Mix and strain to obtain tamarind juice:
2 tablespoon size tamarind paste, add more tamarind juice if it is not sour to your taste.You may also add a piece of tamarind skin(asam keping)
500 ml water
500g small mackerel(ikan kembong),cleaned, gutted and seasoned with a little salt and steamed or microwaved for a few minutes.
4 ladies fingers
1 tomato, cut into wedges
2 stalks lemongrass
2 sprigs polygonum leaves(daun kesum)
1 tbsp oil
Spices(grounded and combined)
6 shallots
3 cloves garlic
6 chillies, deseeded
2 thick slices galangal(lengkuas)
1 thumb size shrimp paste(belacan)
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
Seasoning
salt
1 tsp ikan bilis stock granules
Garnishing
1 tbsp finely sliced wild ginger or torch ginger flower buds(bunga kantan)
Put tamarind juice and lemon grass in a ceramic bowl and bring to the boil in the microwave oven.The bowl should be large enough so that the liquid does not spill over.You can cover the bowl loosely with a plastic cover while cooking.Add polygonum leaves and ground ingredients and cook again for a few minutes.
Add ladies fingers and tomato and cook for while before adding the fish and 1 tbsp of oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the fish is soaked with the gravy.
Stir in the seasoning, dish out to serve with a sprinkling of wild ginger buds as garnishing.You can also cook the wild ginger buds in the gravy if you prefer.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Microwave Cooking
Zaty only has the microwave oven in her apartment.The hotplate is not plugged meaning the landlord does not want the girls to be cooking on their own.Cooking could be a fire hazard if one is not careful.Or the landlord does not encourage excessive use of electricity.
After three weeks eating out, Zaty and her housemates are planning to cook.They have to plan their weekly budget well now that their sponsor has issued their scholarship for 6 months.I reminded Zaty that that should last 6 months and not 4 months or earlier.Staying on her own is a good practice for Zaty before she does likewise in a foreign land unlike her brothers who lived in a catered college environment where they need not worry what or where to eat for their next meal.
To cook with the microwave oven is easy.One has to learn to estimate the cooking time. It is easier if the microwave oven comes with a manual.Too long cooking time will make meat tough or bread hard as the microwave acts on the water molecules and dries the food.
The shortcut for Zaty to make dishes to accompany rice is to buy the sauces at the hypermarkets near her apartment or come home and make them, freeze and microwave when needed.The sauces can be added to steamed or microwaved fish, chicken, squids, prawns or meat.
Cooking vegetables would be easy too if you add a little stock to the cut vegetables.
You can use Maggi or Knorr cubes for stock.
The sauces you can buy or prepare before hand are:
Black Pepper Sauce
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Plum Sauce
Sambal Sauce
Asam Pedas ( Hot and Sour Sauce)and
Curry
Below is a simple recipe using asam pedas sauce bought at the supermarket.
Ingredients:
1 packet asam pedas
2 or 3 small fish (Kembong, bawal or selar.I am not suggesting the more expensive fish because it may be out of a student's budget). (You can get the fish gutted at the supermarket now)Clean and slit the fish on each side and season with a little salt.
3 or 4 okra or ladies fingers, cut into 2
1 onion cut into 4
Place the okra and onion in a microwave bowl or dish.You can use a ceramic bowl instead of the plastic microwave as the plastic will absorb colour with repeated use.Add the ready-made sauce.Microwave for a few minutes till the okra is half-cooked.Add the fish and cook for a few more minutes till the fish is cooked.
(Different ovens will cook at different rates depending on whether it is cooked at high or low.I prefer cooking at low.)
You can use the same technique for curries and other sauces.
After three weeks eating out, Zaty and her housemates are planning to cook.They have to plan their weekly budget well now that their sponsor has issued their scholarship for 6 months.I reminded Zaty that that should last 6 months and not 4 months or earlier.Staying on her own is a good practice for Zaty before she does likewise in a foreign land unlike her brothers who lived in a catered college environment where they need not worry what or where to eat for their next meal.
To cook with the microwave oven is easy.One has to learn to estimate the cooking time. It is easier if the microwave oven comes with a manual.Too long cooking time will make meat tough or bread hard as the microwave acts on the water molecules and dries the food.
The shortcut for Zaty to make dishes to accompany rice is to buy the sauces at the hypermarkets near her apartment or come home and make them, freeze and microwave when needed.The sauces can be added to steamed or microwaved fish, chicken, squids, prawns or meat.
Cooking vegetables would be easy too if you add a little stock to the cut vegetables.
You can use Maggi or Knorr cubes for stock.
The sauces you can buy or prepare before hand are:
Black Pepper Sauce
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Plum Sauce
Sambal Sauce
Asam Pedas ( Hot and Sour Sauce)and
Curry
Below is a simple recipe using asam pedas sauce bought at the supermarket.
Ingredients:
1 packet asam pedas
2 or 3 small fish (Kembong, bawal or selar.I am not suggesting the more expensive fish because it may be out of a student's budget). (You can get the fish gutted at the supermarket now)Clean and slit the fish on each side and season with a little salt.
