◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

Green bean (French bean or string bean) is definitely one of my top three favorite veggies. I like the fleshiness and sweetness of it. It’s so special! A simple dish like stir-fried green bean with chicken is good enough for me to gobble 2 bowls of steamed white rice. Nothing fancy is needed for this dish. Just few simple steps will give you a simple yet appetizing dish.

Another favorite green bean dish of mine is the干煸四季豆 (literally translated as dry-stir string bean). It is essentially a popular dish to be served in most Chinese restaurants and I will order it mostly. I will post the recipe for it next time.

Ingredients:

1/2 piece of skinless chicken breast (sliced)
10 green beans (cut into 1 1/2 inch length)
2 red chili peppers (sliced)
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 dashes white pepper powder
1 dash sesame oil
3 tbsp water

Cooking Method:

1. Heat up a pot with 2 tbsp cooking oil. Sauté the garlic until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken and stir fry until almost cooked.
3. Add the green beans and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, white pepper powder, sesame oil and water. Stir well for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Dish up and serve.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

Massaman curry is believed to be one of those earliest Thai recipes of the 19th century AD. Not sure how many of you had tried this curry dish but I rarely order it (or not even once) when dining in the Thai restaurant. Most likely it seems to be an unpopular dish for me.

This coconut-based curry is usually prepared with beef, potatoes and roasted peanuts and its flavor is kind of hot and sour. You can always make this dish with your favorite meats like chicken, duck, or pork. Tofu can be used as well to make a vegetarian dish. As with most curries, you can easily pick up the Massaman curry paste at the Asian food market.

Although it’s not my favorite kind of Thai curry, it is served well with steamed white rice. Try it! Probably you might like it.

Ingredients:

1 piece of skinless chicken breast (sliced)
2 potatoes (cut into cubes)
1 onion (chopped)
3 tbsp roasted peanuts (or as preferred)
3 tbsp Massaman curry paste (Mae Ploy brand)
3 cups coconut milk
4 tbsp palm sugar
4 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp tamarind paste (or as preferred)

Cooking Method:

1. Heat up a pot with 2 tbsp cooking oil. Add in the curry paste and stir with medium heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken meat and stir for 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour in the coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind paste. Keep stirring until everything is mixed. Bring to boil.
4. Add in potatoes, onion and roasted peanuts. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soften.
5. Dish up and serve well with steamed white rice.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

When I was blogging on my assam fish the other day, my brother reminded me the kari ikan. Kari Ikan (fish curry) is one of the Malaysian curries and it can be found in mamak stalls. I used to have it once in a week in high school after activities or sports in a nearby authentic mamak stall which is my group’s hang out spot.

I was eager to make my first kari ikan with the kari ikan powder from Malaysia this weekend. Thus I went over to the Asian market and bought all my ingredients but sadly I couldn’t get okra. So I substituted it with green beans. Surprisingly the result was pleasing but it was just a little sour due to too much tamarind paste. I added 3 tablespoons in it. In the recipe, I changed it to 2 tablespoons.

Ingredients:

2 pieces swai/striped catfish fillets (cut into pieces)
2 tomatoes (quartered)
5-6 okras
2 shallots (chopped)
1 onion (sliced)
3 garlic cloves (sliced)
2-3 red chili peppers (sliced)
3 curry leaves
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
2 tbsp tamarind paste (mixed in 1/3 cup water)
3 cups coconut milk
1 small pack Alagappa’s fish curry powder

Cooking Method:

1. Heat the pan with oil. Sauté the shallots, onions, garlic, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves until golden or fragrant.
2. Add fish curry powder and tamarind juice. Bring to boil for 3 minutes.
3. Pour in coconut milk and bring to boil.
4. Add fish fillets, okras, tomatoes, and red chili peppers. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Dish up and serve hot.

P/S: You can deep fry or pan fry the fish fillets for better result.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 4

I first got to know about opo squash (calabash gourd) was few years ago when I was living with my aunt in NYC. I remembered it is one of those vegetables she planted in her small little farm at her backyard. This vegetable is a kind of fruit with light green smooth skin and white flesh. It is commonly used for stir-fry or soup in the southern Chinese cuisine as what my aunt did.

I don’t normally pick up this vegetable and it was on sale in the Asian food market. Thus I bought one home and tried to make a dish with it. Opo squash doesn’t have much taste on itself. It is similar as the cucumber. So I decided to make it simple by stir-frying it with the dried shrimps. It turned out to be a decent dish for dinner. Share with me if you have any good recipes for opo squash.

Ingredients:

1 opo squash (peeled and cut)
3 tbsp dried shrimps
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp water

Cooking Method:

1. Heat the wok or pan with cooking oil. Add in the dried shrimp and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add opo squash and stir fry for 3 minutes.
3. Add sugar, oyster sauce and water. Stir well for 2 minutes.
4. Dish up and serve hot.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 9

Time out for the Thai curries. I craved for Assam Fish this week.

The Assam Fish (Asam Fish) is a classic and authentic Malaysian dish which I love the most. I was blissful enough to have this heavenly dish for three times when I was having my recent vacation in Malaysia. It is a spicy sour tasted dish, where fish is cooked in assam (tamarind) fruit juice together with some other ingredients like tomato and okra. Normally, fish (such as mackerel, stingray or red snappers) or even fish heads are used. Stingray was the common fish my mom used for this dish. She made this dish so good!

Nowadays assam pastes are sold in convenient packs and I bought few Tean’s Gourmet brand assam pastes from Malaysia. I thought it’s so complicated to make the Assam Fish but I was totally wrong! With the convenient pack and a few easy steps, I completed my first Assam fish. It was good.

I supposed to use the stingray but ended up with swai (striped catfish) fillets. It was much easier and I was lazy. You may put in any of your desired fish or seafood for this dish.

Ingredients:

2 pieces swai/striped catfish fillets (cut into pieces)
2 tomato (quartered)
5-6 okra
1 ½ cup Water

Seasonings:

1 pack of Tean’s Gourmet Assam Fish paste

Cooking Method:

1. Mix the Assam fish paste with water in a pot and bring to boil.
2. Add the swai fillets, simmer with medium heat for 10-12 minutes.
3. Add the tomato and okras and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Dish up and serve hot.

P/S: The cooking method is from the back of the assam paste packet.