STEAMED HAKKA HEE PAN / XIN BAN ( 喜板 )

Hakka Hee Pan is a traditional Hakka people kuih which right now being enjoyed by many people in a region. This kuih usually served in Hakka wedding and Chinese traditional ceremonies.

That's the look of the Hakka Hee Pan being mould and waiting for it to proof for another 20 minutes at a warm place.

Hereby is the recipe I would like to share and it can makes about 15 pieces of Hakka Hee Pan.

INGREDIENTS:

(A)

1 tsp instant yeast

150 g all-purpose flour

125 ml water

(B)

150 g all-purpose flour

150 g glutinous rice flour

(C)

150 g fine granulated sugar

150 g water

2 pandan leaves, knotted

a few drop of pink coloring

Some banana leaves - greased with some oil

DIRECTIONS :

1. Mix all the ingredients (A) for the sponge dough, covered it with plastic wrap and keep it overnight at a warm place so it can proof/rise the next day.

2. The next day, bring the ingredients (B) to a boil. Removed the pandan leaves and set it aside to cool.

3. Mix all the ingredients (A), (B) and (C) together into soft dough by kneading it for 20 minutes. Cover the dough and let it proof/rise for another 4 hours in a warm place.

4. Put enough water in the steamer and bring to a boil. Apply enough oil on your fingers and palms, slowly pull out enough dough (about 50g each) to form a small ball and gently drop them onto greased banana leaves. Let it proof/rise again for another 15 minutes at a warm place.

5. Steamed the hee pan in a moderate heat for at least 15 minutes.

6. Trim the excess banana leaves around the random shape of these steamed buns with a scissor.

This Hakka Hee Pan is good when eat it freshly right after steaming or in the same day. Enjoy!!!

HONG KONG STYLE EGG TART ( 蛋撻 )

The egg tart or egg custard tart ( commonly romanized as dan ta / 蛋撻 ) is a pastry commonly found in Hong Kong and other Asian countries, which consists of an outer pastry crust that is filled with egg custard and baked.

I got these 12 mini tart pan from a friend name Julie Tan and her company, Brown Cookie been selling all kind of baking utensils. I loved these mini tart pan because they baked very evenly and very easy to released. If you want to bake these tarts and need those mini tart pans....I highly recommend that you can get from Brown Cookie.

Today, egg tarts come in many variations within Hong Kong cuisine, including egg white, milk , honey-egg, ginger-flavored egg, which are variations of a traditional milk custard and egg custard served in cha chaan tengs, and also chocolate tarts, green-tea-flavoured tarts, and even bird nest tarts.

Overall, Hong Kong egg tarts have two main types of crusts: shortcrust pastry and puff pastry pastry, traditionally made with lard rather than butter or shortening. Most Hong Kong Chinese food purists hold the egg tarts made with puff pastry in higher regard.

My recipe will make about 24 egg tarts

INGREDIENTS :

For the Crust:

450 g All Purpose flour

250 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

110 g powdered sugar

2 eggs, whisked

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

METHODS :

1. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer over medium speed until the mixture is smooth, fluffy and light in color.

2. Add in the whisked egg, half at a time and beat over low speed. Then add in the vanilla extract.

3. Sieve the flour and mixed it with the salt. Then add the flour into the egg mixture in 3 batches. scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions with a spatula until well combined.

4. Knead the dough and make it into a rectangle shape, wrapped it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Take the dough from the refrigerator and roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and use the top part ( measured 3-inches ) of the tart pan to cut the shape. Then press firmly into the tart pan to cover evenly. Continue with the rest of the tart pans and put them on a baking sheet. Set aside.

For the Custard Filling:

210 g granulated sugar

480 g water

6 eggs plus 3 egg yolks

90 ml evaporated milk

1 1/2 tbsp custard powder

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

METHODS :

1. Add the sugar and water into a saucepan and cook until melted. Set aside to slightly warm.

2. In a bowl, slowly add the evaporated milk into the custard powder and whisked until well combined. Then whisked in the eggs.

3. Pour in the sugar syrup into the egg mixture and whisked until well combined. Strained the egg mixture and then add the vanilla extract.

4. Slowly pour the egg mixture into each prepared tart pans and bake for at least 20-25 minutes.

5. While baking about 10-15 minutes, check the oven for the custard been puffed. Once you see the custard been puffed a little, open the oven door slightly about 2-3 inches. Continue baking until the time is end.

6. After baking, let the tarts sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove the egg tart slowly from the tart pan and served.

