Cashew Cookie - A Malay Treat

In my head, I always want to do more than I have time for. When I was preparing for the our party, I saw the dishes my mum prepared for that special day to celebrate Hari Raya - sambal goreng pengantin, sayur lodeh, ayam masak merah, rendang and ketupat. S, ever the practical one, talks through my ideas and plans with me, and gently nudges when he sees my ambition getting ahead of me. This is a common occurrence — me, having wild ideas, and him, reining me back to reality. But sometimes, I manage to slip a couple of unplanned missions pass him.

Like two Saturdays ago.

We were preparing for our lunch party. S was doing some cleaning and clearing the house to make space for our guests. I had just finished labeling the serving plates. Five pounds of shrimps were waiting to be peeled and de-veined. I decided to mince dried shrimps and anchovies first. While my hands were busy, I was thinking that we didn't have enough sweets. One fruit cake and three kek lapis (I was testing recipes) were well and good, but I needed a cookie. I mean a cookie for the party, not for myself. Well, for myself too — just a few.

But which one? My mind mentally flipped through the ubiquitous cookies that make their appearances during Hari Raya and settled on the simplest one - the cashew cookie. Hands washed (and I mean really washed to remove the pungent scent of dried shrimps), I started scooping out the flour. I had butter, sugar, cashew and the remaining ingredients. No need to tell S, I thought. He'd just put the brakes on my batter. Our good friend L, came by with her 2½ year old daughter A, while I was measuring ingredients. So I enlisted A's help and she made her own cookies. She did very well — L just had to make sure that the cookies were about the same shape so they would bake evenly. I wish I have photos to share. I really need to step it up when it comes to photography.

Yes, making the cookies put me behind schedule and I had to stay up a little later than planned, but I am glad I did it. It was fun being able to introduce another Malay recipe to our friends. I also shared how I used to eat the cookie — I would peel the egg wash and enjoy that first because I thought it was the best part of the cookie!

When you see the pictures of the cookies I've made, you'll ask, why do they look like apples? In fact, I asked my mum that very question when she used to make them. See the picture on the left? That's the cashew fruit. The cashew nut that is jutting out of the fruit is really a seed. So the cookie is shaped to look just like the fruit! Clever, no? I've always wondered who was the first person who thought of it. With the addition of the cashew meal to the flour, it is also the perfect recipe to substitute some white whole meal flour. I used only ¾ cup substitution, but I will try more in the future. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, so feel free to halve it. The cookies are baked at a lower temperature so as not to burn the cashew nuts. They are so simple to make; I can easily see them being served during other festive occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas too.

Cashew Cookie (Kuih Gajus)

5½ oz roasted cashew
5½ oz castor sugar
11 oz all-purpose flour
3 oz white whole wheat flour
1 ts baking powder
8 0z butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 ts vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
about 70-80 roasted and unsalted cashew nuts, each split in 2 halves

1. Run the cashew pieces through the food processor with 3 tablespoons of castor sugar. Mix with the flours and baking powder.

2. Beat the butter with the remaining castor sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Line a baking tray with silicone mat or parchment paper.

3. Beat the egg yolk in a small bowl with a fork. Shape each piece of dough, about 1.5 inches, into a ball. Take one half of a cashew and gently push into the dough. When you have made enough for one baking tray, use a small pastry brush or your index finger to brush the egg wash over each cookie. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until the egg wash turns golden.

Makes 120-140 cookies.

Fried Macaroni

When I was prepping to cook this fried macaroni, I could almost hear my mum's exclamation in the background. Not so much because this was an exciting dish (it isn't), but because it is a dish my mum would whip-up whenever we were having guests on short notice. She would exclaim in dismay that there was no time to cook a proper family-style meal. Then she would survey her pantry — if she was short of any ingredient, she would send my father, or me (when I was older) to the grocery store. Her hands moved fast, reaching out for the pot to fill it with water for the macaroni. She pulls out her knife to cut the carrot and greens, and mince the garlic and shallots. All the while muttering under her breath what dishes she have preferred to cook, that her guests would have enjoyed more.

