Friday, November 26, 2010

Steamed Pumpkin Cake "金瓜糕"

It's Thanksgiving today! Well at least at the other side of the globe it still is. :) I can already imagine all my friends back in California gathering together for this wonderful holiday and feasting on all the delicious food. I do miss the nice warm feeling of this festive day, it reminds us how we should be thankful of what we have and cherish it wholeheartedly. I remember distinctively during Thanksgiving dinners, everyone at the dinner table will take turn to say thanks before we dive in to the feast in front of us. As boring as it is, I would always say the same old thing year after year, that is I am thankful for my husband and kids. But the truth is that is what I am really thankful for, lol! Have you given it a thought too, what are you thankful for?

I wanted to post something in regards to Thanksgiving, but after much pondering, I decided to just make with something that is in the season, pumpkin! No, not pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread. I made Steamed Pumpkin Kueh, "金瓜糕"...the Chinese way, lol!

Perhaps, just perhaps the Chinese will serve this during our version of Thanksgiving dinner, lol! And considering the nice golden pumpkin color in the kueh, it looks auspicious. ;)) Not only that, it taste really good too! If you are not a pumpkin person, no worries, there is actually little to no trace of pumpkin scent in it.

Recipe Adapted from "Delightful Snacks & Dim Sum' by Agnes Chang

Ingredients for Steamed Pumpkin Cake (makes 22cm square pan)
4tbsp oil

6 pips garlic, chopped
6 shallots, chopped
60g dried prawns, soaked and chopped
2 pairs Chinese sausages, diced
200g minced meat (I used pork), 6 tbsp oil
600g pumpkin flesh, uncooked and shredded
1 tbsp chicken stock granules (I added 1.5 tbsp)

Batter
300g rice flour
60g tapioca flour
1000ml (4 cups) water
1 tsp salt (I added 1.5 tsp)
1 tbsp sugar ( I added this since I like a hint of sweet)
1/2 tsp pepper
Method:

  • Heat up oil, saute chopped garlic and shallots until fragrant. Add dried prawns and stir-fry until fragrant. Add Chinese sausages, minced meat and stir well till cooked.
  • Mix in the pumpkin, chicken stock granules, batter and stir until thick. Taste and adjust as required.
  • Dish the batter into 22cm (9") square tray and steam for 45 minutes with high heat until cooked. Remove and leave to cool before cutting into pieces.
  • It can also be pan fried with a little oil until golden brown on both sides before serving.

I pan fried the remaining half the next day and it was delicious! I love the crispy outside and the creamy, flavorful inside! The Chinese sausages gave some extra texture and taste, love it! In fact I am going to make this again over the weekend because my kids loved it very much and has been asking for it again. :)

Shall keep this post a short one today. Hope you guys will give this recipe a try, it's yummy! Lastly, wishing everyone out there a very Happy Thanksgiving! And remember to snatch up more stuff during the Black Friday sale!! Have a super weekend all!!

20 comments:

Meg Johnston said...

Wow, not what I was expecting when I saw the title, but that sounds really good!

E. said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Right now for me it's already Friday. I'm still up, but I should sleep soon. Btw, I was looking at your previous bread recipes and I really want to make a loaf of bread. I was wondering though, how much does a pullman loaf tin cost for you? Over in the US it's costs 25 dollars or all the way up to 60 dollars. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TO3CN8/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A2FP3WC79CXYXU I found this one on Amazon, do you think I should buy it? Thank you!

My Little Space said...

I like the pan fried pumpkin cake too.... with some sweet soy sauce & some chilies for dipping! Yumm...
Hope you're enjoying your day.
Cheers, Kristy

ReeseKitchen said...

Oh I was thinking should I give this a try, cause I'm not a fan of pumpkin. Then you've mentioned that this not much of a pumpkin scent, so I guess this shouldn't be a problem..heehee! Thanks for the recipe..:)

ann low said...

Thanks BeeBee for sharing this delicious recipe. I love pumpkin cake and this looks so pretty :)

lena said...

the fried ones look good too..does this taste like radish cake since you mentioned not much of the pumpkin taste?

j3ss kitch3n said...

beautiful color! i heart this!! can i join you for tea bee?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Meg! I know, normally people would associate 'cake' with some sweet desert, lol! This is a savory dish though. Do try it, if you get the chance. :))

Hi Esther,
Thanks! As for the Pullman loaf tin, I say go for it!! I actually got mine from Malaysia during my stay there. However I find the quality not so good. In fact I was looking at this exact Pullman loaf tin from amazon too and pondering if I should get it since I will be back to CA this Xmas, lol! But again, I can go a little crazy over buying baking stuff...but if you don't own a loaf pan, this would be an excellent one to have. Happy baking with it!

Hi Kristy! Hahaha, I am so like you when comes to eating these savory kueh! Gotta have those sweet sauce and chili, yum yum!!! You have a super weekend too!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Reese, you gotta try this pumpkin kueh, it's yummy! Especially if you like yam or carrot cake, it'll suit your taste. I am going to make it again next week then I can eat it with the chili sauce you bought for me, yippeee!!!

Thanks Ann for dropping by again with your lovely encouragement! You have a good weekend....and enjoy the lemon ice cream cake!!! *salivate*

Lena, you are right, it does not have that strong pumpkin taste. It is not exactly like radish... But similar... You get the idea. Hope u will try this out. :))

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Sure sure J3ss! What time you coming??

Angie's Recipes said...

My mom names nangua as jingua too. :-)) Maybe I shall save some pumpkin puree for the Chinese New Year...so instead of a carrot cake, I can try this recipe. Looks really good, esp. after being pan-fried!

Passionate About Baking said...

Ooh, this looks good! It looked very similar to the one my mum made! Yummy!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Wow, you pumpkin cake looks choc a bloc with 'liao' ! I can imagine how satisfying this is.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Oh you should Angie! I think it would be nice to serve this during CNY. :)

Thanks Jane.

Shirley, you know I actual reduced the amount of pumpkin and mince pork in the recipe while making it, lol!

Pei-Lin said...

Nice! I guess it's the Chinese way of celebrating Thanksgiving with steamed pumpkin kuih! Seriously, I think you're VERY generous with the filling! LOL!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This is very nice, I like the fried version, best to dip with sweet chili sauce.

Anonymous said...

Hi Honey bees

Ur steamed pumpkim cake under batter, u have stated as follows:

1 tsp (I added 1.5 tsp)

What is this 1 tsp about, was it salt or what ingredients u were trying to state?

Rgds
Priscilla Poh
Singapore

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Priscilla,
Sorry about my slow respond. Yes, thanks for highlighting that. It is salt. Hope it works out for you. Happy cooking!

Tammy said...

I like the look of your pumpkin cake. Will try this weekend. Can I confirm with you that the 6 tablespoon of oil (listed after the minced meat)is to be added into the batter?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Yes Tammy, that's correct, 6 Tbsp.