A Malaysian Kitchen in Manchester

Visiting UK from Malaysia? Do it now!

2009-12-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

According to this article, from next year, Malaysians will probably require to apply for a visa before visitng the UK, at the price of RM1200.

RM1,200 !!!!

That's almost as much as the return fare for KL to London, althought it wuld have to be an AirAsia promo fare! Still, it is a lot of money and is sure to put many people off. So, if you have any plans to visit the UK, do it now!

Museo del Jamon, Madrid, Spain

2009-12-13T05:15:00.000-08:00

Back in June this year, we paid a fleeting visit to Madrid, the capital of Spain. We saw lots of memorable sights and ate some truly amazing food. One of the highlights was at this location, just around the corner from our hotel, near Puerto del Sol, the heart of the city - similar to Piccadilly Circus in London.

The Museo del Jamon (translated - museum of ham) is a chain of restaurants in Madrid and specialised in the obvious, but they were served mainly as starters, which we skipped. Yes, I know, it was like going to A&W and not having the root beer, but we noticed that their portions of main courses were really big and thought we did not have room for starters as well.

They sell ham by the joints and during the day, act as a market where people come in the droves to buy the ham which they are famous for. However, there is a bar downstairs and restaurant upstairs where punters would enjoy their wide variety of popular Spanish dishes. Standing while eating did not appear to be a problem for the Spanish, but we chose to go upstairs to the seating area.

All over the restaurant, there were joints of ham hung up on the wall for sale. Surprisingly, they did not smell at all.

We only had two dishes ... this roast half chicken with chips was the smallest portion they had. Dont let the bland looking chicken fool you - it had the best tasting and crispiest chicken skin I ever tasted! I do not know what they used to marinate this, but I have never tasted chicken like this anywhere else outside Spain. Seems like this is the normal way they do a roast chicken in Spain, as I have tasted similar chickens elsewhere in the city.

And the highlight of the meal was this crispy battered mixed seafood platter. It was huge and only cost about 12 euros. It consisted of prawns, whitebait, squid, some whitefsh chunks (cod?) and pink fish chunks (cant be salmon as they were too small - the chunks were half the fish). Dont let the blandness of the picture fool you - everything was so crispy that I ate the prawns whole, including the shell! And you could literally taste the freshness in the fishes - I have never tasted squid as tender as what was serverd here! I still dream of this dish today and if I am in Madrid again, this is the first place I would dine at!

Museo del Jamon
Carrera de San Jerónimo, 6
Madrid
nearest metro: Puerta del Sol

Siu Yook ( Crispy Roast Pork ) - disastrous results!

2009-12-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I thought it would be a good idea to try to make siu yook last night.
Bought a rolled joint of belly pork and started my attempt, with great anticipation.

Mistake number one:
When I unrolled the joint and undid the strings, I noticed that the skin had been scored.

Oh well, never mind.. maybe it wont matter.
So I pierce lots holes on the skin with a sharp knife and blanched the skin.
Then I marinated it with rice wine, salt, pepper and 5 spice powder and leave it to dry for a couple of hours.

So, I popped it into the oven for 1 hr ... hmm... skin still has not risen. As the rest of the pork was cooked, I put the skin towards the grill. After a few mins, it started to char and burn, but the skin still has not risen!

Ok, decided to give up.
When I tried to cut it, it was so tough my knife would not go through the skin! So, unfortunately, it had to go into the bin!

Better luck next time, I hope! Any tips would be greatly welcomed!

Duck King, Jaya One, PJ

2009-11-22T09:11:00.001-08:00

Met up with three local bloggers, hairyberry, lyrical lemongrass and GFAB on my last visit to KL back in July and we spent an afternoon in a couple of restaurants for an extended makan session. It was something I was not very used to as my afternoon meals tended to be very small (a maggi mee would be too much) as a full stomach in the afternoon makes me sleepy in the office.

This venue was the second one we visited.

