Chicken Curry

One of the best curries I have made todate. Made of combination of store-bought curry paste and fresh ingredients.

For 8p
1.5kg of chicken thigh fillets, cut into half each.
1 packet of Tean's chicken curry paste (Malaysian product)
1 cm of fresh tumeric and ginger.)
1 stalk of lemon grass                  ) blend these till fine
1 carrot, cut into small pieces      )
6 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
2 large ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 very large red onion, chopped.
40g of gula melaka (about 2 tbsp)
3-4 tbsp of soy sauce
250-300ml of coconut milk.
4 stalks of fresh mint and of basil leaves
Beansprouts (taugeh) - about 8 handfuls
Oil (olive or peanut or veg oil)

Gently fry the blended ingredients in oil in a heavy based pot till softened.
Add Tean's paste, continue frying till oil separates.
Add tomatoes, onions, gula melaka, soy.
Add 1 cup of water.
Continue cooking on small to medium heat with lid on for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring.
Add chicken and coconut milk.
Cook on same heat till simmering.
Cook for 1/2 hour on small heat - for chicken to remain tender
Turn heat off.
Served with fresh taugeh, mint and basil.
Delicious with either noodles or steamed rice.

Optional:
I added 1 packet of tau fu pok, and 12 pieces of seaweed fu chook to the curry once simmering after adding chicken and coconut milk.

Bon Appetite!

Malaysian Curry Laksa

Rick Stein is my favourite Chef. I love his cooking/travel shows, and his cooking - very local, fresh, yummy.

He made this during Masterclass last nite on Masterchef, in Kuala Lumpur! I have to say I was impressed. It is made from fresh local ingredients, and I would say more authentic than some. What strucked me most was that he fried up the heads and shells of the prawn to create the stock, something which I never imagined for laksa - yum yum! I can imagine, a real seafood taste in the laksa. So, this is a must try for me.

250g raw unpeeled prawns
Vegetable oil for frying
200g firm tofu, cut to 1cm thick slices

Laksa spice paste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
20g piece ginger, chopped
3 fat garlic cloves
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
75g shallots, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dried shrimp, rehydrated in boiling water for 5 minutes and drained well
1.5 teaspoons shrimp paste
20g cashew/candle nuts
2 teaspoons fish curry spice
20g fresh turmeric
4 fresh long red finger chillies
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

SoupLaksa spice paste
Prawn stock
400ml coconut milk, fresh if available
1 tablespoon palm sugar
160g chicken breast, cut into 1cm slices
Reserved peeled prawns
2 tablespoons fish sauce
400g fresh egg noodles, loosened
To serve100g bean sprouts
100g cooked fine green beans, halved
3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal, to serve
A handful of mixed mint and coriander leaves, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
Sambal oelek, to serve

Peel prawns, reserving the heads and shells. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan, add prawn heads and shells and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until they are crisp and golden.

Add 1 litre of water, bring to the boil, reduce heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain liquid into a large jug and discard heads and shells.

Cut tofu into 1cm thick pieces and fry in hot oil until crisp, drain well on a paper towel-lined plate.

For laksa spice paste, place chillies into a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and pound to a smooth paste.

For soup, heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat, add all the spice paste and fry gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously until mixture starts to smell fragrant and split. Add prawn stock, coconut milk and palm sugar and begin to reduce. Add chicken and prawns and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Pour in 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce and stir to combine.

Drop in the fresh egg noodles and leave to heat through for a few seconds.

Taste Laksa and season with more sugar and fish sauce if desired.

To serve, arrange bean sprouts, cooked green beans, fried tofu and noodles in the bottom of a serving dish. Ladle over curry soup, trying to divide the prawns and chicken pieces equally between each bowl. Garnish with spring onions, mint, coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve with a spoonful of sambal oelek.

Bon Appetite!

Otak Otak Kukus

I watched Rick Stein made this in Kuala Lumpur on Masterclass. It looked yummy and very "local". Usually, I dont fancy otak-otak much, but I like the ingredients he used, all very fresh, and they seem to go very well together.

500g boneless fillet Spanish mackerel /ikan tenggiri
4 fresh long red chilies, halved
3 eschallots
2cm piece fresh turmeric
2 lemongrass stalks, thinly sliced
2cm young ginger
4 candlenuts
1 large clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 small fresh turmeric leaf, chiffonade
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup fresh coconut cream
10 pieces of banana leaf the size of an A4 paper, gently heated over a naked flame to soften.

Chop the fish fillet very finely with a cleaver to form a paste and place in a bowl. Can use a food processor instead.

In a mortar and pestle pound fresh chilies to a pulp. Add eschallots, turmeric, lemon grass, candle nut, and garlic and pound into a fine paste for 10-15 minutes.

Add this paste to the fish paste with turmeric leaf, salt, sugar and coconut cream, mixing well to combine.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of mousse onto each sheet of banana leaf and fold the individual leaf up to make a parcel.

5. Place the parcels in a hot steamer and steam for 15 minutes until cooked through. Serve warm.

Bon Appetite!