Ayam Masak Merah (Red chilli chicken)

Inspired by CookingismyPassion

1. Season chicken with turmeric powder, salt and corn flour for at least 30 minutes.
2. Fry and set aside.
3. Use part of remaining oil to fry lemongrass, 3 cloves, half a cinnamon stick and 1 large tomato (or more if desired). Add oil if required as tomato turns to puree.
4. Add chilli paste (I used the chilli paste from this recipe). Stir.
5. Add fried chicken and simmer. Add water if required.
6. Add ketchup, salt and sugar to taste.

Verdict: Even though I didn't use the recipe given, cos I already had my own prepared chilli paste, this dish turned out great. A change from the usual chicken dishes I cook, which I'm really tired of now.

Kung Po Chicken

Adapted from Wokking Mum

1. Marinate diced chicken meat (breast or drums) with 1 tbs cooking wine (I use hua tiow chiew), 1 tbs light soy sauce and 2 tbs corn flour for an hour or more.
2. Stir fry chicken till golden brown. Set aside.
3. Fry 1 big onion (quartered) or some shallots, and garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add 20 dried chillies (soaked for a few hours and cut in halves) and fry for another minute or so.
4. Add 2 tbs black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar), 2 tbs sugar, 2 tbs water.
5. When mixture boils, stir in chicken and ensure it's well-coated. Then add, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and cooking wine, bit of salt, to taste.
6. Add corn flour mixture (from the marinade) if you like your sauce thick.
7. Boil, add water if you like more sauce and black vinegar if not sour enough.
8. Serve with steamed rice.

optional: Cashew nuts can be added.

Sambal Prawns & Sambal Ikan Bilis

1. Chilli Paste recipe. Soak 20 dried chillies in hot water for 30 min (or boil if you can't wait). Cut chillies in half and remove as much seeds as you want (the more seeds there are, the hotter your chilli paste will be). Drain and blend with 2 large fresh chillies and 1 cm thick or 1 level tbs of belacan (roast belacan in oven first).
2. Blend 14 shallots, 3 cloves garlic and a bit of ginger. Fry this paste in 100ml of heated oil. Stir constantly till this paste turns fragrant.
3. Add chilli paste from No1 and mix well. Reduce heat and slowly fry till the paste darkens to a deep-red brown and oil separates (20 min or so).
4. Add 3 tbs sugar, 1 tsp salt and water (amount of water depends on how thick you want your sambal to be).
5. Add sliced Bombay onion and boil.
6. Add prawns or Ikan Bilis (for ikan bilis, separately fry it first in hot oil till crispy).
7. Stir and add sugar, salt, and other seasoning (eg light soy sauce) to taste.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for assam (tamarind) pulp juice to be added instead of water. I only use water. Reduce the amount of sugar if it's too much for you. I love my sambals to be sweet, so I think I use even more sugar than this recipe calls for! Also, the amount of chilli paste in this recipe may not be enough if you want your sambal to be hot. So make your own estimation. Good luck!

Mee Hoon Kueh (Difficulty: 3)

1. Knead 400g flour, 1/2 tsp salt and water (add water bit by bit) into a dough. Knead bit by bit till the entire dough is smooth and not sticking to your hands. Takes more than 10 mins of kneading.
2. Knead a tbs of oil into dough.
3. Separate into portions.
4. Cover with damp cloth for 1/2 hour.
5. Boil anchovy soup (a fistful of anchovy boiled/simmered in water for at least an hour). Peel dough, add to anchovy soup. Add pork, prawns, chye sim and boil.
6. Add fried anchovies and fried shallots just before serving.

Background

Went over to Katherine's place for a lesson on making Mee Hoon Kueh. I have always, always, loved this Hokkien dish, more so if it's home-made, but never got round to learning how to make it. Kat's mee hoon kueh is just like how my mum makes it, authentic. Very yummy. Ate so much, with cilipadi and soy sauce of course. Best. (Best?! Best?!...Wilson must be cursing under his breath that I made his precious about-to-pop wife work so hard in the kitchen).

I'm not sure if it's a West Malaysian dish, but Ed who's from East Malaysia won't eat it. And when I first went to Singapore (back in 1989), not many people seem to have heard of Mee Hoon Kueh either. Only some years later did Meehoonkueh/Banmian shops start sprouting all over the island.

Oh, my eat-potato-peranakan Form 6 buddy and childhood friend Lily had us in stitches years ago when she refered to this dish as "pull-pull" mee. Needless to say, she married an angmoh.

