Now Everyone Can Cook Vietnamese!

Asian Food Fest blogging event is featuring Indochina this month. It is a path that i have never treaded on, both real land and in the kitchen except for one Vietnamese style chicken dish that was really popular in the blogsphere some time back.  I found this really simple and homey type of chicken dish to start rolling out some vietnamese flavor for this month.  This is something everyone can make, i assure you :)

Easy peasy stuff, just throw everything in a pot and you are in for a delicious chicken dish in 30 minutes.  Just make sure you keep an eye on it and not burn the dish.   I find the taste quite similar to the chinese version of chicken braised with ginger.  Tasty, went well with rice.

Recipe-Ga Kho Gung (Vietnamese Braised Chicken with Ginger)

Source: Wandering Chopsticks

Ingredients

• Nuoc Mau (Vietnamese Caramel Sauce) - Replaced with 3 tbsp Indonesian Kecap Manis
• 4 pieces of chicken, preferably thighs, cut into two-inch chunks if you wish - half a medium size chicken
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion, diced small
• 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2-inch knob of ginger, sliced
• 1 tbsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), or more according to taste - 2 tbsp 
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup water

Steps

1. Put all the ingredients in a pot and mix everything up.
2. Cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked, the liquid starts reducing and a thick caramel sauce is formed.
3. Serve hot!

Note: 

I did not make Nuoc Mau which is essentially a thick caramel sauce and said to be a basic ingredient for many Vietnamese braised dishes.   I chose the option of using Kecap Manis since i have it on hand.  Here's the link for making Nuoc Mau if you would like to make the dish more authentic.

"I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest - Indochina hosted by Kelly Siew Cooks."

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It's Magic!

If you have not tried Shio Koji, trust me, you have got to go look for it!   I have read that some of the Japanese people call this their magical seasoning and i tell you i can't agree more!  It is really, really delicious and the best part is it's so versatile and simple to use!   All you need is basically this one seasoning and it will bring out the best flavors in both meat and vegetables whether you braised, fry, steam or even just as a seasoning for salad or pickle!      

I have Nami of Just One Cookbook to thank for introducing me to this magical ingredient.  I got to know about it when she posted this dish on her blog.  It came at the right time as I was about to go for a holiday in Japan.  I made a mental note to look for it when i get there.  Initially, I tried looking for it on my own when i got to a supermarket but i gave up after some time and got some help instead as most of the stuff does not have any English labelling on them.  I went to a wrong section, i thought it was probably on the aisle where all the sauces are since the one I saw at Nami's was in a sauce bottle but the young man brought me all the way to where it was and pointed it out to me. Service in Japan is just ichiban!  It's at the refrigerated area, btw :)

So, what is shio koji?  Koji is essentially rice that's been inoculated with the koji mold.  When it is combined with water and salt and allowed to ferment it turns to shio koji where shio means salt.  In appearance, it looks like rice porridge with some rice grains still visible though i have read that it can also look like a puree.  Koji is also the ingredient used for making soy sauce, sake and miso in Japan.

Coming back to this dish, this is my third time making it already and there goes all the shio koji that i brought back from Japan.  I went hunting for more in our local Isetan supermarket and was very happy to find it available, so fellow Malaysians you know where to get it if you are interested to try :)  It's at the section where they place sashimi.  They also have salmon that has been pre-marinated with shio koji for sale.  That's the pack that i got from Isetan KL.

This is a no fuss dish, so simple yet one gets blown away by the flavors!  Some sweetness mixed with a savory depth that has a miso-like aroma.  The chicken is marinated with shio koji then pan fried for awhile to give it some browning before adding in some root vegetables and lastly braised with some wine until chicken is tender.  Shio koji has a tenderizing effect on the meat too.

I have my own twist to this recipe now that i have made it a couple of times. The addition of Japanese sweet potatoes makes the dish sweeter and vice versa the potatoes taste really good with the umami flavors of shio koji blending into them.  I have also added in some mini king oyster mushrooms that never seems to be enough for us :)

Besides this dish, i have used shio koji as a marinade for fish before steaming or panfrying it.  I have read that the rule of thumb on the amount of shio koji to be used is 10% of the weight of food to be marinated and finds that it suits our family's taste buds.

The only downside to shio koji is it's expensive in Malaysia.  A small pack of 200g cost me RM16.90 (around USD5).  There are guides out there on how to make your own though.  An important point to remember is shio koji burns easily.  Do make sure you use low-medium flame if you are  pan frying fish/meat that is marinated with just shio koji, and yes i burnt my way to learned this :)  And like most other marinade, the longer it is left to marinate, the better it taste.

