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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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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Stir Fry Korean Firm Tofu (Dubu) with Minced Meat

Tofu & minced meat is always my 1st choice to cook for the kids. It is easy to eat, they do not need to use too much time to chew. Besides,tofu is another option of healthier plant based protein. I am training my kids to eat "everything" & do not be too choosy on food. They need to learn to appreciate whatever is served on the table. Granny & parents taught us the same idea when we were kids. Got to pass some of these wisdom to them.

I am using Chongga firm tofu for this dishes. Chongga offer two version of firm tofu (or Dubu -豆腐, 두부 in Korean language). 

• Soyrich tofu for stew 
• Soyrich tofu for frying ( I love the frying type)

I like the firm texture of these Korean tofu (口感很好).

Stew Tofu

Frying Tofu

In order to make the tofu taste better, you can fry it 1st See my previous recipes on the fry tofu:

http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2012/04/simple-delicious-fried-tofu.html

It is okay if you just use the tofu as it is.

Ingredients (2-3 serving):

150g minced meat (marinated with 1 tsp of soya sauces + 1tsp of corn starch)

1 box Firm tofu (210g)

Few slices of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

Sauces mixture:

1 tbsp of oyster sauce

1 tsp of dark soya sauces

1 tsp of soya sauces

4-5 tbsp of water

Pinch of salt to taste

some spring onion for decoration

Method:

1) Fry the garlic & ginger with the minced meat for 2 mins with 1 tbsp of oil in a wok pan (medium high heat).

2) Pour the sauces mixture & cook the meat for 2-3 mins , then add in the tofu. Lid on.

3) Continue simmer for another 2-3 mins, last in the spring onion.

4) Serve hot immediately  with white rice.

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Stir Fry "Short Tail" Noodles (老鼠粉) with Minced Meat - Malaysian Style

I like to cook noodles on weekend evening. It is fast, less mess & quick clean up. We just need to wash 3 bowls & 3 chop sticks. No other reasons for a working mum who want more rest on the weekend. Mummy also need a break sometimes, I always tell my girl that if she insists on I should cook a full course dinner. This is her full course dinner definition: three dishes & one soup serve with rice, a typical Asian dining. Here comes the Stir Fry "Short Tail" Noodle 老鼠粉 with Minced Meat.

You can get these fresh short noodles  from the local wet market or supermarket. This is quite a common fresh noodles in South East Asia especially Malaysia & Singapore. It is just one type of fresh rice noodles but shorter in length. If you can't find this, just replace with any fresh rice noodles e.g. flat rice noodles.

Ingredients (3 Servings):
600g Short Tail Rice Noodles
200g Bean Sprouts
200g Minced Meat (marinated with 1tsp oyster sauces)
Some sliced fish cake (kid loves this)
2 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 egg

Sauces Mixture:
500ml of broths ( or 500ml of water + 1tsp of chicken stocks)
1 tbsp of dark soya sauces
1 tsp of soya sauces
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Method:
1) Fry 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil with minced garlic.
2) Add in minced meat & fish cakes, continue stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
3) Add in noodles & continue to stir fry 1 min.
4) Add in the sauces mixtures, let it simmer for about 2mins, add in the bean sprouts.
5) Keep stir fry to avoid the noodles stick on the pan.
6) Last in the egg & stir in quickly before off the fire.
7) Serve hot.

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White Radish Soup with Abalone Slices

Recently it rains a lot, I like rainy day especially when the weather is warm or on a lazy weekend. But the timing got to be right. If it rain at late afternoon at 5pm on week days, it is a pain because there will be big jam & my kid will come back late. Hubby will come back late.We will have to eat late dinner. Prefer to have my dinner no later than 7.15pm so that I can be kind to the tummy.

This is a very simple soup but comforting. It looks luxurious due to the abalone slices. While I am shopping in the Chinese herba shop, I spotted some cheap dried abalone slices on sales. You do not need to buy the whole abalone, you can get pretty good bargain buying the half abalone slices. Initially I have no intention of cooking it with the radish soup. But, the dried octopus was out of stocks. So, I use these abalone slices as replacement. The outcome was pleasing.

