Buah sukun goreng ( Breadfruit fritters )

Buah sukun goreng ( Breadfruit fritters )

Ribbon-like, young  petai pods at the tips of slender boughs  sway gently in the morning breeze while beyond it, above a tree line, a coconut palm tosses its feathery head. Nearby, dense kesidang creepers festoon a fence, its white blossoms filling  the air with its faint fragrance. Within a fenced area a hen clucks and a lone rooster let out a lonesome crow. The sight, smell and sound are reminiscent of a kampung scene.

However, my wife and I are enjoying the rustic ambience in my sis place at Ujung Pasir, right  in Melaka Town. We are sitting at a table of an open kitchen while my sis, Juliet , is busy deep frying buah sukun for breakfast. Above a kitchen wall, among a tangled mass of verdant vegetation, we  see  a sukun tree and my wife take a snapshot of the tree.

The sukun tree seen above the kitchen wall

Noticing our interest my sis says,

“We’ll take a look at the sukun tree after breakfast.”

Less than twenty minutes, the deep fried buah sukun ( breadfruit fritters ) and a bowl of melted palm sugar are placed before us. We dip the fritter in the melted palm sugar and we find the sweetness of the palm sugar complements and enhances  the  potato-like taste of the fried buah sukun and its lightly coated crunchy batter.

Buah sukun goreng (breadfruit fritters) and a bowl of melted palm sugar

After breakfast, treading gingerly across a pebble-strewn ground carpeted with creepers, we make our way toward the sukun tree. Along the way we spot a kantan plant  ( torch ginger plant) and my wife took a photo of it.

Bunga kantan( torch ginger) plant

We reach the sukun treea and our eyes scan the tree in search of the fruits.

Buah sukun among the large leaves

 Among the large leaves we spot a few fruits and my sis points to us two moderately ripe buah sukun which are just right for making buah sukun goreng (fried breadfruit fritters).

Moderately ripe buah sukun

 She then explains to us how to make buah sukun goreng.

Ingredients

1. Peel and slice the buah sukun.

Sliced buah sukun

2. Batter:

    (i) 1 cup of wheat flour

    (ii) 2 tablespoon of rice flour

    (iii) A pinch of salt

    (iii) ice- cold water

    (iv) cooking oil for deep frying

3. Palm sugar

Instructions

1.   Mix well wheat flour, rice flour and salt. Slowly add in ice-cold water until you get the right consistency.

2.   Heat oil in a frying pan or wok

3.   When the oil temperature reaches 185 C deep fry the well coated buah sukun until golden brown.

4.   Place the sukun goreng on paper towel for it to absorb the excess oil.

5.   Serve with melted palm sugar 

Ayam Pongteh (Nyonya stewed chicken) : From a nyonya kitchen

Ayam Pongteh ( Nyonya stewed chicken) : From a nyonya kitchen

Recipe contributed by Boon Neo
Photos courtesy of Siew Leng

Ayam pongteh (Nyonya stewed chicken ) is one of the signature dishes of the Melaka Peranakan and since my parents are Melaka Peranakan, ayam pongteh is a familiar dish for my siblings and I.

I remember those childhood days when mother would cook the ayam pongteh in a clay pot over wood fire. Today , years on, my nose still tingles with its remembered fragrance.

Mother is no longer with us, but her ayam pongteh recipe has been handed down to my sisters who have since shared it with my non-nyonya wife.
On one of his visits home, our son, Andrew, said  to his  mummy

“This is the best ayam pongteh from a non-nyonya."

For an authentic taste of  ayam pongteh, you have to try the home cooked ayam pongteh prepared by a traditional Melaka nyonya.

Ingredients:

15 shallots

5 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp light soy sauce

2 Tbsp dark soy sauce

2 Tbsp  palm sugar (gula tuak or gula melaka), chopped

1 ½ Tbsp fermented soy bean paste (taucheo)

1 kg. chicken cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered

10 Shitake mushrooms 

3 cups water

Salt to taste

Method

  
  1.  Pound shallots and garlic separately into thick paste

  2.   Heat oil over medium heat. Add in shallot paste and sauté (tumis) until fragrant, but make sure it is not burnt.

  3.   Add in garlic and sauté

  4.   Add in bean soy paste (taucheo) and stir.

  5.  Add in chicken and stir until slightly dry.

  6.   Put in 3 cups of water and bring to boil.

  7.  Add in the potatoes and mushrooms.

  8. Add in the light soy sauce and the black soy sauce. Bring to boil.

    9.  Add in the palm sugar.
  10. When the water boils, reduce heat and let it simmer until chicken is tender and the gravy has thickened.
111. Season with salt to taste.
   12.Serve with steamed rice 
   Tips: Use a generous amount of shallots for that extra fragrance and good quality palm sugar for the unique sweetness.


