A Very Merry Balik Kampung Trip : Part 2

Good evening to all. This is merely a continuation from my previous entry and I would tell you more on how I spent my time. After all the Kacang Phool and Chappati goodness, off we went to this stall located in Kampung Jawa, right in the heart of Melaka town because my younger sister, Abbot (this name was given by my youngest uncle, fondly known as TokCu by my kids) is expecting, and yes, you guessed it right, her cravings are beyond imagination. She went straight to THE curry puffs stall but she returned in despair. The makcik well-known for her scrumptious creation had not been in business for quite long. To compensate for the loss,  she bought a few pieces of apam balik.

Still dealing with her cravings, we continued our journey to the wet market near Melaka Sentral. I found it rather amusing for it was already 11 am!  I have never been to the market at such late hour! Nevertheless, I tagged along since cravings (especially mentioned by pregnant ladies) are treated rather seriously in my family. After the curry puffs episode, she was not disheartened for she mentioned – chilli crabs!  As a result, Mak went straight to the stalls selling the bluish crustacean.  We were lucky to get hold of some good-sized ones. The session at the market continued with purchasing of other sea creatures as well as buying Melaka’s greatest culinary items- the ‘belacan’ and ‘cincalok’. I bought some ‘kerepek belinjau’, a few packets of ‘dodol’ as well as some munchies. Mak had grabbed some ulam and I was quite sure that she had already planned what to cook for lunch. After spending about an hour at the market, we went back and a lot of cooking had taken place soon after.

Mak’s meticulous planning had produced sumptuous, mouth-watering babies in the photo below :

STEAMED COCKLES, FRESH FOUR ANGLED-BEANS AND DAUN SELOM WITH  AIR ASAM ALA CIK SALMAH

CHILLI CRABS

By the way, here are the recipes if you wish to try :

For the air asam :

• 1 pip of garlic
• 2 inch piece of shrimp paste
• 1 tablespoonful of cooking oil
• 6-7  bird’s-eye chillies
• 1 onion (chopped finely)
• 1 fresh red chilli (chopped finely)
• 1 fresh green chilli (chopped finely)
• tamarind (the size of a Grade C egg)
• 1 cup of warm water
• salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. Heat the oil in pan and fry the shrimp paste for 2-3 minutes and put aside.
2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the fried shrimp paste, garlic and bird’s-eye chillies finely and put into a bowl.
3. Next, mix the tamarind with warm water and squeeze out the juice and pour into the bowl containing the pounded ingredients.
4. Then, put in the chopped ingredients, and add salt and sugar to taste.

For the chilli crabs, you need :

• 2 kg of crabs (cleaned and each crab is cut into two )
• 2 large onions
• 5 pips of garlic
• 2cm piece of ginger
• 5 pieces of dried chillies (deseeded and soaked in hot water and drained)
• 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce
• 5 tablespoonfuls of chilli sauce
• salt and sugar to taste
• 2 cups of water
• 3-4 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil

Method :

1. Ground onions, garlic, ginger and dried chillies finely.
2. In a big wok, heat the oil and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant and the oils separates from the gravy.
3. Next put in all the sauces and your crab pieces. Stir well.
4. Then, put in the water and stir so the sauce coats the crabs.  Put on the lid and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
5. Add salt and sugar to taste. You may want to add more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking. Cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve hot!

 

A Very Merry Balik Kampung Trip : Part 1

Morning all! Counting days to celebrate the new year? I’m having mixed feelings for it also means going back to work after having a long break. Taking this fact into consideration, I decided to go back to my hometown during Christmas. Having a jolly good time before crawling back into the rat race.

This time, the journey wasn’t smooth for it took us two hours to reach Padang Jambu.  However, it was worth all the wait for Mak had prepared her scrumptious dishes. Simple as they might seem, but they were prepared with love. I took my helper along and I could see that that she too enjoyed the dishes for she had second helpings. As I’ve mentioned in my previous entry, it is food that binds us all.

Come Sunday morning, it was a breakfast galore for we had home made Kacang Phool and Chappati.  I prepared both because my younger brother (whose chappati-making skill is far superior than mine) was not feeling very well. Here’s the photo and recipe if you feel like trying.

