To Cook
Boil water in a steamer or wok, place the taros over a rack and steam for about 10 mins. Remove and peel the skin, then cut into 2cm cubes.
In a small pot, boil 1L water and add in the taro cubes. Cook for 1-2 mins and add bicarbonate soda, rock sugar and brown sugar. If you are using the dried osmanthus, add them in too. Stir gently until the sugar are dissolved, about 1-2 mins.
Dilute the lotus root/potato starch in a small bowl of cold water, about 200ml, mix well. Add the solution into the soup, stir quickly for 1 min.
Add in the sweet osmanthus jam or honey, stir to mix well and turn off the heat. Serve in a small bowl, garnish with some dried osmanthus.
Dessert
Shiratama Dango
To Prep
In a mixing bowl, mix shiratamako and sugar evenly. Add 2 tbsp water and mix with a spatula until well combined.
Press the mixture with your hand to knead into a ball. Slowly add more water to form the ball or wet your hand slightly to incorporate the water into the dough.
Use the dough to pick up the crumbs and knead until soft and smooth, like “earlobe”.
Roll into a ball and form a log. Pinch off dough to make 2cm balls. Flatten the balls slightly into disks and press to make an indent at the top center.
To Cook
In a pot of boiling water, cook the shiratama dango for 2 mins or until they start to float.
Remove and soak in ice water to let cool.
Serve within 30 mins. Alternatively, store in water and keep in the fridge. To serve, cook in boiling water again to soften.
Hong Kong Style French Toast
To Prep
Spread the peanut butter on a slice of bread, stack the other slice on top.
Mix the vanilla essence into the beaten egg and mix well.
Dip the bread into the egg until all parts are soaked with egg.
To Cook
Heat oil in a pan on medium, pan-fry the French toast about 1 min for each side or until all sides are golden brown.
Transfer onto a serving plate and place a slice of butter on the center. Drizzle your favourite syrup over the French toast and add ice-cream (optional) on top. Serve immediately.
Thai Style Butterfly Pea and Coconut Jelly
To Make Butterfly Pea Jelly
Boil the butterfly pea water, add sugar and agar-agar powder. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour 50 ml of each syrup into different mixing bowls. Set aside.
To Make Coconut Jelly
Boil the coconut milk in a pot over low heat. Add sugar, salt and agar-agar powder into the pot. Stir continuously until the mixture is well mixed.
Pour the coconut jelly on the top of butterfly pea jelly.
Place the filled jelly moulds in the fridge until the jelly is set. Serve.
Grilled Mochi in Soy Sauce (Isobeyaki Mochi)
To Cook
Heat oil in a frying pan on low, pan-fry the mochi covered with lid. Flip from time to time to ensure the mochi is evenly heated and slightly browned.
When the rice cakes are soft, remove from heat and dip in soy sauce.
Wrap with seaweed and serve.
Grilled Banana Wrapped in Sticky Rice (Chuoi Boc Nep Nuong)
To Prep the Bananas
Peel bananas and place in a bowl. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar and toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 mins.
To Prep the Rice
Drain the soaked glutinous rice and toss in a pinch of salt.
Cook the glutinous rice with 60ml coconut milk, 60ml water and 2 pandan leaves. The liquid amount should just barely cover the rice.
When the rice is cooked, add 1 tbsp sugar and mix well.
While the rice is still hot, divide into 4 equal portions, transfer each portion onto a cling wrap-lined cutting board and knead the rice with a rice ladle until they stick together.
Layer another piece of cling wrap on top and press until rice is about 10×10 cm in size and 0.5 cm thick. Remove the top layer of cling wrap and sprinkle some shredded coconut on rice.
Place a small banana in the center of the rice. Lift up the edges of the cling wrap and carefully roll rice around the banana. Twist the cling wrap edges and shape into a log. Then, wrap around the parcel lengthwise with a pandan leaf.
Grill the rolls over a barbie or in the oven at 250°C for about 20-30 mins.
To make the coconut sauce, add 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt and ½ tsp cornstarch. Stir to combine well and bring the sauce to boil.
When the glutinous rice layer is lightly golden, remove the pandan leaves and cut into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with coconut sauce and serve.
Mung Bean Rice Crepe (Kanom Tua Pab)
To Prep
Wash the mung beans a few times until water is clear, soak for 3-4 hrs or overnight. Rinse and drain the mung beans.
Mix the Sweet Mixture ingredients and set aside.
To Cook
Put a cheesecloth or napkin on a steamer, and pour in the mung beans. Steam until it’s soft and cooked, about 25 mins. Remove and cool on a cookie sheet.
