Malay Satay

This dish of marinated meat, skewered and grilled is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia.  I can still remember going to Geylang Serai to have our fill of satay every end of the month when my dad received his salary.  It was really a treat for us kids during those days.  One can use beef, chicken or mutton (or even pork).  It is a complete meal by itself when served with its peanut gravy, lontong, cucumber and onion slices.  I added sweet ripe pineapple cubes as well.

Satay Ingredients:
500 g lean beef, to be thinly sliced into 3 cm lengths (yields about 65 satays)
OR
500 g chicken breast meat, to be thinly sliced into 3 cm lengths (yields about 50 satays)
OR
500 g lean mutton, to be thinly sliced into 3 cm lengths (yields about 50 satays)

Note:  If one prepares all three kinds, please bear in mind that the marinade recipe has to be tripled.

Marinade Ingredients:
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp fine sugar

Blended/Pounded Ingredients:
1 red shallot, to be sliced
2 small pips garlic, to be sliced
5 stalks dried red chillies, to be soaked in warm water until soft
1 tbsp coriander seeds, to be soaked in warm water until soft
1/2 tsp cumin (jintan putih), to be soaked in warm water until soft
1 lemon grass, to be sliced
1,5 cm fresh ginger, to be sliced
1,5 cm fresh galangal (lengkuas), to be sliced

satay sticks, to be soaked in water for at least 5 hours or overnight in order that they do not break while skewing the meat

Grill Mixture:  Mix 4 tbsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp fine sugar together in a small bowl.  Crush the bottom end of a lemon grass, which will be used as a brush.

Garnishing Ingredients:
1 cucumber, to washed, quartered and coarsely sliced
1 red onion, to be peeled and finely sliced
1 sweet ripe pineapple, to be peeled and cut into cubes

Method:
In a bowl, combine blended ingredients with turmeric powder, salt and fine sugar.  Mix thoroughly. Add meat and marinate well.  Leave aside for at least 4 hours or best overnight.

Skew 3 or 4 slices of meat onto a satay stick, making sure that the pointed tip of stick is covered with meat. Repeat procedure.

Heat up the satay stove or barbecue grill.  Brush satay all over with grill mixture.  Grill for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  Serve immediately with peanut gravy, rice cakes, cucumber, pineapple cubes and onion slices.

Peanut Gravy Ingredients:
250 g peanuts (skinned), to be fried in a little oil and coarsely grounded

4 tbsp sugar
a small piece palm sugar (gula melaka)
2 pcs dried tamarind
a pinch of belacan
1 daun cekur - optional
salt to taste
2 cups water, one may add a little more if needed
5 - 6 tbsp cooking oil

Blended/Pounded Ingredients:
20 stalks dried chillies, to be soaked in warm water
1 tsp cumin (jintan putih), to be soaked in warm water
1 tbsp coriander seeds, to be soaked in warm water
2,5 cm galangal (lengkuas), to be sliced
2 lemon grass, to be sliced
2 small pips garlic, to be sliced

Method:
Heat oil in a pot.  Add in the blended ingredients, belacan and daun cekur (if using).  Stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add peanuts, dried tamarind, sugar, palm sugar and salt.  Bring to a slight boil.  Reduce heat to minimum and cook further until the gravy thickens and oil surfaces on top.  Once ready, remove from heat.

Note:  It is advisable to prepare the peanut gravy one day beforehand in order that the flavour becomes intensed.


Lontong or Rice Cakes Ingredients:
2 rice bags or several mini ketupats
water

Method:
Place rice bags in a pot and add enough water to cover the rice.  Add a little salt.  Bring to boil and let it simmer without lid for about 2 to 3 hours.  This is necessary in order that the rice get compact.  Once done, remove and leave to cool completely.  Then, store in fridge overnight.

Bon Appetit!

Peach Ice Cream

Fruit ice cream consists of pureed fruits with cream or yoghurt, sugar and a little egg white. To attain a smooth fruit ice cream, it has to be stirred during freezing - this is achieved best in an ice cream maker.

Note:  Home-made fruit ice cream does not contain any conserving agents, thus it is suitable for immediate consumption.  If you want to store in the freezer for a few days, I suggest that you add fruit ice cream stabilizer i.e. Fruchteisbasis (from Hobbybäcker) or Ice Cream Stabilizer (note:  there seems to be no Fruit Ice Cream Stabilizer available) in order to avoid ice crystals from forming.  Only use ripe fruits and fresh eggs!

Basic Fruit Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients;
2 medium-sized ripe peaches, to be peeled, cut into pieces and pureed (yields about 370 g)
100 g fine sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
150 ml fresh cream
2 tbsp egg white
20 g fruit ice cream stabilizer

Method:
In a bowl, mix pureed peaches, sugar and lemon juice together.  Whisk egg white and fresh cream separately until stiff.  Mix all ingredients together and prepare ice cream in the ice cream maker.  Set timer to 50 minutes.

