Steamed Pandan Cake With Sweet Potatoes

I am sure most of us are familiar with the pandan chiffon cake that is available at most bakery stalls. Here with a twist from the previous steamed cake that I have made, I decided to make some Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potatoes. And to make these steamed cakes more fragrance and delicious, you can add in some home-made pandan juice for a superb and natural jade green colour.

When it comes to steamed cake it might look rather easy compared to those bake version but for some of us this might not be the case. I have received a few emails regarding on the "steamed cake" recipe(s)(read more HERE) that they have tried a few times following the recipe(s) to dot and yet they cannot achieve the desire outcome like what is mention on the blog post. Friendly speaking I have failed at least twice while testing out the recipe(s) before I could perfect them with the right texture and outlook too.

More On Japanese Steamed Cakes

Thanks everyone for your kind comments given to my previous 3 entries on the Japanese Steamed Cakes post. To share the joy with you today I was so surprised to notice a mentioned about my Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Cake(Chinese version) while flipping through my daily reads on MyPaper( pg B2).

Asian fusion of the Durian Steamed Cake(榴莲蒸糕)

After the previous 3 steamed cake posts, I have received some email enquires regarding either on their failures or success attempted on those recipes. A few of them ever mentioned that their steamed cake ttends to urns out hard and flat compared to the rise and “open/huat” cakes that are shown on my posts.

So here are a few tips that I would like to share from my view:-
1. The water for steaming the cake must be boiling before you put the cake batter in.

2. Steamed over Medium High heat for about 8 – 12 minutes depending on the size of your steamed cakes.

3. While whisking egg and sugar, try to beat till foamy and pale roughly about 5 minutes including stopping time.

4. The final cake batter should be of dripping consistency instead of gluey and sticky.

Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potato Cubes (香兰番薯蒸糕)

Lastly from the photos above, you can see that there will be some other NEW recipes coming out soon such as the Steamed Durian Cake, Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potato Cubes and etc flavour that you will be surprised with. So do stay around and keep a look out for these recipes soon.

Japanese Steamed Double Chocolate Cake

Apart from the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)" and "Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake" that I made recently. Here is another Steamed Chocolate Cake recipe which I have adapted from Nami from Just one Cookbook. Both Joyce(@ahpoohbear) and I have tried making this recipe and we both love its moist and soft texture using cake flour. And my boy who is very picky about cake texture also requested for a second helping after he sample some. So I recommend this recipe as a good keeper for those who wish to whisk up something quick and easy for afternoon tea in less than 30 minutes.

If you cannot find any Dutch-process cocoa powder you can always replace it with any brand of baking cocoa powder that you own. And for a chance you can also add in half banana(mashed) to achieve a more fragrant and moist texture.

(Original recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook)
Ingredients: (makes 3 - 4 cakes)
75g Cake Flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
3 Tablespoons Drinking Water
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
2 Tablespoons of Mini Chocolate Chips

Method:-

1. Sieves cake flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together. (sieves at least twice)

2. Using a balloon whisk, beat egg and sugar till foamy and pale (about 5 minutes).

3. Stir in water and oil in sequence then follow by the flour mixture till well combined.

4. Lastly toss in 1.5 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

5. Place the cups in steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 10 - 12 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns and comes out clean.


I am submitting this Japanese Steamed Chocolate Cake to Aspiring Bakers #7: Chocolate Delight (May 2011), hosted by Doris of Tested and Tasted.

Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake

Follow up from my last post on the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)", here is another swapping of ingredient from Sweetcorn to Roasted Chestnut together with some extra dose of premium Matcha powder that you can get in most supermarket under the Japanese foodstuffs section.

In this recipe, I used Top Flour instead of cake flour stated on the previous recipe because I wanted to test out using different type flour to achieve the texture of the steamed cake that I prefer.

Ingredients: (makes 4)
90g Top/Cake Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
30g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, 60g
70ml Water
5 - 6 Roasted Chestnut, break into pieces
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Vegetable/Corn Oil
*Extra Roasted Chestnut For Toppings

As you can see from the photo above, the texture of this steamed cake is rather more dense like steamed bun texture compared to the sweetcorn version. Perhaps it might be due to the type of flour(top flour) or the addition of matcha powder.

