Radish Kueh/Cake (Steamed); Carrot Cake-Steamed

There're four kinds of 'carrot cake' as far as I'm concerned, and they are all terrific in their respective ways...let's first omit the western recipe in this case--By CARROT CAKE here (as featured) I meant the kinds that have nothing to do with the delicious cafe-style sweet nutty cake dessert baked from the grated flesh of orange carrots, which I love by the way and will feature here another time, I promise.

Well this photographed carrot cake I've just made is made from white daikon radish.  It's also a steamed cake or 'kueh' with a savoury taste rather than sweet.  It can be eaten on its own as pictured as  a steamed version of carrot cake.

This brings me to the third--which I prefer, and by a simple twist of texture it brings this kueh to a whole new level: simply by pan-frying after steaming. You can order this pan fried version of the same kueh at yum cha restaurants.  Apparently its origins are from Hong Kong.

The final (and my favourite) carrot cake is the fried version of the above steamed kueh, diced into cubes and stir-fried with preserved turnips, kecap manis and eggs. Mmn..just delectable. I'm including the fried carrot cake recipe soon after this. Meanwhile, you still have to get through making this basic carrot cake before it can be turned into the fried version. Have fun! I did!

Ingredients (flour mixture):
450g rice flour
50g tapioca flour
1200ml water

Ingredients (stir-fry):
500g daikon radish (or 1 big root)
50g dried shrimps (soaked in hot water till soft)
a few shitake mushrooms; dried or fresh
150g chicken or pork (chopped finely)
150g shallots
1 small clove of garlic, minced

Seasoning:
3 T vegetable or peanut oil
1 T sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T oyster sauce
2 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1 tsp white pepper
1 stalk of spring onions, diced into small pieces
bunch of coriander leaves, diced into small pieces
2 small bird's eye chillies, diced

Method:
1. Pour the 2 kinds of flour into a deep bowl.  Adding the water gradually into a 'well' or 'hole' made by your fingers in the middle of the flour mixture, mix the batter well using a whisker till no lumps are visible.
2. Heat up a wok with the sesame and vegetable/peanut oil.
3. Stir-fry some shallots till browned and fragrant, add the dried shrimps and meat and fry for about 2-3 minutes. Add the radish and the seasoning sauces.
4. Pour the flour batter gradually and mix well, stirring until the mixture starts thickening and gets slightly dry, but not completely dry.
5. Transfer the thickened mixture into a steaming tray and steam on high for half an hour or till done. 
6. (CRUCIAL TIP): Pan fry in shallow oil and brown all sides before serving! It tastes so much better! Add the chillies, coriander and spring onions as garnish.

My Barang Barang Nasi Lemak - 'Barang style' (blend of Singapore & Malaysia)

I love Nasi Lemak and never thought that running a restaurant would grow me a loathing for nothing less than what was our bestselling dish at the time! Recovery arrived slowly but surely--and at some point after we had given up the restaurant did I find the courage to eat or cook Nasi Lemak again.  On hindsight, it might've been a case of 'Nasi Lemak Overdose' simply from endlessly handling the ingredients on a daily basis with factory precision at a feverish pace. Then eating it all the time. I mean, ALL the time!  Love cupcakes? Don't start a bakery selling cupcakes! You get the idea, yes.


Well, back to this amazing dish, I hope I've not discredited it in any way citing my gag reflex--afterall it was the past...I did come to love it again, as you can see.  There're virtually hundreds of versions of Nasi Lemak (translates to 'rice in fat'; the fat is derived from cooking the rice in coconut milk) everywhere in Asia but mine is my very own special blend that used to be the best seller at our cafe and restaurant, BARANG. The generic Singapore style version is comprised of coconut rice, fried kuning fish, fried egg, a side condiment of fried chilli-anchovies-peanuts and cucumber, and of course Nasi Lemak won't be what it is without a generous dollop of its signature spicy yet tangy sambal chilli dip that's so tantamount to its taste. I enjoy it even more with some otak-otak and piquant fried crispy chicken wings. Our BARANG version of Nasi Lemak included Beef Rendang and Nyonya Chicken Potato curry, and fried chicken wings.

