Ah Ma, my father’s mother, made the most delicious acar.  She learned from her nyonya mother-in-law, Ah Chor, the lady we thought looked like the little old lady in the 1960′s sitcom, Beverly Hillbillies, in a kebaya!  Ah Ma’s acar is so well pickled, it could have lasted for months if we didn’t devour it all in a week!  Her trick was to wring the blanched vegetables real dry.  I never really appreciated the nyonya heritage in my dad’s family until much later when I got interested in cooking and realized that my grandmother was probably one of the best nyonya cooks around.  Since then, it’s been an endless effort to recreate many of her recipes from the memory of taste.  This is one of them.

Chef’s tip: Use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible from the blanched vegetables.  Pack acar tightly in a glass jar and keep refrigerated.  Like kimchi, it will keep for several weeks.

Spice Paste:
10 dried long Asian chilies, rehydrated in water or fresh Fresno chilies, seeded
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced thinly
2 slices galangal
1 piece fresh turmeric, about 1 Tablespoon, sliced
8 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan
4 candlenuts

Vegetables:
2 carrots peeled
¼ head cauliflower
1 Japanese Eggplant
½ small savoy cabbage
12 Chinese long yard beans
1 English Cucumber, seeded

½ cup canola oil
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1. In a food processor or blender, grind chilies, lemongrass and galangal till fine. Add remaining spice paste ingredients and process till smooth. Add a little water if needed. Set aside.
2. Cut all vegetables into 1 inch juliennes. Cut cauliflower into small florets.
3. Blanch vegetables. Blanched carrots, cauliflower and eggplant till tender, about 3 minutes, and cabbage and long beans two minutes. Spin and squeeze vegetables very dry. Add in cucumber.
4. Heat oil on medium high. Fry spice paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 7-10 minutes. Add vinegar, sugar and salt. Fry till fragrant about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat.
5. Mix in vegetables and toss to mix. Add peanuts and sesame seeds and mix to combine.  Let it sit for at last 30 mins for flavors to come together.  Can be prepared in advance.  Serve room temperature or chilled.

Serves: 6

This recipe was part of my final class at Whole Foods San Mateo last month.  It was nice to have some of my students whom I have been working with for many years  – Nancy, Bernie, Chris and Yuko were there, as well as my friend, Joyce and the new host of my cooking class in the Peninsula, Wally. It was a nice way to “wrap” up a 7-year teaching stint at Whole Foods.  We wrapped and we ate, and wrapped and ate a variety of spring rolls.

Chef’s tip:   Fresh beancurd skin is quite difficult to find.  Hodo Soy is probably the only folks who sell it in the US.  If you ever see some, you just have to buy it and taste the difference.   For this recipe, if you can’t find the fresh ones, the frozen ones will have to do.  The dried ones would not work.  When rolling the spring roll, ensure no air bubble is trapped within.  Make it compact and dense by pushing out any air bubbles.

Marinade

¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon black, thick soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce to taste
½ teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons Five Spice powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 lb pork fillet or pork loin, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup water chestnut
1/2 cup cilantro stems, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup yellow onions, chopped

20 pieces  6X6 inch fresh beancurd skin/ yuba
1 Tablespoon cornstarch mix with a little water to make a slurry
6 cups canola oil for deep frying

To make the springroll

1. Mix filling ingredients together and marinade for 30 minutes, up to overnight
2. To assemble lobak, place beancurd skin square with one corner facing you.  Next place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the skin.  Shape the filling into a cylinder, about 3-inches long.  Fold the bottom flap up and over the filling.  Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, roll up into a tight cylinder.  Moisten edges with the cornstarch slurry to seal.  Lay the rolls flap side down on a baking tray.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
3. Heat oil over medium heat till 350F. Deep fry springrolls till golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

LOH BAK DIPPING SAUCE

1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
¾ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder to be mixed with a bit of water
A pinch of white pepper

1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 Tablespoons water
1/2 egg white
1 teaspoon oil

To make the sauce:

4.     Mix all the seasoning ingredients with the stock and bring to a low boil.

5.     Add cornstarch mixture slowly to thicken the sauce.  You may not need all of it.

6.     Beat the egg white and drizzle into the sauce, wait till the egg white becomes opaque white, then stir slowly.  Finish with 1 teaspoon of oil.

Serves: 10

Here is another mango salad recipe.  A Malaysian Nyonya version.  The key flavoring here is belachan.  Now, the following paragraph may scare you away from this recipe, but do trust me, once the belachan is roasted and mixed into the sambal, the salad is just absolutely scrumptious!  Ask any Malaysian, and they will surely defend the belachan.

Belachan is to Malaysian cooking what fish sauce is to Thai cooking.  To get the full, sweet flavor of belachan, buy a block of it, slice it up and dry toast it in a skillet.  Just be aware that your neighbors may not be liking it too much!  When I lived in Guangzhou about 20 years ago, I toasted some belachan and thought I was smart to leave the windows opened….after all, I was in US consulate housing and I don’t think my neighbors really dig the smell!  Before I knew it, every fly in Guangzhou decided to join me in the cooking!  After a humourous battle tracking down the flies and shooing them away, I was able to get all but one fly out of the apt.  To get the last fly out, I placed my bottle of now sweetly toasted belachan by the window sill.  The lone fly decided to come out of hiding and follow the waft of the belachan by the window sill.  At that point, I turned on the fan, and off he went out of the window!

Chef’s tip: You can also roast the belachan in an oven.  400F.  Chop up the belachan, spread it on a baking sheet and roast about 7 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, break up the pieces further till crumbs form.  Return to oven for another 5 minutes.  Store leftover roasted belachan in an airtight bottle for future use!

Sambal Belachan:
6 Fresno/ red jalapeno chilies
1 Tablespoon belachan, more if desired

Dressing:
2 Tablespoon prepared sambal belachan
3 Tablespoon lime juice
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked
2 Tablespoon dessicated shredded coconut, toasted
2 green mangoes, peeled and shredded
2 shallots, finely sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chiffonaded

1. In a food processor, finely grind the red chilies into a paste. Mix with belachan.
2. Make kerabu dressing – mix together sambal belachan, lime juice, sugar and salt.  Set aside.
3. Soak dried shrimp in water until soft.  Drain and pound coarsely with a mortar and pestle or pulse with a food processor.  Set aside.
4. Toast desiccated coconut in a pan till golden brown.  Pound coconut lightly.  Set aside.
5. Shred mangoes, cut shallots into thin slices lengthwise.  Slice kaffir lime leaves finely.
6. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with the dressing. Serve immediately.

Note: Mangoes must be green, unriped firm mangoes

Serves: 6

Hello Rich.  Here’s what Janet and I think is the recreation of our grandma’s recipe for dark soy sauce pork.  I am not exactly sure whether this is a Hokkien or a baba dish.  ”Ah Ma” is Hokkien, but her mother-in-law, our great grandmother “Ah Chor”, was Nyonya.  As I understand it, Ah Ma picked up a lot of her cooking skills from Ah Chor.  We used to go to my dad’s parents place for lunch every Sunday and every Sunday, there will be this dark soy sauce pork.  I vividly remember how she would stuff a special little clay pot, in which she only makes this dish with, with the pork and then braise it under a super low flame.  The pork literally melts in your mouth.  It tastes even better the next day.  We used to even eat this for breakfast, soaking up the sauce with some nice white and fluffy “wonder” bread.

Janet thinks there is some soy sauce added, I think otherwise.  If you’d like it saltier and saucier, just add a splash or two of soy sauce.  Enjoy!

Chef’s tip:
3 key things.  1.  It’s essential to use a fatty cut of pork.  The preferred cut is the “5 flower” cut, the creme de la creme of pork belly meat.   It’s the same cut of meat they make bacon with.  It literally has 5 alternating layers of fat and lean meat.  It would be great to leave the skin on, too.    2. Low heat.  You want to gently cook the fat, not sear it away.  High heat will melt the fat prematurely (i.e., in the pot, not in your mouth)    3. The Malaysian dark caramel sauce aka dark soy sauce (the really thick, black and sweet kind).  The best brand to get is the “Cheong Chan” brand.

