Naturally Gluten-Free: Coconut Cassava Bars

Hello world! These are my baby steps back into the food blogging/photography world. A little scared...a lot clumsy (I swear I've somehow forgotten even the basics of how light works! =X)...and learning things again bit by bit (I hope) with each attempt!

For today's shoot, I chose coconut cassava bars inspired by one of my favorite nutrition blogs, Nutrition to Kitchen. Similar versions of this cake can be found in Vietnamese and Filipino cuisine. These bars are mildly sweet and just a little bit salty (partly due to the addition of cheddar cheese!); soft and chewy in a way that's reminiscent of mochi cake (not surprising once you learn cassava is used to make tapioca); rich with coconut flavor (from the milk as well as sweetened coconut strings known as macapuno); naturally gluten-free; and ab-so-lute-ly addicting to nibble on. Please do give it a go, and let me know what you think!

Snapshots of Singapore!

For those of you just tuning in, I've just come back from a great 2-week vacation in Singapore, the land of great food, shopping, and much more! A comprehensive guide of this country's numerous attractions, this post is not. But I do hope I succeed in capturing your imagination with my snapshots and encourage you to visit yourself if you have the chance!

I really can't write about this trip without mentioning the incredible love and generosity of my aunt and cousin, who were my hosts on this trip. As my mom's eldest sister, "Dayi" has always treated me like her own daughter and taken my problems to be her own. She's one of the strongest, most generous people I've ever met. Without Dayi and my cousin this trip wouldn't have been possible, and I owe them my greatest thanks and love!

SENTOSA ISLAND RESORT

Though I'm normally not a big fan of "tourist attractions," this island resort was too much for me to resist. Sentosa means "peace and tranquility" in Malay, and after walking the gorgeous beaches there I found the name quite appropriate! We chose to take a cable-car onto the island, which provided an exciting bird's eye view of the island. Then we enjoyed the lovely beach, aquarium, and a 3D action ride. Of course, there are many other exciting parts of Sentosa. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again sometime and check out the huge zipline and Universal Studios Singapore!

Pretty Rope/Wood Bridge (where I lost my lens cap...oops 8p)


My Cousin and Aunt at Sentosa and Unknown Child on Sentosa Beach


Lunch of Shiitake Mushrooms with Pork and Claypot Tofu


Dessert of Pandan Waffles Stuffed with Cheese (surprisingly tasty!)


Sharks and Tunnel at Sentosa Aquarium


Huge Spider Crabs


Jellyfish!


Gorgeous Seahorses...I want one as a pet =D

CHINATOWN

My cousin, who I was visiting on this trip, lived just up the hill from Chinatown, so this become quite a frequent haunt of ours. It's a diverse area full of delicious street and restaurant food, a beautifully decorated temple, and streets full of shops for visitors to load up on souvenirs. Right across the street from the temple was a bakery (Tong Heng Confectionery) selling the best egg tarts I've ever tasted. Imagine perfectly smooth egg custard encased in a delicate, unbelievably flaky crust...I'm really kicking myself right now for not having gone back more time 8).

Chinatown Street and Chopstick Stand


Temple and Statue of Guardian King Outside


Mango and Durian Ice Kacang (SO GOOD!!)


Hong Kong and Portuguese-Style Egg Tarts


Szechuan Food - Spicy Chilled Mung Bean Noodles (Liangfen) and Fried Eggplant


Passionfruit White Chocolate Mousse Entremet Cake

HARBOURFRONT AND VIVOCITY MALL

By the power of Twitter, I was lucky enough to meet up with 2 groups of bloggers while in Singapore. Both get-togethers were absolute blasts, and left me wishing these ladies and gents lived a bit closer than across the world ;-). The first meeting was for hot pot at Vivocity Mall by the Harbourfront. I met up with my friend Eunice a bit in advance to go prop-shopping at Daiso and whet our appetites by perusing the food stands outside. We ended the evening with really good bubble tea, a lot of delicious girl-talk, and a gorgeous view of the harbor from the boardwalk outside. Thanks, ladies, for an unforgettable evening!

Harbourfront Boardwalk and Seafood Stand


Tutu Kueh (Sweet Steamed Rice Flour Cakes with Coconut Peanut Filling)


Raw Ingredients for Hotpot


Harbourfront Vivocity Bloggers Meetup
From Left to Right: Lyn, Selene, Rachel, Eunice, me

LITTLE INDIA AND GAJALEE

My aunt and I took a brief jaunt around Little India on my second-to-last day in Singapore. We stuffed ourselves with vegetarian Indian food (I had my favorite idli sambar) before doing some fabric shopping and enjoying the colorful surroundings. Later on I enjoyed even better Indian food for my second blogger meet-up at the famous seafood restaurant, Gajalee. We had a ball chatting about everything from food (of course!) to Singaporean politics. Then I was surprised by the sweetest food gifts: addictive chakri made by Vijay's mom and an incredible Valrhona chocolate tart with poached Shanghai peaches from Pickyin! And Shirley treated me to dinner! It's rare to meet anyone as warm and generous as these bloggers. Thanks so much, you guys!

