This iteration of yam (taro) cake which I made during my Twitch Live Asian Kitchen broadcast did not start out being vegan, but it became so when I realised I did not have anywhere near enough dried shrimp for it. I did have some minced preserved radish, however (the stuff you use in Pad Thai, and which I use in my Chai Tow Kway or radish cake), so I decided to use that instead.

You can find minced preserved radish (sometimes labelled as preserved turnip) at Asian grocery stores; I buy the minced variety from Thailand which tends to be slightly sweet, as opposed to the ones that are in finger-sized pieces – those are outright salty and require rinsing and mincing before use.

Vegan Yam (Taro) Cake

INGREDIENTS:

350g rice flour

1 Tbsp tapioca flour

1250ml water

2 Tbsps oil

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

½ onion, chopped

300g taro, peeled and cubed

½ tsp five spice powder

2 Tbsps minced preserved radish

½ Tbsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

3-4 Tbsps oil

Toppings –

150g minced preserved radish

½ cup crispy fried shallots

3 Tbsps oil

Toasted sesame seeds

Sesame oil or onion oil

Sliced spring onion

To serve –

Hoisin sauce

Bottled chilli sauce

METHOD:

1. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and water, and mix into a smooth batter.
2. Heat oil, then brown onion and garlic. Add all other ingredients and mix well, then add batter.
3. Cook on low heat until it thickens. Transfer into a greased tray and steam on medium heat for 40 minutes or until done. Line steamer lid with a clean kitchen towel to prevent water collecting on the taro cake.
4. Set aside and allow to cool.
5. Heat oil and fry the minced preserved radish for the topping until lightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
6. Cut the taro cake into diamond shapes or slices, and sprinkle with the minced preserved radish, toasted sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots and a drizzle of sesame oil or onion oil.
7. Heat some hoisin sauce in a saucepan, add some water and sugar to taste, simmer until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened. (I do this because bottled hoisin sauce is generally too strong flavoured and too salty to use straight out of the jar unless as a spread eg. on Peking duck skin or popiah skin).
8. Serve taro cake with the hoisin-based sauce and some bottled chilli sauce.

The post How to Make Vegan Yam (Taro) Cake first appeared on Jackie M..

This is a more recent recipe for Soon Kuih or Chai Kueh that I used during one of my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts on Twitch. I was much happier with the texture of the skin, which was softer and less rubbery, hence why I’m posting it here.

(BTW kuih and kueh are the same word in Malay; they can be used interchangeably, though kuih is a more modern spelling, at least if you are a product of the Malaysian education system of the 70s-80s.)

The previous iteration was posted here – http://jackiem.com.au/2017/10/04/make-soon-kueh-aka-chai-kueh/ 

Nyonya Soon Kuih aka Chai Kueh

Pastry –

(recipe for pastry from Nyonya Passions by Andrew Kow)

125g glutinous rice flour

100g wheat starch

100g tapioca starch

300ml water

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil

Filling –

2 Tbsps cooking oil

2 Tbsps garlic, minced

2 Tbsps dried prawns, soaked and minced

500g yam bean (aka jicama/sarkot/sengkuang) – grated

50g carrot, grated

200ml water

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsps chicken powder

½ tsp white pepper

Garlic oil –

150ml oil

4 Tbsps garlic, minced

METHOD:

1. Make garlic oil by frying minced garlic until lightly browned and aromatic. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 Tbsps oil, then add garlic and saute until lightly browned.
3. Add all other ingredients and simmer until mixture is almost dry and yam bean reaches a translucent appearance. Allow to cool.
4. To make the pastry, combine water, salt and oil in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
5. Mix all the flours in a bowl, add the hot salted water and stir with chopsticks.
6. Knead into a soft dough, then roll into a cylinder. Cut into equal portions and roll out to a thin pastry about 4 inches in diameter.
7. Fill with one tablespoon of yam bean mixture, then pleat and/or pinch to seal.
8. Steam on medium heat for 8 minutes or until the pastry is translucent.
9. Drizzle with garlic oil, garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with chilli sauce.

Chilli sauce recipe can be found here >> http://jackiem.com.au/2017/09/16/make-chilli-sauce-dim-sums/

The post How to Make Nyonya Soon Kuih aka Chai Kueh first appeared on Jackie M..

Savoury Taro Cake (Wu Tao Ko in Cantonese) was a breakfast snack that I remember being sold alongside Chee Cheong Fun (steamed rice noodle rolls) back in my hometown of Seremban in Malaysia.

My parents would typically order a small share plate of it from the hawker stall at breakfast, and it was served steamed (not pan-fried like what you get at yum cha here in Australia) and with some tim cheong (hoisin-based sauce) and a chilli sauce that’s not too dissimilar to Sriracha.

I’d previously attempted the recipe for this from my Famous Street Food of Penang cookbook and found it way too taro-y – which made me think that the Penang version of this dish must be quite different from what we had in the southern states. This time around, I made it with the amount of taro halved, and I was much happier with the result.

I also remember the version from my childhood having the dried shrimp in the taro cake rather than minced and sprinkled on top of it, so I covered both bases and did both, because, why not. And I added other features from the version I know – ie. toasted sesame seeds, spring onion etc.

This was broadcast on my Live Asian Kitchen on Twitch, though rather than sharing that full recording, I might shoot a separate, edited video and embed it here at some point.

