Fish Curry

Roti canai with fish curry

When my cousin and her family visit from LA, it is almost a must that the Indian bread paratha or “roti canai” as it is called in Malaysia served with fish curry will be on the menu for breakfast or lunch. This may seem a little unusual to Westerners who are more used to their cereal and milk, or pancakes etc, but for Malaysians who are used to eating coconut rice with “ikan bilis sambal”, or curry noodles, or savory glutinous rice, this is just another normal breakfast.

FISH CURRY
Serves 6 - 8

1 pound white fish, cut into 2” pieces
3 shallots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1” ginger peeled and finely julienned
1 green chili, deseeded and sliced lengthwise
10 curry leaves
½ tbsp black mustard seeds
½ tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
4 – 6 tbsp fish curry powder
2 cups (about 20) okra/ladies fingers
1 Japanese eggplant, cut into 2” sticks
2 tomatoes, cut into about 6 wedges
1 tbsp tamarind seeds mixed with 1½ cup warm water, soaked and strained
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp oil

• Heat oil, fry shallots until lightly brown then add in the garlic, ginger, green chili, curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek; continue frying for 2 minutes.
• Add curry powder, stir for 30 seconds then add tamarind juice and salt. When this comes to a boil add in the eggplant cook for about 2 minutes then add in the okra and tomatoes, cook for another 2 minutes.
• Lastly add in the fish and coconut milk, cook for about 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Take A Can Of Tuna....

Take a can of tuna, add some chopped celery, minced shallot, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a dash of vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix it all up and you have a delicious lunch! Oh alright, I‘ll write out the actual recipe!

But you get the idea right? What could be easier than taking a can of tuna and making it into something very tasty and nutritious in all of 5 minutes? When I was expecting Little Miss M and hungry all the time canned tuna was a such a savior because I could use it to make tuna salad, add it to fried rice or just eat it out of the can! I’ve used it to make “serunding” which is a spicy Malay floss that goes well with bread or rice and I remember my mother would add it to pasta sauce which was another tasty use. So go ahead, take a can of tuna….

SIMPLE SKINNY TUNA SALAD
Serves 4

1 can tuna, drained
¼ cup chopped celery/green apple
1 tbsp finely minced shallot
2 – 3 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt
1 – 2 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
1 tsp vinegar (any type you like) or lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste

• Gently mix all ingredients together, taste and add more vegetables or seasoning as desired.
• Add other ingredients if desired: chopped pickles, chopped red chili, chopped hard-boiled egg etc
• Serve on bread, rolls, pita, crackers or just with salad greens

Not Just a Pretty Face

 

Still pretty but maybe this "pretty face" needs a bit of botox!

Pandan leaves

The rice layer waiting to be cooked

If you can't get a banana leaf to flatten the rice, 
just use a serving spoon with a clean produce bag over it

If you are a Malaysian living overseas, what do you do if you crave a Malaysian dish? Do you wait until your next trip back so you can satisfy your craving or do you look up the recipe online or in your Malaysian recipe books and just attempt the recipe? Because I live in the Bay area which has a large Southeast Asian population it is easy to get ingredients for Malaysian dishes. So for me when I crave something I have to add another factor which is having enough people to eat what I cook! With savory dishes like rendang, satay, fish curry etc. it’s not a problem because Keith enjoys these dishes, but when it comes to desserts like kueh talam, onde-onde, kueh ketayap etc he’s not a big fan and so I have to wait for a day when other Malaysians are around to enjoy the dish with me.

A couple of weeks back my cousin Stephanie and her family came to visit us for a few days and before she came I asked the usual question of what they wanted on the menu. She requested a dessert called kueh seri muka which means pretty face cake in Malay. This is a steamed cake made with sweet/glutinous rice at the bottom and topped with a custard made from eggs, sugar, flour coconut milk and pandan juice. Pandan juice is made from screwpine leaves or “pandan leaves” in Malay, blended with water. Pandan leaves are used extensively in Southeast Asian cooking both in desserts and also to add fragrance to rice and other dishes. The Thais make a wonderful dish with marinated chicken pieces wrapped in pandan leaves and then deep fried or grilled called Pandan Chicken.

