My day-to-day culinary attempts!

19. Sheperd's Pie With Beef Mushroom Filling

2011-11-14T15:54:00.002+08:00

Ingredients: (serves 5)
1 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 green capsicum
2 carrots
10 white button mushroom
400gm minced beef/lamb
300gm cream of mushroom soup (I use Campbell brand)
Enough mashed potatoes for the topping (i use 6 large brown potatoes)
Shredded Mozzarella
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Finely chop the onion and garlic. Add oil in the pan and saute them for 5 minutes under medium heat
Dice the capsicum, grate the carrots and slice the mushroom. Add them into the pan
Add in the minced beef, stirring occasionally until they turn brown
Pour the cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper. Stir for about 10 minutes
Scoop the fried ingredients into a baking tray. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly above it, make the layer about 2 inches thick.
Finally, arrange the cheese on top of the mashed potatoes. Bake in oven for 10 minutes (300º Celcius) or until the cheese melts
Best served warm with salad

coming up...

2010-05-12T12:20:00.000+08:00

Sheperd's pie with yummy mushroom soup infused minced beef filling!

18. Succulent Prawns Cooked With Chilli And Tomato Sauce

2010-01-07T18:29:00.003+08:00

Wanted to cook turmeric prawn at BIL’s house but forgot to buy the turmeric powder! My MIL made fun of me =P
Made chilli and tomato sauce prawn instead. Simple yet tasty! Takes 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
20 pieces of big, fresh water prawns
6 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1cm ginger
2 bird’s eye chillies
6 tbsp chilli sauce
4 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp oil
¼ cup of water
Salt and sugar

Method:

Using the scissors, clean the prawns by cutting the legs and the front portion of the head, discarding the eyes the antennas. Put aside
Thinly slice the shallots and garlic
Peel the ginger
Lightly crush bird’s eye chillies with a pestle
In a wok, heat 2 tbsp oil under medium heat
Sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies until they brown
Pour the chilli and tomato sauce. Let them simmer for 3 minutes and add the water
Add prawns into the sauce and stir well for 2 minutes
Add salt and sugar to taste
Keep stirring until the prawns turn to a pink colour (denoting that it’s cooked)
Serve with white rice ;)

17. Couscous with Salad

2010-01-07T10:27:00.005+08:00

Another variation of couscous I made last month.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
For couscous:
200 gm couscous
One huge knob of butter - about 20gm - softened at room temperature
200ml of hot chicken stock (~98°C) (Amount of liquid differs according to the couscous brand. Make sure you check the preparation method stated on the couscous box)

For salad:
3 salad leaves
½ tomato
½ sweet onion
¼ cucumber (you may use courgette for a crispier texture)
5 pitted black olives
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp of McCormick Italian Herbs Mix
Salt and pepper

Method:

Prepare couscous as per recipe #16. Put aside
Cut the salad into long strips. Dice the tomato, olives and cucumber
Julienne the onion
Combine the salad, tomato, olives, cucumber and onion into a bowl. Add in the olive oil, herb mix, salt and pepper
Toss the ingredients for about half a minute or until all vegetables are well coated with the aromatics and olive oil
Combine the tossed ingredient with the coucous. Stir well
Ready to serve

The Ultimate One

2009-10-16T09:59:00.011+08:00

I've been thinking about it a lot lately. In fact, I’ve thought about it before I got married in June last year. At that time, I thought that my husband would be in Kerteh for at least two to three years before he transfers to KL so I was reluctant to leave my KL job. Another reason (or excuse?) not to move to Kerteh is that I feel it would be very difficult for me to secure a job there. After graduated from UPM, I sent out resumes to more than 50 companies but only managed to get 2 interview calls and eventually 1 job offer. 2 out of 50 = 4% chance of getting a job. I think the combination of my degree and masters degree somehow did not appeal to them. Hmmm...

So yesterday after talking to my MIL in the living room I walked to my room and lie on the bed. I stared at the ceiling and it got me thinking, how long will I be far from my husband? How many months more will it take for me to move to Kerteh to be with my lifetime partner? Then it hit me - I want to move to Kerteh as soon as possible. No more weekend meet ups and weekend wifey title. I called my husband immediately and Alhamdulillah he sounded very happy over the phone. We agreed that I will tender resignation end of January 2010, which means I would be transferring to Kerteh by April, InsyaAllah.

