Jamie Oliver Little Red Dot Bite size is the right size
Photographs by Shirleen
MICHAEL JOSEPH an imprint of PENGUIN BOOKS
I dedicate this book to some amazing people who have helped me fall in love with Singapore.
Page
Contents
Curry Puff
1
Kaya Toast
3
Kueh Lapis
5
Kueh Lapis Beras
7
Kueh Pie Tee
9
Kueh Tutu
11
Ma Kuo Kueh
13
Ondeh - Ondeh
15
Popiah
17
Satay
21
Curry Puff Pastry
1½ cup plain flour 5 tablespoons margarine or shortening ½ teaspoon baking powder ¾ cup water ½ teaspoon of salt
Filling
5 tablespoons oil 1 small onion, chopped 2 tablespoons curry powder 1 cup of diced chicken meat 2 large potatoes (peeled and diced) 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon ground pepper 1 teaspoon salt
Heat oil and fry the chopped onions until golden brown. Add in curry powder and saute until fragrant. Add the chicken, potatoes and 1 cup of water. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Add pepper, salt, sugar and cook until filling is dry. Set aside to cool while you prepare the pastry. To make the pastry, mix the flour with margarine/shortening, salt and baking powder in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add in water and mix into a dough. Let the dough rest for half an hour. Roll the dough into a long piece and cut into ten small portions to make the pastry for each curry puff. Roll each portion into a thin round piece about 10cm wide. The round pastry is ready for wrapping the curry puff filling. Put the filling in the centre of the round pastry you have made, fold the pastry in half and seal the edges by pressing and folding them with your fingers. Heat up some vegetable oil in a deep pan or pot for deep frying. Deep fry the curry puffs until they turn golden brown in colour.
1
Kaya Toast Kaya
4 or 5 eggs 200g sugar ½ cup coconut cream 3/4 cup coconut milk 3 pandan leaves, tie into a knot 1½ tablespoons corn starch + 1 ½ tablespoons water
1 cup
Kaya toast
Serves 1
2 slices thick cut bread Salted Butter Kaya Soft boiled eggs (if desired) Dark soy sauce and white pepper (if desired)
Caramel
50g – 75g sugar
Crack the eggs into a big bowl or container, follow by the coconut cream, coconut milk, and sugar. Whisk well, or using an electronic hand mixer, whisk the mixture well. Filter the mixture with a strainer. Transfer the egg mixture into a sauce pan (non-stick preferred). Add the pandan leaves into the egg mixture and turn on the heat to medium low. Using a wood spatula or a pair of wooden chopsticks, keep stirring the mixture until they are cooked, about 20 minutes. To thicken the kaya, add the corn starch mixture, stir to combine well with the kaya. Please take note that lumps will form in the jam. In the meantime, heat up the sugar for the Caramel in a sauce pan until the sugar melts into caramel. When the color becomes golden brown, add the caramel into the kaya, stir to combine well. The color of the kaya should be golden brown. Turn off the heat. Let the kaya jam cool down, discard the pandan leaves and transfer the kaya to a blender. Blend until it reaches a silky smooth consistency and without lumps. Transfer the kaya to a jam bottle. You can keep it in the fridge for about a week. Your bread choice is important. Get the softest, fluffiest, thickest cut, white bread you can find or just a wholemeal bread. Toast your bread so it has some colour, not those barely toasted pieces of bread. Spread on a thick layer of salted butter and top with a generous amount of kaya. Top with another slice of buttered toast. Yes, butter both slices of the bread and you are ready to eat it. However, in Singapore you dip into the soft boiled egg seasoned with dark soy and white pepper.
