Shanghai Red Bean Pancake ("Wo Paeng")

This is a repost of an old favourite!

This is an old favourite of mine since I was little. Typically served in chinese restaurants in BP, we would often order a plate or two of it at the end of the meal. It is a thin, flaky and crispy rectangular-shaped pancake that is usually filled with a thin layer of red bean or white lotus paste, and then cut into small rectangular bite-sized pieces.

I decided to make this after browsing through a cookbook called "Dim Sum" where I came across a picture of an appetizing looking "Wo Paeng". I could just imagine the taste of it - sweet, crispy and oily. The recipe looked simple enough. However, the proportions and method of pan-frying it just didn't do it for me. I found another recipe on the web which looked like it would yield better results, and it did! Of course, it involved deep-frying the pancake to a golden crisp, just as I remembered it. I sprinkled some toasted pinenuts in the filling to add some texture.

Here is the recipe I used, adapted from Amy Beh:

Ingredients

Batter

50g plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp custard powder
130ml water
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling
6 tbsp (approx 120g) red bean paste, divided into 2 equal portions
20 pinenuts, toasted

Method

1. Combine all batter ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix with a hand whisk until well blended and is a thin runny consistency. Divide the batter into two equal portions.
2. Meanwhile, take one portion of the red bean paste and place it between 2 pieces of clingwrap. Then, with a rolling pin, lightly roll it into a flat square piece and put aside.
3. Lightly grease a large flat non-stick pan with a little cooking oil. Pour in one portion of the batter. Turn and tilt the pan to allow the batter to run evenly to the edge to form a thin layer of pancake. Cook over a gentle low heat for 2 minutes or until the pancake is cooked. Do not allow the pancake to brown.
4. Use a turner/spatula to lift pancake onto a plate. Do the same for the other portion of the batter to make a second pancake.
5. Remove one side of the clingwrap and flip the red bean paste onto the centre of the pancake, and peel off the other side of the clingwrap. Scatter pinenuts over the red bean paste, if used. Fold the near end of the pancake over the filling. Tuck in both the sides. Smear a little beaten egg along the edge and fold the remaining flap over to seal the pancakes.
6. Deep-fry the pancakes in hot oil until golden brown and crispy. Once they puff up, do not move them around to prevent them from bursting. Remove the pancakes with a perforated ladle and drain on several layers of paper towels.
7. Cut the pancakes into slices and serve hot.

"Bak Chang" (Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Meat)

When I think of the word "multicultural", the first thing that comes to my mind is food (actually I think of food most of the time anyway, which is why I decided to have a blog to pen down all my foodie-related thoughts). In Malaysia, we are fortunate to be able to celebrate a myriad of religious and cultural festivities, and of course with every celebration, there is always food. There are two things I look forward to each year (and which I try not to miss!) which are the Mooncake festival and Dumpling festival ("Duan Wu Jie") or also known as Dragon Boat Festival. The latter was just over on 20 June, and better late then never, I decided to have a go at making these glutinous rice dumplings. Nobody makes better dumplings than my aunt (hers is simply the best!) and I haven't had them since I moved to Australia years ago. 

Churros with maple glaze

These are choux-pastry type churros, as opposed to the more traditional (I think?!) churros which uses flour and boiling water in making the dough. I tried the latter method a long time ago, and it didn't turn out as I had hoped. So I decided to stick to these ones instead, with a little twist by covering it in a maple syrup glaze. I also made a chocolate sauce (by melting some chocolate in hot milk) for the kids to dunk their churros into. Churros are also referred to as Spanish doughnuts, and are relatively easier and quicker to make compared to regular yeast doughnuts, simply because there's no need to proof the dough.They are also wonderfully light, fluffy and buttery, with a sweet and crunchy exterior that is accentuated by the ridges characteristic of this popular street food.

Almond Crisps (Almond Brittle)

 

Chinese New Year is less than two weeks away and I haven't started baking anything yet this year. Well, not until now, if you'd call throwing sugar and nuts together and melting them in the oven baking. I recently bought a packet of Bienetta Florentine Mix, which comes in powdered form. The simplest way to use it is to mix it with almonds, bake them and it miraculously turns into a crisp layer of caramelized almonds. Alternatively, you could substitute the Bienetta by using a Florentine recipe, which you can find in my previous post "Almond and Pretzel Butterscotch Brittle".

