SWEET POTATO LEMONGRASS TANG YUAN

This Winter Solstice, I made a daring change from the usual.  Instead of preparing the much use to colourful pulut rice balls in ginger sugar syrup [Kuih Ee], I cooked the glutinous rice balls in lemongrass/pandan sweet soup with orange sweet potatoes.

  I made the rice balls with only one colour [pandan green] instead of the colourful ones below.

It is lucky my mother in-law did not object and perhaps could not because she likes them with the sweet potatoes [her favourite tuber] and the not too sweet syrup soup.

 

Recipe adapted from Feminine Magazine No. 570

Ingredients

30 gm wheat starch mixed with 40 ml boiling water

120 ml pandan juice ** + 30 gm castor sugar

150 gm glutinous rice flour

1-2 tsp oil [I omit]

** extracted from blending 6 blades screwpine leaves with 120 ml water [keep excess if dough is too dry]. Add a drop of green colouring if prefered.

Sugar Syrup Soup

400 gm orange sweet potatoes - peeled, cut big cubes or diamond shape

2-3 stalks lemongrass

2-3 blades pandan leaves

100-120 gm sugar or rock sugar

5 bowls water 

1. Dissolve sugar in warm pandan juice.
2. Stir 40 ml hot water into wheat starch.  Mixed.
3. Add to glutinous rice flour, mixed then gradually add in the pandan liquid and oil.  Knead into a soft smooth dough.  Add a little more water if it is too dry.  Rest dough for at least 30-60 minutes before rolling into balls.
4. To make the syrup, boil pandan leaves with lemongrass until fragrant.  Add in sweet potatoes.  Continue to boil until soft, add sugar to taste.  Set aside.
5. Bring a pot of water to boil to cook rice balls.  Remove with a serrated ladle when the rice balls float up.  Transfer to sweet potato soup.
6. Serve warm or hot.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

SWEET POTATOES WITH SAGO DESSERT

I learned a new way of preparing this sweet potato sago sweet dessert.  For this recipe the sago pearls are boiled to almost transparent before adding the sweet potatoes to cook.

The dessert soup is smooth and the pearl sago are not visible especially with the purple sweet potatoes where the colour darkens the soup.

Ingredients

[makes 4-5 bowls]

1 medium size orange sweet potato - peeled, cut chunky pieces

1 medium size purple sweet potato - peeled, cut chunky pieces

3 tbsp sago - rinsed and drained

800 ml water

60 gm jaggery sugar or brown sugar

1. Bring water to boil in a pot.  Stir in the sago.  Stir constantly to prevent sticking together.
2. When sago is almost transparent, add in the sweet potatoes to cook.
3. Bring to boil and simmer until sweet potatoes are soft.  Add in sugar to taste.
4. Serve warm or hot.

SWEET POTATO CHICKEN CURRY

I can say that this is the first time I have cooked curry with sweet potatoes.  The first look at the recipe did attract my attention right away.  Of course, I have added pumpkin and potatoes to chicken curry before but never with sweet potatoes.

This curry cooks faster than with potatoes or pumpkin.  Simmering over low fire for 15-20 minutes is enough to cook the chicken and sweet potatoes, which means that it is rather quick to prepare this dish.

It is not a  very spicy curry though the colour looks like it is but overall the curry is delicious with rice.

Recipe adapted from Yum Yum Magazine No. 102 with modifications

Ingredients

3 chicken whole legs – cut bite size pieces [skin removed]

500 gm orange sweet potatoes – peeled and cut chunky pieces

3 tbsp oil

2-3 sprigs curry leaves

2-3 stalks lemongrass – crushed

5 shallots – chopped

3 pips garlic – chopped

2 tbsp meat curry powder

3 tbsp chilli boh

½ tbsp toasted belacan

½ turmeric powder – optional

Seasoning

1 tsp salt to taste

½ tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet condensed milk

2 cups water

1. Mix curry powder, turmeric powder, belacan and chilli boh with some water into a thick paste.
2. Heat oil in wok, sauté chopped lemongrass, shallots and garlic until aromatic.  Add in curry leaves and curry paste.  Stir fry until fragrant, add in the chicken and stir to mix well, then add in the sweet potatoes.  Continue to stir fry until well mixed. 
3. Add in water and seasoning, bring to boil, then low heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked.
4. Dish up to serve.
   