2 lbs pork belly meat, skin-on, cut into 1 inch cubes, pat dry
6-8 cloves garlic, whole, skin-on, very lightly smashed
1/2 cup dark (caramel) soy sauce – enough to coat the pork liberally
1/2 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
Soy sauce, optional

1. Place all ingredients in a medium, heavy-bottomed pot, preferably a clay pot.  The meat should fit snugly together.   Liberally coat the pork with the dark soy sauce.
2.  Cover and braised on LOW heat for at least two hours, till desired doneness.  Stir occasionally.  The pork will cook in its own juices and fat.  May add a little water if it gets too dry too soon but try not to.

Serves: 6

The “Sam Poh Tong” temple between Ipoh and KL is a popular spot for KL folks that  stop by to buy the monks’ vegetarian specialty – the Chat Thye – a tightly rolled log of fresh yuba skin.  Some people call it mock chicken, mock goose, whatever.  It’s delicious and high in protein.  Makes a great snack.  It’s always a trick to try to slice it as thinly as you can.

Chef’s tip:  There’s only one place in the Bay Area that you can get fresh yuba skin – Hodo Soy in the Ferry Building, or at farmers’ markets in Berkeley and Palo Alto farmers.  The owner, Minh Tsai, is a true visionary in bringing Asian-style tofu products made from are non GMO, organic soy beans which just taste much better than the ones you find in your Chinese grocery stores.   Well, if you can’t get fresh ones,  reconstitute dried yuba by soaking in warm water for 10 minutes, and then pat dry.

4 large sheets fresh yuba (bean curd skin) about 15 inch diameter, cut into half
½ cup vegetarian broth
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon roasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon cayenne / chilli powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 small piece of star anise

Cheesecloth

Kitchen twine

1. Mix the broth, soy sauce, sugar, sriracha and star anise in a small saucepan and gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove star anise and add sesame oil.   Let cool.  Set aside.
2. Spread a 12 x 8 inch piece of fine cheesecloth over a baking tray. Place a half-sheet of the fresh yuba on the sheet
3. Brush the yuba with soy sauce mixture. Cover with another piece of yuba and brush. Repeat until half the yuba and half the sauce is used.
4. Roll the stacks of yuba tightly, taking care to snug in the edges to make a uniform compact cylinder and wrap it in the cloth.  The finished yuba log should be about 6 inch X 2 ½ inch diameter.  Quickly tie the log with kitchen twine.
5. Repeat with remaining yuba and sauce.
6. Brush logs with remaining sauce, and place on a metal/glass plate.
7. Bring a wok of water to boil with a steamer.  Steam the roll, covered, over boiling water for 10 minutes.
8. Let yuba logs cool to room or cool temperature, let it sit at least 30 minutes. Unwrap and sliced into 1/3 inch thickness.

Serves: 6

My mom makes the most silky steamed eggs.  I tried making the dish many times and ended up with eggs that are either too runny, scrambled or overcooked — what she would call “pock marked and more wrinkled face than the old grandmother”.  Her secret: she whisks in hot water into the eggs — an extreme egg  tempering method.  By bringing the eggs to a higher temperature before steaming, it helps the eggs cook faster and more evenly.

A cousin of the Japanese Chawan Mushi, the Chinese steamed egg is fuller bodied and thicker.  This 3 “king” eggs recipe (and I mean 3 different types of eggs, not the count) is a delicious combination of century eggs (pi dan) and salted duck eggs suspended in a regular egg custard.  You can also add some ground pork simply seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper.

Chef’s tip: As provided by my mom above!

2 eggs
1 salted duck egg
1 century egg
1 cup hot water

1. In a small bowl, whisk the chicken eggs and the whites of the salted duck egg together.  While whisking, slowly pour in the hot water.
2. In the meantime, bring a steamer to boil with an empty dish that will hold the eggs.  A stainless steel or enamel plate works best.
3. Cut up the duck egg into 6 wedges and scatter over the plate.  Repeat with the pi dan.  (If using ground pork, add it here, too).  Bring steamer to boil, covered.
4. When water comes to a boil, pour in the egg mixture.
5. Cover the steamer and continue steaming for 5 minutes under medium heat.  The egg is done when the center is jiggly.
6.  Drizzle on some shallot oil and soy sauce before serving.

Shallot oil
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 cup canola oil

Heat canola oil on medium heat.
Add sliced shallots and cook till golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Pour cooled oil into a jar — it will keep for weeks.

I was at a my friend’s baby first month party earlier this year and his mom made a Filipino cassava cake that reminded me of the Malaysian bengka ubi.  At that time, the Malay name just slipped me, and Marco keeps on calling it the Tagalog name bibingka.  When I finally recalled the Malaysian name, I was pleasantly surprised at how similar the Malay word is to its Filipino cousin!  Of course, in Malaysia, we refer the tuber with the British word, tapioca.

My grandmother used to make this steamed “kuih” for sale, and my dad taught me how to make the kuih eons ago.  I had forgotten about it until I bit into the wonderful sweet and chewy cake at David’s.  I remember peeling the tubers and grating the tapioca tubers and carefully avoiding the bitter heart that runs along the tuber.  I love the smell of fresh tapioca, and grating it leaves your hands tapioca smelling fresh all day.

Chef’s tip:  The frozen version works just as well (sans fragrant hands!).  You can find the frozen version in most Asian stores.  David’s mother glazed the top with condensed milk to give it a nice golden brown topping.

2 lbs cassava, grated or if using frozen, thawed
3/4 cup sugar or palm sugar
1 can (400 ml) about 1 2/3 cups coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Squeeze out excess water from the cassava.  Let the strained juice sit 10 mins.  Discard top clear water and add back the settled starch to the cassava.
2. Mix together all the ingredients.  Transfer to an oiled pan.
3. Bake in 400F oven for 40  mins.
4. Place under broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.
5. Let cool before cutting.

Chef’s tip: The most critical ingredient to recreate the street flavor of Hokkien char mee is the pork cracklings and lard.  Without it, it’s just a regular noodle!  Thanks to David Chang, eating pork fat is now cool.  To find pork fat, you will need to go to an Asian or Mexican butcher and ask them specifically for it, and they may be able to slice off some fat for you.  Not a usual item, since they typically throw it out or process the fat into lard.  We need the whole piece of fat, not those that is already in a tub.

Another tip is to use fish sauce.  Some folks swear that if you add some dried “crooked mouth fish” flakes into the dish, you will get the authentic hokkien mee flavor.  Frankly, I don’t exactly know what’s the fish’s name is in English, I just asked for the crooked mouth fish in those dried seafood shops near the Central Market in KL.  So, back in San Francisco, I decided to add a dash of fish sauce.

Lastly, the ubiquitous dark soy sauce is critical.  The Malaysian version is thick and of the consistency of blackstrap molasses.  I looked at the label of my precious dark soy sauce my mom brought me from KL, and lo and behold, it doesn’t have soy in it.  Just caramel, salt and flavoring.  It’s a Malaysian version of molasses, I guess.  Use the Indonesian kicap manis, which is really sweeter than we need, but we can balance it with salt and soy sauce.

Sambal:
10 red Fresno chiles
2 Tablespoons roasted belachan
2 limes, cut into wedges

Sauce:
6 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
6 cups chicken stock

Pork marinade:
1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ lb pork fat, cut into medium dice

10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb medium-sized shrimps, deveined, shelled
1 lb squid, cleaned, cut into ¼ inch rings
1 lb Chinese mustard “choy sum”, cut into 2 inch length

4 lb fresh thick yellow egg noodles (Shanghai style, udon-thickness)

Preparing the ingredients

1.     To prepare the sambal condiment, grind chile with a food processor till fine paste.  Add belachan and mix well.  Set aside with the lime wedges.
2.     Whisk sauce ingredients together in a bowl.   Set aside
3.     Marinade the pork tenderloin with the cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.   Set aside.
4.     In a wok, render the pork fat till crackling forms.  Remove the cracklings and reserve.  Ladle out and reserve the lard.
5.     Bring a pot of hot water to boil.  Drop noodles into the boiling water, stir to separate the noodles and boil for 2 minutes or until noodles are cooked but not soft.  Remove and drain.
6.     Place the remaining ingredients mise-en-place, and roughly divide each ingredient into 4 portions

Cooking the dish – 2 servings at a time

7.     Heat wok on high heat with 1 Tablespoon lard.   Add 1 teaspoon garlic and a portion of shrimp and squid and saute until shrimp turns pink. Remove from wok and set aside.
8.     Add 1 Tablespoon lard and 1 teaspoon of garlic and 1 portion of the pork.  Sauté 1 minute until pork is browned, then add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
9.     Next, add the vegetable and noodles. Toss till noodles are well coated.  Cover to simmer on medium heat for 2 minutes or until all the sauce is absorbed.
10.  Uncover, turn back heat to high, add back the shrimp, squid and pork cracklings and toss to combine.
11.  Drizzle on a tablespoon of lard to finish.  Serve immediately with sambal and lime.

