Cauliflower Mash

Do you like cauliflower?  Most of us dont know what to do with it!

Well, here's one way. Make it into a mash. The author of this recipe says it's like mash potato, but much, much healthier!  Do try it out

Cauliflower Mash

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 head organic cauliflower, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil (depending on desired consistency)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp sage
• 1 tsp rosemary
• Sea salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot, steam cauliflower over medium heat for 15-20, until a knife easily slices through cauliflower.
2. Add cauliflower to food processor.
3. Add olive oil, almond milk, and spices.
4. Process until smooth. (may need to add additional olive oil/almond milk until you get desired texture.
5. Serve and enjoy!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12741/the-best-cauliflower-mash-ever.html

Going green & clean!

KALE & PISTACHIO PESTO SPAGHETTI

Looking for healthier food intake, GOING GREEN & CLEAN is my tag line for the days ahead in my quest for getting fit again after a disasterous 2 years of un-mindful eating. (as usual - due to overload on stressful projects & emotional yo-yo).

I wanna come CLEAN in many ways.  I'm starting with FOOD INTAKE (notice-i'm not gonna use the emotion-loaded word - DIET).

So here's are some great tips on EATING PASTA WITHOUT TOO MUCH CALORIC INTAKE and veggie recipes (full with flavour from green veg, beans, herbs, nuts) to try.

Keeping Calories in Check. Remember that it’s easy to go overboard on calories when dining on pasta. One cup of cooked spaghetti has approximately 220 calories. Pile 3 or 4 cups on your dinner plate (not unheard of) are we’re talking 660 to 880 calories without any sauces or add-ins. To keep calories in check, cut down on pasta portions and bulk up with loads of veggies and herbs.

Boosting the fiber can also help make your dish more filling. Swap enriched white pasta for whole-grain varieties like whole wheat, quinoa or spelt. Add hunger-fighting protein with beans, lentils or edamame.

Be careful not to overload on cheese as it can push the envelope on calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium. A small amount of a flavorful cheese goes a long way.

Tasty juicing recipes

Talk about juicing and u get images of green, goooey tasting drinks only the Incredible Hulk would think of drinking. But these recipes from Torrie Pattillo promises not to be. It is meant for the juicing beginner, to slowly ease in the juicing habit. I have yet to try it out but I'm blogging this to not lose the recipe.

Note: Try to use organic produce when possible. If not possible, simply clean produce well. Remove rind, core and peel. Juice produce, pour over ice and enjoy.

1. Happy Green Juice

• 1 cucumber 
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 pears 
• 1/3 cantaloupe 
• 6-8 kale leaves
• 1/2 lemon 
• 1 inch of ginger 

2. Drink Your Produce Green Juice

• 4 carrots 
• 1 cucumber
• 1-2 cups of spinach
• 1 lemon 
• 1 gala or pink lady apple
• 1 pear 

3. Green Lemonade

• 3 cups of spinach
• 1 lemon 
• 1 cucumber 
• 1 pear 
• 1 gala apple 

Once you get acclimated to the taste, I highly encourage an 80/20 ratio for green juice (80% vegetables, 20% fruit). 

Tip: Never juice bananas or avocado, and follow your juicer's manual, especially as it pertains to leafy greens.

Source:  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8155/3-yummy-green-juice-recipes-to-convert-skeptics.html

Vegetarian Recipes to try out

Every year, around this time.. i am sad that animals are not only bred in close, torturous confines only to be cut up for food but animals r still used for religious sacrifice.

As a former vegan, vegetarian and pescaterian, i am torn between my current meat-craving lifestyle and the need to abstain from meat, in personal protest against animal cruelty.  Hopefully, i can one day soon find the strength to carry on what i started (but side tracked) many years ago. Old habits die hard.  I was a total meat eater & meat lover until age 21 when i began to eat and appreciate veggies.

One reason i failed to stay on my vegetarian track was the diffculty in getting healthy (not oily and free from mock meat) food from the shops. Now with my new place and better equipped kitchen, i am looking forward to slowly converting back to the veggie lifestyle, or at least pescaterian (no land animals but will eat seafood ) for inner peace and in homage of animals slaughtered everyday in painful ways.

These r some yummy veggie dishes that i hope to cook & enjoy. Many thanks to the blog owner & writer where these recipes are found.

