Telur Kesum, a kelantan Peranakan dish- MFF Kelantan #4

This is a dish of the Peranakans in Kelantan.

Yes, peranakans are not only found in Penang, Melaka and Singapore, but in Kelantan as well. They are so assimilated that even their names are Malay names, except that they retained their Chinese family name. There aren’t many and they aren’t as well known as their fellow counterparts.

Telur Pindang ~ Leaf Braised Eggs - MFF Johor #3

Telur pindang is a traditional delicacy of those of Javanese descent in Johor. The eggs are simmered for 3 days 3 nights in a concoction of leaves and spices, sometimes up to 7 days 7 nights. It is said to be the food of the olden day traders who travel for days because this egg could keep for 2 weeks. It is a common door gift used in Malay Weddings especially for the Johoreans, but it is used in other states too, because it is more special than regular hard boiled eggs used in Bunga Telur

I'm am used to eating braised eggs, but usually the Chinese style. Tea eggs is one of my favourites. This is something similar but not the same. 

During my year in Johor, I have seen it before, but never eaten any there, because I didn't know what it was. That brown shiny egg sitting at my favourite soto stall. (wonder why mine is dull)

Sting Ray Asam Pedas - MFF Johor #1 *with video

Oh Johor!

I've spent 3 years in this state. 1 year right in the state capital Johor Bahru (JB) and 2 more years in a bordering area, Selancar of which I'll step into Segamat at least 3 times during the weekdays.

I remembered my year in Johor and that was the best Ramadan experience ever. Usually, the food sold at Ramadan bazaars are a gamble, with 60% 'not delicious' risk, and a very high 'yuck' risk for kuihs. But in JB, I have never bought a kuih that is not delicious. Well, it may not be to my liking, but generally, the taste is good because they don't skimp on the ingredients. Coconut milk is used generously. But to be fair, the price is also higher in JB, but that is worth it. I'd pay for quality kuihs that won't end up in the bin. I don't want to waste my money.

Feta Cheese Bread - Cheezy Bread #3

This is a savoury bread. Not the type of airy cottony Asian breads, and neither is this flavourful like Artisan breads.

The only sugar here is used for activating the yeast. Although I used instant yeast, it's good to go through the activating process once a while to check whether it's still viable. I keep my jar of yeast in the fridge, but still it's better to be safe than sorry.

Pan Fried Spicy Tofu Cubes with Basil and Mint - Pressed Tofu # 2

My mint was thriving in my garden. Lots of it. I can't consume it that fast because my hubby isn't a fan of it. I use it mostly for garnishes and give most of them away to relatives.

Lambuk Porridge ~ Bubur Lambuk Terengganu - MFF Terengganu #4

Terenganu style rice porridge :)

I'm sure most Malaysian may have heard of this, especially during Ramadan fasting month, some mosques will be giving out free Bubur Lambuk. Unlike the west coast version, the ingredients used in Terengganu is very different. It uses fish, sweet potato and lots of local wild vegetables. I was curious about the taste, so I decided to try it out.

One is free to use any type of vegetables but some do insist on the use of wild pepper, lemon basil (kemangi) and red fern (pucuk midin/paku merah). I have trouble searching for the red fern and I was told it wasn't found in Perak. Then lemon basil was no where to be sold except at the garden center where I have to buy the whole big pot! I just went ahead with whatever I could buy at the market or source from my hubby's employee.

Pesto - Going Nuts # 3

Recipe done in Oct 2010.

Yes you didn't read it wrongly, 2010. LOL. Had been waiting for a suitable theme.

Actually before this, I didn't know how pesto really tasted like. I had some pesto on pasta before in Italiannies or Tony Romas, but I didn't know what it was. My pasta didn't taste any tooo special. Just a hit of herbs, that's it.

Until I saw Swee San making her own pesto, I only knew what pesto is. Yeah, it sounds hard to believe. But I grew up eating Chinese and Malaysian food, knows heck about Italian food except bolognese and Pizza.

Lemon Thyme Pound Cake - Butter Cake # 2

Recipe tried in March 2011

As usual, buy first think later.

