Chinese New Year goodies Archives ⋆ Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby https://www.budgetpantry.com/tag/chinese-new-year-goodies/ Wed, 03 Feb 2016 05:27:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.7 CNY Bakes: Cranberry Cornflake Cookies https://www.budgetpantry.com/cornflake-cookies/ https://www.budgetpantry.com/cornflake-cookies/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2016 05:22:18 +0000 https://budgetpantry.com/?p=6906 Are you one of the lucky ones whose mom or grandma get into baking a frenzy every Chinese New Year? I’m officially jealous! Although my aunt is a superb cook, I’ve never seen her bake in my life. The only time she uses the oven is when she wants to roast a chicken or when she wants to toast bread.. but she now toasts bread in my airfryer and doesn’t roast chickens anymore.. so hmmm. My mom is a super baker but she’s not very hardworking, so I’ve never learnt to make pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, green pea cookies or love letters. BUT! COOKIES! Cookies are easy enough to bake, so this year, I decided to make Cranberry Cornflake Cookies for Chinese New Year. My new year’s resolution is to learn allllll the recipes for CNY goodies, so that my future daughter (or son) can live their childhood in the kitchen the way I never did. Remember to let the cookies cool before storing or eating! The cornflakes will be a little chewy right out of the oven but they will regain their crispiness once cooled. Be patient! For variation, add white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of cornflakes. I was itching to make a white chocolate cranberry version (very Christmasy!) but finally settled on cornflakes cos it is Chinese New Year. Enjoy the snacking and watch the waist line! Note: This cookie recipe calls for icing and caster sugar as it needs them to dissolve quickly in the relatively short baking time. Don’t substitute with regular or fine sugar for best results. SCS butter, extra fine icing sugar, eggs, flour and cornflakes sponsored by PurelyFresh. Remember to get your baking goodies from there this CNY! Cranberry Cornflake Cookies Makes approximately 45 cookies Total cost: $5.67 What I used: 125g butter, left at room temperature 50g icing sugar 50g extra fine caster sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten 150g top flour (you can use plain flour) 20g corn flour 80g dried cranberries 50g cornflakes and more to coat/ roll cookie in Half teaspoon vanilla essence Half teaspoon salt Steps: 1. Preheat oven to 140 degrees celsius. 2. Empty cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crush coarsely. Set aside for later use. 3. Cut cranberries into smaller pieces with a pair of scissors. Set aside for later use. 4. In a large mixing bowl, add cubed butter, icing sugar, caster sugar and beat til pale and creamy. I simply used a wooden spoon but please use your electric whisk or beater if you can. 5. Slowly add half the egg and stir til combined before adding the other half. Add the vanilla essence. 6. Add sifted top flour, corn flour and salt and mix well to combine. You should get a doughy paste like so: 7. Stir in the cranberries and 50g crushed cornflakes. So pretty! (remember to add the crushed cornflakes too! I forgot the picture!) 8. Take a small ball of cookie dough and roll it haphazardly (haha!) in a separate portion of crushed cornflakes.  9. Line your cookie sheet with baking paper and bake or 20 minutes or til lightly browned. How much I spent: $1.90 for cranberries (I bought a 500g pack for $12) $2 for butter (I used half a block of SCS butter) $0.42 for flour $1.10 for cornflakes $0.25 for egg Everything else from my pantry

The post CNY Bakes: Cranberry Cornflake Cookies appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

]]> Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies

Are you one of the lucky ones whose mom or grandma get into baking a frenzy every Chinese New Year?

I’m officially jealous! Although my aunt is a superb cook, I’ve never seen her bake in my life. The only time she uses the oven is when she wants to roast a chicken or when she wants to toast bread.. but she now toasts bread in my airfryer and doesn’t roast chickens anymore.. so hmmm. My mom is a super baker but she’s not very hardworking, so I’ve never learnt to make pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, green pea cookies or love letters.

