Hello everyone. I am back! I know I am known for being here and then gone for no reason whatsoever. This time, besides being lazy, I was without computer. My notebook decided to go kaput on me and I decided to just wait for Black Friday to get a new one. Cheap, no fancy schmancy notebook. So here I am.
For today, I decided to post this Yong Tau Foo, a favourite Malaysian Chinese dish. B of Rasa Malaysia used to make these for me so I decided to make them myself. It is very simple and satisfyingly yummy.
1 1/2 cup macaroni, cooked as per instruction and drained
1/2 lb ground beef
3 tbs vegetable oil
3 garlic and 2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 tbs water
1 carrot, julienned
1 large tomato, cut into 8
1/4 cup ketchup/tomato sauce
Salt and sugar to taste
1. In a large wok or pan, brown ground meat. Drained excess fat and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the same wok and sauteed garlic and shallots until brown and add water and all other ingredients except macaroni. Stir well and taste.
3. Lastly add macaroni and stir occasionally.
Pleating wonton can be tricky but I hope with these step-by-step pictures, my readers would be able to do it in no time. You can get the recipe for Fried Wonton from my previous post but for this pictures, I actually used ground turkey instead of ground chicken and they come out very good that Michael kept on eating them.
Add about a tablespoon of the mix at the center and wet 2 sides of the skin
Fold the skin diagonally, pressing the sides together and get rid as much air as possible
Wet 1 end and gently fold the 2-ends by overlapping them together
This is how the wonton would look like once they are done
As promised in my previous post of Foodbuzz May 24,24,24 here is the recipe for Chicken and Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce. Some of you may already know that I have made and posted the recipe for Satay before but since this time I used a different recipe, I thought I would post it as well. This recipe was given to me by my friend Mai, a wife, mom, doctor and student who is doing her PhD in England. Thank you Mai!
Chicken Satay Recipe
(makes around 100 sticks)
5lb boneless and skinless chicken breast, sliced and cubed into 1in sq and about 1/2cm thick
1 pack grated lemongrass (14oz)
1/3 cup cumin powder
2oz fennel seed (grind)
1 1/4 cups sugar
Salt
1/4 cup turmeric powder
1/4 cup water
Wooden skewer (soaked in water 2hrs prior to being used)
Oil + honey/sugar
1. In a big bowl, mix all the ingredients (except chicken) together and taste. Add chicken to it and mix well.
2. Transfer them into 2-3 ziplock bags and marinate overnight in the fridge.
3. A few hours before grilling, take them out and let them cool to room temperature.
4. Thread the wooden skewer with 3 pieces of chicken each.
5. Grill on a direct fire. Flip every 15-20sec so the meat don't get burned and baste with oil +honey/sugar each time you flip them.
6. Take them of the grill and serve with Rice Cake and Peanut Sauce.
**For Beef Satay, just replace chicken with beef. The marinate are all the same.
I have posted the easy peanut sauce recipe before but to make it easier for you, here they are again.
Peanut Sauce
24oz (680gm) dry-roasted peanuts, (I use store bought)
3 cups water
1/4 cup sambal oelek (less if you dont like it too spicy)
4oz palm sugar
salt
1. Grind the peanuts in a food processor. Longer if you want a finer peanuts.
2. In a large pot boil the water, sambal oelek, palm sugar and ground peanut. Stir continuously.
3. Once its boiled, turn down heat and let it simmer. Add in salt and taste. Give a good stir every 15-20min.. This will take a very long time. It took me between 2-2.5hrs to get the right consistency. The peanut and water should combined nicely.
The recipe will give you a lot of peanut sauce. Just freeze the amount that you are not using for later use.
Fried rice is an easy all-in-one meal that everybody can make. Especially Chinese Fried Rice. When I make it, I would use minimum ingredients with no meat or seafood. Just rice, mixed veggies and egg. Well, maybe some oil for frying, garlic and salt and pepper to taste too. Now, how can you not say that it is the easiest meal to make? Yet as simple and easy as it is, I hardly ever made them. I am not sure why but maybe because when I cook white rice, I just do not cook extra and since I am the only one eating it, there is hardly ever any rice left that is enough to make fried rice. Until recently of course. I reminded myself to cook extra rice since it has been a while that I have homemade fried rice.
