Beauty and The Feast

Apa nak jadi??

2008-07-14T13:53:00.009+08:00

...sampai sekarang tak update lagi..lol

Tak tau la naper skarang ni malas sungguh nak update. .tapi rasanya update ok lagi, nak measure dan tulis resipi tu yg liat sangat tu. Yang bestnya, kadang tu dah masak power2 lupa plak nk snap gambar. Macam semalam, buat Claypot Chicken Rice. Siap ja terus ngap lupa nk posingkan. Mana nk ada bahan nk blog kalau dah camtukan. Agaknya tgh demam Facebook skarang ni tapi tu pun dah slow dah tu yg balik ke blog la plak..hehe

Ni ada lah gak masakan yg dah buat lama tapi tertunda nk update. Resipi dpd Amy Beh, Kuali.

Cashewnut Chilli Chicken (Kung Pao Chicken)

250g chicken breast meat, cubed

10 dried chillies, seeded and halved

1 onion, quartered

1/2 green capsicum, cubed

100g cashewnuts, deep-fried

2 tbsp oil

Marinade for chicken:

1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 an egg white

Sauce (combine):

1 tbsp Premium oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp cooking wine (I omitted this)

1/2 tsp sugar or to taste

1 tsp sesame oil (omitted gak sbb tak der)

1/4 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp water

Thickening (combine):

1/2 tsp corn flour

1 tbsp water

Marinate chicken for 20-30 minutes. Shallow fry chicken until fragrant and golden. Drain and set aside.Heat oil in a wok, fry dried chillies for 30 seconds. Add in the rest of the ingredients and the pre-fried chicken. Stir-fry briskly, then add thickening. Sprinkle with a dash of sesame oil and mix in cashewnuts before dishing up to serve.

Jejak Kasih...Taukua Rendang

2008-06-13T11:34:00.005+08:00

Hahahaha..I've to start off with laughter cause I never knew I could be this crazy..well I am not that sane either (hehehe) but to snap photos of my food in public area like this..men..it's new..

Well..I did went back to Penang last weekend as I told in my earlier post..well..I did went to ate the Taukua Rendang..so you should have guessed..

I was too shy to shy to get a much closer shot of the Taukua Rendang seller in action..ahaks

Did I come close??? Well let's compare..hehehe

the mamak's..

mine..

Hah this is the Ais Nyoq/Kelapa Campur..

While at this, we walked down to the Cendol guy a few blocks away and passed some shops selling all kinds of stuff when my hubby suggested that we come again next month for some street shopping cos we never got the chance to do any kind of shopping in Penang everytime we were back. It's all about visiting relatives. So InsyaAllah if that happens, I'll try to put on a thick face and pretend like some tourist from other states and clicks away.

Taukua Rendang

2008-06-05T17:27:00.003+08:00

Last Friday when my hubby went to Penang for work matters, my kids and I didn't follow because we already went the week earlier for my nephew's nikah and we are going again this weekend for the wedding reception.

My hubby went toPenang Road on his own and one of his fav stop is the jeruk stall in Chowrasta Market where they sell all kinds of varieties in bulk. His next stop is surely the Taukua Rendang stall next to the market. What cheap good food to pair along with the bestest Ais Nyok Campur. This Ais Nyok Campur is so fragrant. Oh yes, the drain does smells too but what the heck..lol If you are a Penangite you'll know what I mean. Penangites' residing in other states will always come back to this stall. Parking would be very hard to get especially during the school holidays. Actually I don't know how the name comes up to just being Taukua Rendang when actually you also have Cucur Udang with it as a set.

So when my hubby called up telling he was there, I'm so restless at home. Check my fridge and I have kucai, taugeh and prawns. So I had my Taukua Rendang too at home away from home.

It's just a normal cucur udang paired up with fried tahu with cucumber by the side. Dip in a sweet potato sauce garnished with peanuts and sesame seed.

I don't have cucumber so it was just the cucur udang with tahu. Of course la I'm more generous with the kucai and taugeh compared to the mamak's..hehehe

Batter for the cucur is so easy peasy to make. You just need wheat flour mix with water and add kucai and bean sprouts. A pinch of salt and that's about it. Scoop with a spoon into hot oil and put a prawn on top. Press a bit. You don't really want it to be round in shape. Not like the cucur udang in pasar malam where it puffed up like Humpty Dumpty. It's just about 1.5cm think. As for the sauce, I just boil half of 1 sweet potato and add 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste and salt/sugar. Add cornflour mix with a bit of water for extra thickness. You can anytime beat that stall I'm telling you.

