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Tham Jiak
Tham Jiak means in some way "love to eat" in Hokkien. I am a Malaysian Hokkien and truly love to eat.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Hong Kong Food Still in Exposure

It continues...

Next into the street food, the highlight was the chow tau fu (stinky tofu!) well, I tried it! From far you can smell a distinct unpleasant smell where first thing that comes to your mind is a huge smelly drain. But as you go nearer to the frying place you'll be tempted to buy and try one.

Well it does stinks before you put it into your mouth but with a little grimace you'll be able to do it and once you bite into it, you'll find it juicy and a little bit sour (from the fermentation I guess), after all its suppose to be 'spoilt', which meant so literary in Cantonese "chow", which ironically also can be meant by "smelly". Well, all said in one word, it is spoilt and smelly but yet...still delicious. Warning though, it does left a weird after taste in your mouth and you wouldn't want to go talking to anyone near for that matter!

Then there was the special or chien (fried oyster with eggs) which is entirely different from Malaysia version. This one is ultra-crispy with the eggs all fluff up with extra crunchy batter plus with generous amounts of oysters. The ones in Malaysia are usually flatter ones. But somehow, at the end of the meal, one can feel "jelak" (sick) of its richness and also partly because it is pretty oil laden. Anyhow, a must try in one of the stalls in miu kai.

Well, you guys must be thinking, where is the dim sum!?! That’s what Hong Kong is famous for! Well, of course I do have loads of dim sum picture, I had it 3 times for breakfast and once for lunch! Imagine that!

My favorite of the lot is siu long pau (Shanghai dumpling) that is soupy inside with fresh meat and really goood to bite...I missed it so much!

Here's the juice oozing...mmmm

Next is the Shanghai beef pau which is sweet meat in a crusty bread. Shanghai has the best dim sum I guess and they can't seem to have enough of beef.

My friends and I so wanted to try the lor mai kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) and see the difference from the ones in Malaysia. Well it is certainly different, in fact it wasn't even called lor mai kai, I forgot what's it called but we sure had a hard time describing to the poor waitress for it! LOL

I heard that the spring rolls is a must try but to me, it is just so-so, I prefer the ones in Malaysia.

This is a char siew pau (pork meat bun), which I’m not sure what version it is but it sure is good. The bun is soft and fluffy, with honey glazed on top with the extra kick of juicy sweet and salty pork filling...yummy. It is certainly a variant from the usual steamed pau as this one is baked.

Here’s an array of one of the dim sum breakfast I had in a different restaurant. Notable ones here are the fried mango in the middle which is crunchy and sweet, really special and the package type of bean curd with filling inside which is really different and good. Sigh, I miss my dim sum fix in Hong Kong!

There’s this which I think is considered a dim sum dish too, which is called char leong, which is actually yau char guai wrapped with cheong fun! Really special combination but tasty nonetheless! Crunchy coupled with the smooth cheong fun...something that delights the palate indeed.

Oh, look at this grilled chicken salad...

Yummy looking eh? Guess what? It is from McDonalds! The McD over there has a whole set of fresh menu where you can choose a range of salads and also flatbread with fresh meat and vegetables for more filling ones. Here’s a favourite flatbread among us, the Korean beef flatbread

Last but not least, is this lovely tong sui (sweet dessert) that we had in one of the little shop in a corner street of Kowloon, which is actually black sesame dessert. Look how thick it is!

That’s all for how three girls from Malaysia eat their way through Hong Kong in 1 week. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!

Friday, February 17, 2006

Hong Kong Food Exposed

I am having work up to my neck these few weeks. Today I had just nailed a presentation and a test in my university. In less than two weeks, my final year project is due for testing and my part is still half way there. I hope this is a good enough reason for my missing in action.

So I am taking this opportunity to post up food pictures that I had took from my last year travel to Hong Kong. Yea, I know that seems like ages ago but yet, I am still thinking of it, salivating about it and still hankering to go back for me.

I had posted up about it before in KC, which was more lightly written, thus I just replicate what I had reviewed after the trip:

The Long Ago Post: Hong Kong Food Exposed

I had a trip to Hong Kong late last month. As we all know, Hong Kong is said to be a food paradise. Well, I CONFIRMED it. Everything I eat had at least a certain degree of standard. So I’m here to share pictures of some of the food that I found really good and hit right on the Hong Kong spirit!

I had tried char siew fan twice, once in Hong Kong island another in either Jordan/Tsim Tsa Tsui (these are the two connecting area in Kowloon, the mainland of Hong Kong) and I certainly loved the one in Kowloon much better. The meat was huge, juicy and tender and still crispy on the outside. The sauce is marvelously sweet and goes right well with its soft and fluffy rice. DELISH! I’m missing it already....

