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Shiewie

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    Kuih / Kueh

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Shiewie (log)

    pandangirl

    Is the onde-onde recipe that you're looking for the one with sweet potatoes in it or the one with just glutinous rice flour?

    Can I ask at what point does it become a rubbery mess? Have made the just glutinous rice flour onde-onde at a cooking class. Our first batch of dough was rejected - Rohani, our teacher said that the water was too hot when we added it to the flour ... think the hot water which was too hot :raz: cooked the flour before we mixed it up into a dough. Hope this helps.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    The fun part about the regional differences is that something very subtlely different to me (like a  curry and coconut-based laksa) will taste completely "wrong" to my partner.  He'll dismiss it as "Malaysian"... while my best bud from Malaysia will get all huffy if he says nasi lemak is a Singaporean specialty.  I'm no fan of misplaced nationalism, but I think it's at its most charming and fun when it's defense of regional differences in food.

    :laugh::laugh: Yeah and it's funny how this never ends - I guess the tastes that people grew up with are the fondest in their hearts :smile:. My eighty two year old uncle who's lived in Singapore for more than three-quarters of his life and who holds a Singaporean passport still complains about the "bad" hawker food in Singapore :shock: (I wouldn't call it bad, just different but I guess they are niggling differences to him) and still has to get a fix of his favourites each time he comes to KL every few months :biggrin:. But then those from Penang also complain that the KL hawkers can't get it right either :biggrin::wink:.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    kew:
    I have no idea as to what single dish is truly a bona-fide Malaysian dish.

    I would say that sambal belacan is Malaysian, but it's quite difficult to draw a hard line between Malaysia and Indonesia, given the amount of shared history and movement of people and goods throughout the region. But that's ultimately my point: Malaysia and Malaysian cuisine are a product of the meeting of diverse influences. Malaysian cuisine is an example of a spectacularly successful fusion of cuisines. And that's why Roti Canai, Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Kangkung Belacan are all Malaysian.

    I know a Singaporean who would argue with you over that claim... or is Singapore just getting lumped into Malaysia (hee hee)?

    Which of those dishes are not Malaysian, as far as a Singaporean is concerned?

    And since you brought it up, are there any Singaporean dishes which are uniquely Singaporean and not served in Johor?

    Actually I'd been wondering when this was going to come up :laugh:.

    To me, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines are essentially the same with some slight regional differences ... just like its people :wink:.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    kew:
    I have no idea as to what single dish is truly a bona-fide Malaysian dish.

    I would say that sambal belacan is Malaysian, but it's quite difficult to draw a hard line between Malaysia and Indonesia, given the amount of shared history and movement of people and goods throughout the region. But that's ultimately my point: Malaysia and Malaysian cuisine are a product of the meeting of diverse influences. Malaysian cuisine is an example of a spectacularly successful fusion of cuisines. And that's why Roti Canai, Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Kangkung Belacan are all Malaysian.

    I know a Singaporean who would argue with you over that claim... or is Singapore just getting lumped into Malaysia (hee hee)?

    My grew-up-in-Thailand friend says the Thais do a nearly identical dish to Hainanese chicken rice found in S'pore, but it goes by the name of chicken fat rice. I think the chilli prep is different though.

    regards,

    trillium

    I think someone posted a link in one of the other threads to an article about the Hainanese community in Thailand ... so it's likely a similar dish morphed out from the Hainanese community there :biggrin:...

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Nicely put Pan :biggrin:!

    Actually Hainanese Chicken Rice as we know it is a Malaysian / Singaporean dish ... though derived from the Hainanese Wenchang chicken.

    One of my cousins followed her mum and grandad to on a visit to her ancestral village in Wenchang District on Hainan Island and she reported back that although Wenchang chicken (the poached chicken) is commonly found all over the island, it's always served with with plain rice and never with the rice cooked in chicken broth :wink: .

    There's also Mee Goreng Mamak ... think that's uniquely Malaysian too no?

