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Archive for the ‘Seafood’ Category

Going Home

My break started earlier than Daus’s so my plan to bring him and Atus to spend some time in my hometown had to be put on hold till he finished his school session. Besides, Mr KHz’s cousin tied the knot at the beginning of the school holidays so the first two weeks were allocated for the ceremonies.  Finally, the much awaited time arrived. My younger sister, (Cik Ein to both of my kids) suggested that we departed on Friday afternoon and returned on Monday evening so the kids would have longer time to spend with Atuk and Nenek, and not to forget, Nakal, Cheetah, Bulat, Beyang, and the rest of the cat clan. Ah! You should see the joy on their faces when they saw Nyau (Cik Ein‘s humongous tom-cat) had tagged along this much awaited trip. Alhamdulillah, the journey was smooth-sailing, with both kids and cat enjoying the ride.

Going back to one’s hometown would not be complete without sampling delicious food, courtesy of Mommy dearest and being involved in lip-smacking adventure of tasting sumptuous dishes from well-remembered eating places, as well as making sure that food supply is enough throughout the stay. This would sound a cliche, but I find food does taste better when I am surrounded by my loved ones. Talking about being loved and cared for, this is what I got for having a loving brother (and he’s Pa Teh to Atus and Daus) who simply knows that nothing cheers his elder sister better than his specially prepared mouth-watering goodness.  A crispy snack, yummy to the last bite. Simply delicious!

DEEP FRIED PRAWNS

Since I did not watch him preparing the dish, I cannot really share the recipe here. I did call him and ask, and as expected, the usual reply was, “I didn’t really measure the ingredients. As long as the batter is thin, like the consistency of the batter used to make banana fritters, then it’s going to be okay.” Well, you don’t ask for measurements in grammes and litres from a mechanic, do you?

Category:

Seafood, Snacks

My Cockles and I

“What are you having for lunch?”

“I’ve ordered fried kuey teow with cockles. It should be ready by now.”

“What? You eat cockles? Hey, they’re dirty, you know?” I’ve always asked for fresh prawns whenever I feel like having fried kuey teow.”

“Really? Well, I believe  it’s a matter of taste actually. Anyway, please excuse me for my fried kuey teow with ‘dirty’ cockles is here.”

Yes, the dialogue above really happened in real life and it  involved me. Some people just do not have the sensitivity  towards others. I decide to eat the cockles because I like the taste. If you prefer prawns with your noodles, go for it for I couldn’t care less with your choice. Just leave me alone so I can enjoy the food I choose to eat and everyone will be in peace. Agreed?

As part of  my effort to continue my everlasting relationship with my cockles, I’ve prepared the dish shown in the photo below.

RENDANG PEDAS KERANG


A CLOSE UP TO SHOW THAT THESE CREATURES ARE NOT DIRTY. THEY ARE YUMMY!


It’s another recipe by Rubiah Suparman and I like hers for the ingredients used are not that elaborated. Simple and easily available. Here’s the details if you wish to try.

Ingredients :

  • 1 kilogrammes of cockles
  • 10 bird’s eyes chillies
  • 5 pieces of dried chillies (cut into 1 inch pieces, deseeded, blanched in boiling water and drained)
  • 10 shallots
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoonful of curry powder
  • 1 lemongrass
  • 2 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
  • 1/2 tablespoonful of kerisek
  • 1 cup of coconut milk ( I used a packet of Ayam Brand coconut milk, mixed with 1 cup of water)
  • 1 teaspoonful of sugar
  • salt to taste
  • cooking oil

Method :

  1. Boil cockles till cooked and take out the flesh from the shells.
  2. Grind both types of chillies, shallots, garlic and lemongrass till fine.
  3. Heat up cooking oil in a wok over medium heat and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant and the oil separates from the gravy.
  4. Next, put in the curry powder, kerisek and coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well.
  5. Then, put in your cockles and cook till the gravy thickens.
  6. Put in your lime leaves and stir well.
  7. Serve with nasi lemak.

Category:

Ceritera Cikyah, Seafood

From Bumbu Desa to My Kitchen

Those who read my entries do know that I’m married to a book-addict. In fact, we have more visits to bookshops (the major one being Kinokuniya in Suria KLCC) than other places. Whenever we go places, a bag full of books is part of the items brought along. Fortunately, countless visits to Kinokuniya, which is Mr KHz’s most favourite bookstore, do include lunch at this Indonesian restaurant called Bumbu Desa.

