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.
Dessert
Biskut Makmur
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)
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.
Pandan Chiffon Cake
To Prep
Set oven to heat-up at 150°C.
For Ingredients B
Mix egg yolk, sugar, oil, coconut milk and pandan paste into a bowl. Then, sieve self-raising flour into the bowl, and use a spatula to mix evenly with egg yolk mixture.
For Ingredients A (Meringue)
Add 7 egg whites to the mixing bowl, and beat the egg white until frothy. Add cream of tartar and sugar, and turn up the speed to high and whisk for another 3 mins, until it just reaches stiff peak, with a glossy look. Do not overbeat the meringue or the batter will be lumpy.
Fold in ingredient B into ingredient A mixture in 3 batches, and mix well.
Transfer the cake into an ungreased tube pan and bake at 150°C for 50-60 mins. If the top of the cake cracks or becomes too brown, place a sheet of aluminium foil over it and continue baking.
Once baked, invert the pan and place it on a raised wire rack to cool completely before unmoulding.
Korean Rice Cakes (Songpyeon)
To Make the Filling
Grind the sesame seeds in a grinder or blender for about 20 secs. Then transfer ground sesame to a bowl and mix in ½ cup of brown sugar and a pinch of salt.
To Make the Dough
Prepare 3 cups of rice powder and sift into a large bowl.
Equally divide the rice powder into 3 bowls. Each bowl should now contain 1 cup of rice powder.
To prepare the basic white dough, add 3 tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.
To prepare the green dough, add 1 tsp of ssukgaru (mugwort powder) and 3½ tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.
To prepare the pink dough, add a pinch of strawberry Jell-o powder and 3 tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.
To Assemble the Songpyeon
Cut off a piece of the dough and roll tightly between your palms in order to make a ball.
Press in to the ball with your thumb to stretch the dough slightly outwards and then use both of your thumbs to expand the opening.
Fill the well with ½ tsp of sesame filling, then seal tightly by squeezing the edges together. When the rice cake is sealed, shape them in to a half moon shape and set aside. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
To Cook
Prepare a steamer by bringing water to boil over high heat. Using pine needles or a damp kitchen cloth, line the bottom of the steamer to stop the rice cakes from sticking to the steamer.
When the water begins to boil, place the rice cakes on to the steamer ensuring that the pieces do not touch each other. Cover the rice cakes with a final, thin layer of pine needles if using.
Cover the steamer and let steam for about 20 mins.
Prepare a bowl of cold water and transfer the rice cakes in to the bowl when they’ve been cooked. Rinse the dumplings and then transfer to a rack to drain.
Lightly coat your hands with the sesame oil and use them to rub the oil on to the rice cakes.
To Serve
Serve immediately and while warm! Enjoy!
Sweet Sago Rolls with Palm Sugar Syrup (Ongol-Ongol)
To Cook
In a saucepan, bring the palm sugar and water to a boil over high heat to create the Palm Sugar Syrup. Reduce the heat to low, simmer uncovered for about 10 mins while stirring from time to time until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In another saucepan, mix the sago/tapioca flour, palm sugar and water. Mix well. Add the pandan leaves or extract and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 30 mins, stirring from time to time until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and discard the pandan leaves if using. Set aside to cool slightly.
Let mixture cool down enough to handle, and form compact cylinder shapes by rolling the mixture on top of banana or parchment paper. Use toothpicks to fasten the ends of the rolls. Set aside to cool.
Combine the grated coconut and salt, and mix well.
Serve the rolls by slicing them into discs and coating them with the grated coconut, along with a drizzle of Palm Sugar Syrup on top.
Mooncake Biscuits
To Prep
In a bowl, combine golden syrup, oil and alkaline water using a spatula. Cover with cling film and set aside for 1 hour.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and sodium bicarbonate, then sift in to the bowl in Step 1.
Mix to form dough. If dough is too sticky, add an extra 1 to 2 tbsp of flour.
Cover with cling film and rest it for another hour before filling and shaping.
Divide dough into equal portions – weight to depend on the size of your mooncake biscuit mould. Roll each portion into a ball.