‘KACANG PHOOL and CHAPPATI’

For the Kacang Phool

• 1 can of chick peas (drained)
• 1 can of  broad beans (drained) (I used Kimball’s Foul Medammes)
• 1 can of kidney beans (drained)
• 1 can of baked beans
• 400g of minced beef
• 2 onions (finely chopped)
• 3 pips of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 cm piece ginger (finely chopped)
• 2 fresh red chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 fresh green chillies (finely chopped)
• 3 ripe tomatoes (finely chopped)
• a sprig of curry leaves
• 3 tablespoonfuls of ‘beriani’ powder
• 2 tablespoonfuls of meat curry powder
• 1 tablespoonful of chilli powder
• 3 tablespoonful of ghee
• 1 can of water ( I used the bean can to measure)
• salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. In a wok, heat the ghee and stir fry the chopped onions, garlic and ginger till fragrant.
2. Put in the minced beef and cook till brown.
3. Put in the curry leaves and chopped tomatoes and stir fry again.
4. Put in the ‘beriani’ powder, meat curry powder, chilli powder and stir for 5 minutes. Then, pour in water and lower the heat.
5. After 10 minutes, put in all the beans and stir till the gravy thickens. You may need to add water at this stage.
6. Put in salt and and stir for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Serve hot with your chappati.

Note : As for the chappati, I referred to the recipe on the back of the flour packet. I used Alagappa’s Chappati Flour and I suggest that you let the dough rest for at least one hour to get soft chappati.

 

The Ikan Patin Love Story

Good morrow to all. Already planning for the weekend? Good, for there are about two more weeks before school is reopened, which means, the return of all the hustle and bustle for me. Anyway, moving on to the topic of this entry, I believe that ‘ikan patin‘ or silver catfish is common to all. Mr KHz, despite being raised in the city, loves this fish to bits! If I’m not mistaken, he fell in love with this creature when we frequented the then Senja Restaurant in Suria KLCC. The dish was Gulai Patin Masak Tempoyak (Silver Catfish in Hot and Spicy Fermented Durian Gravy).  I would say that it was love at first bite!

Well, as common as what people in love would do, ‘spending time’ with the other half is a cherished moment. Hence, I would try my best to cook this dish for him whenever I can get hold of fresh ikan patin and good quality tempoyak. Since I was planning to finish the remaining tempoyak bought in Sungkai, Perak during my trip to Gua Tempurung and it so happened that Giant Kelana Jaya was selling live ikan patin, Mr KHz had a chance to meet his love for lunch last Sunday.  I’ve included another Chef Wan’s recipe (again) for reference. Oh yes, just a reminder. The fish’s dorsal fin is sharp and contains  poisonous liquid which stings so it is best to ask your fishmonger to get the fish cleaned for you.

‘GULAI PATIN MASAK TEMPOYAK’

 

Ingredients :

• 500g ikan patin ( about 1 fish, cleaned and cut into 3 large pieces)
• 8 tablespoonfuls of tempoyak
• 125ml of water
• 2 pieces of asam keping
• 25 pieces of red bird’s eye chillies
• 3 cm piece of fresh turmeric root
• 2 lemongrass (bruised)
• salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. Pound the chillies and turmeric finely. Put into a pot and add water, asam keping, lemongrass and tempoyak. Let to simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat.
2. Next, put in the fish, salt and sugar and let to simmer for another 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Do be careful because the fish is soft and it breaks easily.
3. It’s time to fall in love once again!

 

It’s a Sticky Situation

I have to admit that I have this obsession with bread and bread making.  I am always fascinated with the fact that with one basic dough recipe, you can turn it into varieties of breads and buns. Despite numerous unsuccessful outcomes, my love for bread making seems to continue growing.  Due to this fact, I had a try yesterday on making sausage rolls. The dough turned out to be a bit sticky so I ended up making sausage buns instead. I would categorize this as one of  my ‘not really successful products’ because the sausage should be in the middle of the dough, not sideways like mine. Another reason why I labelled it as not so successful is because Daus refused to eat the buns. He loves anything with sausages but I have to admit sprinkling sesame seeds on top of the buns was a major mistake. He refused to eat the buns because he thought they were burger buns. Burgers are never his favourite. Not to worry for I’m okay with eating sausage buns for dinner!

Anyway, here’s the recipe taken from Mamafami’s blog if you wish to try. Before I forget, I did half of the amount of the recipe stated below.

