This chicken recipe I made up myself when I was a student in England in the 70's.
It helped save time when I was alone in the kitchen trying to prepare a decent meal.
Ingredients:
1/2 chicken, skinned and cleaned, cut into 6 to 8 pieces.
3 large onions, chopped fine
2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder(serbuk kunyit )
1 teaspoon cumin powder (serbuk jintan putih)
1 teaspoon fennel powder (serbuk jintan manis)
3 cloves (bunga cengkih)
4 cm cinnnamon stick
2 cardamom seeds
Salt to taste
Cooking oil
1 1/2 cups of water
Cooking Method:
You can use a frying pan or a deep pan to fry the onions and all the spices, till fragrant, in a little cooking oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry for another 5 minutes. Add in 1 1/2 cups of water.
Remove from heat and place in a deep casserole. Place the casserole in an oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 250 degrees Centigrade, or till the curry turns red in colour.
When the chicken is cooked, take the casserole out of the oven using oven gloves or a piece or kitchen towel. You can skim off the layer of oil formed on the surface of the casserole.
(You may add coconut milk if you prefer. I did not do so because the curry tasted good even without the coconut milk).
Delicious when hot and eaten with bread or rice on a cold winter night.
In those days, communication was not as it is today. We could not afford oversea phone calls. Even if we could, we had to go to the post office to make a call. There were no parcels of foodstuff from home either. So we did not have our supplies of curry powder from home. You may ask why I used powdered spices. I remember using chilli powder in those days as neither chilli paste nor fresh red chillies were readily available.
I had to mix my own curry powder by trial and error. Luckily, I had the experience of grinding the dried chillies, coriander and other spices to make curry paste as a child. In those days, making curry involves tedious manual tasks of processing the spices into paste using a 'batu giling' ( an oval bed made from river stone coupled with a cylindrical roller also from river stone- you can hardly see this manual grinder in our homes now). We not only have to prepare the curry paste but we also had to process the coconut from removing the husks, scraping the kernel, to extracting the coconut milk. Making curries can last a full morning!
I must thank my late grandmother for teaching me how to prepare the right proportion of spices to use in a curry. From my own experience, freshly mixed spices are more delicious compared to the ones you buy at the supermarket.
Try it, if you don't believe me.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Grilled Beef/Boiled Beef Kampong Style
In my home state of Kedah, Eidil Adha is celebrated on a grand scale. The act of 'Qurban' or sacrifice is done by the faithful every year.
The fresh meat obtained from the Qurban is often just boiled or grilled and then sliced thinly and eated with a simple tamarind sauce (air asam), together with plain white rice.
The marinate and 'air asam' is prepared as follows:
Marinate for grilled meat:
1.5 cm ginger
2 large onions
salt to taste
fresh turmeric rhizome.
All the above ingredients are grounded and used to marinate the meat and then placed in aluminium foil or banana leaves.The wrapped meat is cooked in an oven or above a grill or barbeque pit.
If boiling, just place all marinated ingredients in a pot and add water to cover the meat. Cook until all the water evaporates. Take care not to burn the meat by adding more water as necessary.
'Air Asam' used as dip.
2 tablespoon tamarind juice
1cup water to extract tthe tamarind juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 bird chillies
2 large onions, sliced
2cm shrimp paste (belacan)
lime juice ((3 limes if using kasturi limes or 1 if using normal lime (limau nipis), or 1/2(lemon))
The bird chillies, shrimp paste are pounded or grounded before being added to the tamarind and lime juices and sliced onions.
To make a tastier dip, sliced lemon grass, roasted dessicated coconut (kerisik) and sugar are pounded and added to the dip.
The fresh meat obtained from the Qurban is often just boiled or grilled and then sliced thinly and eated with a simple tamarind sauce (air asam), together with plain white rice.
The marinate and 'air asam' is prepared as follows:
Marinate for grilled meat:
1.5 cm ginger
2 large onions
salt to taste
fresh turmeric rhizome.
All the above ingredients are grounded and used to marinate the meat and then placed in aluminium foil or banana leaves.The wrapped meat is cooked in an oven or above a grill or barbeque pit.
If boiling, just place all marinated ingredients in a pot and add water to cover the meat. Cook until all the water evaporates. Take care not to burn the meat by adding more water as necessary.
'Air Asam' used as dip.
2 tablespoon tamarind juice
1cup water to extract tthe tamarind juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 bird chillies
2 large onions, sliced
2cm shrimp paste (belacan)
lime juice ((3 limes if using kasturi limes or 1 if using normal lime (limau nipis), or 1/2(lemon))
The bird chillies, shrimp paste are pounded or grounded before being added to the tamarind and lime juices and sliced onions.
To make a tastier dip, sliced lemon grass, roasted dessicated coconut (kerisik) and sugar are pounded and added to the dip.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Daging Dendeng ( A Simple Meat Dish)
Muslims all over the world will be celebrating Eidil Adha soon. That means we would be getting an overdose of meat from the 'Qurban' done.Below is a recipe for meat.
Daging Masak Dendeng is another recipe from Negeri Sembilan. It is simple to prepare but one must do so with care that the meat is not tough. Use only lean meat. It is best to cut the meat into thin slices across the grain ( about 1/2 cm thick and 4cm x 4cm size), removing all visible fat and tough tendons.The meat is first boiled till it is tender.
The Ingredients:
500 g meat
20 small onions or shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoon chilli paste
2 sticks lemon grass, grounded
50 g brown sugar
1.5 cm ginger, sliced
salt to taste
1 tablespoon tamarind juice
1 cup cooking oil
Way To Cook:
The sliced meat is fried till it is just crispy and not to overcooked.Set aside.
Stir fry the shallots till fragrant.Add ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chiili paste. Fry on gentle heat until all spices are cooked and the oil rises to the top. Add the tamarind juice, brown sugar and salt.
When everything is done, add the meat and mix well before serving. Although the dish is not too dry,the gravy must cling to the meat and not look like a curry.
Another method of preparing daging dendeng is to marinate all the ingredients with meat overnight. In this case, the ingredients must be grounded into a paste before adding the tamarind juice.If you must add salt, do it sparingly as marinated meat with salt tend to be salty as the salt assimilates into the meat over time.You can fry the marinated meat and you get the second version of daging dendeng. Make sure you do not overcook it and the meat becomes too tough.
You can eat your daging dendeng with hot boiled white rice, pilau, beriani or with cooked glutinous rice.
Daging dendeng is served not only during Eid, but also at weddings and other family feasts.It is a better way to prepare meat compared to making 'rendang' which involved using coconut milk. Even though sugar is used, you can always limit it if you use less chillies.The only unhealthy thing about this dish is that you have to fry it.
Daging Masak Dendeng is another recipe from Negeri Sembilan. It is simple to prepare but one must do so with care that the meat is not tough. Use only lean meat. It is best to cut the meat into thin slices across the grain ( about 1/2 cm thick and 4cm x 4cm size), removing all visible fat and tough tendons.The meat is first boiled till it is tender.
The Ingredients:
500 g meat
20 small onions or shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoon chilli paste
2 sticks lemon grass, grounded
50 g brown sugar
1.5 cm ginger, sliced
salt to taste
1 tablespoon tamarind juice
1 cup cooking oil
Way To Cook:
The sliced meat is fried till it is just crispy and not to overcooked.Set aside.
Stir fry the shallots till fragrant.Add ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chiili paste. Fry on gentle heat until all spices are cooked and the oil rises to the top. Add the tamarind juice, brown sugar and salt.
When everything is done, add the meat and mix well before serving. Although the dish is not too dry,the gravy must cling to the meat and not look like a curry.
Another method of preparing daging dendeng is to marinate all the ingredients with meat overnight. In this case, the ingredients must be grounded into a paste before adding the tamarind juice.If you must add salt, do it sparingly as marinated meat with salt tend to be salty as the salt assimilates into the meat over time.You can fry the marinated meat and you get the second version of daging dendeng. Make sure you do not overcook it and the meat becomes too tough.
You can eat your daging dendeng with hot boiled white rice, pilau, beriani or with cooked glutinous rice.
Daging dendeng is served not only during Eid, but also at weddings and other family feasts.It is a better way to prepare meat compared to making 'rendang' which involved using coconut milk. Even though sugar is used, you can always limit it if you use less chillies.The only unhealthy thing about this dish is that you have to fry it.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Dalca
Dalca is actually curry mixed with pulses, vegetables and leftover cuts of meat, bones or chicken. It is a popular dish at weddings and family feasts.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg chicken or meat leftover cuts
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2.5 cm ginger
5 tablespoons curry powder
4cm cinnamon stick (kulit kayu manis)
2 cloves star anise (bunga lawang)
3 cardamom seeds (buah pelaga)
1 sprig curry leaves (you can use bay leaves if you cannot get curry leaves while abroad)
3 pieces tamarind (asam keping)
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (You may notice that I don't recommend too much oil as I don't like oily curries)
2 potatoes, skinned and quartered
2 brinjals (eggplant or aubergine), cut into quartered and cut into 3cm strips.
1 carrot, cut as the brinjal
5 long beans, cut into 4cm pieces. Replace with French beans if not available.
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 green chillies, split in 2
1/2 cup dhall (previously steeped in cold water for two hours)
Way to Cook:
Clean the leftover cuts and set aside.
Grind the onions, garlic and ginger fine.
Heat the oil in a deep pot and fry the grounded ingredients with the cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom seeds and curry leaves (without the sprig).
Add the curry powder and stir fry till the oil rises to the top. Add water if necessary. When the ingredients smell fragrant and is cooked, add in the the chicken or meat and bones pieces together with the steeped dhall.
Add coconut milk, tamarind pieces and potatoes and cook till the dhall and potatoes are nearly cooked, stirring frequently. Add in the carrots and brinjals.
Finally add in salt, with the beans, tomatoes and chillies.
Serves hot with boiled white rice or best eaten with bread or paratha.