The deep freid chee cheong fun below was a new experience. Good idea and well executed. Taste was rather good too but I got the feeling that this dish was created to shift the steamed ccf from earlier in the day that failed to sell.

This steamed bun was also something new to me. The filling was made from some egg custard and salted egg yolk mixture. Had an unusual taste when I first bit into it but quickly acquired a taste for it by the time I had finished it.

This is their signature dish and it did not disappoint. The roast duck had a lovely crispy skin and succulent meat underneath. What I have noticed however, was that most roast duck dishes in KL was made with lean ducks or maybe that is how the ducks are locally. Personally, I prefer the fatter ducks that we get in the UK where the skin is slightly thicker which, when roasted correctly, makes it more satisfying to bite into the skin. Also a fatter duck means the meat is less dry in the breast area.

And here is the close up from a breast piece. If I remember, I will try and get a picture of a local piece of roast duck in the future and you can see a much thicker layer of fat under the skin.

Duck King
Jaya One
Jalan Universiti
Petaling Jaya

Takeaway Singapore Noodles

2009-11-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

This was a takeaway I had last night. So why bother to blog about this. Well, I had to "warn" others about this place as I was a very disappointed customer who will not be going to this place again. It was my first and last visit!

Firstly, I had to wait 20 minutes for my single item order. I could have cooked this quicker! And there were only two customers in front of me.
Then, when I got it, I noticed how small the portion was .. you can see in the picture as I had a ruler next to it. I had to go out and buy another snack after this.
The £5 I paid for this was money BADLY spent!
The taste was average.... had I got enough and not had to wait that long, I would have returned, but not now!

Is this how they treat a first time customer??

The location:

Chinese Express (formerly Fu Kuei Chinese Takeaway)
10 Lower Monton Road,
Eccles,
Manchester,
M30 0NX

Some Assorted Photos

2009-11-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile since my last posting. My photos are scattered over a few different PCs and laptops and whenever I think of updating this blog, I find that I do not have the photos I want to upload on the pc I am using. So, until I get myself organised, I will upload a few of the older and random pics I have on this pc. Some may have uploaded before, but disappeared when the image host disappeared. I will be back soon with some proper decent blogs.

Spicy Grilled Tilapia - marinated with curry paste and coconut milk.

Malaysian Chicken Curry

BBQ Squid with corn on cob in Portugal

On a beach (Teluk Ketapang) in Pangkor Island in August 2009

Sweet Honey Mangoes from Pakistan (but bought in the UK!)

A Malaysian Restaurant in Dublin which we did not eat at because its so expensive!

Stewed Pig's Stomach - yummy!!

Nasi Lemak

2009-09-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

In the few weeks since I came back from Malaysia, I found myself craving for Malaysian food. This always happens after every visit. So, I guess this is one of the easiest dishes to replicate accurately, anywhere in the world.

To prepare:

Rice:
Boil it in coconut milk, pandan leaves (I used essence which I brought back from my hols!) and a pinch of salt.

Sambal:
Blended red chillies, shallots, garlic, belacan (prawn paste), and tamarind juice.

Method.
Soak some ikan bilis (dried anchovies) in warm water for 2 hours, then dry and fry till crispy. Remove.

Fry onions till brown, add sambal and continue frying till fragrant. Add the anchovies and salt and sugar to taste.

Serve with boiled egg (like I did) and roasted groundnuts and cucumber (like I didn't!)

Hokkien Mee at Section 20, PJ

2009-09-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

Location: Restoran Millenium Eighty Six
Section 20, Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya.
I don't know the exact road, but its a cornershop opposite the entrance of Giant supermarket.

Those old enough to remember will know that Hokkien mee used to come with squid and more meat / prawns that the ones you tend to get today. Since the mid 90s, I have found that the quality of this dish around KL and PJ has detriorated somewhat, and most of the regular vendors sold soggy noodles with very little meat and prawns in it. And more importantly, my favourite ingredient, the squid slices, seem to have diesppeared completely from the dish. Even the pieces of fried pork fat seem to have been reduced over the years.

