Matcha panna cotta

Am trying to use up my matcha and this is the final dessert that I will be doing with matcha this time around. Am using gelatine sheets for the first time and I must say that it's easier to use than powder. With powder, there are always lumps but not so with gelatine sheets. Matcha however was a pain to use and without a chasen to whisk the matcha, it was a real pain to ensure no lumps while also ensuring that everything is blended into the water. Somehow a whisk just doesn't work as well, even though I've used my trusty tiny sauce whisk.

Interesting tit bit from JOC is that 2 sheets roughly equals 5g of powder and used to soft set 1 cup or 250ml of liquid.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/cherry-blossom-milk-pudding/

However from other sources, I know that cream and milk need more gelatine powder to set it. As such, my recipe is adapted from these 3 recipes below based on my preferences and the volume of my ramekins but the basic method and ingredients remain the same.

https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2014/05/matcha-green-tea-panna-cotta.html
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-panna-cotta/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-pudding/

Ingredients (makes 4 ramekins)
2 tbsp matcha powder
300 ml of milk
300 ml of cream
50g (1/4C) + 2 tbsp sugar
4 gelatine sheets
2 tbsp hot water
4 tbsp anko (3 tbsp - 40g)

Method
1) Sift the green tea powder. Prepare the ramekins by spraying non-stick spray on the sides.
2) Cut gelatine sheets into smaller strips. Soak gelatine strips in cold water for 5 to 7 mins (instructions from the packet). Fish out of the water and squeeze out additional water. Put into the 2 tbsp of hot water and stir until dissolved.
3) In a pot, bring the milk and cream to just under a boil. You should see small bubbles forming at the side of the pot. Do not boil.
4) Remove from the heat and add the sugar and stir until melted.
5) Add the dissolved gelatine and whisk until incorporated.
6) Make the matcha paste. Add 5 tbsp of the warm liquid to the match and blend until a paste forms.
7) Place the paste into a sieve and using a spoon or spatula, slowly blend the paste into the milk-cream mixture. Whisk to ensure that everything is incorporated.

8) Optional: transfer to a pouring jug to facilitate pouring. Otherwise, pour into the ramekins. Cover with cling film and leave to set in the fridge for 4 hours or best, overnight.
9) Unmould with a plastic knife if desired. Serve with a tbsp of anko each.

Matcha swiss roll with tsubuan anko filling

After doing extensive research on swiss rolls and the different methods, I settled on a recipe that was matcha with red bean filling and which most matched my pan size, so there would be very little adjustments.

I settled on CWD and used some of the tips from other recipes. I like this recipe because it's very easy to remember.
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-roll-cake/

Ingredients
4 eggs, separated when out of the fridge and left to come to room temp
40g sugar
40g cake flour
1 tbsp matcha powder

Filling
120 ml heavy cream (full cream)
1 tbsp sugar (I omitted this as the anko is already very sweet)
120g anko (I used tinned anko because I read from Kitchen Tigress that the tinned version uses Hokkaido beans which is far more fragrant than beans from China. Saves me work, why not? I didn't bother draining the beans unlike her though.)
80g sweetened beans (substitute with fresh fruit; I omitted this)
Powdered sugar to dust

Method
1) Line the tin on the bottom and sides. My tin ie 24.5*34.5 cm.
2) Sift the flour and matcha twice. Sift onto a parchment paper (which you can save for later when you invert the cake)
3) Clean a bowl and the beaters with vinegar. Separate the eggs.
4) Using the beaters, beat the egg white until foamy. Add ⅓ of the sugar. Beat on medium until incorporated and add the next ⅓ of the sugar. Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks.
5) Using the same unwashed beaters, in another bowl where the yolks are, add the remaining sugar and beat until pale and foamy. Remember to beat the yolks after the whites otherwise the whites will not rise.
6) Add the flour and matcha mixture to the yolk in two batches and use a whisk to fold in until all the flour is wet.
7) Add the meringue in 2 batches. The first batch will loosen up the batter so you don't have to be too careful but be more careful and use the whisk to fold in the second batch. Pour the batter into the bowl with the remaining meringue. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the batter so as not to break the foam.
8) Pour into the prepared tin. Use a scraper to spread the batter to the sides and corners and create a nice flat surface. Drop the pan on the table top several times to knock out big air bubbles.
9) Bake at 170 deg C for 25 mins. Produces a 2cm tall cake.
10) Remove from the oven and drop pan on the table top to prevent shrinkage. Invert the cake onto a parchment (from the sifted flours) and gently peel off the back. I decided that the bottom looked nicer than my crust so inverted it back again.

