Thai Salad Dressing

This simple delicious main course salad is full of flavor & it can be done without using any oil. My kid love this salad so much.  This is a salad that is guaranteed to become a family favorite. It is a perfect side dishes to any seafood- cooked prawn, cooked squid (sotong), grilled fish.

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic

1 bird eye chilies or 1 long big red chilies

1 knob of ginger

2 -3 limes (6 tbsp lime juices)

2 shallots

2 tbsp fish sauces

1 tbsp brown sugar

1tsp peanut oil (optional)

Handful of chopped Coriander

Some chopped Spring Onion

Salads (cleaned, wash & spin dry):

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cherry tomato, any salad vegetables

Optional:

Some cooked prawn

Some cooked squid

1) Mix fish sauces with sugar, stir to melt the sugar, squeeze the limes, pick out the seed of the limes. 

2) Grind the ginger, garlic into fine paste.Add in to the salad dressing. The colour of the mixture will change slightly after add in the ginger and garlic paste.

3) Add in all these ingredients that need to be chopped finely- tomatoes, shallots, chilies (hot- bird eye) or big chilies (mild). Mix all these into the salad dressing.
4) The best method to mix the salads well is by using both hand.
5) Pour all these well mixed chopped salad on the green lettuces.
6) Serve Immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

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Dry Curry (Malaysia Style)

The infamous Malaysia style curry has TWO version- Dry & Soupy. Sometimes, I cook the dry curry for its intense flavors. I don't know why sometimes I crave for spicier food. Perhaps it is already in the blood, my siblings love spicy food. I am at the medium spicy meter. I bought this brand of curry chicken sauce as my kid can take the heat (medium spicy).

Today the I cook the curry with more vegetables because it just taste good with potatoes, okra & long bean.Be creative to add in your favorite vegetable in the curry- cabbage, brinjal (egg plant), tofu pok (fried tofu).

Method:
1) Mix the store bought curry sauces with onion & stir fry over medium heat.  The sauces itself is very oily, so you do not need to add vegetable oil for stir fry. Just follow the cooking instructions. However, I will show you the general procedures for cooking curry.
For home make curry sauces, pls refer to
http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/08/traditional-chicken-curry-malaysia-style.html

 

2) Add in potatoes & meat, continue stir fry.

 

3) Add in water enough to cover all the ingredients. Cover with lid to simmers.

 

4) Last in the vegetables as it needs lesser time to cook through. Add in the coconut milk at the final stage to thicken the sauces.

 

5) Super easy & fast. Serve hot with white rice or nasi lemak.

Delicious~

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Traditional Chicken Curry (Malaysia Style)

Traditional Chicken Curry - is a all time favorite for Malaysian & tourists. If you ever visit Malaysia, you must buy packets of the prepared curry paste as souvenir for your friends, family, colleagues or yourself. A lots Malaysia overseas student who study abroad will ask their friends or parent to even courier the curry paste to them. Of course you can also make it from scratch & it takes more time. Curry chicken is match made in heaven with nasi lemak. When I was a teenager, I can eat 2 bowls of rice with curry chicken. Those good old memories.

Check out the nasi lemak link:
http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/01/nasi-lemak-malaysia-style.html

As promised to my Korean friends, I will post some simple instructions in my blog to guide them through to cook the curry chicken the Malaysia way.  Super easy. Prepare the ingredients as per the packet instructions:

1 Packet of Curry Paste (see curry paste from scratch at the bottom of this post)
Chicken  ( prefer chicken thigh if  I am not using the whole chicken)
Potatoes
Coconut milk (Santan- store bought)
Water
Fresh Curry Leaves (optional)

Delicious ingredients for curry chicken

Check out how to prepare fresh coconut milk from scratch:

http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/01/nasi-lemak-malaysia-style.html

1) Lightly fry the curry paste, I like to use a medium size pot.

2) Fry the chicken with the curry paste.

3) Add in the potatoes, curry leaves, water to simmer for about 20 mins. Do not cut the potato too small. Otherwise, it will "melt" & become too soft. Always use Holland potato- or any hard type of potato that is suitable for roast or boil.

4) Pour in the coconut milk & let it boil for 5-10 mins.

Delicious curry chicken served with Sambal & Nasi Lemak.