If you like spicy and filling kampung- style food, this place is a good choice but I have to admit that the price is a bit on the high side so having lunch at this place very often might not be a good idea after all. When we are eating out, as usual, I have to do the selection and after our third visit to Bumbu Desa, I realised that we had ordered the same dishes. One of the dishes is deep-fried tilapia dipped in spicy soy sauce. Thinking of the price they are charging us for a fried fish, perhaps, it’s about time for me to try to prepare it at home.

I had a chance to do so when I saw live tilapia sold at my regular fishwife’s stall at Section 14 market . The dish is one of Norzailina Nordin’s recipes (ammended as usual) and I would recommend you to fry the fish till very crispy for total eating pleasure!

DEEP FRIED TILAPIA WITH SPICY SAUCE

Ingredients :

  • 1 medium size tilapia (cleaned and coated with 1/2 teaspoonful of salt and 1 teaspoonful of turmeric powder and deep fried and placed on a serving platter

(A) (finely chopped)

  • 5 shallots
  • 3 pips of garlic
  • 3cm piece of young ginger

(B) (finely sliced)

  • 1/2 torch ginger
  • 5 pieces of bird’s eye chillies
  • 2 pieces of kaffir lime leaves

(C) (for the sauce)

  • 2 tablespoonfuls of chilli paste
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of chilli sauce
  • 1 tablespoonful of tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoonful of sugar
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of lime juice
  • 1 teaspoonful of sweet soy sauce
  • 1ooml water

Method :

  1. Heat some oil in your sauce pot and stir fry ingredients (A) till fragrant.
  2. Next, put in all ingredients (C) and let to boil.
  3. Once boiled, put in ingredients (B) and cook till thickens.
  4. Pour over your fish and serve hot.

Category:

Seafood

A Fish For You, Your Highness?

My sister and I work in the same vicinity and if the time permits, we would have lunch together. Last week, one of her colleagues had tagged along. She also brought with her an ingredient  which was used in the dish featured in this entry.

The ingredient is

*

*

*

*

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‘BUNGA KANTAN’ OR GINGER TORCH

This ingredient is very commonly used in ‘laksa’ (rice noodles in fish broth) and has a very distinctive smell. I rarely use it in my cooking for Mr KHz doesn’t really like the smell. However, I decided to use it in this steamed fish recipe because I like the smell and the taste. Once in a while, I get to decide what I want for I’m the one preparing the dish. Although Mr KHz is undoubtedly the king, the kitchen is my territory and this time, it’s the  Queen’s turn to decide! Surprisingly, even with the ‘bunga kantan’, Mr KHz took a large portion but of course, he had pushed all the toppings aside. Anyway, here’s the photo and the recipe if you wish to try.

STEAMED FISH

Ingredients :

(A)

  • 1 medium size siakap
  • 1/2 teaspoonful of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoonful of freshly cracked white peppercorns.

(B)

  • 3 shallots
  • 5 pips of garlic
  • 3 cm piece of young ginger
  • 10 bird’s eye chillies
  • 1/2 a ginger torch
  • 1 lemongrass
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves

(C)

  • 1/2 teaspoonful of freshly cracked white peppercorns
  • 1/2 teaspoonful of salt
  • 2 teaspoonfuls of sugar
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of lime juice
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoonful MAGGI ikan bilis granules

Method :

  1. Coat the fish with 1/2 a teaspoonful of salt and 1/2 teaspoonful of  freshly cracked white peppercorns and keep aside.
  2. Slice all ingredients in (B) thinly and put into a bowl.
  3. Mix well with all ingredients in (C). Pour this over your fish.
  4. Steam over high fire till cooked. This will usually take 7-10 minutes depending on the size of your fish.
  5. Serve hot.

Category:

Seafood

Of Salted Fish and ‘Sambal Belacan’

Do you know what these are? Yes, the ever glorious sambal belacan and salted fish!