Repeat for each serving.  It is very important that the dish is cooked no more than 2 servings at a time for maximum “wok hay” (wok’s breath)

Serves: 8

This is my family’s staple dish.  A simple soy sauce braised chicken flavored with ginger and wine.  It tastes better if eaten the next day, so make a whole big pot of it.

In Malaysia, the dark soy sauce has caramel in it, making it thicker, sweeter with a blackstrap molasses-like smoky flavor.  We call it “hak you” literally translated to “black oil”.  My mom puts a dash of this black magic into almost all her dishes.   It’s also an excellent condiment with hard boiled eggs, fried Chinese sausage, cold tofu, etc.  You get it – we put it on everything.  I also remember eating hot steaming white rice tossed with a tab of butter or a tablespoon of pork lard (crunchies included) and the hak you, and when money was tight, we’d throw in a raw egg into the hot rice and call it a meal.

Chef’s tip: It’s all about the humble “hak you” dark soy sauce!  If you can’t find it, use the Indonesian kicap or Chinese dark soy, but add a little more sugar to the dish.

3 chicken legs (drumstick and thigh), about 2 lbs
5 cloves garlic, skin-on slightly smashed
3 inches ginger, peeled, sliced
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup sherry or Chinese rice wine
1/4 cup water

1. Heat a wok on medium high.  Add sesame oil, when about to smoke, add ginger and garlic.  “Pow” or stir fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add chicken pieces and brown chicken.
3. Add soy sauces and sugar and toss to coat.  Add sherry and water, cover and simmer under low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add a little more water if it dries out.

This is a very typical Hakka dish.  The “Hakka” people (translated as “guest people”) are migrants from the countrysides of Guangdong and several central Chinese provinces and settled in a small area near the east river in Guangdong.  The Hakka cuisine incorporates a lot of pickled and fermented produce (given refrigeration and fresh produce a luxury when you are movig from place to place).

My mom is visiting from Malaysia and she is sharing her recipe.  Over the course of dinner last night, I found out how much “Hakka” heritage I have.  My maternal grandfather is Hakka from “Kah Hing Zhou” group, and my paternal grandfather, who was adopted into a “Hokkien” aka Fujianese family, was originally also from a Hakka family, too.

Chef’s tip: There are two kinds of pickled mustard.  One is sugar-pickled, the other is salt-pickled.  This recipe calls for the sugar-pickled mustard, which is lighter in color.  Of course, you can only find these in Asian grocery stores.

4 bunches sugar-pickled mui choy (pickled mustard), about 1 lb
1 lb pork belly
3 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 cups water

1. Soak and rinse pickled mustard under several changes of cold water until no more sandy.
2. Drain and squeeze dry.  Chop into 1/2 inch pieces
3. Cut pork into  thick slices about 1/2 inch thick
4. Smash whole clove garlic lightly, with skin on, leaving garlic somewhat whole
5. Heat oil in a heavy saute pan, add garlic and pork and saute for 3 minutes until fragrant, then add chopped mustard.  Stir together, cook for 5 minutes.  Add dark soy sauce.
6. Add water, cover, bring to boil, then simmer under low heat for 30 minutes. (or if you use a crock pot, simmer for 2 hours).

The last in our series on Zongzi, please refer to the first post on the series for wrapping and boiling instructions.  Happy wrapping!

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Sweet Joong

4 ½ cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained
4 ½ teaspoons baking soda. sifted (or 2 tablespoon alkaline “lye” water)

Red bean paste
1 cup of Adzuki red beans, soaked, drained
3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
3 pandan leave (optional), each tied into a knot
¼ cup of canola oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch length
72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Pick over red beans, rinse, cover with 2 inches of water over the top & soak overnight.
3.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the red bean paste filling
4.    Place beans in a pot with 2 pieces of the pandan.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the beans and simmer 1-1 ½ hours till beans have softened.  Add more water if needed.  Drain.
5.    Puree beans in a food processor.
6.    In a non stick pan, heat oil, add sugar and the pureed beans and 1 pandan.
7.    Constantly stir the paste. Cook for 10 minutes until the bean paste is dry.
Preparing the rice
8.    Drain rice, sprinkle baking soda over the rice and mix well, let sit 5 minutes.  Rice should turn slightly yellow.
Wrapping the dumpling (see detailed instructions section)
9.    Prepare bamboo cone.
10.    Place 1 tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 2 tablespoons of red bean paste and top with 1½ tablespoons of rice.  Pack all ingredients lightly as you add them.  Smooth the top with a clean wet spoon.
11.    Cover the rice with 2 pieces of pandan squares
12.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
NOTE: Sweet dumplings are packed and tied loosely so that the rice will have space to expand and it will be soft
Cooking
13.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 60 minutes over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
14.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry.
15.    Serve with brown sugar or palm sugar syrup on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces

* Note: The leftover cooking liquid (plus a little of the beans) makes an excellent Chinese dessert – “hongdou shui”.  Add sugar to taste.  Serve hot with a tablespoon of coconut milk.

Continuing the series on different types of Chinese rice dumplings, this Nyonya version features the intricate flavor depths of typical Nyonya cuisine with a hint of sweet, salty and spicy.

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Nyonya “Chang”

Ingredients

3 cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained
1 ¼ cup coconut milk, mix with 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Spice paste:
4 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black peppercorn
12 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon galangal, minced
2 tablespoon canola oil

12 pieces fresh shiitake, stems removed, diced into small cubes
12 oz ground pork
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup of candied wintermelon (optional)
½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

4 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch length
72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the rice
3.    Drain rice, place on a metal/glass plate and steam 20 minutes.
4.    Drizzle coconut milk over the rice, and steam another 10 minutes.
Preparing the filling
5.    Saute spice paste together till fragrant, 3 minutes.  Add mushroom and pork, salt and sugar and cook 3 minutes.
6.    Add winter melon, and cook another 30 seconds.  Remove from heat, stir in chopped peanuts.
Wrapping the dumpling (see detailed instructions section)
7.    Prepare bamboo cone.
8.    Place ½ tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 2 tablespoons of pork mix and top with 1 ½ tablespoons of rice.  Pack all ingredients tightly as you add them.  Flatten the top with a clean wet spoon.
9.    Cover the rice with 2 pieces of pandan squares
10.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
Cooking
11.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add 1 tablespoon salt.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 30-60 minutes over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
12.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry.
13.    Serve with sugar or chili sauce on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces

I read in this month’s Saveur that Penang is having its international food festival this week where the celebration is Penang’s foodways.  First of all, in food-obssessed Penang, every day is a celebration of food.  In the same blurb, it described the local specialty, Assam Laksa, as aromatic, tamarind-based fish noodle soup.  Hard to imagine with such a description what the dish really is – except for those in the know.  My mouth starts to water at the thought of the tang, sour, saltiness and spicyness of the beloved noodle dish.

Chef’s tip: You can find fresh tamarind in the pods at Asian, Indian, Latin markets and Whole Foods.  To prepare tamarind, peel off the tough outer skin of the tamarind pod.  Place the flesh, seeds and veins in a bowl and add some warm water.  Using your hands, gently massage the tamarind to dissolve it.  Sieve.  You can also find tamarind in the block at Asian markets, which is essentially the peeled version.  Tamraind concentrate in the bottle is a lot more sour than fresh tamarind, so start with half the amount.