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    PCL

    Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa used to be one of my favourites. But when I last went to Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa sometime last year, I thought that their quality has dropped :sad:. The rice was a bit mushy, I like the grains of rice in my nasi lemak to be fairly firm and separate and not in clumps. The sambal also tasted a bit raw ... as if it hasn't been tumis'ed well.

    If you're in the PJ area, it seems there's a good nasi lemak stall near Castell at the roundabout bu Sultan Abdul Samad school. Seems there are different stallholders in the morning and at night but they're both supposedly good. TTDI? The nasi kerabu stall at Restoran Hasanah in TTDI (mornings only, same row as Secret Recipe) also sells nasi lemak - haven't tried it though as I always succumb to the nasi kerabu whenever I go there.

    I also recently tried the lauk at Chef Ismail's food kiosk at the food court at Bangsar Shopping Centre - the ayam masak merah was yummy. Think they also sell nasi lemak there so it may be worth a try.

    If you like Yut Kee, another coffee shop in the same vein is Seng Nam - it's near the HSBC Bank in Medan Pasar. Actually, I think their Hokkien mee-hoon is better than Yut Kee's :biggrin:.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Hi PCL

    Here's a link to a Malaysian site whereh you can find a list of the popular Nasi Lemak stalls in KL. I haven't tried all of them of the list thoguh only Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa, Nasi Lemak Tanglin and Nasi Lemak Cikgu.

    There are a couple of others that I like that are not on the list:

    - stall in front of the old clock tower on Lebuh Pasar Besar - it's near the HSBC Bank and down the road from Central Market - there's no place to sit down - it's purely 'bungkus' (take-away) for the people who work in the offices in that area - breakfast only

    - stall at coffee shop on Jalan Dang Wangi (what used to be Campbell Road) near the bridge - it's breakfast only as well - can't remember the name of the shop (it's opposite this other coffee shop called Yut Kee). However you can spot it quite easily as the there's a huge wooden container (at breakfast time only, of course) which the rice is served out of.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    While we're reminiscing about Malaysian food

    Can anyone confirm that there is a restaurant in Kemaman that serves baked crabs?

    I remember going... must be around 15 or 20 years ago now

    If someone can hunt me up the address I'd be extremely grateful

    Stuffed baked crabs are now a Kemaman / Chukai (think the town itself is called Chukai but is in the district of Kemaman ... and the port's called Kemaman too) specialty. One of the more well-known shops that serves this is Tong Juan Restaurant. It's on a row of pre-WWII shop houses that faces the river - does this sound familiar spinoza?

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Why hasn't anyone mentioned laksa? Laksa laksa laksa.  :wub:  Curry laksa is good but I love a nice sour laksa assam even more.

    Nasi lemak is such a humble dish and you can get it everywhere but it's one thing I would want first thing upon touching down in KL. I just love how the rice is coconut scented, but not gloppy or gluey with coconut milk. So lovely with a bit of sambal.

    Rojak! It's delectable (sweet stickiness of the sauce) and repugnant (belacan stinkiness of the sauce) at the same time and I love it. Pineapple is best. My partner told me on our next trip to Malaysia I have to go rojak hunting by myself, bec.  :wacko:  he can't stand the smell of it.

    :laugh: ecr - there are some pretty good rojak buah (Malaysian fruit salad with prawn paste) stalls in KL that are almost up to the standard of the ones in Penang. Buzz the next time time you're planning to visit in KL and we'll compile a list for you. You can even get them to do a take-away pack for you - they'll pack the sauce separately from the fruits, prawn fritters, crunchy you tiao and crushed peanuts each in their own plastic bag :biggrin:.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Shiewie (log)

    TP, Shiewie & the rest - what about the Nasi Ulam you guys have eaten? It is all mixed up together or the leaves separate and dipped in sauces like what Pan had?

    Nasi Ulam to me is what my gran used to make - the various herbs were shredded finely, the rice was stained blue from crushed bunga telang (clitoria) and it was all mixed up together with pounded dried salt fish and kerisik (dry roasted coconut). But this is the Penang nyonya version since that's what my gran was :raz:.