I am going to stop waxing lyrical about it, you have got to try it yourself but i admit i am a little crazy about it :)

Recipe
Reference: Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

• 4 (about 1 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, rinsed and pat dry (2 chicken thighs)
• 2 tbsp Shio Koji
• 2 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (omitted)
• 1 tsp paprika (omitted)
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (2 sprigs rosemary)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (1 tbsp fresh oregano)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 thin carrot, cut into 2 inch thick slices
• 1/2 large onion, cut into 4 wedges
• 1 cup chicken broth (400ml water)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (1/4 cup sake)
• 1 small red potato (1 small russet potato)
• 1 medium size Japanese sweet potato)
• 150g mini king oyster mushrooms (cut the bigger ones into half otherwise leave it whole)
• 1 tablespoon corn flour

Method

1. Put the chicken, shio koji, and garlic in a large plastic bag and massage ingredients together. Marinate in the bag for 30 minutes. (Left to marinate for 2 hours in the fridge)
2. Add flour, paprika and herbs to the bag and shake to coat. 
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Place chicken (skin side down) and remaining marinade into the Dutch oven. (I used a pressure cooker with stir fry function but a deep pot would work find too)
4. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly brown.
5. Add carrot and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add broth, wine, and potatoes and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 40 minutes or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender. (Simmered for 15 minutes, then changed to high pressure function for 7 minutes).
8. If mushrooms are used, add them in about 10 minutes before turning off the flame or if cooking in high pressure, add them in just before setting on high pressure.
9. If you like a thicker sauce, remove about 2 tablespoons of the sauce and allow it to cool.
10. Dissolve corn flour with the sauce that has been removed then pour it back into the pan and allow it to come to a boil again to  thicken the sauce.
11. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper before serving.

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Selamat Makan~Ayam Masak Habang

Many of you would have heard about the tragedy of flight MH370 by now.  My heart is heavy, i can't imagine the sadness and grief felt by victims' loved ones.   Before you read on, may i ask that you keep the victims and their loved ones in your prayers...

Spanning across an archipelago of 18,000 thousand islands with 6,000 populated ones, Indonesian cuisine reflects the diverse culture and traditions of its people.  Each region has its own specialities influenced by local and foreign culture in that particular region.  As an example the Padang style food from the people of West Sumatra is very spicy and rich in coconut milk while Javanese food from the island of Java is simpler, not as spicy and tend to have some sweetness in them. Pork is not widely served in Indonesia except in the mystical islands of Bali.  I guess their national motto "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" which means “Unity in Diversity” is reflected in their cuisines too.  However, despite the diversity,  Indonesian dishes are generally rich in spice.

I decided to try out this dish named Ayam Masak Habang which means Chicken cooked in Red Chilli Sauce.   I had a feeling that it will be something that will not be too far from the family's tastebuds judging from the list of ingredients.  I am quite afraid of that 'What's this you are feeding us?' which i get occasionally when i try to be a little adventurous!  This is a dish by the Banjar people in South Kalimantan.  Although this  an everyday dish it also served during festive occasions.  During celebrations, it is served with Nasi Kuning (i.e. Yellow Rice), rice cooked with herbs and coconut milk.   

This dish went very well with the fragrant herb rice, spicy but not overpowering and has a combination of sweet sourish taste.   I served it with some fresh tomato and cucumber slices plus taking a cue from how the Indonesians love serving egg omelette as a side dish, i added my chinese style crabstick omelette to complete this meal :)

There is one thing i must confess though, I am not too sure if i understood one of the ingredients correctly, recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of ground red chilli pepper to be soaked in some water. I assumed that it was chilli powder since it was measured in tablespoons.  

Selamat Makan!

Recipe - Ayam Masak Habang
Source: Indonesia Eats

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken pieces (thighs, drumstick, breast bone in and skin on) - (5 thighs)
• 1 lime
• 5 salam (Indonesian bay) leaves
• 4 cm cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 300ml boiled water
• 100ml cooking oil (70ml)

Spices to be ground

• 3 cm ginger, peeled
• 125 grams shallots
• 100 grams garlics
• 3 tablespoons ground red chili pepper, soaked in a small amount of hot water (2 tbsp)
• 4 tablespoons coconut sugar - (3 tbsp)
• 1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste (terasi), roasted - (belacan)
• 2 tablespoons tamarind, dissolved in small amount of water
• seasalt

Method

1. Drizzle lime juice over chicken pieces.  Leave in the fridge while preparing spices for grinding.
2. Soak the roasted dried shrimp paste in tamarind liquid. 
3. Grind all the spices that are to be ground with a food processor.
4. Heat up your wok, add the cooking oil then stir fry the ground spices, salam leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Add coconut sugar. You can add more if you want a darker colour.
5. Toss in the chicken pieces, keep stirring until chicken turns colour. Add the boiled water. Cook until the sauce thickens and reduce the heat to low. Once the sauce is oily and drier, remove from the heat. 
6. Ready to serve with nasi kuning.

Note: 

1. My variations in blue.
2. I used the traditional pestle and mortar to pound the spice since my old blender that i used for spices chose to gave up on me at just the time i wanted to use it for this. 
3. Mine has a lighter shade compared to the original recipe, i suspect it's probably due to lesser amount of chilli and coconut sugar used.

