Pai Tee

Most Asian countries serve this dish. It is called by different names in different countries. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is called Pie Tee. In Thailand, it is called Kratong. They also make this in the Philippines, but I don't know the Filipino word for this food. In Laos or Vietnam, they add pounded peanuts and chopped lime to the filling.

The shells or cases are prepared ahead of time and stored in air-tight jars or containers.

The filling is either served fresh or cooked the same day.

If served fresh, the prepared filling can be stored cold in an air-tight container. When filling with cold filling, it is stiff and will not enter the shells/cases properly. Forcing the filling into the shells/cases may break them. It becomes messy and does not look nice in the end, but is edible (as in pics below).

If cooked, the filling must be cooled and properly drained to remove as much fluid as possible, or the shells/cases will soak the excess fluid and soften or become soggy when assembled. It is easier to fill the shells/cases with cooked filling as it is soft. Do not overfill - leave some room for sauce.

Pie Tee is served with its own sauce, but any keropok dipping sauce will suffice.

Pie Tee is served at high tea (late evening tea) and for evening birthday parties in Malaysia. It is served alongside tea for adults, or any cordial for children.

Pie Tee filled with fresh filling (uncooked). 

Pie Tee ingredients and cases:

http://ediblyasian.info/recipes/shrimp-kratong-with-sesame-cilantro-dressing

How to make the filling for Pie Tee:

http://www.foodmanna.net/2011/08/kueh-pie-tee.html

Basic ingredients for making Pie Tee filling

1. Sengkuang/bangkwang/jicama
2. Carrots
3. Cucumber/zucchini
4. Taugeh
5. Onion
6. Udang kering/fresh prawns
7. cooking oil
8. salt to taste
9. soy sauce (kicap masin)

How to make Pie Tee filling

1. Slice the jicama thinly and slice them again to obtain fine sticks
2. Do the same for carrots
3. Do the same for cucumber/zucchini
4. Remove the taugeh roots and stiff black caps
5. Clean the dried prawns/fresh prawns
6. Slice the onion
7. Fry all ingredients and season with salt and kicap
8. Cool and drain excess fluid
9. Use as Pie Tee filling
10. Serve Pie Tee with sauce - keropok dipping sauce, chili sauce etc

Kek Gula Hangus

Obtained and edited from Aneka Resipi in Facebook on 12 April 2016.

Bahan 1:

1 cawan gula
(3/4 cawan gula untuk kurang manis)
1 cawan air panas
3 sudu besar mentega

Cara membuat:

Gula digoreng dengan api sederhana besar. Bila gula sudah agak cair, masukkan air panas. Hati-hati sebab ia akan meletup-letup. Apa pun, tutup api dan cepat-cepat masukkan air panas tadi sambil standby pegang penutup kuali. Lepas itu, masukkan mentega dan kacau hingga mentega cair. Ketepikan.

Bahan 2:

4 biji telur
3/4 cawan susu pekat
1 cawan tepung gandum
2 sudu kecil soda bikarbonat
1 sudu kecil esen vanila

Cara membuat:

Pukul telur sampai kembang dan pekat.
Masukkan susu pekat. Guna mixer hingga rata. Masukkan tepung dan soda bikarbonat yang diayak terdahulu. Tambahkan esen vanila. Akhir sekali, masukkan gula hangus tadi.

Perap adunan ini selama 3 hingga 4 jam (bertutup) untuk mendapatkan sarang yang cantik.

Bakar atau pun kukus.

A. Bakar selama 1 jam dalam oven pada suhu 160C, gunakan api bawah sahaja. Baki masa terakhir 11 minit pula, gunakan api atas dan bawah.

B. Kukus selama 50-60 minit.

Tips:
Gula boleh terus dikacau dan dibiarkan dalam kuali. Gunakan senduk dan kacau gula, biarkan sampai gelap. Jangan risau; rasanya akan tetap sedap. Rasa gula yang sudah hangus macam rasa coklat. Warnanya akan hitam, tapi macam mana pun terpulang pada anda. Jika inginkan kek berwarna perang koko sikit, jangan hanguskan sangat air gula. Saya suka yang macam ini sebab kurang rasa pahitnya.

Pukul telur jangan lama sebab ia akan keringkan kek. Pukul sekadar telur kuning pecah dan rata, memadai 2-3 minit sahaja.

Masa memasukkan susu dan tepung pun, mesti kacau sekejap sahaja sebab hasilnya nanti kek akan lembab dan lembut.

Warna kek nanti akan bergantung pada warna gula hangus yang anda sediakan.

Aluminium foil mesti digunakan untuk menutup loyang kek supaya kek yang dihasilkan akan lebih cantik daripada diletakkan kain pada sekeliling tudung pengukus. Jika tiada aluminium foil, mesti kena tutup tudung pengukus dengan kain disekelilingnya.