    The Kelantanese shops in KL (Restoran Hasanah in Taman Tun and Restoran Jaya in Kelana Jaya) that I go to call the herby rice Nasi Kerabu instead - the herbs are shredded but are sprinkled on top of the rice with the kerisik, salt fish, sambal and budu (fish sauce). It usually comes with a steamed chilli that's stuffed with a mashed fish and coconut mixture. That said, there's always a a tray of fresh vegetables with budu and sambal available at the counter too :wink:.

    Sigh - don't have my gran's recipe since :sad: my mum never learnt it as she's not interested in cooking, guess I could try and bug one of my aunts but I do have Rohani Jelani's and it's pretty good :cool:.

    Have only been to Kelantan once many years ago as a child. Terengganu I used to visit almost yearly since my other set of grandparents used to live there. My favourites whenever I visited were Terengganu style Nasi Dagang and Roti Paung.

    Terengganu style Nasi Dagang is slightly different from Kelantan's - a slightly chewy white rice is used instead of the speckled red rice in the Kelantanese version and the fish (Ikan Tongkol) is steamed with the curry served separately unlike the Kelantanese version where the fish is cooked in the curry.

    Roti Paung are discs of tiny buttery buns all joined together. Buns can't really be Malaysian in origin I guess but they've always been around in Terengganu as far as I can remember. Wonder how they came about? Pan - do you remember eating any Roti Paung when you were living in Terengganu?

    Beef Rendang

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Shiewie (log)

    tryska - yes add it in then! Oh dear, looks like I missed that part out - :blush: sorry was typing it close to 1am last night so guess my eyes had gone a bit wonky by then :wacko:. Thanks for pointing it out :wub: - have edited the recipe above.

    Turmeric leaf - not sure what could be used to substitute it. Think it would be best to omit it if it's not available. What do you think, kew?

    Beef Rendang

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Shiewie (log)

    Ok kew - here it is for your critique :smile:

    ROHANI JELANI'S BEEF RENDANG

    Ingredients

    500g (approx. 1 lb) lean beef (use a stewing cut)

    1 cup grated fresh coconut

    15 - 20 dried chillies

    15 shallots

    2-cm (1-inch) piece old ginger

    2-cm (1-inch) piece galangal

    3 stalks lemon grass (white section only)

    1-cm (1/2-inch) piece fresh turmeric root

    600ml (approx. 2 1/3 cups) fresh coconut milk (squeezed from 1 1/2 coconuts)

    1 - 2 pieces asam gelugor / asam keping (dried tamarind skin)

    1 small turmeric leaf - shredded

    2 kaffir lime leaves

    2 tsp salt (or to taste)

    2 tsp sugar (or to taste)

    Instructions

    1. Cut beef into slices of 2-cm (1-inch) by 3-cm (1 1/2-inches). Set beef slices aside.

    2. Prepare the kerisik (dry roasted grated coconut) by placing the grated fresh coconut into a DRY wok over low heat. Do not add any oil. Toss and stir the grated coconut over low heat until the coconut is crisp and golden brown. Remove from heat. Cool the coconut slightly then grind it finely in a food processor. Set aside.

    3. Cut the dried chillies into 3-cm (1 1/2-inch) lengths. Soak the cut chillies in wam water for 15 mintues until softened. In the meantime, scrape the skin from the ginger, galangal and turmeric root. Cut the ginger, galangal, lemon grass and turmeric root into slices. Drain and grind chillies in a blender / food processor together with the ginger, galangal, lemon grass and turmeric root with enough water for the blades to work. Grind until you get a fine paste.

    (Note - The turmeric root will stain your fingers and chopping board. To avoid having orange fingers, I usually hold it in place with a small fork instead of directly with my fingers.)

    4. Place the beef, ground chilli paste and coconut wok in a large wok. Bring mixture to boil then reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally until most of the coconut milk has evaporated - a red film of oil will rise to the surface.

