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As easy as A-B-C

Monday, February 6th, 2012

 

There was once upon in my life when I had an obsession with cookbooks… I bought cookbook after cookbook because there simply wasn’t a cookbook I didn’t think was uninteresting. I had a list of cookbooks I absolutely must have, and at least a cookbook I was reading cover to cover. There were cookbooks everywhere at home; beside the bed, under the bed, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the spare rooms (I have more than one), and even in my mother’s house in Penang.

And I was of course too busy reading cookbooks to actually cook from them… although there were some recipes I wouldn’t have tried if not for those cookbooks.  I went through a Claudia Roden phase, so I cooked Middle Eastern for awhile, and a  Madhur Jaffrey phase when I tried quite a few lamb recipes. I am now re-discovering Donna Hay, an interest rekindled not by her cookbook but her iPad apps… but that’s another story – suffice to say my favourite dessert recipe is her lemon meringue pie.

But for all my cookbooks and bouts of experimentation, the dish I cook most often is A-B-C soup.  I don’t know why it’s called A-B-C soup – it’s what my mother and aunts call it – but just maybe, it’s because it’s as easy as A-B-C to make. Sometimes it’s the only dish my daughter is fed with, and sometimes she is fed that weekend after weekend – especially when I am too guilt-ridden to feed her fast food and hawker food and too busy (ok, lazy) to cook anything more elaborate. The best thing about A-B-C soup is it’s not too shabby – it is wholesome and nutritious, and tastes good. And if the kid refuses to eat the potatoes and carrot, you can always mash them up, add some minced pork and onions, and make cutlets.

There really isn’t a recipe to this soup; it’s basically boiling together meat, potatoes and carrots. I like to use pork spare ribs or chicken, and I also usually add a big onion, two tomatoes and half a teaspoon of black/white peppercorns. I usually use about 500g pork ribs or half a chicken, with 2-3 potatoes and a big carrot. I then boil everything with about half a pot of water for about an hour or so – bring the water to a boil, and then add the ingredients. Then, turn down the heat and let it simmer slowly till the meat is tender, and the potatoes and carrots soft. Serve hot with rice, and a saucer of light soy sauce and cut chilli padi for the meat.

 

Posted in Chinese Food, Home Fares, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Easiest Chicken Rice

Sunday, January 15th, 2012

I didn’t think my friend Niki Cheong was all that serious about cooking, but he has been making the one bowl rice I posted eons ago regularly  (someone has been coming to me and repeating the title of my last post… takes nagging to a whole new level… she needs to nag me to loftier goals).

And when Niki told me his “one-bowl rice” is in the microwave cooking even as we were on whatsapp, I promised to post another recipe – out of guilt and being flattered someone tried my recipe…but of course I got distracted by zombies on my roof (seriously googling and planting), cats above my ceiling (seriously freaking me out) and a bitch on my tail (seriously pathetic). I have also been watching Walking Dead, not the best viewing choice with cats scraping and clawing away on the ceiling but wth…

Anyway, I am up-ping the notch and Niki’s Nikella-ness in the kitchen… with a recipe for chicken rice. It’s the easiest chicken rice (and doesn’t taste too bad) ever – just bring a big pot of water to the boil and then drop a whole/half chicken in with a knob of ginger and a stalk of spring onion. Scoop away the grit that floats to the top, and then turn the heat all the way low, cover and leave it be for half an hour or so. The chicken should be cooked by then. Don’t be tempted to turn up the fire because it should be cooked slowly and gently.

Remove the chicken, and drain. Leave aside. When it has cooled down, chop and serve with rice.

Use the remaining stock (in place of water) to cook the rice, to make the accompanying condiment, and boil down further to serve as soup.

So, boiling chicken and cooking rice are easy enough.

What makes this a good meal is the condiment, and it’s not your usual chilli and garlic sauce. I’ll post the recipe for chilli and garlic sauce but I have only ever made it by instincts and lots of tasting and correcting – that’s basically a handful of deseeded red chillies, 5-6 cloves of garlic, sugar (lots), rice vinegar and a pinch of salt.

I like this chicken rice with a condiment of spring onions and ginger, fragranced with sesame oil. I cook chicken this way, or steam it, just so I can have lots of this condiment. It’s pretty common in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but not so much in Malaysia where we prefer chilli sauce.