I was reminiscing about this dish with an old school friend when he told me of this restaurant that cooked this dish the "old style", ie. with charcoal fire and with lots of meat, prawns, squid and pork fat. So off we went to savour it, and I was not disappointed at all! I'm afraid that the photo does not do it justice, but that's due to my lack of photography skills. The noodles had just the right texture and right amount of sauce and lots of pork fat pieces... which I left, but it was important to flavour the dish. Overall a very satisfying meal and worth another visit on my next trip to Malaysia.

We also had this Cantonese fried crispy noodle dish, which was very nice too. Again, it had lots of ingredients and not full of sauce like many other places.

To finish off the evening, we ordered some satay which was average but still very satisfying. I think this seller bought his satay from a bulk dealer as I have had identical tasting satay at many other places in PJ.

Whitney Houston - New ALbum - I Look To You

2009-08-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

Released 19/10/2009

When I heard about this new album being released, I looked forward to the new tracks from my favourite singer from the 80s and 90s. She looked absolutely radiant on the cover of the album. However, upon first listen, I was truly shocked!
What happened to the silky smooth yet so powerful and soulful vocals which she was so well known for??
I have never heard an artiste deteriorate so much in such a short time ... just compare this title track from her latest album:

to her 1998 album, My Love Is your Love...

it sounds like she has aged 40 years since that album!

While the songs in the latest album sounded well crafted and contemporary, they are simply not the Whitney we know from the past.
Even this big ballad, I didn't know my own strength, penned by the legendary Diane Warren, was poorly executed.

She now clearly struggles to hit the high notes, resulting the song being sung in no more than two octaves, which is a huge departure from the days when she had a five octave range.

So, is this the end of the Whitney we know from the past? Somehow, I feel it is going to be almost impossible to recover from her vocal deterioration, especially as she is also advancing in years. Let's hope I am wrong.

Jai Hind Indian Restaurant, KL

2009-08-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

This was the only not-nearby place I went to TWICE, during my 3 week visit to Malaysia earlier this month. Despite the variety of good food available all over the place in KL, I had to pay a second visit to this rather humble, run down establishment at Jalan Melayu, off Jalan Masjid India ( aka "Little India" ) in KL. It is located just 50m from the Masjid Jamek LRT station.

Although "Indian food" is widely available in KL, most of them are actually Malaysian - Indian food. Most would associate Roti Canai as being "Indian" but I doubt if you can find this bread easily all over India. The Jai Hind serves authentic North Indian food, a cuisine I have got accustomed to over the last 25 years in the UK where good Indian food is readily available in all big cities.

It was lunchtime and we were not very hungry due to a heavy breakfast. However, the sight of a person turning out fresh naan breads at the entrace of this restaurant enticed us in.

For me, a well baked fresh naan takes a lot of beating. And Jai Hind did not disappoint. The bread was served fresh from the tandoor oven and you pick your accompanying meat/veg/sauce from about 20 dishes available.

On this occassion, I had a keema curry ( coarsely minced lean goat meat with potatoes) and a chana curry (chick peas). Wish I had a bigger appetite as the food was absolutely delicious! Same style as what I have had for many years in the UK, except twice as good! The naan looked plain and boring but it was sheer perfection with a crispy outer layer and fluffy on the inside. We ordered another one just to eat on its own. 2 x this platter, together with a couple of cups of tea, cost RM16. Ok, not the cheapest Indian food in KL, but not dear either, especially for the quality.

On a separate visit, we had a cauliflower potato curry, just to see how it compares to the best cauliflower potato curry in the world (IMO!) from Yadgar Cafe in Manchester. Amazingly, it tasted almost identical! How likely is that?!

