Party food - easy, healthy, tasty!

Alternative party food!

 Last nite's NY Eve 2012 Party MENU @Kafe Muzium (National Textile Museum, KL)

• SALAD
• 3 types of salad leaves from Jusco 1U - crispy lettuce, butterhead, frill iceberg (RM2.99 per bunch, can last for a week if u wash, drain & keep in tight container)
• red cabbage (shredred/sliced), raisins, can of drained pineapple, blanched broccoli
• 1 pkt Japanese dressing, first round, then 1 pkt  Balsamic dressing & last round - EVOO & a squeeze of orange : we just keep re-filling it but changed the dressing each time.. It blended well.. all oil based, not creamy. Even had some the next morning for breakfast. Keeps well.
• FRUIT SALAD (Latifah's recipe) - mango, honey melon, grapes in yoghurt
• BREAD - French village (RM3.90) / Alpine grain (RM3.80) from La Boheme, Jusco 1U - preferably lightly toasted with 3 toppings (can top with salad too):  
• Garlic butter - finely chopped garlic, chillie flakes, AgroMas Mushroom powder, real butter
• Dried prawn sambal (mom's recipe) - onion, garlic, chilli paste, dried prawns, asam jawa
• Seafood mayo (Ayam brand) ... went on the wild side & used a few processed items to speed things up ;)
• ROASTED CHICKEN in lemon - from the cafe's chef
• CHILLI CON CARNE - minced beef with red broad beans (from the cafe)
• TUNA SPINACH BAKE (from my recipe collection)
• CAKE - Carrot cake with cream cheese topping, Oats & Prune layer cake (8 eggs!)
• LIGHT FRUIT PUNCH
• FRUITS - langsat, pulasan, mangosteen
• GREEN TEA

For way too long, Malaysians have this standard menu of too oily fried meehoon  & too rich chicken curry for parties. Sorry, but Oh so boring!  (not to mention - Unhealthy). And a separate menu for kids - fried chicken & nuggets, french fries and sausages - food i won't even feed my dog!  No wonder so many obese kids amongst obese parents :(

Here's my tried & tested suggestions (i wont say 'recipe' because its a no brainer, just throw it together) for any party.

It's simple, just understand the concept behind it & remember :

• ACTUAL food (organic is optional), ie. food from nature's plants NOT the man's processing plants
• APPEALING to the eyes - it is said, we eat from our eyes, long before we put it into our mouth. Colours (natural sources). I once saw a rainbow layer cake that is soo intense with artificial colouring, layer by layer of red syrup colour, deep blue, bright green...Another version was subtler (tinge of colour only- very pastel) yet it was classier & more appetising to me. Salads must have a combination of colours ,besides the green leaves - add cherrie tomatoes, dark / red grapes, yellow capsicum, cubed canned pineapple, blanched brocoli & nuts for texture, purple shredded cabbage.
• EASY to prepare, just cut & keep in tight containers. Guests can DIY and entertain themselves and share food stories.
• VEGGIES. Of course there r those those die-hard 'i dont eat veggie' types but it's just becos their childhood experience with veg was negative. Entice them with attractive dishes, and when he sees others enjoying, he will try. I myself is a non-veggie eater. Why? Dad is a meat man & i hate those old-style taugeh with long roots that tickle my throat. So i actually spend time pulling out taugeh strands from my cha koay teaw! (Now, thank god for short, rootless Ipoh taugeh, i started eating it again, even love it in certain dishes - its ALL about presentation, marketing). At a fashion show, i add somw japanese cucumber & carrot sticks to the menu, and hey..it all disappeared..even the fried popiah was still left over.. Sign of changing attitudes to food which we must continue to ENCOURAGE!
• RAW, BLANCHED, STEAMED - Raw salad leaves should be as dry as possible , after washing. How? Shake out as much excess water. place in a container and add lid loosely, leaving a small gap. Then overturn & start shaking. You's be surprise how much water is still there. Them close lid tightly & put in the fridge to refresh & stay fresh. Blanching - timing is important & amt of water. Add a little salt to the water to raise the boiling point. Too much water drains away the nutrients. Water should be boiling before u throw in the veg. Once it turn colour, switch off fire & drain. Add a little cold water to stop cooking, if necessary. Slice thinner if u want a quick steam. All must be of equal thickness.
• CARBOHYDRATES, STARCHES, OILS - in moderation is fine. Be creative, innovative! Boiled potatoes  mixed with yoghurt instead of cream. Serve sweet potatoes instead of ordinary potatoes. Sweet potatoes r sweeter & have lower GI, so will feel fuller for longer, as compared to potatoes. The different colours - purple, orange, light yellow would add appeal. Steam, instead of boil in their skin to retain more of their goodness. Pasta should be served with a touch of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and chlli flakes (chillie padi) & garlic for that more Malaysian flavour, also known as 'olio' in Italian . No creamy alfredo or boring bolognaise. I sometimes add some light soy sauce (see yau) and black pepper & EVOO, and a little lime / orange juice freshly squeezed!
• FUN should be the order of the day in parties! Less hassle, more time for hosting..

