A Malaysian Feast

After several complaints/requests, I have finally surrendered to the peer pressure and promised a dinner. This is the biggest group of people I've ever served so far. I was stressed out... but exhilarated at the same time. It's great to be sharing some Malaysian love!

The menu includes pineapple fried rice, black hokkien mee (Hey, it's the noodles month. Gotta include noodles, right?), drunken clams, beef rendang, and loh hon guo sweet tea (to wash down the oily food, but we also have wine and beers for that - thanks: Erin, Jane, Raul, and Diana). I figured something tame, with a hint of flair (rendang) is a good start to convert newbies ;)

The reception was good. Although I was a bad host; turned out, Juan is allergic to crustaceans and couldn't eat most of the food (I'm so sorry!). And I should've known better not to put the clams into microwave... oh well. I think the most likable dishes were the beef rendang and black hokkien mee.

At the end of the day, all plates are cleared. Good sign!

waiting for the fashionably late Puerto Ricans!

my fav entourage! proven to be not faint-hearted :)

table manners? what? what!

hmmm..... wine + chinese cooking wine :)

pineapple fried rice

KL black hokkien mee

drunken clams

beef rendang

Pineapple Fried Rice
from Rasa Malaysia

Black Hokkien Mee

Drunken Clams
from Rasa Malaysia

Beef Rendang
from Rasa Malaysia

Loh Hon Guo Sweet Tea
1 loh hon guo
4 oz of dried longans
4 oz of lotus seeds
4 oz of dried red dates
Rock sugar to taste

Wash loh hon guo and lightly crack to open.
Put it into a pot of water (about 1 - 1.5 liters) with all the other ingredients, except rock sugar, and bring to boil.
Once it has come to a boil, add rock sugar and let it simmer for an hour.
Serve warm or chilled.
(If you want it chilled, do not add ice cubes. Just cool it in the fridge.)

Success, Finally...

I made it! It's the sweet, savory, and smooth (and tasted almost like my Ah Po's version of) kaya. After three unsuccessful attempts in Jan, I was determined to unravel the secret of making kaya like Ah Po's. And the answer, in my case, is double boiler. To make smooth kaya, the egg-coconut milk mixture must not have direct heat contact. In fact, the top pot containing the mixture should be separated from the boiling water in the bottom pot by about 1 - 2 inches.  The entire steaming deal is time consuming, but it is totally worth it!

Kaya
9 eggs
600 gm of sugar
13.5 fl oz of coconut milk
3 pandan leaves, knotted

Out of 9 eggs, remove the egg whites from 4 eggs.  Beat well at medium speed.
Add in sugar and beat well at high speed.
Stir in coconut milk and mix well.
Strain into top pot of double boiler, put in pandan leaves, and cook over rapidly boiling water (in bottom pot).
Keep stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Top up the boiling water in the bottom pot whenever necessary.
Then, steam the custard for two to three hours. Stirring is not necessary during this time.
(To prevent water from dripping into the custard, wrap the lid with a big tea-towel before placing the lid on the pot.)
When kaya is ready, discard the pandan leaves.
Cool entirely before storing in an air-tight jar.

Wat Tan Hor (Silky Egg Flat Rice Noodle)

It seems that I have a noodle theme going on this month... but all of them are so good, that's nothing wrong with having noodles for a month! We get tired of eating out everyday and as such, crave for some good old home cook meals. Though I always think that if I live in Malaysia, I can eat out everyday because of the tremendous variety of great food the little peninsula has to offer. Of course, it is not difficult to get one's own ingredients and conjure up whatever one feels like having as the fresh produce and any ingredients one may need is easily obtained with the vast availability of fresh markets and supermarkets, indoor and outdoor, in Malaysia.

Anyhow, another noodle dish: Wat Tan Hor. It is inarguably another favorite dish of my family. It is one that we often ta pao (order takeout) when Ah Po is not cooking. The symphony of flavors from the silky egg gravy coupled with the mix of meat and seafood add to the ever slightly crunchy but smooth hor fun is simply irresistable!

