And Fire Made It Good

Beef and chicken satay with peanut sauce (with a dollop of extra hot chili paste in the center), red onion slices, cucumber slices and cubes of compressed rice.

One of the most popular Malaysian dishes is Satay which is skewered grilled meat served with a peanut sauce (or kuah kacang in the Malay language), cucumber slices and red onion slices. Cubes of compressed rice or “nasi impit” is also usually served as it goes well with the peanut sauce. Other Asian countries have a similar style of cooking and I have had both the Indonesian and Thai versions, but I have to say that although the meat may have tasted alright, nothing compared to the Malaysian peanut sauce.

I made some chicken satay for our Christmas lunch at my cousin's place. Due to a miscommunication (understandable given that we were doing what Malaysians like to do which is to talk about all the food that we were going to have for that weekend) we didn't have quite enough skewers and so we ended up cutting the chicken and beef into slightly bigger pieces and threading about 7 pieces of meat on each skewer. I wouldn't recommend that because authentic Malaysian satay is thinly sliced meat and just 5 - 6 per skewer. Oh but don't get me wrong, it was delicious all the same!!

The next time we visit Malaysia I think I’ll actually get a proper satay grill to bring back, just hope the US Customs don’t stop me from bringing it in!


CHICKEN SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Makes 50 skewers and 8 cups sauce

4 pounds chicken thighs, cut into ¾” pieces
2 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp fennel
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp galangal powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 big red onion
2“ ginger
5 pips garlic
2 stalks lemongrass
2 tbsp peanut oil
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt

• Toast coriander, cumin and fennel separately in a pan until fragrant. Leave to cool then grind finely in spice/coffee grinder.
• Grind the onion, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass with the oil and about 1/4 cup of water.
• Marinade chicken in spice mixture, ground ingredients, sugar and salt for at least 2 hours or overnight
• Soak about 50 bamboo skewers for 15 minutes.
• Thread about 6 - 7 pieces of chicken on each skewer.
• Brush on some oil while grilling. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and meat develops a few char spots.
  

Peanut Sauce
Makes 8 cups

2 onions } grind finely with ¼ cup water
5 pips garlic }
2 stalks lemongrass }
1 tbsp chili powder }
2 cups skinned peanuts
1 tbsp tamarind soaked in ½ cup warm water (or 2 tbsp tamarind puree)
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1 cup oil

• Toast peanuts in dry hot wok for about 10 minutes, leave to cool then coarsely grind in a spice/coffee grinder
• Heat oil, sauté ground ingredients for about 30 minutes until the oil rises to the top, add 1 cup water.
• When boiling add in the tamarind juice, sugar, salt and ground peanuts. Add more water if necessary (sauce will thicken when cool). Adjust seasoning
• Serve chicken satay with peanut sauce, cucumber slices, red onion pieces and nasi impit

Happy Chinese New Year!

From top left: braised duck, steamed garlic prawns, stir fried sugar peas and sambal petai prawns

Steamed Garlic Prawns cooked in the microwave

I have always made a point to celebrate Chinese New Year, partly to celebrate the Chinese half of my heritage and I like the festivity, the food and the camaraderie shared with family and friends. Unfortunately Keith was going to be away at a convention that weekend and I was feeling kind of sad that it would be just Little Miss M and me.


But then a few days before Chinese New Year our friends Ivan and Gary called an invited us for lunch! Ivan is a good cook and I gladly accepted his invitation. For our meal he made: Teochew braised duck, sambal petai prawns, stir fried snap peas and steamed garlic prawns. The duck recipe he got off a Malaysian blog and the sampal petai prawns were cooked from prepared sambal mix from Malaysia, but the steamed garlic prawns which are cooked in the microwave was his own concoction. Everything was absolutely delicious and we had a really great start to the Chinese New Year.

