Fragrant and Waterless

Chicken, beef or fish? With or without vegetables? Mild or hot and spicy? If you are wondering, the dish I am featuring in this entry could be classified as one of Malaysia’s national dishes. Yes, it is the ultimate curry. After all these years, curry has evolved into being the dish enjoyed by many. Hence, the reason why this recipe is worth a try if you have had enough of the usual fish curry for lunch or dinner. it is also a good choice if you want something different for a change.

FRAGRANT FISH CURRY

Source :  Diana and  K.Nor@SecubitGaram

Ingredients :

(A)

• 600g of white fish (cut into small pieces) (I used 2 large pieces of red snapper, cut into halves)
• salt
• enough cornstarch
• oil for deep frying

(B)

• 4 sprigs of curry leaves
• a handful of dried shrimps ( about 1/4 cup) (soaked in hot water, drained and coarsely pounded)
• 4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 4 shallots (chopped)
• 1 fresh red chilli (thinly sliced)
• bird’s eye chillies (optional) ( I didn’t use any)

(C)

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder
• 1/2 tablespoonful of oyster sauce
• 1/2 tablespoonful of light soy sauce ( I replaced it with fish sauce)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoonfuls of dark soy sauce
• sugar to taste

Method :

1. Sprinkle salt over fish pieces and coat with corn starch.
2. Deep fry in hot oil till brown and crispy. Drain and keep aside.
3. Using about 3 tablespoonfuls of oil used to fry the fish, stir fry chopped garlic and shallots till fragrant. Add in pounded dried shrimps and keep on stirring till crisp.
4. Put in red chilli and curry leaves. Continue frying till aromatic.
5. Next, put all ingredients in (C) and mix well.
6. Put in your fried fish and cook over high heat for 3 minutes.
7. Serve hot.

 

A Balancing Act

As far as I could remember, Ramadhan, being a blessed and blissful month, has been my platform to try new recipes. You know, the excitement (and no doubt the unsure feeling) on how the dish would turn out to be and taste wise, nice to the palate.  Talking about experimenting, some turned out nice and well-enjoyed by the family members but some remained untouched and had to be finished by, yours truly.

A nice dish to me has to be balanced. It needs to have equal amount of sweetness, sourness and spiciness. Bearing this in mine, I decided to prepare some grilled fish to be paired with this wonderful dip recipe, which I had taken from Ika@Arah. Do give this recipe a try. 

GRILLED FISH WITH DIP

For the fish :

• 4 pieces of  medium size mackarel (cleaned and gutted and wipe dry)
• 5 shallots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 cm piece of ginger
• 2 tablespoonfuls of chilli paste
• 1 teaspoonful of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoonful of salt
• 1/2 teaspoonful of sugar
• 1 piece of turmeric leaf (finely sliced)
• enough cleaned banana leaves (according to the size of your fish) (I replaced it with aluminium foil but using banana leaves would result in more fragrant grilled fish)
• enough toothpicks

Method :

1. Grind shallots, garlic and ginger finely and put into a bowl. Then,put in remaining ingredients and mix well.
2. To assemble the fish, take a piece of banana leaf and spoon some mixture on it. Place your fish on top of this mixture and top the fish with the spice mixture. Fold the leaf and secure each end with a toothpick. Follow the same procedure if you are using aluminium foil but just fold each end tightly to avoid the spice mixture from seeping out.
3. Ideally, the fish should be grilled over charcoal but I used my iron skillet to do the job. Continue turning your fish over medium heat till cooked.

For the dip :

(A)

• 4 pieces of bird’s eyes chillies (add more if you want it to be more spicy)
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoonful of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of chilli sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of fish sauce
• 60ml of tamarind juice (add more water if your prefer a runny dip)
• 1 teaspoonful of sugar (or add more to your liking)
• a pinch of salt

(B) 

• 1 to 2 shallots (chopped finely)
• 1 to 2 ripe tomatoes (chopped finely)
• 1 stalk of coriander leaves ( I used celery leaves (daun sup/sadri)) (sliced finely)
• 1 fresh red chilli (cut into rings)

Method :

1. Put ingredients (A) in a blender and grind finely.
2. Put in ingredients (B) and mix well.
3. Serve with the grilled fish.

