Nasi Kunyit with Chicken Curry

I will just post the recipe for nasi kunyit (Turmeric Rice), the chicken curry is the same I made for my Nasi Lemak. Do you notice that my rice is not glutinous rice? Yes, I use sushi rice instead, because I am having indigestion problem with glutinous rice recently. It tasted not bad at all, but the texture is a bit different. May be it is healthier?

Here is the recipe for my turmeric rice (sushi rice version).

A)
1. 2 cup (approx. 300g) sushi rice - wash and rinse
2. 100g fresh turmeric
3. 3 shallot
4. Couple while peppercorns
4. water just enough to cover the rice

B)
1. 2~3 tbsp thick coconut milk
2. 80~100 ml water
2. 1/4 tsp salt
3. 1/2 tsp white peppercorn
4. 4~5 pandan leaves - knotted


Steps :
1. Pound the fresh turmeric, shallot and white peppercorn together, squeeze the juice, repeat few time with adding some water. Discharge the pulp.
2. Soak the rice with turmeric juice, add some water just enough to cover the rice.
3. Soak the rice for 60 mins.
4. Drain the rice, wash and rinse once.
5. Add in coconut milk, salt, white peppercorn, some water, pandan knotted.
6. Steam over high heat for 20~30 minutes, stir once for evenly cooked.

芋头糕 (Steamed taro cake) Or Kuih

I have been craving for this kuih for long time. The one sold at Dim Sum restaurant here is different, I can't see any taro bites in it. So, I decided to make this for my friend's birthday and uploaded the photos to my FB, my friends asked for recipe. Here you go! Please note that my version has a lot of taro cubes it in, it makes the cake firmer, if you reduce the amount of the taro, you may have to reduce the amount of the salt too. Best to be eaten with some sweet chili sauce! Enjoy.



芋头糕当然要有瞒瞒的芋头块才叫芋头嘛！如果想减少芋头的份量， 记得也要调整盐的用量哦！

Recipe & Steps :


Ingredient A
1. 2tbsp oil in a heated non-stick pot
2. 2 tbsp crispy onion (洋葱酥）
3. 550-600g taro (cubed)
4. 1 1/2 tsp 5 spices powder
5. 1/2 tsp white pepper powder

Ingredient B - mix the following ingredient in a big mixing bowl, stir to mix well and smooth.
1. 1.5 Liter water
2. 300g rice flour (水磨粘米粉）
3. 75g corn starch
4. 2 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1/3 tsp white pepper powder

Ingredient C - garnishing/topping - can adjust to your personal preference

1. 40~45g dried shrimp (stir fried with little oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat for 3~4 minutes)-chopped (optional)
2. 1/3 cup chopped green onion
3. 1 red chili - seeded and chopped.
4. 1/3 cup crispy onion


Steps :

1. Stir fry ingredient A in a non-stick pot until the seasoning is well combined. Turn to medium heat.
2. Pour in Ingredient B, cook and stir constantly until thicken.
3. Pour everything into a round pan (10" diameter, 2" depth)
4. Steam on high heat for 45~50 minutes.
5. Remove from steamer and let it cool for little while before topping your garnishing ingredients.
6. Serve with some sweet chili sauce.

Homemade Assam Laksa

This is special dedicated to my high school schoolmate whom came to visit me in AZ, I am really happy she kept her promise. She told me she would like to learn how to make assam laksa without the overwhelming “her kor” – prawn paste flavor, which is exactly the same as my preference. So, I decided to take this opportunity to record my making of assam laksa properly, as you may know, all the while, my cooking is always based on “agak-agak” – estimation. Gigi, 你的面子够大了吧？老娘为你从出江湖！ :-p

My version of assam laksa soup is clearer, taste more close to Malay version with a lot of chunky fish fleshes (again, my preference), if you like the typical Penang Chinese version of assam laksa, just add another 2~3 tbsp of her kor (prawn paste). I usually cook the soap one night ahead before serving.

Ingredient and steps for the soup:

1. 4 lbs Indian Mackerel/Ikan Kembong

2. 3.5~4 liter water

3. 1 bunch kesom leaves (Vietnamese mint)

4. 2 stalks lemon grass – smashed

5. 5~7 tamarind skin

6. 1 – 2” cube salted markerel fish – slightly roasted and mashed. (yes, salted fish, my secret recipe :-p).

7. Tamarind Juice – 1 pingpong ball size of tamarind paste mixed with 400~500ml of water, rub the paste until the flesh dissolve in the water.

Spices – grind/blend the following ingredients

1. 400~450g shallot

2. 18~20 dried chili (soaked)

3. 5~6 fresh red chili (I couldn’t get this from the store, substituted it with 4 chili padi, thats why my soap is not that red in color)

4. 1 large sweet onion (chop to cubes before grinding)

5. 1 – 1” cube belacan (slightly roasted)

Seasoning

1. Salt to taste

2. Adjust your preference taste with the following solutions :

   • spiciness – add more chili padi

   • sourness – add more tamarind skin or tamarind juice

   • sweetness – add more onion or prawn paste (if you like it)

Steps :

1. Bring the water to boil, add in fishes, cook for about 10~12 minutes.

2. Take out the cooked fishes to a big bowl and let it cool.

3. Add in kesom leaves, tamarind skin, lemon grass, salted fish and ground spices to the fish stock, bring it to boil again, turn to low heat.

