My sister loves asam (also spelt as assam) -based dishes, be it Asam Ikan Kembung (Tamarind Indian Mackerel) or Asam Laksa. In fact, mum said that my sister would most likely be drooling if she were to see this dish up on this site. My sister is currently residing in Singapore and on her trips back to Kuala Lumpur, she would usually cook this or ask mum to cook this.

There are two parts to cooking this dish. One is to prepare the chilli-based paste and the other, to cook the fish. For the chilli-based paste, you can actually prepare in advance and keep them in the fridge for future uses (which is what we usually do at home). Asam Ikan Kembung is sour, sweet and spicy in taste and is an excellent dish to whet the appetite. It goes well with plain steamed white rice. You can actually use other types of fish but Ikan Kembung tastes good here. A word of caution though. Take care when eating the fish as the bones might get to you. Read the rest of this entry »

Otak-Otak (some call it Fish Mousse) must rank as one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever tasted. Usually, I would not stop at 10 sticks of this fish mousse (this is what some call it). The most famous otak-otak in Malaysia is sold in the town of Muar (where PB hails from). So, if and whenever I go to Muar on Court duty, I would pack a big bundle back.

The usual way of cooking otak-otak is to wrap it in coconut leaves followed by grilling it over an open flame. At home, however, it is not easy to find coconut leaves or even an open flamed grill. Hence, my mum decided to steam it instead. It was actually her first attempt and we loved it. Some of the recipes for otak-otak sounds very complicated and comes with a bewildering array of ingredients. Mum’s otak-otak is a simplified version and good enough for a home-cooked meal.

This is my mum’s recipe for Otak-Otak Read the rest of this entry »

In Hong Kong, the movie industry has its 4 Heavenly Kings to describe the 4 most popular singers. For me, I have my 4 Heavenly Kings to describe my 4 must-eat hawker dishes in Kuching. Kueh Chap is one of the 4. The others being the Sarawak Laksa, Kolok Mee and Tomato Kuey Teow.

Kueh Chap, I believe, is hokkien for the word “Cake” and “Mixed”. The “cake” or kueh denotes the use of thicker than usual kuey teow (rice flour cake - which is like lasagna) whilst “mixed” or chap probably describes the use of a mixture of pork parts in the dish. In Penang, Singapore and Johor Bahru, I believe they use duck parts as well. In Kuching, it is almost exclusively pork. Read the rest of this entry »

This recipe is nostalgic because it is what I used to have regularly during my schooling days. Sweet Potato Porridge is basically an “enhanced” porridge with the former adding sweetness to the porridge. It is, however, not eaten on its own. Rather, some side dishes compliments this simple but delicious porridge eg. ikan bilis snack or minced pork balls with preserved black beans. I usually have 2 bowls of this as the sweet potato somehow makes the porridge more appetising.

Mum usually uses the yellow-coloured sweet potato, probably because that is what is commonly found in the market. I think any type of sweet potato would do the trick. Try to get those which are less fibrous as it can be an irritant to have them in your mouth. This porridge is very simple to cook. You just add sweet potatoes into the porridge as you cook it! Yes, it is that simple! Read the rest of this entry »