Kabocha Korokke (Japanese Pumpkin Croquettes)

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OK, so strictly speaking I can't call this recipe kabocha korroke as I didn't actually have any of those beautiful deep green Kabocha squashes (or Japanese pumpkins) on hand. Instead, I massacred poor Count Pumpkula instead- our Halloween pumpkin vampire which no longer had a purpose in life beyond October 31st.

The late Count Pumpkula, serving us well in life and in death. Or is that undeath?

The Kabocha squash you're meant to be using for this recipe

Kabocha squashes have an exceptional intense sweetness like a cross between sweet potato and butternut squash, so a few adjustments were necessary to get the far more watery, inferiorly flavoured regular pumpkin to taste the same. If you have a proper Kabocha on hand, the sieving step won't be necessary as it won't be that wet, and you can omit the sugar and flour in the mash.

Kabocha Korokke (Japanese Pumpkin Croquettes)

Makes about 10 small pieces

Cut half a small Kabocha pumpkin into small chunks- leave the skin on so you get pretty green bits in your croquettes. Boil for about 20 mins in salted water (or some people use chicken broth) until tender and cooked. Drain thoroughly, then mash and set aside to cool.

If using regular pumpkin instead of Kabocha, drain it again

once mashed by pressing through a fine sieve.

Finely chop half a small onion and fry for a few minutes in a bit of oil or butter over medium heat until translucent. Stir it into the mashed pumpkin along with:

2 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tsp salt

A generous dash of white pepper

1 tbsp flour (if using normal pumpkin)

1 tbsp sugar (if using normal pumpkin)

Place 1 cup flour, 1 extra large whisked egg and 1 ½ cups panko

(Japanese breadcrumbs) in 3 separate bowls.

Panko- lighter, flakier and crisper than normal breadcrumbs,

commonly found in Asian shops

Shape the pumpkin mash into croquette patties with two large spoons.

Dip each pattie in flour...

...then in egg...

...then in panko breadcrumbs.

Deep fry a few croquettes at a time until brown and crisp, turning several times with a pair of long wooden chopsticks. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Let cool for a few minutes so you don't burn your tongue. Drizzle with a bit of fruity tonkatsu sauce if desired, then crunch away!

Spiral Curry Puffs (Epok-Epok/Karipap Pusing)

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Crispy and golden on the outside with a spicy savoury potato filling, this scrumptious Malaysian snack is sort of a cross between a samosa and an empanada and is usually found sold freshly fried at roadside stalls. Some versions don't bother with the spiral crust, but I can assure you it adds a delectable flaky crunch that completely elevates this traditional teatime treat to another level.

The recipe below is easy though a little tedious with the multiple steps, but creates a pastry that stays crispy even when the puffs have cooled down. Form them as large or small as required- they also freeze well, so make ahead of time and fry straight from frozen when needed.

Spiral Curry Puffs (Epok-Epok/Karipap Pusing)

Makes about 30 small puffs

Firstly, The Two Doughs You Need For Spiralling

• Water dough

Combine and knead with your fingers until soft, pliable and non-sticky (or if you prefer, use a dough hook attachment on an electric mixer like I did, then finish off by hand):

300g flour

½ tsp salt

½ cup lukewarm water

1 small beaten egg

1 tbsp of oil

Divide and roll into two equal balls, then cover (otherwise it will dry out) and leave to rest for 30 mins.

• Grease dough

Knead 75g softened butter into 150g flour until shiny and smooth (I used to do the shortcrust pastry thing by cutting in cold butter cubes, but I've discovered room temperature butter actually works much better!). Divide and roll into two equal balls.

Water dough on the left, grease dough on the right

Next, The Potato Curry Filling

Finely chop and saute over medium heat until fragrant:

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves
2 dried chillies, soaked (omit if you don't want it spicy)

Add:

2 tbsp good curry powder (I like Baba's)

2-3 large potatoes, cut into small cubes

Salt and sugar to taste

About 1 cup water
Optional: a sprinkling of curry leaves if you have it

Simmer, stirring occasionally until all moisture is absorbed and potatoes are tender. Leave to cool thoroughly before using.

Assembling the Curry Puffs: A Step-by-Step Picture Guide

Enclose one ball of grease dough neatly in a ball of water dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out into a very thin oval with a rolling pin,
then roll up tightly from one end to the other like a Swiss roll.

Turn the rolled up tube 90 degrees (so one end faces you) and repeat the previous step- flatten it thinly again lengthwise into a long oval , then roll up tightly like a Swiss roll.

With a sharp knife, slice into 1cm discs (or thicker if making larger puffs).

The spiral layers should be clearly visible.

Flatten each disc into a thin circle with a rolling pin (as thin as

you can get it without the layers splitting apart).

Place the rolled out pastry onto a curry puff mould (or use your palm if you don't have one).
Fill with just enough potato curry in the middle- not too much or it will burst!

Fold the mould over carefully to enclose, peeling off any excess pastry from the sides.

If you prefer to crimp manually, pinch the edges flat and fold in at

a 45 degree angle to form a rope as pictured.

The assembled curry puffs- one manually crimped, one made with a mould behind it

Deep fry in hot oil over medium-high heat, tossing continuously until golden brown.

Remove with a pair of wooden chopsticks or a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil

and drain on kitchen towels before serving.

Enjoy!

Smoked Fish Cakes with Spring Onion and Chive

Sometimes mushing together a bunch of leftover ingredients that urgently need using up yields the most delicious result :)

These hearty flavour-packed patties are formed from a combination of potatoes that had started to quite seriously sprout, some gradually withering spring onions left from a previous recipe experiment, the last few lonely capers swimming around in a jar of vinegar and a lemon that had been waiting so long for its turn it had started to look a bit sulky. Throw in some smoked fish bought off a supermarket reduced rack, a good dash of seasoning and an egg to bind it all and voila- a warm and satisfying meal perfect for spring.

