Basil Tuna Buns

Recently, I harvested a big bunch of home grown basil. Gosh, it smells soooo good. I just love it so much. The first thing came straight to my mind was some good looking buns and I knew I've got to make them as soon as possible before I brain washed everything. haha..... And here's what I did with the buns complete with additional fillings, some leftover canned tuna. Good that I can at least clear up something from the fridge. >o<

Ingredients for basil buns :
400gm  bread flour / high protein flour
2 tspn  yeast
4 TB  sugar
200ml  milk
1 egg
1 cup  fresh basil leaves
70gm  cold butter, chopped
1/2 tspn  salt

*2 canned  ready mixed tuna
*egg glazing : 1 egg yolk mix with 1TB of milk.

Method :
(1) blend together milk & basil leaves till leaves nicely pureed.
(2) now, place together flour, yeast, sugar, egg & milk mixture and stir to form a soft dough.
(3) then add in salt & cold butter, continue kneading till dough became smooth & elastic.
(4) leave dough to rest for an hour or till double in size, by covering it with a damp towel.
(5) when its ready, punch dough to release air bubbles and continue kneading for another few seconds, then divide dough into 12 portions.
(6) flatten dough and fill in the tuna mixture, sealed then place it to a greased baking tray till every completed.
(7) again, let dough rest for another 40-45 minutes then brush on egg glazing.
(8) finally, bake at preheated oven 200'C for about 15 minutes or till golden brown.

I have to say these buns are absolutely addictive. And life is good while we can enjoy our own harvest. I'm so glad I've made them with my home grown basil. Hope you guys will love it too. Enjoy & have fun !

Healthy Steamed Pumpkin Muffins

Here is another batch of my healthy steamed muffins. Its my first attempt using the pumpkin in my steamed muffins. However, the colour didn't turn out as I expected. I thought it should be in yellow instead of light brown colour. >o<  Anyway, the smiling muffin is good enough to make me happy cause they're all smiling at me like a sunshine.

Ingredients :
(A)
160gm  mashed pumpkin
1 egg
80gm  sugar
80ml  milk
50ml  melted butter

(B)
100gm   all purpose flour
100gm   rice flour
1/2 cup  raisins
2 tspn  baking powder
1/2 tspn  baking soda

Method :
(1) combined ingredients (A) into a bowl then beat till well mixed.
(2) stir together ingredients (B) into a big bowl then add in mixture (A) to form soft paste.
(3) then fill batter into muffin cups and steam for 15 minutes over preheated steamer.

The usage of flour mixture 50-50 between all purpose flour & rice flour should cut down the gluten in the muffins. And must be good for our tummy. Nevertheless, the muffins smell terrific just like a steamed whole pumpkin standing infront of me. haha.... Enjoy guys !

Pumpkin Kuih Koci With White Coconut Filling

Finally, my computer is back ! yay...... Oh well, its a good thing too when me without my computer. I actually managed to spend some time in making kuih. haha... I've been eyeing for this white coconut kuih since a long long time ago but I don't think its available around the southern part of Malaysia cause I have yet seen anything like this here so far. However, making them at home shouldn't be a problem.... so, here it is my homemade pumpkin koci with white coconut fillings.

Ingredients for koci skin :
250gm   glutinous rice flour
150gm   pumpkin, steamed & mashed
1 TB  sugar
pinch of salt
120ml  coconut milk
2 TB  cooking oil

*14 pcs  banana leaves,
(cut into 9cm diameter round then brush on some cooking for coating)

Method :
(1) combine flour, sugar & salt into a big bowl then add in mashed pumpkin, coconut milk & oil.
(2) stir mixture turn into soft dough & knead till smooth then divide into 14 portions (40gm each)or 15-16 portions (35gm each) for smaller size. Then round dough & set aside.


Ingredients for white coconut fillings :
3 cups  young grated coconut
6 TB  sugar
1tspn salt
2 TB  tapioca flour

Method :
(1) combine coconut with sugar & salt, stir well then steam for 15 minutes over preheated steamed
(2) leave to cool then stir in tapioca flour & mix well.
(3) finally, round them into 25gm each balls and its ready to use.

