Warm Date-Cranberry Pudding With Butterscotch Sauce

Ingredients:

130g pitted dates
40g dried cranberries
240ml orange juice
zest of 1 orange
50g butter
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
85g brown sugar
110g self-raising flour, sift
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa powder
50g dark chocolate, chopped

• Grease a deep 14cm square baking tin.  Line base with baking paper.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
• Combine dates, cranberries and water in a saucepan.  Bring to the boil.  Remove from heat and add in bicarbonate of soda.  Let it stand for 5 minutes.  
• Process the dates mixture in a food processor until smooth.   Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until pale in colour.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add in orange zest.
• Fold in flour and cocoa powder.  Stir in dates mixture and chopped chocolate.
• Pour batter into prepared tin.  
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until cake is cooked.
• Remove cake from the oven.  Prick holes all over the surface of the cake and drizzle some butterscotch sauce over the top.  Return cake to the oven.  Bake a further 5 minutes.
• Serve warm with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Butterscotch Sauce

120g coconut sugar, shaved (or brown sugar)
50g butter
1/2 cup cream

• Combine butter and sugar in a small saucepan.
• Stir over low heat until sugar dissolved.  Let simmer for about 3 minutes.
• Finally, stir in cream.

Mung Beans Biscuits

A recipe from  Amy Beh's Tambun Biscuits

Filling:
250g split mung beans, soaked overnight and drained
150g caster sugar
2 tbsp fried shallot oil
2 tbsp fried shallot crisps
3/4 tsp salt

Water dough pastry:
150g plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
60g cooking oil
80g water
1 tbsp vinegar

Oil dough pastry:
100g plain flour
60g shortening

Egg wash:

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
1 pinch of salt

white sesame seeds

To prepare the filling:

• steam the mung beans until soft and blitz in a food processor until fine.  Press through a sieve.  Cook mash mung beans in a wok with sugar, salt, shallot crips and shallot oil until sugar dissolves.  Transfer to a plate and leave to cool.
• Divide the mashed mung beans into 25 portions and roll into balls.  Set aside.

To prepare water dough:

• Put flour, salt, icing sugar and oil into a mixing bowl. 
• Combine water and vinegar and pour into the flour mixture.  Using a dough hook, mix until the dough become smooth.  Leave aside to rest for 30 minutes.

To prepare oil dough:

• Combine flour and shortening and using the dough  hook, mix until a smooth dough is form.  Set aside and rest for 30 minutes.

To prepare the pastry skin:

• Roll out both water dough and oil dough into long sausage shapes.  Cut each roll into 25 pieces.  
• Roll out a piece of water dough and wrap a piece of oil dough in it.  With a rolling pin, flatten the dough and roll into a swiss roll.
• Repeat rolling and flattening of the dough 3 times.  Repeat with the rest of the pieces of dough.

To make the biscuits:

• Fill the rolled out pastry with the filling and seal properly.  Roll into the shape of a ball.  
• Place the biscuits onto a line tray and brush with egg wash.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Basil Pesto Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts (light toasted) [or toasted pine nuts]
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 small cloves garlic
100g  parmesan cheese
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

• Combine, walnuts, basil and garlic in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped.
• With the food processor still running, pour in the olive oil gradually.  Add in cheese and season with salt and pepper.
• Before serving with pasta, a tablespoon fresh cream can be stirred into the pesto for a creamier flavour. 

Braised Spare-ribs and Bitter Gourd

Ingredients:

800g pork ribs
1 medium sized bitter gourd, cut into pieces

knob of ginger (about 3cm), minced

4 cloves  garlic, minced 

2 shallots, minced

2 tbsp fermented soy beans

1/2 tsp fermented black beans

2 birds' eye chillies (optional)

10 g rock sugar / 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp cooking wine

1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 1/2 cup  water

spring onion & coriander leaves - garnishing

cornstarch + water (for thickening the gravy)

• Cut the pork ribs in between the bones.  Blanch in boiling water for a minute.  Drain.
• Heat oil in a saucepan.  Saute ginger, shallots and garlic until fragrant.  Add fermented soy beans and black beans and chillies.  Stir for a minute.
• Add in pork ribs and stir fry for about 5 minutes.  Then add in wine, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir fry for another minute before adding water.  Bring to the boil.  
• Lower the heat and let it simmer until ribs are tender.  Add in bitter gourd.  Cook for another 15 minutes.  Thicken gravy with cornstarch.