Kampar Curry Chicken Bread

Voila! This is  the most gigantic bread I've ever made! ^0^ Doesn't it looks familiar to you? I did not know until now that Malaysia Kampar town has this dish which is similar to our local one known as Golden Pillow 金枕头 :D I've actually tasted this dish once like 10 years ago! Nothing special to the taste, except it looks more attractive in the presentation by wrapping the cooked curry chicken inside the sweet bread.

Hahaha... I've tried to shape it in a rectangle shape like a pillow, but alas it turned out rather round and flat >.<  Nevertheless the bread looks pretty nice to me, golden hue and the texture is soft too! I think this is great to serve at the dining table! Imagine everyone gather round the table and start tearing the bread apart and dipping into the creamy and flavourful curry! ^.^

Recipe ref : Frozen Wings
For Bread 

• 450gm bread flour
• 25gm milk powder
• 15gm instant yeast
• 60gm sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 130ml cold milk
• 130ml cold water
• 40gm butter
• extra milk for glazing

Method

1. Combine milk and water together. 
2. Mix flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar & salt in a large mixing bowl. 
3. Add in egg and water (I did not add all, reserve 2-3 tbsp) and mix together in a rough dough. Knead for 5 mins.
4. Add in butter and knead for another 10mins until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and proof for 1 hour or double in bulk.
5. After 1 hour proofing, punch down dough and knead lightly. Rest for another 10mins.
6. Roll out dough in a large rectangle shape or round shape, put the wrapped chicken (refer to recipe below) at the center and gather the edges together. Pinch and seal tightly. Transfer onto a lined baking tray and proof for another 45mins.
7. Glaze the surface with milk and bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 35 mins or until golden brown. If the surface browned to fast, lightly shield the bread with a foil and bake till done.

Above picture is the cooked curry chicken before enclose into the bread dough. Looks like quite amount of gravy inside, but it actually reduce slightly after baking together with the bread. I chosen to cook the curry chicken using instant curry paste rather than taking the time of making a basic rempah.  So this is rather easy and fast to prepare and taste as good too! :D

Curry Chicken Recipe

• 500gm chicken pieces
• 90gm red curry paste (I used Ayam brand)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 shallots
• 150ml water
• 200ml coconut milk

Method

1. Pound garlic and shallots till fine.
2. Add 1 tbsp oil in pan and saute until fragrant.
3. Add in chicken pieces and stir fry for 2-3 mins until lightly browned.
4. Add in red curry paste and mix evenly.
5. Add in water and coconut milk. Cover and simmer for 10mins. Cool down.
6. Double lined a deep casserole with foil. Ladle in curry chicken and seal tightly.

I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Perak Month hosted by WendyinKK of Table for 2 or more

Lontong Sayur Lodeh/Mix Vegetable in Coconut Broth

I love most Malay food like nasi lemak, mee rebus, mee siam, mee soto and the list goes on...but Lontong is the last choice that comes into my mind >.< I rarely order this dish as I do not like the cold compressed rice, moreover I cannot find a decent one around my vicinity. But I could not resist my homecooked Sayur Lodeh without the nasi impit of course! hehehe...

It is such a fuss free dish to prepare! Just blend the spices and fry till fragrant then add in all the vegetable. In less than 30 mins a pot of wholesome curry vegetable is ready! Love drenching the gravy with my plate of hot rice....slurp!

Recipe source : My Kitchen Snippets
Ingredients

• 2 pieces firm tofu, sliced and pan-fry till golden brown
• 4 pieces large tofu puff, cut into triangle
• 20 french bean, cut into 1" length
• 450gm cabbage, roughly cut
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 cube chicken stock cube
• 200ml coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• sugar & salt to taste

Spices - blend into paste

• 2 tbsp dried shrimps, softened
• 6 red chilli, deseeded
• 1 medium red onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1" ginger
• 2 stalk lemongrass, removed outer skin and sliced
• 4 candlenuts, softened
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok. Saute blended spices until fragrant. Add water and stock cube, bring to boil.
2. Add in french beans, cabbage, carrots and tofu. Cover and simmer until vegetables are soft.
3. Add in coconut milk. Add in salt & sugar to taste. Continue stirring until mixture comes to a boil.
4. Serve immediately with plain rice or nasi impit (pressed rice) 

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish

Dry Chilli Pan Mee (Spicy Broad Noodle)

Nothing beats a simple bowl of tasty homecooked noodle! Well not exactly simple as it involves a few process to get the dish ready...frying the chilli paste, cooking the minced sauce, frying anchovies (I used ready to eat ones), poaching eggs and finally handmade noodle!! hehehe....I did the dry chilli paste in advance as it can be kept well in fridge :) 