The crust or top of my cake. Not very flat because I didn't use a spatula to flatten!

Cover with another parchment and the pan to let cool. Some bloggers cooled on a wire rack but it didn't really make a difference to me.

11) While cooling, make the filling. Whip the double cream to stiff peaks and fold in the anko. Leave in the fridge while waiting for the cake to cool.
12) Once the cake is cool enough to handle, at one short edge, cut diagonally 45 degrees to make a nice seam. I didn't wait until the cake was completely cool, just cool enough not to melt the cream.
13) Spread the anko cream but leave 1cm from the diagonally cut edge as when you roll, the cream gets pushed to the ends.

The bottom of the cake becomes the outside. Pockmarked face because my pan has a braille-like raised surface supposedly for airflow!

14) Using the parchment to help, roll from the uncut short edge. Place the roll seam side down. Transfer to a clean parchment and use a spatula or ruler or knife to tuck the parchment tightly into the roll. Cover with the parchment and a plastic film. Leave in the fridge to cool from between 3 hours to 3 days. (Tigress recommends 3 days so that the cream's moisture melds with the cake)

Recipe feedback
- Initially once cool, the cake seemed very dry since there is no oil and matcha-based pastries always seem to be dense and dry. It wasn't very spongey too, maybe because I over-beat the egg whites until they became watery and 'crumbly'. Also, perhaps 25 minutes baking time was too long. I will have to re-attempt this another time.
- Cak wasn't too sweet. Excluding the sugar in the cream helped because the anko is very sweet.
- Cake is 2 cm tall.
- After leaving to chill in the fridge overnight, it really seemed much less dry as the moisture from the cream had permeated into the cake.
- Updated: Cake was eaten on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th day. It was moistest on the second day, so-so on Day 3 but by Day 4, it had dried out. As such, not a good idea to follow Kitchen Tigress's advice to keep to Day 3 because my pastries last more than a day in my house, so I'll be eating very dry cake from Day 4 onwards.

Swiss roll comparisons

I have finally bought a pan. Unfortunately in Aust, I can only find a slice pan and not a jelly roll pan which is the correct pan. The slice pan is 24.5*34.5, which is the largest slice pan I can find but a jelly roll pan is typically 25*35. I didn't think 0.5cm on each side would make too much of a difference as long as the heigh of the pan is tall enough. My slice pan is 2.5cm tall, am hoping this would be sufficient for the additional volume.

Bearing the volume of the cakes in mind, here are the recipes that I've short listed.

1) JOC Matcha (has video)
https://www.justonecookbook.com/matcha-swiss-roll/
- Genoise (whole eggs, less common method - moist texture) vs biscuit (aka chiffon method, most common - fluffier texture)
- Matcha cream filling
- 4 eggs in 38 by 25 cm jelly roll pan
- Hand whisk egg yolks.
- Sift flour 3 times.
- 190 deg C for 12-13 mins
- Don't over-bake or too dry and cracks during rolling
- Remove paper from bottom when hot. Cover with parchment and flip so that curst is inside.
- Roll when hot in parchment for 'muscle memory'. Cover in towel. Re-roll when cold but I noticed the cake stuck to the parchment.

2) Not quite Nigella
http://www.notquitenigella.com/2015/03/17/matcha-swiss-roll/
- Mascapone filling
- 4 egg whites, 2 egg yolks in a swiss roll tin (no dimensions given)
- Modified genoise method. Beat in whites to soft peaks then beat in yolks one at a time. Fold in sifted flour.
- 200 deg C for 10 mins.
- While hot, inverted onto parchment that has powdered sugar sifted on it. Remove parchment from the bottom and roll up before leaving to cool i.e. crust is on the outside. No wonder she had to sift so much matcha over the sugar to cover it!

3) Christines
https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/06/green-tea-matcha-swiss-roll.html?m=1
- Cream filling
- 6 egg whites, 9 yolks in 31.5*23 cm baking tray (altho she recommends 2 trays so that it's thinner and easier to roll)
- Lots of oil; 2 types of oil; plain and corn flour unlike everyone else who uses cake flour; hot water instead of milk as some recipes use
- 220 deg C for 10 to 15 mins
- Cool cake before removing parchment. After removing parchment, scores the cake so it's easier to roll. Spread on the cream and roll. Crust is outside.

