Curry Laksa

Curry Laksa is another one of my favourite dishes that I like to introduce to you.

Curry Laksa

Curry Laksa (in many places referred to simply as “laksa”) is a coconut-based curry soup. The main ingredients for most versions of curry laksa include tofu puffs, fish sticks, shrimps and cockles. Chicken is often used instead of shrimp. Laksa is commonly served with a spoonful of sambal chilli paste and is traditionally garnished with Vietnamese coriander, or laksa leaf, which is known in Malaysia as 'Daun Kesum'.

Curry Laksa Recipe (Serves 6)

Rempah Paste:

• 20 Asian shallots
• 10 cloves garlic
• 10 dried chillies, soaked in warm water
• 10 fresh red chillies
• 2 tsp toasted belacan
• 3 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked in warm water
• 6 candlenuts (buah keras)
• 3 tbsp curry powder

• 5 tbsp oil
• 3 stalks lemon grass, bruised
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 litre thick coconut milk
• salt to taste
• 200 g tofu puffs, cut into halves
• 300 g bean sprouts, blanched
• 3 hard boiled eggs, halved
• 2 pieces fried fish cakes, sliced
• 12 large cooked king prawns
• 12 seared fresh scallops
• 600 g rice vermicelli noodle (Bee Hoon), blanched

Method

1. To make Rempah Paste: Mix all ingredients and pound into a paste with mortal and pestle , blender or food processor.
2. Heat up oil in a soup pot, saute rempah paste, lemon grass and curry leave until fragrant.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
4. Lower heat and leave to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
5. Add thick coconut milk and bring to a boil again, stirring all the time to prevent it from curdling.
6. Add tofu puffs and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.
7. To serve: Divide rice vermicelli noodle and bean sprouts into individual bowls. Spread prawns, scallops, eggs and fish cake on top. Pour curry gravy and tofu puffs over and serve immediately.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Do you have a kitchen disaster story? I have a lot. I had a total cooking disaster with this pandan chiffon cake. There were a few of my lucky twitter followers who had witnessed the disaster live on twitter as I was tweeting it away as it happened.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Pandan chiffon cake is something very nostalgic to a lot of Malaysians and Singaporeans. We basically grew up with it. We ate so much that sometimes we got sick of it. Now, many years later, I begin to miss it. I miss the smell of the pandan leaves flavour when the cake was baking in the oven. I miss the silky soft texture of the chiffon cake. I miss the shade of green that reminds me of home.

It was a last minute decision. It was a cold rainy evening. I was craving for pandan chiffon cake. I didn't have a chiffon cake pan. I didn't have a proper pandan chiffon cake recipe. I had never baked one before but I had all the ingredients in my pantry to make one.

I flipped to the page of vanilla chiffon cake recipe from an old trusty cookbook and started to look for a suitable cake pan. I thought bundt cake pan should do the trick but this was one of the two mistakes I made that day. It turned out that the bundt cake pan I have was smaller than I thought. Not that much smaller though. The biggest blunder I found out later was that I mistakenly used baking soda instead of cream of tartar. The two boxes were standing side by side in the pantry and I didn't know how and why, I picked the wrong box without realising it.

What happened to the cake as a result of my mistakes?

It kept rising and rising. How I wish I was making a souffle. It would be a mega success :) Nevertheless, the cake turned out to be as good as it should be. The smell of the pandan flavour was as good as my childhood. The texture was good except for some small air pockets caused by the use of baking soda.

** The worst part of the disaster is cleaning up the aftermath. The cake dough overflew from the bundt cake pan. Burnt bits sticked to the wire rack and bottom of the oven. It took me a good couple of hours of scrubbing to get rid of them.

There was nothing one can't do with some clever knife work to give the cake a good trimming. Looking at these pictures, you won't have a clue about the disaster.

