Pumpkin Kaya

This pumpkin kaya was made some time last month when I had some pumpkin left following Halloween. This pumpkin kaya caught my attention when I was googling for pumpkin recipe. I was surprised when I saw this recipes from All Recipes website. I am like, 'what? how come it appear in an English website'? When I asked my colleague or local friends, no one happens to know what kaya is and never tasted it before, no surprise as Kaya is a Malaysia traditional coconut jam. It is famous around Malaysia or south east Asia but not Europe. It brought my attention when I saw them featured on All Recipes website, and I wanted to try it!

This pumpkin kaya is suitable for vegetarian as it replaced eggs with pumpkin. For more information about what kaya is, please refer here. Eventhough it is slightly healthier than the traditional kaya and smells good, I still prefer the traditional one. This one smells good, but the traditional one (Pandan Kaya) is really really good!

Pumpkin Kaya
Recipe adapted from Pumpkin Kaya

Ingredients:
500g pumpkin, cubed
160ml coconut milk
80g brown sugar
4 medium screwpine leaves (Pandan leaves), tied into knot

Steps:
1) Steam pumpkin for about 20 minutes or until it is tender when pierced with knife.
2) Put the steamed pumpkin, coconut milk and brown sugar into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a stainless steel mixing bowl.
3) Fill a pot with about 1/3 water, bring it to a boil then turn to low heat. Place the mixing bowl into the pot, stir the mixture roughly every 5 minutes interval.(see here for double boiling method)
4) Continue to cook the mixture until the desired thickness achieved. Remove the mixture from hob and leave it to cool. Store in a dry, clean container once it is completely cooled and keep it in the fridge.
5) Pumpkin kaya is done!

Kerabu Pelam (Mango Salad)

Ho Ho Ho~ winter is officially here and it will soon be christmas! Again, I am hoping for a white christmas this year. It snow between christmas day every year but not on the christmas day!

This pic was taken last Wednesday, the ground covered with layer of snow in the morning. Winter is officially here!

Saw this tasty dish from Mui's blog  the other day and decided to give it a try.This is a dish from Kedah, Malaysia. To be honest, I know nothing about food in the north east part of malaysia, be a Malaysian I am completely ashamed! Thanks to MFF (Malaysian Food Fest), I were more explored to the state food in Malaysia. This mango salad is really appetising and delicious, I can finished it in one go despite the burning lips and sweat. Since I couldn't get young mango, I replaced it with sweet ripe mango. I would love to try it with young mango one day. As in the photos, I didn't sliced or chopped the ingredients very fine, this give a slightly chewy and crunchy salad. The salad taste sweet, sour,  hot and spicy with the crunchy peanut and dried shrimp. Have a try if you like your salad in hot and spicy taste, it is really good!

After finished my first mango salad, I went to look for mango again in the supermarket the next day, was so happy when I got it. I thought I can remember the recipe and did not need to refer it, half way through preparing the salad, I found out I ran out of tomatoes, the sky is getting dark and I wouldn't want to go out with a pushchair in a dark cold night,  panicking! panicking! I was trying to think what can I use to replace tomatoes. First I thought of using pineapple, was asking myself would pineapple be a good combination to this salad? I doubted! As I walked out the kitchen and toward the fruit bowl in the living room, I saw those lovely kiwi fruits sitting in the packet unopened. Oh yes! I can try it with kiwi. I did, and I also add in extra peanut, it is equally good, I like it with kiwi too!

Kerabu Pelam (Mango Salad) (Adapted from My Little Favourite DIY)

Ingredients:

1 mango, shredded 

1 medium tomato, cut into small cubes (or 6 cherry tomato, halves)

2 shallots, sliced

2 bird's eye chilli, finely sliced

1 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked and drained

handful of peanut, dry fried, for garnish

Dressing sauce:

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tbsp plum sauce

The ingredients and the sauce

Steps:
1) Dry fry peanut over low heat until fragrant or when you see the peanut oil appear on its skin.Skin when it is completely cool.
2) Add some oil to the pan, fry dried shrimp till brown and crispy, drained and set aside.
3) Add the dressing sauce into a small bowl and mix well.
4) Arrange all the prepared ingredients into a bowl, add in dressing sauce and toss well.
5) Serve.

This was my second attempt, with kiwi and more peanut.

Mendiants 干果巧克力

This is another easy cookie recipe from the book,  法国经典甜点 La Patisserie Francaise Pour Tous. It is nutty and chocolatey and also great for various occasions or festive seasons!