 

Mr KHz’s Simple but Super Supper

Whenever Mr KHz has a late (usually heavy) breakfast or lunch, he would usually ask me to prepare food for supper. As for last night, since he had a late lunch, I decided to prepare a simple but filling dish for him. If you like salmon and cheese, this dish is good for a try. Personally, I prefer local fish. I’d tried salmon before but my palate fails to accept its taste. Anyway, here’s Mr KHz’s simple supper dish, made from what I have in stock.

SALMON ROLLS WITH CREAM CHEESE

Ingredients :

• 1 packet of readily-sliced salmon
• 2 tablespoonfuls of Kraft Cream Cheese Spread
• 2 teaspoonfuls of lemon juice
• 1 small shallot (finely diced)
• some fresh dill (chopped finely) ( I’ve replaced it with parsley)
• 2 teaspoonfuls of freshly cracked black peppercorns
• 2 pieces of dinner rolls (halved)

Method :

1. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, lemon juice, shallot till creamy.
2. Next, put in dill and pepper and mix well.
3. Spread some cheese mixture on your rolls and leave some for topping.
4. Next, line salmon slices on top of your rolls.  Top with the balance of the cream cheese mixture and crack some pepper on top of it.
5. Enjoy!

 

School is back so, whatever I’ve prepared, just eat. No questions, please.

Hello all! I know it’s a bit late for me to wish a happy new year to everybody but it’s always better to be late than never. I do hope that this year will be a blissful and blessed for all of us . Besides wishing for all the best in life,  as well as being grateful for what has been granted upon me all this while, a new year also indicates that I have to go back to school and teach. Unfortunately, this means lesser time to spend on experimenting in the kitchen. I have to put my favourite pastime on hold and at the same time, trying to resist myself from the joy of  trying all sorts of wonderful recipes  in both cooking and baking worlds. In short, I cook (my choice of dishes, depending on how much time I have) and they eat. End of story. Specific dishes made to order can only take place during the weekends. To tell the truth, I am thankful because so far, Mr KHz has never complained. As for the kids, just prepare any chicken dish and they would be okay.

I believe, many working mothers out there are experiencing the similar scenario like I do. Hence, I would like to share an easy recipe which has saved me on countless occasions where time is not on my side.  It is simply satisfying.

‘IKAN BAWAL MASAK TAUCU’

Ingredients :

• 2 medium size black pomfret (cleaned and gutted and coat with 1 teaspoonful of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoonful of salt and deep fried till golden brown, and keep aside)
• 1 large onion ( halved and thinly sliced)
• 3 pips of garlic ( thinly sliced)
• 2 inch piece of ginger ( thinly sliced)
• 1 fresh red chillies (thinly sliced)
• 1 fresh green chillies (thinly sliced)
• 2 tablespoonfuls of ‘taucu’ (salted soy beans)
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 3/4 cup of water
• 2 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
• salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. In a wok, heat the oil and stir fry sliced onion, ginger and garlic till fragrant.
2. Put in the sliced red and green chillies and stir.
3. Next, put in the ‘taucu’ , oyster sauce and water and let to simmer.
4. Then, put in the salt and sugar. I did not use any salt for both the ‘taucu’ and oyster sauce are salty enough for me. Mix well and let to continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
5. Put in your fried pomfret onto a serving dish.
6. Spoon the gravy on top of your fish.
7. Serve hot.

 

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!

 

What Mr KHz Brought Back From Masjid Bulat

Section 14, PJ, is well-known for many reasons. Despite the fact that it’s near to impossible to get a parking space at this place, it never ceases to attract people from near and far. Gadget die-hard fans cherish this place for its Digital Mall but those who frequent this place would simply but surely state their reasons why this place remain their top spot. I’m pretty sure that these reasons, would include the RM1 per packet nasi lemak (as well as the fried rice vermicelli) sold by the young mechanic side by side the newspaper uncle or the yummy lontong sold at one of the stalls above the wet market. Personally, I am also ‘guilty’ of  frequenting this place. The wet market is a lot smaller, (compared to the one in Taman Tun), causing me to feel at ease because I am familiar with almost all the vendors at this place. I know that the makcik ( I call her ‘kakak’ and since I know she’s from my hometown, I never have a second thought whenever I purchase the shrimp paste (‘belacan’) from her stall) selling vegetables recognises me, as well as the fishwife and not to forget the bubbly chap who would willingly chop my chicken into any size I want.

