Black Beef Rendang Cottage Pie

This is a classic English party favourite gets an interesting local twist with beef rendang! The result of this fusion is an interesting one. Oh my! The heavenly smells filling my kitchen as this bakes in my oven! My daughter loves it and ate every last morsel in her plate. Bon appetito people!

Black Beef Rendang Cottage Pie

Ingredients

500gm beef

4 shallots – sliced

1 cinnamon stick

3 star anise

3 cardamom pods

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

¼ cup cooking oil

1 tsp vinegar

6 tbsp kerisik (toasted coconut)

3 tbsp palm sugar syrap / to taste

1½ cup water

Spice Paste - Chop the ingredients and blend it in a food processor until fine.

5 tbsp chilie paste

4 cm ginger

1 yellow onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 stalk of lemon grass – white part only

Potato Topping

500g potatoes – peeled, quartered and boiled till soft

2 tbsp fullcream milk

1 tbsp salted butter – melted

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Directions

To prepare the kerisik (toasted coconut) -- add the grated coconut to a dry wok and stir continuously until they turn golden brown. Leave to cool completely and grind till fine.

Heat the oil in a wok and sauté the shallots, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom pods until aromatic.  

Turn down the heat to medium low and add the spice paste. Stir-fry until the moisture has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes and oil surfaces. Add in the spice paste and stir-fry them until nice and aromatic.

Add the beef and stir for 30 second or so.

Add the water, soy sauce and oyster sauce then simmer on low heat, stirring frequently until the meat is cooked and really tender.

Add the kerisik (toasted coconut), vinegar and palm sugar then stir to blend well with the meat. Continue to simmer until the gravy has almost dried up. Dish out and put the rendang into an ovenproof dish.

Preheat the oven to 250⁰C. 

Drain potatoes. Put drained potatoes into a mixing bowl and mash. Stir in milk, butter, pepper and cheese.

Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the beef rendang right to the edges and ruffle with a fork.  

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot.

Pickled Vegetables

The Christmas season in here again and in a few days’ time, the Christians will welcome Christmas Day. Wishing all my family and friends a very Merry Christmas, wherever you are!

I am really crazy about achar. Who wouldn’t? But making it is a lot of hard work! With a lot of cutting, slicing and chopping. But it’s worth the effort. Love the sweet and spicy and then the sour from the vinegar. Delicious!  I grew up watching my cousin, G making lots of achar. It brought back fond memories. She used to make Sarawak version of oily achar for Christmas which all the ingredients are sun-dried beforehand. In Sarawak, during Christmas, we like to crunch the achar with keropok (Keropok is a sun-dried, crispy fried fish or prawn or squid crackers. In Malaysia, keropok is a specialty in the east coast state of Terengganu). It wouldn't be Christmas in Bintulu without achar! LOL

This version of achar is delicious eaten as an appetizer, with rice or sometimes as a side dish served together with Biryani rice or Tomato rice.  It tastes better when left overnight chilled in the fridge to allow all the spices to come together.  Since it is make ahead hence it’s great for casual or fancy parties and easy to tote to a neighbourhood get-together.

Pickled Vegetables

Adapted from Roz@HomeKreation

Ingredients

3 Cucumber – deseeded and cut lengthwise into 1½-inch strip
2 Carrot – peeled and cut lengthwise into 1½-inch strip
2-inch Ginger – peeled and julienned  
4 fresh gGreen Chilies - deseeded and julienned

4 fresh Red Chilies - deseeded and julienned 
5 small Shallots – peeled and halved 
5 cloves Garlic – peeled and halved 
1 tsp Mustard Seeds 
1 tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 cup Vinegar
2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Salt

1/4 cup cooking oil

Directions

Mix all vegetables with salt and leave aside for about 10 minutes. drain in a colander then squeeze out the excess juices from the strips to retain crunchiness texture.

Heat up the cooking oil and sauté the mustard seeds, chili powder and turmeric powder for few seconds or so.

Quickly add in the vinegar and sugar. Cook until thickened.

Add in all the vegetables. Stir to mix well for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat. Leave to cool completely. Serve right away or place in air-tight jars then chill up. It can be can kept in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.

My beloved daughter, the assistant cook.  

