Lei Cha is my mother’s favourite Hakka dish. But one that she makes the least due to the amount of work involved. If you’d like to take the challenge to make this from scratch, watch the video to understand the entire process and shortcuts that you can take. If you wouldn’t cook it, I’ll tell you where to get the best Lei Cha in Kuala Lumpur.

1. THAI BASIL In Malaysian supermarkets, Thai Basil is not as common as herbs like mint. That is perhaps because that it’s one of the least used herbs in Malaysian dishes. But this flavour makes the dish.
2. SAWTOOTH CORIANDER The shape of this coriander is very different from that that we get at the supermarket. The leaf is long, flat, and with edges like the teeth of the saw blade. My Mom favour this as the taste is more intense. It’s also because it’s growing wild in our garden!
3. MUGWORT This is another herb that isn’t available at the market.
4. FU YIP SUM/ KU YE XIN (苦力心) Acanthopanax trifoliatus. This is perhaps the rarest of all herbs. We’ve made the recipe without this many times. I believe this is also not used in most restaurants as it’s not widely available for sale.

TOOLS

• Wok + spatula
• Chopping board + knife
• Blender
• Oven (optional)

RECIPE CARD

KITCHEN HACKS

1. Use a spice blender to crush the peanuts and sesame seeds. I am using the Panasonic blender with two attachments – one for blending smoothie/paste, and another for blending things like nuts. The finer it is, the better.
2. Toast peanuts in the oven Traditionally, my mother roast peanuts on the wok. I prefer to use an oven instead to leave it there and cook the many other dishes instead.
3. Freeze blended soup ingredients We like making extra soup paste to freeze. On busy days, we just defrost then put the paste and water into a pot to boil.

Although it’s a lot of work, I love making this with my Mom and keeping the tradition alive. 

The post Hakka Lei Cha Recipe (Tea Rice/ ‘Thunder’ Tea/ 擂茶) appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

When I was living alone and at the busiest point of my life, lentil curry is something I made very often. I make a big pot, separate it in small containers, and freeze them!

ABOUT LENTIL CURRY

In Malaysia, lentil curry (dal curry) is not only enjoyed by the Malaysian-Indian community; every Malaysian loves it! We love eating it at the Mamak (Indian-Muslims restaurant) with roti canai, the Malay word for prata or flat bread.

At home, we eat it with rice too. This recipe is taught to me by Aunty Clara, she cooks this ‘kari dal’ (lentil curry) for her family a few times a week. I first published her recipe here and in my cookbook.

SIMPLIFIED: 25 minutes including preparation, washing, and roti canai!

But this time, I’ve simplified it. Originally she uses dried chillies, fresh red chillies, and milk. I omitted all that. So this dhal curry is not only vegetarian, but also vegan. If you’re on a keto diet, this is perfect as it’s filling and rich in protein.

But I personally love it for its immense health benefits. The potent spices and rainbow coloured vegetables are so good for our body. The best thing is, you can make it in just 25 minutes!

While simmering the curry, I even have time to wash everything up and make a roti canai!

TOOLS

• pot with lid
• spatula
• Knife + chopping board

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

COOKING TIPS

1. Mixed Spice is called ‘Halba Campur’ in Malay. You can use mustard seeds as a replacement. Find out more about the mixed fenugreek spice or talipu here. 

Watch the video for more random little tips 🙂

The post Easy Lentil Dhal Curry In 25 Minutes appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

My family had enough vegetables and meat stocked for weeks (we’re like that even on normal days because we cook and eat a lot 😂 ). After a week or so, most of our leafy vegetables are gone. But what we are left with are some of the healthiest vegetables.

HEALTHY & LASTING

This dish is probably one of the healthiest that you can find in the planet as it contains

• cruciferous vegetables i.e broccoli & cauliflower
• garlic
• mushroom seasonings (instead of chicken stock/ MSG)

These vegetables are also much more long lasting. Cauliflower and broccoli can be kept in the fridge for about 2 weeks. It’s possible to keep carrots for a month!

PERFECT FOR BENTO LUNCHBOX

This dish is perfect to packed in lunchboxes. It doesn’t spoil/wilt as quickly. On top of its health benefit, it’s our choice of vegetables for our #NourishMYmedics project where we cook some healthy food for medical staff that we know to keep them healthy and fight coronavirus.

TOOLS

• Knife + chopping board
• Wok + spatula

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

STEP-BY-STEP

1. CHOP: Chop cauliflower and broccoli into florets. Chop carrot into half, slice lengthwise, then cut into half moons. Peel garlic and mince.

2. BLANCH: Pour water into a pot and bring to a boil. Put in carrots to blanch for 1 minute. Then put cauliflower to blanch for another 1 minute. Lastly put broccoli and blanch for 30 seconds.

3. REMOVE VEGETABLES: Take out the vegetables into a separate plate. Pour away the water in the wok. Turn on the fire so that water will evaporate entirely before cooking.

