Thursday, October 29, 2015
Roti Jala (Malaysian Crepe)
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Homemade Red Wine - As easy as I can recipe
We visited a Korean Farm last year when mom and my brother visited the States. The farm had very good wine grapes on sale, so I bought 5 lbs to try making red wine with my brother.
Though I did harvest the wine after 21 days. It was bottled and kept for 1 year before tasting.
Since I am just making it for fun and mainly to satisfied my curiosity, I didn't go too technical with my approach, neither did I invested in any expensive tools. I just took extra care to make sure the utensils and glass jar are sanitized and super clean.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
【瓦煲雞飯】Clay Pot Chicken Rice
在吉隆坡工作的时候,很常吃的晚餐就是瓦煲鸡饭加上一罐炖汤,简单而且美味。
记忆最深的瓦煲鸡饭档是在Subang Jaya的一家餐厅,厨师在一排炉子上放好一整排的瓦煲,然后在白米咕嘟咕嘟的滚着的时候,加入腌好的鸡肉。我坐在一边观望着,一边迫不及待地想像着美味。
这,是我对家乡一个很清晰的记忆。
This clay pot rice used to be my dinner choice when I was working in KL, I like it with a bowl of soup. It almost always instantly brought me back to memory lane.Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The making of Pork Lard & Crackling (Chu Yao Zha/猪油渣)
I wanted to make the good old Stir Fried Hokkian Mee (Dai Lok Mee) for the longest of time. What really puts the plan off was this particular ingredient --- Chu Yao Zha (Cracklings from rendered Pork Lard).
The additio of this crackling to the dish is so crucial that I personally think it is the heart and soul to a good plate of Stir Fried Hokkian Mee!
I finally found pork fat in the local Chinese supermarket and manage to make some pork lard and cracklings. You bet that Hokkian Mee will be soon to be in sight.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Pig Maw/Stomach with White Pepper Soup 【胡椒猪肚汤】
The Chinese believes in supplementing skin and body with extra moisture with soups made with different herbs and cooking materials.
Pig Maw/Stomach with White Pepper Soup is one of those, it is also used in confinement time (after baby delivery) for white pepper is believed to be able to get rid of "cold wind/air" in the body, thus protecting the body from catching cold.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Thai Basil with Minced Meat/Pad Ka-Prao (ผัดกะเพรา)
Since Ka Prao is hard to come by in the Asian supermarkets here, many restaurants opted for the common Thai basil for this dish, though it is fine in the taste, it is technically no longer a "Ka Prao" in my opinion as the green leaves uses is not Ka Prao.
I had to grow my own Holy basil this year since I really missed the real Ka Prao that I had in Thailand. I bought two Tulsi/Tulasi plants in the earlier months from the Indian supermarket, as I figured that they are nothing but Ka Prao/Holy Basil not long ago!
The plants are doing very well and yield good leaves which allowed me to make my favorite Kra Pao dish several times already.
I had made Ka Prao using minced Chicken, Turkey and Pork, all turned out very nice and tasty. I may even try fish soon if the plants able to give me another batch of harvest before winter!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Fried Garlic & Garlic Oil 【蒜酥 & 蒜油】
Fried garlic is traditionally made in a frying pan, since I do not use garlic oil in big quantity and not as frequently, I discovered that making small batch in the microwave is simple, quick and hassle free!
蒜油传统都是锅子里小火炸酥的,一般家里不会用得特别多,所以可以小量的在微波炉里做一点,方便又简单,而且还不必洗锅子呢!
Friday, October 2, 2015
【叁巴沙丁鱼】Spicy Sardine Sambal With Potatoes
这阵子天气渐渐凉了,就老想着吃一些暖胃的菜,这道叁巴沙丁鱼是以前在马来西亚的时候很喜欢做的一道菜,是傍晚懒得去菜市场的时候加菜的好选择。
So I made this Spicy Sardine Sambal with Potatoes today, it is a good dish to help improving appetite and a dish often made back home shall the stock in the fridge run low.
It is so simple and quick that it could be made under 15 minutes.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
【怡保鸡丝河粉】Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun
我是长到大约十岁,跟着外公外婆到北马旅行时,在怡保吃到这款面食我才知道米浆制作的这个粉条也叫“河粉", 米浆制作的粉条在我们那旮旯一直都是叫做“粿条”的。
至于为什么它只有在马来西亚北方的怡保(市)才会被叫做“河粉”呢?
那就要追溯到华侨下南洋的历史了,当年下南洋的华侨一批一批的,广东人,客家人,潮州人,福建人,到步后很自然的就奔着老乡们去了。后来逐渐地,北方的槟城变成了潮州/福建人的聚居地,中部靠北的怡保,还有吉隆坡就变成了广东人的集聚地,南方的马六甲,柔佛则福建人和客家人比较多。这样的分布其实很容易地就可以从马来西亚各地的华人美食看出来。
再回到为什么只有怡保的米粉条叫做河粉,很可能是第一代的老华侨里有广州沙河镇来的移民,发现怡保这个地方被岩石山岭环,山里的泉水和广州家乡的九龙泉水类似,很适合制作河粉。于是就这样,怡保产出来马来西亚最有名的河粉了,它很薄,而且滑润透明,爽软韧筋,质量非常好。至今仍然有许多的北马人坚持只有怡保才有正宗的“怡保河粉”,其它的都是粿条呢!
这款鸡丝河粉我想念了很久,但是一直找不到比较好的新鲜河粉,而且一如其他马来西亚的面食那样,工序非常繁琐,所以就一直没有做它。我这里只能买到吃越南粉用的细米粉,如果你住的地方买得到2-3厘米宽的新鲜粿条/河粉,强烈建议你用那种哦!
I didn't grow up eating Hor Fun -- which is what flat rice noodle is called in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, especially in Ipoh. This type of noodle is called "Kuey Teow" in my part of the world.