Never in my life had I made such a big decision. Transferring to KL would be letting go my three thousand something per month pay job. But THAT doesn't really matter coz I’m not that 100% content with my current job anyway. What matters most is the thought of telling my parents the intention which I don’t think they can accept it wholeheartedly. You see, my parents have been trying really hard to keep their kids close to them. All three of my siblings are staying in houses that were bought by my father and all are within walking distance from my parents’! To add to that, my mom would usually sound upset when I mention the “what-if-my-husband-needs-to-stay-a-lil-bit-longer-and-I-want-to-move-to-Kerteh" question to her. So, I don't even think they'd approve at all. Darn! Now I’ve got to plan how to tell them in the most persuasive and subtle way.

Nonetheless, I'm so excited and ecstatic about it! I hope I will have a better life and be a better person there, InsyaAllah.

...

i know i know, this has become a personal blog.

16. Plain Couscous

2009-09-24T10:24:00.009+08:00

From Wikipedia:

"Couscous or kuskus as it is known in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt is a Berber dish consisting of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. The finished granules are about one millimetre in diameter before cooking. The Levantine variant, popular also in Israel, is about twice the diameter and made of hard wheat instead of semolina.[2] Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed. In many places, a more-processed, quick-cook couscous is available and is particularly valued for its short preparation time.
The dish is a primary staple throughout the Maghreb;[3] in much of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya it is also known as ṭa`aam طعام, "food".It is also popular in the West African Sahel, in France, Spain, Madeira, in western Sicily's Province of Trapani, as well as in Greece, Cyprus and parts of the Middle East. It is particularly popular among Jews of North African descent such as the Berber Jews,[4] and is eaten in many other parts of the world as well.
Couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew. It can also be eaten alone, flavoured or plain, warm or cold, as a dessert or a side dish."

Here's my version of couscous. Yummy and simple, it only needs 5 minutes of preparation!

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
200 gm couscous
One huge knob of butter - about 20gm - softened at room temperature
200ml of hot chicken stock (~98°C) (Amount of liquid differs according to the couscous brand. Make sure you check the preparation method stated on the couscous box)

Method:

Pour the couscous into a heavy base serving pyrex
Add in the butter and pour the chicken stock
Stir lightly until the butter dissolves into the stock
Allow the couscous to absorb the mixture and wait for 3 minutes
Serve the couscous with Chicken Kurma, Chicken Curry, Prawn Curry or Sambal Sotong! Enjoy ;)

How Was Your Raya?

2009-09-21T22:06:00.001+08:00

Mine was unusually dull. Don't know why.

I'm back!

2009-07-28T11:22:00.003+08:00

Alhamdulillah, we enjoyed our 1st anniversary vacation very much. I miss BALI and will definitely go there again :)

Bali vacay...

2009-07-23T15:40:00.005+08:00

We are departing to Bali tomorrow morning for a 5 day-4 night vacation cum 2nd honeymoon. I pray hard that everything would be fine. Insya-Allah.

15. Prawn Curry

2009-04-13T17:59:00.006+08:00

Cooked this yesterday for my parents. Me dad had 2 helpings :)
Here's the recipe: (Serves 2)

Ingredients:
6-8 pieces of white king prawns
2 shallots
1 garlic
1/2 onion
3 slices of ginger
5-6 curry leaves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stalk
3 tbsp curry powder diluted in half a cup of warm water
1/4 cup of coconut milk
1 small piece of dried tamarind
1/2 onion, sliced
1 green chilli, diagonally sliced
2 tbsp oil
Salt and sugar to taste
Sweet soy sauce

Method:

Pound the shallots, onion and ginger using a pestle and mortar
Heat the oil in a pot. Add the pounded items together with ginger, curry leaves, star anise and cinnamon stalk. Saute until they are fragrant
Add the diluted curry powder and stir well until 'pecah minyak'. Put in the coconut milk and stir for about 3 minutes
Put in the prawns, dried tamarind, green chilli and sliced onion. Put a few dash of sweet soy sauce together with salt and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes or until the prawns are done. You can adjust the gravy according to your taste by adding more soy sauce
Voila you're done! Serve with bread or hot rice

