Put one foot in front of the other

In Malay tradition, Kueh is a form of traditional "cake" or bite sized dish, that is either sweet or savory, and is especially abundant during holidays or celebrations. In this part of the world kueh is seen in such a large variety of offerings that there really is no description I can think of that perfectly describes these lovely morsels. Virtually all of the ethnic food traditions here have their favorite kuehs. They are a notable feature of the foods offered during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan for the Buka Puasa (breaking of the day's fast) each evening and the celebration of Hari Raya AidilFitri that follows, as well as during the Hindu celebration of Deepavali. So, given its prevalence here, I'm not sure why I had the preconception that it is difficult to make kueh, but it explains why I have not made any after I had attempted "chwee kueh" many months ago. 

If you would like to get the recipe, just click on the picture.

So why am I blogging a kueh now? It's because I decided to participate in this month's Aspiring Baker #12 which calls for traditional kueh. I was looking for a relatively simple kueh to make and since my mum likes pumpkin, I decided to make pumpkin kueh.  It was very fortunate that both the look and the taste were quite good after my first attempt.  I was very pleased.  Having said that, I remembered a post I had read recently from my friend, David’s blog, Pen to Page. It was a very simple picture but very powerful.  It showed a few steps of stairs and below it these words: "Things that seem hard are not always that hard. Put one foot in front of the other, and you’ll get to the end". I will keep this in mind and,the next time when something seems very hard to do and I procrastinate because of that, I'll remember to take that first step. It is pretty simple really. Just make yourself lift up that one foot and keep on putting one foot in front of the other. Very soon, you will complete a task which seemed difficult and perhaps come to realize it is not so hard after all. I did and it works! When I served a piece of this pumpkin kueh to my mum with a big grin, she said to me, "世上无难事,只怕有心人." (where there is a will, there is a way.)

Pumpkin Kueh

(Based on Madam Kwan's recipe with modification)

Steam pumpkin kueh
Largely adpated from Madam Kwan's recipe

Ingredients:

100gm green bean powder/flour

250ml thick coconut milk

200gm sugar

300gm pumpkin

Method:

Steam 250gm diced pumpkin and 50gm sliced pumpkin till cooked. Mashed diced pumpkin. Add green bean powder to cononut milk and mix well. Add in sugar gradually and mix well. Add in mashed and sliced pumpkin, cook over moderate heat till thick. Transfer to a pan or mould and let cool. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Note: If you do not want to have sliced pumpkin, just mash them all for a more consistent texture and mouth feel. 

I am submitting this recipe to Aspiring Bakers #12 Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by Smallsmallbaker

Sweet Wheat Porridge, Yam Cake & a dancing video

This is a “tong sui” that me and my line dancing mates love to eat after our dancing session.  One of my dancing mates asked if I still have our old line dancing videos. She especially like the one that was taken by my son many years ago. He was only 15 years old then and he was crazy over making videos. He produced and edited it himself.   I remembered there was one part he fast forwarded on us and it was hilarious! LOL!  For an amateur, I think he did a pretty good job.  Last weekend, I was looking through all my old external hard drives and found it!  I wish to dedicate this post and the following two dishes to all my line dancing mates. Thanks for being such great friends.

I apologize for the poor quality because it was taken by a cheap video camera..hehe

I can never get enough of sweet wheat porridge.  When I was expecting my son, I crave for this porridge a lot.  Back then, I do not know how to cook except to fry an egg and cook rice so I buy this from the “tong sui” store.  I am so glad I know how to make this myself now and whenever I crave for a bowl I just do it. What goes very well with this is yam cake.  Yes, I love yam cake especially those that one of my mum’s best friend made.  Although my yam cake is not as good as hers, my mum said it is better than those we buy from the store. “Boleh tahan lah” (can do).  So here are the recipes.

Sweet Wheat Porridge

Largely adapted from Asian recipes

Ingredients: 

200 gm wheat pearls

1 litre water

2 pandan leaves (shredded and tie into knot)

200 ml thick coconut milk

200 gm palm sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp corn starch,

2 tbsp water

Method:

Wash wheat pearls water until water is clear. Soak for half an hour. Add water and pandan leaves to pot and bring to boil. Add wheat pearls and let boil for 5 mins.  Lower the heat and simmer for 30 mins until wheat pearls are soft. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt and bring it a quick boil. Dissolve corn starch in water and stir into pot to thicken the porridge.  Serve warm.

This is the first time I attempt making yam cake and I did not expect it to turn out so well.  I am very happy with the result and here I share with you the recipe I used. Serve this with a bowl of “tong sui” and it will never go wrong. I had this with sweet wheat porridge. Try it!

Yam Cake

Largely adapted from Madam Kwong’s Kitchen

Ingredients:


250 grams rice flour


125 grams wheat flour (Tung Meen Fun)


2 ½ cups warm water

250 grams yam (steam till cooked)


¾ tbsp salt,

1 tbsp rock sugar

1 tsp ground white pepper,

1 tsp Chinese 5 spices powder

Ingredients for garnishing:

50 grams of fried shallots


4 stalks spring onion, diced

1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil

1 ½ tbsp chopped garlic

1 ½ cup choy poh finely chopped

120 grams dried prawns

1 ½  tbsp sugar

Method to prepare the garnish:

Heat vegetable oil in wok and sauté garlic till fragrant.  Add dried shrimps and stir fry for 3 mins. Add choy po and stir fry till shrimps is slightly brown. Add sugar and stir fry for another 3 mins and set aside.

Method of preparing the yam cake:

In a big bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat flour and add in the warm water. Add in salt, rock sugar, garlic oil, white pepper and Chinese 5 spices powder.  Add in the steamed yam and mix with all the ingredients thoroughly. Oil a stainless steel deep round plate (22″ in diameter) before adding the mixture. Steam for 45 minutes in high heat. Top with prepared garnish.  Let yam cake completely cool before cutting.