Kuih Kosui (Pandan Flavoured Steamed Rice Pudding)

Kuih Kosui is a saucer shaped rice pudding which full of pandan (screwpine leaves) flavour. A good Kuih Kosui will carry strong pandan aroma, the texture should be springy and soft. Usually it is eaten with freshly grated coconut.

This week was a busy week, tag along Gabriel shopping for pre-schools. We even went through a trial session, finally, enrol him into a pre-school which needs him to attend the afternoon session as the morning session is full, hopefully he can adjust well with this new arrangement until next year he got a place in the morning session.

He is happy and I'm happy too, both of us decided to go marketing, yes, marketing in Jurong West wet market :) I saw the freshly grated coconut and it reminded me of 鲸鱼 beautiful creation and the Kuih Kosui recently becomes hot bakes for some bloggers. I told myself may be it is easy to make, but... I was wrong, I loss my first tray of Kuih Kosui just because dislodge them too early. Luckily, the second tray save the day :) My son, first time eating Kuih Kosui, he gave the thumb up to this kuih!

Lovely natural green from pandan/screwpine leaves

Recipe adapted from NyonyaFood with minor changes.

Ingredients for syrup:

16 oz/500ml water (used 400ml)
10 oz/310g sugar (used 100g)

Ingredients for pandan juice:
12-15 pandan leaves (used 10 pandan leaves)
21 oz water (used 300ml)
1 tbsp alkaline water (lye water) (omitted)

Ingredients for batter:
6 oz/180g rice flour (used 100g)
2 oz/60g tapioca flour (used 30g)
150ml thick coconut milk

Ingredients for decoration:
some freshly grated coconut (breifly steam together with salt)
1 tsp salt
Steps:
1.To make the syrup, melt the sugar in water over low fire until sugar dissolves . Set aside to cool.
2.Cut pandan leaves into small peices. Combine pandan leaves and water in an electric blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes. Strain the pandan juice through a fine sieve. Add alkaline water into pandan juice. Set aside.
3.In another bowl, add rice flour, tapioca flour and coconut milk. Slowly pour in the pandan juice mixture while stirring it consistently till well blended. Add in syrup.
4.Cook flour mixture on low fire till slightly thickened. Remove from fire and pour into pre-heated little teacups/moulds. Steam on high fire for 15 minutes. Take the kuih out from steamer immediately.
5.Leave to cool for at least 6 hrs (I only waited for 2 hrs, should wait longer to get a better shape of the kuih) before removing the kuih from the little teacups.
6.Serve with fresh grated coconut.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Pulut Panggang (Grilled Glutinous Rice)

Pulut Panggang is one of my favourite kueh. It is different from the usual nyonya kuehs texture because of its filling, the fragrance and favourful filling makes me want to eat more of it.

When I eat kuehs, I always remember the days I was living in Penang, the day living with parent and grandparent. If the kuehs carry so much memories in our life, we should pass on the fragrant of it to our next generation, let them remember and one day they will recall the life they had together with us.

I bought the banana leave from the day SSB anounced the theme for the month, wanting to make Pulut Panggang, the need of blending the spicies and stir-fry the filling, then steaming the glutinous rice make the recipe looks time consuming. I wait, and wait until the banana leave wither, I told myself, let do it. This morning, taking pockets of time, in and out of kitchen as Gabriel is with me at home. Juggling his needs for me and the food in the kitchen, finally, all over and I tell you making Pulut Panggang is easier then I thought. 

Recipe adapted from Hot Favourites Kuehs & Pastries (No more failed recipes)

Ingredients A

300g glutinous rice

50ml thick coconut milk

1 tsp salt

2 pieces pandan leaves

16 pieces banana leaves (12x15cm)

Ingredients B

150g dried shrimps, chopped

200g grated coconut

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp coriander seed powder

2 tsps pepper

150ml water

Ingredients C

1 piece lemongrass

20g turmeric

3 pieces candlenut (omitted)

2 cloves garlic

5 cloves shallots

Steps:

1. Rinse glutinous rice. Soak in water for 1 hour and drain well. Steam glutinous rice for 20 mins. (I soaked overnight)

2. Mix coconut milk and salt together. Slowly pour coconut milk onto glutinous rice. Add pandan leaves and steam still cooked. The glutinous rice should be soft. Set aside.

3. Blend ingredients C into paste.

4. Fry grated coconut in a dry wok till fragrant. Set aside. Heat 3 tbsps of oil, and fry ingredients C paste till fragrant.

5. Add pepper and coriander seed powder, mix well. Add chopped dried shrimps, grated coconut, salt and sugar and 150ml of water, fry till almost dry. (Remember to taste before adding salt, as some dried shrimps is much salty then the others) Divide filling into 16 equal portions.

6. Rinse banana leaves and heat over dry pan till soft (Rinse with hot water it will soften as well)

7. Spread 1 tbsp (or more) of cooked glutinous rice over the banana leaf, follow by filling, then press tight and roll it up to form a cylinder. Use toothpicks to secure the ends.

8. Grease a flat based pan. Place wrapped glutinous rice on the pan, and grill over low heat till fragrant.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Pulut Tai Tai 2 (Blue Glutinous Rice Cakes)

This is not my first time making this rice cakes or kueh (Malay language), my first one was more than 9 months ago, using same recipe from My Kitchen Snippet, this time just play around with a little change of colour in the rice cakes. As WT is away, I made smaller portion this time, just 1/3 of the ingredients from the original recipe. Anyway, I finished the Pulut Tai Tai in one breakfast, haha... who can resist the coconut milk, a taste from home.

For the recipe and steps please refer to here.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.