Recipe - Nasi Kuning

Source: Indonesia Eats

Ingredients

• 2 cups jasmine rice, washed and drained
• 2 1/4 cups coconut milk (50ml coconut milk plus water as per stated on rice cooker)
• 3/4 cup chicken stock(or vegetable stock for vegetarian) (1 tsp chicken stock powder)
• 1 salam (Indonesian bay) leaf
• 2 lime kaffir leaves
• 1 pandan/screwpine leaf (or few drops pandan essence) (1 pandan leaf)
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
• 3/4 – 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 cm galangal, cut in 4 lengthwise slices salt as desired (omitted salt)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker or heavy stock pot and simmer, covered, until done.
2. Discard lemongrass, galangal, salam and kaffir lime leaves before serving.

Note:

1. I used a rice cooker to cook it hence i am not too sure about the amount of water to be used when a pot is used instead.
2. Hint from source for cooking with a pot- Cook the rice in a pot over high heat until the liquid starts to a boil. Turn down the heat and continue to cook gently to avoid scorching on bottom of the pot. 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Indonesia, hosted by Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake

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A Turkish Affair

The one food that left a very lasting impression of our holidays in Turkey was rice pilaf.    My son was still very young back then and every time he hit the buffet table, the first thing he would look out for would be rice pilaf, those plain classic ones with orzo.   That alone made him a happy boy for the entire trip.  His love for it was hardly surprising, firstly being Asians we eat a lot of rice and pilaf being rice cooked in seasoned broth brought it a level higher. 

So i decided on a pilaf to lend my support to the Asian Food Fest blogging event which is featuring West Asian food this month.   I chose to make the eggplant pilaf (Patlıcanlı Iç Pilav),  a dish said to have originated from Ottoman palace kitchens.  A hearty and healthy vegan dish that can be eaten on its own.  The soft and creamy eggplants paired very well with the aromatic rice (if you love eggplants that is).   The addition of some Turkish dried apricots (my own twigging since i had some on hand) gave a hint of sweetness to the dish and an added Turkish identity to the dish, if i may say :)

Although the dish can be eaten on its own though, i made a Turkish style grilled chicken dish to accompany it.  A tangy marinade made from a combination of yogurt, lemon juice and spices was used to season the chicken.

So, it was a Turkish affair for my family that night.  I will remember their reactions for sometime now, they were taken by surprise :)  But i would be honest to say i was the only who enjoyed it the most, my boys don't like aubergines/eggplants/brinjal or whatever name you call them and in whatever way you make them, unfortunately!   Actually it was quite funny when they started picking them out from the rice.  But for those who love aubergine, i am pretty sure you will like this dish, so as they say in Turkish,  Afiyet olsun!  

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest : West Asia hosted by Shannon of Just As Delish

Signing off for the year with wishes for a very Happy New Year to all my friends out there and 
some memories from my holidays in Turkey for viewing pleasure.  It's a beautiful country, enjoy!

The Blue Mosque

The Ephesus

Cotton Castle 

Fairy Chimneys' Mountains

Recipe - Eggplant Pilaf
Source: Food Thought For who adapted from Ghillie Basan 

Ingredients

• 1large aubergine/eggplant (3 medium size ones)
• 1 cup of rice. Long grain is better (2 cups)
• 1 small onion. Sliced (2 small onions)
• 2 cloves of garlic. Slivered (4 cloves)
• 1/2 tsp of sugar (1 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp of whole cumin (1 tsp cumin powder)
• 1/2 tsp of whole coriander (1 tsp coriander powder)
• 2 small tomatoes,  diced (1 large tomato, seeds removed)
• 2 tsp of tomato paste or puree ( 1 1/2 tbsp tomato puree)
• 2 cups of water. Lukewarm or at least room temperature. You can use stock as well (Water, as per noted on rice cooker)
• 6-8 tbsf olive oil. Not extra virgin 
• Salt and pepper
• Parsley for garnish, optional 
• 10 pieces of dried apricot, diced
• 1/2 cup raisins

Steps

1. Soak aubergine/eggplant in salted water for at least an hour but no more than three. Drain, squeeze the pieces and dry with paper towels.  Heat  5 tbsf olive oil ( do not sear the oil as the smoke point for olive oil is low) and  gently add the aubergine pieces. After adding in the aubergine, reduce heat, add a tsp or so of olive oil from the top, mix and cover as they fry gently. Check often.    Drain on paper towel and set aside.
2. Wash and soak rice (if you have the time), skipped. Soften onion and garlic in olive oil. Stir in the sugar, cumin, coriander cooking for a couple of mins. Add the tomato puree and tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 mins. Add the rice. Coat everything. 
3. Add the water or stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer. About 20 min. Keep an eye.
4. When rice is done, mix in the aubergine, apricot and raisins. Leave aside for around 15 minutes for aubergine and fruits to soften slightly.
5. Garnish with parsley and cubed tomatoes. Serve warm. 

Note: 

1. My variations are in blue.
2. The original recipe recommended toasting the spices (cumin/coriander) then ground for best results if used in whole.
3. I used a rice cooker for step 3.  Simply transfer everything into a rice cooker after step 2 and add in water as per manufacturer's recommendation.