This place is a must-visit for all lovers of Indian food, but be warned that, on a hot afternoon, the heat in the place is almost unbearable. Half the fans are not working and if you have the misfortune of sitting near the two ovens making naan and chapattis, the discomfort could kill your appetite!

Hawker centre, ss2 PJ.

2009-08-10T02:41:00.000-07:00

My last visit to Malaysia may have only been 9 months ago, but still long enough for me to miss the food here, especially the hawker fare. So, on one of the first nights of this trip, I paid a visit to the hawker centre in SS2, also known as Wai Sik Kai (greedy street). Could not decide what to eat, so ordered a bit of everything ... well, more than just a "bit". But as it was cheap and the value of the sterling had appreciated against the ringgit over the last few months, I thought I'd indulge in this little feast pictured below.

I have no idea as to the name of the stalls we bought from, so as a guide, the first picture here is a grill fish (ikan bakar) vendor. All the food was bought at or around his stall.

This sambal fried pea in pods (or directly translated from Chinese, four angled peas ) were average, from the said grill fish stall. The sauce lacked sweetness and the peas were not crunchy fresh. But as he made this as a special request ( these peas are normally only used as a side garnish ), he is excused!

This char siu in Chicken Rice was also average. Char siu tasted very generic, but can't really expect too much for rm4!

Kam Heong lala from a neighbouring grill fish seller was quite good. You can always tell where was not enough of it to go round!

Pineapple fried rice from the thai food stall was also ok only! A bit too sweet and soggy, but I am happy with the amount of ingredients in it, especially the large prawns.

Prawn noodles were the best! IT was as good as any I have ever tasted and I look forward to having this again when I get the chance to go there again.

Razor clams in belacan from the same grill fish seller has a lovely tasting spicy sauce, but somehow, I felt there were more shells than actual meat!

This wat tan hor is not even worth mentioning! Rather below average.

After the meal we had a walk around the pasar malam and had some cempedak goreng ( jackfruit fritter) from this fella!

Overall a very satisfying evening's dining!

Seen these for sale in the market

2009-07-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

After a few days in KL, I have had a few culinary experiences worth adding to this blog. However, something I saw yesterday made me wonder, and although it may be related to food in Malaysia, I really hope it is not!

Doing the tourist thing yesterday, I walked along Petaling Street to take in the sights and street food and being hassled by store keepers whenever I even glanced for a micro second at their wares. Halfway down the street, I saw a discreet dark alley, with no signboards, drawing my curiosity. Well, as the saying goes, it killed the cat, but this could be true in the literal sense. This place turned out to be a wet market, like any other in Malaysia. However, I noticed that one stall had these two caged cats on display. They were adult cats and not particularly cute. So I cant see why anyone would be interested in them....... unless they were for, like everything else being sold here, food. They looked quite well fed too, which further backed up this idea.

So, can anyone reading this clear this up for me.... are these cats sold for food? If so, have you ever tasted them, and is there a restaurant that serves them?

I would not consciousely eat a feline creature, but if someone tells me it is a "must try" delicacy, then I may approach it with an open mind!

Restaurant Greenview, Section 19, PJ

2009-07-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

Can't believe its time for another visit to Malaysia already! I haven't even finished blogging about my last one yet! Thanks to Air Asia, travelling to KL from the UK has been made a lot more affordable this year. Even though I am from Manchester, it is still worth the trouble of driving 4 hours to London, paying to park the car for the duration of the holiday. Ok.. I have not actually flown with Air Asia before, but I am really hoping I wont regret the experience. More to come in the coming days!

This is a restaurant known to many PJ residents for its seafood. Located just off the roundabout where the factories of the Rothmans and Sin Chew Jit Poh factories .... hmm.. dunno if these places still exist today.

Always seem to be crowded on a Saturday night but we got there quite late and managed to get a table quickly.

Despite specialising in seafood, they do do a really good roast suckling pig. This half piglet came to around rm70.