Ingredients:

1 lb bluefish (Traditionally mackerel, otherwise, any oily flaky fish)

Spice Paste:
6 dried Japanese chilies or 3 fresh red jalapeno
2 pieces of lemongrass
5 shallots
1 tablespoon roasted belachan
¼ cup of canola oil for frying

Soup:
1/2 cup tamarind pulp (including seeds) + 1 cup warm water
6 cups water or fish stock (use fish bouillon if necessary)
5 pieces of dried tamarind slices
4 stalks laksa leaves
Salt to taste (at least a few pinchfuls of salt)
2 teaspoons sugar

Toppings:
1 cup of shredded English cucumber
1 red jalapeno
½ red onion
1 cup of fresh pineapples
1 cup of mint leaves, whole
2 tablespoons laksa leaves, finely minced

12 oz thick fresh rice noodles (lai fun) or 6 oz dried rice vermicelli

1 lime, preferably calamansi
2 Tablespoon haeko

Preparing the fish
1.    Steam the fish until opaque and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Reserve fish stock.
2.    When cooled, remove bones and skin, coarsely flake the fish with a fork.
Preparing the spice paste
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the laksa soup base
4.    Peel tamarind.  Mash tamarind flesh in 1 cup of warm water.  Remove solids, reserve juice.
5.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 8 to 10 minutes.
6.    Lower the heat, slowly add tamarind paste, water, fish stock, tamarind slices and laksa leaves and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Add salt and sugar to taste.  Remove tamarind slices and laksa leaves. Just before serving, add the flaked fish.
Preparing the vegetables
7.    Finely julienne cucumber, jalapeno, slice the red onion and cut pineapples into small wedges.
8.    Mince the laksa leaves.
Preparing the noodles
9.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add salt and oil.  Blanch rice vermicelli quickly – a few seconds.
Assembly
10.    In a small bowl, mix hae-ko shrimp paste with 2 tablespoon warm water
11.    Place a serving of noodles and vegetables in bowls and ladle laksa broth over.
12.    Serve with halved limes and a dollop of hae-ko.

This is a classic chicken curry, Chinese Malaysian-style.  It goes really well with tumeric sticky rice.

Chef’s tip: Curry powder is commonly used in Malaysia, the concoction is similar to Sri Lankan curry powder.  Here’s a recipe to make your own curry powder.

Ingredients
6 pieces chicken legs with thighs, bones and skin on
2 tablespoons curry powder

3 small Russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch wedges
2 cups canola oil

Spice paste:
5 red jalapeno chilies, seeded
8 shallots
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch galangal
1 inch fresh turmeric / 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon roasted belacan
5 candlenuts

Sauce:
¼ cup canola oil
5 sprigs curry leaves
1 cup water
3 cups coconut milk, reserve 1 cup of the cream
2 tablespoons kosher salt, to taste

Marinating the chicken:
1.    Rub the curry powder over the chicken
Preparing the potatoes
2.    Peel the potatoes and cut each into 4 pieces. Pat dry.
3.    Heat a skillet with about 2-inch of oil.  Fry the potatoes till it is golden on the outside.  Remove and set aside.  The potatoes need not be cooked through.
Preparing the spice paste
4.    Roughly chop up all the spice paste ingredients (except lemongrass and galangal that needs to be finely chopped).
5.    Place all spice paste ingredients in a food processor and grind into a fine paste.
Cooking the curry
6.    Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a pot on medium high.  Add the spice paste and curry leaves fry till fragrant and red, about 5 minutes.
7.    Add the marinated chicken and fry for about 3 minutes.
8.    Add 1 cup water and 2 cups of coconut milk and salt.  Simmer for about 10 minutes
9.    Add the fried potatoes and reserved 1 cup coconut milk, and simmer uncovered until chicken is tender and gravy has thicken, about 30 minutes-45 minutes.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: Starch cooks translucent.  The minute it turns clear, it no longer taste powdery.

6 eggs
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Batter
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese wine
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoon tapioca/ potato starch
1 tablespoon rice flour
8 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup cilantro leaves
White pepper

½ cup green onions, chopped
12 oysters, shucked, drained
1 Tablespoon fish sauce

1.    Whisk the eggs with salt. Set aside.
2.    In another bowl, whisk batter ingredients together.
3.    Heat a large non stick pan over medium heat until hot.
4.    Add  2 tablespoons oil, followed by the batter and cook for a  minute until translucent, stirring continuously
5.    Pour in the eggs, allow the eggs to cook for half a minute, then stir inwards to let the runny eggs go to the bottom of the pan to make an omelet
6.    When eggs have somewhat thickened, make a whole in the center
7.    Add 1 tablespoon oil, the minced garlic and fry for a 10 seconds until the garlic is fragrant
8.    Add in the oysters and the seasoning mixture.  Sprinkle in chopped green onions.
9.    Stir the eggs over the oyster mixture.  Drizzle on fish sauce.
11.    Garnish with cilantro leaves, sprinkle with more white pepper and serve with Chili Garlic Sauce

Serves: 6

Of the many different types of curries in Malaysia, the rendang is the most loved.  The rendang is always the star of any kenduris (wedding ceremonies) or raya (Id) festivities.  It’s a very dry curry with sweet tones of toasted coconut.  Slow cook it till it’s fork-tender.

Chef’s tip: To toast coconut, use a dry skillet and toss it frequently over medium heat.  Alternatively, pop it into a 350F oven for 5 minutes.

½ cup of finely shredded desiccated coconut

Spice paste:
10 red jalapeno chilies
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 stalks lemon grass
1 inch ginger
1 inch galangal
2 candlenuts

Whole spices:
1 cinnamon stick (about 2 inch)
3 cloves
4 whole star anise
2 cardamon pods
2 pieces daun salam

¼  cup canola oil

2 lbs beef cubes – cuts for stewing, briskets, cubed

2 cups thick coconut milk

1 slice of asam gelugur* tamarind/ ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1 tablespoon sugar

1.    Toast coconut till golden brown in an oven or in a pan.  Set aside.
2.    Using a food processor, grind all spice paste ingredients into a paste
3.    Heat oil on medium high.  Fry paste and  whole spices till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 5-7 minutes
4.    Add beef  and fry for about 3 minutes till brown.
5.   Add coconut milk, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, tamarind slice, salt and sugar, and braise uncovered on low, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender and gravy has thicken, about 2 hours depending on beef cut till fork tender.
8.    Mix in toasted coconut.

Serves: 6

My grandmother used to make and sell nyonya “kuih”.  I wish she was still around so that I can pick up the right skills from her!

Chef’s tip: The green is natural from the pandan leaves.  Besides adding fragrance to the cake, it gives it this beautiful green color.  Blending the leaves with a little water and then extracting the liquid is how you get pandan juice.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sweet glutinous rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pieces pandan

8 pandan leaves
½ cup water

3 eggs
¾ cup coconut milk
¾ cup sugar
6 Tablespoons pandan juice (see step 5)

1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 ½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon rice flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Banana leaves

Preparing the rice.
1.    Wash the rice. Add water till it covers the rice by 1 inch. Let rice soak at least 6 hours to overnight.
Cooking the rice
2.    Drain rice.  Place the rice in a cake pan lined with banana leaves.   Place in a steamer rack.
3.    Combine sugar and salt with the coconut milk.  Add to the rice.  Bury a knot of pandan leaves in the rice.  Steam for about 20 minutes.
4.    When rice is done, remove the pandan leaves.  Using a piece of banana leaves or aluminum foil, flatten the rice down to form an even compact layer.  Steam for another 10 minutes.
Preparing the pandan juice
5.    Chiffonade the pandan.  Place the pandan and water in a blender and puree.  Strain out solids.  Reserve juice.
Preparing the custard
6.    In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, sugar and pandan juice.  Set aside.
7.    Place the 3 different flours and salt in a bowl and whisk to mix.  Slowly add the liquid egg mixture, a little at a time, and incorporate till it is smooth and there are no more lumps.
8.    In a double boiler, heat the custard, stirring constantly till just begins to thicken.  Remove form heat.
Completing the serimuka
9.    Pour the thickened custard over the compressed and steam over low heat for another 20 minutes, or until set.
10.    Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Serves: 8

This is a Chinese Malaysian version of the Rojak, a popular Malaysian street food.  It has a sweet, sour and savory sauce with some crunch from both the juicy fruits and the added “croutons”.  Some folks use a shrimp cracker “kerupuk”, I like the crucnh and chewiness of a Chinese doughnut aka “Yow Char Kwai”.  If you can’t find either, add a handful of cornflakes.  Rojak essentially means a mixed of vegetables and fruits, although the word has evolved to mean a random mix of stuff.

