Chili Char

This is by far one of my most favorite Nyonya dish. I learned this dish from my good friend Shereen when I visit here in NZ. She is such a great cook and all her dishes were so delicious. This is not the only dish I learned from her but a few more and I will be sharing it here with you. With only this dish I can eat 2 bowls of rice. It is that good. It might looks like a very simple dishe but trust me, they were packed with great flavors. Please give it a try if you can get some nice good green chilies that are not too spicy.

Ciak Bek/Stir-Fried Pork with Preserved Soy Bean Paste

non-halal

This is another special Nyonya/Peranakan dish shared by my good friend Shereen. According to her this is one dish that all Peranakan families will know as it is one of the mandatory dishes that you must have at the altar during any prayers. Peranakans are superstitious about many things with a lot of do's and don'ts. Even with food, these beliefs holds true. There are certain dishes that can only be served during sad times eg funerals, ancestor prayers etc and are a no-no for joyous occasions eg weddings, birthdays, Chinese New Year etc as they are deemed to be bad luck. This dish however is safe to be served at anytime.

Ayam Buah Keras/Candle Nut Chicken

Wendy from Table for 2…or more organized an event called Malaysian Food Fest . It is an online event to introduce the specialty food from each state in Malaysia. For each state, the event will run for a month and the whole event will conclude by the end of August 2013. Bloggers or non bloggers, Malaysians or non Malaysians are encouraged to take part in this event; all you have to do is cook and submit your entry/ entries to the respective hosts for the month. This is such a great event especially for us living oversea as we can refer to all the recipes features when we are missing food from our home country. I will be hosting the State of Kelantan in the month of April 2013 and I need all your support. To kick off event the very first state feature will be Malacca, hosted by Cindy from Yummylittlecooks . You can find out more details of the event and the schedule ahead here .

Of all the states I think I’ve visited Malacca the most as it is one of the nearest state to Kuala Lumpur. I am able to make a day trip there mostly for shopping and their food especially for their cendol , chicken rice balls and also the Nyonya Food. Since Wendy of Table for 2 told me about Event I’ve been cracking my head on what to cook for Malacca/Melaka. I don’t want to cook the usual Chicken Rice Balls, Ayam Pogteh , Sambal Petai or Kapitan Chicken as I already feature them in my blog previously. So I consult my good friend Shereen who is a pure Nyonya from Melaka about the dishes that her mom’s used to cook for her. She told me many of her mom’s favorite dishes, but I don’t think I am able to cook most of it because of the lack of ingredients that I can get here in the US. So we settle for some of the easiest ones. So thank you Shereen for sharing your mom precious recipes with us here. Do stay tune for other authentic Nyonya dishes coming up soon.

Prawn/Shrimp and Pineapple Curry

It was good to take a short vacation with my husband. Every weekend were occupied with something since we moved here until last weekend. Carlos took time away from work and we went to Monterey Bay and Carmel . We had such a great time and I took tons of pictures of the scenic views especially the 17th Miles Drive . We plan to go back again soon as we want to go for dolphins and whale watching. I will post up the pictures on my FB and my other blog later. In the meantime here is the sneak preview of one of the many pictures I took.

Now, let’s get back to this dish. I cooked this last week and I just love it. It goes really well with rice. My rice was swimming in the wonderful gravy and that is how I like to eat it. Yummy!!

Nyonya Fried Noodles with Jicama and Pineapple Sambal - Day 23

My friend Shereen told me that almost all Peranakans/Nyonya will have a recipe like this in their family. The unique thing about these particular noodles is that it will be eaten with Sambal pineapple and cucumber. It is somewhat similar to a salsa albeit with a different taste and spiciness level. This noodle is usually eaten during happy occasion such as Chinese New Year, birthdays or family get together for a celebration. I replace the cucumber with jicama as I don’t have it in my fridge and I am too lazy to drive out just to get it.

Since the noodles and sambal were eaten together, I thought it will be a good idea to pile them up together into the jelly mould. The sweet and tangy taste of the sambal compliments the noodles really well. This is a very appetizing dish indeed. Thanks Shereen for sharing the recipes with us. I did some minor changes to the recipe to suit my taste and also the availabilities of ingredients in my fridge.

Laksa Lemak/Nyonya Laksa

There are so many different variations of laksa in Malaysia. . It depends on which part of Malaysia and you will surely get a different bowl of laksa. Penang Laksa, Asam Laksa , Kelantan Laksa, Johor Laksa, Sarawak Laksa and the list goes on. The most common one from Kuala Lumpur is Curry Laksa or curry mee Laksa lemak, also known as Nyonya laksa is a Laksa from Melaka. It is a type of curry laksa with rich and sweet coconut gravy. Lemak is a Malay culinary term which refers to the presence of coconut milk. As the name implies, this dish is all about the broth, it is made with rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut broth.