Recipe - Turkish Style Grilled Chicken

Source: About Home Cooking with source from The Mediterranean Kitchen by Joyce Goldstein (Wm Morrow & Co)

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons cumin seeds (1 tbsp cumin powder)
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped 
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely minced (4 cloves garlic)
• 1 Tablespoon paprika (1/2 tbsp chilli powder)
• Juice of 1 lemon (1/3 lemon)
• 1 cup plain yogurt (1/2 cup yogurt)
• 12 boneless chicken thighs, about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds, or 4 half broilers (8 drumettes) 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges for serving

Steps

1. Toast the cumin seeds in a small saute pan over medium heat until the seeds are fragrant and start to pop in the pan. Remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder. 
2. Place the cumin, onion, garlic, paprika, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and pulse to liquify. Add the yogurt and pulse just until blended. 
3. Put the chicken thighs in a shallow non-aluminum baking dish or bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well to coat. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard marinade). 
5. Place the chicken on a broiler rack and broil until browned on top, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F(205°C) and bake until the chicken is juicy and just cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. (Thigh meat will appear dark pink, even when cooked through.) 
6. Serve immediately.

Note:

1. My variations in blue.
2. Skipped step 1 since i substituted with cumin powder.
3. The chicken pieces didn't turn out pinkish in color, probably because i replaced paprika with chili powder and the amount added was not much to suit my son's acceptance level.

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A Hot and Sweet Affair

This has got to be my closest ever gap between 2 posts, I did one yesterday and its another today! No, i have not turned for the better, it's just that when one is late, one rushes!  And it's Asian Food Fest featuring Japan which ends on Nov 1st that i am rushing for.  I thought it would be good to include this since we enjoyed it so much, after all it was the event that motivated it.  In fact i tried out quite a few Japanese dishes this month but didn't manage to post all of them :)

This is not my first time making Japanese curry or Karei as they say in Japanese but before this it was always stored bought instant roux. This prepared from scratch version is so much better, really delicious.  Never again will i buy instant roux!  It just takes a little extra effort.  We had it over 2 meals and it tasted even better on the second day.  My son polished everything clean, that practically says all about how good it is :)

Essentially the recipe came from Nami of Just One Cookbook though I did compare hers with the one from Marc of No Recipes. They are both pretty similar except Marc added tomato sauce and tonkatsu (or Worcestershire) to the roux instead of the dish of which i adapted.  So, thank to Nami and Marc for the recipe! As we more accustomed to spicier curries, i doubled the amount of curry powder and garam masala into the roux.  I would still categorized it as mild in terms of spiciness but that's how Japanese curry is, mildly spiced yet still smells heavenly with a nice hint of sweetness from caramelized onions and apples.  This curry is a sure hit with kids! 

Oh, and allow me to gush a little, i concocted my own garam masala instead of rushing out to buy some!  It's on occasions like these that one goes an extra mile to find out the ingredients in ready mixed seasonings and realized that the ingredients are readily available in the kitchen!   

Japanese Curry is always served with rice hence the name Karei Raisu for this all in one meal.

Recipe
Reference: Nami of Just One Cookbook and Marc of No Recipes 

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (or beef, pork, seafood, tofu, or vegetables) (I used the wings and thighs from 1 medium size free range chicken with bones and skin)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions
• 1-2 potatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 QT (4 cups/1000ml) chicken broth (or water if you use store bought curry roux) (I used water)
• 1 apple (I used Fuji apple)(I used Honey Apple)
• 1 Tbsp. honey (omitted)
• 2 tsp. salt
• Homemade Japanese curry roux or 1 box (7 oz, 200g) store bought Japanese curry roux (see recipe below for homemade roux, I used about 3/4 of portion of the prepared roux)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce (omitted)
• 1 tbsp ketchup (added into roux instead)

Steps

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Discard the extra fat and cut it into bite size pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Peel and cut the carrot in rolling wedges (Rangiri) and cut the onions in wedges. 
3. Cut the potatoes into 1.5 inch pieces and soak in water for 15 minutes to remove excess starch (I cut them into quarters, then eighths)
4. Grate the ginger and crush the garlic.
5. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions until they become translucent.
6. Add the ginger and garlic.
7. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken changes color.
8. Add the carrot and mix.
9. Add the chicken broth (or water).
10. Bring the stock to boil and skim the scrum and fat from the surface of the stock.
11. Peel the apple and coarsely grate the apples.
12. Add the honey and salt and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I omitted honey, reckon the apple gave enough sweetness)
13. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, and turn off the heat. Meanwhile you can make homemade curry roux.
14. If you are using homemade curry roux, add a ladleful or two of cooking liquid from the stock and mix into the curry paste. Add more cooking liquid if necessary and mix well until it’s smooth.
15. Add the roux paste back into the stock in the large pot and stir to combine.
16. Add soy sauce and ketchup (omitted). Simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the curry becomes thick.
17. Serve the curry with Japanese rice.  (I added blanched baby kailan as a side dish)

Recipe-Curry Roux

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (40g)
• 4 Tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder (2 tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp. garam masala (2 tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp.+ cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp chilli powder)
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce (from Norecipes.com)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (from Norecipes.com)

Steps

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat.
2. When the butter is completely melted, add the flour.
3. Stir to combine the butter and flour. Soon the butter and flour will fuse and swell.  Do not stop stirring because the roux will easily burn.
4. After 20-30 minutes, the roux will turn to light brown color. Add the curry powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper and sauce.
5. Cook and stir for 30 seconds and remove from the heat.

