Sep 14, 2009

Revisiting Old Charms

Fellow blogger Honey Bee Sweets ask me for this recipe of the teochew Soon kueh. So here it is, not just for her but for all who might be interested.

My dear mother-in-law taught me how to make this years ago. She measured every ingredient by 'gut feel'. Just pour, just grab! To my dismay, nothing was actually measured to the last gram or dash. I had to re-do and re-test it a few times before I figured out what or how much which ingredient was more or less or the ratio of flour to water.

After 6 months of struggling, I finally did it!

Showing you too..the photos of Ah Mak(whom we affectionately address her) making soon kueh. Hers were in the shapes of UFOs..I cheated and did the hawker style which was half moon shape.









Her original UFOs shaped



My half moons shaped, pan fried the next day till crispy, drizzled with sweet sauce.



A family tradition that must be handed down...getting my younger girl, Melody to make some too:






Our little girl Melody's soon kueh. Making her granny very proud of her



TEOCHEW SOON KUEH
Recipe by Gina Choong


Makes 24 pieces
Ingredients

500g turnip, skinned, shredded
100g dried shrimps, soaked in water to soften
5 pcs dried black fungus, soaked in water to soften, shred
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

300g Rice Flour
80g Tapioca Flour
450ml boiling hot water
1 tbsp corn oil
1 tsp salt

Method:

1. In a wok, add 2 tbsp of corn oil to heat. Add dried shrimps to fry till fragrant. Then add black fungus and turnip and stir fry for 5 minutes over high heat.
2. Lastly, add light soya sauce, sesame oil, sugar to mix. Remove and leave it aside to cool completely.
3. In a mixing bowl, add sifted rice flour and tapioca flour, salt and hot water. Stir quickly and it should look lumpy. Add corn oil to mix. Cover the bowl and leave it aside for 15 minutes.
4. Remove and knead into a smooth dough. Divide the dough into 24 portions.
5. Flatten each ball, add a tablespoon of cooked turnip in the centre of the flatten dough.
6. Seal by picking up the sides. Brush with corn oil before steaming.
7. Steam in a steamer over high heat for 10 minutes. Serve hot with sweet sauce or chilli sauce.

Enjoy!!

4 comments:

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much Gina! That was really prompt! ;)Will try to make them this week for my family. BTW, see you soon, will be back in Singapore in Haya week. Have a great day!

Tricia said...

Thank Gina for sharing this recipe. I am also Teochew, but my mom passed away when I was very young (5 yrs) and my sisters didn't get to learn this dish from her.

This is one of my favorite snack to eat. I hope to master this and hopefully pass it on to my son.

Unknown said...

Gina, will try making this soon. Craving for soon kuey. They don't sell it here in Melbourne and only get to eat when I am back in Singapore. So now I might as well make it myself. Wish me luck !

Janice Tan said...

Thanks for sharing! An heirloom for Teochew!