Foodilicious

Kapitan Lamb Briyani

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:28:00 +0000

Kapitan Lamb Briyani, a photo by <3SnowyGirl<3 on Flickr.

This has to be the most wonderful briyani ever, alking about mamak food in Penang. So if you're ever in Penang, please do head over to Kapitan Nasi Kandar in Georgetown for a savoury briyani. They have chicken, beef or lamb. YUMMY!

Fried Beef Briyani Bihun (Vermicelli)

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:57:00 +0000

beef briyani fried vermicelli, a photo by <3SnowyGirl<3 on Flickr.

The first time I had this was during a Raya (Eid) visit to my parent's next door neighbour's house in Penang. Auntie A has always cooked delicious Indian-inspired food and always, give some to us. I absolutely love her thosai and capati. And, she makes wonderful Malay kuih as well, like karipap and cucur udang.

So, during the visit to her house, she served us Bihun Briyani - and I was like "bihun briyani???" I had never tasted it or seen it anywhere else at that point. It was superbly delicious, she made it with lamb which makes it even more special. Who eats bihun with lamb, usually?

Today, I just thought of bihun for dinner, after the tiring day at work and no much time to cook complicated meals. And Auntie A's Bihun Briyani came to my mind.... Thinking of the savoury dish makes me drool all the way home from KL to Shah Alam...

This is my first time cooking it. I wasn't expecting to cook this tonight, and so I used whatever ingredients I had at home. It would have been much better if I was prepared, so I could put in more ingredients to make it more special. Anyway, simplicity is the most important factor for a busy full time working mum like me. It's a challenge to cook simple meals after a long day at work, especially when you're cooking for a 2 year old. Thankfully, she has Wantan Soup prepared earlier for today!

Here's a simple recipe for this delicious Bihun Goreng Briyani. Hope you LOVE it!

1 packet dried vermicelli, soaked in water for 10-20 minutes (I used Jasmine brand, soaked in normal temperature water).
1 packet Maggi Briyani seasoning, mix with 1/2 cup water
300gm thinly sliced beef (I added some chicken too)
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 garlic, sliced
1/2 carrot, julienned
1/3 cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red tomato, chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
Cinnamon stick, 1 small one
Cloves, Star Anise, Cardamon - a mix of these flavourful spices, just a few of each
1 tsp coriander powder (additional, optional)
dash of salt, pepper, sugar
dash of McCormick's Mix Spice
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped (garnishing)
Some ready made fried shallots (garnishing)
1 large red chili, thinly sliced (garnishing)

Heat up a wok with olive oil and stir fry onion, garlic, adding the cloves, star anise and cardamon. Stir and add beef, chicken, briyani seasoning, coriander powder, and a dash of mix spice.

After aromatic, throw in the vegetables and vermicelli, and stir fry until the vermicelli softens. Add a little of water if needed. Taste, and add salt/pepper/sugar as like.

Fry until vermicelli is dried. Some people loves a soupy bihun goreng, but for briyani it won't taste as good until it's really fried well. So, stir, stir until cooked through. Transfer to a serving plate/bowl and garnish with coriander, chili and fried shallots. Or simply just whatever garnishing you have at home, like scallions or chopped celery or green chilies...

Enjoy!

Mee Goreng Mamak Pulau Tikus Market

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:23:00 +0000

This. Is. Awesome. Seriously, the best mee mamak for my tastebuds. For those who have not tried this one, the next time you're in Penang island do head over to Pulau Tikus, this mamak's stall is located in a busy Chinese Kopitiam, just beside the wet market, or behind Nasi Kandar Rafi.

My permanent menu here is mee goreng extra basah, couple with a refreshing siu kam peng from the uncle or aunty in the kopitiam.

Besides mee mamak which is the only halal menu there, non halal street food there seems good too as that kopitiam is always busy, means food is good no??

I am sooo craving for this right now!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad Mini

Tonight's Dinner at Home: Chicken Curry

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:46:00 +0000

Guilty. Have not been foodporn-blogging in a very, very loooong time. Blame it on my hectic life, and priorities have changed although cooking, and food - remains as one of my most enjoyable thing, I even cook almost everyday still. Perhaps I shall try to blog more often.

Made simple chicken curry tonight, it's not as hard as it may sound like, and I love having a warm, spicy bowl of chicken curry along with those soft potatoes and carrots in the mix, eat it with a piece of freshly toasted bread, and a side of fresh green salad. What could be better when you're tired from work?

My ingredients are simple, and I cook enough for 2-3 persons. If you click on this Chicken Curry Recipe, you could see my previous post and recipe. And a pretty delicious photo of it :-)

Happy New Year 2013, still not too late to wish! May this year brings the bestest of the best food you've ever tasted, the bestest recipe you ever created or tried, and many more!

Sardines with Mixed Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:36:00 +0000

This is a simple healthy recipe I made for dinner tonight. Have been quite busy and pregnant-tired, I still cook sometimes, but more of simple foods that I can eat :-) Perhaps I shall add in some healthy recipes to cook during pregnancy in here..