Mr KHz, on the other hand, is also a regular at Section 14. Nope, he rarely goes to the market and he does not really fancy the Digital Mall so, where does he go to that I label him a regular? If you may ask, he goes for his evening prayers at a mosque here, named Masjid Tun Abdul Aziz, or commonly known as Masjid Bulat – due to the shape of its dome. This entry is a product  from a visit to this mosque. Talking about this mosque, the committee members had an open day on the 31st of  July to find funding for the activities planned, and of course, for charity. They set up stalls, selling mainly cooked food and I joined the fun by sending my chicken puff and cinnamon rolls as part of the sale. Besides food stalls, there were also stalls selling materials for baju kurung, homemade crafts and religious books. The committee also organised quite a number of competitions, where ‘ketupat weaving’ was one that I could remember.

Among all the stalls, one particular stall did attract Mr KHz’s attention. He had taken the trouble to drag me to the stall (the place was small and it was a bit crowded so it’s kind of difficult to walk around) selling ‘ikan keli!’ Mr KHz and his food addiction. He pointed at the fish and he smiled at me – his witty smile. I agreed to fulfill his wish because the fish was already gutted and cleaned. To cut a long story short, the purchase led to the dish in the photo below.

DEEP FRIED CATFISH IN SPICY SAUCE

(IKAN KELI GORENG BERLADA)

The recipe is taken (again) from Rubiah Suparman’s Lauk Pauk : Malaysia, Singapura dan Indonesia book and he said that he enjoyed it. Here’s the recipe if you wish to try but the amount was halved from the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg catfish

5 red chillies

3 bird’s eye chillies

1/2 onion

2 pips of garlic

a small piece of ‘asam keping’

1/2 tsp of sugar

1 tsp of turmeric powder

salt to taste

Method:

1. Clean and gut the fish and soak for 10 minutes in a mixture of salt and tamarind juice. Wash thoroughly and drained well.
2. Coat the fish with salt and turmeric powder and deep fry till crispy. Keep aside.
3. Pound the other ingredients coarsely. Heat up a wok and stir fry until the oil separates from the gravy. Put in the ‘asam keping’, salt and sugar.
4. Arrange your fish on a serving platter and pour the sauce all over the fish.
5. Serve hot.

By the way, just to let you know that I didn’t get a single cent at all from my puffs and rolls. Why? I was just doing my minute share as a member of the society and the best part was, I had fun.

 

A Recipe To Keep

Those who venture the eateries around Taman Tun area should be familiar with Restoran Puteri, owned by former actress, Rubiah Suparman. For your information, there are two branches of the aforementioned restaurant but the one I went to was on the hilltop. My verdict? A very nice and tasty spread of traditional Malay dishes, cooked to home-style perfection. For those with a sweet-tooth, not to worry for cooling desserts are readily available for you to sample . The dishes are served buffet style, at an affordable price, and to be honest, I was full( literally and figuratively) of glee. Satisfied and happy.

Some time this year (I really cannot remember when I bought the book and yes, age is definitely catching up!), I got hold of her second recipe book which features most of the dishes available at her restaurant. In this entry, I want to share with you a fish dish that looks like the usual ‘sambal’ but with a different taste. As I’ve always said, simple but satisfying.

TERUTUP IKAN TENGGIRI

Ingredients:
A:
4 medium slices of mackerel
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of salt

B:
1 large onion
2 pips of garlic
1/2 inch of ginger
10 dried chillies (deseeded and blanched in boliling water for 10 minutes and drained)
1/2 inch of shrimp paste

C:
1 lemongrass (bashed)
1 tbsp of tamarind (to be mixed with water to get 5 tbsp of juice)
1 and 1/2 tbsp of sugar
salt to taste

Method:

• Rub the fish with salt and turmeric powder and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
• Ground the ingredients in (B) till fine. In a large wok, heat up 5 tbsp of cooking oil and stir fry the ground ingredients with the lemongrass till fragrant and the oil separates from the gravy.
• Then, put in the sugar, tamarind juice and salt to taste. Put in the fried fish and stir gently.
• Serve hot.

