◄ 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 9

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! Hope all of you had an amazing weekend full of fun, laughter and most importantly great food. We went to the London Bridge at Lake Havasu, Arizona for a weekend getaway.  It was way too hot there, 100 degrees F and above. We were just like the roasted pigs in the hot oven, hot and heat steaming. However the best thing was just to stay in the water with a beer on hand, that felt so good. There were many families and friends out in the lake with boat party and barbecue all day long. Since we didn’t prepare for barbecue, we managed to go some food and hang out in the park by the lake in the evening waiting for the fireworks. Overall it was a good trip, it would be perfect if it was not that hot.  :P

I made some Salsa & Guacamole dip for Tortilla chips last weekend for a hot summer Sunday afternoon. It is always popular snack to munch on for any parties especially for hot days like these. It is really an easy recipe, no cooking is needed which is good, just some chopping and mixing to do. I usually serve it with Mexican Tortilla chips, but we bought a big bag of Five Grain Tortilla chips from Costco to tryout, it is thicker with grains, still taste good with the dips. This is definitely a great snack to prepare for barbecue, pool party, or even for the coming World Cup final this weekend. We are really excited and looking forward to it.

Ingredients:

For Salsa

6 roman tomatoes (chopped)
1 big white onions (chopped)
2 ripened avocado
2 Serrano chile (seeded, finely minced)
2 clove garlic (finely minced)
1 handful bunch cilantro sprigs(trimmed bottom stem, chopped)
1  tbsp Tapatio spicy sauce (depends on spiciness desired)
1 fresh lemon
3/4 tsp salt
Few dashes black Pepper

Preparation:

1. Rinse and chop tomatoes and onions separately, mix them in a big serving bowl. Finely mince Serrano chile, garlic and cilantro sprigs, add them into tomato mixture.
2. For the avocado, cut avocado lengthwise around the seed, open to two halves and remove the pit. Use a dinner  knife to slice the avocado half in a cross-hatch pattern. Then use a spoon to scoop out the pieces. Mix into the salsa mixture.
3. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the mixture, discard the seeds. Add in the Tapatio spicy sauce based on desired spiciness, add in seasoning of salt & pepper , taste and adjust. Chill in the fridge up to 1 hour before serving. Serve with tortila chips.

For Guacamole
3  ripened avocado
1 roman tomato (finely chopped)
1/2 white onion (finely minced)
1 Serrano chile (finely minced)
1 handful bunch cilantro (chopped)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
Few dashes black pepper
2 tbsp water

Preparation:

1. Cut avocado lengthwise around the seed, open to two halves and remove the pit. Scoop out the avocado and put in a bowl. Mashed with water till desired consistency.
2. Add in finely chopped tomatoes, onions, Serrano chile, cilantro. Mix well.
3. Mix in fresh lemon juice, and add seasoning of salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for up to 1 hour before serving.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 7

If you ever visit a Hong Kong style western café, you will know once you are seated, the waiter or waitress will serve you with a hot cup of their daily special soup. This is a common practice in most Hong Kong style cafés, in fact Hong Kong people like to drink their soup before the meal. So don’t be surprise. The two popular soups that are usually serving are either the cream of corn (something like Campbell soup) or Luo Song Tong (羅宋湯) / Russian Borscht Soup, this is what I like the most.

I love the taste of Luo Song Tong (羅宋湯) , it is a hearty tomato based vegetable soup that is is quite similar to our ABC Soup actually (in Patrick’s previous post). The main difference is the Luo Song Tong is much more intense in flavor as the soup base is cooked with beef bones or beef stew with lots of tomatoes and all kind of vegetables such as carrot, onion, potato and celery. I always want to try to make this at home. So this has been a good timing since I removed my wisdom tooth and I couldn’t eat too much of solid food, I’ve made a pot of yummy Luo Song Tong for my weeknight dinners with some greens.

Despite my love to Luo Song Tong, I actually just found the soup has been modified from the Russian Borscht soup, a hearty beetroot vegetable soup originated from Ukraine or Eastern Russia. I always couldn’t figure out why it is called “Luo Song” Soup, it is actually a translation of pronunciation for the word Russia. Please excuse my unknown. Enjoy a hearty meal.