Press the ball of dough into a lightly floured mooncake mould. Use your palm to press the ball into the mould, and make sure the edges are flattened as well. Invert the mould and knock a couple of times to dislodge mooncake biscuits.
To Cook
Place biscuits on greased trays. Bake at 160°C for 10 mins. Remove and brush with egg wash. Bake for another 10 mins or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool biscuits on wire rack. When cooled, store mooncake biscuits in an airtight container for a couple of days before consuming. The texture improves over time as the oils within softens the mooncake biscuits.
Snowskin Mooncake
For the Snowskin Dough
In mixing bowl, combine the flour and icing sugar and mix well. Add a portion of the shortening in to the flour and mix well. Continue until all of the shortening has been used and the dough starts to take shape.
Add some of the iced water into the bowl and mix in to the dough. Repeat until all of the water has been used and a soft dough has formed.
Divide the dough depending on the number of different colours you intend to make.
Add a few drops of essence and food colouring (a few drops at a time) to each portion of the dough and knead until the colour is evenly mixed.
Add more kaofen to each portion of dough, a little at a time, and knead until it is no longer sticky but, do not over knead.
Divide dough into small pieces pf about 15g per pieces.
For the Filling Paste
Cut the lotus paste in to 25g balls, ensuring there’s enough to fill the number of dough balls. Add some of the melon seeds in to each of the balls and roll them until the seeds are spread within them.
To Make the Snowskin Mooncake
Use the flour to dust the rolling pin and then flatten a dough ball. Wrap the flattened dough around the lotus paste filling, seal and shape in to a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Lightly dust all of the mooncake balls with kaofen and then place them in to a mould.
Press firmly on the dough so that the mould can imprint on to the dough before removing the dough from the dough and setting aside while you repeat with the remaining dough.
To Serve
Place the mooncakes in to sealed containers to stop them from drying. Transfer in to a fridge or eat at room temperature served with a fresh pot of Chinese tea.
Malaysian Glutinous Rice with Pandan Custard (Kuih Seri Muka)
To Prep
Take ½ of glutinous rice amount, soak for at least 4 hours or overnight. Do not cover.
Soak the blue pea flowers until the water turns blue. Use the blue water to soak the remaining ½ of glutinous rice for at least 4 hrs or overnight. Do not cover.
Line 2 baking pans with banana leaves.
To Make the Rice Layer
Mix the 300ml thin coconut milk and salt. Half the portion and mix each with the white and blue rice until well-combined.
Put the white and blue glutinous rice into the two baking pans separately and add the pandan leaves randomly between the rice.
Steam each portion over high heat until cooked, about 25 mins. Remove from heat and loosen with chopsticks.
Combine both portions of rice in a baking pan, make it flat and compact. Add the 100ml thin coconut milk and steam for 10 mins.
To Make the Custard Layer
Mix all ingredient and strain it. Cool over a double boiler until the custard slightly thickens yet able to pour through a sieve.
Remove the baking pan with rice from steamer and pour in the custard through a sieve. Cover loosely with foil to prevent water dripping on it. Steam for 30-40 mins over medium-low or until custard is firm.
Remove from heat and let cool while covered. Ready to serve when it drops to room temperature.
Traditional Mooncake
For the Mooncake Skin
Prepare all ingredients needed to make the pastry.
In a large bowl, add in golden syrup, peanut oil, followed by alkaline water (iye water). Whisk until all the ingredients are well blended.
Next, add in the 240g of all-purpose flour (A). Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir to combine all ingredients but, do not over-stir.
Cover with a cling wrap and set aside for 4 hours.
For the Salted Egg Yolk and Melon Seeds:
Crack salted egg and gently take the yolk out. Repeat the same with the rest of the eggs.
Then, bake the salted egg yolks in a 175ºC preheated oven. Bake for 5 mins and set aside to cool.
Next, roast melon seeds in the preheated oven for 5 mins.
Assembling the Mooncake
Mix the roasted melon seeds into the lotus paste. Lightly knead to combine the melon seeds into the paste.
Roll lotus paste into a log, divide into 10 equal pieces about 110g each and roll into balls.
