Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Dessert

Water Chestnut Cake (Ma Tai Gou)

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To Prep
Soak rock sugar and white sugar with half of the water.
Use remaining water to mix water chestnut flour. Strain mixture.
Lightly grease a stainless steel pan with cooking oil.

To Cook
Bring sugar mixture to boil before adding the cane sugar. Keep stirring until all sugar has melted.
Add in chopped water chestnuts and mix well.
Add in water chestnut flour mixture all together, stirring quickly to mix thoroughly.
Keep stirring quickly on low heat, be careful not to let the mixture burn. When the mixture forms a batter, remove from heat.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and steam under high heat for 45 mins.
Lightly pan fried at low heat until the sides are golden brown. Alternatively, slice and serve as a cold dessert. The cake is best eaten after refrigeration overnight or for a few hours.

Yum Cha-Style Mango Pancakes

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To Prep the Batter
Pour milk into a mixing bowl. Sift flour, cornstarch (or custard powder) and icing sugar into the bowl. Mix with a balloon whisk until well combined.
Add melted butter and lightly beaten eggs into the mixture. Mix well. Through a sieve, pour the mixture into a bowl / measuring cup (ideally with pouring spout).

To Cook the Pancakes
Heat up a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Pour small amount of batter onto the pan then swirl quickly to form a very thin round layer. When small air pockets appear, remove the pancake and place on a plate to cool (you don’t have to cook the other side). Repeat the steps until you finish the mixture.

To Whip the cream
While waiting for the pancakes to cool, whip up the cream and vanilla extract (and icing sugar) until stiff peaks form.

To Assemble the Pancakes
Lay one pancake on a flat surface (clear, smooth side facing down). Spoon some whipped cream onto the middle of the pancake. Place one piece of mango on top.
Wrap the filling from four sides of the pancake to form a pillow-like shape. Place it on a plate with the folded side facing down. Repeat the steps.
Place in fridge for at least 30 mins. Serve cold.

Thai Milk Pudding (Tao Hu Nom Sod)

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To Prep
Pour about 2-3 tbsp of the water into a small bowl and evenly sprinkle gelatin on top. Let it rest for 5-10 mins.
Add the remaining water into a small pot and stir in agar agar powder.

To Cook
Add milk and whipping cream. Then stir over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 1 min to ensure that all the agar agar powder has dissolved.
Tip: To check if the agar agar has dissolved, use a metal spoon to scoop up some mixture and pour it off. There should be no small granules stuck to the spoon.
Turn the heat off then add the hydrated gelatin along with all the water. Stir for 1-2 min until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Add condensed milk and flavourings of your choice, taste test and adjust as needed. Pour into single-serving cups, making sure it’s no more than ⅔ full (so you have lots of room for the toppings). Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs.
Stir together the sauce ingredients until the condensed milk is completely dissolved. If the condensed milk won’t dissolve fully, briefly warm up the mixture in the microwave to help it dissolve. (Just 10-15 seconds, it can boil over if it gets too hot). Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pour about 1 tbsp of the sauce gently down the side of the fruit. Dice the toppings and arrange on top of the pudding. Serve cold.

Melon Pan

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To Make Main Dough
In a mixing bowl, whisk bread flour, cake flour, salt, sugar and yeast to mix well.
Add in the egg, milk and water. Use an electric mixer with dough hook to knead on low speed until the dough come together, with the sides of the bowl clean.
Add the butter and continue kneading on low speed until well combined with the dough. Change the speed to medium, knead until the dough is silky and smooth.
With your hand, form the dough into a ball by pulling the edges of the dough downwards to the bottom center. The dough ball will have a smooth surface, then pinch the bottom together.
Place the dough in a clean bowl, seam facing down, proof covered at a warm place for 1-2 hrs or until it doubles in size.
Transfer the dough on a clean floured surface, press to deflate. Fold ⅓ in from the left, then ⅓ in from the right.
Flip over and shape the dough into a ball. Turn the dough clockwise continuously with both hands, sealing the seam with work surface.
Weigh the dough and divide into 10 equal portions, making sure each weigh the same. Knead each portion and shape into balls, pulling down the sides to the bottom. Place onto lined tray, cover with cling wrap and rest for 15 mins at room temperature.
Flatten each dough with hand and fold in ⅓ from left and ⅓ from right. Pinch both ends together to form a ball. Pull the edges down to form a smooth ball, keeping the seam at the bottom.