Recipe (adapted from The Malaysian Weekly Oct 2000 issue)

TUNA SPINACH BAKE

1/2 cm slice of a block of real butter, not margarine that are processed & mostly made of hydrogenated oil, a no no!
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
300 gm (2 bunches) baby spinach leaves - pluck leaves & break stems into half length (of course remove roots!)
425 gm (1 can)  flaked tuna in brine ..oops I used only 1 can that's 185g . OK, wah.. Just less fishy! Remember to press out the juice or else it will be too soggy

180ml evaporated milk  -  but i used HL Low fat milk 200ml small carton.. too much? so i added 1 more egg
3 eggs + 1 egg (too offset too much milk),  lightly beaten
90 g grated cheddar cheese   - i used sliced black pepper Bega cheese... not so good an idea as u will see afterwards..
30 gm dry breadcrumbs
Sprinkle of pepper to taste. No need salt due to brine in tuna flakes. Flakes r cheaper but chunks (more expensive sometimes) can do also, just mash them up

1. On very slower heat, heat butter in a pan (preferably with heat bottom to control heat or else butter will burn) and lightly fry onions & garlic. Or u could add butter, onion & garlic, then turn on the heat slowly to fry. Then add spinach. Looks alot but when it wilts and cooks, it'll be a fraction of the amount.Cook about a min, stirring to ensure all r cooked.
2. Scoop out into two small pie pans or but all in a large pie dish (glass would be nice for presentation to encourage people to try.
3. Sprinkle the drained tuna. I mistakenly added just a little tuna (1 can separated into 2 pans). I mixed the milk into the beaten eggs, stir & pouring into the two pans. 
4. Because i'm baking on at a time, i added the cheese slices (tore and spread it on top) 3 slices per pan. Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs 15gm or more. 
5. Then bake in a hot oven 180 degrees middle tray (small oven). If bigger oven put on the top tray. The idea was not only to cook the mixture but salso to brown the top crust. Keep checking. I tried different levels in the oven. Dangerous to keep tranferring the disk - hot cheese burns!
6. Made another mistake! Breadcrumbs didnt brown, instead burned slightly. So what went wrong?  Aiyah.. too smart. Should not have used sliced cheese.  Was supposed to mix the grated cheese with dry breadcrumbs and then sprinkle over the mixture. When it is hot, the oil in the cheese will 'fry' the breadcrumbs, so get a golden brown crust.  So, damage control? Half way through the cooking, i chopped the sliced cheese as best i can & open the oven door to sprinkle on the top!
7. Bake for 40 mins or until it browns slightly. Remove to cool
8. For 2nd pan, tried chopping the extra cheese & mix with dry breadcrumbs and again sprinkle on the 2nd dish. Put in the oven & turn the dial for another 40min a& crossed my fingers.

As i was late for my dinner party, i took a quick shower while the 2nd dish was baking. Came out just in time to stop the oven before it burned the crust.

Lessons learned :

• Dont adapt recipe too much
• Read the weight measurement closely
• When baking add preparation time, mixing time & baking time to determine delivery time. And if u need to bake twice, add another baking time.all this  + travel time and traffic jams OR ELSE if u will be fashionable late like me & MAKE EVERYONE WORRIED esp. when your phone doesnt work properly (my fault again).. Murphy's Law!

But i was glad, everyone enjoyed the food judging by the food all disappearing! But luckily enough till countdown!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013, EVERYONE!!! 

MAKE IT AWESOME :)

CNY Reunion Dinner 2009

Nyonya 4 Seasons is inspired by the 4 Seasons starter dish served at Chinese restaurants. Originally, it is meant to represent Summer, Spring, Autumn & Winter, but since it's always sunny (or rainy) in Malaysia, I think the 4 seasons here would more appropriately represent Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and Christmas dishes... ha ha ha.. (we do LOVE our food!)