14. Chicken Kurma

2009-03-27T14:29:00.000+08:00

Ingredients: (Serves 3)
½ chicken, cut into 6 parts
4 shallots
2 garlic
1 inch ginger
1 star anise, 2 cloves and 1 small cinnamon stalk
½ onion, cubed
½ onion, sliced
1 small packet of ADABI kurma powder
1 cup of warm water
Coconut milk from 1/2 coconut
2 potatoes, cubed
½ carrot, quartered
1 tomato, wedged
1 red chilli, sliced diagonally
2 green chillies, sliced diagonally
Few sprigs of coriander leaf, parsley and spring onion, cut into 3cm length
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:

Pound shallots, garlic and ginger using pestle and mortar. Put aside. In a bowl, mix the kurma powder with 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of the pounded ingredient. Stir well
Heat oil and ghee in a pot. Saute the remaining pounded ingredients with cubed onion, star anise, clove and cinnamon until fragrant
Pour the kurma mix and stir. When the oil layer surfaces above the mix (pecah minyak), put in the chicken and stir
Stir for about 5 minutes (until pecah minyak again), add coconut milk, salt and sugar.When it starts to boil, add in potatoes, sliced onion and carrot
When it's almost cooked, put in the tomato, chillies, coriander leaf,spring onion and parsley. Stir well until the meat is tender. Serve with hot rice or bread :-D

Cooking up a storm!

2009-03-26T18:11:00.002+08:00

Will prepare lunch tomorrow for husband dearest and parents. Chicken kurma, fried fish, stir fry mix vege and salted radish with eggs are on the menu. Yum! :)

13. Sambal Sotong

2009-03-06T15:46:00.005+08:00

'Cili boh' or chilli paste surely gives a zing to this dish! (Serves 2)

Ingredients:
6 pieces of medium-sized squids
1/2 cup of water
3 shallots
1 garlic
1 tsp prawn paste
1 piece of asam keping (dried slice of tamarind fruit)
1 onion
2 tsp of chilli paste
3 tsp of oil
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:

Clean the squid by removing the ink sac, teeth and soft bone. Boil them in a pot with 1/2 cup of water under medium heat for 5 minutes. Put aside to allow them to cool
Pound the shallots, garlic and prawn paste using pestle and mortar
Heat the oil in a wok. Add the pounded ingredients, chilli paste and asam keping. Stir well until it browns
Add in the boiled squid (together with the squid broth), julienned onion, salt and sugar. Fry for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

12. Udang Masak Kunyit

2009-02-20T17:04:00.005+08:00

A very simple yummy dish, cooks for about 10 minutes. Do try! (Serves 3)

Ingredients:
20 pieces of medium sized prawns, shelled

1 tbsp turmeric powder

2 tsp salt

3 shallots

1 garlic

1 cm red chilli

1 whole onion

2 tbsp oil

4 tbsp water

Method:

Thinly slice the shallots, garlic and chilli
Combine the prawns with turmeric powder and salt. Let them sit for 2 minutes
Heat a wok with 2 tbsp of oil. Fry the shallots, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes. Add the prawns. Give them a good stir and add in the water
Julienne the onion, add into the wok and fry for about 5 minutes. Serve with hot rice

11. French Toast

2009-01-09T09:08:00.004+08:00

It's Friday morning and am feeling superlazy today. I have not been experimenting any new dishes but cooked some breakfast for my hubby last week. Here's a recipe of my version of French Toast: (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

4 pieces of bread (white or wholemeal, the latter is healthier!)

1 large egg

2 tbsp fresh milk

2 tbsp McCormick Italian Herbs Mix

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp high quality butter

1 tsp oil

Fruit Jam, Honey, Butter

Method:

Crack the egg and stir with a fork. Add in the milk, herbs mix, and a dash of salt and pepper
Get a non stick pan on a burner under low heat. Heat 2 tbsp butter with the oil. It is a good practise to add a little bit of oil while heating butter in order to prevent the butter from burning
Dip the bread into the mixture but do not let the bread soak it
When u see bubbles forming on the pan, fry the bread. Allow 2-3 minutes for one side to cook
Serve in a plate together with fruit jam, honey and butter

10. Spaghetti Bolognese

2008-12-26T12:12:00.010+08:00

Assalamu'alaikum WBT. It's been almost three weeks since my last post, and yes, it's been about three weeks since I last cooked for hubby – haven't cooked a *proper* meal per se. The previous attempt of making baked chicken and cream mushroom soup was not successful. Despite following exact measurement, they didn’t taste up to my expectation. If I were Jamie Oliver, I would’ve flung them out of the window :D

So this time I tried cooking a famous Italian dish, Spaghetti Bolognese, with the aim to improve again and again, until it tasted according to my liking (and my family’s of course).