Chinese Fried Rice serves 1-2
2 cups 1-day old cooked white rice 2 garlic, sliced 1 cup frozen mixed veggie Half medium size onion, sliced 2 eggs Salt, sugar and white pepper to taste 2 tbs veggie oil
1. In a frying pan, heat the oil and saute the garlic.
2. Add the mixed veggie and cook until they are soft. Add in the rice together with sliced onion, salt, sugar and white pepper. Stir well.
3. In a small bowl, break the eggs and whisk a little and add into the pan. Stir until the egg mixed well with the rice. Serve immediately.
I love going to the asian supermarket. Maybe because I am asian. :P Finding stuff that I am familiar with and in the shape that I am accustomed to and with price tags that would not make me cry. True isn't it? Somehow the stuff sold at the asian supermarkets are cheaper and fresher (for veggies and seafood at least). I don't buy prawns/shrimps at the regular supermarkets where it would cost me maybe $5-$8/lb since I can get them for $4/lb at the asian supermarket. They also have a wider varieties of fish and would clean them for you which is the way I like it since for the life of me, I can not clean them myself. Anyways, the last visit to the asian supermarket, I bought a few types of fish and usually would eat them for a whole straight week. Previously I posted Baked Trout with Vegetables so today I am going to post my Steamed White Pomfret recipe that I made a few weeks ago.
Steamed White Pomfret
1 whole white pomfret, cleaned (mine was about 1.5lb) 2-3in ginger, thinly julienne 4 shallot, thinly julienne 2 garlic, thinly sliced 2-3 thai chili, sliced (or 1/2 serrano chili) 1 red chili, sliced Juice from 2 lime 1/3 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar
1. Make 2 slits on each side of the fish and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients well and taste. Add salt or sugar or lime juice to your liking.
3. Pour some of the juice into a pyrex bowl (or any bowl that you are using to steam the fish), lay the fish and pour the rest of the juice on the fish. Let it marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. I did mine overnight.
4. Take the bowl out of the fridge an hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
5. Put it in a steamer and steam until cooked. You will know the fish is cooked when the meat will flake easily with a fork or chopstick.
I'm really not sure if this is Nasi Arab or Nasi Bukhari (nasi = rice) or a completely different rice altogether but this is the reason why I wanted to make sweet and sour chicken that ended up being Soy Sauce Chicken in my previous post. The first time I had this kind of rice was maybe 8-9 years ago when my friend made it for me. That time I of course did not even bother asking for the recipe. So when I suddenly felt like having similar rice, google it I did and I found a few recipes. I also found that Nasi Bukhari and Nasi Arab use somewhat the same ingredients. But I am no expert so I could be wrong. I cook what I feel like cooking and using ingredients that I feel like using or what I have at home so this is the result and I hope you will like it too.
Nasi Bukhari / Arab
1 cup basmathi rice, rinsed 1 3/4 cups water 2 tbs ghee oil (you can use veggie or olive oil) 1.5-2 cups thinly sliced beef 1 tbs Shan beef briyani mix 1 tbs coriander powder 1 tbs cumin powder 4-spices; (2in cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 4 cloves and 4 cardamom seed) 6-8 shallots, thinly sliced 2 in ginger, julienne 1 tomato, thinly sliced 1 green chili or 3-4 thai chili, sliced salt and sugar to taste Fried shallot/onion for garnishing (optional
1. Marinade the beef with briyani mix, coriander and cumin powder for at least 2-3hrs prior to cooking.
2. In a pot, heat the ghee oil and add the 4-spices until fragrant. Add in the shallots and ginger, stir and followed by the beef. Continue stirring until brown.
3. Add rice and water, stir. Add salt and sugar to taste followed by tomato and chili. Stir one last time and let it boil. Once boiled, cover and simmer for 25min.
Here we are in 2009! I hope it is not too late to wish everybody a very Happy New Year. We had a wonderful new year's eve, hanging out with friends, eating good food and playing poker. The next thing I know it was like past 2am and time to go home. I hate driving at night especially in an unfamiliar road/freeway. To make matter worst, it was really really foggy that night and that made driving even more difficult. Thank god for gps though! Anyways, back to cooking. Last week I craved for some good chicken porridge. I have some salted egg and pickled leek at home and the thought of chicken porridge with them was just too much to resist. I remember my favourite porridge joint back in Kuala Lumpur. It was at this place called Kampung Baru (literally translated to New Village) right smack in the city centre. They have a huge display of dishes to go with the rice porridge. All you have to do is pick and put them in provided plates, give it to them and find a table to sit. They will cook your chosen dishes and serve with porridge of your choice, be it plain white porridge or chicken porridge. Since there would always be at least 5 different dishes, I always choose plain white instead of chicken porridge which I think is best enjoyed on its own.
