Simple Recipe - Curry Sardine

For this curry, I will use can sardines and combine with brinjal. The brand I normally buy will be Ayam brand although there is quite a number of brand out there.

As we love brinjal in curry, I have put more this time. As for a can of 425g sardines, depending on the size of fish, one can will have about 4 - 6 fish.

Ingredient

2 can Sardines, each net weight 425g

4 - 5 approx 6" brinjal

1 coconut = 1.5 medium bowl of coconut milk

5 - 6 tbls chillies blend*

1" Shrimp Paste

1.5 tbls Babas Fish Curry Powder

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method

Heat up a pot, pour in oil

Stir in chillies blend, shrimp paste, curry leaves - fry till fragrant

Pour in coconut milk

Follow by sauce in the sardines can**

Add Salt

Then brinjal

Once brinjal is soft, lastly sardines 

Note: 

**

If use 2 can sardines, use 1 can of sauce in can. If use 1 can, then 1/2 can of sauce.

*

Chillies Blend is combination of  blended dried chillies, small onion and garlic 

Simple Recipe - Kung Po Chicken

Trying out this recipe today and it turned out fine. I am happy as long as my family likes it.

It is so easy as not much ingredient needed.

A plate of half of whole chicken breast

Ingredients

1/2 of whole chicken breast, diced

Slice ginger

Slice 3 cloves garlic

8 dried chillies, halve, discard seed

Marinate whole chicken breast:

1 tbls Light Soya Sauce

1 tbls Chinese Cooking Wine

1/2 tbls Sesame Oil

1/2 tbls Cornstarch

1/4 tsp Pepper

Sauce for half chicken breast

3 tbls Light Soya Sauce

1 tbls Dark Soya Sauce

1/2 tbls Black Vinegar

3/4 tbls Sugar

1 tbls CornStarch

6 - 8 tbls Water

Method

Heat up wok, pour in oil

Fry marinated chicken, 70% cooked, set aside

Add oil, stir garlic, ginger follow by dried chillies till fragrant

Add back the chicken

Pour in the mixed sauce

Stir till chicken nicely coated

Simple Recipe - Stir fry bittergourd with Preserved Black Bean

My younger son has been starting to eat bittergourd lately.

I normally buy a smaller size of bittergourd as only my hubby loves it.

Ingredients
1 bittergourd - cut
1 red chilli - discard seed, slice thinly
1 tbls fermented black bean
1 tbls minced garlic
1 tbls oyster sauce
Cooking oil
Water

Method
Cut bittergourd, wash and soak with salt for 15 minutes, then wash again
Heat up wok, pour in cooking oil
Once oil is hot, put minced garlic, follow by chilli, fermented bean paste
Once fragrant, add in bittergourd
Then oyster sauce and water
Stir fry till bittergourd is cooked (darker green) soft but still crunchy

Dessert Recipe - Kueh Bingka (Tapioca)

I have been wanting to try out making my own nyonya kueh. Looking at the recipe, I told myself, well this is simple as I have all the ingredients at home except tapioca. Since is one my favorite and you can hardly get a good one out there or if is a good one, is far from my place. And the end result was a good comment from those who tasted it.

With my little kitchen helper, Themomix, is so much easier.

Ingredients
1.8 - 2 kg of Tapioca (peel, cut small piece to yield 1.5 kgs grated tapioca)
2 × 200g coconut milk in box or 500g of fresh thick coconut milk
250g castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
30g soft unsalted butter

1. Put 800g fresh cut into TM bowl to blend 15 sec/sp 8, then pour out into a bowl
2. Put balance cut tapioca into TM bowl blend 15 sec/sp 8. Place first batch back to TM bowl
3. Add sugar, egg, coconut milk, butter and salt to mix evenly 40 sec/reverse blade/sp 4.
Mix another 30 sec/reverse blade/ sp 4 if not properly mix.
4. Pour the mixture into a 24 x 24 cm square tray lined with banana leave or grease with butter
5. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 60 minutes. Turn the tray if necessary for even browning. Test with skewer to ensure throughly baked.
6. Sprinkle some sugar on the surface (optional),  put the tray to lower rack for another 20 - 30 minutes bake till golden brown
7. Set aside to cool for 2 - 3 hours before cutting

Note:
I have bought 1.8kg but after cut, it weigh only 1.25 kg of tapioca, thus I have put in lesser sugar only 230g. As for coconut milk, I have used Kara brand.                  
Step 6 I have baked for another 20 minutes.

Simple Recipe - Fried Shrimp Paste Chicken Wing

Fried chicken always goes well with my two boys. I tried out this way to marinate chicken wing and it turns out yum.

Ingredients

6 pairs of chicken wing (wing & drummet)

Marinate with:

2 tbls shrimp paste powder

1 tbls oyster sauce

2 tbls chinese cooking wine

1 tbls corn flour

1 tbls rice flour

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp five spices powder

1/5 tsp salt

Method

Marinate the chicken wings.

If you marinade longer, it will be more flavorful and tastier.

Heat up wok, pour in oil

Once oil is hot, fry the chickrn wings

Note: I am putting some salt since I only have vegetarian oyster sauce at home which is not too salty.

