Malaysianised Ceasar Salad

I bought this packet of First Choice ready to mix & eat Ceasar Salad from Cold Storage 3 days ago. It was going for RM8.99 for 2 servings. Thought I'd give it a try. My 1st serving (no photo) was served with dried crispy sotong (local snack)... was surprisingly tasty in place of Bacon Bits. The Bacon Bits where not provided in the pack though it came with the salad dressing & croutons :p



This was my 2nd serving this afternoon when I wanted a late afternoon snack. Out of dried crispy sotong, I added Bak Kwa (hokkien for Dried BBQ pork / cantonese it's Yuk Korn). This is what it looked like. Tasty too! Added a slice of 5 grain bread & the infamous Ipoh White Coffee :)

Kurma Chicken Curry

This dish was selected due to the fact that half my in laws can't take chili spiciness. This dish is tasty enough with the aroma of spices & of course the coconut milk a.k.a. santan.

Rainbow Prawns

This is what you get with a little left over veg in the fridge. I had half of red & yellow capsicum, 2 strands of long beans & 1 stalk of celery. MIL suggested to get the big prawns out to be cooked. Since the prawns were large, I cut them into half & you get the swirly effect.

Stir-fried with salt, black pepper & a dash of fish sauce.

Served with white rice.

Bread Pudding Savoury Beef ~ Pope's style

Visited my good fren Popes this morning and looked what she cooked up for our brunch! Delicious Bread Pudding Savoury Beef style. Absolutely scrumptious that I had second helpings.

Basically minced beef with chopped onions pre-cooked with salt, pepper & Oregano ;) The bread slices where dipped in eggs & milk.

Served with her very own Cucumber Salad :)

Thank you for the lovely Brunch Popes!

Snow Peas Fiesta

Snow Peas stirred fried with yellow capsicum, carrots, prawns and crab sticks.

Flavour is purely salt & pepper & a dash of terriyaki sauce.

Double Mushroom Tofu

I started off with just Tofu & 1 box of mushrooms but thought it would look rather bare & insufficient. Then I noticed some pre-soaked Shitake Mushrooms & Lilly Buds my MIL soaked for a steamed fish dish she prepared for FIL. Hmmm, this would add flavour to my dish!

The Shitake Mushrooms were diced up. This dish is pretty easy to prepare & cook. Just make sure you have sliced ginger stir fried first before adding in the mushrooms & lilly buds. Add desired amount of water for your gravy (suggest using the mushroom soaked water, adds to the flavour). Once your mushrooms start to cook, add in the Tofu. For taste, add in 2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce. If it isn't salty enough for you, a pinch of salt / dash of light soya sauce.

Mee and My Malaysia - virtual party

Ah Yi Loh Shi Fun - homestyle version Ah Yi Loh Shi Fen( One of Seremban's authentic noodles served at hawker stalls). My mum cooked this dish for me last week. Loh Shi Fun is one of my favourite noodles. Since I hardly go back to Seremban these days, my mum brought a bit of Seremban to me in KL :p


Ingredients
1 packet long loh shi fen(lai fen or mi laksa panjang)
300 gm minced meat(chicken/beef/pork)
3 precooked shitake mushrooms diced *
3 Tbsp chopped garlic
2 tsp.ginger paste
Oil

Marinade for meat
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp light soya sauce
2 tsp. dark soya sauce
1 tsp. corn flour
3 tsp. sugar
pepper
1 Tbsp. cooking wine

Sauce:
3 Tbsp dried shrimps chopped fine
2 Tbsp or more chilli boh
6 shallots ground fine
3 pips garlic ground fine
1 lemon grass ground fine
salt and sugar to taste
Lime juice

Garnishing:
Shredded omelette(2 eggs)
Chopped spring onions and coriander( yim sai)
Fried shallots

Gravy**
1 soup bowl of stock( made from boiling meat bones with dried shitake mushrooms , 2 pieces star anise,2 slices of ginger and 3 pips of garlic)
1 Tbsp. potato starch (for thickening) mixed with a little water
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Light soya sauce and a little dark soya sauce for colouring

To make sauce:
1. Fry all sauce ingredients with a little oil until fragrant. Add salt, sugar and lime juice to taste.

Method:
1. Scald the noodles lightly. Divide into portions into deep plates for each serving. Set aside.
2. Saute the garlic and ginger with 4 Tbsp oil till pungent. Add mushrooms and minced meat. Stir to prevent meat from getting lumpy.
3. Add ingredients for gravy. Cook till gravy thickens.
4. Dish out gravy with minced meat and mushrooms for each portion of noodles.
5. Garnish and serve with dried shrimp sauce.