3
Kueh Lapis 500g salted butter 280g caster sugar 120g cake flour 15 egg yolks 6 egg whites 3 tablespoonful condense milk
1 teaspoonful vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoons lapis spices (Recommended: ½ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder)1 tablespoon brandy ¼ teaspoonful salt 8×8 inch cake
Firstly separate the yolks and whites. Then, grease the bottom of an 8×8 inch aluminum tin pan. Set your oven to top grill or broiler setting to preheat. Cream butter and sugar together in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until light and pale. This should take about 10mins on medium speed. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Then add the condensed milk, brandy and vanilla extract. Sieve the flour and spice together and set aside. In a clean mixing bowl. Whisk the egg whites and pinch of salt till stiff peak. Start by mixing 1 tablespoon of egg white to the butter mixer. This loosen up the batter. Then lightly fold in ¼ of the flour and 1/3 of the egg whites. Always end the folding with flour. Set the pan into the oven to warm up. Then pour about ½ cup of the spiced batter into the pan, spreading with a spoon to form a thin layer. The first layer will be thicker than the other layers. Place pan under a preheated broiler (oven grill) for 2 minutes, or until the layer is firm and very lightly browned. Spread 1/3 cup of the batter over the top and broil until firm and browned. The hot pan will melt your batter as you pour it in, resulting in smooth layers. Repeat layering and broiling until all batter is used. In between each layers, poke the surface or any air bubbles with a toothpick and flatten the layers lightly with a metal fondant presser. Also turn the pan each time to ensure even cooking. If you find that the sides are still wet, turn the oven to “bake” setting at 180 degree C and bake for a further 5 minutes. Covered the top with foil. The whole process will take about 2 hours. And do watch the batter in the oven as they turn brown very easily. Leave cake to cool for 10 minutes, loosen the sides with a knife, then invert the pan onto a wire grid rack to give a nice pattern to the top before turning the cake the right side up. Serve in thin slices. The cake will taste better the next day. The kueh lapis keeps well for 10 days in fridge
Kueh Pie Tee Pie tee shells
1 cup all purpose flour ¼ cup rice flour 1 egg (beaten) 1 ¼ water Oil for deep-frying
70-80 shells
Filling
2 tablespoons oil 900g jicama/yam bean (shredded) 1 carrot (shredded) 10 French beans (chopped) 120g shrimp (shelled, deveined, and cut into smaller pieces) 4 garlic (finely chopped) ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder 2/3 cup water
Combine the all purpose flour, rice flour, beaten egg, salt, and water in a mixing bowl and mix well. Strain the batter, transfer it into a big bowl and set aside. Fill a sauce pan that is deep enough for the mold with oil enough to cover the mold. Heat up the oil until hot. Then dip the mold into the heated oil until it’s just hot. Take out the mold and then dip it into the batter. Coat the mold until it’s up to the 90-95% level and make sure it’s well coated on the side and the bottom (the mold shouldn’t be too hot and it shouldn’t sizzle when it’s dipped in the batter). Let excess batter drip off, then plunge the mold into the hot oil. To separate the batter from the mold, jiggle the mold up and down to loosen it. The case should off with slight shaking up and down. Once it’s off, deep fry in the oil until it turns light to golden brown. Transfer it out onto a plate with paper towels (to soak up the excess oil) and store in an airtight container. (I use medium heat while making my cases.) For the filling, stir fry the minced garlic and prawns until fragrant. Add jicama, carrot and french beans, and do a quick stir. Add the seasonings and water. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes using medium heat. Dish out and set aside. To serve, fill the case with the filling, and then top with garlic chili sauce.