 

Now That I’ve Remembered……

Hi all! After browsing my photos in one of the folders, I suddenly realised that I’ve promised this recipe to a friend for quite some time. Now that I’ve remembered, i should straight away put the recipe here. I do hope that she’ll try and let me know the verdict. I tried the recipe originally done by skyblue@Myresipi.com. The sauce recipe featured here is half the amount of the original recipe. Since I don’t really favour salmon, I guess the sauce tasted good because Mr KHz left me an empty plate!

PANFRIED SALMON WITH WHITE SAUCE

Ingredients:
2 pieces of salmon steak
1 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of salt
a pinch of freshly grated black peppercorns

For the sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1/4 onion (chopped)
1/2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 cup of fresh milk( I used low-fat milk)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of freshly grated black peppercorns

Method:

• Coat the fish with salt and pepper and fry in olive oil till brown. Transfer onto a serving platter.
• For the sauce, heat the butter in a sauce pan and fry the onion till translucent.
• Put in the flour and stir till all the onion pieces are coated with flour. Put in the other ingredients and keep on stirring till boils.
• Turn off the heat and pour your sauce over your fish.
• Enjoy!

 

I Am An Addict

Wondering what I’m addicted to? Don’t worry. This addiction is as healthy as it can be. I am addicted to ‘Colek Ike Tenggiri’ or in simpler words, Fried Mackerel topped with Spicy Onion and Tomato Salsa. This dish is very simple yet satisfying. That’s my idea of a good meal. As usual, I have ammended the recipe by zaliana@MyResipi.com. to suit my tastebuds. Thanks you so much for this wonderful recipe.

Let’s look at the photo first. So…what do you think? Tasty, innit?

‘COLEK IKE TENGGIRI’

To cook this wonderful dish, you need:

• 2 medium pieces of mackerel
• some salt and turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar*
• 1 tsp salt*
• 3 bird’s eye chillies*
• 1 inch ‘belacan’ (toasted)*
• juice from a lime (add more if you like it to be more sour)
• 1 ripe tomato (diced finely)
• 1 medium size onion (diced finely)
• 2 sprigs of spring onion (diced finely)

Method:

• Coat the fish with some salt and turmeric powder.
• Heat a non-stick pan and and heat up in some cooking oil.
• Put in the fish and fry till cook. Keep aside.
• Meanwhile, using a pestle and mortar, pound all the ingredients marked *.
• In a bowl, put in the pounded ingredients, chopped tomato, onion and spring onion.
• Pour in the water and stir well.
• Spoon this mixture over the fish and enjoy!

 

‘Fish-Eating’

As I’ve mentioned beforehand, my Tukang Makan is very fond of seafood, specifically huge prawns and squids. I am not very sure of his reason for asking me to stop cooking prawns and squids but personally, I am happy with his decision. All that he said was, “Dah banyak sangat makan udang dengan sotong ni. Takut-takut kena gout la pulak.” Hmm….I guess, it’s about time for him to take care of his health.

Hence, I have prepared all fish dishes for the past five days! However, he opted for chicken chop yesterday but today, it’s back to fish again! Since it is the school holiday, I’m happy to fulfill his wish to start eating healthily (and although I found it to be a bit costly, in the name of wholesome, healthy goodness, a little sacrifice wouldn’t hurt, I guess..). Here are the photos of the fish dishes I’ve prepared for him. Let’s ‘cuci mata’ first. Who knows, the photos might inspire you to join the fish-eating diet too!

PANFRIED SALMON WITH LEMON BUTTER

(My first attempt to cook salmon just because it is Tukang Makan’s favourite)

STEAMED BLACK GAROUPA IN SOUR AND SPICY SAUCE

SALMON WITH WHITE SAUCE

STEAMED BLACK GAROUPA IN SWEET, SOUR AND SPICY SAUCE

STEAMED SOUR AND SPICY WHITE POMFRET

So, what do you reckon? Want to join the fish-eating group too? Think about it!