malaysia food

Satay

If you've never had the real stuff, then you're going to be blown away by the succulent taste of this satay recipe. Strips of chicken (or beef) are marinated in a special paste, then skewered and grilled on the BBQ or broiled in the oven. It is then served with homemade peanut sauce for the ultimate taste sensation. Even your kids will love it. Chicken Satay also makes a great party food!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8-16 or more chicken thighs, cut into small pieces or strips, or the equivalent of beef (enough for your family/party)
• 1 package wooden skewers
  optional garnish: 1 red chilli, sliced thinly

SATAY MARINADE:

• 1/4 cup minced lemongrass, fresh or frozen (if using fresh, see below for instructions)
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 of thumb-size piece fresh turmeric, OR 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground (grind them yourself with a coffee grinder)
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 5 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

PREPARATION:

1. Cut chicken or beef into small, thin pieces or strips (small enough to easily skewer). Place in a bowl.


2. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor (discard the upper stalk of lemongrass). Process well.


3. Taste test the marinade - you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. The strongest taste should be SALTY in order for the finished satay to taste its best. Add 1 - 2 Tbsp. more fish sauce if you feel it needs more.


4. Add the marinade to the meat and stir well to combine. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour, or longer (e.g. overnight).


5. When ready to barbecue, slide the pieces of meat onto the wooden skewers. TIP: Fill only the upper half of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person barbecuing has a "handle". This makes it easier to turn the satay during cooking.


6. Barbecue the satay, OR grill in the oven on a broiling pan with the oven set to "broil". Place satay close beneath the heating element and turn the meat every 5 minutes). Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay will cook in 10 to 20 minutes. Garnish with slices of fresh red chilli, if desired.Serve with my Homemade Peanut Sauce for dipping.

Peanut Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (If vegetarian, use vegetarian fish sauce or regular soy sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. tamarind paste
• 1 tsp. red chilli sauce (more or less to taste)
• squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 1 tsp.)

PREPARATION:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until sauce is smooth. If you prefer a runnier peanut sauce, add a little more water.
Do a taste test for salt and spice, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, and more chilli sauce if not spicy enough.

If too salty, add another squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Serve as a dip with fresh veggies, chicken or beef sate, fresh spring rolls, or mix with noodles to create a Thai-style noodle dish or cold noodle salad. Enjoy!

kimchi

Kimchi (김치; also known as Gimchi and Kimchee) is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables.

The most popular type of kimchi is made with napa cabbage; other varieties include kkakdugi which is a kimchi made with cubed radishes, oh-ee so-bae-gi which is a stuffed cucumber kimchi and kkaennip (깻잎) kimchi with layers of perilla leaves marinated in soy sauce and other spices.

Kimchi has been a Korean cuisine for over 2000 years; it is probably right to say that a Korean meal these days is incomplete without Kimchi. Kimchi is often eaten with rice and other dishes, but over the years Kimchi has developed into various forms of delicacies like Kimchi soup, Kimchi ramen, barbecue Kimchi and Kimchi spring role etc… creativity is the only limit to the reinvention of Kimchi recipe.

Kimchi (Image courtesy of Nagyman)

An extra bonus for eating Kimchi is its health value; it has been claimed as one of the world healthiest food for its richness in vitamins and healthy bacteria that aids digestion.

japanfood

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Home Made Okonomiyaki + Recipe

Okonomiyaki is sometimes called Japanese Pizza because it is round and contains different ingredients। Okonomi means “As you like” and Yaki means “grilled” so every Japanese family has their own Okonomiyaki recipe “as they like”। Some people put seafood, mochi, kimchee or even cheese on it. Create your own Okonomiyaki that suits your taste buds!





Japanese families usually cook Okonomiyaki on a Hot Plate or Teppanyaki Grill in the middle of the dining table much like Fondue. All the family members pitch in to prepare the meal and enjoy conversation while waiting for it to be steamed. :o)

Special Kitchen Tools

Hot plate - A large frying pan will work also.
Grater or Food Processors
Mixing Bowl - A large bowl works best.


Ingredients

Japanese Cabbage - 1/2 of a head, approx. 300g
Nagaimo (Chinese yam) or Yamaimo Powder - 1 package
Sakura-ebi (Sakura Shrimp) - 3 tablespoons
Okonomiyaki-ko (Okonomiyaki Flower) - 3/4 cup
Pork (Thin sliced pork loin) - 6 slices
Okonomi-sauce - Moderate Amount
Mayone-zu (Japanese Mayonnaise) - Moderate Amount
Katsuobushi (Dried bonito) - Moderate Amount
Ao-Nori (Green Seaweed Flakes) - Moderate Amount
Water or Milk - 160 cc (I use milk for a better flavour)
Eggs x 2
Vegetable Oil - 2 Tbsp (I recommend Light Olive Oil)