Chef’s tip: To peel a whole pineapple, chop off the crown, about an inch from the base of the crown, and also an inch off the base.  Now you have a cylindrycal part of the fruit.  Letting it stand on its base, with a sharp knife, cut off the skin with top to bottom motions.  Next, lay it on its side, and made diagonal slits around both sides of a diagonal row of eyes.  Remove the eyes.  Continue till you have removed all the eyes.  Cut the fruit into two lenghtwise, then cut each half into 6 pieces lengthwise.  If you wish, nip off the center core.

Dressing:
3 Tablespoons prawn paste (hei ko)
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan
6 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sri Racha sauce, to taste
9 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate

Vegetables:
1 small jicama
1 English cucumber
2 Granny Smith apple
1 green mango
1 star fruit / carambola (optional)
1/2 pineapple
1 cup mung bean sprouts
2 Chinese donut (deep fried dough) or 1/2 cup cornflakes

½ cup sesame seeds, roasted
1 ½ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, crushed, reserve 2 Tablespoons

To prepare the vegetables:
1.    Roll cut jicama, cucumber, apple, mango and star fruit into irregular shapes – slice diagonally, then rotate the fruit before slicing again for an uneven shape.  Place all cut fruits and vegetables in a large salad bowl.
2.    Slice the pineapples into wedges.  Add to the salad bowl.
3.    Slice the Chinese doughnut into ½ inch slices.  Add to the salad bowl.
4.    Mung beans sprouts are left raw.  Remove roots if applicable. .  Add to the salad bowl.
To make the dressing:
5.    In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients, reserving 2 Tablespoons peanuts.
Assembling the salad:
6.    Pour the dressing into the salad bowl, toss to mix.   If using cornflakes, add now.  Sprinkle with reserve peanuts.

Serves: 8

Singapore and Malaysia’s favorite kopi tiam breakfast – kaya on toast (with slabs of butter, and preferably on white, fluffy bread), a cup of coffee with condensed milk and two half-boiled eggs with a dash of dark soy sauce and lots of white pepper.  We’ll settle for just kaya on wholewheat toast and a Starbucks latte here.

There are 2 schools of thoughts in kaya – the smooth, dark brown jam and the greenish curd ones. Some say the former is for toast only, and the latter is to serve with glutinous rice such as pulut tai-tai or pulut tekan. The brown kaya has more of a caramel flavor to it. I have always liked the fragrance of the greenish one – somehow pandan and coconut just go so well together.  A union made in food heaven  This recipe is for the greenish version.

Chef’s tip: Tempering eggs is the process of blending uncooked eggs into a hot or warm liquid without having the eggs scramble or curdle.  To do this, you gently add a little hot liquid at a time, streaming it into the beaten eggs while whisking continuously.  You continue to do this until the temperature of the bowl holding the eggs is close to the temperature of the hot liquid.  Another tip is using a double boiler while making a custard.  It will prevent the custard from scorching.

Ingredients:

1 250-ml can coconut milk
1¼ cups sugar
5 large eggs, or 6 small ones
6 pieces pandan leaves, tied into 2 knots

1.    In a double boiler, heat the coconut milk with the sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.
2.    In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.  Using a ladle, stream in the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture, while whisking continuously.  Add one ladle at a time.  It is very important to whisk continuously and pour the hot liquid in a stream while tempering eggs so that the eggs won’t cook and curdle.
3.    When done tempering the eggs, return mixture into the double boiler, add pandan leaves (tie into a knot) and cook under a simmering boil.  Continuously stir the first 20 minutes until the liquid has thickened, do not let the eggs curdle.
4.    Once thickened, you need to stir it every 5 minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency, about 20 minutes more.
5.    Remove pandan leaves.

Makes: 2 cups

The chili padi or Thai Chili is a tiny pepper, but full of scovilles.  It adds an explosive punch to your food.  As such, pickling the peppers reduces the effect of the capsaicin, and you can enjoy the peppers all year round, too.  I love to slice up a couple of the peppers and mix it with soy sauce for a deliciously simple dipping sauce.

Chef’s tip: The capsaicin, the agent that provides the pungency, in a pepper, resides in the membranes of the placenta/core of the pepper.  When cutting a pepper, try not to touch the core.

Ingredients:

1 cup Chili Padi/ Thai Chilis
1 cup white vinegar

1. Remove the stem and sepal off the peppers.  Clean and dry them thoroughly.
2. Transfer the peppers into a clean, sterile jar.
3. Pour in enough white vinegar to cover the peppers.
4. Keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.  The pickled peppers will be ready to eat in 2 weeks and keeps for at least 6 months.

Serving: 1 jar

This week, I got a big box of spices from my friend, Karina, from Singapore.  She sent me a kilogram of dried “bunga telang” – blue pea flower, a type of tropical morning glory. It’s an edible flower and we use its brilliant indigo blue pigment as a natural food dye.  See the pictures below for a view of the brilliant blue color!   You can’t imagine how excited I was.  Even when I lived in Malaysia, bunga telang is hard to come by.  If we see it on vines by the roadside, we would stop the car to pick some.

So what do you do with these blue flowers?  Nasi Ulam or in the East Coast of Malaysia, sometimes refered to as Nasi Kerabu.  “Ulam” means a medley of herbs.  The rice salad is tossed with, yes, a medley of Asian herbs, dried coconut and dried fish flakes.  If you want to keep it vegetarian or serving the rice to less adventurous palates, just skip the dried seafood part.  It tastes just as yummy.

Chef’s tip: Toasting coconut is just as easy on the stove top as in the oven.  Coconut burns really fast, so remove it from the heat source a tinge below your desired color, and it will continue cooking on its own.

3 Tablespoons dried bunga telang, soaked in 1½ cup water
1 cup Jasmine rice
1 cup Jasmine rice + 1½ cup water

2 oz salt cod, soaked 10 minutes, drained, optional
¼ cup dried shrimp, soaked, drained, optional

1 cup shredded, unsweetened desiccated coconut

Herb mix
½ cup mint leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Thai basil leaves, chiffonade
½ cup Rau Ram leaves, chiffonade
½ cup cilantro leaves, chiffonade
¼ cup perilla/shiso leaves. chiffonade
½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup sorrel leaves, finely chiffonade
2 tablespoon kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
½ cup shallots from 2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 inch fresh tumeric, thin juliennes
1 inch galangal, thin juliennes
1 lemon grass, white only, finely sliced
1 ginger flower, finely sliced
Note: You can use any fragrant herb, if you cannot find all the herbs listed, or try new ones

½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 Tablespoon roasted belachan, optional

Preparing the 2 types of rice:
1. Rinse 1 cup of  rice until the water runs clear.  Then soak rice in 1½ cup water with the blue flowers (in a tea ball or wrapped with cheesecloth) for at least 1 hour.  Remove flowers just before cooking.
2. In a small pot, bring the soaked rice and blue soaking liquid to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
3. Rinse the other 1 cup of rice till the water runs clear.  In another small pot, bring the white rice and 1½ cups of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, cover the pot, turn to low simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit, still covered for 10 minutes.
4. Fluff the rice and toss together into a large bowl to cool.
Preparing the coconut and seafood, if using:
5. Toast the coconut till golden brown. Add to the big bowl of rice.
6. Soak and drain salt cod and dried shrimp.  Place salt cod in food processor and grind coarsely.  Set aside.  Repeat with dried shrimp.
7. Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and fry the salt cod till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
8. Toast the dried shrimp till fragrant.  Add to the rice.
Preparing the herbs
9. Finely chiffonade all herbs.
Assembly:
10. Toss all ingredients – salt cod, dried shrimp, coconut, herbs – together with the cooled rice.
11. Sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts and roasted belachan.  Serve at room temperature.