As for another main meal, we (my friends and I) had adventurously tried out the mixed beef mee (which consists of parts of the cow which I prefer not to know so much in detail). Nevertheless, I had a friend who was fond of eating all sorts of pig parts to test these ones out first and then rate it for us to try.


As you can see, the hive look thing (which I later found out is the stomach) is surprisingly crunchy and tasty as it had soaked up whatever soup it was boiled in. Then another part was also crunchy and not too much of distinct taste. But the black part (which we presume is the liver) had a red light from my friend who managed only to choke it down.

Another main meal we had was the infamous yu tan fan (fish ball mee) which is just as its name, fishballs and mee. The different this is from Malaysia is the fishball itself! It is fresh and springy and of course with no fishy smell (seng mei) which causes me to avoid fishballs all the time and you can surely taste the authenticity of the fish in it. This dish is pretty bland compare to other rich tastes of food. Still a must try if you're in Hong Kong, for the fishballs’ sake.

We also had seafood one of the nights in Miu Kai (Temple Street). All the seafood here are really fresh with the seafood still alive and only made to order. I went over to the counter, bombarded with endless choices of moving creatures, I just simply pointed out two unfamiliar seafood (I was guessing I can't get these in Malaysia) and ask them the best way to cook it. They recommended both hot but then I chose one to be just boiled fresh.

One of the dinner we also had jok (porridge) with yau char guai (fried twisted bread). This is one of the simplest dish that I believed originated from here. Both of it just complements well with each other, the crunchy yau char guai with the soft gooey porridge that coats it so well. YUM!


As for breakfasts, we had wan tan mee, where the wan tan are totally different than those in Malaysia. It is gigantic, with generous filling of meat and a huge prawn in every piece. It is tender and juicy and besides, the mee is thin and obviously home made material compare to those I found in Malaysia (except the ones in Taiping which is thick but still home made).

We also had ngau lam min (beef mee). Unlike the ones in Malaysia, this one is with clear soup but distinct taste of beef. The slices of beef are soft yet chewy and juicy!

Of course breakfast in Hong Kong is not complete without trying out the set breakfast style in its own Hong Kong "fast food" version. It come with variety of choices where you can mix and match and it includes the infamous drink of lai cha (milk tea), yin yong (mixture of milk, coffee and tea) and Milo.

In this set we had opt for American style breakfast, egg, luncheon meat, sausage, toast, oatmeal at the side with yin yong.

Another set we had was the mini dim sum set of mini pau, dumplings and mini springrolls, with meehoon and ham at the side plus lai cha.

I just want to highlight that their lai cha (milk tea) and yin yong is absolutely heavenly, due to its richness of milk taste but still with distinct taste of tea and coffee. I suspect the difference it had from the ones in Malaysia is in the milk itself. It must be fresh!

To be continued....

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Passions in Life

L is a good friend of mine. We have known each other since we were 11. This is how it happened; we sat together in class because at that time, the teachers arranged us according to our position in class and we so happen to have the same results. From there, our adventures are endless. We clicked and we bond until now, she still remained a very good friend, a confidante and a joy to be with.

She shares one common passion with me, that is the love of writing. We both also have passion in sharing knowledge with the world, our thoughts and dreans and of course we also have the same passion for food. Therefore, once she read this food blog of mine, she complimented me (she was always very supportive) and then was excited to join in the fun. Thus, she became my guest blogger and wrote about her dining experience, which was in Penang. She is currently pursuing her degree in Mass Communication in USM, Penang. Here goes her entry:

Passions of Kerala

If banana leaf cuisine is your weakness, be sure not to miss out Passions of Kerala for the ultimate south Indian food experience. Opened in year 2000 by joint owners, Mr. Gary Nair and Mr. Achuthan Nair, the place is run by Mr. Murly Nair. It is actually a branch from Restaurant Innira’s (name had also been changed to Passions of Kerala) situated in Gelugor, Penang. Passions of Kerala got its name from a type of seasonal flower called Passions that blooms right outside the restaurant and if you observe, the structure and interior of the place is made to look like a typical house in Kerala, situated in Southern India.

Once seated and orders taken, a banana leaf will be spread in front of you. Service is fast where the staff will first serve 4 types of vegetables together with a generous amount of white rice on the banana leaf. There are 16 different types of vegetables served in the restaurant and the order changes on a daily basis. Customers are given 3 choices of curries to choose from, the exquisitely rich dhal, thick chicken curry and fish curry, the spiciest of the lot. The dhal is laden with different types of vegetables namely potatoes, legumes, tomatoes and its rich creamy sauce is definitely not to be missed. Unlike other restaurants all the dishes here are not precook. The restaurant’s policy is making sure every food is served hot and fresh from the stove. Customer’s satisfaction is highly regarded by Mr. Murly Nair for he knows that it is the only thing that will keep them coming back in the future.