Pandan Chiffon Cake (Makes 16 servings)

(Loosely adapted from The Good Housekeeping Step-By-Step Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-raising)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp pandan essence
• 1 tsp pandan paste
• 7 large egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup granulated sugar. Make a well in center and add oil, egg yolks, pandan essence, pandan paste, and 3/4 cup cold water; whisk into flour mixture until smooth.
2. In another large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beating at high speed, gradually sprinkle in remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, beating well after each addition, until whites stand in stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. With rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of whites into yolk mixture; fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into ungreased 9- to 10-inch tube pan.
3. Bake 1 1/4 hours, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert cake in pan on funnel or bottle; cool completely in pan. Carefully run metal spatula around side of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan and place on cake plate.

Claypot Chicken Rice with Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage)

I love a good rice dish cooked in a claypot. This is the second rice dish I have made using a claypot. I have posted the Tom Yum Prawns Claypot Rice recipe back in May.

Claypot Chicken Rice with Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage)

Claypot rice dishes make easy and wonderful one-pot dinners. It's very popular in Malaysia and it's a must try whenever you visit Malaysia.

Two of the essential ingredients in the Claypot Chicken Rice are Shitake Mushrooms and Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage ??).

Lap Cheong is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and a high content of fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned. When I was young, my mum used to steam the Lap Cheong and served it with plain rice for dinner. It's one of the best comfort food from my childhood.

Claypot Chicken Rice Recipe

(Adapted from My Kitchen Snippets)

Ingredients

• 1 Chinese sausage
• 4 chicken thighs – cut to bite size pieces
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy
• 2 tbsp light soy
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp of rice wine
• 1 inch ginger, julienned
• 1 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 spring onions, chopped finely
• 5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
• 2 cups rice
• 3 cups chicken stock

Method

1. Mix the chicken with all the ingredients except the rice, mushrooms, spring onions and stock. Leave to marinade for at least half an hour.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and stir-fry marinated chicken meat for 1 minutes. Add mushroom slices, sliced Chinese sausage. Dish out and put aside.
3. Put the rice and chicken stock in the cold claypot and place it over a medium heat with the lid on. Bring to the boil and immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer, then leave the rice to steam for 15 minutes. The rice should be nearly cooked, with little holes in the flat surface.
4. Spread the chicken mixture all over the top of the rice, and put the lid back on. Continue to steam over a low heat for another 15 minutes, until the chicken is white and cooked through. Give it a few stir and sprinkle the spring onions over the top and serve piping hot.

Shanghai Pancake

Shanghai Pancake

This Shanghai Pancake is usually served as after dinner dessert. It's usually paired with Tong Sui such as sago pudding, black sesame paste soup or peanut paste soup.

Shanghai Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• 90 g flour, sifted
• 30 g rice flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
• 1 tbsp castor sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 180 ml water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup oil for frying

Filling:

• 500 g red bean paste

Method

1. To make the batter: Mix flour, rice flour, baking powder, castor sugar, eggs, water and salt together until smooth. Strain.
2. Pour some batter into a non-stick pan, swirl to form into a pancake.
3. Remove and spread with red bean paste filling, brush sides with batter, fold into half and seal.
4. Prick with a tooth-pick and press out air.
5. Heat up the oil, fry pancake until golden brown on both sides.
6. Drain on paper towel.
7. Cut into pieces and serve hot.

Indonesian Butter Prawn

Indonesian Butter Prawn

If you are wondering what are the couscous-like golden roes surrounding the prawns, they are made of egg yolks and butter by using a very simple but unique technique.

It's traditional to serve the prawns with head and shell on but you can leave them out if you prefer not to have them on the serving plate.

Indonesian Butter Prawn Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 500 g large king prawns, devein
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 250 g butter or margarine
• 2 eggs + 5 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 stalks curry leaves
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 4 bird's eye chillies
• 1 tbsp evaporated milk

Method

1. Heat butter or margarine in wok.
2. Stir in beaten egg mixture slowly with a hand whisk and keep stirring until they separated into tiny roes and golden brown.
3. Add in curry leaves, curry powder, bird's eye chillies and evaporated milk and stir fry until fragrant.
4. Remove and drain.
5. Coat prawns with cornflour and deep fry in hot oil until cooked. Drain.
6. Pour the prawns and egg mixture back into the wok. Stir fry until they are well mixed and serve immediately.