Adapt as needed to make it a starter or main, and serve alongside tartare sauce or salsa.

Smoked Fish Cakes with Spring Onion and Chive

Makes about 12 fishcakes

500g potatoes (2 large)- Cut into chunks and boil in salted water for about 15 mins until tender. Drain thoroughly until as dry as possible, then mash and set aside.

400g boneless smoked fish fillets (I used smoked cobbler which happened to be on discount, but any smoked fish works fine)- place in a deep frying pan with about 1 cup milk (or use water if you don't want to waste milk) and poach over low heat about 5 mins until the fish flakes easily. Lift the fish pieces out and break into chunks with a fork.

Combine the flaked fish and potatoes well in a large bowl with:

1 egg, beaten

A handful of fresh chives, chopped finely

A few spring onions, chopped

1 heaped tbsp capers, chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Good squeeze of lemon juice (I used about 1/4 of a lemon)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour about 3 tbsp plain flour onto a plate (or use breadcrumbs if preferred, or some people dip in flour then in egg then in breadcrumbs to create a thicker crust). Drop a tablespoon of the fishcake batter into the flour and press it lightly to form a round pattie. Use two tablespoons to flip and dust it until lightly coated on both sides. Shake of excess flour and place fishcake onto a tray/plate. Repeat until all mix is used up.

At this point, the fishcakes can be frozen for future use if desired.

To cook, heat some olive oil in a large heavy frying pan and fry several fish cakes at a time over medium heat, about 5 mins on each side flipping midway until golden brown. If cooking from frozen, don't bother defrosting- just

fry straight from the freezer for 10 mins each side.

Serve straightaway with a lemon wedge and tartare sauce or salsa. Dig in heartily with a fork!

Fresh Popiah (Spring Rolls)

I present to you, one of my Mum's favourite foods since childhood. :)

The word popiah translates literally to mean "thin biscuit" in the Chinese dialects of Hokkien and Teochew, a reference to the soft thin wheat skins used to wrap up spring rolls. Mum has high standards for what constitutes a good popiah, so much so that she has a tendency to compare every version she eats (especially the thinness/quality of the skin) to the one she thinks is superior in her hometown of Ipoh. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere where you can get fresh handmade wraps then grr, good for you- here in London, not daring to hazard making skins of my own (which involves the rather messy and difficult art of rolling a sticky ball of dough on a hot pan then pulling it off to let the residue cook- watch it at http://bit.ly/2hVKrk) I had to resort to using frozen (shock! horror!) spring roll wraps bought from an Asian supermarket. If like me you are in a similar predicament, defrost them at about 45 mins at room temperature, separate each sheet once soft then keep under a damp tea towel to prevent them drying out.

Most people in the West are familiar with the crunchy fried spring roll often served as a starter in restaurants, but are unaware that an equally (if not more) delicious un-fried, more substantially-filled variety of it exists. Dressed in a touch of sweet Hoisin sauce and chilli oil, the healthy and flavourful popiah is loaded with everything nutritious from grated jicama/yam bean (also known as Mexican turnip, sengkuang, mengkuang or bangkuang depending on who you ask), carrots, beans and lettuce to tofu, beansprouts and cucumber, then topped with shredded omelette, crispy fried shallots and crunchy crushed peanuts before being bundled up to create a tidy little package bursting with yumminess.

Not quite the Ipoh version Mum, but it does the job :)

Fresh Popiah (Spring Rolls)

Makes 4-6 rolls

Prep all filling ingredients beforehand and lay out so your popiah can be assembled easily.

Jicama Filling:

Mince and saute 1 clove garlic and 1 shallot/half an onion in a bit of oil over low heat, without browning.

Stir in and let cook for 5 mins:

500g jicama/yam bean, peeled and grated

1 small carrot, grated

Handful green beans, chopped into bits

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Dash of white pepper

Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins until cooked. The jicama will produce a lot of water- be sure to squeeze it dry before using in the popiah.

Prepare the shredded omelette: Scramble 2 eggs with a touch of light soy sauce and white pepper in a bowl, then fry in a bit of oil in a large frying pan for a few minutes on each side. Let cool slightly before slicing into thin strips.

Prepare the peanut sugar: Chuck a handful of roasted peanuts with a teaspoon of sugar in a food processor. Blitz until it forms coarse grains.

Rinse and dry some fresh lettuce leaves.

You will also need some hoisin sauce (I recommend Koon Chun or Lee Kum Kee), Sriracha chilli sauce or chilli oil, and crispy fried shallots/onions, all of which can be bought in Asian supermarkets.

Other fillings you can also use if desired: cooked firm beancurd, blanched beansprouts, grated cucumber or seafood/meat such as pork, cooked shrimp, crab and sliced lap cheong (Chinese pork sausage).

The frozen spring roll sheets I use (found in the freezer section of Asian supermarkets)

To Assemble

Carefully peel off one popiah sheet from the stack and place on a large plate.

Spread 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce and 1/2 tsp Sriracha or chilli oil in a thin layer over the entire sheet.

Place 1 lettuce leaf in the centre of the sheet.

Spoon over 2-3 tbsp of the prepared jicama filling, squeezing off excess liquid before doing so.

Top with shredded omelette.

Sprinkle generously with peanut sugar.

Sprinkle generously with fried shallots.

Fold one end of the wrap over tightly to enclose the fillings.

Fold in the edges.

Flip the wrap over to seal.

Slice firmly all the way through with a sharp knife (easiest on a flat chopping board and using
a non-serrated blade) into 4-5 pieces. Garnish with fried shallots and serve immediately.