Murtabak

I love murtabak. There are so many ways how you can make the filling to this murtabak. Basically, murtabak is just some spicy filling with chicken, beef or plain potato wrap in spring roll skin and pan fry until crust.
Today, I am using the left over curry puff pastry filling. All I did was to add 2 eggs to the mixture. It is not necessary to add egg but to me, I just like the taste of murtabak with some egg.
As for the skin to wrap the filling, I am using the Lumpia skin. In the past I did use the spring roll skin. The taste is almost similar.

The side dish to my murtabak is the pickled red onion. This pickled red onion must be made a day before and chill in the refrigerator so that the vinegar is absorbed into the onion and soften the onion. The juice of the pickle should also turned red. To make the pickled onion, use 1 cup of white vinegar, mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 cup of water.
Slice the red onion thinly. Marinate the onion in the vinegar.

For the murtabak, put about a tablespoon of filling, spread it nicely in the center of the lumpia skin.
Fold all 4 sides to create a square.
Put in the lightly greased pan with the folded side down first. Let it cook and brown for a few minutes.
Then flip the murtabak to the other side. Let it cook and brown for a few minutes and remove from the pan.
Do the same process until all of the filling is finish.

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Curry Puff Pastry - Karipap

Once in a while I do crave for some spicy and bad for health type of food. One of the culprit food to add up to my bad health is karipap also known as Curry Puff Pastry.
This puff pastry is loaded with good stuff like potato and chicken.
The filling to this puff pastry can vary. Sometimes I like to use sardine, beef of just plain vegetables.

Today, I am making curry puff with potato and chicken.
Ingredients:
For the fillings.
4 Potato - skinned and dice small
1 onion - dice
1 bunch of coriander leaves
1 bunch of flat leaves parsley
1/2 cup of curry powder
2 tablespoons of ground hot pepper
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of ground lemongrass
1 can of chicken breast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of salt

Heat olive oil and fry the onion.
Add all of the powdered ingredients.
Add potato and mix well.
Seasoned to taste.
Cover and let the potato cook.
Add chopped parsley and chopped coriander.
Then add chicken. Mix well.
Let the filling cool before using.

For the pastry:
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of Crisco or any vegetable shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons of milk. Can use water to substitute.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar

In a big bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and Crisco.
Use your finger to combine this dry mixture.
Add milk one tablespoon at a time.
Knead the dough until manageable to roll flat.
Take a small dough, flat it and use round cookie cutter.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center, crimp the dough together.
Fry in deep oil until all sides are golden brown.

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Fried Rice Stick Noodle

 Today’s Saturday morning breakfast was not pancakes like usual but this one of my favorite Asian dishes called “Mee hoon goreng” aka fried glazed noodle. This food is very light and delicious to eat with some cucumbers, celery and steamed carrot. The recipe is very simple and easy to cook.

Firstly, soak the glazed rice stick noodle in hot water. You can buy this rice stick noodle from the Asian store or from Giant or WEIS market.
Heat about ½ cup of olive oil in a big pot or wok or pan, I am using a big pot.
Sautee some chopped onion, chopped celery, chopped carrot.
Add a pinch of salt, and a pinch of Italian seasoning.
Add a cup of minced beef. (You can use chicken or turkey as well).
Stir well until beef are cooked. Then add the tossed noodle.
Add 2 tablespoons of hot sauce.
Add 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce.
Add ½ cup of water.
Mix them well on medium low heat.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until the noodles cooked.
Serve warm with some cucumber, celery or carrot to the side.  

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Fried Squid and Pear Pies

My sister, Anita treat me to these delicious food.

 We had this spicy fried squid at a restaurant in the airport. This squid was cooked to perfection. The dipping sauce was a sweet sauce that was really delicious.

These pear pies are cooked by the chef in the kitchen, David, my sister's husband. He loves to bake. The pies are really good.I really had a good time at Anita and David's house. One week was not enough to play with Daniella. She is adorable. Hop on to my other website to see her.

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Yellow Sweet Rice and Curry Chicken

Once in a while I do like to indulge on delicious asian meal. This yellow sweet rice is easy to cook. The curry chicken as the side dish to this rice was also cook in simplest way.
For the yellow sweet rice:
2 cups of glutinuous rice/sweet rice/sticky rice
1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups of water
5 cups of water for soaking

Soak the sweet rice in 5 cups of water for more than 5 hours. Then drain the water.
On low heat, add rice, 4 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Cover the pot.
Occasionally stir with a fork.
Cook until all water are absorbed.
Turn off the stove and cover the pot.

For the curry chicken:
4 pieces chicken thighs (Cut into 3 pieces of each thigh)
1 large onion
2 green bell peppers
2 tablespoons of spicy curry powder
1 tablespoon of powdered cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
A handful of curry plant leaves

In a big pot, heat olive oil on medium.
Fry diced onion, grated ginger, curry plant leaves and bite sized bell peppers until fragrant.
Add chicken and stir until half cooked.
Add curry powder and cayenne pepper
Add water and salt.
Let the curry simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve warm.
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Lemak Lodeh and Picnic

Lemak lodeh is a traditional soup made of vegetables and some shrimps. For today's lunch, I am having a bowl of lemak lodeh.  I also cut up some of my homegrown cherry red tomato dressing in salt and ground black peppers.