Ingredients (3-4 servings):
300g soup bones
2 liter of water
6ea red dates
1 whole white radish
4-5 slices of dry abalone slices (or 1ea of dried octopus which is more or less same size with my hand)
2 dried scallops

Method:
1) Must pre-prepare the dry abalone slices.
-boil a pot of water with 4 slices of gingers, 2 stalks of spring onion & 2 tbsp of rice wine & abalone slices. Let is boil for 5 mins with lid on.
-this is to remove the unpleasant smell of the dried abalone.
- off the fire & let it soak in the hot water for 4-5 hours with lid on.
- later rinse it with water, then it is only ready to use.
2)De-skin the white radish, chop into big pcs.
3)Remove the seed of the red dates. Clean with running water.
4)Clean the dried scallops with running water.
5) Wash the bones. Boil a pot of hot water & then put in the bones, let it simmer for 3-5mins. The soup will be clear & nice.
6)Put everything inside the pressure cooker.Boil for 30-40 mins with slow fire.
or
7)If you use normal pots, you may need to add another extra 800ml of water due to the evaporation. Once the water boiled, turn it to slow fire & boil it for 3-4 hours.
8) Serve warm.

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Steam Tofu with Minced Meat

On a weekday dinner, I normally will prepare some really simple & fast dish. The best thing is while cooking the rice, I can steam it together inside the rice cooker. In Asia, every household has a automatic rice cooker at home, you just need to wash the rice & press the automatic button. It will cook the rice perfectly. It comes with a tray where you can insert on top of the rice bowl for steaming while the rice is cooking.

I noticed that most kids love to eat soft tofu & minced meat as it is easier to chew. Especially younger children aged between 3 to 5. Try to buy better quality meat. It really make a big different. I don't deny that quality meat is more costly. You can buy within your mean.

Ingredients for 3 servings:
180g minced meat
1 tsp of shao heng cooking wine
1/2 tsp of chicken stocks granules

1 tbsp of corn starch 

1tbsp of water

Pinch of Salt

few drops of sesame oil

Method: Mix all the ingredients above by hand until the minced meat is sticky & smooth.

Others ingredients:

1 box of soft tofu (appx 200g)
Shallots oil- cut a few pcs of shallots, sliced it, fry in any vegetables oil.
Careful. Don't burn it. Mine was slightly burned. But I still use it anyway. Grandma said not to waste.

Final Assemble Method:
1)Cut the box soft tofu into half, lay it on the plate.
2)Top the minced meat mixture on top of the tofu.
3)Steam it together on the insert on top of the rice cooker. When the rice is done cooking, your meal is ready.
or
4) Use a steamer to steam it. Put the plate in AFTER the water boiled. Let it steams for about 12-15 mins.
5) Lastly, drop 1 tbsp of the shallots oil on top of the minced meat.
Serve immediately to enjoy.

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Delicious Homemade Pizza for 2

This is a very simple recipes yet delicious. Pizza is a comfort food. To me, it is just like an open toast sandwich. If you fold the pizza half & seal it, it became a Calzone. It just like a big curry puff. The only different is the fillings inside.

Pizza topping is very personal. Just be creative with the topping ingrediants, I even put tomato sauce on top with sambal ikan bilis sauces, red onion & some prawns. Sound very South East Asia right? 

My toppings: bacon, sausages, red/yellow bell pepper & onion. Use any store bought pizza sauces for convenient. Usually I will buy big tall bottle of tomato pizza sauces, use 2/3 for pasta & 1/3 for pizza. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Read the label.

Another tip- use high quality mozzarella cheese.

This is a perfect recipes for Pizza for 2 adults. It can be made into 1 big pizza or two medium thin pizza.

200g Hi Protein Bread flour

1tsp Dry yeast

2tsp Sugar

2/3 tsp Salt

140cc warm regular tap water

Method:
1) Mix yeast with water, add into the flour + sugar + salt (mix all dry ingredients 1st).
2) Knead the dough with bread machine or by hand.
- Machine  (need to work the dough for about 8 mins)
- By hand (need to work the dough for 15 mins)
3) Make the dough into a round shape. Let it rise in an air tight container or any bowl cover with a wet towel/ wrap. keep it in a warm place. It will rise to almost double the size in 30-40 mins.
4) Then, punch the dough down, you can divide into two single pizza & use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. Remember to flour the table top. Make sure the flatten dough do not stick on the table surface. Use a fork to make some hold on the flatten dough. It is best roll in on a marble table if possible. Oh yes, the reason I buy the classic marble table which is so 80s....
5) Spread the tomato sauces, then sprinkles any of the ingrediats of your choice, lastly top it with the mozeralla cheese. Let it rest for 10 mins.
6) Remember to pre-head the oven at 220'C & bake the pizza for 10-12 mins.



As usual, I never taken a baked pizza picture, this is because when the pizza is ready, we dig in too fast.






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Simple Oriental Pork Chop

If you prefer something light & easy for weekday dinner, this is a good recipes. It is so easy to prepare & my kid love this pork chop so much. It tastes exceptionally good with a bowl of white rice.

You just need to marinate the pork chop one day ahead in the refrigerator. Then, pan fry it until it is thoroughly cooked. Normally, I will do the marinate & get my hubby to pan fry it.