4. When the fishes are cool, peel the fleshes and discharge the bones. Mash the fleshes with fork into chunky or tiny pieces.

5. Before adding the fish fleshes back into the stock, pick up the kesom leaves from stock first (you don’t want all the fish fleshes stick on the leaves later).

6. Add in the fish fleshes, tamarind juice (reserve some for later adjustment) bring to boil and turn to low heat, continue to cook for at least 3 hour before serving. Or you can let it sit overnight (with the heat off).

7. Season with salt. Adjust the taste to your personal liking with the following solutions :

• spiciness – add more chili padi

• sourness – add more tamarind juice

• sweetness – add more ground onion or prawn paste (if you like it)

Confinement Food (月子餐) : Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar 猪脚姜醋

Curious about whether I am in confinement period??? Not yet, but pretty soon! :-). This is why I said I couldn't move fast in my prior post. I think some of you may have already guessed I am pregnant. :-p. After the moving and un-packing, we are now busy with baby stuff shopping and buying my confinement food ingredients. One of my tasks before labor is to cook excessive food that is freezable for my honey - Tom. That way he doesn't have to eat too much of the high sodium frozen foods that are usually sold at supermarkets here.

I think I have got most of the confinement recipes ingredient stocked up in my pantry, but as most of them are not the same as what are available in Malaysia, I am going through some "rehearsals" on some of the common confinement meals in order to get the right amount to make it taste like what I usually cook. I am so lucky that I have some friends here who are volunteering to help me through out this critical post-natal period. I think it is also better for them to know ahead what kind food I can handle and write down proper recipes for them to follow.

Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar is one of the Chinese traditional confinement foods that help to increase milk supply for breastfeeding moms. I got different types of vinegars at Lee Lee. Since the one I used in Malaysia was special made to cook this, I didn't have to mix different types of vinegar to make up the right taste. The ratio of mixing the sweet and sour vinegars depends on personal taste, and you can adjust the ratio according to your liking. Recommended ratio is 60~70% sweetened vinegar, 30~40% black vinegar.



我在坐月子中吗???目前还不是, 不过也快了!!我想一些人已经猜到为什么我在之前的搬家文章里面谈到为什么我不能搬太快了吧?我觉得自己在2010年完成了很多事情咧..拖了两年的婚礼, 搬家, 生小孩...感觉到这一年过得特别快.

搬 完家之后就是在忙BABY的必需品和月子餐材料的的采购, 还蛮多东西要买的咧. 列单中应该买的都已经七七八八了. 家里储藏室里的角落也堆满了月子餐所需要的材料, 之前也有从PENANG带一些中药回来. ARIZONA的华人不像CALIFORNIA那么多, 这里没有月子中心, 我听说还有人特别从CALIFORNIA聘请坐月婆过来, 费用不少哦...大大超出我们的预算了...很幸运的我在这边有一些肝胆相照的朋友, 义务帮我煮月子餐, 真的让我很感动. 因为材料的出产地不同, 我想我需要事先"彩排"一下, 写好材料的用量和做法, 让我的朋友跟着食谱来做, 这样她们就比较了解我可接受的口味, 那就比较节省时间了.

首 先出场的这一道是猪脚姜醋, 很普遍的一道马来西亚华人的月子菜. 据说可以促进乳汁分泌, 对想喂母奶的妈妈们很有帮助哦. 以前在PENANG可以买到特制的乌醋, 酸度和甜度刚好. Lee Lee 这边卖的种类看得我眼花缭乱, 花了一番之间研究, 最后选了以下3种. 用量的比例可依照各人的口味调整, 建议比例是 60~70% 甜醋, 30~40% 乌醋/黑米醋.

Recipes & Steps :

1. 1 pork knuckle (have the butcher cut to desired size of chunks) - pre-washed with boiled water, 用滚水川烫备用.
2. 1 bottle (590ml) sweetened vinegar (添丁甜醋)
3. 280~300 ml black vinegar (Koon Chun -冠珍 brand or Kong Yen-工研 brand) - I prefer Kong Yen brand as it tastes better and much more smooth (less harsh) sourness. 我比较喜欢工研醋, 感觉酸度没有那么呛, 比较香和顺口.

