Hi there.
It's been a rather dreary day where its wet, cold and Melbourne's bipolar rain just pours out from the heavens like it hasn't rained in weeks, only to stop 5 seconds later.
weird.
It's days like these which remind me of home most. Especially with the unforgiving downpour reminding me of all the tropical monsoons and watching raindrops race each other down the window and then falling asleep in the back seat of the car whilst mum and dad chatter in the front.
So, instead of turning the heater on and plopping myself on the couch with my laptop knowing that I'd probably succumb to eating everything in sight (sometimes I look the other way and call it 'stress eating' and it's only 'once in a while', but really, who am I kidding right?), I decided to take my little break from revision by making a delicacy from home called, Ondeh-ondeh.
It's been a rather dreary day where its wet, cold and Melbourne's bipolar rain just pours out from the heavens like it hasn't rained in weeks, only to stop 5 seconds later.
weird.
It's days like these which remind me of home most. Especially with the unforgiving downpour reminding me of all the tropical monsoons and watching raindrops race each other down the window and then falling asleep in the back seat of the car whilst mum and dad chatter in the front.
So, instead of turning the heater on and plopping myself on the couch with my laptop knowing that I'd probably succumb to eating everything in sight (sometimes I look the other way and call it 'stress eating' and it's only 'once in a while', but really, who am I kidding right?), I decided to take my little break from revision by making a delicacy from home called, Ondeh-ondeh.
These little balls are very similar to the Japanese Mochi but instead are covered in a layer of salty coconut and inside hides a molten palm sugar center. Admittedly, they're supposed to be a bright green colour but I just couldn't bring myself to use that rancid faux pandan paste which to me, is very similar to food colouring. (you just don't want to ingest that stuff you know?) So, I ended up just using pandan extract instead and despite it not giving off a green tint, it still gave off a lovely 'grassy' perfume. (I know it probably sounds strange, but you'd understand if you've had these before. #kuihmuih
When I used to eat these as a kid, I'd somehow always manage to get the palm sugar to erupt in a weird angle in my mouth, where it shoots down my trachea resulting in a very unpleasant burn. Disgusting, I know but I think this was just God's way of telling a chubby kid that "I think that was your 100th piece".
Anyhoo, I'll post the recipe below if you feel like giving it a go c:
When I used to eat these as a kid, I'd somehow always manage to get the palm sugar to erupt in a weird angle in my mouth, where it shoots down my trachea resulting in a very unpleasant burn. Disgusting, I know but I think this was just God's way of telling a chubby kid that "I think that was your 100th piece".
Anyhoo, I'll post the recipe below if you feel like giving it a go c:
ondeh ondeh
you'll need
For the skin:
100g glutinous rice flour
80g tapioca flour
100ml water
2 tbs pandan extract*
300g sweet potato
50g sugar
For the molten center:
150g Gula melaka (palm sugar)
50g sugar **
For the coating:
200g shredded coconut (store bought or fresh)
pinch of salt
* If you want the ondeh ondeh to be green, I suggest you use 1/4 tsp of pandan PASTE
** I omitted the 50g of sugar because I don't like things overly sweet. Feel free to add it if you please.
Instructions:
1. Set a pot of water to boil, peel and cube sweet potatoes and then cook till soft.
2. Mix coconut and salt and steam in a wok over high heat until fragrant. - about 4-5 minutes
3. Once potatoes are done, mash them to a fine crumb and then mix your flours and sugar till incorporated.
4. Combine pandan extract and water together and incorporate it BIT BY BIT into the dry mix. Keep kneading until you have a soft and pliable (but not sticky) dough.
5. Set your dough aside and roughly chop up the palm sugar
6. Divide your dough into 15 - 20g pieces and flatten each to fit the size of your palm. Next, take a pinch of the palm sugar, placing it into the middle of your dough and then sealing it by pinching all the dough sides together, forming a tight little ball.
7. Once completed, bring a larger pot to a boil and carefully place each of the balls in. They'll float to the top when cooking is completed.
8. When they've cooked, toss them in the coconut that you've steamed earlier.*
*you have to do these immediately when the ondeh ondeh have finished boiling. Also, try to handle them like you would a baby because you don't want all your hard palm-sugar-sealing work to go out the window. (think, eruptions of sticky caramel everywhere)
9. eat! (not too many though, seriously.)
For the skin:
100g glutinous rice flour
80g tapioca flour
100ml water
2 tbs pandan extract*
300g sweet potato
50g sugar
For the molten center:
150g Gula melaka (palm sugar)
50g sugar **
For the coating:
200g shredded coconut (store bought or fresh)
pinch of salt
* If you want the ondeh ondeh to be green, I suggest you use 1/4 tsp of pandan PASTE
** I omitted the 50g of sugar because I don't like things overly sweet. Feel free to add it if you please.
Instructions:
1. Set a pot of water to boil, peel and cube sweet potatoes and then cook till soft.
2. Mix coconut and salt and steam in a wok over high heat until fragrant. - about 4-5 minutes
3. Once potatoes are done, mash them to a fine crumb and then mix your flours and sugar till incorporated.
4. Combine pandan extract and water together and incorporate it BIT BY BIT into the dry mix. Keep kneading until you have a soft and pliable (but not sticky) dough.
5. Set your dough aside and roughly chop up the palm sugar
6. Divide your dough into 15 - 20g pieces and flatten each to fit the size of your palm. Next, take a pinch of the palm sugar, placing it into the middle of your dough and then sealing it by pinching all the dough sides together, forming a tight little ball.
7. Once completed, bring a larger pot to a boil and carefully place each of the balls in. They'll float to the top when cooking is completed.
8. When they've cooked, toss them in the coconut that you've steamed earlier.*
*you have to do these immediately when the ondeh ondeh have finished boiling. Also, try to handle them like you would a baby because you don't want all your hard palm-sugar-sealing work to go out the window. (think, eruptions of sticky caramel everywhere)
9. eat! (not too many though, seriously.)
bye for now!