add beansprouts and fry for a few more mins. Leave aside.

3.In a saucepan, add tamarind water and bring to boil. Whilst it is coming to the boil, add in prepared rempah. When the gravy is hot, add sugar and a little salt to taste. If gravy is not enough, add more tamarind water or just water. Season to taste accordingly.
Lastly, add the prawns and simmer for a few mins.

4.To make sambal chilli, add oil to a fry pan and when hot, fry the chilli paste for a few mins and then add sugar to taste.

5.To serve, dish the prepared beehoon into a bowl. Pour gravy over and then add garnishing