Her guests did in fact enjoy her fried macaroni. As did we, so we urged her to prepare it for our regular meals instead of just having it as an "emergency meal". She was happy to oblige because it is such a simple, yet hearty dish. Kind of right for the beginning of fall.

Fried Macaroni (Macaroni Goreng)

2 cups whole wheat macaroni
2 tablespoons oil
3 shallots or ½ small onion, minced
2 garlic, minced
1-inch ginger, minced
2 tablespoons water
1 cup diced carrot
2 cups chinese mustard green (also known as gai choy or sayur sawi)
½ cup cooked minced beef
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
½ cup fried shallots
a few sprigs of cilantro

1. Cook macaroni as directed by package.

2. Heat-up oil to medium heat in a wok or pot. Saute the onions for about 3 minutes until carameralized. Add garlic and ginger and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the carrots, chinese mustard green and water. Stir and cover to steam the vegetables for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Remove the cover. Put in the minced meat and macaroni. Pour in the oyster sauce, tomato ketchup and sambal oelek. Stir all the ingredients together and cook for about 2 minutes.

4. To serve, garnish with fried shallots and cilantro.

Our Hari Raya Lunch With Friends

Left to right, top to bottom:

ketupat (rice cake), begedil (potato patties), rendang (malay beef dish)

emping belinjo (padi oat crackers), peanut sauce, sambal tumis udang & telur burung (prawn & quail egg sambal tumis)

sayur lodeh (malay vegetable curry), gado-gado (Indonesian vegetable salad)




For dessert, kek lapis (layered cake), biskut gajus (cashew cookie), kek buah (fruit cake)

I had the lofty ambition of accompanying this post with individual pictures of the food I prepared and their recipes. But when you are cooking 5 dishes for 30 people, it leaves little time to pick-up the camera. The real feat was not the cooking, but squeezing 30 people into our apartment! I plan cook the dishes again (just not all at the same time), and post pictures and recipes soon. So tired now, but happy that we fed so many people!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri - Part 2

I received a few emails from concerned friends after my post on Hari Raya, followed by the sad poem by Neruda. I don't want to give the impression I was miserable here. We had a wonderful Hari Raya. We started the day at the mosque. Actually, S started the day watching a successful Manchester United game, so it set the tone for him for the rest of the day (in case you can't guess, he was elated). Then, we spent the day with S's family friends, who are our surrogate family here. We feasted on traditional Hari Raya food like rendang and sayur lodeh . We also had a taste of familiar cookies like pineapple tarts and cakar ayam from Singapore. Family, good food and hot weather thanks to an Indian summer - almost like being back in Singapore, no?

A couple of days later, I received a package in the mail and was touched when I found Hari Raya goodies in the box. A dear friend, D, had sent them and she remembered not only my favorites, but S's too, bless her. Two jars of pineapple tarts, one packet of rempeyek and one jar of tumpi. The latter two are practically the only cookies I eat during Hari Raya (although they are more like crackers) — S and I savored every crunchy bite. So you see, we had a Hari Raya showered with food love, so we really do count our blessings.

Sambal Oelek Roasted Chicken

This is a quick post. S and I are about to go out to spend an afternoon in the city. We are going to hear Karen Armstrong speak as part of the City Arts & Lecture series this evening and before that we'll catch the Avedon exhibition in SFMoma.

Last night we made sambal oelek roasted chicken. This is my too lazy too cook dish. Remember the sambal oelek? I simply mix it with oil and rub it all over the chicken pieces and under the skin and toss them in the oven. Use 3 tablespoons of sambal oelek and two tablespoons of chili oil or vegetable oil for about four large pieces of chicken legs and roast at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Smaller pieces may be done earlier so watch the oven. While waiting, I boiled some small potatoes for my cilantro yogurt dressing. Quick braise shredded cabbage and carrot, and we have a meal.