I make this condiment without a recipe too. But here are the steps, adjust the amount of young ginger and spring onions accordingly.

 

RECIPE

SPRING ONION AND GINGER CONDIMENT

Ingredients

2 big knobs of young ginger, about 1ocm,  - scrape off the skin, and julienne

2-3 stalks of spring onion, sliced

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoon sesame oil

2-3 tablespoon chicken stock, from boiling the chicken

Mix the ginger, spring onion, sugar and salt. Heat the sesame oil over low heat till aromatic – it burns easily and quickly, so don’t leave it for even a second.

Pour the hot sesame oil over the mixture, and stir.

Check the seasoning, and add the chicken stock.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Chinese Food, Home Fares | No Comments »

Sambal Tomat

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

I tried making ayam kalasan because I liked the recipe when it was first recited to me – boil the chicken in coconut water, and then deep-fry. It turned out good the first time I tried it, and the recipe is in today’s StarTwo. Fried chicken is my all time favourite, and this Indonesian version is full of flavours. Even the breast meat is tender because it’s gently boiled. But the next time I make it, I’d probably just use thighs instead of a whole chicken.

But as delicious as the ayam kalasan is, it’s not why I wiped off two plates of rice. It’s the sambal tomat, recommended as the accompaniment for the chicken, that really whetted my appetite. I have always liked a little condiment or side accompaniment to my dishes. I actually ask what kind of accompaniment is available before I order my food – pickled green chillies for Cantonese stir fry, sambal belacan for nasi pattaya, pan mee, Thai fried rice, chilli and garlic sauce for chicken rice, garlic sauce for loh mi, shrimp paste for asam laksa, mint for lamb chops, mustard for roast beef….

At the very least, I need my saucer of soy sauce and chopped bird’s eye chilli.


Sambal belacan is a staple; I always have a jar in the refrigerator. A simple meal of fried fish and sambal belacan with a little kalamansi juice is satisfying enough for me. It’s also good with fried rice, or fried noodles. Sambal belacan is also the base for kerabu..

Lately, I am into sambal, Indonesian-style. It started when I began eating at Nasi Padang stalls, and I found myself looking forward more to the sambal merah and sambal hijau than the curries. My friend’s mother shared her sambal merah recipe, and it has become one of my favourites. This sambal tomat, with tomatoes as its main ingredient, is also fast becoming a favourite.

I followed a recipe the first time I made this, but I have since just made it intuitively. I use cili padi instead of red chilli because I love how its sharpness laces the sweetness of the tomatoes. You could adjust the flavours to your liking, use more tomatoes for a gentler sambal or more chilli for a sambal full of kick.

RECIPE

SAMBAL TOMAT

6-8 red chillies, or 3-4 bird’s eye chillies
2 shallots
1 garlic
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
salt and sugar to taste

Pound chillies, shallots and garlic roughly.
Heat the cooking oil, and add the pounded ingredients and chopped tomatoes.
Saute till tomatoes are soft.
Season.


My daughter is of course unimpressed with my sambal tomat, sambal belacan, sambal merah…. whatever; they are all too hot for her although she has no such problem when it comes to curry chicken or beef rendang. She is happy with kecap manis… another obsession I think I taught her.j

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Posted in Home Fares, Padang Food, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Tiffin Memory – Ikan Sumbat Sambal

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

It’s been two years since Marty Thyme, Veggie Chick and I started the Don’t Call Me Chef in StarTwo, more for fun than anything else. Food writing is hardly in our present job scopes, but we decided that it’d be a good diversion. For the most of it, we have enjoyed planning the column, and sometimes it seems like it’s all we like to talk about. Starting our individual food blogs have only made us a tad more obsessive – Marty Thyme and Veggie Chick bake bread these days, and have started a weekly sandwich business.

As much as we enjoyed working on the column, the objective was always to get readers involved….we have started to engage with food bloggers, and we hope to open up a forum for readers to share their recipes. That opportunity came when Tupperware approached us to run a contest to promote their new eco-friendly products, namely their BYO Tapau containers.

We asked you all to send in stories of your favourite tiffin moments, as well as share your tiffin recipes and photographs of the dishes.

