Lepat Labu @ Steamed Pumpkin Parcels

Lepat Labu is one of my favourite Malay kuih. 

But, it’s not easy to find one that is not too heavy with flour. 

I prefer it soft and supple, and with plenty of coconut filling. 

It’s easy to make. 

Nasi Kerabu

Nasi Kerabu is from the state of Kelantan. Famous Famous!

Usually when it's sold not in the state itself... it always comes in blue. But if one were to eat it in Kelantan, it can come in yellow or even dark green, depending on what is used to tint the rice. It's like a salad rice, tossed together to be eaten, healthy, depending on which side dishes you take.

Tosei or Dosa

I’m writing this post with my phone.
Malaysia is currently under  Movement Control Order for Covid19. Stuck at home, can’t dine out, we yearn for food that we love eating out. My kids have Tosei once every fortnight and they love it.

So I plucked up my courage and tried making this at home.
Many recipes online require raw rice , like idli rice. It’s not something I can get easily in Malaysia and most recipes don’t provide exact water amount. Vague instructions like ‘just enough’, ‘not too thick not too thin’ doesn’t help the noob like me who has never ever seen it made from scratch. Eyeballing takes experience, like real life experience seeing and feeling the batter.

I messaged one of my readers , Thenmathy on Facebook, and she guided me from purchasing to fermenting... I’m grateful for her help.

So here is my version of Tosei, that will remove the guessing game.

Kuih Bangkit ~ Gluten Free Coconut Cream Cookies 薯粉饼

Kuih Bangkit.... It is a local traditional cookie, one of the staples for Chinese New Year and Eid.
Some people will make this with tapioca starch, some swear by arrowroot flour for best melt in the mouth effect and some will use sago flour to replace that elusive arrowroot flour.

In the olden days, this cookie was baked over charcoal. And I have only seen that being done once in my life, at my kindergarten teacher's home. I'm glad that in recent years, I had the chance to eat charcoal baked kuih bangkit again, made by distant relatives, and they are soooo much better than oven baked. The base of the charcoal baked ones were brown and the cookie was so flavorful and fragrant.

Homemade Coconut Oil

Coconut used to be the baddie for health concerned people.
All things coconut were bad! Curries were creamed with milk or creamers and coconut was shunned.
The local community said No No No to coconut laden food.

I on the other hand, have always loved coconut and didn't bother with all those health issues. I'm glad I never did.

But lately these few years... Coconut oil has been 'crowned' as health food!
Wooooo....... great news isn't it?
Coconut oil began appearing at health food stores, here there everywhere.

Kuih Koci Pulut Hitam 鸡脚指~ Black Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Coconut

Kuih Koci is a chewy dumpling wrapped in banana leaf, with sweet coconut filling. The 'skin' can come in green, purple or white, depending on the ingredients used.

The Cantonese community here calls this as 鸡脚指 'gai geok jee' that means Chicken Claws. It's just a nickname due to the similarity in the sound 'Kuih Koci' with 'Gai Geok Jee'. I'm not sure if there are any other names for this kuih.

Kuih Ketayap

This kuih goes by many names

Kuih Ketayap
Kuih Dadar
Kuih Gulung
and my ex students from Selancar calls them kuih hijau

Malaysian school's home science textbooks calls this kuih ketayap.
Period.

Sweet Coconut Filling

In Malaysian kuih, this filling is one of the basics.

It is used in various types of kuih, so many that I can't name them all.
Besides in kuih, we also find this filling in buns.

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.

Hong Kong Style Coconut Pudding - Jelly #3

I taste this loooooooooong ago when I was a kid, when a family restaurant served us a complimentary plate of this, made by her daughter. The taste remained unforgettable to me.

Choy May... I miss the ones your sis made.. yummy.

Quick Apricot Coconut Pie - Stone Fruits #2

A pie... how is it a pie? hmmm.
A coconut crust, apricot filling and covered with almonds? LOL. Don't ask me.

This is another recipe from my "good to see only" cookbook. I took the idea, and ditched all the liquids in the recipe, added in lime zest to boost the coconut and apricot, and changed whatever I think is the better way. The result was perfect for me. I wonder what will happen with that extra 1 cup of milk in this. It'll look like baked oatmeal I guess. It's already so moist now.... it will crumble if the golden base is not formed properly

Akok Kedut Kelantan- MFF Kelantan #5

My favourite Kelantanese kuih!
Akok kedut is translated as Wrinkly Akok. Because on the east coast, Terengganu's akoks are smooth : )
And there are many types of akok too.

When I told my Kelantanese colleagues from Selancar that I loved Jala Mas, they recommended that I try eating akok and it's even better. Hmmmm....