I admit that I do not represent the whole Malay population in this country but I am sure that many Malays are very fond of their ‘sambal belacan’. It is actually an accompaniment made up of pounded red chillies, a shallot or two, toasted shrimp paste, salt and sugar. From this basic recipe, you can simply add raw mango or chopped, ripe tomatoes for a sourish taste or simply squeeze some lime juice to make it more appetizing. It is an unwritten rule that if you have already prepared your sambal belacan, you MUST have  fried salted fish to go along with it.

Talking about pairing, I begin to realize that whenever Mak prepares her Kobis or Labu Masak Lemak Putih (Cabbage or Pumpkin in White Coconut Gravy), she would also prepare her sambal belacan and salted fish. Only after these years have I finally understood how brilliant were the womenfolk of the yesteryears. In the kampung, dishes are prepared using sources around the household perimetre, where vegetable dishes are more common. When you have to cook for everyone (with various likings) in the house, you can’t afford but to be creative. In the case of Kobis or Labu Masak Lemak Putih, those who fancy spicy food, can simply add the sambal belacan into their meal for that extra zing. What an ingenious idea!

As for me, since I still have my sambal belacan and salted fish, I decided to prepare this dish, using another Chef Wan’s recipe.

‘LABU MASAK LEMAK PUTIH’

Ingredients :

  • 300g pumpkin (peeled and chopped into large chunks)
  • 200g of prawns (peeled)
  • 3 shallots
  • 2 pips of garlic
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of dried shrimps
  • 500ml of coconut milk (from 1 grated coconut)
  • 1 red chilli (deseeded and cut lengthwise)
  • salt and sugar to taste

Method :

  1. In a pot, put all ingredients except turmeric leaf , chilli and prawns and let to boil till the pumpkin chunks are soft. Stir continuously or your coconut milk will split.
  2. Next, put in the remaining ingredients and stir till the prawns are cooked.
  3. Add salt and sugar to taste.
  4. Serve hot with your sambal belacan and salted fish.

 

Category:

Kitchen Stories, Seafood, Vegetable Dishes

A Crabby Story

I know a lot of us are very fond of crabs. Common dishes using crabs include deep fried crabs in batter and chilli crabs. The Malays should be familiar with ‘ketam masak lemak cili api’ which literary means, crabs in spicy, yellow sauce.  My dear friend, Yong had also mentioned ‘Crabs with Salted Egg” served in Hokkaido Restaurant in KL and judging from her comments, I know the dish was lip-smacking. What’s your favourite crab dish?

Sincerely, I enjoy eating crabs but I have to admit that savouring crabs can be a time-consuming task. Thus, crabs should never be consumed when one is in a hurry. During my stay in Padang Jambu, Melaka during the Christmas break, Mak had prepared Crab Soup. I tried to recreate the same dish (after giving her a call for the list of ingredients needed) and I discovered something about crabs. In the future, I should cook my crabs on the same day that they’re purchased. Keeping them frozen is not really a good option. The taste is just not the same compared to fresh crabs. Perhaps, I should try to perfect my cooking skills. I shouldn’t put the blame on the crabs, should I?

Anyway, here’s the recipe if you wish to try.

CRAB SOUP

Ingredients :

  • 3 medium-sized crabs (cleaned and each is cut into 2)
  • 5 pips of garlic
  • 3 shallots
  • 3 cm piece of ginger
  • a stalk of spring onion (cut into 1 inch length)
  • 3 cups of water
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil
  • salt and sugar to taste

Method :

  1. Chop garlic, shallots and ginger finely.
  2. Next, heat the oil and stir fry the chopped ingredients till fragrant.
  3. Pour in water and let to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Put in your crab pieces and continue cooking until your crabs are cooked.
  5. Add salt and sugar to taste.
  6. Sprinkle with cut spring onion before serving.

Category:

Kitchen Stories, Seafood

A Platter Full of Goodness

Saturdays for Mr KHz and I include trips to the laundrette, the wet market or the bookshop.  this time, after sending his work attire for dry-cleaning, we stopped at Jaya33 to get some groceries. We bought some mussels and this had led to the dish in the photo below. It took me about 25 minutes to prepare it and as expected, about the same amount of time for Mr KHz to finish it!

SWEET AND SOUR MUSSELS


A CLOSER LOOK JUST TO EXCITE !

