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Showing posts from June, 2020

Weird Nando's Imitation (Not) Spicy Yellow Rice

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Note: I winged the recipe. Came quite close to one. Even smelled the same. Ingredients Part A 1 part chicken keel or chicken breast 2 tsp of turmeric powder 1 tsp salt A pinch of dried basil leaves A pinch of dried mixed herbs Part B 1 pot white rice (around 1/2 cup) 1 pot short grain rice (around 1/2 cup) 2 cloves garlic 1 small red onion rose 1 thin slice ginger 2 tbsp yellow onion 2 tbsp yellow capsicum 1/2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp cooking oil 1 star anise 2 dried chili 2 bay leaves 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1 cube chicken stock, broken into pieces 2 pot water (or around 1 to 1 1/2 cup water) Steps: Part A 1. Slice chicken parts into thin, rectangular pieces. 2. Marinade chicken with all ingredients in Part A . Set aside. Part B 1. Wash all rice before cooking. Drain and set aside. 2. Pound small red onion, garlic, and ginger into a smooth paste. Set aside. 3. Finely dice yellow onion and yellow capsicum. Set aside. 4. Heat butter and oil in a rice cooker pot. Add in star anise to sa

Lazy Galbi-Jjim (Braised Beef Short Ribs or Beef Ribs Stew)

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Note 1 : This is a combination of recipe taken from < https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/galbi-jjim > and < https://www.koreanbapsang.com/galbijjim-korean-braised-beef-short/ >. Maangchi took a more traditional approach, while korean bapsang is more "modern" and "sweetened" approach. I like it savoury so I reduce the amount of sugar. Note 2 : Galbi in Korean refers to the beef short ribs, or literally "ribs". Jjim in Korean refers to stew; braised dishes which is cooked under low heat for a long period of time, resulting in tender meat and mostly evaporated gravy. Note 3 : I don't really use all beef short ribs because... well, pricey and no meat. I buy beef chuck bones and top it up with other beef meat parts. I bought Australian Frozen Beef Chuck Bones and Australian Chuck Tender Slice. Ingredients Part A 500gm beef chuck bones (can use short ribs) 300gm beef chuck slices 1.5-2L water 2 cloves garlic, smashed 1 inch ginger, smashed 1 tbsp go

Weird Ding Ding So Mien (Yes, Uyghur)

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Note 1:  Yes, this is Uyghur food. I am not entirely sure how to re-create the taste of Ding Ding So Mien from our favourite Tangritah Uyghur place in Adelaide < https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Halal-Restaurant/Tangritah-Uyghur-Restaurant-344234136317297/ >.  Note 2:  I adapted from Laghman + Dapanji recipe. Both noodles and gravy, recipes are from here < https://silkroadchef.com/2015/01/10/uyghur-style-laghman-noodles/>, <https://silkroadchef.com/2016/05/12/soman-uyghur-chopped-lagman-noodles/> and <https://silkroadchef.com/tag/dapanji/>. Ingredients: Noodles (So Mien) 1 cup flour 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup hot water Oil for sealing Gravy 3 cloves garlic 1 inch ginger 1/2 yellow onion 1 stalk spring onion 1/4 cup mushroom 1/2 tomato 1/4 cup capsicum 1 tbsp coriander leaves 1 star anise 3 dried chili 200 gm minced lamb or mutton 2-3 tbsp of light soy sauce 2 tbsp tomato paste 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tbsp sugar Water Chili Oil 1/2 cup coarse chili flakes

Weird Spaghetti Goreng (Actually Penne)

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Note 1: My apologies to all Italians. Please do not be offended. Most suburban, traditional Malay households in Malaysia call all pasta "spaghetti" regardless of shapes. We would be lucky if our parents from the 80's or 90's even knew spaghetti at all. Please note I am using Penne. Note 2: For those of you who did not know, "cili blend" is a staple household ingredients in most traditional Malay households. It starts with any "cili kering" (dried chili) that you cut roughly with scissors, and boiled in water until "kembang" (enlarges) and soft, then blended with a small amount of water. This is the key ingredients to a lot of Malay "sambal". Ingredients: 400gm penne* (at least 4/5 out of the packets) 2 bawang merah kecil rose 1/4 tbsp garlic 1/4 cup oil 1 pcs star anise 1/2 medium bawang merah besar 3 tbsp cili blend 1 can tomato puree** 1/2 cup pasta water 1 can tuna chunks*** Seasonings: 8 pcs of pitted black olives**** 2 tbsp