Simple Curry Chicken Paste:

1 kg of Whole Chicken (chopped into pcs)

500g Potato

200g Coconut Milk

(B) Blend into Paste:

100g Garlic

200- 250g Shallots

2ea Candlesnut (Buah Keras)

1 inches Tumeric (Kunyit) - optional if you don't have

(C)

3-4 tbsp of Meat Curry Powder

2 tbsp Chili Boh (Chili Paste)

1-2 tbsp Sugar

0.5 tsp Coriander Powder

3 Stalks Lemongrass (Serai- smash it)

3 Stalks Curry Leaves

Salt to taste

0.5 cup water (or slightly more to cover all the ingredient in  the pot) 

Method:

1) Heat 4-5 tbsp of oil, add in B & C . Stir fry until fragrant.

2) Add in chicken & potato, slightly stir fry & cover all ingredients with water, boil with high heat.

3) Reduce to medium heat & let it simmer until cook.

4) Stir in coconut milk & salt. Serve hot with white rice or Nasi Lemak.

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Garlic Fried Brown Rice with Fresh Mushroom

Fried Brown Rice is always a popular option in local vegetarian restaurant. Today, I am not doing the vegetarian version as I need to please the kids. However, you could omit the roast meat in the recipes if you want a vegan version fried rice. The highlight of this recipes is MUSHROOM & GARLIC. 

Ingredients:

3 bowl of  brown rice (it is ok to replace with white rice)

4 cloves of minced garlic

Handful of varieties fresh mushroom (cut into slices)

200g of roast pork (cut into little cubes -see pics below)

2 stalks of spring onion 

2 tbsp of light soya sauces 

1 tbsp of vegan oyster sauces

2-3 tbsp of water if needed

See Vegan oyster sauces below. It also included the dark caramel soya sauces. 

Method:

1) 1 tbsp of vegetables oil dry with the garlic in small medium fire together with the roast pork.

Do not let the garlic burn as it will taste bitter. Do not leave the non stick wok, keep stir frying.

2) In all the fresh mushroom & continuing stir frying. Add in the oyster sauces.

3) Add in the spring onion & brown rice.Keep on stir frying.

4) Add in the soya sauces,pouring the soya sauce in circular motion over the fried rice over medium high fire.

5) You can add around 2 tbsp of water if you think the fried rice is too dry. 

6) It is best served hot.

For those who are fans Japanese Garlic Fried Rice, you just need to change the recipes slightly:

3 bowl of  round sticky Japanese rice

4-5 cloves of minced garlic

3 stalks of spring onion 

3 tbsp of light soya sauces 

Pinch of salt if needed
2-3 tbsp of water if needed

**Tips: The ratio of water : brown rice is 2:1.

Pre-soak the brown rice 4-6 hours ahead before cooking in the rice cooker.

Let it cool down before frying. Normally, I will cook all the rice in the afternoon, half portion is for lunch consumption & the other half to be kept in the fridge for dinner fried rice.

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ABC Soup - Everyday Simple Vegetables Soup with Ribs

This soup is as easy as ABC. And it is so comforting for the kids. I used to love this simple soup when I was a kid. Guess what, my little ones love it too. It is a simple delicious soup that is full of nutrient for growing up small kids from 1 year old to 18 years old. It is good to eat these vegetable when drinking the soup.

Ingredients for 3 servings:

300-350g of ribs/chicken chunks with skin removed 

2 carrots (cut into thick slices)

1 medium size tomato (quarter)

1 medium size red onion (quarter)

3-4 medium size potato (cut into half)

1200ml plain cool water

Method:
1) Remember to blanch all the ribs with hot boiling water for a min & then wash it clean with running tap water.
2) Chop all vegetables according.
3) In all the ingredients above into a pressure cooker with 1200ml water.
4) Let it boil for 20 mins in the pressure cooker & it is done.

If you do not have a pressure cooker.
1) Just put all the ingredients in a deep pot over the stove & boil with high heat.
2) You will need to increase the water slightly to 1900ml as the water will evaporate while boiling.
3) Once the soup is boil, reduce the heat to the smallest setting & let it simmer in small fire for 2-3 hours.

This soup is best served warm.

Tips: You can also add one pcs of corn into this soup. Chop the corn into 4pcs. The soup will have the sweetness of the corn. Yes, kids love it. Who doesn't love corn?