Fried Trout with Sambal Oelek

This is fried fish and sambal. Such a humble dish. If you know me, you'll know that this is the dish that still ties me to my mum's apron's strings. Before I return to Singapore for a visit, she'll ask me what I want to eat while I'm there (don't all mothers do that?). And so I give her a list, but I always plead with her, "Mak, when I arrive, can you have ikan selar kuning sambal tumis prepared, please?" Ikan selar kuning is a type of scad - a small fish with a yellow vertical stripe on the side. Oh, how it makes me happy when I catch sight of that plate of rice, vegetable and the small crispy fish which had been deep fried and generously coated with sauteed red chili paste. So you see, I may not know what is the last meal I want to have, but I am certain of what my first meal home should be, every time.

Cooking Trout
I have yet been able to find scad here. So I try to be adventurous when I go grocery shopping. On a recent trip, I saw that Whole Foods had trouts. I couldn't remember if I had ever tried trout, but it looks like a size that would fit into my wok (good criteria, no?), so I happily picked two. I knew I was going to fry the fish. Instead of using my mum's sambal recipe, I decided to make another version with the sambal oelek I had just made. You can use the store bought version too. The flesh is quite delicate so it should be cooked quickly. Verdict? We like trout and will definitely have it again. The flesh was flaky and sweet, and went well with the sambal. Plus, because the trout was butterflied, there was no bone in the fish which S especially liked.






Fried Trout with Sambal Oelek

2 trouts (or any fish), cleaned
2 tablespoons rice flour
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 tablespoons sambal oelek (homemade or store-bought)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 garlic, minced
1-inch cube ginger, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup tamarind juice (from 1 tablespoon tamarind paste)
oil for frying

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok to medium heat. Put in the sliced shallots and saute until caramelized - about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger. Lower the heat slight so that the garlic doesn't burn. Saute for another minute.

2. Put in the sambal oelek and the sugar. Stir until the sugar melts and then add in the tamarind juice. Continue stirring for about 5 minutes. Remove the sambal and clean the wok.

3. For the fish - dry the fish as much as possible with paper towels. Rub them with the turmeric and then the rice flour. Heat oil to medium high - there should be about ½-inch oil in the wok - should be enough to cover the length of the fish. As soon as the oil is hot, put in the fish. The oil should be sizzling. You can fry one at a time if your wok is not big enough. Fry until brown and then turn over carefully - about 2-3 minutes on each side.

4. Remove the fish to a paper towel to drain a little of the oil. Then put them on a plate and spread the sambal on each fish.

Serve with rice and a vegetable side dish.

Pomfret in black bean sauce

A couple months ago, I went to the 2 supermarkets I go to most frequently - Whole Foods and Ranch 99 - armed with a notepad and a pen. I wrote down the names of almost all the fishes. Yes, I looked silly but there is a method to the madness. When I got home, I made two lists out of the names. In the first list, I looked up the alternative names for the fishes. Many of the fishes look familiar, but I probably know them by a different name. For instance, I thought I only knew canned sardines and was excited to find fresh sardines at Whole Foods. I wondered what fresh sardines tasted like. To my surprise, after I cooked and ate them, I realized that my mum actually cooked them often in Singapore, only they are called "ikan tamban". It occurred to me there might be more fishes hiding behind other names. Sometimes, when I look at the array of fishes available, I'm not sure I'd know how to cook them, but now I feel less intimidated when I know I've eaten them before.

My second list was to write the mercury level of each fish so I can make an informed decision when I buy fish. I have become more aware of the high mercury level of the some of the fishes I used to eat a lot of - for instance king mackerel. I want to make sure we are not ingesting an alarming level of mercury. So now I go grocery shopping with these two lists in my pocket.