TO ASSEMBLE :
Now, flatten each koci dough and fill in the white coconut then wrap & nicely sealed. Round them if possible. Then set aside till everything is completed. Fold banana leaf into a cone shape then insert a koci ball into the cavity.

Next, fold the leaf by pressing the folded part of the leaf then follow by folding in from the other two sides.

The end of folding should be looking like this. Neat ! However, its best to stapler the bottom folding to make sure there's no leakage during the steaming process. Finally, steam the pumpkin koci for about 15-20 minutes. Leave to cool before serving.

WA...LA.... the colour of this kuih is simply amazing. I especially love the white coconut filling. Its tasty good and not overly sweet. A kind of different from the one they usually made with gula melaka or jaggery sugar. I really enjoy how natural it looks & taste ! Hope you guys will love it too !

Nyonya Kuih Pulut Tai Tai

My computer has been down for almost a week. Hopefully, they will send it back to me soon. And here am I sneaking out of my bed, using someone else computer. haha.... Boy, am I hungry or what.... watching all those food in the middle of the night like this ! And here am I introducing my nyonya kuih pulut tai tai @ pressed glutinous rice. Bunga telang (blue pea flower) is something that I've been looking forward to work out with since a long time ago and finally, here it is....in my rice ! Blue pea flower is often used in many nyonya food as well especially dessert. Its not easy to get the fresh blue pea flowers these days, so I've just planted a pot. I think it will take months to grow before I can collect the flowers. Emmm.... just be patient !

Ingredients :
400gm  glutinous rice, soaked for 4 hours
250ml   thick coconut milk
1 tspn  salt
2 TB   sugar
2 pandanus leaves
15 bunga telang @ blue pea flower

Method :
(1) combined coconut milk together with salt & sugar till everything well dissolved.
(2)  drained the glutinous rice then place it to a large tray and let to steam for 20 minutes (without any additional water) over preheated steamer.
(3) remove the tray from steamer then stir coconut milk mixture into steamed rice, add in pandanus leaves then again steam for 30 minutes over preheated steamer till the rice cooked thoroughly.


*Note : pound the flower then add in 3 TB of water to squeeze out the juices.

(4) once the rice is done, discharge the leaves then transfer the rice to a 7" greased tray lined with banana leaf then press to flatten the rice with another piece of banana leaf till the surface is smooth & nice. At this moment sprinkle some bunga telang juices onto the rice. The colour should turns up beautifully and not overly blue.

(5) now, lined a piece of banana leaf on then place in a flat plastic tray above the rice, finally let something as heavy as possible to sit on it. This is will definitely help the rice to became more compact. Let it stay till the rice completely cooled.

The more compact the rice the much easier for slicing job, and of course, it looks much presentable. I simply love & enjoy this kuih with kaya @ coconut custard jam but hubby would prefer to have it with the savory rendang. So, what is your favourite side dish to go along with it ?

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

I supposed this deep dish pizza is very popular in Chicago as it is called as 'Chicago deep dish pizza'. I only came across this pizza not long ago. Have to thank Sonia for the wonderful introduction. If there's anyone who loves extreme fillings on your pizza, well, this should be the one you're looking for. You can throw in whatever the stuffs you want, as many as desired..... as long as its not falling over the tray. haha.... I bet you will love it till the last bite. Yummmm....

Ingredients for pizza dough :
(A)
1/2 cup   all purpose flour
1 tspn   yeast
1 TB  sugar
1 cup  warm water
(combine & let to rest for 30 minutes)

(B)
2 cups  all purpose flour
1 tspn  salt
4 TB  cooking oil

Method :
(1) mix together ingredients (A) & (B) to form a soft dough then let to rest for an hour or till double in size.
(2) punch & knead dough till smooth to release air bags then place dough to a slightly floured working table and roll dough into a thin disk sheet just the size to cover a whole 8" tray, as shown in picture.

Ingredients for fillings :
1 canned tomato puree
1 large onion, diced
1 tspn  mixed herbs
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup  mozzarella cheese
2 slices pineapple, cut into bite size
1 cup of leftover roasted chicken meat shreds
some chopped basil

Method :
(1) preheat a frying pan with 2TB butter, saute onion & mixed herbs till aromatic then stir in tomato puree plus 100ml of water. Lower the heat to allow the sauce to cook for a little longer or till thick. Finally add in salt & pepper to your taste. Allow to cool before used.