The minced meat sauce is very simple and straight forward which I did on the day itself. The poached egg? I never poach an egg before! It takes some skill and techniques and I give up after cooking 2 eggs >.< I will polish up my skill on this area before I attempt a proper egg benedict hahaha 

Here comes the fun part, handmade noodle! Initially I followed the recipe too closely and I added too much water resulting a sticky dough. Do not wanting to waste time adding more flour to it, I discard that aside and start making another dough. This time round I've got the water proportion right and it turns out well! Most importantly it tasted exactly just like noodle after cooking hahaha glad is not hard and unchewable...If you are not into handmade noodle, just whip up this dish using any dried noodle of your preference, it will still taste as good! ^.*

Handmade Broad Noodle

Dried Chilli Paste

Patience...patience...took me nearly 44mins to fry the chilli paste till crumbly stage without scorching it >0<

Dried Chilli Paste

• 30gm dried chillies, softened
• 2 fresh red chillies, deseeded
• 2 medium-sized onions, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 30gm dried shrimp, softened
• 4 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method : Blend all of the (except oil) in a food processor. Heat the oil in pan under low heat and stir-fry the blended mix for 30-40 minutes until dry. Remember to watch your chilli paste and continue stirring to prevent burning. Cool completely before storing.

Minced Meat Sauce

• 500gm minced chicken (marinade in 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp wine, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper & 1 tsp cornflour)
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in pan with medium-low heat and stir-fry diced onion and garlic for a minute or two. 
2. Add minced meat, use a spatula to break up the minced. Stir-fry until cooked. 
3. Add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and chicken stock into the pan. Continue simmering the sauce until reduces to your preference. Adjust taste with salt & pepper.

Handmade Broad Noodle (2 servings)

• 125gm plain flour
• 60-80ml water
• pinch of salt

Method

• Mix flour and salt.
• Add water gradually into flour  and knead until a smooth and pliable dough is formed. Cover with damp cloth and rest for at least 30mins. 
• Dust a working surface generously with some flour. Divide dough into 2 portions. Roll out each dough thinly. Flour the dough well as you fold up the rolled dough. Cut into strips using a large sharp knife. Unfold the strips of noodle.
• Bring a pot of water to rolling boil. Add in noodle and cook till done. Drain well and place into serving bowl.

To serve : Top each bowl of cooked noodle with minced meat sauce, dried chilli paste, fried anchovies, poached egg & spring onion. Toss well and ready tuck in!

mix it up and enjoy! 

Recipe reference : wedarefood.blogspot.com

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish

KL Hokkien Mee

Oh my goodness can't believe I'm first time using pork lard in cooking!! Bye bye my diet plan hahaha....This is one of my favourite dish from Ze Char Stall and it is not that difficult to whip up one of this at home too! Not that I'm thick skin but I think mine taste better than the one selling near my place LOL 

Spot the 2 important ingredients? dried sole fish & pork fat!! Do not omit this 2 items!!!

Wendy uses sole seasoning which is not available here, therefore I substitute it with dried sole fish  :) 

Deep fried dried sole fish and grinded into powder! taste heavenly!

Recipe ref : WendyinKK

Ingredient

• 450gm thick yellow noodles
• 1/2 cup sliced pork, marinate with 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup peeled shrimp
• 1/2 cup pork fat, raw
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 250gm cabbage
• 100gm indian mustard, stem and leaf separated
• 4 tbsp dark caramel sauce, or as dark as u like
• 1 heap tbsp dried sole powder
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce, or to taste
• white pepper powder
• 2 cups water

Method

1. Boil a  kettle  of water. Place noodles in  a basin and pour the boiling water over it. Stir it around to make sure the noodles are bathing. Drain the noodles. (don't let the noodles bathe longer than 15 secs)
2. Heat wok on medium heat and put in pork fat. Let it cook until oil starts to ooze out. Turn heat to low and slowly render the lard out and cook until the solid fat pieces turn golden and crispy. Drain and keep the crispy fat and lard separately.
3. Heat wok on high and then put in 1 tbsp of oil, Wait until the wok is smoking hot. Put in the pork slices and cook until the meat is well seared. Dish up.
4. Heat wok and put in another 1/2 tbsp of oil. Wait until the wok is smoking hot again. Put in prawns and cook until they curl up. Dish up.
5. Return lard to wok and let it heat up until hot.
6. Put in garlic and with a swift hand stir it around. It should be lightly golden very quickly.
7. Put in cabbage, and give it a quick toss and then the indian mustard stems.
8. Put in noodles, seared pork and prawns, give it toss, then  put in water.  Add all the seasonings and bring it back to a boil. cover with a lid and let it cook for about 8 minutes until the noodles have softened.
9. Add in the green mustard leaves and cook until it wilts and dish up.