If you have cooked too much at one time, it is okay. You can pack the balance in freezer packs and keep them in the freezer. You can heat them up in the microwave oven when you want to enjoy them later. They become useful when you are tired after a hard day at work or at school.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg chicken or meat leftover cuts
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2.5 cm ginger
5 tablespoons curry powder
4cm cinnamon stick (kulit kayu manis)
2 cloves star anise (bunga lawang)
3 cardamom seeds (buah pelaga)
1 sprig curry leaves (you can use bay leaves if you cannot get curry leaves while abroad)
3 pieces tamarind (asam keping)
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (You may notice that I don't recommend too much oil as I don't like oily curries)
2 potatoes, skinned and quartered
2 brinjals (eggplant or aubergine), cut into quartered and cut into 3cm strips.
1 carrot, cut as the brinjal
5 long beans, cut into 4cm pieces. Replace with French beans if not available.
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 green chillies, split in 2
1/2 cup dhall (previously steeped in cold water for two hours)
Way to Cook:
Clean the leftover cuts and set aside.
Grind the onions, garlic and ginger fine.
Heat the oil in a deep pot and fry the grounded ingredients with the cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom seeds and curry leaves (without the sprig).
Add the curry powder and stir fry till the oil rises to the top. Add water if necessary. When the ingredients smell fragrant and is cooked, add in the the chicken or meat and bones pieces together with the steeped dhall.
Add coconut milk, tamarind pieces and potatoes and cook till the dhall and potatoes are nearly cooked, stirring frequently. Add in the carrots and brinjals.
Finally add in salt, with the beans, tomatoes and chillies.
Serves hot with boiled white rice or best eaten with bread or paratha.
If you have cooked too much at one time, it is okay. You can pack the balance in freezer packs and keep them in the freezer. You can heat them up in the microwave oven when you want to enjoy them later. They become useful when you are tired after a hard day at work or at school.
Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (Chicken in Creamy Coconut Milk and Bird Chillies)
This is a simple recipe popular in Negeri Sembilan, one of the states in Malaysia where most of the people originate from Minangkabau in Sumatra.
I never miss the 'masak lemak' whenever I pass Nilai. Seremban or Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan. The dish here is original and full of 'oomph' with the bird chillies. In Kuala Lumpur, it is not so hot.
Ingredients:
1 chicken, cut to 12 pieces
12 bird chillies
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3cm fresh turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
enough salt
3 sticks lemon grass, crushed
1 turmeric leaf, cut to 3 or 4 pieces
3 potatoes, skinned and quartered
Way to Cook:
Skin and clean the cut chicken pieces.
Pound or grind the bird chillies, shallots,garlic and fresh turmeric till fine.
Place the pounded ingredients in a deep pot. Add the cleaned chicken and cook above a gentle fire, stirring continuously. When the ingredients has dried up, add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir all the time to prevent the coconut milk from greasing, that is the oil must not separate from the milk. Therefore, the fire must always be small. This is the secret of making a good 'masak lemak'. You must be a patient person as cooking chicken 'masak lemak' will take quite some time compared to cooking fish 'masak lemak'.
Add the lemon grass, cut fresh turmeric leaf and salt when the potatoes are cooked. Stir until the gravy becomes thick and quite concentrated, maybe 1 cup less than originally added.
'Masak lemak' is best eaten with hot boiled white rice and sambal bilis (anchovies) or any sambal.
I never miss the 'masak lemak' whenever I pass Nilai. Seremban or Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan. The dish here is original and full of 'oomph' with the bird chillies. In Kuala Lumpur, it is not so hot.
Ingredients:
1 chicken, cut to 12 pieces
12 bird chillies
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3cm fresh turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
enough salt
3 sticks lemon grass, crushed
1 turmeric leaf, cut to 3 or 4 pieces
3 potatoes, skinned and quartered
Way to Cook:
Skin and clean the cut chicken pieces.
Pound or grind the bird chillies, shallots,garlic and fresh turmeric till fine.
Place the pounded ingredients in a deep pot. Add the cleaned chicken and cook above a gentle fire, stirring continuously. When the ingredients has dried up, add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir all the time to prevent the coconut milk from greasing, that is the oil must not separate from the milk. Therefore, the fire must always be small. This is the secret of making a good 'masak lemak'. You must be a patient person as cooking chicken 'masak lemak' will take quite some time compared to cooking fish 'masak lemak'.
Add the lemon grass, cut fresh turmeric leaf and salt when the potatoes are cooked. Stir until the gravy becomes thick and quite concentrated, maybe 1 cup less than originally added.
'Masak lemak' is best eaten with hot boiled white rice and sambal bilis (anchovies) or any sambal.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Another version of 'Daging Masak Merah' (Red Meat)
This is a simple recipe for 2-3 persons that you can use when cooking meat or chicken.
Ingredients:
200 g meat, cut across the grain into 2.5 cm cubes.
2 onions chopped fine
1 tablespoon chilli paste
1 cm ginger, chopped fine
1 tablespoon curry powder, if desired
2 pieces cloves
2 cardamoms
2.5 cm cinnamon stick
a few sprigs of mint leaves
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon sugar, if desired
1/2 cup milk
a pinch of salt
3 pieces of okra (ladies' fingers)
1 tomato
1/2 onion cut to 3 pieces
Method:
Cut and clean the meat and drain in a colander.Set aside.
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped ingredients, spices and chilli paste till fragrant. Add in the curry powder if you are using curry powder. You can omit the curry powder if you do not like the flavour.
Add in the meat and stir vigorously before adding a cup of water. Bring everything to a boil and the meat cooked before adding the tomato puree, sugar, salt and milk. Continue cooking and stirring. When the gravy is boils again, add in the okra. When the okra is cooked, you can add the tomato, onion and mint leaves.
Eat when still hot. Delicious with cooked rice, buns or paratha.
Ingredients:
200 g meat, cut across the grain into 2.5 cm cubes.
2 onions chopped fine
1 tablespoon chilli paste
1 cm ginger, chopped fine
1 tablespoon curry powder, if desired
2 pieces cloves
2 cardamoms
2.5 cm cinnamon stick
a few sprigs of mint leaves
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon sugar, if desired
1/2 cup milk
a pinch of salt
3 pieces of okra (ladies' fingers)
1 tomato
1/2 onion cut to 3 pieces
Method:
Cut and clean the meat and drain in a colander.Set aside.
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped ingredients, spices and chilli paste till fragrant. Add in the curry powder if you are using curry powder. You can omit the curry powder if you do not like the flavour.
Add in the meat and stir vigorously before adding a cup of water. Bring everything to a boil and the meat cooked before adding the tomato puree, sugar, salt and milk. Continue cooking and stirring. When the gravy is boils again, add in the okra. When the okra is cooked, you can add the tomato, onion and mint leaves.
Eat when still hot. Delicious with cooked rice, buns or paratha.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Marinades and barbeques/grills
Afif asked about preparing marinades.Now he remembers the grilled chicken I used to prepare. My children can really eat chicken and 3 of them can finish an entire barbequed chicken within minutes.
Actually marinating fish, chicken or meat prior to cooking enhances the flavour of the meat. The best time to marinate is at night in the fridge, and cook them the next day. I do not recommend you put salt in the marinade as it would blend in the meat and make it salty.
The marinades you can use are:
For chicken pieces you don't have to remove the skin before grilling or putting on the barbeque. You discard the skin when you are eating it.
For chicken, beef or lamb and mutton, you need to grill under low heat and and dip in the sauce as you turn the meat while cooking. You must make sure the meat does not burn. Adding a dip of oil or dollop of butter on the meat now and then keeps it moist and tender.
You may eat your grilled meat with grilled or roasted potatoes (cooked at the same time in the oven or grill), served with boiled vegetables.
You may heat up the balance of the marinade and put it on your cooked meat before serving. If you do not have enough marinade left, you can dip the meat in barbeque sauce, tomato or chilli sauce or mustard sauce.
A last reminder, if you grill a non-oily fish, you need not turn it;brush the fish with a little cooking oil and cook it without turning. If you try to turn the fish it may crumble.
Actually marinating fish, chicken or meat prior to cooking enhances the flavour of the meat. The best time to marinate is at night in the fridge, and cook them the next day. I do not recommend you put salt in the marinade as it would blend in the meat and make it salty.
The marinades you can use are:
- Turmeric powder, crushed garlic and ginger with lemon grass if you have it.Add a little powdered chillies or chilli paste if you want a hot taste but adding grounded black pepper will do fine too.
- A simple marinade is to add pepper to barbeque sauce
- If you do not have barbeque sauce you can use tomato and chilli sauces mixed with pepper
- You can also marinate in soya sauce together with crushed ginger, garlic with or without tomato or chilli sauce
- Or some people who loves curry flavour can use curry powder added to any sauce except soya sauce as a marinade
- I used 5 spice powder added to barbeque sauce and you get a fusion oriental and western flavour
For chicken pieces you don't have to remove the skin before grilling or putting on the barbeque. You discard the skin when you are eating it.
For chicken, beef or lamb and mutton, you need to grill under low heat and and dip in the sauce as you turn the meat while cooking. You must make sure the meat does not burn. Adding a dip of oil or dollop of butter on the meat now and then keeps it moist and tender.
You may eat your grilled meat with grilled or roasted potatoes (cooked at the same time in the oven or grill), served with boiled vegetables.
You may heat up the balance of the marinade and put it on your cooked meat before serving. If you do not have enough marinade left, you can dip the meat in barbeque sauce, tomato or chilli sauce or mustard sauce.
A last reminder, if you grill a non-oily fish, you need not turn it;brush the fish with a little cooking oil and cook it without turning. If you try to turn the fish it may crumble.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Chicken Curry for One
My son Afif called home and requested the recipe for making curries. I have not actually penned down the curry recipe as normally this is the first thing one learns to cook when I was young.I forgot that nowadays we do not eat curries everyday, unlike when I was small.
