Ikan Bakar Bersambal (Spicy Grilled Fish)

Crispy and yummy.

An impromptu dish. Mum bought some organic tilapia fish. And it really does taste better than the regular tilapia bred from man made lake. The latter normally taste a bit muddy and gives a bit of an undesirable after taste.

Now if only I can make mum switch to organic for all meats. Saying that, organic meat costs more... and not just a few cents more but by quite a bit. So we'll see how that goes. I did find someone who sells organic chicken though but we haven't bought one yet. Tengok lah nanti. I will keep you posted on how good it is once we try it out. Does anyone know of any organic farming course that I can do?

So here is the grilled fish ingredient and method. Hope you like it.

The Ingredients
• 1 Tilapia fish (ikan tilapia) clean the fish and remove the fins.
• 3 garlic (bawang putih)
• 20 shallots (bawang kecil)
• 1 inch of ginger (halia)
• 1/2 inch of galangal (lengkuas)
• 2 red chillies (cili merah)
• 4 small chillies (cili api)
• 5 candle nut (buah keras)
• 1 lemon grass (serai)
• Salt
• Banana leaf

The Method
• Pound the garlic, shallots, ginger, galangal, red chillies, candle nut, salt and lemon grass till its almost fine.
• Heat your wok with oil and put in all the pounded ingredients in. Add a bit of water to cook it thoroughly.
• Leave to fry for about 8 minutes till its slightly dry and cooked.
• Lay the banana leaf on the tray and oil the leaf so the fish doesn't stick.
• Rub some salt on the inside and the skin of the fish.
• Then stuff the pounded ingredients into the fish and pour some olive oil on both sides of the fish.
• Put the fish on the tray with the banana leaf and put it into the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes. Then turn the fish over and leave for another 10 minutes.
• Move the grilled fish onto a plate and serve.

So here is the video. Its a pretty sombre video but have fun grilling your ikan bakar.

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!

Acar Tomato dan Timun (Tomato and Cucumber Salad)

This one is a quickie. Mum made this to eat with the fish soup made earlier and rice. Its very easy to make with little ingredients. You do need French dressing though to compliment the tomato and cucumber. I ended up eating the whole thing on its own...hehe.

Just mix well and its ready.

The Ingredients

• 1/2 a cucmber (timun), skinned and sliced the outer part of the cucumber. We do not use the seeded part of the cucumber.
• 1 tomato, sliced similar to the cucumber.
• 5 to 6 shallots (bawang kecil), sliced thinly.
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp powder (serbuk udang kering)
• 1 green chili (cili hijau), sliced.
• 1 red chili (cili merah), pounded with course salt and pounded just lightly to break the chili.
• 1 to 2 tablespoon of French Dressing. You can get this from any supermarkets.

The Method

• Just put everything in a bowl and mix them well... yup that's it. Its ready to be served.

Here is the video. Its a short one. ;-)

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!

Sup Ikan (Fish Soup)

Fish soup ready to be served

This dish was done way before raya haji but I have been so so busy since that I've only edited it today. I will be doing tons of editing today for this blog cause I'm way behind. ;-) Coming up after this soup is ikan bakar, serunding, acar tomato and something else that I can't seem to remember right now.

When this fish soup was being made, my mum and I were not feeling too well. My stomach was slightly unsettled and my mum was feeling a bit under the weather. So we decided to have something light. Mum had a couple of fish head and she decided to make something her mum made for her when she was young and unwell. You can use other fish body parts. Using the head is optional. This soup is actually quite easy. Minimal ingredients and easy steps. You can add different types of vegetables to the soup but just make sure the harder type vegetables ie potatoes, goes in earlier to soften it nicely while the soup is cooking.