Simple Recipe - Fish stuff with Sambal (Chilli Concoction)

Peranakan call this recipe as Hu Chi Rempah or in malay, we name it Ikan Sumbat Sambal.

We normally buy Hardtail Scad Fish (Cencaru) for this recipe. However, you can also use Indian Mackerel Fish (Kembong) or this fish below which I do not know its name lol, equally delicious. When you buy the fish from market, just get the fishmonger, just ask them to slit the back of the fish on both side.

Normally it is quite messy to fry this stuff sambal fish. Freak not, you can also use oven. Wrap the fish in banana leave or aluminium foil. Cook it at 180°c for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your fish.

Cooked Sambal

Stuff the sambal into pocket of the fish

You may find lots of different recipe for this, but I have been following my late mother in law's recipe but I still think she definitely cooked better than me.

Some recipe will use tumeric, lemmongrass and ginger which is totally up to your preference.

Ingredients
Fish of your choice
Blended chilli paste*
Handful of Tamarind : 1/2 medium bowl of tamarind juice
4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking Oil

To blend:
A medium bowl of dried chilli, cut, wash, soak with hot water
8 small onion, cut to pieces
5 garlic, cut to pieces
1" Shrimp paste
Put some water and bil oil

Method
Heat up wok, pour in oil
Then fry the blended paste till fragrant
Add in sugar, salt and tamarind juice. Taste it if needed just add these 3 items accordingly.
The blended paste will be deeper in color
Scoop up and put in a bowl
Once cool down, stuff the cooked chilli paste into the pocket of the fish

Heat up wok, pour in oil
Fry the fish

Simple Recipe - Steam Egg

Is a Monday blue, and the lazy me just cook a simple Steam Egg for lunch.

Steam Egg indeed is very easy but to steam a perfect smooth egg, there are few steps that I learned from my sister in law.

Ingredients

Egg

Water

Soy Sauce

Method

Put water into a wok for boiling

While waiting, open up an egg, pour into a bowl

Use the egg shell to measure the water, for 1 egg, use 1.5 shell of water

Add approximately 1 1/4 tablespoon of soy sauce

Gently mix the egg with water and soya sauce using a spoon. If you beat too hard, it will create lots of bubble. We do not want bubbles here.

Pour into a plate of bowl for steaming.

Once water in wok is boiling, put the plate of egg inside with medium fire. Do not cover the wok's lid completely, leave a small gap. Steam about 10 minutes.

Once done, you can garnish with some fried garlic, add a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil on top of egg.

Besides steam plain egg, just can steam egg mix with salty egg and century egg (cut into pieces) which we call it 3 treasures egg. This is equally easy and yummy.

Simple Recipe - Braised Chicken with Bittergourd

Bittergourd is my hubby's favorite but is never mine because of the bitterness.

Ocassionally still have to cook eventhough none of us in the family like it but my younger son beginning to learn how to eat bittergourd. At times I will fry with egg, not too bad, is acceptable to me.

I was told by my mom that lighter green of bittergourd not so bitter.

Ingredients
3 whole chicken leg, remove skin, cut into pieces
1 large bittergourd, cut remove seeds, rub with salt
Minced garlic
Slice ginger
1 tbls fermented black bean (tow see)
1.5 tbls yellow bean paste (taucheong)

Marinate Chicken:
1.5 tbls soy asauce
1 tbls Shoaxing wine
1/2 tbls cornstarch
1/4 tsp pepper

Sauce/Seasoning (mix in bowl):
1 tbls soya sauce
1 tbls oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water

Method
Blanch cut bittergourd for about 1 minute, set aside
Heat up wok, pour in 2 tbls oil, saute half minced garlic and ginger slice
Add chicken till cook half done, set aside
Heat wok, add little bit more oil, put in remainder garlic and ginger
Follow by taucheong and tow see till fragrant
Then bittetgourd, follow by chicken
Simmer with water till chicken is cooked thoroughly.
If you prefer a thicker gravy, stir tapioca flour with a bit water, add onto the simmering sauce

Eat with sambal belacan will give you the extra kick.

Simple Recipe - Pork Loin with Malt Sauce

This was so great, first time trying out Pork Loin with Malt Sauce and it was yummy.

I used Pork Loin (in cantonese is yook ngan) for this recipe.


Ingredient
500 gm Pork Loin

Marinade Pork Loin:
1 tsp Ginger juice (pound ginger)
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Abalone sauce or oyster sauce
1 tbls Rice Wine
2 tbls Lea & Perins sauce
1 egg
2 tbls wheat flour
1 tbls corn flour
50ml Malta (non-alcoholic malt beverage)

Sauce:
1 tbls Cooking Oil
100 ml Malta
2 tbsp Lea & Perin Sauce
3 tbsp Tomato Sauce

Note: you may adjust the sauce accordingly to your preference

Method
1. Cut Pork Loin about 0.5cm thick, use the back of your knife to chop both sides softly, marinade 2 hours or more, or best overnight.
2. Heat oil and fry the meat until golden brown, set aside.
3. Pour in the sauce to mix in the bowl and set aside.
4. Then heat 1 tablespoon of oil, pour the sauce, boil until thick or when there are  bubbles
5. Put in the fried meat, cook till the sauce absorb by the meat.

Malta 320ml per can