jessiefoodinthekitchen

  Rice cakes or Nian Gao are a symbol of "prosperity", so during the Lunar New Year. Every household will buy or make rice cakes during the Lunar New Year in the hopes of a "higher year," which represents greater success and fortune in the upcoming year. Instead of frying the Nian Gao” with batter, I wrap it with a piece of puff pastry and bake in the oven, in this way, I can taste a gluey Nian Gao with crispy pastry. I made this last year, and my kids requested to make this again for this year. It is not a recipe, it is merely a method of serving Nian Gao, or Chinese rice cake. Everyone will be thrilled by this fantastic twist and surprise to a classic. In I'm using store bought puff pastries.   Some come in 8" or 4" square sizes, while others come in a rolled-up sheet. If you're using the rolled-up sheet, as I did, you'll need to roll them out and cut them to the appropriate size. Simply place the Nian Gao onto a piece of puff pastry a...

  Sachima (萨琪玛） takes me back to my early years. When I was younger, I really liked eating this. They taste very good. They are popular snacks for both adults and children, and they are the ideal edible gift for Chinese New Year.   Making sachima dough is like making egg noodles. So, basically, they are egg noodles that have been deep-fried till they are puffed, occasionally topped with additional ingredients for flavor, bonded together with melted sugar, pressed into a square pan, and then sliced into squares. Sachima is distinguished by its beige hue, crisp and delicate flavor, sweetness and delectability, and rich maltose aroma. One of Ipoh, Malaysia's regional specialties!   A few years ago, my husband and I made a trip to Ipoh's "Mistress Lane" ( 二奶巷 ) to try the local Sachima, which has been there for more than 50 years. There are a lot of different kinds of sachima including ones with sesame, pumpkin seed, walnuts, cranberries, and almonds. According to the...

Ma Lai Gou is a Cantonese dessert. It sounds very fancy, but the method is very simple. If you master the skills, you can make it successfully in one go. Last time, I shared the method of making brown sugar Ma Lai Gou, which is quite overwhelming. This pumpkin Ma Lai Gou is also relatively simple to make. There is no need to knead the dough throughout the process. It only requires a few steps of mixing and steaming. This pumpkin Ma Lai Gou is fragrant, soft, chewy, and nutritious, and it is so delicious that you can’t stop eating it. What distinguishes Pumpkin Ma Lai Gou (MLG) from traditional Fat Gou or Huat Kueh ( 发糕 )then?   This pumpkin MLG is like pumpkin steamed cake( 发糕 ), except that part of the flour is replaced with tapioca starch. Add tapioca starch to the ingredients will make the cake more elastic and chewier. The texture of the pumpkin MLG is as soft as a sponge and chewier than that of the traditional Fat Gou. I am using a 28cm x 20cm x 5cm rectangular gratin dis...

  Today I will share with you how to make Malay kuih also known as “Ma Lai Gao”.   A steamed sponge cake from Malaysia, drew inspiration from British cakes. Later, Cantonese chefs modified it to become what we now know as dim sum. Traditionally, Ma Lai Gao's starter dough takes 24 hours to prepare. I'll show you how to make Ma Lai Gao quickly and easily today without losing out on texture or flavour. In fact, the appearance of “Ma Lai Kou” is very ordinary, not much different from ordinary cakes on the market, but its preparation method and texture are worth learning from. Because it is a fermented flour product, it has a soft and smooth texture. This recipe doesn't require baking, and the preparation of “Ma Lai Gao” is very simple, and the ingredients are divided into dry and wet. The wet ones are milk and eggs, while the dry ones are powdered ingredients. To put it simply, stir the wet ingredients evenly first, then slowly add the dry ingredients, ferment and then s...