Serves: 8

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

Kobis Masak Lemak is a “comfort food” Malay dish.  A simple cabbage stew mainly consisting of coconut and cabbage.  This dish makes a great complement to the spicier curries.

Chef’s tip: Finishing with coconut cream lends a rich gloss and flavor to the sauce. It’s like monte-au-beurre, Malay-style.

Ingredients
1 head of savoy cabbage, torn into large pieces
3 red jalapenos, seeded and julienned
4 shallots, sliced finely
2 cloves garlic, sliced finely
½ cup dried shrimp, soaked and chopped

3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 cups coconut milk, reserve half cup thick cream
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1-2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste

Preparation:
1.    Separate cabbage leaves and tear into large pieces
2.    Julienne the red jalapeno, slice the shallots
3.    Chop the soaked dried shrimp
Cooking the dish
4.    In a large pot, heat the oil.  Add shallots and fry till the shallots in limp, about 3 minutes.
5.    Add the garlic and dried shrimp and fry for another minute.
6.    Add the cabbage, jalapeno, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt.
7.    Bring to boil.  Partly cover the pot and simmer on medium for 30 minutes until the cabbage becomes very soft. Add the remaining coconut cream.
8.    Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: Make a jar of the shallot oil, it keeps for a few weeks. You can drizzle it on top of vegetables, tofu, or even add to a salad dressing.

Shallot oil:
2 shallots, sliced thinly
½ cup canola oil

Spice Paste:
4 fresh red Jalapeno
6 shallots
1 inch fresh turmeric
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger

Spice:
¼ cup of canola oil for frying
2 sticks cinnamon
1/2 star anise
1 teaspoon fennel, ground
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, ground
1 Tablespoon curry powder

Broth:
2 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste
2 Tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes

16 oz fresh egg noodles

Topping:
8 oz shrimp, peeled, tails-on
12 fried tofu puffs, sliced thin
1 cup mungbean sprouts
3 eggs, hard boiled, sliced
1 cup English cucumber, shredded
1 red jalapeno
Cilantro
1 lime, wedges

Preparing the shallot oil:
1.    In a small pot, heart ½ cup canola oil.  When warm, add sliced shallts and cook until golden brown.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.
2.    Preparing the spice paste:
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the soup base:
4.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste, cinnamon sticks and star anise.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining spices – fennel, cumin, coriander and curry powder.  Saute until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 5 minutes more.
5.    Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Add tamarind, sugar and salt to taste. Whisk in peanut butter and mashed potatoes.
Preparing the noodles:
6.    Bring another pot of salted water to boil and blanch egg noodles till tender but still firm.  Rinse egg noodles under cold water to remove the starch.
Preparing the topping:
7.    Bring a pot of water to boil. Separately blanch shrimp, sprouts, and tofu puffs.
8.    Finely julienne cucumber and jalapeno.
Assembly
9.    Place a serving of noodles, and top with sliced tofu, shrimp, bean sprouts and ladle some broth over.   Garnish with cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro, sliced eggs and a teaspoon of fried shallots and a little shallot oil.
10.    Serve with quartered limes.

Serves: 4

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.

The British have their dainty cucumber sandwich….eaten with raised pinkies. Malaysia, a former British colony, added a little a lot of spice to the cucumber sandwich, and came up with the sambal sandwich. The butter tempers the spice of the sambal, and the cucumber cools the palate.

Chef’s tip: This sambal recipe is very versatile. You can toss in some fried eggplants to get sambal eggplant, some cooked okras to get Sambal Ladies Fingers, or just eat it by itself! It freezes very well, too.

Ingredients

Spice paste:
3 fresh red chilies
2 small cloves of garlic
3 small shallots, sliced
2 teaspoons roasted belacan
½ inch piece of tumeric/ ½ teaspoon tumeric powder
½ inch of galangal
1 lemongrass, sliced, white part only

2/3 cup of dried shrimp, soaked

1 teaspoon tamarind paste mixed with ½ cup water
3 tablespoon sugar, to taste
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup canola oil

6 slices of brioche bread or white bread with crust removed
½ stick butter, at room temperature
¼ English cucumber

Preparing the spice paste:
1.    Grind all spice paste in a food processor, set aside.
2.    Drain the dried shrimps.  Separately, place in food processor and grind till fine.
Cooking the sambal:
3.    In a wok or a saucepan, heat ¼ cup canola oil on medium high.  Fry paste till fragrant, red and oil has separated, about 7-10 minutes.  Add more oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
4.    Add the dried shrimp and sugar.  Fry until aromatic, about 5 minutes.  Add tamarind liquid.  Continue cooking, adding more oil if necessary for another 10 minutes until the sambal is a dry and deep red in color.
Assembly:
5.    Slice cucumber into thin rounds
6.    Remove bread crust, and place two slices of bread on a cutting board.  Generously smear butter on one side of each slice of bread.
7.    Spread on a thin layer of the sambal, top with cucumber and sandwich with buttered bread.
8.    Cut bread into 4 diagonally, making 4 tiny triangles.

Makes 12 mini sandwich fingers

Bouncy meatballs! My good aunt, Kheng Cher, shared this recipe with me – her secret ingredient is to add the egg (you must stir in in one directions, she says) to make the fish ball puff up during frying. The skin then collapses to a chewy bite, while the meat inside remains bouncy.

Very few people really make this at home anymore since you can buy ready-made fish paste quite easily. But there’s nothing better than making your own fish paste, and tasting the sweetness of unadulterated fish balls.

Chef’s tip: A lot of TLC is needed to make the fish ball. First, it is preferred to chop the meat with a cleaver by hand than pulsing it in a food processor so that you can slowly get to the right consistency of paste. Also, make sure to slap the fish paste to a round, shiny, blob! This is the step that determines how bouncy the ball will be.

Ingredients:
Dipping sauce:
3 Tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce
1 Tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Meatballs:
1 ½ lb whole Spanish mackerel (yellowtail, haddock, pike, bluefish)  yielding 1 lb flesh
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup water
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 egg

3 cups canola oil

Preparing the dipping sauce
1.    Mix all dipping sauce ingredients together (chile, ketchup, garlic, ginger, lime juice, sugar and salt).  Set aside.
Preparing the meatballs
2.    Using the whole fish, starting from the tail end and working towards the head, slice off the top half of the fish flesh.  Repeat with the other side of the fish.  Using a spoon, scrape off any remaining fish meat from the bones.    Place the fish fillet, skin side down over an inverted bowl and remove any bones with a tweezer.  Place the fish fillet, still skin side down, on a cutting board and using a spoon, scrape out the fish flesh.
3.    Place the fish on a cutting board and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and cornstarch.  Using the blunt side of the cleaver, chop the meat, while smashing/dragging the meat against the cutting board till it becomes a paste a shade lighter. (Or place the fish meat in a food processor and pulse about a dozen times till it becomes a paste a shade lighter)
4.    In a small bowl, mix together the water and salt.  Set aside.
5.    Transfer the meat into the bowl drop in the egg and stir in one directions to incorporate the egg.
6.    Wet your hands with the salt water and grab the fish mixture and slap the meat against the side of the bowl.  Repeat until the fish comes together and forms a shiny and firm ball.  Wet your hands continuously with the salt water as you work.
7.    Using your hands, form small golf ball 1 inch size fish balls, coating it with the salt water as you work.  Place the fish balls on a baking sheet.
Frying the fish ball
8.    In wok, heat about 2 inches of oil.  When it reaches 360°F, quickly pat dry each fish ball and drop it into the hot oil.  Fry until it becomes a golden brown and the fish ball floats on top of the oil.
9.    The fish ball will puff up during the frying but will cool and collapse when cooled.  Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Serves: 6

A true fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western flavors.  It is highly advisable to fry the shrimps with shells on to capture the full flavor of the shrimps.

Chef’s tip: If you prefer to have your dish without the prawn shells, follow these steps: Remove head and shells, leaving tail-on. Separately, fry the shells and heads in a cup of oil. Pass oil through a sift to make a scampi oil. Fry the peeled prawns as main recipe above, however, substitute half the butter with 3 tablespoons of the scampi oil. Reserve remaining delicious scampi oil to toss with pasta or drizzle on fish.