So, this week, we are turning the StarTwo pages over to the best three entries for the Tiffin Memory contest; they each win RM1000 of Tupperware products. The three winners are Liew Pei Lin, Richard Koh and Robin Brian Vander Slott…check out their stories and recipes here.

So, we are posting our stories on our blogs this week.

I’d not have entered this contest, even if I was eligible to do so because I hardly ever packed food from home. I am hopelessly disorganised, and have never been able to work packing a lunch pack into my morning rush routine …be it for school or work.

Yesterday evening, I put together a lunch box from my dinner leftovers. And this morning, I took it out of the refrigerator and stuck it in the microwave… promptly forgot all about it and left for work…sigh.

When we were in school, my grandmother would deduct our pocket money if we packed food from home. I think we used to get 50 cents or so, enough for a bowl of noodles, a drink and a packet of junk food. When I was growing up, we rarely ate out, so buying food from the canteen was preferable to the same old home-cooked food, never mind that the noodles were terrible and the drinks thin watery syrup.

I’d only bring food from home, and have my pocket money deducted when my grandmother cooked ikan sumbat sambal, fish stuffed with sambal. It was my absolute favourite lauk then, and I didn’t mind parting with half of my pocket money just so I could have it again during recess time.

I still like ikan sumbat sambal, and I make it quite often. I have only ever used ikan cencaru (hard-tail mackerel) or bawal hitam (black pomfret) for this dish. I also always make more than enough sambal for stuffing the fish, as I like lots of the sambal with my rice. This is one of those home dishes that we make often.

My grandmother passed away when I was waiting for my SPM results.  She was my paternal grandmother, and she practically brought us up. We used to chafe at her strict rules – no turning on lights unnecessarily, and that means we all did our homework downstairs and no sneaking upstairs to the bedroom to read a story book. She tuned leftovers into fried rice for lunch, and never wasted anything.

We all also had to help with household chores, and no one was too young or too busy studying to help out. She also took in odd jobs to do at home – like sorting out rubber bands (I kid you not), turning cement packaging into grocery bags for provision shops (throw out the dusty outer layers and use the clean inner layers), some wiring and casing work, and whatnot. And of course, all the children had to lend a hand.

But this grandma was also a lot of fun. She told us stories from Chinese folk lores, over and over and as many times as we asked for them, as we lay down for our afternoon naps. She took me to the cinema with the fat aunty neighbour who drives a Volkswagen, and I practically grew up watching Taiwanese romances starring Chin Han and Lin Ching Hsia. She also brought me along for all our relatives’ weddings, and allowed me to wear lipstick and eye shadow for the dinners (it thrilled me then, but I must have looked like a horror).

And she always made sure there was enough sambal stuffed fish for me to bring to school.

Even after all these years, my siblings and I still talk about our paternal grandmother and wished that she had just lived a little longer and saw us all graduate, get married and have children. When she passed away, my parents were still struggling to put us through school, and times were lean. She’d have loved that we all have our own cars, and she’d have loved going out as a big family for meals and shopping. I’d have bought her a jade bangle, to replace the one I broke and wasn’t scolded for.

And she’d have been so happy to cuddle my brother’s son, my first nephew, who was born two weeks ago. He has big eyes and a full head of hair, and is ever so cute.


RECIPE

Ikan Sumbat Sambal

12-15 shallots, peeled

2 stalks lemongrass, sliced

1 inch fresh turmeric

20-25 dried chillies, soak in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain

1/4 cup oil

a tablespoon tamarind, extract juice with 1/4 cup hot water

salt and sugar, according to taste

3 ikan cencaru, or 1 medium bawal hitam

1 cup oil

Blend the shallots, lemongrass, turmeric and dried chillies finely.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Then, fry the pounded ingredients over a slow fire, turning often, until the oil rises to the surface.

Add tamarind juice and seasoning. Continue stirring for a few minutes more. The sambal should not be watery.

Clean the fish, and make a slit sideways along one side of the fish.

Spoon the sambal into the slit, but do not put too much as it’ll spill out when the fish is fried.

Heat the oil, and fry the fish on both sides till cooked.

There should be more than enough sambal for stuffing the fish. Serve the rest with rice for those who want more of the sambal.