Savoury Taro Cake

INGREDIENTS:

350g rice flour
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
1250ml water
2 Tbsps oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped
300g taro, peeled and cubed
½ tsp five spice powder
2 Tbsps dried shrimp, soaked in hot water, then drained
½ Tbsp chicken powder or ½ Tbsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
3-4 Tbsps oil

Toppings –
150g dried prawns, soaked in hot water, then drained
½ cup crispy fried shallots
3 Tbsps oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Sesame oil or onion oil
Sliced spring onion

To serve –
Hoisin sauce
Bottled chilli sauce

METHOD:

1. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and water, and mix into a smooth batter.
2. Heat oil, then brown onion and garlic. Add all other ingredients and mix well, then add batter.
3. Cook on low heat until it thickens. Transfer into a greased tray and steam on medium heat for 40 minutes or until done. Line steamer lid with a clean kitchen towel to prevent water collecting on the taro cake.
4. Set aside and allow to cool.
5. Heat oil and fry the dried shrimp for the topping until browned. Transfer into a blender and blend to a floss.
6. Cut the taro cake into diamond shapes or slices, and sprinkle with the minced dried shrimp, toasted sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots and a drizzle of sesame oil or onion oil.
7. Heat some hoisin sauce in a saucepan, add some water and sugar to taste, simmer until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened. (I do this because bottled hoisin sauce is generally too strong flavoured and too salty to use straight out of the jar unless as a spread eg. on Peking duck skin or popiah skin).
8. Serve taro cake with the hoisin-based sauce and some bottled chilli sauce.

The post How to Make Savoury Taro Cake (Wu Tao Ko) first appeared on Jackie M..

For the longest time after it appeared on my radar, I wasn’t particularly compelled to try and make ayam masak merah, because frankly it just sounded and looked like glorified chicken and tomato ketchup. That was until one of my private cooking class students recently asked me to teach her, at which point I figured I probably should look into it further.

As is often the case, when doing recipe research I go for the ones written in the language of the dish’s origins (that’s about the extent of the usefulness of my B.A. in Languages degree).

I found one that described itself (in Malay) as the best Ayam Masak Merah recipe ever, tweaked it substantially, including quadrupling the amount of coconut milk (I like my food rich and creamy), and cooked it up with my student.

She was blown away by how fabulous it tasted, so I’ve decided to share it here.

Ayam Masak Merah (Spicy Tomato Chicken)

h/t: Azie Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ kg chicken pieces

1 Tbsp salt

½ Tbsp turmeric powder

——————————–

2 star anises

1-inch piece cinnamon

2 Tbsps bottled Malaysian chilli sauce (sos cili)

150ml coconut cream

250ml water

3 tomatoes, quartered

1 Tbsp chicken powder

4 Tbsps sugar

2 Tbsps tamarind concentrate (optional)

½ onion, thinly sliced

Oil for frying

———————————-

Blend in food processor –

1 ½ onions

8 cloves garlic

4cm ginger

¼ cup chilli paste made from dried chillies, simmered then pureed

METHOD:

1. Rub salt and turmeric powder on chicken pieces, then deep-fry or pan-fry briefly in hot oil to sear. Remove the half-cooked chicken pieces and set aside.
2. Remove oil, then combine processed ingredients and fry gently until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add 3-4 Tbsps oil and fry until oil separates. Add sliced onion, bottled chilli sauce and chicken pieces. Mix well and allow to simmer.
3. Add water and coconut cream and simmer further until thickened. Add tomatoes, tamarind concentrate, chicken powder and sugar.
4. Cook until chicken is cooked through and the dish is a nice red hue; adjust seasoning, remove from heat and serve with rice.

The post How to Cook Ayam Masak Merah (Spicy Tomato Chicken) 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..

Green Chilli and Garlic Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups green chillies, cut in chunks
• ¼ cup bird’s eye chillies (optional)
• ½ cup garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 ½ Tbsp salt
• 4 Tbsp water

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed to desired consistency.
2. Store in clean jars. Chilli sauce will keep in fridge for about 2 weeks, and in freezer for at least 4 months.

Fried Green Sambal Belacan Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups chillies, cut into chunks
• 6 bird’s eye chillies (optional)
• 1 ½ onions
• 2 Tbsp belacan powder (or equivalent if using Thai shrimp paste or Malaysian/Indonesian shrimp paste blocks)
• 1 ½ tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp soya sauce
• ½ Tbsp chicken powder (optional)
• ½ cup oil

METHOD:

1. Blend chillies and onions to desired consistency.
2. Heat oil in frying pan. Add chilli/onion puree and all other ingredients and cook until oil separates and onion is aromatic – approximately 15-20 minutes.
3. Allow to cool, then store in glass jar. Sambal will keep in fridge for 6 weeks or in freezer for 6 months.

The post How to Make Green Chilli Sauce and Sambal first appeared on Jackie M..

I will be sharing more recipes showcasing its capabilities as I test them out myself.

By the way, this chilli sauce goes great with just about any dish – it used to be a permanent feature at every meal in our household growing up in Malaysia. As you can see from the recipe, we love our garlic – I’m not sure if it’s a Hakka thing since this is a family recipe, or a Malaysian thing. The original recipe used to include vinegar, I guess to help it keep longer, but my stepmom eliminated that when we moved to Australia and I think it tastes better without.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 cup garlic cloves, peeled
• 2.5 cups large fresh chillies
• ½ cup bird’s eye chillies
• 1.5 Tbsp salt
• ½ cup water

METHOD:

Blend 10 seconds on speed setting 6.5.

 Questions about the Thermomix? Email me at jackie@jackiem.com.au

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The post How to Make Garlic Chilli Sauce (Thermomix) first appeared on Jackie M..