Method:-

1. Sift flour, matcha and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. At the same time, preheat a steamer/wok filled with water till boiling point.

2. Using a balloon whisk beat egg and sugar together till foamy and pale in colour before adding in oil and stir till combined.

3. Next divide the sifted flour into two batches, stir in alternately with water to form a smooth batter.

4. Toss in the roasted chestnuts pieces and gently stir through the mixture till combined..

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly into 4 prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

6. Place the cups in the steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 12 - 15 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns comes out clean.

Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)

Recently I was addicted to the "NEW" Mango and Matcha steamed cake from one of the well-known local bakery known as Fourleaves. I am not sure whether have you tired it but I love it's fragrant, soft and fluffy texture which I could eat either 2 or 3 during breakfast. In this post, I would share with you this Japanese Steamed Cake/Bun, also known as Mushipan(蒸しパン) which is one of the healthy breakfast or tea-cake that contains no butter or oil in the ingredients.

Thanks to my new overseas foodie friend, Nami from Just one Cook I managed to try out some of the steamed cake recipes from "Cookpad", a Japanese website that Nami gave me. And with some online translation tools I roughly figured out the ingredients and steps for making these lovely quick and easy tea-cake which you might be interested too.

These steamed buns are very simple and easy to prepare and you can even make it for breakfast in less than 30 minutes if you prefer those freshly steamed bun that is pipping hot, fluffy and soft. As you venture further down on the recipe you will notice that the batter mixes up in less than 5 minutes, after which you could spoon it into prepared cups, steamed and enjoy the fluffy steamed bun.

Ingredients: (makes 4)
100g Cake/Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
25g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, 60g
50ml Water
1/2 Cup Fresh/Frozen Sweetcorn Kernels
1 Tablespoon of Vegetable/Corn Oil, optional

Method:-

1. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. At the same time, preheat a steamer/wok filled with water till boiling point.

2. Using a balloon whisk beat egg and sugar together till foamy and pale in colour before adding in oil and stir till combined.

3. Next divide the sifted flour into two batches, stir in alternately with water to form a smooth batter.

4. Lastly stir in 2/3 of the sweetcorn kernels and reserve the rest as toppings.

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly into 4 prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

6. Place the cups in the steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 12 - 15 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns comes out clean.

For this first attempt, the texture of these "Mushipan" was still quite alright even though it is not as fluffy as those that I bought from the bakery. But I am sure practices make prefect and on making this  it also widen up my knowledge on another interesting Japanese tea snack that I have not notice before. To read up more on this Japanese "Mushipan", you could also head over to Nami's blog on another related post HERE.

SNACK PREVIEW

Japanese Steamed Matcha Bun with Chestnut

If you prefer Matcha and Roasted Chestnut more than Sweetcorn. Do stay tune for this upcoming recipe.

Steamed Egg Cake (Ji Dan Gao) and Red Bean Soup

Steamed Egg Cake or also known as Ji Dan Gao (雞蛋糕) is one of the tradition steamed cake, which is commonly used for praying purpose during festive occasion such as Chinese Lunar New Year. I still remember vividly when I was a child, I used to help my mum using those old fashion handheld egg eater to beat 8 or 10 eggs together with sugar. Although the process was tiring but I always look forwards to enjoy my favourite teacake after the praying. And to me that was the most delicious homemade cake compared to those fancy varieties that we have nowadays.

So when I read the steamed egg cake post on Ju's blog, my heart was filled with joy and I immediately shares the post with my mum where it brings back a lot of our Kampong days memories. During the chat she still mentioned we used to beat the cake batter manually using hand beater for at least 20 minutes and while beating she would get ready the steamer over the charcoal stove.