Then, take the skin dough which have been set aside for 4 hours and mix in the 120g all-purpose flour (B).
Gently knead the rested dough just until it comes together and firms up. Divide the dough skin into 10 equal pieces, each about 50g. Roll each portion into a small ball shape.
To assemble, first take a lotus paste ball and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Place the baked egg yolk inside. Roll and shape into a ball.
Use a rolling pin to evenly flatten skin dough. To avoid skin dough from sticking to the rolling pin, place dough between two pieces of cling wrap before rolling. Put lotus paste ball onto the flattened dough and enclose filling by gently pressing edges until filling is sealed.
Gently push, press and squeeze the dough, holding the ball securely in your palm, until the dough skin gradually covers the lotus paste ball. Repeat this step to finish the remaining dough skin and lotus paste balls.
Prepare the wooden mould by dusting lightly with flour. Put dough into the lightly floured mooncake mould and press hard and flatten the dough to ensure that the dough fully fills the mould. Gently knock a few times to dislodge the moulded mooncake.
Transfer the moulded mooncakes onto a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Place the mooncakes in the preheated oven to bake for 10 mins. Remove the mooncakes from the oven and leave to cool on wire rack for 5 mins.
Lightly brush the entire top of mooncakes with beaten egg yolk. Then, bake in the oven for another 10 mins or till golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Store in air-tight container for 1-2 days and the mooncake skin will become soft and shiny. Now the mooncake is ready to be served and enjoyed with a pot of freshly brewed Chinese tea.
Moon-viewing Dumplings (Tsukimi Dango)
To Prep
Knead the rice flour while adding warm. The more you knead the dough, the chewier the dango will turn out to be.
Prepare and heat a bamboo steamer.
To Cook
Tear dough into several pieces, and place in steamer to steam on high for 20 mins until the dough centers are warm. Remove from steamer and allow to cool until temperature of dough is cool enough to handle.
Combine the pieces and knead until dough is springy and glossy. If the dough gets hard, add some water while kneading.
Divide the dough and roll into balls of 3-4cm in diameter.
Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper to avoid the dango from sticking to the base of the steamer. Steam on high for 15 mins. Remove dango from heat, and set aside to cool. They will become glossy when cool.
To serve, arrange and stack dango to form a pyramid – as offering to the moon.
Lotus Paste Jelly Mooncake
To Prep Jelly
Combine agar-agar powder, sugar, salt and water in a saucepan. Add the knotted pandan leaf and bring contents to boil until sugar dissolves. Then add milk and orangey-red food colouring, and stir well to mix.
Pour into small, round ice-cube moulds and gently knock out the ‘yolks’ when set.
To Make Lotus Paste Filling
Blend cooked lotus seeds and coconut cream in food processor and blend until finely pureed. Strain to remove excess liquid, then add agar-agar powder, salt and water.
In a heavy-based saucepan, cook sugar over a medium-low flame until sugar has caramelised. Be careful not to burn the sugar. When the sugar melts and turns slightly golden brown, remove the saucepan from the fire and pour in a small amount of lotus seeds paste mixture. Stir well to incorporate the caramel, and then pour in the rest of the lotus seeds paste. Keep stirring then add the pandan leaves. Cook until mixture comes to a simmer. Add in thickening and stir well.
Pour mixture into patty tins (or muffin pan). Put one ‘salted egg yolk’ into the centre of each filling. Leave to set then unmould. Cut out neatly with a 5cm round cutter and set aside the fillings for use later.
To Prep Skin
In a pot, add water, pandan leaves, sugar, agar-agar powder and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until it comes to a boil.
Add coconut milk, whipping cream, and food colouring (any colour of your choice). Stir well, and continue to cook for 1 min or until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is fairly thick. Discard the pandan leaves and remove pot from heat.
Spoon a tablespoon of agar-agar mixture into a wet plastic jelly mooncake mould. Set aside for 1 to 2 mins.
Place a filling in the centre of the mould and add more agar-agar mixture to fill up the mould. Set aside to cool and then place in the refrigerator to chill and set completely.
To serve, cut jelly mooncake into wedges and serve with a pot of freshly brewed Chinese tea. Best eaten chilled.