Sak Ke Mah

i don't read chinese and i wonder why this snack is called 'sak ke mah'. Mah in cantonese, i know is horse but this snack don't look anything like a horse. Ke , to me , it sounded like riding, put the two words together, it means 'riding a horse'. What is 'sak' and how is this name associated to this delicious snack. Does anyone know the story to this name?, correct me if you please and excuse my ignorance.

Ingredients:

A:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

4 eggs

6 cups oil for frying

B:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup maltose

1/4 cup water

1/2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar

Method:

Sieve ingredients A:, add eggs and knead into a smooth dough , let stand for 20 minutes.

Cut dough into half and roll one half into a rectangle 1/6 inch thick. Cut into 1 inch strips and shred into fine strips.

Heat oil and fry the shredded strips until golden brown. Remove and place into a large bowl.

Cook B: for 2 minutes in medium heat(sugar should be dissolved), pour mixture into the fried noodles and toss to coat.

Pour coated noodles onto a greased cookie sheet pan and press noodles into a compact rectangle, i inch in height.

Let it cool, cut into square pieces.

Serves

Rice Fatt Koh II

What happened??? This time the porcelain tea cup did not smile.

Could it be that it is not hot enough? So i let it sit longer before adding the batter.
Still the same, no smile.

The one in the middle with the blue, the cup is not heated at all and it smiled.


The one in green, the batter was from the first batch and has been sitting for 15 - 20 minutes.


When my dear friend saw Rice Fatt Koh, he so kindly share his tips and i am very grateful for his kind gesture of sharing. He told me to add in 1 tsp of 'ACCORD' and use half of the syrup for the first proof and the result is fantastic. The best part in his recipe is that no "ENO' is used and for the benefit of people like me who are in the United States, where 'ENO' is not readily available, can now make good smiling FATT KOH.

Ingredients:
A:

250 g cold cooked rice
1 tsp of grounded 'ragi/chow paeng'
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp water

B:

300 g sugar
4 cups water

600 g rice flour (divided into 1/2)
1 tsp 'ACCORD'

C:

1 tsp double action baking powder

Food colorings

Method:

Mix all ingredients A in a container with a lid and leave to ferment for 48 hours.

48 hours later.

Dissolve sugar with the 4 cups of water and then leave to cool.

Blend the fermented rice with 1/2 of the syrup and then mix it with 300 gms of the rice flour and 1 tsp "ACCORD". Pass batter through a fine sieve, and leave to ferment further for about 8 - 9 hours (because of altitude, i was able to steam them after 4 hours, i suppose, the batter will only be ready after 8 hours as suggested for sea level)

4 hours or 8 - 9 hours later.

Add in the rest of the syrup and 300 gms of rice flour. Mix thoroughly.

Heat the cups in the steamer for at least 5 minutes before pouring in the batter.

Dilute C in a little water and mix into batter , add coloring and stir well.

Pour into heated cups - 90% full and steam on high heat for 15 - 20 minutes depending on the sizes of cups.

Cool before serving


Serves

Rice Fatt Koh

The green ones had more Eno and Baking Powder


The one using the Sake Cup did not smile. Same Batter filled 90% to the brim.


These 3 cups were used and the koh did not smile with the straight sided sake cup

Although i had Eno Fruit Salt sitting in the pantry, i could not try this recipe cos i do not have 'ragi/chow paeng'. Thank you, Mr Lam for bringing me some from Malaysia and thank you dear Lena for sending me the Eno. Because of these generous friends that i am able to try and post what happened when Fatt Koh does not smile and why some smile more than others.

Ingredients:

A:

250 g cold cooked rice
1 tsp of grounded 'ragi/chow paeng'
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp water

B:

300 g sugar
4 cups water

600 g rice flour

C:

2 tsp Eno
2 tsp double action baking powder
Food colorings

Method:

Mix all ingredients A in a container with a lid and leave to ferment for 48 hours.

48 hours later.

Dissolve sugar with the 4 cups of water and then leave to cool.


Blend the fermented rice with the syrup and then mix it with the rice flour. Pass batter through a fine sieve, and leave to ferment further for about 8 - 9 hours (because of altitude, i was able to steam them after 4 hours, i suppose, the batter will only be ready after 8 hours as suggested for sea level)

8 - 9 hours later.

Heat the cups in the steamer for at least 5 minutes before pouring in the batter.

Dilute C in a little water and mix into batter and stir well.

Pour into heated cups - 90% full and steam on high heat for 15 - 20 minutes depending on the sizes of cups.

Cool before serving


Serves

Char Siew Crisp/Char Siew Sou

Thanks to one of my readers for reminding me about these Crisps/Sou. This pastry is a sweet dough and very delicate, so the least handling the better. It is not difficult to make if you have leftover Char Siew.

Ingredients:

10 ozs all purpose flour
3 ozs butter
2 1/2 oz lard/shortening
2 oz sugar
1 oz water
1 beaten egg yolk plus 1 tsp water for glazing



Filling:

6 oz Char Siew - diced
3 oz onion (1/2 a medium size)- diced
3 chinese shitake mushrooms - soaked and diced
1 tbsp of diced carrots
1 tbsp chopped spring onions

1 tbsp oil

Seasonings:

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp shao xing/hua tiau wine
dash of pepper
1/2 tsp cornstarch plus 1 tbsp water


Method:

Put flour and sugar into food processor. Pulse twice to mix.