To start off, just to share what bolognese means. Bolognese is a meat-based sauce mixed with tomato and it originates in Bologna, Italy. Like bolognese, other popular pasta sauces are carbonara, marinara, and alfredo – just to name a few. Each name signifies distinct basic ingredients: carbonara sauce consists of cheese, eggs, beef and black pepper; marinara consists of ripe tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic and herbs; while alfredo contains butter, parmesan cheese and heavy cream. Over the years, people have been altering the sauce to suit to their liking but I like to think that the basic ingredients should be retained to conserve its natural ‘yummyness’. :)

A very good friend of mine recommended an authentic spaghetti bolognese recipe a couple of months ago. After 4 attempts of changing some of the ingredients measurement, I managed to pull it off! Here’s the recipe: (Serves 5)

Ingredients A:
½ pack of spaghetti (about 300g)
3 litres water

Ingredients B:
1 Holland onion
1 clove of garlic
1 carrot
1 green capsicum
200g of minced beef
200g of button mushroom
100g tomato purée
300g tomato soup
500ml of chicken stock (1 chicken cube diluted in 500ml of warm water)
100g Thai chilli sauce
4 heap tbsp of McCormick Italian Herbs Mix

1 pc bay leaf
4 tbsp oil (preferably olive oil)
2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp crushed black pepper

Method:
For bolognese:

Dice the onion, garlic, carrot and capsicum. Thinly slice the mushroom
Heat the oil under medium heat. Add the onion and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir well until they are slightly brownish. Put in carrot, capsicum, minced beef and stir for another 5 minutes. Add in the mushroom
Pour in the tomato purée, tomato soup, chicken stock, Thai chilli sauce, bay leaf and McCormick Italian Herbs Mix. You may add more Thai chilli sauce for a spicier sauce
Simmer for 45 minutes (until the sauce thickens) under low heat. Stir every 10 minutes to avoid burning. Lastly, add salt, sugar, and black pepper to taste

For spaghetti:

While waiting for the sauce to thicken, you can prepare the spaghetti
Boil 1 litre of water in a pot. Add the spaghetti with a pinch of salt and a dash of oil. Wait for 8-10 minutes until it is al dente (cooked, firm and not hard). Different brand of spaghetti requires different cooking time so please see the spaghetti packet for cooking instructions
When it is al dente, put it into a colander and rinse under COLD water. This is to stop the cooking process and to avoid them sticking to each other

Serving suggestion:
Serve the spaghetti on a plate. Pour the rich bolognese over it and garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

On another different note, next Monday will be 1 Muharam 1430 Hijrah, so lets not forget to recite Akhir Tahun Du'a and Awal Tahun Du'a.

Not Ever... Again!

2008-12-10T09:39:00.006+08:00

Cooked cream mushroom soup and baked chicken for my husband last Sunday and I must say, it didn't taste as nice as what was written in the foodblog. I followed exact measurement but the soup turned out to be salty and the chicken was just... bland. Not worth sharing.

9. Spicy & Fragrant Soy Sauce Chicken

2008-11-28T11:32:00.007+08:00

Serves 3

Ingredients:
1/2 medium size chicken (cut into 8 parts and cleaned)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 green chillies
5 bird eye’s chillies
1 onion
½ cup warm water
Few sprigs of spring onion and parsley, chopped
2 tbsp oil
Salt and sugar to taste

Ingredients A:
1 cinnamon stalk
2 clove
1 star anise
2 cardamom
2 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger

Method:

Take the shallots, garlic and ginger into the blender and mash it until it is very fine

Heat the oil in the work and sauté Ingredients A until they are fragrant

Put the chicken in and stir for about 5 minutes

Pour the soy sauce in. You may substitute with 1/4 cup of thick soy sauce

Pour in the warm water and give it a good stir

Slice the green chillies and halve the bird eye’s chillies and combine them into the wok. If you like it slightly hot, don’t halve the bird eye’s chillies

Julienne the onion and add into the wok

Let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the gravy thickens

Serve in a bowl and sprinkle the spring onion and parsley on top of it. Goes perfectly well with hot rice and chicken/beef soup!

p/s: We were out of KL on the third week of November hence no post for that week.

