Kueh Sarlat - AFF Singapore #4

My final AFF entry.....

Kuih Sarlat is known as Seri Muka here in Malaysia,  generally comes with white rice and green custardy layers. Seri Muka is the favourite of my man.. and also my little man now, haha!

This time, I shall try it with some blue pea extract, like how it's common in Singapore. I heard this colour combo is also found in Malacca... but it's for Singapore this round. No arguments please. Acknowledge the similarities, and embrace the differences.

Ah Balling 花生汤圆~ Singapore AFF #3

I've been slacking in my blogging lately..... I can't cope with work, family and blogging. So, I have to slow down. There are times when I felt liberated when I don't touch the computer, but I just keep on taking pictures of the things I make occasionally, not knowing if I'll ever write about them. My mind is still curious about food, thinks about new recipes all the time... just that I feel tired to blog. It's not easy to let go a part of me that I have built for 7 years

Glad that I still managed to cook this days ago.

Coconut Orh Nee (Taro Paste) - Singapore AFF #2

I had Orh Nee once.... brought home by my brother, a gift from this customer, saying it's available only through ordering, and he purposely got one for my brother to taste.

I expected something sweet and fragrant, but it was oily, bland, lightly salty and reeked of lard. I don't know if it was a 'no sugar' version or what, but it wasn't a pleasant experience and my mom decided to get it out from the house when everybody spat out the only spoonful we put into our mouths.

I can't believe my first experience had to be that way.

Singapore Teochew Bak Kut Teh - Singapore AFF #1

The Bak Kut Teh that I grew up eating in Malaysia is brown and herby. Pungent with angelica (dongguai) and comes  with 'spare parts'.

In Singapore, it is actually quite different from the ones we eat here. It looks pale and resembles the familiar pepper soup, but it is so much more garlicky, in a good way.

Taiwanese Bamboo Rice 台湾竹筒饭 - AFF Taiwan Chewies #5

I have access to fresh bamboo. So, it's not an excuse not to try making this.
My husband's employee falls her bamboo bush every Eid and I must ask for it in advance as I won't know when will the bamboo be cut down. As bamboo dries up easily, I can not wait for long once I receive them.

I have never eaten this before, but our AFF Taiwan host, Alan did, many times.
So, he told me what is in those that he ate and with some reference pictures I saw online... I embarked on a mission to copycat the modern Taiwanese Bamboo Rice, the version that you could probably buy at night markets.

Taiwanese Mugwort Dumpling 草仔粿 - Sticky #1

Chinese Mugwort 艾草 (pronounced "ngai chou” in Cantonese) is a household herb that is usually used in omelettes and soups. It can also be used to add colour and flavour to dumplings. This herb is said to be good for women and to dispel wind from the body

This dumpling is also found in China and Malaysia as well. In China, it can go with many names like 清明粑，清明糍，艾草粑粑 and quite a few more that I can't remember. There are some differences between the Taiwanese version and the rest.

Taiwanese Hakka Tang Yuan - AFF Taiwan ~ Chewies #3

Tang Yuan, is usually eaten during the Winter Solstice Festival.
They are made with glutinous rice flour, round and chewy.
One can either make them plain, or filled with fillings like red bean, peanuts, or  black sesame paste.

For the Taiwanese Hakka, they will cook tang yuan in a savoury broth. They love to use aromatic vegetables in the broth. My family also cooks savoury tang yuan, but not in the same way.

Taro Balls 芋圆 - Taiwan AFF Chewies #2

I can frankly tell you, I'm not a fan of these things.

I ate them at Blackball before and didn't fall in love with it, but I won't say I hate them. I will still eat them, but not looking forward to them .

My husband's family makes a savoury version with leeks and crab, as a traditional dish every second day of the Chinese New Year. My husband do not look forward to that too, although he has been eating them since he was a kid.

Liang Yuan (Cool Rounds) 凉圆 - AFF Taiwan Chewies # 1

Liang Yuan is an old time snack in Taiwan. Sold by uncles on pushcarts, displayed on blocks of ice. But of course.... not all are sold that way nowadays.

I didn't know of this, until my mom, an avid fan of Taiwanese cooking shows told me about it.
My friend said, it's not that nice to eat.. hmmm.... So, should I try?
I thought.. no harm to try. And so I did.

Sans Rival -AFF Philippines~Pinoy Bakes #3

I heard of this dessert many many years ago, from a fellow blogger friend Anne. From then... it was my 'dream' to bake one myself as I was intrigued by the layers of cashew nut dacquoise filled with french buttercream and topped with more cashew nuts... a nutty delight!

Nowadays there are many flavours of Sans Rival in Philippines, like mango, coffee and chocolate. But I guess I'll just try the original flavour, that's just with nuts.