The normal procedure in making curries is to fry (in gentle heat), 1onion, 2 cloves garlic and and 1 cm ginger ( all sliced) in about 3 tablespoon of oil. Then you add some curry leaves (leave out if not available) and 3 tablespoons of curry powder.Add a bit of water and stir in the oil until the mixture gleams, (which means the oil has risen to the surface). Add more water as necessary. Always cook on gentle heat.
When the curry powder is cooked, you may add 2 to 3 pieces of chicken which have been cut to small pieces and with the skin removed. Next add about 1/5th bar of coconut cream. If using coconut milk in liquid form use about about 100ml. You should not use too much coconut milk as it is fattening. Use water to dilute it instead.
For chicken curry, you need not use tamarind juice or slices.
You may add potatoes, carrots, okra (ladies fingers), long beans, brinjal (or aubergines) or tomatoes to your curry to make it a complete meal. When putting in the vegetables, you put the ones that take a longer time to cook earlier. Tomatoes are always put last and they don't need to be cooked, anyway.
The normal procedure in making curries is to fry (in gentle heat), 1onion, 2 cloves garlic and and 1 cm ginger ( all sliced) in about 3 tablespoon of oil. Then you add some curry leaves (leave out if not available) and 3 tablespoons of curry powder.Add a bit of water and stir in the oil until the mixture gleams, (which means the oil has risen to the surface). Add more water as necessary. Always cook on gentle heat.
When the curry powder is cooked, you may add 2 to 3 pieces of chicken which have been cut to small pieces and with the skin removed. Next add about 1/5th bar of coconut cream. If using coconut milk in liquid form use about about 100ml. You should not use too much coconut milk as it is fattening. Use water to dilute it instead.
For chicken curry, you need not use tamarind juice or slices.
You may add potatoes, carrots, okra (ladies fingers), long beans, brinjal (or aubergines) or tomatoes to your curry to make it a complete meal. When putting in the vegetables, you put the ones that take a longer time to cook earlier. Tomatoes are always put last and they don't need to be cooked, anyway.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Handling hot chillies
I read with mixed feelings Afif's entry in his blog. See Afif's blog entry. Like, I told you so... that you must learn to cook before you go live on your own. Poor Afif, maybe by cooking himself he will reduce his size and it would be better for him. His doctor wanna be friends would be so happy!
Well, Afif, you will slowly learn.Learning means you have to experiment and find out what suits you best. Mama cannot be with you at this time but I can give you tips and pointers.
Anyway, someone commented that the dried chillies (that is cili kering) in Sheffield were made from bird chillies. That is why it is very hot. To make sure that it is not too hot to handle, you should use only a little of the chillies when you cook, maybe try half a tablespoon when cooking for two. You then add some tomato sauce or tomato puree to tame the hotness of the chilli. Add a little tomato sauce at a time and see the difference in taste.When using tomato puree you may need to add a little sugar.
If ever your chillies turn out to hot for your taste buds, don't despair. Just add a little sugar, chopped onions, tamarind juice and tomato sauce/tomato puree.Always add a little of each and work yourself up until you get the right combination.
I wonder if Afif added sugar and tamarind juice in his red sauce. If he did not, it would have resulted in a very hot sauce. If tamarind juice is not available you can add vinegar in its place. You can also try adding half of a finely chopped cooking apple. The sour apple would make a refreshing difference in the sauce.
Keep on trying, Afif.
Well, Afif, you will slowly learn.Learning means you have to experiment and find out what suits you best. Mama cannot be with you at this time but I can give you tips and pointers.
Anyway, someone commented that the dried chillies (that is cili kering) in Sheffield were made from bird chillies. That is why it is very hot. To make sure that it is not too hot to handle, you should use only a little of the chillies when you cook, maybe try half a tablespoon when cooking for two. You then add some tomato sauce or tomato puree to tame the hotness of the chilli. Add a little tomato sauce at a time and see the difference in taste.When using tomato puree you may need to add a little sugar.
If ever your chillies turn out to hot for your taste buds, don't despair. Just add a little sugar, chopped onions, tamarind juice and tomato sauce/tomato puree.Always add a little of each and work yourself up until you get the right combination.
I wonder if Afif added sugar and tamarind juice in his red sauce. If he did not, it would have resulted in a very hot sauce. If tamarind juice is not available you can add vinegar in its place. You can also try adding half of a finely chopped cooking apple. The sour apple would make a refreshing difference in the sauce.
Keep on trying, Afif.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Making accompanying sauces for soups/fried noodles
This simple sauce is eaten with soups; (as in soto), fried vermicelli, fried flat noodles(koay teow) or fried yellow noodles.You can also serve with rice porridge. It makes the food taste better.
Black Sambal Sauce ingredients:
Bird chillies (cili padi)and garlic cloves pounded coarsely and mixed with black sweet soya sauce,and sugar to taste.(Omit the garlic if you don't fancy raw garlic.)
You may add lime juice or vinegar, only if you prefer.I think it tastes better without these sour ingredients.
Sugar too may be omitted if the soya sauce is already sweet.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
More on chillies and making sambal belacan
Chillies come in different colours and sizes. The smaller the chilli the hotter it is. For dried chillies, the redder ones are hotter.
I have very high respect for chillies. When I was small, my grandma used to scare us with trashing our lips with bird chillies if we utter a rude or swear word. Up to today, you hardly hear me swear even when my grandma is no longer around to press those chillies on my lips!
I have high respect for chillies not because of its ability to prevent swearing but more on the effects on the tummy after consuming it. However, one may tend to swear if one gets an upset stomach due to taking a lot of chillies. All chillies must be properly cooked if made into sambal or curries. The seeds must be removed as it is the seeds that could be the culprits.
Bird chillies when made into pounded raw sambal with prawn paste (belacan) must be properly washed and only fresh ones are used. One tip handed down from my grandma is to pound the bird chillies together with the stalks that hold the fruit. In this way the 'hotness' is reduced. If using fresh red chillies for sambal, I would remove the seeds before pounding. But for bird chillies, that may be a bit difficult.
The right combination of other ingredients in the sambal (belacan, and tamarind or lime juice or sour fruit such as unripe mango) would determine its degree of 'hotness'. I normally do not add salt to raw sambal belacan as the belacan is already salty. I also do not add sugar. What is the point of eating sambal if it is sweet. Personally, I think a sambal would only have the oomph if it has a certain degree of 'hotness'. I would however use cool boiled water to squeeze the tamarind juice. As with everything, food must be prepared in clean utensils and a clean kitchen to prevent the food from causing upset tummies. The same goes for sambal belacan. More so when it is not cooked. I have said this often enough.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Steaming Siakap- Malay style
(image from Google images)
It never crossed my mind to steam siakap in this way although I had steamed crabs before using the same ingredients.
Steaming is a better and healthier alternative to boiling or frying, anytime.
If you cannot find lemon grass and turmeric leaves, don't despair. You can aways change the recipe and use whatever local herbs are available. If I were in England, France or Italy, I would try using oregano, spring onions, chives or thyme. Then the fish would not be siakap and the dish is longer a Malay traditional steam fish!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Making Chilli Paste
In Malay cooking, a lot of chillies are used.Chillies are added to food to make it hot and to give a beautiful tinge to the food. The amount of chillies used depend on one's own taste. If you cannot stand the 'hotness' you can use less chillies. Some people add a lot of sugar to counter the 'hotness'. I would, however, use less chillies and hence, less sugar instead.
I prefer to make my own chilli paste. Buying fresh cili boh as it is called in Malaysia is an option for those in a hurry. Doing so would put you at risk of an upset tummy if your tummy is a sensitive one. You see, the chillies are not seeded and maybe uncooked prior to blending them to a paste in commercially- made cili boh.The place where the cili boh is made may also not be clean.
As most dried chillies are mixed with certain impurities and packed with preservatives, it is best that you select the good ones and discard gunny sack threads or small stones,if found.
To make the cili boh, the chillies are first cut into small strips with a pair of kitchen scissors.I do not use a knife as it is easier with scissors and my fingers are not in direct contact with the chillies.
Making chilli paste (cili boh) is not too difficult.After cutting the dried chillies, place them in a colander and shake of the seeds through the sieve.Wash the chillies in a bowl and drain using the colander. Next you need to boil the chillies in freshly filtered water in a small pot. Boiling would get rid of any germs present and straining the water would reduce any preservative left in the chillies.When the chillies are cooled, you sieve and drain off the water using the colander again.
Then, you need to place them, a bit at a time in a liquidiser and add filtered water of cool boiled water before blending. Do not attempt to place the whole amount you want to liquidize at one time in the liquidizer as it be more difficult to blend. After several additions of chillies to the blender, voila! you now have your own cili boh.
Bottle them up in empty, dry and clean jam or spaghetti sauce jars. You can use plastic containers but they stain after some time. Store your cili boh in the refridgerator. Keeps best for 2 weeks. Do not prepare too much as it would not be too healthy to keep it too long, even in the fridge. If you want to preserve in longer put small packs in the freezer.
You can also make chilli paste from fresh red chillies. But if for some reason you cannot find fresh or dried chillies you would have to resort to using powdered chillies instead. You have to be careful when using chilli powder as it tends to be hotter as the seeds have been pulverized with the chillies.You therefore need to use very little of the powder when cooking.
To add bulk or volume to your gravy dish, you may add chopped onions or tomatoes when using chilli powder to make curries or sambal.
Anyway, a newbie cook like my son Afif, (who was never interested to be in the kitchen) would have to experiment and find out for himself how much chillies to use that suits him best.
The same applies to putting salt and sugar or tamarind/vinegar in the dish. Always start with a little and work yourself up.
When you have mastered how much to put it, then the aroma from your cooking will tell you whether it is delicious or too sour/salty/sweet.You then would not need to taste the food while cooking. Well....that will take a lot of experience to reach to that stage.
Meanwhile, one has to start somewhere.
Happy trying.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Empty Nest Soon
A lot has happened this year.Eldest daughter, Nurul started her national service in June. She was appointed to the post of Vector Control Officer by the Ministry of Health and she is now posted in Kuantan in the state of Pahang. She is now officially chasing mosquitoes, rats,and other disease-carrying agents.