Chinese Roast Pork Belly with Crackling

Look at that Roast Pork Belly! Look at that Crackling! Can you believe it's done by someone who has never cooked in his life (not that I know of)? It's cooked by my dear cousin who is currently living in Seattle. Let's call him Mr. Chocolate. When we met in the UK at my brother's house two years ago, he brought a lovely packet of handmade chocolates for little Miss C. It impressed her so much that she started calling him "Uncle Chocolate" ever since.

Chinese Roast Pork Belly Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 kg pork belly (with skin on)
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine vinegar

Marinade:

• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 pieces red fermented bean curd, use 2 if the cubes are bigger
• 1/2 tbsp five spice powder
• 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

Method:

1. Clean the pork belly and pat dry all over with kitchen towel.
2. Score (both diagonally and horizontally) the inner portion of the meat (Do not score the skin).
3. Rub the skin with the sea salt all over .
4. Rub the marinade evenly into the meat right down into the scored areas. (Do not rub the marinade on the skin)
5. Marinate for about 30 minutes or longer.
6. Bake the marinated pork belly with skin side up in pre-heated oven at 220C for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and prick all over the surface of the skin with a fork. (The more holes you prick the better because that's where those pop-up "bubbles" appear on the skin)
8. Brush the skin with the rice wine vinegar.
9. Bake again with the skin side up at 250C for another 20-30 minutes, or until pop-up "bubbles" have formed on the skin.
10. Remove and let the pork belly rest for 15-20 minutes before chopping it up.

Peking Duck Cocktail Wantons

I was craving for Peking duck after reading this post from eatshowandtell. What a clever and easy way to transform a store-bought roast duck to a crispy skin Peking duck!

There I was in Chatswood (mini Chinatown on North Shore of Sydney) buying a roast duck on a Saturday morning. I was hesitating whether I should buy the Peking duck pancakes, but I decided not to as I had some wanton wrappers in the fridge. Why not add a modern twist to this old classic?

Peking Duck Cocktail Wantons Recipe (Makes 24)

Ingredients

• 1 store-bought roast duck, boned, skin-on and thinly sliced
• 24 wanton wrappers
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
• Hoisin sauce (???), to drizzle
• Finely chopped spring onions, for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Brush both sides of 12 wanton wrappers with oil. Ease into a 12 x 1/3 cup capacity muffin pan.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining wrappers and oil.
5. Place wanton cases onto a serving plate.
6. Arrange a little diced cucumber in the bottom of each. Top with 2 slices of duck. Drizzle with hoisin sauce and garnish with spring onion.

Stir-Fried Noodles with Chinese Roast Duck

I promised my friend Miss D that I would post a recipe with instant noodles (we call it Maggie Mee in Malaysia and Singapore). I decided to make this dish using the left-over roast duck from the Peking Duck Cocktail Wantons yesterday. It's an easy and great recipe for making a quick lunch.

Stir-Fried Noodles with Chinese Roast Duck Recipe (Serve 1)

Ingredients

• 1 packet instant noodles (Maggie Mee)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup shredded store-bought roast duck
• 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce (???)
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup spring onions, cut into 3cm

Method

1. Add instant noodles and 1 cup of water in a wok or a pan.
2. Cook until noodle is soft and has absorbed all water.
3. Add shredded duck meat and hoisin sauce. Stir and mix well.
4. Add bean sprouts and spring onions and stir fry until just wilted.
5. Serve immediately.

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Yellow Bell Pepper

Chinese sweet and sour dishes have always been comfort food for many. It's winter and freezing here in Sydney. Mr J is away in Perth and I am getting busy preparing for our trip to Malaysia at the end of this week. This one-pot Sweet and Sour Pork Chop dish which is our all time favourite, will be the dinner for little Miss C and me tonight.

