Kueh Lompang without Alkaline Water

Today I wanted to make some tea time snacks for my kids and of course for myself as well. Yeah I know I have a sweet tooth and I'm not doing much about it although I should. Maybe tomorrow I will try to control my sweet cravings....

Since I am now living in a serviced apartment and I don't have all my pantry ingredients with me, I had to do with whatever I had in the apartment. So the only thing that came to my mind was kueh lompang. I had all the ingredients that I needed except for one, alkaline water or air abu soda. Alkaline water actually gives a nice bouncy and chewy texture to the kueh lompang but since I did not have any, I just came up with this version.  It turned out pretty good and it did not have the alkaline water smell that kueh lompangs normally have.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour 

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 cup of dark brown sugar or gula melaka

1 1/2 cups of water, to make brown sugar syrup

1/4 teaspoon of salt

some screwpine or pandan leaves, cleaned and knotted

some freshly grated coconut mixed with a pinch of salt and microwaved for about 30 seconds for serving

Directions

1.  Prepare a steamer and some rice bowls or tea cups to steam the kueh lompangs. 

2.  In a pan add the brown sugar or gula melaka, screwpine or pandan leaves and the 1 1/2 

      cups of water. Heat the sugar and water on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. 

      Remove the pandan leaves and strain the sugar syrup into a measuring jug or measuring 

      cup.  Add more water if needed to make 2 cups of sugar syrup.

2.  Sift the rice flour, tapioca flour and salt into a bowl.  Pour in the two cups of sugar syrup 

      and mix well. Set it aside

3.  Once the water in the steamer comes to boil, place the rice bowls or tea cups in the 

      steamer and let it heat for about 5 minutes.

4.  Then gently mix and pour in the kueh lompang mixture into the hot tea cups or hot rice 

      bowls in the steamer. Cover and steam for about 30 minutes if using the small tea cups or       for about 1 hour is using the rice bowls.  

5.  Insert a wet skewer into the kueh lompangs to check if the they are cooked. If the skewer         comes out clean, then the kueh lompangs are done.

6.  Remove the kueh lompangs from the steamer and let it cool completely. Serve with the           grated coconut.

Nyonya Sambal Fish

deep fried red snapper

frying sambal paste

oil separating from the fried sambal

tamarind juice added to the fried sambal

oil surfacing to the top of the thickened sambal, indication that the sambal is ready

Directions

1 red snapper around 2 lbs, cleaned or any fish of your choice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

cooking for for deep frying the fish

blend together to form a fine paste:
15-20 red chillies
6 garlic cloves
1" galangal, sliced
1 lemon grass, sliced
1" ginger
1" cube shrimp paste or belacan
3 medium shallots, roughly chopped

3 tablespoon cooking oil use coconut oil for a fragrant sambal
1 heaping tablespoon of tamarind paste, mixed in 1 cup of water and strained
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
a bit of lime juice if needed

some finely sliced scallions or green onions or garnishing

Directions

1.  Make a few diagonal slits on both sides of the cleaned snapper.  Rub the snapper salt and 
     turmeric and leave it aside for about 10-15 minutes.
2.  Heat the cooking oil in a skillet on medium heat.  When the oil is hot, pat dry the fish 
     with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture and deep the fish on both sides until the 
     fish is crispy and golden brown on the outside. Remove and drain the fish on a paper 
     towel.
3.  While the fish is deep frying, you can start preparing the sambal. Blend all the 
      ingredients for the sambal until you get a fine paste.
4.  Heat the 3 tablespoon of oil in a pot on medium heat.  When the oil is hot add the sambal 
      ingredients and fry until the oil has separated and all the raw smell of the sambal is gone.
5.  When the oil has separated from the sambal, gently add in the tamarind juice and bring 
      the sambal to a boil. You can a bit more water if needed. Once the sambal has thickened 
      and you can see the oil surfacing on the top of the sambal, you can season the sambal 
      with the sugar and salt.  Add some lime juice if you like your sambal to be a bit on the 
      sour side.
6.  Place the deep fried snapper fish on a serving plate and pour the hot sambal over the 
     deep fried snapper and sprinkle some sliced scallions or green onions. Serve the fish     
     sambal with hot steaming rice.

My fish looked a little sad so I just decorated my pictures with daisies.

Coconut Crepes or Kuih Dadar

This is another nonya or malay tea-time or breakfast snack. It is also called Kuih Ketayap. This is actually a crepe or pancake that is filled with sweet coconut filling or inti kelapa and rolled. There is no coloring added to my kuih ketayap and the vibrant green color is from the pandan leaves or screwpine leaves.  Even my youngest who is such a picky eater enjoyed this snack that I made for tea today.

my crepe maker

crepe maker pan 

 pandan batter in the crepe maker pan

pandan batter cooking on crepe making 

Ingredients

for the batter

1 cup All Purpose Flour, sifted
4-6 Pandan Leaves, washed and cut into small pieces
2 cups water
1 large egg
1/4 tsp kosher salt

coconut filling or inti kelapa

Oil for greasing the crepe pan or non stick pan

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend the ingredients for a few minutes until 

    everything is finely blended. I used my Vitamix to blend the ingredients. Use a strainer           and strain the pandan crepe batter into a bowl.