4) CWD Matcha (has video) - Tested here
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-roll-cake/
- Red bean filling
- 4 eggs in 26 by 36cm pan
- Uses beater to beat egg whites then same unwashed beater to beat egg yolks till pale and fluffy and doubled in volume.
- Sifts flour 3 times.
- 170 deg C for 25 mins
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage once out of oven. Place on a flat surface to cool and cover to prevent drying out
- Uses Kraft paper which is supposed to be easier to remove. Remove paper from bottom after just a few minutes of cooling.
- Flip again so the crust is on the inside to spread on cream. Roll when cool.
- Use ruler on to tuck the paper under the roll to tighten it

5) Rasa Malaysia Matcha
https://rasamalaysia.com/matcha-roll-green-tea-swiss-roll/2/
- Red bean filling
- 3 eggs in 10 (25.4cm) by 12" (30.48) pan
- Uses a beater.
- Fold melted butter in last (like madeleines?)
- 230 deg C for 10 mins
- Cool 10 minutes before removing the parchment. Roll while warm.

6) Kitchen Tigress Matcha (has video)
https://kitchentigress.blogspot.com/2015/02/matcha-green-tea-azuki-red-bean-roll.html
- Red bean filling; different brands of Hokkaido red bean paste superior to China red bean
- 3 eggs, oil
- 80g egg white (?) in 12 (30.48cm) by 9" (22.86cm) pan
- Uses beater to beat yolks.
- 170 deg C for 20 mins
- Shield top of pan. Has pan of water on lower shelf
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage
- Cool on rack. Remove paper when cool. Roll when cool.
- Skinless bottom is outside of cake and crust is the inside of the cake.

7) Ochikeron Matcha (has video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzugYxNMD4Y
- Real strawberry filling
- Modified genoise method. Beat eggs whole.
- 3 eggs in 9 inch square brownie pan
- Uses beater throughout, even to beat in the flour.
- 180 deg C for 12 mins
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage
- Roll when cool.
- Use paper to tuck the roll in

8) Bake for Happy Kids Real strawberry filling (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2017/10/strawberry-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- Real strawberry filling. Standard and easiest to roll.
- 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (140g egg white, 60g yolk)
- Hand whisk yolks
- 180 deg C for 15 mins
- Better to slightly over-bake than under-bake.
- Cool on rack. Remove parchment after 5 mins cooling only.
- Outside of cake is crust.
- Roll when cool.

9) BHK Strawberry jam (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2018/07/Asian-basic-strawberry-jam-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- Thin cake and spreadable filling but harder to roll
- about 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (175g egg white, 75g yolk)
- skinless bottom is outside of cake
- 180 deg C for 15-16 mins. Do not overbake or its too dry and hard to roll.
- Skinless outside of cake. Crust is inside.
- Remove cake to wire rack to cool for 5 mins. Remove parchment from bottom.
- Roll when cool

10) BHK Coffee (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2018/06/cottony-soft-coffee-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- cake is 20% more volume than real strawberry filling. Hardest to roll
- Extra thick fluffy cake with cream filling
- about 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (175g egg white, 75g yolk)
- 180 deg C for 17 mins. Don't over bake or it cracks when rolling. Underbaking means the skin is not dry and hard to handle.

- Remove to rack to cool for 5 mins then remove parchment.

- Choose whichever side to be the outside, either crust or skinless bottom.

11) Kitchen 101 Pandan swiss roll (has video)
https://mykitchen101en.com/pandan-swiss-roll-cake/
- 3 eggs in 10*14" (25 by 36cm) pan
- After beating whites, beats yolks on low speed.
- 190 deg C for 18 to 20 mins.
- Has pan of water on lower shelf.
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage.
- Transfer cake to wire rack to cool. Remove paper when cool.
- Roll when cool. Make shallow cuts in the cake to help with the rolling.
- Crust is outside

12) Woks of life Vanilla
https://thewoksoflife.com/2015/02/chinese-swiss-roll/
- uses heavy cream but no oil
- Sift flours twice
- 3 eggs in 13*9" (33.02*22.86cm) pan
- Hand whisk yolks
- 350 deg F (or 175 deg C) for 15 mins in middle rack
- Roll when cool
- Use rolling pin to help roll

13) Garnish and glaze - Western pink velvet
https://www.garnishandglaze.com/pink-velvet-swiss-roll/
- cream cheese filling
- 4 eggs in a 15*10*1" (38*25.4*2.54cm) pan
- Modified genoise method. Beat whole eggs, buttermilk, vinegar before beating in dry ingredients
- buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, only plain flour, baking powder
- 175 deg C (or 160 for dark pan) for 12 - 15 mins
- Invert while hot onto a tea towel. Remove parchment and roll up cake to cool on a wire rack.
- Crust is on the outside.