Daughter, Zayye got betrothed on 8th of August and we are now busy preparing for her big day early next year.
Son, Afif has flown to Sheffield, UK, on 20th September to start his new life as a foreign student. He joins his brother as a foreign student only that Ikmal is in Bangalore, India pursuing his medical studies.
Youngest daughter, Zaty is busy preparing for her final South Australian Matriculation exams in November, 2009.She has obtained a conditional offer from the University of Newcastle, Australia but is hopeful that she gets another offer from the University of Adelaide to pursue her medical degree.
Once Zaty goes to Australia and Zayye is safely married, there would be only the two of us at home. I hope I would not suffer from the 'empty nest' syndrome.The nest has been empty off and on since the children started going to boarding schools, one after the other. However, I would look forward to trips to visit them. I would then take the opportunity to check on them and give tips on how to adapt and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle from young is the best way to stay healthy.By now, they should know that a well balanced diet is the way to go. I just hope that they would not be too lazy to prepare balanced meals and not just stick to easy to prepare fast frying foods which are bad for their health in the long term.
Remember that diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease take years to develope and once you hang on you, you cannot shake them off easily. Thus 'Prevention is better than cure'.
Zaty was worried that Afif would not be able to fend for himself on his own. So far, Afif has been referring to this blog to prepare his meals with a few adaptations.I wish Afif the best. I hope he prepares small portions for himself and not cook too much as per each recipe. You see, a cook needs to apportion and be able to calculate just enough ingredients so as not to cook too much. If cooking for one person, you need to divide the ingredients by 4, if the original recipe is for 4 persons. Or you can cook for 2, (dividing by 2) and keep in the freezer half of what you cook, to be eaten at a later time.
I hope Afif does not cook too much and end up with more weight than he could bear. Alternatively, Afif must join the gym or any sports club. As his flat is just across the road from his Engineering department, Afif would need to work out regularly to shed out the excess weight.
Daughter, Zayye got betrothed on 8th of August and we are now busy preparing for her big day early next year.
Son, Afif has flown to Sheffield, UK, on 20th September to start his new life as a foreign student. He joins his brother as a foreign student only that Ikmal is in Bangalore, India pursuing his medical studies.
Youngest daughter, Zaty is busy preparing for her final South Australian Matriculation exams in November, 2009.She has obtained a conditional offer from the University of Newcastle, Australia but is hopeful that she gets another offer from the University of Adelaide to pursue her medical degree.
Once Zaty goes to Australia and Zayye is safely married, there would be only the two of us at home. I hope I would not suffer from the 'empty nest' syndrome.The nest has been empty off and on since the children started going to boarding schools, one after the other. However, I would look forward to trips to visit them. I would then take the opportunity to check on them and give tips on how to adapt and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle from young is the best way to stay healthy.By now, they should know that a well balanced diet is the way to go. I just hope that they would not be too lazy to prepare balanced meals and not just stick to easy to prepare fast frying foods which are bad for their health in the long term.
Remember that diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease take years to develope and once you hang on you, you cannot shake them off easily. Thus 'Prevention is better than cure'.
Zaty was worried that Afif would not be able to fend for himself on his own. So far, Afif has been referring to this blog to prepare his meals with a few adaptations.I wish Afif the best. I hope he prepares small portions for himself and not cook too much as per each recipe. You see, a cook needs to apportion and be able to calculate just enough ingredients so as not to cook too much. If cooking for one person, you need to divide the ingredients by 4, if the original recipe is for 4 persons. Or you can cook for 2, (dividing by 2) and keep in the freezer half of what you cook, to be eaten at a later time.
I hope Afif does not cook too much and end up with more weight than he could bear. Alternatively, Afif must join the gym or any sports club. As his flat is just across the road from his Engineering department, Afif would need to work out regularly to shed out the excess weight.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Pampering Yourself During Detox (3)
It is been a while since my last post.
I feel I have to complete the detox series before I continue with other topics.
At the end of the last post, I mentioned that having massages, facials and practising rhythmic breathing are 3 more ways to pamper yourself and blow the stress away. Having someone massage your body is a heavenly and relaxing experience. It is to be noted that even in hard times, spas and beauty salons enjoy good patronage. Women must stay young and pretty!
Massage
A good massage kneads toxins away from the tissues and improves lymphatic drainage. It also calms nervous tension and stimulates optimum glandular function. Skin and muscle tone improve while less cellulite is seen. A good massage relieves muscle tension and improves immunity to disease. While there are different types of massage available such as Thai massage, Shiatsu massage, traditional Malay and Chinese massage and not forgetting the Swedish massage; self massaging can also be practised if you could not afford the professional massages. Self massage must be done on parts accessible to you and all strokes must be towards the heart so that blood is pushed naturally around the normal body flow and not against it. The next best thing is to get your partner or close friend to give you a massage. Cheap practical courses are available for those interested to learn the art of massage. Perhaps a short training goes a long way and is a good investment for your long term health.
Facials
Once you detox your body, you would notice that your facial complexion also improves. To help the skin improve further, you should consider having a facial treatment for extra relaxation. It could also boost your image as you would look years younger.
A visit to the beauty salon would include not only facial cleansing, toning and moisturising but having a mask over your face and a shoulder massage at the same time put all the stress away. Some salons also add a facial massage before the cleansing session.
You could also do a DIY facial at home when you are alone. Don't forget to switch off your hand phone and put the home phone off the hook! You could relax with the facial mask on while listening to slow relaxing music. Before getting into detox, you could first stock up your favorite cleanser, mask and moisturiser products. Or you could raid your kitchen with natural products such as honey, egg whites, natural yoghurt and oatmeal.
A facial sauna using a big bowl filled with boiling water as a hot bath is a good idea if your face is not too sensitive and you are neither pregnant nor asthmatic. Your can put a towel over your head and place your face over the hot bath for short periods of two minutes each. Close your eyes and breathe normally.The steam will open your pores and when your remove your face from the sauna, pat it with warm water. You may add 6 drops of mandarin essential oil and 2 tablespoons lavender tea to the water if you have normal skin. For oily skin, you could add 6 drops of rose essential oil and two tablespoons of chamomile tea to the water.
Deep breathing
Learning to breathe naturally and properly is a good way to heal during a detox period. In fact, breathing properly during exercise will result in better benefits compared to panting and irregular breathing patterns. You could also appreciate the fact that in traditional qigong, proper breathing techniques are taught to improve overall muscle tones and sustain good body functions.
Deep, rhythmic breathing improves the lung capacity and increases the oxygen flow into the blood vessels and sets the nervous system into a healing mode. On the other hand, shallow breathing could lead to a state of fright and nervous tension and this in turn would lead to deterioration of overall health.
Simple deep breathing can relax the mind and recharge your energy. I remember the lamaze breathing I learn during my first pregnancy. You have to consciously tell every part of your body to relax while closing your eyes at the same time. The breathing method I learnt put me through 5 pregnancies and during my elder son's birth, I was asked whether I was a nurse since I was timing my contractions in order to know when to breathe the right way.
I remember same the breathing technique was demonstrated during an episode of the 'Oprah' talk show. You can practise it this way; while sitting comfortably on a chair or lying flat on the floor. Place your hands on your tummy with your fingertips touching the tummy. Close your eyes and take a few breaths while you tell your mind to calm down.
Now, breathe in through your nose, very slowly to a count of four. As you inhale, push your tummy up and out.Hold your breath to a count of seven, then exhale gently through your mouth to a count of eight. Repeat this process up to ten times. If you do this regularly, you could reduce your blood pressure substantially. Nowadays, I normally practise this while waiting outside the doctor's clinic or before an important meeting. It works, believe me.
Well, this post wraps up the ways you could pamper yourself during detox. Wishing you a safe and happy detoxification.
I feel I have to complete the detox series before I continue with other topics.
At the end of the last post, I mentioned that having massages, facials and practising rhythmic breathing are 3 more ways to pamper yourself and blow the stress away. Having someone massage your body is a heavenly and relaxing experience. It is to be noted that even in hard times, spas and beauty salons enjoy good patronage. Women must stay young and pretty!
Massage
A good massage kneads toxins away from the tissues and improves lymphatic drainage. It also calms nervous tension and stimulates optimum glandular function. Skin and muscle tone improve while less cellulite is seen. A good massage relieves muscle tension and improves immunity to disease. While there are different types of massage available such as Thai massage, Shiatsu massage, traditional Malay and Chinese massage and not forgetting the Swedish massage; self massaging can also be practised if you could not afford the professional massages. Self massage must be done on parts accessible to you and all strokes must be towards the heart so that blood is pushed naturally around the normal body flow and not against it. The next best thing is to get your partner or close friend to give you a massage. Cheap practical courses are available for those interested to learn the art of massage. Perhaps a short training goes a long way and is a good investment for your long term health.
Facials
Once you detox your body, you would notice that your facial complexion also improves. To help the skin improve further, you should consider having a facial treatment for extra relaxation. It could also boost your image as you would look years younger.
A visit to the beauty salon would include not only facial cleansing, toning and moisturising but having a mask over your face and a shoulder massage at the same time put all the stress away. Some salons also add a facial massage before the cleansing session.
You could also do a DIY facial at home when you are alone. Don't forget to switch off your hand phone and put the home phone off the hook! You could relax with the facial mask on while listening to slow relaxing music. Before getting into detox, you could first stock up your favorite cleanser, mask and moisturiser products. Or you could raid your kitchen with natural products such as honey, egg whites, natural yoghurt and oatmeal.
A facial sauna using a big bowl filled with boiling water as a hot bath is a good idea if your face is not too sensitive and you are neither pregnant nor asthmatic. Your can put a towel over your head and place your face over the hot bath for short periods of two minutes each. Close your eyes and breathe normally.The steam will open your pores and when your remove your face from the sauna, pat it with warm water. You may add 6 drops of mandarin essential oil and 2 tablespoons lavender tea to the water if you have normal skin. For oily skin, you could add 6 drops of rose essential oil and two tablespoons of chamomile tea to the water.