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Easy Sambal Ikan Bilis ( Spicy Chilies Condiment in Anchovies -Malaysia Style)

As I have promised, I would like to share my Easy Sambal Ikan Bilis. Trust me, this taste as good as the original recipes that start from scratch. Looks yummy?

3 simple Ingredients:

1 tub of store bought Sambal Chili paste

Half bowl of dried anchovies ( rinse with running tap water)

1 medium size red onion 

Pinch of salt & sugar

Method:

1) 3-4 tbsp of vegetable oil, fry the ikan bilis (pre-wash & drained dried anchovies) until crispy.

2) Drain the excess oil with kitchen towel & put aside.

3) 1 tbsp of vegetable oil into the non stick pan, red onion in, brown it with medium fire. By using non stick pan, we reduce the oil needed to cook the sambal ikan bilis.

4) Stir fry for 3-5 mins in medium fire, add in 2-3 table spoon of the sambal paste ( chili paste). You can add more if you think it is not enough. Don't worry, cooking do not need to be so accurate compared to baking.

5) Tips: Need to add pinch of salt & pinch of sugar ( 1-2 tsp). The sugar will caramelize the onion in the sambal & it taste even better. Feel free to adjust it to your liking:

* Add more sambal paste if  you like it hotter

*Add more onion & sugar if you like it sweeter (kids love this)

6) Finally, stir in the fried ikan bilis & let it simmer for a while about 2-3 mins.

Serving recommendation: Taste best with Nasi Lemak & Curry Chicken. Stay tune for the Curry Chicken Recipes.

Thanks to my sister in Singapore, the below recipies was her home science recipes in secondary school.

I think she doesn't even remember this was the recipes she shared with me. I could still remember my late father who was so supportive & he was trying so hard to finish the sambal. Why? My sister double the spiciness of this recipes. 

Here is the traditional Sambal Ikan Bilis if you like to make it from scratch.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp dried anchovies (cleaned & pre-washed)

4ea shallots

1 knob of gingers (sliced thinly)

6 dried chilies

1cm dried belacan ( dried shrimped paste, toasted- optional)

1 stalk of lemon grass

1/2 cup of asam juice (mix some asam paste with water, drain the juice)

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of sugar

2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1) Grind all these ingredients or you can smash it finely using a mortar & pestle- dried chilies, lemongrass, shallots, ginger, belacan.

2) Heat 2 tbsp of oil & fried the anchovies until crispy. Put aside & drained.

3) Then, add in all the no (1) finely grind ingredients, fry until become thick, you can see that the oil is turning into slightly red color & the aromatic smell of spiciness.

4) Add in the asam juice, let it simmer for a while. Add in salt & sugar.

5) Finally, let the mixture simmer & add it the fried anchovies, let the sauces become slightly thicken.

6) Serve the sambal ikan bilis with Nasi Lemak, accompaied with cucumber slices, hard boiled eggs (sliced half), fried peanut. This is a authenthic Malaysian breakfast!

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Nasi Lemak (Malaysia Style)

Nasi Lemak- Malaysian or Singaporean all time favorite. In the Malaysia language; Nasi means Rice; Lemak means Fat. These fat is from the coconut milk. The Nasi Lemak was classified a national dish for Malaysia. It is well loved by almost everyone includes the tourists, be it Japanese, Korean..etc. The Nasi Lemak is usually served with sambal (spicy condiments), crispy ikan bilis (anchovies), fried peanuts, cucumber, curry chicken or spice fried chicken (for those who can't take spicy food). I love Nasi Lemak for breakfast with spicy condiments.But, I can only eat once a week due to its "lemak" is making me fat.

Today I am going to show you how to cook the Nasi Lemak- the "Nasi" or "Rice" only. I will share with you the recipes on others sides dishes in the next post.

Don't worry. It is super easy to cook the Nasi Lemak.

Ingredients (3 servings):
2 cup of white rice (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 cup of coconut milk* (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 slices of ginger (slightly smash it)
2ea of Pandan leaves (tie to a knot)
1 stalk of lemongrass (slightly smash it)- i forgot to put this in.