Although there are many ways of making this traditional cake such as using leavening agent like baking powder or fizzy drinks like cream soda or 7-Up. But no matter which is your preference I am sure it will still brings out the old time flavour. (Here I am a bit upset that my cake did not "Smile" (open up) at the end of steaming process)


(adapted from Ju, TheLittleTeochew HERE)
Ingredients: (make 7" round cake)
4 Large Egg
210g Caster Sugar
230g Cake Flour, sifted 2 - 3 times
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
120ml Cream Soda

Tip:-
~ For my mum's version she added 1 tablespoon of freshly pound pandan juice instead of vanilla essence to enhance the fragrance of this steamed egg cake.

Method:-

1. Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl till frothy, add in sugar in 3 - 4 batches to ensure it is well incorporated.

2. Add vanilla essence and continue beating until the batter becomes very pale, thick and creamy. Meanwhile, heat up wok, pot or steamer until you get a gentle boil. (Do make sure the pot/steamer is large enough to fit the cake tin and has ample space for the batter to rise and steam to circulate.)

3. Fold in the sifted flour in thirds, alternating with the soda and ending with flour.

4. Pour the cake mixture into prepared baking tin or bamboo steam that is lined with greaseproof paper.

5. Pop it into the pot/steamer, cover and steam on high heat for about 30 minutes or when skewer insert and comes out clean.

6. Once done, remove the cake from tin, place it on a rack and allow to cool before cutting.

Red Bean Soup (红豆汤) is one of the popular dessert served during Chinese New Year, wedding and etc and you can easily grab a bowl or two at any local dessert stall range from S$0.70 to $2.20 each depending on the stalls and location. We love both the red and green bean soup so I usually would rotate these two dessert in our menu at least once or twice a month.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)

200g Red Bean
1.8 Litres of Water
1/2 Pieces of Candied Tangerine
A few Pieces of Pandan Leave, tied into knots
Cane Sugar to Taste

Method:-

1. Rinse the red beans with in a large bowl, remove any dirt or spoilt beans. Drain and set aside.

2. Bring 1.8 Litre of water to boil in a medium saucepan (I used my small Endo, thermal magic cooker), add in red beans and when the water comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pot from stove and place it into the magic cooker, cover and let the bean continue to cook through using the heat from the pot.

4. After 30 minutes, remove the pot and simmer it on low heat for another 10 minutes together with the candied tangerine and pandan leaves.

5. When done, place the pot back into the magic cooker, cover and let it cook for another 20 minutes till the beans became soften.

6. Remove the pandan leave and add in cane sugar/caster sugar to taste while simmer the pot on stove over low heat.

*7. If using normal pot, just simmer the red bean together with pandan leaves and candied tangerine for about 30 - 40 minutes till the bean soften before adding sugar to taste.


The inner pot of this magic cooker can be used on any stoves as well as on induction cookers which then helps to save time, gas or electricity and at the same time achieve perfect cooking too.

Here we have a very simple old school types of afternoon tea snack such as homecook Red Bean Soup served with slices of freshly Steamed Egg Cake. Love the nutty flavour from the red bean soup that pairs well with hint of tangerine fragrance from candied tangerine. There is another way which I love to eat my steamed egg cake is to dip it slowly in either Coffee or Milo. So what's your favourite way of eating these lovely steamed egg cake?

Purple Sweet Potato Mantou - 紫番薯馒头

Mantou(馒头) often referred to as Chinese steamed bun or bread is a kind of traditional steamed bun origin from China. It is normally made with wheat flour, water and leavening agents that leaves it with soft and fluffy texture. But in modern days now, there are a lot of ready-made frozen mantou that comes in different varieties and flavours which you can purchase from the supermarkets.

But for us, we still prefer to make our own mantou using fresh ingredients and consume it straight from the steamer rack while it is still hot. We love the taste of the freshly homemade mantou where we could add in more ingredients such as pumpkin, dried fruits, sweet potato and etc to make it more tasty and vibrant in colour to enhance the taste and at the same time attracts kids’ attention too.

For this recipe, I am using some mashed Purple Sweet Potato to make this mantou which gives it a very lovely natural Pinkish-purple colour which you can see from the photos. Purple Sweet Potatoes are richly nutritious as they are fat-free and low in calories, high in fiber and great for people who are carbohydrate sensitive and most importantly it is loaded with antioxidants.