Deep breathing
Learning to breathe naturally and properly is a good way to heal during a detox period. In fact, breathing properly during exercise will result in better benefits compared to panting and irregular breathing patterns. You could also appreciate the fact that in traditional qigong, proper breathing techniques are taught to improve overall muscle tones and sustain good body functions.
Deep, rhythmic breathing improves the lung capacity and increases the oxygen flow into the blood vessels and sets the nervous system into a healing mode. On the other hand, shallow breathing could lead to a state of fright and nervous tension and this in turn would lead to deterioration of overall health.
Simple deep breathing can relax the mind and recharge your energy. I remember the lamaze breathing I learn during my first pregnancy. You have to consciously tell every part of your body to relax while closing your eyes at the same time. The breathing method I learnt put me through 5 pregnancies and during my elder son's birth, I was asked whether I was a nurse since I was timing my contractions in order to know when to breathe the right way.
I remember same the breathing technique was demonstrated during an episode of the 'Oprah' talk show. You can practise it this way; while sitting comfortably on a chair or lying flat on the floor. Place your hands on your tummy with your fingertips touching the tummy. Close your eyes and take a few breaths while you tell your mind to calm down.
Now, breathe in through your nose, very slowly to a count of four. As you inhale, push your tummy up and out.Hold your breath to a count of seven, then exhale gently through your mouth to a count of eight. Repeat this process up to ten times. If you do this regularly, you could reduce your blood pressure substantially. Nowadays, I normally practise this while waiting outside the doctor's clinic or before an important meeting. It works, believe me.
Well, this post wraps up the ways you could pamper yourself during detox. Wishing you a safe and happy detoxification.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Pampering Yourself during Detox (2)
There are a few more things that you could indulge in while detoxing.
Reflexology is one of them. Reflexology is believed to stimulate our natural healing powers, neutralize toxins and energize the body. Reflexologists use a chart to show which area and points of the foot correspond to other parts of the body.
Poor eating habits, stress, illness and a lack of exercise put pressure on the feet and cause crystaline like lumps to be deposited. These lumps can be broken down by deep finger massage of the feet.
You can be your own reflexologist by using your fingers and thumb to massage your feet. I have done this myself and found that the pain in my knee goes off after regularly massaging the sole of my foot for a few days.
You can start your reflexology session after a bath or a shower or even a warm foot soak in disinfecting essential oil such as lime or lemon. Gently dry your feet, especially between the toes.
Start with the right foot and use your thumb to stroke a straight line along the outer edge of the foot. Press the thumb into the foot with each movement deep enough to release the tension within the foot. Then walk your thumb over the sole of your foot in rows.Then massage the left, middle amd right of each toe.
You may find certain parts especially the arch of the foot to be more tender than others. This parts would correlate to elimination organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs and bowel. Working continuously on the arch would help in removing wastes and toxins from the affected organs and improve your blood and lymphatic circulation. Using 2 drops of eucalyptus essential rubbed on your feet would greatly help. Any massage oil will do if you do not have the essential oil.
Finally after washing your hands, don't forget to drink a glass of warm water to draw out the toxins easily.
Body Massage, facials and deep rhythmic breathing are 3 more ways to pamper yourself during detox. This will be covered later.
Reflexology is one of them. Reflexology is believed to stimulate our natural healing powers, neutralize toxins and energize the body. Reflexologists use a chart to show which area and points of the foot correspond to other parts of the body.
Poor eating habits, stress, illness and a lack of exercise put pressure on the feet and cause crystaline like lumps to be deposited. These lumps can be broken down by deep finger massage of the feet.
You can be your own reflexologist by using your fingers and thumb to massage your feet. I have done this myself and found that the pain in my knee goes off after regularly massaging the sole of my foot for a few days.
You can start your reflexology session after a bath or a shower or even a warm foot soak in disinfecting essential oil such as lime or lemon. Gently dry your feet, especially between the toes.
Start with the right foot and use your thumb to stroke a straight line along the outer edge of the foot. Press the thumb into the foot with each movement deep enough to release the tension within the foot. Then walk your thumb over the sole of your foot in rows.Then massage the left, middle amd right of each toe.
You may find certain parts especially the arch of the foot to be more tender than others. This parts would correlate to elimination organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs and bowel. Working continuously on the arch would help in removing wastes and toxins from the affected organs and improve your blood and lymphatic circulation. Using 2 drops of eucalyptus essential rubbed on your feet would greatly help. Any massage oil will do if you do not have the essential oil.
Finally after washing your hands, don't forget to drink a glass of warm water to draw out the toxins easily.
Body Massage, facials and deep rhythmic breathing are 3 more ways to pamper yourself during detox. This will be covered later.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Pampering Yourself during Detox (1) Aromatherapy Continued
Some people believe that the aroma from essential oils can heal.
Please refer to 'Emotional Effects of Essential oils' at this link.
Pampering yourself during detox will relieve of stress that has built up and affected your physical and mental state. Stress causes toxins to build up too. Using aromatherapy can help you sleep better as it put you in a relaxed state of mind.
Essential oils used during detoxification can relieve stress and relax the mind.
Essential Oil and Its Use to Ease:
Bergamot: Reduces Aggression, disappointment, anxiety, stress, anger, depression
and fatigue
Cedarwood : Reduces fear, stress, helps calm the nerves
Chamomile : Calms the nerves, relieves tension, anger, anxiety, grief, hysteria and
impatience
Clary Sage : Relieves stress, tension and mild anxiety, fatigue, impatience, indecision
and panic
Eucalyptus : Relieves cold and flu and fatigue
Fennel : Good for digestion and relieves fear
Geranium : Calms the nerves, relieves anxiety, panic and tension
Grapefruit : Uplifts tired minds
Ginger : Warming and stimulating, relieves emotional fatigue
Juniper : Calming, relieves aggression and panic
Lavender : Relieves insomnia, tension and headaches
Lemon : Relieves cold symptoms
Lime : Refreshes
Mandarin Oranges: Diuretic with sedative properties
Myrrh : Anti-inflammatory properties
Orange : Relieves stress and tension, good for mental fatigue
Rose : Eases sadness, reduce disappointments and jealousy
Peppermint: Clears the mind, good for mental fatigue
Rosemary: Helps to focus, relieves mental fatigue
Sandalwood: Warming effect, stress relief
Tea Tree: Cleanses and refreshes
Ylang-ylang: Sedative, calm the nerves
In Malaysia, you may not find all the various types of essential oils.Some of the essential oils can be found at the Body Shop, Memory Lane, Lovely Lace, RM5 shops and certain kiosks outside hypermarket like Tesco.
Please refer to 'Emotional Effects of Essential oils' at this link.
Pampering yourself during detox will relieve of stress that has built up and affected your physical and mental state. Stress causes toxins to build up too. Using aromatherapy can help you sleep better as it put you in a relaxed state of mind.
Essential oils used during detoxification can relieve stress and relax the mind.
Essential Oil and Its Use to Ease:
Bergamot: Reduces Aggression, disappointment, anxiety, stress, anger, depression
and fatigue
Cedarwood : Reduces fear, stress, helps calm the nerves
Chamomile : Calms the nerves, relieves tension, anger, anxiety, grief, hysteria and
impatience
Clary Sage : Relieves stress, tension and mild anxiety, fatigue, impatience, indecision
and panic
Eucalyptus : Relieves cold and flu and fatigue
Fennel : Good for digestion and relieves fear
Geranium : Calms the nerves, relieves anxiety, panic and tension
Grapefruit : Uplifts tired minds
Ginger : Warming and stimulating, relieves emotional fatigue
Juniper : Calming, relieves aggression and panic
Lavender : Relieves insomnia, tension and headaches
Lemon : Relieves cold symptoms
Lime : Refreshes
Mandarin Oranges: Diuretic with sedative properties
Myrrh : Anti-inflammatory properties
Orange : Relieves stress and tension, good for mental fatigue
Rose : Eases sadness, reduce disappointments and jealousy
Peppermint: Clears the mind, good for mental fatigue
Rosemary: Helps to focus, relieves mental fatigue
Sandalwood: Warming effect, stress relief
Tea Tree: Cleanses and refreshes
Ylang-ylang: Sedative, calm the nerves
In Malaysia, you may not find all the various types of essential oils.Some of the essential oils can be found at the Body Shop, Memory Lane, Lovely Lace, RM5 shops and certain kiosks outside hypermarket like Tesco.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Pampering Yourself during Detox (1)
The detoxification period is a time when you pull yourself away from your daily routine and give yourself a break. Relax. You should detox with a mate or when the family is not around.In this way, your family or friends will not suffer from your foul moods and other side effects during the initial period. You may also not be lured to break your detox programme from external temptations.
While you are cleansing your internal systems with the right foods and juices, you could also cleanse your external body too.
Dry body brushing is a great technique to stimulate blood and lymph circulation. You could use a soft brush or a dry towel and brush all parts except sensitive areas to rid of dry and dead skin. You should start with your legs and move upwards. After brushing you should start to shower or you may want to take a warm bath with bath salts.The salts could be useful for healthy muscle function.
You cannot afford to soak in a warm bath if you have cuts or suffer from a skin condition.
Aromatherapy is another way to enjoy and help you detox. An oil burner containing essential oils is ideal to place in the bathroom while you soak in the tub.Fill the oil burner dish with water and add 5 drops of essential oil and within a short time, the aroma would spread throughout your bathroom.
You can also use the essential oil directly by dropping about 6 to 8 drops, one drop at a time, into the bath water.Don't add more. Don't worry if you can't smell, it is still working.
Your skin pores open while you enjoy your bath and will release toxins from your body and at the same time allow the essential oils to penetrate your skin.
Don't patronise saunas while on a detox as they may make you feel light headed.
More on aromatherapy in the next post.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Exercise and Detox
Are you allowed to undertake vigorous exercise while doing the detox?That is a good question. You may think that the sweat during exercise helps to get rid of the toxins faster? Well, think again.