3 or 4 okra or ladies fingers, cut into 2
1 onion cut into 4
Place the okra and onion in a microwave bowl or dish.You can use a ceramic bowl instead of the plastic microwave as the plastic will absorb colour with repeated use.Add the ready-made sauce.Microwave for a few minutes till the okra is half-cooked.Add the fish and cook for a few more minutes till the fish is cooked.
(Different ovens will cook at different rates depending on whether it is cooked at high or low.I prefer cooking at low.)
You can use the same technique for curries and other sauces.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Food Warnings
I feel compelled to quote and archive the following news article I read recently.
Plans were outlined in the Cabinet Office report detailing the UK's food strategy for the 21st century. The report, backed by Premier Gordon Brown, outlines far-reaching plans to improve the nation's diet. The document examines rising obesity rates, spiralling prices and the problem of millions of tons of good food going to waste.
Restaurants in the UK face demands to change their menus and put health warnings on meals in the hope of improving the national diet.
Firms may also have to identify the 'carbon footprint' of their dishes, possibly listing those items that are airfreighted to Britain.
Diners could soon find more interesting information on menus......
Fast food outlets, curry houses, kebab shops and even Michelin-starred restaurants will be given guidelines on how to deliver healthy food.
They will be required to list the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar included in items on the menu. Britain could follow New York which has brought in laws requiring chain restaurants to list the calorific value of their dishes.
Restaurants may even be asked to follow the 'traffic light' system of red, amber and green logos on dishes, which is seen on many supermarket ready-meals.
The Cabinet Office report recommends that the food served by public bodies, from prisons to Army barracks and hospitals, should meet minimum nutrition standards.
It says the Food Standards Agency will be expected to ensure restaurants deliver healthier dishes.
Recent studies have warned that single take-away meals such as curries or Chinese dishes can include more saturated fat than an adult should eat in an entire day.
Similarly, the sandwiches and cappuccinos served in High Street sandwich chains can contain huge amounts of fat and sugar.
Changes in eating patterns would bring huge health gains here in the UK as it would reduce health costs due to poor dietary habits.It also hopes to reduce the incidence of lifestyle and food related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension
It is well accepted that the economic burdens of diet-related ill health are huge - £6billion in additional NHS costs alone each year.
The hotels and restaurants will not like it if the government were to impose such regulations.In Malaysia,that would increase the prices of dining out and could put many food handlers out of business.
That brings us to the question of choice. Before anybody add more regulations to our favorite national pastime of eating around the clock, we have to decide whether we want to live a longer healthier life or we prefer to continue living your life in oblivious indulgence?
Plans were outlined in the Cabinet Office report detailing the UK's food strategy for the 21st century. The report, backed by Premier Gordon Brown, outlines far-reaching plans to improve the nation's diet. The document examines rising obesity rates, spiralling prices and the problem of millions of tons of good food going to waste.
Restaurants in the UK face demands to change their menus and put health warnings on meals in the hope of improving the national diet.
Firms may also have to identify the 'carbon footprint' of their dishes, possibly listing those items that are airfreighted to Britain.
Diners could soon find more interesting information on menus......
Fast food outlets, curry houses, kebab shops and even Michelin-starred restaurants will be given guidelines on how to deliver healthy food.
They will be required to list the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar included in items on the menu. Britain could follow New York which has brought in laws requiring chain restaurants to list the calorific value of their dishes.
Restaurants may even be asked to follow the 'traffic light' system of red, amber and green logos on dishes, which is seen on many supermarket ready-meals.
The Cabinet Office report recommends that the food served by public bodies, from prisons to Army barracks and hospitals, should meet minimum nutrition standards.
It says the Food Standards Agency will be expected to ensure restaurants deliver healthier dishes.
Recent studies have warned that single take-away meals such as curries or Chinese dishes can include more saturated fat than an adult should eat in an entire day.
Similarly, the sandwiches and cappuccinos served in High Street sandwich chains can contain huge amounts of fat and sugar.
Changes in eating patterns would bring huge health gains here in the UK as it would reduce health costs due to poor dietary habits.It also hopes to reduce the incidence of lifestyle and food related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension
It is well accepted that the economic burdens of diet-related ill health are huge - £6billion in additional NHS costs alone each year.
The hotels and restaurants will not like it if the government were to impose such regulations.In Malaysia,that would increase the prices of dining out and could put many food handlers out of business.
That brings us to the question of choice. Before anybody add more regulations to our favorite national pastime of eating around the clock, we have to decide whether we want to live a longer healthier life or we prefer to continue living your life in oblivious indulgence?
BEEF STRIPS IN SOYA SAUCE ( DAGING MASAK KICAP)
Beef in soya sauce is a favorite among small children as it is not hot.It is easy to prepare and delicious too.