When I saw lemon thyme at Jusco, I was curious about how different it’ll taste from the usual thyme. It looked much less woody and I just threw one pack of it into my trolley. Lemon thyme is supposedly to smell like lemon when rubbed in your hands and they really do, something like lemongrass too, but less pungent. It smelled more lemony than thymey to me.

Devilled Pears with Pistachio Cream - Pear Week #3

On my quest searching for information on the pistachio cream used in Montebello, I came across this beautiful picture of a pear, filled with cream. AMAZING!!!

Apple, Carrot and Orange Coleslaw - Salad Week # 3

Recipe tried out in August 2011

This is another beautiful recipe from my white elephant.

Coleslaws or affectionately called as 'slaw'. It's basically a raw cabbage salad. The most common is found in KFC, the whitish cabbage mush served with your favourite fried chicken. My FIL who doesn't eat vegetables eats coleslaw.

Chicken in Milk and Cream - Chicken Trio # 3

Recipe done in March 2011

The name itself was interesting. I saw Jamie Oliver made this before on TV.

Eggs baked in Ham and Potato Hash - Potato Week # 1

A week of school break passed by so quickly. Now that Lydia is in kindergarden, I do feel the spirit of school holidays, the breath of relief that I do not need to wake up that early to prepare her, hahahaha!!

Well, I didn't go anywhere except back to my mom's for a few days and meeting up with Lena over for lunch. I didn't take any pictures with her, except that to tell you, she's a very nice lady. She came to pick me up at my mom's as I didn't drive that time, wasn't allowed to! We chatted for almost.... 4 hours. Hahaha, if it's not for the rain, it'll be even longer. Thanks Lena for the tarts, my nieces walloped every piece except for one that I ate. Hahah!

I had been sewing and sewing during the school break. 14 windows and glass doors needs to be adorned with curtains, which brings to 14 pairs of curtains and 13 pairs of screens, which comes to 27 pairs = 54 pieces of curtains!!! Crazy? Yes. My SIL asked me, why didn't I just pay to get it done. Gosh, if you have invested in a good sewing machine and yet pay thousands to get the curtains... then the machine would've gone wasted. I only used less than RM600 for 54 pieces of curtains. Less than 10% of what I would've been charged to get it done.

Many years back, I bought a book at Doulos. If you have no idea what Doulos is, it’s a ship that sells books. Yes, you go on the ship and buy books!!! It was only RM10 for a 256 colour filled country kitchen cookbook. A steal, so I didn’t really look through.

That time, I wasn’t exposed much to western food, besides what fast food outlets offer or, Steak houses(The Ship, Victoria Station, and the rest), so called western food that are all steaks, potatoes and boiled vege. When I flipped the book when I got home, I was only interested in 1 recipe, Duck Casserole with Chestnuts. The rest seemed unappetizing to me. Casseroles and everything jumbled up in one pan is not my thing that time.

Now, as I grew older, and as my cooking knowledge increases through blogging and surfing, I seem to go beyond the looks and look into the recipes.
Few days back (or months back), while chatting with Pei-Lin, I flipped through this book again, and I just found myself mesmerized by so so many of the recipes in a book I once made a white elephant.

Here’s the first recipe I tried from this white elephant that will now be made a treasure trove.

Eggs baked in Ham and Potato Hash
Recipe source: Country Cook's Companion by Liz Trigg
Servings: 4

200gm cooked ham (I used ham chips, and requested for the thicker chips)
200gm cooked russet potatoes (2 medium sized ones)
1 can of corn nibbles (the large one, I added this, because it's on the brink of expiry. It wasn't in the recipe itself)

3 pieces sliced cheddar cheese (That's the only cheese I have)
1 medium sized onion (about 70gm)
2 Tbsp Ketchup (I forgot to put, and it'll definately taste better with this)
200ml whipping cream (I put this in last minute because I was worried about the dish being dry)
4 eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50gm butter
1 heaped tsp chopped fresh rosemary (I had a pot of this, had**)
Some parsley for garnish

Method:

1. Dice ham, potatoes, cheese and chop the onion.
2. Preheat oven at 160/180
3. In a pan, melt half the butter and and pour the butter into a 8 inch baking dish/4 small dishes. Swirl the butter around and pour back into the pan.
4. Put in chopped rosemary and let it heat for few seconds. Pour rosemary infused butter into a bowl, Set aside.
5. Melt remaining butter and cook the onions until soft.
6. Pour the onions into a large bowl and put in ham, potatoes, cheese, and ketchup.
7. Taste. If not salty enough, season with salt and pepper.
8. Spread the mixture in the buttered dish/dishes.
9. Make 4 wells in the dish/dishes (picture above), drizzle in the whipping cream and bake for 15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and pour egg into the wells and and drizzle the rosemary infused butter over the dish.
11. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until eggs are set.
12. Garnish with parsley and serve.