Diners have a variety of dishes to choose from, like the chicken and lamb masala, squids, crabs and fish and not forgetting the McNair’s fried chicken, their very own original fried chicken recipe. Every dishes found on the menu are cooked according to the Nairs grandmother’s recipe who originated from Kerala. Also, the restaurant makes and blends all of their spices. After your meal, there’s nothing better than to wash it down with a sweet lassi fruit drink, a blend of home-made yogurt and real fruit. The result is a deliciously thick and creamy drink enough to satisfy the gastronomical challenge pose by the rich herbs and spices found in the Keralite dishes.

While dining, you will be soothed with light and entertaining music played in the restaurant. It is really the perfect place to enjoy a good meal and then unwind with your friends. Staffs are friendly and the food here will definitely keep you coming back for more. I also took the opportunity to ask Mr. Murly Nair about banana leaf etiquette. He said that in every gesture and things that we do lay a meaning behind it. The Indians have a way of folding their banana leaf after eating it according to occasions. During funerals, after the meal, it is a custom to fold the banana leaf upwards, away from our own body. This indicates that they do not wish to attend another funeral as it is an unhappy event. While on happier events like weddings, Indians will fold their banana leaf inwards, towards our own body which signify that they hope that they will have another happy event to graze again.

TC, a British living in Penang frequents the restaurant for the ambience, quality food and the good money value of it. TC who had been eating curries since he was 17 actually had his first banana leaf cuisine in this restaurant, commented that it was love at first taste for him. So, the next time you crave for an Indian meal, be it lunch or dinner, Passions of Kerala will be the ultimate place to dine.

40, Service Road,
(Burmah Square)
10050 Penang
Tel – 04-229 2570
Business hours:
12 noon – 3.00pm / 6.30pm – 10.00pm


Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Myriad of Tastes for CNY

Back from missing in action. Chinese New Year had been a blast this year. As usual, I will be back in my hometown, Taiping and celebrated with family and friends.

As I am getting back on track from my holiday mood to my working routine, time is slipping away pretty quickly. As for now, I’m leaving you guys with pictures of the wonderful tummy-filled CNY celebration that I had. Enjoy!



Pho Pho (mum's mother) shredding the pre-soaked black fungus



Loh Hon Chai (Fried Mixed Vegetables)



My absolute all time favourite Jiu Hu Char (Stir fried shredded Cuttlefish with Yam Bean)



Another Stir Fried Mix Vegetables with Chinese Mushrooms



Live crab waiting to be cooked. We Chinese only eat the freshest from the sea.



Cooked Crab in Tomato Sauce, a little kick from ginger, spring onion and chillies



Steamed chicken, a must have for every Chinese household on reunion



The steamed chicken chopped and served sprinkled with chinese parsley



My aunt chopping the boiled pork tripe from the soup to bite sizes



Taking out the steamed fish (fresh from the sea too)



Pho Pho enjoying the food while waiting for the fish to steam



Yee Sang - We have it every year over at my mother's side, whenever we can meet up either the reunion day or Chor Yat/Chor Yee (first/second day of Chinese New Year). This Yee Sang of ours is self made, with the carrots and radishes freshly sliced thinly (no shredding as it will sweat too much) and then Pomelo freshly shred to pieces. The hues of greens and beige stripes are papaya pickles. In the middle is our main ingredient of the dish – abalone slices. The red packets contained Five Spice Powder and crushed peanuts ready to be sprinkled over the Yee Sang later.



Once ready to serve , crispy dough crackers are scattered all around the dish. Next the spices and peanuts are sprinkled over follow by pouring of plum sauce over it. We would then gear ourselves with chopsticks and then simultaneously toss the Yee Sang all over. As belived, the higher you toss the better. We usually end up with bits and pieces on our hand due to the crazy tossing by everyone.



Then all of proceed to scoop everything out onto our bowls and devour it. We would of course aim for the abalones but at last, we would end up distributing to each other anyway. The Yee Sang definitely tasted good, with fresh ingredients, right plethora of tastes of sweet and sour plus right textures of soft, chewy, crunchy and juicy all together. I looked forward to it every year. If you want to know more about this, Foodcrazee have an extensive information on his own deconstructed Yee Sang.

Overall, a lovely Chinese New Year, with jeans a little tighter, wallet a bit fatter (from all the Ang Pows), heart a little fonder and of course, smile a little wider!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Sugar not so High Friday #15


Finally I am back in my hometown. These day it was really hectic for me but I just could not pass out the opportunity to join this month’s SHF #15 hosted by Sam in Becks & Posh. So as usual I go for the easiest recipe I can find but of course still very tasty.

Since we are looking for dessert low in sugar and best to feature natural sugar, all I can think of was the Gula Melaka in my pantry. It is an all natural sweet sugar made from the sap of the coconut palm. As the name implies, it is widely known in Melaka and a favourite use among the Peranakans in both meals and desserts. Here in Malaysia, it comes in form of rolled blocks. These sweet rolls have distinct flavour themselves, not light brown sugar or honey or even golden syrup or dark molassess. You got to taste it to know it but as you know, it will always be a star in every sweet recipe if added. Yes it is that distinct.