Gula melaka tau suan

This was the original recipe but this recipe comes from Domestic Goddess Wanna whom I rely heavily on for chiffons. Her chiffons have never failed and neither did this recipe. The beauty of the recipe is not needing to steam the beans beforehand. Also made the beans a lot less broken up after boiling!

http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2016/04/tao-suan-with-you-tiao-豆爽油条-split-mung-soup-with-chinese-cruller/

My ingredients are double of hers and of course, the addition of gula melaka.

Ingredients 
500g mung beans, washed
6 tbsp sugar + 2 tbsp sugar
½ block gula melaka, chopped
3 litres water
3 knotted pandan leaves
4 heaped tbsp tapioca starch
6 tbsp water or more to make into a slurry

Method
1) Wash the mung bean and soak in water for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up, drain.
2) In a non-stick pan, fry the mung bean to dry up the water. Add the 6 tbsp of sugar. Fry until caramelised and the beans will turn a darker colour.
3) In a separate pot, boil the water with pandan leaves for 10 minutes.
4) Add the beans to the water and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes until it reaches your desired level of doneness. I like it still whole but with a few burst beans.
5) Switch off the fire. Create the slurry and dribble it in, stirring the bean mixture vigorously so that huge lumps of starch don't form. Once it's reached your desired consistency, stop adding the slurry.
6) Serve immediately with crullers.

Crunchy matcha madeleines

This recipe is slightly different in terms of method than the previous choc chip madeleines which was adapted from the Roti&Rice guest post in JOC. The previous recipe did not have milk and beat the eggs and sugar, i.e. creaming the eggs and sugar like you would a cake. This recipe is based on the JOC's matcha madeleine recipe. This recipe has milk and weirdly, the dry (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) are mixed together while the wet (egg and milk) are beaten together. The two are then combined like a muffin, without too much mixing. I doubt the addition of matcha powder should make much of a difference. The effect in this recipe is less fluffy than even the previous. I've noted down the instructions here for the original matcha recipe but in future, I will use the method recommended for the R&R guest post and also what I used for my earl grey madeleine recipe which also had milk and used Sally's Baking Addiction's method.

Ingredients (makes 20 or 24)
113g butter, melted and brought to room temp + 2 tbsp melted butter for coating (28g)
⅔ C sugar (133g; can be reduced to 130g)
1 C flour (120g)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp matcha powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp milk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp

Method
1. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and matcha. Add the salt and sugar and use a whisk to combine.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg and milk until light and fluffy.
3. Mix the dry and the wet but mix until just blended. Do not over-beat.
4. Add half the melted butter and blend and then add the remainder. Do not over-blend.
5. Cover and allow to chill for up to an hour. (The JOC recipe recommends 3 hours but I only did 2 hr and it was already a bad idea. As Sally explained, the butter congealed and make the batter really stick and hard to work with.)
6. Brush each mould with the melted butter. Using a tbsp measure, measure out ¾ tbsp of the batter for each mould (it should fill ⅔ full) to make 24, or 1 tbsp of batter to make 20 maddys.
7. Bake at 190 deg C for 11 to 13 mins until the top springs back.
8. Allow to cool in the pan for 3 mins before releasing using a fork and onto a wire rack to cool. Serve immediately while hot. Consume within 24 hours optimally but keep in an air tight box.

Recipe feedback
This recipe made adjustments like the muffin-like mixing and chilling for 3 hours. This also uses a lot higher temp for the same duration of time, yet it didn't come out dry. The result was that the madeleine wasn't very fluffy and hardly had the signature bumps! However, it was very moist yet the outside was crispy. Matcha can cause the cake to become very dry and I wonder if that was the point of using the muffin method. In future, I may attempt the same muffin method but perhaps chill for only 1 hr as Sally recommended.

Chocolate chip madeleines

Tried a different recipe this time with more egg (i.e. fat) and no milk. The texture is totally different, more spongey cake-like compared to kueh bulu texture. This is also denser as there is more flour.