You will absolutely need to get fresh or frozen pandan leaves for this recipe. You can get pandan essence in small bottles but it is just not the same as using the leaves. As you can see in the photo the custard turned out a little soft because of insufficient flour (I have corrected the recipe) but it was delicious all the same. Some recipes ask for the custard to be cooked for a few minutes on the stove to thicken it before being poured onto the rice layer and then some recipes just require you to pour the raw custard batter on the rice and steam it. I tried the first method this time and will probably try the second method the next time I make this.

Stephanie, our friend Ivan and even Stephanie’s kids all agreed that the kueh seri muka was absolutely delicious. Even Keith said it was “nice”.  I actually dare say that it was better than some of the Seri Muka that I have had in Malaysia!  So if you have a craving for kueh seri muka and if you can get fresh or frozen pandan leaves do try making it.


KUEH SERI MUKA
Serves 6 - 8

Rice Layer
1½ cups sweet (glutinous) rice
1 cup thin coconut milk
½ tsp salt
1 pandan leaf, cut into a few lengths

Custard Layer
2 large eggs
1 cup thick coconut milk
¾ cup (6 oz) white sugar
1 cup pandan juice (blend 10 pandan leaves with 1 cup water, strain)
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp corn starch
1/3 cup all purpose flour

To make the rice layer

• Wash rice in several changes of water until water runs clear. Cover with fresh water and soak for at least 3 hours. Rinse and drain rice.
• Place in shallow 10” cake tin. Mix the coconut milk and salt together and add this to the rice. Bury the pandan leaf pieces in the rice and steam over rapidly boiling water until rice is cooked, about 30 minutes.
• Remove pandan leaves and fluff rice up with a fork. Then, using a banana leave or a large spoon placed in a clean produce bag, press the rice down to form an even compact layer.

To make the custard layer

• In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, coconut milk and sugar, stirring with a balloon whisk or wooden spoon. Add the pandan juice, corn starch and plain flour. Stir well until smooth and free from lumps
• Strain mixture into a metal bowl and sit this bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir continuously until custard just begins to thicken-do not overcook. Pour this over the rice layer. Steam over very gentle heat until set, about 30 minutes. Avoid opening the steamer as this will only allow heat to escape and lengthen the cooking time.
• Allow cake to cool completely before cutting. Best eaten on day it is made as the rice hardens once refrigerated.

From Drab to Fab: Awesome Oatmeal Cookies

A stack of these + a hot cup of tea = heaven!

I like cookies but of course you can’t eat them all the time. But then again if they’re made with healthy stuff like oatmeal, dried fruit and cinnamon then that sort of cancels out all the unhealthy stuff like the butter, sugar and flour right? At least that’s my excuse for making these awesome oatmeal cookies whenever I have a hankering for cookies. What makes these oatmeal cookie awesome? The orange flavored dried cranberries (which I get from Trader Joe’s), white chocolate chips and the orange rind if you have some on hand, take what would be ordinary oatmeal cookies from drab to fab!

AWESOME OATMEAL COOKIES
Makes about 4 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated orange rind (optional)
1½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 cups Quaker Oats
1 cup orange flavored dried cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips

• Heat oven to 350°F
• Beat the butter with the brown and granulated sugars until creamy
• Add eggs and vanilla and the orange rind (if used), beat well
• In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, mix well
• Add combined flour mix to the wet batter, mix well
• Stir in oats, cranberries and chocolate chips
• Drop tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet
• Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown
• Cool, then remove to wire rack

Ribs To Die For!

BBQ ribs, corn bread and baked beans

I like to ask people this question, "If you were on death row waiting to be hanged what would be your last meal?" Ok so maybe the question is a little dramatic and I could just ask, "What is your most favorite meal?", but you have to admit that my death row question really makes a person think about their absolute, most favorite meal!

I would kill for really good BBQ ribs! Which I guess creates a paradox because I would be sent to death row where I would have BBQ ribs as my last meal! I just love the succulent, juicy, fall off the bone, sweet and spicy taste of really good BBQ ribs. Here's a recipe that I like to make especially in the summer. It is rubbed with a spice rub which has cocoa powder as an unusual ingredient, baked in the oven and then finished with BBQ sauce. People I have made this for have said it's good, and maybe even worth killing for!

BBQ Ribs

2 racks of St Louis style or baby back ribs. Trim excess fat, and remove the skin membrane on the inner side of the ribs so that the spice rub will penetrate.

