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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 [...]
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Most Chinese in Malaysia originate from Southern China. In Penang and Malacca, the Chinese are mainly from Fujian, and the dialect spoken is Hokkien. Although the Hokkiens is one of the most prominent groups, their cuisine is not so commonly found outside homes, as compared to Cantonese food. One of the reasons is that Hokkien [...]
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I am a Penangite, but I only recently found out about Kedai Makanan Teik Seng (on Jalan Carnavon, next to the old Hup Loong provision shop). It’s a popular `chu char’ place where you can order rice and dishes. We’ve never eaten here simply because they serve dishes that we eat at home all the [...]
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CHINESE New Year is long over, so why is it still so crazy hot – as in still air;sticky, muggy, sweaty, suffocating heat; sweat running down the face; thirsty all the time; five cold showers in an afternoon HOT! This heat feels like the blast of oven-heat you get when you step out of the [...]
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Sure, the Chinese New Year meals are good – curry with gigantic prawns, roast pork, steamed chicken, soup with pig’s intestines, fish maw and abolone, mixed vegetables, lor bak (meat rolls), jiu hu char (stir-fried yam bean with cuttlefish). But what I look forward to most is kiam cai boi – which literally translates to [...]
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I never thought that I’d actually like aubergine one day…just like I didn’t think I’d ever like capsicum or bittergourd or celery. Yup, I was the typical vegetable-hating child. But here I am, all grown-up and actually enjoying the taste of vegetables… and before I lose my teeth too. Anyway, none of my housemates (aka [...]
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For the longest time, I had a jar of yellow bean paste at the back of my refrigerator. I forgot all about it because I hardly use it in my cooking. If I am not cooking curries, I am probably cooking Western dishes. I threw out the jar, without even opening it, because it’s gone [...]
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I didn’t grow up with French fries, mashed potatoes, potato salad or baked potatoes. The only potatoes I knew were those in curry chicken laden with coconut milk, or fried potato wedges to go with pork chop, or with meatballs. But my favourite potato dish was a simple one – thick slices of potato with [...]
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The first time I had belimbing buluh was in a Malay coffee shop in Jasin, Melaka. It was a sambal dish with bits of belimbing buluh, and I must have had two or three helpings of rice just so I can have more of the sambal. The next time I had it was also in [...]
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