Durian Butter Cake

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

180g butter

175g castor sugar

100g durian flesh, mashed

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

125g self-raising flour

60g plain flour

Grease and line a 20cm round or square cake pan. Preheat oven to 180°C.

Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add durian and essence. Continue to beat until mixture is light and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift both the flours and fold into the butter durian mixture. Stir to mix.

Turn out batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is done when tested with a wooden skewer.

Stir-fried Spicy Balitong

Stir-fried Spicy Balitong

300g balitong (sea-snails)

2- 2½ tbsp oil

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked

Spice ingredients

1 tbsp chilli paste

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp fish curry powder

1 tbsp tom yam paste

Seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ikan bilis stock granules

1-2 tbsp water

Blend the spice ingredients in a food processor into a fine paste.

Blanch sea-snails in boiling water for a minute. Drain. Heat oil in a wok and sauté dried prawns and blended spice ingredients until fragrant.

Add the sea-snails and fry well to combine. Stir in seasoning and bring to a quick rolling boil. Dish out to serve.

Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Deep-fried Thai pandan leaf chicken.

400g chicken drumsticks, chopped into bite-sized pieces

15 large screwpine leaves (pandan leaves)

Marinade

40g shallots

2 cloves garlic

2 stalks coriander roots

2 stalks lemon grass

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp meat curry powder

1 tbsp cornflour

Dipping sauce – (combined)

4 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce

3 tbsp coarsely ground roasted peanuts

Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend into a fine paste. Season chicken with marinade for several hours.

Take a screwpine leaf and fold into a small cone. Add 2 pieces of marinated chicken and wrap up neatly. Secure well with a sharp toothpick. Deep-fry the pandan leaf chicken over medium heat until the leaf turns light brown.

Remove and drain from excess oil.

Serve with the dipping sauce.

CHICKEN AND CABBAGE SALAD

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 cup shredded cooked chicken

½ cup shredded white cabbage

½ cup shredded purple cabbage

½ cup shredded carrot

2 tbsp thinly sliced bird’s eye chillies

3 shallots, thinly sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

Dressing

3 limes, squeezed for juice

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sugar or to taste

Garnishing

Some mint leaves

1 tbsp toasted peanuts

Combine chicken, both cabbages, carrots, bird’s eye chillies, shallots and kaffir lime leaves in a mixing bowl.

Add combined dressing ingredients and mix well.

Dish out and serve with garnishing.

ABALONE LOE SUNG

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 piece fresh New Zealand abalone, cleaned

Freshly shredded ingredients (A)

50g carrot

70g white radish

100g yam bean (sengkuang)

50g unripe green mango

40g pickled leek (kew tou)

40g pickled sweetened cucumber

30g pickled ginger

30g pickled sweetened red ginger

3 kaffir lime leaves

Garnishing (B)

2 tbsp roasted peanuts, coarsely blended

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

½ a small bowl of thinly sliced deep-fried yau char kwai (Chinese cruller)

½ a bowl of pomelo pulp

Dressing (C)

3 tbsp plum sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp lemon juice 1½ tbsp sugar or to taste

Seasoning (D)

½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

1/8 tsp pepper

Dash of salt

1 tbsp orange oil

1 tbsp peanut oil

Soak shredded carrot and white radish in ice-cold water for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in a piece of clean muslin cloth.

Lightly blanch abalone in hot water (do not over-boil water as it will destroy the texture of the abalone). Remove and soak in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Slice the abalone thinly.

Arrange all shredded ingredients around a serving plate. Add garnishing ingredients.

Pour dressing sauce over and sprinkle with dressing (C) and seasoning (D). Toss well to mix and serve in individual salad bowls.

TANGY MANGO AND CUTTLEFISH SALAD

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

½ cup peeled and shredded green mango

1 green papaya

3 shallots, thinly sliced

300g processed cuttlefish, score the inner body and cut into thick slices

¼ tsp sugar

A dash of pepper

5 bird’s eye chillies, chopped

2 pickled leeks (kew tou), sliced

Dressing

2 tbsp local lime juice

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp Thai chilli sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

Garnishing

1 tbsp deep-fried anchovies

2 tbsp toasted peanuts

Spread shredded mango on several layers of absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess moisture.

