Here (making it from scratch) – https://jackiem.com.au/2019/07/24/how-to-make-tofu-pudding-taufu-fa/

and here (using the shortcut version) – https://jackiem.com.au/2022/05/11/how-to-make-easy-taufu-fah-sweet-tofu-pudding/

and since I don’t monetise the content on this site, I’m not that invested in writing the kind of 3000-word essays that permeate food blogs.

This blog post follows on from the Live broadcast I did on this same topic, the replay of which is no longer available because Facebook decided to delete all Lives after 30 days.

Here’s a summation of some of the key points from the live broadcast, though, truthfully, you probably should watch the video to get the vicariously immersive experience of making tau fu fah at home.

Ingredients and Equipment for Homemade Tau Fu Fah

1. Soy Drink, Not Soy Milk
First, make sure you’re using soy drink (no sugar) and not the soy milk you typically find as a dairy-free coffee substitute. The latter doesn’t work for making Tau Fu Fah.

2. Setting Agent
You’ll need GDL (Glucono Delta Lactone) as the setting agent. It’s more consistent and readily available compared to traditional gypsum and produces a more accurate texture compared to agar-agar. You can find GDL online – I bought mine on Ebay, and a little will last you a long time.

3. Measuring Tool

Refractometer: This tool measures the concentration of your soy drink. You want it to be between 8 and 10 on the Brix scale. This means getting a Refractometer with gradations that range from 0-20 (ie. ones that are marketed as suitable for “milk” readings). By the way, you can get this for under $30 Aussie if you buy it from Ebay/AliExpress/Temu. (Pictured below is one from AliExpress – https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32894287436.html)

The Process of Making Soy Pudding

1. Temperature Control
Heat your soy drink to between 90-98C. If it’s too hot or too cold, the soy pudding won’t set properly.

2. Thermomix (If Available)
A Thermomix is great for heating the soy drink to the precise temperature. If you don’t have one, simmer it on a stove, then let it cool down to below boiling point but above 90C (you’ll need a thermometer, of course).

3. Using a Refractometer
Place a drop of soy drink on the refractometer to check the concentration. It should read between 8 and 10 Brix.

4. Preparing Soybeans (Optional)
If you prefer using soybeans:

• Crush soybeans plus water in a powerful blender like a Thermomix. No, I don’t presoak my beans overnight.
• Strain the blended soybeans through a double layer of muslin cloth to get soy extract. Then transfer the strained soy extract back into the rinsed Thermomix bowl or pot and cook it.

5. Cooking and Setting

• Heat your soy extract or soy drink to between 90-98C (I always get it to 98C because it will have cooled down a few degrees by the time you get your act together with the cornstarch/GDL mixture)
• Mix GDL with cornstarch and about 1/4 cup of cold soy drink or water, then pour into mould (I use a thick glass bowl)
  Check the concentration of the soy drink; if it’s under 8, cook it further. Pour into mould and give it one stir, then quickly cover with tea towl + pot lid, or use a silicone cover like in my broadcast video above
• Set for at least 20 mins (30 is better)

Troubleshooting Your Malaysian Dessert

1. Brand Sensitivity
Different brands of soy drink may yield different results. I recommend the Hoa Hung brand for those in Sydney, Australia, which is already so concentrated (at 10 Brix) that you just need to heat it up to 98C and you know it is good to go. Other brands (or soy bean extract if making from scratch) may require you to simmer the soy drink for 20-30 minutes. Both the Hoa Hung and Fortune brands are pictured below. BTW I tried mixing half and half (by necessity because I didn’t have enough Hoa Hung on hand) and it actually turned out quite perfect.

2. Common Issues

• Using soy milk (ie. non-dairy substitute for your coffee) does not work – I’ve tried. Soy milk contains additives like vegetable oil and other stuff; you want something that’s straight soy beans and water.
• Temperature inaccuracies will prevent setting.
• Variations in soybean batches or soy drink brands may require adjustments.

Final Words

Experiment with different brands of soy drink if your first attempt doesn’t work. If you find one that does, try to stick with it.
Get yourself a Refractometer for milk – if it’s good enough for one of the most famous Tau Fu Fah places in Malaysia (Ding Feng in Ipoh), it’s good enough for the rest of us.

If you’ve found this content helpful, why not sign up to my email list – https://jackiem.com.au/email – I share a lot of exclusive in-depth content with my email subscribers, not to mention other news/special offers etc.