Inchi Kabin/Nyonya Fried Chicken

This is a Nyonya version of fried chicken. The nyonyas and babas are indigenous to the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore and have their own cuisine which is mix of Chinese and Malay. Inchi Kabin is all know as Encik Cabin Chicken. And how does this dish have its unique name? The story goes like this. This dish was popularly cooked on the ship for sailors. Usually when the meal is ready, the chef will inform the sailors ‘Encik dalam cabin, chicken siap” (translation: Mister in the cabin, your meal is ready) this is how the dish got its name. This recipe uses simple combination of ingredients but the results were surprisingly delicious!

Nyonya Style Fried Noodles

I cook noodles very often as it is something that I will eat for lunch when I don’t want anything elaborate. This is something that I will cook for Diana too for her lunch in the office. This is a little bit different from the traditional Chinese fried noodles. It has some blended chilies, dried shrimps, lemongrass and fermented bean paste in it. It brings a great aroma to the fried noodles.

Ingredients:

400 gram yellow noodles – wash and drain
1 piece chicken breast – sliced thinly
15 shrimps – peel and deveined
2 cups bean sprouts
2 pieces fried tofu – cut into small cubes
1 small bunch Chinese chives – cut into 1” length
Some cut red chili for garnish

Fish Curry/Kari Ikan

I only buy a few types of fish here. It is usually tuna, salmon, tilapia fillet and Dover fillet. The reason is because Carlos will only eat this few type of fish and nothing else. Don’t give him fish with head and tail or else he will freaks out. Back home if I cook this type of curry I will usually use ikan kembong or any whole fish but here I will have to make do with tilapia fillets. This is something that he will eat.

Ingredients:

3 pieces of fish fillet – cut into 2” square
3 tomatoes – quarter
10 okras – remove the tips
1 cup of pineapple – cubes
3 tbsp of fish curry powder
1 sprig curry leaves
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 tbsp tamarind paste/pulp + 1 ½ cup of water
Sugar and salt to taste

Blue Glutinous Rice Cakes (Pulut Tai Tai)

I always wanted to make this Chinese Baba Nyonya wedding specialty cakes. It is called Pulut Tai Tai or Blue Glutinous Rice Cakes. The blue stain comes from a flower name Bunga Telang or Blue Pea Flower. Since I still have some of the dried blue pea flowers given by Sonia I decided to made some when my friend Choy’s and her family came to our house for dinner not too long ago Traditionally, this cakes are served with kaya (coconut egg jam) and you can find the recipe here.

Ingredients:

600g glutinous rice – wash and soak overnight
350 ml coconut milk
150ml warm water
4 pandan leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
12 - 15 blue pea flowers – soak in some warm water,crush it to extract the blue coloring.

Spicy Prawns with Sataw Beans/Sambal Udang dengan Petai

I was clearing up my freezer the other day and found a small packet of petai (stink beans) in it. I can’t even remember when I bought that. The last time I saw petai was when I visited my friend Zue at Harrisburg during last year Hari Raya and I might have bought it there. So you can imagine how long these beans had been sitting in the freezer. I check the petai and they still look ok and in order not to waste it I cook some sambal out of it.

Not everyone like Petai because of its bad smell especially when you visit the bathroom after eating it. For someone who likes it they are good. I guess these beans are very much like Durian the king of fruits. You either love it or hate it. Petai is actually healthy for us. It contains a type of Protein that known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier! It also stimulate the production of hemoglobin in blood, reduce the blood pressure ,stroke, boost brain power, overcome constipation, relief heartburn etc. It also can be used externally. Before reaching for insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of petai to the skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling, irritation and itchiness. As for the after effect smell there is a way to get rid of it. My mother told me that when you eat petai try to eat some eggplant (brinjal) at the same time and it will reduce or get rid of the strong smell. I didn’t try it yet but I will when I cook petai You can get more informations about petai here.

Nyonya Vegetable Curry

It is the time to clean up the vegetable compartment of my fridge. I do this every two weeks before I buy more of it. As usual there will some leftover of vegetable in there. A little bit of carrot, long beans, red peppers, zucchini etc. I will normally make a quick stir-fry out of it but when I saw this delicious looking Nyonya Vegetable Curry at Kiersten blog I decided to give it a try. The curry turns out really good. There is nothing more comforting than indulging a big bowl of this homemade curry.

Ingredients:
Recipe adpated from here

1 zucchini
1/2 head of cabbage, cut
A bunch of long beans, cut into 2” lengths
1 carrot – cut into 1” lengths
2 red pepper, cut into wedges
½ packet bean curd pockets (tau foo pok), cut into halves
2 potatoes – peel and quarter
2 - 2 1/2 cups of coconut milk
2 tbsp curry power, mixed with 3 tbsp water
1 chicken stock cube or vegetable cube
Salt and sugar to taste

Kapitan Chicken Curry

The Peranakan cuisine is found in south-eastern Asia. Also known as Nyonya Food, they are an amalgamation of Chinese and Malay dishes, with the extensive use of herbs and spices, especially belachan, turmeric, galangal and pandan leaves.