BEEF RENDANG:

To be pounded in a mortar (till very fine 'rempah' is achieved):
5-6 shallots
8 big red chillies
4 small bird's eye chillies
1 clove garlic
knob of ginger; 2-3 cm, crushed finely
galangal; 4-5 knobs crushed finely
3 stalks lemon grass (only the white part)
6 candlenuts (optional)

120 gm grated or dessicated coconut

1.5 kg cubed chuck or rump beef (I use osso bucco which cost more but is very tender)
1 tsp belachan (shrimp paste); toasted

seasoning:
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1 T soy sauce
2 T thick dark soy sauce (not kecap manis!)
3 T curry powder (blend with some water into a dry thick paste)

1/2 C coconut milk extracted from 1/2 coconut, OR: 1 can of 450ml thick coconut cream
1 C water, or skim milk.

Method:

1. Heat about 10 T of vegetable oil and fry first the dessicated coconut, belachan, then the curry powder, and finally all the grounded ingredients or the rempah paste, until fragrant.

2. Add beef cubes and seal all the sides. Add the seasoning and stir-fry for about 6 minutes or until the beef is no longer pink.

3. Add the coconut milk, water, and simmer (pay attention to stir it often to prevent burning)for 3 hours until tender, or alternatively use a pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes. The final gravy texture should be thick (not soupy like a curry is), and the oil should have risen to the surface.

Coconut Rice: (about 4 servings of rice)

2.5 C white jasmine rice (for about 4 people)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 whole garlic, with skin on
3 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
1 stalk of lemon grass
2 stalks of curry leaves
150 ml of coconut milk (slightly more than 1 cup)

[Cook the above together in a rice cooker. You can't go wrong!] AT our restaurant, we used to use pandan juice in place of water for the rice to give it an even nicer aroma and flavour...the greenish rice also made it a unique Nasi Lemak.

Caramel Kueh (with dessicated coconut)

There're just some kuehs that you can't go wrong with, such as those you can whip up in a jiffy without worrying about whether you'll attain the right texture of skin or whether the taste will turn out right. I love this easy, light and fluffy sweetish Malay-style kueh, great for tea, breakfast or best as an asian dessert to finish off an asian style meal, like Nasi Lemak which I made for dinner last night.  Trust me, it never fails to please and as a dessert it belongs to the hall of exotic, beating any western type cake or dessert to a pulp!

You'll need:
200g white sugar
100ml hot water
5 T powdered milk
200g flour
1/2 tsp bicarb
4 eggs
6 T sugar
pinch of salt (for serving only)
100g grated coconut or dessicated coconut (for serving only)

Method:
1. Melt sugar on its own in a saucepan on low to medium heat until it caramelises and turns golden brown.  Add the hot water at this stage and bring to a boil until the caramel dissolves completely to a syrup.

2. Sift powdered milk, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl.  Meanwhile, heat the steamer with some moulds.

3. Beat eggs and sugar together until mixture is fluffy and light.

4. Fold in the sifted flour mixture into the caramel syrup and then fold in the egg mixture.

5. Sieve the whole batter if there are any lumps.

6. Fill the moulds (just 3/4 full) and steam for 8-10 minutes, or until done. Cool the kueh before removing them from the moulds. Sprinkle some coconut and salt on top of each kueh before serving.

Pan fried Gyoza: Jiao Zi, in vinegar dip

I just love the simplicity of dumplings, whether steamed, boiled, or pan fried like in the case of this 'gyoza' (Japanese) or 'jiao zi' (chinese).  A simple meal can be created by pairing this either with a bowl of soup accompanied by white rice, or noodles either fried, blanched and sauced, or noodles in soup.  What a sumptuous mouthful of dumpling the gyoza is with just a gentle dip into the vinegared dressing to balance the slight oiliness, once fried.  Gyoza should not be confused with its close cousin--the wonton, which can also be steamed, boiled or fried similarly. Their skins are what tells them apart. The gyoza's skin is chewier and has a thicker texture that's also more white and translucent when raw.  It's also usually available in a circular shape rather than its square counterpart, the wonton skin, which is yellow in appearance and much thinner in texture. 