Prep

1. Chop the cabbage to 1/4 of the head, cut off the core and shred.
2. Peel a nagaimo (chinese yam) and grate. Wrap it with paper towel to prevent it from slipping. At Japanese Specialty store also sells a great product called Yamaimo powder which works as a substitute for this.
3. Pour Okonomiyaki powder and water or milk into a bowl and mix until the lumps disappear and it is smooth. (If necessary, use a whisk to avoid creating lumps while mixing.)
4. Put eggs, nagaimo, sakuraebi (Sakura Shrimp), cabbage and the Okonomiyaki powder mixture together and mix it gently from the bottom to soak it with air.
5. Spread vegetable oil (1 tablespoon) on the heated hot plate or frying pan. Pour in half of the mixture gently to make a round shape. Cook it at 350 degrees for about 3 minutes. Then, put three pieces of pork on the top, make sure to stretch them thin.
6. Flip over and close the lid to steam for about 5 minutes.
7. Open the lid, flip over one more time, close the lid and steam for another 2 minutes. It is done!
8. Mix Mayonaise and Okonomi Sauce and spread it on top. Sprinkle katsuobushi (dried bonito) and aonori (Green Seaweed lettuce) “as you like”.

Enjoy!!! ^-^v

japanfood

I have not added a yohshoku (Japanese-adapted Western food) recipe in quite some time. The main reason for this is I haven’t been making any…since most yohshoku dishes tend to be a bit heavy on the butter or cream or rich sauces.

I do sometimes crave this classic yohshoku dish. Hayashi raisu (or hayashi rice) is a Japanese version of a rich beef stew, and in terms of popularity it’s second only to the mighty curry rice, Japanese style curry. Just like curry, you can buy hayashi raisu roux blocks at Japanese grocery stores (look in the curry roux section).

Incidentally, the hayashi part sounds like the Japanese word for a wood (as in a smaller version of a forest), but it’s derived from “hashed”, as in hashed beef. I think the origins are a hashed beef stew. I can see influences from beef bourgignon, stroganoff and various British stews in there.

The beef used is not tough old chewy meat - it’s usually made from cuts that are tender enough to be cooked quickly. The kind sold for ‘minute steaks’ is fine. Sukiyaki beef is great if you can afford it. I’ve seen recipes around that suggest using pork instead of beef, but…that’s just not right to me. Hayashi rice = beef! Beef!

Making hayashi rice from scratch can be easy or tremendously complicated, depending on one thing: whether you make your own demi-glace or not. Demi-glace is reduced, concentrated beef stock that is thick and paste-like. In Japan you can buy demi-glace in cans. You can buy it elsewhere too, though the good kinds can be very expensive. The only other substitute is to make your own strong beef stock from beef bones, meat trimmings and so on and reduce it down and so on. Using stock cubes just won’t do it, I’m afraid, and forget about the usually insipid beef stock in a carton or can.

I’ve given instructions for making hayashi rice from handy roux blocks (which can vary in quality) and using demi-glace.

Hayashi raisu (Hayashi rice)

• 450g / 1 lb thinly sliced beef
• 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
• About 10-12 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
• Butter or oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 cup (240ml) red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce or Bulldog chuunou sauce
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• Parsley or green peas for garnish

The sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 cup demi-glace or 4 cups strong beef stock
• 1 16-oz or 440g can of canned tomatoes
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 3 Tbs. flour
• Water

OR

• 6 blocks (or more if you like it thick) from a hayashi rice roux packet
• Water

Equipment: a large frying pan or sauté pan, a heavy bottomed pot for stewing or a crockpot

Cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces. Heat up a frying pan with butter, oil or combination of both, and sauté the beef until browned. Take out the meat and set aside.

In the same pan, add a bit more butter (no this is not diet food) and add the onions. Sauté over medium-low heat until limp and slightly brown. Add the garlic, mushrooms and carrot. Sauté until the mushrooms are turning limp.

Put all the vegetables in a heavy-bottomed stew pot (a crockpot will do nicely too).

Add the wine. If you’re using the hayashi rice roux blocks, add about 4 cups of water (don’t add the roux at this point yet). If you’re using the other sauce ingredients, add either the demi-glace plus 3 cups of water, the canned tomato and tomato paste, or 4 cups of strong beef stock and the canned tomato and tomato paste. Add the bay leaves and thyme.

Let it all simmer until the liquid has reduced to about half. Add the beef to the pot and contine simmering - the beef should be very tender.

If you’re making your own sauce, make a roux by melting 2 Tbs. of butter in the frying pan and adding the flour. Stir until the flour is grainy and a little bit browned. Add to the stew and stir. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.

If using the roux blocks, add them now and stir well to melt.

Add a little water or stock to thin out if it looks too thick. Simmer a few minutes.

Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. Take out the bay leaves.

Serve over rice that’s been mixed with a little salted butter. Garnish with chopped parsley or a few green peas.

This makes 6 to 8 servings.

Curacha!

(A local Chavacano name given to this sea crab species that is uniquely found in the waters around Zamboanga, and no where else in the world. It is popularly described as a highbred crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and the big spiny lobster. Thus, it is unusually large [reddish-pink in color] for a hybrid crab and quite meaty, and oh so delicious! A special Zamboanga City treat.)