Ingredients:

1 lb beef stews or beef bones for soup
5 tomatoes (cut into cubes)
3 carrots (cut into cubes)
3 talks celery (cut into cubes)
1 red onion (cut into cubes)
1/4 cabbage (optional)
4 garlic (crushed)
10-15 peppercorns (crushed)
1 bay leave
1 6 oz can tomato puree ( you can make your own tomato puree from scratch)
1/2 cup of beef stock
1 1/2 all purpose flour (dissolve in water)
2 tbsp ketchup (for flavor enhancement-optional)
Salt &  black pepper to taste

Serve size:  4-6 people

Cooking method:

1. Blanch beef stews or beef bones in boiling hot water, drain and rinse slightly with running cold tap water.
2. Add the beef stew or beef bones into a pot of boiling water, add the beef stock, bay leave, crushed peppercorns, garlic and half of the chopped onions into the pot. Cook for 90 minutes until the meat is tender.
3. Rinse and cut up all vegetable ingredients into cubes or bite sizes.
4. Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat, stir fry the onions until translucent. Add some tomatoes and stir fry for a while till tender. (This is to make the tomatoes more thicker and cook quicker, you can skip this step.)
5. Toss all the cut vegetables into the pot, bring to boil and turn to low simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables become tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom.
6. Add the tomato purees and flour water into the pot to increase its thickness. Bring to boil, turn to low and simmer for another 15 minutes, stir occasionally.
7. Tip, add in 1 to 2 tbsp ketchup for flavor enhancement and sweetness.
8. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley or cilantro. Serve hot.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 6

One of the dishes I love the most was the stir-fry chicken with onion when dining at Dennis’s place 2 weeks ago. I thought it’s really good. He made this dish by using the chicken breast and surprisingly the meats were tender, succulent, and delicious. As we know the chicken breast is always the toughest part of the chicken, yet it is the healthiest.

It is always fun to learn something new and I asked Dennis about his secret of tendering the chicken breast. He told me the trick is in the marination and the cooking technique. Egg white was what he added in the marinade to tenderize the chicken breast and of course he stressed the cooking technique is very important in order to prevent overcooking or undercooking the meat.

I remember a friend of mine taught me about marinating the chicken breast into the apple juice could tenderize the meat but I never try this method before. Anyway, I decided to go with Dennis’s way this item and I marinated the chicken breast overnight in the fridge. The result was satisfying. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 pc chicken breast (sliced into medium size)
4-5 garlic cloves (minced)
2 stalks scallion (cut into 1.5-inch length)
1 big onion (sliced into medium size)
1 tbsp oyster sauce

For marinate:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (绍兴酒)
1 tsp sugar
1 egg (egg white only)

Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken breast into medium slices (as shown in the pictures).
2. Marinate the cut meats overnight with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, sugar and egg white.

Cooking Method:

1. Medium heat wok or pan with 2 tbsp oil, sauté garlic until fragrant.
2. Add in the marinated meats and stir-fry them with high heat until all the meats turn white or a little brown. Note: don’t overcook the chicken meats.
3. Dish up the chicken meats.
4. Add in sliced onions and stir fry them well with high heat for 2 minutes. Then add in the chicken meats and oyster sauce. Stir well.
5. Finally, add in scallions and stir for 1 minute.
6. Dish up.

Serves hot.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 5

My mom has been telling me to have more soups habitually since childhood because she said soups are great for health benefits with purported rejuvenating and invigorating effects to our bodies. Therefore Chinese love to prepare soup as part of their daily meals as they believe soup contains the essentials of all  the ingredients in it.

One of the scrumptious soups that I grew up having is the ABC soup. It is simple and easy to prepare especially to those who are busy and working fulltime. Besides, it is a helpful and pleasant dish to kids who do not like to eat vegetables.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb baby back rib or rib (cut into chunks)
1/2 lb pork loin (cut into cubes)
1~2 large onion (quartered)
8 potatoes (peeled, cut each into 8 pieces)
4 tomatoes (cut each into 8 pieces)
3 carrots (peeled, cut each into 1-inch pieces)
3-4 whole white peppers (crushed)
salt to taste
* you may use chicken thighs and legs (de-skinned is an option) to replace the ribs; chicken breast to replace as lean meat.

Serve size: 6~8 people

Cooking Method:

1. Fill the big pot with 2/3 water and boil it with high heat.
2. Boil the ribs and loin in another small pot until the surfaces of them are fully cooked.
3. Remove them from the pot and rinse the ribs and pork with cold water before putting them into the big pot.
4. Add the onions, potatoes, tomatoes and carrots into the pot right after the ribs.
5. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour.
6. Continue to simmer over low heat for another 2 hours. Add in the crushed white peppers in the medium of this process.
7. Add in salt to taste.

Serves hot.