* Hawker stalls do not add mushrooms.

** Gravy should be thick but runny. So, stock and potato starch can be adjusted to produce this consistency.

Fried Fish in Thai Sauce

Fried Fish in Thai Sauce
Ingredients:
1 slice Fish (preferably a big meaty fish ~ easier to fry when it's cut up)
1 Large Onion - sliced finely
1 small Mango (half ripe ~ got some sour taste)
3 Tbsp Har Mai ("dried shirmp") - chopped finely & fried till crispy
2-3 Chilli padi ("Bird's Eye Chilli") or Red Chillies - sliced thinly

Sauce:
6 Tbsp Thai Chilli Sauce
3 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1/2 Cup Water



Method:
1. Take the 1 slice of fish and cut it into bite size pieces. Can marinade with a pinch of salt and just enough corn flour to cover it. The corn flour will help prevent the fish meat from getting stuck to your wok.


2. Heat your work with half cup oil and fry your fish pieces over medium low fire. Leave the fish pieces to turn slowly golden then only flip it over. This is to avoid the fish meat breaking up & getting stuck to the wok. Alternatively, can fry it in non-stick pan.

3. Mix / toss the thinly sliced onion, mango & chillies with the pre-fried Har Mai together. Place them over the Fried Fish pieces.

4. Cook the sauce in wok for awhile. Once it begins to boil, it can be poured over the Fried Fish & ready to be served.















Some ideas for left over Pak Cham Kai (steamed / boiled whole chicken ~ rubbed with salt immediately when it's cooked & left to cool).

Add fresh / dried Shitake mushrooms (which also has been pre-cooked via steaming with marinade of soya sauce, sesame oil, garlic & Xiao Shing wine). Stir fry both together & just add a dash of dark soya sauce for some colour. No need to add anymore salt/soya sauce. It's already full of flavour. And... Taa-daah! Tasty new dish to be served for dinner!














The rest of the dishes served during dinner:-
Stir Fried Cabbage with Wood Fungus & Carrots
Pumpkin Ah Ma's Style

What's new? Bak Neng

Main menu ingredients for tonight's dinner. Four dishes made up of:
1. Fried Kembong Fish
2. Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves
3. Bak Neng
4. Fried Kacang Botol a.k.a Four Angled Beans



Bak Neng ~ Literally Pork Egg in Hokkien


Ingredients:

350g Minced Pork (I used Pork Fillet / Tenderloin and minced it myself)

4 Eggs

2 stalks Spring Onions - cut into 3cm in length

1 Tbsp Tau Chu



Marinade:
1 Tbsp Xiao Shing Wine
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic - chopped finely (I chose to use already prefried chopped garlic - adds a different flavour to it)

Method:
1. Marinade minced pork for 2 hours at least.
2. Beat the 4 eggs into the marinated mince pork & stir it.
3. Heat wok with 3 - 4 Tbsp Oil. Fry the mince pork omelet. When done, set aside.
4. Add 1/2 cup of water or more and add the 1 Tbsp Tau chu sauce and half of the spring onions. While the sauce is starting to boil, add back the fried pork omelet & cover the wok. Add the balance of spring onions just as you are about to dish it out.

Kacang Botol a.k.a Four Angled Beans

This is an easy veggie dish to prepare. Just cut the Kacang Botol diagonally & fry it with Har Mai & Garlic. For a little spiciness, can add 1 Tsp of Chilli Har Mai (ready made & easily found in your local grocery store) OR sliced Chilli Padi ~ Bird's Eye Chillis. Can add a little water while frying to avoid the wok getting too hot & burnt at the bottom.

Boring week results in Steamed Pork in Pickled Plums

Hmmm, sorry for not updating much this week. I didn't get to cook any new dishes except for a variation to the previous Steamed Pork in Shrimp Paste recipe I've posted before. The main reason was due to half the family not home to eat and not informing earlier... so there was always left overs for the next day's dinner.

On Tuesday, it was Steamed Pork with Pickled Plum ("assam boi") I used 300g pork fillet instead of pork belly this round and sliced them thinly. Marinated with the usual Xiao Shing wine, dash of pepper, salt, sugar, sliced ginger & of course 3 Pickled Plums.

Steam for 15 mins only.