These spring rolls are so easy to make. My version is close to the fresh ones that we used to have when we were kids. The fresh version is still available in the streets and markets. Jicama is the vegetable for fresh spring rolls or popiah as we call it. I remember when I was …
Eating crunchy and light fritters is one of the joys of life. Back in Malaysia, we come across a hawker in Penang who sells the crunchiest and lightest banana and sweet potato fritters. He sells chempedak when in season, too. The secret to the crunch is that he fries the banana or chempedak or whatever, …
November! How time flies, soon it will be Christmas. Happy Diwali!! … Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire night are the main celebrations in November. Don’t forget Singles Day 11.11 which is a Day in China, where unmarried people have a day of their own, as opposed to Velentine’s day. And Black Friday, too! Singles day …
(This post was first published June 8, 2016.) Egg Beranda was and still is one of our favourite Nyonya dishes. The ingredients are cheap and cheerful and so easy to make. We (my brothers and sisters) had them regularly and then one fine day we realised that mum wasn’t making that anymore. We were adults …
Kuih Bingka Ubi is a baked tapioca cake. It is a Nyonya cake and are enjoyed all over South-east Asia. This type of cake is very similar in Singapore and Malaysia. Also known as cassava, tapioca is common in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other areas where the climate is tropical or sub-tropical. Each country …
Rambutan is so named as the word ‘rambut’ means hair in the Malay language. Therefore, rambutan means a hairy fruit. The outer skin of this tropical fruit is hairy and leathery. Inside this hide a juicy fruit that covers the seed. It is this layer of juicy ( well almost always juicy, but there are …
This post was first published Sept 14 2014 Penang Nyonya fish curry has tamarind as well as coconut milk. A true fusion of Asian flavours . Comprising sourness from the tamarind, creaminess of coconut and savoury from the salt. In addition, the sweetness is from the vegetables and coconut milk.
No Bake, No Steam Snow Skin Moon Cake I made snow skin moon cake! I used many types of fillings, in addition to the normal lotus paste and salted egg yolks. Coconut and mung beans from my previous bakes are used as fillings, too. There are so many computations. I like using the adzuki bean …
The moon cake is an important item in the Mid-autumn festival. This is also known as the moon-cake festival. Moon cakes are made and offered as prayers items. The 8th Lunar month of the Chinese lunar calendar will be here soon. This is an important date in the Chinese calendar as like Chinese New Year, …
Mangosteen is not an easy fruit to open and eat. If your are not in a country where mangosteens are available, I am sure you would be wondering how to open the tough skinned fruit to get to the delicious, sweet, sourish and slimy fruit that I do not know how to accurately describe the …
Sweet Potato Donut, or kuih keria, is one of Malaysia’s favourite kuih. It can be found in the school canteen, in the streets, night markets, morning markets and gerais (small eating stalls). You can get it almost anywhere where there are street food and shops. Keria is enjoyed as a breakfast item, for afternoon tea …
Mint is a refreshing herb that is enjoyed as a drink, and is an important herb in Nyonya cuisine. Mint tea is refreshing , and it is used to flavour summer drinks and cocktails. When made into ice cubes, it refreshes whatever drinks that it is put into. I grow mint in my garden, actually …
Butternut squash or sweet potato steamed kuih is very popular in Malaysia. Originally it is made with sweet potato. Sweet potato is easily available in in Malaysia and Asia. Coconut and tapioca flour are also easily available. These are the common ingredients found in Asia. Butternut squash is a good replacement for sweet potato a …
Crystal Dumplings or Chai Kuih is also know as Soon Kuih in the southern part of Malaysia. This is one of my favourite Chinese snacks. When I was growing up in Malaysia, my neighbour from 10 doors away used to make this. As they are of the Teochew dialect and we are Hokkiens, their festivals …
Turmeric chicken is one of my family’s favourite dishes. Originally, we grill this over charcoal or in the oven grill using the grill setting. It is also known as broiling in the US, I think.
