Malaysia: How to Weave Ketupat Basket for Satay Rice

A lovely palm leaf basket for cooking and serving satay rice. To make your own, follow the pictures below. Click to enlarge the thumbnails. Expert video instructions can be found here.




Twirl 1-metre strips of palm leaves around the left and right hands to give 3 loops on each hand. The head of the palm leaf refers to the stem end, while the tail refers to the tapering leaf end.

Weave right hand loops (green) over left hand loops (yellow) using the following pictures as a guide.




For the first row (bottom of basket), pass right hand loop INTO the left hand loop, OUT over the top of centre loop on left hand, and INTO the last loop on the left hand.




For the second row (middle of basket), pass the middle right hand loop OUT over the top of the left hand loop, INTO the centre loop on the left hand and OUT over the top of the last loop on the left hand.




For the third row (top of basket), pass right hand loop INTO the left hand loop, OUT over the top of centre loop on left hand, and INTO the last loop on the left hand. That is, same as for the first row.




After weaving the right hand loops across the left hand loops, tighten and adjust the basket.




Turn over the basket from top to bottom so that the tails are on the top right. Variation for ketupat bawang, the onion-shaped version, is included at the end. Continue here to make the diamond-shaped ketupat basket.




Weave the horizontal tail (yellow) across the top and down the left side of the basket.




Weave the head (green), on the top left, across the top of the basket.




Flip over and rotate around so that the tail (green), which started on the left hand, is horizontal and to the top right.




Weave the tail (green) across the top and down the left side of the basket to meet up with the other tail (yellow), at the bottom left.




Weave the head (yellow), on the top left, across the top of the basket so that the two heads meet at the top right.




Tighten the heads and tails to complete the basket. To fill with rice, open a mouth at the corner where the heads meet. After filling to 3/4 full, pull the tails to close the mouth. Tie the heads or weave into the basket to seal. Tie the tails to secure.




For ketupat bawang, the onion-shaped version, vary the steps after weaving loops from right hand across to left hand and turning the basket over with the tails to the top right.

Instead of weaving the horizontal tail (yellow), weave the vertical tail (green) across the top and down the left side.

Flip and rotate the basket around so that the remaining tail (yellow) is vertical and to the top right. Weave the tail (yellow) across the top and down the left side to meet up with the other tail (green).

Rotate the basket so that the heads are vertical and the tails hang down. Weave each head across the top to meet in the middle. When completed the heads form the base of the onion. Tighten and adjust.

There you have it, ketupat baskets to impress diners. It takes 3 hours, depending on size, to cook ketupat rice in boiling water.

Read more...

Cubic Rice Noodles

Cubic noodles brought awe to Australian TV watching households after Masterchef Poh Ling Yeow thrilled judges with her intriguing black cubic noodles made using squid ink. Masterchef Poh served her winning dish with fried snapper, preserved mustard greens and caviar in a white stock.

Penang cubic noodles, known as char kuih kark (with many variations of spelling depending on Chinese dialect group), act as a poor man's version of the daikon rice cakes served in dim sum restaurants: hawkers stalls make the noodles without daikon.

Here is a recipe to make your own cubic noodles, for use in your noodle or pasta dishes:

Ingredients:

150 g (1 cup) rice flour
20 g (1-2 tablespoons) black glutinous rice, tapioca starch, wheat starch, or cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil (preferable flavoured)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder, optional
150 mL lukewarm water
350 mL boiling water


Method:

Blend the flour, starch, oil and seasoning with lukewarm water into a smooth paste.

While stirring add the boiling water to par-cook the batter to help prevent the flour settling during cooking. If the batter has not thickened enough to leave thick trails, either gently heat on a stove or microwave on high in 10 sec bursts until the consistency is achieved.

Pour the batter into a wet ceramic lasagne dish measuring 20 cm by 30 cm. The batter is enough for a 1-cm thick noodle sheet.

Steam for 30-45 minutes until set. On cooking, the batter darkens and the surface feels firm. To cook by microwave, cover the dish with plastic wrap. Set power to 30% (medium low) and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes to stiffen before using. Cut into 1 cm cubes. For frying, chill the noodles, preferably overnight.


... pan fried black and white cubic rice noodles with omelette, shitake, coriander and chilli

Notes:

The starch improves the texture by adding softness and/or chewiness. Rice on its own gives a somewhat starchy mouth feel. Adjust the ratio of rice to starch to suit your personal preference.

Some recipes call for kan sui (lye water) to add a springy texture, or borax to prevent stickiness, add gloss and improve flexibility. Others suggest 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour as a substitute for kan sui and borax.

The flour to water weight ratio is 1:3, or volume ratio 1:2 (1 cup flour to 2 cups water).

Simple recipe for sheet and cubic rice noodles 40% rice flour, 40% cornstarch, 20% tapioca starch, 300-350% FWB warm water. Make a slurry and steam.

Read more...

Spanish Paella

The crispy crust from the paella pan gives the dish its Spanish authenticity. The crust forms on turning up the heat to medium after cooking the rice using the absorption method. The other way of forming the crust is to cook by the evaporation method, like a risotto, on medium to high heat while moving the pan around.

Read more...

Lunch Special: Rice Rolls with Salad

Fresh rice rolls with salad and aromatic herbs, served with choice of sauces.

Read more...

Easy Glutinous Rice Bowl

Ever thought of reproducing that fancy glutinous rice dish wrapped in lotus leaf that you eat at "yum cha"? Here's the cheat method for 4 small cappuccino cup serves:

1 cup glutinous rice (the white opaque chalky rice also known as "sweet rice")
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoon stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 Chinese sausage, sliced
1 cup chopped vegetables (or chicken and shiitake)

Rinse the rice to remove some starch. Soak for 2 hours until translucent. Drain in a sieve.

Put the rice in a souffle dish. Pour the boiling water to the level of the rice. Place a dish over to cover. Microwave on 30% power for 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, render the fat from the sausage using the olive oil. Add the vegetable and saute for 2 minutes.

When the rice is done, stir in the stock, sesame oil and soy sauce. Next stir in the cooked sausage and vegetables.

Put the mixture in cappuccino cups while still hot. Turn the cup over a sauce. Leave the cup on to keep the meal warm. Microwave for 2 minutes if necessary to heat the meal. Remove the cup at the table just before serving.

Read more...