Catch you next time!

Jackie M.

The post How to Make Homemade Tau Fu Fah (Soy Pudding) That Doesn’t Fail first appeared on Jackie M..

In all the years I’ve cooked Live On Air, I’ve elicited more comments about the Thermomix TM5 behind me than all my other kitchen gadgets and utensils put together. I usually brush these off by telling my audience that it’s really just a multi-function kitchen unit and that I mostly use it as a glorified food processor. 

I do that partly because I don’t want the conversation distracted from the dish at hand that I happen to be showcasing, and partly because frankly, the novelty factor of owning a Thermomix wore off a long time ago. So I generally space off on any questions or comments about my Thermomix. 

Unless, of course, you happen to be the Queen of Malaysia. Her Majesty Queen Azizah was Live on Air with my Masters of Malaysian Cuisine group for 90 minutes during our New Year’s Eve special, and she noticed my Thermomix and expressed interest in how I use it, not for anything special, but for everyday cooking.

This perfectly aligns with how I treat the Thermomix – I don’t subscribe to Thermomix recipe portals or use it because of wanting to follow any special diet; I don’t time everything to the second or stress out over what speed I should be using for what ingredients. 

And I’ve been known to get irked when asked how one should adapt my TM5 recipes for their TM6/TM31 etc. because, to me, everything is “agak-agak” (ie. guesstimated) anyway.

I decided to make this video in response to the Queen’s question; part of it covers the fundamentals of a Thermomix and its functions, then I go into some detail regarding the kind of stuff for which I find it helpful.

Watch here >> https://youtu.be/29gvcUYD2dc

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of tasks in my kitchen, where the Thermomix is my appliance of choice – 

1. Fish paste for Yong Tau Foo (stuffed tofu & vegetables)
2. Hainanese Bread dough making
3. Roti canai dough
4. Tough Asian herbs like galangal and lemongrass
5. Kaya
6. Soy milk and tofu pudding 
7. Malaysian soft-boiled eggs
8. Dried chilli paste
9. Prawn noodle paste
10. Ikan bilis powder

In broad strokes, the Thermomix performs functions in a time and energy-efficient way; some jobs could just as easily be done by your regular food processor/blender/steamer/etc. so you may struggle to parse its usefulness especially considering the cost investment. Where it stands out is when you need the extra processing power to handle tough ingredients, and in tasks where you need to stir something for long periods at a set temperature.

When I get the chance I’ll collate the recipes that are mentioned in the video, so if you want to be first in line to get them, make sure you sign up to my email list via the form on this page. 

The post 10 Ways The Thermomix Is Great For Asian Cooking first appeared on Jackie M..

Yee Mein (Cantonese) aka fried wheat noodles come in two varieties that I’m aware of – there’s the thinner, darker version that some Malaysians know and love, and there’s the more famous thicker, lighter-coloured version that’s used in premium Chinese restaurant dishes like crab with ginger and shallots. This recipe is for the latter.

I’ve made this with and without egg and they both turn out just fine; if you do use it, just crack the egg into your measuring jug/cup first, then add water to take it up to the same overall volume of liquid.

These noodles keep really well in an airtight container (they don’t need refrigeration); to use, either soak in hot water first, then drain and add into the sauce to cook further until soft, or add them directly into the sauce and simmer until soft. Here’s one use for it –
https://jackiem.com.au/2019/01/17/how-to-cook-lobster-yee-mein/

Yee Mein (Fried Wheat Noodles)

INGREDIENTS:

500g plain flour

250ml water

1 tsp salt

Oil for deep-frying

Utensils – sieve with a wide, flat bottom & pasta roller would be helpful

METHOD:

1. Combine flour, water and salt in a dough mixer and knead at medium speed for 5 minutes (I use a Thermomix on dough setting for 3 minutes). Alternatively, knead by hand for 10 minutes.
2. Divide into finger-sized chunks. Set the pasta machine to the widest setting and feed the dough through it 3 times.
3. Reduce the setting by 2 and roll the dough another 3 times; lower it again by 2 and roll out the dough twice.
4. Cut into thin noodles by hand or using the thin noodle setting on your pasta machine. (Note that the noodles will expand noticeably in the oil.)
5. Heat the oil in a heavy-based wok to 190C. Place the noodles in the sieve, then lower into oil, making sure they are completely submerged.
6. Fry until crispy ie. when the bubbling in the oil dissipates. Transfer onto paper towels to drain.
7. Repeat with the rest of the noodles.
8. Allow to cool before storing in airtight packaging.

