The Fried Stuff

My journey in the kitchen continues with adventures in making local kuehs.

While the previous creations have been mainly steamed stuff (发糕, 水淉 and 小龙包), my recent Singapore local kuehs required deep frying. Now, I usually try to avoid frying stuff, firstly because of the huge amount of oil needed which leads to the second reason that they're not so healthy. But there's no denying the fried crispy texture makes them extra tasty and appetising.

So I made recent exceptions by frying Kueh Kodok (Deep Fried Banana Balls) and Sesame Balls (煎堆), comforting myself it will be less sinful since I use 100% cholestrol free canola oil. In fact, both these kuehs uses healthy vegetarian ingredients. Kueh Kodok uses bananas and the Sesame Balls uses sweet potatoes and red beans. So oily-ness aside, we are consuming a good amount of fibre as well.

Kueh Kodoks

I love Kueh Kodoks. I remembered at my old work place, the Malay stall at the canteen would make these every afternoon about 3pm for tea. I will go downstairs to grab 3 for $1. The ones I made tasted quite similar, except it would be even better if I had waited a few more days for the bananas to get more ripe and sweet.

煎堆

I also love Sesame Balls and would always buy one or two when I pass by those Yum Cha (Dim Sum) restaurants. They usually cost about A$1.50 each. I like the crispy and chewy texture of sesame seed coated skin. The Sesame Balls I made turned out not too bad. I used red bean paste for the filling and it was nice too. However, next time, I'll increase the amount of glutinous rice flour to make the skin more chewy. I find mine not chewy enough compared to those sold outside as there was more sweet potatoes than flour.

Red Bean paste filling

Unfortunately, KK does not seem to like both the Kueh Kodoks nor the Sesame Balls. It has never been easy to get KK interested in food in general, and even more difficult to get him to try NEW food. To his credit, he is getting better now but there are still many food that he turns his nose up to. As a food-lover, I cannot understand this inhibition and can only shake my head and say "You don't know what you are missing, boy ." Luckily, I still have XX , who is more 'normal' and loves to eat (like me), to appreciate and help finish my kuehs.

Local Delights

After 2 weeks of adjusting from jet lag and recovering from illness, I finally feel normal again. My kitchen is fully back in operation as I began to get into the hang of cooking and baking again.




I've been making some of our regular favourites, like pizzas and pastas, and also trying out quite a few new recipes, thanks in part to some new cookbooks, equipment and gadgets purchased from Singapore.





Sweet Buns

Got the recipe from Baking Mum's blog and tried it out for the first time. I made a variety of fillings, mainly strawberry jam (for XX) and chocolate (for KK). I also made some with pork floss, kaya and cheese, just to experiment a bit. It was quite fun trying out different shapes, and the children participated as well, kneading and shaping the dough. KK made a special one with the word "lego", turned out quite cute.










Chwee Kueh
I've been wanting to make these for a long time. Firstly, it's one of Hubby and my favourite hawker fare. We love the ones from Bedok. Secondly, chwee kuehs are not readily available in Melbourne. We found some at Chomp Chomps but they cost $4.50 for 3!! Though we crave for it, no way we will pay such ridiculous price for rice flour and salted tunips.

So this trip back, I made sure I stopped by Phoon Huat and got 12 chwee kueh moulds, in addition to eating my fill of Bedok's chwee kuehs. My first attempt, I didn't quite like the texture of the rice cakes. They were too dense and hard. I added 100ml more hot water and the next round turned out much softer. Still cannot beat those at Bedok's but it will satisfy the next round of cravings.










Muah Chees
I made these together with a friend, following the recipe from my latest cookbook of kuehs. Turns out really easy and just like those we eat at pasar malams! The tip is to place the sticky dough inside a plastic bag when kneading it, then it won't stick all over your fingers.








Pandan Waffles
My sister bought me a 3-in-1 sandwich maker with interchangeable grill and waffle plates. Pandan waffles is also something that I crave for from Singapore. Also waffles make a good breakfast with kaya/chocolate or dessert with ice-cream and fruits. I've been eyeing a sandwich grill and waffle maker for some time so this one really meets my needs.










Sweet Potato Fa-Gao
My friend made these and I found that they tasted good. So since I've bought a few sweet potatoes recently, I too followed the recipe and made a batch today. Yummy, though I was hoping they'll "fa" (rise) more....hee.