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish

Penang Otak Otak

Spicy spicy! That's what my sister commented >.< hehehe am lazy to remove the seeds of the chillies thus these otah are slightly over heated. Having too much spicy food in one row has its consequences....sore throat hahaha...wait till my throat is fully recovered then I will spice up in the kitchen again! 

Daun Kaduk (Wild Betal Leaves)

Recipe ref : Travelling Foodie

For wrapping

• 10 pieces of banana leaves, each about 18 x 20 cm
• 10 toothpicks with pointed ends 
• 20-30 daun kaduk (daon kadok). choose the younger leaves which are more pungent

For the custard paste

• 500gm of fresh fish meat, ikan kurau or other white fish varieties, cut into small chunks
• 250ml thick coconut milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 heaped tbsp of rice flour
• 6-8 daun limau purut, finely julienned (I find it easier to use scissors to snip)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

For the rempah

• 15 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 5-6 fresh red chilies, deseeded and sliced 
• 10-12 dried red chilies, soaked in hot water until soften and drained
• thumb-length knob of lengkwas (galangal), peeled and sliced finely
• thumb-length knob of kunyit (tumeric), peeled and sliced finely
• 3 batons seray (lemongrass), lower white portion only, sliced finely
• 2 tsp of toasted belacan, crushed coarsely into powder

Method

1. To prepare rempah, pound or blend all the ingredients into a fine paste.
2. To prepare otak filling, place all custard paste ingredients and rempah in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Cover the mixing bowl with clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
4. To prepare banana leaves, carefully wilt the cut out pieces of banana leaves over a gentle flame or in a wok of boiling water to soften them. Pat dry and set aside.
5. To wrap, first place a piece of banana leaf over a flat surface.
6. Place 2-3 pieces of daon kadok as the base and scoop generously 2-3 tbsp of marinated otak filling over the leaves.
7. Bring up the two longer sides of the banana leaf and with the other hand, fold over the shorter end of the piece to meet in the centre and repeat for the other side. Fasten parcel with a toothpick.
8. Repeat procedure until all the ingredients and banana leaves are used up.
9. Steam the otak parcels over rapidly boiling water and high heat for 10-15 min.
10. Serve immediately with rice, bread or on its own as a snack.

 I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies

Easy Penang Assam Laksa

I'm so excited to try out this Penang assam laksa which I never done before :) When my sister and parents planned to pop over my place for dinner, I can't wait for them to test out this dish hahaha my guinea pigs....As the recipe title Easy Penang Assam Laksa...it is really easy! As I do not have tamarind paste, I've use tamarind pulp dissolved in water to replace with it. Verdict : Not too bad for 1st attempt, can be better though hehehe but is spicy & SOUR enough as commented by my father :D

Recipe ref : WendyinKK
with some modifications
Ingredient

• 2 cans (425gm) canned sardines,  discard the gravy 
• 2 torch ginger buds (bunga kantan)
• 2 thick lemon grass, 3 if they’re thin  (use 4 inches from the base, discard the rest)
• 1 large onion, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled 
• Few sprigs of daun kesum, laksa leaves
• 25-30gm chilli powder 
• 15gm belcacan powder
• 200gm Tamarind paste (I used tamarind pulp* dissolved in 1 cup water)
• 2 Ikan bilis cubes
• 1 heaped tbsp salt
• ¼ cup sugar 
• water : 2L + 2 cups + 1 cup 
• 1 cup tamarind liquid*, adjust amount +/- according to taste

Garnish : julienned cucumbers, sliced onion, mint & red chilli

Method

1. Place 2L water in a medium pot(5L capacity) and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, slice torch ginger, lemon grass , onion and garlic. Place these in a blender. Put in 2 cups of water and puree till fine. Pour into the pot.
3. Remove 1 can sardines from tomato sauce and place in blender (no need to wash after ‘2’) and put in 1 cup of water and pulse few times. Pour into pot.
4. Throw in whole sprigs of daun kesum (remove bases of course), tamarind liquid, chilli powder, belacan powder and ikan bilis cubes into the pot. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. 
5. Add in the other canned sardines, roughly chopped. Put in salt, and sugar. Taste. It should be slightly oversalted, mildly sweet and have a prominent sour taste. Adjust to ur own preference.

Serve :

1. Prepare 200gm noodles for each person. Lightly blanch in boiling water. Strain noodles well and place in bowl. Ladle soup over noodles. Top with julienned cucumbers, onions, mint and red chilli. 