These are the dry ingredients and steps on how to make the mantou dough using mashed sweet potato:-

Ingredients: (make 8 3cm wide medium mantou)
120g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 1/2 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
140g Purple Sweet Potato, cooked & mashed
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1/2 Teaspoon of Dry Yeast
40ml Lukewarm Water
2 Tablespoon Roasted Black Sesame Seeds, optional


Here are the steps on rolling and dividing the sweet potato dough:-

Method:
1. Add dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir, set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared.
2. Sift plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl with the caster sugar till combined.
3. Next slowly add in yeast water into the flour mixture and stir using a metal spoon or clean hand and follow by the mashed sweet potato till it forms soft dough.
4. Add in oil and give the dough a quick knead till well combine or till dough does not stick to your hand.
5. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl, covered with cling wrap and let it proof for about 20 minutes till the dough became slightly bigger.
6. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for a few second, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape, sprinkle some black sesame seeds on it, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.
7. Repeat the process once or twice depends on your preference.
8. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portions and coat the top of each slice of mantou with some extra black sesame seeds.
9. Place each shaped mantou on the steamer rack with greaseproof paper below and rest for another 10 minutes.
10. Sprinkle some water on the mantou before placing the steamer rack into the pot of boiling water and steam them over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. (depending on the size of the mantou)
11. When done, removed and served hot/warm.

Note:

~ Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsius

~ Rinse and cut the sweet potato into chunks, steam it over medium heat till soft (about 10 - 15 minutes), removed from heat and mashed it into paste form while hot and set aside for later use.

Indeed homemade Mantou is something quite quick and easy if you could get the hand out of it. Moreover you could also mix and match with different ingredients according to your own preference and this can be consider as a healthy snacks for both the adults and kids too. Sometime I would also make a bigger portion and keep some of it in the freezer so that I could re-heat/re-steam them for a quick snack anytime we feel like having our favourite mantou.

Sweet Potato Mantou

During my recent trip to Taiwan, almost every morning we can find some freshly made Mantou in our breakfast menu. In Taiwan, most of their breakfast dishes are Mantou, Porridge with preserved vegetables like caixin, bamboo shoot, salted egg and etc. And other than Mantou, you can also find their famous Baked Golden Sweet Potato in some shops or street market.

So for last weekend, I decided to combine some orange flesh sweet potato with the Japanese sweet potato that can be easily found in any supermarket. This Mantou will give you two different textures, as I have shredded the orange flesh sweet potato as filling and combined the mashed Japanese Sweet Potato together with the flour ingredients.

Ingredients: (makes about 6)
125g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
20ml Lukewarm Water
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2.5 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
100 - 120g Japanese Sweet Potato, skin removed
50g Orange Flesh Sweet Potato, shredded
1/2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
20ml Water

Method:
1. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl together with the caster sugar till combined.
2. Remove the outer skin of the Japanese sweet potato, cut into small cubes (about 1cm) then rinse it with water and place in a microwave safe bowl together with 20ml of water and cook on High heat together with a cup of water for about 4 minutes. (Stop 1 minutes in between and give it a stir so that it will cook evenly)
3. Use a fork or food masher to mash the sweet potato cubes to form a paste, set aside for later use.
4. Add the dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir then set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared(refer to the picture above).
5. Next slowly stir in the yeast water into the flour mixture and using a pair of chopstick then follow by the mashed pumpkin till it form a soft dough.
6. Rub some oil on your hand then give the dough a quick knead till well combine.
7. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl and let it proof for about 20 - 30 minutes so that the dough will raise slightly bigger.
8. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for a few second, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape shown in the above photo, sprinkle some shredded orange flesh sweet potato on it, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.
9. Repeat the process once or twice till the shredded sweet potato finished.
10. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portion.
11. Place each shaped mantou on the steamer rack with greaseproof paper below it sprinkle the mantou with some water.
12. Place the steamer rack in the boiling water and steam the mantou over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. (depending on the size)
13. When done, removed and served hot/warm.