     

Kuih rose: A nyonya recipe

Kuih Rose: A nyonya recipe
Recipe courtesy of Angeline Wan

I had just settled back into the comfort of the sofa after a sumptuous meal of delectable rojak, mouth-watering satay and savory tomato rice with chicken curry when a soft voice drifted to my seat.

"Like to try some Chinese New Year cookies?"

I looked up. My niece was holding a jar filled with kuih rose. As I glanced at the golden brown cookies and caught a whiff of the aroma that wafted from the open container, I knew it was an irresistible offer. I was soon relishing the sweet crunchy cookies that just crumble in the mouth.

"Must get the recipe from Angeline," I told my wife.

My niece was soon sharing her mum's secret recipe
while my wife tried to make a mental note of the  ingredients and measurement. 
My wife was surprised to find out that her mum had used the 'agak-agak'(rough estimation) method for her measurement and unlike most other kuih rose recipes she did not  use the all-purpose flour.  Angeline said she had always used her mum's recipe and the cookies had always turned up nicely.
Having tried the sweet crunchy, tender crispies with their unique coconut fragrance, we did not require further assurance. 

A 'honeycomb' of kuih rose made by Angeline

Things you may require

A kuih rose brass mould

1. Kuih Rose brass mould

2. A hand-held whisk

3. Wire sieve

4. Wok
5. Oil for deep frying

Ingredients

1. 3 cups rice flour

2. 1 cup sugar

3. 3 eggs

4. Thick coconut milk(santan) from one coconut  

Method

1. Combine the sugar and coconut milk.
    Whisk until sugar has dissolved completely.
2. Add in the eggs.
    Whisk until well blended.
3. Strain mixture through wire- mesh sieve
4. Add the sieved rice flour and stir to form smooth
    batter. If too thick add water until you get the 
    right consistency.
5. Heat oil in a wok.
6. Preheat the brass mould in the oil.
7. When mould is hot enough, dip it in the batter.
    Make sure only the side and bottom of the mould  
    is coated with the batter.
 8. Return the mould to the hot oil in the wok.
    Let the batter turns golden brown and dislodges
    itself from the mould.
9. Remove and drain on paper towel.
10. Let the cookies cool down before storing in  an
      air-tight container.

Time to snack on the addictive kuih rose

Pineapple tarts recipe: The nyonya way

Pineapple tarts recipe: The nyonya way

The  older generation of traditional nyonyas can be  fastidious when it comes to cooking and making nyonya kuih. 
They take meticulous care to ensure that their nyonya dishes and kuih meet their exacting standard.    
Their kuih must not only suit their taste buds, but must look appealing and have that dainty flair.
Making pineapple tarts the traditional way, using the fluted cutter, 
was a slow and tedious process. With their hectic lifestyle, the younger generation of nyonyas usually make use of the pineapple tart mould which is an easier and faster method. Nevertheless, they try to maintain the exacting standard sets by their mothers or aunts.   

Pineapple tarts recipe
Contributed by Catherine Wan



Ingredients for pineapple jam

1 kg pineapple
200g castor sugar
4cloves
1tsp lemon or lemon skin
Pastry
500g all-purpose flour
300g margarine
2 eggs
2 tbs cold water
A pinch of salt


Directions

1. Slice skin of pineapples

2. Grate pineapple. Chop until fine. Using a muslin cloth, squeeze out the juice until partially dry. Add castor sugar to the grated pineapple.

Cook in aluminium pot over medium heat
Lower to low heat and stir frequently

Pastry

Things you may require

1. Fluted pastry cutter

2. Pastry brush

3. Pineapple tart mould

Directions

1. In a large bowl or container, combine all purpose flour, pinch of salt and margarine.
Slowly add cold water and using the rub-in method, work the dough until it resembles bread crumbs.

2. Make well in centre of mixture
Pour two  eggs in well
Knead lightly

3. Wrap in plastic
Refrigerate for two to three hours

4. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness

5.Cut dough using pineapple tart mould

6.Put pineapple jam in centre

7.Decorate with criss-cross strips

8.Brush top of pastry with beaten egg

9. Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in preheated oven

The pineapple tarts made by nyonya Catherine

10. Time to sink your teeth into the crunchy, yummy tarts.
       Inilah, kuih te'eh nyonya.

Notes: Photos courtesy of Siew Leng
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