Bubur Cha Cha

Where do I start about today? I have a nagging sore all over my body all day. Not sure if it's from cooking last weekend or carrying several 288-ish oz of antibac soaps boxes back and forth last night, but the pain is not going away... and a deep tissue or Swedish massage would feel pretty darn good right about... anytime now!


But it is also a good day. My best friend, Reena, got accepted to Kellogg B-school today. And I had my first food tester today (big thanks to Matt for willing and bringing over an awesome bottle of '04 Norman's Barbera). So, despite the aching body, I spent an hour and a half in my kitchen, conjuring up a meal decent for other human being besides myself.


I reenacted the fried mai fun and reheated the leftover curry chicken. For those of you Malaysians, you'll know that curry chicken is even better after being kept overnight. And the fried mai fun this time tasted better than the one I made over the last weekend. Matt happily went back and had a second helping. Improvement feels really good! (Thanks, Mom, for the recipe and instructions.) 

On top of that, I also made bubur cha cha for the first time. It turned out well, I guess, since Matt likes it, which was utterly surprising because it is not a typical American dessert. Though I have to say, the yam that I got was kinda whitish and starchy; not the purplish yam that I was used to in bubur cha cha. Nonetheless, I am happy that it turned out tasty and my guest of honor liked it. 

Dishwashing used to be one of my favorite things to do at the end of the day. Since I started this cooking project and at the end of today, I am just so grateful that I have a dishwasher!




Fried Mai Fun (recipe and instructions from Mom)

mee hoon soak in water till quite soft

oil

garlic - chopped

small red onions - chopped

salt, pepper and little sugar, soya sauce, dark thick soy sauce, little oyster sauce (all together in a bowl with about 1/2 cup of water, stir well)

broussel sprout (ngai choy) or/and choy sam

shrimps, pork or any meat or seafood you want to use

Heat oil, fried garlic, onions till brown in low heat

Put in the meat/seafoods and stir fried a little then pour in the bowl of ingredients (sauces) and let it boil till meat is cooked

Then put in the mee hoon and mix it properly till all the sauces are soaked in the meehoon and put in the ngai choy

And stir it and if the meehoon is still hard then add in a little more water till the meehoon is cooked and tasty then it's done

So, that's how I'm taught to cook... I was hoping for more like 2 tbsp of oil, 2 garlic cloves - chopped, 3 tbsp of soy sauce and 3 tbsp of dark thick soy sauce, etc... But such is the way in my family. You just gotta do it, smack your head on the wall, and learn!

Here's how I did it today:

Fried Mai Fun 

Soak mai fun in tap water for about 30 minutes

Soak 10 mushrooms and hot water for about 45 minutes, then destemmed and sliced

2 garlic cloves - chopped

1/2 of medium red onion - chopped

1/2 lbs of Chinese barbeque pork (char siew)

3 big leaves of Chinese broccoli, cut into about 1 inch

10 prawns, deshelled and deveined (and defrosted)

Sauce (mix them together): 

3 - 4 tbsp of soy sauce

3 - 4 tbsp of dark soy sauce

3 - 4 tbsp of oyster sauce 

3 - 4 tbsp of water

(absolutely forgotten about salt and pepper... I guess I'm not very good at following instructions)

Heat 3 tbsp of oil, fried garlic and onions till brown

Put in mushrooms and stir fry for about 5 minutes

Pour in the bowl of sauces, followed by mai fun, stir fry around some more

Put in Chinese broccoli, char siew, and prawns, and stir fry some more 

Turn off the heat when Chinese broccoli and prawns look cooked

Do a little tasting to make sure it's edible... taste good.... done!

Bubur Cha Cha
300 g sweet potatoes, skinned and cut into small cubes
400 g yam, skinned and cut into small cubes
100 g black eye beans, boiled and drained
500 g grated coconut, squeeze 3 cups of coconut milk (in my case, canned coconut milk)
5 pcs pandan leaves, knotted
2 L water
2 tbsp sago, washed through a sieve (I substituted with tapioca since I couldn't get sago)
sugar and salt to taste


Steam potato cubes and yam cubes separately, till soft. Keep aside.
Discard any floating skin from boiled black eye beans.
Boil 2 L of water. When boiling, add steamed sweet potatoes and yam, beans, sago, and knotted pandan leaves. Lower flame to medium heat. Stir gently.
When sago is clear, add coconut milk, sugar to taste and a pinch of salt.
Bring to gentle boil and turn off the heat.
Serve hot.