Banana Choc Puff Pastry

I made them this afternoon after we cleaned our unit. Having done the housework for the week is always a relief for us. As a reward, I sometimes prepare little snacks or fruits for us to be recharged.

The idea of banana choc puff pastry came from Master Chef Challenge competition we had in Arlene's bridal shower yesterday. It is very addictive and that's why I made more today!

Ingredients:

• 1 puff pastry sheet
• 1 banana
• 70% cocoa lindt chocolate
• a handful of ceres meises
• a handful of almond flakes
• a pinch of white sugar

Preparations:

Cut puff pastry into 8 cm wide strips.

Slice banana into small pieces. Add banana and lindt choc pieces onto half side of the puff pastry strip.

Fold the puff pastry strip and press along the edges well. Transfer the strip to a plate with ceres meises and slightly press.

Add some almond flakes to each strip and sprinkle with white sugar.

Put in the oven at 160 deg for 15-20 mins or until they turn golden brown.

Bubur Kacang Ijo (Indonesian Mung Bean Porridge)

There were spare mung beans in the cupboard. What should I do with them?!? I thought it would be nice to have a warm bubur kacang ijo. It's perfect for winter... although people in Indonesia tend to serve them with shaved ice and it is called es kacang ijo (mung bean ice). Either way it still tastes good!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs white sugar
• 100 gr gula jawa
• 5 pieces pandan leaves
• 250 gr mung beans (soaked in water overnight)
• 1 small can of coconut milk
• a pinch of salt

Preparations:
Wash soaked mung beans and transfer them into a pressure cooker. Add 2 pieces of pandan leaves and water until it is about 2 cm above the mung bean surface. Cook mung bean in the right setting (depending on the pressure cooker you use).

Slice gula jawa thinly and add 1 cup of boiling water. Keep stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Heat coconut milk. Add a pinch of salt and a piece of pandan leave. Keep stirring until it boils.

Once the mung bean is cooked. Open the pressure cooker carefully. Add 2 tbs white sugar and 2 tbs of gula jawa. Mix well.

Here is my bubur kacang ijo station! Add mung bean, coconut milk and gula jawa to a dessert bowl. Decorate with pandan leave for an extra aroma.

Es Sarang Burung (Bird Nest Ice)

This weekend was very special since we invited our close friends to celebrate Ave's birthday. I was so excited to prepare the food. Most importantly, all of us had a great time together sharing our stories. Yeah...we joked a lot about Tea Inn boarding house where Thu, Ave and I met. The dodgy entrance door with graffiti, rat in the kitchen and crickets in Thu's bedroom door!

Theme for the dinner was Indonesian. So, we had es sarang burung for the drink; deep fried soft-shell crab, sambal terasi, lalapan, pepes udang, pepes tahu, and soto ayam for the mains. I also baked kue pandan for the birthday cake. Here is a photo of our dining table with the food prepared (the cake was still hiding in the kitchen).

Es sarang burung is one of the easiest Indonesian drinks to prepare. I actually planned for es cendol but cendol dough was overcooked so it completely failed. Well... it didn't matter since I decided to serve es sarang burung instead.

Ingredients:

• agar powder
• white sugar
• Indonesian basil seeds
• two fruit cans of your choice

Preparations:

Make the agar based on the instructions given. I usually reduce the amount of water and sugar required to 70%. This agar will be much easier to grate later on.

Soak basil seeds in cold water for at least 1 hour. Leave the boiled agar at cool temperature for 3-4 hours.

When the agar has completely cooled down, grate the agar.

Mix all the ingredients together. Use the syrup from the fruit cans. Add more water and ice to adjust the sweetness.

Kue Pandan (Pandan Chiffon Cake)

 

Kue Pandan is my favourite cake since I was a little girl. My mum used to bake this cake once in a while or I used to buy it at school canteens. As I remember, a slice of kue pandan was around 1000 rupiahs (A$0.12).  Incredibly cheap!

