RED DATES WITH RED APPLES DESSERT

This is an easy dessert worth preparing with just 2 main ingredients: 'Red Apples and Red Dates'. Just recovered from a mild flu and was wondering how to boost energy.

Accidentally, came across a You-tube video on this dessert where the chef mentioned 'Eating apples and red dates like this will give you a good sleep, good energy, and good health'. Having these 2 ingredients available in my kitchen, I wasted no time to try it out.

This dessert is lovely, slightly sweet and sourish when you savor the bits and pieces of boiled apples and red dates. The sweetness of the soup is up to own preference as to how much of sugar you are adding in. I used Jaggery sugar [can substitute with rock sugar or cane sugar].  

Recipe adpated from You-tube video [HERE] with modifications.

Ingredients 

1 big red apple [seeded] - cut cubes

9-10 red dates - seeds removed, cut thick strips

1 tbsp Jaggery sugar

600 - 700 ml water

1. Rub apple skin with some fine salt and rinsed well.  Cut into cubes.
2. Place cut apples and red dates in a saucepan or claypot.  Add in water enough to cover ingredients [add more if you wish].
3. Bring to boil over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add in sugar, cover with lid and continue to boil over medium low heat for another 10 minutes.
4. Off heat and leave to steep for a further 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. Serve hot or warm.

RED BEANS WITH PEARL SAGO SWEET DESSERT

Recently, I shared a recipe on Mungbeans With Pearl Sago. It is a lovely dessert for the current hot and humid weather. As shared in the previous post, the red beans which I bought are stored in my freezer. There is no necessity to soak it before cooking. Just rinse several times and bring to boil in boiling water. It quickly cooks to tender. This dessert is as delicious and nutritious with addition of dried longan and this time I used Gula Melaka as sweetener.

Home-cooked is cheap and anytime satisfying. You can serve it hot, warm or cold during the hot weather. Taste better. This dessert soup is thick, smooth, taste strong and the sago pearls are crystal clear. It is alright to use any kind of sugar [candy sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar etc according to your choice].

Ingredients

[makes about 6-8 bowls]

200 gm mungbeans - rinsed

80 big sago pearls - rinsed and drain

1.5 litres water or more depending on the consistency you prefer

3 small round pieces of Gula Melaka

1. Bring water to boil, add in red beans.  Let it boil for about 10 minutes, cover to cook for 30 minutes or until red beans are soft.
2. Meanwhile, bring water to boil in a wok [boil as much as possible as it will dry up].  Add in pearl sago, stir constantly to prevent sago pearls from clumping together for about 10-15 minutes.  Cover and leave to boil for about 10 minutes.  Add in another bowl of water and continue to boil for 5-6 minutes or longer until the white spots are smaller.  At this time, the sago pearls are not completely cooked through.  Cover pot with lid, off heat and leave to steep for 30 minutes or more. 
3. By now, the red beans would be cooked and soft.  If it is too thick, add some boiling water. Add in dried longan and gula melaka, cook until longan has plump up.  Off heat and cover with lid while waiting for the pearl sago to be cooked.
4. Scoop cooked sago with a serrated ladle into red beans soup.  Bring to boil, stir constantly until well mixed and soup is of thick or runny consistency.  Off heat, cover with lid or serve immediately.

MUNGBEANS WITH PEARL SAGO SWEET SOUP

Mid-year is around the corner and weather is getting hot and humid.  This lovely mungbean sago dessert is good for hot weather relief.  Most people will soak the beans overnight.  My friend taught me to keep the mungbeans in the freezer until needed.   The mungbeans are quick to cook.   Just wash as normal before cooking, then boil them with  boiling water.    Once you master cooking this dessert, you will not go to dessert stall for it.

Home-cooked dessert can be as delicious and nutritious.  Moreover, it is cheap and fine.  You can serve it hot, warm or cold during the hot weather.  Taste better.  This dessert soup is thick, smooth,  taste strong and the sago pearls are crystal clear.   It is alright to use any kind of sugar [candy sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar etc according to your choice]

Ingredients

[serves 6]

150 gm mungbeans - rinsed

100 big sago pearls - rinsed and drain

2 screwpine leaves [pandan leaves] - rinsed

1.5 litres water or more depending on the consistency you prefer

Any types of sugar to taste

- candy sugar, brown sugar, gula merah, white sugar or rock sugar

1. Bring water to boil, add in mungbeans.  Let it boil for about 10 minutes, cover to cook for 20 minutes or until mungbeans are soft.
2. Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to boil.  Add in pearl sago, stir constantly to prevent sago pearls from clumping together.  Cover and leave to boil for about 10 minutes.  Add in another bowl of water and continue to boil for 5-6 minutes.  At this time, the sago pearls are not completely cooked through.  Cover pot with lid, off heat and leave to steep for sometime while waiting for the mungbeans to be cooked.  
3. If it is too thick, add some boiling water.  Add sugar to sweeten the soup.
4. Scoop sago with a serrated ladle into cooked mungbean soup.  Bring to boil, stir constantly until well mixed and soup is of thick or runny consistency.  Off heat, cover with lid or serve immediately.

