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Nasi Lemak or Coconut Milk Rice wrapped in banana leaf is an all time Malaysian favorite dish. The traditional Nasi Lemak basically comes with a handful of fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, cucumbers and Sambal Egg. The dish sounds really simple, but we could just gobble down and be satisfied with a plain Nasi Lemak and lots of Sambal. Yes, the key ingredient to one great Nasi Lemak is of course the Sambal.

Sambal or Grounded Red Chili is one of the important components in traditional Malay cooking. The basic ingredient is just the fresh red chilies, then you start adding a little bit here and there of garlic, shallot, ginger, tamarind or others for a more robust flavored  Sambal. Once you do a couple of try outs in making your own Sambal, you can always prepare a full list of scrumptious Sambal dishes, such as Sambal Okra, Sambal Sotong, Sambal Asparagus with Shrimp, Vegetable Curry and etc.

This time I’ve prepared the Sambal Egg, or so called Sambal Telur in Malay. You can choose to use the white hard boiled eggs. Or the other option is to deep fry or pan fry the hard boiled eggs till golden brown.  I  chose to pan fry the hard boiled eggs so not to use so much oil, but make sure to fry the eggs on all surfaces, so they will turn  golden brown evenly. They look such adorable fried eggs (炸蛋).  Once you’ve prepared and toasted the Sambal (without onion rings), you can set them aside and decide how much you want to use for the eggs. If you have enough, you can save the rest in a glass bottle into the fridge. It can be used for other vegetables or just as a condiment on the rice or noodle.

Ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs

Ground Sambal

10 dried chilies (soaked till soft)
4 fresh red chilies (seeded)
1 tsp Belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
4 small shallots
4 garlic
1 tsp tamarind puree (add 1 -2 tsp water to smooth tamarind to paste, remove the pulps)
1 tbsp sugar or palm sugar (to taste)
1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
2 tbsp oil
1 red onion (cut into rings)
2-3 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp oil

Cooking Method:

1. Prepare the sambal, blend the chilies, shallots, garlic, belacan in a food processor.
2. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in pan or wok on low heat, toast the sambal paste until the oil separates from the sambal. Add in the tamarind juice, then add in the seasoning of salt, sugar, taste and adjust if necessary.
3. Add in onion rings, stir fry till tender. Add enough water to make a sauce like consistency. Dish up the sambal and set aside.
4. Bring a pot of water to boil, boil the eggs till cooked. Let it cool and peel off the shells.
5. In a small pan, pan fry the eggs on all sides until golden. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.
6. Return eggs to pan, add in sufficient cooked sambal paste about 3-4 tbsp, simmer until the eggs are well coated. Serve with Nasi Lemak or plain white rice.

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The fried egg with green bean (also known as string bean or French bean) is certainly one of the many great foods of my childhood. Granny used to cook this from time to time for me and my brother when we were in primary school. We both loved it! Perhaps granny was old, she was only capable to make us some easy and quick foods but well, they were all yummy.

I heart green bean and egg. So both ingredients create a perfect and comfy dish for me. Unlike the long bean, the green bean has a strong texture which makes it extraordinary. It will remain its crunchiness after it has been cooked. In addition, the greenish color of it tempts me to love it so much.

You never can go wrong with cooking this easy egg recipe. By the way, it goes really well with steamed rice or rice porridge.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
5-6 green bean (cut into tiny pieces)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt

Seasonings:

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
2 dashes of white pepper powder

Cooking Method:

1. Beat the eggs with a fork. Add in the seasonings and beat well.
2. Heat up the frying pan with 2 tbsp cooking oil and sauté the garlic until aromatic. Add in the green bean, salt and stir-fry until just cooked. Dish up.
3. Mix the egg batter with cooked green bean.
4. Heat up 3 tbsp cooking oil, pour in the mixture and fry both sides until cooked / golden brown.
5. Dish up and serve.

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The braised pork with soy sauce (or Tau Yew Bak in Hokkien) was one of my pleasant foods that my mom used to cook and yes, my mom is Hokkien. She makes luscious Tau Yew Bak as she sold this at her stall when she was a mixed rice food hawker. Tau Yew Bak is a typical Hokkien dish that is very popular in Penang, Malaysia and it had been popularized throughout the nation as well. Consequently, there are many variations of this dish based on individual or family’s recipe. However, all of them are almost similar.