Gula melaka is usually the star in many of our local Nonya kuih (our local cakes) alongside with the famous pandan leaves that I have kept talking about. It is used to make many other sweet desserts like cendol (I would talk about this nest time). I had even used it to make my macaroons! Really versatile and pair really well with pandan and coconut.

Here I made a really simple recipe using sago pearl. Sago is actually starch from the sago plant which can be made into pudding and is also usually added to many of our local ‘tong sui’like my Hak Lor Mai. This time I made sago pudding drizzle over with little bit of evaporated milk and then drown in gula melaka syrup. Heaven!

Sago Gula Melaka

The recipe here is in terms of guessing and estimating as it is to modify to suit ones taste, whether you want it really sweet, or less or more milk or vice versa. Besides, the amount yield would also differ according to your pudding cups. I made mine in little bowls since I have none. Ah, displaying my lack of kitchen tools again.

100g sago pearls
50 gula melaka
½ cup of evaporated milk

Bring water to boil in a pot
Add sago pearls to boil for 10-15 minutes or all the pearls are translucent (best to keep stirring as I have some stuck at the bottom once left unattended)
Remove from heat, pour onto a sieve and wash with running water.
Drain excess water and put aside.
Press the sago pearls into pudding cups, packing it tight together.
Refrigerate it for 1-2 hours then serve cold.

Melt gula melaka in a pot or microwave with about ¼ to ½ cup of water to it. (This amount depends how diluted you want your syrup to be. Chill.

When serving, unmould the sago pudding onto bowl, drizzle over with evaporated milk then drown it with the sweet exotic gula melaka and enjoy an all natural sweetness goodness.

Yields bout 6 small puddings or 3 large ones


Tagged with: +

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Coconut Macaroons

Where have I been? Life has been good I assure you. But it does not mean life had been easy. I am up to my neck with assignments and my final year project. With Chinese New Year coming, this coming Sunday to be precise, we at the university had been trying to cram everything into this week, in order to make way for a week long holiday. I will be homeward bound this Thursday, and I promise many pictures of my beloved Taiping and of course, our huge celebration marking a New Year in the Chinese Calendar.

My friend would also be celebrating her birthday next week, and I promised her a cake. I asked her for the flavours she liked, and she came up with a challenging theme, “Colourful”. How creative! It got me excited, yet I have not even thought of what to make.

Rabbit from Pearl of the Orient is hosting this month’s Hay Hay is Donna Day event, which she had won the last time with her really beautiful swirled self frosting cupcakes. I had joined that too at last minute with my Pandan Kaya Frosted Cupcakes. Now I could not pass up this opportunity.

The base recipe is simple and with lots of place to tweak and improvise. Here’s two version of mine. I tried to make it cute for Rabbit, and readers who would be voting, but could not think of any other way than to spontaneously add the little piggie pouncing at the macaroons. Let’s fight for it else it will be gone!

Lemon Macaroons

This I basically just substituted Rabbit’s lime zest with lemon. These are the bunch on the left side in the picture.

2 cups desiccated coconut
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 ½ tbsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 180C
Mix coconut, sugar, egg whites and lime zest in bowl to combine.
Use a spoon to scoop it onto hand and squeeze to it to ball size.
Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 mintues or till light golden.

Makes 12-15 fluffy macaroons

Pandan Gula Melaka Macaroons

This one is an Asian twist to these lovely macaroons. It came on an impulse as I thought of my pandan leaves in the refrigerator. It was in a way inspired by an Asian coconut candy that features basically the same ingredients but cooked till thick and then chilled. This one is really good!

2 cups desiccated coconut
½ cup Gula Melaka (raw palm sugar) or brown sugar
2 egg whites
2-3 tbsp shredded pandan leaves

Preheat oven to 180C
Mix coconut, sugar, egg whites and shredded pandan leaves in bowl to combine.
Use a spoon to scoop it onto hand and squeeze to it to ball size.
Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes or till light golden.

Makes 12-15 fluffy macaroons

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Me, Me and Me

Tagging Meme had become a phenomenal nowadays in the blogosphere. I do enjoy Meme-ing and passing on the baton, but how far the tagged person enjoy it I do not know, but I just hope we all join in the fun (if that is not how you feel, you should). My first Meme, was on my Top Ten Favourite Food, tagged by Kalyn. Now, I have two Meme on my list, and they are crying to be pass on day and night! I no longer could keep this here, else it will die here, where the I am the cause. So here goes:

Mumu from A Curious Mix had tagged me with “The Things I Carry”, which actually ask what one would bring when cooking in someone else’s place. Then the witty Mumu, came up with her own version of the other way around which is “What would you hijack from someone’s else kitchen”. How cool is that. I feeling pretty adventurous would be answering to both of this.