My research for the second list showed that pomfret is low in mercury. This is good news because we ate this fish (ikan bawal) often at home. My mum would make sambal pomfret, curry pomfret, kicap (sweet black soy sauce) pomfret, assam pedas (spicy tamarind sauce) pomfret.... well, you get the idea. I decided to make ikan masak taucu (fish with black bean sauce) which my mum used to cook with ikan kembung (Indian mackerel). It has an intriguing taste - the combination of fermented black beans, tamarind juice and onions produces a tangy sauce.

I used white pomfret - you can use any type. When I fry fish, I always use a wok because the smaller base means I can use less oil. It is also easier to turn the fish over. When I used to help my mum in the kitchen, she told me that she rubs turmeric on the fish to get rid of any fishy smell or taste that the fish might have. Sometimes she also seasons the fish with salt, but I did not do so here because I was using fermented black beans which is already salty.

Pomfret in black bean sauce
(Ikan masak taucu)

1 medium size pomfret, cleaned and halved
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
½ inch ginger, minced
2 tablespoons fermented black bean
1 cup tamarind juice (from 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste)
2 green serrano chilies
1 teaspoon sugar
oil for frying

1. Rub the fish with turmeric. Heat about ½ inch oil in a wok to medium heat. Fry each half of the fish separately until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

2. Drain the oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Lowering the heat to medium, put in the onions and fry for 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, stirring for 1 minute. Add the fermented black bean, stirring for another minute. Then pour in the tamarind juice. Bring up the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the sugar. Let the sauce reduce for about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the hot sauce over the pomfret and garnish with serrano chilies.

Serve with rice and a vegetable dish. I recommend this sambal belacan kangkong.

Mee rebus - yellow noodles in sweet potato gravy

Dish #3 is a Malay noodle bowl I ate often as a kid but until recently, I didn't know what the dense gravy was made of. The words "mee rebus" literally means boiled noodles, which mildly describes the noodles, but says nothing about the distinctive taste of the gravy. If you've never tried it, see if you can imagine its taste: mashed sweet potatoes simmered with fermented black beans, dried shrimps, curry powder and blended aromatics of shallots, garlic, galangal and ginger.

Sounds like a challenge to the taste buds, no? So when our friend L asked me to babysit her sweet daughter A while she ran a quick errand, I decided to ask them (and her husband) to stay for dinner while I experimented with mee rebus. When I have good friends over for dinner and I am trying out a new recipe, I always warn them: we may end up with a pizza.

Thankfully we didn't tonight. My mum-in-law shared with me her recipe because I really like her version. I think what makes the difference is that she uses dried anchovies to make up for using less dried shrimp which results in the gravy tasting less shrimpy but without losing that umami taste. For the noodles, the ones we bought bore the name "pancit" on the packet. If you can't find them, try it with spaghetti - it's similar. Sometimes, home cooks add some fatty beef pieces in the gravy as it cooks to add to the flavor.

Mee rebus

1 ½ lb fresh yellow egg noodles
2 cups bean sprouts, blanched
18 oz sweet potato
6 tablespoons fermented black beans
4 tablespoons dried anchovies, cleaned
3 tablespoons dried shrimps
4 tablespoons coriander powder
1 tablespoon cumin powder
½ cup tamarind juice
(from 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
5 tablespoons oil

spice paste:
20 shallots
5 garlic cloves
2 inch galangal
1 inch ginger
8 candlenuts

garnish:
4 boiled eggs, cut into halves
3 tablespoons fried shallots
3 tablespoons spring onions, sliced
1 cup fried or firm tofu, cut to 2 by 1 inch pieces
2 limes, cut into wedges
3 green serrano chiles, de-seeded and sliced.

1. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into chunks. Boil until soft, drain and mash.

2. While the sweet potatoes are boiling, peel the shallots, garlic, galangal and ginger. Grind them with the candlenuts with a blender or food processor until fine.

3. Pound the dried anchovies and dried shrimps with mortar and pestle (or use a blender/food processor too). Add a couple of tablespoon of water if the mixture is too dry to grind.