7
Kueh Tutu Pastry
1 Kueh Tutu Mould 2 Cups Rice Flour 3/4 Teaspoon Salt 1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar 170ml Hot Water Pandan Leaves, cut into squares
Make 12
Coconut Filling
1/2 Cup Fresh Grated and Skinless Coconut 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar / Gula Melaka
Peanut Powder Filling
200g Raw Peanuts, with skins on 1 Teaspoon of oil, optional
Prepare the coconut filling. Heat a pan over medium heat and melt the brown sugar together with some pandan leaves. Stir in the grated coconut and cook until the mixture is well coated with the melted sugar and fairly dry. For the peanut powder filling. Rub very little amount of oil to peanuts and roast them in a non-stick pan over medium low heat or in the preheated oven at 180째 until light brown and aromatic. Remove, place roasted peanuts on clean kitchen towel and rub them between the towel using your palms to remove the outer skins. Next using either a pestle or food processor, grind the roasted peanuts into coarse or fine powder according to the recipe requirements. Next dry roast rice flour in a non-stick pan with some pandan leaves for 2 minutes on medium heat or alternatively you can microwave it on medium high heat (1 minute) with some pandan leaves. When done, remove it from heat and leave it to cool. Mix salt and sugar in the hot water and sprinkle over the roasted rice flour. Using a fork combine the liquid and flour until the mixture is cool enough to touch. Sieve the grainy mixture to get a fine and sandy texture. The texture resemble grated coconut with that bit of moisture. Fill half the kueh tutu mould with prepared flour, top with 1 teaspoon of the peanut filling and cover with more flour. Place a small piece of pandan leaf over it and press with a square muslin cloth. Turn it over (lightly give it a knock) on the steamer rack with the muslin cloth below. Repeat the above steps until the remaining flour and peanut filling or coconut filling have been used up. Steamed the kueh tutu for about 7 minutes on medium heat. Remove from the steamer and serve immediately.
9
Lapis Sagu 480g Tapioca flour 150g Sago flour 35g Mung Bean flour 50g Rice flour 720ml Thick coconut milk 650g Sugar 1litre Water 3-4 Pandan Leaves, knotted Pinch Salt Food colouring (red and green)
9Ă—9 inch kueh
Boil sugar with pandan leaves in 1 liter of water until sugar melts. Strain the syrup and dilute with water to make to 1.5 liters. Mix all the flour and salt together. Pour coconut milk a little at a time and mix till smooth. Set aside. Pour the syrup from before into the flour mixture. Stir constantly till well blended. Divide mixture into 3 portions. Leave one portion uncoloured. Mix each of the other 2 portions with red and green colouring. Grease a 9 inch square baking tin with a little oil. Place the in in a steamer and steam until hot. Pour in the uncoloured mixture (90g) and steam for about 6-8 mins. Repeat another layer with the uncoloured mixture. Repeat the step before with other coloured batter until all batter is used up. Top layer must be red. Leave the cake to cool at room temeprature for 7-8 hours before cutting.
11
Ma Kuo Kueh 250g Self-Raising Flour ½ teaspoon Baking Powder 80g Castor Sugar (can be reduced further) 1 egg, lightly beaten 2-3 teaspoons of Pandan Essence / Any Essence 200ml Water at room temperature 45g Canola Oil
Make 15
Sieve the self-raising flour. Add baking powder and fold it in. Set the bowl aside. In another bowl, add the sugar to water and whisk briskly until the water has dissolved. Add in the egg and whisk, followed by the oil. Whisk well. Scoop 1-2 spoonfuls of flour into the mixture and combine it well. Repeat until all the flour has been added to the mixture. Start preparing the cupcake liners. Prepare the steamer. Pour the mixture into the cupcake liners until about 70-80% full. Place them in the steamer. Steam over high heat for 15mins. You could stick a satay stick into the mixture to test if it’s cooked. If the cake mixture doesn’t stick to it, it’s probably ready. You could also eat it with orange sanding sugar or grated coconut.
13
Ondeh Ondeh 250 g glutinous rice flour 30g tapioca flour 235 ml Pandan Juice (blend 20pcs of pandan with 250ml water) 100 g Brown Sugar / Gula Melaka 100 g grated fresh coconut 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Combine the glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl, slowly add in pandan juice and knead till smooth. You can add sweet potato to the dough, but this time i just add pandan juice to make the dough. Steam grated coconut with salt for about 3mins, set aside to cool. Bring a pot of water to boil. Pinch a small piece of dough (10g each) and flatten lightly. Fill in palm sugar in the center and seal it and lightly roll them into a ball. Cook the balls in the boiling water, when the rice balls float to the surface, continue to cook for another 1-2mins. Remove them and coat with grated coconut.