Wat Tan Hor (Silky Egg Flat Rice Noodle)
serves 4 ~ 5
1 1/2 lbs of hor fun (flat rice noodle)
4 tbsp of oil
2 tsp of soy sauce
2 tsp of dark soy sauce
4 ozs of prawns, deshelled and deveined, marinated with a pinch of salt, sugar, and pepper
4 ozs of squid, cut into bite sizes
4 ozs of fishcakes, cut into bite sizes
8 ozs of lean pork, sliced
8 ozs of choy sum, cut into bite sizes
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp of oil
2 tbsp of cornflour, mixed with 1/2 cup of water
28 fl ozs of stock
1 tbsp of soy sauce
2 eggs
pepper and salt to taste

Loosen the fresh hor fun.
Heat wok until very hot. Add in 2 tbsp of oil to grease the wok over high heat. Fry half of the hor fun. Add half of light and dark soy sauces and stir fry briskly and allow noodles to burn a little at the edges. Put aside on a platter. Repeat with the rest of the hor fun.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry prawns, squid, and fishcakes until cooked. Dished out.
Add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the pork until cooked. Add in garlic and fry until fragrant.
Pour in the stock and bring to boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in choy sum and when gravy comes to a boil, add in cornflour mixture. Bring gravy back to boil to cook the cornflour.
Add in the cooked prawns, squid, and fishcakes. Season to taste.
TUrn off the heat and crack in the 2 eggs, stir to cook the eggs.
Dish gravy onto the fried hor fun.
Serve.

Kuih Lapis

Hmm.. just the thought of it puts a smile on my face. I love kuih lapis. The fun of peeling off the layers one by one and savoring the tasty kuih. Whenever Ah Po goes to the night market or pasar malam, she'll bring back some kuih lapis for me. She sayang my brothers and I equally though. So, she'll also bring back kuih talam and kuih serimuka for my brothers as those are their favorites. Additionally, she'll also get tau fu fah because that's Aaron's favorite, too.

The kuih lapis-making process was tedious, but I find out kinda fun. And I think I'm addicted to the aroma of pandan leaves!

Can you count the nine layers?

Kuih lapis: A steamed, multi-layered and multi-colored firm pudding-like cake made from rice or tapioca flour, coconut milk, and flavored with pandan. The layers are steamed separately.

Kuih Lapis
150 gm of rice flour
30 gm of mung bean flour
560 ml of coconut milk
180 gm of castor sugar
150 ml of water
1/4 tsp of salt
2 pandan leaves, knotted
Red coloring

Combine sugar, water, and pandan leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Drain and set aside to cool.
Put rice flour and mung bean flour into a mixing bowl. Pour in coconut milk gradually and leave aside to soak for 40 - 45 minutes.
Add salt to the rice flour and mix well.
Stir in the syrup.
Strain the batter to ensure it is free of lumps.
Measure 16 fl ozs of batter and add in the pink coloring. Measure another 16 fl ozs of batter (this will be white or no color). For the remainig batter, add in red coloring.
Place a greased 8 inch tray in the steamer and heat up for 4 - 5 minutes.
Pour 4 fl ozs of the white batter onto the heated tray. Cover and steam over medium heat for 5 - 6 minutes or until set.
Pour 4 fl ozs of the pink batter onto the white layer and steam covered for 5 minutes.
Repeat the process, alternating white and pink batter until all the batter is used up. Lastly, pour the red batter to form the final layer.
After the final layer is set, steam for another 12 - 15 minutes. Halfway through, uncover the lid to release the steam, then cover again until the end of the steaming process.
Cool the kuih thoroughly before cutting into small diamond-shaped pieces.

KL Black Hokkien Mee

Ah Po has been awesome in feeding us, but every now and then she takes a break too. During these occassions, we would either eat out or ta pau (order take-out) something. One of the dishes that we frequently get is the KL black hokkien mee. Do not let the name deceives you. I believe you can actually get the KL black hokkien mee pretty much anywhere now.

I was really excited as I haven't tasted this noodles for a while now. When I smelled the fragrance imparted while rendering the pork fat, I actually thought to myself: "Gosh, this smells really good!" It was somewhat comforting, in the comfort food sort of way. I couldn't find any thick yellow noodles here. So, I used udon noodles instead. The noodles taste good, though I find that the resulting texture of the udon noodles doesn't quite do the justice in replacing the thick yellow noodles. I also think that the color of the sauce is not dark enough. Is my dark soy sauce different that the ones the hawkers have...?