Note:
a) Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsius
b) If the sweet potato dough is too dry, you can add about extra 5 - 10ml of water to knead the dough.
c) You might need to cook the sweet potato for about 3 - 5 minutes more before it will be soften depend on the power of your microwave.


This is an interesting Mantou with dual sweet potato texture. So if you like sweet potato, do give this a try. I am sure you and your family will loves this healthy snack for a chance during tea-time or breakfast.

Wholemeal Pumpkin Mantou

This is a busy weekend for me as I suddenly have the urge to conquer a few recipes in my to-do-list. While waiting for my son to finish his Saturday enrichment class, I managed to stomp upon this Organic Wholemeal Flour from one of the local supermarket. It has a finer and right texture compare to another brand that I used to buy so I decided to get a packet to test out my new Steam Pumpkin Mantou recipe which I modify from the previous recipe that I made.

I modify the recipe a bit which made this rather simple and easy compare to previous one. And this Steam Mantou is full of texture when biting because of the use of the Wholemeal flour, Sesame seeds, Raisin and Wolfberries.

Ingredients:
230g Pumpkin, skin removed
250g Wholemeal Flour
1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
5 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Black Sesame Seeds
1 Tablespoon White Sesame Seeds
2 Tablespoons Wolfberries, cut into halves
2 Tablespoons Golden Raisin, chopped
20 - 40ml water
1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes, rinse it with water then place them into a microwave safe bowl and cook in Microwave High for about 5 - 6 minutes with a cup of water.(Stop 2 minutes in between to give a stir to the cubes to cook them evenly)
2. When the cubes became soft, mashed them using a fork and set side to cool to lukewarm temperature before adding to the flour to form a dough.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and yeast together then add in the sugar and stir till combine.
4. Next slowly add in the mashed pumpkin and stir using a pair of chopstick till combine, you might need to add some water in order to form a dough.
5. Moist your hand with some oil and give the dough a few knead to combine it then set it aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl to proof for about 20 - 30 minutes until double it size.
6. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 portions then on a lightly floured work surface, flatten each portion into a rectangular shape shown like that picture shown above, sprinkle some chopped wolfberries, golden raisin and sesame seeds then roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape then cut them into equal portion.
7. Place each shaped portion on a piece of greaseproof paper, top with some extra wolfberries and sesame seeds then arrange on the steamer rack and steam over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes depend on the size.
8. Repeat for the rest of the portion of dough and steam accordingly. (I made about 12 Mantou with the size of about 2.5" before steaming)

Notes:
a) You might need to cook the pumpkin for about 3 - 5 minutes more before it will be soften depend on the power of your microwave.
b) You can also replace the brown sugar with caster sugar instead.
c) This is best to serve within the same day, if not you can keep in the freezer for a few weeks, and reheat it before serving.

Steam Pumpkin Mantou - 金瓜馒头

Mantou(馒头) often referred to as "humbao" or Chinese steamed bun which is originating in China. It is made with wheat flour, water and leavening agents, they are similar in nutrition and eating qualities to the white bread of the West.

Recently, my mum has being into Mantou making with one of my son's kiddy's friend mummy. They will gather together at least once in a week to experiment with their Mantou making. So after tasting their delicious homemade Mantou, I am also interested in joining the fun of making it. For mine, I added some extra wolfberries to enhance the taste as well as a the texture.

Ingredients: (makes about 10)
250g Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
40ml Lukewarm Water
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
5 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
200g Pumpkin, skin removed
2 Tablespoon Wolfberries, cut into halves
1/2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl, then stir in the caster sugar till combined.
2. Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin, cut into small cubes then rinse it with water and place in a microwave safe bowl and cook on High heat together with a cup of water for about 5 minutes. (Stop 2 minutes in between and give it a stir so that it will cook evenly)
3. Use a fork or food masher to mash the pumpkin cubes into paste form then set aside for later use.
4. Add the dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir then set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared(refer to the picutre above).
5. Next slowly add in the yeast water into the flour mixture and sitr using a pair of chopstick, then follow by the mashed pumpkin and stir till they form a soft dough.
6. Rub some oil on your hand then give the dough a quick knead till well combine.
7. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl and let it proof for about 20 - 30 minutes until it double in size.
8. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 portions then on a lightly floured work surface, flatten each portion into a rectangular shape shown like that picture below, sprinkle some chopped wolfberries then roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape then cut them into equal portion.
9. Place each shaped portion on a piece of greaseproof paper, top with some extra wolfberries, then arrange on the steamer rack and steam over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes depend on the size.
10. Repeat for the rest of the portion of dough and steam accordingly. ( I made about 10 Mantou with the size of about 3" before steaming)