GYOZA - filling:(can be used for wontons as well)

250g chicken or pork mince

3 coriander stems with leaves, chopped finely

3 stalks spring onion, chopped finely

4-5 water chestnuts, chopped finely (optional)

3 shitake mushrooms, chopped finely (optional)

1 T soy sauce

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

few drops of sesame oil

1. Mix the above ingredients into a thick paste, you could add some water if the paste becomes too thick or 'cakey' to handle. 

2. Have a bowl of water with a tsp of cornflour mixed into it, this becomes the

'glue' to seal the skin. 

3. Spoon about 1tsp of filling paste into the centre of each gyoza skin. 

4. Seal the edge by dipping your finger into the bowl of water and cornflour mixture, run it along the circular edge and press skin into a half. Now holding the top of the gyoza,press the skin into a 'sitting position' with a flat bottom, then gently pinch along the edges to make tiny folds.

5. Heat a frying pan with about half a cm of peanut oil, shallow fry the gyoza  first on its bottom, then turn to either sides to brown. Blot with paper towels.

Dipping Sauce:

1 clove garlic, minced or grated very finely

1 knob of ginger, skinned and julienned

2 T black vinegar

INALA, Brisbane's Little Vietnam

BEST IN INALA: (pictured left) Our thumbs up in both taste and value: a steaming bowl of Beef Pho Tai from our favourite Viet eatery Tan Thanh, in Inala. Generous shavings of thinly sliced fresh beef swimming with slithery rice noodles in what I'll call a proper 'gentlemen's serving' bowl of robustly flavoured aromatic pho soup.





Inala, Brisbane’s Little Vietnam


There is a hidden nook, a slice of Asia in Brisbane’s west that is the city’s own answer to Melbourne’s vastly Vietnamese-populated Richmond. My favourite hideout for the best beef pho tai (Vietnamese rice noodles with beef slices) followed by my weekly pantry top-up of Asian groceries and the occasional indulgence of exotic tropical fruits such as mangosteen, rambutans and jackfruit—it’s like a south asian migrant’s last laugh since the first ever import and sighting of Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce and durians into Woolworth’s supermarket!

So who could blame the easily excited (especially when it concerns anything edible) foodie in me who was initially in disbelief on discovering that my favourite haunt had a dark past: for there was a time when you couldn’t mention the place "INALA" without getting a fair bit of protest concerning visiting this ‘unsafe neighbourhood’ and shudders stemming from its notoriety due to its prevalent crime-ridden past. Quite ironically the name ‘’INALA” is an aboriginal word meaning ‘place of peace’. There is a certain ‘forgotten’ quality emanating from the charm of this ‘Little Vietnam’, like a disjointed and discarded world that while it resembled yet neither fully belonged in old Asia nor a comparably ‘upscale’ western country like Australia.


You won’t at first notice the hidden gem I’m speaking of from driving up front the Inala Plaza (the "Civic Centre") located on the corner of Kittyhawk and Inala Avenues. You won’t even sense that you’re about to be transported, quite magically without an airticket, to the old Saigon as you cruise around the busy car park scouring for a rare empty lot. And quite right that you’ll have to be incredibly patient to spot one since this is the largest precinct in Inala.

You can't miss it. This has got to be the only place in Brisbane where it's perfectly acceptable to peel open and sink your teeth into a juicy mandarin orange picked from many of the corrugated boxes spread out on the ground outside a fruit stall, all in the name of 'try before you buy'. No one even bats an eyelid even when the Asian woman next to me
spits out her fruit seeds on the ground and tosses the mandarin peel right next to where I was standing, near a styrofoam box of Nashi pears and bunches of wrinkly snake beans. Such is the charm of Inala!