4. Heat oil in a pot to medium high. Saute the spice paste for about 3-4 minutes until the shallots are caramelized. Add the coriander and cumin powder, fermented black beans and the dried anchovy/dried shrimp mixture. Fry for about 1 minute and then put in the mashed sweet potatoes. Blend well. You will get a very thick mixture. Slowly add the water, stirring as you pour it in. Bring to a boil. Add the sugar, salt and tamarind juice. Simmer until fragrant, about 40-50 minutes. If the gravy is too thick, stir in water as necessary.

5. To serve, pour gravy over some noodles and bean sprouts in a bowl. Garnish with half of an egg, tofu, green onions, fried shallots and serrano chilies.

Serves 6, with possible surplus for 2nd helpings!

The Sambal Series - Sambal belacan kangkong

Kangkong is one of those vegetables which I've always known by its Malay name. I think in school we learned that its anglicized name is water convolvulus - not a name that rolls off the tongue easily (try saying it several times). Perhaps it doesn't like to be called that either because it's also known as water morning glory and water spinach. But no need to look for it in California by any of those monikers. If you go to the Chinese supermarket, it's labeled "on choy". It has more aliases than a secret agent. In fact, in might be one. According to this wiki, it is technically illegal to grow, possess or move kangkong (even interstate), but because it goes by so many names, it slips pass customs easily.

I am of course delighted that I can enjoy this leafy green here. And my favorite way to eat it is to cook it with sambal belacan (and ideally with savored sambal stingray). So I present sambal belacan kangkong as dish #2. Despite its frail appearance, the kangkong holds its own against the pungent sambal belacan.

This might seem strange but I added a picture below of how the kangkong is to be cut. The leaves shouldn't be stripped at the base of their stalks. Part of the stem should be included so that you get some crunch as well. I used the sambal belacan sent to me by mum, but I've provided a recipe for it below. Red serrano chiles are a little elusive where I am. If it's the same for you, use any red chilies like fresno or holland chilies. Neither are as hot as serrano and the sambal belacan will not taste exactly the same, but they make decent substitutes. It is also best to use kalamansi lime if you are able to get some; otherwise you can use reguar lime. Dried shrimps come in different sizes, but it does not matter which one you choose because they are to be chopped into small pieces.

Sambal belacan kangkong

1 lb kangkong
1 oz dried shrimps, chopped
2 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of sambal belacan
3 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons oil

Sambal belacan
5-6 fresh red serrano chilies, sliced and do not de-seed completely
2-inch piece of belacan, toasted until fragrant
4 teaspoons of lime juice
peel of ½ a lime, sliced thinly

1. Pound all the ingredients of the sambal belacan but not too finely.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium high heat. Fry the shallots until they are caramelized - about 3-4 minutes. Add the dried shrimps and the garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute then add the sambal belacan and continue frying for 1 minute. Put in the kangkong. Mix it well with the rempah or spice paste already in the wok. Add the water. Cook until the kangkong leaves are wilted.

Serve with rice.

When sambal belacan means she loves me

See that container with the masking tape wrapped around its cover? It's chockfull of sambal belacan my mum made from one kilo of fresh red serrano chilies and flown more than 8000 miles in the good hands of our friend R. I redistributed it into smaller containers - one goes into the fridge and the rest go into the freezer for future use. I think I know what's for dinner tonight.

Begedil (Potato patties)

My mum was a stay at home mum, so she cooked all our meals. We were sometimes given little tasks to help her, tasks that our small hands could handle. And it was never a chore because we always had fun playing with food. For the begedil, my job was to scoop some of the mashed potatoes and put them into the fist of my right hand and repeatedly press into them to make the patties compact. Then, I would roll them into balls between my palms. The potatoes were warm and a little greasy because of my mum's way of making them. She fries slices of inch thick potato before mashing them in a mortar and pestle. Frying adds more flavor to the potatoes but I decided to use a common short cut. I boiled the potatoes instead. Otherwise, I followed her recipe closely.