I have yet to cook at other person’s place which would be far less equipped than me, shamefully yes, who can ever be less equipped than my poor kitchen of an university student who have yet the income to invest in tools she is dying to have and have yet to have the time to fully utilize them even if she does. But I do know a kitchen that is less equipped than mine, which was my aunt’s, just 5 minutes drive from my place, who do not cook at all. As I remember, as she has, a HUGE refrigerator (where is the justice????), microwave and two gas stoves with some basic pots and pans. I always wanted to go over, cook a feast and feed her and my two skinny cousins to the brim! So if I ever go over to cook, these are things I am most likely to carry along, as I would not do without:

Wok
Granite Pestle and Mortar
Chinese meat cleaver and chopping board plus my trusty mini knife
Blender and grinder
Rice cooker
Olive Oil
Rack of spices

As for hijacking things from someone’s kitchen, I would definitely be choosing my Nanny’s kitchen. Hers is well equipped with years and years of feeding three children and her dear husband. I would also add in my Ah Ma’s kitchen, which she had used to feed me since I was barely walking properly.

Complete supply of Chinese herbs, spices and all the necessary ingredients to cook authentic Chinese cuisine from my Nanny’s.

My Ah Ma’s ‘3-stone fire’ clay stove that uses charcoal as fuel. Ah Ma double boils her soups on this to the perfection!

For thisI would like to tag Barbara from Tigers and Strawberries, because I like to know what she have and treasure in the kitchen. I am always in awe of her overwhelming experience and cookery skills!
Next is 7 Meme for 7 bloggers, which I was tagged by MM from Mana Makan – The Feast Crusade.

7 things to do before I die
Travel to places I have never seen
Eat food that I have never eaten
Record our own album for my band – Addicted to Bliithe
Fly my own jet plane
Have my own business empire
Build a loving and happy family
Learn to speak, read and write Mandarin

7 things I cannot do
I cannot sing for the life of me
I am ‘buta 3D’ – basically mean I cannot direct my character in a 3D game to walk in a straight line, as in no sense of 3D direction.
I cannot grow to the height I want!
I cannot cry in front of people – well at least I tried
I cannot seem to find ‘7 things that I cannot do’

7 things that attracted me to blogging
My tham jiak-ness
My love of writing
My need to be heard
The joy of sharing what I know
A place for me to rant and rave
To promote one self - you never know who is reading out there!
Most of all – the family sense in the blogosphere

7 things I say most often
I love you!
If etc etc etc … how?
Have you eaten yet?
What the hell!
Serious?
Funny!
Oh no!

7 books I love
Anne Rice’s Lestat
Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings
CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia
Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code
R.A. Salvatore‘s The Forgotten Realms
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies

7 movies I watch over and over again
None in particular, I love movies, but not fanatic enough to have one that I would watch over and over again

7 tags
Now for my 7 victims, please do not kill me!
Anne from Anne's Food
Nic from Bakingsheet
Indira from Mahanandi
Glutton Rabbit from Pearl of The Orient
VK from My Dhaba
Meena from Hooked on Heat

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Smokey Goodness with Rendang

I was cruising down the road right after my afternoon class. The weather was fine and I am feeling fresh, something that is amazing since I had endured few hours of lecture. Taking the usual route on my way back, all of sudden I was greeted by makeshift stall along the road, nearby of TTDI, with smokes billowing to the air. Guess what? No, not open burning. If you’re a Malaysian, you might, just might have guess it. Yes, it is lemang!

Lemang is actually glutinous rice with coconut milk wrapped in banana leaves then packed into a tube of bamboo and then smoked slowly over fire. Phew, such hard work. This delicacy may be available throughout the year but it is usually full blown with temporary makeshifts stalls everywhere during festivals celebrated by the Malay communities in Malaysia. The usual celebrations are the Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji. This Malay delicacy had been highlighted before by Boo from masak-masak. Boo featured lemang from last year’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri, from the same place I had acquired mine. As for Robyn, from EatingAsia, she and Dave had stumbled upon it along the Karak Highway.

This week on Tuesday, it was the Hari Raya Haji celebration. It is known as the Pilgrimage Day of Celebration, which is to mark the conclusion of pilgrimage activites in the Holy Land of Mecca. What luck I have to get my hand on these ‘lemangs’ as I had missed it last year during Hari Raya Adilfitri. Thus, excited like a school kid eyeing a candy, I scrammed on the break and swerved to the left and came to a halting stop by the side of a stall. (Yes, we Malaysians drive like that). Just as I got down from the car, I was greeted by the enthusiastic seller, whose stall I happened to stop right beside. Since it was, as we Chinese like to call it ‘yuin’ (fate) that I got to this stall I decided to get a tube of lemang from them. They even let me sample one tiny piece. Not too bad I might say. I wanted to get their curries but alas, found my wallet insufficient of money. (I had just paid the bills!).