The post How To Make Yee Mein (Fried Wheat Noodles) first appeared on Jackie M..

Taufu Fah (ie. Tofu Pudding) is a simple Chinese dessert (usually served warm) that’s a favourite of many Malaysians. It wasn’t until fairly recently though, that I started making it from scratch at home, and I’ve found it to be pretty easy and quick to do. It’s also “accidentally vegan” – in other words, without needing any tweaking or compromises – which, to me, is the best form of vegan.

The version of taufu fah that I grew up loving was served with a white (or rock) sugar and ginger syrup – ie. what you would find in Sydney’s Chinatown and in places like Hong Kong. I was somewhat surprised on a trip back to Malaysia to find it served with a palm sugar (gula melaka) syrup. I learned afterwards that’s par for the course – I’m not entirely sure if that’s a post-Jackie M-Australian migration-development (ie. of the last 35 years) or if I just never came across it with palm sugar while growing up in my corner of Malaysia.

The traditional or commercial way of making tofu pudding is through the use of gypsum powder, which you can find at a good Asian grocery store (here in Sydney, anyway). My couple of attempts with gypsum were failures, so instead, I’ve been using GDL – glucono-delta-lactone – which I found and bought on Ebay.

A couple of noteworthy points regarding this recipe –

• don’t yield to the temptation of using too much GDL – a little goes a looooong way – or your tofu pudding will end up tasting sour.
• I don’t soak the soy beans before use, because I generally have neither the foresight to plan what I’m going to cook 8 hours ahead, nor the patience to wait that long in between cooking steps.

TOFU PUDDING (TAUFU FAH)

INGREDIENTS:

160g soy beans

1.3L cold water

1/2 tsp GDL

3 tsps cornstarch or tapioca starch

Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 slices ginger

You’ll also need –

• a decent blender (I use a Thermomix)
• 2 muslin bags
• a container or pot with lid as pudding mould
• a clean tea towel

METHOD:

1. Combine half the water with the soy beans, blend on high speed for 30 seconds.
2. Place muslin bag (double-layered) over a bowl. Pour contents into it and strain.
3. Transfer the crushed soy beans back into the blender.
4. Add remaining water and blend on high speed a further 30 seconds.
5. Pour into muslin bag and strain again. Save the crushed soy beans for my upcoming Vegan Cucur Badak (savoury fried sweet potato dumplings with spicy filling) recipe.
6. Take out 1/4 cup of the soy milk and mix it with the cornstarch. Set aside.
7. Heat the soy milk to just under boiling point (95-98’C) (I do this in the Thermomix because I can set the cooking temperature).
8. Stir the cornstarch/water mixture again (it will have settled while you’re heating up the soy milk), then lightly stir the GDL into it.
9. Pour the cornstarch/water/GDL mixture into the tofu pudding mould/container/pot.
10. Pour the hot-but-not-quite-boiling soy milk into the mould.
    Stir it in one direction, once.
11. Place tea towel over the mould, then cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
12. To make the syrup, combine sugar with water and ginger. Bring to a boil, simmer until all sugar is dissolved and it’s the consistency of a thin syrup.
13. To serve, use a metal spoon or ladle to scoop thin layers of pudding into a bowl, then top with syrup.

The post How To Make Tofu Pudding (Taufu Fah) first appeared on Jackie M..

I rarely bake because I’m not much of a cake eater, but I have on occasion had to use up some leftover carrots, in which case my go-to option is to bake it into a carrot cake.  This recipe was originally sourced from the Thermomix recipe community, but I’ve made so many adjustments that it bears no resemblance to the original.

I find Western cake recipes to be way, way too sweet for my palate, so I halve the sugar or more as a matter of course, and it was no exception here.

Also, since I love cream cheese, I ramped up the topping 5-fold – the icing portion has less than one fifth the sugar called for in the original recipe, and more than 5x the cream cheese. You’ll probably end up with extra cream cheese topping; I do 500g because it’s nicely equal to two x 250g blocks of cream cheese and as an Asian cook, I never have any other use for it.

Finally, I never have walnuts in my pantry (again, Asian cook), so I make it nut-free and it actually works out well for when I take this to church for morning tea etc. because it conveniently avoids any allergy issues.

