Spicy Salted Eggs/Sambal Telur Masin

This is another dish that I learned from Shereen. She is so amazing that she even brined her own salted duck eggs. I enjoyed eating this simple ‘kampung’ (village) dish with rice.

Ingredients:

3 Salted eggs, hard - boiled and cut into wedges ( remove the shell )
1 Onion, thinly sliced
Salt to taste / if necessary

Shrimp and Carrot Fritters

I love fritters of any kind. They were great for afternoon tea or even breakfast. I prepared this batch for fritters when my friend Nini’s came over for afternoon tea. We had it with some Chinese tea from Teavivre – Tea for Life . They sent me some sample packets to try out a few weeks ago. We tried out the Jasmine ‘Dragon Pearl’ Green Tea. When I opened the packet I can see the unopened bud and small leaves in it. I understand that the tea leaves were hand rolled into small pearl shape, which will slowly unfurl during brewing. The flavor is so delicate and light, with great aroma of sweet jasmine and faint hint of green tea. You have to drink this tea slowly to savor all the delicate taste.

Now let's get back to the fritters. I’ve made a lot of fritters but I think by far this is the best tasting one as the fritters came out crunchy and with a bit of sweetness from the grated carrot. It goes really great with a cup of tea. What a great way to cleanse the palette.

Salmon Fish Curry

I have 2 pieces of salmon fish in the freezer for quite some time and I don’t think fresh enough to grill it so I decided to used it to cook curry with whatever vegetable I had in my fridge. So for this curry dish I added some cabbage, carrots, brussels sprouts and potato. This is a very simple version of fish curry like how my mom used to make.

Sambal Shrimps/Shrimps in Spicy Chili Sauce

This is one of my favorite Malaysian dishes. It is sweet and spicy and goes really well with rice. Sambal is a terms used in Malaysia and Indonesian cuisine to describe a variety of spicy condiments and side dishes used to add flavor to other dishes. There are different types of sambal available in the stores but I will usually make my own. Every household will have their own version of sambal so there is no right or wrong to it. As for me, I like adding some dry shrimp to my sambal and some might not. I will usually make a huge batch and freeze them up and whenever I want to use it for my cooking it is readily available. I use the sambal to cook chicken, beef and seafood.

For today dish I used shrimp. I left the shrimps unshelled but you can always shell it if you find that easier to eat and you can substitute the shrimp with squid, chicken or beef but it will take longer for it to cook. You can get the sambal recipe here

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

I made this the first week I arrived back to the USA. This is one particular dish that reminds me a lot of home. I grew up in Kajang. Kajang is a small town in the state of Selangor that is famous of its Satay. You just have to mentioned Satay and many people will tell you that Kajang serve the best satay. There are quite a few of Satay restaurant in Kajang but I still like the satay from Restoran Malaysia.

What sets their satay apart from the rest? It is because they don’t use chicken skin or fatty bits in their satay. I hate biting into them when I have my satay. They also serve the traditional ketupat (rice cakes in coconut leaf casings) instead of nasi impit (compactly pressed rice cut into cubes) to accompany the satay. Anyway, I am sure the ingredients used to marinate their satay are well guarded secret but you can find many recipes online now. I adapted this recipe from MamaFami with minor changes.

Lontong or Kuah Lodeh/Mix Vegetable in Coconut Broth

I made this dish during Hari Raya (Eid Ul Fitri) gathering last September in New York but only managed to post it now just in time for MFF - KL and Selangor. This dish is a must during that time and it is usually serve with pressed rice or Nasi Impit. There are many version of Kuah Lodeh, different states have different ways of preparing this wonderful dish, some can be dryer, some a bit on the soupy version, some in pale yellow color and some more on the reddish side. I learned making this dish from my friend Zuliah’s mom many years ago and have been making it pretty often since I love vegetable curry. I added a bit more chili to it as I like the gravy on the reddish side.

 

Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month Round-Up

When the hosting date of the Malaysian Food Fest for the state of Kelantan drew near I was very worried as I knew that it would be a very busy and crazy month for me. A new chapter in my life is starting as I am back into working world again. I know I will be crazy trying to juggle everything at once, my new daily routine and having to blog as well. As I had already said 'Yes' to hosting the Kelantan month, I would just do it and I intended to do it well.

Throughout my blogging years, I have come across some not so nice characters but for each of that, I have encountered the good ones that come tenfold. For that, I am very blessed indeed, as these good people come to my rescue when I needed them the most. I was very worried that I would not have enough time to do research, the write ups and not forgetting the cooking itself which is the very essence of this whole scheme. The cooking is relatively easy but finding an authentic recipe and the ingredients is a bit of a challenge as living far away from home means I have to do without so many ingredients that are essential in many of the Kelantanese recipes.