BUT! COOKIES! Cookies are easy enough to bake, so this year, I decided to make Cranberry Cornflake Cookies for Chinese New Year. My new year’s resolution is to learn allllll the recipes for CNY goodies, so that my future daughter (or son) can live their childhood in the kitchen the way I never did.

IMG_5012
Remember to let the cookies cool before storing or eating! The cornflakes will be a little chewy right out of the oven but they will regain their crispiness once cooled. Be patient! For variation, add white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of cornflakes. I was itching to make a white chocolate cranberry version (very Christmasy!) but finally settled on cornflakes cos it is Chinese New Year. Enjoy the snacking and watch the waist line!

Note: This cookie recipe calls for icing and caster sugar as it needs them to dissolve quickly in the relatively short baking time. Don’t substitute with regular or fine sugar for best results. SCS butter, extra fine icing sugar, eggs, flour and cornflakes sponsored by PurelyFresh. Remember to get your baking goodies from there this CNY!

Cranberry Cornflake Cookies
Makes approximately 45 cookies
Total cost: $5.67

What I used:
125g butter, left at room temperature
50g icing sugar
50g extra fine caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
150g top flour (you can use plain flour)
20g corn flour
80g dried cranberries
50g cornflakes and more to coat/ roll cookie in
Half teaspoon vanilla essence
Half teaspoon salt

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 140 degrees celsius.
2. Empty cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crush coarsely. Set aside for later use.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies1
3. Cut cranberries into smaller pieces with a pair of scissors. Set aside for later use.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies2
4. In a large mixing bowl, add cubed butter, icing sugar, caster sugar and beat til pale and creamy. I simply used a wooden spoon but please use your electric whisk or beater if you can.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies3

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies5

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies6
5. Slowly add half the egg and stir til combined before adding the other half. Add the vanilla essence.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies7
6. Add sifted top flour, corn flour and salt and mix well to combine.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies8

You should get a doughy paste like so:

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies9
7. Stir in the cranberries and 50g crushed cornflakes. So pretty! (remember to add the crushed cornflakes too! I forgot the picture!)

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies10
8. Take a small ball of cookie dough and roll it haphazardly (haha!) in a separate portion of crushed cornflakes. 

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies11

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies12
9. Line your cookie sheet with baking paper and bake or 20 minutes or til lightly browned.

Jan 19- Cranberry Cornflake Cookies13

How much I spent:
$1.90 for cranberries (I bought a 500g pack for $12)
$2 for butter (I used half a block of SCS butter)
$0.42 for flour
$1.10 for cornflakes
$0.25 for egg
Everything else from my pantry

The post CNY Bakes: Cranberry Cornflake Cookies appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