Spaghetti

2008-06-04T08:43:00.002+08:00

I have so much passion in cooking. I love watching cooking shows, read cooking blogs, read recipe books and anything to do with cooking, I just love it. I really enjoy cooking for my family, friends and relatives. It’s just the cleaning up soon after is something that I don’t really fancy. So that portion of it I sub-con to my daughters all the time..lol

One of the meals that my family enjoys and not much cleaning up to do after is Spaghetti. I always use Prego Spaghetti Sauce that comes in the canned. It has a much more Malaysian kind of flavours. I don’t really like my sauce to be so tomatoed so I will normally add a few ingredients to enhance the flavours according to my taste.

The sauce.. What I’ll do is I will melt some butter in the pot and add diced onions, saute till fragrant and brown then add minced meat. Once cooked, I will put about 1tbs of chilli paste and mushrooms. Pour in the Prego sauce and ½ canned of Campbell’s tomato soup. Add water to desired thickness and melt in 3 to 4 slices cheddar cheese into the sauce. I also put in chilli sauce and add a bit of salt and ½ of chicken cube. My family loves the sauce cooked up this way..sour, creamy and a hint of spiciness all in one.

Sup Bebola Ikan Simple

2008-05-27T17:40:00.003+08:00

I ni kadang kalau buat nasi ayam suka pakai shortcut..hari kerja biasa la kalau boleh nak cepat kan kalau tak meratap peminat2 tunggu nak dinner..utk ayam I pakai ayam segera yang dalam pack tu..kadang beli yg BBQ, yg goreng pun beli..ikut la mana nak pakai..so sup dia terpaksa la buat sup fishball sebab dah tak rebus ayam kan..

Sup fishball ni senang jer nak buat. Hiris bawang merah, bawang putih, halia dan cili merah. Tumis sekali. Masuk air dan kobis skit, pastu masuk air dan fishball. Letak kiub ayam. Voila! Siap! Makan saja2 ngan ikan goreng dan sambal belacan pun sedap. Bleh bertambah2 nasi woooo...

Gulai Lemak Nenas/Labu dengan Bebola Daging

2008-05-22T08:16:00.009+08:00

Eventhough I don't really have the chance to update my blog as regularly as when I first started, I have been taking snaps of my cooking though. It's just that I don't really been able to squeeze in my time to get an entry done. I do realise that there are visitors to my blog, thank you for dropping by.

My sis in law were back home from New Zealand to visit her mum. She had brought a few pumpkins from her garden. Imagine how she had stuffed all that in her luggage. My mum in law gave me one half and that also took a few weeks to clear. One of the dishes I made from that was Gulai Lemak Nenas/Labu dengan Bebola Daging. This was inspired from one of Chef Wan's creation in the Ayamas cooking show. Instead of using just pineapple and chicken balls, I had used meatballs and added the pumpkin.

Copied the recipe directly from my archive...hehehe

20 Bebola Ayam Ayamas

4 cawan santan yang diperah dari 1 biji kelapa

½ biji nenas segar – dipotong ke ketulan besar

½ cawan minyak sayuran

Dikisar sehingga menjadi pes:

4 camca besar pes cili8 ulas bawang merah

1 ulas bawang putih1 cm kunyit

2 cm lengkuas

3 batang serai

Segenggam daun kesum2 helai daun limau

Jus dari 1 biji limau (replaced with asam keping)

Panaskan minyak dan goreng pes sehingga wangiMasukkan ketulan nenas, santan dan sedikit air. Renihkan selama 10 minit.Masukkan Bebola Ayam Ayamas.Renihkan selama 5 minit lagi dan masukkan garam dan gula secukup rasa.

Tagged!

2008-05-02T10:39:00.003+08:00

I totally forgot about this tag from Zura. Sorry Zura. Kau ampunkan kakak mu ini. Rasanya dah lambat la nak tag org pun sbb dah lama Zura bagi ni. Masuk most sites tengok sumer dah ada bunga ni. Jadi saja la masukkan jugak buat penyeri. Hmmm..tetiba teringat asam pedas la plak. Tak bleh jadi nih..

Sayur Bayam Dhal

2008-05-02T08:48:00.006+08:00

Sometimes, when we eat something, all sort of memories will be rushing into the mind. The most desirable nasi lemak that I can never get myself to forget is the one in my primary school's canteen. Hot rice, with sambal that's full of onions, with fried anchovies sprinkled on top. 50 cents a plate. Memory..priceless.