It's delicious, very easy to make and it's a healthier option than Takeaway Chinese Food.

Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Yellow Bell Pepper (Capsicum) Recipe (Serve 4)

Ingredients

• 4 x Pork Chops
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper (yellow capsicum), cut into long strips
• 2 tbsp green peas
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup (I use Heinz)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Corn starch water (mix 1 tbsp water with 1 1/2 tsp corn starch in a bowl)

Method

1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and pan fry pork chops until brown on both sides and cooked through (approximately 3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your chops).
2. Remove and place them on a serving plate.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or a sauce pan, stir fry the onion until soft, add yellow bell pepper and green peas and stir fry for a further minute.
4. Add water, rice wine vinegar, sugar, ketchup, salt, Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil.
5. Add corn starch water to thicken the sauce.
6. Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Ampang Hakka Yong Tau Foo - Cheat Version

Ampang Hakka Yong Tau Foo - Cheat Recipe Version

Ingredients

• 1 packet of frozen Hakka fish paste, thawed in fridge overnight* (see note at bottom of post)
• 6 x square semi-firm tofu
• Dipping sauce of your choice* (see note at bottom of post)
• Chopped spring onions and chillies for garnish

Method

1. Cut the square tofu into 2 triangles. Use a sharp knife, make a slit in the centre to create a pocket and stuff the fish paste with a small teaspoon. Continue with the rest of the tofu.
2. You can either steam or poach the tofu in chicken stock for 5 minutes or until the fish paste is cooked.
3. Garnish with spring onions and chillies.
4. Serve with steamed rice or rice noodle in chicken stock and dipping sauce.

Note: Dipping sauce - I use the combination of MasterFoods Barbecue Sauce and Indonesian ABC Brand Chili Sauce as seen in many Vietnamese Pho Restaurant.

Chocolate Spring Rolls

Spring rolls for dessert? This is the question I can see on everyone's face whenever I announce dessert to my dinner guests after a yummy Asian meal.

Forget about Fortune Cookies, these chocolate spring rolls are a definite crowd-pleaser if you plan to host an Asian dinner banquet.

Chocolate Spring Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 x spring roll wrappers
• 8 Twix Bars
• Oil for deep frying
• Icing sugar, Strawberries and Vanilla ice-cream (optional)

Method

1. Place one Twix bar in the center of 2 overlapping spring roll wrappers (you need double layer of wrappers for each roll to prevent the chocolate from melting when deep fried).
2. Roll wrappers around the Twix bar, folding edges inward to close. brush wrapper seams with water to seal.
3. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.
4. Dust with icing sugar and garnish with strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
5. Serve immediately.

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

This dish is little miss C favourite dish for dinner. Kids love it thanks to the sweetness of the honey. Good way to encourage your kids to eat more fish that contains the goodness of Omega-3.

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients

• 2 x Salmon cutlets
• 6 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (I use Kikoman brand)
• 4 tbsp good quality honey
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Plain flour for coating
• Oil for pan-frying
• Springs onions and fresh chillies for garnish

Method

1. Season Salmon cutlets with salt and pepper. Coat them with flour and dust off excess flour (this step is to add crispiness to the Salmon).
2. Pan fry Salmon with oil on a non-stick pan until just cooked, approximately 3 minutes each side depending on the thickness of the Salmon.
3. Remove Salmon from pan and drain excess oil on paper towel. Place Salmon on serving plate.
4. Mix soy sauce and honey in a small pan, and boil until the mixture has thicken. Pour the thicken sauce on fish.
5. Garnish with chopped spring onions and sliced fresh chillies.
6. Serve with steamed rice.