Add in butter and lard/shortening and pulse until butter is pea sized. Then add in water.

Pulse until the dough comes together. Remove and let dough rest in the refridgerator for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil and fry onions. Saute onions until soft, then add in the carrots and mushrooms. Stir fry to combine and then add in the Char Siew. Sprinkle wine and seasonings, mix well. Dissolve the cornstarch and add in to form gravy. Let this cool before using.

Preheat oven at 200 c/400 f.

Knead dough into a long roll and divide into 24 equal portions.

Knead each portion into a thin round, wrap in filling with sealed edge facing down. Flatten with palm and brush beaten egg yolk on top. This dough is very delicate and i prefer to just use the offset spatula and fold into half circle or rectangle, seal the edges.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Renee's 6th Birthday Cake

RENEE is 6 years old today and she had a party for her classmates yesterday. This year, the theme was Ariel, The little Mermaid. Everything on the cake was edible except Ariel's head which is plastic. Flounder and Sebastian were made of sugar. To get Flounder to look cherry and smiling was difficult, it kept looking like an old bald man and i had to make Sebastian look fat to keep the head in place. The children were more excited with the aqua gummies than my effort. The party was a huge success and the birthday girl was the happiest, as all her presents were what she wanted most. Her friends greeted her with the loudest and a new version of the birthday song - Happy Birthday Cha Cha Cha.

The cake and icing recipe is here http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/03/renees-birthday-cakes.html and the sugar recipe is here. The rock is cake covered with melted chocolate mixed with popcorns.

Christmas Stollen

Last Christmas, i decided not be make dessert but made a Stollen which is more meaningful. This recipe is from from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice.


Ingredients:

Makes 1 large or 2 small loaves

Sponge

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4-5 teaspoons (or 2 packets) instant or active dry yeast
Fruit - 2 cups dried fruit (raisins, golden raisins, dried cherries, dried apricots, etc.)

1/2 cup Grand Marnier, brandy, rum, or schnapps

1 tablespoon orange or lemon extract and/or grated lemon or orange rind

Dough

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick) butter, softened

1/4 to 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup almond slivers or marzipan

Topping

Butter or oil

powdered sugar

Method:

Warm the milk to approximately 100 degrees. Mix the yeast into the milk and stir into the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 1 hour until the sponge is very foamy.

While the sponge is fermenting, combine the dried fruit and the liqueur.

When the sponge is ready, combine the remaining flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir in the sponge, egg, softened butter, and enough water to form a soft but not sticky dough.

Stir in the dried fruit and knead in a mixer or by hand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic or a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

On a floured surface, shape the dough into something like a rectangle, either by rolling it out or pressing it with your hands.

Place the marzipan or slivered almonds in the center of the loaf. Fold the dough closed and shape the loaf into something resembling a crescent.

Cover the loaf loosely with plastic and set it aside to rise for approximately an hour to an hour and a half.

While it is rising, preheat the oven (and baking stone, if you use one) to 350 degrees.

When fully risen, bake the stollen for approximately 20 minutes. Rotate it and bake it until the internal temperature is approximately 190 degrees. Might have to go an additional 30 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove the stollen from the oven. While still hot, brush the top of the loaf with butter or vegetable oil and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serves

Kampong Johnson's Rendang

In 1966, October, President Johnson visited Malaysia and he visited this Kampong in Negeri Sembilan which changed it's name to Kampong Johnson in honor of his visit. A feast was cooked by the Kampong Folks and the most memorable dish was the Rendang with Jackfruit. Negeri Sembilan's rendang differs from the other states of Malaysia as it is cooked with Green Thai bird chillies instead of red dried chillies and aromatics like ginger, galangal, fresh tumeric, fresh tumeric leaves, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves . It has no spices.

As the hot topic these days is the President, it makes me think of this dish which was so delectable and although i do not have all the aromatics but do have a packet of instant rendang mix which was not quite the same but did bring back fond memories of President Johnson's visit that day.

Ingredients:

500 - 600 gm beef - cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 can Jackfruit - drained

1 packet ChanHong Instant Rendang Mix(available online here http://mytasteofasia.com/)

1 400 ml can of coconut milk (70% saturated fat)

1 stalk lemon grass - crushed (optional)

4 - 5 kaffir lime leaves(optional)

2 tbsp kerisik

3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Using the pressure cooker, heat cooking oil and add in the contents of the packet of ChanHong Instant Rendang Mix and saute until fragrant.

Add in beef slices, lemon grass and coconut milk.

Add enough water to cover the beef.

Close the pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 - 15 minutes depending on the type and quality of beef used.

Release pressure and open the lid, add in kaffir lime leaves and kerisik and cook until sauce is thickened.

Add in the jackfruit and cook until it is cooked through.

Add salt to adjust taste.

Rendang is ready to be eaten.

Enjoy

Serves