When I was small, we lived in a flat. There's this one apek who would be selling a kind of sweet which I don't know what the name was. He will come up from floor to floor with his big tray of the sweet on his head. He will carry a makeshift table's leg on his shoulder and a small hammer. I called him apek tok tok based on the sound that he made from the hammer when he made his rounds. He will spread the table legs and rest his tray on it and he will start hammering the sweets into tiny bits and pieces. He'll put the sweets on tracing paper. I can't remember how much it cost..maybe about 10 cents. So sedap...and because of that every night I had to endure the itchiness caused by worms. My mum had to give me daun mambu which she pounded and rolled into majun like forms...or I had to drink the mambu juice. That is one memory I don't wanna recall. It's so bitter..imagine what the poor worms had to endure too.

Last night I cooked sayur bayam dhal. Whenever I cook this, I would surely think of my mother and all the sweet memories of my childhood. This dish being my favourite and I would make mak to feed me. I would eat 2 to 3 helpings. It's more syiok to pair up with fried anchovies but last night, I paired it up with sambal tumis ikan kering. With every mouthful, I became younger and younger and there I was at my mother's kitchen in our flat.

All you need for this is just to boil 1/2 cup of dhall till it breaks. Pound 1 clove of garlic and 1cm of ginger. Add to the boiling dhall with 1tsp of tumeric powder. Add the spinach. Add thick coconut milk. Salt. In a wok, fry sliced onions and 3 pieces of cili kering that has been cut into 3 each. Once brown, transfer to the dhall. Done.

This is the sambal tumis ikan kering which is so fiery hot. People said match are made in heaven..but mine was made in the kitchen.

..and this is one sibuk fried potato trying to enterframe.

Apple Crumble

2008-04-29T17:40:00.013+08:00

Life has been bustling with activities. Activities that strain every single balance energy that I had left at this age (hellloooo..I'm not talking about old age here, ok. People said life begins at 40..well I just passed through in March..I'm just like a new born baby..so tender and fragile for all this adrenaline pumping situations ;P).

First, daughter was admitted. 2 nights were spend sleeping on the sofa. Not sleeping really..but monitoring my daughter's condition. Then, mother in law follows suit. We have been like rushing after work straight home, pick up our girls, then rush to the hospital. At the hospital, it was like a reunion of sorts with family members from abroad and relatives we have not met for years flocking by daily. Until the security had to chased us out...every night! My mother in law is still in hospital. Thank God the surgery was a success.

Just after that was over, my youngest daughter was down with cough and flu. Then my son called up from hostel telling he's having fever. What a fever that was. He was immediately given a jab at the clinic. The fever was high and he had rashes all over his face. The next day his face and hand swells. Allergic to the antibiotics. What a month April is.

I'm closing the month with a sweet note. At least there is a sweet memory to look back to for April...lol

I've neither taste nor make Apple Crumbles before so I'm not sure if mine is a thumbs up or down. Anyway, I've copied this recipe from somewhere, which I can't remember where, so to the owner of this recipe, thank you and sorry cos I'm not able to give you credit.

The recipe calls for canned peaches actually but with the abundant apples in my fridge, courtesy of a fruit basket that my MIL got from her visitor, I've decided to used them up instead.

(1) Ingredients for Peach ( I used apple) Cup Crumbs cups

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/6 cup (half of 1/3 cup) UHT milk

(2) Ingredients for fillings

3 green apples

4 tbsp brown sugar

3 tsp all purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon powdersprinkle of nutmeg

(3) Ingredients for top crumbs

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp butter - semi-cold

1 tsp cinnamon powder

Mix (1) in a bowl with a fork. Flatten dough with a rolling pin and cut with a circle cutter. Place it in the muffin baking tray. Mix (2) and fill each cup. Mix (3) in a bowl with a fork and sprinkle on top of each cup. Bake at 200'C for 35-40 minutes.

Mee Sup

2008-04-11T08:12:00.004+08:00

Dulu masa ada maid, masak bleh siap dlm 1 jam jer. Lengkap set2 nyer. Selalunya hubby tak suka maid masak, so I masih kena masak tapi keje I jadi mudah sebab maid dah siapkan bahan2 in advance. So I balik just bersilat jer depan dapur. Keje2 mengemas, mencuci sumer pun lepas kat maid ler kan. Masa tu mmg rajin especially weekend. Macam2 resipi keluar. Selepas 2 kali ambil maid, dan dua2 kes maid missing in action, dah malas nak ambil maid lagi.

Sekarang ni I lebih suka masak quick meal. Anak2 pun tak payah tunggu lelama. Selalunya by 8pm dinner is served. Kesian jugak kalau lambat2, ssbab last meal derang is lunch.