I have no idea what this is called! It was made with a deep fried battered yam basket with stir fried chicken, mushrooms, cashews and veg inside it. Looks nicer than it taste, unfortunately. Not bad, just not outstanding.

Their fried ho fun with white fish slices was very good. Gravy was smooth and thick and yummy! I was not able to re-create this at home!

And this is their trademark dish - Sang Har Meen - or prawn fried noodles. Really rich tasting gravy with lage fresh prawns cooked just right. Noodles were fried to just the right level of crispiness too.

Soor, I got no prices for this visit as I did not pay for it. Anyway, I am sure I will be going there again in the next couple of weeks, so I will make a not of the prices this time.

Making the perfect Cantonese fried ho fun (rice stick) dish at home!

2009-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is a favourite of my wife's. Whenever we eat out, whether it be in the UK or when visiting Malaysia, she always asks for Cantonese Fried Ho Fun. It is actually quite easy to make at home. Only problem is that you need a tiny handful of a lot of ingredients to make it an interesting dish and as a result, I can only make this when I have enough leftovers accumulated in the freezer.

This dish consist of prawns, pork slices, char siu, fishballs, squid and pak choy.

It needs to be fried separately:

The fresh noodles (ho fun / rice stick) is tossed into a hot well greased wok, or a less greased non stick pan, then fried with a bit of light soy and sweet soy sauce. Keep sprinking it with water to ensure they stay separate, till lightly charred. If they start sticking together, then you have overcooked it. This is the most important part of the dish to get right and if you get it wrong, the whole dish will not taste right!

Then put the noodles aside.

To cook the sauce... you have to adjust the cooking method according to how hot you can get your wok. Assuming you are doing this at home and your wok does not achieve "wok hei"....

I first brown some garlic and ginger, then add all the ingredients except the pork. Fry lightly then remove.

Next, I brown more ginger and garlic and add marined pork slices. Add bones too if you have any. When they are fragrant, add chicken stock (enough to cover your noodles) and bring to boil. Add rice wine, oyster sauce, salt and sugar into it. This will take awhile to heat up if cooking at home, so it is like stewing the pork, hence why you add the bones. When the mixture starts bubbling add cornstarch to thicken. Then add the rest of the cooked ingredients and remove from heat within 1 minute. Add egg white for Malaysian style "wat tan hor" or leave as it is. I did not add the egg white cuz I dont want to waste the yolk!

Then, just pour over the noodles, remove bones and serve.

If your cooker is hot enough to heat up the stock within seconds, you do not need to cook this part separately. Just add everything in and fry them, add cornstatch and pour onto noodles.

Michael Jackson is not dead!

2009-07-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here are 10 reasons why Michael Jackson might have faked his death.

1. Obvious! He was unable to fulfil his commitment to the 50 London dates but still needed to pocket the money.

2. He needed a boost in the sales of his music to pay off his debts.

3. Does Joe Jackson (his dad) look like a father grieving for a deceased son?

4. He was getting death threats from loan sharks for debts he was unable to pay.

5. His face has fallen apart so badly he can no longer face the public.

6. Nobody can really identify whose body it was. MJ never appeared in public without makeup and prosthetic face parts.

7. Clips of his rehearsal from the night before did not show a man who had eaten nothing but pills.

8. The real MJ has disappeared from public view in 1990. We have been seeing an imposter all these years. Hence the child abuse issues, and also this one can't sing! Listen to his public performances between 1988 and 1992 and look at the pics below. Clearly not the same person. Anyone can learn to dance like him, but not sing!

1988

1992

9. He was facing a new set of child abuse allegations. He neither had the money nor the will to fight anymore and knew he would not get away with it a third time.

10. Many major celebrities who died in the US had an open casket. Think Elvis, and James Brown. Why cant we see MJ's body? His face would certainly not look any different to whenhe was alive. What was (not) there to hide?

