Rendang Minang

I've run out of excuses for neglecting my blog. Anyway today I'm posting Rendang Minang as requested by Fara, my daughter. Fara is now in Los Angeles following her husband. So now there's only five of us including Ammar my nephew. Ammar is also leaving us to further his studies in Newcastle in September. Luckily my son's Zaid's posting to Laos did'nt go through. If not there'll be just the three of us. ( Ezza my daughter came back to Malaysia and is now working in a bank). But enough about the family. Ramadan is almost over and Hari Raya is but a week away. So there'll be a lot of rendangs being cooked. For the house, usually I'll cook three types of rendang. There's our favourite, rendang campur, rendang tok and rendang ayam pencen. More on the two other rendangs since I've posted rendang tok a while back. For this recipe I'm doing it with chicken. You can substitute chicken with beef, make it a kg of beef, cut into medium sized pieces.



Ingredients

1.8-2 kg chicken. (cut into 12 pieces )
1kg of coconut milk or for those overseas, you can use 2 tins of coconut milk
2 lemon grass (get rid of the outer stalks and the hard bottom part then crush the lemon grass)
turmeric leaf
2tblsp of kerisek or pounded coconut

to be pounded or blended
1 medium onion (cut roughly)
2 garlic
10 dry chillies (cut and soak in hot water, more if you want the heat)
powdered turmeric or is fresh turmeric is available jus 1/2 a thumb-size
1 thumb-size lengkuas
10 chilly padi (optional)

Method

1. Mix the chicken with the pounded/blended ingredients.Cook it on medium heat.
2.When the water from the chicken comes out and the chicken is half cooked, take out the chicken and let the mixture boil further while adding in the coconut milk.
3.Cook until all the water is dried up, then put in the kerisek.
4. Put the chicken back in and over low heat let the rendang simmer until dry.
5. While you have to scrape the bottom of the wok to prevent the mixture from being burnt, be careful of the chicken. We don't want break it into unrecognizable pieces.
6. Lastly season with salt and put in the cut turmeric leaves
7. If using beef, it will take a longer time. Leave the beef in the mixture until the end.
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Cappuccino Muffin

It's been a long time since I baked this muffin. I use the recipes from Allyson Gofton's Best-Ever Muffin. This is really the best ever muffin recipes that I have ever tried. You can see from the condition of the pages which of the recipes have become our family's favourite. There's Cappuccino, ( which I'll post today) Fudgy Banana, Jaffa and Lemon honey & Cream Cheese. Try them, you'll be amazed by the results and the easy way of doing them. Just remember to separate the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Also double or triple sift the flour,baking powder and baking soda. You won't go wrong if you follow these tips.

Cappuccino Muffins

Ingredients
. 3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
 3/4 cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
3 eggs (grade A)
125 g butter,melted and cooled
1 tblsp instant coffee powder
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tblsp extra caster sugar
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
sifted icing sugar,
cinnamon or chocolate f or decoration

Method

1. Sift the flour,baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. In a jug, mix together the milk with 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, reserving the egg white.
3. Sift into the dry ingredients and fold in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into 2 parts- 1/3and 2/3
4. Dissolve the instant coffee in just a dash of hot water and fold into the larger portion with the dark chocolate chips. Spoon into your desired- size muffin cups 2/3 way.
5. Beat the reserved egg hite with the extra caster sugar until thick and fold into the remaining 1/3 of the batter with the white chocolate chips. Spoon equal amunts on top of the first mixture in the muffin tins. Just make sure that the mixture do not go past the rim of the muffin cups.
6. Bake at 220C for 18-20 mins until well risen and golden. Cool in the tins 5 minutes before serving dusted with icing sugar and a sprinkling of cocoa or cinnamon.