Throughout the MFF events I’ve learned many things and dishes from other states. One thing that stands out for me is authenticity of a dish. It cannot be determined per se as who is to say the dish originally came from one states. It is not uncommon in Malaysia for dishes to be begged or borrowed from other states, modified to suit local tastes and then claimed as their own. So let’s not be too critical or harsh if any of the dishes featured during this Kelantan MFF are not truly authentic. The whole idea of this feature is to introduce a specific region's food and encourage readers to try new and different foods outside their normal comfort zone.

I am glad that so many of you accepted the challenge and joined in the fun. A special thank you to Nor of Secubit Garam for spreading the word amongst the blogger community and to get so many of you to participate, and also going the extra mile of providing me many of the pictures that appeared in the introduction posting. Also a special thank you to Cik Manggis of Jom Masak Jom Makan Makan for being my number one supporter... cooking a Kelantan based dish almost on a daily basis and also my good friend Shereen for being there for me. Also thank you to those of you who have let me use your photos and recipes, and who answered my many questions. Once again, a big, big thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who participate and made Kelantan MFF a huge success with 99 entries and if I left out any of your dish in the round up please let me know and I will put them up. So without further ado here are all the dishes that I received.

Appetizer/Salad

Kerabu Sotong Kering by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets

Somtam/Papaya Salad by Vivian of Vivian Pang Kitchen

Somtam by Peng of Peng's Kitchen

Chicken Kerabu by Lena of Frozen Wings

Kerabu Taugeh Bersantan by Sheila of Nshafearee

Kelantanese Egg Curry - Kelantan Dish 10

I've never eaten a curry that tastes quite like this before. The taste is absolutely unique, so don't let the word 'curry' in the title of this recipe fool you. It does not smell or even taste of curry.. not at all! Despite the amount of the dried chilies used, there is not much heat (spicy) to it and thus, this dish is quite kid friendly. There's a hint of sweetness from the coriander seeds used (not sure how to explain this but somehow the coriander actually mellows the rest of the spices) and gives this dish a delicate feel. If you are not a fan of fiery curries, this dish would be perfect and even if you are a fan of fiery curries, do give this a try.

As I was only cooking for two and I do not like to keep hard boiled eggs overnight as they always give me stomach ache ( and also hard boiled eggs don't freeze well ), I only used 5 hard boiled eggs and I reduced the rest of the ingredients by half. The recipe given here is a full recipe by Betty Saw.

Solok Lada - Kelantan Dish 8

I have always felt that without Solok Lada as one of the accompaniment for Nasi kerabu, the meal is incomplete. I've often found whenever I have bought Nasi Kerabu, the seller would not make Solok Lada because not many people like to eat it, and if they do, they don't make much and it sells out very quickly. This time when I made Nasi kerabu , I made sure I included Solok Lada and I was surprised at just how easy it was to prepare.

Ingredients:
Adapted from: FZMenu

10 – 12 large green / red chilies
180 gm Spanish mackerel / ikan tenggiri, meat only, cut into large cubes (I used Indian Mackerel / kembung)
150 gm grated fresh coconut
6 shallots, peeled
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
190 ml coconut milk, squeezed from 3/4 grated coconut with sufficient water added + a pinch of salt

1. Slit chilies lengthways with a sharp knife for stuffing. Carefully remove seeds and membranes. Soak in water for 15 minutes.
2. Into a blender (processor), put fish cubes, grated coconut and shallots. Blend until fine, and then stir in sugar and salt. Mix well.
3. Stuff each chili with 1 tbsp of fish mixture. Into a pot, put stuffed chilies, slit side up. Then, carefully pour in coconut milk mixed with a pinch of salt.
4. Cover pot and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until cooked and almost dry. 5. Serve with either rice or Nasi kerabu.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Kelantan Month hosted by My Kitchen Snippets.

Daging Goreng Pengantin – Kelantan Dish 7

When I went through the ingredients of this dish, it is simple enough for me to do it. I have no clue how this dish look like as there is no picture of it from Betty Saw’s cookbook but I am brave enough to try it out. I am a person who normally likes to try out a recipe base on the picture of the dish. The method of cooking is very much like serunding as you have to boiled the meat first and then stir fry it for a few hours until it gets really dry. Since I like serunding I like this dish as well except I wish it is much spicier. If I am cooking this again I will add more chili to it. This dish goes well with rice, bread or just serves as appetizer. Betty Saw said this dish can be stored for a couple of weeks but I would advise to put them the fridge.