Mendiants

Ingredients:
150g whole Hazelnuts
50g pistachios
30g golden raisin (I replaced it with dried apricot)
250g chocolate block

Steps:
1) Preheat oven at 180 degC.
2) Put hazelnuts and pistachios on a lined baking tray. Roast for about 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and leave it to cool.

3) Break chocolate block into small pieces and place it into a bowl. Melt the chocolate over medium heat.
Lightly stir the chocolate mixture until all the chocolate pieces has melted. Remove from heat.

4) Spoon half a spoonful of of melted chocolate into the silicone cupcake mould, use the back of the spoon to smoothen the surface.

5) Put in roasted hazelnuts, pistachios and dried apricot according to your liking. Remove from mould when the chocolate is completely solidified.

6) Done. Mendiants are ready to eat!

Mendiants

*Note: 

Store the mendiants in a cool dry place as the chocolate melted easily.

Congolais Ou Rochers Coco 刚果椰子球

My friend An Ting borrowed me some recipe books before she went to Malaysia for vacation with her hubby. I like the books that she borrowed me, with easy recipe and step by step instruction. The recipes from the book seems easy and the pictures are so nice that I ended up bookmarked so many of them, and now I wonder if I have so much time to try them out before I return the books to her....

Congolais Ou Rochers Coco (french) is an quick and easy baked coconut ball. It is similar to coconut macaroons except this recipe call for whole egg instead of just egg whites. It has a slightly crispy exterior with soft and chewy interior. These sweet coconut balls are great for any occasions, be it a tea time gathering or the coming festive seasons. It is also great to make it together with kids.

This is the book that I used to bake the coconut balls. 法国经典甜点 La Patisserie Francaise Pour Tous
Author: Francis Maes 法兰西斯。马耶斯 and 林凤美













Ingredients:

130g sugar
170g dessicated coconut
15g cake flour
2 eggs

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 175 degC. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
2) Put sugar and dessicated coconut into a mixing bowl, mix well.
3) Add in 2 eggs, mix well.
4) Add in cake flour, mix well.
5) Use a measuring spoon to scoop out a spoonful of the mixture, shape into a dome shape and place it on a baking tray. See pic below

6) Repeat Step 5) until all the mixture has used up. 
7) Put into oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and leave it to cool.
8) Done and ready to eat!

*Notes:
-Leave it to cool before storing it into a container. It can be stored up to 2 weeks.
-If you are living in a hot country with high humidity, the coconut balls would probably gone soft after few days, you can re-bake it in the oven for 10 minutes to remove the moisture, leave it to cool before eating. 

Recipe Books Gifted By A Friends

These books arrived to me on the Halloween day, I was so excited when I received it, I finally got some chinese recipe books. Living in an English speaking country, I couldn't find any chinese book shop here, and order online from Taiwan or Malaysia websites would cost me a fortune. It is not an option to order books from Taiwan or Malaysia as the charges and postage fee are higher than the book itself. I am thankful to Shirley who sent me these books, she has lightened up my day! Thank you!

Shirley is a good friend of mine when we were in Belfast. She is a kind and helpful young lady, and she is the one who will always be there when I am in need, be it a personal or work or health issues, she always try her best to help. As a thank you to her, I want to share her healthy weight loss story here. She started her weight lose plan about a year ago. Her plan was started with exercise and control eating. Jogging and aerobics for an hour and sometimes she will do weight training as well. She doesn't eat dinner or if she is hungry at the night time, fruits always be her choice. She kept her calorie under 800kcal per day for the first 4 consecutive months, and this had resulted her weight to drop from 11 stone to 9.5 stone. After that, she increased her calorie intake to 1000kcal, with daily exercise and 2 litre of lemon water. She also take vitamin B-complex daily to enhance the metabolism system. Now her weight has further reduced to 7.5 stone, that is in 11 months time! And she still wish to drop another half stone to complete her weight loss plan. I am amazed by the way she used to lose weight, without taking any commercial weight loss plan or pill, etc, it is au natural! Although it needs sometimes to achieve but it is au natural! I am also ashamed when I heard about her story, I always telling people I want to lose weight but never do it in action. I am very proud of her, she has got a very strong determination which has made her to achieve what she want today.

As stated in the picture, this photo was taken in February 2009.

Photo of Shirley, taken in Dec 2011 when she visited Belfast again, in her favourite shop Avoca

After 11 months effort............

This is she, my dearest friend Shirley! What a big change isn't it?