Hiatus

2008-11-06T11:48:00.003+08:00

My husband won't be back until the third week of November so there will be no post at the moment.

8. Mashed Taters (BM version)

2008-10-30T18:11:00.009+08:00

Hidangan untuk 4 orang

Bahan²:

4 biji kentang (jenis kulit perang), saiz sederhana
¼ cawan susu penuh krim (cecair)
2 camca besar marjerin/mentega
Sedikit lada sulah (lada hitam)
Sedikit garam
Serbuk sos perang

Cara² membuat kentang putar:

Bersihkan kulit kentang dan rebus dalam air mendidih. Angkat bila kentang betul² empuk. (Kulit kentang boleh dibuang dan kemudian kentang boleh dipotong sebelum merebus. Kaedah ini dapat menjadikan kentang empuk dengan lebih cepat tetapi menyebabkan kentang menjadi kurang manis apabila ia empuk)
Buang kulit dan potong kentang hingga menjadi segmen kecil². Lecek²kan ia sehingga menjadi halus dan kasar² sedikit
Selepas itu, sambil melecek, tuangkan susu perlahan² sehingga konsistensi kentang itu lembut. Bubuh mentega, lada hitam, garam secukup rasa. Rasa kentang lenyek tersebut dan tambah mana² bahan (jika perlu) mengikut citarasa

Cara² membuat sos perang

Dalam mangkuk, tuangkan serbuk sos perang dan air. Kacau hingga sebati
Tuangkan dalam periuk, kacau perlahan². Pastikan anda memasang api sederhana
Perlahan² tuangkan susu penuh krim (cecair) sehingga sos menjadi likat dan mengikut citarasa

Cara hidangan:
Tuangkan sos perang di atas kentang putar dan hidangkan bersama hidangan Western atau boleh makan begitu sahaja di depan TV :)

Something is Better Than Nothing

2008-10-24T13:13:00.006+08:00

It was our first raya as husband and wife that we went to East Malaysia to celebrate it. MIL wanted to prepare the ketupat pulut on the night before raya and FIL suggested to have a barbeque with it. Immediately I volunteered to prepare a simple side dish to go along with the juicy steaks. It was simple and everybody loved it! Try to guess what it was!
(Hint: picture)

7. Chicken Soup for the Soul ;)

2008-10-24T13:03:00.003+08:00

This dish is proven to have healing properties to mild ailments such as fever, cough, sore throat and flu. Do try it! (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 medium size chicken (cut into 16 parts and cleaned)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cardamom
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stalk
4 clove
6 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
2 inches ginger
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of recently boiled water
4 cups of hot water
4 tablespoon of oil
Salt, sugar and pepper
Few sprigs of spring onion and parsley, chopped
Fried shallots (@bawang goreng)

Method:

Put shallots, garlic and ginger into the blender and mash it finely
Combine the cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and clove into 1 cup of recently boiled water. After it sits for 5 minutes, remove the items from the water and put aside
In a big pot, heat oil and sauté the aromatics. When it browns, add the four spices together with the chicken. Stir well for about 10 minutes
Add 4 cups of hot water (or more to cover the chicken) and the 4 spices-infused-water, and let the soup simmer until the chicken is 3/4 cooked
Add in the carrots, potatoes and the chicken broth
When the chicken is tender, add salt, sugar and pepper to taste
Turn off the burner, add in the spring onion, parsley, fried shallots and put the lid on for ten minutes. This is to allow the aroma of the spring onion, parsley and fried shallots permeate into the soup
You may serve it with bread or anything that you/your partner likes! :)

Poor Baby!