Recipe:: Sardines with Mixed Vegetables

1 small can of sardines, including the tomato juice
1/4 carrot, thinly chopped
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 of a large red bell pepper (capsicum), roughly chopped
1/3 of a celery stick, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 green chili, sliced
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
dash of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Easy and does not take much time.. heat up the pan with olive and fry the onions, tomatoes, carrots and celery until soften. Add the sardines along with its tomato juice. Throw in the rest of the ingredients in and stir, breaking the sardines to smaller pieces (don't totally mash them tho).
Serve while still hot with brown bread and a glass of cool juice.
-----

Sardines are very rich in iron, whilst the fresh tomatoes, celery, carrots and red pepper adds all the vitamins that is soo good to help our body absorb the iron. Not to mention this dinner is low in fat! :-)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 09:52:00 +0000

Hubs was asleep. We just came back from an almost full day outing, from breakfast to visiting my parents to shopping - it is hot, and driving home seemed like a long, long journey.. Zzzz.. All I wanted to do when I reach home is to just fall onto my comfy bed and doze off... Until ten minutes later, I just could not sleep or rest. And so I woke up, tried to organise some of my clothes and then thought, my kitchen. Some clean up would be good for the kitchen..

Then I stared at those baking pans and ingredients that Ihave not touched in a few months - since I got pregnant. What a waste it would be to just leave them until they expire... I have not had any mood to cook, not even a plain simple fried rice in 3 months since I found out I am pregnant. Well, before that I was busy studying for an exam. My blog has been left abandoned - till I baked my chocolate chip muffins today.

Here they are. My muffins. All nice and yummy. I placed one just beside hubs in the bedroom, he was half awake, and I told him, "There is a little present for you beside the bed when you wake up.". 5..4..3..2..1.. I heard him yelling at me that I made muffins? He he he... It is so nice to surprise someone you love when they least expect it, no?
:: Recipe Chocolate Chip Muffins ::

250gm plain flour
175gm castor sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbp cocoa powder
90ml cooking oil
150ml milk
1 large egg
1tsp vanilla essence
1 cup chocolate chips (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven at 200 degrees C.

Mix the all of the ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a mixing bowl, the mixture will be watery.

Place cupcakes on a baking tray and pour the mixture, half full. Sprinkle some chocolate chips and bake until ready.

Baked Fish with Soy Dipping Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:14:00 +0000

Lately, been craving for fish. I loved the baked pomfret fish I made a few weeks back, and decided to have more. It's slightly different, especially the dipping sauce I made. It is very delicious and I bet you would really love it!

I would suggest to get medium sized fish for this, and the ikan kembung (Indian Mackerel) is perfect for this!

:: Baked Fish with Soy Dipping Sauce ::

5 Indian Mackerel (Ikan Kembung)
1 small lemongras, thinly sliced
10 thinly sliced lemon pieces
5 Daun Limau Purut (Kaffir Lime Leaves)
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
Aluminium foil, enough to cover fish while baking

:: Soy Dipping Sauce ::
3 tablespoon kicap lemak manis (dark sweet soy sauce)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 large tomato, chopped
3 cili padi (Bird's eye chili), chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice

Preheat your oven (medium heat). Wash and trim fish. Rub oil and cover the fishes with turmeric powder, including the inside parts. Stuff the inside of the fish with some lemongrass, lime leaves and shallots.

On the aluminium foil, arrange some lemon slices and arrange fish on it. Add a few more lemon slices on top of the fish and seal the aluminium foil. You may want to leave a small hole on top to let off some stream.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Serve with dipping sauce.

To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a dipping sauce bowl.

Note:
Try it with your favourite fish.
You can add a small cut of banana leaf on the aluminium foil to give it more taste.

Simple & Healthy Homemade Beef Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:57:00 +0000

I'm approximately 370 kilometers away from home, no access to a kitchen to cook, not much food choice - and looking at this burger I made some time ago makes my tummy growl. I miss my burgers. A long overdue post, now it is here to share with all.

My hubs is a meat person - chicken being his most favourite while others are acceptable. When it comes to burgers, the most popular and easy meat to use is the minced meat - I've found some recipes to make delicious beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian patties. I've yet to try some of them, but with beef - I have and it tastes really nice.

Homemade beef patties are really good and healthy as compared to fast food burger patties which is fattening and contains preservatives. Do you realise how much fat it contains? Though I must say, buying readily minced meat also do contain some fat, it is not as bad as those ready made frozen beed patties.

It is very simple to make your own delicious beef patties. Adding some oats and minced carrots and celery makes it healthy too, not to mention a way to make your family (esp. kids) eat their greens. You know some will just remove the lettuce and tomatoes from the burgers, but not the minced veges in the patties!

Here's a picture of how to prepare the beef patties:
Picture 1:
You will need:
350gm minced beef
1 egg
1/2 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoon breadcrumbs/biscuits
1 tablespoon oats
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of Italian herbs
dash of salt & pepper

Picture 2:
Mix well the chopped onion, breadcrumbs, Italian herbs and oats.