Mee Sup ni mmg cukup simple, sedap dan mengenyangkan. Cuma rebus ayam dan ambil stoknyer. Pastu tumis bawang merah dan bawang putih. Masuk stok ayam. Masuk kiub pati ayam dan garam skit. Pastu campak jer apa2 bahan yg nak. Mee tu biasa la rebus berasingan.

Tapi nak masak camni pun sekali sekala boleh ler sbb hubby kadang2 tak makan nasi masa lunch. Dalam sehari sekali pun dia mesti nak kena jumpa nasi. So kalau dah lunch tak makan nasi, balik umah dia nak nasi untuk dinner. Kalau tak, mula membebel cam mak nenek. Lepas makan merungut plak dah gemuk. Berdiri depan cermin sambil belek perut, "I have to lose weight"..sabar jer la..

Sambal Tumis Tipah Tertipu

2008-04-03T08:51:00.004+08:00

I suka makan telur burung puyuh tapi I tengok jarang gak gerai makan yg jual masakan menggunakan telur ni. So sekali tu bila keluar lunch ngan member, singgah satu kedai nasik campur kat area office, nampak la sambal tumis telur puyuh ni. Apa lagi, ceduk la letak dlm pinggan ngan penuh riang gumbira. Sekali masuk mulut, bukan telur puyuh tapi fish ball...hampeh tul.

So semalam nampak ada fish ball gak dlm ice box, campur la sekali ngan telur puyuh and buat sambal tumis. Tertipu gak la budak2 and bapak budak yg kt umah..lol

Resipi sambal tumis biasa jer tapi I campur ngan santan pekat sbb nak kurangkan pedas. Sedap ngan pedas dan lemaknyer tapi awas..tak leh selalu..kaya ngan kolestrol..hehehe

Ikan Kikik Mak Iloi Iloi

2008-04-02T08:23:00.008+08:00

Tapi ni bukan ikan kikik..ikan kikik tu ikan aper yek? Memang ada ker ikan ni atau org dulu2 saja2 jer reka..

I dulu sebelum kawin teruk. Tak kenal ikan langsung. Yang I tau, ikan cencaru sebab I suka makan cencaru sumbat dan ikan bilis my all time favourite. Nak buat camner kan, anak bongsu ni manja dia lain skit. Sampai kakak2 I pun hangin jer..

Sekarang dah ok ler..boleh eksyen dah ler tapi kalau beli bahan basah selalu hubby jer pilih. I macam Ma'am besar jer tunjuk2 nk yang mana..lol..Kadang bila kat supermarket, most perempuan berebut2 memilih ikan itu ini, I park trolly kat belakang bersama kumpulan hubby2 dan my hubby yg mencelah2 pilih..lawak betul. Bukan I tak nak atau bukan buli pun..hihihi..tapi hubby sampai jer dia yg nk pilih. Nak buat camner, dia suka makan ikan so dia nk pilih la ikut selera dia kan. I tak kisah pun sebab I plak tak minat sangat ikan.

Untuk hubby ikan tak yah masak fancy2 atau glemer. Buat gulai dan goreng jer dia bleh makan bertambah2. Kadang saja ler masak lain skit untuk kelainan kan.

Ni resipi yang saja2 cuba hari tu. Alkisah namanya Hot and Spicy Seabass. Disebabkan hubby ni mempunyai tahap chilli intolerance yg amat2 rendah, 1 cili padi jer la berenang2 dlm sos tu. Relevant lagi ker nama Hot and Spicy tu???!!!

Ikan Siakap

2cmb tepung jagung

Garam

Lada sulah

2cmb jus perahan lemon

Untuk Sos

15 ulas bwg putih - cincang

10 Cili padi

2 btg serai

2cmb tepung jagung

2cmb sos tomato

2cmb sos cili

1cmb sos tiram

1cmt minyak bijan

1cmt garam

Perap ikan bersama jus lemon, garam dan lada sulah. Gaulkan tepung jagung dan goreng ikan. Ketepikan.

Tumis bwg putih dan cili padi. Masukkan serai, dan kesemua sos. Seterusnya masukkan gula dan minyak bijan. Akhir sekali masukkan tepung jagung yg dibancuh bersama sedikit air. Tuang sos ke atas ikan.

Chicken Rendang

2008-04-01T12:16:00.013+08:00

From the time I was small, mum never cooks Rendang be it during Raya or not. She hates galangale..that's her only reason. Hmmm..I wonder why she never opt to just leave that one out. So I never really tasted Rendang..never had the urge to until I got married.

