THERMAL COOKER - PEARS, WHITE FUNGUS SWEET DESSERT

Another lovely sweet dessert which I prepared using my Thermal Cooker.  Again, it is so easy that I just leave it to cook without having to watch over the stove after boiling the ingredients for a specific time.  Cooking it this way, the water does not vapourised yet the ingredients especially the white fungus are soft and smooth.  

I boiled the ingredients for a longer time as there are the sweet and bitter almonds in this dessert.  Love the nuts which is crunchy and the pears tender.  The sweetness is just nice.

 It can be served warm or chilled as a refreshing and tasty dessert after a spicy meal.  My niece ate this and gives a Thumbs Up.  

Ingredients

2 Chinese pears - skinned and cut wedges or big cubes
2 florets white fungus - soaked and break into smaller florets
10 red dates
20 gm lum  hung [sweet almonds]
20 gm pak hung [bitter almonds]
1-2 tbsp wolfberries [kei chee]
2-3 blades screwpine [pandan] leaves

2 litres water

140 gm rock sugar

1. Place white fungus and almonds in the inner pot with water, bring to boil for 20 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients, boil for a further 20 minutes.
2. Cover with lid and transfer to outer pot. Leave to cook for a further 1 hour or so. 
3. Serve immediately or bring to boil again before serving, or chilled in the fridge.
4. Ladle into individual bowls to serve.
   
   
   
   

Note - the sweet and bitter almonds are available from Chinese Medical shop

THERMAL COOKER - GINGKO NUT AND WATERCHESTNUT DESSERT

This is a lovely sweet dessert which I prepared using my Thermal Cooker.  It is so easy that I leave it to cook without having to watch over the stove.  Cooking it this way, the water does not vapourised yet the ingredients especially the white fungus are soft and smooth.  The gingko nuts are not bitter and the water chestnuts stay crunchy and tasty.

I don't mind preparing it again.  It can be served warm or chilled.

Recipe adapted from my selected cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event #5 -Yum Yum Magazine No. 48 [modified]

The recipe below uses normal pot to prepare.

If using Thermal Cooker

• place white fungus in inner pot with water, bring to boil for 10-15 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients, boil for a further 15 minutes.
• Cover with lid and transfer to outer pot. Leave to cook for a further 1 hour or so. 
• Serve immediately or bring to boil again before serving, or chilled in the fridge.

Ingredients
20 gingko nuts or more 

6-8 waterchestnuts - peeled and cubed

10 red dates

2 florets white fungus - soaked and break into smaller florets

quail eggs - boiled and shelled[I omit]

2-3 blades screwpine [pandan] leaves

1.5 litres water

70 gm rock sugar

1. Put all ingredients [except eggs] into a big pot.  Bring to boil over high heat for 10-15 minutes.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Lastly add in the eggs [if using].
3. Ladle into individual bowls to serve.

This post is linked to Cookbook Countdown #5 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

PANDAN SAGO GULA MELAKA PUDDING

As I have always mentioned, I love sago either sweet or savoury.  This is another recipe which I have tried from this month's selected cookbook 'In Love With Pandan'.  The pudding turned out so well and it is like eating a bowl of cendol.

This recipe is quite similar to my earlier post [here], but I like this one better with the pandan flavour.  It is easy to prepare with only 3 procedures to follow.

Recipe adapted from my selected Cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event#4 - Ricky Ng's book 'In Love with Pandan' [modified]

Ingredients

[makes 8 dessert bowls]

300 gm sago - rinsed, drained and soaked for 10 minutes - drained

1 litre or more water

1 tsp pandan paste

200 ml thick coconut milk + 1/4 tsp salt

200 gm palm sugar [gula Melaka] + 100 ml water + 1 blade pandan leaves

1. Bring water to boil in a saucepan, add in soaked sago to cook.  Stir constantly to prevent clamping, cook until sago is translucent [about 15 minutes].
2. Remove from heat, strain into a fine strainer and rinse under running tap water to remove the starch.  Drain well and transfer into a bowl.  Add in pandan paste, mix well.
3. Scoop sago into individual mould.  Chill in the fridge for 45 minutes before serving.
4. Meanwhile, simmer coconut milk over low heat until thick.  Set aside.
5. Bring gula melaka, water and pandan leave to boil and simmer until thick.  Strain, set aside.
6. Serve chilled sago with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.
   
   
   
   
    
   

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown Event#4 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

BUBUR CHA CHA

Bubur Cha Cha [Sweet Potato and Taro Medley in Light Coconut Sauce] - this is the dessert that most Hokkien Chinese in Penang or northern Malaysia will cook on Chap Goh Meh [15th day of Chinese New Year].  Of course, there are many versions of it, cooked according to each individual family's preference.

My mum used to cook this years ago but I didn't want to follow her recipe cos' she dumps everything in one pot and the coconut cream is no longer white in colour.  I prefer the sauce milky white and the other ingredients remain so colourful.

Here, I followed  a recipe from Nyonya Flavours [my selected cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event - February 2016].  I did some modifications, too according to my own preference.  I omit the black eye beans, sago pearls and bananas.  I didn't follow exactly the measurement of the sweet potatoes and taro cos' it isn't practical for me to get the stated quantity but I make sure that all these ingredients add up to the total weight.

Anyway, I gave my neighbour a bowl of it and she gave this a thumbs up.  My family enjoyed it too.  The sweetness is just nice for me and the coconut sauce is aromatic and tastes good.  Actually, it is my hubby who requested that I cook 'Bubur Cha Cha' for him.  This is a keeper.

Ingredients

[serves 6]

100 gm yellow sweet potato

100 gm orange sweet potato

100 gm purple sweet potato

200 gm yam [taro]

1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes and yam into cubes or other desired shape [mine is like diamond shape].  Steam separately for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked.  Set aside.

100 gm black-eye beans - soaked for 1 hour [I omit]

1. In a pot, boil beans in enough water to cover until soft.  Drain and set aside.

20 gm sago pearls [I omit]

1. In a pot, boil sago pearls in enough water until they are translucent and cooked.  Strain and keep the sago in a bowl of iced water until required.

3 bananas - preferably Pisang Raja - I omit

1. Peel and cut bananas into 1cm thick slices.
   

Tapioca Flour Jelly

100 gm tapioca flour

120 ml boiling water

some pink and green colouring

1. To make the jelly, divide the flour into 2 portions in small mixing bowls.  Add pink colouring into 60 ml hot boiling water and slowly add into flour to bind.  Mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate well.  When dough is cool enough, transfer to a piece of cling wrap.  Lightly roll dough until smooth and use a cutter to cut into small pieces or any desired shape.  Dust with some flour if necessary to prevent sticking.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, then drop in the cut tapioca dough to cook.  Boil until the dough is translucent and the pieces rise to the surface.  Scoop out and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.  Keep them in the water until required.
3. Repeat the same for the green colour.
   
   

Coconut Cream Sauce

1 litre coconut milk [from 1/2 grated coconut]*

150 gm sugar to taste

2 pandan leaves - washed and tie into a knot

* Substitute with 300 ml thick coconut milk and 700 ml water

1. Bring water, sugar and pandan leaves to boil until fragrant and sugar dissolves.  Add in coconut milk, bring to a simmering boil.  Off heat, set aside.

To Serve Dessert

1. Put bananas, steamed potatoes, taro, black eye beans, sago pearls and tapioca jelly in a serving bowl.
2. Scoop coconut cream sauce over ingredients.  Serve hot or cold.
   
   

I'm submitting this post to Cookbook Countdown 2 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking [Makan2] Foray