December 12, 2007

Bright and HappY shaDes of Yellow!

My return home has been shaping up pretty well the past couple of days. I’ve been having fun exploring more of the local scene; being impressed by the progress of many familiar things from the past. The supermarkets are bigger; cleaner; more convenient and stocked with a huge range of imported ingredients to suit home-chefs of various exotic cultures! From Korean kimchi; Japanese soba to couscous, polenta and all those beautiful Australian brie and haloumi cheeses! I’m in love with the new look the supermarkets have put on within the past year. 6 months ago I remember whining so much about not being able to source ingredients in Malaysian grocery stores… I guess I won’t be having any more problems from that department!

I’ve been busy going back to the tourist-y spots around my hometown (Ipoh) and it’s been lots of fun rediscovering the many forgotten moments of my childhood. When yucky school canteen food was a godsend and fun meant hours playing with recyclable materials in arts and craft. Many things about me has changed since then; but a few things still makes me the little Malaysian kid I am inside.

Being in Australia for 4 years has widened my horizons and allowed me to absorb different cultures and habits other than my own. As a child; a fried fruit snack in Malaysia meant deep fried bananas, sweet potatoes or cempedak! I was very amused to discover pineapple slices were deep fried as a snack in the land down under! Aussies love their pineapple slices! In salads; sandwiches, burgers, deep fried, grilled on the side… the list goes on. I must admit; the pineapple is an ingenious idea to add a touch of happy~summery feel to any boring dish with its fruity flavoured tang and wonderful bright yellow shades!

I was lucky enough to score a cute little ripe pineapple at the fruit stores the other day; and the lady mentioned it was real sweet! And we all know….Sweet=dessert! YAY!I deep fried my pineapple slices; added a luscious scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of thick indulgent golden syrup…. *sigh* I was in deep fried fruit heaven… *laughs*


1 small pineapple peeled and sliced into 1cm slices
1 cup self raising flour

2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp rough sugar (I flavoured my sugar with some dried star anise by storing them together in a jar for about a day)

¼ cup ice cold water
1 medium sized egg
2 cups frying oil
Vanilla ice cream and golden syrup to serve!

Mix self raising flour with cold water, egg and nutmeg. Beat to incorporate well. Dip pineapple slices onto sugar on both sides on a flat plate and then into thick batter. Coat well and drop into wok heated with hot oil. Oil must be hot enough before dropping in the pineapple slices.

**optional: Leave out the coarse sugar coating if you’re having the fried pineapple with golden syrup.

10 comments:

SL Chan said...

I'm glad that Malaysian supermarkets are now being very ethnic and global. I'll be moving back to Malaysia in 2008 (same situation as you, Uni is over time to go home!). And I LOVE cooking and I was afraid of certain ingredients not being available.

Curious, what supermarket are you referring to?

Par said...

That is a nice cute pineapple!

Graeme said...

You get Lyle's Syrup there? That's awesome. Can you get a hold of their black treacle too?

Great post.

Sarah said...

Mmm... Cempedak!!! I could really go some goreng pisang right now, lol.


The pineapple looks great; good to hear you`re having a good time at home!

xox Sarah

suzie wuzie said...

yum! i can't wait for my trip back to singapore and malaysia to try all those yummy food! my mouth is watering

Cutie said...

Yeah, Malaysia supermarket changed a lot. But things are getting more expensive here as well. Anyway, is so nice to be in Ipoh, they have the best dim sum there. I wanted to go there but no chance. Should drive up to Ipoh one there. Hehe...

Hazel said...

you look wonderful! i must learn baking from you..when i success i will also put in my blog...

13luckyravens said...

This golden syrup, what is that? I am in the USA and we don't have that. Is it like honey?

Anonymous said...

Hi, stumbled on your blog while looking for cakes...wow, u are talented in baking! all the best!!-LH

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

suling: hi there~ you wont be having issues ;) tesco and cold storage are excellent! hehe

ilovepearly: thanks :) i loved it cause it was so tiny

graeme: i've been missing ur comments :( LOL black treacle is less common here.. but i bet i could find it if i was desperate; malaysia is pretty updated with english products

sarah: thanks darling; it's always a pleasure to hear from you

suzie: I've had my share of great feasts! I wish i had a deflated stomach is tored in my purse for extra plates of rice and noodles! HAha...gluttony..a sin..

cutie: I've had a couple sessions of morning dim sum in Ipoh; wasnt disspaointed! standardss are still awesome!

hazel: how did it turn out? yummY? :P LOL

luckyravens: it's sticky; erm..doesnt taste like honey; tastes like a thick syrup; like caramel; but clear. I'm sure u can find some from stores which have british products for sale.

lh: thanks! nice to hear from you...glad you like what you see~ ;)