Nyonya Glutinous Rice cake AKA Pulut Tekan

Ingredients (makes a medium-sized cake for 6-8 persons)

1 kilo glutinous rice, soaked in two different parts overnight

A handful of dried Bunga Telang or Blue Pea flower (Clitorea ternatea)

Salt to season

1/3 cup of vanilla sugar (optional)

1 cup coconut milk

In a cup, pour some hot water over the dried Bunga Telang and let it infuse for 15 minutes. Squeeze and drain the dark indigo coloured liquid. Set aside.

Wash the glutinous rice and drain. Soak 3/4 of the portion separately in a large bowl with clean water overnight, changing the water at least once. The remaining 1/4 should be soaked in the blue liquid overnight.

Drain the rice, season with salt, sugar. Mix the two portions of rice together with the coconut milk, careful not to overmix them. Traditionnaly, they are steamed over a basket lined with banana leaf but if that proves challenging, it can be steamed over a metal plate in a steamer. The time needed would vary according to the thickness of the rice container and the steamer used. The rice should be cooked to the core but still retain its firmness without being "al dente".

Oil a square tin cake mould. Pour in the cooked glutinous rice into the mould and press down the rice to form a firm layer. The cake can be cut according to preference once it cools down. Serve with Seri Kaya (Coconut custard cream).

Dinner to end the year 2014...

As the year 2014 closes, we celebrated with a dinner with friends at home...it is also occasion to "clear out" my clogged fridge.

 Sitting elbow to elbow for 8 persons...

 Raw cauliflower is good with a simple aioli...

Tomatoes 2 ways: in concentrated purée and as raw (kumato). Served with a balsamic reduction, olive oil, sprinkle of fleur de sel and a Parmiggiano regiano chip...

 Lamb shoulder braised slowly in white wine and garlic, served with potato purée and the cooking jus.

 A simple salade with a cut of cheese... Comte

Suddenly feeled inspired to create, but a bit messy with the construction because of laziness: chocolate mousse à l'absinthe on almond crumble, lemon jelly, crème anglaise, caramel aux fleurs de sel and a pear chip.

Asam Heh updated (reblogged from June 2012)

Asam Heh in the Nyonya language (mixture of Malay and Hokkien) means prawns cooked with tamarind. The original recipe that my MIL gave was simple - clean prawns and marinade with tamarind paste (sole seasoning). Deep fry in medium heat oil until crispy and serve. Well, I decided to update her recipe with my own take and I quite like the result...

Ingredients (serves 4):

20 medium-sized prawns

2" Tamarind paste

salt to taste

pinch of sugar

2 limes

1 red onion, finely sliced

1/3 cup of oil for frying

Clean the prawns but keep the shells.

Mash the paste with 1 tbsp of water and juice of the 2 limes. Season with salt, sugar and a dash of soya sauce. Marinade the prawns with this paste.

Preheat the oil in a frying pan under medium heat. Fry the prawns until slightly caramelised. Half-way through the frying process, add the onion slices. When ready, transfer to a serving plate.

Garnish with sliced onion, grated lime skin and slices of lime.

The finest restaurant in Besançon: the Poker d'As (reblogged from June 2012)

This summer, I get to return to France for my summer classes but this time, I get to go to a totally different region that I did not know before: Franche-Comté. As luck would have it, public works to built a new tramway for the city of Besançon is in full throttle, stirring up dust everywhere, coupled with the heat of summer - I felt like I've not left Malaysia!

To cut the story short, I was tired and 'lost' because of some technical error on my place of stay and so, once everything settled down, I went strolling to get to know the city a bit. I was in Galleries Lafayette (bought myself a panama hat) and I casually asked the salesperson if she knew any good place to have dinner, one that will restore some strength to the weary traveller and she excitedly suggested "le Poker d'As".  It actually sounded vulgar in English but luckily it was in French...As it was summer, the sky was still bright at dinner time (19H00) and as I arrived (the restaurant has a rather sombre allure on its facade), the Maitre D was in the midst of preparing the tables and service. Well, it did take me awhile to find the place, having being sent on a wild goose chase by the French on the street, and this, I can communicate perfectly in French!  Every person in the street suggested an opposite direction of the precedent (which was already wrong to begin with!) until I finally gave up on them and used THE MAP. I reckon this is a fair warning to all would-be travellers out there - trust your map than those confused locals!