 

In order to enjoy all the mussel goodness, you need :

  • 1 and 1/2 kg of mussels (cleaned, and you might need to scrub the shells but to tell the truth, I bought them because they have been cleaned)
  • 3 pips of garlic (chopped)
  • 1 red chilli (deseeded and chopped into small pieces)
  • 1/2 cup of  MAGGI Thai Chilli Sauce
  • a handful of fresh coriander leaves (chopped coarsely)
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoonful of cooking oil
  • juice from 1/4 of a lemon

Method:

  1. In a large pot, heat the oil and stir fry the garlic till fragrant.
  2. Then, put in the sauce and stir for another 2 minutes.
  3. Then, put in the mussels and water.
  4. Turn on the heat to high and cover your pot. Let to cook for 10 minutes or all the mussels are opened.
  5. Move the lid and sprinkle with chopped red chilli and coriander leaves.  Squeeze the lemon and serve immediately.

Category:

Seafood

A Very Merry Balik Kampung Trip : Part 2

Good evening to all. This is merely a continuation from my previous entry and I would tell you more on how I spent my time. After all the Kacang Phool and Chappati goodness, off we went to this stall located in Kampung Jawa, right in the heart of Melaka town because my younger sister, Abbot (this name was given by my youngest uncle, fondly known as TokCu by my kids) is expecting, and yes, you guessed it right, her cravings are beyond imagination. She went straight to THE curry puffs stall but she returned in despair. The makcik well-known for her scrumptious creation had not been in business for quite long. To compensate for the loss,  she bought a few pieces of apam balik.

Still dealing with her cravings, we continued our journey to the wet market near Melaka Sentral. I found it rather amusing for it was already 11 am!  I have never been to the market at such late hour! Nevertheless, I tagged along since cravings (especially mentioned by pregnant ladies) are treated rather seriously in my family. After the curry puffs episode, she was not disheartened for she mentioned – chilli crabs!  As a result, Mak went straight to the stalls selling the bluish crustacean.  We were lucky to get hold of some good-sized ones. The session at the market continued with purchasing of other sea creatures as well as buying Melaka’s greatest culinary items- the ‘belacan’ and ‘cincalok’. I bought some ‘kerepek belinjau’, a few packets of ‘dodol’ as well as some munchies. Mak had grabbed some ulam and I was quite sure that she had already planned what to cook for lunch. After spending about an hour at the market, we went back and a lot of cooking had taken place soon after.

Mak’s meticulous planning had produced sumptuous, mouth-watering babies in the photo below :

STEAMED COCKLES, FRESH FOUR ANGLED-BEANS AND DAUN SELOM WITH  AIR ASAM ALA CIK SALMAH


CHILLI CRABS


By the way, here are the recipes if you wish to try :

For the air asam :

  • 1 pip of garlic
  • 2 inch piece of shrimp paste
  • 1 tablespoonful of cooking oil
  • 6-7  bird’s-eye chillies
  • 1 onion (chopped finely)
  • 1 fresh red chilli (chopped finely)
  • 1 fresh green chilli (chopped finely)
  • tamarind (the size of a Grade C egg)
  • 1 cup of warm water
  • salt and sugar to taste

Method :

  1. Heat the oil in pan and fry the shrimp paste for 2-3 minutes and put aside.
  2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the fried shrimp paste, garlic and bird’s-eye chillies finely and put into a bowl.
  3. Next, mix the tamarind with warm water and squeeze out the juice and pour into the bowl containing the pounded ingredients.
  4. Then, put in the chopped ingredients, and add salt and sugar to taste.

For the chilli crabs, you need :

  • 2 kg of crabs (cleaned and each crab is cut into two )
  • 2 large onions
  • 5 pips of garlic
  • 2cm piece of ginger
  • 5 pieces of dried chillies (deseeded and soaked in hot water and drained)
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce
  • 5 tablespoonfuls of chilli sauce
  • salt and sugar to taste
  • 2 cups of water
  • 3-4 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil

Method :

  1. Ground onions, garlic, ginger and dried chillies finely.
  2. In a big wok, heat the oil and stir fry ground ingredients till fragrant and the oils separates from the gravy.
  3. Next put in all the sauces and your crab pieces. Stir well.
  4. Then, put in the water and stir so the sauce coats the crabs.  Put on the lid and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
  5. Add salt and sugar to taste. You may want to add more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking. Cook for another 5 minutes.
  6. Serve hot!

