If you live in Malaysia, you know that you are very lucky where FOOD is concerned. Malaysians are known for the special relationship that they have with food which is evident from the variety of savory dishes and sweets that one can easily find at every corner. This is especially so during the many festive seasons, one of which was only recently celebrated - Deepavali.

One of the favorite Indian sweets eaten during Deepavali is Sugared Ghee Balls, which is also popularly known as “Neyyi Urundai” or “Payatham Urundai”. True, compared to the other more gloriously colored sweets found during this festival, Ghee Balls do not get full points for looks. In fact, its unstimulating colour and simple shape may even be a “put off” for some. But, for many who have tried it, this sweet has easily become a favorite.

Making it from scratch is relatively easy. The only tricky part is pouring the hot ghee into the flour mixture and molding the balls into shape. One may find that the first few balls take a longer time to make than first anticipated. Don’t let your spirits down if you find this happening to you. Persistence pays off and it won’t be too long before you start getting the hang of it.

Once cooled, pop a ball into your mouth and enjoy the taste as it slowly crumbles into a wonderful sensory delight. You won’t regret it!

This is my recipe for Sugared Ghee Balls. Read the rest of this entry »

What a name! Sure, this dish may be common but did you know that simply by putting in a little effort to carve your vegetables, you can create give a new and beautiful breathe of life to an ordinary dish? My little daughters were fascinated with the carrots and broccoli stems which were cut to resemble flowers sitting in the midst of a bed of freshly blanched green broccoli. To give it a more “garden feel”, I used orchid mushrooms as well in this dish. I bought the orchid mushrooms in can and they are quite delicious with a light crunch. You can also use any other suitable mushrooms such as straw mushrooms.

The prawns were cut to resemble like butterflies but being an amateur, I can’t say they look like one. What I did was to remove the heads, middle shell and legs by fingers and leave the tails attached. Next, I use a knife to make a slit down the centre back of each prawn and removed the guts (brownish black thread running down the back of the prawn). When the prawn is cooked, it will give a nice slightly opened shape.

To cut the carrots or broccoli stems into flower-like shapes, you will need to first scrape off the outer layer. Next, cut the carrots into 6 cm lengths. You will need thick broccoli stems for the same purpose. Then, lay the carrot onto a chopping board and make a slanted cut (about 5mm deep or lesser) length-wise along the carrot. Then make another parallel slanted cut just next to it so that both cuts resemble a V shape. You will then be able to remove the whole strip thus leaving you a length-wise groove. Repeat this over the other parts of the carrot until you get at least 5 grooves. Then, slice the carrot sideways and voila! You’ll get the flower-shaped carrots.

Get creative. It makes a whole world of difference to the eating experience!

This is my recipe for Butterflied Prawns in Eden Read the rest of this entry »

Kailan cooked in 2 ways or “yin yong kai lan” is a dish which I ate about 3 years ago in a restaurant in Shah Alam. I found it interesting - even though it is relatively simple. The kailan leaves are shredded and deep fried whilst the stem is given a light stir fry with garlic slices. I had totally forgotten about this dish and did not think about cooking it until recently when I saw a picture of it in a book which I was browsing at a store. My interest was reignited and hence, this dish was attempted last weekend.

I found this dish to be a bit time consuming as the kailan needs to be prepared in two ways. Firstly, the middle stem running along the leaves need to be removed. What I did was to place each leaf (yes, leaf by leaf) on my chopping board, fold it into half with the stem as the guide and then use a knife to cut the stem out. Once the stem has been removed, I then take a couple of leaves which have been given the same treatment and roll them tightly before slicing / shredding them thinly. As for the main stems, I remove the outer skin before cutting them into bite sizes.

The frying of the shredded kailan leaves also needs some care. You will need to use a generous amount of oil because the leaves tend to absorb the oil and they get burnt easily. It is thus important to control the heat - somewhere between medium to high if preferred. After frying them, you will need to drain them and leave them on kitchen napkins to have excess oil absorbed.

It is still an interesting dish to try out if you are bored with the usual stir fried kai lan with prawns or kai lan stems with pork and mushrooms. I sprinkled tiny anchovies or “ghun he” (in hokkien) over the deep fried kailan leaves. A good substitute would be meat floss.

This is my version of Kailan Cooked in 2 Ways Read the rest of this entry »

This is my first foray into XO sauce territory. I have previously heard of the XO sauce but before I actually looked further into it, I thought it had something to do with the X.O. Cognac. Actually, XO sauce is supposed to be a premium sauce made up of ingredients such as dried shrimps, chilli, scallops, shallots and garlic amongst others. It is no wonder that it is one of the more expensive sauces around in chinese cuisine.

The XO sauce is touted to be a good sauce to use with seafood. As I love mussels, I decided to give it a stir fry using the XO sauce to see how it would turn out. I have never tried the sauce, let alone know how it would eventually taste like. So, prior to cooking, I dipped a spoon into the sauce and then tried out the chilli-oil based sauce just to have an idea what XO sauce tastes like. It is actually hard to describe the taste but I do remember that it was kinda oily. Being conscious of not using too much oil in my cooking, I made it a point not to scoop unnecessary oil from the bottle for otherwise, the dish might end up too oily for my liking.

Mussels cook easily. If you cook too much, it would turn slightly chewy and rubbery. I bought some frozen and vacuum-packed NZ Mussels from the supermarket and defrosted them overnight in the lower compartment of the fridge. When I added the mussels into the wok, I could smell the sweet aroma coming from the mussels. Each bite into the juicy mussels reveal a natural sweetness from the mussels nicely paired with the subtle hint of spicy XO sauce. My wife and I polished the whole plate with steamed white rice and stir-fried french beans with egg. A simple, quick and satisfying meal. Aren’t all meals supposed to be like that? 😀

This is my quick recipe for Stir Fried Mussels with XO Sauce Read the rest of this entry »