Little India and Colorful Flowers and Fruits


Gajalee's Crab with Green Chili Sauce and Fish Curry


Gajalee Blogger Meetup
From Left to Right: Vijay, Pickyin, Shirley, and me

PEOPLE'S PARK HAWKER CENTER

When I arrived in Singapore and realized my cousin lived right next to this hawker center, I couldn't believe my luck! I'm both jealous of all the scrumptious and cheap local food she has at her fingertips, but it's probably for the better than I don't have such easy access as I'd just be (over)eating out all the time! This was my first time EVER trying laksa and Singapore's famous chili crab. Definitely worth the wait!

Laksa (Spicy Seafood Rice Noodle Soup)


Otak-Otak (Spicy Fish Paste Steamed in Banana Leaf) and Iced Coffee


Singapore's Famous Chili Crab and Chilled Silken Tofu

TRUFFS CHOCOLATE SHOP

When I first met up with fellow macaron-baker Eunice at Harbourfront, I half-jokingly confided that I was already missing baking. Since she was actually in town to bake treats for her friend's wedding, Eunice kindly invited me along to her chocolatier friend's commercial kitchen to help her! Have I mentioned that she's awesome?! On top the free macaron lesson, I got to document each step for an upcoming macaron tutorial she'll be sharing here soon!

Drinking Chocolate and Cappucino


Making Macarons with Eunice at Truffs (owned by her friend)
Guest Post with Picture Tutorial HERE!

FOOD FROM VARIOUS MALLS

Mee Siam and Shrimp Char Kway Teow Noodles


Cendol Ice and Green Tea Roll with Mango and Black Sticky Rice


Flaky Chinese Pastries and Pingpei Mooncakes

BOTANIC GARDENS

Although people tend to talk more about how clean Singapore is, the feature of the city that most impressed me was actually the abundance of trees and other greenery throughout. So imagine how delighted I was upon entering the Singapore's famous Botanic Gardens. Ancient trees with winding roots, shaded walkways covered in vibrant flowers, and over 1,000 varieties of orchids. Words really can't do them justice, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Pretty Hanging Flowers


Parasitic Plant and My Aunt with an Ancient Tree


Hear No Evil, See No Evil Statue and Flowered Archway


Pretty Orchids


More Orchids from the Famous Orchid Garden


And Yet More Orchids...


Lovely Shaded Walkway Covered in Flowers


Willow Tree with Writing on Its Branches


Orchids, Some with Plentiful Tendrils


Strangest-looking Orchids


Long Bell-shaped Flowers (maybe orchids?)


My Typically Serious Aunt in a Moment of Adorable Asian-ness ^_^

Guest Post: Wonderfully Flaky Chocolate Chinese Pastries

I've written before about the wonderful community of food photographers and bloggers that I'm part of on the photo-sharing site, Flickr. In light of my recent posts about photography, I want to encourage you to find your own source of feedback for your photos. In addition to analyzing the work you admire from others, it's also important to examine your own in order to continue improving your skills. But as with most things in life, it's hard to keep a level perspective when examining yourself; so it's best to get a second (or even third) opinion. And be sure to find someone who's not afraid to tell it like it is -- their words may bruise your ego at times, but they're the ones who'll help you most in the long run.



Today my guest post series continues with some delectable Chinese pastries from my friend Tika of Cemplang Cemplung. She has long been a part of the supportive Flickr community I mentioned above, and it's been a great joy during the past year to grow side-by-side as artists and friends. Tika is quite the master of Asian treats and savories, and I'm constantly impressed by each new dish of hers. The pastries she shares today are no exception -- looking just as if they came fresh out of a fancy bakery! Aren't we lucky that she's generous enough to share not only the recipe but also photos of every step? Please give Tika your warmest welcome as she reveals the secret to these flaky chocolate pastries!

For those who love food blogging, you must have been familiar with Xiaolu from 6 Bittersweets. Nice, friendly, helpful, kind and warm, that's my impression of her. Aside from that, she's a talented and innovative baker and a food photographer. With variations of cupcakes, cakes, macarons and other yummy food recipes that make our jaws drop in amazement. Though we have never met before, I'm sure she's loveable. I remember when I had trouble in making macarons, she sent me a bundle of tutorials and not to mention she offered me help. That was very sweet of you, dear :).