It's also the place to eyeball multicultural forces at work.  Serving an ethnically diverse community of Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders, Africans and Vietnamese, amongst many other minority migrant groups, Inala is also home to a large number of Government funded community organisations, programs and services such as the Inala Youth Service. Child Safety Service, Probation and Parole Regional Office, just to name a few. Perhaps these are dead giveaways to its once dark past?

Well dark or not, all I notice is its vibrance and colour, and certainly I'm hooked on the variety of edible Asian knick knacks and cheap prices you don't find anywhere else in Brisbane. 

As I clutch my Lady Finger bananas for $1.99 a bunch and my trolley is heavy trodden with a month's supply of colourful fruits and the week's Asian groceries, I spot a girl holding a plastic takeaway container of sweetened soy beancurd, or 'Tao Huay' as known in Singapore.  I just had a huge bowl of pho for lunch but surely who could resist good ol' Tao Huay as a dessert?!  Suddenly I feel transported home again. Thank you, Inala. See you next week.

'PNG KUEH' (Steamed Glutinous Rice Cake)

As far as versatility goes, I can hardly find anything as delicious and satisfying as glutinous rice--you simply can't fault this amazing white grain either as a savoury bite or a sweet dessert.


My favourite savoury kuehs which I miss the most dearly since moving away from Singapore have got to be 'Png Kueh' (as pictured) and 'Soon Kueh'. Between them, the skin remains an unachievable feat for most.  I found the latter to be a tad tricky, but am proud to show off my homemade Png Kueh here, skin not only the right tint of light rouge pink, but most crucially, all intact and not a tear! Yayy


PNG KUEH (Kueh Skin):


300g Rice Flour, sifted
2 T Tapioca Flour, sifted
600ml Water
2 T Oil
1 tsp Salt
2 drops red food colouring (optional, you can make white ones too)


The skin should be made while you are steaming the glutinous rice, then left to cool as you cook the filling.




Method (for skin):
1. First, combine all ingredients for kueh skin in a pot on the stove.
2. Mix well to make sure there are no lumps.
3. Bring mixture to a boil while constantly stirring.
4. Keep stirring till a dough is formed and not lumpy.
5. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticky to the touch.
6. Remove dough from pot and place on a suitable surface dusted lightly with tapioca flour.
7. Knead the dough well and divide into small ball portions.
8. Flatten the dough into a small pancake and using a tablespoon, stuff filling into middle of dough.
9. Seal up all gaps and roll back into a ball shape. Press onto mould
10. Invert mould and place on a greased banana leaf or baking paper cut to size.
11. Cook kueh by steaming over high heat for 10 - 15 minutes.
TIP: Brush steamed kuehs with oil that has been 'cooked'after steaming so they they will not stick to each other.


PNG KUEH (Filling):
300g glutinous Rice (soaked overnight or at least 3 hours, steamed for 30 min or till soft)
60g dried mushrooms (soaked for 1 hour, sliced into strips)
100g dried shrimps (soaked for 30 min in hot water)
80g whole peanuts (skins on, soaked for 1 hour)
2 T minced garlic


Seasoning:
1 T dark soy sauce
1 T light soy sauce
2 T chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper


Method (to cook filling):


1. Heat 2 T of oil in wok.
2. Add in garlic, mushroom, dried shrimps and peanuts and stir-fry till the aromas form.
3. Add in seasoning sauces and mix well.
4. Add cooked glutinous rice and mix all ingredients, set aside on a deep bowl to cool.

Kat's Craft Studio: Chinoserie themed Card & Gift Wrap

Eversince we gave up our 'baby' (cafe and restaurant--named Barang) so that I could indeed go have a real one and accomplish becoming a full-time mummy, I seem to still be hanging on to what's remained of my memory and concept of our nostalgic asian-inspired chinoserie themed restaurant, and I haven't seemed to have given up reminding friends and family that Barang shall remain an integral part of me, in much of how I've chosen to express myself through my arts and crafts.