Picture 3:
In a medium bowl, mix the minced meat alongwith other ingredients using a spoon, and combine well.

Picture 4:
It is now ready to be formed into patties. Makes about 4 medium patties.

Form a ball with the mixture and using your hands, gently press them down to about 1.5cm thick. I do this as I did not use any patty moulds. The sides will tend to break a little, but simply form it gently again and place on an oiled grill pan, about 3 minutes each side until cooked.

For the burger:
Cut the buns in half, butter them and place on the grill for a minute, this will warm up the buns and give the surface a lovely taste. I love doing this also because it adds a little crisp to the buns.

In order: Place the first half of the bun on a plate and add some lettuce, onions, the patty, some cheese, your favourite sauce (mine was BBQ), tomatoes and place the top part of the bun to form the burger.

Serve immediately!

Vanilla Sago Gula Melaka

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:37:00 +0000

It is blistering H-O-T out here in Penang, Malaysia. It is the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year. I sure got a lot of cookies and oranges from my neighbours. I also got some angpows eventhough married. I'm so lucky to be living in a multi-cultural country!

A belated Gong Hei Fatt Choy to all my Chinese readers here. I have been cought up with my studies & travel, I missed a couple of weekend food blogging! I hope that everyone had a blast on this festive weekend.

Sago (or sagu) pearls - are used in various cakes and desserts here. It is very similar to tapioca balls, both having the starchy texture and white colours. Some of my favourite sago desserts are the sago gula melaka, bubur kacang hijau (mung beans dessert), pengat pisang (banana dessert) and a few others. For me, the simplest and tastiest way to enjoy sago is this recipe that I am posting here.

For a hot day, this is one of the ways to cool down and just enjoy a bowl of Sago Gula Melaka while watching my favourite TV show... I have to say, instead of preparing it the traditional way using Pandan (Screwpine) leaves and gula melaka (Palm Sugar), I used 2 alternative ingredients that still made the dessert a tasty, delicious one.
::Vanilla Sago Gula Melaka ::
Serves 3-4

You need 4 small jelly moulds to shape the sago like in the picture above.

1 1/2 cups small sago pearls
1 cup coconut milk (preferably low fat), mix with a pinch of salt
4 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Drain the sago pearls in cool running water and throw them in a pot of boiling water. Stir to loosen them up, until they turn from white to transparent. Drain the water, and pour ino the jelly moulds. Leave to cool down and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To make the vanilla sugar syrup, Cook the brown sugar with 1 cup of water and add the vanilla essence. Use fresh vanilla extract if you have them. Pour in a small bowl and refrigerate, also do refrigerate the coconut milk to keep it cool.

When ready to be served, loosen the sago from the moulds by running a knife around the mould and shake it into a small serving bowl. Pour in 2-3 tablespoon of santan and 1 or 2 tablespoon of the vanilla sugar syrup, less if you prefer less sweetness to it. Enjoy with a glass of cool iced tea (or any other cooling drinks you want!).

Note:
1. You can also just pour the cooked sago ino serving bowls instead of moulding them first.
2. This dessert may be served hot as well, depends on your preference.
3. Milk can be substituted, instead of coconut milk.

Grilled Asparagus with Rosemary Butter

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:59:00 +0000

This would be one of my shortest post, it is a light recipe I made sometime ago. A long overdue post :-) I started to enjoy asparagus when mum bought some and stir fired it with some fresly pounded chili sambal. It was very Malaysian, for a very western green. When we planned a barbeque last December, I decided to make some grilled asparagus for everyone. It was something we don't frequently eat, but that is what makes it even special - when we don't have something too often, it becomes special.

There are 2 common sizes of asparagus I found in Penang - the big, light green ones with a slight light purple hint on its tips, and the darher shade of green and skinny ones. I personally prefer the big ones.

:: Grilled Asparagus with Rosemary Butter Recipe ::
1 bunch large asparagus
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
3 tablespoon butter, softened
a pinch of salt

Clean asparagus and cut an inch of the bottom part to remove the hard part.
Mix the freshly chopped rosemary with the butter, and combine with the asparagus.
Grill them over the barbeque grill or a grill pan until asparagus cooks. You will see slight grill marks on the green. About 5 minutes each side. Serve with the rest of the barbequed food!

Turmeric Chicken with Ginger

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:27:00 +0000

This delish chicken recipe will make your taste buds hungry for more. It is not the usual fried turmeric (masak kunyit) that we Malaysians are used to. See the recipe and you'll know what I mean as it involves more ingredients.

This is one of the first dish I learned to cook a long long time ago, and kept the recipe because it's worth it. It is adapted from an Australian food magazine, "Super Food Ideas" quite some time ago. Are they still around? I wonder. Send me a couple of the new mags! :-P

What's nice about this dish is the lemony-gingery taste complimenting the tender, turmeric chicken pieces. And I love it with red hot chilis... MMmm... I've been using a lot of green chilis, so this time around, red is IN! Not that green chilis won't work for this recipe...