The first time I made Green Tea Chinese Flaky Pastry, I was pretty upset because the pastry didn't turn out the way I expected. They look totally different from the mags, even though I followed the step-by-step of the process. I assumed it's because there were no step-by-step pictures! I interpreted the steps literally :D. Hence, to avoid the same old mistake, I googled some recipes of flaky pastries which included pictures of the process. Then I finally found out that my first attempt at making Chinese Flaky Pastry used "Hidden layering shaping technique" while the second one used "Visible layering - spiral (escargot) shaping technique".

I modified the recipe by substitute the green tea powder with cocoa powder and I did half of the ingredients. So I got the smaller size of flaky pastry, a half size smaller than the original size!! :D I must confess the visible layer technique works like a charm to bring out those beautiful layers with different two colors. I did take some photos of the process to make it easy for you to follow. Last words before we start our journey of the flaky pastry, my big thanks to Xiaolu for her trust and the wonderful opportunity she has given to me :).



Chocolate Chinese Flaky Pastries [Printable Recipe]

Makes 16



Water dough (outer layer)

50 g all purpose flour

50 g cake flour

13 g caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

40 g water

38 g unsalted butter, room temperature



Chocolate dough (inner layer)

105 g all purpose flour

70 g unsalted butter, room temperature

5 g cocoa powder



Filling

75 g peeled mung bean, soak in water for 1 hour

25 g thick coconut milk

50 ml water

3 g cocoa powder

38 g granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 pandan leaf

Click Photo to Enlarge

How-to:



1. For the filling: steam mung beans for 20 minutes on medium heat.



2. Transfer the cooked mung beans to a blender; add coconut milk, water, cocoa powder, sugar and salt; and puree to a fine paste. Place mung bean paste in a saucepan, over medium heat, add pandan leaf. Stir well until dry. Move from the heat. Let it cool down.



3. When the filling has cooled, form it into balls, about 12-13 grams for each ball. Set aside.



4. For the water dough: Sift flour, sugar and salt. Add in water until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add butter into the mixture and mix to form a soft and non-sticky dough. Cover and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.



5. Weigh the dough for 25 grams each and form into balls. Set aside.



6. For the chocolate dough: mix flour, butter and cocoa powder. Mix to form a soft even coloured dough. Form a soft ball that doesn't stick to your hands.



7. Weigh the dough for 25 grams each and form into ball. Set aside.



8. Take a piece of water dough and flatten. Place the chocolate dough in the center of the flat dough (pic #2). Gather the outer edges of the water dough circle and wrap up the chocolate dough ball. Seal and pinch the edges (pic #3).



9. With the heel of your palm, gently press the dough to flatten it lightly. Using a rolling pin, roll out the flattened dough (pic #4). Roll the dough up (pic #5).



10. Turn the rolled dough 90 degrees. Roll out the dough again. Roll up again (pic #6).



11. Cut the dough crosswise into 2 pieces (pic #7). Flatten out the dough. Place filling in the center (pic #8). Gather the outer edges of the dough circle and wrap up the filling (pic #9).



12. Grease a baking tray with butter then place pastries with sealed side down on tray.



13. Bake them in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).



Enjoy...

Coconut Mung Bean Kaffir Lime Popsicles for MLLA Anniversary!

I've long been a fan of my friend Susan and her gorgeous blog, The Well-Seasoned Cook, especially her elegant photography and her blog event, My Legume Love Affair (MLLA), which has done a great deal to popularize nutritious and delicious beans/legumes. MLLA recently had its 3rd anniversary, and I was honored to accept Susan's invitation to help celebrate this momentous occasion as well as help kick-start what's sure to be a fabulous 4th year! Inspired by Chinese mung bean popsicles as well as our Southeast Asian neighbors, I'm sharing these flavorful Coconut Mung Bean and Kaffir Lime Popsicles over on Susan's site. I'd love if you'd stop on by to check out my full guest post. But if you're in a hurry and just wanna grab the printable recipe, you'll find it right here.

Black Sesame Sweet Rice Dumplings 2 Ways (Guest Post on Fork Spoon Knife)

Just as starting a food blog 2 years ago introduced me to friends around the globe, joining Twitter this year has enriched my life with even more talented, caring, and equally food-obsessed pals. Asha of Fork Spoon Knife was one of the first among these new friends. Her warm and cheerful spirit, exciting recipes, and wonderful photography were irresistible from the start. When she then invited me to contribute to the celebration of her 3-year blog anniversary, of course I said yes right away! Though the party's theme was Street Food, Asha let me share a Chinese dessert that is traditionally a soup, but which I made more "street-savvy" by borrowing an idea from our Japanese neighbors. Please stop by Asha's site to wish her a happy anniversary and read all about my Black Sesame Sweet Rice Dumplings. If you're in a rush and just want to grab the recipe, you can also find it here.

I'm also submitting these skewers to Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, ManPans and Rouxbe.