Taro Cake

Taro cake (a.k.a. woo tao koh) is a Cantonese delicacy normally eaten for breakfast or afternoon tea. Since it's impossible to get it from a stall here, unlike in Malaysia; it can be easily found at the wet markets and coffee shops.

This special dish reminds me of Mom who loves Taro cake a lot ;) She even commented that this picture looks tempting (*blushed*). Haha... no worries, Mom, you can sure have some :)

Here is the recipe adapted from Lily's Wai Sek Hong. Thanks to Lily for sharing her great recipes!

Ingredients:
(A)
250g taro root (a.k.a. yam)
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 cup water

(B)
125g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
1 cup water
150g taro root

(C)
1 tbsp chicken stock granules
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of white pepper

(D)
Dried shrimps (~100)
4 shallots
2 stalks green onions
2 red chillies

(E)
10 red chillies
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice/lime juice/white vinegar

(F)
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce, diluted with some water
1 tsp soya sauce
2 tsp sugar
Dash of white pepper

Directions:
1. From (A), coat the diced taro root with five-spice powder.
2. Dice, steam, and mash the taro root from (B). Mix in other ingredients from (B) and sieve.
3. For seasoning, mix together the ingredients from (C).
4. Soak and chop the dried shrimps from (D) coarsely. Cut shallots in slices and deep fry (or microwave with 1tsp oil on high till crispy). Chop the green onions and red chillies from (D). Set them aside for garnishing.
5. To prepare the chilli sauce, chop or blend the red chillies from (E), and mix in with the other ingredients from (E).
6. Mix together ingredients from (F) for sweet sauce.
7. Heat up some oil and saute the dried shrimps from (D) till fragrant. Remove 3/4 and set aside for garnishing.
8. Add some oil and into the wok, stir fry the seasoned taro root. Mix in water from (A) and bring to a boil.
9. Add in (B) and (C), and cook till the batter is fairly thick.
10. Pour thick batter into a well-greased 25cm round tray. Steam till the cake is set and cooked.
11. Garnish the cake and press lightly. Leave aside to cool.
12. Serve taro cake with chilli sauce and sweet sauce!

Yummm... Don't be intimidated by the long recipe. Trust me, it's not hard at all once you get it started! And believe it or not, you'll be tempted to prepare it over and over again ;)

Quick & Easy Pizza

Craving for pizza but don't feel like order one, wanna customize your own instead? Here is a recipe of a quick & easy pizza crust, plus your favourite toppings (anything you like):

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (~ 110 degrees F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Add in olive oil and salt.
2. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.
4. Pad dough into a pizza pan. Spread pizza sauce. Top with your favourite pizza toppings (i.e. onions, green peppers, carrots, tomatoes, sausages, bacon, hamburger slices etc.). Lastly, top with cheese slices/shredded cheese.
5. Bake pizza for 15-20 minutes. Serve while hot!

Onde-onde

Typically, onde-onde is prepared with glutinous rice flour and pandan extract, filled with "gula melaka" and coated with shredded coconut. This modified recipe, however, is using sweet potatoes, glutinous rice flour, and shredded coconut. It is a simpler version of onde-onde :) These sweet potatoes balls taste yummy and many of my Canadian friends love them!

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes
Sugar
Glutinous rice flour
Shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Prepare a pot of boiling water. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes (to minimum boiling time coz of smaller sizes).
2. Boil the potato cubes with medium heat for 20-30 minutes till tender.
3. Drain water off and mash the potatoes. Meanwhile, boil a second pot of water.
4. Add sugar (a bit sweeter than what you'd take, coz the next boiling step tends to reduce the sweetness). Pour in glutinous rice flour into the mashed potatoes gradually, to prepare a non-sticky dough.
5. Take a tablespoonful of dough and roll it into a ball-shaped dough. Repeat till dough is used up.
6. Drop them into the boiling water on high heat. Remove them once they appear on the water surface (they're cooked! Aren't they cool?)
7. Cool them for a bit before rolling them on a plateful of shredded coconut.
8. Bon appetit!

My Passion About Cooking & Baking

The kitchen in my apartment is my favourite spot to hang around. I have the opportunity to try out a variety of cooking styles and baking recipes and it has been such a great fulfilment in life ;) Being away from home has not only taught me to be more independent, but has also allowed me to explore new challenges in daily life.

Cooking and baking is my passion. It is my joy to share the stories of dishes I have had prepared. Hope you'd enjoy them as much as I do!!

Err...Kleenex is self-supply by the way. Stay tuned for exciting posts!