Nyonya Kuih Dadar

~ Coconut crepe with caramelised palm sugar and roasted coconut shavings

 This highly aromatic snack is one of my all time favourites right from  my childhood days. The greenish colour of the crepes is derived from natural Pandan (Screw Pine) leave extracts, that also gives it a delightful fragrance.  It is important to use freshly extracted Pandan juice, otherwise the aroma will not come through the crepes. 

Coupled with the tasty caramelised roasted coconut filling, you can easily get hooked on this delightful morsel, and be back for more.

Follow this link for a fabulous Kuih Dadar recipe. Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine

Daifuku Mochi

~ Japanese glutenous rice cake filled with sweetened Azuki bean paste and Pandan extract

This traditional rice cake is made during the Mochitsuki ceremony where rice is pounded to a paste using a wooden mallet called Kine and a mortar known as Usu. It is a two-person job where one turns the dough and the other hammers it repeatedly in a trance-like rhythm.

In Japan, Mochi is most commonly eaten during the first few days of the new year, but it can be bought all year round from grocery stores and supermarkets. You can also make an abridged version at home using a Microwave oven in just 30 minutes.

I've adapted the original recipe that makes white Mochi and use Pandan (Screwpine) extract to tint them green and also to incorporate the lovely Pandan aroma. You can also use other flavours such as Green Tea. 

Click here for my Daifuku Mochi recipe. Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine

Hakka Fung Char Gor

~ Chinese rice dumpling filled with shredded coconut roasted and caramelised sugar 

  

This traditional sweet rice dumpling is also known as Longevity Kuih. It is often featured as an offering to the Taoist god Tien Seen which means God of the Skies during thanksgiving rituals for seniors' birthdays. There will be one Fung Char Gor offered  for each year of life. I recall seeing 61 of these during my granny's 61st birthday celebration many years ago.

Although I've made this Orange in colour, they are traditionally coloured Red, the colour of happiness and prosperity in the Chinese culture. I've used an American-made Sunset Orange colour gel by MasterChef which I've picked up from a cake decoration supply shop recently.

Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine

Hakka Law Pet Barn

~ A savory glutenous rice dumpling filled with grated Daikon radish and Yam bean

  

This delicious dumpling is often eaten as a snack or served in a clear fish broth of green leafy vegetables for lunch.

Sadly, this is another traditional food that is fast disappearing from the marketplace. It is almost impossible to purchase them from the street vendors nowadays as the older generation leaves the trade.

Click here for my Law Pet Barn recipe. Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine

Hokkien Ang Ku Kuih

~ Chinese glutenous rice dumpling filled with sweetened Mung bean paste 

  

This delicious snack is often featured at baby full moon celebrations, about a month after birth.

The tradition goes back thousands of years, where the infant mortality rate was very high. Almost every family will have one or more deceased children. So the Chinese will have a lot more children then since some of them will not make it to adulthood. Hence, it's not hard to see why there are over 1.3 billion Chinese today.

In those days, for any baby to make it to the first month was worthy of a huge celebration where friends and family will gather from near and far to congratulate the fortunate parents and to shower the baby with gifts of gold and silver jewellery. 

Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine

Gin Loong Pau

~ Highly aromatic roasted flat buns filled with sweetened Azuki bean paste - often eaten at breakfast or morning tea.

It is almost impossible to buy this here in Australia. Even in Asia, this is getting to be difficult to come by these days. 

Apparently the trade is vanishing as the old master chefs go into retirement. Traditionally, the skills would have been passed down to the next generation. But these days, the younger generation is more interested in pursuing professional careers rather than continuing the family business. 

The aroma and taste of this delicious morsel bring back fond memories of my childhood, of buying this from the street vendors at the crack of dawn, and consuming it in the bus on the way to school. 

Yes, it was always breakfast on the run, having to catch the bus at quarter past six in the morning since classes start at a quarter past seven.

If you are game to give this a go, then check out my Jin Loong Pau recipe.

Please leave a comment or provide your valuable feedback in the Comment box. For more recipes and food posts, please visit Malaysian Cuisine