The Ingredients

• Fish, use the bigger type fish for this soup. We've used the Golden Snapper (ikan jenahak).
• 7 shallots (bawang merah), sliced.
• 5 garlic (bawang putih), sliced.
• 1 inch of ginger (halia), pound the ginger with a bit of garlic and salt.
• 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper powder (lada hitam).
• 1/2 tablespoon of sweet cumin powder (jintan manis).
• 1/2 tablespoon of white cumin powder (jintan putih).
• Fermented bean paste (tauchu), washed.
• Cabbage (kobis), cut into squares.
• Carrot (lobak merah), sliced.
• Cucumber (timun), sliced.
• Celery leaves (daun sup), sliced.
• Spring onion (daun bawang) sliced.
• 1/4 anchovy cube (Kuib ikan bilis).
• Some water (air).
• Salt (garam).

The Method
• Heat up wok with some oil.
• Add the pounded ginger and garlic. Then add the remainder of the sliced garlic and shallots.
• Then add the cumin powder and black pepper powder and mix them well.
• Once its mixed well, add water, mix and leave to boil.
• When it starts to boil a bit, add the fermented bean paste into the wok. Then add the cabbage, carrot, cucumber and the fish into the wok.
• Add water so that the fish is covered with water and put in the anchovy cube in. Leave to boil for about 10 minutes. Add some salt to taste and its ready to be served.
• Garnish the soup with celery leaves and spring onions. ;-)

Here is the video. Its a slightly sombre one compared to the other ones. We were really not well. ;-P

 

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!

Selamat Hari Raya from the family.

I didn't realise how cheesy my family is till today. And the sad part is its being lead by me. ;-D Made a quick video for my sister and her family in England. I really had to rush this one since all this happened this morning and I wanted to catch my sis for her raya which comes 8 hours later. So hopefully they like it and all of you out there will find it cheesy enough to laugh it off. I had complete fun doing this. Raya morning is always the best part of raya for me... when the whole family starts getting together and prepare the table so we all can sit together to have breakfast.

I'm also taking this time to wish everyone out there the best raya! Maaf zahir batin. Kalau ada tersilap kata or apa apa lah, tolong maaf kan.

And to my sister, Ainita and Bang Long, to my nieces, KaYong, Iya, Shasha, Adeen, Darling, and my one and only nephew, Hakiem who can't be with us this morning... have a good one! Love you all and missing you tons!

By the way the lovely background music was downloaded (http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/6588327). Played by a talented young man called Hazman Halid.  I have yet to ask his permission...ooops. I will though.

So... selamat hari raya! Makan lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap... hehe!

Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry)

Kate Pankhurst, this is for you. I know you requested this way back in September, we only managed to do this about two weeks ago. And the editing took a bit of time as well so yeah... here it is, finally.

Mum and I had fun doing this one. It was one of those afternoons where everyone from my sister to my uncle and their family turned up at my mums house. So mum quickly made this so that there is food on the table. Everything was quite impromptu. Fortunately I was there too and got to record this for Kate.

This is our basic curry method. So it applies to beef and lamb as well. So try it out and enjoy it.

The Ingredients

• 6 to 8 pieces of chicken (ayam).
• About 2 inches of ginger (halia), sliced into thin strips.
• 10 shallots (bawang merah). Sliced thinly.
• 5 garlic (bawang putih). Sliced thinly.
• 2 inches of cinnamon (kayu manis).
• 2 to 3 star anise (bunga lawang).
• 4 to 5 cardamon (buah pelaga).
• 3 stems of curry leaves (daun kari). This is optional but I think you can get dried ones from your local oriental shop or Chinatown.
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of meat curry powder (rempah kari daging).
• 1 teaspoon of coarse salt (garam kasar).
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of dried chili paste (cili boh).
• Coconut milk. Prepare two types of thickness. One very creamy and one very watery. You can use fresh milk instead of coconut milk.
• 1 potato (kentang) skinned and cut into 4 to 6 pieces.