Back to the restaurant, well the Maitre D, which is a lady, showed me to a table after having took my panama. I was allowed in even though I was in shorts and was given a menu to ponder on while the waiters continued busying themselves with the tables. I chose the 39.20 Euro menu consisting of 4 entrees: an entree, a main dish, a cheese tasting and a dessert. Not bad, value for money...

the main entrance

The interiors of the restaurant is dimly lit with a lot of wood and rustic decor in the Alsatian flavor. Not surprised, we are very close to Alsace and Switzerland...

the hanging bells vary in sizes - the largest is a REAL one used for prize winning cows during a competition!

rustic settings of the restaurant

my table - notice the hand painted plates...

an amuse bouche - mousse of cucumber with espelette pepper, a special labelled AOC red hot pepper from the Basque region in Southern France.

First course - Croustillante of escargot of Bourgogne, crayfish and fresh Girolle mushroom. Too heavy on the salt. The prawn bisque sauce has a nice tangy base but still way too salty.

Main course: slow-cooked canette (young duck) with panfried cherries (now in season) and lemon-scented pearl barly, served with potatoes confit. OK

Good selesction of cheese. tried two eventhough there are quite a few to choose from.

I didn't die for the dessert because it wasn't impressive enough for me. Too sweet and too acidic at the same time. I find the overall composition of taste too "busy" on the tongue.

Little something to accompany the dessert; a madaleine, a truffle, a crispy caramel chips and a tiny meringue.

the service table at the entrance to the restaurant

Din Tai Fung at Gardens Midvalley after the renovations

The restaurant got a renovation this year but the menu was maintained. I actually think the older layout was more comfortable and less claustrophobic - the only thing that changed was the price on the menu: same dishes plus some percent higher on the price!

Beignets de fleurs de courgette (reblogged from 2011)

On our way down from Mount Brinchang to Sungei Palas, we stumbled upon a vegetable farm called 'Mountain Strawberry Farm'. I wanted to know if anyone was growing zucchinis (courgette in French) and so we gave this one a try. Happily, they do grow zucchinis - just one single row of it. The worker that attended to us, a Bangladeshi man who has been working in the same farm for the past six years, was surprised that I wanted to buy zucchini flowers above all vegetables offered for sale because he too, eats them from time to time (I didn't ask how). However, when I told him that I only wanted the female flowers (those with a tiny zucchini attached to its stem), he became reluctant because (I could understand why) each female flower plucked equals to one future zucchini fruit lost. Besides, he didn't know what the boss lady might say to him...Not wanting to put him in a fix, I ordered a kilo of fresh zucchinis, some leeks, tomatoes and a head of iceberg lettuce and he happily plucked a dozen of male zucchini flowers for me to 'try'...all's well ends well with a little concession on all sides...

Cabbages in neat rows...

Tomatoes in the green house...

Pea flower...edible but not for sale either. The zucchini patch is on the back row...

The male zucchini flowers...not exactly what I wanted but will do for this time. I am sending the seeds to someone I know in Cameron Highlands to have them grown...

Voila the end result. I was pleasantly surprised with the result as the fried flowers were delicate, fragrant (somewhat like a fried sweet potato) and delicious. A sprinkle of fine sea salt at the end really helped bring out the delicate flavours of this dish.

Recipe for the batter:

In an ice-cold mixing bowl (double bowls with ice put in between)...
1 egg
3 tablespoon of flour
a pinch of salt
pepper
ice cold sparkling mineral water (like Perrier)

Thin the batter to a liquid consistency. Remove the pistils from the flowers and gently rub off the tiny hairs around the stems of the flowers with a piece of kitchen towel. Swirl the flowers gently in the batter and deep fry them in hot oil until golden (this will really only take a minute or two). Drain off the oil with kitchen paper towels and serve immediately with a pinch of fine sea salt.

Yet another makan chez moi...

We had some visiting friends from afar, across the straits and the theme was "autumn". So I whipped up an autumn-inspired menu...

 Table set with tiny pumpkins and champagne-coloured roses...

 A bloc of foie gras with pâté to start things (goes well with the champagne)...

 Pumpkin and roasted bell pepper soup to start the dining experience...a dollop of crème fraîche and a pinch of piment d'Espelette made it French...

 Poached egg scented with truffle oil, with crispy bacon and Parmiggiano reggiano chips, served with a swirl of Balsamic reduction and salade of roquette.

 Pan-seared butter fish on a puree of brocoli, served with oven-roasted yellow bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.

After some simple salade and a serving of Morbier, dessert was fruit cake with orange syrup, topped with orange-scented Chantilly cream, and an infusion to end it all.