When hubby asked to cook for our first Raya together, I frantically went into the net and browsed all available Rendang recipes. Now, how would I know which will turn out to be delicious...(remember, this is a person who had never tasted or cooked Rendang in her entire life). I just took a bet and used Amy Beh's recipe. Thank God, that was a success..been using that recipe since...but I'm still searching for the ultimate Rendang recipe though..

A very messy looking Rendang..

1.5kg-2kg chicken, chopped into serving pieces

1 litre thick coconut milk (from 2 coconuts)

1 cup grated coconut (use the white part only), dry fried for kerisik

3-4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced

1 turmeric leaf,

finely sliced

Spices (ground):

30 dried chillies, soaked

3 fresh red chillies, seeded

8 shallots

4 cloves garlic

5 stalks lemon grass

4-5cm piece ginger

3cm piece galangale

2cm piece fresh turmeric

Seasoning:

1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp dark brown sugar

Combine chicken, ground spices and coconut milk in an earthen pot and bring to a low boil. After it has boiled, lower the heat and simmer until the gravy turns thick. Keep stirring to prevent sticking.Add kerisik and mix well. Cook until meat is tender, gravy is thick and oil rises to the top. Add sliced leaves and seasoning.

This time I had added in about 1tbs course black pepper.

Singgang Sotong

2008-03-31T07:42:00.008+08:00

Pernah sekali beberapa tahun dulu, ada seorang member Kelantan ni pernah sebut tentang singgang. Dia kata berdekatan office dia ada gerai jual nasi dan lauknyer singgang jer. Sangatlah laku. I tertanya gak apa tu singgang tapi cara dia explain macam tak faham jer.

Seriously, I tak pernah tau apa tu singgang sebelum tu. Tak pernah dengar dan tak pernah makan. Tapi masa tu tak terdetik plak nak cari resipinyer ker aper. Sampai lah satu ketika I mula terjumpa blog2 resipi dan resipi singgang yang pertama I jumpa dpd blog Kak Hanieliza kita yg fofular tu. Rupanya mudah ja resipi nyer. Tapi I musykil gak bila tengok bahan2 nyer yg tak berapa kerat tu, aik..boleh ker jadi sedap macam ni..hmmm

I pun try la masak satu hari tu..uish! Yer la..sungguh..memang sedap. Kena plak I memang suka makan ikan tongkol.

So sekali tu bila terserempak resipi Singgang Sotong dalam MyResipi (resipi Mat Gebu)..apa lagi..cepat2 print bawak balik...dan inilah hasilnyer. I tak letak leek sbb tak der kat umah dan I lagipun memang tak suka leek..tekak ni tak leh terima.

Copy terus dr MyResipi:

500g sotong sederhana besar, cabut kepala dan bersihkan, jgn potong.

4 biji bawang merah kecil, dihiris halus

3 ulas bawang putih, diketuk

1 inci halia, diketuk

1/2 camca teh serbuk kunyit

Asam jawa sebesar ibu jari, bancuh dgn 1/2 cawan air, ramas dan tapis jusnya

1 kiub pati ikan bilis "Maggi"

2 batang leek, dikerat2 satu inci panjang

2 biji cili merah, dibelah dua tak putus

Garam dan serbuk perasa (jika suka)

Cara-cara

Panaskan kurang lebih 2 camca makan minyak masak dalam periuk. Tumis bawang merah hiris, bwg putih dan halia hingga wangi. Masukkan serbuk kunyit dan juga air (kurang lebih 500ml, atau ikut suka). Masukkan kiub ikan bilis dan potongan leek. Biar mendidih baru masukkan sotong, cili belah dan jus asam jawa. Perasakan dgn garam dan serbuk perasa (jika suka). Biar mendidih sekejap dan matikan api. Boleh dihidangkan bersama nasi hangat dan sambal belacan serta ulam2man.

*Saja ja nak berkarya dalam BM pulak..

Hilang sekejap..

2008-03-28T16:49:00.002+08:00

Its been a while that I update my blog..tapi tak der la lama mana pun kan. Oh! ive been cooking, yes..dapur ku berasap gak cik kiah. Gambar2 snap gak. Cuma tak der masa nk mengarang ni hah. Furthermore I’ve been away from office quite a few times in recent weeks. Balik umah pun lewat. Kerap makan luar. Weekend dah malas nak tengok pc. Masak pun cam kartun. Infact I dah jadi leftovers queen. Banyak jenis masakan modify..dari sup jadi gulai.. dari gulai jadi nasi goreng..I can create wonders..lol..tapi semua tu kena buat rahsia2..musn’t tell hubby. Kalau dia tahu, berat skit tekak dia nak jamah. Yang paling nk tergelak kalau dia keluar komen2 yg berbunyi, kenapa dalam nasi goreng ni ada daun kari..or kenapa dlm kari udang ada sotong..