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Posted in Home Fares, Peranakan Food | 6 Comments »

Teochew Porridge

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I went to bed reading Nigella Lawson’s latest book, Nigella’s Kitchen, and dreaming about her Greek Lamb with Potatoes and Lemon. But we all woke up with scratchy throats, hacking coughs, aching bones, woozy heads. And when my imp is lying limply on the sofa instead of jumping up and down on her new trampoline, there is just no denying that this is a household too sick to bite on lamb. So, plain watery porridge it is for lunch.

The must-have accompaniments are, of course, fried salted fish and salted duck’s eggs. These are the staples.

I usually make chai poh (salted radish) omelette, but decided to make cincaluk omelette instead for a change. Then, we have leftover chicken with soy sauce and ginger from the weekend.

We also have nam yue, fermented bean curd and canned preserved mustard leaves.


Because the little girl couldn’t muster the strength to walk to the table, I brought everything to her. She was however not too drowsy to monitor that there was always a pinch of salted fish and duck’s egg yolk in every spoonful of porridge I fed her. Oh well, everyone needs a little pampering when they are sick.

I am a pro at serving up plain porridge because that’s what we have for Sunday lunch when we were growing up. The cardinal rule was that the porridge must be served in small bowls so that we’ll have them piping hot …the idea being that we’ll finish the porridge before it gets cold. We eat the porridge slowly, picking at the many many condiments with our chopsticks. When we are done with a bowl, we just ladle a second bowl and then a third bowl….I also like my porridge real watery.

And I must have my plain watery white porridge with this condiment. I don’t know what it’s called, or recall when it first appeared on our table. But I think my father came back one day and described it to my mother, and we have had it since. It’s got the building blocks of a kerabu dressing – thinly sliced shallots and bird’s eye chilli and lime juice, mixed with taucheo (yellow bean paste), chopped garlic and lightly ounded dried shrimps. It’s very appetising as it is hot, sour and salty. I haven’t had it anywhere else but at home, but then again I hardly eat Teowchew porridge outside because it’s so ridiculously expensive for a meal so easily put together.

GARLIC TAUCHEO CONDIMENT

2-3 shallots, sliced thinly

5 bird’s eye chilli, sliced

1/4 teaspoon sugar

juice from 1 small lime

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried shrimps, soaked in water, drained and lightly pounded

1/2 tablespoon taucheo, yellow bean paste

Marinate the shallots and bird’s eye chilli with the sugar and lime juice for five minutes. Then add the chopped garlic, dried shrimps and taucheo. Mix well.

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Posted in Chinese Food, Home Fares | 7 Comments »

Kelantan and Ayam Kuzi

Monday, October 18th, 2010

In recent years, rice has been much maligned.  So many friends I know are staying away from rice, and swearing that they feel so much better, and lighter. They are so disciplined they'd have only a few spoonfuls of rice, if at all they have rice. Some have even switched to brown rice.  

I have not been able to give up rice; I love it too much… have always and always will, long before carbohydrates got its bad name. As far as I am concerned, moderation is key. So, I eat my rice, and love it….though I have to think twice before I take a second helping these days.

So, it was really good to be in Kelantan, where people their rice unabashedly. There is so much variety of rice dishes, and they are all delicious. In KL and the rest of Malaysia, there is nasi lemak for breakfast. In Kelantan, there is nasi berlauk, nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, nasi tumpang, nasi kapit…..and the best are found here. 

My first stop on the way from the airport to my friend's house in Kota Bharu was for khau jan, nasi kerabu Thai-style at U-Lang Corner (4939-B, Jalan Wakaf Mek Zainab). It's different from Malay nasi kerabu – for one, the rice is green because it is cooked in an infusion of about 40 herbs. I have seen my friend's aunt make khau jan, and she picks the herbs from around her garden – one stem of this, and a few leaves of that. She knows how much of each herb to use, and it's not the easiest recipe to take down because my friend's aunt knows some of the herb's names by their Thai name only.

One of my favourite stalls in Kota Bharu is Mrs Foo's nasi dagang and nasi berlauk at Jalan Pejabat Pos Lama. It's changed location twice or thrice, but the stall has always been on this street. Some people like to ask for half nasi berlauk and half nasi dagang. You have the rice with lauk like beef curry, gulai ikan tongkol, vegetables, salted fish and sambal. Make sure you get a nice mix of the curries. When you get takeaways, Mrs Foo will pack the curries separately so that the rice doesn't get soggy from the gravy.