It is very easy to cook lemak lodeh. The main ingredients are tempeh or tofu, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, coconut milk, hot peppers, onion, and salt. I added ground turmeric to give some color to the dish. I also use shrimps and vegetable stock for flavors. Boil everything with 3 cups of water and 1 cup of coconut milk until they bubbling. Turn off the stove and serve warm.

Slices of tomatoes are my favorite dish.

The mosque was hosting Eid Mubarak picnic. Honey and I join the event. The bbq chicken was delicious. There are many other dishes served. We stayed until the end. It was a relaxing day.

The kids line up for some ice cream. The weather was really beautiful. Breezy and not too hot. It was just perfect to be outside.

The pavilion for the men.

The pavilion for the women.
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Syawal 2013 Day 1 - Soy Sauce Chicken

Ramadan is over. Today is the day to feast on good food. After attending the eidul fitri prayer at the mosque, I went home to feast on my home cooked meal.

 This home cooked soy sauce chicken is super easy to cook. I am using all dried spices such as parsley, onion, garlic, ginger,hot peppers, cloves and cinnamon. Simmer them with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 cup of water. Then add dark soy sauce and sweet soy sauce. Simmer on medium low until chicken is cooked. I am using chicken wings.

 I serve this yummy soy sauce chicken with spicy rice and the sambal goreng. Bon Appetite...

 Some of the kuih raya served at my friend's house. She had kuih goyang on the left an maruku on the right.

 Clockwise, peanuts, putu, sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies.

Eid celebration will not complete without these meals.
Eid Mubarak everyone!

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Ramadan 2013 Day 19 - Chicken Spring Roll

I care for some fried food. So, I decided to fry a chicken spring roll. This is super easy food to prepare. Firstly, I cook the filling. I fry without oil sliced red onion, chopped garlic, 3 pieces mint leaves(chopped), chicken breast cut into small pieces, bean sprout and chopped cauliflower. I used hot salt and ground black pepper as seasoning. Let the filling cool and toss the excess water.

Deep fry until golden brown. This spring roll is crispy and delicious!

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Ramadan 2013 Day 15 - Laksa Kue Teow

The weather is getting better today. The temperature was at 80 degree F. I feels like cooking some soup. Since I have bought a kue teow, I've decided to cook laksa kue teow. This laksa was easy to cook. I am using ready to cook laksa spices. All I have to do is to boil 4 cups of water. Once boiled, I added the kue teow. Cook for another one minute and turn the stove off.

I garnish the laksa with some of my home grown red onion and home grown cucumber. Delicious!

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Lemak Labu -Kabocha pumpkin

Today's lunch menu is a simple kabocha pumpkin cooked savory in a thick coconut milk. This meal can be eaten just like that or as a side dish to your white rice.

The ingredients:
1/2 of kabocha pumpkin
2 tablespoons dried onion
1 cube vegetable stock
5 pieces red hot peppers
1 teaspoon budo/budu (fish sauce as shown in the picture below on the right)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

Method:
Clean the kabocha pumpkin by removing the skin (optional - you can also cook with the skin on) and remove the seeds. Cut into big chunk. Set aside.
On medium high heat, boil the water with the dried onion.
Then add coconut milk.
Add the red hot peppers.
 Add vegetable stock cube and budu.
 Add turmeric powder and salt.
Let it boil.
Add the pumpkin.
Let the pumpkin cook for about 5 to 8 minutes.
Turn off the stove.
Serve warm.

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Sambal Belacan Okra

Sambal belacan is very popular among the asian. Sambal belacan is a blend of hot peppers and roasted shrimp paste. I am so lucky to easily find a good quality belacan (shrimp paste) at the asian store. The belacan was made in Penang, Malaysia. A friend of mine gave me some of her homegrown okra (kacang bendi in bahasa melayu) today. I like to eat the okra simply by blanching them in hot water for a while and then tossed them with some spices.

For today, I cooked sambal belacan as the dipping sauce for this okra.

Ingredients for sambal belacan:
2 medium tomatoes
1 tablespoon of really hot chili paste(I am using a blend of red hot chili, onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass)
3 tablespoons of apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon belacan (roasted shrimp paste)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:
Cook okra (whole)either by steaming or blanching in hot water. Toss and set aside.
Cut tomato into halve and then slice them thinly. Set aside.
In a medium pot, heat olive oil.
Fry the hot chili paste and shrimp paste.
Make sure you open all of the kitchen windows and turn on your kitchen fan as the smell of this roasted belacan is overwhelmingly strong.
Add apple sauce and salt.
I am adding apple sauce to tone down the hotness of the chili paste I have blended.
Add tomatoes.
Stir and taste. Cook for just 5 minutes.
Turn off the stove and serve over the cooked okra.
Superb! Delicious!