Ingredients

2 cup of desiccated coconut

1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sake

2 lb large shrimps, shells on, heads on, deveined
1 cup of canola oil for deep frying

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 red jalapeno chilies – sliced
10 sprigs of Indian curry leaves*
4 cloves of garlic – minced
Cilantro

Preparing the mise en place
1.    In a clean pan over medium heat, dry fry coconut till golden and fragrant.  Set aside.
2.    Mix salt, sugar, soy sauce and rice wine together.  Set aside.
Preparing the prawns
3.    Clean prawns – trim legs and tentacles, deveined.  Keep shells and heads on. Pat dry thoroughly.
4.    Heat about ½ inch oil, and fry the prawns in small batches.  Drain and set aside.  Remove all but 3 Tablespoons of the shrimp oil.
5.    Add butter to the pan high heat.  Add chilies, curry leaves, garlic and salt and fry for 1-2 minutes.
6.    Add sauce mixture.  Toss in coconut.  Toss in fried prawns.
7.    Stir fry over high heat for another 1 min.
8.    Garnish with cilantro.

Serves: 6

The Singaporeans claim the Chili Crab as their national dish. As a good Malaysian, this was ^our^ dish! But since my good friend, Karina Lee, gave me the original recipe for the dish, which I have now adapted to the abundance of this side of the Pacific pond, and she lives in Singapore now, I will gladly attribute this dish as Singaporean.

When you fly into Changi, after a grueling 16 hour flight, your food obsessed Singaporean friends (every Singaporean is a foodie) would say “Let’s go for Chili Crabs” and before you can say no as you struggle with your jet-lag stupor, you are already at one of the outdoor, jumbo seafood restaurants on East Coast Road!

Chili Crabs are finger lickin’ good. With the meaty Dungeness crab, you will have a little bit more crab meat to soak up the wonderful sauce and not be tempted to eat your fingers, too. Serve it with a loaf of baguette or horrors! toasted white wonderbread.

Chef’s tip: You will need live crabs for this dish. Some stores like Wholefoods will take orders ahead, otherwise, many Asian fishmongers carry live crabs.

Ingredients

Sauce:
6 tablespoon Asian sweet chili sauce
10 tablespoon ketchup
4 tablespoon vinegar
2 cups of water

2 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water

5 tablespoon canola oil
2 Dungeness crabs (2 ½ lbs each)
10 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
10 slices of ginger, julienned finely

4 tablespoon sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup of cilantro, cut into 2 inches sprigs
1 cup of scallions, sliced into 2 inches strips

Preparing mise-en-place
1.    Mix chili sauce, ketchup, vinegar and water together; set aside
2.    Beat egg whites with water; set aside.
3.    Mix cornstarch with water; set aside.
Preparing the crab
4.    Ask your fishmonger to kill and clean the shellfish for you, but you must cook it within 2-3 hours of killing.  Remove gills and innards.  Clean and pat dry shellfish.  Crabs should be cut into 6 pieces each.  Keep the crab roe.
5.    Heat 4 tablespoon oil in wok.  Fry shellfish including crab roe till bright vermillon red and fragrant.  Remove crabs from wok.  Do not wash the wok!
6.    Using same wok, brown garlic, ginger with the rest of the oil till fragrant; about 2 minutes.
7.    Add chili-ketchup sauce mixture.  Add more sugar and salt to taste.
8.    Add egg white, wait half a minute then stir to get silky threads of whites.
9.    Add cornstarch mixture and stir to thicken.
10.    Add back the crab.  Mix well.
11.    Toss in the cilantro and scallions, leaving a small handful for garnish.
12.    Serve immediately garnish of cilantro and scallions.

Serves: 6

A favorite street food in Malaysia. When I used to wait for my fried kuey teow at my favorite kuey teow hawker stall, I was always fascinated by the lightning speed that the dish is prepared in. The trick is to wok fast and use high heat. The kuey teow master wok so much, his spatula was ground down to the shape of the wok.

Chef’s tip: It is very important that the dish is cooked one serving at a time for maximum “wok hay” (wok’s breath).

Ingredients:

Sauce:
6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
9 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
9 tablespoons water

4 lb fresh flat rice noodles
10 cloves of garlic, minced to make about 10 teaspoons of minced garlic
20 oz shelled uncooked medium-sized shrimps
12 oz Chinese chives
12 oz / 4 cups bean sprouts
4 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced

20 tablespoons/ 1 ¼ cup canola oil, in a squeeze bottle
Sri Racha chili sauce (optional)
10 eggs

Preparing the ingredients:
1.    Mix soy sauces and water together.  Transfer to a squeeze bottle.  Set aside.
2.    Place the remaining ingredients mise-en-place, and roughly divide each ingredient into 10 portions
Cooking the dish – 1 serving at a time:
3.    Heat a cast iron pan or a wok on high heat
4.    Add 1 tablespoon oil, add 1 portion (1/10th of the ingredient) of Chinese sausage and sauté 1 minute till fragrant.  Push to the side of the wok.
5.    Add ½ teaspoon of garlic and a portion of shrimp and saute until shrimp turns pink. Push to the side of the wok.
6.    Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil and another ½ teaspoon of garlic and for spicier option, add ½ teaspoon Sri Racha.  Sauté 30 seconds, add 1 portion of noodles.   Drizzle 2 tablespoons soy sauce mix over the noodles, toss on high heat till noodles are well coated. Push to the side of the wok.
7.    Make a well in the middle, add 1/2 tablespoon of oil.  Break in an egg, drizzle in a teaspoon of soy sauce mix, let it cook like a sunny side up, until eggs are whit but still slightly runny, then scramble the eggs into the noodle mixture.
8.    Add 1 portion each of bean spouts and chives.  Toss to mix.
9.    Serve immediately.

Repeat for each serving.

Serves: 10

This recipe is adapted from a recipe from my friend, Tammy Kang, whom I used to work with in Kuala Lumpur.   We used to love seeking out all the best “makan” joints -  street foods being on top of our list.   Laksa is really the king of street foods.   Laksa Johor is my all-time favorite of the laksa family.  We use many different kinds of fragrant herbs like kaffir lime leaves and if you can get it, bunga kantan, a pink ginger flower bud, and of course, laksa leaves, or more commonly known in the US as Rau Ram.

Chef’s tip: Instead of using a ikan kurau masin (salted dried fish), I use the bacalhao salted cod which is more easily found here and offers just as much sweetness and umami flavors.

Ingredients:

Meat:
½ lb salted cod
½ teaspooon kosher salt
1 lb cod

Spice Paste:
10 dried Japanese chilies or 5 fresh red jalapeno
10 shallots
1 inch of ginger
1 inch of galangal
1 inch fresh tumeric
1 tablespoon roasted belachan
5 candlenuts
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked
3 tablespoon toasted desiccated coconut

Broth:
¼ cup of canola oil for frying
3 cups coconut milk
3 pieces of lemongrass, bruised
5 stalks laksa leaves
3-4 cups fish or chicken broth
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Toppings:
1 cup of shredded English cucumber
1 red jalapeno
½ red onion
1 cup of fresh pineapples
2 eggs
1 cup of mint leaves, whole
2 tablespoons laksa leaves, finely minced
1 Tablespoon ginger flower, finely minced

8 oz spaghetti, some salt and olive oil
1 lime, quartered

Preparing the salted cod:
1.    Soak the salt cod for a couple of hours.  Change the water if needed.
2.    Remove the bones and mince the fish fine. Soak the dried shrimp for at least an hour.
Preparing the fish:
3.    Salt the fish.  Steam the fish until opaque and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4.    When cooled, remove bones and skin.  Coarsely flake the fish with a fork.
Preparing the spice paste:
5.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
6.    Grind dried shrimp, salt cod, and toasted desiccated coconut into fine flakes.
Preparing the laksa soup base:
7.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste. Stir constantly, until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 8 to 10 minutes. Add fish mince.
8.    Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk, lemon grass, tamarind slices, laksa leaves, chicken broth and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Salt to taste.  Remove tamarind, lemongrass and laksa leaves.  Add flaked fish.
Preparing the vegetables:
9.    Finely julienne cucumber and jalapeno. Slice the onion. Cut pineapples into small wedges.  Chiffonade the laksa leaves and ginger flower.
10.    Beat eggs with a pinch of salt.  Make thin omelets. Slice them into ¼ inch strips.
Preparing the noodles
11.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Boil spaghetti till el dente.  Drain.
Assembly
12.    Place a serving of noodles, vegetables, herb, eggs in bowls and ladle laksa broth over.
13.    Serve with quartered limes and sambal.