The recipe I stated below is a modified version of the original recipe from the magazine I mentioned. Nevertheless, it's a success, food tasting approved by husband who is an absolute chicken lover :-)

:: Turmeric Chicken with Ginger Recipe ::
Serves 4

2 tablespoon oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
8 small mixed chicken pieces
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup chicken stock (or 1/2 cup water plus 1 tablespoon chicken stock granules)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more)
2cm piece fresh ginger, grated
1 large red chili, sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch of salt

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Saute the onions and garlic until onion is tender. Transfer to a plate.

Dust the chicken pieces in turmeric powder and cook in the same pan until golden both sides, adding a little more oil of required.

Pour stock over chicken with remaining ingredients and onions. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Garnish with coriander leaves or chives. Serve warm with rice and pappadums and cucumber salad.

Sambal Telur (Egg Sambal)

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:57:00 +0000

This is likely the most common recipe found all over the net. Anyone can cook it. But maybe not me, I am not so good at sambals, but once you get the hang of it, it is something fun to cook. There are various versions of sambal, depending on the type of meat or vegetables to cook. For eggs, it is usually plain chili with onions sambal. My mum loves adding serai (lemongrass) to her sambal when she makes Prawn Sambal. And a whole lot more recipes.

And you must know that this is one of Malaysia's most adored food anytime of the day, especially with Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice). Just a spoonful of the sambal can make your meal very appetizing, it is deliciously sweet and spicy, and the colour itself is beautiful - red. Some of you may not be able to take the heat, but when you use some fresh red chilis (the non-spicy ones ofcourse), it tastes less spicy but still yummy.

:: Egg Sambal Recipe ::
3 hard boiled eggs, cut into 2

For making sambal
2 fresh red chili
5 dried red chili
2 shallots
1 garlic
pich of salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon assam paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 yellow onion, sliced

Blend the chilis, shallots and garlic with 1/2 cup of water until fine.
Heat up a small pan with 1 tablespoon oil and fry the sliced onions. Add the blended chili paste and fry on low-medium heat until it starts to thicken. Reduce heat and add assam, sugar and salt according to taste. Fry until it thickens like in the picture above, or as you like the consistency of the sambal to be.

On a small plate, lay some lettuce (optional), arrange the hard boiled eggs whilst leaving ample space to pour the cooked sambal in the middle. Lastly, pour the sweet and spicy cooked sambal in the middle of the dish. Serve immediately with rice.

Note:
- Tastes good with plain rice, fried rice and ofcourse, coconut rice.
- Use fried eggs instead of hard-boiled eggs if you prefer.
- The use of fresh chilis is to moderate the hotness of the dried chilis (sambal would be more spicy if just using dried chilis).

Turmeric Beef with Long Beans

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:19:00 +0000

One of my favourite after work dish is this stir fried marinated beef strips with turmeric, and added with some crunchy greens. It is easy to prepare, so making home cooking after work more approachable..

I normally cook this with chicken, rarely beef. Well, sometimes going out of the norm is good... For stir fry beef, it is best to buy those thinly sliced beef strips, if not made at home. I normally buy mine in Tesco or Cold Storage, and just put it in the freezer until I need them.

As for greens, I choose long beans (kacang panjang) this time. It looked too fresh, too good not to grab some at the fresh market last Sunday... Some stories about this long bean.. hmm, I heard from a bunch (make that a big bunch of ladies) that long beans are beragin ('windy') and they do not eat them, even when some of them loves it. I can never understand that 'theory' of theirs, because my mum always cook long beans at home, and even when I do eat them in restaurants, I never find my body to mbe 'windy' or even bloated. Not even the next day or the next week. Not after a year still.. Anyways.

Long beans are green, crunchy and delicious. Perfect for stir-frys. It really goes well with turmeric and onions... yummy!

:: Turmeric Beef with Long Beans ::
300gm beef strips
1 cup long beans, cut into 1 inch lengths
2 sprigs fresh spring onions cut to 1 inch lengths
2-3 bird's eye chili (or any other chili as you like)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Mae Pranom Thai chili paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce

Marinate the beef with turmeric powder, fish sauce, oyster sauce and thai chili paste. Put aside.

Fry onion and garlic until soften. Throw in the marinated beed, and fry until cooked or the water dries out. Add long beans, chili and fry until green beans slightly soften, and add the spring onions. Dish out and serve with plain or fried rice.

Baked Pomfret with Lemongrass

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:13:00 +0000

It's a mess when I goreng (fry) fish in the kitchen, and it annoys me more when the oil jumps all over the kitchen! Fried fish is the last thing I would cook, no matter how much I miss my mum's various ways of fried fish. I told my sister, I am just too lazy to fry fish. And asking mum to just fry a couple of fish for me? Hmm, I do have to 'grow up' and do things meself...

Sue (my sis) told me about baked fish, and how delicious they can be enjoyed just like fried fish as well. The key to making baked fish tasty lies in what herbs and spices being used to marinate the fish. And the type of fish you use, of course.