10th july 2009

Another bit about point 8 above:

Compare the singing of the song Human Nature in a 1987 and 1992 concert. He does not sound like the same person. The one in 1992 can hardly sing! I can sing better that this imposter!

1987

1992

Tandoori Chicken

2009-07-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and its barbeque time! I love having a bbq because it is the only time I get to cook certain dishes that cannot be reproduced properly in the kitchen.

Here is an internationally famous dish eaten all over the world. In the past, I have tried making the marinade from scratch, but it does not beat this cheap 69p pack from the Indian grocer down the road. In fact, this is so good, it's easily as good as the average takeaway in the UK or the roadside tandoori chicken sellers in KL. Only downside is that I would not have used any red colouring if I had mixed it myself.

The main ingredients are simple:
Plain yoghurt and this pack of tandoori mix.

Mix it with lime juice. oil and kewra water (I think this is pandan essence) and marinate chicken for at least 4 hours.

After that, cook it in grill, oven or barbeque fire.

Then serve!

Old Posts with missing Pictures

2009-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am looking to re-upload the missing photos linked so some of my older posts. I dont really have time to check it all, so please tell me which ones you want to see and I will try to re-upload the photos

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett dies

2009-06-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Sad day for fans of these two entertainment legends. Both have played a big part in my growing up and I will always remember the moment I heard the news today.

Farrah was probably the most beautiful woman in the world in her prime and although she had limited acting ability, managed through hard graft, to earn respectability as an actress.

I can't say anything about MJ that has not been said already. Despite his weirdness and eccentricities, he was truly an undisputed musical genius.

RIP, Farrah and Michael. I managed to find these pics of them in their prime, and how I want to remember them before the ravages of age and diseases.

Swine Flu A(H1N1) in Malaysia

2009-06-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

EDIT: 4th July 2009:
Have a read about the experience of this Australian father and son being held in quarantine here, after one was diagnosed with AH1N1.

Having read this article in the Star today, I have googled but could not find further information. I felt I therefore, that I had to write an email to the tourism board (enquiries@tourism.gov.my) to clarify the country's stance on this matter. I keep seeing these "Malaysia Truly Asia" adverts here on a daily basis, but I feel people enticed by it could unknowingly be subjecting themselves to a 7 day prison sentence!

Malaysia does not have a Swine Flu problem (under 100 confirmed cases to date), but the government's policy on swine flu could keep the visitors away.

I shall be publishing any response I receive on this blog.

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing on behalf of the many people around the world who may be planning to visit Malaysia. Having read the article below in the Star today, what assurance can you provide us, that foreign visitors from the same countries will not also be unnecessarily quarantined as a result?

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/23/nation/20090623120307&sec=nation

The country relies heavily on the tourism industry, and in the current economic climate, it certainly cannot afford to lose out on this avenue of income because of government policy, which is not in line with the World Health Organisation's stance on the virus. Back in April, the WHO stated:

"Given the widespread presence of the virus, … containment of the outbreak is not feasible. The current focus should be on mitigation measures.."

I shall be publishing this email in my blog here and would be grateful for a response and assurances you can provide which may affect the readers' decision whether to visit Malaysia or not.

Thanks in Advance

Mini food crawl with some floggers

2009-06-20T14:42:00.001-07:00

Back in November last year, when I was in Malaysia, I met up with veteran bloggers Teckiee, WMW and Preciouspea. As my visit was brief, there was no time to gather more people together but we had a good time and they introduced me to a couple of places I have never been and ate food I have never eaten before.

First off was this place in SS2, PJ. Not far from the LRT station near Sea Port school. It was a hawker street not unlike the one at section 17, but seemed cleaner and had more stalls.

Preciouspea had this bowl of rice porridge (congee). The most loaded congee I have ever encountered! I wish I had more stomach, then I would have tried this dish too, as well as the one I was having!