2008-10-23T17:15:00.009+08:00

At 4 p.m. I was astonished to get an 'early' call from my husband. Usually he'd call at 5 and that's when he has bathed, packed and ready to leave for KL with his friends. Turned out to be he is on medical leave and feeling under the weather and wanted a good chicken soup to ease his runny nose and sore throat. My mom taught me a basic chicken soup recipe few years back and I thought of tweaking it a little. Will post the *tweaked* recipe tomorrow!

6. Curry Mee

2008-10-06T16:51:00.013+08:00

The secret to its sweetness is prawn broth! Here's the recipe: (Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1/2 medium sized chicken, cleaned and cut into small bites
50 gm medium size fresh prawns, cleaned, head and shell removed - put aside
6 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup of fishcakes, diced
1/2 cup of fishballs, halved
2 cardamom
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stalk
2 clove
25 gm curry powder, diluted in one cup of water
2 tablespoon of diluted tamarind paste
1/2 cup of thick coconut milk
4 cups of water
2 tablespoon of oil
Salt and sugar

2 hard boiled eggs, cut into segments
2 green chillies, sliced thinly

1/2 stalk of spinach, cut into 1.5 inches wide
1/2 cup of beansprouts
200 gm of egg noodle

Method:

Put the head and shell of the prawns in a pot filled with a cup of water. Bring it to a boil. Pour them through a strainer and put the broth aside.
Take the shallots, garlic and ginger into the blender and mash it until it is very fine
Heat the pot with 2 tablespoon of oil
Sauté the shallots, garlic and ginger. When it browns, add the cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and clove
Add the curry paste and stir for ten minutes. Pour 4 cups of water, add the tamarind paste and the coconut milk
When the gravy boils, put in the chicken and the potatoes. Stir well
When the chicken is 3/4 cooked, add in the prawn broth with prawns, fishcake and fishballs
Simmer the gravy slowly until the chicken is tender. Serve the gravy in a heavy base bowl
Add salt and sugar to taste
Take spinach, beansprouts and egg noodle and blanch them in hot water for ten minutes. Toss them to drain excess liquid. Put in a serving plate. NOTE: Blanch them separately

Serving suggestion: Put the egg noodle into a bowl and ladle the curry gravy into the bowl. Put egg wedges, sliced green chillies, spinach and beansprouts on top of it.

Enjoy! :D

5. Fried Spaghetti (Malay version)

2008-09-25T16:38:00.004+08:00

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pack spaghetti
½ cup minced beef
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 tin tomato purée (medium size)
2 tablespoon chilli paste
6-8 large meatballs (fried until half cooked)
2 tomatoes
Parsley to garnish
4 tablespoon vegetable oil (preferably olive oil)
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:

In a large bot, boil 2 litres of water. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. When the water reaches boiling point, put in the spaghetti
When the spaghetti is al dénté (cooked but firm), drain the water and put aside
In a pan, heat 3 tablespoon of oil and fry the minced beef until it is half cooked.Meanwhile, dice the onion and garlic
Put in the diced onion, garlic and tomato purée. Stir well until it fragrants
Add the chilli paste and black pepper
Dice the tomatoes and add them into the pan
Lastly, add in the meatballs and stir well until the meatballs are cooked
Pour the sauce onto the spaghetti. Arrange the meatballs around the plate and garnish with parsley. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bon Appétit!

Menu for Thursday...

2008-09-22T14:31:00.002+08:00

The picture says it all :-)

4. Ayam Masak Sambal

2008-09-19T13:02:00.005+08:00

Hello ppl! Below is a simple ayam masak sambal recipe which I am going to cook for today's Iftar. Today hubby and I are going to my parents' house for Iftar so I'm bringing the dish as well. Hopefully it won't turn out to be so hot! - dad likes any dish to be mildly hot. (Serves 4)

Ingredients A:
1 medium size chicken (cut into 12 parts and cleaned)
2 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients B:
3 tablespoon home-made chilli paste (boil dried chillies and blend it)
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
1 small stalk of curry leaves
2 pieces of dried tamarind
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoon oil

Method:

Combine Ingredients A in a bowl. Make sure all chicken parts are well coated with turmeric powder and salt. Put aside to rest
Chop the onions and garlic and blend it
In a wok, heat the oil and sweat the onions, garlics and chilli paste until fragrant. At this point when the oil becomes reddish, put in the curry leaves and dried tamarind. Stir well
Pour the water slowly and let it simmer for a while until the gravy thickens a bit
Add sugar and salt to taste
Finally, put in the chicken and give it a good stir

Serve it hot with rice, bread or even French loaf! Enjoy!