2. Leave the batter aside for at least 20 minutes.

3. Use a non-stick pan or crepe pan and lightly grease it. Pour a ladle of batter into the non 

     stick pan and swirl the pan to make an even crepe. I used an electric crepe maker. I 

     poured the batter into the pan that came with the crepe maker and immersed the hot         

     crepe maker into the batter.

4. Remove the cooked crepe from the pan or crepe maker and leave it to cool. Repeat with 

     the rest of the batter.

5. Take a tablespoon of coconut filling or inti kelapa and put in the center of crepe. Roll the 

     crepe like how you would roll a spring roll.  

6. Serve with some hot tea or coffee.

Tang Zhong Roti Boy

Roti Boy Buns

Roti Boy buns just out of the oven

Buns after proofing for the second time and piped with coffee topping

Texture of bun, crusty top and super soft inside

When I used to work in KLCC a new shop opened up selling Roti Boy buns. These are similar to the mexican buns. This shop was located just at the entrance to the underground LRT station path. I used to commute by LRT on the days that I had to for my Masters classes in the evenings. Everytime I pass by this shop, I just couldn't resist the sweet butter and coffee aroma that fills the air. So of course I would stop by to get one hot piping Roti Boy bun and of course a few more more for my kids, husband and mom before rushing to catch the train. Roti Boys were so great on my palette but not on my waistline, unfortunately since these buns are so decadently rich.

Now since I am no where close to a Roti Boy shop, my second son asked me if I could make some for him. After googling a couple of sites, I decided to make the soft buns using the tang zhong method and the coffee topping from on the sites where the topping looked really good. These buns turned out so well.  I put a lot of topping on the buns and that is when it kind of over browned at the sides. Nevertheless the buns were super soft moist and had a buttery crunchy sweet coffee crust. So many adjectives to describe how good these buns are. I just heated up the rest of the buns the next day and it the buns were still just as soft.

makes about 16-18 buns
Ingredients

5 cups of bread flour
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 sachets of instant yeast
50 g Milk Powder
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 a stick of butter or 1/4 cup (about 70g) of butter melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick of cold butter cut into 20 thin slices

for the tang zhong roux

1 cup of water.
1/3 cup Bread Flour

for the coffee topping

200 g butter, at room temperature
160 g icing sugar
3 lightly beaten eggs
3 tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
200 g all purpose flour

Directions

1.  First we need to make the tang zhong roux. Using a whisk mix the flour and water in a    
     pot and place it on a stove on medium low heat.  Heat stirring the mixture until it starts 
     to thicken. When you are able to see the traces of the whisk on the roux. turn off the 
     flame and remove the pot from the fire. Transfer the tang zhong roux to a clean bowl and 
     cover it with a cling wrap and leave it to cool until it is ready to be used. 
2.  In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the milk. Add in the cooled tang zhong 
     roux.
3.  Set a mixer to low speed and using a dough hook, knead the flour with the roux.
3.  Add the milk gradually and continue kneading until the flour, roux and milk are well 
     incorporated. Let the mixer knead the bread dough for about 10-15  minutes.
4.  The dough should be stretchy and should form a thin film when stretched.
5.  At this stage add in the melted butter and continue to knead until the butter in 
     incorporated into the dough.
6.  Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise for about       an hour or until it has doubled it's original size.
7.   While waiting for the dough to rise, make the coffee topping. Using a hand whisk beat     
      the butter and icing sugar until it is light and fluffy. Next add in the egg and continue 
      beating until the egg is incorporated into the butter and sugar. Next add in the flour and 
      mix well.  Finally add in the coffee liquid and vanilla essence and mix well. Pour the 
      topping into an icing bag or any plastic bag and secure the top. 
7.   After an hour, punch down the dough and shape it into 16-18 balls.
8.   Take a ball and flatten it. Place a slice of cold butter and wrap. Roll the dough into a ball 
       again and put in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 
9.   Repeat with the rest of the balls and leave it to proof for another 30 minutes.
10. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350F.
11.  When the buns doubled in size again, snip the pointed edge of the icing bag or plastic      
       bag and pipe the coffee topping on each of the buns and bake then in the preheated oven 
       for about 23-30 minutes.
12.  These buns are so delicious when served warm.

Eggless Bingka Ubi or Cassava Cake

Bengka right out of the oven

   Texture of the bengka. I cut it when it was still a hot



Directions

300 gms tapioca root or yucca
200 ml coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly shredded coconut
2 tablespoon of butter melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cut the yucca or tapioca root into several sections. Peel the tapioca skin, wash it and cut 
    into small pieces. 
3. Put the tapioca pieces into a food processor attached with a chopping blade and turn on 
    the food processor. Let the food processor run for a few minutes until the tapioca become 
    like a rough paste.
4. Transfer the tapioca from the food processor into a sieve and let the excess water drain 
     out from the tapioca. This should take about 30 minutes or so.
5. Next put the tapioca paste into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and 
     pour it into a baking pan that has been lined with greased parchment paper. I used a 4" x 
     8" rectangle pan.
6. Bake the bengka for about 30-40 minutes or test it with a toothpick. If the toothpick     
     comes out clean, then the bengka is done.
7. To brown the top of the bengka, I brushed the benga with some coconut milk and broiled 
     the bengka for about 3-5 minutes. 
8. When the top of the bengka has turned golden brown, remove from the oven and brush it 
     with some butter. Cool it completely before cutting and serving.