Garam Masala

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 11/2 tsp ground coriander
• 11/2 tsp ground cardamom (omitted)
• 11/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (1 1/2 tsp)
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg (1 1/2 tsp)
• 1 tsp ground cloves  (1 tsp All Spice)

Mix everything together and store in an airtight container.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest # 1 Oct 2013 : Japan hosted by Alan from Travelling-Foodies 

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Learning the Basics-Making Egg Tofu

Little Thumb Up blogging event continues this month with Soya Beans as the featured ingredient.  I don't make anything with soya beans (to be exact, it's don't know how to) but i do make dishes with soy based products and tofu will be on top of the list in my home.  I thought i would take this opportunity to take a step back and learn how to make some tofu.  Having said that, this is not entirely tofu from scratch since i stopped at making my own soy milk, it' a lot easier to just buy a freshly made 500ml pack for RM1.50 from the wet market :)

When i told the soy milk seller that i didn't want any sugar syrup in my pack of soy milk he was curious since it was not my norm, a little syrup was my usual way to go.  Sheepishly i told him i wanted to try making tofu because i was afraid that he would laugh at me since tofu is so easily available and cheap. To my surprise he didn't but shared a recipe with me instead.  

And I have learned that making tofu is pretty simple indeed (this version at least).  The tofu tasted good, definitely better than commercial ones for its freshness, as smooth as commercial ones and it smelt less eggy. 

The easiest way and best way to eat this is to drizzle some soy sauce and sesame oil with  some garnishing like fried shallot crisps, spring onions the moment it's out from the steamer.  I don't have a photo for this, no time for photos, it's best eaten hot moreover it was dark already, i know my photos wouldn't turn out good anyway.

And i used the rest to make Salt and Pepper Tofu the next day.   For this dish, it will be easier to handle the tofu after it's left to harden a little in the fridge.  This dish makes a nice appetizer.   

I have since made this tofu a second time and used some of it in this Ayam Paprik, a Thai influenced Malay dish.  The inspiration came after I was reminded of this dish when I saw it on Rasa Malaysia. This is a very appetizing all in one dish that goes very well with rice.  A spicy stir fried chicken dish with unique flavors coming from shrimp chilli paste and herbs like lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves which infuses the dish with a zesty fragrance.  Here's my take on this dish with homemade egg tofu :)

Recipe-Egg Tofu

Ingredients

• 250ml unsweeten fresh soy milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt

Steps

1. Break eggs into a bowl and use a whisk to mix them up.
2. Add soy milk and salt.  Mix well and strain.
3. Prepare a steaming container. I used a Pyrex dish.  I have read recommendations to line the container (especially if you are using aluminium or stainless steel ones) with cling wrap or baking paper to make it easier to remove the tofu when it's ready.  I left this out and didn't face too much of a problem during removal.  The tofu didn't stick to the dish and what i did was to cut it out in small blocks.
4. Heat up steamer to a rolling boil then lower heat to steam tofu mixture for about 10-12 minutes.  Tofu is ready when the mixture has coagulated.

Recipe-Salt and Pepper Tofu

Ingredients

• Egg tofu from half the amount of tofu prepared in the egg tofu recipe above
• 3 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder
• A twist of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp chilli flakes

Steps

1. Cut tofu into 1x 1/2 inch rectangulars.
2. Season corn flour with salt, black pepper, five spice powder and chilli flakes.
3. Coat tofu with mixture.
4. Heat a frying pan with enough oil to cover tofu.
5. When oil is hot, fry tofu until golden.
6. Remove and drain on paper towel.
7. Serve tofu plain or with some chilli sauce.

Recipe-Ayam Paprik with Egg Tofu
Reference: Fried Chillies

Ingredients

• Egg tofu from half the amount of tofu prepared in the egg tofu recipe above
• 1 chicken breast, sliced into small pieces
• 3 baby corns, sliced or leave whole if preferred
• 1/2 medium size carrot, sliced
• A handful of baby french beans, cut into 2 inch long pieces 
• 1/4 of a small cabbage, cut into smaller pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, sliced thinly
• 3 tbsp shrimp chilli paste
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sweet soy sauce
• 1 lemongrass, bruised
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Steps

1. Cut tofu in roughly 1 inch cubes.  Toss into some corn flour.
2. Heat a frying pan with enough oil to cover tofu cubes.
3. When oil is hot, fry tofu cubes until golden.
4. Remove and drain on paper towel.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok.  When oil is hot, stir fry chicken until almost cook.
6. With the same wok, add in garlic, shallots, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves.  Fry until fragrant.
7. Add in shrimp paste and oyster sauce. Mix well.
8. Add in vegetables, stir fry for 2-3 minutes, then add in chicken.
9. Add in water from the side of wok.
10. Mix in tofu cubes.
11. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
12. Stir fry until vegetables are cook.
13. Dish up and serve with warm rice.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Doreen from My little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake at this post.

