Roti Jala (Malaysian Crepe)

Roti Jala is traditionally eaten with Mutton or Beef curry, I made this Malaysian net crepe to go with my Mamak Mutton Curry.

I do not have the mould to make this Roti Jala, so I made one using a disposable cup, and it works just fine!

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.

【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.

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.

Pig Maw/Stomach with White Pepper Soup 【胡椒猪肚汤】

As the days get cooler and shorter, few dishes warms the heart and soul like a good bowl of soup.

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.

天气渐渐的凉了，秋天的味道是越来越浓了。随着冷冽的空气带来的是干燥的气候，是时候熬点热汤，除了暖胃还可以润润身体。这款胡椒猪肚汤因为能够御寒暖身，所以也是月子里可以喝的一道汤品哦！

Thai Basil with Minced Meat/Pad Ka-Prao (ผัดกะเพรา)

Ka Prao literally means the Holy Basil in Thai. It is an erect, many branched subshrub with hairy stems and somewhat crinkled green or purple leaves that are strongly scented, it is spicier in taste compared to the common Thai basil that many Thai dishes used.

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!

Ka Prao 在泰语里是一种叫圣罗勒的香叶，它也是印度人喜爱的一种保健植物，它印度名字叫做Tulsi或Tulasi。它是一种唇形科罗勒属植物，紫色或绿色的叶子带有浓郁的香气，枝干和叶子带点毛，味道比更广为人知的九层塔/金不换稍微辛辣但更清香。

泰国以外的地区因为不容易找到圣罗勒叶，所以几乎所有的泰国餐厅都用了九层塔代替圣罗勒来做这道菜，味道当然也是不错的，不过和真正的泰式打抛肉还是有点差距，而且应该也不能叫做Ka Prao了，因为用的不是Ka Prao叶啊！

今年春天我在印度超市买了两棵的圣罗勒幼苗，许多印度人喜欢栽种一棵圣罗勒在家，每天吃几瓣叶子，他们相信圣罗勒有很高的保健价值，能够预防哮喘，心血管疾病和感冒等等。

今年的夏天因为雨水蛮足的而且气温一直保持在八，九十度左右，所以我的两棵圣罗勒都长得非常好，让我能做好几次的鸡肉，猪肉和火鸡肉Ka Prao。我还有点贪心的希望入冬以前我可以再收成做一次鱼肉Ka Prao呢！

Fried Garlic & Garlic Oil 【蒜酥 & 蒜油】

Fried garlic and garlic oil are essential in many noodles soup and soup dishes in South East Asia, especially in Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines, It not only add good aroma and flavors to soups, it also adds nice crunch to "gon lou" a dried version of noodles.

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!

蒜酥和蒜油是东南亚许多面食必须要有的调料之一，尤其是汤粉类。它不仅仅给汤粉带来特殊的香气，还带来酥脆的口感，实在是有画龙点睛的效果哦！

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！

【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。

The weather is getting colder by the day, so I have been craving for some spicy dishes that could warm the body and my heart for quite some times.

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.

【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.

The first time I heard the term "Hor Fun" was probably when I was around 10 years old, sometimes around long school holidays when my maternal grandparents brought us to visit Penang and en-route to Ipoh for the good foods that the town is known for.

Though not a big fan of soupy Kuey Teow a.k.a Hor Fun, this dish caught my fancy the first time I tried it, the noodles are smooth and the broth so full of flavors.

My FB friend Ivan posted his version of this Hor Fun on his page not long ago and it really got me craving for a good bowl of this noodle for sometimes. So one fine day I finally gathered enough ingredients (and courage) to go through the lengthy process just to prepare a bowl of this hearty noodle soup.

Try using the rice noodle which is 2-3 mm thick if you can find it, I strongly suggest to use only the fresh noodles, unfortunately the only fresh Hor Fun I could get in the nearby supermarket is thin rice stick noodle, not ideal but at least it is fresh! The dried version just won't cut it.