CHWEE KUEH (水粿) / STEAMED RICE CAKE WITH PRESERVED RADISH TOPPING

This is one of my favorite kueh where backs in Malaysia, we used to buy them in Pasar Malam or at Petaling Street. They are so flavorful with preserved radish which been sauté until so fragrant.

I make this yesterday for the first time and it turn out to be a perfect one. All my chwee kuih were gone this morning and I'm going to make it again next week =)

INGREDIENTS :

Kueh:

150 g rice flour

20 g wheat starch

300 ml water

2 tsp garlic oil

1/2 tsp salt

800 ml water

METHODS :

1. Place the rice flour, wheat starch in a mixing bowl and add the 300 ml of room temperature water. Whisk it while adding the water to the dry ingredients until there are no lumps.

2. In a heavy saucepan, add the 800 ml water, oil and salt. Heat it until just begin to boil. Turn the fire off.

3. Slowly pour in the flour mixture into the boiling water while whisking continuously to prevent lumping. The mixture will turn to be thick to a gluey consistency.

4. Spoon the gluey paste into the chwee kueh molds or muffin pans and steamed in a over boiling water for about 15 minutes.

5. Let it cool completely and remove the chwee kueh from the molds and served it with prepared preserved radish.

Prepared Preserved Radish ( Chai Poh )

200 g vegetable oil

300 g preserved sweet radish, washed and drained

50 g garlic, chopped

30 g dried shrimps, washed and drained

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

METHODS :

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan. Sauté the preserved radish, dried shrimps and chopped garlic until fragrant in a medium heat.

2. Add the sugar, salt and dark soy sauce for seasoning. Turn off the heat and add the toasted sesame seeds. Mix it well.

PORTUGUESE EGG TARTS

Portuguese-style egg tarts were evolved from "Pastel de Nata", a traditional Portuguese custard pastry that consists of custard in a creme brulee-like consistency caramelized fashion in a puff pastry case. It was created more than 200 years ago by Catholic Sisters at Jeronimos Monastery (Portuguese: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) at Belem in Lisbon. Casa Pastéis de Belém was the first pastry shop outside of the convent to sell this pastry in 1837, and it is now a popular pastry in every pastry shop around the world owned by Portuguese descendants.

The Portuguese-style egg tarts known in Macau originated from Lord Stow's Café in Coloane, owned by a Briton named Andrew Stow. Stow modified the recipe of pastel de nata using techniques of making English custard tarts. It has since become available at numerous bakeries, as well as Macau-style restaurants and KFC restaurant chains in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. There was an egg tart craze in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan in the late 1990s.

My family and I really love this egg tarts especially with coffee or tea. I hope you'll will love this recipe that I found from Rasa Malaysia website.

This is the egg tart that I used with puff pastry. The crust is more flakier than pie tart.

INGREDIENTS :
( To make 12 pie crusts or 16 puff pastry crusts with 4" cookie cutter )

1 box Pillsbury ready pie crust / 1 box thawed ready Puff Pastry
8 egg yolks
2/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract


METHODS :

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray the muffin cups with non-stick butter flavor spray. On a floured cutting board, place the ready pie crust/ready thawed puff pastry and used a 4" cookie cutter to cut out each tart shape. Press down the cut tart into the muffin pan and set aside.

2. With a electric hand mixer, beat all the remaining ingredients for about 4 minutes in a mixing bowl. Strain the mixture through a strainer.

3. Pour the egg mixture into each crust dough about 80-90% full.

4. Bake for about 25-30 minutes then turn the broiler to Hi. Put the muffin pan on the very top of the oven and broil until a little brown crust appear on top of the egg custard.

5. Let it cool completely on a wire rack and serve!!!

This is the egg tart that I use with ready pie crust from Pillsbury. This crust taste more tartness.

STEAMED DUMPLINGS

These dumplings are really delicious and I adapted this recipe from watching the Bobby Flays Throwdown at Foodnetwork. He was challenging with this Korean lady and she's a Dumpling Queen. Now...I get to know that to make a good dumplings, you need to add some soft tofu!!!


Now I would like to share this recipe with all of you and hope you'll like it!!!

INGREDIENTS :

1 pound ground pork
1 pound shrimp, chopped
1 box extra soft tofu, drained and smashed
2 bunches chinese chives ( ku chai ), chopped
2 tbsp chopped ginger
5 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3-4 bags dumpling wrapper for mandoo
salt and pepper to taste


METHOD :

1. In a wok, fry the ginger until fragrant and then add chinese chives and stir fry for about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine ground pork, shrimp, tofu, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Then stir in the cooked chinese chives and mix it well.