Okonomiyaki Pancake-style Gyoza

There are some things in life that just can't wait, like these beautifully charred pork dumplings (or gyozas) topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, spring onions and bonito flakes. I was getting my regular TV fix of Destination Flavour Japan last week, and as I watched Adam Liaw flip over a pan of crisp charred dumplings onto a plate, I couldn't help but imagine how tasty those gyozas would be if I could just have a bite. Gyozas are similar to Chinese potstickers (guotie), though their Chinese counterparts usually have thicker skins and are slightly bigger. Both are usually served with a soy and vinegar dipping sauce, sometimes with chilli oil and shredded ginger too.

Falafel Wrap

 

Never judge a book (or falafel) by its cover. Before this, I never gave much thought to falafels. They are the round brown balls that look like croquettes or arancini, and are commonly displayed in kebab stalls at the food courts here. I love kebabs, but those falafels just never looked appetizing to me. That was then.

Börek or Burek (with spinach and cheese)

 

So, I'm not an expert on Burek, nor do I know enough about its cultural background and history to be able to give an accurate account of how it originated. I'm thinking Wikipedia should be fairly reliable, and therefore I quote a few sections from it which provide some insight into this delicious filled pastry.

"Börek (also burek and other variants) is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, minced meat, or vegetables. Most probably invented in what is now Modern Turkey, in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, to become a popular element of Ottoman cuisine.

Börek is also very popular in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, especially in North Africa and throughout the Balkans. The Northern Slavic cuisines, historically developed by people living in close contact with the Turkic peoples of Asia and Europe, also feature derivatives of the börek. Börek is also part of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish traditions. They have been enthusiastically adopted by the Ottoman Jewish communities, and have been described, along with boyos de pan and bulemas, as forming "the trio of preeminent Ottoman Jewish pastries".

Börek has its origins in the Turkish cuisine (cf. Baklava) and is one of its most significant and, in fact, ancient elements of the Turkish cuisine, having been developed by the Turks of Central Asia before their westward migration to Anatolia.

Börek in Turkish language refers to any dish made with yufka. The name comes from the Turkic root bur- 'to twist', (similar to Serbian word savijača (from savijati - to twist) which also describes a layered dough dish)."

 

Alright! Now that we've gotten our history lesson out of the way, it's time to make some Burek. Whenever I discover a new favourite food, my first instinct is to look for the recipe and attempt it at home. I love a good challenge. Some may think it's strange, but I used to look forward to exams when I was in school. It bore different consequences of course, but was a challenge nonetheless.

Singapore Fried Carrot Cake (Chai Tau Kuih)

 

This is the crispy pancake version of Singapore fried carrot cake, though there's some debate over whether it should be called radish cake instead since it uses radish, and not carrot. But then again, sometimes it does not contain radish, so should it be just called rice cake? The radish (or daikon - I think they are similar) gives it a subtle sweetness and flavour. I do like the radish cake to be soft, so the proportion of water to rice flour I've used is about 2:1. After it's fried, the carrot cake will be crispy on the outside, soft and smooth inside. This is a popular dish in Singapore and Malaysia, and is usually eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. Look out for it when you're visiting a hawker centre there!

Baked Kale Chips

There's been all this hype over kale chips, and how they taste like potato chips, except that they are loaded with vitamins and minerals. I finally bought some kale from the supermarket last Sunday and was pretty excited to make these. It's really easy. Roughly tear up the kale into pieces, and then wash and dry them thoroughly. Lay them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch salt. Be careful not to put too much oil or salt, because the kale will shrink to a quarter of its size and you don't want to end up with oily salty kale chips (now how did I know that?). Bake them in the oven at 180C (350F) for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through. They will be turn translucent and crispy, and they really taste almost like potato chips! And totally guilt-free!

PS: These make a good substitute for crispy seaweed, the Japanese or Korean type that comes in individual packs and taste so umami with flakes of MSG all over. I reckon these kale chips would be great as a topping for noodle soups, or even crumbled over some pasta.

Malaysian Deep-fried Curry Puffs

I made these deep-fried curry puffs over the weekend when we had friends over for lunch (I figured just serving chicken rice might not be enough). As usual, I posted photos of these on facebook and a friend commented that it was his favourite. Actually, he thought that these were "gujia", which I later found out through Dr Google that it was a type of sweet Indian (Rajasthani, to be specific) deep-fried pastry filled with nuts, dried fruit or coconut. Mmm...this sounds like something right up my alley (and something for me to experiment with next!). 