During the initial period of detox, only gentle walking is allowed. For a 1 to 2 week detox program, you can take 2 gentle walks a week. You need a lot of rest during detox because you need to let your body restore and revive. The other forms of exercises that are recommended are tai chi, yoga and qi gong. Gentle exercise helps pump up the lymphatic system and remove wastes from the blood and body tissues. It also dissolves and eliminate crystalline acid deposits in the joints.
Effects of detox vary from person to person. Symptoms include:
The first 3 or 4 days is the most common time for reactions and withdrawal symptoms to surface. This is normal. You have to be persistent and carry on because this difficult period will not last. The effects of detox as stated above is a natural thing because the body is removing the toxins through all the available orifices; the skin, mouth, nose, eyes, ears and private parts. Don't give up but go on. Any unpleasant side effects will settle down.
Drink plenty of water and take frequent showers.
Once your body has sufficiently got rid of the toxins, you will find that you feel lighter and more alert. But a word of caution. If your encounter rashes or feel dizzy, suffer severe muscle pain or headache which is not normal, do see a doctor.You may need to tailor your detox more slowly over a longer period.
When your body is fully recharged and no longer suffer from the shock of detox, you can then start on more strenuous exercise.
During the initial period of detox, only gentle walking is allowed. For a 1 to 2 week detox program, you can take 2 gentle walks a week. You need a lot of rest during detox because you need to let your body restore and revive. The other forms of exercises that are recommended are tai chi, yoga and qi gong. Gentle exercise helps pump up the lymphatic system and remove wastes from the blood and body tissues. It also dissolves and eliminate crystalline acid deposits in the joints.
Effects of detox vary from person to person. Symptoms include:
- headaches
- lower back pain
- dry mouth
- coated tongue
- bad breath
- skin rashes
- nausea
- weakness
- fatigue
- abdominal gas
- palpitations
- mucous discharges
- irritability
- emotional upset
- joint and muscular aches and pains
- cold feet and hands
- vivid dreams and more.
The first 3 or 4 days is the most common time for reactions and withdrawal symptoms to surface. This is normal. You have to be persistent and carry on because this difficult period will not last. The effects of detox as stated above is a natural thing because the body is removing the toxins through all the available orifices; the skin, mouth, nose, eyes, ears and private parts. Don't give up but go on. Any unpleasant side effects will settle down.
Drink plenty of water and take frequent showers.
Once your body has sufficiently got rid of the toxins, you will find that you feel lighter and more alert. But a word of caution. If your encounter rashes or feel dizzy, suffer severe muscle pain or headache which is not normal, do see a doctor.You may need to tailor your detox more slowly over a longer period.
When your body is fully recharged and no longer suffer from the shock of detox, you can then start on more strenuous exercise.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Why Food has to have the right pH?
It is important to eat the right balance of food. pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Pure water is said to be neutral. The pH for pure water at 25 °C (77 °F) is close to 7.0. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are said to be basic or alkaline.
Well, that is Chemistry we learnt in school. It can be applied in the kitchen too. To keep the body healthy, the cells and tissues needs to be maintained at normal levels. Normal levels are slightly alkaline.
Food that break down to acids are harmful as they attack tissues and damage cells.
To keep the pH levels balanced you need to take 70% alkali-forming and only 30% acid-forming foods.
Examples of alkali-forming foods are:
Exercise and deep breathing help keep the body in a normal pH state and makes you feel good.
I can vouch for the above because as a diabetic, I would feel great and alert when my sugar level is under control and feel sleepy, lethargic and lazy whenever my sugar levels are up .
Therefore, during the period of detox you are encouraged to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables as they can neutralize the acid in your blood.
Water is absolutely essential for healthy body function as it promotes chemical reactions, lubricate joints, and is a medium for the transport of nutrients. The function of all body systems especially the lymphatic, urinary, vascular and gastrointestinal system depend on water.
During detox, water is needed to wash out the toxins from the body. You need to drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water on normal days but during detox you may have to increase to 3 litres a day. To make the water taste better, you may add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Well, that is Chemistry we learnt in school. It can be applied in the kitchen too. To keep the body healthy, the cells and tissues needs to be maintained at normal levels. Normal levels are slightly alkaline.
Food that break down to acids are harmful as they attack tissues and damage cells.
To keep the pH levels balanced you need to take 70% alkali-forming and only 30% acid-forming foods.
Examples of alkali-forming foods are:
- fresh fruits -: citrus, melons, pineapple, mango, kiwi, papaya,
- fresh vegetables-: spinach,,celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, cauliflower,
- meats, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese
- bread, rice, oats, cereals, lentils, sugar, nuts
Exercise and deep breathing help keep the body in a normal pH state and makes you feel good.
I can vouch for the above because as a diabetic, I would feel great and alert when my sugar level is under control and feel sleepy, lethargic and lazy whenever my sugar levels are up .
Therefore, during the period of detox you are encouraged to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables as they can neutralize the acid in your blood.
Water is absolutely essential for healthy body function as it promotes chemical reactions, lubricate joints, and is a medium for the transport of nutrients. The function of all body systems especially the lymphatic, urinary, vascular and gastrointestinal system depend on water.
During detox, water is needed to wash out the toxins from the body. You need to drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water on normal days but during detox you may have to increase to 3 litres a day. To make the water taste better, you may add a squeeze of lemon juice.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Foods to Avoid During Detox
My previous post on 12th January, 2009 on preparing to detox had several hits lately. I am sorry for not continuing with the detox series as promised.
Please refer to the above post to refresh.
Now what the foods we should avoid during detoxification? The purpose of any detox program is to expel the toxins from your body systems. To do that, of course you should not add more toxins during the process or add anything that would prevent the detoxification from being smooth and up to expectations.
Foods containing toxins to avoid are as follows:
By now, you may be saying, 'There is nothing to eat during detox!'
Slow down. There are lots of things you can eat. It is just a matter of changing your palate.
Of course you can find healthier alternatives. Please refer to the earlier post on foods encouraged during detox.
Please refer to the above post to refresh.
Now what the foods we should avoid during detoxification? The purpose of any detox program is to expel the toxins from your body systems. To do that, of course you should not add more toxins during the process or add anything that would prevent the detoxification from being smooth and up to expectations.
Foods containing toxins to avoid are as follows:
- chemical preservatives
- colouring and dyes
- flavouring
- additives
- artificial sweeteners
- hydrogenated vegetable oils
- processed and refined foods such as hot dogs, burgers, shashimi, salami, etc. these foods contain too much food additives, enhancers and salts.
- Cut down on red meat, wheat and dairy products as thay may contain growth promoters, hormones and antibiotics. Meat is also a source of saturated fats
- Alcohol is a no no too during detox.
- Coffee
- Large doses of sugar and salt.
By now, you may be saying, 'There is nothing to eat during detox!'
Slow down. There are lots of things you can eat. It is just a matter of changing your palate.
Of course you can find healthier alternatives. Please refer to the earlier post on foods encouraged during detox.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Chilli Pickles
Chilli PicklesIt was easy.I first washed 5 Jalapeno peppers and about 10 green chilies and tossed them dry in a colander. I then covered the colander to prevent flies from hovering over them.
Next I boiled about a liter of water and added 1 cup of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. I let the solution cool before pouring it into 2 separate glass jars. Pickles should be made in glass or ceramic containers and not plastic ones as the latter may react with the acidic vinegar and later leach out into the container. This is bad for health.
After the pickle solution has cooled down, I added sliced green chillies in 1 jar and the whole jalapeno peppers in the other.
The pickles are ready to be eaten after 3 days in the fridge. With our regular sandwich breakfast and dinner nowadays, my self- made pickles last for 2 weeks.
It is not advisable to keep the pickles outside the fridge and it may ferment and turn bad. The pickles I made were less sweet than the local ones sold in the supermarkets.
Next I will try to pickle garlic, onions and maybe lime. Pickles will be great pick me up during the fasting month.
I may also try my Mum's pickle recipe which include precooked spices. This type of pickle is not only popular during the Muslim fasting month but is also served at Malay weddings. It is more complicated and requires a lot more expensive ingredients.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Building your own Subway
We managed to create our own Subway this week. No, it is not an underground tunnel to connect us to KLCC or a tunnel to smuggle in humans from Thailand or Indonesia.
After a few trips to the Subway restaurant which just opened near our home, we decided to save some money and make our own Subway sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches! Not underground tunnel crossings..
At first , we had to find the six inch bread and all the ingredients needed. After 4 hours and 2 supermarkets, we settled for a wholemeal bread from Carrefour. It was not a bit like the Subway bread but it will do. Finding the fresh vegetables for the salad was easy. Next we had to look for the zucchini and olive pickles. Found the olives at Jusco but no zucchini.
At Subway, there are 6 types of dressing available, so we hunted the supermarket aisles for mustard, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar and chilli sauce.
As for the meat filling, we were lucky to find that a few local chicken processing factories have come up with chicken luncheon meat that is not too salty and quite cheap too.
At home, Zaty assembled the ingredients and prepared the sandwich ala Subway. Our version of Subway sandwiches did not let us down.
The ingredients that we bought lasted for a whole week of healthy sandwiches. The same amount of money would have been enough for just one trip to the Subway restaurant.
We have also added tuna to our sandwich menu. Our next trip will be to the Cold Storage supermarket to look for authentic mustard sauce and salad dressings.
After a few trips to the Subway restaurant which just opened near our home, we decided to save some money and make our own Subway sandwiches. Yes, sandwiches! Not underground tunnel crossings..
At first , we had to find the six inch bread and all the ingredients needed. After 4 hours and 2 supermarkets, we settled for a wholemeal bread from Carrefour. It was not a bit like the Subway bread but it will do. Finding the fresh vegetables for the salad was easy. Next we had to look for the zucchini and olive pickles. Found the olives at Jusco but no zucchini.
At Subway, there are 6 types of dressing available, so we hunted the supermarket aisles for mustard, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar and chilli sauce.