Air Barli Pandan Selasih

Available from Kedai Koop USM on campus

RM2.70 a cup

This refreshing drink is good after giving 1 hour lecture or after PBL. It has several beneficial effects.

• Barley water - alkaline water and good for kidneys
• Pandan - aromatic and good for calming effect
• Selasih - medicinal value; reduces body temperature to normal level; cools the body

This drink has added liquefied sugar (air gula) and is quite sweet. Diluting this drink to 2x its volume is possible as it is quite sweet.

This drink can be taken cool, at room temperature or cold. Warm water can be added to dilute it.

Egg Filled Curry puff

Available from Harmoni Cafe on campus

RM1.80 a piece

This big curry puff contains potatoes and a boiled egg. They are bigger than the usual curry puffs which contain only potatoes, or potatoes and beef.

The egg and potato filling and margarine content in the shell contribute to fat and cholesterol consumption. 

1 big curry puff will suffice for brunch, morning coffee, lunch or evening tea. It is filling.

In the 1960s, they also sold large curry puffs, but that had potato and beef filling - no egg.

Chicken Chop

Available from Harmoni Cafe on campus

RM12 a pack

Contents

1 big but thin piece of fried chicken chop (more batter than chicken)

1 plastic bag of mashed potatoes (replaced with potato wedges if mashed potato runs out)

1 plastic bag of black pepper sauce ... quite a lot of sauce

1 plastic bag of coleslaw ... light and nice

1 big piece of salad green (fresh lettuce)

 2-3 pieces of tomato wedges

The vegetables are packed separately as they will turn limp if packed with the hot chicken chop.

Fried Bihun

Homemade fried bihun is easy to make, but making it delicious is not so easy. It involves manipulating the salt/sugar/soy sauce/tomato sauce ratios, herbs & vegetables content, and wateriness. Sometimes added beef or chicken can spoil the overall taste of the fried bihun. I will share my recipe for making fried bihun for my family.

Many children and adults do not like capsicum in their fried bihun - omit this or use red/green chillies instead.

Ingredients

Optional:

• Some chicken flesh or beef - cut into small pieces and season with soy sauce and pepper or chilli and tumeric
• Some vegetables - cabbage, sawi, kangkung, taugeh etc - cut thin strips or 1" length
• Taufu - add salt, and fry, then cut into small thin pieces

1 packet of bihun ... check for Halal logo. Do not use non Halal bihun. Soak in hot water and drain before frying.

1 medium Bombay onion - diced

3 cloves garlic - crushed

2 Tablespoons palm oil for frying (Murni brand)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (HABHAL kicap masin)

1 Tablespoon tomato sauce (Life or Del Monte brand)

1 teaspoon sugar (gula halus)

1 teaspoon salt (light pink Himalayan salt)

some hot water for gravy

Additional food

tomatoes - cut into wedges

cucumber - cut thin slices

capsicum - boil first or add to fried bihun towards the end of cooking

Utensils

kuali

bamboo spoon

How to

Heat oil in kuali and fry onion and garlic till fragrant.

Add beef or chicken and fry till cooked.

Add salt to taste.

Add other seasonings - pepper, tomato sauce, soy sauce.

Add vegetables and stir to mix.

Add hot water for some gravy and to prevent sticking.

Once the beef/chicken is cooked, add bihun and stir to mix.

Cook for an additional 10 minutes until mixture is totally cooked.

Remove from fire and serve hot with slices of taufu, capsicum, tomatoes and cucumber.

Parmesan Elbows

This was a dish that my daughter Farah cooked for us. It was delicious. She has the recipe, probably downloaded from the Internet. But I will share my idea of what the ingredients are based on what I think went into the dish. I have named it Parmesan Elbows.

The ground beef and parmesan cheese mixture can also be combined with potatoes and used as filling to make curry puffs (karipap).

Ingredients

Pasta (hollow tube elbows)

Ground beef (Ramli ground beef patties)

1 big Holland onion - chopped into fine squares

3 cloves garlic (optional) - chopped finely
some ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese

salt to taste (quanto basta)

2 Tablespoon palm oil for frying

stainless steel pot for boiling pasta

kuali for frying ground beef

bamboo spoon

some hot water for gravy

How to

(i) Pasta

Boil pasta in metal pot till al dente hardness. 

Add a Tablespoon of cooking oil to prevent sticking. 

Add a pinch of salt.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente, remove and drain. 

Save some pasta water for cooking the ground beef.

(ii) Ground beef and cheese

In kuali, heat oil and fry onion and garlic till fragrant and caramelised.

Add ground beef and stir to mix.

Cook till beef is done and soft - may take 30 - 45 minutes.

Add hot water and pasta water for some gravy and to avoid sticking.

Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add pepper.

Season with salt.

Add sufficient parmesan cheese (crumbs) and stir to mix.

(iii) Adding pasta 

Add pasta and stir mixture thoroughly.

Remove from fire and serve while still hot.

Can serve with chili sauce.