KL Black Hokkien Mee
makes ~4 servings
500 gm of thick yellow hokkien noodles, soak in cold water for 15 minutes (subs. udon noodles)
100 gm of pork meat, cut into thin slices
150 gm of prawns, deshelled and deveined, leave tails on
100 gm of squid, cut into bite sizes
100 gm of choy sum, cut into 1 inch pieces
100 gm of pork fat, cut into cubes
1 cup of chicken stock (subs. water)
1 tsp of light soy sauce
2 tsp of dark soy sauce (add more if not dark enough)
1/4 tsp of white pepper
Salt to taste

Season prawns and squid with a dash of salt, sugar, and pepper.
Render the cubes of pork fat over very low heat in a small frying pan. This takes about an hour. Remove the cubes of pork fat and keep the lard.
Heat the lard in a wok and saute the prawns and squid.
Add and brown the pork.
Add in the chicken stock and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in the choy sum and toss for about 30 seconds.
Then, add in the noodles and the soy sauces, white pepper, and salt. Mix well.
Cover wok with lid and simmer until noodles are tender. Add more dark soy sauce if the color is not dark enough and simmer until gravy is thick.
Add the crispy lard cubes before dishing up the noodles.
Serve with sambal belacan.

Mee Hun Kerr (Flour Cake Soup)

Mee Hun Kerr is one of the things that can be easily purchased and inexpensive in Malaysia's kopitiam. It is one of the dish that I can't categorize; whether it should be a kueh (or cake) or a noodle soup. The said "noodle" is actually made of flour and formed into pieces or strips of no specific shapes, and is then boiled and served in a broth. Because the serving style resembles that of a noodle soup and the taste does not reflect that of the sweet delicacies we know as kueh/cakes, I'm partial to thinking that mee hun kerr is more a noodle soup even though its name literally translate to "flour cake."

Growing up, most of my personal experiences with mee hun kerr were those that is Ah Po's very own home-made. One of the things about Ah Po is that, when one of us - my brothers and I - likes something or ever slightly mentions "This is really good. I love it!", Ah Po will keep making that particular dish for us. And she does it so effortlessly.

My experience in making my own mee hun kerr was quite a different story. First of, my fried anchovies sucked. They were not crispy crisp. They were hard, perhaps due to overcooked. My flour cakes did turn out to be of variable shapes as I attempted the free-style shaping like Ah Po does, but also highly inconsistent. Some were ridiculously huge, some too thick. Luckily, I approved the soup.

Making mee hun kerr is a huge project by my definition. Clearly, I need more practices to master the skill.

Puipo, I wish you were here to give me guidance and try the mee hun kerr.

Mee Hun Kerr (Flour Cake Soup)
makes 4 - 5
Dough:
300 gm of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup of water

Soup:
100 gm of dried anchovies, washed and drained
400 gm of chicken/pork meat, sliced and mix with 3 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of tapioca flour and a dash of pepper (subs. chicken cooked in broth and shredded)
100 gm of dried mushrooms, soak to soften and sliced
300 gm of choy sum
4 liters of water
1 cube of anchovies/chicken stock

Garnishing:
Fried shallots
Fried anchovies

Condiment:
Chili padi with salt, sugar and vinegar

Knead flour, salt, eggs, and water into a dough. Knead by adding water bit by bit till the entire dough is smooth and not sticking to hands. Cover with damp cloth and leave to rest for at least 1/2 hour.
Fried anchovies with 3 tsp of oil till golden brown and crispy.
Bring water to boil. Add in half of the crispy anchovies, anchovies/chicken stock, and sliced mushrooms. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes.
Take a small piece of dough and rub with a little cooking oil. Tear the dough into small and very thin pieces, and drop them into the soup. As soon as the dough pieces float to the top, fish them up and leave aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Add chicken/pork into the soup and bring back to boil.
When meat is cooked, add choy sum. Then, put the cooked dough pieces back to the soup.
Season with salt to taste.
To serve, scoop into individual bowls. Add a dash of sesame oil and top with garnishings, accompany with chili padi condiment. 

Welcome to the World, Dear Ethan

Today, my dearest friend's first-born baby, Ethan, is one month old. Following the Chinese tradition, the parents of the full-month baby will be distributing red-colored eggs and ang ku kuehs to relatives and friends to announce the good news.

Due to my absence to hold baby Ethan in my arms today, I made some ang ku kuehs as redemption. I didn't have any ang ku kueh molds. Hence, I had to improvise, big time, which includes "free-style molding."

So, my dear Ethan, sorry that the ang ku kuehs do not look pleasing. But do know that you are loved very much!