]]> https://www.budgetpantry.com/cornflake-cookies/feed/ 4 Chinese New Year Cookies: Hougang Nonya Kueh :) https://www.budgetpantry.com/cny-cookies-hougang-nonya-kueh/ https://www.budgetpantry.com/cny-cookies-hougang-nonya-kueh/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2015 04:34:12 +0000 https://budgetpantry.com/?p=4372 Disclaimer: Not a sponsored advertorial. I’m writing this because I love Hougang Nonya Kueh’s yummy bakes, the people behind them, their 30-year tradition and the passion they have in continuing their family business! One of my friends offered me a pineapple tart on Wednesday, and after popping one in my mouth, I demanded that she show me the box! The box was nothing fancy.. just a regular old-school plastic container with red lid (no printing of shop name, even!), but the pineapple tart was something else. The pastry was buttery and crumbly and the pineapple paste was neither too sweet nor too tart. It is one of the best pineapple tarts I have eaten.. and boy do I love pineapple tarts! I later got to know that the tarts (actually ‘rolls’, as they have another type of pineapple tart which is open-faced) are from Hougang Nonya Kueh, a local family business that has been around for over 30 years. I have to be honest and say that as a ‘Westerner’ (I am a Clementi kid who now live in Bukit Batok, hang out in Jurong, and work in Boon Lay), I have never heard of them before. What have I been missing out! Hougang folks must surely know about them! And again I am convinced that all good things happen in Hougang ;) A little bit of history on Hougang Nonya Kueh….. Hougang Nonya Kueh is actually quite a well-known name in Singapore, having been featured in the papers and by MediaCorp recently in 2014. They used to be located in this industrial factory in Ang Mo Kio before the government decided to relocate them. They moved to Hougang Ave 8 Blk 678 which their retail shop still stands now. In 2009, they set up Full House Confectionery to cater to the online crowd. Full House Confectionery serves mainly baby full month packages, mini buffet catering and wedding ‘Guo Da Li’ customers. Watch the interview with MediaCorp below to know more about them! Now into their 3rd generation, the young bosses still make it a point to go hands-on and bake and pack their items on the very morning before sale or delivery. All their food items do not contain any preservatives so they make them on the day itself. Stephanie shares with me that their day starts at 2-3 am in the morning and their working hours can end at 5-6 pm. It is at least 16 hours of work every day, and during peak season, sometimes they have to be on the ground 24 hours a day. Now this is what I call dedication! And on a sidenote, Stephanie also answers emails really quick, like she is on standby to provide the best customer service and answer your questions. She makes me wonder if she is superwoman in disguise?! And now, I know you want to know more about their bakes. Let me highlight the nine popular types of Chinese New Year goodies they are selling in their store (p/s- Read til the end of the post to get a 2-for-1 promo!): 1. Pineapple Rolls, $16.80 These melt-in-the-mouth pineapple rolls are made small so that you can pop the whole thing into your mouth and savour and fine, buttery goodness together with the pineapple filling. They make their pineapple paste by cooking fresh pineapple from scratch, never using premix. Very soft and almost ethereal! This was what blew me away! 2.Pineapple Tarts, $15.80 These are almost the same as the pineapple rolls, but less melty. The pastry is made from pure SCS butter. That explains the buttery fragrance and crumbly texture. 3. Cashew Nut Cookies, $15.80 You know the old-school cashew cookie with a cashew nut (or half a cashew nut?!) pressed on top? I love those! Stephanie says that the traditional cookies are made a little different this year. The cashew nuts are crushed and mixed into the batter before shaping. The result: crispier cookies with a whole new look. Quite yummy! 4. Melting Almond cookies, $16.80 As the name implies, these almond cookies melt in your mouth.. I can testify! Many, many, MANY of them have melted in my mouth! LOL! The almond nuts are imported from the US to make these little cookies. 5. Peanut Cookies, $15.80 Quite simply, these cookies never go out of date. Old-fashioned, just perfect for the oldie-at-heart that I am. 6. Green Pea Cookies, $15.80 If you’re don’t have a sweet tooth, you’ll love these savoury treats which are just a little salty. I was contemplating making these myself this year but now I don’t have to! These are very good! 7. Kueh Bangkit, $16.80 Kueh Bangkit is 88’s favourite! I didn’t know that for the best melt-in-your-mouth experience, it is recommended that you eat them about two days after baking (as Stephanie puts it, let them ‘出油’ to taste nicer!). 88 is hoarding this bottle. I don’t know if I can lay my hands on them. 8. Spicy Shrimp Rolls, $16.80 The spicy shrimp is fried with a secret chilli recipe. Their version does not have a lot of chilli oil which will turn bad after a while and also make the whole roll look messy. Now this is Ah-mm’s favourite. She says the chilli is just right. When I passed her some to try, she was busy snacking on Bee Cheng Hiang’s! She compared the two and said, ‘Eh, 不错咧！好吃咧!’ Then she put the Bee Cheng Hiang bottle away. What! 9. Chicken Floss Samosa, $16.80 This is a hit with young children and one of their top selling products. They get the chicken floss from Bee Cheng Hiang and then improvise on them. ——————- Err. Breakfast. And now for the promo! From now til 15 February, Hougang Nonya Kueh has a tie-up with Groupon to offer $15.80 for 2 jars of pineapple tarts, plus more options to choose from. $15.80 for TWO JARS!! They even do free delivery with a minimum order of 8 jars. For once, you can trust that this isn’t some dodgy redemption from Groupon. I have tasted these cookies and have personally come into contact with Stephanie (eh by the way she says she read my website before leh, I am so stoked. LOL!). They won’t do anything to jeopardise a 30-year-old business. Click here for the deal and email sales@full-house.com.sg if you have any questions! This is one of the happiest blog posts I have written. I hope you support Hougang Nonya Kueh because they have really put in a lot of hard work and sweat these 30+ years. And as Singaporeans, if we don’t preserve our heritage, no one else can do it for us. Thank you Stephanie and family for your passion in carrying on the business! Hougang Nonya Kueh Blk 678 Hougang Ave 8 #01-517 Singapore 530678 Website: http://www.full-house.com.sg