Chicken Porridge
1/2 cup jasmine rice, rinsed 5 cups water 1 chicken leg 1in ginger, julienne 3 stalks celery, sliced 1 carrot, sliced Salt White pepper (optional) 1 star anise (optional) 2-3 cardamom seeds (optional) 1 tbs veggie oil
1. In a pot, heat the oil on medium high. Add star anise and cardamom seeds, stir until fragrant.
2. Add ginger and chicken, continue stirring and flip the chicken once.
3. Add rice and water and let it boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue boiling.
4. Add salt and white pepper, stir and taste. 30 min.
5. Add in the celery and carrot. Stir occasionally. Continue boiling for another 30 min.
Among all my aunties, I go to Ende Li's house a lot since they live the closest to my parent's house. Ende Li is my dad's younger sister and she has 7 kids and she LOVES to COOK and FEED us. Just by going for lunch or dinner at their place is like a party itself with lots of people and of course, lots of food. When my cousins (from another family) were still studying in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the usual hang out places would either be at my parents's house or Ende Li's house because we are the only family from my dad's side living in KL. When any of the cousins say they're going to be at either my parent's place or Ende Li's place, the words would travel, calls would be made and the next thing you know everybody would be there. So this entry is dedicated to Ende Li (and of course my uncle Ayah Rashid) who always welcome us to their home with open arms and table. :) Chicken Rice Set serves 3 -4
Chicken and Soup
6 pcs chicken 2in ginger, pounded 4 garlic, pounded 4-spices (1 star anise seed,3 cloves,3 cardamon & 1in cinnamon stick), rinsed (optional) 2-3 cups water 2 tbs cooking oil Salt and sugar 3-4 tbs sweet soy sauce 1 tbs white pepper Veggie oil for deep frying
1. In a pot, heat the oil and add the 4-spices. Once it's fragrant, add the pounded ginger and garlic. Stir.
2. Add in the chicken, water, salt and sugar to taste. (Be generous with water because you will need the stock to make the rice and chili sauce for your chicken rice). Stir occasionally until the chicken is cooked. About 30min.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, take about 1/4 cup of the stock and put it into a big bowl. Mix in the sweet soy sauce and white pepper. Mix well. Add in the chicken to marinade. Let it sit for at least 30min and deep fry.
Rice
Rinsed 1 1/2cup basmathi rice, put it in the pot and instead of water, add in 2 3/4 cup of the chicken stock/soup and let it boil. Once boiled, cover and simmer for 20min.
Chili Sauce
In a bowl, mix 4 tbs sambal oelek with 1 tbs ketchup, 3-4 tbs chicken soup and salt and sugar to taste.
Seafood is plenty here in California but being Asian, there is only so much of steamed seafood with butter or seafood in creamy sauce that I can take before I am craving for that spicy, sweet and sour seafood. Not to mention that it is also very pricey to eat seafood out in the restaurant.
For our 4th anniversary last month, we went to the Joe's Crab Shack. The crab legs are pretty good but somehow it does not satisfy my crave for crabs. So later in the week, we headed off to the asian supermarket and got me 2 huge dungeness (i think!) crabs for less than $4/lb. I would normally make sweet and sour crab but this time I decided to use the plum sauce that I bought and was very happy with the result.
Crab in Spicy Plum Sauce serves 1-2
1 crab, cleaned, separate the claws and half the body 8-10 thai chili 1in ginger 3 garlic 1 shallot 7 tbsp plum sauce 1/3 cup water salt and sugar 1 egg, slightly whisked 2 tbsp veggie oil
1. Pound thai chili, ginger, garlic and shallot until it forms a paste.
2. In a wok or deep pan, heat the oil on medium heat and sauteed the paste until fragrant.
3. Add water, plum sauce, salt and sugar. Stir and taste to your liking.
4. Add in the crab, turn the heat to high. Flip the crab until all covered with sauce. Cover. 1min.
5. Uncover, flip the crab again and add in the egg. Turn the heat off and keep flipping the crab until they are all covered with the egg.
