4 meals and 1 tea

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Time to play catch up.

Time was when blogging was a past time. But now I find that writing something actually coalesces my thoughts for the day and besides being therapeutic and cathartic, is something that helps me organise my all too precious time. One would think that adding to my work load would be a seriously foolish thing to do. But no.

One drawback to all this is of course, in the course of a life, one could really blog about a myriad inanities. And in a blog like this, one does tend toward that. One thing I admire about food bloggers is the discipline of slowing down the entire process of eating so one can really take pictures, admire the food from a visual perspective before letting any of it pass their lips as a culmination and reward for the sweet anticipation.

I'm just too impatient. The only thought that goes through my head once food is on the table is "MUST. EAT. NOW!" That's why some of my food photos are taken at the END of the meal when my stomach has been satiated and my mind has begun to exert some control over my rampantly disobedient tummy. The photos tell the tale.

The other thing of course, is that, if you don't blog about somethig that you've prepared for, you find that after a day or two, pictures start cluttering up your hard drive. A very big no no for me. I like my hard drives pristine. And full of space.

So in an effort to clear the backlog I am going to lump a few days worth of food I've either tested and/or eaten into one entry.

Chinese Doughnuts & "Lak Tau Swa"

On Sunday, around 430pm, Mum feels like having tea and I have an urge to cook something. Rummaging around the pantry I find a packet of skinned mung beans. And then Mum mentioned that it would be nice with Yau Char Kway.

Obviously, getting Yau Char Kway on the table by 5pm was not an option, so I opted for Chinese doughnuts which in essence is Pate a Choux, deep fried. I decided to shallow fry instead in a non-stick pan. Here's the recipe. I didn't have Double Acting Baking Powder or vegetable shortening. So I substituted Baking Powder for the former and butter for the latter.

Chinese Doughnuts (Pate a Choux shallow frying in oil)

Chinese Doughnuts rolled in caster sugar

Lak Tau Swa on the other hand was just water, white sugar, and pandan leaves. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of waterchestnut flour in enough water to cover. I put in 8 chinese rice bowls of water, 1/3 of a packet of Mung Beans, and 10 tablespoons of sugar. I liked the clean taste of white sugar for this sweet "tong sui." Boil the Mung Beans, and the water until the beans soften and start to break up. About 15 mins. Add in the sugar and bring back to a boil. Quickly pour in the waterchestnut mixture, give it a quick stir and allow it to thicken slightly. Add in the pandan leaves last. Once you smell the fragrance, turn off the heat and serve.

I was very proud of myself as I got tea on the table in 30 minutes.

"Lak Tau Swa"

In a bowl ;-)

Siew Yue Chee Chook with Oyster sauce and Sambal Belacan

Siew Yue Chee in Chook

This is one of Mum's signature recipes. Peanuts boiled in water. And Chook boiled in another pot. Then leftover Roast suckling pig (in this case, the head and trotters of the pig) chopped up and boiled for about an hour and a half till tender. You could also add in pork rib. Mix in some oyster sauce and sambal belacan and dip your pieces of meat, which should be falling off the bone by now, into the spicy condiment.

Nigella's Cheesecakelets

Nigella's Cheesecakelets

Steamed Egg Custard with honey

3 eggs, a drop of vanilla, 3 ozs of honey, 1.4l of Milk (you can substitute water as well but milk gives it good mouthfeel) and a pinch of salt. Blend the eggs with the honey till well mixed. Boil the milk till it's almost boiling but not quite. Take the milk off the fire. Drizzle milk into the cold eggs. Drizzle it at the speed of a baby peeing. ;-) When you've drizzled half the milk into the eggs, pour the egg mixture back into the milk. Stir for 2 minutes to cool further. Add in the salt and vanilla.

Divide the mixture into individual bowls and cover tightly with foil and steam over a low fire. The water in the steamer should NOT be touching the bowls and the water should JUST be bubbling. It should NOT be a roiling boil. Steam for 40 minutes and then turn off the fire and leave it covered for another 20 minutes. Eat hot or refrigerate.

Sarawak Laksa, Sween Poon Chee, and Char Kway Teow in Nam Chuan, Bangsar

Sarawak Laksa...after the carnage

WMW, Lyrical Lemongrass, Precious Pea, and Jason had a food crawl on Sat 28 Apr and since I had work, I met them at the end of it in Nam Chuan, Bangsar. By the time I got there, they had already plundered the Sarawak Laksa but the sween poon chee (yam beads) were yummy. I ordered my all time fave local food, Char Kway Teow. I could eat that all week.

Sween Poon Chee

Char Kway Teow

Steamed Egg Custard and Kong Yue Chee

Steamed Savoury Custard with "Kong Yee Chee" garnished with spring onions

Same recipe as the sweet steamed custard above. Obviously, I ommitted the honey and bunged in 2 Tablespoons of fish sauce. I added some kong yee chee which had been nuked in water until tender. I know. I know. How could I nuke something as precious as that. Actually it sped up the process and the resulting liquid was added to the milk. It was fabulous. Smoother and more ethereal than tau foo fa.