Malaysian curries do not rely on dried spices like cumin or coriander, but use more fragrant herbs and roots like  lemongrass, galangal (blue ginger) and fresh tumeric.  This Straits Nyonya curry comes from Penang,  and uses kaffir lime leaves as well which give the curry a citrusy flavor and fragrant.  The Nyonya cuisine is the original fusion cuisine.  The cuisine dates back 500 years, when Chinese traders sailed to the Malay peninsula and married local Malay women.  The resultant cuisine came from the marriage of these  two cultures.

Chef’s tip: Jacob Farm’s carries organic kaffir leaves in those plastic blister boxes you can find at stores like Wholefoods and Safeway. Kaffir leaves freeze well. Just pop the remaining into the freezer and you will have a constant supply of this fragrant wonder.

Ingredients

Spice paste:
6 red jalapeno chilies
8 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon roasted belacan*
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch galangal
1 inch fresh tumeric / 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
5 candlenuts, optional

½ cup canola oil
1 small chicken, cut into 8 pieces (reserve backbones and wings for other use)
3 cups coconut milk (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 cup water or more if needed
1 Tablespoon kosher salt, to taste
5 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
4 medium Yukon potatoes, peeled

1.    Parboil peeled potatoes.  Set aside.  Cut each potato into 2.
2.    In a food processor, grind all spice paste ingredients into a smooth paste
3.    In a heavy bottom pot, heat oil on medium high.  Fry paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
4.    Add chicken pieces and fry for about 3 minutes.
5.    Add 2 1/2 cups coconut milk and water.   Add enough water to just barely cover the chicken if needed.   Add salt.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6.    Finely shred kaffir lime leaves, reserves a generous pinch for garnishing
7.    Add finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, potatoes and simmer uncovered until chicken is tender and gravy has thicken, about 20 minutes.  Add remaining half cup of coconut milk.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.
8.    Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.  Skim off some of the red oil that surfaced.
9.    Garnish with kaffir lime leaves

Serves: 4

Tags: curry, Kaffir lime leaves, Malaysian.

This picture was taken eons ago on my first gen digital camera…before I got my VR lens and my D70.  But the memory of that meal at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi is still as vivid as ever.  You climb this steep stairs, or more aptly called, a ladder, to get to the second floor of this nondescript shop lot in the old town of Hanoi.  As immediately as you sit down, a charcoal stove appears, together with a variety of Asian herbs and a simmering pan of bright orange tumeric oil.  This was the most simple and memorable meal I had in Hanoi.  I was heady with the smell of turmeric, dill, rau ram and all the wonderful Vietnamese herbs and the sweet smell of fried fresh fish.  Or was it the carbon monoxide from the numerous charcoal stoves in the room that was making me giddy?  I have tried to reproduce the recipe based on that memorable meal sans charcoal.

Chef’s tip: Make sure you have everything mise-en-place before you start cooking. The cooking itself literally takes minutes.  Traditionally, the freshwater snakehead fish is used.  Catfish or tilapia is a good substitute.  I like it with the more fatty salmon.

And here’s an updated picture 10 years later.

Marinade:
3 inches of galangal – Thai ginger
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoon fish sauce
3 Tablespoon tumeric powder
1 Tablespoon rice wine
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon grapeseed/ safflower oil

1 ½ lb fresh salmon (tilapia or catfish works well, too)

1 (4 oz) package of thin rice vermicelli, cooked and drained

8 approx. 2”X4” pieces of butter/green lettuce leaf, ribs removed
12 sprigs mint, chiffonade
1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ bunch cilantro, tear into smaller sprigs
½ bunch of green onions, julienned, separate white from green
1 cup Rau Ram – polygonum (Vietnamese Mint), chiffonade
1 cup Fresh basil, chiffonade

1 lb dill, stemmed, cut into 3 inch strip
1 ½ cups of grapeseed/ safflower oil

Nuac Mam:
1 red chile, diced finely / 1 tablespoon Sri Racha sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 Tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

½ cup roasted peanuts
2 limes, cut into wedges

Preparing the Fish:
1.    Grate galangal and mix with 2 tablespoons warm water, squeeze juice and discard solids.
2.    Whisk together marinade ingredients with galangal juice
3.    Cut salmon into 1 inch cubes and marinate fish for at least a half hour.
Preparing the vegetables and rice vermicelli:
4.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Drop rice vermicelli in, bring to boil again. Cover for 15 minutes.  Drain and fluff.  Place in the middle of a large platter.
5.    Wash and clean all vegetables, spin to dry.
6.    Sliced fennel and onion finely. Place onions in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.  Drain.
7.    Chiffonade herbs except dill. Set herbs and vegetables around the rice noodles on the platter.
Cooking the fish:
8.    Heat a cast iron pan or a wok on high heat
9.    Add oil and cook salmon till golden brown.
10.    Add the dill, cook for 1 minute.
11.    Toss in white part green onions.
12.    Ladle salmon over the rice noodles, sprinkle with ground peanuts.
Just before serving, toss together to mix in herbs and vegetables.
Preparing the nuoc mam dipping sauce:
13. Blend together all nuoc mam ingredients.
To serve:
14.    Serve with nuoc mam, cut lime and freshly cracked black pepper on the side.

Serves: 6

Tags: Rau Ram, salmon, Tumeric, Vietnamese.

The origins of Flavor Explosions.  I re-created this recipe based on the memory of smell (oui, Rémy!) of the aroma in my late grandmother’s house as she roasted curry powder. My grandmother roasted curry powder in a wok 1-yard in diameter, over a charcoal stove, and had all of us – her grandkids – tightly packed the spice mix into recycled glass ketchup bottles which she then sells. Unfortunately, none of us documented her recipe so I created this concoction based on what I remembered from those hot afternoons in Malaysia 30+ years ago! And dedicate it to the memory of my grandmother.
Malaysian curry powder reflects the blend of South Indian, Sri Lankan and Peranakan flavors.

Chef’s tip: Store in a air-tight glass jar in a cool place for up to six months.

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons whole coriander
2 Tablespoons whole cumin
2 Tablespoons whole fennel
3 Tablespoons whole fenugreek
2 Tablespoons whole black pepper
1 3-inch stick cinnamon
2 Tablespoons rice
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne
5 whole dried red peppers, stems and seeds removed
4 cloves
1 star anise
5 tablespoon ground tumeric

Directions:
1. Over medium heat, dry-fry all whole spices (everything but the tumeric) in a wok or a skillet for about 5 minutes or until fragrant. Stir/ toss constantly to make sure the spices don’t burn.
2. Let cool slightly, transfer to a spice grinder and grind until it becomes a fine powder.
3. Mix in tumeric and bottle the curry powder.

Makes: 1 cup.

Tags: curry, Malaysian, Spices, vegan, Vegetarian.