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Pandan Chicken, the Lazier Way

Pandan chicken is one popular Thai dish that is loved by many, my family including.  A typical pandan chicken dish would be deep fried chicken that was marinated with a combination of spices and fish sauce wrapped in pandan leaves.   The pandan leaves adds a sweet smelling floral like fragrance to the aromatics used to marinade the chicken.  Really, it's hard not to love this dish. 

The preparation of the chicken is easy, it's the wrapping of the chicken in pandan leaves that requires some effort (time consuming) and mastering.  And the other hassle is the deep frying part, which is also something many of us try to avoid for health reasons apart from the cleaning up after.  

So, to make it easy and healthy, this is what i did this time:-

1. Bigger size chicken pieces, used entire chicken leg
2. Roast instead of fried
3. Laid the chicken on a bed of pandan leaves instead of wrapping it up individually

This is the bed of pandan leaves that the chicken 'slept' on.  The inspiration came from here, i thought it was rather cool to combine art and culinary.   Ok, ok, i have to admit this might not necessarily be less time consuming than wrapping the chicken pieces with a pandan leave!  But it was fun and less messy because you don't have to handle the chicken while doing it.  Besides the kids can help with this too.   And of course it looks pretty doesn't it? I made 3 of these, one to lay the chicken on, one to cover it and one for serving. 

The chicken 'sleeping' on the bed of pandan leaves.  Then covered with another bed and a layer of foil to make sure the chicken remains moist and the fragrance from the pandan gets trapped in and infused into the chicken :)

Brushed with some gravy made from juice collected in roasting pan and served with some chilli sauce.

Recipe
Ingredients

• 3 pieces of chicken leg (deboned and deskinned)

(B) - chop finely (or ground if preferred)

• 30g turmeric
• 2 stalks lemon grass
• 3 shallots
• 2 clove of garlic
• 1 inch knob of ginger

(C) - Seasoning

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 50ml coconut milk

Steps

1. Cut and chop finely ingredients in Part B.
2. Season chicken with ingredients in Part B and C.
3. Leave chicken to marinade for 2-3 hours.
4. Preheat oven at 250C.
5. Prepare roasting pan by laying pandan leaves on a piece of foil.  Foil has to be big enough to cover chicken.
6. Put another layer of pandan leaves on top of chicken then cover it with aluminium foil.
7. Roast chicken for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
8. This is optional but here's what i did. I made used of juice/oil collected in roasting pan.  Strain the juice into a small pot, then add some water and corn flour to it.  Put it over a small flame and let it come to a boil.  I then brushed the gravy on the chicken and served with some chilli sauce. 

I am submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up "Pandan" event hosted by Joceline @ Butter, Flour & Me, organized by Zoe@ Bake for Happy Kids and Mui Mui @My little favourites DIY

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Village Fried Chicken

This is my second post for MFF Perak.  I am not particularly familiar with Malay cuisine from the state although it is where i hail from.  The only dish that comes to mind is Rendang Tok :))  I did some searching and bumped into a few writeups that covered a Perak cuisine promotion at a hotel restaurant somewhere back in 2011. It has a good showcase of Malay Perakian cuisine that will leave one mouthwatering! 

One of the dishes featured was Ayam Goreng Kampung Tanjung Malim (aka Tg Malim Village Fried Chicken).  Apparently there is this small restaurant (or warong in Malay) that is very popular for Nasi Padang.  To those who are not familiar, Nasi Padang is rice served with dishes cooked in Minangkabau (ethnic group from West Sumatra) style.

Caught me by surprise as I have not heard of it although I come from Slim River (yeah, we are fortunate to be 'slim' people effortlessly!) which is very near to Tanjung Malim.

Coincidentally there was a recipe for this dish in the writeup by Big Boys Oven.  So i thought i will take this opportunity to try out something closer to home.  Here's Ayam Goreng Kampung Tanjung Malim, Big Boys Oven's take.  I must find an opportunity to try the real mccoy when i go back home the next time.

Kid's first bite before he ended up finishing 2 pieces...

Verdict? 

If you have tried Malay style spiced fried chicken, this one is similar.  I used free range chicken so the meat is slightly tougher although i did take precaution not to overfry them.  There is a nice fragrance to the chicken although there are not too much spices used in the marinade.  I like that the onions and ginger are sliced and not minced as it ended up with lots of shallot and ginger crisps to go with the chicken when eaten with rice.  I made a simple dipping sauce commonly used with Malay dishes to go with it too.  Coupled with some greens it made a decent meal.