Then we had a bowl of some vegetarian dumplings. Looked like dim sum or yong tau foo, but it was very different. I dont really know how to describe this, except that it was different from anything I have ever tasted before, not in a bad, nor good way.. if you understand what I mean. Anyway, its very cheap and if you know and can get to this place, you have got to try for yourself to make up your mind about it.

My dish was a humble plate of Economy noodles. It was neither mee nor meehoon. Something in between. It was cooked with shredded vegetables and had a dollop of green chilli sauce on the side. It had a very home-cooked taste to it, which was a refreshing change to the msg-laden food you tend to get from hawkers.

After that, we moved on to Taman Tun Dr Ismail. I remember this area well and used to frequent it when it was a new town back in the 1980s. It has not changed very much apart from some of the gloss of from the area seem to be missing and it is not as clean as it used to be.

We went to a "famous" satay outlet called Satay Kajang Haji Samuri. It's the first time I have seen satay being cooked from a kitchen at the back of a shop, rather than in front, outside a shop. Looks like a sanitised version of you traditional grotty satay stall.

When they served the peanut sauce, the chilli was in a separate bowl. I think more satay sellers should do this as it allows you to adjust the spiciness of your peanut sauce.

We then had a plate consisting of perut (stomach / beef tripe ) satay on the top row pictured and chicken satay. I am really no expert judge in satay, but these taste as nice as all the satay I had on my recent visits. No less, no better. However, it was the first time I ever had stomach satay. I would love to have this again the next time I visit as I am a big fan of offal.

And so that rounded off the night. Thanks teckiee, wmw, preciouspea for the company and the food.

Thai Tom Yam Baked Fish

2009-06-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

This dish was inspired by a dish I had from a food court in one of the many malls in KL when I visited last year. I am sure most of the Malaysians reading this have come across Thai food stalls selling set meals like ikan Bawal & lala with rice, sotong and udang with rice ....etc. I had the bawal version and sussed out how it was made from the strong taste of Tom Yam in the dish.

So, I started with the fish, seasoned with salt, sugar and ginger, and separately, chopped lemon grass, onions, ginger and garlic, and some Tom Yam paste.

Firstly, I fry the chopped ingredients together till slightly browned, then add the Tom Yam paste and fry lightly till fragrant.

Then spread the mixture on both sides of the fish and add slices of tomato on top.

After that, I wrapped the lot in foil and baked it in the oven. Baking takes up to three times a long as steaming, so allow for this.

Here is the result ... not the best looking, I know, together with the broken bits because I was checking to ensure it was fully cooked! It could have done with a sprinkling of spring onions and coriander here for aesthetic reasons, but, it tasted wonderful, regardless!

Jamaican Curried Goat

2009-05-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here is my first attempt at a Jamaican Curried Goat ... it has got to be called this way, and not "Curry Goat"! First had this at a local Caribbean takeaway and loved it. It tastes a lot lighter than Indian or south east asian curry, mainly because it does not contain any cream, yoghurt or coconut milk. Somehow, almost refreshing in taste, and still full of flavour. Then when I saw it being done in a cookery programme, I thought I just had to have a go myself as it was so simple.

First, I marinated the meat overnight with Jamaican Curry Powder (tbh, I have no idea what makes this different from other curry powder, but I thought I'd try it anyway!), thyme, chopped onions, chilli peppers, garlic, ginger, and capsicum.

Then the lot is added into a West Indian Dutch pot, and browned. After that, add water and stew for however long it takes to make it semi tender. This depends on your meat. You can use tender lamb which will take less time, or old mutton which will take hours!

After that add carrots and potatoes. Continue stewing and this will thicken the ssauce for you.

And when the meat is finally tender, serve with rice!

Homemade Char Siu (bbq roast pork) - again!

2009-04-27T23:53:00.000-07:00

This must be my third blog about this dish. Why? Well, I see it as a constant work in progress. Using the Char Siu I had from Seremban Char Siu as a template (see UGWUG's blog), which I had the pleasure of sampling on my last visit when Nic from KHKL brought me there.

