To Prepare
Boil the Thai Black Tea by adding it into the boiling hot water (leaving it to boil for around 5 minutes). Filter the Thai Black Tea using the tea filter/teabag/filter cloth. Mix well and sift all the ingredients for coating and set aside.
Melt the white chocolate, salted butter and sugar by putting them into the microwaveable container. Then microwave them using the highest heat for 1-2 minutes, making sure they are fully melted. Note that the three ingredients might not properly combine but should be properly combined after the next step.
Add 2 eggs into the mixture and mix well using the egg whisk.
Add the all-purpose flour, milk powder, baking soda and baking powder into the mixture and mix well (slowly add one ingredient then continually mix).
Add the prepared Thai Milk Tea and mix properly. The mixture will turn light orange in colour.
Add the macadamia or chosen nuts on top of the blondie (optional).
Preheat the oven and ensure that both upper and lower heat settings are on.
Prepare the baking tray by cutting the parchment paper in the shape of the baking tray. Rub the butter inside the baking tray, then place the parchment paper on top. Place the parchment paper firmly against the bottom of the baking tray to ensure that it sticks.
Add the Thai Milk Tea blondie mixture into the baking tray.
Place the baking tray in the oven and bake it at 180℃. Place the lid or another baking tray to cover the baking tray with blondie mixture (in order to prevent the blondie surface from burning). Bake for 20-30 mins. Note: Try 20 mins first and if the blondie is not well-cooked, leave it in for an additional 5-10 mins.
Serve with vanilla ice-cream (optional).
Note: The blondie colour may vary based on the tea brand.
Dessert
Sweet Potato Onde Onde
To Prepare
Steam until soft and mash the orange and purple sweet potatoes separately.
Add half of the glutinous rice flour to the purple potatoes and the other half to the orange potatoes.
Add 1-2 tbsp water to each potato mixture.
Roll the dough into small balls and make a hole in each one. Add the palm sugar, seal the sugar in and roll into smooth balls.
Heat up water in a pot and cook once the water is simmering. The onde onde are cooked after approximately 3 mins or when they rise to the surface.
Cover the onde onde in grated coconut and prepare to serve.
Pear and Snow Fungus Dessert Soup
To Prepare
Pour the water into a pot and bring it to a boil.
Add the other ingredients, letting it cook on high heat.
When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and continue cooking for 15 mins.
Serve hot or cold.
Pear and Red Dates Dessert Soup
To Prepare
Pour the water into a pot and bring it to a boil.
Add the other ingredients, letting it cook on high heat.
When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and continue cooking for 15 mins.
Serve hot or cold.
Thai Fried Banana Fritters (Kluay Kaek)
To Prep
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, potato starch, sugar, coconut, bicarbonate soda and salt, mix well.
Pour the water into the mixture, whisk until you make smooth batter that coats the banana evenly when dipped. If the batter is too thick, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until you reach the right consistency.
To Cook
Pour oil into pan for deep frying, heat until oil is hot. Dip the bananas into the batter and coat well, place into the oil.
When the batter turns golden brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Serve.
Rice Balls in Sweet Coconut Milk (Bua-Loy)
To Make the Dough
Mix the glutinous rice flour and mashed pumpkin using your fingers until well mixed. Add water, a little at a time, and knead until a dough is formed. The dough should be soft but not sticky or tacky. Add a little more flour if it gets too sticky, knead until it no longer sticks to your fingers.
Place the dough onto a cutting board and pat it down into a rectangle slightly under 1cm thick. Cut the dough into 1cm-thick strips and separate the strips so they don’t fuse back together. Take each strip and cut them into 1cm-long pieces so that all your pieces are now roughly 1 cm cubes. Roll each piece into little balls.
If you are not ready to cook them immediately, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap to avoid drying out.
For the Sweet Coconut Milk
Add all the Sweet Coconut Milk ingredients (except the young coconut flesh) into a pot and cook on medium, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add young coconut flesh and cook until boil.
Taste and add more sugar as needed. Turn off the heat and remove the pandan leaf.
To Cook the Bua Loy
Boil a pot of water and have a large bowl of cold water ready at the side.
Drop the rice balls into the boiling water in batches without crowding the pot. They should float within 1 min. As soon as they float, fish them out using a slotted spoon and put them directly in the bowl of cold water (they will sink in cold water). Repeat for the remaining rice balls.
To Assemble
Drain the rice balls well and add into the coconut milk. Heat the coconut milk until it comes back to a simmer so that the rice balls can absorb the flavour of the coconut milk, and turn the heat off immediately. Serve warm or room temperature.
Butternut Squash in Sweet Coconut Milk
To Prep
Peel the butternut squash and cut into thin, bite sized pieces before letting them soak in 2 cups of water for 25 mins.