Roti Jala with Chicken Curry

Roti Jala with Chicken Curry

It's been awhile since my last entry. There's no excuse for it, just laziness and the fact that I'm without a maid now. Work has been piling up on me. My youngest daughter has gone and come back. She's looking for a job. My second girl has had her dream wedding. It was a fairy tale wedding the likes of which the old folks in Kg Tunku had not seen. Of course they griped about the place being far but you can't have everything in this world. Now Fara, who will be joining her husband in L.A ( that's Los Angeles not Lubuk Antu) wants me to enter more Malay recipes. Ok, here goes. One of the family's favourite is the roti jala. This is a simple recipe except that  the roti or crepe needs a bit of practicing with the wrist. There is a special tool to drip the roti onto the pan, but it's alright if you just do it crepe-like. The taste will be the same . It's only the presentation.


Roti Jala

500gm of plain flour
5 1/2 cups of water
2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of turmeric


Method

1.  Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend until fine.
2.Sieve the batter. Try scooping it up using the roti jala tool. If it's too watery and drip too fast, add a bit of flour but if its too thick and drip slowly, put in a little bit of water
3. Rest the batter for 10 mins.
4. Pour a tblsp of oil in a saucer, get a piece of kitchen towel. This will be used to clean the pan  so that it will not stick. If you are using a non-stick pan, better. Use the oil sparingly.
5. Start scooping the batter and move the scoop slowly making small circles until the pan is covered. Leave room at the sides for you to scrape up the cooked roti jala.
6. Serve the roti with chicken curry.


Chicken Curry

1 kg chicken, cut into small pieces and remove the skin
2 potatoes, skinned and cut into quarters
1 medium carrot, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 cups of coconut milk ( santan)
2 tbsp of meat curry powder

5 shallots or if not available a medium size onion
2 garlic
a tiny piece of ginger
if available a sprig of curry leaf and 1 lemon grass ( crushed)
2 tbsp of oil
salt to taste

Method

1. Blend the onions,garlic, ginger. Add in the curry powder to form a paste.
2.Heat the oil and fry the curry leaves and lemon grass until fragrant.
3. Add in the curry paste on low heat and sautee until fragrant.
4. Put in the chicken and potatoes, on medium heat until the water comes out of the chicken. Then add in the coconut milk.
5. After 10 mins on low heat, and when the curry is softly bubbling, add in the carrots and the tomatoes. Salt to taste. The curry will be cooked when the potatoes and chicken are done. I like to simmer the broth until the chicken is really cooked. For potatoes that are soft, put them in when you put the carrots in. Here I used the Holland potatoes, so they are a bit hard and take sometime to soften.

Curry Noodles

This dish is suitable when all the family gets together. Usually we have it on Saturdays or Sundays. But now my sundays are taken up teaching Math Monkey. Imagine me teaching math when I hate it one time. With Math Monkey, even dumb-dumb like me can understand it.Anyway I'm not here to promote Math Monkey but to share with ya all my recipe on curry noodles ( or mee kari).

Ingredients
2 pkt yellow noodles or 1 kg
100 g prawns
280 g chicken ( cubed if possible with bones on)
180 squids ( cleaned and cut into thick rings)
2 blocks of the fish cake ( cut thinly)
35 g shallots ( or onions since shallots are sooo expensive now)
5 g garlic
3 g ginger
13 g dried prawns ( soaked for a few mins)
1 pkt curyy powder / 25 g
coconut milk from one coconut
some curry leaves
2 tblsp oil
some puff bean curd ( cut diagonally)

Garnishing
250 g bean sprouts ( soak with boiling water for 5 mins then drain)
6 limau kasturi or kalimansi ( cut across and take out the seeds)
some pasley and green onions
fried shallots

Sambal
3 tblsp cili boh
1 tblsp dried prawns ( soak and drain)
1 asam keping
1 tblsp oil

Method
1. Heat up the oil and add in everything.
2. Let it cook on low heat until the mixture turns glassy and an aroma fills up the kitchen.
3. Salt to taste
4. Turn of the heat and serve it with the curry noodles.