My kids loved this dish. Especially Lydia

Picture taken months ago, they do look older now.

Hakka Thunder Tea Rice

Healthy!!!! This is healthy food. Loaded with loads of greens and drenched in green soup too. How much greener can you get?

Hakka Thunder Tea rice or Hakka Lui Cha, is a traditional fare among the Hor Poh clan which is part of the Hakkas. But it’s no longer confined to those of that clan, but anyone, everyone who loves to eat lots of green and adores aromatic herbs like mint and basil.

I’ve never planned to make or even try this, but suddenly I just felt like making it with basil and mint already on hand, what was I waiting for? I only needed the wait for the next day to make this for lunch for everybody at Mike’s shop. It was past dinner time when I thought of it.

Currently one bowl of this can be anywhere between RM3-RM8, depending on where you eat this.
Making this yourself is a lot cheaper and you can have as much tea soup as you like : )

You may think that preparing this is tedious. But actually after trying this, it’s not too hard. One hour was all I took. But you must really go according to sequence to save work on washing and waiting.
One pot
One pan
One blender
Was all that I used, with no washing in between. So, it’s not that tedious, but you have to prepare quite a few bowls or plates to separate the condiments.

Hakka Thunder Tea Rice /Hakka Lui Cha recipe
Recipe Source : Wendyywy
Serves 5-6

Condiments
120gm preserved chopped salted radish (choy poh), soaked in water for 30 minutes, squeeze dry
30gm dried shrimps, soaked in water for 15 mins, drained and coarsely chop
250-300gm choysum/bak choy
250-300gm cabbage/spinach/kalian
10 pcs of long beans
2 pieces (3 inch square) pressed tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes
2 onions or leeks, sliced
5 Tbsp toasted peanuts
2 tbsp sesame seeds (half for paste, half for sprinkling on rice)

Tea soup paste
1 handful of Thai basil 九程塔, leaves only (before trimming from stalks was 45gm)
1 handful of mint (applemint, 香花菜, leaves only (amount about the same as basil)
3 Tbsp roasted peanuts
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (amount taken from above)
1 green tea bag (snipped open for the tea dust/leaves)
½ tsp salt, more if you like it saltier
1 anchovy soup cube (replace with vegetarian seasoning if vegetarian)
½ cup drinkable plain water (or the water squeezed from the blanched, cut, veggies)

Method
1. First, cook your rice, prepare only 70% of what you would normally eat.
2. Soak the preserved radish and dried shrimp in water, separately.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil, it should be enough for blanching the vegetables.
4. Meanwhile, cube the tofu, slice the onions/leeks. Rinse the vege, leave them whole.
5. When the water has come to a boil, blanch the vege separately. Long beans for 30 seconds, choysum/bakchoy/kalian for 30 seconds, Spinach until just wilted, cabbage for 1-2 minutes. Drain all vege and leave to cool down.
6. Now, squeeze dry the preserved radish and the soaked shrimps. Coarsely chop the shrimps.
7. Prepare a pan. Put sesame seeds in and put on medium low heat. Gently toast them until slightly golden, or sometimes they may start jumping (some don’t jump, but will just turn golden). Remove and set aside.
8. Put in 2 tbsp of oil and pan fry half the tofu cubes until golden. Drain and dish up. Repeat with the other half of tofu.
9. With oil remaining in pan, turn heat to high, let pan heat up and put in sliced onions/leeks and cook for 30 seconds and turn to medium heat and cook until soft and translucent. (The initial high heat is needed to give the onions a nice aroma). Lightly season with some salt. Remove onions/leeks and put in a bowl/plate
10. With the same pan, if there is still some oil (1tsp), if there is none , then add some oil in, then fry the dried shrimps until golden. Dish up.
11. Put in preserved radish and cook for 1 minute until it turns hot. Dish up.
12. Now, slice all the vegetables thinly and keep them aside. Squeeze excess water out fom leafy vege. (You can retain the squeezed out juice for blending the paste)Do not mix them together.