Cooking Instructions:
Steam or boil in plain water, until cooked to desired level. Curacha is best experienced in its natural exotic flavor, cooked minimally so as to preserve its original taste.

***If you care to add a touch of local flavor to it, mix in some lemongrass and about 3-5 cups of coconut milk to sauce, and boil until done. Sauce topping could be enhanced with ginger, grated coconut meat, sea salt, pepper, red chilis, and choice vegetables.

Oxtail Soup Recipe (Sop Buntut)

Ingredients :
1 kg Oxtail / beef tail, cut into serving pieces
1/2 tablespoon Chopped ginger
1/2 Nutmeg, bruised
1 Spring onion, cut into 2-3 pieces
1 tablespoon Margarine
200 g Carrots, cut into 3 cm piece, then halved or quartered
250 g Potatoes, cut into 4-6 pieces, Salt to taste



Spice (ground)
6 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
1 teaspoon Peppercorns

Garnishing
Fried shallots
Spring onions
Chopped Chinese parsley


Method :
- Put oxtail in a pan with 2 liters water and bring to the boil.
- Carefully scoop off and discard the scum floating on the surface.
- Discard the stock and replace with 2 liters clean water.
- Add chopped ginger, nutmeg and spring onion.
- Cover the pan and simmer over low heat until tender.
- Remove the tail, reserving 1 1/2 liters stock.
- Bring the stock to the boil, then add oxtail.
- Heat margarine and fry ground spices until fragrant.
- Add to the boiling stock, then add carrots and potatoes.
- Bring to the boil until the ingredients are thoroughly cooked.
- Garnish with fried shallots, spring onions, and Chinese parsley.
- Serve hot.

Black Rice Dessert

Black Rice Dessert

In indonesian i called "Bubur Pulu Hitam"




Ingredients:
240 g Black glutinous rice
(washed & drained)
60 g White glutinous rice (pulut)
(washed & drained)
7 c Water
2 Pandan leaves, knotted
1/2 c Sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 T Tapioca flour or cornflour
Combined with 2 Tbs water to
Form a paste
1/2 c Thick cocnut milk
Pinch of salt



Directions:
Put rice in pot with water and pandan leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, remove pandan leaves and simmer for 45 minutes until liquid is thick. Add sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and thickening. Remove from heat.

Serve in small bowls topped with 1-2 tablespoons thick cocnut milk.

Tumis Tahu Sayur

Ingredienten:
- 150 gr. tahu
- 75 gr. tauge
- 75 gr. peultjes
- couple of brushwood selderie
- bit leek
- 2 eetlepels shredded onion
- 2 shredded teentjes garlic
- 2 eetlepels of ketjap
- oil

Construction:
Dry the tahu with kitchen paper and cut it in cubes of 1 cm. Barge them slightly brown in, approx. 5 minus clears oil on high fire. Obtain them from the pan. By the leek and selderie. Fruit onion, garlic and leek 2 minutes in a beetje oil. A cup does water the tahu and the peultjes. It lets cook 5 minutes softly. Joint then selderie, tauge, ketjap and salts to taste and cook once more 2 minutes. Let cool down the Court and at least a half hour to stand.

Bajak Chili Sauce - (Sambal Bajak)

Ingredients :

8 x red chilies seeded and sliced
1 tsp dried shrimp paste (terasi) toasted
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
3 x garlic cloves peeled and sliced
6 x shallots peeled and sliced
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp chopped palm sugar
2 tbl oil
2 x salam leaves
2 x lemongrass stalks bruised
1/2 x inch galangal (laos) peeled and sliced
4 tbl tamarind juice

Method :
Grind with a mortar and pestle or blend the first 7 ingredients very finely.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Saute the ground ingredients along with salam leaves, lemongrass and galangal. Stir it frequently until the mixture changes color and becomes very fragrant.
Lastly, pour the tamarind juice and let it simmer for about a minute and then leave to cool.
Remove salam leaves, lemongrass and galangal before serving.
Keeps up to 1 week or longer if refrigerated.

Indonesian Egg Sambal

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs


• 3 tablespoons peanut oil


• 1 onion, finely chopped


• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic


• 1/2 teaspoon dried shrimp paste


• 1 tablespoon sambal ulek or chopped red chillies


• 1 teaspoon finely chopped galangal, fresh or bottled


• 6 candle nuts or macadamia nuts, finely grated or pounded


• 2 teaspoons palm sugar


• 125 ml/4 fl oz/1/2 cup coconut milk


• salt to taste


• 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

Directions:

Have eggs at room temperature or gently warm them in tepid water before cooking them.

Stir for the first few minutes so yolks are centred, then simmer for 8 minutes. Cool in a bowl of cold water. Shell eggs and halve lengthways.

Heat oil and fry onion and garlic until onion is soft and golden. Add shrimp paste, sambal, galangal and nuts and fry, stirring, until fragrant. Add palm sugar, coconut milk, salt and lime juice and simmer, stirring frequently, until oil shines on surface. Put in eggs, spooning sauce over.