There is a Chinatown (or even 2)in almost every city I know - except for Quebec City. They have a mysterious Chinese Pâté here, and a Chinese fondue where steamboat comes to mind but in fact, it is something else altogether. I've had it on several occasions and it doesn't taste chinese to me at all. The chinese food here must have evolved over the years to become authentic Quebecois cuisine instead.
The "Chinese food" here puzzles me. So far, the chinese food I have eaten here are way too sweet, adapted for North American tastes and not for me. The only way I can get my hands on any half decent chinese food, is Chez Moi(at my house).
The funny thing is, my most memorable simple home-cooking chinese food are in Europe. They truly caught me by surprise. Once in Munich, and another in Prague. One restaurant was Teochew, known for their light, simple cooking and the other was from Zhejiang, also very simple and fresh. I aspire to cook like them, since I am already Teochew, I should have it in me to actually cook like them!
The trick to chinese cooking is all in the fire. BUT, I have an electric cookstove in my kitchen, I ain't gonna control no fire unfortunately. :( And so, I am doomed to half-decent chinese food for the rest of my life.
And so, I steam. Yesterday, after watching a few episodes of the "Little Nyonya" and watching them taste delectable Nyonya kueh after another, I couldn't take it no more and got down to some serious steaming.
I had never known that the Seri Muka was so easy to make. Since I could always buy them easily from Malay vendors in Singapore or even from the islandwide Bengawan Solo cakeshops, who would even think of making it themselves?
My first bite was out of this world. I paired it with Gula Melaka Kaya(the Malaysian way of eating) and nearly had an overdose of Nyonya-ness altogether. It was sooooo.....GOOD! I had to curb my monstrous appetite - too much of a good things can indeed kill ya.
Seri Muka Recipe:
Bottom Layer:
300gm or 1.5 cups glutinous rice
50ml or 1/4 cup coconut milk
200ml or 3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
Top layer:
3 medium or 2 large eggs
150ml or 2/3 cup coconut milk
150ml or 2/3 cup pandan juice* or 1tbsp or pandan paste + 130ml of water
180gm or 3/4 cup sugar
15gm or 1.5 tbsp cornstarch
30gm or 3 tbsp all purpose flour
* To obtain pandan juice, put pandan leaves and water in an electric blender and blend to a fine pulp. Strain the juice and measure out two tablespoonfuls for use. Pandan paste can be bought in Asian grocery stores in a bottle.
1. Soak glutinous rice for 2hrs min. Drain rice well. Put the rice in a flat baking pan suitable for steaming. Stir in coconut milk and salt well. Add in the water and the water level should be about 3-5mm above the rice, not more than 1cm.
TIP: Depending on how well you drained the rice, the water level may vary, so add more if it is needed.
2. Steam the rice on high heat for 20-30 mins until the rice turns translucent. Remove form heat and use a fork to fluff the rice immediately. Place the rice into an 8" round pan or a 7" square pan. While the rice is hot, use a banana leaf to compact the rice down and level it as much as possible. Alternatively, use a flat-bottomed glass container if you don't have banana leaf at hand. Once compacted and leveled, return the rice to the steamer and continue to steam it while preparing the top layer.
3. Mix in the cornstarch and flour well into the pandan juice until the mixture is smooth. Add in all the ingredients for the top layer into a heavy saucepan and cook on low heat. Stir slowly and continuously until it thickens slightly. Ensure that the mixture does not burn. Once thickened after 4-5minutes, remove from heat.
4. Pour the mixture over the rice and continue to steam on low heat for 25minutes.
TIP: To ensure a smooth surface, do not use high heat.
5. After it is done, remove from heat and cool the kueh for 2hrs before cutting into diagonal slices or rectangle or even square slices.
TIP: If there are any leftovers, store the kueh in the refrigerator overnight and steam it again for 5-10mins on low heat the next day before serving.
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