A Word Once Spoken Is Past Recalling

Hub and I both work full time. We split the house chores as well as we can. As for keeping the house clean, I only have two floors, hence that is easy to touch up every day with general cleaning done over the weekend. Basically, we just do what needs to be done. I couldn't imagine not sharing the work at home. I believe that it's team work. I know that a lot of people don’t feel that way. Well...what works for some may not work for others.

But I like cooking--a lot! Cooking doesn't feel like a chore to me. It is something I enjoy and it is something I am good at. But Hub doesn't complain at all. Hub understands that I'm tired too and will consider delicious even a simple omelette. I prefer to cook from scratch because I know what is in my food. It's healthier and cheaper too. We might eat out 2-3 times a month but all other meals are mine and his responsibility.

Hub got me this, a few days ago. My life may not be perfect but I am truly blessed to have so many great things in my life. I don’t have everything I want but I do have all I need. I am thankful to Allah for everything.

My late father once told me, after I got married, “You married him and now he’s your problem so if you don’t like something he does then tell him, not me and certainly not anyone else because it’ll just hurt your marriage and make other people think badly about him and your whole marriage will break down. There’s nothing more heart breaking than knowing someone you love think so low of you.”

So when a friend complained about his significant other, I was like -- oh my goodness no one should ever do this to a woman he claimed to love.  He has no respect for the wife whatsoever! Hello, what is happening, gossiping used to be a preserve of women.  However, many women would rather die than spill the dirt on her man. It’s not just “my spouse snores” kind of thing. They’re actually small exasperation which had built up over time. He told us about how lazy his wife was when it came to managing their household and all the private stuff that should be reserved for him and his wife to work out in the privacy of his own home. Bashing the woman he lives with, the one he has to sleep with and share a bed with. Oh pleaseeee..never sh*t where you eat. He refuses to talk to his wife about their relationship problems and instead share his frustrations with friends. No one is perfect and everyone has their own set of problems but they should try to work through things together. It's not fair to portray his wife so negatively to friends. He's not giving his wife a chance to defend herself. What happens if she finds out he's been talking bad about her behind her back? He's betrayed his wife and she's forever humiliated. I feel sorry for the wife. To the husband I say… you are a complete idiot for dishonouring the woman who is now an extension of yourself. Grow up! Spare the public the dirty linen. Learn to make some better decisions because at the end of the day, maybe the problem…is YOU.

P/s
This post is not directed at anyone in particular so should anyone be offended by it, you know what they say -- if the shoe fits then lace that bitch up and wear it!!

Corn Fritters

Hub is out of town again, this time for humanitarian programs in Pitas, Sabah. So normally there’s no high expectations over breakfast, lunch or dinner from the kids. We eat healthy but rarely too elaborate. The important thing is that we have dinner together.

These are great and so versatile! Makes a nice breakfast. I have made this recipe a hundred times already, probably more actually. It’s super easy, takes you 10 minutes max to prepare. And the good thing with this fritter is that you can actually add a new twist to the recipe each time you make it by adding a cup of cooked rice, a handful of anchovies, chives, carrots, apple, crab meat or you can also jazz it up if you want with parmesan or cheddar cheese or even chocolate chips. There are plenty of options depending on your mood, your tastes and the ingredients you have at hand.

You have to eat them as soon as they are done. I served them with Thai chili sauce. Yum!

Corn Fritters

Ingredients

2½ cup all-purpose flour

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp white sugar

½ tsp turmeric powder

1½ cup warm water (1 cup room temperature water plus ½ cup hot water)

1 yellow onion - minced

1 can whole kernel corn - drained

10 pcs of fresh medium-sized shrimp – shelled, deveined and chopped

1 red chili – deseeded & chopped

1 sprig of fresh Chinese parsley leaves - chopped

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Make a well in the center and gradually pour the warm water into the flour mixture. Stir gently to combine.

Fold in the rest of the ingredients.

Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 185⁰C. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. 

Serve hot with chili sauce or mayonnaise. 

Deep-fried Whole Fish In 3-Flavoured Sauce

This is a fantastic fish recipe with a 3-flavour sauce -- sweet, sour and spicy. The fish is cooked and served with the head and tail on the plate. Hub especially like to eat the head. 

