JENCOOKS - PUMPKIN CAKE

30 Jan 2009

PUMPKIN CAKE

The receipe was taken out of Sunday Times food article and tried and tested at home. I have always love Sunday's Life section on food where you have two to three full pages on good receipes, recommedations by Wong Ah Yoke, Huang Lijie and the rest of the columnist who brings you much cheer reading on a restful sunday. It's armchair culinary adventure and what's new to try out.


I decided on the pumpkin cake receipe and indeed the recommendation was good and not difficult to try it yourself, trust me. I too am a novice in preparing such delicacy and with the step-by-step guide, my first attempt was indeed fruitful. Had I not dug into the old photo today, I would have also forgotten this dish as the photos are kept in the heaps that I have taken.

Here's the receipe taken from Straits Times, however I have missed cutting out the article and have not noted the contributor to acknowledged her contribution. Thanks for sharing your home flavour; it was very tasty and best of all, home-made with fresh ingredients.


Ingredients
300g pork belly
1.25litre water
600g rice flour
2 tbs corn flour
250ml oil
15 shallots, thinly sliced
50g dried prawns
15 dried mushrooms, soaked till soft and thinly sliced
1 tbs soya sauce
600g pumpkin, skin removed and thinly sliced
2 tbs salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
3 tsp roasted white sesame seeds

Method
1 Scald the pot belly in the pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and drain.
When coool, slice into thin strips and set aside.
2 To a mixing bowl, add rice flour, corn flour and 750ml water. Stir well until a smooth mixture forms. Set aside

Rice Flour, Corn Flour, 750ml water

3 To a heated wok, add oil and fry the shallots over medium fire until it turns lightly golden.
Drain and set aside the shallots. Keep the shallots oil.

Shallots
4 Using half the shallot oil, stir fry the dried prawns for one minute before adding the mushrooms, pork belling and half tbs of soya sauce. Fry the mixture for 5 minutes before setting aside.

dried prawns

mushrooms

pork belly (here I use lean pork)

5 Use the remaining shallot oil to stir-fry the pumpkin for 5 minutes before adding 1/2 tbs of soya sauce, salt and pepper.

6 Cover the wok and continue cooking the pumpkin over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add 500ml of water gradually to the pumpkin as it cooks. Stir occasionally and as the pumpkin softens, use a spatula to break it up into smaller pieces.

7 Mashed the cooked pumpkin with spatula until a semi-smooth consistency forms. If you prefer a smoother or coarser texture, adjust accordingly.

8 Add the flour mixture to the mashed pumpkin. Mix well.

9 Stir in most of the dried prawns, mushrooms and pork belly over the surface, taking care to gently press the toppings down onto the mixture.

10 Steam the cake for one hour until it is firm and cooked through.

11 Garnish the pumpkin cake with Spring Onions, Chopped Chillis & Fried Shallots &
Sesame Seeds

Cool it and ready to cut a slice to eat your own cake.

PUMPKIN CAKE

- BEST MADE YOURSELF WITH CHOCKFUL OF INGREDIENTS