Indian mackerel, pomfrets and salmon are my top 3 favourite fish for baking. Salmon - because we do normally either grill or bake it. Mackerel and pomfret - simply because they're soo tasty for frying and baking is almost the same, in my opinion. It's one of my new year resolution to actually get rid of that particular silver pomfret from my freezer compartment that I've had for quite some time (but fresh still), plus I wanted to find out how baking this little pomfret would be.
It tasted wonderful, almost the same like ikan bakar (grilled fish) except for that natural banana leaf flavour is not there as I used aluminium foil instead. I used lemongrass as my main ingredient, it gives a nice aroma ans taste to the fish while maintaining the natural fish flavour.

With this successful baked fish method rather than messy fried fish, I can happily say that I won't mind eating fish more frequently! Am sure those of you who finds frying messy, will find this recipe workable and pleasant. An alternatif to frying..

:: Baked Pomfret with Lemongrass Recipe ::

1 medium silver (or white) pomfret (Bawal Putih) or Indian Mackerel (Ikan Kembung)
1 small lemongras, thinly sliced
2-4 thinly sliced lemon pieces
About 2-3 Kaffir Lime Leaves
1/3 of a red onion or 1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
Aluminium foil

Preheat your oven (medium heat). Wash and trim fish (if not done yet). Rub oil, turmeric powder and fish sauce all over the fish, including the inside parts.

On the aluminium foil, place the rest of the ingredients, starting with the onions, lemongrass on both sides of the fish. Arrange the kaffir lime leaves and lemon slices on top of both sides of the fish, and seal he aluminium foil. You may want to leave a small hole on top to let off some stream.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then unseal the foil. Bake for another 10-15 minutes of until the fish is cooked. Serve with dark soy sauce with chopped bird's eye chili & shallots.

Note:
Try it with your favourite fish.
You can add a small cut of banana leaf on the aluminium foil to give it more taste.
You can use torch ginger (Bunga kantan) to give a different flavour.

Prata with Chicken Sausage & Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Roti prata, or prata, or more popularly known as roti canai in Malaysia is one of our favourite or must-have) Malaysian breakfast. Despite its oily or unhealthy rumour, next to nasi lemak, having roti canai once in a while whilst maintaining a healthy lifestyle is like chicken soup for the soul. I'm serious. You can't ever ban yourself (or your husband or friends or family) from eating roti canai once in a while. Not even when you're on the strictest diet!

Roti canai is originally an Indian food for breakfast, it's basically a pancake made from flour, eggs, water and ghee or oil. Due to its delicious crispy but soft texture, eaten with a small bowl of dhal, fish/beef/chicken curry, it is commonly found everywhere, even at the frozen food section. Very convenient.

Honestly, the frozen ones is slightly different as compared to the fresh roti canai that you get in the mamak stalls. And why bother to even buy frozen roti cnai when you can get fresh ones? But I found the frozen ones nice enough to make some simple breakfast or snacks... I got the idea from Hot & Roll - it's a chain that sells hot rolls made from pancakes and roti prata, and they have a couple of different flavour to choose from. You can read about it here.

Since it is fairly simply to make, hubby LOVES it so much, I happen to actually have a pack of unused Kawan roti prata, my breakfast was on its way without much thinking.... and it is so much more delicious having it homemade - more sausages, more flavour, and more love...
:: Prata with Chicken Sausage & Cheese Recipe ::
Serves 2

2 frozen roti pratas (I used the brand "Kawan")
2 chicken sausages, thinly sliced
1/2 of a yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Before heating up the prata on a non-stick pan, prepare and cook the filly first, ie the sausage.

Fry the onions and thinly sliced sausages in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, for about 3 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and fry for another minute, and put aside.

Heat up a large non-stick frying pan on a low-medium heat. Lightly spray the pan with canola oil spray or simpy grease it with olive oil. With a piece of the roti prata, fry each side for about 3-4 minutes or until light brown in colour.

On one side of the prata, sprinkle some mozzarella chesse all over. Place half of the fried sausage with onions over half side of the prata and fold the prata in to two. Repeat with the other ingredients.

Cut the folded prata into two and serve immediately.

Note:
1. Use beef bacon/ham slices to substitute sausages.
2. Try the spicy prata instead of a plain one for a change.

Happy New Year 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

It's been a wonderful year. Another great year almost passed by. I am very happy to get to know all of you, and learn a lot from everyone. I really think blogs are a great place to read, share, and get to know others. I especially thank those who visits this site, and really appreciate those feedback - good or bad, to continually improve and be a better foodie person :-)

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy New Year 2010! May god bless and best wishes to all!

Masala Chai (Tea)

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:18:00 +0000

My friend makes delicious masala chai I've ever had. I never knew what the ingredients were, and thought that the tea is spicially blended and I simply had no idea where to buy them. So on one of the occassion that I was in her house, and while helping her out in the kitchen, did I learn how very simply it is to make masala chai.

Masala chai (Chai, which simply also means Masala tea) is a special brew of black tea with a mix of Indian spices, an India originated hot drink. The taste you get is an aromatic milk tea - the blend of spices such as cardamon, cinnamon and pepper - literally spices up the tea!There are various ways to make chai, I for now am going with the simplest version as a start. Simple yet tastes the same as the one my friend made for me :-) All you need is some black tea bags, milk, some brown sugar, and cardamons...