4. 2~3 tbsp black sesame oil
5. 2 chunks ginger (approx. 3 inches - will add more during confinement period, add 2 to 3 chunks more. 目前不加太多, 会上火气, 真正做月子的时候要加多一两块)
6. Salt to taste (not recommended during confinement period - 普通日子可加盐调味, 做月子的时候可以不加就不加)

7. Some black beans - 黑豆 (optional - can help on back/lower back bones soreness, 可以随意加点黑豆, 对减轻腰骨酸痛有帮助哦).

8. Hard boiled eggs - optional

**Use clay/ceramic/glass ware to cook or serve this meal, don't use metal ware. 用瓦磁或玻璃锅/碗烹调或盛载为家, 忌用金属.**

Steps :

1. Grease the slightly heated pot with sesame oil, fragrant the ginger chunks.
2. Pour in desired ratio of vinegars.
3. Add in pork knuckles, black beans (optional), hard boil eggs (optional)
4. Bring to boil, simmer for 40~60 minutes or until desired tenderness.
5. Salt to taste (can be omitted during confinement period)
6. Skim the excessive oil before serve.

Asam (Tammarind) Steamed Fish

It is nice to have something sour and spicy during summer season, more appetizing!! I would use fresh caught fish head to make this dish if I was in Malaysia, it will be tastier.

夏日炎炎, 在这热死人不偿命的天气, 没辣没酸真的吞不下饭啊!!来一道亚篸酸辣蒸鱼吧!!开胃又下饭. 最好是用鱼头, 但是这边要找新鲜鱼头是不可能的啦...唯有用鱼肉代替咯..




Recipe and Steps :

1. 350g sea bass steak - rub the steak with some salt, set aside. (can be any kind of fish as long as it is fresh, ocean caught fish head is the best)

2. Paste - blend or grind 2 red chilies and 15~18 purple shallot together.

3. Mix paste #2 with the following seasoning :
i) 1 tbsp asam (tamarind) juice
ii) 1/8 tsp salt (or to taste)
iii) 1/3 tsp oyster sauce

4. Pour over the mixture #3 on top of the fish steak.

5. Top with 5~6 stalks of kesum (Vietnamese cilantro) leaf

6. Boil the water in a steaming pot, steam the fish over high heat for 12~15 minutes.

7. Dish out, discharge the kesum leaf and sprinkle few drops of lime juice (optional)

8. Serve warm.

Spicy Sizzling Prawn (香辣铁板虾)

Tom is leaving for China on a business trip again. I am trying to clear out some food from the freezer to cook something nice for him before the trip. After that, I think I will just have all kinds of noodle soup for 3 weeks while he is away.

Here is what I got for his meal the second day before his departure. The spicy sauce is really good to mix in rice. Keep in mind that this dish is served on a heated hot plate, so don't overcook the prawns.



Recipe for Spicy Sizzling Prawn :

1. 300g large prawn - trimmed, de-veined, peeled (optional)

2. Chili mixture - pound or blend the following ingredients:-
i) 3~4 red chillies - unseeded
ii) 1~2 cloves garlic
iii) 4 purple shallot

3. 4~5 ginger slices
4. Some onion slices (approx. 40~50g)
5. 1 tsp oyster sauce
6. 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
7. 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
8. 3~4 tbsp water
9. A dash of sugar (optional)
10. 1~2 tsp Lime Juice (can substitute with tamarind juice)
11. Salt to taste
12. Some green onion for garnishing

Steps :

1. Heat up a hot plate to be used for serving in separate stove.
2. In another heated and greased pan, fragrance the ginger and onion slices
3. Add Chili mixture and cook for 30~60 seconds (watch out the heat)
4. Add in prawn, oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce, dark soy sauce, stir for evenly cooked.
5. Add some water, a little at a time and stir to mix well.
6. Season with a dash of sugar, lime juice and salt to taste.
7. Dish out and serve on a a heated hot plate.

Luo Han Guo & Winter Melon Tea (罗汉果冬瓜茶)

HOT!!! HOT!!! HOT!!!!!45C !!!

Tom was working outdoor to fix the house during the weekend. Even though he drank a lot of water, I still worry about the heat. I made this tea to prevent him from getting heatstroke. I believe Luo Han Guo beverage is not strange to any Malaysian. You can easily get it from any coffee shop, food court or road side stall.

Luo Han Guo (Siraitia grosvenorii) is commonly used for medicinal purposes and as a sweetener. It is normally available in dried form. It's nature is cool and not toxic. The fruit can act as a remedy for heat stroke, wet the lungs, remove phlegm, stop cough and aid defecation. - source from wikipedia.

It is actually very cheap if you make this heat relief beverage by yourself.

Recipe and steps :

1. 1 Luo Han Guo (place in a cheese cloth, tie up, and crushed)
2. 500g winter melon, cut thin to 2" length strips
3. 1500ML water
4. 1tbsp brown sugar
5. 20g~25g rock sugar (can skip or add as desired because Luo Han Guo itself is sweet)
6. 20g dried longan (can skip it or try not to use much as it will bring up " internal heat" of your body)


Steps :
1. Boil the water, add in Luo Han Guo (wrapped in cheese cloth) and winter melon.
2. Bring to boil again then simmer over low heat for 20~30 minutes.
3. Scoop out the winter melon strip to a bowl with a small strainer, immediately add in brown sugar over winter melon, lightly stir to well absorb, let it marinate and set aside.
4. Add in dried longan, and cook for another 10~15minutes.
5. Add in rock sugar, stir until it is melted.
6. Switch off the heat.
7. Scoop a spoonful winter melon in your glass and pour the tea. Can be served warm or cold (fridge it when it is cooled).