Note:
a) Lukewarm is about 40 degree Celsius
b) The pumpkin dough will be very stick when handling, so do not worry. You can wet your hand some oil before handling the dough for easy kneading.
c) You might need to cook the pumpkin for about 3 - 5 minutes more before it will be soften depend on the power of your microwave.

This is my homemade Steam Pumpkin & Wolfberries Mantou which is freshly out from the steamer. It really taste great and different for a chance in the usual Pandan or Plain Mantou that is sold in the supermarket.

Assorted Sweet Potato Huat Kueh

Get to know this delicious "Huat Kueh" from my boss wife Veron. When I first taste it, I knew that I am going to do a batch of this. The texture is so moist and soft which is very different from those traditional huat kueh that we used to eat. Even if it is left in room temperature for a day or in the fridge it still taste soft and moist. This huat kueh doesn't required any yeast or baking powder and yet, but it can yet achieve the soft and fluffy texture.


For my version, I added assorted Sweet Potato instead of one type. I love vibrant colours for my food and since I am able to find 3 different types of sweet potato at the stall, I might as well give it a try. As you know the purple sweet potato had a very nice colour and it's rather kind of saltish taste which balance off the sweetness of the huat kueh and the orange sweet potato.

I also add in the yellowish Japanese Sweet Potato which is fragrant and great in texture. Besides starch, sweet potatoes are RICH in dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. Despite the name "sweet", it is actually a good food for diabetics, as preliminary studies on animals have revealed that it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and to lower insulin resistance. For those who loves sweet potatoes you might want to give this recipe a try. It's very easy, just mix, stir, pour and steam.

Ingredients: (make about 7 - 9 cups 100ml size disposal cups)
250g Self Raising Flour
250ml Coconut Milk
1 Medium/Large Egg
1 Big Pieces Of Gula Malaka(Palm Sugar)
50 ml water
3-4 Small Sweet Potato(about 300g)

Methods:
1. Wash and steam the sweet potatoes until soft, peel off the skin and use a fork or finger to roughly break into pieces then set aside to cool.
2. While steaming the sweet potato, place the 50ml of water and gula malaka(if possible break it into pieces so that it will melt easily) in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until the gula malaka is completely dissolved into sugar syrup.
3. Set aside for it to cool before using.
4. Pour the self-raising flour into a big mixing bowl, then make a well in the center and pour in the coconut milk and use a balloon whisk to whisk a few times before adding in the egg.
5. Kept on whisk until the egg is incorporate into the batter then pour in the gula malaka syrup and whisk well.
6. The mixture will be sort of like a pancake batter, lastly add in the sweet potato pieces(reserve some for the topping) and use a spatula to stir till combined.
7. Spoon the mixture into a aluminium cup(100ml) then top with some extra sweet potatoes and steam over medium/high(depending on the steamer that you use, I steam mine over medium heat on stove) heat for about 20 minutes.

Notes:
a) You must wait for the water to BOIL 1st before placing the cup mixtures into the steam, and do not open the cover of the steam in between the steaming time or else the Huat Kueh will not have the "Open Mouth" effect.
b) You can find fresh coconut milk in 250ml packet from most of the supermarket at the noodles/doufu sections.
c) You can use either one type of sweet potato or assorted depend on your preference.
d) The weight of the Gula Malaka is about 150g - 200g depending on the size that you purchased.(if is possible, strained the liquid after boiling to remove any big particulars or lumps in it)