Banana Coconut Cake
Posted on 03. Sat, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Banana Coconut Cake
Courtesy of Quick & Easy Asian Desserts
Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
1 cup (125 g) rice flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup (150 g) shaved palm sugar or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
6 ripe bananas (750 g), peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup (100 g) grated fresh coconut or 1/2 cup (75 g) dried coconut flakes
4 tablespoons melted butter
1. Line a steamer with a muslin cloth, spread the rice flour on it and steam for 10 minutes. Alternatively, dry-fry the rice flour in a wok for 5–10 minutes over low heat. Set aside to cool thoroughly, then sift the flour into a mixing bowl, removing any lumps.
2. Combine the salt, sugar and water [...]
Mango Refrigerator Cake
Posted on 02. Thu, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Mango Refrigerator Cake
Courtesy of Quick & Easy Asian Desserts
Serves 4–5
Preparation time: 40 mins
Chilling time: 4–5 hours
6 large ripe mangoes (about 61/2 lbs/3 kg)
Two and half packets (75 sticks) lady finger biscuits (61/2 oz/200 g per packet)
2 cups (500 ml) canned mango juice
Three x 8-oz (250-g) pack cream cheese
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
3 cups (375 g) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1. Peel the mangoes and slice the flesh away from the pits, then slice the flesh thinly. Divide into three equal portions and set aside.
2. Divide the biscuits into 3 portions. Work with one portion at a time. Dip the biscuits, one at a time, into the mango juice. Arrange the biscuits in a 12 x 8 x 2 in (30 x 20 [...]
Vietnamese Iced Coffee Recipe
Posted on 02. Wed, 2010 by admin in Drinks, Fast Asian Recipe, GF-Adaptable, Sweets, Vietnamese
Vietnamese Iced Coffee (or Cafe Sua Da) is sweet, lush and almost like a dessert to me. It’s a sure pick-me-up and definitely my favorite Vietnamese drink. Here are step-by-step photos!
by Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen
Vietnamese Iced Coffee Recipe
You’ll need:
1) Medium coarse ground French Roast coffee: You can use any type of coffee really, many Vietnamese use Cafe Du Monde French Roast Chicory coffee, but as long as the coffee is medium coarse ground, you can use it. Fine ground coffee would fall right through the little holes of the coffee press.
2) Canned sweetened condensed milk: It’s the sweet, sticky, thick stuff – NOT evaporated milk! No substitutions here!
3) Vietnamese coffee press: You can find at any Asian market – usually [...]
Tangerine Pie
Posted on 02. Sat, 2010 by grace in Lunar New Year, Sweets
“Just to clarify—there are no tangerines in this dessert and it doesn’t look like a pie. But it’s still delicious. In Singapore, this is a highly prized gift for Chinese New Year. Traditionally, people give away fresh tangerines (“tangerine” is a homonym for “gold” in Chinese). When Western-style baked goods were introduced, this round turnover was created to resemble the real thing – thus, its crackly orange egg yolk wash and clever little clove on top. This is the first dessert I ever baked. My late aunt Jessie taught me this—and many other family recipes—when we lived together in Singapore. After we packed these pies into little boxes, we would surreptitiously confer about which family members deserved the fruits of [...]
Sweet Red Bean Soup
Posted on 02. Fri, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Sweet Red Bean Soup
Courtesy of Quick & Easy Asian Desserts
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
3/4 cup (150 g) dried azuki beans (red beans), picked clean, rinsed and drained
1/2-in (12-mm) piece dried tangerine peel, washed and soaked
in 1/4 cup (60 ml ) hot water
7 cups (1.75 liters) water
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water (optional)
1. Put the azuki beans, dried tangerine peel and water in a 3-liter saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour until softened.
3. Add the sugar and stir. Trickle the cornstarch mixture into the soup to thicken the consistency, if desired.
Azuki beans are small red beans that are boiled until soft and [...]
Chinese Almond Cookies
Posted on 02. Fri, 2010 by grace in Chinese, Sweets
These are a staple in traditional Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately, the store-bought variety tends to be hard and tasteless. But this version is wonderfully light, with a crisp edge and chewy center. The traditional cookies are also a dull, dark yellow from an egg yolk wash. I use an egg white wash to get the same glazed effect in a creamy shimmer. Finally, the slivered almonds on top add a nice crunch and a fresh, toasted nut flavor.- Pichet Ong
Chinese Almond Cookies
By Pichet Ong, Author, The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
Makes 3 dozen
1 3/4 cup (272 grams, 9 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (210 grams, 7 1/2 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (132 grams, 4 3/4 ounces) almond [...]
Persimmon and Olive Oil Cake
Posted on 01. Sun, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Persimmon and Olive Oil Cake
By Pichet Ong, Author, The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
Serves 20
Cake
14 ounces all purpose flour
½ ounce baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
18 ½ ounces sugar and 1 cup additional for lining molds
7 ounces almond flour
9 eggs
zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces extra virgin olive oil and 1 cup additional for lining molds
4 ripe fuyu persimmons
2/3 ounces raw sugar
1. Brush cake mold with additional olive oil and line with additional sugar. Set aside until use. Sift together flour, almond flour and baking powder. Trim off skin of persimmon and cut each half into 8 wedges.
2. In a mixer, beat eggs at medium speed with orange zest until frothy, 1 minute. Add sugar [...]
Orange Kumquat Sorbet
Posted on 01. Sun, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Orange Kumquat Sorbet
By Chef James McDevitt, Four Food Studio & Cocktail Salon
Serves 1
1 pound kumquats
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
3 cups orange or tangerine juice
Simmer kumquats, water and ½ cup sugar for 20 minutes. Drain and chill. When cool, scoop out the pulp and seeds of kumquats. Discard. Puree kumquats remaining sugar and orange juice together. Strain and freeze in an ice cream machine.
Vietnamese Coffee Fortune Cookies
Posted on 01. Sun, 2010 by admin in Sweets
Vietnamese Coffee Fortune Cookies
By Pichet Ong, Author, The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
Makes approximately 50 cookies
½ pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons condensed milk
1 ¾ ounce Vietnamese coffee powder
9 ounces all purpose flour
¾ ounce milk powder
7 ounces confectioner’s sugar
5 1/2 ounces egg whites
With the paddle attachment in an electric mixer, mix cream butter, condensed milk, salt and coffee powder just until combined, about 3 minutes. In the meantime, sift together confectioner’s sugar, flour and milk powder. Add sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to combine, scraping the bowl as necessary.
With the mixer at low speed, slowly add in egg whites and mix until incorporated. Scrape bottom of [...]
Almond Tofu with Kiwi in Rock Sugar Syrup
Posted on 01. Sun, 2010 by grace in Sweets
Almond Tofu with Kiwi in Rock Sugar Syrup
By Pichet Ong, Author, The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
Time: 30 minutes plus 3 hours to chill
Almond Tofu Base
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
1½ cup almond milk
1½ cup soymilk
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond oil
Pinch of salt
Kiwi in Rock Sugar Syrup
4 ripe kiwis
¼ cup Chinese yellow rock sugar (2 ounces)
½ cup water
Method
For Almond Tofu Base
Sprinkle gelatin over almond milk in a large cup and let sit for a minute. In the meantime, bring soymilk and sugar to a scald in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin and almond milk mixture. Add almond extract and stir to blend. Pour into 8 glasses [...]