TO ASSEMBLE  :
(1) Spread a few tablespoon of the tomato sauce to cover the bottom layer of the pizza dough, now spread chicken meat, basil & pineapple over the sauce then cover the top with cheese.
(2) Finally, spread the leftover tomato sauce over the top till everything totally cover by sauce. Now, trim off the excess dough then bake at preheated oven 200'C for about 20-25 minutes or till brown.

My boy wallop up almost half of this pizza and asking me to keep the leftover for his breakfast the following day. Well, I kept the whole thing for him and asking him if he is satisfied ! "Good... then its mine !" he said. >o< Yeap, its all yours !

Banana Crumb Cake

I guess this is the final project for the left over bananas that I have. I kept most of the left over in the freezer which is wonderful to use in baking. However, a friend just sent in another batch of bananas. Guess... more banana recipes needed here LOL ! >o<  I always enjoy having baked items with struesel topping. It tasted simply amazing. So, it goes same with this banana cake too.

Here's what I did.
Ingredients :
190gm   butter, at room temperature
110gm   sugar
3 eggs
190gm  all purpose flour
2/3 TB  baking powder
1/2 tspn  baking soda
300gm  banana, mashed

Method :
(1) mix together flour, baking powder & baking soda in a big bowl then mix well.
(2) cream butter & sugar till fluffy pale, then add in egg one at a time & beat till well combined.
(3) now, whisk in mashed banana as well till everything well mixed.
(4) stir flour mixture into wet mixture till everything well combined.
(5) pour batter to a 4x4x9" baking tray lined with parchment paper, top with struesel crumb..
(6) then bake at preheated oven 175'C for about 50-60 minutes or till tester came out clean.

Ingredients for struesel crumb :

100gm  butter, softened
4 TB  sugar

100 cup  all purpose flour
1/2 tspn  cinnamon powder
(cream butter & sugar till well combined then fold in flour & cinnamon till form soft dough, keep refrigerated for 20 minutes before used)

I'm getting addicted to this banana. Its so much tastier when working on any baked or steamed food. Probably you should give it a try too. Enjoy !

Vietnamese Steamed Banana Sticky Rice

Since there is a few more banana left behind, I wanna to try the Vietnamese banana sticky rice. Something I've been looking forward to a long time ago. This is what I have been told by a nearby Vietnamese friend, banana sticky rice is among the most popular food in Vietnam which is widely sold and made at home especially during Dragon Boat festival or 'duan wu jie'  The Asian is commonly known as 'zong zi'. But 'zong zi' is usually wrapped in bamboo leaves which is more durable for storage.

Ingredients :
300gm  glutinous rice, soaked for 4 hours
200ml   thick coconut milk, warmed
1 tspn  salt
90gm   sugar

* 8 pcs banana leaves
* 1 pisang tanduk, sliced

Method :
(1) drained rice then steam for 20 minutes without additional water.
(2) now, stir together coconut milk, sugar & salt till dissolved.
(3) once the rice is done, remove tray from steamer then add in coconut milk mixture and stir to mix well. Leave cool till coconut mixture has totally absorbed.



* Note : Always blanch banana leaves over hot water to soften the leaves before used. You may as well freeze the leftover bananas for other recipes.

TO ASSEMBLE
(1) place a tablespoon of rice to banana leaf then fill in sliced banana, top with some more rice and wrap them by folding into a parcel.
(2) finally steam at preheated steamer for about 30 minutes over high heat.

Banana in rice.... isn't that sounds weird to you ! But this kuih is good and its a very interesting combination. I'm sure you will like it too. Enjoy & have fun !

Apam Ubi Kukus @ Steamed Sweet Potato Pan Huat Kuih

This pan 'apam' is very popular among the Malays and its normally serve with salty grated coconut, but the Chinese named this as 'huat gao' meaning wealthy cake which is also very popular in China. Unlike the common 'huat kuih' with the smiling face, this kuih only be able to give you a flat & nice surface. Meanwhile, the only version you can get from the local market place was the 'gula melaka flavour apam' not other than that. I guess this sweet potato version going to rock the market. haha.... So, here's what I did.