How to extract coconut milk- The traditional way:
- Buy 1ea of young fresh grated coconut from the wet market, then, add 1 cup/150ml of hot boiling water.
- Let it sit for a while, it is too hot to handle it at this point of time
- Use a clean cloth to wrap up a portion the coconut mixture & squeeze all the liquid out.
- After a round of squeezing, pls check if you have enough of the coconut milk.
- You can add extra hot water to repeat the above steps again to squeeze extra coconut milk.

The modern way:
- Store bought coconut milk in packet. This is easily available in any supermarket.
- It saves time & avoid messy clean up.

Method:
1) Wash the rice & rinse it clean for 3 times.
2) Put all the ingredients in.
3) Let the rice cooker do the work.
4) After half an hour, you will have fluffy Nasi Lemak.

In South East Asia-Nasi Lemak usually serve with Sambal Ikan Bilis (spicy chili paste cooked with anchovies) & Curry Chicken. Enjoy~

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Simple Lady Finger (Okra) Salad

Super simple easy salad for a busy weekday nights. Okra or ladies fingers are surprising one of the super food that have a lots of health benefits. Okra is packed with dietary fibre that helps stabilisation of blood sugar levels by regulation of the rate of absorption of sugar from the digestive tract. The anti-diabetic property of okra is also attributed to its ability of inhibition of enzymes metabolizing carbohydrates, enhancement of production of insulin, regeneration of beta cell of the pancreas and increased secretion of insulin. In short, we shall include okra or lady fingers into our vegetables list. It is a very common vegetables in this Asia Pacific region.

Salads for 2-3 servings:

6-9ea lady fingers or okra (washed & cleaned)

2 tsps Seaweed sauces* (usually made in Taiwan, made in Korea or Japan)

1/2 tsp shallots oil or garlic oil (fried some vegetable oil with slices of shallots or garlic)

Some toasted sesame 

* If  you can't get the seaweed sauce, just replace it with light soya sauces will do.

Method:

1) Boil a pot of boiling hot water & cook the okra for 4-5 mins.

2) Drain & cool with running tap water. Put aside & slice it.

3) Mix the sliced okra with shallot/garlic oil.

4) Season well with the seaweed sauces or light soya sauces.

5) Sprinkles some toasted sesame on top.

6) Serve immediately.

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Braised Pork in Dark Soy Sauces (卤肉）

Today, I am in good mood to cook something more elaborate. My favorite Braised Pork in Dark Soy Sources (卤肉). It is best served with rice. Honestly, it is not difficult to cook this dish. The only issues is time- at least 1 hour. The secret to cook a yummy braised pork to control the fire & long cooking time under the small medium fire for at least 1 hour or more.

Ingredients:

1-1.5kg Pork Knuckles (chopped into pcs that is suitable for braising)

6-8 dried Chinese mushroom (soaked until soft with warm water, cleaned, cut into half)

Some Dried Squid (julienned 鱿鱼丝)- around 1 tbsp

6 cloves of Garlic

2 Dried Chilies

Some Star Anise (2ea)

Some Cinnamon Stick (1ea)

1.5 tbsp Sugar

Some Pepper (whole pepper-half a teaspoon)

1.5 tbsp Oyster Sauce

1.5 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauces

1.5 tbsp Soy Sauces

Water

Salt to taste

Method:

1) Boil a pot of water & blanch the pork knuckles in the hot water for 3-5 mins.

2) Then, rinse the pork knuckles with cool running water. Set aside.

3) Heat 1 tbsp of oil, stir fry the dried squid until fragrant, add in the dried chilies, garlic & sugar. Then add in the star anise, cinnamon stick & whole pepper.

4) Add in the pork knuckles & stir fry until fragrant

5)Add in the soy sauces, dark soy sauces & water enough to cover the pork leg. Add in the mushroom.

6) Braised the meat on medium high fire until it simmer, then turn down the fire to "small setting" & braise for 1 hour or until water reduce. If the water reduce too fast, you can add in some hot water.

7) Alternative, you can cook these in a pressure cooker for 15 mins, then transfer the mat to the normal pot to braise for another 20-30mins. 

Tips: Meat cooked in pressure cooker is not as delicious compared to small fire in regular pot. However, it can be used to shorten the cooking time.

Lastly garnish with some spring onion & it taste super delicious.

Best serve with steamed rice.

Yummy~

Always cook extra for tomorrow. So convenient. Just need to re-heat it.

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