But for my Nyonya 4 Seasons, I decided to play on the word 'season' and change it to 'SEASONING' . In Nyonya cooking, there's a variety of tastes ranging from sweet, salty, sour, spicy to a flavourful mix of spices & mix of Chinese & Malay ingredients.

(from left to right)
1. Popiah skin & Joo Hu Char Bundle - used one of the 7 dishes cooked for the CNY prayers the day before (previous post). Made from chicken meat strips (traditionally, strips of partially cooked streaky pork is used) stir-fried with shredded turnip (sengkuang) & carrot & dried cuttlefish (joo hu) strips. On a square piece of popiah skin, place a small piece of lettuce, topped with a teaspoon of Joo Hoo Char. Gather & tie with a spring onion (lightly blanched). Put a spot of sambal belacan.

BTW.. The traditional way to eat Joo Hu Char is to take a lettuce leaf, top with a spoon of joo hu char and a dollop of sambal belachan and roll it up & pop into the mouth (much like California roll). Popiah is eaten wrapped, ie. a round popiah skin is spread with a little chilli paste & sweet sauce, lined with a lettuce leaf and topped with cooked shredded turnip & french beans , chopped egg omelette & beadcurd (tau kwa) and commercially fried crispy onions. Tightly roll one end, tuck in both sides and roll again. Then cut into large slices & serve immediately (Popiah 'basah'/wet). To get popiah 'goreng'/fried, make the filling by stir-frying some dried prawns with shredded turnip & carrots only.

2. Deep fried Yam & Sweet Potato Roll in Nori (seaweed,..yeah, I know that's not a typical Nyonya ingredient but the roll was inspired by the Penang favourite "loh bak" :) Saw this in the Flavours, food magazine. The recipe called for a mix of minced pork & chicken but I decided on a vegetarian version using steamed sweet potato & yam, mashed together & flavoured with vegetable stock & white pepper powder. Add a little cornflour to bind and a little plain flour to stiffen the paste. Similar to making a sushi roll, place a sheet of plastic (or cling wrap) on a bamboo mat (you can use your bamboo place mat). Line with a long sheet of nori and spread with a thin layer of paste. Roll one edge and use the bamboo mat to compact the roll by pressing on it. The bamboo allows you to achieve an even roll. Continue to roll it and compress, until the end of the nori. Neaten the sides. Stir some flour & water into a thin batter and coat the roll, just before deep frying. Once fried, slice the roll at an angle and you can see the dark nori swirl which looks like the clouds in the Chinese mythology!

Confession: I did not put flour in the paste & so it became very soft. Did not notice it until I fried & sliced it.. too late. What to do?? I cut the fried rolls into 1/2" rounds and deep fried it again in batter, just before serving.. Phew! it turned out ok & no one was the wiser ;)

3. Kerabu Salted Egg - Do this a little earlier by mixing thinly sliced onions (or shallots) & chilli padi (a green but very hot, mini chilli) with the juice of calamansi (limau kasturi) and a little sugar and refrigerate. Remove the black coating and wash the salted egg (telur asin). Place in water enough to cover the egg in a pan and slowly bring to boil. This will ensure that the egg does not crack. To cut the egg into equal halves, look at the dark impression of the yolk on the egg before cutting through the egg shell. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the egg & half it again. Just before serving, lightly mix the eggs with the onions & juice.

4. Penang Acar - This dish should be made a few days earlier so that the flavours can permeate. Cut cucumber (remove seed), carrot & long beans into 1" strips. Can also add 1" sections of french beans (split half way). Blanch the vegetables and drain into a large glass or ceramic bowl (don't use metal). Add a some vinegar (cuka) and leave for 20 min. Pour away vinegar & soak in water. Grind serai (lemongrass), lengkuas (young galangal), red chillie, garlic & lots of onions. Fry in oil till fragrant. Add turmeric powder & assam jawa juice. Add the drained vegetables and fry together with whole, peeled shallots, young ginger strips & sliced garlic, red chilli (de-seed, split & cut into 1" pieces). Add pounded groundnuts (buy from cake supply shops) & toasted sesame seeds. Add sugar & salt. Cool & keep in a dry bottle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Reunion Dinner was scheduled for 8pm sharp. We invited 2 families to join us. One group arrived @5.30pm, in the midst of my preparations... But luckily mom had already anticipated, so we had snacks ready :

Snack : Curry Chicken Feet (mom's recipe) -- my cousin's favourite. They had it while waiting for the rest of the relatives to arrive. Also ready were the Joo Hu Char and beef curry. They used these as filling for the popiah skin.. ha ha.. innovative eating!