What to Cook This Weekend?

2008-09-18T13:01:00.007+08:00

Today hubby is coming to KL but I plan to cook tomorrow. He's taking me to Ramadhan buffet at Marché tonight so I'm preparing my tummy to feast on their scrumptious spread. Anyways, am thinking of cooking Sambal Ayam tomorrow as the main meal. Last week hubby revealed that he likes chicken over other meat. I was quite surprised coz last year I was given the impression that he dislikes eating chicken. Will work on more chicken dishes then. As usual, the recipe will come tomorrow :)

3. Sweet, Sour & Spicy White Promfet

2008-09-12T13:38:00.009+08:00

Serves 2

Ingredients A
1 large white promfet
3 tablespoon cornflour
1 cup of oil (for frying the fish)

Ingredients B
1 onion
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
2 tablespoon oil

Ingredients C
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoon chilli sauce
3 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients D
1 tomato
1 stalk of spring onion
2 red chillies
2 green chillies
Parsley

Method:

Coat the fish with cornflour and fry it under medium-high heat. When it browns, drain the oil and put it on a flat plate
Slice Ingredients B thinly. Pour 2 tablespoon of oil in a wok and saute them until they brown
Put in Ingredients C bit by bit and stir well until fragrant
Dice the tomato, thinly slice the chillies and chop the spring onion (about 4 cm length). Combine them into the wok and give it a final stir
Pour onto the fried promfet. Garnish with parsley

Mission Accomplished!

2008-09-12T08:54:00.005+08:00

Reached my husband's house (our house actually, don't know why I'm still not used of saying it) at about 7pm yesterday. It was tad late. So I decided to cut down one menu - Fried Egg drenched with Sweet Chilli Gravy. The fish, chicken and broccoli was perfectly cooked at 830. Hubby arrived 9pm. :):) We dined in front of the TV While watching 2 movies that he just finished downloaded. They were so bland (despite one of those which got good rating in RT) we slept at the couch :P Will update later on the recipes. Gotta go for a seminar now. Toodles!

Yippe!

2008-09-09T12:31:00.009+08:00

I ALWAYS look forward for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays every week. That's when hubby comes home to me hehe :) So I always make an appoint to cook at least one proper meal during his stay in KL. I always believe in the proverb, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Moreover, it is sunat that a wife prepares for her husband's meal though I always think it is mandatory.

This time I must make sure everything's cooked by 830pm. Must make sure everything's cooked by 830pm. Must make sure everything's cooked by 830pm. Or I'm gonna hate myself for letting him wait for the meal after the long 3-hour drive from Kerteh, like I did last time :( Luckily he's not the kinda guy who grumbles nor complain for having to wait for lunch/dinner times. Being a sweetheart as he's always been, he has never failed to assist me in the kitchen. Be it slicing the onions (which ocassionally makes him sneeze, like, forever - sorry syg!), stir the aromatics while i prepare the chicken, lay out the table, wash the dishes - you name it - he does it all! Okok back to the subject matter. I plan to cook two new dishes this week: Sweet, sour & spicy white promfet (equivalent to Bawal Putih Tiga Rasa) and Fried Egg drenched in Sweet Chilli Gravy. The side dish this time will be Ayam Masak Kuning (my first recipe in the blog) and Buttered Broccolli (taught by my MIL, one of hubby's fav). Just got the recipe of the former from my colleague, gotta scout for the other one later... or maybe tomorrow... Well, will post both recipes on Friday nevertheless, insyaAllah. Gotta go now to OU and get my new *MICROWAVE*, a wedding gift from my former department. Yay!

Till then, take care. And oh, selamat berpuasa to all Muslims!
21 more days to go!

