Our desserts made from a different type of flour

Next after rice, flour is our staple food for Malaysian. The food made from the flour complement the main dish. Normally, it has to be a snack or dessert.  There are many types of flour that can be made cake and porridge or we call it kuih-muih and bubur.

The flour is a very important ingredient in our culture. Asian cuisine has a variety of flour. 

The flour was processed from the same grain that we eat as a staple food. Malay kuih using the same grain produces different tastes.

Sometimes the kuih in the Asian region is the same because there are parts of the heritage and culture similarly.

The grain such as rice and glutinous rice give many contributions to us. We cook rice every day for lunch and dinner. There are many rice menus that can be cooked with different flavours.

We make pulut kuning from glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk. Pulut Kuning can be eaten with rendang or sambal but we eat occasionally. We eat Pulut Kuning at tea time. It is offered as a menu at weddings, gatherings or meals at function. 

Another food that once became staple food during our country’s emergency period in the 50’s is tapioca. Tapioca grows easily in Malaysia soil. Malaysia has tropical weather and is suitable to grow tapioca plants.

I used to help my father grow tapioca plants at my house compound. 

The roots of tapioca plants will grow larger in the soil. My late father told me tapioca or roots of tapioca plants was best for harvest at six to eight months.

At this period the flesh of tapioca is soft and good to fry or boil. This crop is one of the most valuable in terms of carbohydrate and energy production amongst all the food crops. Now, I also grow tapioca plants in my garden. 

What happens after the grain has been grinding

 Rice, glutinous rice and tapioca can make flour out of it. 

I use a lot in my cooking to make Malay cakes and snacks. Because of Malaysian is a diversified culture we have extra kuih to be made.

 Flour not only to be used as the main ingredient but to enhance the side dish that we cook. I use a different type of flour to help me with my cooking.

Many of my cooking uses rice flour, glutinous rice flour, custard flour, cornflour and tapioca flour. 

The most common flour I use is plain flour or wheat flour. It produces self-raising flour, bread flour, cake flour and bun flour. Wheat flour is used in baking bread and other baked goods.

When I want to bake a cake, I use self-rising flour. I always buy the self-raising flour at my local baking ingredient supply. The self-rising flour is a combination of all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Recipe 1

How to make pudding from custard flour

Delicacies made from corn give a mouth watery dessert either after lunch or dinner. The original sweetness of the corn enhances the taste of the pudding. 

Ingredients for Corn Custard Pudding:

• 2 cups sweet corn kernels 
• 8 tablespoon custard flour
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh milk
• 600ml water

Instruction to make Corn Custard Pudding: Boil corn kernels with sugar in the pot.  Make custard flour into a paste by adding some water. Pour the paste into the pot. Boil for 10 minutes with low heat. Add milk and salt in the mixture. Cook for another 10 minutes and become thick. Pour the mixture into the mould and let it cool.

How to use cornflour in the cooking

Corn flour is a must in my kitchen. I am not using it to make cake or batter. The most common thing I use is cornflour to thicken my cooking like side dishes such as Ikan Masak Kicap, Fried Mix Vegetable and Steam Fish.

Recipe 2

How to make Bubur Som Som

Bubur Som-som is a soft porridge made from rice flour. This is a traditional Malay dessert. The Bubur Som Som garnish with palm sugar syrup suitable for tea time.  

The ingredient to make Bubur Som Som  

• 1¼ cup rice flour

• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• 200ml coconut milk
• 100g palm sugar
• Pandan leaf
• 1000ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instruction to make Bubur Som Som

Mix tapioca and rice flour with 1000ml water in a pot. Add in coconut milk, pandan leaf and salt.  Cook over the slow heat for 20 minutes until the mixture thickens. Pour in the thicken mixture in a bowl and remove the pandan leaf.

Palm Sugar Syrup as garnishing

Boil 200ml water and palm sugar until dissolved. Pour the palm sugar syrup on top Bubur Som Som. It’s nice to eat afternoon tea after lunch.

Recipe 3 

How to make Jemput-jemput Pisang

This sweet banana ball can be served for breakfast or afternoon tea.  The dish requires simple ingredients by using wheat flour. This batter mix with wheat flour with mash banana is normal for household breakfast. 

The ingredients

• 10 banana
• 21/2 cups of wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon soda bicarbonate
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Water
• Cooking oil

How to make batter for Jemput-jemput Pisang

Peel off and mash the banana. Put sugar and salt in a banana mixture. Put in flour, soda bicarbonate and water bit by bit. Rest the mixture for 5 minutes. 

Heat the oil with low medium heat. Scoop small of the mixture and drop in the oil. Fry until brown and all the mixture finishes. Toss before served.  

Recipe 4 

How to make Banana Fritters

The taste of fry Saba is good and a snack food for tea time. People are selling it everywhere but you can do it on your own with a simple method. The batter for fritters is using rice flour.

We need Ingredients as follow

• 6 Saba Banana
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 60 ml of water 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oil

How to make the batter for Banana Fritters

Peel the banana and cut it into two. Put aside. Mix rice flour,  sesame seed, turmeric powder, and salt. Add water little by little to make a batter. Dip banana in the batter.

Fry banana one by one till golden brown on each side.  Banana fritters are ready.

Recipe 5

How to make Spicy Fried Chicken

Whenever my family wants to eat fried chicken, I prefer to make it my own. This is my way of fried chicken. For ingredients, we need chicken, salt, turmeric powder, fennel seed, cumin seed and coriander seed.

And I add rice flour to marinate my chicken and ensure that the spice stick together in the frying pan. 

Instructions: Pound the fennel, cumin and coriander and put in the chicken together with salt, turmeric powder and rice flour. Marinate for 20 minutes. Deep fry the chicken until it is well cooked.