Once I got home, I thrust the newspaper wrapped lemang to J and asked him to guess what it is. J just tore it off out of curiosity (such impatience) and was as excited as I am for the find too. Ah, but what are we to have it with? J, as the Malay cuisine expert here, said lemang have to have with rendang. Rendang, according to Wikipedia, is actually meat curry, cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until the liquid dried up, leaving a thick coating of spicy condiments on the meat. Sounds good isn’t it. Not to worry as the recipe is to follow.

Well, as this is also an entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn, I am featuring a herb used in cooking rendang. It is daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaves). These leaves, as the name implied, impart a strong scent of lime and are really refreshing.

Now let’s go and make some rendang to go with the lemang. Pssst, as I know, it goes well with rice too!

Beef Rendang


This is my first time trying out a tedious recipe but I was adamant. Yet, I was still pretty lazy and had come up with some cheating methods to fasten up the process. I got this recipe, once again from Amy Beh, but had modified the liquid amount, thus reducing cooking time tremendously.

I was shocked by the amount of coconut milk called for in the original recipe and was further aghast by the idea of adding same amount of water. Thus I reduced it by more than half and had even left out the water portion.

When I got to tesco looking for topside beef, there was none but instead I found packets of cubed beef labeled - beef for rendang. Talk about being 'Malaysianised' eh.

Chilli boh is actually just grinded chillies with salt. Thus, if you cannot get it, I would recommend adding 2-3 sliced chillies to the level of spiciness you desire. Just remember that rendang are just spicy-nice, as in not too spicy yet just a tinge of kick.

Next it was the kerisik (pounded dry-fried grated coconut) which I had no idea where to get, so I improvised and bought desiccated coconut. Then I dry fried the desiccated coconut till brown and then pounded it with my pestle and mortar. (If you don’t have one, maybe you can try pounding with your roller pin or something like that. Think creative!)

Ingredients:
500g beef topside, cubed

Grind together:
4 tbsp chilli boh
7 shallots
5 cloves garlic
4cm piece ginger
2 onions
4 stalks lemongrass, finely sliced
3cm piece galangal
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp fennel powder

400ml thick coconut milk (1 can)

1/2 cup kerisik (pounded dry-fried grated coconut)
1 tbsp finely-shredded daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaves)

Seasoning:
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp brown sugar or to taste

Method:
Coat bottom of a deep saucepan with a little bit of oil and heat it up.
Add in beef and stir fry briefly till all sides are slightly browned.
Sitr in the ground ingredients and stir to mix.
Then add in the coconut milk.
Simmer over low-medium heat for one hour until beef turns tender and the gravy is quite thick.
Add kerisik and continue to cook until the gravy turns thick and dry.
Add seasonings and daun limau purut.
Stir and cook for further five minutes or until beef gravy is sticky dry

Serves 3 - 4

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Exploring My Origin: Teochew Steamed Fish

I have nowadays succumbed to cook in daily since I have my classes and all. If I have the chance, I would cook both lunch and dinner. Admittedly, it is always alternate with leftovers, covered by a new dish, which would end up as leftovers. But once we got the hang of what can be kept and what not, cooking for small amount of people gets easier. I do not have the luxury to cook for a family of 5 or 8 (yes, I consider that a luxury) but I sometimes cook as if I do. J even says that I am crazy. Once I cooked cauliflower curry and it lasted us for five days! Of course not for every meal, but good enough for us to swore it off for a while.

Anyway, it had been quite sometime since I share some recipes worth for “exploring my origin” project. I do most of the time cooked Chinese at home, but most Chinese cookery are pretty simple and in terms of ‘agak-agak’ (estimation). As I have said, we Chinese cook on the whim. When we feel like it we add it, when we taste it with our little fingers, oh yes we Chinese are resistant to heat, we would just add whatever our taste bud tells us to. I have countless times seen my mother’s mother, Pho Pho, did the finger thing. She can easily dip in her finger to a boiling liquid and taste it right away. Of course I’ve tried it a couple of times and burnt my tongue without fail. Maybe one day, when I have cook countless Chinese cuisine, I might just be able to act like a seasoned Chinese cook.

The dish that I am going to introduce today is of Teochew origin. As I had mentioned that I am from a Hokkien dialect, Teochew is another one in our numerous Chinese dialects. They used to say that Teochew are considered Hokkien as well. This is because the Teochew are once Hokkien people, migrating south from the Fujian province to eastern side known as Chaoshan. After some influence from the Cantonese and Hakka, they evolved into a separate dialect.