Asian Style Guinness Baby Back Pork Ribs

Gosh, I love the baby back ribs from Tony Roma's! My first encounter with Tony Roma's baby back ribs was in Anaheim back in 1998. We went to the restaurant without knowing it was an 'Eat-All-You-Can-Ribs' evening. While we were busy attacking our very first slab, we were distracted by the bones piling up on the other tables around us! We chatted with the patron of the table next to us and he told us that he was on to his 7th slab!!!

Guinness braised pork ribs is a popular dish in Malaysia. The ribs are usually cut into individual bones, floured, deep-fried and braised in a thick sauce infused with Guinness stout.

The recipe I have here is not the traditional Malaysian version. The ribs are marinated overnight and grilled / oven baked with an Asian style glaze. The marinade laced with Guinness tenderizes and adds wonderful flavor to ribs.

Yes, you can taste the distinctive malty flavor of Guinness but the bitterness of the stout has already been mellowed down by the brown sugar in the marinade. The ribs are amazingly tender and moist and I hope you will give this recipe a try on your next barbecue or your next grill feast!

Asian Style Guinness Baby Back Pork Ribs Recipe (Serves 4)

Ingredient

• 8 racks Baby Back Pork Ribs

Marinade:

• 725 ml Guinness
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 125 ml salt-reduced soy sauce (I use Kikoman brand)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 60 ml sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic

Glaze:

• 250 ml fluid ounces honey
• 60 ml salt-reduced soy sauce (I used Kikoman brand)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Method

1. To prepare the ribs: In a large bowl, whisk together the Guinness, onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Place the ribs in a glass baking dish and pour the marinade over them. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. To Prepare The Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, coriander, minced garlic, and pepper.
3. To Grill: Remove the ribs from the marinade and place them on the grill. Grill until cooked through, turning occasionally, about 10-15 minutes. Brush with the glaze and cook 1 minute per side. Remove from grill and place on serving plate. Pour over the remaining glaze.
4. To Oven Bake: Preheat oven to 160C. Line two baking dishes with baking paper or foil; place oiled wire rack in each dish. Drain pork from marinade. Place pork, in single layer, on racks in dishes. Bake, uncovered, 45 minutes turning halfway and brushing with glaze until well browned and cooked through. Remove from oven and place on serving plate. Pour over the remaining glaze.

Steamed Shiitake Mushrooms with Broccoli

This is a very simple Chinese dish that I often cook for my family. It's healthy, delicious and so easy to make. Pair it with steamed rice, it makes a perfect quick dinner for the family.

Steamed Shiitake Mushrooms with Broccoli Recipe

Ingredients

• 300 g broccoli, cut into florets
• 20 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• Sauce:
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cornflour
• pepper to taste

Method

1. Arrange broccoli and shiitake mushrooms in a steaming plate.
2. To make the sauce: Mix all ingredients. Pour on top of the broccoli and mushrooms in the steaming plate.
3. Steam for 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

Homemade Tofu

Growing up in Asia, I ate a lot of tofu. My family loves tofu and my mum has many lovely tofu recipes. I will share with you here some of my favorite tofu recipes.

Let's start with making tofu in your own kitchen. It's extremely easy and involves only two main ingredients: Egg and Soy Milk.

Note: The commercial tofu doesn't have egg unless it's labelled as 'Egg Tofu' or 'Japanese Egg Tofu'. The commercial tofu uses other setting agents usually calcium chloride or calcium sulphate instead of egg to coagulate soy protein to make tofu.

Homemade Tofu (Beancurd) Recipe

Ingredient

• 6 eggs
• 500 ml unsweetened soy bean milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method

1. Break eggs into a big bowl, lightly beat with a fork.
2. Pour in soy milk and salt. Mix thoroughly.
3. Strain egg and soy milk mixture into a 7" dish (lined with cling wrap).
4. Steam over low heat for 20 minutes.

There are many ways to cook tofu. My favourite way of serving it is to drizzle the tofu with soy sauce and sesame oil, sprinkle it with chopped spring onions, fresh red chillies and deep-fried shallots.

More tofu recipes coming your way....