The Method
• Heat up oil in a wok on medium flame.
• Once the oil is hot, add the star anise, cardamon, cinnamon and curry leaves. Leave for a few seconds and add the shallots, garlic and ginger. Stir well till slightly yellow.
• Add the dried chili paste and the curry powder and mix well.
• Put in the chicken and mix till all the chicken is covered with the mix. Let it cook slightly for a few minutes so the curry flavour is well marinated into the chicken.
• Prepare the diluted coconut milk and add to the chicken. Leave to boil while stirring it occasionally so it doesn't burn at the bottom of the wok and the chicken cooks evenly.
• Once it starts boiling add the potato.
• Leave for about 10 minutes and check whether the potato is soft and cooked.
• At this point if the gravy is not thick enough start adding the creamy coconut milk and leave to simmer on low to medium flame.
• Once the gravy is thick enough, check to see the potato is soft and the chicken cooked.
• When that is done turn the flame off and leave to cool.
• Now its ready to be served. ;-)

Here is the video. Had fun on this one. Mum cracks me up.

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!

Rendang Daun Bertempoyak

Mum and I went to Kuala Pilah to get the ingredients for this dish, some are found in our backyard though. Its quite an interesting dish. Not one of my favourites... too much green, hahaha. Although I did have a taste and it does taste wonderful. I'm very sure it'll taste good with rice. Mum loves this dish. Lagi lagi ada tempoyak. Its a traditional Negeri Sembilan dish. Normally its a minimum of 7 types of leaves but you can have more than 7 types if you want.

I think this is more of a South East Asian dish, either that or its a very malay dish. Some of the leaves used in this recipe are found only in this region, although I might be wrong. I found the scientific names but somehow I don't think I'm gonna put them on the blog. Its a bit too scientific for my blood. So I guess this one is really for the people here in Malaysia and I think I'll do this one in malay.

All the leaves for this dish.

Bahan Bahan A: Daun-daun 
• Daun pucuk kunyit.
• Daun pucuk kentut.
• Daun pucuk cengkerik.
• Daun pucuk kaduk.
• Daun pucuk labu.
• Daun pucuk ubi.
• Serai.
Racik semua daun dan serai nipis nipis.
• Petai. Dibuang kulit dan di belah dua.

Bahan Bahan B: Blender
• Cili api.
• Kunyit.
Blender sedikit santan cair, cili api dan kunyit di blenderkan

Bahan Bahan C: Rendang
• 5 sudu besar tempoyak.
• Santan, pati santan dan santan yang cair.
• Ikan masin tenggiri jeruk di potong dua.
• Garam kasar.

Cara Memasak
• Letak kan bahan blender,  ke dalam kuali. Masukkan  ikan tenggiri jeruk, pati santan dan baki santan cair tadi ke dalam kuali dan pasnag kan api yang sederhana.
• Biar sampai mendidih. Masukkan sedikit garam kasar. Jangan banyak sangat kerana ikan masin tadi dah masin.
• Masukkan tempoyak dan biarkan mendidih.
• Bila ikan masin tenggiri sudah lembut, buangkan tulang ikan itu. Biarkan ia mendidih.
• Selepas 5 minit, sehingga pekat sedikit, masukkan daun daun, petai dan serai kedalam kuali. Gaulkan dengan sebati.
• 10 minit kemudian ia akan pekat. Gaulkan lagi hingga sebati.
• Biar lagi sehingga cukup pekat. Tak lah pekat sangat...basah basah sikit. Boleh lah dihidang.

So I hope you try this one. Its a bit hard to get the leaves but it sure is good when its done. Here is the video. The whole family... well most of the family came by and made an appearance on this one.

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!

Email Subscription taken out & Happy Deepavali!

My apologies to all that have subscribed to the email notification subscription. It doesn't seem to work. I've posted a few posts since I installed the gadget on the blog and no emails... hmmm. So the best thing was to take it out. If you have any suggestions on other gadgets that works, please do inform me.

I had that installed because being a follower doesn't really give you notifications except on your reader lists on google and perhaps some others that I haven't figured out yet. But since it doesn't work, I decided to take it out. My apologies if it has inconvenienced you and for those who have subscribed through this service, I hope you do come back and keep supporting mum and I. ;-)

Happy Deepavalli!