Source: https://www.justonecookbook.com/lavender-madeleines-guest-post-by-roti-n-rice/

Ingredients (makes 24)
1½  cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped choc chips
4 large eggs - room temp
⅔ cup (124g) sugar
2 tsp vanilla
8 tbsp butter, melted (130g) - bring to room temp
2 tbsp melted butter (28g) for brushing the pan

Signature hump

Method
1) Sift flour, salt, and baking power together. Set aside.
2) Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
3) Add flour and fold.
4) Add melted butter a little at a time and fold in.
5) Chop up the choc chips and fold in ¾ of the chips. Leave the rest for topping.
6) Cover and leave in the fridge to chill for 30 to 60 mins.
7) Brush the moulds with melted butter.
8) Fill each mould with a heaped tbsp of batter.
9) Bake at 190 deg C for 11 to 13 mins (it took me 15 mins because of the chips) until the top springs back when touched.
10) Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove using a fork and let them cool on a wire rack.

Recipe feedback
Interestingly, same amount of sugar as the previous recipe but yet it doesn't taste overly sweet, even after adding in the choc chips.

Earl grey madeleines

After the last post on comparisons, I decided to try JOCs but adapted with Sally because it used normal flour but proportionately the least amount of flour and egg, and replaced with milk. It also did not use a mixer, which is good for me. Although I have a hand beater, I don't relish the washing up. I followed Sally's recipe and tips and decided to use only ½ tsp of baking powder as she did for 18 madeleines. That didn't produce the signature hump and next time I need to double the amount as I did with all the other ingredients since I have 24 madeleines. The pastry is also sweeter than I'm used to but the sugar was important for making it crispy. So the recipe below has been adjusted for  ingredient proportions and also doubled for next time because I have 2 pans (with 12 moulds each).

Sources:
1) Proportions: https://www.justonecookbook.com/cherry-blossom-madeleines/
2) Tips: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2018/01/17/madeleines/ 

Ingredients (makes 20 to 24)
114g (8 tbsp) melted butter, room temp
⅔ cup (124g) sugar
1 cup (120g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp earl gray leaves, crushed
1 tbsp milk, room temp
2 eggs, room temp
2 tbsp (28g) melted butter (for brushing the tin moulds)

Method
1) Bring out the eggs and milk and let them come to room temp. Melt the butter and allow to cool down to room temp. 
2) Combine the sugar and egg and whisk until pale and fluffy.
3) Sieve the flour and baking powder. Sift into the egg mixture and fold carefully to avoid knocking out the air. I used the whisk to fold the flour in. 
4) Add in the ground earl gray tea and fold in.
5) Add the milk and carefully blend.
6) Add in half of the melted butter and blend, and continue adding slowly and blending carefully.
7) Cover with cling film and put in the fridge to rest for between 30 to 60 minutes. No longer than 60 minutes otherwise the melted butter will harden.
8) While waiting for it to chill, preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Brush the moulds with plenty of melted butter. Dusting with a sifting of flour is not necessary as it can get claggy.
9) Fill each mould about ⅔ full, with 1 level tbsp of batter (using the measuring spoon) to get 20 maddys, or fill ¾ tbsp to get 24 maddys. No need to smoothen out the top as it will spread out and flatten, instead, try to create a peak.
10) Bake at 177 deg C (no higher as it can burn on the outside but leave the inside raw). Baking time is 13 minutes, although watch carefully in the last 2 minutes or it can burn.
11) Use a fork to release each and leave to cool on a cooking rack. Alternatively, invert the entire madeleine tin over the cooling rack.
12) Leave to cool slightly for 3 minutes and eat immediately while the edges are still crispy. It looses its crispiness after 10 minutes (!). Best eaten with 24 hours. Store the cooled remainder in an airtight box at room temp for up to 4 days.

Recipe feedback
This recipe was a bit on the sweet side, I could probably reduce up to 20g of sugar and get away with it. I couldn't taste the tea because it hadn't been 'activated'. Not sure what I can do about this next time, it would be hard to boil tea in 1 tbsp of milk.

On day 2, the texture of madeleines reminded me of kueh bulu. That's the best description of this recipe, slightly biscuity and yet cakey. Can't really call it sponge, at most saviordi biscuits?

Madeleine recipe comparison

So excited. Finally bought a madeleine pan (2 actually) after thinking and thinking. These are cheap, heavy guage gold color but only $8 each. Probably not great quality but compared with the $22 for carbon steel ones, these probably aren't worse off. Here are 3 recipe comparisons. The technique is similar, uses melted butter and chills the batter. The difference is whether the pan is dusted with flour or not.