To Make Biscuit Dough
Add butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix until smooth with an electric mixer.
Gradually add the beaten egg in small portions, blend well before adding more. Mix until all eggs are added and well combined.
Sift in the cake flour and baking powder, mix until well incorporated. Remove and form a ball.
Weigh the dough and divide into 10 equal portions, making sure each weigh the same. Roll each into balls and place onto lined baking tray. Cover the tray with cling wrap and rest in the fridge for 10 mins.
On a lightly floured surface, flatten each dough with hand and roll into 10-12cm flat circles with a rolling pin.

To Make Melon Pan
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Wrap the flat biscuit dough onto the main dough ball, seal all edges at the bottom.
Coat the surface with caster sugar, gently remove excess sugar. Score the surface with a knife, making a crisscross pattern.
Place the doughs on lined baking tray, proof covered for 50 mins in a warm place, or until it gets 1½ size bigger.
Bake for 10 mins, then rotate the tray and bake for 3-5 mins to get all buns evenly browned. Remove and transfer to wire rack. Let cool.

Mango Coconut Jelly Cubes (Woon Mamuang)

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Making the Mango Layer
In a blender, blend the one mango and orange juice until smooth.
In a small pot, add 1¼ cups water and bring to boil. Add agar-agar powder and stir constantly to make sure the agar-agar powder is well dissolved. Add sugar and mango purée to the pot, and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Taste-test and add more sugar and/or lime juice as needed.
Pour the mango mixture into a 20cm tray or divide equally into serving cups. Quickly add the 1cm mango cubes and chopped mint leaves (optional) into the base of the tray or cups. Distribute them evenly and make sure they are well submerged. (Note: Agar-agar jelly sets at room temperature, so you will need to work quickly especially if you are making small ones).
Refrigerate or leave at room temperature until the surface is set and no longer jiggles when you tap the tray or cups.

Making the Coconut Layer
In a small pot, add 1⅓ cups water and bring to boil. Add agar-agar powder and stir constantly to make sure the agar-agar powder is well dissolved. Add sugar, salt, and stir until dissolved. Then add coconut milk, stir to mix and remove from heat.
Gently pour the coconut layer over the back of a spoon onto the mango base. Make sure the mango layer has set before adding the coconut layer. If the coconut layer is not hot enough, the layers will slide off when cut.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hrs until thoroughly chilled. Then, cut into cubes (or diamond shape) with a sharp knife. Serve chilled.

Dried Beancurd with Gingko and Barley Dessert (Fu Chuk Yi Mai)

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To Cook
In a large pot, add water, barley, pandan leaves (screwpine) and pitted red dates. Bring to boil, then leave to simmer for another 20 mins or until barley is soft.
Add gingko nuts and soaked beancurd sheets. Continue to simmer for another 10 mins or until the beancurd skin softens to fine, silky-smooth texture.
Add rock sugar and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Discard the pandan leaves.
Serve warm or chilled.