We were in Kota Bharu to visit our friend who moved here a year ago. They live in a kampung where they are the only non-Malay and non-Muslim family, and their neighbours have been most welcoming. Their house on stilts is so charming; made entirely of chengal wood, with a big backyard where the children can play freely. The best thing about this house is that it came with huge dry bathrooms, with a shower cubicle at one corner and walk-in closets.

Our friend is very much a part of the community here; neighbours drop by and share news. Kids ring their doorbell on the way back from school to say hello, and dutifully report to their parents about the going-ons in the neighbourhood. Neighbours generously share their pengat and kuih, and teach them about their food. Our friend said one of the first Kelantanese words they learnt was "tera" which means to try.

In the one year that she has been here, our friend has become well acquainted with Kelantanese food, and they know where to go. She has also learnt to cook nasi dagang from her neighbours, and her immediate neighbour who lives in a house built in 1957 made a real tasty jeruk buah.

Most people who have never been to Kelantan know it mainly as a PAS state. It's true that religion takes centrestage here; they play religious sermons over the loudspeakers here and all trading stop at the sound of the azan. Men and women queue up in separate cashier's lanes at the supermarket, and people are dressed conservatively here.

Kota Bharu is not a town to walk around in shorts and sleeveless tops, but it's no hardship to be respectful. The Kelantanese are definitely most friendly and happy to engage in conversations about everything from their unique dialect to ekok (seashell snacks), to explaining the rules of a bird singing competition to total strangers.

 

Last week, I was trying recipes from the cookbook Nik's Kitchen, which I was reviewing. But I found that there were a few recipes I couldn't try because it requires spice mixtures such as kuzi and kerutub, which are not commonly found outside of Kelantan. The author also recommended Wanita brand curry mixtures, which I was also not able to find in any of the hypermarkets in Kuala Lumpur.

So, I went to the famous Siti Khatijah market to stock up on the kuzi and kerutub spice powder, and the Wanita brand curry powder, and of course budu. Our friend's Kelantanese neighbours all have their own kuzi recipe; it's a popular dish in Kelantan and they serve it during weddings and festivals. With my kuzi rempah mix cap Wanita in hand, I tried the ayam kuzi recipe the day after I came back from Kota Bharu. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make – there is no cutting and slicing of onions, ginger, garlic and all that. Apart from the kuzi spice mix, the other ingredients are tomato sauce and raisins.

It's a real tasty dish, and not hot at all, so children can eat this too. This recipe is definitely a keeper, and I think I'll be making it more than once. Only trouble is I only bought a packet of kuzi spice; yet another reason for a trip to Kelantan.

 

KUZI AYAM

(Adapted from Nik's Kitchen, recipes are from the collection of Nik Esah Nik Ahmad Kamil, daughter of Kelantan's former chief minister)

1 cup shallots, sliced thinly and fried till golden brown and crisp over low heat

3 cups cooking oil

1 chicken, cleaned and cut into medium pieces

3 chicken liver

3 chicken gizzard

3 tablespoon kuzi spice powder

3/4 of a 300g bottle of tomato sauce 

3 cups water

2 tbsp ghee

4 tbsp oil (taken from the oil used to fry chicken)

1/2 cup raisin

1 cup roasted cashew nuts (optional)

Heat the oil, and brown the chicken. Don't overcook as this will make the chicken meat tough. Set aside.

Clean and dice the liver and gizzard, and mix with kuzi spice, tomato ketchup and 2 tablespoons of water.

Heat a pot, and add the ghee and oil. Fry the liver and gizzard with the spice mixture over medium heat, stirring from time to time.

When fragrant, add raisins and fried shallots. Add the chicken, and stir to coat them  in the spice mixture. Add the rest of the water, and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Add cashew nuts (if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.

 

P/S: I cooked this kuzi ayam in my new Visions pot which I bought in the duty-free complex in Pengkalan Kubur, about 45minutes away from Kota Bharu.