IVAN’S STEAMED GARLIC PRAWNSServes 4

12 large prawns

4 - 6 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 stalk spring onion, finely chopped

• Clean the prawns by using a scissors to cut the head where the 'horn' begins (about half-way of the head) or remove them completely if you like.
• Slit the prawns lengthwise from the head to the tail, devein.
• Place in a microwave safe plate and stuff with the minced garlic.
• Sprinkle the wine, soy sauce and sesame oil evenly over the prawns, cover with plastic wrap (eg. Saran or Glad wrap) and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Leave aside for a minute and then sprinkle the chopped spring onions and serve.

Minced Pork with Edamame

Little Miss M's favorite 'baby', MoMo the mouse loves this dish too!

Although the grocery store is just 1 1/2 miles away from our house there are days when we're out of fresh food and I'm just too busy to make a trip to get groceries. Something I always turn to when this happens or when I'm too lazy to think of what to cook is the following dish. I am not ashamed to say that our freezer has NEVER not had bacon! I also stock up on edamame (shelled or whole in the pod) and at least a pound of minced pork.

You can also add fresh or reconstituted dried Shiitake mushrooms to the dish which I would if Keith didn't hate mushrooms so much. The minced pork is very good on noodles with some blanched bean sprouts and 'choy sum' (Chinese mustard greens). Both Keith and Little Miss M like this dish very much and served with brown rice and a green vegetable I think it provides a balanced meal.

MINCED PORK WITH EDAMAME
Serves 4

2 cloves garlic finely minced, or use 2 stalks of green onions, thinly sliced
1 pound minced pork
2 rashes bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
½ tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sesame seed oil
a dash of white pepper
½ cup water (or more, for more sauce)
½ cup shelled edamame beans

1 cup sliced fresh or reconstituted dried Shiitake mushrooms (optional)

• Cook the bacon until crispy, set aside.
• Remove all but ½ tbsp bacon fat, fry the garlic or scallions for 1 minute.
• Add in the minced pork and fry until browned, breaking up the meat into small pieces. Add all the other ingredients except the edamame. If you are using mushrooms, add in now.
• Cover and cook for about 10 minutes then check the seasoning.
• Add in the edamame and cook for 3 minutes.

Saucy Seduction

A very popular dish in the States, or maybe just where we live is Orange Chicken which is battered deep fried pieces of chicken coated in an orange sauce. You can even buy packaged orange chicken in the freezer aisle or just the bottled sauce which I admit I sometimes use (although I do freshen mine with freshly squeezed orange juice and some finely shredded orange rind).

Orange Chicken is ubiquitous not only to Chinese restaurants here, but apparently has even found it's way to my niece's school cafeteria! This information came up while we were having dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in LA where one of the dishes we ordered was, yes, Orange Chicken. In Malaysia Lemon Chicken is the common dish where typically a whole thigh and drumstick would be deboned, coated in seasoned batter and deep fried. The cut up chicken is then served on the sauce which keeps the chicken crispy.

There are two ways to prepare the chicken for orange chicken. The first is to marinate it, mix in one egg, then to coat with corn starch and deep fry. The second method which is healthier, and is the recipe here, is to marinate it and then pan fry the chicken. I have to admit the deep frying gives the chicken a delicious crunchy texture and is the method that orange chicken is usually made in the restaurants. So if you're thinking of indulging that would be the way to go.

ORANGE CHICKEN
Serves 4

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast or thighs
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of white and black pepper

Orange Sauce
Makes 1/2 cup sauce

1 (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• Cut the chicken into 1" cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken, mix well. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, fry the chicken until cooked and evenly browned. Pour over 1/4 cup sauce, mix well.
• To make the sauce, place the orange juice concentrate, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes into a small saucepan, stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the mixture to about 1/2 cup, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.

Let Them Eat Cake!

The finished cake

Just four ingredients

The first cake layer sitting on the pieces of parchment paper.

The iced cake before the pieces of parchment paper were pulled out.

All that was left that night - not much!

Keith’s birthday was a few days ago and I made a butter cake from a box mix. My preferred brand is Duncan Hines and they also make really good brownie mixes.