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Cucur Badak

Cucur Badak is one of my favorite afternoon tea time snack. Last week, I cooked Serunding Kelapa. I am using the same serunding kelapa (savory coconut flakes) for the filling in this cucur badak. To make this cucur badak is super easy but a little bit sticky to handle.
I am using a can of yam. Drained.
Add 2 cups of all purpose flour and a pinch of salt.
Mix well to form a soft dough.

Flour your hand. Take a small ball of the dough and flatten it. Add a teaspoon of the savory coconut flakes in the center. Fold and cover.
This yield about 10 pieces of cucur badak.
Heat pan with about 1 cup of olive oil.
Pan fry on both sides until golden brown.
Delicious!
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Kohlrabi Soup

Today's breaking fast dinner was this simple homegrown kohlrabi soup. I am blessed with lots of kohlrabi this year. For many years in the past I've been trying to grow this delicate and delicious vegetable but was never succeed. Having lots of rain in the early spring has helped this vegetable to grow beautifully.
I cooked everything from this plant except for the root. I cut the leaf and the bulb into bite size.

 This year, I am growing two types of kohlrabi. They are the purple kohlrabi and the pale green kohlrabi. Both types are doing so well in the garden.

The secret to a nice bulb of kohlrabi lies in the watering. This plant requires lots of water to grow. I do not fertilize this plant and yet they came up nicely.

The recipe for this kohlrabi soup is pretty simple. All you need are:
5 kohlrabi with leaf
1 cube of chicken bouillon
8 cups of water(divide half)
3 pieces hot peppers
1 tablespoon of dried onion

Method:
In a big pot, boil 4 cups of water.
Slice the kohlrabi leaf into bite size.
Cut the bulb into bite size.
Add the kohlrabi into the boiling water.
Cook for 5 minutes on high heat.
Strain the water out. I like to remove the bitterness and the earthy taste from the leaf.
Add the remaining 4 cups of water into the pot.
Add hot peppers and onion.
Add chicken bouillon.
Let it boiled and then turn the stove off.
Serve hot or warm.
Delicious!
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Roti Jala and Curry Chicken

Breaking fasting in the holy month of Ramadan will not complete without the Roti Jala and Chicken Curry. The batter for the roti jala as shown in the picture above was easy and simple to make.
Ingredients:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
2 1/2 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
Mix all ingredients well.
Use a strainer to get a smooth batter.
In a flat pan, heat pan on low with olive oil using pandan leaf (screwpine) as the brush.
Scoop the roti jala batter using roti jala mold. Roti jala mold has 5 small nozzles at the bottom.
Move the mold slowly in a circular motion to create the pattern as shown in the picture above.
Once cooked, fold on both sides and roll the roti jala out of the pan.
Brush the pan again with pandan leave and olive oil.
Repeat the roti jala.

Roti jala is deliciously serve with spicy chicken curry.
The ingredients needed for the curry chicken are:
4 pieces chicken thighs
1 cup of hot curry powder
1 large onion
3 medium size of tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon clove powder
1 inch fresh ginger
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
1 cup of coconut milk
3 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of fried red onion as garnish

Method:
In a food processor, blend onion, green pepper and ginger.
In a big pot, add the blended onion, green pepper and ginger.
Add curry powder, cumin, coriander, clove and water.
Add salt and mix well.
Let it boil.
Add chicken and chopped tomato.
Cover the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes.
Lastly, add coconut milk and parsley. Cover and let it cook for another 15 minutes on medium heat.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
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Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese

I love tomato salad. This simple recipe is just using tomato, mozzarella cheese , salt and ground black pepper. They are delicious. I picked these tomatoes from my garden. They are the red cherry tomato and the Carolina Gold sweet yellow tomato. I like to pick them ripe from the plant and picking them on a dry sunny day. The flavor intense when they get less water.

The weather was nice today but I do not have the time to work in the garden. Tuesday is our trash day. I have to take out all of the trash onto the curb for the garbage truck to pick them early Wednesday morning.
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Serunding Kelapa - Spiced Coconut Flakes

Serunding kelapa also known as Spiced Coconut Flakes is one of my favorite food. I like to cook it with simple ingredients.  For my breaking fast dinner tonight, it would be this serunding kelapa with glutinous rice.

Ingredients:

1 bag of sweetened coconut flakes (14 oz./396gm)

1 medium size of sweet onion 

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic

1 tablespoon of red chili powder

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon of clove powder

1 tablespoon of chopped lemongrass

1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small packet of dried shrimp

5 pieces kaffir lime leaf

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method:
In a bowl, grate the onion.
Add all the spices and garlic. Combine.
Add sliced kaffir lime leaf (daun limau purut).
Mix well.
In a big skillet, heat olive oil.
Fry the paste until fragrant.
Add chopped dried shrimps.
Add coconut flakes.
Mix well and cook for 10 minutes.

I serve this savory dish with cooked glutinous rice. To cook the glutinous rice is to mix the water and the coconut milk. Use the same measurement of the rice and the water plus coconut milk. I cooked  2 cups glutinous rice with 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1 1/2 cup water. Add a pinch of salt.

Enjoy!
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