Recipe (variation in blue)

Source : Big Boys Oven 

Ingredients

• 1kg Chicken, cut (I used 2 thighs and 2 wings around 600g)
• 50gm Red onion, sliced
• 30gm Garlic, chopped
• 10gm Ginger, sliced
• 10gm Chicken curry powder (2 tbsp)
• 0.5gm Turmeric powder (1 tsp)
• 0.5gm Curry leaves (2 sprigs)
• 2nos Eggs (1 egg)
• Cooking oil
• Seasoning (1 tsp salt)

Method 

1. Marinate the chicken with all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Leave it aside for 30 minutes. (I left it for 2 hours)
3. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok.
4. Fry the marinated chicken till golden brown.
5. Remove them from the wok and absorb the excessive oil with kitchen papers before served.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 chili padi
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 shallot-sliced
• 2 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Method

1. Mix everything together.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Perak month hosted by 

WendyinKK of Table for Two....or more



And

Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out.

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Not One But Three

Love curries? If you do, there are three to choose from in this post :)  I was looking at my backlog and started scratching my head (while sighing).  So, i decided to clear all three curry dishes in my backlog in this one post.  And having three to pick from is better than one if you are looking for a curry to make, surely.

Curries are popular dishes in the Asian part of the world.  It has become a dish that is very varied with the different cooking styles though underlying it is still meat/vegetables cooked in a rich concoction of spices.  My family love curries, everyone will be eagerly waiting for meal time once they catch a whiff   of it.  

In this post you will see that each of these curries have their own main ingredient lending each variation a distinctive taste of its own.

First up is this Vietnamese style spicy lemongrass chicken.  This was quite popular among bloggers some time back and I have made it a couple of times since then.  As in the name, the key ingredient for this one is the lemongrass which gives it a nice, lemony fragrance.  The use of fish sauce and palm sugar gave the curry a light savory sweet umami flavor.    

I did not follow the original to the T, mainly to make it more convenient for me.

Recipe-Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Chicken

Source : First spotted on Nasi Lemak Lover with original recipe from Echo's Kitchen

Ingredients

Spicy lemongrass paste

• 5 Fresh Lemongrass（use only the white part）
• 25 Dried Red Chili（replaced with 5 tbsp grounded chili paste)
• 1 1/2 inch of ginger root 
• 8 Cloves of garlic

Method

1. Slice the lemongrass and ground it together with all other ingredients into a paste.  
2. It is OK if the paste is a little coarse

Spicy Lemongrass chicken

• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 3 tbsp Spicy Lemongrass Paste
• 500g chicken pieces/chicken breast pieces（marinate with a pinch of black pepper powder and some salt）
• 1 tsp Meat Curry powder (1 tsbp)
• 1/2 onion, chopped ( 1 big onion)
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce/Fish Sauce 
• 1/2 tsp Salt (1 tsp) 
• 1/2 tsp Sugar/Palm Sugar (shaved palm sugar to taste)

Method

1. Heat up oil in pan then fry lemongrass paste until fragant and slightly dry.
2. Remove the additional paste leaving 3 tbsp of paste in the pan.
3. Add in chicken and fry to coat with spices.
4. When grease released from the chicken is visible, stir in the chopped onion, and cook for another minute until onion soften, add in curry powder and stir well until it smells fragrant.
5. Add about 1/2 cup of water, salt, soy sauce/fish sauce and sugar.
6. Bring it to boil then simmer until chicken is cooked and until gravy is reduced to preferred thickness.

This other curry is the Green Curry which is a popular Thai cuisine.   It obviously got its name from its colour, and its color from green chillies and coriander.  Don't be deceive by the color though, it can be as fiery as its redder cousins. The aroma can be quite strong and may not be well received especially for those who dislike coriander.  If so, the amount of coriander used can be slightly lessen.

This is my first time making green curry, thought I would give it a try after drooling at the one blogger friends,  Kimmy and Phong Hong posted.

Recipe-Thai Green Curry

Source : Kimmy's Cooking Pleasure

Ingredients for Paste 

(A)

• 3 lemon grass (white part only)
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1 tsp black peppercorns 
• 4 large green chillies
• 10 small Thai green chillies
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 10-12 shallots
• 2 tsp grated kaffir lime zest
• 2-3 stalks fresh coriander with roots

(B) 

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp tumeric powder
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp oil

(C)

• 800 gm chicken thighs - cut bite size pieces
• 1-2 stalks basil leaves - used the leaves only
• 5-6 kaffir lime leaves - shredded finely
• 150 ml water
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 2 medium size eggplants (cut into half then slice to 3 inch long pieces)
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar to taste

Method

1. Blend ingredients A in a blender until fine.
2. Mix with rest of ingredients B into a paste.
3. Fry paste with about 100 ml oil until oil separates then remove additional paste to store if amount of meat is lesser than amount noted.
4. Add in chicken pieces and mix well.  Add in water after meat turns opaque.
5. Bring to a boil then add in eggplants.  Simmer until chicken is tender.  Add in coconut milk.  Cook until gravy is slightly thick.  Add seasoning to taste.
6. Stir in the basil leaves and kaffir leaves if serving immediately otherwise add the leaves when reheating the curry before serving.

And the last one here (but not the least definitely) has an Indian origin, specifically a town named Goa in Southern India.   This type of curry is known as the Vindaloo.   And it's also interesting to know that  the Vindaloo originated from a Portuguese dish known as Carne de Vinha d' Alhos,  which is a meat dish (normally pork) cooked with wine vinegar(vinha) and garlic(ahlo).  The Indians then added their signature touch to it with fiery spices after the Portuguese explorers introduced it to them when they arrived  at Indian shores way back in the 15th century.