This is a popular north Indian dish. Potatoes and peas with spicy gravy makes a great main dish.
Recipe will serve 3 to 4.
Ingredients

• 3 medium boiled potatoes
  
• 3/4 cup frozen green peas
  
• 2 tablespoons oil
  
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
  
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  
• 1 minced green chili
  
• 2 tablespoons coriander (dhania)
  
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika (dagi mirch)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon mango powder amchoor
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced
  
• About 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara dhania)
  

See video for how to cook this dish.
http://www.veglov.com/2011/05/aloo-mattar-potatoes-and-green-peas.html

Another great Italian dish

Spicy Tomato Soup with Wilted Greens

3:31 PM Vegetarian

http://www.veglov.com/2011/05/spicy-tomato-soup-with-wilted-greens.html

Delicious Vegetarian at Chayo Cafe & Yoga Studio

Can't wait to try this cafe opened by 2 yoga practitioners, an American guru & her Singaporean hubby!

If you, like me, are craving for tasty vegetarian snacks, food and herbal teas, head on over to Chayo in Kelana Mall (opp. Giant Hypermarket, Kelana Jaya)

Indulge in Western, Indian and Local delights in a relaxed cafe atmosphere.

Clockwise from top left: Throat Comfort Yogi Tea; Marble Cake; Tofu Scramble with Toast; Bombay Toast

Opens daily from 9am -9pm.

50-2 Kelana Mall
Jalan SS6/14 Kelana Jaya
47301 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-78062035

Got this tip from Hui Hsien from
http://www.klyoga.com/2009/11/02/chayo-cafe-studio/

http://www.klyoga.com/2009/11/02/delicious-vegetarian-at-chayo/

Vegetarian Fast Food Centre - affordable & near KLCC !

"Please do not drop any grains of rice, while filling up your plate"
"Take only your portion. Do not waste food. Treasure your blessings!"


"Save the environment, cherish your resources - bring your own lunch box for take-away"

The food :
... there's the usual oily Chinese Vegetarian 'chap-fan' (mixed rice) with fake deep fried goose, fake barbeque pork, etc

... various noodle dishes (soup & kon-loh)

... fresh passion fruit drinks, cut fruits, leng-cha

... vegetarian dumplings (pau)

and best of all,

... healthy salads & noodles (raw veg. & less oil)

<--Eat -in (free soup & plain water) Shredded raw red cabbage, green sprouts, yellow pumpkin , white cabbage, beetroot, carrot, seaweed & sesame seeds on top of blanched noodles (carrot noodles, wholemeal, etc). With tomato bolognaise or Chinese mushroom sauce. All this, for RM 3.80 !!

<--Takeaway with own lunch box

"Vegetarian Fast Food Centre is promoting kindness and compassion towards beings by not only refraining from killing and also protecting all beings. ... we shall provide free breakfast.... "






And where can you find this place?

Get down at Ampang Park LRT & walk pass Nikko Hotel, pass the MCA building towards Celcom/The Zon. Enter the cafeteria through the side entrance of the temple.

Or get down at KLCC LRT & walk up Jln Ampang, pass Pelita Nasi Kandar, Chef Choi's going towards the newly renovated Chinese Temple (opposite Corus Hotel)

Open to anyone..

The vegetarian's viewpoint ...

Perut Ikan - 2 versions

You either love it or find it yukky!! Why? This dish is traditionally made from fish stomach preserved in salt for many months! But it is a 'family project' kind of dish.

My earliest recollection of this dish is the coming together of all the women folk (aunts & their daughters) at my grandma's large kitchen. The ingredients comprise a long list of vegetables and a mix of fresh spices.

But this dish starts long before the cutting & the cooking. Each time we clean a medium to large fish, mom saves the stomach after splitting it open & cleaning out its contents. She puts it in a glass bottle & adds salt to preserve it.

Once we have enough saved, we need to look for another important ingredient, the 'daun kaduk' (a fragrant, minty leaf that is often mistaken for betel leaf/daun sireh). The problem is that it is not usually sold in wet markets or supermarkets. It's usually a weed like creeper found on the roadside or grown as decorative foliage due to its shiny, deep green, heart-shaped leaf. Many people I spoke to do not know that it can be eaten. However, the Thais use it as a base for the 'Otak-otak' (spicy steamed fish & egg concoction) or in 'Mieng Kum' (appetiser). My Indian friend's mother says it can be mixed with beaten egg & fried as an omelette. One recipe shows it shredded & mixed in Nasi Ulam (rice & raw leaves salad) by the Kelantanese.

On the morning of the big 'cook', aunt's & their daughters will start the cutting the various vegetables. Long beans, eggplant (terung) & pineapple are cut into 1" long pieces.