   
   
   
   
   

I'm linking this post to Cookbook Countdown Event#11 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking [Makan2] Foray

THERMAL COOKER - BUDDHA’S GOURD SWEET POTATO PORK RIB SOUP

These days, I love to cook soups using my Thermal Cooker especially those soups that require a longer simmering time like pork ribs and chicken. With the thermal cooker, I need not have to simmer soup or watch over the stove all the time. I find that the soups are clear and the meat are just tender. This soup is high in fibre, the natural sweetness comes from the Buddha’s gourd and sweet potatoes. The seasoning ingredients are salt, wine and pepper.

Moreover, the pork ribs are just tender together with the other ingredients.
 A good homey comfort soup suitable for all ages. 
Ingredients
1 small Buddha’s Gourd – washed and cut chunky pieces 
1 small sweet potato – peeled and cut chunky pieces 
300 gm meaty pork ribs – blanched and rinsed
4 dried mushrooms – soaked, keep whole or halved
1 tbsp wolfberries [kei chee] 
1 litre water or stock
Seasoning
1 tbsp wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring water or stock to boil in inner pot of thermal cooker [you can cook this soup with normal pot, the usual way], add in pork ribs.
2. Bring to boil for about 20-25 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and let in boil for another 5-10 minutes. Cover pot and transfer to outer pot of Thermal Cooker.
3. Close the lid and leave the soup to continue cooking in it. Soup should be ready within 1-2 hours.
4. Before serving, bring soup to boil, taste to adjust seasoning.
5. Serve hot in soup bowl.
   
    
   
   

PURPLE SWEET POTATO YOGHURT COTTONY CAKE [OGURA CAKE]

I have baked cottony cake with purple sweet potato before [here] but this one here is with yoghurt instead of milk with some minor changes to other ingredients.  The cake turned out well too, the texture is as lovely, spongy and moist but the colour is not purplish at all.
These photos do not look good cos' these are taken in the early morning when the lighting isn't that good.

Ingredients

[8 inch square baking tin]

5 egg yolks

1 egg

50 ml corn oil 

85 gm plain yoghurt

65 gm self raising flour  - sifted - set aside

50 gm mashed sweet potato [purple sweet potato]

1/4 tsp salt

5 egg whites

70 gm sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1. Line base of a 8" square tin with greased proof paper.   I greased the sides, too and sprinkle lightly with a little flour [this way, the cake can be easily removed from pan after cooling].
2. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.    Place a baking tray on the lowest rack, pour in enough water [about 1.5 cups] for steam baking, then place a baking rack over it. 
3. Mix yoghurt and mashed sweet potato together until well combined.
4. Whisk egg yolks and 1 whole egg together with flour until creamy, add in yoghurt mixture then gradually drizzle in the corn oil.  Whisk until well combined.  Set aside.
5. Use a cake mixer, whisk egg whites until frothy, then add in cream of tartar.  Beat until soft peaks then gradually add in the sugar in 3 batches and whisk until stiff peaks formed.  Do not over beat egg whites otherwise it may be difficult to fold in to egg yolk mixture.
6. Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture until combined.   Then fold in the rest of the meringue lightly in two portions until well combined. 
7. Pour the batter into prepared cake tin.   Shake the pan slightly to smooth the batter and tap baking tin on work surface a few times to release trapped air bubbles before baking.
8. Place it over the baking rack to steam bake cake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees C for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 150 degrees C and continue to bake for 50 minutes [by then the water bath would have dried up].  
9. Remove cake and invert it to cool for about 5 minutes [otherwise the cake base may be moist because of vapour from steam-baking].  
10. Remove baking tin and the paper linings immediately and leave cake to cool on a wire rack [base facing upwards].  The cake may shrink a little when cooled because of less flour used [low gluten cake].
11. Turn over the cake when completely cooled.  Refrigerate before slicing if preferred.