I recently baked this cake to celebrate my birthday with friends. I practiced a week before to ensure that the recipe worked. Well... first attempt was slightly burnt on top but cake rose as expected. Second attempt for my birthday was perfect and I was very happy.  I think it's a nice birthday present to be able to bake my own pandan chiffon cake. Thanks Tata for letting me know this recipe and suggested me to use 5 eggs instead of 4 eggs.

Here are some snapshots for baking kue pandan:

Ingredients
I used vegetable oil instead of corn oil and it worked fine.

Preparations
Prepare pandan leave juice and coconut milk. I added two drops of pandan paste until the colour was right.

Mix egg yolks, salt and half amount of sugar.

Add pandan coconut milk, then stir in self-raising flour.

Add vegetable oil and blend well.

Beat egg white until big bubbles are formed, add cream of tartar.

Beat further to soft peak, add sugar little bit at a time. Beat to stiff peak.

Pour half egg white to the flour mixture. Fold with spatula. Pour the rest of egg white and mix well.

Pour into the baking tin. Even the cake surface using a spatula and put into pre-heated oven at 180 deg for 30-40 mins. Test with a skewer if the cake is fully baked before pulling it out from the oven.

Cool the cake up side down for at least 1 hour.

Gently pull the cake from the baking tin. Cake is now ready to be served!

Coconut Pandan Pudding

I made these mini puddings for my birthday dinner tomorrow. I want them to be served with pandan chiffon cake. I used basil seeds, pineapple and rambutan for the topping. An Indonesian style pudding with the use of coconut milk and pandan paste.

Ingredients:

• Basil seeds
• Pandan paste cap koepoe koepoe
• Coconut milk
• A can of any tropical fruits
• Sugar
• Agar agar powder
• Water

Preparations:

Soak basil seeds in cold water for 20 mins.

First layer of pudding: 3 gr of agar powder, 3 tbs of coconut milk, 300 ml of fruit can syrup. Bring to boil and cool for 10 mins before pouring it to mini pudding containers.

Let the first pudding layer to cool for 20 mins. Second layer of pudding: 3 gr of agar powder, 3 tbs of coconut milk, 2 drops of pandan paste, 300 ml water. Bring to boil and cool for 10 mins before pouring it to mini pudding containers.

Let the second pudding layer to cool for 20 mins. In the meantime, prepare fruit topping. Once the second pudding layer has completely set, arrange the fruit topping and add soaked basil seeds.

Last layer of pudding: 2 gr of agar powder and 100 ml boiling water. Mix well in a bowl and heat for another minute in microwave (until all agar powder completely dissolved). Pour the agar layer using a teaspoon to cover fruit toppings so that they are settled in each container.

Es Cendol

I was so happy when my mum sent me a cendol maker last year. I have never seen such a thing before. It looked cute and also weird. My cendol looked like green noodles since I put too much dough before pressing it. Well.. something to learn for a better looking cendol next time!

Es cendol is a popular Indonesian drink, served with coconut milk, palm sugar and green jelly (cendol). I added jackfruit in mine to give extra flavor. This drink is easy to prepare and the sweetness of palm sugar is very unique.

 Ingredients (5 serves):

• Coconut milk
• A pinch of salt
• Pandan leaves
• Hunkwe flour cap Boenga
• Rice Starch
• A drop of pandan paste
• A can of jackfruit
• Palm sugar
• Water

Preparations:

Prepare cendol: add 150 ml water and a small drop of pandan paste into a boiling pot. In another bowl, add 37.5 gr hunkwe flour, 12.5 gr rice starch (3:1 ratio) and 150 ml of water. Mix well. Add the flour mixture when the water starts to boil.

Mixed the flour mixture until it thickens. Turn off the heat.

Prepare a big bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Press the green dough using the cendol maker into the cold water. Cendol is now ready!

Prepare coconut milk: Add coconut milk, a pinch of salt and several pandan leaves into a small pot and bring to boil.

Prepare palm sugar: Cut palm sugar into small pieces and add a small amount of water. Keep stirring and bring them to boil. Run the boiled palm sugar through a strainer.

Prepare jackfruit: Open the jackfruit can and get rid off the syrup. Cut the jackfruit into long strips. Serve es cendol with some ice cubes or shaved ice. Here is my cendol station!