:: Chai Recipe ::
Serves 2

2 tea bags
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 teaspoon brown sugar
5 cardamon pods, peeled

Boil water, cardamon, teabags until aromatic. Add sugar and milk, let simmer for a few moment. Turn the heat off, strain the teabags and cardamons, and pour into 2 mugs or tea cups. Enjoy warm chai with your favourite biscuits or ckes :-)

Note:
Ingredients are appropriations only, you may adjust tea/milk/spices according to your taste.

Thai Coconut Soup with Prawns (Tom Kha)

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Tom Yum Goong, or Thai Coconut Soup with Prawns (Goong means Prawns in Thai) is a hot and sourish soup you'd love to start your Thai food with. When I first saw and learned about this soup, I was slightly reluctant to try it, as it uses santan (coconut milk) and I don't really like too much santan. However, I changed my mind the second I had my first spoonful of Tom Yum Goong. It is an excellent soup, hot and sour just the way I love it!

Quite frankly, in my personal opinion, it tastes very similar to the more common Tom Yum despite the rich santan ingredient. It all lies in its main lovely ingredients: lengkuas (galangal), serai (lemongrass), lemon juice and fresh coriander roots. These combined, gives the fresh zesty taste whilst the santan adds a cream comfort touch to the soup. Other essential ingredients includes green or red bird's eye chili (or any spicy chili), kaffir lime leaves and some mushrooms would be good (all of which can be found as dried condiments in the supermarkets).

Though it is not very commonly sold outside of Thai restaurants, it is very simple to make anytime so long as you have the key ingredients (as mentioned in above paragraph) at home.

This is an overdue post which I should have put up on my blog 2 weeks back. Well, it's the year end and I've been pretty occupied with travels and social events till now, but here I am, stealing a little time to blog about something new :-) So here is another one of my favourite Thai food recipes for you.
:: Tom Kha (Prawns) Recipe ::
Serves 2

2 cups water
6 large fresh prawns, trimmed but keep its shells & tails on
3 slices fresh lengkuas (galangal)
1 serai (lemongrass), pounded once or twice
1 bunch fresh coriander sprigs (leaves for garnishing)
2 green cili padi or 1 red hot chili, slice the middle part
3 medium kaffir lime leaves, sliced or whole
150gm Enoki mushrooms (or any other type)
50gm santan (coconut milk)
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce

On a medium heat, boil 2 cups of water with galangal, lemongrass, coriander roots. Let it simmer for 10 minutes to extract the flavours of the galangal and lemongrass.

Then throw in chilis, lime leaves, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Stir to combine then pour in the coconut juice, start with smaller portions and ad as desired (as some may prefer more or less santan).

As prawns and Enoki mushrooms cook in a short time, add them both just before the soup is ready to be served, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to the serving bowls, garnish with the coriander leaves and serve while it is still warm.

Tom Yum Goong is served as a starter, or compliments most Asian main course dishes. I love having this during colder days when warm hot and sour soup just warms me up. Comfort food :-)

Molten Chocolate Cake @ Chili's

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Dear hubby, Happy Birthday. I know the day itself had passed and we did had this delicious cake at your favourite Chili's, but I HAD to post this in my blog. It makes me hungry looking at it (stomach growling already). And I know you're drooling at the cake right now. Many more molten chocolate cakes to come to us many many years and I am glad to be sharing it with you each time. I love you!

My Photo Got Stolen...

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Let me tell you a story about copyright infringement... my very own personal experience lately.

Below is a photo taken by myself, using my own DSLR, taken on march 1, 2008. It was a Thai Mango Salad picture that I posted on my flickr and food blog, Foodilicious Malaysia. I love to share pictures and recipes, I am a food blogger, as many of you are.And below is a picture, showing MY PICTURE above, being used without my permission (or should I say stolen... STOLEN!). And they actually FLIPPED the photo and cropped it a little, to make it look "different". Nice try. Next time, take your own damn mango salad picture!!My sis took me to a Southern Thai style restaurant for breakfast last Saturday. I told her I wanted to try the Nasi Kerabu, and so we went to this place located in one of the shop lots in Ampang Putra.

I noticed my picture, on the banner. And I noticed many other very beautiful pictures featured in the restaurant, that I highly sucpect belongs to victims of this irresponsible restaurant owner. Copyright infringement is bot bothered by many. People and businesses use other people's photography without permission and expect to be free just like that. Yeah, we victims are the one feeling frustrated that out beautiful photography are just being used without permission.

I am contemplating taking legal action against offenders and THIEVES that steal my intellectual property to ensure my photos are being used rightfully.
Way back in March '08, most of my photos were not watermarked, thus the reason it was easily stolen. So guys, be careful and invest in an extra minute to watermark your photos before you post them on the world wide web. The w.w.w. are visited by a gazillion irresponsible idiots who uses stuffs in many wrong ways...