6.30pm -- Table all laid out with grandma's crockery, the 'batik bowls & saucers" and bamboo chopsticks & paper napkin. Time to take a bath & get dressed. I had my 'Ox' year RED t-shirt. BTW the dress code was shades of red or gold!

At 5 mins to 8pm, the other group arrived. Yee Sang was laid out with the help of my young cousins. Drinks were passed around and everyone gathered to "LOH SANG"!!

MENU A 6-course Chinese Reunion Dinner

#1 COMING TOGETHER : Veggie Yee Sang with Drumstick Mushroom
#2 JOY & FAMILY : Nyonya Four Season(ing)
#3 NEW BEGINNING : Spicy Bamboo Shoots with Chicken (mom cooked the chicken)
#4 ABUNDANCE : 8 Jewels Veggie Bowl
#5 LONGEVITY : Yin/Yang Noodles -- Carrot Noodles Stir-fried & Udon Clear Seaweed soup
#6 HEALTH & PROSPERITY : Longan in Iced Soya milk & Pumpkin Pancake - 'Golden Purse'

And extra treat : A sandwich cake with cream cheese topping from cousin, Nana -- yummy!

A surprise for the nite : I gave each one a Pumpkin Pancake folded into the shape of a purse. They bit into it and ha ha... found a gold chocolate $1 coin... FOR GOOD LUCK!!

Chinese New Year Celebration, Malaysian style!

CNY traditions differ slightly among the Chinese ethnic groups whose forefathers came from different parts of China and between the north, central & southern parts & east coast of Malaysian peninsula; east coast & East Malaysia.

In the north (Penang & Kedah), "kueh kapit", a delicately thin cookie folded in quarters, also known as 'love letters' is a must on CNY. When I moved to Johor, visitors to my CNY open house would bring oranges (ie. tangerine from China). We, not knowing the local custom, were happy to receive it and kept them. It was some time before we found out that we were suppose to give oranges back (not necessarily the same ones) to them as they leave as a symbol of giving them wealth & luck. Our visitors must have thought us rude... sorry.. Oranges are called 'kum' in most Chinese dialects and sound like the word 'gold'.

Another 'new' custom we learned was the "Loh Sang" of the "Yee Sang". We never had it in the north.

Nowadays, this dish is becoming very popular, probably due to 2 factors : a money-spinner (the ingredients are mainly veggie - fresh & pickled but restaurants charge a bomb as it's a once a year treat. RM30-40 per dish) and it's a social thing - a convenient reason to gather around for some annual catching-up & celebration.

Yee Sang is a mostly veggie dish, except for the slivers of raw fish & blanched jellyfish strips or pacific clams. At reunion dinners or gatherings within the 15-day CNY celebration, people would stand around a plate of yee sang & use their chopsticks to mix the ingredients, pulling & tossing it as high as possible, shouting hopes of health & prosperity.


There are prayers for ancestors on the day (lunch time) before CNY which usually consists of fruits & CNY sweets; red candles & joss sticks. However, the Hokkiens, are more particular. We have to cook 7 bowls of traditional delicacies & 'sin-lay' (offering) of cooked, whole (with feet & head intact) chicken, duck & roast pig. Other dishes can be added but served on plates instead. Bowls of rice, complete with appropriate cutlery, tea & wine cups are laid out around the table for our 'heavenly' guests.








On the day before this feast, mom would pray with joss sticks to 'invite' these guests. On the day, how do we know if the 'guests' have arrived? Mom will pray & drop 2 large (50 sen) coins. If the coin face shows one head & one tail, it means 'yes', they are here. Each member of the household will pray & burn joss sticks to 'welcome' them. After an hour or so, mom will check by tossing the coins again. One head, one tail again signifies 'yes', we are done & going back. Prayer paper money are burnt to offer 'them' some farewell 'presents'.

KETUPAT - a Hari Raya must have!!

In the north (Alor Star) each time Hari Raya Puasa celebration comes around we will be looking forward to rendang and ketupat pulut with black-eye beans (or referred to ketupat daun palas, in Kelantan). It's triangular in shape.

