Onde-Onde (nyonya desserts) Recipe

Had a craving for Onde-Ondes, so I googled for the recipe and delighted to know it's so easy to make.... I love this because of the delightful sweet surprise you get on the inside. When you sink your teeth into the fragrant chewy ball you'll get liquid sugar oozing out....yummers.. but it's not any ordinary sugar, you'll need Gula Melaka (Palm sugar) (found mainly in south east asia/ sometimes your favourite asian grocer).
Here's all you'll need:
palm sugar (chop and shaped into tiny balls of sugar balls, about the size of a peanut, personal preference)
250 g glutinous rice flour
50 g tapioca starch flour
80-100 ml pandan juice*
grated coconut ( I used coconut flakes)

(* pandan/ screwpine leaves : juice can be extracted by blending 8 leaves with 1 cup of water. It is important to make sure you chop the leaves finely before blending. Then over a sieve, further squeeze juice from leaves with hands into a glass and set aside. Then with the same blended/drained leaves, blend them again with another cup of water to get slightly less concentrated juice.Pandan juice will give the dish a natural green colouring and fragrance)

Instructions:

1. Slowly add Pandan juice to flour mixture. adjust amount of juice according to the consistency desired. You want to knead the dough to get a smooth, green coloured dough.
2. Tear the dough to make approximate 1 inch balls. Make a cavity in center of ball ,place 'palmsugar-ball' and cover up neatly and give it a good roll to get a smooth ball.
3. Place balls into a pot of boiling water. Boil until balls start to float on the surface, further boil for 2-3 minutes to get sugar to melt inside.
4. Remove ball from pot into a bowl of coconut flakes/grated, roll the ball to give it a thorough coating.
   
5. Serve when cooled. Do not keep overnight / in the fridge as they will get very hard to chew.

Cook time = ~ 10 minutes per ball
Difficulty = tricky

PongTeh Bak Recipe (Nyonya braised pork Dish)

Daddy came for a short (2 days) visit here in Lund, Sweden after his business trip in Copenhagen, Denmakr (30 minutes away from where I live). I decided to make some home cooked meal to welcome his arrival couple of days ago (since he's rather picky with his food, tak boleh tahan angmo food)...tsk...

So anyways I decided to make ponteh bak (this is a typical Nyonya recipe works fine with chicken too, tastier if the meat is fatty). I remember this was one of my favourite dish prepared by granny.. She knew, and everytime we went visiting her she would make this for me....

Ingredients:
Pork Belly (sliced)/ Chicken (wings/ thighs/drumstick, cut) - portion for 4
Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1x1" cube pieces
Shitake mushroom, 5-6 pieces (soaked in warm water for 2 hours/ until soft, cut in half/quarters)
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp minced red onion/ small onions
1.5 tbsp salty bean paste ('teochew')
1 tbsp soy sauce
2x thumb size palm sugar ('gula melaka')
2-3 small cups of water
few sheets of dried beancurd skin, soaked till soft (optional)

Instruction:

1. Heat up wok with 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Stir in minced garlic and onion (minced as fine as possible to avoid chunky texture in gravy). Fry until fragrant/ changed colour, then add in meat and the bean paste. Stir well for a couple of minutes til meat changes colour. (high heat)
   
2. Next, add in potatoes and mushrooms and stir well together to allow flavours absorbed into ingredients. Then add water, enough to submerge ingredients, and add soy sauce. Bring to a boil, add in palm sugar. (Allow to boil on high heat for about 10 minutes/ until 1/4 water evaporates).
3. Then lower heat, Cover wok/pot with a lid and let it simmer for over 1 hour. You want the potatoes to be soft but not mushy.
4. Serve with a plate of warm rice, drenched with gravy.

*optional: add in beancurd skin only towards the end.



Prep + cook time : ~1.5-2 hours
Difficulty level : Moderate

Ayam Tempra (Malaysian-Nyonya Chicken) Recipe

Ayam Tempra, one of my many favourite Nyonya dishes - must try!
I'm glad to be born into a baba/nyonya family, being able to experience its culinary wonders, the authentic flavours and aromas that never fail to satisfy my tastebuds. I remember visiting grandma over the weekends every now and then, meal time (plus the in-between snackstime) was always my favourite time of the day.
I learnt this recipe from a dear aunt of mine some time back, and it's a very simple recipe. It requires simple ingredients, but you'll need to get the techniques right, heating and timing. It's mostly a savoury dish, but at the same time slightly sweet OR sour (to your own liking).

So here's what you'll need:

0.5 - 1kg Chicken meat, cut into pieces (I prefer to use tender parts of the chicken meat with bones/ fats, eg. wings, drumstick. thighs. Try to avoid the breasts as it carries less flavour and brings less richness to the dish. I used chicken thighs and cut them into several pieces)
2x2" fresh Ginger, thinly sliced
2 big onions, sliced into longstrips (Red onions tastes best)
2 large fresh red chilies, sliced (add more if you like spicy)
1 stk lemon grass, cut into two parts and slightly pounded
1/2 green lime
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 cups water
1-2 tbsp sugar
2-3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp thick dark soy sauce/karamel sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Begin by heating the oil in a wok/ large sauce pan. When oil is hot put in ginger slices and stir fry until you smell the fragrance. (always keep wok at high heat, but careful not to burn the ingredients). Once you smell the ginger and it looks slightly brown, add in the onions and chillies. Stir them thoroughly on high heat for about 1-2 minutes/ until you smell the aroma, then add in the lemon grass and stir for a few more seconds.
2. Add in chicken and stir fry for 2-3 minutes (still on high heat). Add a few squeeze of lime juice + 1 tbsp light soy sauce and keep stirring until chicken is brown and you see the oil starts oozing out from the chicken fats. (this step is to ensure you get the flavours into the meat before you continue on the next step, otherwise you'll get dull tasting meat).
3. Now add in water (water should be JUST enough to submerge all ingredients.stil keeping wok at high heat). Add the light and dark soy sauces, sugar and salt. boil on high heat for 2-5 minutes minutes (or until 1/4 of water has evaporated) then add remaining lime juice (adjust acidity to liking. if you like more sour, add lime, if u like sweeter add sugar. keep tasting until u get the taste you like).
4. Cover wok and simmer for 15-20 minutes on very low heat. Serve with warm rice.You wanna give your rice a good drench with the gravy! :)

MMmmm..Mmm! YuuuummMmY, the Aroma in my kitchen is heavenly right now, I wish you could smell it!! Absolute mouth watering. I'm gonna have mine with some fresh cabbage kimchi i've prepared a few days ago. Smaklig Måltid ;)


Prepr + Cooking time : 50 min- 1 hr
Difficulty level : moderate