STEWED OKRA WITH TOMATOES AND CILANTRO

Ingredients:

500 gm okra (lady's fingers)

400 gm chopped tomato (if using canned tomato, do not drain the liquid)

200 gm fresh cilantro leaves (chinese parsley) - chopped

2 large onions – diced

5 cloves garlic - crushed

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat ghee in a wok over medium heat.
2. Stir fry the onion and garlic until fragrance.
3. Add tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, chill powder and cloves with half the cilantro in the wok.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bring all to a boil.
5. Add the okra and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the okra is tender.
6. Add in the remaining cilantro. Serve hot.

Cook’s Note:

If you wish the dish to be spicier, add more chilli powder.

SIR FRIED BEEF LUNGS (HATI BUYAH)

Ingredients:

1 kg beef lung
5 spanish onion (bawang merah) - sliced
8 cloves garlic - chopped
10 red chilli - julienne
4 tablespoon ABC sweet soya sauce (kicap manis)
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparations:

1. in a large pot, boil the lungs till tender. Remove and drain.
2. Slice the lungs thinly and set aside.
3. In a wok, heat the cooking oil over high heat.
4. Add onion, garlic, and chilli.
5. Stir fry till fragance, turn heat down to medium.
6. Add the sliced lungs and mix well.
7. Add soya sauce and salt and stir fry till sauce is dried up.
8. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Cook's Note:

1. Hati Buyah is known as Paru in S'pore and Malaysia

BRUNEI ASSAM PEDAS

Ingredients:

1 whole medium size red snapper - cut into steaks
1 large onion - sliced
3 pieces assam gelugor
1 lemon grass - bruised
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 red chilli
10 bird's eye chilli
6 shallots
3 clove garlic
1 inch ginger
2 cup water
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt to taste

Preparation:

1. In a food processor. blend the red chilli, bird's eye chilli, shallot, garlic and ginger till fine.
2. Add turmeric powder to the blended ingredients.
3. Heat up oil in a wok over high heat.
4. Add onion, stir fry till frangrance and add the blended ingredients.
5. Fry till aromatic, add water, turn heat down to medium till water boil
6. Add lemon grass, assam gelugor, red snapper and salt. Turn heat down to low.
7. Simmer, constantly stirring till the sauce thickens.
8. Serve hot with steamed rice or Ambuyat.

AMBUYAT

A traditional dish that can only be found in Brunei

Ingredients:

500 gm glutinous flour (tepung sago / tepung kanji)
2 cup boiling hot water
1 cup cold water

Preparation:

1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix the cold water with the flour till it is runny in texture
3. Pour in the boiling hot water bit by bit onto the mixture, whislt constantly stirring till it stiffens.
4. Continue stirring till the mixture turns clear and serve with your choice of dips and dishes.

Dipping Sauce for Ambuyat

Chillil Dip Ingredients:

5 green bird's eye chilli
5 red bird's eye chilli
3 clove garlic
3 inch ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoon vinegar

Preparation:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor till fine and served.

Mango Dip Ingredients:

1 whole ripe mango - cubed
1 large onion - cubed
1 red chilli - julienne
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon belacan

Preparation:

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor till fine and served.

Cook’s Note:

1. Ambuyat can eaten with dishes like Daging Belutak, Assam Pedas, Sambal Tumis or Rendang and any other savoury dishes.

RUJAK BRUNEI (SPICED FRUIT SALAD)

Ingredients:

1 small cucumber, sliced thin
1 cup thinly sliced turnip
1 cup cubed firm ripe papaya
1 star fruit (carambola), sliced
1 to 2 cups ripe pineapple - cubed
1 firm green pear, cubed
1 firm granny smith apple, cubed

Sauce Ingredients:

3 tablespoons dry roasted peanuts
2 red chillies, sliced and seeded
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste, dissolved in ½ cup water and strained
1 small green banana, sliced (optional)

Preparation:

1. Arrange the cucumber and fruits in separate heaps on a serving platter.
2. In a food processor chop the peanuts finely, then blend in the chilies, brown sugar, tamarind juice, and banana (if used) to form a paste.
3. Pour the sauce into a bowl and serve together with the fruits .

Cook’s Note:

1. It is traditional to serve the sauce and fruit separately. Each diner may then select the fruit and dip it into the thick sauce.
2. The modern method is to toss the fruit and sauce together and serve the salad at room temperature.
3. Fresh pineapple can be subsitituted with canned pineapple.
4. Green pear can be subsitituted with chinese pear.

THAI SPICY BASIL CHICKEN FRIED RICE

Ingredients:

500 gm boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon lime juice
4 cups cooked jasmine rice – overnight rice is the best
6 large cloves garlic clove - crushed
2 bird eye’s chilli - crushed
1 red chilli - seeded and thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups sweet Thai basil - shredded
½ cup vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Mix the oyster sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and bird eye’s chilli.
3. Add chicken, red chilli , onion and the sauce mixture.
4. Cook till the chicken is browned, turn heat to high and add the rice.
5. Stir well, ensuring there are no clumps of rice, till the sauce is blended with the rice.
6. Add in the basil leaves and remove from heat.
7. Serve hot with sliced cucumber and dried chilli flakes.

Note:

Chicken can be substitute to minced beef or seafood