As for the meat filling, we were lucky to find that a few local chicken processing factories have come up with chicken luncheon meat that is not too salty and quite cheap too.
At home, Zaty assembled the ingredients and prepared the sandwich ala Subway. Our version of Subway sandwiches did not let us down.
The ingredients that we bought lasted for a whole week of healthy sandwiches. The same amount of money would have been enough for just one trip to the Subway restaurant.
We have also added tuna to our sandwich menu. Our next trip will be to the Cold Storage supermarket to look for authentic mustard sauce and salad dressings.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Salted Egg and Peanut Porridge
Bubur Lambok is a Malay porridge. Today's porridge is based on a Chinese recipe.
Ingredients:
300 g rice
20 dried oysters, steep in water for 1 hour. Use other dried sea shells if not available
100 g skinned peanuts, pan roasted in 1 tablespoon sesame oil over gentle heat
1 chicken soup cube
2 salted eggs, hard boiled separately and remove skin
1 tablespoon ginger strips
salt and pepper to taste
water
spring onions, Chinese celery or cilantro, shredded
Method:
Bring to the boil the rice, stock cube, ginger and oysters with enough water for a consistency of a soft porridge.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with quartered boiled salted egg, peanuts and shredded vegetables.
Ingredients:
300 g rice
20 dried oysters, steep in water for 1 hour. Use other dried sea shells if not available
100 g skinned peanuts, pan roasted in 1 tablespoon sesame oil over gentle heat
1 chicken soup cube
2 salted eggs, hard boiled separately and remove skin
1 tablespoon ginger strips
salt and pepper to taste
water
spring onions, Chinese celery or cilantro, shredded
Method:
Bring to the boil the rice, stock cube, ginger and oysters with enough water for a consistency of a soft porridge.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with quartered boiled salted egg, peanuts and shredded vegetables.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Bubur Lambok
Bubur Lambok is now a national favorite in Malaysia especially during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Some mosques prepare the porridge every day in Ramadan and give it out to members of the congregation after every Asar prayers. In Kuala Lumpur, the bubur lambok at Masjid Kampong Baru is well known for the long queues to bring home its delicious porridge.
Actually, eating the bubur lambok or any porridge soothes the stomach after the day long abstinence from food. Beside being a balanced meal, the hot porridge rids the stomach of any gas that may have accumulated during the fasting hours.
Ingredients for bubur lambok:
1 1/2 cups rice
8 cups water
3-4 cups coconut milk
80g dried shrimps
2 cm ginger, sliced finely
150 g beef/chicken
100 g roasted peanuts
1/2 cup preserved radish (lobak masin) and/or 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 teaspoon white pepper
salt to taste
spring onion and Chinese celery (daun sup) for garnish
Method:
Dice the meat into small cubes, fry in oil and drain.
Chopped preserved radish or cut into small pieces. Wash and drain the dried shrimps.
Boil rice with water and when it is cooked, add ginger, dried shrimps, pepper, salt and coconut milk, stirring frequently. When the porridge thickens, add in the meat, peanuts and preserved radish and/or mixed vegetables. Stir for a few more minutes before serving hot with the sliced spring onions and Chinese celery garnishing.
Actually, eating the bubur lambok or any porridge soothes the stomach after the day long abstinence from food. Beside being a balanced meal, the hot porridge rids the stomach of any gas that may have accumulated during the fasting hours.
Ingredients for bubur lambok:
1 1/2 cups rice
8 cups water
3-4 cups coconut milk
80g dried shrimps
2 cm ginger, sliced finely
150 g beef/chicken
100 g roasted peanuts
1/2 cup preserved radish (lobak masin) and/or 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 teaspoon white pepper
salt to taste
spring onion and Chinese celery (daun sup) for garnish
Method:
Dice the meat into small cubes, fry in oil and drain.
Chopped preserved radish or cut into small pieces. Wash and drain the dried shrimps.
Boil rice with water and when it is cooked, add ginger, dried shrimps, pepper, salt and coconut milk, stirring frequently. When the porridge thickens, add in the meat, peanuts and preserved radish and/or mixed vegetables. Stir for a few more minutes before serving hot with the sliced spring onions and Chinese celery garnishing.
Fish and Vegetable Porridge
This fish and vegetable porridge is ideal for people who cannot take salted fish or dried shrimps due to health reasons.
It is also great for women on confinement after childbirth.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 'bawal putih' or white pomfret
2 cm ginger
1 teaspoon oil
1 small carrot
2 cabbage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks spring onions
Method:
Remove bones from fish. Slice fish meat and season with salt, pepper and oil. Dice carrot and cabbage. Slice ginger finely.
Boil rice in enough water to form a soft consistency. Normally, 10 times the volume of water compared to the rice is necessary.
When the water boils, slow down the heat. Add ginger strips. When the porridge is cooked, add carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the cabbage and fish and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve after garnishing with sliced spring onions.
It is also great for women on confinement after childbirth.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 'bawal putih' or white pomfret
2 cm ginger
1 teaspoon oil
1 small carrot
2 cabbage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks spring onions
Method:
Remove bones from fish. Slice fish meat and season with salt, pepper and oil. Dice carrot and cabbage. Slice ginger finely.
Boil rice in enough water to form a soft consistency. Normally, 10 times the volume of water compared to the rice is necessary.
When the water boils, slow down the heat. Add ginger strips. When the porridge is cooked, add carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the cabbage and fish and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve after garnishing with sliced spring onions.
Savoury Rice Porridge
I have another rice porridge recipe in my book. It is a simpler one that the one I posted before.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
200g chicken/meat
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 cm ginger
1/2 cup fried shrimps
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Salt to taste
Oil
Method:
Dice meat/chicken and boil in a little water. Cook rice with enough water to form a soft consistency.
Pound the shallots, garlic and ginger and fry in 2 tablespoon oil until fragrant. Set aside.
When the rice boils, add meat, the fried ingredients, dried shrimps and peppercorns. Add more water as necessary.
Garnish with fried sliced shallots, garlic, egg omelette strips, cashew nuts and spring onions. Eat the porridge while it is still hot.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
200g chicken/meat
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 cm ginger
1/2 cup fried shrimps
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Salt to taste
Oil
Method:
Dice meat/chicken and boil in a little water. Cook rice with enough water to form a soft consistency.
Pound the shallots, garlic and ginger and fry in 2 tablespoon oil until fragrant. Set aside.
When the rice boils, add meat, the fried ingredients, dried shrimps and peppercorns. Add more water as necessary.
Garnish with fried sliced shallots, garlic, egg omelette strips, cashew nuts and spring onions. Eat the porridge while it is still hot.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Rice Porridge
I am struggling to accustom myself with this new template for my blog.My daughter, Zaty changed her blog layout and changed mine too.
Still on the subject of balanced meals in one pot, apart from soups, porridge seems an ideal choice.
It is easy to prepare and packs a lot of nutrients if you mix all the components of the food pyramid.
Porridges are also suitable for babies and elderly folks as well as people recovering from a surgery or an illness. People on a diet also love porridge.
Porridge is great on cold winter or cool rainy days.
To make a 'lean' porridge, meaning less fat, you can add a lot of liquid and vegetables and reduce the simple carbohydrate as in rice. A porridge without cream or coconut milk and added with lean meat makes good food for people on a slimming diet.
Simple Rice Porridge:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
150 ml (use a yogurt cup) rice, washed and drained.(For dieters, you can use red or brown rice. If you do, you should use about half a yogurt cup of brown or red rice only)
2.5 l water
2 pieces of chicken, with skin removed and microwaved/boiled/steamed and cut into strips
Alternatively, dice 100g of lean meat
1/2 carrot, diced
1 stick celery, cut in 1 cm lengths
spring onion and Chinese celery, chopped
(You can use mixed frozen vegetables if you run out of fresh ones or you can also opt to use other vegetables like mushrooms, cauliflower, mustard leaves or broccoli and beans)
1 cube Knorr soup base
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Use a 3 litre deep pot and add in the water. (I always use filtered water).Pour in the rice and cook over medium heat till the water boils. Add in the meat or chicken and cook till they are tender. You can add more water if you prefer a more watery porridge.
Add in the vegetables and the seasoning.
The porridge is delicious when eaten hot with fried shallots, fried anchovies and toasted groundnuts. You can prepare these separately and keep them in airtight containers, ready when you want to use them. (But if you are on a diet, you may skip the fried ingredients)
Alternatively, the porridge also tastes great if added with sprinklings of fried salted fish (ikan kurau, talang or gelama) and pickled green chillies.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Making Tomato and Chilli Sauces
Nowadays, I find that chillies and tomatoes can be quite cheap.Because they come cheap , you tend to buy a lot and this can be quite wasteful as they don't last.I normally pick the greenish ones if I want them to last longer and pick the red ones if I want to use them immediately.
To save the tomatoes and chillies from going bad you can puree them and make sauces out of them. The sauce can be eaten with barbecued meat or fried fish or added to curries.
Below are two recipes. One is for making tomato sauce based on a Western recipe while the other is a Malaysian chilli sauce recipe.
TOMATO SAUCE:
Ingredients:
(makes about 300 ml sauce)
- 10 ml olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 450g tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped. ( To make skinning the tomatoes easier, you may blanch it in hot water before removing the skin).
- 15-30 ml tomato puree
- 5 ml soya sauce with a little water
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 10 teaspoon fresh oregano or basil
- black pepper
- a little salt
Method:
Heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic over a very low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir continuously. Add a little water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. If you want a smooth sauce, puree the cooled mixture in a food processor or liquidizer. Season with black pepper.
SWEET CHIILI SAUCE
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoon cooking oil
- 150 ml vinegar
- 500 g fresh seeded red chillies.
- 5 ripe red tomatoes
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bulb garlic, crushed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan, add the garlic, chillies and tomatoes. Add the vinegar, tomato paste and bring to the boil, add salt and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.Put a lid on the pan remove from heat and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Put this mix in a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, and bring the mix to the boil and then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes before cooling and storing in clean jars.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Summer Soup
The western soups uses the liquidizer to blend and grind the vegetables to a smooth and creamy texture.
