Homemade Natural Stock Powder -- Plaice Powder

I heard about this Plaice (dried flounder) the first time from a Hong Kong friend, she told me that before MSG was invented, the Cantonese rely on natural resources to season their dishes and soup, and this Plaice powder is one of the essential ones.It is the most important ingredients in Cantonese style Wonton and Wonton soup noodle.

I almost never used any MSG in my cooking, I treasure and appreciate the natural flavors of foods and its ingredients. I may have no MSG at home but I have always keep a bottle of this homemade plaice powder in my pantry. I used it in all the recipes that called for MSG and it is my go to stock powder, it could turn a pot of water into tasty stock in no time.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka is a a great starter to have for party, left over could be store in the fridge for 2-3 days and quickly turn into this yummy Chicken tikka masala, a good gravy dish to go with homemade naan!

Hainanese Roasted Chicken Rice 【海南烧鸡饭】

When Malaysian or Singaporean cuisines is being discussed, it is inevitable that Hainanese Chicken rice will be mentioned.

Many of the Malaysian or Singaporean restaurant served steamed/Poached Chicken with Hainanese Chicken rice. In actual fact, there are two types of Chicken available in most Chicken rice stores, BBQ Chicken and Poached Chicken. The BBQ chicken is actually chicken that is marinated with Chinese five spice and salt and deep fried in oil to give it a crispy skin and very juicy meat.

Since it is hard to deep fry whole chicken at home, I made my roasted chicken the way it suggested, roasting in the oven. It turned out to be very palatable and very close to what I have missed!

很多人说起新加坡和马来西亚美食总要提起海南鸡饭，国外的马来餐厅卖的海南鸡饭大多配的是白斩鸡。其实在马来西亚，海南鸡饭是有烧鸡和白斩鸡两种选择的。

而我每次吃鸡饭都喜欢点的烧鸡，用五香粉和盐腌制过的鸡肉，风干后油炸的制作工序让鸡肉变得皮脆肉嫩，口感和味道非常丰富。配上好吃的鸡油饭和辣椒酱，每次都得要得加饭哦！

我在家做这款烧鸡为了省事而且因为有热风烤箱所以就用烤的，虽然没有油炸的色泽那么漂亮，但是味道也是杠杠的哦！

Red Rice Vinesse Ribs (Ang Chow Ribs)

I made some red rice yeast wine for my confinement 4 years back and have couple of bottles of Red Rice Vinesse from the making. It is such a good natural coloring and seasoning, I had made several dishes using it and today I made red rice vinesse ribs for lunch, it is so delicious that it was almost not enough for me!

【马来香辣炒米粉】Mee Siam （Malaysian Spicy Fried Rice Vermicelli)

Mee Siam 就字面翻译，是泰式炒米粉的意思，可是这炒米粉却只有马来西亚和新加坡比较多见。所以它真正的来历也是有点神秘的。

Mee Siam 有两种做法，一种是干炒，在马来西亚比较普遍。另一种是炒了米粉淋上香辣的酱汁，这种做法新加坡比较普遍。我今天做的是马来西亚的做法，好吃的喔！

Mee Siam literally means Siamese fried noodles, it always got me ponder how a Thai noodle became the common breakfast in Malaysia?

This noodle is normally serve dried in some parts of Malaysia, where in Singapore, they have a version of the same dish serving with spicy gravy, which I am yet to try.

As a Malaysian, and this noodle as one of my favourite breakfasts back home, here is my attempt to make this at home.

Oven Baked Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka is my favourite dish to make for party, all I need to do is marinate the chicken day before, and put it into oven 45 minutes before my guest arrive, it spares me plenty of time to prepare other dishes during the party day.

Not to mention it taste great. I could also turn the leftover it into Chicken tikka masala or butter chicken the next day!! Talking about time saving and versatility！

【安特拉羊肉咖喱】Andhra Style Mutton Curry

安特拉 (Andhra Pradesh)在菜系上来说可以算是印度的“四川" 他们虽然不吃麻，可是吃辣，在印度可是一等一的。我记得第一次去AP的首府 Hyderabad（海特拉巴）吃他们那里的Tandoori Chicken，一入口我就辣得快流眼泪了，还越吃越辣，身为马来西亚人，我可是“相当”会吃辣的喔！

这个羊肉咖喱是前几天做馕的时候煮的，现在上个食谱，这个做法的羊肉绝对不膻，炖得够火候的话，是越来越香的喔！

I love Andhra Pradesh dishes mainly because it is REALLY spicy. I still remember the first time I ordered Tandoori chicken in Hyderabad, it was burning hot and spicy, the spiciest tandoori chicken I ever had! But it was really good!

I made this Andhra style Mutton curry a few days ago, hubby said it is the best mutton curry he ever had!