One day, during Ramadan  Bazaar in Serdang, Selangor, I saw some  akoks being sold. So I bought some.
URRGHHHHH! It was disgusting! It tasted like a soggy cake, almost a syrup soaked bahulu that reeked of imitation essence. Eeewww!

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api ~ Chicken in Bird's Eye Chilli and Coconut Gravy - MFF N9#1

Negeri Sembilan is a very special state with a strong Minangkabau culture. It's nice to be born as a girl in a Minang family. They practise girl-power, LOL.... and you get to inherit, instead of the guys.

Besides being known for it's horned roof houses, it is famous for it's fiery dishes. It should be so fiery that you can feel your ears hissing, LOL. But then again, you can always tune it down. But that's how fiery it should be.

Kuih Lepat Liat - MFF Kedah Perlis #3

This Kedahan kuih was actually told to me by my reader, Norehan. Thanks kak!

Liat means elastic. Is this kuih that elastic? Haha, it didn’t break my teeth.
It’s actually quite soft, while it’s warm. Firmer when colder. I like it firm and chewy. Almost like dodol. Delicious! If you have no idea about dodol, it’s almost like niangao 年糕. Get it? Except the coconut is already in the niangao. Sweet, sticky, chewy and coconutty.

Old Fashion Coconut Agar-Agar - Jelly #1

I've talked about my mom repeating dishes very often.

This is one dessert that my mom replenishes after each batch was gone! It's scary!
My mom made this almost every weekend when I was young, about 9-11.  Either she would set it in huge bowls and cut into wedges or she'ld set them in tart tins.
And she loves it being separated while I prefer it being homogenous.

My mom has a sweeth tooth but her sugar level is perfectly ok, even until now. Let's talk about her adding in sugar to her 3in1 coffee. I am nowhere near her standard. Maybe it's because of the way she grew up, she eats rice porridge with sugar and douse her rice with kopi-O like soup.

Lompat Tikam ~Jump and Stab??? - MFF Terengganu #3

This Terengannu dessert is not for the faint hearted. It's called "Jump and Stab". Yes, that's what it means in the Malay language. LOL.

I'm just pulling your leg. It's a dessert for anyone. No violence incurred during the preparation and nothing happened when I ate it, except mourn with pleasure. LOL.

Kelantan state has their own version that comes with a red glutinous rice and the coconut milk component is more liquidy like a curd sauce. So, please do not be confused.

Traders Rice ~ Nasi Dagang Terengganu - MFF Terengganu #1

Blessed with the best beaches in Malaysia that I have ever seen. (sorry I've never been to Sabah yet)
Beautiful islands with white sandy beaches surrounded by crystal clear blue waters that one can see the corals right from the boat. It seems shallow because you can see them, but once you jump it, you might be shocked. LOL.

I have been to Terengganu 5 times before. I love this state. Been to most of the popular spots like Kenyir Lake, Lang Tengah Island , Redang Island, walked around KT town, been to the museum twice and Pasar Payang on every trip :)  , 1st 2000-Kuala Terengganu with Uni coursemates, 2nd trip 2001-Redang, 3rd 2002-Lang Tengah, 4th 2003-Kemaman, Kenyir and 5th 2006, East Coast Road Trip

Tebaloi, Sago Cookies - Sarawak MFF #2

Lydia loved this, she said it taste like milk cookies. LOL.

Tebaloi is a traditional snack of the Melanau tribe of Sarawak. I first had a taste of this back in 2001 when I went to Sarawak for 11 day, on a fun trip with my uni mates. I fell in love with it at first bite. It was absolutely delicious and addictive. We bought these mostly at souvenir shops and they don’t come cheap for that few pieces of cookie. Now it’s even more expensive, 50% more of what I used to pay, if I didn’t remember wrongly. It used to be RM2 per box, but now it’s RM10 for 3.

Chicken Fried in Dry Coconut Sambal~Ayam Kalasan Berseri - Ayam #3

The description that Zurin made for this dish, made me interested straight away. It was the mention of delicious scraps! I love fried chicken scraps. They are sometimes more delicious than the chicken itself, LOL. In this case, it's coconut scraps. Sounds good eh :)

Watermelon Jelly - Jelly Week # 1

Recipe created in June 2011

No....... this is not made in a bowl.
I made this in a square pan.
No egg whites involved too, just good old coconut milk and dragon fruit.

I made this for Reuben's Full Moon Party and tried to use minimal food colouring for this jelly. I am not so keen to use sesame seeds as the watermelon seeds. So, in the end, I chose to use dragon fruit seeds as the watermelon seeds.