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25 April
ANZAC (Australian, New Zealand Army Corps) Day is a national holiday
celebrated on this day every year in Australasia. It calls upon
its citizenry to remember the sacrifice of all those whose
served their country in past and present conflicts around the
world.
The ANZACs were in Kuching
Australian forces liberated Kuching from Japanese occupation in
September, 1945.
Here are a couple of the photos of the event archived at the Australian
War Memorial, Canberra:
General Post Office, Kuching
Main Bazaar, Kuching
ANZACs also served
in Sarawak during the confrontation with Indonesia in 60s:
4th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment soldiers at a village
near the Indonesian border; 1966
3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment soldiers boarding a RAF
Belvedere helicopter in Sarawak; 1965
The ANZAC biscuit is a
culinary icon in Australia/NZ
It probably originated after the first World War
although it is popularly thought to have been made for ANZAC
troops during that war.
My home-baked crunchy ANZAC biscuits
Here is how I made this batch:
Ingredients
|
Crunchy
version |
Chewy version |
| 150 g
self-raising flour |
150 g plain flour |
| 90 g rolled oats |
90 g rolled oats |
| 50 g desiccated
coconut |
50 g desiccated coconut |
| 237 g caster sugar* |
55 g caster sugar |
| 40 g golden syrup |
40 g golden syrup |
| 2 teaspoons
vanilla extract |
2 teaspoons
vanilla extract |
| 3 g salt |
3 g salt |
| 60 g hot water |
60 g hot water |
| 135 g browned
butter |
135 g browned butter |
| Bake at 180
degrees centigrade |
Bake at 160 degrees
centigrade |
*Note
that this will make for a very sweet biscuit. I used only half
the amount but be aware that the quantity of sugar will affect
the consistency of the final biscuit and the amount of spread
from the dough ball during baking (how much flattened it will
be).
The difference
between the two versions is essentially the quantity of sugar
added and the baking temperature.
Method
-
Mix all the dry
ingredients in a bowl.
-
Melt the butter and add the golden syrup to it.
-
Pour the melted ingredients into the bowl of dry mix.
-
Mix the biscuit dough.
-
Add some water if the dough is too dry. Additional water will
make forming the dough ball easier and help cook the rolled oats
better.
-
Scoop dough in amounts matching the size of biscuit desired and
roll into a rough ball.
-
Place the dough ball on a baking tray (buttered or layered with
baking sheet) and flatten slightly.
-
Bake at the recommended temperatures until golden brown.
Note that the biscuits will come out of the oven rather soft
but will stiffen after cooling down on a rack.
See you along the
road to Gundagai!
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