Take care and stay cool my friends!!

Vegetarian- Cold Cucumber and Tofu (凉拌小黄瓜豆腐)

It is 45C outside, and it will continue for another 3 days....I think I will be half cooked if letting me standing outside for 10 minutes. Lucky I can work from home today. Tired about meaty meal? Lets try some simple low carb vegetarian dish. It is very simple and refreshing.

1. 1 Persian cucumber (aaprox. 160g) - unseeded, cut to strips, marinate with a dash of salt and few drop of lime juice, chilled.

2. 220g Soft/Silken Tofu - cut to aprox. 1/2" thick slices, cook in a pot of boiled water for 2~3 minutes. Drained and cooled.

3. 1/3" inch of ginger - chopped
4. 1/2 red chili - chopped

5. Seasoning sauce - mix the following ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
i) 1~2 tsp soy sauce
ii) 2 tsp drinking water
iii) 1/2 tsp sesame oil

6. Garnish with some cilantro (optional)


Assembly
1. Arrange Tofu slices and cucumber strips on a plate.
2. Mix ginger and chili into sauce # 5, then pour on top of the cucumber strips!
3. Garnish with some cilantro (optional)

ENJOY!!! and STAY COOL!... :-)

Spicy Roasted Pork Fried Rice

It is very common in Malaysian Taoist worship to offer roasted pork to the God for special occasions. Whenever there is an special occasion, there is always lot of leftover roasted pork, chicken or duck for my family. I love to use the leftover pork to make some fried rice with chili padi, the spiciness of the added chili really gives the taste a "kick".

I bought some roasted pork from Lee Lee yesterday, mainly just want to make this dish that I have been craving for so much!



You don't need to put so much effort for the seasoning, the taste of the roasted pork itself is already good enough to make you drool.


Recipe for 2 servings :

1. 2 eggs mix with a spoon of fresh milk - beaten.
2. 50g purple shallot - chopped or sliced
3. 3~4 chopped chili padi (or as desired)
4. 1.5 bowl cooked rice - cooled completely or overnight rice
5. 130g roasted pork chunks
6. some green bean or long bean cubed (optional)
7. Some green onion for garnishing

Seasoning :-
1. 1~2 tsp soy sauce
2. 1tsp oyster sauce
3. A dash of white pepper powder

Steps :

1. Make scrambled egg and set aside.
2. Fragrance the shallot in a greased heated pan.
3. Add in chili and rice, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well.
4. Add in roasted pork chunks, long bean cubes and scrambled egg. Continue to fry for approx. 3~4 minutes. Sprinkle some water if necessary
4. Shake in a dash of white pepper powder, garnish with some green onion, dish out and serve warm.

Nasi Lemak (Rice with Coconut Milk) and Curry Chicken

OK, back to cooking posts now.

It is July 4th weekend, we have 3 days off. There is no more reason for me to be lazy and find all kind of excuses not to cook.. :-p

It is not fair to Tom too, he has been eating too much of my lazy meals recently, fried rice, noodle soup, koey teow soup, beehoon soup, mee suah soup, fried noodle, pizza...etc. I feel a bit guilty...lol

We have a small pot luck party on this weekend, they ordered curry chicken from me, I decided to cook some additional ingredients for nasi lemak (coconut rice)just for ourselves and some of my friends I recently met here - they are from Singapore and Malaysia.

Recipe for Curry Chicken

Please keep in mind that this recipe is for 5lbs of chicken, adjust the amount of the ingredients if you cook for smaller portion.
It is impossible for me to find the fresh ground spices over here in Arizona. Hence I have invented my own version of curry chicken, I don't really like the typical Chinese curry chicken that with a lot of coconut milk gravy. I like curry Kapitan but it is too dry for me, so, I mix with a pack of curry rendang paste in order to produce more gravy to mix with the rice. Here's my version of curry chicken.


1. 1.5 pack (110g) of Hup Long curry Kapitan powder (see picture at the end of the post), it is available at local oriental supermarket (Lee Lee), I normally buy it from Penang (Carrefour or Tesco).

2. 1 pack (200G) of Mak Nyonya Rendang paste (see picture at the end of the post)
I brought this from Penang too, you can substitute it with any brand that is available at your local oriental supermarket)

3. 5lbs chicken, marinade with 0.5pack(35g) of curry Kapitan powder with 1/2tsp of salt for 1 hour.

4. 500g purple shallot - ground or blended
5. 4 stalks lemon grass - crushed
6. 8~10 curry leaf
7. 1000~1200ml water
8. 3~4 tbsp thick coconut milk
9. 2~3 tsp lime juice
10. 2pcs of lime peel (about 2" size) - optional
11. Salt to taste
12. 2~3 potato, cook until soft, peel and cut to chunks.