2. Thick Chicken Curry

2008-09-05T15:28:00.016+08:00

Bless my mom who just called fifteen minutes ago. After she finished complaining about not being able to use my dad's prepaid credit (coz it's time for him to topup again to make calls/sms), I took the opportunity to ask her how to cook chicken curry. Now this is not the conventional coconut-milk-induced chicken curry. It's a recipe with thick gravy that doesn't require any coconut milk, tomato paste, milk or the like - making it a fat-free recipe! (yea rite :p) Anywhooo...the recipe! (Serves 4)

Ingredients A
1 medium size chicken (cut into 12 parts and cleaned)
2 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients B
4 red shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger

2 cloves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom
1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste

1 big onion
2 stalks green chilli
1 small packet of curry powder (i prefer Baba's over other brands)

1 cup of oil (for frying the chicken)
2 tablespoon of oil (for cooking the curry)
1 cup water

Method:

Put Ingredients A into a bowl and make sure all chicken are well coated with turmeric powder and salt. Put aside
Blend Ingredients B until they reach fine consistency. Put aside
Dilute the curry powder with half a cup of water. Stir well
Pour 1 cup of oil into a hot wok. Fry the chicken until it's 3/4 cooked. Set the chicken to cool and press it lightly using kitchen paper to remove excess oil
In a pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil and sweat Ingredients B until it browns
Put in the curry paste and stir well. Add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick and cardamom
Pour the remaining water into the pan. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes
Half the onion and slice it thinly. Also thinly slice the green chillies
In a separate small bowl, put 2 tablespoon of water into the tamarind paste. Stir it well and pour it into the pan
Put in the chicken, onions and chillies. Stir well and cook for another 15 minutes
Serve with hot rice, and, if you love more heat, "sambal belachan" will be the perfect companion! ;)

1. Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Masak Kuning)

2008-08-27T15:19:00.010+08:00

Got this recipe from my mom. She said the recipe was passed down from my paternal grandmother whom I fondly call Tok Mak. Tok Mak passed away when I was 10 years old. Can hardly remember the things I spoke to her but I sure love her cook! It was named ayam masak kuning instead of ayam masak kunyit probably due to its distinct yellow colour gravy. Anyways here's the recipe: (Serves 4)

Ingredients A:
1 medium size chicken (cut into 12 pieces)
2 tablespoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients B:
8 whole shallots
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger (old ginger)

1 piece cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 star anise
2 tablespoon oil
1 red chilli
1 big red onion
2 cups of water
Sugar (optional)
Spring onion
Coriander leaves

Method:

Combine Ingredients A in a bowl. Make sure all chicken parts are well coated with turmeric powder and salt. Put aside to rest
Blend Ingredients B
In a wok, heat oil and sweat Ingredients B. When it browns, put the chicken and the three spices. Stir well
Pour 2 cups of water (or more) until it covers the chicken. Put a lid on and boil for about 30 minutes under medium heat
Slice the chilli and red onion thinly. Chop the spring onion and coriander leaves
When the gravy is reduced to a thick paste, it denotes that the chicken is almost cooked. Next, put in the red onion, chilli and coriander leaves and give it a good stir. You can add a pinch of sugar to sweeten the dish a bit (according to your taste)
Garnish the chicken with spring onions. Voilà... serve the chicken with hot rice

Cooked this for my husband last Thursday night when he got back from Kerteh. Boy did he enjoy chomping it down with buttered brocolli and Chinese style fried peasprouts with prawns! It was an immense joy watching him eating... :)

My First Post!

2008-08-21T18:40:00.002+08:00

Gosh! Didn't really know how easy and quick the blog sign up was! Truthfully, I'm really not an avid blogger tho' I do blog hop once in a while ;) So, why bother having a blog, you may ask? Well peeps, the blog is purely intended to share some of the recipes (original recipies and modified ones according to my taste) that I'm gonna cook for my darling husband, mi familia and friends. As much as I enjoy watching Bobby Chinn, Jamie Oliver, Nigella, Chef Wan, Kylie Kwong (my favorite!) and other celebrity chef cookshows, I've to admit that I can only cook dishes that use no more than 4 ingredients - in other words - very simple & lazy dishes. Being married for 2 months now, I think it's essentially important that I learn to cook Malay authentic dishes (mind you, am not a fan of Malay so called fusion dishes) be it from my Mom, cookbooks, internet etc. Along the way will come the Chinese, Indian, Italian's (my hubby's favourite!) dishes. So I promise to myself to blog about a dish that I cook at least once a week.

Now, let's see if I can keep up to that!