Method ( for the gravy)
1. Pound or blend the shallots, garlic, ginger and dried prawns.
2. Mix in the curry powder until it becomes a paste
3. Heat the oil and add in the curry paste and curry leaves.
4. When the curry aroma fills the kitchen, put in the chicken and let it cook for a bit.
5. Add in the prawns, squids and the fish cake.
6. When the seafood turns opaque, add in the coconut milk and let it simmer for a few minutes. Salt to taste
7. Add in the puff bean curd towards the very end. They tend to soak up the gravy

Chicken Mushroom Pie and Shepherd's Pie

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog. Not to give excuses but these are valid ones. First, I'm without a maid since the last one quit and went home. So I've been a model housewife, doing everything myself. Secondly, I'm into baking and perfecting my pie recipes. Plus there were quite a number of orders for my pies from my neighbours and the mosque's community. So this entry will be on pies. For the chicken mushroom pie, there are 3 components to assemble; namely the pastry, the puff pastry and the filling. I cheat by using store bought puff pastry. Convenient and easily available.


Mini Chicken Mushroom Pies


Ingredients

Pastry
1/2 kg of all purpose flour
180 gm butter/margarine
70 ml cold water

Method

1. Cut the cold butter into the flour until it becomes small granules
2. Add in the water little by little until the mixture binds together. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will toughen up.
3.Wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge or in a cool place for at least 1/2 an hour.

Note: If using unsalted butter, add in a teaspoon of salt. But I prefer to use the salted butter.

Filling

Ingredients
1 kg chicken meat (cubed)
80 gm carrot
40 gm celery
130 gm big onion
1 tblsp ground black pepper
100 gm mushroom
2 tblsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil

Method

1.Cubed the chicken and coat it in the flour. Do not let lumps happen.
2. Heat the oil and fry the chicken
3. Cut the vegetables into cubes and chop up the mushrooms into decent sizes
4. When chicken is slightly browned, add in the carrot,celery, onion. Pour in the milk
5 Let the mixture simmer for a while. Add in the mushroom and black pepper.
6.When the mixture thickens, turn off the heat. Let it cool before filling in the pastry

The assemble
1. Roll out the pastry thinly. This will have a crunch and beats having to eat a mouthful of dough.
2. Cut it according to the size. I use the 7 cm diameter mini aluminium round tray.
3. Put in the filling. I usually estimate  the amount I put in.
4. Cut the puff pastry and cover the filled tray. Tuck in the edges making sure that no filling is seen.
5. Poke a few holes with a tooth pick so that the steam can come out.
6. Bake at 220 o C for 25 mins or until the top browns out. What I normally do is to turn on the oven, bottom only for 10 mins and changed it to top and bottom for the last 15 mins.

Note: These pies can also be frozen and reheat for another day. I've tried freezing it for 1 month and they still taste good. If meant to be frozen, bake it slightly under that is for 20 mins or so




Shepherd's  Pie

This is the mini version of it thus it will need some pastry to hold it together. Again the pie comes in 3 components namely; the filling, the pastry and the mashed potatoes. For the minced beef, I use the beef from New Zealand or Australia because it taste less gamey

Ingredients

 The filling

1 kg minced beef
35 gm yellow/green/red pepper
80 gm carrot
40 gm celery
130 gm big onions
1 tblsp ground black pepper
1/2 tblsp chopped ginger
some grated cheese ( optional)  I use mozzarella
2 tblsp oil


Method
1. Heat the oil and add in the minced beef. Fry it until it turns colour
2. Add in the vegetables, the chopped ginger and the pepper
3. When mixture is cooked, put it aside.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients 

160 gm potatoes
50 gm butter
1 egg

Method

1. Boil potatoes until cooked and easily mashed
2. Add in the butter and the egg

For pastry used the ingredients for the chicken mushroom pie pastry

The Assemble

1. Roll out the pastry thinly. Cut and arrange it in the mini trays. Again I use the 7 cm round aluminium trays
2. Put in the filling and cover the whole thing with the mashed potatoes. I use a flat rice spoon for this so that it's easier to cover the whole pie.
3 Sprinkle a few flakes of grated cheese on top, but this is optional. This will give the pie a beautiful burned look. It does look better with the cheese.
4. Bake in a 220 o C for 25 mins. Again if its for freezing, under cook it a bit.