SAUSAGE BUNS

Ingredients :

• 140ml water
• 1 egg
• 30g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoonful of salt
• 1/2 teaspoonful bread softener
• 250g high protein flour
• 50g superfine flour
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoonfuls of powdered milk
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls of instant yeast
• 30g margarine (I used butter), at room temperature
• enough toasted sesame seeds
• enough sausages (I used 8 mini Ayamas Chicken and Cheese sausages)
• 1 egg , mixed with one tablespoonful of milk  (to be brushed on top of the buns before baking)
• butter (to be brushed on top of the piping hot buns after baking for a soft crust)

Method :

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients except butter and knead till it forms a dough.
2. Put in the butter and continue kneading until you get a soft and elastic dough. Let to proof for one hour in a bowl covered with cling plastic or a damp tea towel.
3. Next, punch the dough to let out the air. Divide your dough weigh so you have a piece weighing at 55g. (In my case, because it was sticky, I divided my dough into 8 equal balls)
4. Then, take a piece of dough and roll it into a strand and wrap it over the sausage. ( I had no choice but to flatten the dough, put the sausage in the middle and cover it, like making red bean buns.)
5. Arrange your rolls on a greased baking tray and let to rise for another hour.
6. Brush your rolls with the egg wash mixture and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 150C.
8. Once baked, brush with butter and let to cool on a wire rack.

 

Doughnuts, anyone?

Besides conducting experiments in the kitchen, long school break also means time to clean and rearrange my larder. It is like  a treasure hunt for me because in the process, I would ‘discover’ some baking stuff that I’ve bought and left abandoned. This process also  includes disposing certain items which are already expired ( and this definitely involves throwing away unopened bottles and unused ingredients!) So silly of me but to tell you the truth,  I never learn. If you check my shopping trolley whenever I go for grocery shopping, there would certainly be at least one or two items related to baking. Come to think of it, I’m very glad that my baking tins and moulds do not have any expiry date.  Just imagine what would happen if they do.  A kitchen full of rotten junks due to not excessive use but total abandonment!

In my mission to ‘save’ my available ingredients, perhaps, I should be thanking Daus for asking for some doughnuts some time this week. As usual, I went through my recipe folder to look for the simplest recipe and I came across one which was actually a leaflet in my one of my flour boxes. I was very delighted because the recipe required for superfine flour and I was actually looking for recipes so I can use up the stock. This recipe is taken from the leaflet in my Blue Key Superfine, Superwhite Flour box.  I did half of the amount of the recipe given and I did some amendments. My experiment produced a colourful outcome as seen in the photo below.

HOMEMADE DOUGHNUTS

Ingredients :

• 250g superfine flour
• 3/4 teaspoonful of instant yeast
• 105ml of water
• 1/2 teaspoonful of salt
• 25g of butter
• 20g of caster sugar
• 25g of egg ( well-beaten and weighed)
• enough melted cooking chocolate
• icing sugar for dusting
• hundreds and thousands (those colourful beads you see in the photo)

Method :

1. In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix all ingredients and mix to form a dough. Round it up into a ball shape.
2. Leave the dough in a bowl covered with a piece of cling plastic. Let to rise till it doubles in size. this usually takes 1 hour.
3. After proofing, roll dough out to 1.5cm thick.
4. Cut dough using a doughnut cutter and place the dough pieces on a greased tray. Let to proof for about 30-40 minutes.
5. Deep fry until golden brown.
6. Coat doughnuts with icing sugar while it is still warm. Coat your cooled doughnuts with melted chocolate and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands.

 

It’s Bread-making Turn

Morning peeps. In this entry is another outcome of my blog hopping activity.  The recipe is taken from Mamafami’s blog and I was very excited to see how good her bread looked in her photo so I decided to give it a try. Since I’m the only blueberry fan in the house, I had to use my chocolate emulco to replace the blueberry emulco. Mamafami used her breadmaker to prepare the dough but I just used my mixer.  Enjoy the photo and I do hope that you would try this simple recipe and later, savouring the doughy goodness!

