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.