印巴美食(素)【豌豆饭】Matar Pulao （Snow Peas Fragrant Rice)

在家宴客的时候，如果做了适合下饭的菜，总觉得煮一锅白米饭请客有点单调是吧？

可以试试做这个漂亮好吃的豌豆饭。这个米饭颜色好看，调味清爽，带着淡淡的香料味，入口很香，配菜吃也不会喧宾夺主，还特别容易做，绝对会让你的客人惊艳喔！

I make a lot of dishes that go well with rice at home, and I often thought serving white rice from rice cooker when I have guest is a little too boring. Thus, this beautiful,fragrant snow pea rice is often my choice to go on the dining table.

I love the contrast of colour, the light seasoning that will not overtake tastes of my main dishes, it could literally be made under 20 minutes!

印巴美食（素）【鹰嘴豆酸奶咖喱】 Rajasthani Kadhi (Spiced Yogurt Curry)

这个鹰嘴豆糊是北印很受喜爱的一个家常菜，比较讲究的还会做一些炸豆糕加到豆糊里一起吃。

我家LD很爱这款咖喱豆糊，所以我经常给他做，很快捷方便，还营养。

This Kadhi is my husband N's favourite food, whenever I am not in the mood to cook elaborate meal. I just need to stir up some Kadhi and make some rice, that would make his day just fine!

Pumpkin Pan Mee & Shape Pan Mee for Toddler

I wrote about how I was left with plenty of vegetables and a big butternut squash yesterday when I posted recipe of Butternut Squash Scallion Pancake.

I did steamed extra butternut squash to make this yummy Pan Mee (Pulled noodle) for lunch today, it tasted great and is more nutritious comparing the normal Pan Mee.

I also made a toddler version for my son A. I rolled the dough out into a thin layer and let him cut out different shapes using cookie cutters and cook the shapes the same way I would with the pulled noodle.

He loved to worked with the dough and ate a lot more by counting shapes!

Butternut Squash Scallion Pancake

My husband N was working from home over the Christmas & New Year holiday, so I had a chance to cook a lot more home cooked meals since we both preferred homecooked foods.

One day he suddenly came up with this idea to have a 3 days sugar detox. So off he goes with a shopping list with all the ingredients required for the plan. All were fine until he came back with a trunk full of groceries!

Mister got all the portions size wrong, the recipes called for 2 cups of butternut squash, he bought the whole butternut squash. The recipes called for 4 cups of broccoli, he bought two big heads of them, and many more other vegetables with doubled or tripled the portions needed.

Needless to say, my refrigerator was completely stuffed and I can't even complain for I don't want to be blame for not being supportive when my spouse trying to be healthy (for us, he said).

The guy did complete his sugar detox following the plan to the T, leaving me a fridge full of vegetables to use!

After multiple vegetable stews and casseroles, I finally decided to switch gear and make something Chinese.

I steamed up some butternut squash and made these Butternut Squash Scallion Pancake for dinner.

My son A loved it so much that he had two, doubled his ordinary portion for dinner!

Vegetable Makhanwala/ Vegetable Makhni

A friend of mine went to her Indian friend's house and had this dish, she love it so much and asked for the recipe from the host. But she failed to remember most of the ingredients and cooking process.

So she shot me an email asking for help, I so happened to have a very good Vegetable Makhanwala recipe, so here I am with my very own version.

Makhanwala literally means creamy in Hindi. This is thus an Indian version of creamy vegetable stew, it goes really well with Naan and Roti.

Caramel Kaya (Crock pot Version)

I made Pandan Flavor Seri Kaya couple of days ago and received multiple requests on simpler way/s to make this delicious Jam. Though I have say it in advance that Kaya made stirring on double boiler for long period of time turned out to be the best in texture and taste.

You can actually make kaya the short cut way with the help of technologies. All you need is a crockpot and a good blender!

南洋风味【椰浆饭】 Nasi Lemak （Rice Cooked In Coconut Milk)

很多朋友都在不同的时间问过我，你什么时候做Nasi lemak呀？我一直说会的会的，但都沒上帖子。其实不是不想寫，是我对Nasi Lemak的要求太高了，这个在马来西亚几乎街头巷尾都找得到的美食，却是最难做得好的。

主要的原因是，原材料必须要新鲜，尤其是那个米饭，非要新鲜的椰浆不可，罐头和椰漿粉都做不出那個香味。再者就是我一直很想做一次我最最最满意的Sambal，因为只有好吃的Sambal，椰浆饭才算完整。

终于给我实验出最满意的Sambal辣椒酱，也找到该找的材料了，还给我找到了新鲜的香蕉叶，我的椰浆饭之旅算是完美了！

Many of my Malaysian friends asked me time after time about when will I post a Nasi Lemak recipe. 

I keep saying I will, and is still not posting any, reason is that I am too particular about my nasi lemak, especially the sambal that goes with it. 

I kept trying and tweaking until I made this one, one that I truly enjoyed and will definitely make it again and again.

