Split Mung Bean Sweet Soup (绿豆爽）Tau Suan

Me and tubby have been missing this dessert so much. It's very difficult to find this dessert here in KL. So, I decided to learn this recipe from ah mm. It's a thick starchy mung bean sweet soup, usually served with chinese breadstick/youtiao. Split mung bean is green bean without the skin. This recipe is very easy but it can be tricky as well especially when it comes to the choice of starch to use. Ideally the starch should either be water chestnut starch or sweet potato starch. However, potato starch and wheat starch can be used as well. Other starches, such as, corn flour and tapioca flour can also be used, however, it will turn watery once the dessert is cooled down after few hours.

Babur Cha Cha

Ah mm's bubur cha cha recipe

Steamed Tapioca Kueh

Ah mm is back in town and I got the chance to learn her steamed tapioca kueh. This is a very simple and delicious recipe. 

The cake can have different colours; ranging from pale yellow to brown. If you are using yellow coloured tapioca, the colour will be naturally yellow. For white coloured tapioca, the kueh can be rather pale and some recipe will use yellow colouring. For this recipe, we used gula melaka and thus the brown colour. Anyhow, the taste is fantastic. :)

Soon Kueh

Another Ah Mm's recipe

Dough
1) 1kg soon kueh flour (otherwise, 700g rice flour + 300g tapioca starch)

2) 2 tbsp cooking/vegetable oil
3) 500ml hot water, boiling

Filling
1)      5 tbsp cooking/vegetable oil
2)      7 cloves garlic, peel and chop roughly

3)      5 onions, peel and chop roughly

4)      25g dried prawns, chop roughly (soak in water to soften the prawns)

5)      25g shittake mushrooms, slice thinly
6)      50g minced pork
7)      5 pieces of black fungus, wash and slice thinly

8)      2 carrots, slice thinly

9)      3 tbsp light soy sauce
10)    6 tbsp prawn juice
11)    3/4 tsp ground white pepper
12)    1 tsp dark soy sauce (not too much, otherwise the whole filling turn black)
13)    3 tbsp fish sauce
14)    salt and sugar to taste
15)    2 turnips, wash, peel and cut matchstick size (if grating, make sure turnip doesn't turn mushy)

Steps

1) Fry cut onions and garlic.

2) Add in dried prawns and fry till brown with nice fragrance.

3) Add in mushroom and minced meat.

4) Season with light soy sauce, 3 tbsp of prawn juice, pepper and dark soy sauce.

5) Scoop out 2/3 of the filling.

6) Add in half radish, the remaining prawn juice, fish sauce, salt and sugar to the 1/3 filling in wok and stir.

7) Slowly add in more radish, black fungus and carrot.

8) Taste and stir until radish turn soft but not mushy.

9) Finally, add in the 2/3 filling and mix together.

Wrapping steps
1) In a big bowl, add in soon kueh flour.
2) Slowly add in hot water and mix to a little shaggy dough and let it cool down for few minutes.

3) Add in oil and knead dough till smooth.

4) Rest dough for few minutes.
5) Dust both hands with flour and grab a handful of dough and roll into a ball shape.

6) Flatten the dough into thin round shape.

7) Scoop 2 tbsp of filling and place onto the center of the dough.

8) Seal the edges by pinching.

9) Brush a little bit of oil onto steaming tray to avoid soon kueh from sticking to the tray. Steam for 10 minutes low fire.

Voila!

Bak Zhang (Savoury Rice Dumpling)

This is a post that most will not try the recipe but I blog this as a respect to my ah mm and to keep a record on this humble blog and also because it is very LABORIOUS!!! die die must show off a bit. 

To those who know how to wrap the Bak Chang will have their own family recipe and this is my family's version. 

There are many reasons people nowadays prefer buying from stores than wrapping their own bak zhang. It is indeed very laborious (no wonder one bak zhang can cost a lot, so do not complain) and a lot of ingredients to prepare beforehand. The wrapping itself requires a certain skill as well. Otherwise everything might fall out of it and things will get messy.

First thing first, must clean the bamboo leaves. Blanch the leaves for few minutes to soften the leaves as well as to bring out the fragrance, otherwise, soak the leaves overnight. Use a new clean sponge to wipe the leaves. Each bak zhang requires two leaves.

Here are the rest of the ingredients:
1) Reed strings
2) Glutinous rice. Soaked uncooked glutinous rice for 2 hours. Then, in a big frying pan, pour in some oil and stir fry half of chopped garlics and onions. Next, add in coriander powder, white pepper and five spice powder to the mixture and continue frying until the garlics and onions start turning brownish. This is pretty fast and you have to carefully monitor it, otherwise, it will get burnt. Add in the glutinous rice and fry until well mixed. Add seasonings and mix well.
3) Braised pork belly
4) Fried shortbill spearfish (He bi)
5) Stirfried chestnuts
6) Stirfried shitake mushrooms
7) Salted egg yolks

Add in the glutinous rice

Add in all the ingredients 

Add in salted egg yolk

Finally, you can boil over the stove using high heat for 45 minutes to an hour to cook the rice. Otherwise, boil the zhang in pressure cooker and cook for 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes, release the pressure and take out one zhang and open to see if it is already to the texture that you want. If note, continue cooking for another 10 minutes.

Voila!

Family tradition

It's my family's tradition to have mee suah with 2 big eggs on birthday. Ah mm is back at K.L and I requested for one bowl from her on my birthday. ;)

Tada! Super yummy with a lot of ingredients! Very satisfying!