Marinates for 2 servings:
3 pcs of pork chop ( get the butcher to recommend the best cut for pork chop)
2 tsp of light soy sauces
1tsp of sugar
1 tsp of Shao Xin Wine (Chinese cooking wine)
Some pepper
1 tsp of ginger juice (optional)

Method:
1) Marinate overnight in refrigerator. 
2) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the non stick pan, then lay the pork chop & pan fry it accordingly.
3) It will depend how thick is the pork chop, the thicker the cut, the longer it takes to pan fry it. You will be able to tell when it is cooked by looking at it.
4) Let the pork chop rest for about 20mins before serving because it will keep the pork chop moist.
5) Enjoy~~

My kid love lean meat, therefore I use the lean meat to make those pork chops. Personally, I prefer to use the regular "pork chop" cut that have some fat on it. It tastes better that way. Keep the fat when pan fry it. Discard the fat when serving it.

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Stir Fry Roast Pork

I know this is such a simple dish & anyone knows how to do it. The reason why I would like to share my grandma recipes is to remember the good old food that we used to enjoy when I was a kid. Recently my kid ask me a very funny question, so next time when she grown up & want to cook the same thing again, where can she refer to? The 1st thing come across my mind is - my blog. I showed her my blog & she is OK with the idea.

Ingredients:
3-4 cloves of garlic (sliced)
few slices of gingers
Roast pork belly
1 tsp vege oil for stir frying
2 tsp of soy sauces (oriental)
1 tsp of  dark soy sauces (oriental)

Method:
1) Heat oil to brown the garlic & ginger. Do not burn the garlic & ginger. You don't really need much oil because oil will oz out from the roast pork belly.
2) In the roasted pork belly which is already cooked, then add the soy sauces & dark soy sauces. Quickly stir fry for 1-2 mins & it is ready to serve. If it is too dry, you can add a little bit of water.

Tips: You can also use this recipes for steamed chicken. It tastes good as well.

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Stir Fry Meat with Black Fungus （木耳）

Black fungus which is called wood ear fungus. It resemble "ear" grown on trunks of trees. In fact in Chinese, it is has a pretty straight forward translation: 木 (wood) 耳(ear). These black fungus are widely cultivate in Asia especially in China. It is believed that the black fungus has lots of health properties especially in promoting youth & longevity.  However, I love the texture of the fungus. It is so crunchy. Black fungus is an important ingredient in Chinese vegetarian diet.

Today I have bought some fresh live black fungus. Therefore, I do not need to soak it before cooking. I can use it straight away. Normally black fungus in the Asia grocery shop are dried. You will need to re-hydrate it with water for at least 30 mins - 1 hours before you can use it. Cut the black fungus into bite size. Here is the simple & tasty recipes:

Ingrediants:
300g of poultry (chicken or pork)
50g of black fungus (soaked & cut)
1tsp of oyster sauce
1tsp of Chinese cooking wine
1tsp of soya sauces
3tbsp of water
Few slices of gingers
1 tbsp of cooking oil
pinch of salt
some spring onion

1) Heat oil with gingers slices, then in the poultry, stir fried for  2 mins, then in the black fungus.
2) Add in the premix - oyster sauce, wine, soya sauces , water & cook the black fungus through. If the water dry up too fast, you can add additional tablespoon of water.
3) Add in pinch of salt if needed. Lastly before you off the stove fire, add in the spring onion.

Serve hot with rice. Enjoy~

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Meat Stir fry Yakiniku (JP) sauces with White Rice

Simple stir fry meat is always a favorite for kids. Today, I am going to show you how to do a simple yet delicious meal on a lazy weekend. It is 100% fool proof. By the way, you can also sneak in some vegetables in this stir fry dish. This is my "Rachael 30 mins Meals".

1st thing 1st, cook the rice using rice cooker. It is more authentic by cooking short & round Japanese rice which is more sticky compared to the Jasmine rice (Thailand). The Rice will be cooked in approx. 30mins. In the mean time, slice the meat (chicken, pork or etc) & vegetables (onion, carrot), ginger or garlic.

Then, heat the oil in wok, slightly fry the ginger or garlic, in the meat (stir fry 1-2 mins), then add carrot & onions. Add 2 tbsp of Yakiniku sauce with 3 tbsp of water, let it cook through. Serve hot with white rice. Guarantee delicious.

Tips: You can add in 0.5 tsp of dark soya sauce so that it will have the deep brown colour.

Below is Japanese Style Yakiniku sauces for your reference. You can get this from any Asian Store that sell Japanese food supply. Any brand will do.

I even sneak in some corns in this stir fry. It looks like western-style stir fry. Feel free to try different type of vegetable & meat with this sauces. It is really versatile.

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