Peel the papaya and halve it lengthwise. Remove the seeds and slice off the soft centre. Grate the papaya.

Lightly season the cuttlefish with sugar and pepper, then scald in boiling water for 40-50 seconds. Drain and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and add dressing ingredients. Toss well to mix. Add garnishing, then adjust seasoning before serving.

Stir-Fried Fragrant Brinjal with Tea Leaves & Tea Eggs

Original Recipes by Amy Beh

Stir-Fried Fragrant Brinjal with Tea Leaves

200g brinjals

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and coarsely chopped

Stir-Fried Fragrant Brinjal with Tea Leaves

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 red chilli, seeded and diced

5g Long Jing tea leaves

100ml boiling hot water

Seasoning

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp chicken stock granules

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of sugar

Steep tea leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the tea and deep-fry the tea leaves until crispy. Retain the tea stock for use later.

Cut brinjals into 5cm lengths. Soak in salted water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and pat dry with several pieces of paper kitchen towel. Sprinkle a little cornflour over and deep-fry in hot oil for a minute.

Heat sesame oil in a wok and sauté garlic and dried prawns until fragrant. Add seasoning and brinjals and cook until the gravy is thick. Put in chilli and the pre-fried crispy tea leaves. Dish out and serve.

Tea Eggs

12 hard-boiled eggs, with shells intact

15g Jasmine tea leaves

5 slices tong kwai

12 dried Chinese red dates

1.5 litres water

Seasoning

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

25g rock sugar

6 star anise

3g cinnamon stick

1 tbsp chicken stock granules

Tap the hard-boiled eggs until the shells are slightly cracked. Put aside.

Bring red dates, tong kwai, tea leaves and water to the boil in a pot. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Pour the contents into a small crockpot. Add seasoning and cook on medium heat for 2 hours. Halfway through,add the cracked eggs and continue to cook until the flavour of the tea stock is absorbed by the eggs.

Remove and shell the eggs.

Steamed Chicken with Preserved Olive Leaves

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

350g chicken whole legs, chopped

Steamed Chicken with Preserved Olive Leaves

2 tbsp preserved olive leaves

1 red chilli, seeded and shredded

10g ginger, shredded

1 tsp sliced shallots

3g Sui Sin tea leaves, steeped in 100ml boiling hot

water

Seasoning

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

Pinch of pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornflour

Marinate chicken with seasoning and preserved olive leaves in a heatproof dish for about 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok and fry shallots and ginger until fragrant and lightly browned.

Stir shallot crisps and ginger into the marinated chicken mixture. Pour steeped tea together with the soaked tea leaves over the chicken.

Steam over rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes.

Braised Red Dates with Chicken in Tea Leaf Sauce

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Braised Red Dates with Chicken in Tea Leaf Sauce

500g chicken, chopped into bite-size pieces

2 potatoes, cut into wedges

7 slices ginger

2 cloves garlic, smashed

8 dried Chinese red dates, seeded

2 tbsp oil

8g Pu Er tea leaves

300ml boiling hot water

Seasoning

1 tsp sugar or to taste

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp chicken stock granules

1 tsp cornflour

Marinate chicken with seasoning for 30 minutes and steep tea leaves in hot boiling water for 5-6 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep saucepan, and sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in marinated chicken and fry for a while.

Pour in tea stock and bring to the boil. Add red dates. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Put in potatoes and cook until chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced.

Glutinous Rice Balls

Lor Mai Chi(Glutinous Rice Balls)

200g glutinous rice flour

200g rice flour

350ml water or just enough

½ cup cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun) for dusting

Filling (combined)

100g roasted peanuts, finely pounded

100g castor sugar

70g toasted sesame seeds

Combine glutinous rice flour and rice flour in a mixing bowl. Gradually pour in water to mix into a soft dough. Divide dough into small balls. Flatten each ball to make a hollow in the centre. Add a tablespoon of filling and wrap up to enclose the filling.

Drop the prepared balls of dough into a pot of boiling water. Cook until the balls float to the surface. Remove and drain well. Toss the balls of dough in cooked glutinous rice flour and serve.