Pernah sekali tu I masak sup daging untuk lunch then malam ingat nak buat roti canai. So I modify sup jadi gulai. Anak I tanya tadi kan ada sup, mana pi? Normally I would just laughed it off and anak pun tercengang2..

Macam tu la being a working mum. Kalau boleh nak masak yg instant2 jer. Tambahan pulak ahli dah kurang skang ni. Excitement memasak tu dah kurang. Kalau dulu I akan draft menu untuk 1 minggu..sekarang ni just grab apa yg ada dlm freezer dan masak. For my daugthers tak jadi masalah sebab they can be very happy with even the simplest meal of rice and fried eggs. Hubby ja kena ada something yang berkuah..kalau tak dia mula lah drama tercekik..tercungap2 sambil pegang leher dan terjelir2 lidah..yang akan buat you rasa you lah isteri yg paling bersalah dan tak bermoral didalam dunia..

Anyway, today is dear hubby’s birthday. Masak special? Naaah! Belanja makan luar jer..lol

Daging Nasi Kandar

2008-03-17T16:47:00.009+08:00

My mum got this recipe from her friend and she said this is how Mamak cooks their beef for Nasi Kandar. I improvised a bit here and there. It pairs along very well with fish curry and does have that Nasi Kandar effects..hihi

I've tried with chicken too but beef is the best. Last weekend did it again and packed some for my son to take back to Penang. My sis text 4 hrs later.."Daging macam Rest Kayu"..lol

500gm beef/mutton

3 tbs ginger paste

1 tbs garlic paste

2 onions - slice

750ml water

175ml sweet soy sauce

2 tbs oyster sauce

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp soup powder

4 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp tumeric powder

1 tbs meat curry powder

1 tbs kurma powder

5 tbs chilli paste

6 tbs oil

1 small tomato - quartet

curry leaves

Mix all ingredients in pot and boil till meat is tender, gravy thickens and oil emerge on surface.

Dark Gravy Crab

2008-03-13T18:09:00.012+08:00

Many many years ago, I had a mat motor (taraf Zack dalam “Azura” ler..hehe) boyfriend. We would be going all around the island on his bike and savoured all the best food.

The best dating place is of course the beach and there’s 1 particular mamak used to sell nasi kandar in cart in front of a coffee shop at Batu Feringghi; next to the Park Royal Hotel. He had these wide varieties of lauk pauk and 1 particular dish that I tried was crab cooked in a very dark gravy. It was so sedap..out of this world punya sedap.

I went back a few times but the mamak had vanished. I don’t know what happened or he had relocated to a different place. The owner doesn’t look quite happy though with his presence.

So, I had to asked mum to recreate the dish based on my description. The result was almost close but not quite there. Even then, over the years, I have been cooking my crabs based on this particular style only.

6 crabs

1 onion - diced

1 tomato - diced

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tbs garlic paste

2 tbs meat curry powder

75ml water

35ml dark soy sauce

1 tbs chilli sauce

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs tomato sauce

Fry the crab in oil. Once cook, dish out. Fry onion in the same oil. Once brown, add tomato. Keep frying till the tomato turns soft. Add all the rest of the ingredients except crab. Keep frying and stirring until the gravy thickens and oil splatters, then only put in the crabs. Give a quick stir to blend the gravy well with the crab. Off flame.

Sup Tulang (Penang Style) & Daging Merah

2008-03-12T17:27:00.004+08:00

I almost gave up on this post. First it was the server error that prevented me from uploading the photos. Next, I was already quite finished with the entry then poof! it went crazy again and I lost what I had typed..not once..but twice!!! :(

Nevertheless, yours truly didn't quite give up..not yet..hehe.. This has been my son's request. Like me, he also loves this Daging Merah. I'm not sure what to pair it up with so I just make Sup Tulang Penang Style. Why I called it Penang style is due to the fact that the soup you get in Penang stalls is full of spices and it's yellowish in colour. This is how I did it..

Sup Tulang Penang Style

1 kg beef bones

3 tsp tumeric powder

1 tbs ginger paste

1 litre of water

1 cube of chicken stock

1 carrot - sliced

2 potatos - quartet

25ml thick coconut milk

Boil till tender. Keep adding on water to maintain the level. Add potatos and carrot. Keep to boiling level. Add cube and coconut milk.

