Soon Kueh

Yeah! Time for more kueh. So here's the deal, I had a bunch of spring onions left over from making jambalaya the other day (because I kind of forgot to garnish the jambalaya :P oops!) But that's okay, because that gave me plenty of onions to make Soon Kueh! I was craving some savory kueh for lunch today and it worked out perfectly, so I was glad. Anyways... here's the recipe

Soon Kueh (yield 8 pcs)

Dough Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup rice flour

- 1/4 cup tapioca flour

- 1/4 cup wheat starch

- 1 tsp salt

- 150mL water

- 2 tsp oil

- Filling (recipe follows)

Dough Method:

1. Mix together all the flour and salt.

2. Remove 1/4 cup of the mixture and set aside.

3. Place remaining flour in a small saucepan and add the liquid, stirring continuously to prevent clumping. Cook over medium heat until the dough begins to firm up (approx 2mins).

4. Remove dough from heat and dump the dough onto a generously floured (tapioca) surface.

5. Add the 2 tsp oil to the dough and add the reserved flour mixture from step 2.

6. Knead dough for 5mins, until it is no longer sticky and forms a nice ball. Add more flour if necessary.

7. Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Shape the dough portions into circles and roll out into an oval shape. Add 1 1/2 tbsp filling to the center of dough piece, fold over and seal shut.

8. Steam for 10mins, or until the dough is cooked and "transparent". Serve hot with chilli and soy sauce.

Filling Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 tbsp garlic, minced

- 1 cup frozen cooked shrimp, defrosted (if large, chop them into small pieces)

- 7 stalks of spring onions

- 1/8 cup cilantro, chopped

- 1/4 cup beef, uncooked and minced, marinated in soy sauce for at least 30mins

- salt + pepper, to taste

- 2 tbsp chopped chilies (optional)

- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce

Filling Method:

1. Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant.

2. Add in the spring onions, continue frying for 1 min. Add in the beef and continue to fry until beef is no longer pink. Add in the shrimp and cilantro, continue frying for 3mins.

3. Remove filling from heat, add salt + pepper, chilies, hoisin sauce and mix well. Use to fill your soon kueh.

These were surprisingly good. Hehehe... yeah, I didn't know whether the kueh would turn out nice and soft or hard and chewy, but the end result was somewhere in between the two. The meal was nice and small and just what I was looking for, and now I'm off to my philosophy summer course... wish me luck!