Dried Prawn Sambal Buns

When the ladies agreed to a picnic, it was time to get cooking but because it was a picnic I had to think of something that was easily portable and won't require too many eating utensils. Since I was baking bread again recently, I decided to go with buns filled with something.... the something took a long time to materialise, at one point it was sambal ikan bilis, another, it was chicken curry then it was sambal udang kering (dried prawns). These 3 were going round and round in my head. I had no clue where I'd stashed the ikan bilis and was not up to rumaging around my larder, so that was out. I was too lazy to get to town to buy dried prawns so that was 50/50 ... chicken curry, I can get all ingredients from the local super market so it was looking like a winner. However, come the day before the picnic, I found myself going in and out of asian grocery stores hunting for dried prawns...it is was to be sambal udang kering!

6:00 am goes the alarm on picnic day and I was up and the dough of the bun got going in no time. Next the sambal, with the help of my processer, in goes all the ingredients, a couple of whizzies later, all was fried up and ready for the buns... all was going like clockwork except for the fact that it turned out to be quite a cold morning so the dough was taking its time to rise...oh oh! The buns were baked down to the wire, car engine was already revving when they were still in the oven! Needless to say, we made it to the picnic and had a lovely time!



The buns on display

Makan Makan

Cinnamon buns

This particular baking is done in memory of my grandmother who passed away this month at the age of 94. I remember the days when she used to look after me, she would go to the market in the mornings and come back with a few of these buns. These are treats for herself. The recipe used is Japanese sweet dough with the addition of raisins and honey, just the way Amah used to like it!