To prepare tea soup paste
1. Put everything in to a blender and whizz until fine.
2. Put into a bowl.

Assembly
1. Place rice in center or bowl (I only fill 70% of my normal portion)
2. Divide all condiments into 5 portions and arrange condiments onto rice.
3. Put 2 Tbsp of tea soup paste into another rice bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water onto paste and let it infuse for 1 minute.
4. You can either consume the rice and soup separately or pour the soup onto the rice.

I wonder if you realised that the bowls of rice actually looked different. I actually made this rice twice before posting, with different veggie each time. I super love this and the man super hates this, ahahhaha!!!  I had to cook him fried rice with all the leftovers of condiments after placing out all the portions.

Pics from my 2nd attempt:

Prawns with Thyme and Lemon

I’m cooking dinner for 6 tonight and I’m scratching my head on what to cook. I’ve got the vege prepared, the egg prepared and the meat/seafood??? Not yet. What should I do…..

I’ve got prawns in my freezer.. No chicken and I don’t want to serve pork tonight. So, I’ll cook the prawns. And they’ve been frozen for more than 2 months, I definitely do not want to steam them. And I don’t have a lot of spring onions in my fridge. I have a half used up lemon…

What shall I do? I’ve got thyme. Shall I try thyme with prawns. Well, you see, I’ve never used thyme before. I don’t know if it works, because different herbs work well with different stuff. So, I googled, Prawns + Thyme. Phew, this combination is not alien. There are dishes where prawns are cooked with Thyme.

So, here is my version of Prawns with Thyme, a sudden new recipe.

Prawns with Thyme and Lemon
Recipe Source : Wendyywy


500gm prawns, with shells
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp finely chopped onions
1 loosely filled Tbsp thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon zest
¾ tsp salt
Olive oil for cooking

1. Clean prawns and snip off the legs and half the head(until past the eyes) with scissors. Pat dry prawns.
2. In a hot wok, put in 2 Tbsp olive oil and slide in the prawns. Let them spread out around the wok and do not move them until the underside looks pink. Flip them and let them cook until curled up and pink all over. It should smell wonderful. Dish up set aside, try not to take up the oil.
3. In a clean wok, Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and put in onions and garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant, then put in lemon zest and thyme. Put in salt and cook for a while until it smells fragrant.
4. Put prawns back into wok and toss for about 20 seconds.
5. Dish up and serve.

Cherry Tomato Basil Tripoline with Tomato Cream

Remember my tomato cream from yesterday? That cream is not a soup. Not cream of tomato. It's a dressing, a gravy, a sauce, antyhing but not a soup.

I’m using the tomato cream to replace milk cream, and remember as this is an emulsion, it’ll break apart when heated too much, just like regular mayos will. So, just put the tomato cream at the end and give it a toss to warm it up. Not too hot though.

It’s a good alternative to people who can’t take dairy, but want to have some creamy pasta. It really almost taste like regular cream sauce pasta, except for the smell, tomatoey instead of milky. But this does not taste like those made with canned tomato paste, and this has a very fresh smell and light tomato taste that my kids love a lot. They keep on asking for the cherry tomatoes.

The pasta
150gm tripoline or any other pasta that is suitable for creamy sauces
250gm red cherry tomatoes, halved vertically
Handful of fresh sweet basil (as much or as little as you like)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil for cooking
1 tsp butter for cooking
½ tsp salt to taste
1 cup tomato cream


1. Cook pasta is a pot of salted boiling water according to instructions on packaging until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a pan/wok on medium heat and put in olive oil and butter. Put in finely chopped garlic and fry until slightly golden. Turn heat to high.
3. Put in halved cherry tomatoes and spread the tomatoes around. Do not stir it too much. Put in salt. Leave it for 15 seconds and give it a light toss and leave it for another 15 seconds.
4. Put in cooked pasta and toss. Cook for about 10 seconds and put in basil and cook for another 5 seconds.
5. Pour in tomato cream and turn off the heat. It’ll be very warm. Toss the pasta and dish up to serve.