As Teochew people are also quite abundant in Malaysia, we are very much exposed to their cuisine. Teochew cuisines are well known for seafood and vegetarian dishes. They are also in some way like the Cantonese cuisine, cooking with less flavouring thus enhancing the natural tastes of food, while relying heavily on freshness of ingredients. When I go out to eat in Chinese restaurants, I had a few times tasted a very fine Teochew cuisine, which is their steamed fish. I had tried it in many outlets, though it varies a little, but the main ingredients are there and the taste, are simply superb. If you have the freshest of fish, it would certainly be a heavenly dish.



Teochew Steamed Fish

I had used white Pomfret for this dish but had found those large meaty Grouper fishes I had in restaurants are better cooked in this style. It is because in this Teochew way of steaming, one would end up with a pool of wonderful sour-ish soup from steaming the fish which is really good to lap up with big chunks of fish meat. It is to be warned that this ‘assam’ (tangy) taste soup keeps one hungry till the end of the meal. You just can’t get enough of it.

I had modified a recipe from the trusted Amy Beh at Kuali. Her recipe uses sour plum, which I do not have in hand, thus I substituted with some tamarind slices (assam gelugor) and tamarind paste, which I have in hand all the time because it is used in various dishes, such my Ikan Assam. The result is as close to those out in the restaurants, though it varies a little, but still like I say, superb.

3-5 white Pomfret/ 1 large Grouper (cleaned and gutted)

Ingredients:
50g salted mustard greens (soaked and shredded)
3cm piece ginger (finely sliced)
1 tomato (cut into thin wedges)
2 black Chinese mushrooms (soaked and sliced thinly)

Mix:
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 tamarind slices (assam gelugor/assam keluk)
2 tbsp tamarind paste

Garnishing:
1 red chilli (cut into strips)
1 stalk spring onions (cut into strips)
1 sprig coriander leaves (chopped roughly)

Method:
Make two cuts on each side of the fish. Rub lightly with salt and pepper.
Put fishes on a metal or heatproof dish and scatter salted mustard green, mushroom and ginger slices on and around the fish.
Pour in the water mixture onto the fish and arrange tomato slices around fish.
Steam fish over rapidly boiling water for 12 to 15 minutes or until the fish’s eye popped out. (This is an indication that the fish is cooked.)
Garnish and serve the dish steaming with hot soup!

Serves 4

Monday, January 09, 2006

Weekend Herb Blogging #14: Chrysanthemum

This is going to be a short post from me. Pardon my lack of writing but it is due to me buried in my final year project. Yes, this dear “tham jiak” girl is in her last semester now, with her major project due soon. I am going to graduate in May and till then, it would be busy months for me. Yet, I cannot say that I would have more leisure when I work, so I have been warned. Nonetheless, I am excited to join the new phase of life soon.

For now, I am posting for the Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by our lovely Kalyn. I will be introducing a wonderful herb named Chrysanthemum.



It is used in many sweet drinks and ‘tong sui’ in our Chinese cuisine. When boiled, it would be known as Chrysanthemum tea. Since young I have been told that it is good for health. It is particular known for it's cooling properties.

There is a lovely Chinese history(or rather, legend) behind this wonderful herb; I’m quoting from Flowers and Plants Association:

The Chinese legend tells the story of an elderly emperor who had heard about a magic herb that would give him eternal youth. This herb was said to grow on Dragonfly Island and could only be picked by young people. The elderly emperor therefore sent twenty-four children on what proved to be a long and hazardous journey. Much to their dismay, when they finally arrived at the island they found it totally deserted. There was no sign of the magic herb. All they found was a flower - the golden chrysanthemum, which today still symbolises the Chinese people's ties with their country. Later Mao Tse Tung replaced the imperial golden yellow with the red of the People’s Republic.

There is also a Japanese version of history in the site if you are interested.

Now let’s go brew yourself some healthy drink.

Chrysanthemum Ginseng Tail Drink
Source: Kitchen Capers

Ginseng tail is a type of Chinese herbs. If I am not mistaken, it is the tail part of the ginseng root. It is known as “yang seng xu’ in Chinese. This herb is known for its cooling properties. It gives the drink a type of ‘kam’ (golden) taste. Pretty hard for me to explain this taste as only Chinese could identify to it; like how my Ah Ma always says it that way. Feel free to omit it and you will still have a lovely healthy drink.

Ingredients:
75g Dried Chrysanthemum Flowers
25g Ginseng Tail
2000ml water
Rock Sugar to taste

Blanch Chrysanthemum and Ginseng separately with boiling water.
Boil water and add in Ginseng. Boil for 5 minutes.
Add in Chrysanthemum. Boil for another 5 minutes.
Add in Rock Sugar and taste.
Remove from fire and cover for 10 minutes before serving.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Double Cheers For The New Year

This would be my update on the New Year party I had with the pictures I finally managed to get from my friend. Well, there was technical problem last night at MSN messenger, thus she could not send to me. We tried today then it was my connection problem. What luck! At last I resort to asking her email me instead. Finally, all is well now. The pictures are here! Another good news is I managed to get the potato salad recipe too. It is really easy. Do try it out!