To Cook
In a pot, combine 1 cup of coconut milk with the palm sugar, sugar and Pandan leaves and cook on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has fully dissolved, add the butternut squash pieces in to the pot and stir to make sure that all the pieces are submerged.
Let the mixture simmer for 5-10 mins or until the pieces have softened.
Add the cup of coconut cream and the teaspoon of salt into the pot and stir. Once the soup has begun to bubble, remove from the heat and serve.
Toasted Coconut Ice Cream
To Prep
Place a metal bowl to chill in the refrigerator for 15 mins.
Spread the coconut in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for 7 mins in a 250°C oven. Set aside to cool when ready. Using a mixer, beat thickened cream in the chilled metal bowl at medium speed for 2-3 mins until stiff peaks form.
Gently stir in coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Fold in the toasted coconut.
Pour ice cream mixture into a pan and cover with aluminium foil to freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight.
Top with coconut flakes if desired.
Japanese Dumplings with Black Sesame (Kurogoma Dango)
To Make Japanese Dumplings
In a large mixing bowl, add shiratamako, joshinko and sugar, mix well.
Add in warm water bit by bit while kneading the dough slowly until smooth and soft.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, then divide each portion into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.
In a large pot of boiling water, gently add in the dumplings. After they start floating on the surface, cook for 1 more min. Remove and transfer to ice water.
To Make Coating
Wet the Japanese mortar and pestle, then grind the black sesame seeds in batches. Mix well with sugar.
To Serve
Drain the dumplings and put 3 balls into each bamboo skewer. Coat with the sweet black sesame mixture and serve.
Chinese Steamed Rice Cake (Pak Thong Koh)
To Begin
In a large bowl, sieve in rice flour. Mix in salt until well combined. Add water into the flour mixture and stir with whisk until well combined.
Prepare the syrup by putting in sugar, pandan leaves and water into a pot. Bring to a gentle boil for 5 mins. Stir occasionally and ensure it does not get burnt. Discard the pandan leaves and slowly pour the syrup through a sieve into the rice flour mixture. Stir often to obtain a smooth mixture without lumps.
In a separate bowl, put in yeast and dissolve it with water. Set aside for 5 mins until it bubbles. Then, pour the yeast into the rice flour mixture and stir to mix well. Add oil and mix well. Cling wrap the bowl and set aside at warm temperature for at least 2 hrs until the mixture bubbles.
Lightly oil a 20cm stainless steel plate. Prepare a steamer and bring water to a rolling boil. Stir the rice flour mixture well and pour into the plate. Place the plate into the steamer and ensure it is levelled. Cover the plate with aluminium foil and steam for 20 mins. To test if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake. It is ready if the toothpick comes out clear.
Remove the plate from the steamer and remove the aluminium foil. Allow the steamed rice cake to cool before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Steamed Red Bean Buns (Dao Sha Bao)
To Prep
Combine sugar, yeast, oil and warm water in a bowl and gently stir to mix. Allow to rest for 10 mins. Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and knead until a smooth, non-sticky dough is formed. Kneading by mixer using a hook will take about 2 mins while hand kneading will take about 10 mins. Lightly oil a bowl and place in the dough. Cover with cling wrap and allow to rest for 1 hr in warm temperature so that the dough will double up in size.
Meanwhile, split the red bean paste into 12 equal portions and shape them into balls.
Once the dough has risen, punch the dough down in order to release any air bubbles. Fold and knead the dough a few times and then reshape it back into a smooth ball. Dust some flour on your working bench. Cut the dough into 2. Keep one dough covered with damp cloth and roll the other into a log. Cut the log into 6 equal sizes and shape them into smooth balls. Store the smooth dough balls on parchment paper and keep covered with damp cloth. Repeat with the other dough.
Using a rolling pin or your palm, flatten one dough at a time. The centre of the dough should be slightly thicker while the edge should be rolled out thinner. Put one ball of red bean paste in the middle of the dough. Gather and pinch the edges to seal the bun. Repeat with remaining dough and red bean paste balls. Place all buns in a large tray and cover with damp towels. Allow to proof for 15 mins. To know if they have proofed, gently press the side of a bun. If the indentation stays, they are ready.
To Cook
Using a large, clean towel, wrap the lid of your steamer and tie with a string to secure the towel in its place. The towel helps to prevent water droplets from dripping back to the bun. If steaming with bamboo basket, the wrapping step is not required. Steam buns over boiling water for 10 mins. Remember to space the buns out a little as the buns will expand once steamed.
At the end of the steaming time, turn of the heat and allow to rest for 5 mins in the steamer without opening the lid. Serve fresh from the steamer. To store them, simply keep them in individual zip lock bags and freeze once they have cooled down. Steam them straight from the freezer.
Sweet Potatoes in Ginger Syrup
To Make
Put all ingredients into a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 mins.
Dish out and serve warm or chilled.