My Mum used to make delicious daging masak kicap.The children will eat the liver if you substitute the beef for liver. Normally, they won't touch it.I started taking cooked liver during my first pregnancy to increase my haemoglobin levels.It works wonders.In Malaysia you can eat cooked cockles or fried chicken liver cooked in sambal if you don't like beef liver.
To make the soya gravy you need the following:
600g lean beef cut into thin strips and mixed with the following grounded ingredients and juice of 1 lime.
Grounded:
1/2 tsp black pepper
1.5 cm cinnamon
2.5 cm ginger
5 pieces cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
Stir fried:
7 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic,sliced
2 large onions,sliced round
3 potatoes,sliced round and deep fried
3 red chillies,halved for garnishing
3 to 4 tablespoon sweet soya sauce
Cooking:
Lightly fry the shallots, garlic and onions.Add the marinated beef slices and cook gently.Add in soya sauce and add a bit of water.Cook until beef is tender and gravy is thick.Serve with chillies as garnishing and fried potatoes.
Some people add salt and sugar but that is not necessary as the soya sauce has sugar and salt in it.If you run out of spices, you can substitute with readily sold soup spices powder.( rempah sup).
My Mum used to make delicious daging masak kicap.The children will eat the liver if you substitute the beef for liver. Normally, they won't touch it.I started taking cooked liver during my first pregnancy to increase my haemoglobin levels.It works wonders.In Malaysia you can eat cooked cockles or fried chicken liver cooked in sambal if you don't like beef liver.
To make the soya gravy you need the following:
600g lean beef cut into thin strips and mixed with the following grounded ingredients and juice of 1 lime.
Grounded:
1/2 tsp black pepper
1.5 cm cinnamon
2.5 cm ginger
5 pieces cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
Stir fried:
7 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic,sliced
2 large onions,sliced round
3 potatoes,sliced round and deep fried
3 red chillies,halved for garnishing
3 to 4 tablespoon sweet soya sauce
Cooking:
Lightly fry the shallots, garlic and onions.Add the marinated beef slices and cook gently.Add in soya sauce and add a bit of water.Cook until beef is tender and gravy is thick.Serve with chillies as garnishing and fried potatoes.
Some people add salt and sugar but that is not necessary as the soya sauce has sugar and salt in it.If you run out of spices, you can substitute with readily sold soup spices powder.( rempah sup).
Monday, July 7, 2008
Kari Kapitan
Zaty has started her matriculation. I have lost my faithful assistant in the house. For the past six months Zaty has done the washing and ironed some of them, cooked dinner and maintained the bathrooms when necessary. What a relief to come home to the smell of fried fresh fish and dinner already cooked. Anyway the past 6 months must have been a good learning experience for Zaty.In her new apartment at College, there are two electric hotplates and a microwave oven.With the refrigerator to store the perishables and a hypermarket across her apartment, if she were not in Malaysia, she should be able to cook. But with the hectic schedule, I don't expect her to do so.
Since we all have to eat and my children needs some good recipe reference,I'd like to post the chicken curry recipe here based on the Nyonya recipes from Malacca.Nyonyas and Babas are the descendants of Peranakan people settling in the Straits Settlement ( Malacca, Penang and Singapore) who adopted the Malay culture in terms of food and dressing but not the religion.
Ingredients for Kari Kapitan:
4 pieces of chicken
Grounded(A) (B)
5 gm belacan (Shrimp Paste) 125 ml thin coconut milk
1 stalk lemon grass 250 ml thick coconut milk
6 candlenuts a dash of black pepper
3 cm young ginger salt
3 cm fresh turmeric root
3 cloves garlic
3 shallots
cooking oil
Heat the oil and fry A till fragrant.Add in the chicken Pour in the thin coconut milk and cook till chicken is tender.
Add in the thick coconut milk and stir till the mixture boils.Add in salt and black pepper.
If you prefer a spicier curry, add in grounded chillies in A.When the chicken is cooked you can also add in chopped torch ginger flowers ( Bunga Kantan. That would make your curry stand out from normal curries.
Since we all have to eat and my children needs some good recipe reference,I'd like to post the chicken curry recipe here based on the Nyonya recipes from Malacca.Nyonyas and Babas are the descendants of Peranakan people settling in the Straits Settlement ( Malacca, Penang and Singapore) who adopted the Malay culture in terms of food and dressing but not the religion.
Ingredients for Kari Kapitan:
4 pieces of chicken
Grounded(A) (B)
5 gm belacan (Shrimp Paste) 125 ml thin coconut milk
1 stalk lemon grass 250 ml thick coconut milk
6 candlenuts a dash of black pepper
3 cm young ginger salt
3 cm fresh turmeric root
3 cloves garlic
3 shallots
cooking oil
Heat the oil and fry A till fragrant.Add in the chicken Pour in the thin coconut milk and cook till chicken is tender.
Add in the thick coconut milk and stir till the mixture boils.Add in salt and black pepper.
If you prefer a spicier curry, add in grounded chillies in A.When the chicken is cooked you can also add in chopped torch ginger flowers ( Bunga Kantan. That would make your curry stand out from normal curries.
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