By the way, I’m a very unsophisticated baker; I throw everything together and mix it; no sifting/adding stuff in stages, blitzing at different speeds for x number of seconds etc. for me.

Carrot Cake

INGREDIENTS:

400 grams carrots, cut into chunks
2 eggs
100 grams sugar
160 grams cooking oil
1/4 tsp salt
200 grams plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Icing –
150g sugar
500g cream cheese
45g butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180’C. Line an 8-inch cake tin with baking paper.
2. Grate carrots, or if using a Thermomix, process for a few seconds until crumbly.
3. Add all other ingredients (except the icing stuff) and blend until well combined.
4. Transfer into baking tin and bake for 50 minutes. Check for doneness, remove and cool.
5. Combine icing ingredients in Thermomix or food processor, blend until well-mixed. Spread on cake; cut and serve.

The post How to Make An Easy Nut-Free Carrot Cake first appeared on Jackie M..

Sweet Potato Onde-Onde

INGREDIENTS:

200g steamed & mashed sweet potato

200g glutinous rice flour

Water as needed to make a soft, non-tacky dough

1 cup desiccated coconut

150g dark brown palm sugar log, grated

Water for boiling the dumplings

METHOD:

1. Mix the mashed sweet potato with the glutinous rice flour, then gradually add water while kneading until you get a soft, non-tacky mixture.
2. Start heating up some water in a pot.
3. Roll up the grated palm sugar into marble-sized balls.
4. Pinch the dough and roll into balls about 2cm in diameter.
5. Stuff the dough with the palm sugar, seal, then drop into boiling pot of water.
6. Repeat, making sure the onde-onde balls don’t get stuck on the bottom of the pot.
7. Remove with slotted spoon when balls float to the top and remain there for at least 20 seconds.
8. Transfer into bowl with desiccated coconut and toss.
9. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Black Sesame Paste Dessert

(Recipe adapted from Judybakez.com)

INGREDIENTS:

60g black sesame seeds

60g white sesame seeds

60g glutinous rice flour

100g sugar

1L water

1 Tbsp oil

½ tsp salt

METHOD:

1. Combine black and white sesame seeds in a non-stick pan and toast until aromatic.
2. Transfer into a high-powered blender (I used my Thermomix TM5) along with glutinous rice flour and blitz to a powdery consistency.
3. Place ingredients in non-stick pan, add sugar, water, oil and salt.
4. Cook on low heat, stirring gently, until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thickened to desired consistency.
5. Serve warm in rice bowls.

The post How to Make Sweet Potato Onde-Onde and Black Sesame Paste Dessert first appeared on Jackie M..

Chilli Sauce for Dumplings (1 hr 16 mins into video)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups large chillies
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp salt
Cooled, boiled water (if needed)

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients except water in a blender (I used a Thermomix) and blitz on high for about 5 seconds. Add small amount of water as required to get to desired consistency and blend further to get a smooth paste.
Keep in fridge for up to a week or store in freezer.

Recipe link for my chilli crab can be found here >> http://jackiem.com.au/2017/03/14/cook-singapore-chilli-crab/

The post How to Make Chilli Sauce for Dim Sums first appeared on Jackie M..

Good news was that Netgear said they would replace it; bad news was that I had to go through Telstra. Hell would have to freeze over before I went back to the Telstra Shop at Westfield Miranda, so I instead lodged a complaint directly at the Telstra website.

That same evening, I received a phonecall from someone who I’ve since been told is my dedicated Telstra case manager for the next six months (They probably have me flagged as a troublemaker by this stage).

As I write this a week and a half later, I’m in possession of a brand new replacement glitch-free Nighthawk M1, plus a reimbursement from Telstra for a portion of my bill, plus I get to keep the dodgy first modem (well, if nothing else, I don’t have to fuss about sending it back). I’m like the Jack(ie) Bauer of the war on Telstra. #soproud

I’m not about to claim this is anything like the Hokkaido cheese tarts that have populated my Instagram feed in the last 12 months, since I’ve never actually tried one. I was intrigued nonetheless to have a go at making it, minus all the fussy steps that come with your standard baking recipe.