Braised pork loin steak

Source: www.aromacookery.com

Ingredients:

800g pork loin steak
1 tsp corn flour
1 small bowl chopped shallots
1 whole chopped garlic
5 bruised lemongrass
Some galangal, sliced or bruised
Light soy sauce and dark soy sauce to taste
Water

Instructions:

1. Fry shallots, garlice, galangal and lemongrass till fragrant.
2. Add pork (which has been tenderised with corn flour or with back of cleaver), sprinkle brown sugar generously.
3. When sugar has melted, add light and dark soy sauce.
4. Add just enough water to cover meat (not too much). When boiled, taste and add sugar and light soy sauce if necessary.
5. Cover and braise for 1 hour. Remove cover and if drier version is preferred, remove excess gravy and continue to fry pork on high heat, adding dark soy sauce to make pork darker.
6. Cut pork into bite-sized pieces before serving.

REVIEW:
When cooked: Thursday 25 January 2007
Which meal: Dinner
Which try: First
Missing ingredients: None
Exchanged ingredients: None
Difficulty Level: 3
Others: The original recipe calls for Pork Belly ie to make LorBak

Verdict: Everyone loved this dish. Same recipe can be used for braised duck as well.

Coca-cola charsiew pork ribs

Source: M4M

Ingredients:

600g prime ribs
2 tbsp charsiew sauce
Corn flour
1 can coca-cola

Instructions:

1. Marinate pork ribs with charsiew sauce and corn flour for 2-3 hours. Fry.
2. Add a can of coca-cola.
3. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove cover, cook on higher heat till gravy almost dries up.

REVIEW:
When cooked: Thursday 21 December 2006
Which meal: Dinner
Which try: Have cooked this many times
Missing ingredients: None
Exchanged ingredients: None
Difficulty Level: 3
Others: Nil

Verdict: Very popular with Ed & the boys. Sticky, gooey, yummy.

Adhe's oxtail soup

Source: Adhe (Indonesian buddy I met in Frankfurt)

Ingredients:
6 pieces oxtails
5 slices garlic
5 shallots
Tomato
Carrot
Onion
Pepper

1. Boil oxtail with salt.
2. Fry garlic and shallots till fragrant.
3. Add too oxtail soup. Add tomato, carrot, and onion.
4. Pepper to taste.

REVIEW:

When cooked: Long time ago, in Frankfurt
Which meal: Lunch
Missing ingredients: Nil
Exchanged ingredients: Nil
Difficulty Level: 3
Others: It was lots nicer when I ate this at Adhe's place.

Verdict: I love oxtail soup but no one else in the family will drink it.

Esther's fried chicken wings

Source: Esther Heng

Ingredients:
Chicken wings
Oyster Sauce
Finely chopped garlic
Pepper
Bit of baking soda
Flour
Cold water

Instructions:

1. Marinade chicken wings with oyster sauce, garlic and pepper.
2. Before frying, add cold water, baking soda and flour.
3. Deep fry.

When cooked: Long time ago, in Frankfurt
Which meal: Lunch
Missing ingredients: Nil
Exchanged ingredients: Nil
Difficulty Level: 3
Others: Nil.

Verdict: Very popular in the Leong household. But too messy for me, the amount of oil needed for deep-frying always puts me off making this dish. It's really delicious though.

MIL's sam cham bak (3-layered pork)

Source: MIL

Ingredients:

1 pack Sam Cham Bak
Pinch of salt
Corn Flour
Oyster sauce
Special light soy sauce
Ginger slices
7 slices garlic
7 slices shallots
1 cube rock sugar
Black soy sauce
Chinese wine

Instructions:

1. Marinate sam cham bak with salt, corn flour, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and ginger for half a day.
2. Pound garlic and shallots. Fry till fragrant.
3. Add pork. Fry till slightly brown.
4. Add black soy sauce.
5. Add water, bring to boil.
6. Add rock sugar. Wine.

Others: Add oyster sauce and sugar to taste, if needed.

M4M's braised pork ribs with onions

Source: Mandy from M4M

Ingredients:
500g prime ribs (cut into 3" sections)
1 large onion(yellow type)
5 button mushrooms (optional)
some ginger slices
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups water

Seasonings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce (I use kwong cheong thye Best grade)
a little sugar
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
a little salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Wash pork ribs and cut into long sections. Cut onions into shreds. Cut button mushrooms into 4 slices each.
2.Heat 2 tbsp of oil, fry ginger and garlic till fragrant then stir in onion. Add pork ribs and fry well then add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, wine and some water. Stir well.
3. Transfer pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients into a pot. Braise over medium heat for 10mins. Lower the heat and simmer for 20mins.
4.Lastly, season with sesame oil, salt and pepper before serving.

REVIEW:

When cooked: Saturday 18 November 2006
Which meal: Dinner
Which try: First
Missing ingredients: Mushrooms
Exchanged ingredients: Hua Tiow Chiew instead of Shaoxing, Kwong Chong Thye Standard instead of Best Grade.
Difficulty Level: 3
Others: The ribs were still not tender after the required time, so I cooked it for at least 30 min more.

Verdict: Brian loved the dish, said it replaces Coca-Cola Pork Ribs as his favourite. Eddie finished all 4 ribs. Sean finished his dinner. I found the taste all right, a bit diluted.