4. FRY GARLIC: When the wok is dry, pour in oil and garlic into a wok. On medium heat, fry garlic until golden brown.

KITCHEN HACKS

1. Use mushroom seasonings for restaurant-like flavour Restaurant food is extra tasty because of MSG. If you want to achieve the same result but want to use a healthier replacement, consider using mushroom seasonings.
2. Put a tablespoon of salt into the boiling water to retain the nutrient and colour of vegetables This will ensure that the vegetables nutrient remain inside as the high-mineral water due to the salt will go into the vegetables by osmosis. Without salt, the vegetable will have higher mineral content and nutrient will leak into the water instead.
3. Steam the vegetables instead of blanching You can also steam the vegetables instead.

If you can’t get fresh vegetables often, this is a great dish as the vegetables keep well in the fridge for a long time.

Eat a rainbow…even if you can’t go to the supermarket often!

The post Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables – 5 Ingredients appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

My sister is getting married soon and she's been eating healthy and other beauty food to prepare for her big day. Since we were little, our mother make for us Chinese beauty food supposedly makes us beautiful. A few of them are bird nest soup, hasma soup, Eight Treasure Tonic, Red Dates Tonic, and other herbal soups.

This time, when my sister requested for a collagen-rich dessert, she made a simple but delicious dessert with peach gum or known as 'tou gau/桃胶' in Cantonese. I like that this is not overly sweet.

 

---

BENEFITS OF PEACH GUM

For someone who like chewy jelly-like texture like konnyaku jelly, I love eating peach gum which is believed to be a source of collagen. I have yet to do a detail research on the gum, but a quick google search shows that:

Peach gum is the resin from peach and Chinese wild peach trees, already solidified when it is found. As detailed in classical Chinese medical literature, its curative qualities include solving urinal infections, thirst-quenching and relieving stress.

Not only used frequently by doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine, peach gum is also a natural and healthy food rich in amino acid, which allows collagen to be quickly absorbed into the human body. (Source: Michelin Guide)

Peach gum is believe to have beauty benefits like bird nest...but much more affordable. While I don't know how much of this truly helps (as in I can't find scientific explanations yet), I know from experience that a lot of my Mom's wisdom passed on from our ancestors did help me.

Besides what can I lose from eating something natural and plant-base (not bird's saliva) like peach gum? So yes, I am going to continue enjoying this dessert and hopefully reap its purported beauty benefits.

---

3 MAIN INGREDIENTS

While I do like to cook, sometimes difficult recipes with a long list of ingredients overwhelms even a cooking instructor/food consultant like me. So I came up with a list of recipes using 5 ingredients and less. This is one of them.

You will only need three ingredients:

• Peach Gum
• Honey Dates
• Red Dates

---

TOOLS

• Pot/ slow-cooker
• Mixing bowl (to soak the peach resin)

---

RECIPE CARD

Peach Gum & Dates Soup Dessert (3 Ingredients)

6th November 2019

Servings: 6

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 8 hr

Difficulty: Easy

Print This

By: Sara Khong

Ingredients

• Peach Resin - 50 g (about 1/2 cup)
• Red dates - 60 g (about 20 medium-sized pieces)
• Honey dates - 120 g (about 6 pieces)
• Water - 1.5 L

Directions

• Step 1 Soak peach gum in water overnight or until they expand and soften
• Step 2 Remove the hard black bits from the peach resin (those are barks)
• Step 3 Put honey dates, red dates, and water in a slow cooker. Boil on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 4 hours.
• Step 4 Remove dates from the cooker
• Step 5 Then add in peach resin. Let it cook for another 25 minutes.

---

SHORT RECIPE

Soak 1/2 cup of peach gum in water. When soften, remove the hard black bits from it. Put in a slow cooker: 20 pcs red dates + 6 pieces honey dates + 1.5 L of water. Boil on LOW for 8 hours/ HIGH for 4 hours. Remove dates, add in peach resin. Cook for another 25 minutes.

---

STEP-BY-STEP

1. Soak peach gum in water overnight or until they expand and soften

2. Remove the hard black bits from the peach resin (those are barks)

3. Put honey dates, red dates, and water in a slow cooker. Boil on LOW for 8 hours, or HIGH for 4 hours.

4. Remove dates from the cooker

5. Then add in peach resin. Let it cook for another 15 minutes.

6. Serve hot or chilled

---

COOKING NOTES

1. Cook in a slow-cooker overnightI  like making this in the slow-cooker right before going to bed. So by morning, the dates would have been slow-boiled for 8 hours.
2. Use a steam oven If you have a steam oven (I have a Panasonic one),  you can also steam it for 3 hours. Head over to this video to see how I did it
3. If cooking in a pot, bring 2 litres of water and dates to boil then simmer for 1 hour with lid closed (or longer depending on how concentrated you want it to be)
4. Add more red dates and honey dates to make it sweeter My family doesn't like food to be too sweet. If it's not sweet enough for you, you can add more red dates, honey dates, or even rock sugar.
5. Buy peach gum at Chinese medicinal shop. I found it online too at Lazada/ Shopee by the name of  Tao Jiao, Peach Resin, and Peach Gum. 

This is one of the easiest and most delicious beauty food that I enjoy drinking. Try it!