My siblings and I love hanging out in the kitchen when my mum was making begedil because we liked eating the crispy egg crumbs from the frying. We would stand behind her to avoid oil splatters (sorry mum) and as soon as she scooped out some begedils from the hot oil onto a plate, we would rush to grab the crispy egg crumb, put them on some tissue paper and wait for it cool down before we ate it. It's such a great memory for me - that's why I included a little egg crumb in the picture above. For me, begedil must be fried with a generous coating of egg to give it some texture. Of course, my mum managed to produce more egg crumb and it tasted better.

I find begedil to be best with mee rebus and kuah rawan, and generally with nasi padang. But we had left over salmon, so we had our potato patties with a salmon and spinach omelete.

Begedil

2 medium-sized russet potatoes
¼ cup cooked minced beef (seasoned with a little cumin or just salt and pepper)
¼ cup crispy fried shallots
¼ cup spring onion, sliced thinly
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
oil for frying

Peel and boil the potatoes. Mash the potato and add the beef, shallots and spring onion. Season with the salt and pepper. Mix well and shape into balls about 2 inches wide. Roll the balls well between your palms to ensure that the patties are compact and will remain intact when frying. Press the balls so they flatten a little on two sides. At this stage, you can freeze them. Do not defrost when you are ready to eat them - fry direct from the freezer.

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Heat oil to medium heat. Dip each patty in egg before frying them. After about 3-4 minutes, turn them over and fry until golden brown.

Makes 18-20.

Kuih lapis nonya (Layered cake)

Now, it's possible that I made this kuih lapis nonya (layered cake) only because of the pretty colors. But it is really because I felt like peeling. That's how we used to eat it as kids. We'd peel each layer and lay it on our tongue as we savored the soft cool texture before we started chewing. Some of my friends would roll the layer first. I do remember that sometimes an adult would chide us for playing with our food. But we didn't see it that way - we were enjoying our food and even now I think we should have been encouraged. We were exploring the texture of the cake and finding the best way to eat it.

This cake is made by steaming layer by layer. Usually, you'd make the batter, divide it into separate bowls and then add food coloring in each bowl. But I actually added an additional step. I did not want to use artificial food coloring, so I decided to try making natural food coloring for this cake. I used beets, carrots and pandan leaves. Of course, this takes more preparation, but the beets and carrots add some sweetness which means you can use less sugar. The colors aren't as vivid as food coloring - the redness of the beet turned pink, the orange was more yellow and the pandan's green was slight. But still pretty, I think.




I am not writing out the recipe yet because I want to tweak it a little. It tasted good, but I thought it was more chewy than I remembered. I did want to share how I made the food coloring without a juicer.

First, line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheese cloth and place it over a deep bowl. Peel and boil 3-4 small beets until they are soft. Take the beets out (save 1 cup of the water) and mash them in a bowl. Put them back in the pot with the 1 cup of water saved. Once the mixture is reaches boiling point, remove the pot from the heat and pour into the strainer. Use a spoon to press as much liquid out. Leave it on the counter for about 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally to encourage more straining. Be careful when handling beets - they stain like crazy!

For orange/yellow color, do the same with about 3 medium sized carrots. For green, put about 5-6 pandan leaves in a food processor, add 3 tablespoon of water and minced roughly. Then boil it with 1 cup of water. Repeat the steps to strain as with the beets.

You can keep the coloring in the refrigerator until you are ready use them. I was so tired after all that straining, I made the cake only the next day. And, it's not enough to use a few drops to get the coloring. For the kuih lapis nonya, replace water with the food coloring solution. If you already make your own kuih lapis, I highly recommend using natural food coloring. I'll update this post once I get the recipe pat.

Serunding ikan (Fish floss)

I made this for my dad. When we called home over the weekend, I found out that he was ill. Because we are more than 8000 miles away, I am relying on a friend who is flying in from Singapore to bring it back to him. I don't think he has had serunding ikan before, but I know he will love it. We may not look alike or agree on most things, but my dad and I have the same sense of taste in food. This serunding is not something to aid in his recovery, but just something for him enjoy. It's something he'd do for me.