Ang Ku Kueh

Dough:

200 gm of glutinous rice flour, sifted

2 tbsp of sugar

2 tbsp of oil

4 tbsp of water

150 gm of boiling water

1/8 tsp of orange-red coloring

banana leaves, cut into small circles/squares and greased

Filling:

200 gm of split and skinned mung beans, washed and soaked overnight; drain well

150 gm of sugar

1 - 2 tbsp of oil

2 pandan leaves

To make the filling:

Steam mung beans in a steamer for 20 - 30 minutes or till soft.

Pulse the steamed mung beans in food processor.

Pour into a microwable glass bowl. Add all filling ingredients and cook in microwave on high till mixture is almost dry.

Remove the pandan leaves and leave aside to cool.

Roll mung bean paste into small balls and set aside to be used as filling.

Mix rice flour, sugar, oil, and water in a mixing bowl.

Add coloring to hot water. Add to flour mix and mix well. Knead to form a smooth but not sticky dough.

Divide dough into equal portions and roll into balls.

Flatten each portion slightly. Add a small ball of filling.

Pinch and seal the edges.

Lightly dust ang ku mold with glutinous rice flour.

Press each ball of dough into the mold.

Knock mold lightly against table and the ang ku will slide out.

Place each ang ku on greased, cut-out banana leaves.

Steam ang ku over boiling water for four minutes. Then uncover the lid and continue steaming for six more minutes or till cooked.

Remove ang ku from steamer and brush lightly with oil to prevent them from sticking to one another and also to get the sheen.

Char Kuey Teow

One of the popular dish from Malaysia: Char Kuey Teow. I don't feel the need for introduction :)

When I think of char kuey teow, I think of the char kuey teow I have had at a kopitiam on Heng Choon Thian Road in Butterworth. Ah Po and my Godma used to live on this same street; that's how they met, I think. Ah Po then moved to KL with my parents whereas Godma remained in Butterworth but she moved to another neighbourhood. When I was little, Ah Po traveled to Butterworth/Penang quite frequently, somewhat like once a year, and she always took me along. When we were there, we would go to Heng Choon Thian Road a lot because that's where Ah Po's mahjong kaki's were. So, we would have brunch at the kopitiam before Ah Po begins her mahjong marathon. I would almost always get the char kuey teow. The most famous char kuey teow is not from this kopitiam, but it is the best in my book.

I tried cooking char kuey teow today, although with a realistic expectation that it will not blow my mind. For whatever reason, I have always believe that this noodle can only be make really, really delicious when cooked using a hawker's (or industrial) wok and flame. Regardless, I found the recipe and a descriptive, step-by-step pictorial instructions on Rasa Malaysia. My attempt did not include the chili paste and Chinese sausage, but I did include the cockels (though they looked quite pathetic as they're cooked and frozen, and not bloody at all).

Turned out, I was really happy with my char kuey teow. It was not mind-blowing as those you would get from Malaysia's hawkers, but it was good enough to please my palate.

Wonton Noodle, Dry-Style (Kon Loh Wonton Mein)

I didn't get to work today. And when I found out of that, it was too late to join my friends to the slopes up north where I could have continue my snowboarding lessons. So, I stayed home to study... and then cook wonton noodles. When Reena was here, she had showed me how. She has been trying to teach me how to make wonton noodles, saying how easy it is. But everytime she does, I would narrowed my eyes, as if saying "Are you kidding me? I hate you for being a great cook." (The latter part is, naturally, not true. I embrace and am grateful for the fact that she is a great cook 'cos she feeds me so well whenever opportunities strike.)

I have some of the ingredients, but still need to pick up some others. One of them being choy sum, a type of Chinese cabbage. Not unusual, I had to make two stops to gather all the ingredients I needed. My second stop was a Vietnamese groceries store, where the fresh greens and produce are not labeled. I knew the difference between kai lan and bok choy, but bok choy and choy sum? I had to make an emergency call to Mom to figure that out. Embarrassing, I know!

With all ingredients on hand, I started my wonton-wrapping exercise. You can tell that I need practices to master the skill as all my wontons turned out loose with air pockets. This is one of the things, I realized, that I thought I did pretty well during the making but can't really judge what the outcome will be until it is completely done.

In all honesty, wonton noodle is not difficult to make, as Reena has been trying to convince me. But for wonton noodle to taste and look really good, that takes some skills. My very own wonton noodle turned out to be delicious, though not as good as Reena's. And definitely not even close to those RM3.50 wonton noodles served at kopitiam or hawker stalls in Malaysia. Gosh, I miss home.....

