Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls ( 黑芝麻湯圓 )

Ingredients:

270g glutinous rice flour
200ml water (approx.)
100g black sesame seeds
50g walnuts
70g raw sugar
3 tbsp melted butter

To make black sesame paste:

• Lightly toast black sesame seeds and walnuts. Set aside to cool.
• In a food processor, grind the toasted sesame seeds and walnuts until fine.  Transfer into a mixing bowl and combine with sugar and melted butter to form a paste.  
• Divide the paste into 50 pieces and roll into balls.  Refrigerate.   

 To make dumpling (tang yuan) dough:

• Sift glutinous rice flour into a mixing bowl.  Add water and knead into a dough.
• Break a small piece of the dough and flatten into a round disc.  Cook it in boiling water and simmer until it floats to the surface.  Remove the dough and knead it back into the main dough when it is cool enough to handle.  This helps the tang yuan to be chewy and sticky.
• Divide dough into 50 pieces and roll into balls.  Cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent from drying out.
• Fill each dough with sesame paste and seal properly.  Lightly roll into a ball using both palms.  Set aside on a tray.  *

To cook dumpling (tang yuan):

• Boil a big pot of water.
• Put dumplings into the boiling water.  Cook until they float to the surface. Cook for a further 1 minute.
• Scoop up the dumplings and transfer into hot ginger syrup.

To prepare ginger syrup:

•  Boil water with rock sugar and a couple of slices of ginger, some pandan leaves and 1 tsp osmanthus (optional).  Stir until sugar dissolves.

Note:   *  Tang yuan can be frozen and stored in a ziploc bag. 

Lime-Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients:  (Makes 13 in muffin cases) 

200g butter - softened
180g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour 
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
5 eggs, at room temperature - separated
1/2 cup coconut cream + lime juice
zest of 2 limes



Method:

• Preheat oven to 150 - 160 degrees C. 
• With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
• Beat in egg yolks, one at a time and make sure that each egg is completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next one.
• Fold in flour alternately with the coconut cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir until just combined and the batter is smooth.
• Beat egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form.
• With a rubber spatula, gently fold about a third of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it; then fold in the remaining whites until just combined. Do not over mix.
• Pour batter into muffin cases.
  
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.

Thousand Layer Pork Belly ( 梅菜扣肉 )

Luke Nguyen cooks this Chinese classic dish - Thousand Layer Pork in one of the episodes of Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong.    This dish is also known as "Mui Choy Khow Yoke. 

Ingredients:

800g pork belly
250g preserved mustard greens ("mui choy")
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp light soy
1 tsp dark soy
hot water

Marinade: (mix all together)
3 tbsp light soy
1 tbsp thick caramel sauce (dark soy)
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp grated palm sugar
1 tsp pepper

• Marinate pork belly and leave it in the fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour (I marinated mine overnight).
• Soak preserved mustard greens for half an hour. Rinse and squeeze out the water.  Slice finely. 
• With a tablespoon of oil, saute garlic until aromatic.  Put in the preserved mustard greens and fry for about a minute.  Add in water, dark soy and light soy and bring it to the boil.  Then simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes under low heat. Set aside.
• Remove the pork from marinade and brush off the garlic and ginger from its surface.  Reserve the marinade.
• Heat a frying pan and add a tablespoon of oil.  Place the pork belly, skin-side down and fry until brown.  Turn over and brown the other side.
• Pour hot water into the pan, just enough to cover the pork.  Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the pork from the pan and cool before placing in the freezer, covered, for 1 hour. (I left mine in the fridge overnight)
• Slice the pork as thinly as possible (I sliced the pork into 5mm thick).
• Place the pork pieces into a bowl, skin-side down.  Top the pork with the preserved mustard greens.  Pour over the reserved marinade.
• Steam pork, covered, for about 1.5 hours or until soft.