This recipe is (significantly) adapted from https://guide.michelin.sg/baked-cheese-tarts

Baked Asian Cheese Tarts

For the tart pastry –

• 80g plain flour
• 20g cornstarch
• 20g sugar
• 50g salted butter, cut into cubes, cold
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp milk

For the filling –

• 150g cream cheese
• 50g Mascarpone cheese
• 20g Parmesan cheese
• 30g salted butter
• 100g milk
• 60g sugar
• 8-12g corn starch, depending on consistency desired
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
• 1 egg yolk for brushing on top of custard

Method –

1. To make the pastry, combine all ingredients and lightly work with your hands to produce a soft dough. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.
2. Combine all ingredients except egg yolk and blend, then cook at 80’C for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to a porridgy consistency. I used a Thermocook for this since it handles both the blending and cooking/stirring. You could alternatively cook it using a double boiler (ie. in a bowl sitting on top of a pan of simmering water).
3. Preheat oven to 230’C fan mode (unless you’re using an air-fryer like mine, in which case I think 170’C would be plenty).
4. Roll and mould pastry into greased tart moulds, prick holes on the base, then bake for 8-10 minutes.
5. Remove from moulds, pipe (or spoon) filling into pastry case, brush with egg yolk, and bake 6 minutes.
6. Allow to cool, then serve.

Ps. you’ll see in my video I got tired of messing with the dinky little tart moulds and ended up doing one large tart instead. I think I baked the cheese filling for about 15 minutes because of its larger size; it turned out fine as well, though do let it cool down completely before you cut it into slices since the filling will still be soft and a oozy while warm.

*** I used an Optimum HealthyFry and Optimum Thermocook in this post. More details on these appliances can be found at Prestige Home Appliances.

The post How to Make Baked Asian Cheese Tarts first appeared on Jackie M..

Steamed Silver Perch with Preserved Radish

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 x 700g whole silver perch, cleaned
• 1 stalk green onion

• 3 Tbsps minced preserved radish
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• ½ Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 200ml water
• 1 Tbsp oil

METHOD:

1. Fill steamer with water (I use 1L water in my Thermocook, though you may need more if using a larger pot) and bring to a boil.
2. Place green onion in steamer basket and arrange fish on top.
3. Steam for 8 minutes, then remove from heat. Place fish on serving dish.
4. Heat up some oil in a saucepan, then saute ginger, garlic and preserved radish until garlic is lightly browned.
5. Reduce heat and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, mix well, then remove from heat.
6. Pour sauce over fish and serve.

Steamed Barramundi with Preserved Mustard Greens

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 x 700g whole barramundi, cleaned
• 1 stalk green onion

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• ½ cup preserved mustard greens, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp soya sauce
• 200ml water
• 1 Tbsp oil

METHOD:

1. Fill steamer with water (I use 1L water in my Thermocook, though you may need more if using a larger pot) and bring to a boil.
2. Place green onion in steamer basket and arrange fish on top.
3. Steam for 8 minutes, then remove from heat. Place fish on serving dish.
4. Heat up some oil in a saucepan, then add garlic and saute until lightly browned.
5. Add all other ingredients and bring to a low simmer.
6. Adjust seasonings as required, then pour over fish and serve.

The post How to Cook Steamed Fish with Preserved Vegetables first appeared on Jackie M..

Laksa Kelantan

INGREDIENTS:

• 1kg basa fillets
• 500ml coconut cream
• 500ml water

• 1 brown onion, pureed
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 3-5 pieces dried tamarind slices (substitute with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice)
• ½ Tbsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Salad suggestions –

• Lettuce or cabbage, thinly sliced
• Cucumber, julienned
• Spanish onion – sliced
• Bunga kantan (torch ginger flower) – thinly sliced
• Laksa leaves (aka polygonum aka Vietnamese mint)
• Pineapple, cut into thin strips
• Snake beans, cut into thin slices

Noodles –

• Rice spaghetti or rice sticks, cooked and drained

Sambal –

• 2 tomatoes
• 6 big chillies
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp belacan powder (optional)
• 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice

METHOD:

1. Poach or steam fish until cooked. Mince the fish in a food processor, then simmer along with all other sauce ingredients.
2. Adjust seasonings to taste.
3. To make sambal, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend. Adjust seasonings before use.
4. Blanch noodles briefly in a separate pot of hot water, then strain and transfer into bowls.
5. Top with salad ingredients, sauce and sambal to serve.

The post How to Make Laksa Kelantan first appeared on Jackie M..