On this occassion, I thought I got the perfect cut for it ... a shoulder joint. Nicely marbled, and not with big streaks of fat like in belly pork.
The ingredients for the marinade this time are:

Hoi Sin sauce - has to be the Lee Kum Kee dark red variety. Never use the brown type.
Dark soy - I stopped using light soy so that the marinade has a thicker and richer texture
5 Spice powder - Preferably fried in oil with a bit of garlic
Salt - to taste
Maltose Honey - Bee honey has a stronger taste than this, which is not desirable. Maltose gives it the sweetness without the smell.
Unsweetened Orange Juice - I prefer this over lemon as it gives it more of a sweet tang to the dish

Marinate overnight.

The cooking process is very important for the texture of the meat. I always grill it as domestic over-heating does not generate enough heat quick enough to seal the juices in to keep the meat succulent and moist. You have to cut the meat according to you grill's capability. Thinner if you have the less hot electric grill.

I turn over as soon as the meat has dried up. And keep turning over .. about 4 times ... until it is charred to your liking. If you have done this correctly, you can tell, because your grill pan will be dry and you have kept all the juices in the meat. If not, then you will see lots of liquid in the pan and the meat could be dry and rough inside.

At the end of the process, if the meat is not glazed looking, you can glaze with a mixture of heated honey and light soy.

Here is the dish fresh from the oven.

Here is a piece being sliced.

Nasi Kandar

2009-04-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

Some pics I took from my visit to M'sia last year.
In the middle of a hectic shoppping trip in one of the huge malls in KL, it's great to be able to take a breather in a food court which serves up to hundreds of different dishes, to replenish your energy. However, the problem is that there is such a big variety to choose from, and when your time there is limited, what do you do?

For me, I always resort to the Nasi Kandar stall. A plate of plain or coconut rice, and I select the meat and veg from dozens of mainly spicy dishes on display.

This one above was from the food court in 1-Utama and consisted of a fried kembung fish (like mackerel) marinated with spices, four angled beans in sambal, and brown reconstituted squid in sambal.

This one was from Mid Valley mall in Bangsar. Seemed a bit pricey, so I dunno if I have been ripped off or not. It cost me RM10. Consisted of long beans with white squid strips in sambal, cockles in sambal, and a type of four angled bean (direct translation from its Chinese name!), also with sambal!

A you can probably tell, I am quite fond of sambal (chilli paste with other spices like belacan) over the curry dishes, mainly because I can easily get curries in Manchester, but not good sambal.

These were not the best nasi kandar I have ever had, but when you have been living away for so long, anything will do!

Prawn Biryani

2009-04-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

I hope it was obvious that my last post was an April Fool! I'd have to be really desperate to resort to eating that!

For this post, I am debuting my new Panasonic TZ5 online! It is the most automatic camera you will find, but I am still trying to get to grips with what available settings it has. Unbelievably, it does not have manual focus mode. However, it does have a preset for food pics! The last pic here was using that mode, without a flash. However, I find it less sharp than my old Pentax Optio 30. Any suggestions?

And onto today's meal....
A quick and easy dish for a busy lifestyle!

How this dish turns out depend on what spices you use and also the type of rice. Foe the prefect Biryani, you must use Basmati rice as it has that fluffy texture and ability to absorb the taste of the spices used. Be careful not to use too much water when cooking the rice or it will get crushed under its own weight and become soggy and stick together.

First, I use my favourite curry powder, mix into a paste, the fry with onions, capsicum, ann prawns. After that, set aside.

Then, separately, boil rice. Add one tbsp oil so they dont stick together. Salt to taste. When rice is nearly done, pour in the prawns on top. The flavour of the prawns and spices will slowly seep into the rice for the remaining 15 minutes of cooking and standing time. This is quite different from the traditional method, which require you to bury the meat with the semi-cooked rice, but it is quicker.

And there you have it!