Teochew Yam Paste (Taro) Orh-Nee with Coconut Milk

Orh-Nee as it's called here is a traditional Teochew dessert.

Frankly, I didn't like it so much as the original recipe calls to cook it with lards and lots of shallot oil. Ya, it was so oily that I can literally see a layer of oil floating on top of the yam.
It was really hard to stomach it after a few mouthful.


So, I didn't like the original recipe that called for too much oil and too much work and searched for a recipe that's simpler and easier to make and found it.


The below recipe was from the web but unfortunately I don't know from which website I got it from as it was quite sometime ago and thus unable to give due credit.  But if you happen to see this and this is your recipe, do drop me a line.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

- 500g taro (weighed after peeling), peeled and dices

(I bought it ready peeled and packed from NTUC and exactly 500g. It's Thai Taro/Yam. Heard that Thai Yam taste better)

- 1 pack cooked ginkgo nuts.

(I bought the vacuum packed ones but it was still hard to me, so I boiled it in sugar water. The ginkgo nuts are bitter - you can boil it in sugar water or marinate it with sugar so that it's not too bitter. I remembered using the canned boiled ones and didn't have any problem with it)

- 250ml unsweetened soy milk or water

(I used coconut milk instead. If worried about the calories, low-fat coconut milk is available)

- 1-2 tablespoons shallot oil
(1 teaspoon is enough. But I omitted the shallot oil out today as hubby didn't like it)

- 4-5 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

(4 tablespoons was enough for me, just nice. I used castor sugar)


The recipe didn't call for the below but I like to add it in :

- pumpkin (coarsely mashed)

- coconut cream, to drizzle over the Yam Paste 
 (add a pinch of salt into the coconut cream for a better taste)



Method

1) Steam yam and pumpkin separately. Steam till tender when pierced with a fork. 

Coarsely mash yam and pumpkin separately.

2) Blend the mashed taro with the oil, sugar until smooth and creamy. 

(if you don't like it too smooth, then put aside some of the yam that you had manually smashed earlier. Add it in later together with the smooth yam for more bite)

3) Place the ginkgo nuts  (leave some out for decoration, which I forgot), soy milk in a pot and bring to a boil (if using coconut milk, do not bring to a boil, just gentle fire).

4) Stir in the yam puree, stirring slowly over low heat till the soy milk/coconut milk is blended into the yam.

(after it is blended, you can add in the manually smashed yam that you had set aside earlier)

5) Ladle the orh-nee into a bowl or plate with depth and arrange the ginkgo nuts (the ones which you had taken out earlier for decoration) around it and place the mashed pumpkin in the middle and drizzle with coconut cream.

Serve hot or warm.

Cooking the yam paste with coconut milk makes it so absolutely delicious!

(The New Hong Kong restaurant at Novena Ville does very good Orh-Nee. No oiliness  but good amount of coconut milk and pumpkin and not too sweet. Perfect!)