    5. Add the asam gelugor, shredded turmeric leaf, kaffir lime leaves and kerisik. Mix well. Season with salt and sugar.

    Malaysian Cuisine

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Shiewie (log)

    I like the stir fried pearl noodle dishes (the noodles that look like worms).

    !!!!! :blink::blink: What might be this 'pearl noodle dish'?

    Are these worms short fat pudgy ones :biggrin: made of rice flour? If so, then I think they could be Loh Shue Fun which translates to Rat's Tail Noodles :raz: (also called Bee Tai Bak in Penang - there's also a sweet version which is slightly different). Actually they look sort of like white tadpoles but with tails at both ends. They're fatter than the average noodle and needs a robust sauce to complement it - it's good stir-fried with minced/shredded meat and thick soy sauce and served with a small plate of sambal and kalamansi.

    Theres another dish that I've had at a NY chain called Penang, called "Tofu Nyonya" which is fried tofu in a spicy chili sauce with ground pork and lots of basil.

    Could this be MaPo Tofu? Shiewie?

    Hmm... it's more likely a Malaysianised Chinese dish where the tofu is first deep-fried (outsides are golden brown but insides remain milky white) before stir-frying it with a sambal-based sauce wth minced pork and basil. Not quite Nyonya I'm afraid as basil is not really a typical Nyonya ingredient.

    Beef Rendang

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Thank you for the Rendang Minagkabau recipe, kew.

    The Rohani Jelani rendang recipe I got from her class is not quite the same as the on the kuali website. The cooking class one has kerisik in it . Will dig it out later and post it for you to see whether it qualifies as a real rendang in your books :biggrin:. Her nasi kunyit recipe from the class is properly soaked and steamed the traditional way :wink:.

    Alright!!!

    Like I said, I think the recipes on that site are simplified versions.

    You know ... my Mom is even more .. err ... picky. According to her the Rendang Minagkabau isn't *real* rendang because it doesn't have spices (like the coriander, cumin and the likes). But when I made it one Raya a few years ago (I usually make Rendang Johor to bring back home to my parents), she and Dad both said it was yummy but *not* rendang in the proper sense. We're Johorians, you see ..... :rolleyes::raz:

    I will post more rendang recipes when I can.

    edited to add : do you think my instructions on making kerisik clear enough for those totally unfamiliar with it? Please feel free to add anything else. :smile: I don't think Chinese cooking uses kerisik eh? Well, maybe the modern dishes but not the traditional ones, right? I know even the Chinese restaurants have sambal belacan and more nowadays!

    kew - your instructions on making kerisek are fine - very descriptive - I can picture it from reading what you've written :wink:.

    Had a look at Rohani Jelani's recipe last night - her instructions for making kerisik are a lot briefer in fact ... and a food processor is used to grind the kerisik :shock::raz::biggrin:. However, the ingredients in her recipe for Rendang Daging (meat rendang) are almost identical to yours though the proportions vary slightly. There are no bird's eye chillies in it - guess that's a variable depending on how pedas (spicy) one likes it? Will post it here later (checked e-gullet's copyright terms - can post it as long as I change the instructions).

    Kerisik in Chinese cooking? None but Malaysian Chinese cooking is a bit mixed up (as a result of adapting to its environment I guess) and even more so in my family than most since once of my grans was a sireh-chewing (betel nut leaves) Nyonya.

    Beef Rendang

    in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Thank you for the Rendang Minagkabau recipe, kew.

    The Rohani Jelani rendang recipe I got from her class is not quite the same as the on the kuali website. The cooking class one has kerisik in it . Will dig it out later and post it for you to see whether it qualifies as a real rendang in your books :biggrin:. Her nasi kunyit recipe from the class is properly soaked and steamed the traditional way :wink:.

    Thai Birdseye Chilies

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Fresh chilli padi (bird's eye chillies) with a dash of soy sauce is one of the most common condiments served with meals in Malaysia. One of my friends has to have chilli padi at almost every meal ... tabasco is required for non-chilli padi accompanied meals ... she even adds tabasco to salads :blink: (and carries a bottle in her handbag! :biggrin:)

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