CHOCOLATE MARBLE BREAD

Ingredients :

• 200g high protein flour
• 50g all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoonful of butter
• 140ml fresh milk ( I used low-fat)
• 1 teaspoonful of instant yeast
• 4 tablespoonfuls of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoonful of salt
• 1 teaspoonful of bread improver
• 1 teaspoonful of chocolate emulco

Method :

• Using a mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix all ingredients except chocolate emulco till the dough is pliable and does not stick to your fingers.
• Proof dough for 40 minutes. Then, punch to let the air out.
• Next, divide into three parts. Put chocolate emulco into one part and knead well. If your chocolate dough is sticky, you may add some flour. Once the emulco is well-mixed into the dough, roll into a rectangle.
• Combine the other two parts of white dough and roll into a bigger rectangle. Put the chocolate dough in the middle. Use the white dough to cover the chocolate dough and cut three quarter of the dough into three pieces.
• Shape your dough into a plait.
• Put the plaited dough into a greased sandwich tin.
• Let to proof till it doubles in size and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes at 160C. ( I baked mine at 150C).
• Once baked, I brushed some butter on top of the loaf so that the crust is soft.
• Now you can enjoy your bread!

 

What We Did In Canterbury

Good morrow to all. What’s your plan for today? I’m thinking of baking some chocolate chip cookies but I have to ask Atush first. When it comes to this particular item, she insists that she has to be part of  the making process. She always assists me to crush the cornflakes (you know, using the rolling pin and thats why she insisted to be included) and later, rolling the dough into small balls.  I’m a foodie and as a result,  I spend more time with my kids in the kitchen compared to other rooms in the house. Even Daus has shown his interest in baking. Whenever I bake, he will take the trouble to drag the kitchen stool so he would be sitting near to the mixer. Perhaps, it’s about time for me to spend some time gardening with these two so they won’t balloon up like their mother!

Why do I always associate food with memories? I don’t deny that some bad instances are part of these memories ( when the items prepared did not turn out as expected or totally inedible) but the good ones are far worthy to remember.  When I think of my college friends, I realize that it was cooking and eating that brought us together. We did go places but the car boot sale was the highlight of every Sunday.  Yes, you guessed it right. We were after the fresh produce and this definitely meant more eating involved.  I could still remember cooking rendang for Eid-ul Fitr and how we had to stand on chairs for the pot was extremely tall and yours truly, are vertically challenged!  Spending weekends with my friends means more chocolate cakes and yummy fried stuff! Until this very moment, I can still ‘taste’ the deep fried mushroom in batter from one of the fish and chips shops in High Street.  I attempted to recreate this snack but the taste is just not the same. You might say that I’m being ridiculous but I strongly believe those mushrooms tasted better then because I was surrounded by my friends.

When we had friends from other colleges coming for a visit, chicken rice would be the menu. It’s economical and was able to cater for everybody’s taste buds. Talking about chicken, a particular dish has always reminded me of a dear friend. It is a common dish found in most Malay weddings but the way my friend described how this dish reminds her of me is what makes this dish special. Lena Kamal, if you happen to come across this entry, it is specially dedicated to you.

AYAM MASAK MERAH (CHEF WAN’S RECIPE)

Ingredients:

(A)

• 6 tablespoonfuls of ghee ( I used ordinary palm oil)
• 4 cloves
• 4 cardamom pods
• 4 cm piece of cinnamon bark
• 125ml water
• 1 kg of chicken (cut into 12 and coated with 1 teaspoonful of turmeric and 1 tsp of salt and deep fried till cook and keep aside)
• 125 raisins (finely chopped)
• 250 ml  tomato sauce
• 1 lemongrass (bruised)
• 1 cm of galangal (bruised)
• 2 teaspoonfuls of sesame seeds ( toasted
• 3 tablespoonfuls of honey
• salt to taste

(B) (to be ground finely)

• 10 shallots
• 2 pips of garlic
• 2 cm piece of ginger
• 1 lemongrass
• 15 pieces of dried chillies (deseeded and soaked in boling water and drained)

Method :

1. Heat ghee / cooking oil in a wok and put in cinnamon bark, cardamom pods, cloves and ground ingredients. Stir fry till fragrant.
2. Then, put in water, fried chicken pieces, raisins, tomato sauce and honey and stir.
3. Next, put in lemongrass, galangal and salt. Cook over medium heat until the gravy thickens.
4. Transfer onto a serving dish and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

 

 

It’s Vege Time Again! …… (and some seafood included)

Salam Maal Hijrah to all Muslim readers and Godwilling, everything will sail smoothly. Anyway, since this blog is about cooking and food, I am very glad to share another vegetable dish which I always prepare.  I’ve done an entry on the dish years ago  so this entry would be a rewrite, in terms of the photo of the dish and the ingredients used. If you like vegetables, this dish suits you well.