Pork belly is the best meat to be used in this recipe. Although it’s a fattier meat, the fat in the belly makes Tau Yew Bak so good. I love pork belly especially when it is braised as this dish. The pork rind and the fat inside the meat will be tendered during braising. You will be totally amazed after trying on this savory dish. It goes tremendously well with steamed white rice. I did eat it with two bowls of steamed white rice. Yum…

Ingredients:

1 lb pork belly (diced)
6 hard boiled eggs
10 oz fried tofu
2-3 pulp garlic (pounded)
1 tbsp white pepper corn (smashed and cracked)
1 star anise
5 cups water

Seasonings:

5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (add more for darker color or less for opposite)
3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

Cooking Method:

1. Heat up a pot with 5 cups of water and bring the water to boil.
2. Add in pork belly, garlic, star anise, and cracked pepper and bring them to boil.
3. Add in hard boiled eggs, fried tofu, and seasonings. Lower the heat to medium and braise the pork for 30 minutes or until the pork belly become tender.
4. Turn the heat to low and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
5. Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.

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I am not a fan of bitter melon or bitter gourd (苦瓜) as they are really bitter. In Chinese belief, any bitter vegetables or herbs are good for your health just like medicines are bitter but they heal your sickness (苦口良葯). The bitter melon is a healthy and beneficial vegetable, it is considered cool temperature in nature that will help to stimulate digestion and cool your internal body heat. Sometimes I like to stir fry it with chicken or pork meat as one of the “cooling” dishes.

I once tried this Stir Fried Bitter Gourd with Salted Egg in a small local Chinese restaurant and I was amazed how it turned out really delicious. The bitter gourd is not bitter after it is coated well with salted egg that made it so fragrant and tasty. If you don’t like bitter gourd you can try to soak the slices in salted water or even blanch them quickly before cooking, but not too long as it will get old.

For this recipe, I actually used the cooked salted duck egg for a quick and easy serving. You can also use raw salted egg to cook as an omelet style, just mix in the beaten egg after you stir fry the bitter gourd. So this is up to you. I accidentally overcooked this dish that’s why it turned out a bit too brown (so watch your fire). You don’t want to overcook the bitter gourds as mine, so they can stay green and crisp. Enjoy a simple dish.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized bitter gourd (halved, seed discarded, cut into slices, soaked in salted water)
1 salted egg (cut into half and scope up the egg, mashed into smaller pieces)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp cooking oil

Cooking Method:

1. Soak the bitter gourd slices with salted water for 15 minutes. Mashed the cooked salted egg until no big crumbs.
2. Heat up pan with some oil over medium. Add garlic and stir fry till golden.
3. Add in mashed salted egg, stir fry quickly till egg turns foamy and fragrant.
4. Add in bitter gourd slices and stir fry with salted egg until well combined.
5. Add in some water and stir fry bitter gourd until soft and water almost dries up.
6. Dish up and serve.

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I heart all kinds of omelette from all time American to Asia (because I adore eggs). Shrimp omelette is one of the Chinese omelettes I love the most especially in those street food catering stalls or Chinese restaurants in Malaysia.

This dish consists of an omelette with a filling primarily composed of luscious shrimps. Onions or scallions are sometimes added for an intense taste. In the past, pork lard was often used to fry the omelette to provide an extra fragrance but less and less people are using it these days due to health conscious.

It is a scrumptious and uncomplicated dish to prepare at home. Try it!

Ingredients:
4 eggs (beaten)
12 shrimps (peeled and deveined)
1 tbsp minced garlic

Marinade:
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce

Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 dash of sesame oil
Few dashes of white pepper powder

Cooking method:

1. Mix the shrimps with marinade for few minutes.
2. Heat up 1 tbsp oil and sauté the garlic until aromatic. Add in shrimps and stir-fry until cooked. Dish up.
3. Mix the egg batter with seasoning and cooked shrimps.
4. Heat up 3 tbsp oil, pour in the mixture and fry until cooked.
5. Dish up and serve.