Lazy Raisin Butter Cake

Note 1: My mom has been hankering for the old-fashioned raisin cake. God knows what kind of cake, it is only her that remembered the taste. So, I scoured the internet and adapted from this recipe < https://bakingwithgranny.co.uk/recipe/sultana-cake/ >. Looks easy enough to follow. Note 2: My mom only likes margarine, especially of Pelangi brand. She hates milky flavour, so that is why our household did not use butter. Also, my mom did not grow up with milky butter. Note 3:  If using loaf cake mould, perhaps need to increase baking time to 40-45 minutes. Ingredients 1/4 cup black raisins 1 cup butter (or Pelangi margarine) 1 cup sugar 2 caps vanilla essence (or Star Brand) 5 eggs Grade B 1/2 tbsp baking powder 1/4 tbsp baking soda 2 cups flour (perhaps should try 1 1/2 cups flour) Steps 1. Preheat oven under 180-200C for 15-20 minutes. Grease the cake mould. 2. Soak black raisins in hot, boiled water for around 30 minutes. Strain to remove water. Set aside. 2. Cream butter and s

Lazy Chicken Kurma or Korma

Note 1: I have adapted from my usual Mom's recipe and < https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chicken-korma-recipe >. Quite lazy to make Kurma from scratch... Note 2: I do not usually add in sugar because my chicken kurma is usually accompanied with Sambal Belacan and Pajeri Nenas Kuning or Acar Mentah. They are usually quite vinegary and sweet, the perfect accompaniment to cut all those heaviness. If you want your kurma to be sweet though, feel free to do so. Part A 1 large red onion 1 tbsp garlic 1 tbsp ginger 3-4 pcs candlenuts (or buah keras) 2 tbsp of almonds flakes (or kepingan badam) Part B 1/4 cup cooking oil (or more if needed)] 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 3 cardamom pods (slightly crushed) 1/2 large red onion Part C 4++ tbsp kurma spices (or rempah Kurma Adabi) 7-8 pcs chicken (or around 1 kg chicken) 1 small box of coconut milk / cream (or 200ml of Santan Harmuni) 2 jugs of water (or around 2-3 L) 1/2 potato 1/4 carrot 1/2 purple brinjal 3 hard-boiled eggs 1 large

Weird Pajeri Nenas Kuning

Note 1: Found this dish when attending a friend's wedding in Sarawak. Needless to say, became my favourite version of "Pajeri" after that. Note 2: Not really sure what "Pajeri" means. I had only eaten 3 kinds of Pajeri in my life; Pajeri Nenas, Pajeri Nenas Kuning, and Pajeri Terung. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka defined Pajeri as such < http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/cari1?keyword=pajeri >. Note 3: Recipe is adapted from < http://embunrosaliza.blogspot.com/2014/11/pajeri-nenas-kuning.html >. Note 4: In case you do not know, "hiris mayang" calls for a vertical slice to the onion (pole-to-pole as they say it). < https://aht.seriouseats.com/2012/08/the-burger-lab-whats-the-best-way-to-slice-onions-for-burgers.html >.  "Julienne" or "hiris matchstick" calls for really fine string slice to the garlic and ginger. < https://www.finecooking.com/article/slicing-ginger-into-matchsticks#:~:text=Start%20by%20peeling%20the%20piece,slice

Weird Nasi Minyak @ Hujan Panas With Lauk

Note 1: Literal translation - nasi (rice), minyak (oil), hujan (rain), panas (hot or warm). It is termed "Nasi Minyak" because it is cooked using some kind oil or fat. The term for "Nasi Hujan Panas" came about from vision of food colourings put on Nasi Minyak, resembling a hot rain (I guess). Used to only be served during weddings. But now, people have enough money to serve it on ordinary days. Note 2: This recipe is majorly based on < https://norazlitaaziz.blogspot.com/2014/08/nasi-minyak.html >  Note 3: Writing down this recipe while listening to < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr6yFeDh2Pw > Note 4: Minyak sapi / ghee needs to be heated together with some other cooking oil because ghee burns easily (it is from clarified butter). They have lower burn point, which when exceeded, will taste extremely burnt and bitter. Note 5: Be careful when using food colouring. Around 4-5 drops max for the whole pot. 1. Nasi Minyak / Hujan Panas Part A: 3 cawan beras

Lazy Original Butter or Pound Cake

Note 1: Original recipe was based on Pound Cake, which means 1 pound butter, 1 pound sugar, 1 pound flour. I roughly translated that to be butter : sugar : flour : egg = 1:1:1:1 cup. Note 2: Never cream butter and sugar more than speed 2. Always use slow or medium speed when using a beater. Note 3: It is easier to beat egg to a stiff peak / until blooming using a manual balloon whisk, rather than using a hand mixer. Do not use a beater that has remaining butter mixture sticking to it. Clean it first. Note 4: Be careful not to over-beat the cake batter after adding flour because it can cause cake batter to be doughy (due to gluten formation; desirable in a bread, but not for a cake)   Ingredients: 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 caps vanilla essence 6 eggs 2 cups flour 1/2 tbsp baking powder 1/4 tbsp baking soda Optional (if making marble cake): 1 tbsp cocoa powder for every 2 scoops of cake batter Steps: 1. Preheat oven to 180-200C (depending on your oven) for 15-20 minutes. 2. Grease up th