Traditional Chinese Steamed Egg Cake

(Imported post from my previous blog)

I used to go to the local pasar malam week after week just to buy this silly kuih/cake. You can get it at most places that sells malaysian kuih but believe me, no one makes it like the pasar malam aunty.

So far I haven't tried any that beats the one sold at the OUG pasar malam. I absolutely love the softness of it with its chewy texture, fragrant egg smell (Sexeh, you will love this too! lol), taste and most importantly the fact that its not diabetically sweet. Everything about it suits my tastebuds and I can never get enough. Nothing like old-fashioned comfort food at its best.. One of my favourite cakes of all time I might add.

Oh how I have longed and craved for this tasty, almost guilt-free (I said almost..) steamed egg cake on many cold and lonely nights in Dundee. I had to keep reminding myself: Just a few more weeks and I'll be back home in Malaysia stuffing my face with as many steamed egg cakes as I want.

Unfortunately however, I never made it to the pasar malam during my one week back in Kuala Lumpur due to my "hectic" schedule. (-.-) Now I'm in Kuching and I don't think there's anywhere that makes this cake the way I like it here. I've tried the one sold by the lady at the Petanak market and that just ain't gonna cut it. It's way too sweet and if you know me well enough, one of my mottos in life: SUGAR IS EVIL; yes it is. I have recently acquired the taste for ice lemon tea kosong and trust me, life does not get any more sour than that but I do enjoy it (or so I'd like to think) because it is completely guilt free!

Moving along, a couple of days ago I decided to take matters into my own hands as usual. I did a little bit of research online and came up with a little recipe of my own. My first attempt was quite unsuccessful. I poured the batter straight into the steaming pot which had a diameter of like 9 inches without realizing that there wasn't enough batter to cover the grounds (?) of the pot.. resulted in a flat cake... or rather "kompia" like what my mother called it -.- Also, I left the steamer on high heat for 30 minutes while I got carried away facebooking in my room. whoopsie daisie.

I tried again the next day and it was yummeh. Especially when it was hot straight out of the steamer. Freshly steamed egg cake. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :) What a familiar taste. I was a satisfied girl.

What you will need:

4 medium sized eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

150gm all-purpose flour

100gm caster sugar

2 tsp milk

 

Method:

1. Line a steaming tray/baking tin with baking paper and set aside.

2. Sift flour and baking powder and set aside.

3. Whisk together sugar and eggs until fluffy and a creamy yellow colour is obtained.

4. Pour in half the portion of flour into the egg batter and mix well.

5. Pour in the other half and mix well.

6. Add in the milk and mix well.

7. Pour batter into the steaming tray/baking tin.

8. Steam at high heat for about 15 minutes.

9. Insert a toothpick into the cake and if it comes out clean, it is done!

Try it yourselves folks! Its really good :)

 

Some tips and tricks:

• Try to whisk the sugar and eggs for a longer time so that more air bubbles get trap in the batter. This will result in a fluffier cake.
• When mixing the flour into the egg batter, be careful to do it gently and stop as soon as the flour is incorporated into the mixture. Do not over mix the batter as this would release the air bubbles from the batter.
• Cover the steaming tray/baking tin with a lid to avoid steaming hot water dripping onto the surface of the cake making it reaaaal ugly.
• Most recipes called for the use of cake flour/superfine flour for this cake but I prefer using normal all-purpose flour cos I think thats what gives it its pasar malam texture.

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love weekends.. the only time I get to sleep in as much as I want to make up for the early morning calls the entire past week. Needless to say I had the laziest morning today. Woke up at 11am, made breakfast (or lunch?) and spent some time in the kitchen trying out a new cookie recipe I came across last week from browneyedbaker.com. Absolutely love the texture and flavour! and because it contains oatmeal, it is not AS sinful. teehee

What you will need!

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (omitted)
3 cups oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup dark chocolate chips

 

Method?

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla extract until well blended. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, stirring just until combined.

3. Fold in rolled oats, raisins, and walnuts (in this case, chocolate chips). Drop dough by rounded teaspoons (I used a cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes (mine took 12 minutes) or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Yummy baked salmon with tomatoes and chives

I bought 1kg worth of salmon fillets from Tesco recently so no guessing what has been on my dinner menu for the last couple of days.

Chinese style steamed salmon with light soy sauce, shallow pan fried salmon, salmon porridge even and most recently, oven baked salmon! Baked salmon has got to be my favourite of the lot - you can appreciate the flavour so much more in my opinion and it is sooo convenient to prepare! mmMm i <3 seafood.

What you will need:

Salmon fillets, tomatoes, chives, red onion, splash of olive oil

Seasoning: Garlic salt, pepper, tiny pinch of paprika and dried basil.

Method:

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C

Prepare and wash the salmon fillets, place it on a tin foil.

Season with seasoning ingredients.

Chop up the tomatoes, chives and onions - nestle in between salmon fillets

Last but not least, drizzle some olive oil, wrap up the foil nicely and pop it into the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

Dinner is served!

Homemade Pandan Kaya (Coconut jam)

I woke up this morning craving for kaya toast. The canned versions from Malaysia stocked up in my pantry just won't do; I wanted something old fashioned and authentic just like the ones served in kopitiams back home. Unfortunately in this country, you can't buy ready made yummy kaya off the shelves in bakeries and thus, still dressed in my pj's, I made my way to the kitchen and whipped up some delicious, fragrant home made kaya. mMMmmm :)

I used a simple recipe given to me years and years ago from my aunt who is an expert in traditional cooking.

What you will need:



5 fresh eggs, 200gm white sugar, 50gm pandan flavoured coconut powder, 200ml hot water and half a teaspoon of pandan essence.

I cheated by using pandan flavoured coconut powder and pandan essence because I didn't have fresh pandan leaves on hand and refused to travel all the way to the Chinese supermarket to get some in this blistering cold weather. Feel free to use pandan leaves if you have them!

Method:

Start first by whisking the sugar and eggs together in a stainless steel bowl.


In a separate bowl, combine the powdered coconut with hot water and stir until dissolved. Add the pandan essence.


Pour the coconut mixture into the egg and sugar mixture and place the stainless steel bowl over a pot of hot water for the double boiling effect.


Keep on stirring for the next 40-50 minutes until you get a thick consistency. An old trick is to stir the mixture in the same direction at all times.


Unfortunately for some people, even after stirring consistently throughout the entire time, the kaya mixture will still be lumpy! I've tried over and over again with different recipes but the lumpiness is always there - what you can do is to blend the mixture with a soup blender like what I did and tada!



A jar of smooth yumminess. Cravings satisfied :)

Enjoy folks!