Ayam Percik Kelantan - Dish 4

This is my 4th dish for the MFF – state of Kelantan event. I’ve made ayam percik before but it is a bit different from Kelantan. That ayam percik had chili and more spieces in it but not this one, that is why the sauce on top is white in color. The taste of this percik is rather mild as I like certain food of mine to be spicy. Going through quite a few recipes when preparing for this event I notice some of Kelantan food is not as spicy as other states. Anyway, this dish will be great if you have kids who don’t take spicy food. I am sure they are going to enjoy it.

Ayam Masak Keremek - Kelantan Dish 2

I was pretty excited to try out this recipe from Betty Saw's The Complete Malaysian Cook Book as the name is really intriguing. According to Kamus Minerva, 'keremak' means various plants whereas Wikipedia describe it as the name of a plant. That to me is of no help whatsoever to clarify the meaning or help explained as to why this recipe is called as such. There were no plant or plants harmed in the making of this dish. If you take a look at the various ingredients used in this recipe, none fit the bill. It was only once halfway through cooking the dish, it finally dawned on me why the name is 'keremak'. Read on, all will be revealed.

One of my favourite spice mixes, and the 'in' spice amongst all the trendy restaurants at the moment is Dukkah. I love it so much but have never taken the trouble to research what goes into the Dukkah (so unlike me, I know) when I can just go and buy some from the gourmet delicatessen and be spoilt for choice of all the different blends. Imagine my surprise when I opened my coffee and nut grinder, the smell of the ground seeds and nuts hit me.... it's DUKKAH ! How about that?... 2 recipes in 1.. I now know I can make my own dukkah at home. Darn! No more trips to the deli :(

 

After that accidental discovery, I was even more stoked to hurry up and cook the dish. I made sure I read the recipe carefully and all was dandy. The bubbling dish looked kind of familiar and it even smelled familiar. Then I tasted it and it finally dawned on me why the dish is called 'keremak'. It is the Ayam Masak Korma! Get it?..'keremak' and 'korma', one and the same, what an anti- climax! For those of you who are not familiar with Malaysia, each and every state in Malaysia has their own lingo / dialect. So, perhaps, what is 'korma' to the rest of Malaysia, is 'keremak' to the Kelantanese. Saying this, this 'Ayam Masak Keremak' is no less delicious than the usual 'korma' that you and I are familiar with. The only difference is this kelantanese version has a thicker and more aromatic gravy than our somewhat anemic and boring looking 'korma'.

Nasi Kerabu - Kelantan Dish 1

Nasi Kerabu happens to be my most favorite rice dish ever. I have this ex-colleague of mine name Jeff who used to live in Kampung Baru and I will get him to tapau (take out) for me every week. I've always wanted to make nasi kerabu but when I look at the long list of ingredients and the amount of afford putting into making a dish I tend to forgo it. Being overseas doesn’t help either as it can be quite difficult for me to get some of the ingredients but because of this MFF event I don't mind spending a few hours in the kitchen to cooked this meal as it is all worth it. The meal turns out great.

 

One of the key ingredients in Nasi Kerabu is the fish, specifically Mackerel. I was so confident I could head down to the Asian supermarket and buy some Mackerel, little did I know there is no such thing as a simple Mackeral here in the USA! I was confronted with Atlantic Mackeral, Pacific Mackerel, Indian Mackerel etc. I had no idea which one to buy as none looked familiar to me as they were huge..almost as long as my arm, I kid you not! The fish that I'm familiar with that normally accompanies my Nasi kerabu were all cute looking and petite. That’s just the first problem I faced. The second problem was that I could not find any budu (salted / fermented anchovy sauce). Nasi kerabu without budu is like Nasi Lemak without the Sambal or teh Tarik without the froth. You can do it but it's just not the same. These all changed when my good friend gave me half a bottle of budu brought all the way back from Terengganu. I just had to make this Nasi Kerabu by hook or by crook. No more excuses!

Not many people know that Nasi Kerabu comes in a few colors other than blue although blue is the most popular color. Variations can be white (normal white rice), yellow (turmeric and cekur / sand ginger) which is called Nasi Kerabu Tumis and grey (from Mengkudu leaves / noni / Morinda Citrifolia ) which is known as Nasi Kerabu Hitam although blue is also known by the same name. In reality, there are so many different combinations of accompaniments and styles of cooking that it is quite impossible to list them all here. If you are interested, remember 'Google' is your best friend.