The summer soup is actually a cold soup for hot summer days.It is also relevant to the eternally hot weather in Malaysia.
Soups are also great for older folks and babies who cannot chew well due to missing teeth.
Ingredients for Summer Soup for 4:
10 ml sunflower oil
3 spring onions, chopped
1 round lettuce, shredded
100g Chinese leaves
150ml skimmed milk
300ml yogurt
8 cardamom seeds, crushed
a little lemon juice
salt
black pepper
Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the spring onions for 3 minutes. Add the lettuce and Chinese leaves, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a liquidizer and add the milk and yogurt. Liquidize until smooth. Mix in the cardamom seeds and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Chill thoroughly before serving.
Skip the cardamom seeds and lemon juice if you don't fancy them.
You can dip the soup with bread or buns.
The summer soup is actually a cold soup for hot summer days.It is also relevant to the eternally hot weather in Malaysia.
Soups are also great for older folks and babies who cannot chew well due to missing teeth.
Ingredients for Summer Soup for 4:
10 ml sunflower oil
3 spring onions, chopped
1 round lettuce, shredded
100g Chinese leaves
150ml skimmed milk
300ml yogurt
8 cardamom seeds, crushed
a little lemon juice
salt
black pepper
Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the spring onions for 3 minutes. Add the lettuce and Chinese leaves, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a liquidizer and add the milk and yogurt. Liquidize until smooth. Mix in the cardamom seeds and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Chill thoroughly before serving.
Skip the cardamom seeds and lemon juice if you don't fancy them.
You can dip the soup with bread or buns.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Making Soups-the Easy Way
The fish balls and their cousins just out of the freezer
The powdered soup you can use as a base for lazy days or when you are too busy.
The Campbell mushroom soup powder is added to boiling water, before adding frozen mixed vegetables, bean curd, fish balls and the like and allowed to continue to boil until everything is cooked.
My friend Norma asked for some soup recipes to help her watch her weight. Not to worry, Norma. I was going to do that anyway for the benefit of the days when we find that we do not have much time for cooking, either that we are too tired after a hard day, or simply do not feel like cooking a grand meal.
A simple soup would be the clear soup I make when the children were at school. During the schooling days, after sending and fetching them from school and doing errands like settling home bills then, I would not have much time to cook in time for the their afternoon religious classes.
The clear soup can be prepared as follows:
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1 large onion or 3 shallots, sliced
2cm ginger, mashed
Spices used:
2 cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 star anise, 3 cm cinnamon stick
3 teaspoon soup powder, if preferred (normally they come in 250 or 50g packets. Brands like Adabi or Mak Siti )
1 cube Knorr chicken soup base (I use Knorr because it does not have MSG)
a little cooking oil
small pieces of chicken meat or beef
bean curd, quartered, if preferred
2 potatoes, skinned and quartered
whatever vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, greens, peas, beans, cut into bite sizes (not sprouts though).
Method:
Saute the garlic, onion and ginger in a little oil. When fragrant, add the spices and continue for 1-2 minutes. Pour in about 1 liter of cold filtered water. Heat the water before adding the powdered soup powder. The soup powder need not be added if you want a really clear soup. You can add the Knorr soup base instead.
As the soup cooks you may add the meat or chicken pieces, and potatoes first before the rest of the vegetables. I would suggest you add in the longer cooking vegetables, like carrots, beans in first before the fast cooking once like greens and cauliflower.
If you like soya bean curd, you may also add it to your soup as it would provide additional protein to the meal.
Add in a little salt after you have tasted the soup as the Knorr soup base already has some salt in it.
Voila! you now have a pot of nutritious soup. Note that since I love vegetables, you may find more solids than liquids in the my soup recipe. You can add more water(and salt) if it is not enough.
Your soup is ready after all the vegetables are cooked. You don't need to cook the veggies for too long so as not too overcook them as well as kill off the vitamins.
For a more delicious flavour, you can add fried shallots, sliced Chinese celery (daun sop) and spring onions ( daun bawang) to your soup.
For those who love something hot you can prepare Tom Yam soup instead, using the ready soup base available in the market. (See my posting on 27th January, 2009 for the Tom Yam recipe)
Another easy method to soups is to just throw 1 or 2 cubes of soup base into hot water as in preparing instant noodles and add in the vegetables or meat. If you like eggs, hardboil them first for a nicer presentation.
You can slurp your soup with plain boiled rice as they do in Kelantan or you can prepare the soup with only mustard leaves as vegetables and eat with rice vermicelli as in 'Bihun sup'. The bean sprouts are scalded separately for 'Bihun sup'.
As for mushroom soups, I think I have given the mushroom soup recipe in a previous post. You can also use the ready soup powder from Campbells or Vono to quickly prepare the mushroom soups. Hot mushroom soups are great when eaten with baguettes or bread. You can add real mushrooms, potatoes and frozen mixed vegetables to your soup for more nutrient-packed meal.
A simple soup would be the clear soup I make when the children were at school. During the schooling days, after sending and fetching them from school and doing errands like settling home bills then, I would not have much time to cook in time for the their afternoon religious classes.
The clear soup can be prepared as follows:
Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1 large onion or 3 shallots, sliced
2cm ginger, mashed
Spices used:
2 cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 star anise, 3 cm cinnamon stick
3 teaspoon soup powder, if preferred (normally they come in 250 or 50g packets. Brands like Adabi or Mak Siti )
1 cube Knorr chicken soup base (I use Knorr because it does not have MSG)
a little cooking oil
small pieces of chicken meat or beef
bean curd, quartered, if preferred
2 potatoes, skinned and quartered
whatever vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, greens, peas, beans, cut into bite sizes (not sprouts though).
Method:
Saute the garlic, onion and ginger in a little oil. When fragrant, add the spices and continue for 1-2 minutes. Pour in about 1 liter of cold filtered water. Heat the water before adding the powdered soup powder. The soup powder need not be added if you want a really clear soup. You can add the Knorr soup base instead.
As the soup cooks you may add the meat or chicken pieces, and potatoes first before the rest of the vegetables. I would suggest you add in the longer cooking vegetables, like carrots, beans in first before the fast cooking once like greens and cauliflower.
If you like soya bean curd, you may also add it to your soup as it would provide additional protein to the meal.
Add in a little salt after you have tasted the soup as the Knorr soup base already has some salt in it.
Voila! you now have a pot of nutritious soup. Note that since I love vegetables, you may find more solids than liquids in the my soup recipe. You can add more water(and salt) if it is not enough.
Your soup is ready after all the vegetables are cooked. You don't need to cook the veggies for too long so as not too overcook them as well as kill off the vitamins.
For a more delicious flavour, you can add fried shallots, sliced Chinese celery (daun sop) and spring onions ( daun bawang) to your soup.
For those who love something hot you can prepare Tom Yam soup instead, using the ready soup base available in the market. (See my posting on 27th January, 2009 for the Tom Yam recipe)
Another easy method to soups is to just throw 1 or 2 cubes of soup base into hot water as in preparing instant noodles and add in the vegetables or meat. If you like eggs, hardboil them first for a nicer presentation.
You can slurp your soup with plain boiled rice as they do in Kelantan or you can prepare the soup with only mustard leaves as vegetables and eat with rice vermicelli as in 'Bihun sup'. The bean sprouts are scalded separately for 'Bihun sup'.
As for mushroom soups, I think I have given the mushroom soup recipe in a previous post. You can also use the ready soup powder from Campbells or Vono to quickly prepare the mushroom soups. Hot mushroom soups are great when eaten with baguettes or bread. You can add real mushrooms, potatoes and frozen mixed vegetables to your soup for more nutrient-packed meal.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
And Soup makes a Complete Meal
Afif is going to be on his own soon in a foreign land and I am quite apprehensive if he would be able to survive on milk, cereals and bread alone. You see, Afif and the kitchen don't blend at all. When left on his own, he would rather add instant noodles to boiling water and eat that without any add-ons. Surely, this is allowed once in a while but certainly not to be developed as a routine habit. I hate to see Afif coming home after his overseas sojourn with more grey hair than grey matter in his cerebrum.
Soups are easy to prepare and as Afif loves them; he must learn to make them. Soups are an easy, complete and healthy meal solutions. If blended with all the right ingredients it can be nourishing too.
There are many good, healthy and nutritious reasons to go for that bowl of delicious soup.
Soups with vegetables are a source of vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. You can easily accomplish your daily vegetable requirement of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables by adding veggies to your soups.
Soups can be prepared in so many varieties that the actual nutrient would actually depend on the type of ingredients used. For example:
Soups are easy to prepare and as Afif loves them; he must learn to make them. Soups are an easy, complete and healthy meal solutions. If blended with all the right ingredients it can be nourishing too.
There are many good, healthy and nutritious reasons to go for that bowl of delicious soup.
Soups with vegetables are a source of vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. You can easily accomplish your daily vegetable requirement of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables by adding veggies to your soups.
Soups can be prepared in so many varieties that the actual nutrient would actually depend on the type of ingredients used. For example:
- The tomato in Tomato soup comes packed with a good source of vitamin A, Bs, C and the powerful antioxidant called lycopene. Lycopene is great for the prostate.
- Pumpkin soup is full of potassium and Vitamin A
- Sweetcorn & Potato soup and Minestrone soups are great sources of fibre
Warm soups are also a beneficial way to increase fluid intakes during the cold winter months when drinking cold water may not seem to be too appetizing.
The great thing about soups is that it not only boost your nutrients consumption but it blends perfectly with a balanced and healthy diet regime. A bowl of vegetable soup with beans, lentils or meat plus two slices of wholemeal bread or bun makes a complete meal.
A complete meal of soup saves on preparation time and when eaten, it is easy to digest. I am sure children love them as they normally are not too hot. For lazy eaters or people on the move, a bowl of soup means less time spent on the dining table and more time for their other favorite activities.
So folks, get your slow cookers and stew pots out and start making nutritious soups for your family.
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