LIKE THIS RECIPE? GET CURATE RECIPES IN YOUR INBOX

Every month, I send write a personalised e-mail with my favourite recipes, food tips, and recent food adventures. Keep in touch with me by signing-up for my newsletter👇 OR follow me at my personal Instagram.

Subscribe

* indicates required

Email Address *

Name *

Where do you live?

• Malaysia/Singapore
• Elsewhere

The post Peach Gum Dates Dessert Soup (3 Ingredients)- For Beautiful Skin appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Although this recipe needs very little ingredients, it can be challenging for a new cook. Why? It involves deep-frying. Also, the last step of coating the doughnuts with sugar glazing is not easy either.

However, when made right, it is absolutely delicious. I love bringing this to parties – it’s easy to pick up with fingers and pop into the mouth and always a hit.

My favourite part of making this dessert is glazing the crispy doughnuts with sugar. It’s almost magical to see sugar syrup turn into beautiful snow-like flakes which stick onto the doughnuts!

I like biting into a warm doughnut which is crispy on the outside, soft in the inside, and have different kind of sweetness from sweet potato and sugar. Oh, so good!

TOOLS

• Frying pan
• Spatula
• Chopstick
• Wire rack/paper napkins
• Fork/ potato masher

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Steam and peel 600 g of peeled and chopped sweet potatoes. Mash. Add 6 tbsp flour + 1 tsp salt. Knead. Shape into 15 doughnuts. Fry until golden brown. Make sugar syrup: boil 6 tbsp sugar + 5 tbsp water until thick & bubbling. Off the fire. Mix doughnut until sugar crystallises and coats doughnuts.

COOKING TIPS

1. Use a stand mixer If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook/ knead attachment, use it! It’s so much easier than kneading with hands. Perhaps kneading a small amount of dough is fine. However if you double or triple the recipe, a stand mixer will be a time and energy saver. I normally use a stand mixer.
2. Flavour sugar syrup with pandan leaves. Tear one pandan leaf into a few slits and tied into a knot. Put it together with the sugar and water when making sugar syrup. It will add fragrance into your dessert.
3. To make crispy doughnuts, you must:
   • Add doughnuts into the oil only when the oil is hot enough. Use oil with high smoke point like palm oil.
   • Fry until the doughnut is slightly brown. Don’t afraid of brown spots on the doughnut. It’s delicious and it will be covered with sugar flakes later.
   • Place the doughnuts on a wire rack or paper napkin. Make sure they are separated to avoid the steam from the doughnut from softening the other doughnuts.
   • Add doughnuts into sugar syrup only when the sugar syrup is thick enough. Do not do so when the syrup is still watery.
4.  Adjust the size of the doughnut to your liking. I like to make sure that each doughnut is evenly fried. So I measure each ball. About 50 g is just right for a doughnut that is neither too big or small. For a regular size doughnut, 60 g is good.
5. If you like your dessert very sweet, make more sugar syrup. I’ve adjusted this recipe so that it’s not too sweet. I prefer the sweetness to come from the sweet potato instead. If you have sweet tooth, add another 2 tbsp of sugar when making sugar syrup.

Enjoy!

The post Kuih Keria/ Malaysian Sweet Potato Doughnuts – 5 Ingredients appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Among my favourites are chicken drumstick made from soy milk (the ‘meat’ is held in a wooden ice-cream stick!), congee made from rice and beans, Buddha’s Delight, and vegetarian fried prawns.

The ‘prawns’ are made from cauliflower. Meat-lovers will be sceptical, but when cut into florets and fried in batter, it does looks a lot like fried prawns. It also similar colour and texture.

Cauliflower itself is mildly sweet, unlike green vegetables which can be bitter. To mimic the umami flavour of prawns, seaweed is added.

I like adding mushrooms seasonings for better taste. After all prawns, seaweed, and mushrooms all contains glutamate which gives them the much loved umami flavour.

TOOLS

• Knife + chopping board
• Wok
• Chopstick/ tongs

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Cut 130 g cauliflower into florets. Shred & soak seaweed. Mix 3/4 crispy flour + 3 tbsp oil + 1/4 cup water (or more) + seaweed + 1/4 salt + 1/4 mushroom powder. Coat cauliflower in batter. Deep fry until golden brown.

STEP-BY-STEP

PREP: Soak seaweed in water and drain. Cut cauliflower into florets. Set aside.

MAKE FRYING BATTER: In a large mixing bowl, mix crispy flour, 3 tbsp of oil and water. Mix well with a chopstick or a whisk. If it is too dry, add more water until a smooth and thick paste is formed. Add salt, mushroom seasonings, and seaweed. Mix well.

COAT CAULIFLOWER IN BATTER: Add all the cauliflower into the batter and mix well. Make sure each cauliflower is well coated with the batter.

DEEP FRY: Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Deep-fry cauliflower, in batches, until golden brown. Place on paper napkins.

SERVE: Serve hot on its own or with chili sauce, ketchup, or mayonnaise.

COOKING TIPS

1. Crispy flour is a combination of corn flour, wheat flour, rice flour and baking powder. It is available at most of the grocery stores. I like to use Hup Loong’s.

Enjoy!

The post Vegetarian Fried Prawns/ Fried Cauliflower appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.