TIME TO ENJOY !!!!!

2021 KUIH EE [GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS]

2021 Winter Solstice [Dongzhi Festival], I prepared these glutinous rice balls in sweet syrup. A little different from the past Kuih Ee [Tang Yuan 汤圆 ] that I have prepared. There are various versions to make them and unending recipes to follow. All turned out to be cute lovely round Tang Yuan, that are chewy and  edible.  Great to enjoy with the sweet, gingery flavour soup.  Ample choice of recipes that you can follow.

The difference here is mainly the syrup, which uses Brown Sugar In Pieces [冰片糖]. For those who are not familiar with this type of sugar, below is a description which I have obtained from Google: "Brown sugar in pieces is a traditional sugar used for desserts in Southern China. These delicious bars of Brown Sugar are made from sugar cane which enhances the colours and flavour of Chinese style desserts. The ingredients are Cane Sugar (85%) and Water.

For this recipe, I have used 2 pieces with about 800 ml water.   It is rather sweet but goes well with the kuih ee.  Just adjust the water portion to suit you preference for the sweetness that is acceptable to you.

This recipe is adapted from K L Liew Youtube Video with slight modifications.

Ingredients for Syrup

800 ml water or more according to preference

2 pieces of the brown sugar in pieces 

4-5 blades of screwpine [pandan] leaves

a few slices of ginger

1. Bring water, pandan leaves and ginger to boil in a soup pot until aromatic.  Add in the sugar and continue to boil until sugar dissolves.  Taste to adjust the sweetness according to your preference [the sweetness should be able to flavour the glutinous rice balls].  Leave to cool before use, then remove the pandan leaves and ginger slices.  

Ingredients For 5-Colour Glutinous Rice Balls [Tang Yuan]

300 gm glutinous rice flour [+-]

10 gm rice flour + 100 gm water [to be cooked]

pink colouring

green colour - 5-6 pieces screwpine leaves + 100 ml water

yellow colour - 50 gm pumpkin puree

blue colour - 50 pieces blue pea flower [bunga telang] + 100 ml water

50 ml water or more to knead into a soft and pliable dough

1. Blend screwpine leaves with water.  Squeezed and strained to obtain the pandan juice.  Set aside.
2. Boil blue pea flowers with water until it is of dark blue colour [indigo colour].  Strain away the flowers to obtain the blue solution.  Set aside until required.
3. Mix rice flour with water in a small saucepan.  Boil over low heat, stirring constantly into a thick paste of runny consistency.  Immediately, mix into  the glutinous flour.  Rub with your finger tips.  Divide into 5 equal portions [estimate amount].
4. Take one portion of the flour, add the pandan water gradually.  Meanwhile, knead to incorporate into a soft and pliable dough.  You may not use up all the pandan juice.
5. Take one portion of the flour, add the blue pea flower water gradually.  Meanwhile, knead to incorporate into a soft and pliable dough.  You may not use up all the blue colour water juice.
6. Take one portion of the flour, add the pumpkin puree gradually.  Meanwhile, knead to incorporate into a soft and pliable dough.  You may need to add some water if it is too dry.
7. Mix the remaining flour with about 50 ml water or more into a soft and pliable dough.  Divide into 2 portions.  Set aside one portion for white colour and add a drop of pink colouring to the remaining portion.  Knead until the dough is pink in colour.
8. NOTE: you may have to add a little more glutinous flour if the dough is too wet, soft and sticky.
9. Shaping of Kuih Ee [Tang Yuan] - take a portion and divide it into smaller portions and roll each one into a round ball.  Place in a tray or plate.  Do the same until all the dough are shaped into round balls.
10. To Cook The Rice Balls - Bring a big pot of water to boil then drop in the shaped rice balls in batches to cook.  Once the rice balls floats up, they are cooked.  Use a serrated ladle to remove them and drop them into a pot of cooled boiled water before dropping them into the syrup.
11. Scoop tang yuan into small bowls to serve.