Let’s make traditional steamed rice cake “Pak Tong Gou 白糖糕 ”. That we always eat since young. It is thick and smooth, with a hint of sweetness and sourness and a fragrant hint of pandan. The main ingredients used are rice flour fermented with yeast and white sugar. Adding yeast to ferment the batter will produce many small bubbles, which makes the steamed white sugar cake taste softer and more delicious. The traditional method is complicated to make, but now experienced foodies have simplified the steps. Like steamed Malay Cake （马来糕） , needs to be fermented with yeast. The difference is that the fermented pores of this cakes are elastic and non-sticky when eaten and are tough and not easy to break when folded. The taste has the sweet aroma of rice, and it will not become sour if it is fermented for the right time. On the other hand, if you like a sour taste, you can extend the fermentation time. To prevent the batter from layering or precipitating during steaming, the hot boil pand...

  This refreshing treat is as delicious as it is beautiful; not to mention easy. It's also a great party dessert as it's vegan and gluten-free. If you want something more exciting than ice cream, this is the perfect warm weather dessert that won't melt! For the mango base for this dessert, I am using Mango Susu, you can use whatever mango you have, even frozen mango is work. The only condition is the mango is ripe and sweet. And make sure that you peel the mango skin far enough because if you peel the skin too thin, you will taste a bit of bitterness. And I am going to blend it with orange juice, the acidity and citrusy quality will accent and brighten up the sweetness of the mango. For the setting, I am using agar-agar for making this dessert. It is kind of like gelatin; it is set in liquid. However, unlike gelatin, this is plant base, if you have got vegetarian friends coming over, you could treat them with this dessert. The most important thing about using this agar-...

  Speaking of wife cakes or sweetheart cakes, I am sure everyone has curiosity in their mind. Even if you have not eaten them, you must have heard of them. In fact, wife cakes are a Chinese delicacy that has a sweet winter melon centre and a flaky pastry crust. It’s also name as Lao Po Bing ( 老婆饼 ). The ingredients of wife cakes are simple, but the taste is not simple. It has rich fillings and flaky pastry crust, moist and soft fillings. The taste is sweet but not greasy. The filling is made of candied winter melon, coconut flakes or desiccated coconut and white sesame seeds to make glutinous rice filling.  The secret of having a flaky pastry crust is the method of hand-kneading for the water-oil skin. After learning this method, you can also use this method for making other pastry desserts like Seremban Shao Bao, thousand layers mooncake, or even the spiral curry puff.   INGREDIENTS Water Dough （ 8 pcs ） 100g All-purpose flour 20g Sugar ¼ tsp Salt 30g ...

    Taro cake is a traditional Cantonese food and a snack sold in tea houses or dim sum restaurants. The main taro cake ingredients are rice flour, you can also add dried shrimps, mushrooms, Chinese sausages, etc. according to your preference. Dip it with sweet sauce/chili sauce, enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee, it is so good!! Homemade taro cake is full of fillings and is filled with fragrance of taro. So, satisfying! You will discover that some of the recipes on You Tube is in the Taiwanese, Hong Kong, and Macau styles.   It is also typical in Singapore and Malaysia. Certain recipes use wax or cured meat, while others also use dried scallop. In any case, I'm merely using readily available ingredients in a straightforward recipe. I will normally make this taro cake in the evening and then I let it cool on the table as my breakfast the next day morning. You must wait until it cools down completely which easy to slice it. The main ingredient for making this taro ca...

Chinese pumpkin pie has a delicious red bean paste filling with a gorgeous golden crispy crust that is oozy and sticky inside, like mochi. The pumpkin puree gives the skin a gorgeous orange hue. A sweet filling such as red bean paste is placed within. This pumpkin pie might be a popular or easily to approach in West Malaysia. I am living in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. I barely found this snack from dim sum restaurant or any hawker stall. I experimented with it quite a few times and failed quite a few times.   Then I got this recipe that I thought was pretty good which I am going to share with you today. Everyone usually has a pumpkin in their home. When in urgent need, you can use it to cook or make breakfast at any time. Usually, I divide it in half and keep half for cooking, while the other half is steamed and mashed and kept in the refrigerator. When needed, I can use it to make breakfast such as steamed buns, bread, ondeh-ondeh, ang ku kueh, etc. This Chinese pumpkin pie can be...