Here it comes the nasi lemak that I simply LOVE!

Seri Kaya （Coconut Egg Jam) 【咖央/椰子酱】

Toast or steamed bread with butter and Kaya used to be THE breakfast back home，my aunt made great Kaya using Duck eggs it was so silky and tasty that I could still feel it in my mouth...

As I grew more homesick in winter and missing the warm nice weather at my homeland, I decided its time to make something special for breakfast !

这个椰浆和鸡蛋做的吐司酱是许许多多在外的马来西亚游子的心头爱。

思乡的时候吃上一块抹上咖央和牛油的烤面包，仿佛就回到了蕉风椰雨的国度，在凉风习习的早晨，看着窗外季候风带来连绵的大雨，思考着功课，思考着未来。。。。。。

延伸阅读--鄉愁咖央 ◎ 林金城

咖央續篇 ◎ 林金城

【油饼与土豆马萨拉】Poori Bhaji （Fried Flat bread with Potato Curry)

土豆咖喱/马萨拉是印度街边摊卖油饼的标配。是很多人乘搭长途火车或巴士时休息站必点的点心。也是我家LD非常喜欢的一道小吃。

搬到美国后我鲜少炸东西，昨天家里起了油锅做柠檬鸡，就索性顺便做了俊爹喜欢的这款油饼，就连俊宝都吃了两块呢！

Poori was the very first Indian bread that caught my attention and fancy, it was from there that I venture into making different types of Indian Rotis and Parathas.

The potato curry that I made today is the standard serving with Puri in road side stalls in India, hubby's all time favourite!

【柠檬鸡块】Lemon Chicken

这个柠檬鸡块是我娘家过年必做的一道菜，小孩子们很喜欢，吃着也很清爽开胃。

We make this lemon chicken every year during our Chinese New Year reunion dinner back home. It is a family recipes and the kids loved it. You could also use Chicken wings to make this, equally tasty.

Homemade schmaltz (Poultry Fat)

Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat used for cooking or baking. It is healthy, delicious and extremely easy to make at home.

I know, I know, you must be screaming at the top of your lung now and said:"What? Healthy? Are you kidding me?"

NO, I am not.

Animal fat, of course, has bad reputations for years, but then, like most of the diet myths, it is simply a myth.There are enough research showing that Fat, including saturated fat, from healthy pastured animals does not cause cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, obesity or anything else.

In short, animal fats used sparingly, are much healthier than the highly processed vegetable seeds oil.

Our foreparents used animal fats for the longest time in cooking, lard makes some of the best pastries in human history and a typical Chinese noodle won't taste the same without it.

Check out this website about harmfulness of vegetable oil -- http://authoritynutrition.com/are-vegetable-and-seed-oils-bad/

【干捞濑粉】Gon Loh Lai Fun (with gon loh minced meat recipe)

干捞是我很喜欢的一种面食方式，而我最喜欢的干捞粉其实不是干捞面，而是干捞濑粉和老鼠粉（银针粉），我喜欢这两种粉QQ的口感，拌上马来西亚人喜欢的干捞酱料，和两大勺的肉，真是口口都满足哦！

I liked my noodle serves dry (Gon Loh) and egg noodles was never my first choice many a times (if I was given choices). 

My absolute favourite is Gon Loh Loh Su Fun (a type of noodle made with tapioca and rice flour with the shape looks like a rat's tail, thus the name "Loh Su Fun" which mean "Rat's noodle" in Cantonese.

My second favorite is Lai Fun which is also made from rice and tapioca flour, only that it is longer in shape and most likely to have higher ratio of tapioca flour than Lou Su Fun does.

With the sauce and minced meat in place, it is really just a matter of minutes to whip up a bowl of hearty noodle!

Lobia （Black Eye Bean in Spicy Curry)

As a Chinese I grow up eating Black eye bean as dessert or snacks.

I learnt about nutrient value and different ways of preparing this beautiful little legume's when I was in India.

I now prepared this Spicy Curry pretty often at home, it goes well with flat bread and jeera rice.

Vegan Meringue Using Aquafaba

Aquafaba is admittedly the most important discovery in 2015!

Aquafaba, or chickpea/Bean brine, is the liquid from cooking beans being used as an egg substitute, it could function as an emulsifier, leavening agent, and foaming agent.

It was discovered by Vegan baker Goose Wohlt in February 2015 after seeing a short film by French chef Joël Roessel, where the latter showed how chickpea brine could be used in recipes much like egg whites. Goose later coined the term aquafaba ("bean liquid") to describe the liquid.

His discovery opened up multiple possibilities for the Vegan world to create recipes that called for Egg white -- food that traditionally was considered a goodbye for good for whoever chooses to turned to Veganism, such as Meringue, Macarons, Meringue lemon Pie and mousse.

I was elated to learn about this discovery from my vegan friend Pragnya. I also started working on it as soon as I have sometimes at hand! New year holidays it is!