Ingredients :
280gm   all purpose flour
200gm   purple sweet potato,  mashed
100gm  sugar
3/4 tspn   yeast
220ml  water

Method :
Beat everything together till well combined then transfer batter to a 8" greased tray. Leave to rest for an hour or till double in size. Finally, steam for 20 minutes over preheated steamer. Once its done, off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before moving out from the steamer. Now, leave the cake cool completely before slicing then serve with grated coconut.

*2 cups grated young coconut
(mix with 1 tspn of salt then steam for 10 minutes)

I simply adore the colour and the cake turns out really pretty too !

Make sure you wash or clean the knife with wet tower after each slicing, this will gives you beautiful cuts.

I brought this kuih apam to the meet up during the night and unexpectedly, they finished off every single piece of them.  And telling me that they love the smell & taste of the sweet potato very much. It is light & moist & super delicious with the coconut combination  Actually, I love it too cause it tastes unlike the one selling out there. I hope you'll love it too ! Enjoy.

Eggless Pasca ~ Romanian Easter Pastry

Happy Belated Easter Day everyone ! This year I've made a Pasca~Romanian Easter Bread on this special day. Pasca is a traditional Easter sweet bread or pastry made with eggs, milk, butter, sugar & cheese. However, some may prepare Cozonac on this special occasion. Cozonac is also one of the popular Easter bread in Europe but unlike pasca, cozonac will only serve plain without the sweet fillings. And I've chosen to make one without eggs. Glad I made this ! Its a beautiful bread indeed and perfect for this special day.

Ingredients for dough :
(A)
80ml  water
50gm  all purpose flour
1-1/2 tspn   yeast
(mix together then leave to rest for 10 minutes)

(B)
450gm   all purpose flour
2 TB  custard powder
2 TB  sugar
1 tspn  salt
200ml   water
60gm   butter

Method :
(1) combined both ingredients (A) & (B) together to form soft dough, knead till butter combined. Then leave to rest for an hour or till double in size.
(2) now, punch dough to release air then knead till smooth. Place dough to working table then divide into 4 portions.
(3) use one portion to roll out like a disk to fit into a 8" greased tray, to work as a base.
(4) then roll the other three portions into 36 inches length rope and braid them into ponytail shape.
(5) fit the braided dough into tray and trim off the excess dough if possible. (use the leftover dough to press to the base dough).

Note :  for eggless glazing, mix together 1 tspn  maltose with 2 TB of warm milk till everything weill combined.

Ingredients for eggless fillings :
100gm  butter
80gm  sugar
100gm  all purpose flour
1 tspn  baking powder
50gm   almond meal
1/2 tspn  vanilla essence
150ml  yogurt
(beat butter & sugar till fluffy then fold into the remaining ingredients and mix till combined)

Now, place eggless fillings to the center of the pastry and set aside to rest for 45 minutes or till dough reaches to the top of the tray. Finally, brush on some milk glazing and bake at preheated oven 180'C for about 20 minutes or till golden brown.

And TA...DA..... ! Here's my eggless pasca !

Healthy Steamed Banana Muffins

I still have plenty of plantain bananas or pisang tanduk to work out with and have decided to use some of it on this steamed muffins. Bet the gang will be very happy & enjoy this little muffins. They have requested NO frying food during our meet up ever since one of the member left us two weeks ago.So, this should be perfect for them.

Ingredients :
(A)
150gm  mashed bananas (pisang tanduk)
1 large egg
100gm  sugar
100ml   milk
2 TB   melted butter
1/2 tspn   vanilla essence/banana essence

(B)
180gm   all purpose flour
20gm   rice flour
2 tspn  baking powder
1/2 tspn  baking soda
(combined & mix well)

Method :
(1) Beat ingredients (A) till well combined then fold in ingredients (B) and mix well. Do not over mix the batter.
(2) fill batter to little paper cups and steam for 15 minutes over preheated steamer.

These little muffins look fabulous after steamed and smell great as well.

Pisang tanduk is unlike any other bananas. Not overly sweet. It is more to sweet & tangy and smell wonderful too. I'm sure these little muffins are great to use for the coming 'qing ming' fesetival for offering to the ancestors. Enjoy !