The post Chinese New Year Cookies: Hougang Nonya Kueh :) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

]]> image1

Disclaimer: Not a sponsored advertorial. I’m writing this because I love Hougang Nonya Kueh’s yummy bakes, the people behind them, their 30-year tradition and the passion they have in continuing their family business!

One of my friends offered me a pineapple tart on Wednesday, and after popping one in my mouth, I demanded that she show me the box! The box was nothing fancy.. just a regular old-school plastic container with red lid (no printing of shop name, even!), but the pineapple tart was something else.

The pastry was buttery and crumbly and the pineapple paste was neither too sweet nor too tart. It is one of the best pineapple tarts I have eaten.. and boy do I love pineapple tarts! I later got to know that the tarts (actually ‘rolls’, as they have another type of pineapple tart which is open-faced) are from Hougang Nonya Kueh, a local family business that has been around for over 30 years. I have to be honest and say that as a ‘Westerner’ (I am a Clementi kid who now live in Bukit Batok, hang out in Jurong, and work in Boon Lay), I have never heard of them before. What have I been missing out! Hougang folks must surely know about them! And again I am convinced that all good things happen in Hougang ;)

A little bit of history on Hougang Nonya Kueh…..

Hougang Nonya Kueh is actually quite a well-known name in Singapore, having been featured in the papers and by MediaCorp recently in 2014. They used to be located in this industrial factory in Ang Mo Kio before the government decided to relocate them. They moved to Hougang Ave 8 Blk 678 which their retail shop still stands now. In 2009, they set up Full House Confectionery to cater to the online crowd. Full House Confectionery serves mainly baby full month packages, mini buffet catering and wedding ‘Guo Da Li’ customers. Watch the interview with MediaCorp below to know more about them!

Now into their 3rd generation, the young bosses still make it a point to go hands-on and bake and pack their items on the very morning before sale or delivery. All their food items do not contain any preservatives so they make them on the day itself. Stephanie shares with me that their day starts at 2-3 am in the morning and their working hours can end at 5-6 pm. It is at least 16 hours of work every day, and during peak season, sometimes they have to be on the ground 24 hours a day. Now this is what I call dedication! And on a sidenote, Stephanie also answers emails really quick, like she is on standby to provide the best customer service and answer your questions. She makes me wonder if she is superwoman in disguise?!

And now, I know you want to know more about their bakes. Let me highlight the nine popular types of Chinese New Year goodies they are selling in their store (p/s- Read til the end of the post to get a 2-for-1 promo!):

1. Pineapple Rolls, $16.80
Pineapple Tart Roll

Pineapple Tart Roll1

Pineapple Tart Roll2

These melt-in-the-mouth pineapple rolls are made small so that you can pop the whole thing into your mouth and savour and fine, buttery goodness together with the pineapple filling. They make their pineapple paste by cooking fresh pineapple from scratch, never using premix. Very soft and almost ethereal! This was what blew me away!