Spice Rub for 2 racks of ribs:

3 tbsp ground fennel
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp celery seed
1 tbsp chili powder
½ tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup BBQ sauce

• Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil, and place a wire rack on top of each. Mix all ingredients together except the Dijon mustard. Spread the Dijon mustard on both sides of the ribs. Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of each rack of ribs. Press the spice mixture into the ribs to coat completely. Set aside in fridge for at least 2 hours for the flavors to penetrate.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Cook ribs on racks on sheets for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 275°F for another 2 – 2½ hours (until meat pulls away easily from the bones).
• Remove from oven and using a basting/pastry brush, smother the ribs with ½ the BBQ sauce. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove, brush with the remaining BBQ sauce and let it stand 10 minutes for juices to redistribute before serving.

Little Miss M's Kitchen

The finished kitchen
My drawing of the kitchen

I hate my kitchen counters. The kitchen cabinets are a little worn but they are made of solid oak and can be refinished. The kitchen counters on the other hand are ugly tiles with dirty looking dark grout. They can be seen in some of the photos of the food especially when I have hungry people waiting for their dinner and I have less than 10 seconds to take a photo of a dish!

So when Little Miss M started showing interest in play cooking or "masak-masak” in the Malay language which translated literally is "cook-cook", I jumped at the chance to design and build "my" dream kitchen! I started by deciding where it would go and then designing the size and features of the kitchen. We got some ideas from blogs and most of them utilized tables and knick knacks from Ikea. Building this kitchen got us quite creative and we had a lot of fun going to the home improvement store thinking about what we could use to build our own faucet with sink, microwave and fridge from things there. 

Because we used wood and paint that we already had, we only spent about $20 on plastic baskets from the Dollar store, the hinges, magnetic door latch that we used for the microwave and fridge and PVC piping for the faucet. The sink is a cooking pot that my friend Ivan had given to me (the flat handleless lid is used as a play pizza pan!)

We thought we could knock out the kitchen in a weekend or two but because of bad weather, in the end it took us about five weekends! Would we do it again? Hmmm, it was a lot of work and we could have bought a nice play kitchen for only about $150, but seeing our work and the fun that Little Miss M gets when she plays with it is priceless. Now if only I could convince Keith that our kitchen will be easier to renovate….

Not My Mother's Meatloaf

Ok maybe the title is a little deceptive because my mother never actually made meatloaf, but if she did chances are she would have made it the traditional way which is to cook it in a loaf/bread pan. When I first started making meatloaf that was how I cooked it too, but was quite unhappy with the results. The meatloaf tended to steam in it's juices and at times it would just fall apart when I tried to unmold it from the loaf pan. I got the idea to shape the meatloaf and cook it on a parchment paper covered baking sheet while watching "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" on The Food Network - I believe Bobby Flay lost that one to his opponents.

The other difference in my recipe is that I use a combination of equal parts ground beef and ground pork because I think this gives a much lighter meatloaf. Keith said it tasted really good like this than when made with just ground beef. It reminded him of meatballs or fresh-made sausage. I think using beef with any other meat such as ground chicken or turkey would also work just as well.

Meatloaf is a classic comfort food which can be delicious and satisfying when made well and this recipe is sure to produce a well flavored, juicy meatloaf that holds up well and will become a family favorite just as it has become ours.

MEATLOAF
Serves 4

¾ pounds ground beef
¾ pounds ground pork

½ large onion, finely chopped or grated

2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 carrot, finely chopped

½ cup sweet corn

1 egg

1½ cups fresh bread crumbs

½ tbsp parsley flakes
½ tbsp Italian seasoning
½ tbsp crushed bay leaves

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup Parmesan, grated (optional)

Sauce

1 cup ketchup

1½ tbsp beef/chicken bouillon powder

2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp dry mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• Preheat oven to 375°F
• Heat 1 tbsp oil, sauté onions, garlic, carrots and sweet corn about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl, combine ketchup, bouillon powder, Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Reserve 3 tbsp for top of meatloaf.
• In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, bread crumbs, sautéed vegetables, seasonings, egg, remaining sauce mixture, and optionally, Parmesan cheese.
• Mold the meat into a loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour remaining sauce over meat loaf to coat. Bake for 1¼ hour or until internal temperature is 165°F.
• Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.