 I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies

Penang Char Koay Teow

Oh my this is my first time handle blood cockles >0<, quite turn off by the raw smell but taste heavenly with char koay teow hahaha...without it I find the dish is incomplete! :P As mentioned by Alan, this dish cook very fast, so I've everything well prepared next to the stove :D I love mine with lots of greens, so you can see from the pics that there are lots of chives & sprouts embedded in the char koay teow :D Craving for a plate of not so healthy char koay teow, whip up some in your kitchen now, is not that difficult after all ! ^.^

Recipe reference : Travelling Foodies

Ingredient (2-3 servings)

• 200gm fresh koay teow (flat rice noodles)
• 12 medium-large prawns, heads removed, peeled and deveined
• 1 large fish cake, sliced
• 2 clove of garlic, crushed, peeled and chopped finely
• 60gm bean sprouts, rinsed and set aside
• 30gm chinese sausages, sausage casing removed and sliced thinnly
• 25gm chives, rinsed and cut into 3-4 cm lengthwise
• 1.5 tbsp chili boh, optional
• 2 large egg
• 3 tbsp oil stir-frying + 1 tbsp oil for egg
• 2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce 
• 2 tbsp dark soya sauce
• dash of pepper
• blood cockles, optional
• water as needed

Method

1. If using, wash blood cockles by rubbing them around submerged in water to dislodge any debris stuck on their shells.  Rinse thoroughly, place the cockles in a large bowl and pour hot water over them for the shells to open. Remove each cockle from the shell with a teaspoon or toothpick and leave to soak in a bit of water. Discard shells.
2. Heat a wok until it begins to smoke and add 3 tbsp of cooking oil when the wok is hot. Spread the oil over the pan or wok, then add sliced chinese sausages for them to saute slightly before adding the chopped garlic and stir continuously until aromatic.
3. Add the prawns and sitr fry quickly until they develop a pinkish hue. Add the chilli boh paste and stir quickly for a few strokes to spread the chili paste and coat the prawns. Toss in fish cakes.
4. Add koay teow, followed by light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, pepper and fish sauce. Stir well for 30 seconds or so until the koay teow is uniformly colored and the prawns thoroughly cooked. Add 1 tbsp of water around the perimeter of the wok if the noodles become too dry. Toss in bean sprouts.
5. Push everything in the wok to one side and add 1 tbsp of oil to the “cleared space”. Crack the egg over the oil and partially scramble with a spatula. When it is half cooked and still slightly runny, mix the egg with the other ingredients.
6. Add chopped chives and drained cockles and give everything a good final stir before turning off the fire.
7. Plate up and serve immediately.

 I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies

Malaysian Kerabu Beehoon

First my hubby does not like hae bee (dried prawns), secondly he does not like belachan, and thirdly he does not like prawns! So many dislikes and he frowned when he saw me busy preparing this dish with all the ingredients he does not fancy hahaha....but in the end did he eat it? YES as this rice noodle salad is so tempting and appetizing! I forced him to take a bite and thereafter he cannot stop hehehe...I've given a tub for my sister to try out and she loved it too! She planned to share with her hubby, instead she finished up the whole portion in the end >0<

quite an amount of herbs to be sliced...

dry frying kerisik ...

herbs all sliced up and pounding of the chillies...

cooking sambal prawns...

all ready to toss up!

served!!

Recipe source : justasdelish.com
Ingredient

• 150gm rice vermicelli – soak in water until soft and drain
• 100gm beansprout
• 12 medium prawns – shelled and deveined
• 2 pieces firm tofu
• 6 Kaffir Lime Leaves – finely sliced
• 3 stalks lemongrass – bruised and finely sliced
• 10 shallots – thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2″ ginger – minced
• 2 torch ginger flower (Bunga Kantan – finely sliced
• ⅔ cup freshly grated coconut
• ¼ cup dried shrimp – softened & pounded
• 4 fresh red chili
• 4 dried red chili
• 1 tablespoon belacan - toasted
• 1 -2 tbsp brown sugar (dissolved in lime juice)
• juice of 3-5 calamansi limes
• Pinch of salt, or to taste

Garnishing:

• A handful of mint leaves – finely sliced
• A handful of chinese parsley - shredded
• Calamansi lime – halved
• Fried shallots (optional)

Method

1. Place sliced kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, shallots, ginger and torch ginger flower in a large mixing bowl.
2. Pound fresh chili, dried chili and with a pestle and mortar. Alternatively you can pulse the ingredients using a food processor. Pound in belacan.
3. Bring a big pot of water to boil, blanch beansprout for 1 minute. Set aside.
4. Using the same pot, cook rice vermicelli for 1-2 minutes until soft. Drain under cold water and set aside.
5. Dry fry grated coconut until brown. Set aside.
6. Pan fry tofu with 1 tablespoon oil until light brown and cut into small cubes.
7. Heat 2 tbsp oil, fry dried prawns till fragrant. Add garlic and fry till golden brown. Add chillies and fry for 1 minute. Add prawns and fry till cooked.
8. Add vermicelli, bean sprouts, prawn sambal, grated coconut and lime juice in the large mixing bowl and mix well to get an even colour.
9. Garnish with tofu, mint leaves, chinese parsley and calamansi limes. 

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies