eG Foodblog: Shiewie - A Malaysian foodblog

[Shiewie]

Wednesday

Breakast was muesli with soy milk and home-made yogurt. Drank warm water.

[kangarool]

Thanks for the posts Shiewie, heaps new stuff to track down! This seems a good chance to ask something I’ve been wondering:

Here in Melbourne, in a few Malaysian lunch spots, I always go for what they call "Ipoh Style Noodles." It seems to be pretty much the same as Hor Fun, with the beautiful slippery rice noodles, seafood and egg gravy. But is there something special about the Ipoh part of the name that would make it different? I don’t remember the dish jumping out at me during a short trip to Ipoh and Cameron Highlands… maybe it’s just an Aussie/Malaysian thing?

Also, is Char Kuey Teow found with equal ease all over Malaysia? Or do you only find it so prevalently in Penang?

As you may have gleaned, I love nothing more than a big fat heaping steaming bowl of big fat slippery rice noodles.

[wagyu]

These "FoodBLOGs" are wonderful. Shamefully, I enjoy being let into strangers lives. :P

[tonkichi]

Here in Melbourne, in a few Malaysian lunch spots, I always go for what they call "Ipoh Style Noodles." It seems to be pretty much the same as Hor Fun, with the beautiful slippery rice noodles, seafood and egg gravy. But is there something special about the Ipoh part of the name that would make it different?  I don’t remember the dish jumping out at me during a short trip to Ipoh and Cameron Highlands… maybe it’s just an Aussie/Malaysian thing?

Also, is Char Kuey Teow found with equal ease all over Malaysia? Or do you only find it so prevalently in Penang? 

As you may have gleaned, I love nothing more than a big fat heaping steaming bowl of big fat slippery rice noodles.

I love rice noodles too. I think in general, Cantonese people in Malaysia prefer rice noodles, e.g. hor fun, mai fun (beehoon) while the Hokkiens prefer wheat noodles e.g. tai-luk meen, wanton mee; at least it seems this way among my family and friends. Also Cantonese like the thinner type of noodles and Hokkiens like the thicker type; a good example is fish head beehoon, my Cantonese dad would go for the thin beehoon while my Hokkien mum would prefer the thick beehoon.

Back to Ipoh style noodles... I think it is because the best versions seem to come from Ipoh. My dad thinks it is the water in Ipoh that contributes to a better tasting noodle, which makes it that little more slippery and smooth without addition of oil or other lubricants. The water theory may be right. Ipoh is full of limestone caves, maybe the alkalinity makes the noodles more toothsome? I don't know, just my own theory.

The Penang version seems to be the most popular version found all over Malaysia. Penang style means it is fried in lard, with prawns (maybe add crabmeat for luxe version), beansprouts with optional extra of chilli sauce, Chinese sausage (lap-cheung) and semi-cooked mussels. The finished dish is a pale brown, which means little or no dark soy/ sweet sauce is used. Again, some argue that the best version is found in Penang. I've tasted really good Penang style CKT in KL as well as Penang. The critical part is the wok-hei fragrance imparted from a very hot wok by a skillful cook.

Edited October 29, 2003 by tonkichi (log)

[Shiewie]

Thanks for the posts Shiewie, heaps new stuff to track down! This seems a good chance to ask something I’ve been wondering:

Here in Melbourne, in a few Malaysian lunch spots, I always go for what they call "Ipoh Style Noodles." It seems to be pretty much the same as Hor Fun, with the beautiful slippery rice noodles, seafood and egg gravy. But is there something special about the Ipoh part of the name that would make it different?  I don’t remember the dish jumping out at me during a short trip to Ipoh and Cameron Highlands… maybe it’s just an Aussie/Malaysian thing?

Also, is Char Kuey Teow found with equal ease all over Malaysia? Or do you only find it so prevalently in Penang? 

As you may have gleaned, I love nothing more than a big fat heaping steaming bowl of big fat slippery rice noodles.

Following up from Tonkichi's explanation, Sar Hor Fun (or Hor Fun for short) or Kuay Teow are names for flat rice noodles.

Ipoh Style Noodles (Yee Poh Sar Hor Fun in Cantonese) refer to the style in which they are cooked - flat rice noodles in a light but intensely flavoured soup made from from pork bones, chicken and prawn heads and topped with shreds of poached chicken, shelled prawns and chives.

Another Ipoh style of serving sar hor fun is with a plate poached chicken and a separate dish of blanched bean sprouts dressed with some soy sauce, oil, oyster sauce and pepper. The hor fun is served in a separate bowl either with the chicken soup or dry, tossed with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and some oil.

Ipoh is famed for its sar hor fun which are thinner, smoother and springier (or more elastic, doesn't break as easily). As explained by Tonkichi, this is due to the higher alkalinity in the water in Ipoh caused by all the limestone hills around it. The same goes for the bean sprouts - fatter healthier sprouts. Some restaurants in KL supposedly truck the superior sar hor fun from Ipoh daily. (Was watching a program on Discovery Travel & Adventure on the weekend which featured congee, rice noodles in Guangzhou and it mentioned that a certain restaurant in Guangzhou has spring water delivered to it daily for its hor fun making.)

The Hor Fun dish that you refer to which is stir-fried with the eggy gravy and seafood is know as "Wat Dan Hor Fun" (Smooth Eggy Hor Fun) or "Kwong Fu Chow Hor Fun" (Cantonese Style Hor Fun). Malaysia Restaurant in Melbourne's Doncaster East does a pretty good Cantonese Style Hor Fun (and KL Style Hokkien Mee too).

Char Kuay Teow is found all over Malaysia. Char Kuay Teow is a Malaysian Hokkien dish and Penang is predominantly Hokkien so the Penang style is the preferred version. You can get the Penang style Char Kuay Teow in KL. My mother, the KL native, biasly thinks that the Penang style portions are smaller as Penang Hokkiens are notoriously thrifty (or stingy as my mother would say).

There is a slight difference between Penang style Char Kuay Teow and the KL style - the KL one is darker than the Penang one as there is dark soy sauce in it. Whichever style, it must have wok-hei in it as mentioned by Tonkichi.

As far as I know all Char Kuay Teow used to be fried with lard albeit Penang or KL style (even better if there is "jue yau char" - pork crackling in it). But with health concerns and halal versions, some are now fried with vegetable oil.

Tonkichi - do you mean "see ham" (cockles) when you mention mussels in Char Kuay Teow?

Corrected typo

Edited October 29, 2003 by Shiewie (log)

[Shiewie]

Lunch:

- 1 small starfruit

- 1 orange

- Yong Tau Foo (translates to stuffed tofu).

Yong Tau Foo is a Hakka dish where a fish paste mixture is stuffed in soft tofu, lightly fried and served in a soup. There are also stuffed tofu puffs, deep-fried stuffed bean curd rolls, fish balls, stuffed bitter gourd slices, stuffed okra, stuffed aubergine slices, "sui gau" (soup dumplings - you can have these deep-fried or in a soup) and long beans weaved into a little ring and stuffed with the fish paste mixture. It's served with dips of a sauce that's similar to hoi sin sauce and chilli sauce.

My "Tai Yee Ma" (mum's eldest sister) who married into a Hakka family says the true-blue version must be a mixture of fish paste, minced pork and salt fish.

The best Yong Tau Foo in KL is in Ampang. Sadly you get a lot of inedible food court versions around too.

Edited - After all that, I forgot to post which Yong Tau Foo items I had for lunch - 1 piece of tofu, 1 fish ball, 2 deep-fried Sui Kau, 1 soup Sui Kau, 1 slice of bitter gourd, 1 tofu puff and 1 deep-fried tofu roll.

Edited October 29, 2003 by Shiewie (log)

[Shiewie]

Late afternoon snacks:

- 1 handful of unsalted roasted cashews

- 1 small piece of marble cake

- yet another Granny Smith apple

[ronnie_suburban]

It's a really simple recipe though - just stir fry some minced garlic with slices of ginger, add some tau cheong once the garlic and ginger are slightly brown. Once the tau cheong smells aromatic, add chicken pieces that's been marinated with some salt and pepper to brown with some light soy sauce. When the chicken is brown, add water and potatoes to simmer till all is cooked.

Yum...can't wait to give this a go.

Thanks Shiewie!

=R=

[tryska]

It's one of those Malaysian dishes that are sort of eaten all day long. It started off as a breakfast item but it's now eaten at tea breaks, as something to tie you over to the next meal or for a late night supper.

What I had was the take away kind - little packets of nasi lemak are sold at roadside stalls or set in a pile at long common tables at Malay and Indian-Muslim eateries and tea stalls. It's also sold freshly served where you can add other dishes to it apart from the basic "ikan bilis" (anchovies), "kacang" (peanuts), sambal and "telur" (egg).

Here's a link to a FriedChillies site where you can read more on the Malaysian obsession with Nasi Lemak.

yay a site to keep me occupied for a little while.

silly question? what is sambal? i keep reading it and thinking "sambar" in the Indian lexicon.

[Shiewie]

Sambal is a spicy condiment that one would eat with rice or noodles. In the case of nasi lemak, the sambal is a cooked mixture of dried chillies, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), tamarind and onions with some salt and sugar.

[Shiewie]

Dinner tonight was out with friends.

Had a seafood salad of mixed greens with slices of peppers, alfalfa, diced tomatoes, orange segments, grilled salmon, squid and shrimp dessed with a vinagrette. Also deep fried pigeon served with a sweet Thai chilli sauce plus 1/8th wedge of a naan. Drank some Jack Daniels and Coke.

[tryska]

Sambal is a spicy condiment that one would eat with rice or noodles. In the case of nasi lemak, the sambal is a cooked mixture of dried chillies, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), tamarind and onions with some salt and sugar.

yum...i must find some sambal around here and try it!

[Schneier]

Sambal is a spicy condiment that one would eat with rice or noodles. In the case of nasi lemak, the sambal is a cooked mixture of dried chillies, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), tamarind and onions with some salt and sugar.

yum...i must find some sambal around here and try it!

I've seen it sold in jars.

[Shiewie]

Breakfast - slice of wholemeal bread with smidgeon of Marmite and a glass of soy milk. Still hungry though .

[slkinsey]

It's so interesting, I have to say, to read what you are having for breakfast tomorrow when I haven't yet gone to sleep tonight.

[Shiewie]

[Shiewie]

Ok just ran down to the cafeteria and got me a couple of packets of crunchy Korean seaweed and some soy milk. Am happily munching away now but bits of seaweed and salt are getting all over my keyboard .

[misgabi]

Does it seem weird Shiewie that you are working (and eating) whilst the others are all asleep. After you post do you feel like no-one is reading your blog?

Is the seaweed cooked? Is it something like the Malaysian equivalent of crisps?

Have picked up some pak choy and will have it with steamed fish and rice for dinner. (husband will no doubt insist on steak!! )

[herbacidal]

Does it seem weird Shiewie that you are working (and eating) whilst the others are all asleep.  After you post do you feel like no-one is reading your blog?

are we getting people at all hours?

i figure during the early part of your day, the US eastern half is seeing what's up just before going to bed.

from noon until 3, the US western half is checking in.

By the time they're done, our European contingent is around.

During your normal hours there's the rest of Asia as well.

Throw in Asians that check from home, and random others, and you're good.

Does make me wonder a little more about foodblog readers, what percentage are in the US. same percentage as Egulleteers overall?

anyway, this is just random speculation on my part.

It's not like you're checking in every 5 minutes to see if some posted something on your thread, like I was.

[Shiewie]

Does it seem weird Shiewie that you are working (and eating) whilst the others are all asleep.  After you post do you feel like no-one is reading your blog?

It's like living in an upside-down world!

Is the seaweed cooked?  Is it something like the Malaysian equivalent of crisps?

Think the seaweed must be either deep-fried or toasted as they're really crunchy. It's not Malaysian though - the seaweed are Japanese and Korean snacks - Torakris might know how the seaweed is prepared? Mmmm I love salty snacks like seaweed, keropok and crisps. The Malaysian equivalent of crisps would be keropok (fish or prawn crackers), tapioca crisps, banana chips and Indian crunchy snacks like murukku.

Have picked up some pak choy and will have it with steamed fish and rice for dinner.  (husband will no doubt insist on steak!!  )

I like my steak!!! I usually just pan fry rib-eye, season it with some salt, pepper and a dash of red wine. Cook some fresh shitake in the pan juices with some butter, soy sauce, mirin, more red wine and water and serve it with some blanched baby pak choy (the green stem ones) and roast potatoes.

Do post on how your steam fish and pak choy turn out.

Just ate a handful of cashews and am off to lunch soon.

[torakris]

Think the seaweed must be either deep-fried or toasted as they're really crunchy. It's not Malaysian though - the seaweed are Japanese and Korean snacks - Torakris might know how the seaweed is prepared?

If it is yaki-nori (and it probably is) then it has been toasted, the Korean varities are also brushed with sesame oil, this makes them delicious to just eat plain.

It is nice to have someone posting in a a similar (I think we are one hour off) timezone!

[Shiewie]

If it is yaki-nori (and it probably is) then it has been toasted, the Korean varities are also brushed with sesame oil, this makes them delicious to just eat plain.

It is nice to have someone posting in a a similar (I think we are one hour off) timezone!

Yes - think it must be yaki-nori. We also get wasabi and kimchi flavoured yaki-nori here but I like the plain ones best .

Think I overate for lunch and it feels as if there is a bowling ball in my stomach right now. I wanted to have Indian food for lunch (was thinking of freshly fried spicy fish cutlets at a banana leaf rice place - South Indian eateries where your rice is served on top of a piece of banana leaf instead of a plate and you eat with your fingers) but the rest didn't agree with my choice .

We ended up at one of the local coffee-shops close to the office. I had a KL Style Fried Hokkien Mee - fresh fat wheat noodles (something like udon but slightly thinner and fatter) fried in dark soy sauce with cabbage / napa cabbage (some use choy sum instead), pork slices, shrimp and pork crackling. The better ones have squid, liver and fish slices (some use slices of fish cake) in them as well. (There are also halal ones fried without lard and crackling and uses chicken instead of pork). It's served with some sambal (uncooked) or raw minced garlic in dark soy sauce (yes - RAW garlic so you won't be too popular after eating this ).

The Fried Hokkien Mee I had is KL style coz of the dark soy sauce. There are Penang and Singapore renditions of fried Hokkien Mee but they use a different noodle and it's minus the dark soy sauce.

I also shared a side of "Siew Yook" (Chinese roast pork) which I dipped into chilli sauce - the same kind of garlicky chilli sauce you get with Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Drank a kalamansi juice with a preserved sour plum (shuen muii) added to it to try and get rid of the icky I'm-way-too-full feeling .

[torakris]

.

Drank a kalamansi juice with a preserved sour plum (shuen muii) added to it to try and get rid of the icky I'm-way-too-full feeling .

Is that sour plum similar to a Japanese umeboshi?

[Shiewie]

Drank a kalamansi juice with a preserved sour plum (shuen muii) added to it to try and get rid of the icky I'm-way-too-full feeling .

Is that sour plum similar to a Japanese umeboshi?

Had to check the umeboshi thread first to see what it is .

Shuen Muii looks similar to what's shown in the umeboshi link you gave but way more wrinkled (it's dry) and with specks of salt coating it - perhaps I should call them preserved salted sour plums? Herbacidal may know another name that they're known by.

There are various kinds of shuen muii - some are reddish, others are darker and sweeter - they're usually sold as preserved fruit snacks.

Tried to google for a picture but haven't been successful. Wena - have you any pics of shuen muii?

The ones they used in the kalamansi drink are also used in Teochew style steamed fish if that's any help.

[torakris]

Sorry about that I guess I just assume everyone knows what I am talking about!

Umeboshi in Japan can be sold in various forms,, the moist reddish one is the most popular though they do have dried kinds all the way from semi fried to very dried, they also eat them sort of pickled in their green form. The ume is actually a kind of apricot though it is most often referred to as a Japanese plum.