Taisan Cake- AFF Philippines ~ Merienda Cakes #3

Taisan is a chiffon loaf, that is sugary and buttery, originating from Pampanga. It can be easily found at bakery chains like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon in Philippines.

I tried baking it with a recipe that was said to come from Goldilocks. The cake was moist and soft, salty and sugary at the same time. A delight to eat. But yet, I do not know how close it is to the original Goldilocks version. To compare a Goldilocks recipe, I think I need to eat one loaf made by Goldilocks to know.

And then my wish came true....

Calamansi Muffins - AFF Philippines Merienda Cakes #2

1st recipe

Calamansi muffins is famous in the beautiful island of Boracay, Philippines. Just do a google search and you will know.

I am crazy! I made this muffin 4 times!

First time I used a mixer to do it, whacking it too much causing the muffin to be so fluffy! Not right! According to Swee San, it's supposed to be dense and moist, with a cake like texture. It wasn't as tangy as I will like it, kind of bland in terms of zing. And it had that fine texture that sticks to parts of your mouth and will need some effort to swallow, you know what I mean?

It's this type of texture, the main reason, I don't enjoy certain cafe muffins. Shenny, my reader friend will vouch with me on this.

Cassava Bibingka - AFF Philippines~ Merienda #1

July is the month of Philippines delights! Hop over to Swee San's blog to read up more about our event this month.

For the past few months you have been reading so much savoury recipes on my blog and this month I'm going to turn sweet tooth. I know many of my fellow Facebook friends are waiting for this month.

Amok Trey @ Cambodian Fish Mousse - AFF Indochina~ Cambodian #3

Amok Trey is freshwater fish in a spiced egg mousse.
It is not too foreign to us, as it is similar to the local nyonya otak-otak, but quite different in many ways.

One of the important ingredients in amok trey is again, prahok. You can substitute it with other ingredients like fish sauce or shrimp paste, but I personally find the flavour profile to be quite different. The other special ingredients used is fingerroot (krachai, temu kunci).

Grilled Pork Rice @ Bai Sach Chrouk - AFF Indochina~ Cambodian #2

Bai Sach Chrouk is a popular breakfast item in Cambodia.

In this dish, grilled meats are served with broken rice. Not only pork is used, but beef, chicken, duck fish, egg or whatever you prefer can be the topping for broken rice. Broken rice is rice that has broken to about less than 3/4 of their original length. A humble rice that was meant to feed chickens has now become a popular thing. There is a tale behind this dish and you can read about it here.

Khao Piak Sen @ Lao Tapioca Noodles in Chicken Broth - Indochina AFF~ Lao Food #3

Khao Piak or Ka'piek is a chewy noodle, almost similar to the texture of udon, of which is made with wheat instead. For locals, we will find it not too far off from the texture of Lai Fun (Assam Laksa noodles, but Lai Fun is less chewy. The Vietnamese has another noodle similar to this, called Bánh canh. But served in other ways.

Lao Beef Larb - Indochina AFF Laotian #2

Larb is the national dish of Laos. It is also eaten by the people in Isan, Thailand of which most of its population are of Laotian descent. There is another Northen Thailand version that uses spices to season. Some people will make it with fresh raw beef, and it is alright if you want to have a cooked version. I'm not that brave to go for a Tatare version.

Lao Khao Soi - Indochina AFF, Laotian Week #1

This is one noodle that I highly recommend if you are a busy person and love to prepare your meals in advance.

It feels like eating instant noodles, but the soup paste is homemade! Awesome!
Just blanch your noodles, top with the meat paste and pour hot water from the kettle and you're done. The meat slices are optional. Better than instant noodles from the packet. I love to keep my sliced coriander and spring onion is a covered container, kept chilled all the time, so that I can sprinkle them on whenever I like.

Bo La Lot, Vietnamese Beef Rolls with Wild Betel Leaf - Indochina AFF Bò # 1

For this month's Asian Food Fest, it's the month of Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian food, grouped under Indochina. For more information, hop over to Kelly's blog, this month's host.

Bò lá lốt is a popular Vietnamese dish that is not served in the Vietnamese restaurants here in Malaysia.
It's one of the dishes in "7 course of beef", served usually during weddings.

In some countries where wild betel is not available, grape leaves are used to wrap these, but it may not have the same fragrance.
In Malaysia, wild betel is abundant and is used in the local cuisine and is locally known as daun kaduk.

Kashmiri Pulao - AFF Indian Rice Dishes #2

I tried this recipe more than a year ago... been wanting to redo it, because I used too much saffron! The recipe called for 1/2 tsp. I should've followed the recipe with 2 pinches. The whole thing turned out too yellow and the smell was strong! But alas.... it never realized.

So, just let it be....