2 tbs oil cinnamon stick, cardamon pots & star anise

1 onion - sliced

1 tbs garlic paste

1 tbs ginger paste

1 tbs Adabi soup powder

1 tbs coriander powder

1 tbs cumin powder

3 tsp tumeric powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

fried onions spring onions - chopped salt

Heat oil and fry cinnamon stick, cardamon pots, star anise and onion till brown. Add in garlic and ginger paste. Add all the other ingredients and stir quickly to avoid burning. Add a ladle of the boiling soup. Stir thoroughly and transfer to the pot of boiling soup. Give another stir and put salt to taste. Garnish with fried onions and chopped spring onions.

Daging Merah

1/2 kg tenderloin beef

1 large onion - cut into rings

3 cloves garlic - smash

1 tbs chilli sauce

1 tbs tomoto sauce

1 tbs chilli paste

1 tbs oyster sauce

2 tbs fish sauce

4 tbs oil

4 bird's eye chilli

150 ml water

Heat oil and fry the beef. Do not overfry or else it will be hard. Add all the ingredients except onion and chillis. Add water and stir well. Add salt to taste. Once gravy thickens, add the onion and chillis. Give 1 quick stir to blend well and off flame.

Things that make me go..mmmmm

2008-03-06T08:51:00.017+08:00

Last Friday on my way back, bumped into a friend in the rest room (yes of all places in the office). She was carrying a box full of murunggai..I just go "Murunggai!!!" The excitement is due to the fact that it's not easy to get this in KL and the ones in the hypermarkets and pasar malam near my home look almost inedible already.

So, when she offered me some, I just grabbed and went home happily (nearly skipping) knowing how good it is to cook with ikan kering. Ok, ok, I know I'm on diet, but a bit won't do me any harm would it?? It's not like I'm going to splurge the whole pot :P

In case some are wondering how does murunggai looks like…

Is there any other name to it?

The curry in all it's glory..

Gulai Ikan Kering

Salted Kurau fish bones

1 tomato

1 green chilli

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp criander powder

1 tbs garlic paste

1 tbs ginger paste

1/2 cup coconut milk - thick

1 cup coconut milk - light

1 lemon grass - smash

1 tbs tumeric powder

1 tbs fish curry powder

1 onion - sliced

3 cloves garlic - cut each into 2

curry leaves

halba campur

murungai

potato

carrot

and any other vegetables of choice ie long beans, brinjal etc

Boil all vegetables till cook in about 1 litre of water. Add salted fish. Once vegetables are cook, pour thick coconut milk. Add more water based on the thickness of curry that you would like. Gulai ikan kering tend to be more watery then fresh fish curry. Set aside.

Heat oil and fry curry leaves, halba campur, onion, lemon grass and garlic. Once brown, add all the powder's spices. Pour the light coconut milk. Once oil splatters, transfer this into the pot of boiled vegetables. Let boil and off flame.

I also made Sweet Sour Prawns Kak Liza's

style but she did hers with Crab and I’ve also added 1 tbs of meat curry powder to it. This is a must try.

Dieting

2008-02-29T17:01:00.010+08:00

Sometimes I write my entry in English just to brush up on my writing skills..nothing more..sometimes my hands does itch to write in bahasa melayu especially when I can’t get my feelings to be expressed the way I want to in english..so on and off u’ll see the bahasa rojak here..lol

Well, just wanna share my lunch.. salad with grilled chicken. Yours truly is actually going on a diet. I’m not much of a vege person. When I was small, I hardly ate any vegetables except for spinach and ladies fingers. No hardcore leafy greens but as I grow older, I started to realise the benefits. So I force myself and now the varieties have increase. Even then, raw salad is still giving me the nausea feeling but for the sake of getting back my into my jeans and my nephew’s wedding due in june, i just gobbled down. It’s like one of the challenges in fear factor. You have to see my expressions to know the sacrifices that I’m making for that jeans and wedding..lol.

The croutons were tasty nevertheless..

And this was what comfort me soon after..hot honey lemon tea..errr..pls ignore my lip's stain :D There’ll be not much cooking activity going on for the weekend. Hubby will be away out station leaving me and the girls. Some simple dish will make the two happy already. InsyaAllah I'll get more feast posted up next week where my boys will be home for the school holidays. Mum is going to be busy in the kitchen but I love every minute of it when I see them tucking into their food happily. Till then..have a blast weekend..