2.Pineapple Tarts, $15.80

Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple Tarts1

Pineapple Tarts2

These are almost the same as the pineapple rolls, but less melty. The pastry is made from pure SCS butter. That explains the buttery fragrance and crumbly texture.

3. Cashew Nut Cookies, $15.80

Cashew Cookies1

Cashew Cookies

You know the old-school cashew cookie with a cashew nut (or half a cashew nut?!) pressed on top? I love those! Stephanie says that the traditional cookies are made a little different this year. The cashew nuts are crushed and mixed into the batter before shaping. The result: crispier cookies with a whole new look. Quite yummy!

4. Melting Almond cookies, $16.80

Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies1

As the name implies, these almond cookies melt in your mouth.. I can testify! Many, many, MANY of them have melted in my mouth! LOL! The almond nuts are imported from the US to make these little cookies.

5. Peanut Cookies, $15.80

Peanut Cookies

Peanut Cookies1

Quite simply, these cookies never go out of date. Old-fashioned, just perfect for the oldie-at-heart that I am.

6. Green Pea Cookies, $15.80

Green Pea Cookies

Green Pea Cookies1

If you’re don’t have a sweet tooth, you’ll love these savoury treats which are just a little salty. I was contemplating making these myself this year but now I don’t have to! These are very good!

7. Kueh Bangkit, $16.80

Kueh Bangkit

Kueh Bangkit1

Kueh Bangkit is 88’s favourite! I didn’t know that for the best melt-in-your-mouth experience, it is recommended that you eat them about two days after baking (as Stephanie puts it, let them ‘出油’ to taste nicer!). 88 is hoarding this bottle. I don’t know if I can lay my hands on them.

8. Spicy Shrimp Rolls, $16.80

Spicy Shrimp Spring Roll

Spicy Shrimp Spring Roll1

The spicy shrimp is fried with a secret chilli recipe. Their version does not have a lot of chilli oil which will turn bad after a while and also make the whole roll look messy. Now this is Ah-mm’s favourite. She says the chilli is just right. When I passed her some to try, she was busy snacking on Bee Cheng Hiang’s! She compared the two and said, ‘Eh, 不错咧！好吃咧!’ Then she put the Bee Cheng Hiang bottle away. What!

9. Chicken Floss Samosa, $16.80

Chicken Floss Samosa

Chicken Floss Samosa1

This is a hit with young children and one of their top selling products. They get the chicken floss from Bee Cheng Hiang and then improvise on them.

——————-
CNY Breakfast
Err. Breakfast.

And now for the promo! From now til 15 February, Hougang Nonya Kueh has a tie-up with Groupon to offer $15.80 for 2 jars of pineapple tarts, plus more options to choose from. $15.80 for TWO JARS!! They even do free delivery with a minimum order of 8 jars. For once, you can trust that this isn’t some dodgy redemption from Groupon. I have tasted these cookies and have personally come into contact with Stephanie (eh by the way she says she read my website before leh, I am so stoked. LOL!). They won’t do anything to jeopardise a 30-year-old business. Click here for the deal and email sales@full-house.com.sg if you have any questions!

This is one of the happiest blog posts I have written. I hope you support Hougang Nonya Kueh because they have really put in a lot of hard work and sweat these 30+ years. And as Singaporeans, if we don’t preserve our heritage, no one else can do it for us. Thank you Stephanie and family for your passion in carrying on the business!

Hougang Nonya Kueh
Blk 678 Hougang Ave 8
#01-517 Singapore 530678
Website: http://www.full-house.com.sg

The post Chinese New Year Cookies: Hougang Nonya Kueh :) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

]]> https://www.budgetpantry.com/cny-cookies-hougang-nonya-kueh/feed/ 7