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

KUEH MAKMUR

Ingredients for pastry:

250 gm Butter
100 gm Ghee
50 gm Sugar
1 egg
450 gm. plain flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Icing sugar
A few drops of green colouring

Ingredients for filling (Mix together):

300 gm. roasted groundnuts - roasted and blended coarsely
120 gm. castor sugar
3 Tbsp. Creamy Peanut Butter

Preparation:

1. Cream butter, ghee and sugar till creamy. Add in egg and a few drops of green colouring.
2. Add in flour, baking powder and salt and mix till dough is formed. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Roll peanut fillings into small balls.
4. Pinch some dough, roll thinly and wrap up with peanut filling. Make into an oval shape and then use pincher to press into leaf-like design. Place onto baking tray.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 150C for 20 minutes.
6. Remove and cool a little before dusting with icing sugar.
7. Cool and store in airtight containers.

KUEH JONGKONG

Ingredients:

250g glutinous rice flour
200 ml water
2 tablespoon plain flour
2 tablespoon green pea flour
1½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon sugar
1½ coconut (grated white part)
1 liter water
250g gula melaka
5 screw pine (pandan leaves)
35 banana leaves (22 cm x 17 cm)
100g gula melaka (chopped)
35 banana leaves (18 cm x 8 cm.)
Toothpicks (for securing banana leaves)

Preparation:

1. Combine glutinous rice flour with 200 ml. water; knead till a sticky paste is formed.
2. Add in both flours. Combine mixture well; add in salt and sugar; set aside.
3. Squeeze the coconut with 1 liters of water.
4. Combine the flour mixture with half of the coconut milk; stir until smooth dough is formed.
5. Heat the remaining coconut milk on low heat in a saucepan. Add in palm sugar and pandan leaves; boil for 5 minutes and strain.
6. Pour palm sugar mixture into the dough mixture; stir well.
7. Boil again, stirring constantly till mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
8. Place 2 tablespoonfuls mixture on a larger banana leaf. Put a few pieces of chopped palm sugar on top of the dough. Top with 2 tablespoonfuls dough mixture.
9. Enclose dough with a smaller piece of banana leaf. Secure packet with toothpicks.
10. Repeat until all dough and palm sugar are used up.
11. Place jongkong parcels in a steamer and steam for 20 minutes.
12. Remove from steamer. Chill kueh jongkong before serving.

SUGEE CAKE

Ingredients:

340 gm semolina
115gm all purpose flour
10 eggs
340 gm butter
340 gm sugar
½ tsp salt
225 gm almonds, ground (but not too finely)
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoon almond essence

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, add butter and half the sugar.
2. Whip to a creamy consistency.
3. In a 2nd mixing bowl, add the yolks of 10 eggs, the whites of 4 eggs and the other half of the sugar.
4. Whip till as airy as you can get it.
5. To the first mixing bowl, add the semolina, almonds, vanilla and almond essences & salt. Mix well.
6. Fold in the contents of the 2nd mixing bowl (egg mixture) and lastly the flour.
7. Pour the dough into a well greased baking pan.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F for 1 hr 10 minutes.

MANGO BLUEBERRY PARFAIT

Ingredients:

500 gm ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
¼ cup sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1½ cups blueberries (225 gm)
Pinch of salt
Grated lime zest to taste

Preparation:

1. Purée mango, sugar, lime juice, salt in a blender until very smooth.
2. Blend the lime juice and sugar in small quantities till your desired taste.
3. Add cream and continue blending until very thick.
4. Transfer to a bowl and fold in 1 cup blueberries, then divide among 6 glasses.
5. Top with remaining blueberries and zest.
6. Chill, loosely covered, 30 minutes before serving.

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.

TAMARIND FISH

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic - crushed
2 tablespoons tamarind juice
1 tablespoon fish curry powder
½ teaspoon paprika / chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 red chilli - finely chopped
6 fish steaks (180gm each)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
½ cup coconut milk

Preparations:

1. Mix the garlic, tamarind juice, curry powder, paprika, turmeric powder, lemon juice and chili in a bowl.
2. Place the fish steak in a ziploc bag and pour over the fish steaks.
3. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
4. In a frying pan, heat cooking oil over medium heat and fry the fish steaks for 3 minutes on each side and set aside.
5. Heat up a pot over medium heat and add the residue oil from the frying pan.
6. Pour in the remaining marinate mixture. Cook till aromatic and add the coconut milk.
7. Simmer for 5 minutes and add fish to the coconut milk.
8. Turn heat down to low. Cover the pot and simmer for another 20 minutes.
9. Serve hot with steamed rice.