The Delicious Asian Food Fest has ended and though I am a little disappointed that there were only 3 submissions, nevertheless, I must say that the 3 submissions were of high quality and I must thank them for taking part. In fact, the 3 submissions are all some of my favourite chinese snacks and if you see the sample pictures here, you will know why.

The first to submit was Jo, the author of *~Riceballz~*. She shared her family recipe for Bak Chang (triangular shaped rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves). It is not a recipe for beginners and it can be a labourious task making these but the effort usually pays off when you dig into these lovely dumplings.

The next to submit was Takfenglili of Life is Beautiful; Life is Love. Takfenglili generously shared with me their (yes, Takfenglili is actually Tak Feng and Lili) recipe for Chai Kueh which is Vegetable Rice Noodle. A mixture of vegetable and prawns are wrapped in a rice noodle sheet before steaming to make this delicious looking parcel. Great for afternoon tea, I must say.

Finally, Elaine of A Series of Kitchen Experiments came up with her recipe for oblong looking Har Gows (Shrimp Dumplings) which is a favourite in Dim Sum restaurants. Reading the recipe makes one realise that these dainty treats take lots of effort to make. No wonder they are so delicious!

The best way to eat Kangkong (water convolvulus) is either to stir fry it with belacan or blanched and dipped in prawn paste eaten together with cuttlefish. I was not planning to cook kangkong without chilli but due to absent mindedness, I bought kangkong without buying chillies. Left with no choice, I had to do some improvisation and decided to give it a stir fry minus chillies.

I had with me tender shoots of kangkong, homegrown by some villagers nearby. Most of the stems were used as they were young shoots and not overly fibrous. I was pleasantly surprised that a simple stir frying with garlic and pre-soaked dried prawns brought out the natural hint of sweetness in the vegetable. Unlike stir frying with belacan which may overpower the taste of the vegetable altogether, this stir fry keeps it light.

This is my recipe for Stir Fried Kangkong with Garlic Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best ways to enrich the taste of leafy greens is to add fresh prawns. Siew pak choy is one the favourite leafy greens consumed in Malaysia and Singapore and it is such an easy vegetable to cook. Whilst this vegetable is usually cooked with oyster sauce, cooking it with prawns actually give it a more natural sweet tasting sauce. I use the smaller sized siew pak choy (Hong Kong variety).

I used medium sized prawns and left the tails intact. Removing the tails during eating remained one of my favourite challenges. In a way, it also enhances the beauty of the dish. I used seawater prawns rather than freshwater prawns as the texture and taste is much better.

This is the recipe for Prawn Siew Pak Choy Read the rest of this entry »

At certain markets in Malaysia, you can get yellow-coloured tofu (firm type) which I believe has been given a boost with kunyit powder thus making it aromatic and flavourful. This type of tofu can be fried and eaten on its own but one great way of cooking it is to pair it with leek and minced pork. The combination of sweet tasting leek, slightly salted minced pork and aromatic tofu makes this dish a favourite for many.

Cooking is also pretty simple and does not require a lot of work. Prepare the 3 main ingredients and you are ready to cook. Give this dish a try if you can get yourself to the ingredients.

This is the recipe for Leek with Fragrant Tofu Read the rest of this entry »