Deep-Fried Whole Fish In 3-flavoured sauce

Ingredients

800g whole snapper - cleaned, scaled and gutted

2 tbsp chili paste / chili powder

Corn starch

Turmeric powder

Salt

Vegetable oil -  for deep frying

1 sprig of fresh coriander leaves – coarsely chopped

For the 3-flavoured sauce

2 garlic cloves – minced

4 shallots – minced

10 bird’s eyes chillies – coarsely chopped

3 tbsp oyster sauce

½ tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp water

2 tomatoes – diced

2 slices of pineapples / 1 green apples - chopped

3 tbsp tomato sauce

3 tbsp cooking oil

White Sugar – to taste

1 tbsp corn starch – dissolve in 3 tbsp water

Directions

Pat the fish dry with paper towel, both inside and out. Make 3 deep diagonal cuts on both sides. Rub the fish, on both side, with salt, turmeric powder, chili paste and lightly coat with corn starch.

Deep fry the fish, turning it over until golden and cooked through on both sides. Drain on paper towel and place on a serving plate. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok on medium high. Add the garlic and shallots then sauté until aromatic.

Add the chopped bird’s eyes chillies and stir for 15 second or so. Stir in the pineapples / apples and tomatoes.

Season with oyster sauce, tomato sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Add water and bring to a simmer.

Stir in the corn starch mixture to thicken the sauce.

Pour the sauce over the fish and top with the chopped coriander leaves. Serve with steamed rice. 

Orange Cake

A friend was 50 years old when she and her husband became parents again — this time to their grandson. It seemed like a clear case of someone just not ready for motherhood yet.  

Nowadays, most grandparents are raising children and the most common reason is because parents are unable to give up their social life. They had the children because of unplanned pregnancies or sometimes to just experience it but realizing down the road that it is not as rosy as it looks like. Most people have a natural desire to have kids also because "that is what everyone else does". Also, in most Asian families, there is always a pressure to have a child because there are these endless relatives who usually inquire untiringly about any "good news" soon after two people are married. However, after having kids, the sweet part usually falls apart when there are endless sleepless nights and zero social life. That is the part of having babies that nobody ever warns us about.

It is not a grandparents’ job to raise their grandchildren. Some parents need to grow up and take care of their kids. No, sorry I am not one of those that can dump my kids off to the grandparents every weekend or school holidays so I can enjoy my life. I believe these kinds of parents are not a bad parent. It’s just that they are too busy doing what they want so they think that there’s no time left for their children. So good thing that grandma, grandpa and younger sisters are always available to feed, bath and put their babies to bed.

Personally, I believe that how we are raised and brought up plays a significantly important role in most of the decisions we make in life. There’re so many times when I am judged at how I raised up my children but I raised them without the help of my extended family. Both my children grew up sleeping in my room until they were 12 years old and I often received raised eyebrows when people found out that I breastfed my daughter until she was 4 years old. Everyone has their own way in raising their children. 

This cake has a strong orange flavor. It is a pretty straightforward recipe. Fantastic idea to use the orange juice and zest, so no waste! 

Orange Cake

Adapted from Azie Kitchen



Ingredients

150 gram butter

120 gram castor sugar

160 gram all-purpose flour – sifted

1 tsp baking powder - sifted

3 whole eggs

2 tbsp Sunquick cordial / orange juice

1 tbsp orange zest - optional 



Directions

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 7”x7” baking pan with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Beat in the flour and baking powder mixture alternating with Sunquick cordial / orange juice. Stir in the orange zest. Beat until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan or spoon it into a 12-hole muffin tin line with paper cases until they are 3/4 full, not all the way to the top. Bake it for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. For a thicker cake, just double the ingredients and use a 8”x8” baking pan then bake it for 1 hour.

Leave the cake / cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Claypot Chicken Rice without Claypot

Hub is out of town again. So every time he’s not around, I will whip up a one-dish meal for the 3 of us. Around here my kids eat what I make. Sometimes I make something new and the rule is they have to try a bite (chew and swallow) before they are allowed to declare they don't like it. If they don't eat dinner because they truly don't like it then they can have fruit afterwards but that's it. They either eat it or they don't, no crying about it. I don't have time for that. If they're "not hungry" then I'll save their plate for later. 

