JAPANESE CURRY RICE

Ingredients:

500gm ground beef
4 medium potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 cloves garlic minced
2 chicken or beef cubes
2 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste
4 cups water

Curry Roux:

3 tablespoon butter
¼ cup flour
1 onion, diced
1 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon ginger grated
4 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika or chili powder

Preparation:

1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoon of cooking oil on medium heat.
2. Sautee onion and garlic until translucent.
3. Add the ground beef and brown it for 15 minutes.
4. Add the carrots and potatoes, stir a few times, and then add water and the chicken or beef cubes.
5. Bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
6. While the meat is cooking, in a pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter on low heat.
7. Add flour and stir, cooking until the flour is blended and takes on a pale golden hue.
8. Add curry powder and chili powder, using the back of the spatula to blend it into a paste (roux). The roux will be powdery and dry.
9. In another pan, heat the remaining butter and sauté the onion on low heat until they're slightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for 2 minutes and add to the roux.
10. Take ½ cup of the gravy from the beef mixture and slowly add it to the roux, stirring constantly to form a smooth paste.
11. By spoonfuls, add the curry paste back to the beef mixture, stirring to dissolve.
12. Add salt.
13. Simmer the curry on low heat for 20-30 minutes, till the sauce thickened and the beef and vegetables are tender.
14. Serve curry with hot steamed rice. There should be approximately twice as much curry as rice in the bowl.

Note:

1) You can use Japanese udon or ramen to substitute the rice.
2) Curry mixes vary in ingredients and intensity, so adjust the spices accordingly to suite your taste.
3) Like a stew, there should be a lot of sauce, if the curry is too dry, add more water.

BUBUR LAMBUK (BUBUR MASJID)

Ramadan is approaching. This recipe is for those who don't have the time to queue for the bubur at the mosque.

Ingredients:
¼ teaspoon coriander seed (ketumbar)
¼ teaspoon cumin (jintan putih)
¼ teaspoon curry powder
1 carrot – diced
1 cup rice (Do not use Basmati rice)
1 potato – diced
1 shallot – sliced
1 tablespoon chicken seasoning
10 cup water
100 gm minced chicken (or beef)
100 gm prawns
2 inch ginger - julienne
2 stalk lemongrass – lightly bashed
3 curry leaves
50 cm cinnamon stick
500 ml coconut cream
Coriander – julienne
Fried Shallot
Salt & pepper to taste
Vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Fry onion, garlic, ginger till fragrant
2. Add coriander seed, cumin, cinnamon stick, curry powder & curry leaves, stir fry for 1 minute and add in the rice.
3. Stir fry for 1 minute, add in the water & lemongrass and transfer into a rice cooker
4. When the rice starts to swell, add the minced meat, carrot, potato, chicken seasoning and salt & pepper. Keep stirring constantly
5. Add prawn & coconut cream and simmer for 10 minutes
6. Garnish with coriander & fried shallot before serving

Note:

The bubur taste even better when serve with salted duck’s egg and crispy fried anchovies

CLAYPOT CHICKEN RICE

Ingredients:

3 cups rice (wash, rinse and drained)
350g chicken meat (Chicken legs or thighs is the best)
50g ginger
4 pieces shiitake mushrooms
2 spring onions
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
50g salted fish (cut into small bits)
550ml water

Marinade:

1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon chicken seasoning
Juice of 1 calamanzi (2 if small)

Preparation:

1. Cut chicken into small size, add marinade and place in fridge for 30 mins.
2. Slice ginger into strips, cut spring onions into 1 inch section.
3. Remove stem from mushrooms and cut into halves.
4. Heat oil in a claypot, fry ginger and mushroom till fragrant. Remove and set aside.
5. Fry salted fish till fragrant. Remove and set aside.
6. In the same claypot, add rice and water, cover with lid and bring to boil over medium heat.
7. Remove lid, add chicken, mushroom and salted fish, cover with lid and cook till rice and chicken are cooked.
8. Remove from heat and let the rice trest for 3 mins before removing the lid.
9. Garnish with spring onions and drizzle dark soya sauce before serving.

AROZ SAUDI (SAUDI FRIED RICE)

Ingredients:

500 gm Beef or Mutton (cubed)
500 gm basmati rice – washed, and soak for ½ hour
4 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter
1 large Spanish onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - crushed
2 tablespoon tomato paste
40 gm sultanas
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon cloves – grinded
1 tablespoon cardamom - grinded
40 gm roasted almonds
30 gm roasted pine nuts
1½ cup of water
Salt & black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a pot, browned the meat with 2 tablespoon of ghee over high heat.
2. Add water, salt & pepper when meat is browned & turn heat down to medium.
3. Cook till meat is tender. Ensure that the meat is fully covered with water all times. Add more water if required
4. When meat is tender remove from pot and reserved the stock. The reserved stock should be 900 ml, add more water if the stock is not 900 ml.
5. Heat up the remaining ghee in rice cooker and fry the onion & garlic
6. When the onion & garlic are slightly brown, add the remaining stock & tomato paste and bring it to a boil.
7. Add in the basmati rice, sultanas, clove, cinnamon, cardamom powder, salt & pepper.
8. Add the meat, pine nut & almond when the liquid is absorbed into the rice.
9. Stir the rice from time to time. This will ensure that the rice is fluffy when serving.