Anyone knows the owner of this restaurant, do drop me an email. Meanwhile, I'm going to protect all of my pictures to ensure irresponsible copy idiots do not misuse my photos.

Those who would like to use my pictures, please do ASK from me. I have no issues with sharing pictures. You may also link the pictures back to the original post, or at least credit me for the pictures...

Others I found:

Here's also the same picture being used by Wan Norizan of Resipe4u.com in her post, Resepi Kerabu Mangga:
It was not referenced/linked back to my blog or picture. And not to mention she watermarked the picture as 'hers' with her blog link.

(Updated 8 Jan 2010: This post has been removed from the original site & per it's author, per below comment had apologised and post removed.)

Fried Bihun

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:11:00 +0000

Bihun (vermicelli) goes in the list of one of Malaysian's breakfast item. It is also popular for lunch and dinners... I like my bihun spicy, with eggs, sprinkled with
fried shallots and also with the usual hot cut chilis in light soy sauce.

Though we often see fried bihun pastes sold in the supermarkets, somehow, I feel like they're not as tasty as you make your own. It's all fairly simple - chili paste, light and dark soy sauce, tomato sauce, etc.

:: Fried Bihun ::
Serves 2

Half pack of dried bihun, soak in normal temp. water for 20 mins
200gm fresh prawns, shelled
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup of Sawi (Chinese Mustard green/Gai Choy), chopped 1 inch lengths
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tablespoon chili paste
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
dash of white pepper
salt to taste

For garnishing
1 egg omelette, thinly sliced
fried shallots
Chinese celery, chopped
Cut chilis with lemon juice or light soy sauce

Heat up a wok with some vegetable oil. Fry the onions and garlic until soften, throw in the prawns and stir. When it start changing colour, add in the chili paste, soy sauce, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, and add in the vegetables and bihun.

Stir to combine all, lower the heat a little. Add sprinkles of water if the noodles are too dry and continue stirring, until noodles soften. Serve in a flat plate, garnish the bihun starting with the omelette, shallots (optional) and chopped Chinese celery. Don't forget the cut chilis, as they really add flavour to the fried bihun!

Note: Instead of cut chilis, some sambal will taste good with bihun as well! :-)

Desssert: Instant Panna Cotta

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:09:00 +0000

It looks messy because I poured the raspberry sauce unevenly and perhaps I was too hungry to bother making it look nice. Not to mention the first time trial of this pack of 'Classic Panna Cotta'.

Never can compare this to the real Italian panna cotta.. after having tasted this, well, I can say that it is ok and not too bad. The sauce was not really sufficient to pour over the supposedly 6 pieces of panna cotta that you're supposed to get from that one pack. Better make your own raspberry sauce. However, just for a quick dessert do that you may need for what so ever reason - cravings, curious, hunger, guests... - this is OK.
Basically the instruction given was simple to understand except I had to make some research on what type of cream is to be used. Boy, they must think everyone knows the type of cream tp be used... I almost cream cheese for this. Or, if I was sleep walking, could have bought sour cream.

The truth is, this Penang-born lady does not use cream everyday in her life, santan yes, maybe. Yogurt being the most used item for me. But creams... I've no idea what cream is used for what... Since I had to trust my instincts, I chose to buy a bottle of this Bulla thickened cream... and well, my panna cotta turned out good. Perfect texture, creamy taste. That was all that mattered for that time.

I enjoyed the opportunity to test this product and hopefully will learn to make my own one from scratch one day... but now I must learn more about gelatines as it is used for making this delicious dessert! :-P

Swiss Roll with Custard and Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:07:00 +0000

This would be one of those cooling desserts I would make when it is blistering hot out there. Jellies are so nice to eat, and my favourite flavour is none other than strawberry. Mango, Raspberry and Grape taste nice too :-)
When I said I'd make some dessert for a BBQ event last Sunday, I had in mind Panna Cotta - but didn't get there due to some events I had to attend to. Swiss rolls are easily found at bakeries, and so I decided to make this instead. They're cheap, soft, with a little bit of cream - it tastes nice with some jelly.

It's easy to prepare this, and the only time you need to be patient, is when you refrigerate the dessert to let the jelly set!
:: Swiss Roll with Custard and Jelly Recipe ::
serves about 6

1 packet Strawberry Jelly mixture
2 tablespoon custard powder
about 500ml milk
2 tablespoon sugar
1 Strawberry flavoured Swiss roll (or Apricot, Raspberry)
1 large bowl for serving or 6 small glasses (individual serving)

Cut the Swiss roll to about 1 inch and place them on the bottom of the bowl/glass, just 1 layer of the cake is sufficient.

Cook the custard according to the label/instructions. Basically, just mix the custard powder with sugar and about 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix well. Heat up the remaining milk in a pot over medium heat, and when almost boiling, pour in the custard mixture and stir, while cooking until thickens.

Pour the custard over the layer of cake, about 1 cm of custard layer and spread well, covering all the cake. Refrigerate this while you prepare the jelly. The custard will be set after about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the layer. We do this so that when you add the hot jelly mixture, the jelly and custard will not mix and become cloudy.