Creamy Chicken Curry

I used to cook more curry dishes during winter, I need some comfort food to keep myself warm. We had a mild winter last year and I hope it would be the same this year. I hope and I hope...but it was already started to snow two weeks ago even though just for a day, and the weather is getting colder and colder these days, and it is only autumn now.... I am not particular like winter, besides shorter daylight, I tend to get sick during winter and I am coughing.

Ok, back to the topic today. I found this chicken curry recipe from Wendy's Table for 2.....or more. It is relatively easy to prepare, with easy available ingredient, I can get a yummy creamy chicken curry. I used to cook chicken curry by using paste. I always think cooking it from scratch need plenty of time to prepare, it actually not. Besides I always struggle to find those ingredients I need. Well, I am living in a small town with a small asian shop, not every ingredients are available here, sometimes need to wait for weeks or months for some ingredients to be back in stock. Wendy's recipe is quick and easy, please hop over to her blog for original recipe.

Creamy Chicken Curry

Recipe adapted from Table for 2...or more
Ingredients:
6-8 chicken thighs
1 tsp salt
4 large shallots, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 lemon grass (4 inch from based, lightly smashed)
50g chicken curry powder
1 tsp of hot curry powder
200ml thick coconut milk
12 small new potatoes
10 tofu puffs
Salt for seasoning

Steps:
1) Wash the chicken thighs, trim of excess fat and cut into smaller pieces, marinate with 1 tsp of salt, leave it for 30 minutes.
2) Heat up oil in a pot, put in chopped garlic and shallots, fry until fragrant.
3) Add in chicken curry powder and curry powder, fry until fragrant. Toss in lemon grass.
4) Put in chicken and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add water to the pot, just sufficient to cover the chicken. Bring to boil.
5) Put in potatoes and tofu puffs, cook for 5 minutes. Cover the pot with lid and continue to cook with low heat until potatoes are tender.
6) Add in coconut milk and season with salt.
7) Dish up and serve.

Pandan Kaya (Coconut Jam)

I had been wanting to make my own kaya for so long but the cooking and stirring time always put me off. I can't really find a good kaya in the asian supermarket here, they are either too sweet or lack of ''fragrant'' (one should know what I mean if you are a kaya lover). I am glad I found this easy kaya recipe while reading Sonia's blog. She used the double boiling method instead of cooking it in the pot from low heat. There is no long standing, cooking and stirring, you just need to give it a light stir about every 5 minutes until you get the desired thickness. Well, no long standing or cooking means you do not need to stand in front of the hob to keep stirring it for 2 hours to avoid any lumps and burn, however, you do need about an hour to get to the desired thickness. Since you only need to stir it for about  every 5 minutes, you spare some time to do other tasks e.g. to wash dishes, cutting or chopping vege, preparing meal, etc. I like this method, it is easy and still produce a smooth and tasty kaya. You can spread it on toast or as a filling for cake or bun or pau etc, I prefer it on toast with butter. Ops, I should have taken a picture of how I make my kaya on toast!

See what I have got here...

Pandan Kaya (Coconut Jam)
Recipe adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
250g sugar
350ml coconut milk
4 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves)

Steps:
1) Pandan Juice:- Cut pandan leaves into small pieces. Put it into blender with coconut milk, blend well. Strain and discard pulp.
2) In a mixing bowl, put in eggs and lightly beat with a fork. Add in sugar, lightly stir till sugar dissolves.
3) Add Step 1) into 2). Mix well and strain the mixture into a stainless steel mixing bowl.
4) Fill a pot with about 1/3 water, bring it to a boil then turn to low heat. Place the mixing bowl into the bowl of boiling water (see here), stir kaya mixture once every 5 minutes (roughly)
5) Continue to cook it until the desired thickness achieved. Remove the mixture from hob and leave it to cool. That's it, kaya is done!
6) Store the cooled kaya into container and keep it in the fridge.

*Notes:
-Strain the mixture to prevent any lumps and to produce a smoother mixture.
- Stainless steel or high heat resistant bowl is preferable as you need to cook the mixture over boiling water for some time until the desired thickness of kaya achieved.
- The shelf life of kaya varies on the weather and humidity. I store them in 2 small jar, one keep in the fridge and the other at room temperature. I finished the room temperature kaya in a week and it was still good when I finished it. The kaya in the fridge can be kept for ~2weeks. It is recommended not to make the kaya in bulk and finish it as earlier as possible to enjoy its freshness and fragrance.