For years, I never knew there were other types of ketupat. So, when we moved to JB (Johor Bahru) and was invited to my classmate's open house, I was surprised to see the square ketupat made from white rice encased in woven leaves instead. The triangular ketupat was no where to be seen.

The square ketupat has been an icon in Raya decorations & cards. Weaving the ketupat casing takes much practice. I have yet to master it. Then upon observing the ketupat casing, I made another discovery. The base of ketupats from Johor differ from the standard square ketupat. Its base is wider!

Pak Zawi, a Kelantan blogger has taken the trouble to blog about my favourite ketupat, ie. ketupat daun palas (ketupat pulut).

Here's the abridged version: (for details - http://mohdzawi.blogspot.com/2008/09/ketupat-daun-palas.html

"Pokok palas (licuala triphylla) grows in the wild in Kelantan. To those who don't use the leaves for making ketupat, the plant is a weed. It is only for such occasions as Raya that the demand for the leaves increases. Then you will see people selling them in the market.

The unopened shoot in the shape of a sword is the part required. Once it is opened the leaves become useless. "

TMO (the making of) - Daun palas ketupat

1. The first step is opening the leaves to make the casings. A casing is the leaf being folded into a triangular shell before it is filled with the steamed glutinous rice.

2. The end a single leaf is trimmed at the tip with a sharp knife so that the end will be straight and not serrated.

One hand is used to hold the tip of the leaf while the thumb of the other hand is used to flatten the many ribs on the leaf. The process is repeated until the whole leaf is comparatively flat. It is quite a task as the leaf tend to close up again just like a concertina. When it is able to hold the flat shape, the first fold can be made.

3. Followed by more foldings. Care must be taken not to flatten the casing as the folding may result in ugly creases. When the end of the leaf is near, the last fold will be a loop that will secure the leaf from opening up.

4. Making the last loop (above) is important before tightening up (below)

5. The picture below shows the correctly made casing (left) and the wrong last loop (right) which we call 'caping'.

It is ok if you dont get it right as it will hold just as well only that it is not right by the traditional way. Anyway this can be corrected later at the time of filling up.

For the Recipe : http://mohdzawi.blogspot.com/2008/09/ketupat-daun-palas.html

BIRTHDAY MEE!

This is a Hokkein / Nyonya / Peranakan noodle dish traditionally served on one's birthday. The yellow noodle strands have to be carefully cooked so that it remains long. The 'Birthday girl/boy' will have to slurp & eat it without breaking the strands=sign of longevity (long life)!!

The dish is purposely colourful to symbolise happiness & rosy future. Egg omelettes are tinged red & yellow& cut in thin strips. The sauce is in two parts: a thick gravy & a clear soup.

Over the years, we have made some slight changes to the ingredients to suit current tastes & religious preferences. No problem - if we have Muslim relatives & friends over, then we will substitute the pork for 'halal' chicken (ie. chicken, slaughtered according to Muslim rites). But for vegans like me, well ... any ideas ?

Some ingredients are also hard to find. There is one delicacy which is integral to the dish but rarely found. You'd probably find it only in Pulau Pangkor or Penang's Chowrasta (main) market. It is called the 'Pea Hu' (literally translated - flat fish). There is a legend behind the physical characteristic of the fish, which has both eyes on one side of the fish (a bit like the sting-ray but no long tail) but I'm not too sure about it. My mom says it is very tasty and the bones are used to boil the clear soup, whereas the flesh is added into the thick gravy.

Hope some readers can give me some info. or one day I'll have to do a 'pilgrimage' back to Penang just to find this fish! ha ha..

Please excuse the approximation of ingredients. Its like in the old days, where the matriarch 'chefs' will just grab a fistful or rice bowl full of ingredients.

Thick Gravy
1 medium piece - Streaky pork with skin ('sam chan bak') or chicken meat (if you don't eat pork)
10 small/medium size- Prawns de-vein by partly slicing the back of each prawn & removing the dark greenish vein. This will make the prawn roll into a ball when cooked.
1/2 bowl - Crab meat / squids (optional)
1 packet Fish ball & Fish cake (optional)
1-2 tablespoons of Cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup water
Prawn stock made from washed, discarded prawn head & shell boiled in water (to add more flavour!)