Crispy Banana and Sweet Potato Fritters with Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce

My parents used to live in Johor because of my dad’s work and we kids live with our grandmother for many years. We get to visit Johor and Singapore once a while especially during our school holidays. I was pretty young during that time and can’t remember much about the food there but I do remember their banana fritters. This posting is not about the recipe of fritters but it is about the unique way the Johorean eat them. They will serve their fritters with sweet soy dipping sauce. I think Johor might be the only state that has it that way. Please correct me if I am wrong. By dipping the crunchy fritters into the spicy and sweet dipping sauce it creates a very unique flavors and bite to it. You can use any type of batter recipe you like but I adapted mine from Madihaa’s .

Batter Ingredients:

200 ml water
110 gm flour
25 gm rice flour
50 gm butter – room temperature
1/2 tsp turmeric powder or a few drops of yellow colouring
¾ tsp Salt
4 bananas - cut into half lengthwise
1 sweet potato - thinly sliced

Kacang Phool

I’ve never tasted this dish before but I know it is a popular dish in Johor and Singapore. I Google for the recipe and was stumped as there are so many recipes on the said dish and the ingredients used differ greatly that I am not sure which I should use. I tried reading as much as I could on the dish but none of the recipes actually gave any indication on how the dish should taste. I don't know if it should be spicy or not, sourish or sweet, whether it should have a strong taste of cumin etc. Since I couldn't decide which recipe I should follow, I decided to consult my good friend Shereen and she is kind enough to share her recipe with me.

Acar Darat/Acar Rampai Orang Johor

'Acar' is a Malay word for pickle and 'Rampai' means julienne. There are many variations of acar and I must say that this version is one of my favourites as it doesn’t involve a lot of work. It is very simple to make with very common ingredients that you would probably already have in your pantry. I made this acar rampai to serve with my Ayam Kremes and Sambal Dabu-dabu.

Chili Fish/Ikan Berlada

I don’t normally fried fish at home because of the smell especially during winter where it is too cold for me to open up all the windows and sliding doors to give it some ventilation. Lucky the Asian supermarkets here in California do provide the service of frying fish for you. I will only do that on certain Monday as it is the day where they use new oil for frying (inside secret ha ha) Anyway, I bought two pieces of mackerel or something that look like mackerel to me and had them fried it. When I get home all I have to do is cook the sauce and add in the fried fish. I always like mackerel as it has less bone in it. I adapted this recipe from Sajian Tradisional Negeri Sembilan by Chef Ismail

Kaya Puffs/Kaya Kok

It has been many years since I had kaya puffs. This is one snack that I will ask my sisters to bring if they come to visit me but I totally forgotten about it when my youngest sister came to visit in July. In order to get over the craving and also used up my homemade kaya I decided to make these. For non Malaysian/Singaporean readers, kaya is a jam made from coconut milk, sugar and eggs. It is eaten like regular jam or sometimes make into these puffs.

I used the recipe from Kuali but the result was not the same like the one I had back home. The pastry is flaky but on the dry side as I prefer the pastry to be on the tender side but nonetheless it is good enough to get over my craving. I have to try out another recipe soon.

Pekan Beef Curry/Opor Daging Pekan

PAHANG is the largest state in Peninsula Malaysia and is situated in the eastern coastal region. The cuisines of Pahang were influenced by the Indians, Chinese and Arabs, who came as traders during the busy spice trade days. I am not too familiar with their cuisine actually. I’ve been to a few beach resorts there but that was a long time ago and during that time I never take note of any of the food served but with this MFF event I am learning more about the cuisine of other states in Malaysia.

For the state of Pahang I am making this dish called Opor Daging Pekan or in English Pekan Beef Curry. This is a traditional dish of the people of Pahang especially in the kampong/village around the royal town of Pekan. It is usually served at traditional Malay weddings or festival. The taste of this dish is pretty similar to Beef rending because of coconut paste/kerisik also slight tangy with the editions of tamarind paste in it. I really like this dish and planning to cook another big batch of it so I can freeze it up. Besides using beef you can cook it with chicken or mutton/lamb. It goes really well with rice, nasi impit/ketupat or even bread.

Kari Udang/Prawn Curry

I bought a box of large prawns from the Filipinos supermarket the other day thinking of using them to cook Sang Har Mee for Diana. On the packet it says 9-10 prawns in it but when I open it I found there were about 18 of them in it. So I decided to use half of it to cook this dish so I can submit it to MFF.

Ingredients:
Adapted from MyRecipe.com

10-12 large prawns
½ fresh pineapple – removed skin and cut into 1” chunks
500 ml coconut milk
2 stalk lemongrass – smash
2 tbsp fish curry powder
Salt to taste