I am not sure how authentic this recipe is, it was from a recipe booklet that came free with a tub of yogurt.  The original recipe called for chicken but i used pork ribs instead.  As the norm with complimentary recipes, one of the ingredient has to be the one from the sponsor.  Yogurt was used to marinate the meat.   It's quite an easy recipe as it suggested use of instant curry paste.  This was the first time i tried this recipe and we loved it.  The use of yogurt instead of coconut cream made it less guilty but just as flavorful.  The addition of some tomato sauce gave a slight sweetness to it too.

    

Recipe-Pork Vindaloo

Source : Nestle Yogurt Recipes Collection

Ingredients

• 500g pork ribs/chicken pieces

(A)

• 6 tbsp set yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp pounded garlic
• 1 tbsp pounded ginger
• 1 tsp grounded black pepper

(B)

• 1 sachet curry chicken paste (1/3 packet of Tean's Gourmet Chicken Curry Paste)
• 1 onion diced
• 2 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 tsbp tomato ketchup
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 stalk coriander leaves

Method

1. Marinade meat with ingredients from Part A for several hours  (I only had time to marinate it for 1 hour).
2. Heat oil and fry onion until soft and fragrant.
3. Add curry leaves, tomato and curry paste.  Fry until aromatic.
4. Add in marinated meat and mix well.  Add tomato ketchup and water after meat turns opaque.
5. Simmer until gravy is slightly thick and meat is cooked and tender.  (I let it simmer for 15 minutes before transferring it to the pressure cooker for 5 minutes to have a nice melt in your mouth ribs)
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves.

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Easy Dinner with Soy Sauce Chicken

Hello, there! To those who celebrated Chinese New Year, I hope all of you had great fun and had a wonderful time with loved ones.  Mine was awesome, one of the greatest in 10 years.  There's nothing like having everyone back home for the festival, only then will reunion dinners lift up to their true meanings.   The joy brought by their presence was enough to warm hearts like no other.   Priceless moments...a good start for the year.  May the Year of the Snake bloom into one with lots of joy, love and happiness for all of us! 

In the fun and festivities, this blog has definitely been neglected.   There were a lot of buzz in the kitchen no doubt, but I am going last in first out for this time while i figure and sort out those done over CNY.

We had this soy sauce chicken, a traditional chinese dish with some mee suah for dinner just a few nights ago.  Apparently I planned for it to be a light but looking at it now I am not too sure if light it was BUT we enjoyed it for sure.  Thanks to Esther for the inspiration and the recipe.  I love her fuss free recipes :)

Followed her recipe almost to a T except for some substitutions and omissions for those items that I didn't have in my kitchen.

Soy sauce chicken eaten with an egg plus some blanched chinese mustard leaves and a dollop of sambal belacan over mee suah drizzled with some leftover sauce.  Yummeh!

I am submitting this dish to Aspiring Bakers #28: Chicken Feast (February 2013) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Recipe

Source: The Fuss Free Chef

Ingredients

• 3 Chicken legs, about 800g (2 chicken legs, about 600g)
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 100ml good quality light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 500ml water (+/- 650ml)
• 60g rock sugar
• 5 fat cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks spring onion, cut into 2 inch strips (oops, i forgot this!) 
• 2 inch ginger, smashed
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick (about 1.5inch)
• 10 white peppercorns
• 1 large piece of dried orange peel (zest from 1 orange)
• 1 small liquorice stick ("ganchao") (omitted)

Steps

1. Rinse and pat dry chicken with kitchen towel.
2. Using a heavy flat based stainless steel pot (big enough to fit chicken without overlapping), heat the oils and gently fry the aromatics until fragrant.  Pour all the liquid seasonings and bring to a boil.  Turn down the fire and let the sauce simmer gently for about 10min. 
3. Add the chicken legs, make sure the sauce completely covers the chicken.  If there is not enough liquid, add more water.  Let it simmer as gently as possible for about 40min.  
4. Remove the chicken and test for doneness. Let it rest for about 15min.  
5. In the meantime, adjust the taste of the gravy to preference (I found it just right).
6. Chop the chicken to smaller pieces.  I cut each leg to 3 pieces (Not going to risk breaking up the meat or causing bone splinters with my not so good chopping skill).

Egg Preparation

1. Put the preferred number of eggs in a small pot.  Fill pot with enough water to cover eggs by 1 or 2 inches.
2. Let water in pot come to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.  Turn off heat and cover pot and leave eggs in hot water for 10 minutes.  
3. Drain hot water and fill pot with cold water to stop cooking process.  
4. When cooled, peel eggs.
5. Simmer the eggs in the left over sauce for 20 minutes.

Noodles Preparation

1. Rinse mee suah in cold water.
2. Blanch mee suah in boiling water to cook it.
3. Drain then drizzle some leftover sauce on mee such.
4. Serve with chicken, egg and blanched mustard leaves top with some sambal belacan.

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