Luo Han Guo Herbal drink (龙眼冬瓜罗汉果汤)

Ingredients
2 Luo Han Guo (罗汉果)
100g dried longan (龙眼)
100g dried winter melon(冬瓜)

Preparation
1. Wash the Luo Han Guo and crush each into 2 halves.
2. Bring to boil 2 litres of water with all the ingredients in a pot.
3. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.
4. Ready to serve.

Sweet Chinese fried pumpkin glutinous rice cake

Ingredients:

300g mashed pumpkin
300g glutinous rice flour (Do not add in all at a time)
80g -100g sugar


Preparation :
1. Wash and cut pumpkin to steam in a steamer for about 30 minutes.
2. Scoop out the cooked pumpkin and mash it in a container.

3. Add sugar and rice flour (a little at a time) to the mashed pumpkin and knead. Since no water is used in this recipe, we might not need all the flour. Make sure to add just enough flour to form a soft and smooth dough.
*Note: Amount of flour depends on the texture of the pumpkin used.

4. Divide the dough into about 25 portions. Roll each into ball shape and flatten it with your palm.

5. Heat some oil (enough to cover bottom half of the cake) in frying pan. Put in the pumpkin cake to fry when the oil is hot. When it  turns golden brown turn over to cook the other side.
6. Dish out onto a plate lined with kitchen tissue to absorb away the excess oil.
7. Serve while it's hot.

Steamed wholemeal pumpkin bun

Ingredients

600g plain flour

300g wholemeal flour

250g pumpkin ( steamed and mashed)
300g brown sugar
5 tsp dried yeast
350 ml warm water
5 tbsp olive oil

30pcs white square paper

Preparation
1. Put all the ingredients (except water) into a mixing bowl. Add in water bit by bit and knead dough slowly until smooth.

2. Cover with a piece of damp cloth and set aside for 1 1/2 hours.

3. When the dough rises to double the size, punch out the air with knuckles.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute.

5. Cut into 30 portions and lightly roll each portion into round shape and place it on the white square paper.

6. Arrange the buns in the steamer with gaps in between as they will expand further during steaming. Set aside for about another 10-15 minutes for them to rise.

7. Steam for 15-20 minutes.

8. Release the cover of steamer slightly for a while before taking out the steamed buns. Do not leave the buns in steamer for too long as the water condensed from the cover will drip onto the buns.

Sweet red beans and sago soup with tangerine

Ingredients

250g red beans

50g sago

200g rock sugar/brown sugar

2 pcs dried tangerine peel

5 pcs pandan leaves (tie together with a knot)

2 1/2 litre water

Preparation

1. Wash and soak red beans overnight.

2. Put red beans, pandan leaves and tangerine peel into a pot containing 2.5 litre water. Bring to boil over high flame.

3. Turn to medium-low flame and boil for about 2 hours or until the red beans turn tender.

4. Wash and soak sago for 20 minutes.

5. When red beans are tender, add in rock sugar and sago to cook. Stir from time to time to see sago is cooked (sago turns translucent when cooked).

6. Discard tangerine peel and pandan leaves.

Sweet potato soup

Ingredients

250g sweet potatoes ( cut into chunks)

200g sugar/rock sugar

5 pcs pandan leaves

1 1/2 inch ginger (flattened)

1 1/2 litre water

Preparation

1. Put sweet potatoes, pandan leaves into a pot of 1 1/2 litre water. Bring to boil over high flame.

2. Turn to medium-low flame and boil for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes become tender.

3. Add sugar and stir to dissolve.

4. Discard pandan leaves and ginger.

Tofu fa (without gypsum powder )

Ingredients

1 litre unsweetened soya milk (or 1 litre less sugar soya milk)

8 level tsp gelatine

75 ml water (room temperature)

50g sugar (if unsweetened soya milk is used)

For syrup

100g brown sugar

5 slices of ginger

Preparation

1. Put gelatine in a cup. Add in 75ml water. Do not stir. Keep the cup in a hot water bath to dissolve the gelatine.

2. Heat 1 litre soya milk with 50 g sugar in a pot over medium-low flame. Stir until you can smell the aroma of soya milk. Do not boil. Make sure the sugar fully dissolves.

3. Stir the gelatine and add into the soya milk.

4. Keep stirring until gelatine is fully blended. Turn off the flame. Continue to stir for another 1-2 minutes.

5. Strain the soya milk into containers. Cool before putting into the fridge to set.

6. This will take at least 4- 4 1/2 hours. But it's still rather soft. It tastes much better given time to set overnight in fridge.

7. Boil brown sugar and ginger slices in a pot with 1/4 cup of water until sugar is fully dissolved.

8. Use a large metal spoon to scoop thin layers of tofu fa into a bowl and serve with the syrup.

* Normally gypsum powder is used to coagulate the tofu fa. This tofu fa (with gelatine) tastes a bit different. But it's not too bad when served cold directly from the fridge with ginger syrup.

Chinese herbal jelly - Gui Ling Gao (龟苓膏）

Ingredients

1 packet of gui ling gao powder ( for 2 small bowls)

1 packet of chrysanthemum granules (optional)

250 ml boiling water

( Normally I prepare 3 packets at one time.)

Preparation

1. While boiling the water, mix a packet each of gui ling gao powder and chrysanthemum granules in a container.

2. Add 3-4 tbsp water (room temperature) to the mixture and blend well into a smooth paste. This is important so that the texture of jelly would not be lumpy.

3. Pour 250ml of boiling water slowly onto the jelly mixture. Stir without stopping (to prevent lumps) using a pair of chop-sticks while pouring in the water. You may use a whisk also in this case.

4. Transfer immediately into moulds as the jelly thickens very quickly i.e almost at the same time that you're stirring.

5. Cool and refrigerate it before serving.

6. Serve with 1-2 tbsp honey.

Sweet white fungus longan soup

Ingredients
10 g white fungus ( soaked)
12 red dates
50g dried longan
30g kei chi
rock sugar to taste
1.5 litre water.


Preparation
1. Boil all the ingredients together with 1.5 litre water over high flame for 15 minutes.
2. Turn to low flame and boil for further 40 minutes.
3. Add rock sugar to taste.