Note :
*** If I cook 1 whole chicken - approx. 3.5lbs, I will just reduce the Kapitan curry powder to 1 pack usage, reduce the water and coconut milk, I will keep the same amount of ground shallot.***



Steps :

1. Heat the pot, add in sufficient oil.
2. Quick fry marinated chicken
- Not to well cooked. About 2 minutes for a whole drum stick, less than 1 minute for the rest of cuts. I know this step may not sound healthy, but it prevents the meat from becoming mushy. And it makes the meat coat better with the curry gravy too. Split to few fries if you want to save the oil.

3. After quick frying the chicken, discharge excessive oil. Leave about 3tbsp of oil in the pot.
4. Fragrance ground shallot for about 5 minutes (adjust the heat if necessary), add in lemon grass, curry Kapitan powder (pre-mixed with some water), rendang paste and curry leaf.
5. Stir and fragrance for another 5~8 minutes.
6. Add some water water (I added 800ml first, then followed by small portion until it reached my desired texture, if you like thicker gravy, reduce the amount of water)
7. Bring to boil, add in pre-fried chicken, pre-cooked potato chunks. Simmer about about 10~15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
8. Add in coconut milk, lime juice, salt to taste.
9. Bring to boil again then remove from heat immediately.
10. Add in lime peel - optional (I like it this way as it brings some tangy aroma to my curry chicken, the lime peel shouldn't be cooked, or it will bring bitter flavor to your curry gravy ).
11. Skim excessive oil if necessary.



Sambal chili- I made this 1 day ahead and forgot to record the volume of my ingredients. I believe a lot of Malaysians have their own homemade recipe. I made it simple just a combination of fresh ground chili, roasted prawn paste (belacan) and key lime juice.




Sambal Ikan Bilis (Sambal Anchovies and Peanut)- only mix the sauce with anchovies and peanut when serving to avoid soggy texture.

I make this for small portion only just for ourselves and my friends from Malaysia and Singapore)

1. 100g anchovies - rinsed then dried with paper towel, bake in the oven for 25~30 minutes at 300f. Juggling the baking sheet every 10 minutes to prevent burning. I avoid to deep fry it for health reasons (try to avoid too much frying now..lol)

2. 150 peanuts - saute without oil until golden brown (again, avoid frying it)

Sauce for ikan bilis

1. 1tbsp oil
2. 100g onion slices
3. 2tbsp homemade sambal chili
4. 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
5. 1 tsp oyster sauce
6. 70ml water
7. 1~2 tbsp tamarind juice
8. 1/2~1 tsp dark soy sauce
9. 1/2 tsp sugar
10. Some corn starch liquid for thickening
****no need to season with salt because anchovies are salty enough****



Steps:
1. Fragrance onion slices with oil.
2. Add in sambal chili, stir and switch to medium heat.
3. Add sweet chili sauce, oyster sauce and dark soy sauce.
4. Stir for few second then add in water, tamarind juice and sugar.
5. Bring to boil then thicken the sauce with corn starch liquid.
6. Remove from heat immediately.

Lastly...coconut rice, just grab all the ingredients below into a rice cooker then press start. :-)

1. 3 cup jasmine rice - washed and rinsed.
2. 2.75~3 cup water (depends on which brand of the rice you use)
3. 5~6 tbsp thick coconut milk
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1 inch of fresh ginger chunk
6. 6~8 pandan leaf (screw pine leaf) - I like it more-- :-)

************************************************************************


Curry Kapitan powder - it is also available at oriental supermarket here - Lee Lee Supermarket.











Brought it back from Penang, I found it tastes better. The one sold at Lee Lee is the brand from Singapore.

KaiLan Char Chap

A dish we like to order when we dine at the "Chu Char" restaurant. It is Simple and fast if we make it at home, less than 10 minutes of the cooking.

1. 200g kailan (peel the skin of the stems if needed), cut to approx. 2~3 inches strips, separate the stem and leaf.
2. 3~4 garlic - chopped
3. 4~5 slices ginger
4. some chicken breast slices and medium size shrimps - my preferences - a lot of shrimps again!! (sometime the chu char will mix with some sotong (squid), fish cake slices too)
6. 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
7. salt to taste
8. 4~5 tbsp of water
9. Corn starch liquid to thicken the gravy
10. few drops of Shao Xing wine
11. 1 tsp vegetable oil
12. 1 tsp sesame oil

Steps (stir fry over high heat, it should be done in approx. 3 minutes) :
1. Grease the heated pan with vegetable and sesame oil.
2. Fragrant the garlic and ginger slices
3. Add in chicken and shrimps, stir fry for approx. 10 seconds
4. Add in kailan stems first, stir fry for 10 seconds.
5. Add in kailan leaf, oyster sauce, salt. Continue to cook for another 45~60 seconds
6. Sprinkle some water
7. Thicken the gravy
8. Add few drops of Shao Xing wine before remove from heat

Penang Char Koey Teow

I like to use extra large prawn for my Char Koey Teow (CKT). I should have named it Penang Lorong Selamat Char Koey Teow!!!- The famous stall in Penang with "sombong" Auntie and over priced CKT. Many years ago it was about RM4~RM5 a plate, I don't know how much is that right now, may be RM7~RM8?? Why pay so high? We can make it our own with extra prawn too!!