‘ PADPRIK MAKANAN LAUT ‘

Ingredients:

(A)

• 6 medium size prawns, cleaned but leave the tails intact
• 2 squids (cut into rings)
• 5 shallots
• 4 pips of garlic
• 1 carrot (julienne)
• a small head of broccoli (cut into florets)
• a small head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
• 5 long beans (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 1 small yellow capsicum (cut into strips)
• 2 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
• 1 lemongrass (bruised)
• 6-7 bird’s eye chillies

(B)

• 2 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce
• 3 tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of  oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of fish sauce
• 1/4 cup of water

(C)

• juice from 5 kaffir limes

Method :

1. Pound shallots, garlic and bird’s eye chillies coarsely and stir fry until fragrant.
2. Put in the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and stir.
3. Next, put in ingredients (B) and carrots and let to simmer. Then, put in the prawns and squid rings and mix well.
4. After that, put in all the vegetables and stir.
5. Once your vegetables are cook, turn off the heat.
6. Pour kaffir lime juice over your padprik and mix well.
7. Serve immediately.

 

It’s Vege Time!

Good afternoon to all. How’s your Monday? It’s as usual for me but minus the rush. As I’ve mentioned in the previous entries, since I have had enough beef for the time being, I have moved to seafood and vegetable dishes. In this entry, I’m happy to share another Chef Wan’s vegetable dish which is very easy to prepare and only minimal ingredients are used. It is definitely my kind of food.

‘SAMBAL GORENG KACANG BOTOL’

Ingredients:

• 400g ‘kacang botol’ (sliced diagonally)
• 300g fresh prawns (peeled)
• juice from 1 kaffir lime (optional)
• 6 fresh red chillies (deseeded)
• 5 shallots
• 1 teaspoonful shrimp paste powder ( I used the ordinary ‘belacan’)
• 2 tablespoonfuls of dried shrimps
• 4 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
• salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. Grind red chillies, shallots, ‘belacan’, and dried shrimps finely.
2. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant.
3. Put in the prawns and cook for 2 minutes and put in the ‘kacang botol’.
4. Put salt and sugar to taste and the lime juice.
5. Serve hot.

 

Mr KHz’s Meat Business : The Final Chapter

It’s back to beef again. In this entry I would like to share another beef recipe by Chef Wan from  his book Sajian Tradisi Bersama Cef Wan Ekslusif Untuk Avon ( and now you know where I shop) which looks like a ‘rendang’ but the taste is rich, sweet and spicy. For those who do not really favour the normal beef ‘rendang’, this recipe is good for a change.

‘OPOR DAGING PEKAN‘

 

To cook this scrumptious dish, you need :

1 kilogramme of beef (cut into large chunks but I sliced mine )

125ml cooking oil

2 tablespoonfuls of coriander powder

2 tablespoonfuls of fennel powder

2 tablespoonfuls of  cummin powder

2 tablespoonfuls of black peppercorns powder

1500ml coconut milk (extracted from 1 and 1/2 coconuts)

1 piece cinnamon bark

2 pieces of staranise

3 pieces of cardamom pods

3 pieces of cloves

2 tablespoonfuls of tamarind (to be mixed with 120ml water and strain the juice)

6  tablespoonfuls of sugar ( I used brown sugar)

8  tablespoonfuls of  kerisik (grated, toasted and ground coconut paste)

15 shallots

6 pips of garlic

1 tablespoonful of shrimp paste powder

30 pieces of dried chillies (deseeded, soaked in boiling water and drained)

 

Method:

1. First, grind shallots, garlic, shrimp powder and dried chillies finely.
2. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry ground ingredients with cardamom pods, cinnamon bark, cloves and star anise together with fennel and cummin powder and black pepper powder till fragrant. Cook over medium heat till the oil separates from the gravy.
3. Put in the beef chunks and coconut milk. Cook till meat is tender and do not forget to stir occasionally.
4. When the gravy is thick, pour in the tamarind juice, sugar and salt as well as kerisik. Stir till well mixed.

*Note : I sampled this dish with plain, boiled rice but I think it would go better with ketupat or lemang.