Orange Butter Cake

2008-02-28T08:27:00.009+08:00

During the recent Chinese New Year, my hubby had promised to give a cake to his friend, Angie. I made an Orange Butter Cake but it never gets to Angie because dear Angie was so busy running around on that day and she had left her phone at home. What happen to the cake then..well, it travelled from KL to Penang, my hometown, because we had also planned to go back on that day.

So, dear Angie had asked for the same cake again to be bake for her since my hubby is meeting her up again today. I bake this last night and Angie, hope you like it as much as we do. Got the basic butter cake recipe from here . Still didn't quite understand how a simple recipe can turns out to be so good :))

Getting ready for the oven..

Bare naked ladies..

Nasi Lemak with Fish Sambal

2008-02-27T08:10:00.009+08:00

Both my sons are away in boarding school since late January. They are the big eaters so not having them around really affects my cooking. Previously, I used to come out with menus for the whole week but now I just think at that instance and cook what comes to my mind. Last night is no different. I just cooked Nasi Lemak with Fish Sambal and a simple stir fry long beans to go along with it. This recipe serves 2.

NASI LEMAK

1+1/2 cups rice

2 cups water

1/4 cup think coconut milk

2 tbs oil

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

a pinch of fenugreek seeds (halba)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Heat oil and fry the garlic and ginger paste till fragrant. Add fenugreek seeds. Off flame. Rinse rice in pot and pour in water, coconut milk and the fried items. Add salt and sugar. Cook as normal.

FISH SAMBAL

2 Indian Mackarel (ikan kembung) - fried

1 onion - pound

1 lemon grass (serai) - bruised

1 tsp ginger paste

4 tbs chilli paste

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

1 tbs thick coconut milk 1/2 cup water salt and sugars

Heat oil. Add in chilli paste, pounded onion and lemon grass. Fry till fragrant and oil emerged. Add water, tamarind paste and coconut milk. Add sugar and salt to taste. Let it boil till gravy thickens and add fish.

*If you had noticed, I use ginger and garlic paste in most of my cooking because I have 1 big jar each which I had blended and keep refrigarated. I did the same for the chilli.

Minced Beef Curry

2008-02-25T12:54:00.045+08:00

Being a working mum, weekdays are always a mad rush to get dinner served timely on the table. So, I only get to try out new or complicated recipes on weekends where I have more time to prepare at my own pace and take my own sweet time. I will also have time to make an alternative dish in case I encounter a disaster.

That was what happened on Saturday. I had wanted to try out a tosai recipe. Got the mix ready and as for the accompaniment, I was lazy to refer to any resources so I got my creative mind worked. I whipped up a thick gravy of minced beef which comes across like kheema and surprisingly, turns out to be quite good.

Back to the tosai, it was not destined to partner up with the gravy. It got all sticky and gooey that it ended up in the drain. Yup, the whole bowl of mix. So, what comes to the rescue? Instant Roti Paratha. Yeay! Way to go to all things instant.

Do you really think I would be kneading and tossing at the last minute after all the so called own pace and sweet time? Gotcha there! LOL

Cheat aside, here's the Minced Beef Curry recipe. Try it. It should go along very well with Capati too.

Ingredients A

1 cup minced beef

1 medium potato - diced

1 small tomato - diced

1/2 carrot - diced

1 onion - diced

Ingredients B

1 tbs ginger paste

1 tbs garlic paste

2 tbs cumin powder

2 tbs garam masala

1 tbs coriander powder

1 tbs kurma powder

2 tbs meat curry powder

1 cup water

2 tbs ghee

4 tbs oil

1 cup water

curry leaves

salt to taste

Heat up oil. Fry curry leaves and A till oil splatters. Add in B and salt. When gravy thickens, pour in 1 cup of water. Let it boil. Ready to serve.

Opening act!

2008-02-21T12:36:00.016+08:00

At last, I'm in. Baru sedar betapa buta ITnya aku ni sungguh bila trying to set up the whole page by going to other people's blog and dok click apa ker features yg depa ada kt page depa..nak cilok la tu..hehe..but well..it has to starts somewhere..

So..I, Nora Ariff,(drum roll) welcomes you to my page. Feast your eyes with the opening act..cookies that I made for my hubby's niece's wedding about a few months ago. It's a fruit theme but I had used the same recipe for all...hehe

The recipe is all over on other people's blog too..rasanya lah..It's Gadis Aries' Biskut Gajus Manggis recipe that she derived from Mami Asmah Laili's book. I malas dah nak type sebenarnya..resipi tu lah..baru 1 post dah malas..opening bad is more like it..lol