Pav Bhaji (Bread and vegetables)

 

My Indian friends from work threw a little Diwali party at their apartment last Friday, and I must say it was a very enjoyable evening, with good food, great company and lots of dancing. Moreover, it's hard not to fall in love with the phenomenal view from the balcony of the 33rd floor apartment right in the heart of Sydney. Dinner was a wonderful spread of  home-cooked vegetarian dishes, including pasta, salad and this delicious dish called pav bhaji. Pav (pronounced "pau" as in char siew pau) is equivalent to bun/bread, and bhaji refers to a vegetable dish. Apparently (or so internet sources say), pav bhaji is a popular Indian streetfood snack that originated in Marathi cuisine. It is basically a dish of mashed vegetables cooked in spices, and served with fried buttered pav. This dish uses loads of butter, which explains why it tastes so good. The bhaji is also topped with chopped onions, coriander and a splash of lemon juice which lifts the flavours in the dish.

Potato Wedges with Singapore Chilli Crab Dip

One of Singapore's iconic dishes, apart from Hainanese chicken rice, is the famous Singapore Chilli Crab. Although there are many versions of it, the one that I'm most familiar with comes with a generous amount of sweet, spicy, slightly tomatoey and garlicky sauce, with fine threads of egg through it which makes it rich and thick. Back in my childhood days, we would sometimes get takeaway chilli crab from the local Chinese restaurant and eat it at home. And then, we would pop some bread in the toaster and use the crispy toast to mop up the delicious eggy sauce.

Bak Kwa (Pork Jerky)

This popular Asian-style pork jerky is sweet, sticky, juicy and delicious, and is so easy to make at home. Commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore, it is traditionally grilled on a wire mesh over a hot charcoal fire. However, if you don't have a barbecue grill or pit at home, just your oven broiler or grill will work fine to produce some of that smoky charred flavour. It's best to use a fatty pork mince in order to get a tender and juicy result, but if you prefer a healthier option, then use lean pork (with less fat) by all means.

Sweet and Salty Beet Chips

I remember the first time my husband bought me a birthday present, and it was a cookbook! Even though we had only known each other for less than a year at the time, he knew I was only interested in cookbooks filled with pages and pages of beautiful photos. No flowers, no perfume, none of that girly stuff. That book was one on Spanish tapas, which is where I found a recipe for theses sweet and salty beet chips. Beetroot (or red beet) is thinly sliced on a mandolin, and then deep fried until it loses all its moisture and crisp up into these delicate and crinkly chips. They look a little like rose petals, don't they? Now, there's an idea for edible wedding confetti!

Goreng Pisang with Kicap Cili

I wonder how people would react to eating banana fritters with a soy and chilli dipping sauce?

Steamed Pork Buns

After making the Barbecue Chicken Pau last week, I got hooked on making and eating homemade steamed buns. Moreover, I wanted to have another go at pleating the buns, and so I found a few bun-wrapping videos on youtube, which I watched a few times over trying to picture it in my head when I make them later.

Barbecue Chicken Pau (Chinese Steamed Buns)

Steaming hot buns with barbecue chicken, peas and egg

I must admit that I was inspired to start this blog after seeing that my cousin Rachel had started her beautiful blog called A Little of Everything. We used to just post pictures of our cooking adventures on Facebook, but now everything just goes into our blogs. She recently attended a pau (chinese steamed bun) making class and made these tasty little barbecue chicken buns. They are like char siew buns, but using chicken instead, and I could just imagine how delicious they were.

Mini Taro Nests with Cumin and Sesame

Crunchy taro fritters spiced with cumin, chilli and sesame

I bought a piece of taro last week and couldn't decide what to do with it. It was a toss up between yam rice and bubur cha cha. Then, I had a sudden thought about these "yam muruku" which my sister and I used to eat when we visited relatives in Ipoh, Malaysia. We called them that because they tasted like muruku, just that they were made with finely shredded yam. Everytime we went to Ipoh during Chinese New Year, we would always look forward to eating these crunchy spicy snacks. We would usually have a tin of it to bring home, which we would then ration carefully over a few days. They were really addictive, although not the healthiest of snacks.

Apam Berkuah (Banana Coconut Pancakes)

 

I had never heard of this traditional Nyonya dessert before until a friend of mine mentioned it to me, and kindly shared the recipe which comes from a cookbook by Terry Tan. I was excited about making it because I had some blue pea flowers (bunga telang) which I seldom used, and this was the perfect opportunity to use them. These pancakes are wonderfully light and fluffy, and together with the thick and rich banana sauce (more like a gravy, really), it was a match made in tropical heaven. Each bite just melts in your mouth, and will have you wanting (and eating) more.

Berry Moist Chocolate Hazelnut Friands