Creme puff and I go way way back. My first ever creme puff was from a local bakery in Penang. I remember clearly why I got to taste it too...let's just say choosing school shoes was a rather difficult task for little hungry Michelle. Mum had to go next door and grab whatever she could find from the bakery and literally shove it in my mouth hah!.. I can imagine her pain now that I'm a mother of two.
Growing up, I would spend a lot of time at my god-mum's house. If by chance my god-grandma was up from Muar, I would be a happy girl as she would make these delicious steamed buns. Slightly different from the standard fluffy buns, these were sweet, chewy as well as the fluffiness you would expect from steamed buns.
The Hakka called it Xi Ban and the Hokkiens call it the Ki Ka Ku. Don't ask me why I only know it as my god grandma's specialty. You can find these in the local stall selling kuih in wet markets.
Isn't it interesting as to how food can evolve and there can be many name variations for what is essentially the same thing? It's also interesting how different cultures can adapt dishes to suit their needs or ingredients and still be as delicious as the original. With this particular dish, there are so many name variations, but ultimately refer to this very delicious saucy rice noodle dish.
So you might have seen my BBQ Bun recipe recently (mmm buns..) and often I have left over fillings from these endeavours. As much as I love the pillowy soft buns, sometimes I just really can't be bothered going through the effort. So what to do with the left over meat?? Let me introduce you to my best friend - puff pastry. As you might have already gathered, it is a fantastic ingredient just when time is pressing, or you have the spirit of a heffalump for the day. These quick and easy BBQ pork puff pastries are easy to put together and you'll look like a hero for producing a delicious lunch in record time!