3. Wrap the dumpling mixture into a dumpling wrapper and seal it with an egg wash.

4. Steam the dumplings in high heat for 5-6 minutes on a greased steamer.

5. Served it hot or let it cool and pan fry with some oil.

SESAME BALLS WITH RED BEAN PASTE

My family and I love to eat these sesame balls. We usually have them at the chinese restaurant where they served with tim sum. I found this recipe from CD Kitchen and it's my first time making it. It really turns out good and delicious. And is the recipe I would like to share.....

INGREDIENTS :

320 g korean sweet potatoes
480 g red bean paste
3 cups glutinous rice flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sesame seeds, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes and drained
1 cup hot water
3 tbsp sugar


METHOD :

1. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into small pieces. In a pot of water, add the sweet potatoes and boil until tender. Drain, mashed and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, sieve the glutinous rice flour and all purpose flour together. Then add the mashed sweet potatoes and sugar. Knead the mixture with hot water until well mixed.

3. Knead dough into small balls and roll each ball into a round flat shape.

4. Spoon some red bean paste and knead back into balls.

5. Coat the balls with wet sesame seeds and set on a baking sheets.

6. Deep fry the sesame balls on a low heat until the balls are golden and swollen.

7. Drain and served with a cup of hot tea.

CHAI KUIH / VEGETABLES DUMPLINGS

I'm so happy to found this recipe on the website by Amy Beh. Since I was in the States, I couldn't find this kueh and really miss it. This kuih is so good with chili sauce and a cup of tea.


INGREDIENTS :

Pastry skin:
100 g tapioca flour
200 g wheat starch
50 g glutinous rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
450 ml hot boiling water
6 tbsp vegetable oil

Filing :
500 g yam bean/pang-kuang, skin removed and shredded
1 small carrot, shredded
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped shallots
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
25 g dried shrimp, soaked, drained and chopped

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil

some garlic oil for brushing



METHOD :

1. Heat oil in a wok and fry shallots and garlic until lightly browned. Add dried shrimps and stir-fry for 40-50 seconds until fragrant.

2. Add shredded yam bean, carrots and seasoning and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes. Add water and continue to fry until the gravy turns thick. Dish out, drained and set aside to cool.

3. For the pastry skin, put tapioca flour, wheat starch, glutinous rice flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add boiling water gradually and stir with a long wooden spoon. Add in the oil and knead into a smooth dough.

4. Remove dough out onto a lightly floured tabletop and roll into a long sausage roll. Cut into about 30-35 equal pieces then flatten each piece of dough with the use of a rolling pin. Roll out to form a thin round piece of about 7-8 cm in diameter.

5. Put a tbsp of filing in the center of the pastry skin, gather up the edges and pinch to enclose the filing.

6. Arrange the dumplings on a lightly greased steaming tray. Steam for 7-8 minutes.

7. Brush the hot dumplings with a little of garlic oil before taking them out.

STEAMED PUMPKIN CAKE

I had a pumpkin since last month....and don't what to do with it until I found in the website about steaming pumpkin cakes. So I give it a tried and it comes out really good and deliciouso!!!


Ingredients:

300 g pumpkin (remove seeds and hard skin, then shredded it)
4 shallots (thinly sliced)
1 cup dried shrimp, soaked, drained and diced
8 shitake dried mushroom, soaked, drained and diced
3 chinese sausage (lap cheung), diced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 scallion, diced


Seasoning Ingredients :
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp Shoaxing cooking wine
1 1/2 tsp salt


Batter (Combined)
500 g rice flour
140 g wheat starch
1500 ml water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp five-spice powder


METHOD:
1. Mix the batter ingredients in a big mixing bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a wok and sautee the shallots until golden brown. Reserved 1/2 for garnishing. Add in the dried shrimps, chinese sausages and mushrooms, stir fry until aromatic for about 5 minutes. Season with the seasoning ingredients.

3. Then add the shreded pumpkin and continue to cook until the pumpkin become soft.

4. Pour in the flour solution into the wok and continue to cook the mixture until it turns into a sticky paste. Pour the paste into a greased 9 inch round pan and steam at high for 1 hour.

5. While waiting for the cake, mix the fried shallot, scallion and reserved 1/2 garnishing.

5. Remove the cake from the steamer and firmly pressed on the garnishing mixture on top of the cake while it's hot. Cut the cake when it's completely cool and served with chili sauce.