Spaghetti Bolognaise with asian twist of rich chicken stock and less tomato:


The special Char Chee Cheong Fun (it is hard to take a picture of this black mess but trust me, it is really delish!):


And now for the

Potato Salad


8 – 10 russet potatoes
2 bunches of spring onions
3 cucumbers
10 eggs (hardboiled)
A small jar of mayonnaise (bout 200mk)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut into cubes the potatoes, cucumbers and hardboiled eggs.
Then chop spring onions finely.
Put all in a large mixing bowl and stir in mayonnaise.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve a party of 20-25 people

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Cheers For a New Year

I am again late for this New Year entry. I said again because I seem to be always fashionably late for entries. I hope Cooking Diva would pardon me and give me a chance to join in the New Year's Dinner & Recipe Photo Swap, which seemed so much fun! One of my New Year resolutions from this entry onwards is not to be late anymore! I had been late all my life.

I did not get the entry in early enough because the owner of the camera, my friend, who had not sent me the pictures yet! Well, I had to fill in and post up the preparation for my chicken first. The rest of the readied yummy food will follow, by tonight, hopefully. I swear to wring my friend’s heart out if she does not send me the pictures tonight.

New Year started for everyone and a new semester started for me. Well, after enjoying, playing and of course cooking and baking for whole three months, it is time for me to settle down and do what I need to. I will still be posting for sure, but of course, much shorter ones. I love to write, but time is always the limit. I love to research and share knowledge with the world, but again, time and resources is limited.

This year, I celebrated with J in my friend’s place. There is not much variety of food but yet all of it is scrumptious. We had catered for the spaghetti bolognaise, which was rich with chicken stock, not the usual tomato-ey fare but still very scrumptious. Then we had a local flavour of Char (fried) Chee Cheong Fun, which is basically large flat rice noodles rolled up. The usual fare is to serve these with sweet or spicy sauce but as usual, Malaysian loves to fusion recipes to make it our own. If I am not mistaken, these are originated from Hong Kong, commonly known as Cheong Fun. For this Char Chee Cheong Fun, it is actually frying the Cheong Fun like how we would for Char Kway Teow, literary also fried flat rice noodles. Then there was the potato salad, made by my long time friend from Taiping, which was really delish. I had requested recipe from her and of course would be sharing with you guys then. I could not possibly keep good eats to myself, can I? Then there was also some fried frozen nuggets and popcorn chicken. Dessert was canned sea coconut (sleeve palm), yes canned, according to my friend we are suppose to relax and enjoy the New Year, so no working our neck out. After roasting 30 chickens, I could not have agreed more with her. As for me, my humble contribution to the party was

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Roasted Rosemary Paprika Chicken

I adapted this dish from a cookbook, but as the usual me, I had trouble following recipes diligently, especially when it comes to cooking. Baking, I might still be a good school girl and not bold enough to twist recipes, but cooking, ah, we Chinese cooks by feel and taste. Try getting recipes out of seasoned Chinese chefs and they would be telling you like, throw in a little of that, then a lot of that, a bunch of this and a handful of that. It is then up to you to improvise, judging for what you had eaten. Usually, it is easy, if you had been eating it most of your life.

As for this recipe, after much tweaking, I find the taste slightly too mild. Maybe I was looking for punch on the spice. Luckily it was saved by the rosemary. I used fresh ones, which does make a lot of differences from dried ones. I pounded the spices on my good ol’ pestle and mortar which I loved a lot. It was from my nanny, a small one but well seasoned. If you do not have one, then just grind the ingredients, but be careful not to make it into a paste.

There was a tip from the cookbook which said that roasting chicken in a non-preheated oven produces crispy skins. It was a little crispier then the previous ones which I roasted after preheating, but I still prefer the method of browning it first before roasting, which produce not only crispier skin, but also more delicious looking roasted chickens. Alongside, I had also roasted some carrots, shallots and whole garlic cloves tossed with olive oil, pepper and salt.


30 drumsticks

Pound/grind:
12 garlic cloves
3 tbsp of paprika
2 tbsp of hot chile pepper
5 sprigs of rosemary (stripped)
2 tbsp coarse black pepper
3-4 tbsp of olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons
Salt to taste

Put together ingredients and pound/grind the spices together.
Clean the chicken and cut out visible fats. Then score two huge slits on the thick part.
Rub spices onto the chicken, and try to stuff those yummy stuffs into the slits.
Line up drumsticks on roasting pan.
Squeeze lemons all over chicken.
Slice the squeezed out lemons thinly spread all over the chicken.
Put it into the oven and left to marinate for 2-3 hours.
Sprinkle salt over the chicken.
Roast chicken in 200C/400F/Gas 6 oven for 1 – 1 ½ hours.


The cheering continues here.
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