Yes you could make a cake from scratch but why bother when there are delicious box mixes which are so easy to make. The frostings however, I made from scratch: cream cheese frosting for the middle and a plain buttercream to ice the whole cake. The end result was that the two of us plus the four friends who were at dinner almost polished off the whole cake! Everyone had at least two slices and one of our friends actually had seven slices, albeit some of the slices were really thin. I think he would have liked to finish it off but maybe out of politeness though it better to leave at least a little something on the cake stand! Both frostings were delicious, but I think the next time I would just make it all cream cheese frosting.

In one of the pictures you see how I kept the cake plate frosting free. I saw this on TV when the 'Barefoot Contessa' Ina Garten was frosting a coffee cake she was making for a friend (she always seems to be cooking for her friends on that show!) Cut parchment paper into about six strips of approximately 3" x 6" and place under the cake. Ice the cake and then when done, carefully remove the pieces of paper leaving a clean cake plate.

So here’s the recipe for cream cheese frosting which would be excellent on carrot cake or on cupcakes. The amount to ice a round 9 inch cake is given and then in parenthesis [] is the amount if you are making just enough as filling.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
For one 9” round cake

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened [4 ounces]
½ cup butter, softened [2 ounces]
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar [1/2 cup]
1 tsp vanilla extract [1/4 tsp]
4 tbsp milk [1 tbsp]

• In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Mix in the milk until desired consistency is reached.

Mak Cik's Vegetable Acar

My aunt (or Mak Cik in Malay) is well known for her Vegetable Acar (pronounced 'ut-char') which is pickled vegetables in a spicy, vinegary and sweet base. I like to eat it as a side dish when I eat plain chicken or beef ramen or sometimes just on it's own as a snack! Unlike the Korean Kimchi, this is not as pungent as it does not use garlic. Without the addition of the peanuts, the acar can actually last refridgerated for about 6 months (or about 1 week with the peanuts).

MAK CIK’S VEGETABLE ACAR
Makes about 8 – 10 20-oz jars

2 pounds (about 4-5) carrots, peeled and cut into 2”x1/8” sticks
3 pounds (about 6-7) pickling cucumbers, deseeded and cut into 2”x¼” sticks
4 pounds (1 large) cabbage, separate the leaves and cut into 2" squares

Spice Mix
5 tbsp chili powder
4 stalks lemongrass
2 big onions
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp galangal powder
1 tbsp belacan powder
2 cups white vinegar
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
½ cup oil
1 cup ground roasted peanuts, optional
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, optional

To prepare the vegetables:

• Boil a big pot of water and add in ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup sugar and 2 tbsp salt. Lower heat to simmer and blanch vegetables for 1 minute, a few handfuls at a time. Use a salad spinner to spin dry. Set aside.

For the spice mix:

• Finely grind the lemongrass and onions with ¼ cup water. Mix in the chili, turmeric, galangal and belacan powders.
• Heat ½ cup cooking oil, fry ground ingredients for spice mix for about 1 hour until fragrant and oil rises to the top. Add in vinegar, sugar and salt.
• Cool then add in the vegetables and the ground roasted peanuts if used. Mix well.
• Keep in clean jars for at least 1 day before eating.
• Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top before serving.

Heavenly Delicious Butternut Goodness

I love butternut squash so much so that I could eat it every day! The cold winter weather is the perfect time to make this because the hot oven then also heats the house. We had some of the squash with roasted chicken and green beans for dinner one night and the extra came in handy when I made it into roasted butternut soup the next day. I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled and knew that I wouldn't be able to eat solids for a couple of days. The good news was that I only had to have two wisdom teeth from my bottom jaw pulled as the two upper ones were impacted; the bad news was that the pain didn't just last a couple of days, it lasted more than a week!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, cut into 1/2" slices
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tsp minced fresh herbs ie. rosemary, thyme, sage etc

• Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Mix all the ingredients and lay on the baking sheet in a single layer.
• Bake for 30 minutes