Clear Soup
200 gm Pork / chicken bones - washed
1 small Turnip - cut into large chunks

Body of the dish
300 gm Taugeh/mung bean sprouts (50 sen)
1 small bunch of Kucai/flat-leaved chives (50 sen)
500 gm Yellow fresh noodle (mee)

Garnish
Chopped garlic in oil ('ken phang', in Hokkien)
Red egg omelette
Red chilli strips, chopped spring onions, coriander leaves, or Chinese celery leaves
Sambal belacan

Making the clear soup = In a large pot, bring to boil a half pot of water. Add the pork bones & turnip. Boil till turnips are slightly soft. Cook fishball for a few minutes, until it floats. Remove & set aside. Season soup with some white pepper & salt.

Making the thick gravy & garlic oil = Put streaky pork whole piece in the clear soup until just cooked (don't over cook or it will be tough). Slice into strips (across the grain). Set aside. In a large wok, heat some oil on slow heat to lightly fry chopped garlic for making 'ken phang'. Once the garlic is slightly brown, turn off the heat. The oil will continue to brown the garlic. (If done correctly, it should turn a golden brown & crispy. When it is cooled, you can keep it in a bottle and use as flavoured oil in any soupy dish). Remove part of the garlic oil.

Turn on the heat. Pan fry the fish cake and remove. Slice it when cooled.

Then use the remaining oil to fry the prawns, then add streaky pork. Spoon 2 scoops of clear soup into the wok. Add a dash of dark soy sauce & light soy sauce to make the gravy brown. Add crab meat & squid. Add prawn stock. When boiling, slowly stir in the cornflour mixture, stirring continuously until the gravy thickens. Don't pour all the cornflour mixture, if the gravy is already thick.

To make the body = Heat another half pot of water to boil. Add taugeh (bean sprouts / mung bean sprouts) & kucai (chives). Stir 1 min & remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add in the yellow noodles carefully so the strands are intact. Cook for 2 mins while lightly separating the strands. Drain & set aside in a large bowl.

To make the sambal belacan : (can be made a few days ahead but store in a dry jar & refrigerate)
1 small 1" piece of toasted belacan (or Maggi belachan powder)
4 long red chillies (with or without seeds - more seeds, hotter it will be)
A dash of Salt, sugar, Ajinomoto
3-4 Limau kesturi (calamansi / lime) - cut into 1/2 & remove seeds

Lots of people are afraid to pound the chillies as it tends to splatter! So, use a towel to dry the red chillies. Line the area with newspaper. Break/cut chillies into 1" pieces. Start by lightly pounding to flatten the chillies. Then pound section by section at the edge of the chillie pieces not straight into the centre which will send the seeds & bits & pieces flying. Try and get the chillies shiny side up so the juicy parts will be facing down. Use one hand to steady the stone bowl. Use the other hand to pound with even pressure and partly use a grinding motion.

Once chillies are quite fine, add the toasted belacan or dry belacan powder and continue to grind/pound until well blended. Scoop into a dish/glass bottle & squeeze the limes. Adjust to taste. Belacan is usually salty. Just add a little sugar or Ajinomoto to bring out the taste (yeah, that's traditionally the seasoning used).

How to toast belacan (processed prawn paste) ? - You can do this a day before. Heat a small dry pan (non-stick if possible) on low fire and toast one side of a thin slice of belachan. Then turn over. Take care that it does not burn. When almost dry, turn off fire. Break into small pieces and let the latent heat of the pan dry/toast the bits. Let cool. Reminder: the smell IS, according to each other's opinion-either 'heavenly' or 'stinky'.

To make : Red egg omelette slices

Beat two eggs with 2 half-egg shells of water (traditional measurement). Add a little salt & a drop of red cochineal food colouring. Be careful. To avoid over-colouring, use a toothpick to trnasfer the colour. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add a ladle of egg mixture, swirl into a smooth thin crepe-like omelette. The thinner the highly skilled your are! Roll it and remove into the cutting board. Slice as fine as possible. The pink omelette below was done in haste, hence is not fine enough!

Serving:

In a deep bowl, line with a little taugeh & kucai. Top with some yellow noodles. This should fill half the bowl. Spoon on the thick gravy & its meat/seafood. Garnish with red eggs, fish ball/cake slices, leaves - coriander/celery/spring onions & red chillie strips. Top it with a fews scoops of clear, hot soup and sambal belacan on the side.

Then, DIG IN!!