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Posted in Home Fares, Malay Food, Trips and Food | No Comments »

Salted Fish from Beserah, Pahang

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

If you grew up in a typical Chinese family, your grandparents would have probably told you that story of how they or some ancestor or the trishaw peddler used to be so poor they could only afford to eat salted fish. The poorest of the poor wouldn’t even have that luxury. He’d dangle his salted fish so he could smell it while he ate his meal of plain porridge…he couldn’t taste the salted fish, but the aroma would whet his appetite and sustain him. Fortunately, most of us are much less deprived or impoverished now. But I completely get sniffing at salted fish…it’s actually pretty narcotic for the aroma of frying salted fish always makes me greedy and hungry.

We were in Beserah, Pahang recently and saw how salted fish is made. Chit Lip Trading and Salted Fish processing centre is not visible from the road because it is hidden at the end of a row of wooden shophouses. But it’s not hard to find, just let your nose lead the way. The fishy smell can be a tad overwhelming at first, but soon enough you won’t notice it.

The lady boss, Yeoh Watt Kim, told us the best way to choose salted fish is to smell it… and that it must be “fragrant”. Good quality salted fish does not smell fishy, but clean and clear with a depth that perks up your senses. When you smell fragrant salted fish, you can literally taste it.

Salted fish is called ikan masin (salted fish) or ikan kering (dried fish) in Malay, and they describe exactly how salted fish is made. Fishes are gutted and scaled, and then preserved in salt or brine for a few days, and then dried under the sun.

This family in the fishing village of Beserah has been making salted fish for over a hundred years. They get their supply of fishes from the fishermen, and their own fishing boats. But these days, they also get supplies of frozen fish from further afield. Salting fish is still done pretty much how it has always been done, even though they have modern gadgets like freezers to keep the fish from going bad on cloudy days when there is no sun to dry them. The bulk of the work is in gutting and scaling the fishes, but these ladies are such pros.

At Beserah, salted fish are laid out on raised bamboo platforms to dry under the sun. On the east cost, salted fish making comes to a halt during the monsoon season at the end of the year.

In the local film Woo Hoo which tells the story of how the people in Beserah were trying to revive their tiger dance tradition, the apprentices practise their moves on these wobbly salted fish drying platforms.

Salted fish are made from all kinds of fish. The cheaper ones are those made from small fishes like kembung and gelama. The best salted fish, mui heong, is those made from ikan kurau (threadfin)…the flesh is soft, and it is fragrant and gently salted.

Watt Kim told us that mui heong is expensive because it can only be made with the freshest fish – they literally hauled the fish from the fishing trawlers, clean them and salt them immediately before drying them for about two days.

Not all salted fish made from ikan kurau is mui heong; it’s also about how the fish is salted. At Chit Lip, they still make their mui heong using their grandfather’s recipe. There was no mui heong available for sale at Chit Lip while we were there, and we didn’t stop to buy some in Kuantan. But we got some in the Pudu Market in Kuala Lumpur where three slices cost RM25. Salted fish is definitely no longer food for the poor.

I like the simplicity of mui heong, or any other salted fish, simply fried and eaten with plain watery rice congee. A chunk or two of fragrant salted fish, with fermented bean paste, is good enough for me.

I also like salted fish bone and mixed vegetable curry with light coconut milk. Then, there is steamed pork with salted fish, and salted fish in fiery dry sambal. Taugeh or kailan stir-fried with salted fish is also good. And I also like salted fish fried rice with lots of cili padi.

And last night, my aunt cooked this salted fish dish that she said she last ate some 30 years ago. She actually called my mother, and they worked out the recipe between them because my late grandmother used to make it. It’s called masak titik, and it’s salted fish with slices of belly pork, dried red chillies and dried tamarind slices.

The sourness of the tamarind, the saltiness of the salted fish, and the richness of the pork belly was so appetising. The flavours were pretty intense, and I ate way too much rice, as usual.

RECIPE

SALTED FISH AND PORK BELLY MASAK TITIK

Ingredients

2 tablespoon cooking oil

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed

10 dried chillies

500g pork belly, sliced

1 teaspoon dark soya sauce

1/4 cup water

2 dried tamarind slices

1 salted fish fillet, cut into smaller pieces and fried till fragrant

Heat the oil, and saute the garlic and dried chillies till fragrant. Add the pork belly slices, and stir fry over high heat for few minutes. Lower the meat to medium, and add the dark soya sauce, water, tamrind slices and salted fish. Simmer over low heat till the pork is cooked and the liquid has been reduced.