The recipe is adapted from a popular Malay dish called "serunding daging" which uses beef. It is a little time consuming to make but worth it. Keep it in a container in the refrigerator because it contains coconut milk and shredded coconut. My husband loves spreading it on buttered bread. I like it over brown rice - it makes for a simple meal. You can also use it as a serunding daging substitute like putting in lontong or pulut. I used mahi-mahi which has a lower mercury level - you can use any firm fish. It doesn't make for a pretty picture, but it does taste good.

Serunding ikan

8 oz fish
8 dried chilies
15 shallots
5 cloves garlic
1-inch ginger
2 lemongrass stalks
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon of oil

Boil to cook the fish and mince the fish meat in a food processor. De-seed and blend the chilies into paste. Mince shallots, garlic, ginger and lemongrass into a fine paste and blend with the chili paste. Heat up a wok with the oil at medium heat. Fry the paste for 2 minutes. Add the fish and fry for one minute. Then add the coconut milk. Stir so that everything is mixed well. Bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and stir continuously until almost dry. Add the shredded coconut. Cook until dry.

The Sambal Series - Sambal goreng sayur

I can't say if marriage is what I expected it to be. I think for both of us, it took time getting used to living with someone. I'm sure part of it was because we got married at an older age - we were pretty much set in our ways by then. One minute I am this independent woman running my own business. The next minute I am sitting cross-legged in his living room in another continent, wondering where I can fit all my books. We have had plenty of adjustments to make along the way.

One of the things that fall on both ends of the get-along-meter is food. It is something that unites us and at the same time, causes some arguments. We grew up eating Malay food, so we love the savory taste of Malay rempah (spices) that flavors our food. We enjoy spending time in the kitchen trying to recreate the smell and taste that peppered our childhood and arguing whose mum made a better ____ (any Malay food). But he is also a red meat lover. Those last three words should be capitalized just to emphasis how much he loves red meat, but I am too polite to be shouting over the web. I really have no objection to my husband eating red meat but for health reasons I would like him to eat less of it. We "discuss" this a lot.

So I look for meat-less recipes which I think will satisfy his tastebuds. My mum's sambal goreng sayur recipe is one such recipe. The rough translation for the dish is "fried chili vegetables". She usually makes it with beef but I decided to make it with prawns. I was glad to hear that he liked it just as much. This recipe is a typical of Malay food. Onion, garlic, belacan, lemongrass, galangal and chilli blended into a spice paste and then fried until fragrant. My mum suggested one cup of dried chilli but it was too much heat, so I reduced it to half a cup.






Sambal Goreng Sayur

½ cup dried chili, de-seeded and blended into paste
1 onion, medium sized
5 garlic cloves
3 lemon grass stalks
1-inch square belacan (shrimp paste)
3-inch galangal
1 tablespoon tamarind paste to produce ½ cup of tamarind juice
2 tablespoons sugar
15 long beans, cut into 2-inch pieces at an angle
1 8-oz tempe
1 8-oz baked or fried tofu
(tofu & tempe cut into 1 by 2-inch blocks & lightly fried separately)
1 lb prawns, shelled and de-veined, lightly fried
oil for frying

Rempah (spice paste) - Peel and chop galangal, lemongrass, onion and garlic into 1-inch pieces. You don't have to exact because all will be blended. Use only the white and light green part of the lemongrass. Put the chilli paste, lemongrass, onion, garlic, belacan and galangal into a blender or food processor - grind until mixture becomes paste. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a wok. Put in the rempah, sugar and tamarind juice - be careful of oil splatter - and fry until fragrant. Stir often so that the rempah doesn't burn. This may take 15-20 minutes.

Remove the rempah and clean the wok. Heat about 2 tablespoon of oil (medium heat). Fry the long beans for about 2 minutes. Then put in the tofu, tempe and prawns. Stir-fry for one minute. Add the rempah and mix well. Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice.

Serves 4