Category:

Kitchen Stories, Seafood

It’s Vege Time Again! …… (and some seafood included)

Salam Maal Hijrah to all Muslim readers and Godwilling, everything will sail smoothly. Anyway, since this blog is about cooking and food, I am very glad to share another vegetable dish which I always prepare.  I’ve done an entry on the dish years ago  so this entry would be a rewrite, in terms of the photo of the dish and the ingredients used. If you like vegetables, this dish suits you well.

‘ PADPRIK MAKANAN LAUT ‘

Ingredients:

(A)

  • 6 medium size prawns, cleaned but leave the tails intact
  • 2 squids (cut into rings)
  • 5 shallots
  • 4 pips of garlic
  • 1 carrot (julienne)
  • a small head of broccoli (cut into florets)
  • a small head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
  • 5 long beans (cut into 1 inch pieces)
  • 1 small yellow capsicum (cut into strips)
  • 2 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
  • 1 lemongrass (bruised)
  • 6-7 bird’s eye chillies

(B)

  • 2 tablespoonfuls of sweet soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoonful of  oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoonful of fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup of water

(C)

  • juice from 5 kaffir limes

Method :

  1. Pound shallots, garlic and bird’s eye chillies coarsely and stir fry until fragrant.
  2. Put in the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and stir.
  3. Next, put in ingredients (B) and carrots and let to simmer. Then, put in the prawns and squid rings and mix well.
  4. After that, put in all the vegetables and stir.
  5. Once your vegetables are cook, turn off the heat.
  6. Pour kaffir lime juice over your padprik and mix well.
  7. Serve immediately.

Category:

Seafood, Vegetable Dishes

Well, how about crabs for a change?

After all the beefy goodness (and the tonnes of fat stored in the body), I decided to go for a morning adventure (please, I need some excitement in life from time to time) at the wet market in Section 14. Some would prefer the bigger one (which is drier,cleaner and with more varieties to choose from) in Taman Tun, but I would remain loyal to this spot. I like the place. End of story.

How should I continue? Well, after my rendezvous with the beef in the kitchen for the past two weeks, I only had seafood in mind. As a result, I bought some crabs, 2 black pomfret, 1 ‘siakap’ and a kilogramme of ‘lala’. Please pardon my limited knowledge on the names of these water creatures in English. I decided on crabs because I have seen this particular recipe prepared by our Food Ambassador, Chef Wan in one of his recipe books but it uses freshwater prawns as the main ingredient. Being very keen on experimenting in the kitchen, I decided to gamble by using my crabs.

After all the cleaning, rinsing, chopping, grinding (as well as referring to the recipe book for countless number of times), this is the outcome of my effort. Just a reminder to all readers. The recipe is my version of  Chef Wan’s original creation.

‘GULAI LEMAK KETAM DENGAN NENAS’

(CRABS WITH PINEAPPLE IN SPICY COCONUT SAUCE)

To cook this dish, you need :

(A)

4 crabs (cleaned and cut each into two)

80ml cooking oil

800ml thick coconut milk ( I used 2 packets of Ayam Brand coconut milk and mix it with 400ml of water)

4 tablespoonful of soft brown sugar

1/2 ripe pineapple (thinly sliced)

2 pieces of kaffir lime leaves

2 tablespoonfuls of tamarind juice (adjust the amount to your liking)

salt to taste

 

(B) : To be ground finely

8 fresh red chillies (deseeded)

1 cm piece of fresh turmeric root

4 candlenuts

2 pips of garlic

8 shallots

4 stalks of Chinese parsley (daun ketumbar)

2 cm piece of shrimp paste (belacan)

2 cm piece of galangal

3 lemongrass

 

Method :

  1. Heat the oil in a pot. Stir fry the ground ingredients till fragrant and the oil separates from the gravy.
  2. Pour in the coconut milk, brown sugar and pineapple pieces and simmer for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and continue stirring to stop your coconut milk from separating.
  3. Put in your crabs, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind juice and salt to taste. Keep stirring for 5 minutes or until your crabs are cooked.
  4. Enjoy!

Category:

Kitchen Stories, Seafood

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