Kon Loh Wonton Mein

Wonton Noodle, Dry-Style (Kon Loh Wonton Mein)
for 2

1/4 lb of ground pork
6 - 8 shrimps, deveined and finely chopped
2 - 3 strands of chives, chopped
1/2 tbsp of soy sauce
3/4 tsp of dark rice vinegar
1/4 tsp of sesame oil
Dash of salt and pepper

Wonton wrapper, about 10, thawed if frozen
1/2 tbsp of cornstarch, dissolved with 1.5 tbsp of water
1 packet of wonton soup base (Lee brand, 9 grams) + 3 cups of water
4 oz (or a ring) of wonton/egg noodles
6 - 8 leaves of choy sum
~3 cups of water

In a mixing bowl, mix the pork, shrimp, and chives. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Filling should be sticky and slightly wet.
To wrap the wontons, make a ring with fingers and thumb. Place a wonton wrapper on  top of the ring formed by hand. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Gently push the filling down the ring with the spoon. Slowly move fingers to close the ring to wrap the wrapper around the filling. Dab a little cornstarch mixture around the wrapper to seal. Check that the wrapper is properly sealed. Place on a plate. Repeat until filling is used up.
Bring water to boil. Add the wonton soup base. When soup is boiling, add the wontons. When the wontons are done, they will float. Simmer for another 2 - 3 minutes. Then, set aside.
In another pot, bring ~3 cups of water to boil. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Remove from boiling water and dip into a bowl of fresh cold water before dipping into the boiling water again to warm the noodles. Drain and set on individual serving plates.
Add 1 - 2 tsp of sweet dark soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil to the each plate of noodles and toss well.
Blanch choy sum until just al dente, drain and place on top of noodles.
Serve warm with bowl of wonton soup.

Smiling Cake (Fatt Koh)

Tonight is a night where I'm itching to do something... My thoughts wander around the atmosphere of Chinese New Year, and that it is already over. I remember throughout the New Year, there are several occasions of prayers. One of the food items that are offered during prayers is the smiling cakes or "fatt koh." I always thought "fatt" translates to prosperity and "koh" or kuih is the Asian version of cake or pastry, hence "prosperity cake" but turns out fatt koh also translates to "smiling cake." To think of it now, it makes more sense if "fatt" in this case means "rise."

The fatt koh used for prayers are typically pinkish in color. But by the time I decided to make some fatt koh, the stores are closed and I couldn't get any food colorings. So, natural color it is. In fact, there was a lot of improvisations that took place. I'm not sure if there is a special kind of cup that is fatt koh holder. I was initially going to use a cupcakes tray to hold the batter, but then realized that the tray is not going to fit in the wok, which I was going to use as the steamer. Then, I found two little condiment bowls, which I thought could be used as the fatt koh holder. But because there's only two of them, I had to steam two fatt koh's at a time. And so, the adventure begun.

My fatt koh holder

Fatt koh's smiling at ya... at bout 7th minutes

It was kinda fun to watch them rise, or smile. Once the first two was out of the steamer and I have place another two cups of batter in, I popped one of the fatt koh in my mouth and it made me smile :) I was so excited that I went on and made another batch of batter, this time with palm sugar. Surprisingly, the color of those made with palm sugar is just the same as those made with white sugar. Hmm..... I also find that those made with palm sugar is stickier to taste in the mouth, or in comparison, not as fluffy as those made with white sugar.

Palm sugar and white sugar fatt koh's

Smiley little thing!

When Ah Po get the fatt koh's for prayers, she would get a couple of extra for me ('cos those for the prayers are sometimes left on the altar for days). You know it. Ah Po loves me very much. There's no denying to that!


Fatt Koh
makes ~8

250 grams of self-rising flour (subs. 250 grams of all-purpose flour + 2.5 tsp of baking powder + 2 dashes of salt)
140 grams of sugar / palm sugar
100 ml of water
150 grams of thick coconut milk (by weight)

Cook sugar with water until sugar melts. Let it cool.
Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until thick and smooth.
Imp: Heat the wok with water and bring to high boil with the cups in to heat them before pouring in the batter, which should be 90% full.
Cover with lid and steam for 15 minutes.
The koh will smile if the right amount of batter, time for steaming, and maintaining high heat are observed.