Cook the jelly according to instructions, and when ready, pour slowly over the layer of custard and refrigerate to set it, about 1 hour or more.

Serve cold, fresh from the fridge.

Spicy Thai Beef Salad

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:21:00 +0000

Still on my Thai food mood, really. Tab tim grob was fabulous! I ate so much, that I gained weight from the coconut milk - despite the low fat version of it. I am so so glad to be off on a beautiful Monday, had time to work out at the gym ( which I have been giving myself tonnes of reason for not going) and a very relaxing, rejuvenating time at the sauna as well.

What more way to give my tummy a break from fatty, oily food after gym?! Ofcourse, I had Chicken Panini instead of what is shown in this blog post, but writing about salad - especially my favourite salad, is bliss...

Who would like to eat dry salad without any dressing? Some dressing claims they're fat free or 99% fat free, but... you can't run away from those hidden calories. Lemon juice is good, but some people, may not be able to take it on its own...

I came up with my own version of Thai Beef Salad, with lots of fresh coriander, crunchy cucumber, hint of onions, and, bird's eye chilis added to spice the salad up and perk you up instantly!
The star of this salad has got to be the thai dressing itself. It is simple and quick to make. Very tasty, fresh, smells great, and makes the greens really appetixing to eat even if you don't normally like salads.

Some people add spring onions, but I personally prefer coriander only to make this salad. I stick to the basic greens and add a little tomato, onions, and capsicum sometimes. It goes very well wih grilled beef, but you can't go wrong with chicken either.

Serve as an appetizer, or wih your main course, or if you're eating light, you can just eat it on its own, still tastes great!

:: Spicy Thai Beef Salad Recipe :
for 2

1/2 Iceberg lettuce or Roman Lettuce
4 Cherry Tomatoes, halved (normal tomato is good too)
1/2 green capsicum (bell pepper), thinly sliced
1/4 small green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon freshly chopped Coriander

200gm beef strips, grilled with a dash of pepper

For Salad dressing
1 small bird's eye chili, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
a dash of olive oil (optional)

Firsly, grill the beef and place aside. Prepare salad in a bowl but don't add the beef as yet. The beef would still be warm if you had just cooked it, and wouldn't want to wilt the greens too much.

For salad dresing, add all ingredients together and stir to combine. Preferably, start with the lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, and lastly flaked chilis. The dressing should be ready when the sugar has melted with the lemon juice. Add little by little the flaked chilis, less thean half a teaspoon for less spiciness, and more for you daring spicy food lovers out there. I took half a teaspoon only. Remember there's also freshly chopped bird's eye chili (optional).

Arrange the grilled beef on the salad, nicely on top of the greens. When ready to be served, pour the salad dressing all over the Thai Beef Salad and now, quickly grab a fork and eat away! Enjoy! :-)

Tab Tim Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk)

noreply@blogger.com (M.H.) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:49:00 +0000

The first time I had tab tim grob was about 3 years ago. Back then, it was at a Thai restaurant. They served this dessert in a small (really small) bowl, with a few thinly sliced nangka (jack fruit).

The special thing about tab tim grob is it's bright ruby colour - that resembles just like rubies. It is made from water chestnuts - hence once you eat it, it is lightly chewy on the outside, but light and crunchy inside. Then mixed with the sweetened coconut milk and ice - is a taste you will just melt with in the hot hot summer weather.

I didn't know what the dessert was made of initially, but now I know. I bought a small bag of water chestnuts and used some for making wantan last week. Such a waste it will be if I don't use the rest.. and suddenly tab tim grob came to my mind! I made some research on how to make it. Since this is my first time making this, it was a bit tedious for me. I had to learn step by step from scratch but it turned out to be really simple. Even a little kiddo can help you along the way!
:: Tab Tim Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk) Recipe ::
Serves 2

8 pieces fresh water chestnuts
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup sugar
few drops red food coloring
1/3 cup coconut milk (I used low fat)
pinch of salt
ice cubes, for serving
Before anything, trim off the water chestnut skin and clean the w.chestnuts. Cut them to cmall cubes, about less than 1cm cubes.

In a separate bowl, place the red colouring drops and add 2 tablespoon of water. Pour the w.chestnut cubes in and mix well. You can also make some in greens or whatever colour you wish. A healthier choice would be to use beet juice or other natural colouring. Strain the water away. Now you have rubies.

In another separate bowl, pour the tapioca flour and throw in the 'rubies'. Using your fingers, gently coat each of the rubies with a light layer of flour, dust off any excess flour before you cook them in a pot of boiling water. Place the tapioca flour coated rubies, one by one, into the boiling water (on low heat). The rubies will float once it is cooked (about 2-3 minutes) and scoop them up and put in a bowl of ice water until ready for serving.

Make sugar syrup by heating up sugar in some water. Let cool.
In a small serving bowl or glass, place 1/2 cup coconut milk, add a pinch of salt and about 1 tablespoon of sugar syrup. Pour in about 3 heaped tablespoon of the cooked rubies, and place some ice cubes (or shaved ice) and serve immediately. Best for desserts anytime of the day.