Serve: 6

There are many different kinds of laksa.  Generally speaking, laksa is a spicy broth, frequently made with a coconut cream base, served with a variety of meats and herbs.  In this simpler version of curry laksa, more commonly found in the hawker centers of PJ, it’s usually just chicken and “kerang” cockles.  I have substituted the blood-y shellfish with oysters or shrimp to be more acceptable to folks this side of the Pacific!

I always like my laksa noodle “yin yeung” ie a mix of egg noodles and rice noodles.

Chef’s tip: The last drizzle of coconut milk gives a smooth, rich flavor to the broth.

Ingredients

Topping:
1 large boneless chicken breast or thigh, about 1 lb
8 pieces of shucked oysters or shrimp
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Spice Paste:
10 dried chilies or about 5 fresh red jalapenos
10 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 lemongrass
2 tablespoon roasted belachan (substitute 2 tablespoon fish sauce)
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 inch of galangal
1 tablespoon dried tumeric powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup of canola oil for frying

Broth:
2 cups coconut milk, reserve ½ cup of cream
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of water
Salt to taste (at least a few pinchfuls of salt)
12 fried tofu puffs

6 oz egg noodles
6 oz rice vermicelli

Vegetables:
1 cup mung bean sprouts
Cilantro

Preparing the meat:
1.    Steam chicken breast until cooked, about 20 minutes. Tear or cut into ½ inch thick slices
2.    Drain the oysters, keep refrigerated.  If using shrimp, blanch shrimp.
Preparing the spice paste:
3.    Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside.
Preparing the laksa soup base:
4.    Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot.  Stir in spice paste. Cook, stirring constantly, until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 8 to 10 minutes.
5.    Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk, tofu balls, chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly.  Simmer for at 20-30 minutes.  Salt to taste.
Preparing the noodles:
6.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add salt and oil.  Blanch rice vermicelli till tender.
7.    Using the same water, blanch egg noodles.  Reserve.
Assembly:
8.    Place a serving of noodles and rice vermicelli, vegetables, chicken, and oysters in bowls and ladle laksa broth over.  Drizzle a teaspoon of coconut cream.  Garnish with cilantro.
9.    Serve with quartered limes and sambal.

Serves: 4

When Chinese New Year comes around in Malaysia and Singapore, one cannot escape the symbolic dish of Yu Sang. When I was a corporate banker in Kuala Lumpur (in my previous life), we would take our customers out for Yu Sang lunch, and Yu Sang dinner during CNY. If it was served for breakfast, we would have taken them out for Yu Sang breakfast, too! When I got home, my mom would ask “We have to have Yu Sang!” Yu Sang, Yu Sang everywhere!

In the Cantonese dialect, “Yu Sang” is literally translated as raw fish. The words sound like the words for “abundance and growth”. This dish is also sometimes referred to as “Lo Hei” which sounds like “growth in business undertaking”. So when we do the “Yu Sang”, we are wishing our colleagues, friends and family, at the start of a new year, lots of prosperity, good luck and good business.

PS: Don’t forget the red packet!

Chef’s tip: To create the beautiful vegetable julienne spirals, use a Benriner Japanese spiral mandoline.

Ingredients

Special equipment needed A Japanese mandolin/ vegetable shredder

2 cups medium sized carrots
2 cups large white radish/ daikon
1 cup of small green papaya*
1 cup of spring onions
1 cup of cilantro leaves
½ cup pickled shallots*
½ cup of pickled ginger
1 pomelo or 1 grapefruit

½ lb fresh ahi tuna – sashimi grade
1 cup of Asian plum sauce* (Lee Kum Kee brand)
½ cup of grapeseed oil or other mild flavored oil
½ lime

½ cup of roasted peanuts, crushed
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon Asian 5 spice powder
6 pieces of wonton skin
1 cup of canola oil for frying
1 red envelope

Preparing the crunchy topping
1.    Cut wonton skin into juliennes.
2.    Heat oil in pan.  Fry wonton skin till golden brown.  Drain.
3.    Roast peanuts in an oven 350F till golden brown.  About 7 minutes.
4.    Coarsely crush with a mortar and pestle.
5.    Dry roast sesame seeds till fragrant.
Preparing the vegetables and fish
6.    Shred all vegetables into thin long strips using a Japanese mandolin.
7.    Cut scallions into 2 inch long juliennes, and then slice lengthwise thinly.  Soak in cold water 10  minutes, then drain.
8.    Slice pickled shallots and pickled ginger finely.  Remove tough stems from cilantro.
9.    Remove skin and membranes from pomelo to obtain the fruit sac.
10.    Arrange all vegetables on a large platter in a circle, taking care to alternate colors.
11.    Slice fish about ¼ X 2 x 1 inch and place in the middle.
Assembly:
12.    Just prior to serving, drizzle with oil and plum dressing
13.    Sprinkle on peanuts, sesame seeds, wonton skin crisps
14.    At the table, sprinkle Asian 5 spice (served out of the red envelope).
15.    Squeeze lime over fish.
16.    Toss for good luck

Serves: 6-8

Succulent morsels of chicken meat typically grilled over a charcoal fire. In South East Asia, every country’s got their version of satay. This is the Malaysian (or Singaporean) version which is sweeter, and less spicy than the Indonesian’s version. We also use cubed pieces of meat unlike the Thai version which meat is in one strip.

Chef’s tip: To ensure that the meat remains moist, reserve the green stems of the lemon grass and split the lemongrass length-wise, leaving 2 inches uncut. Tie them together to make a brush. Baste the satay as you grill them with a mixture of water and oil. Also, when skewering the chicken, to avoid your fingernails from being dyed yellow by the tumeric, wear a food grade pair of gloves. Your hands will not smell later either.

Ingredients

Marinade:
8 shallots, peeled, sliced
3 stalks lemon grass, white part, cut finely.  Reserve green parts.
2 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 tablespoon ground tumeric
2 teasspoons kosher salt
5 tablespoons sugar
2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, trimmed of fat
1 cup water + 2 tablespoons canola oil
20 bamboo skewers, soaked

Peanut Sauce Spice Paste:
4 large shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic
4 red fresno chile, deseeded, chopped
3 candlenuts or macadamia
1 inch fresh galangal
1 stalk lemongrass, white part, sliced finely
½ inch fresh turmeric
1 tablespoon belachan

Sauce:
¼ cup canola oil
1 cup water
1½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
4 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar/ tamarind paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Garnish:
1 english cucumber
1 red onion

To make the marinate and sate
1.    In a food processor, grind shallots, lemongrass, garlic and oil together till a fine paste.  Add dry spices and salt and sugar and mix together. Set aside.
2.    Make cuts lengthwise into the green parts of the lemongrass leaving 2 inches from the leaves uncut.  Bunch the stalks together with kitchen twine to make a basting brush.  Mix a bowl of water with 2 tablespoons of canola oil and set aside as basting liquid.
3.    Trim chicken of fat and cut chicken into small cubes 1 X 3/8 X 1 inch.  Marinate chicken in marinade at least 30 minutes. Skewer chicken with the bamboo skewers. Scrape off marinade bits.
4.    On a hot oiled grill/broiler on high, grill chicken skewers – about 2 minutes on each side, or more depending on thickness, until nicely browned.  Baste with water mix as you grill.
To make the sauce:
5.    In a food processor, grind all Peanut Sauce Spice Paste ingredients together
6.    In a sauce pan, heat oil on medium high.  Saute spice mixture till fragrant and oil separates.  Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, till mixture is thick.
Serving:
7.    Cut cucumber at an angle, avoiding the seeds.  Rotate cucumber per cut.
8.    Cut onions into small wedges.  Serve satay with peanut sauce and cut cucumbers and onions.
Serves: 10