One of the dishes is Curry Chicken Kapitan. It has a milder taste compare the usual Malay or Indian curry. This curry has a distinctly Nyonya flavored of lemon juice, candlenut, kaffir lime leaves, fresh turmeric roots and leaves. Besides the usual steamed white rice, this dish is excellent served with turmeric glutinous rice and Roti Jala.

Ayam Pongteh/Braised Chicken in Fermented Bean Paste

I am not really sure what Pongteh means, but basically Ayam Pongteh is chicken, potatoes, mushroom braised in fermented soybean paste. This is a must order dish in any Nyonya restaurant. The flavorful chicken meat that has been infused with the salty bean paste, sweet shallots and garlic goes really well with rice. My good friend Shereen who reside in New Zealand is kind enough to share her family recipe with us. Thanks Shereen.

Ingredients :

2 Ib chicken
300gm shallots
150gm garlic
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp fermented bean paste (tau cheong)
1 1/2 - 2 cups water (depend on how much gravy you like)
4 medium size potatoes – peel and cut into half or quarter
5 whole Chinese dry shitake mushrooms – soaked in hot water until soft
2 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar – more if you like it sweeter
2 tsp thick black soy sauce

1. Clean, removed skin and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Pat dry. Put the shallots and garlic in a food processor and ground it into paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan; add in the ground shallots and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly brown.
3. Add in the fermented bean paste, stir fry until fragrant. Add in the chicken pieces, continue to stir-fry and until chicken changes to pale color. Put in the water.
4. Bring it up to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the mushroom and potatoes. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in sugar, black soy sauce. Continue to shimmer until gravy thickens, chicken is cooked and potatoes tender. Check seasoning.
6. Serve with warm rice.


Note: This dish can be kept in the fridge for a few days and it actually tastes better the next day.

Nyonya Acar/Spicy Pickle Vegetables

I love Acar, but I never attempt to make it until a couple of weeks ago. Acar is a type of vegetable pickle/salad popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Made from different vegetables like cucumbers, long beans, carrots, cabbage and is pickled with spicy paste and vinegar. Ground peanuts and sesame seeds are also added to this dish. Acar is commonly served as a condiment to be eaten with a main course. This is a great vegetarian dish too.

I adapted the recipe from Star Kuali and simplified the ingredients and method to suit my taste and ingredients I have in hand.

Ingredients :

1 cucumber - (removed the seeds) and cut into 4cm strips
150g cabbage leaves, cut into 2.5cm squares
2 carrots cut into 4cm strips
150g long beans, cut into 4cm strips

To make into paste:

6 fresh chillies
5 dried chillies –soak in hot water until soft
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 cm fresh turmeric root/1 tbsp ground turmeric
1” galangal (lengkuas)
3 candlenuts/almond or macadamia nuts
1 stalk lemon grass, sliced finely
1” of shrimp paste (belachan) - optional

Vinegar mixture:

1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup water
6 tbsp of brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp salt
200g roasted peanuts, skinned and pounded
5 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

For blanching the vegetables:

600ml water
400ml vinegar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

1. Rub cucumber slices with 1 tbsp salt. Leave aside for one hour. Wrap in clean towel or muslin cloth and squeeze out excess liquid. Put all the ground ingredients in a food processor and ground into paste and set it aside.
2. Bring water, vinegar, salt and sugar for blanching vegetables to a rapid boil. Blanch the vegetables (except cucumber) one type at a time for 15 second. Remove and using a clean kitchen towel, squeezed the water out of the vegetable and set it aside.
3. Heat up about 3-4 tbsp of oil in frying pan and stir-fry the ground ingredients until fragrant and the oil begins to separate. Stir in water and vinegar. Add sugar and salt and bring to a boil, then leave to cool completely. Check seasoning as you might need to add more sugar to it.
4. Stir in all the prepared vegetables, peanuts and sesame seeds. Store in a clean jar and refrigerate.

Nonya Chicken

I made this dish a few weeks ago and completely forgotten about it until I found some of the pictures in my file. I saw this wonderful recipe from Jun's blog and I just have to try it out and I was not disappointed. This dish turns out really delicious.

Ingredients :

500gm chicken
1 medium size onions - quartered
some curry leaves
1 red chili - slice thinly
1 green chili - slice thinly
1 tomato - quartered
1 egg
1 tbsp of cornstarch

To be blended

1 lemon grass
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 clove of garlic
1 shallot
1" of galangal or ginger

For the sauce - combined

1 tbsp of plum sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of tomato ketchup
2 tbsp of water
salt and pepper to taste

1) Cut chicken into bite size pieces and marinate with the blended ingredients, egg and cornstarch and set aside for 15 minutes.
2) Heat up some oil and fry the chicken until golden brown and drain off excess oil on paper towel. Remove oil from pan and leave about 1 tablespoon.
3) Add in onions, chilies and curry leaves and stir fry until fragrant. Add in chicken, tomato and the sauce. Continue to stir fry until sauce thicken.
4) Serve with warm rice.