1. Christine's - lemon zest (she says that they're also called Palmiers but I don't think they're the same?)
https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2013/05/madeleines-recipe.html
- uses cake flour and baking powder
- uses mixer
- chill for an hour
- fill each mould ¾ full
- bake 180 deg C, 9 minutes in upper third of oven

2. JOC - Cherry blossom
https://www.justonecookbook.com/cherry-blossom-madeleines/
- based on Julia Child's recipe
- uses normal flour, baking powder, and milk
- hand whisk
- chill batter for an hour or overnight
- pour 1 tbsp of batter using measuring spoon
- recommends metal pans
- dust mould with flour
- bake 190 deg C for 11 - 13 mins
- Adjusted recipe tested here: http://simmetra.blogspot.com/2018/08/earl-grey-madeleines.html

4. Roti and rice
https://www.justonecookbook.com/lavender-madeleines-guest-post-by-roti-n-rice/
- Same as above but no milk
- chill 30 mins
- uses mixer
- Bake 190 deg C for 12-12 mins till springs back
- Adjusted recipe tested here: http://simmetra.blogspot.com/2018/09/chocolate-chip-madeleines.html

3. Sally's Baking Addiction
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2018/01/17/madeleines/
- normal flour with baking powder
- uses mixer
- chill 30 to 60 mins only
- brushing pan with melted butter makes it most crispy compared to non-stick spray or oil + dusting with flour (claggy)
- 1 heaping tbsp using basic spoon
- max temp 177 deg C or it burns but leaves inside uncooked, for 12 mins

Tau suan

The difficulty with this recipe is getting the proportions right. After much experimentation, the ratio that works for me is: 1 rice cup of mung bean, 3 to 3.5 cups of water (depending on the beans, some 'drink' up more water), 3 heaped tablespoons of tapioca starch.

Ingredients
3 pandan leaves, knotted
1 cup of mung bean, washed and drained
3.5 cups of water
3 tbsp of tapioca starch
about 6 tbsp of water (enough to make a slurry)
2.5 cups of sugar (to taste)

Method
1) In the steaming water, add the knotted pandan leaves.
2) Steam the mung beans for 5 to 6 minutes. Note that the water should be clean (ie no mung bean - I made the mistake of using the same water that I washed the mung bean in!) otherwise it will overflow when it comes to the boil.
3) Remove the steaming basket and add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Continue boiling until the fragrance of the pandan comes out (about 10 minutes in total).
4) Add back the mung bean and cook till desired softness.
5) Turn off the heat and make the slurry. Drizzle in and stir the constantly until the desired thickness.

6) Serve with crueller.

Eaten the way it should, with 油条

Mung bean with gula melaka: https://simmetra.blogspot.com/2018/10/gula-melaka-tau-suan.html

IP Ayam pongteh (chicken in bean sauce)

This is a nonya dish but I know nonyas will probably object at its lack of authenticity. Never mind because it tastes fantastic! The fact that my IP could cook frozen chicken was even more fantastic!

Original recipe here: http://mykitchen101en.com/nyonya-chicken-pongteh-bean-paste-potatoes-chicken-stew/

I hardly adapted other than not deep frying the potatoes and replacing the palm sugar with sweet potato which gives it a natural sweetness and added sweetness when it melts into the sauce.

Ingredients
1 kg chicken pieces (I used thigh fillet which I cubed)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
8 dried shitake (rehydrated and save the soaking water)
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsbp chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp bean paste (mashed tau cheo)
3 garlic cloves, whole but smashed
1 small onion or a few shallots, sliced
1 bay leaf

Method
1) In the Instant Pot, press the saute function. Pour oil and let it warm up. Saute the the onions until translucent. Add the tau cheo and stir fry until fragrant. Add the garlic and stir fry briefly.
2) Add the potatoes and stir fry. Add the chicken pieces and briefly stir fry.
3) Add the cooking wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot.
4) Add the remaining ingredients including the mushroom soaking water. Top up with water if necessary, it should at least submerge the chicken halfway.
5) Clamp on the lid and set the Poultry function to 10 minutes. (If using frozen chicken, increase the time to 20 minutes. The chicken also has to be mostly submerged or will not cook properly). After it beeps, wait around 5 to 10 minutes and allow it to naturally release.
6) If desired, remove the chicken and use the Saute function to reduce the sauce.
7) Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes: This recipe can also be served with belly pork.
http://themeatmen.sg/babi-pongteh/