Tempoyak Daun Kayu

This dish is typically a Negri Sembilan dish. It can only be done in the tropics since most of the leaves/vegetables needed can only be found here. Sorry guys from elsewhere! I had to add this so that my children will know how to cook this when I'm gone. Anyway, I'm at present cooking it since I found the most important ingredients i.e. the shoots of the pumpkin ( daun pucuk labu) This is so difficult to get, only once in a blue moon you'll find it in the market or the farmers' market ( pasar tani). Another ingredient that's equally important is the fermented durian or tempoyak. Obviously without this there's no tempoyak daun kayu. My grandmother used to tell me to include at least 7 types of leaves/ condiments. I'm giving you the leaves that are pretty common here. So here goes.....


Ingredients

3 bunches of the shoots of tapioca ( the real deal, not the old leaves that's normally sold)
3 bunches of the shoots of the pumpkin ( just the soft shoots plus the stems)
6 stalks of lemongrass ( just take the white part)
1/2 a cup of smelly broadbeans or petai ( take it out of the pods and peel the skin)
10 leaves of the shoots of the kadok ( pucuk kadok)
4 turmeric leaves
2 yam shoots ( optional)

To be blended
20 bird eye chillies
a thumb-size fresh turmeric

4 cupful of coconut milk made from 2 coconuts

Method

1. Wash all leaves and chop up finely. Separate the lemongrass, petai and the turmeric leaves since these are need a longer time to soften up.
2. Heat the wok and cook the lemongrass, petai and turmeric leaves first with the tempoyak and the chillies. Also put in a cupful of the coconut milk.
3. After 10 mins, put in the rest of the ingredients and season with salt.
4. Cook until the dish thickens. It depends on how 'wet' you want the dish to be. I prefer it to be thick and all the liquid gone.
5. You can serve it with rice straightaway or you can freeze it in small containers after it cooled down. I also like to serve it with bubur lambuk.


So guys and gals, try this and let me know!

DALCA IKAN MASIN

It's been some time since I posted any recipes. Sorry for being lazy. Anyway, this next recipe is also a family recipe. It's called Dalca Ikan Masin ( Mixed vegetable curry with dhal and salted fish) Usually I prefer to use the bones of the ikan kurau but I guess any salted fish will do.


Ingredients

200 g of the bones of the ikan kurau
5 stalks of the long beans
1 carrot
2 medium size potatoes
2 tomatoes
1 round brinjal
1 green mango ( optional)
a fistful of tamarind- get a cup of the juice
some curry leaves
1 tblsp of mixed fenugreek
1/2 cup dhal or lentils
3 tblsp fish curry

 to be pounded
6 shallots
2 garlic
1/2 a thumb-size ginger
 2 cups of coconut milk from 1 coconut

Method
1. Soak the lentils or dhal for 1/2 hour then boil it then it's tender.
2. Soak the bones of the kurau fish for 15 mins until all the salt comes out.
3. Cut the vegetables chunk size
4. Heat the oil and saute the mixed fenugreek and curry leaves until fragrant
5. Add in the pounded ingredients which has been mixed with the curry powder until fragrant
6. Put in the tamarind juice and let it simmer. Add in the soaked salted fish and the potatoes and carrots
7. When the curry is boiling, add in the other vegetables and the boiled lentils. Let it simmer.
8. Add salt to taste. It's supposed to be sourish.
9. Serve it with rice. Enjoy!