A satisfying chicken and rice one-pot that makes a great family dinner. You don't need a clay pot to whip up a fragrant clay pot chicken rice. This tasty dish is one-pot cooking at its best. 

Claypot Chicken Rice without Claypot

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

2 cups rice
2 skinless chicken breast
1 stalk scallion - chopped
3 inches ginger - peel the skin and chop into thin strips
6 shitake mushrooms - soak in hot water for 30 minutes and cut into halves
1 small piece salted fish - cut into small pieces
½ bunch of Bok choy – remove the lower part, rinse and drained

Seasoning for chicken

2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp chicken boullion powder
½ tsp corn starch
½ tsp sesame oil
5 dashes white pepper powder
¼ tsp sugar

Seasoning for rice

2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp cooking oil
1 pinch of salt

 

Directions

Chop the chicken breast into 2-inch pieces.

Add the chicken seasoning and mix well. Marinate for an hour in the fridge.

Rinse and clean the rice in a rice cooker as if you are making steamed rice after the chicken is marinated for an hour.

Add the rice seasoning and cooking oil into the rice and start cooking the rice.

At the same time, heat up a wok with some cooking oil then sauté the ginger until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and shitake mushrooms. Stir for a minute to mix well.

Stir-fry the chicken until fully cooked. Add in the chopped scallions. Dish out and set aside.

Deep fry the salted fish and blanched the bok choy. Set aside.

Add the chicken into the rice cooker when the rice is almost dry (about 7-8 minutes) and continue to cook till rice is completely cooked.

Leave the rice cooker on “Stay Warm” for 15 – 20 minutes before serving.

Top the chicken rice with fried salted fish and blanched bok choy. Serve immediately.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

This kuih consists of two layers. The bottom layer is made with rich taro flavour. You’ll absolutely love the topping. 

I love anything with taro; taro ice cream, taro powder flavoured drink, taro rice, taro cake, taro fritters, yam basket, taro chips, taro cheesecake, taro stew, you name it, so how could I give this kuih talam a miss! I love the slightly sweet but nutty very unique flavour of taro especially the large variety with purple flecks in the flesh.

Photo courtesy of Google

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a tropical tuber that has a starchy texture, kind of gluey, when cooked. It can’t be eaten raw, it needs to be cooked first as it contains oxalic acid which can irritate your throat and mouth. That goes for the leaves and leaf-stems too.  Scrub them well, put on a pair of gloves and remove the skin with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler. Gloves are called for due to the presence of oxalic acid crystals which can irritate sensitive skin. Some people are sensitive to oxalic acid that their hands get all itchy just by touching it. If you don’t have disposable gloves then coat your hands with cooking oil before peeling and remember not to touch your eyes! Simply rub some oil on your hands when handling it and this should help keep the taro rash away. Oxalic acid is not deadly, just unpleasant.

Once the corms are peeled, cut or slice them as needed for your intended use or place in a bowl of salty cold water to prevent discoloration.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

Source : Chef Asma

Ingredients for Bottom Layer

2 cups rice flour

3 tbsp tapioca starch

300 ml thick coconut milk

8 tbsp sugar

1½  tsp garam

700 ml water

300 gm diced taro

Directions

Prepare a 10"x10"x3" baking tray and line with plastic wrap.

Peel the taro, wash with salty water and dice, slightly thicker than half cm. Steam for 5 minutes until soft then weigh it. Set aside.  

Mix the rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk, sugar, salt and water. Stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula until the batter begins to thicken slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Add the taro and give it a quick stir. Pour onto the baking tray, level surface with a plastic spatula and steam on high heat for 30 minutes. 

Ingredients for Top Layer

1½ cup all-purpose flour

250 gm sugar

3 whole eggs

250 ml coconut milk

500 ml water

A few drops of purple colouring

Yam flavouring – optional

Directions

Mix the ingredients and stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Pour over the taro layer. Cover the top of the baking tray with a cling wrap then steam on high heat for another 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, take of the cover of the steamer and steam (uncovered) for 10 minutes.

Take out from the steamer and remove the clip wrap. Leave to cool before cutting into diamond-shaped or rectangle-shaped pieces with a plastic knife.