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Posted in Chinese Food, Home Fares, Trips and Food | 8 Comments »

Roselle Cordial

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

roselle

There were lots of roselle for sale at the Satok weekend market in Kuching, Sarawak. I haven’t seen these fruits in years, and certainly never thought I’d have to buy them.

The roselle belongs to the hibiscus family. We used to plant roselle, and so did most of our neighbours – if there is such a thing as trend in gardening, then there was a time when it was fashionable to plant roselle.

The roselle plants grew well, yielding generous harvests….not that I ever tended to the garden then. I only remember that we love roselle because it was like the poor man’s substitute to Ribena (blackcurrant drink). It was sweet, and had a more tangy edge… but it had a pleasant berry-ish taste and it was real refreshing with lots of ice.

We must have made bottles and bottles of cordial from the roselle in our garden. I don’t remember when the roselle bushes disappeared from our garden and the neighbourhood, and I never gave it another thought.

I bought a basket of roselle at Satok because I had a sudden craving for the drink. Besides, a basket only costs RM1.

It’s easy to make roselle cordial. Just peel off the petals and discard the calyx. Wash and rinse well, and then boil in water with loads of sugar. I had started out taking careful measurements, but lost track of how much sugar I used as I added the sugar twice more while making the cordial. The roselle is sour-ish, so you need a bit more sugar. It’s also nice to make the cordial thick.

roselle2

My RM1 of roselle yielded a small bottle of cordial, but it’s as good as I remembered it to be – sweet with a pleasing sourish tinge – exactly the drink for hot afternoons.

roselle3

And the kids like it too, and at least we know that there are no preservatives or artificial colouring in ths cordial ….. just copious amounts of sugar :-P

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Posted in Home Fares, Trips and Food | 2 Comments »

Dip for Fried Fish

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

friedfish4

I like plain fried fish – marinated with salt and turmeric, or with salt and white pepper. It has to be fried right, and that means it must be crispy on the outside and moist inside, not bone dry.

I could happily have a plate of hot rice with just fried fish, with condiments like kicap manis and sambal belacan. But I like it most with this dipping sauce – a sweet-sour-salty-spicy dip made with sliced shallots, kalamansi lime juice, sugar, thick soya sauce and bird’s eye chilli.

friedfish2

This is the combination I like, but there are many other versions.
Some people use tamarind juice for the sourness, and some add carambola or belimbing buluh. Some people add toasted belacan (prawn paste) too, and some don’t use soya sauce.

I also like this dip with sambal belacan (red chillies pounded with toasted belacan). The best place to sample these dips is at the stalls selling grilled fish. My favourite dip the one served at Pak Din’s stall at the Jalan Tanglin food court at the Lake Gardens.

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RECIPE

Dipping Sauce

5 shallots, sliced thinly
Juice from 6-8 calamansi lime
4-5 bird’s eye chilli, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon thick soya sauce

Mix the shallots with the calamansi lime juice for at least ten minutes. Then, add the bird’s eye chilli, sugar and thick soya sauce. Mix well, and taste. Adjust the seasoning accordingly.

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Bok Choy With Oyster Sauce

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Some weeks feel longer than others, and I just want to do nothing on weekends. On those days, I just want to make something reassuringly easy that I know will turn out well.
This was how I first learnt to cook my green vegetables. It didn’t involve the theatrics of stir-frying, and was just perfect for our student day makeshift kitchen that consisted of a hotplate.
There really is no recipe. It’s essentially blanched green vegetables with crispy fried shallots and fried garlic, topped with a dollop of oyster sauce. The crispy fried shallots are really optional, fried garlic lends enough aroma to this dish.

Instructions

Chop garlic and slice shallots (if using), and sautee in a little oil over medium heat. Stir from time to time to make sure they don’t burn.
Set aside when they start to brown.
Meanwhile, wash the vegetables and blanch quickly in boiling water. Toss.
Arrange the vegetables on a plate, and garnish with the fried garlic and shallot.
Add a tablespoon of oyster sauce, and toss everything together.

It’s also a healthy dish, and it’s nice to eat crisp green vegetables that are simply prepared. It’s also real quick to make. You can also make more of the garlic and shallot oil, and keep to use another time.

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