Once done, remove tub from ice cream maker and transfer to a container.  Freeze for a few hours before serving.

Note:  If canned fruits are used, reduce amount of sugar to half.

Bon Appetit!

Banana-Walnut Cake

Another way of using up over-riped bananas is to bake this moist, easy-to-bake cake.  It can be eaten (spread with butter) during breakfast or as a snack or served during tea-time. The following recipe when halved will fit into a loaf tin with a length of 25 cm.

Ingredients (for a 24 x 24 cm square tin):
220 g soft butter
380 g fine sugar
1 pkt (7 g) vanilla sugar
6 tbsp hot water
4 medium-sized eggs
6 ripe bananas, to be peeled, sliced and smashed to a pulp

600 g plain flour, to be sifted
4 tsp (levelled) baking powder, to be sifted
a good pinch of salt
200 g chopped walnuts

icing sugar

Method:
Line baking tin with baking paper (also the sides).  Preheat fan oven to 150 - 160° C.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and hot water together for a short while. Add in mashed bananas and mix well.  In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and chopped walnuts together.  Then, fold in flour mixture to egg mixture.  Leave aside for about 5 minutes.

Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until the cake is done i.e. poke a satay stick into the middle of cake and when it comes out clean.  If the stick does not come out clean, bake cake for a further 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover cake tin with aluminium foil.  Leave to stand for about an hour.  Remove cake from tin to a serving plate.  Sprinkle icing sugar before serving.

Happy Baking!

Kuih Makmur

I baked this kuih again - I coloured it apple green and made it a bit smaller this time.  This is a traditional malay kuih which is normally served during the Eid celebrations.  The dough is made of butter, ghee and flour - some recipes use only ghee but my recipe uses both butter and ghee due to preference.  As fillings, chopped peanuts or dates can be used.

Filling Ingredients:
300 g peanuts, to be baked in oven or fried without oil
40 g soft butter
100 g fine sugar or icing sugar

Dough Ingredients:
400 - 450 g plain flour (as needed to form a pliable dough), to be sifted
1 egg yolk size "M"
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
a pinch of salt
250 g butter
2 1/2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp fine sugar
green colouring (optional) - I used apple green colour for a change

fine sugar or icing sugar to coat the kuihs

Method:
Pound or chop peanuts coarsely.  Add sugar and soft butter.  Mix well and leave aside.

In a large bowl, add butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla powder and salt.  Add colouring if using. Mix well and then, add flour a little at a time.  Knead until a pliable dough is formed.

Take a portion of dough (about 10 g) and place on a square piece of pergament paper.  Flatten dough to form a circle.  Add 1 tsp of filling in the centre and fold dough (by using the pergament paper) to form a crescent, making sure the edges are sealed.  Shape dough into a leaf shape.  By using a crimper or pincer, crimp top as shown in the photo.

Repeat until all dough are used up.  Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 160° C for about 20 - 25 minutes.  Leave to cool completely before coating with fine sugar or icing sugar.

Happy Baking!

Pineapple Tarts

Also known as Kuih Tat Nenas, it is one of the traditional malay cookies served during Eid Mubarak.  This festive cookie is also served during Chinese New Year and Deepavali.  One of the typical shapes is an open tart filled with pineapple jam.  The following recipe belongs to my mum who used to bake and sell them during Ramadhan.

Dough Ingredients (yields 80 pieces - 3.5 cm dia):
250 g soft butter
2 egg yolks
about 400 g plain flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

Filling Ingredients:
3 ripe Del Monte pineapples
2 cups sugar or according to one's taste
1 cinnamon stick
2 pieces cardamon
3 pcs of tiny rock sugar

Method:
Skin and remove pineapple trunk.  Grate pineapples and transfer to a fine sieve over a bowl. Leave aside for about half an hour.  Save the juice in a jug and set aside.  In a medium-size pot, add grated pineapples, cinnamon stick, cardamon, sugar and rock sugar. Cook over low/medium heat until dry and dark in colour.  If the filling looks dry before it turns dark, add a little bit of pineapple juice.  This cooking of filling will take at least 3 to 4 hours depending on the heat used or it can be cooked by spreading over a few days.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, egg yolks and water together.  Then, add in vanilla essence, salt and flour.  Continue kneading until a pliable dough is formed.  Roll out pastry on a floured surface and cut the dough by using a pineapple cutter below.

Fill in the filling by using a small fork.  Some prefer to roll the pineapple filling into a small ball to make things easier.  Then, decorate tarts with a star using the balance dough.  I used my fondant cutter for this purpose.

Bake in a preheated fan oven (140° C) for about 40 minutes.  You may bake them for about 10 to 15 minutes at a temperature of 180° C.  Kindly note that your oven's temperature might be different from mine.  Please observe the baking time carefully. Leave to cool down completely before storing in tin - place a pergament paper between each layer.

Happy Baking!