Mango Sago Dessert

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To Cook
Soak tapioca pearls for at least 3 hrs.
In a saucepan, add water to fill about 3cm of the pot. The amount of water should just be enough to submerge all the tapioca pearls. Bring water to boil then, add tapioca pearls to the pot. Lower heat to medium and stir constantly to make sure they don’t start clumping together. Continue cooking for about 10 mins, then remove from heat. Set aside to rest for another 30 mins. The tapioca pearls are ready when they turn translucent without any visible white dots in the middle. If they are not ready, return pot to stove and cook for a few more minutes, and set aside to rest again. Drain tapioca pearls and rinse under cold water.
Cut mango into cubes, about 1½ cm in size. Save ⅓ of them and blend the rest with ice cubes and sugar in a food processor. Blend for about 1-2 mins, or to a thick juice consistency, Transfer into a large bowl and stir in the tapioca pearls.
Divide the mango sago dessert into small bowls and top with mango cubes. Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk to add creaminess to the dessert. Serve cold.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Neow Ma Muang)

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To Prep
For the sticky rice, rinse it 6 – 10 times, making sure most of the starch is removed until the water is clear. Soak the rice in water for about 6 hrs.

To Cook
Using a steamer basket or other type of steamer, steam the sticky rice for about 15-20 mins until fully cooked. Set aside.
To prepare the coconut cream mixture, add coconut cream into a pot over medium heat and gently stir in one circular direction. Add sugar and salt, and keep stirring until fully dissolved. When the coconut cream mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
Put the fresh sticky rice into a mixing bowl, and begin to slowly add in the coconut cream and sugar mixture. Stir constantly to slowly incorporate coconut mixture into the rice. Once all combined, the rice should look glossy with a grainy pudding-like texture. The hot sticky rice will absorb all the coconut milk.
In a separate saucepan add the other portion of coconut cream with salt and stir on low heat. Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat and set aside in a bowl. This will be served alongside the mango sticky rice as a topping.
For the yellow mung beans using low heat and with a frying pan or wok, dry-fry the yellow mung beans for a few minutes until they turn golden crispy. Set this aside as a topping.
For the mango, first peels off the skin, then cut off the meat from either side of the mango seed and slice the mango.
On a serving plate, add a portion of sticky rice, top it with mango and a sprinkling of crispy mung beans, and then drizzle coconut cream all over.

Fruit in Coconut Milk (Es Kolak)

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To Cook
Add the sweet potato, palm sugar, pandan leaf and water into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer until sweet potato becomes tender.
Add the coconut milk, sliced banana and jackfruit. Add salt to taste.
Bring heat up to medium until mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally.
Serve while warm, or cool and serve cold with ice.

Glutinous Rice with Pandan Custard (Kuih Seri Muka)

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To Cook
Place soaked rice in a 23cm metal tray.
Add coconut milk making sure it is enough to cover rice, add water if insufficient. Add salt.
Steam rice mixture until cooked. When cooked, mix well and press down in tray until firm.
In a mixing bowl, add in eggs and sugar and mix well. Then, add coconut milk and pandan juice.
Mix in plain flour.
Sieve mixture and add to the top of cooked rice and steam for another 30 mins.
Leave to cool entirely before slicing. Serve with coffee or tea.

Biskut Makmur

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Preparing the cookie dough
Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Then add the ghee into the flour and mix until you get a soft dough.
Next, portion out the dough using a tablespoon to get even sized balls.

Preparing the filling
Blend the peanuts together with the icing sugar. Make sure not to blend the nuts too finely – you want some crunch to the filling.
Grab a prepared ball of cookie dough, and flatten it. Then, put some of the filling (about ½ a tsp) on the center of the dough and bring the edges of the dough together to reform balls. Repeat until all the cookie dough is used up.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes at 160°C.
Allow the cookies to cool before rolling them in some icing sugar.

Avocado Smoothie (Es Alpukat)

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To Prep
Peel and pit the avocados, then cut the flesh into cubes and set aside.
In a blender, puree all the ingredients together except for the cocoa powder or chocolate syrup. Serve chilled with a sprinkling of powdered cocoa or a drizzling of chocolate syrup along the insides and on top of the glass if desired.

Note: If you’re craving for some caffeine, add 1 cup of chilled strongly-brewed coffee to the blender while making your very own es alpukat.