15
Popiah Popiah skin
30 skins
2 cups of plain flour, sifted 1 cup tapioca flour, sifted 2 teaspoons custard powder 3 cups of water 6 eggs, beaten A pinch of salt
Mix the plain flour, tapioca flour and custard powder in a large bowl. Add the water gradually, stirring as you go along. Add the eggs gradually, then the salt.Leave the batter to rest for about an hour at room temperature. Do not worry that the batter looks watery - it should look pale yellow and have the consistency of creamy milk. To make the skin, heat a non-stick 30cm round pan on medium-low heat. Using a soup ladle, add a spoonful of the batter into the pan and swirl it until the entire base on the pan is covered. The skin is cooked when you begin to see small bubbles. To cool the skin, flip it onto a plastic basket or colander with a rounded, dome-like base. The basket should not have legs or a stand on the bottom because these will change the shape of the skin. You may need to stretch the skin out gently with your fingers. When the skin is cool, remove and place onto a plate. Repeat the skin-making process until all the batter is used. Stack cooled skins on top of each other.
17
Popiah filling
Serves 6-8
400g pork fat Oil for frying 500g prawns 200g pork belly 4 Tablespoons oil 1 Tablespoon minced garlic 3 Tablespoons tau cheo or fermented soyabean paste (mashed) 2kg jicama (shredded) 300g winter bamboo shoots (shredded) A pinch of light soya sauce, salt, sugar
Cut the pork fat into small cubes and fry in oil until golden brown and crispy. Save the oil for use later. Drain the cubes of lard on paper towels. Next place prawn in a pot and cover them with just enough water so that all of it are submerged. Boil for about five minutes until cooked. Remove the prawns and keep the stock for use later. Peel the prawns later. Meanwhile, do the same for the pork belly. Place it in another pot, cover with just enough water so that the whole piece of pork is submerged. Boil for about five to 10 minutes until pork is cooked. Remove the pork and slice it into thin strips. Keep the stock for use later. Heat 4 Tablespoons of the lard oil in a large wok or pan on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and then the tau cheo, and fry until fragrant. Add the jicama, then both the prawn and pork stocks. Stir and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the bamboo shoots. Season with light soya sauce, salt and sugar, to taste. Cover and continue to let it simmer for about 1 hour. To serve, roll up the popiah with the filling.
19
Satay Satay
40 sticks
600g chicken meat (cut into thin strips) 2 tablespoons coriander powder 1 tablespoon turmeric powder 1” Galangal (replaced ginger if you don’t have this) 3 stalks Lemongrass 75ml coconut milk 1½ teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons light brown sugar Some satay skewers
Peanut dipping sauce
100g roasted peanuts (coarsely ground) Ground spices (blend into paste) 1 teaspoon Cumin powder 1 teaspoon Fennel powder 1 teaspoon Coriander powder 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder 1 tablespoon chilli paste 2 stalks lemongrass 4pcs of candlenuts 8pcs shallots 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons water Tamarind juice (1 tablespoon tamarind paste mix with 3 tablespoons water) 1 tablespoon sugar 300ml think coconut milk 5 tablespoon of cooking oil 1 teaspoon salt
Blend galangal, lemongrass and coconut milk till fine paste. Marinade the chicken meat with all the ingredients, set aside for 1hour or more or preferably overnight in the fridge. Thread the marinated strips of meat through satay skewers, around 4-5pcs per skewer. Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 25mins or barbecue the satay using charcoal fire. While the satay are cooking we can do the sauce now. Heat oil in a wok, fry ground spices for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add in tamarind water and coconut milk, continue to simmer for 5mins. Add the ground peanuts and simmer for 2-3mins. Add sugar and salt to taste. Finally to serve you can cut up some onions, cucumber and rice dumpling (Ketupat).
21
Selamat tinggal! குட்பை! Thanks a million to all the lovely people that helped in putting this book together.