Steam the shredded coconut about 5 mins until soft. Mix into the mung beans, and set aside.
To Make Rice Crepes
In a mixing bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with water and salt. Knead into a dough.
Divide and roll the dough into small crepe pieces, dusting each slice with flour to prevent from sticking. Set aside.
Boil a pot of water and cook a few slices of the crepes at a time. They are cooked when they float. Spoon out one at a time and remove as much excess water as you can. Lay them flat on the mung bean mixture, and make sure they don’t overlap each other. Let cool.
Add the mung bean mixture on each crepe. Fold the crepes in half like tacos, and arrange on a serving dish. Serve with the sweet mixture.
Sweet Sago in Coconut Milk (Sako-Piek)
To Cook
Boil the water in a pot. Using a sieve, rinse the pandan tapioca sago through running cold water. Add sago into the pot and stir until sago turn translucent.
Add sugar into the pot and continually stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
In a small saucepan, mix coconut milk, salt, and plain flour. Mix until plain flour completely combined with other mixture and heat the mixture over low heat and stir well.
When the coconut milk mixture is well combined, turn off the heat.
Transfer the cooked sago in syrup into serving bowl. Pour the coconut milk mixture on top of sago. Serve.
Thai Mung Bean Custard
To Prep
Rinse the hulled mung beans and soak them in hot water for 60 mins. Then, steam them for 30 mins.
Allow the steamed mung beans to cool down for a while before blending with 400ml of coconut milk.
Preheat oven to 160°C.
To Cook
Break 6 eggs into a mixing bowl. Add the palm sugar, salt, and pandan leaves. Mix to dissolve the palm sugar.
Add the blended mung beans mixture into the mixing bowl and add 400g of coconut milk. Mix well.
Heat the pan with low heat and add the cooking oil. Add the sliced shallots and pan fry them. Reserve the fried shallots and oil.
Apply some of the reserved fried shallot oil onto the baking tray to prevent the custard from sticking to the tray. Preheat the baking tray for 5 mins.
Filter the prepared mung beans mixture using sieve or strainer and transfer the filtered mixture to the baking tray. Bake for 105 mins, or until completely set.
Allow to cool completely before carefully removing from tray. Apply some more fried shallot oil on the surface, then bake for 10 more minutes.
Leave the mung bean custard to cool down and sprinkle the fried shallots on the surface. Cut the mung bean custard into small square pieces and place them on the serving plate.
Bananas in Coconut Milk (Kluay Buad Chee)
To Cook
Steam unpeeled bananas on high heat for 3 mins.
After these bananas are steamed, cut them into 3 pieces lengthwise and carefully peel their skin.
Heat 500ml of coconut milk into a pot over medium heat and add 2 pandan leaves (optional).
Stir and wait until coconut milk starts to bubble.
Add ¼ teaspoon of salt, 25g palm sugar and 25g white sugar. Stir well to make sure that sugar is completely dissolved.
Add bananas and gently stir the dessert for about 2-3 mins.
Transfer the dessert to serving plate and sprinkle white sesame on top. Serve.
This dessert can be served hot or cold. If you prefer the cold version, put it in the fridge for 2-3 hrs before serving.
Sweet Mung Bean Soup (Tua Keow Tom Nam Tarn)
To Prep
Rinse the mung beans and then soak them in warm water for min. 1 hr.
Rinse once again and then drain the excess water from these mung beans using a sieve.
To Cook
In a pot, boil water over medium heat and then add mung beans.
Cook until mung beans soften.
Add a cup of sugar and stir.
When the sugar is completely dissolved and the dessert boils again. Remove the pot from heat.
Transfer the dessert to serving bowl. Serve hot or cold. If you wish to serve cold, cool and add crushed ice to the bowl.
Sweet Sago with Rock Melon (Sako Cantaloupe Nom-Sod)
To Prep
Scoop the rock melon into balls using melon baller or small spoon. Reserve them in the fridge.
Add fresh milk, evaporated milk, salt, and sugar into a saucepan. Heat the saucepan over low heat, then add pandan leaf. Heat for 5 mins and while stirring. Allow to cool before placing in the fridge to cool completely.
Boil a pot of water and add a cup of pandan tapioca sago after the water boils.
When sago has boiled and is well cooked, turn off the heat and sieve sago out from the pot using a fine strainer.
Run boiled sago through cold water. Then transfer to a bowl filled with cold water for approximately 5-8 mins.
Put sago into the serving glass or bowl. Add the crushed ice (optional) and pour the prepared milk.
Add the rock melon balls on top.
Garnish with mint leaves (optional). Serve.