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all our Hindu friends and followers a happy festival of lights! I read a quote from somewhere this week and thought it as one of the best quotes for this occasion -

"May the lights of our lamps be a reflection of the light within... only when the ego is shattered can one celebrate the true self within" - Unknown

Kari Mee/Bihun (Noodles or Rice Vermicelli Curry)

Unshelled cockles (kerang)

The first noodle recipe we have on this...yay! Mum absolutely loves this. Its one of those all time favourites for the family. The picture on the left is what cockles (kerang) look like before being shelled. Actually I'm not even sure why I think people abroad do not know what it looks like. Silly me! But since I took the picture, I might as well use it, no? ;-)

My sister from the UK has confirmed dates of her arrival in February. So there are big plans to celebrate her birthday. She is also planning to take mum and dad away to Langkawi or another tropical island. Guess who has to look for hotel accommodation lah? ;-) But truly i don't mind. Cheap and luxurious was the brief...hmmm. Is there such a thing these days? Anyway...will try and find lah. I will have some time off in February hopefully so I just might go with them.

Anyway, here is the recipe to this yummy-licious dish. Have fun making it. Its not so difficult. Just a lot of ingredients. Its normally served to the whole family. Hardly ever do I see people make it for one. So if you're planning a dinner or lunch, this is ideal.

Here goes...

The ingredients

The Ingredients
• A packet of yellow noodles (mee kuning)
• A packet of rice vermicelli (bihun)
• A quarter chicken (ayam) cut into small pieces.
• 10 medium sized prawns (udang) cleaned, shelled and cut into 2.
• 30 to 40 cockles (kerang)
• 20 shallots (bawang kecil) sliced thinly.
• 5 garlic (bawang putih) Sliced thinly.
• 1 inch of ginger (halia) cut in thin strips.
• 5 dried bean curd (tahu kering) cut into three pieces each.
• 3 stems of curry leaves.
• 6 to 7 tablespoons of dried chili paste (cili boh).
• 3 tablespoons of curry powder (rempah kari).
• 2 star anise (bunga lawang).
• 3 inches of cinnamon (kayu manis).
• 5 cardamon seeds (buah pelaga).
• Coconut milk (santan).
• Course salt

Garnishing

The Garnishing

• 4 hard boiled eggs, shelled and cut into 4.
• Some mustard greens (sawi) dipped in boiled water with some salt and a bit of bicarbonate soda. The bicarbonate soda will help to retain the green colour in the vegetable.
• Some green and red chillies (cili merah dan hijau) sliced thinly.
• Chinese celery and spring onions, sliced thinly.
• Some lime.

The Method: The gravy

• Heat up your oil in a wok.
• Once heated, add the star anise, cardamon, cinnamon and curry leaves first before putting in your onions, ginger and garlic. Leave to cook for awhile till yellow.
• Then add your dried chili paste and mix well. Also add some coarse salt.
• When the chili feels cooked, add your curry powder and mix.
• Add your chicken and mix it evenly. Add some water to cook the chicken.
• At this point take the stems of the curry leaves out.
•Leave to boil on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
• Then add the prawns and cockles. Mix well.
• Prepare your diluted coconut milk and mix it into the wok. If the coconut milk is too thick add water. Leave to boil to cook the chicken. This is where the aroma of the gravy comes out. Keep stirring so that it doesn't burn at the bottom of the wok. Leave it for about 10 minutes.
• Add the dried bean curd, mix it well and leave to simmer on low flame for another 8 to 10 minutes. Then it should be ready to be served. Don't let the gravy be too thick.

Mee/bihun

The Method: The noodles and the garnishing.

• Boil some water with salt.
• Once boiled put in the rice vermicelli to soften.
• The same method with the yellow noodles.
• Then add a bit of bicarbonate soda to the boiling water and add the mustard greens (sawi) into the boiling water.
• Also prepare your hard boiled eggs, lime, celery and spring onions to be served.

Here is the video. Wasn't hard to edit this time around. Hope i didn't mess it up. ;-)

So... masak lah dengan kasih sayang. Memang lagi sedap. Enjoy!