I came from a hawker family, I grew up from a famous hawker center/food court in my home town. I liked watching how those hawker prepare the food, like Hokkien Mee, Jawa Mee, Ikan Bakar, Char Hor Fun, Hokkien Char, Char Koey Teow...etc. I was there until I finished my high school - 15 years of watching...LOL!! I will never forget how they control the heat, the timing of cooking. It is just become my instinct now.




Tricks to make a good CKT :

1. Sauce (everyone has their own secret recipe/ratio in sauce mixing, it is all about soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar)
2. Heat
3. Timing ( a plate of CKT should be done in approx. 3 minutes with appropriate heat The best way to learn is watch closely every time when you order CKT outside, compare the differences of the texture when you eat it at different places)
4. Use pork lard
5. Fresh ingredients


The recipe I am going to share today is from my relative. She is not as famous as Lorong Selamat Auntie, but has a good reputation too. Trust me, I was seriously thinking of selling CKT if I have never met Tom. I was so frustrated and tired of my work, and had deeply considered to switch my carrier. I used to worked 16 hours a day. My relative who is selling CKT works only 4~5 hours a day, 5 day week, and her income is more than those Manager levels...LOL!! Never mind, I think I will still want to sell CKT one day when I retire and move back to Penang with Tom.. :-) . Use extra large prawn for my CKT and sell it cheaper than Lorong Selamat CKT, I really "beh siok" - not happy with the owner! LOL!!!

Here's the recipe for the CKT sauce, you can mix extra and refrigerate it :

Mix and stir to blend well.
1. 2/3 cup soy sauce
2. 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3. 2 tbsp oyster sauce
4. 2 tbsp fish sauce
5. 1 tsp sugar


Ingredients for a plate of CKT :


1. 2~3 garlic - chopped
2. 3~4 extra large prawn (personal preference)
3. Bean sprout (soak in the water, when you add the bean sprout to your CKT, the water drip will keep your CKT moisture)
4. Fresh Koey Teow (keep in mind that if your koey teow have been kept in fridge, it will need longer time to cook through - probably extra 60~90 seconds)
5. Lap Cheong (Chinese Wax sausage) slices
6. Fresh cockles (I couldn't find it here, so I skip it)
7. Chinese chives
8. Pre-mixed CKT sauce
9. Chili Paste
10. An Egg
11. Some while pepper powder


Steps (I can not tell you exact timing when do you need to add the ingredients, it is all depending on the heat and experience, it should be done in approx 3 mins for a plate of CKT, like I said before - watch closely how those hawker prepare your CKT) :

1. Heat up the pan
2. Add a table spoon of oil/pork lard (those hawkers usually add more than that)
3. Add garlic, then prawn (stir for few seconds)
4. Add 1/2 of your bean sprout
5. Add koey teow, immediately follow with a 1~1.5 table spoon of the CKT sauce, chili paste, stir to coat well.
6. Stir the koey teow to the side of the pan, grease the middle of the pan with some oil, drop an egg, few drops of CKT sauce, some white pepper.
7. Cover the egg with the koey teow, immediately add in cockles, lap cheong, another half of bean sprout, chives.
8. Stir to mix well, remove from heat and serve warm.

Pumpkin Congee + Stir Fried Pickled Mustard (南瓜粥配素炒酸菜)

The weather here is getting warmer. I am not feeling well, have no appetite to eat anything fancy. Since today is our vege day, I made something light and easy - pumpkin congee and kiam chai (pickled mustard). Simple delicious!



这几天气温比较高了...没什么胃口.., 既然今天是初一, 不吃肉, 就煮简单和清淡一点吧...

南瓜粥配素炒酸菜, 酸菜还蛮开胃的....我和TOM一天里面竟然把一大碗的酸菜给扫光了...呵呵..
我喜欢用南瓜来褒粥, 吃起来有点甜甜棉棉的...健康又美味!


Pumpkin congee
- 3/4 cup of rice - washed and rinsed
- 1500ml water (or as desired)
- few drops of vegetable oil
- 400 g pumpkin (with skin) - cut to approx. 2 inches cube.
- some Goji berry - optional

Steps - boil the water and rice with few drops of oil, switch to low heat and cook for 20 minutes. Add in pumpkin cubes, continue to cook for another 60~80 minutes. Add in Goji berry 10 minutes before remove from heat.

Stir fried pickled mustard.
1. 300g pickled mustard - pre-soaked in the warm water for at least 1 hour, rinsed once, cut to strips, wash again, rinse and squeeze out the excessive water.
2. Oyster mushroom - thinly sliced
3. 百页豆腐 (not sure how to call this in English) - thinly sliced
4. 3~4 chili padi or red chili - sliced
5. 1/2 inch of ginger - striped
6. 3 garlic - chopped
7. 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
8. Some soy sauce to taste (omit if the pickled mustard is salty enough)
9. a dash of sugar
10. some green onion for garnishing
10. some water

Steps :
1. Heat and grease the pan, fragrant the ginger and garlic. Add in chili slices, quick stir for 20 seconds.
2. Add in the mushroom and tofu slices, vege. oyster sauce and some soy sauce, stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add in picked mustard, sprinkle some water. Stir fry for another 3~5 minutes.
4. Season with some vege. oyster sauce, dash of sugar, soy sauce (if needed).
5. Garnish with some green onion, remove from heat.

蟹肉粉丝豆腐汤(Crab meat tofu soup)

有没有很像鱼翅汤啊??? 吃起来味道也很像哦....Shark fin soup???

This is the soup I like to make whenever I am craving for shark fin soup. Tom actually like it better than the real shark fin soup because of the cruelty how we treat the sharks just to get the fins. I added silken tofu just to enhance the smoothness texture, you can omit it if you want to make it more real like shark fin soup.



其实鱼翅吃起来真的没有什么味道, 为了减少那么一点罪恶感, 我还是用粉丝来代替好啦. TOM还蛮喜欢的. 你不妨一试? 我加了嫩豆腐是因为我喜欢滑顺的口感, 如果你想让它更像鱼翅汤, 你可不必加豆腐.


1. Chicken stock - 500~600ml
2. Dried scallop - 1 (optional)
3. Bean thread (粉丝) - 20g- pre-soaked and cut to about 3~4 inches strips.
4. Frozen crab meat - 300g (I like it more!!!) - thawed
5. Silken tofu (嫩豆腐) - 120g - cut to 1/3" cubes
7. Salt to taste
8. Corn starch water for thickening
9. Some Shao Xing wine
10. Black vinegar / Balsamic Vinegar


Steps :

1. Boil the chicken stock with dried scallop, add in bean thread, cook over low heat for 10~15 minutes.
2. Add in crab meat, cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Slowly stir in tofu cubes, bring to boil again.
4. Salt to taste, thicken the soup with corn starch.
5. Add some Shao Xing wine (1~2 tsp).
6. Serve hot with some black or balsamic vinegar

Turkey Porridge

OK, this will be the last post for my marathon of turkey recipes.
I promised my blogger friend Traci Moo that I would post my porridge making process. I like Cantonese style porridge which is thick and smooth in texture. The trick to making it smooth is adding few drops of vegetable oil when you cook the porridge. I learned this from a friend of my whom came from Hong Kong. You may try this method in any kind of porridge cooking.



I cooked the porridge for 30 minutes first before adding other ingredients.

A) Porridge base

1. 1 cup rice - washed
2. 1.5 quart water (adjust according to personal preference)
3. few drops of vegetable oil


B)
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 800g turkey bones
- 2~3 cups shredded turkey meat

C) Seasoning
- salt and white pepper to taste
- serve with some garlic oil and sesame oil

D) Garnishing
- Green onion

Steps:
1. Bring ingredient A to boil and cook in slow heat for 30 minutes.
2. Add in turkey bones and ginger, cook for another 2 hours over slow heat.
3. Add in turkey meat 15 minutes before serving.
4. Season with.
5. When serving, add a dash of white pepper, some garlic oil and sesame oil. Garnish with some green onion.

Fried Bee Hoon (Rice Noodle) with Turkey

My friend was wondering if a 10lbs of turkey for a small family like us would be too much. We didn't finish it all at once, there are many ways for us to consume a turkey, so, I don't have to worry too much about the left over. In fact, I can skip cooking for few days. :-)


I can make turkey sandwich, fried noodle or rice with turkey, and the turkey bones will be used for porridge or soup.

Fried Bee Hoon :
1. 200g rice noodle - presoaked
2. 1/2 sweet onion - sliced
3. 4 mushrooms - sliced
4. 1 ~ 2 cups cabbage slices
5. some snow peas or desired vegetable
6. 1 cup bowl of turkey meat & some dripping
7. Some water

Seasoning :
1. 2 tsp oyster sauce
2. 1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

Steps :
1. Grease the heated frying pan, fragrance the onion slices over high heat.
2. Add in mushroom slices and 1/2 of cabbage, stir for 30 seconds.
3. Add in rice noodle and seasoning. Sprinkle some water and stir fry for 2~3 minutes.
4. Add in snow peas, turkey meat, sprinkle some water. Continue to cook for another 3~4 minutes.
5. Serve with warm with some sambal chili. :-)

Fried Rice with Chinese Leek

Slowly...everything is getting back on track. This month is going to be an extremely busy month with parties! LOL, we have at least 5 parties to go for the next 10 days. Not sure how many more will be held until the end of the month!

As such, I won't cook too many complicated meals - got to let our stomach take a break after being stuffed with a lot of goodies from Penang and get ready for the marathon party.

Here's one of my meatless but tasty meals for our 2 vegetarian day practice every month. It is not Buddhism vegetarian, so, you will still see garlic and onion in my ingredients. For those whom just want a meatless meal, this might be one of your choices.

Ingredients :

1. 3 eggs - beat with 1~2 tbsp fresh milk or water and a dash of white pepper

2. 1/2 medium sweet onion - sliced

3. 1 stalk Chinese leek - sliced (split the white and green portion)

4. 2.5~3 cups overnight cooked rice (cooled)

5. 1 tbsp oyster sauce

6. 1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

7. some salt to taste

8. Some water

9. some green onion or cilantro, red chili for garnishing

Steps :

1. Heat up a greased frying pan, scramble fry the beaten eggs until just cooked, remove from heat and set a side.

2. Heat up the pan again with some vegetable oil, sautee the onion slices and white portion of the Chinese leeks until fragrance.

3. Add in rice, oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and the green portion of Chinese leek.

4. Sprinkle some water and stir fry for 3~4 minutes

5. Add in scramble egg and stir fry for another 2~3 minutes.

6. Garnish with green onion and chili slices.

7. Serve warm.

Lemon Grass Pork Skewers

I have a big bunch of lemon grass growing perfectly in my back yard, besides just using it for curry and sambal prawn, I guess I could use it for something else. Like this lemon grass pork skewer, just something which came into my mind while I was looking at my lemon grass and wondering what else I could make.



The pork skewer is full of lemon grass aroma and delicious. I may use ground chicken or beef for the same recipe someday. I just used what ever seasoning I have and feel might be a good match with lemon grass - nothing complicated - just be creative and follow your taste buds.


1. 220g ground pork
2. 3~4 stalks lemon grass - pre-soaked for at least 1 hour, lightly crush the end of the stalk.

Marinate :
1. 1 tsp turmeric powder
2. 1 tsp curry powder
3. 1 tsp corn starch
4. 1 tsp oyster sauce
5. 1/8 tsp salt
6. 1.5 tsp soy sauce
7. 1/8 cup of finely chopped onion
8. 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
9. 1/8 cup chopped green onion
10. Some red chili flakes

1. Mix all the marinate ingredients and finely chop again with the ground pork until well combined.
2. Marinate for at least 1 hour or longer for better better taste.
3. Rub the marinated ground pork on the end of the lemon grass stalk.
4. Grill over the pre-heated grill at medium high heat for about 6~7 minutes for each side.

Steamed Scallop with Mung Bean Vermicelli (蒸鲜贝粉丝)

Long story cut short, I am in a hurry, just wanted to share this recipe really quick! This is one of my favorite dishes whenever I dine in seafood restaurant. I couldn't get the small fresh scallop with shell here. So, made it with the giant scallops just to satisfy my crave. :-p




1. 280g scallop (about 6pcs)
2. 30g or as needed mung bean vermicelli
3. Sauce :
i. 2~3 cloves of garlic
ii. 2~3 ginger slice
iii.2~3 chili padi
(finely chop # i~iii)
iv) 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
v) 1/2~1tsp tsp soy sauce or to taste
vi) 2~3 tbsp water (add more if extra mung bean vermicelli is used)

4. Garnishing
i. 1 tsp shao xin wine (optional)
ii. 1 tsp garlic oil
iii. green onion and cilantro
iv. crispy garlic (蒜油酥)

Steps :
1. Boil the water in the steaming pot/pan.
2. Arrange the scallops on a bed of mung bean vermicelli in a steaming dish
3. Mix well all the ingredients # 3, and pour into the scallops.
4. Steam in high heat for 8~10 minutes.
5. Before remove from heat, add in garnishing ingredients # 4.
6. Serve warm.

Dong Gui (Angelica sinensis) Chicken Soup

I am being overloaded - feel really exhausted. I am working a few extra hours per day for the past 2 weeks(wanna save some flexible vacation hours for my days off to go back to Penang at the end of Nov.) I need some energy enhancement food - tadahhhhh -I need some energy enhancement food - tadahhhhh - Dong Gui (Angelica Sinensis) Chicken Soup. I didn't put too much Dong Gui as I wasn't sure Tom would like it or not, fortunately, that was not too hard for him to accept it.

Here's my very simple energy soup.

1. 12g Dong Gui slices (add more if you like it tasted stronger)

2. 1lbs chicken (I used drum sticks as they were available in my fridge)
3. 500ml water.
4. 3~4 dried dates - un-pitted
5. Some wolfberry
6. Few slice of Yok Chuk (Polygonatum odoratum) - optional
6. Salt to taste

1. Gather everything except salt into a double boil dish.

2. Cook for 3~4 hours.
3. When done cooking, skim the excessive oil if necessary.

3. Season with salt before serve.