It is already the month of November. Today is my Big-Day. And the whole world is waiting for it. Of course for a totally different reason but it is nevertheless, still exciting. For this special day, I thought I would post my chicken soto recipe. I think it is rather appropriate since it is raining today and having some soupy dish when it rains is just so good. Of course, Soto is just good regardless of the weather condition.
Chicken Soto or Soto Ayam is what this is normally called. It comes in a set of rice cake and soup, garnishes with shredded chicken, sweet chili soy sauce, bean sprout and bergedil. However, I did not make any bergedil since I already had so much food. Back home, you can find a ready-made chicken soto paste which is called 'sop bonjot' but I never used it. I find the result to be too watery and not to my liking. So if there is 1 thing that I make from scratch, soto ayam is it.
I learned to make soto ayam from my aunt in Johor. That was 1 of the many dishes served during Eid. Once I have mastered (*wink*) the know-how to make soto ayam, it became my duty to make them for our yearly Eid openhouse. I have even had to make them for my friend's openhouse and my cousin's openhouse. Of course then when I made soto ayam, it would be for like 100 people and no measurements required. Everything is by-ear measurement. Now that I am married and living away from home, I learned to make it in smaller portion and with measurement so I can share them with other people.
Chicken Soto / Soto Ayam serves 2-3
A. 1 piece chicken thigh,bone-in (u can also use 2 pieces for this recipe) 4 cardamon seed 4 cloves 2 star anise 2in cinnamon stick 4-5 tablespoon oil1/2 cup santan (coconut milk)
B. (Blended) 4 shallots 1 onion 4 garlic 2in ginger
C. Rice cake / Ketupat Beansprout Fried tung hoon - fried and crushes (optional) Fried shallot
1. In a pot, heat the oil and add the cardamon, cloves, star anise and cinnamon. Stir for about 1-2 min.
2. Add in B and stir for another 4-5min.
3. Add in the chicken and water enough to cover the chicken, (about 1.5-3 cups). 2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar. Keep flipping the chicken and continue boiling for abt 15-20min. Once the chicken is cooked, take it out and let it cool down.
4. Add another cup of water and the coconut milk. (The blended ingredients and coconut milk will make the soup thicker and that is wht we want. So make sure you dont add too much water.
5. Let it boil and then only you add more salt and sugar to taste.
6. Shred the chicken and put the bones back in the soup. You can also put the shredded chicken meat back into the soup if you like.
Chili Soy Sauce
4-5 thai chili (more if you like it spicier) Sweet soy sauce (I use habhal brand) Salt Lime juice
Pound thai chili using mortar and pestle. If you are making a lot, you can use the blender. Add in the rest of the ingredients
It has been awhile since I last made briyani rice. So for my openhouse, I decided to make some. Just a plain briyani rice with a few side dishes to go with it. The first side dish is of course the Spicy Honey Chicken. For the briyani rice itself, I use Shan's Malay Chicken Briyani mix that you can find at the Indian stores. I have posted the Malay Chicken Briyani recipe before with chicken in it. The only difference is I dont use any Adabi briyani mix nor chicken for the rice itself since I was making rice and dishes instead of just rice. So for just the rice, this is how you make it.
1. Heat up the ghee oil in a pot and add the 4-spices until aromatic.
2. Add in the chopped onion & garlic. Keep stirring for about 3-4min.
3. Add the rice and water and salt and sugar. Stir, taste and let it boil. Cover and simmer for 25min.
For Beef Rendang, I just use the ready made paste that my mom gave me. You can just use any rendang paste that you could find at asian stores. I added a little bit of curry powder and chili powder to the mix to get a spicier Beef Rendang. I also added a few kaffir lime leaves half way through cooking to get that aromatic smell.
Another dish that I cooked to pair with my Briyani Rice is Beef Liver in Black Pepper Soy Sauce. Yes, besides Chicken Gizzards, I also eat liver. Beef liver. I think I get kind of hooked to it when my mom made them for my sis-in-laws after they gave birth. They are just so good and of course not available at your regular supermarket. I got mine at the halal store in Garden Grove. Here is the recipe;
Beef Liver in Black Pepper Soy Sauce
1/2lb beef liver 3-4 tbsp ground black pepper 1 medium onion 2in ginger 3-4 garlic 5-6 tbsp sweet soy sauce Salt
1. In a mortar and pestle, pound onion and ginger.
2. Mix everything in a bowl and let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
3. In a pan, heat up some oil and sauteed the marinated stuff until half cook.
4. Add sweet soy sauce and salt. Taste and continue stirring.
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