The daun kaduk leaves are stacked with the large leaves at the bottom. Then rolled up and finely sliced. Sweet basil, daun cekuk & daun limau purut (all fragrant leaves) and bunga kantan (ginger flower) are often slotted in between the daun kaduk, just before it is rolled up & sliced.

The finely sliced leaves are rinsed in tap water a few times to remove the strong, bitter , minty taste. This is a kind of rite of passage as the initiation of daughters are based on her skill in slicing the leaves as fine as possible.

Tumeric (kunyit), lengkuas (galangal), red chillies, onion & garlic are pounded together into a paste using a stone mortar.

A large pot is filled half-way with water is brought to boil. Stir in the pounded paste. Add a slice (1"x 1") of belachan (prawn paste) & a bowl of assam jawa (tamarind seeds mixed in a little water & squeezed to extract out its juice) is added. Also add some tumeric powder for an appetising colour. Once it re-boils, add the 1" vegetables, squid or prawns, fish eggs & preserved fish stomach (rinse it a few times to remove the salt, first). Simmer a bit & lastly, add the daun kaduk. Adjust the taste - it should be quite sour, a bit fishy, slightly sweet, salty.

For us kids (at that time-lah) who don't really like vegetables, we were constantly stirring the pot trying to get at the limited fish stomach pieces. How does it taste? Tangy, rubbery with a distinct smell & taste. A bit like pig's stripe (Oh! that used to be my all time favourite - gross, huh?).

Sounds like a lot of hard work? There's the short-cut version! And it's vegan (no fish stomach !).

Cut vegetables as above. Add 1" carrots & sliced fried taukua (beancurd). Boil the water & cook the pounded paste but leave out the belachan & seafood. For flavour, I found this vegetable cube stock made from mushroom & seaweed. (Only Rm3)

Final product looks like this ! Serve with rice.

Making baked SEITAN ?

'Seitan, often referred to as "wheat meat" because of its similarity in texture to the real thing, is made with wheat gluten, and -- though tofu is still king -- it is gaining popularity with veggies and vegans across the country.' says http://makemethod.vox.com/library/post/baked-seitan.html

Looks like our mock meat -- but without additives & colouring.


Best is -- you can make it yourself & season it with different ingredients to give variety. At least, you know what goes inside those 'meat'. Then you can use it as filling for sandwiches, burgers or eaten as is! Looks like Ma Ling's luncheon meat (a Chinese favourite)


BAKED SEITAN
What you'll need . . .
1-1/2 cup wheat gluten (try Justlife or Ecogreen in PJ- organic & health food stores )
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 large basil leaves, chopped
3/4 cup cold water
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons vegetable broth


-->-->

Method . . .
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Put all dry ingredients (as well as basil and garlic) in a large bowl and mix together.
In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients (make sure to add the tomato paste last and then whisk it into the mixture).
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with your hand -- until you can knead it like dough.
Knead until fully incorporated.
Roll into a log shape and wrap in 2 layers of aluminum foil -- twisting the ends to seal.
Bake for 90 minutes.

Tired of the usual Bolognaise (tomato based) sauce for your spaghetti? Love alfredo sauce but find it too creamy & calorie laden?

Try this : Vegan Alfredo Sauce which has no cream but is still 'creamy' & healthier!

VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE (for those who like it hot, hot, hot)

What you'll need . . .
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped in big chunks
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup water
2`teaspoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup walnuts (raw)
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
1 cup nutritional yeast -- check with organic, health grocery shops
salt (to taste)
fresh black pepper (to taste)

Method . . .
Heat the olive oil in the skillet, add onions and saute 5 minutes until slightly softened.
Add garlic, saute 2 more minutes.
Transfer to the blender, add all the other ingredients and blend.
It turns out smooth -- and I'd suggest adding a bit more soy milk to make it thinner. Ours turned out really thick . . . and, well, extremely filling! Almost too much so . . .

*This amount should be enough for 4 servings of pasta

Found this recipe at http://makemethod.vox.com/library/post/vegan-alfredo-sauce.html

Lots more recipes in this blog !!

Check it out.

Beehoon Sup Kambing, WITHOUT the Kambing (lamb)

Sup kambing/ayam (lamb/chicken) & sup tulang (bones-usually beef), made the Malay style is characterised by a myriad of spices, namely kulit kayu manis (cinnamon), bunga lawang (star anise), buah pelaga (cardamon) & bunga cengkih (cloves). These are grounded into a paste in a certain proportion. But nowadays you can buy it grounded & prepacked (in small packets, if its to try out) : the variants include rempah sup tulang & perencah sup (Adabi brand).


But cooking with lamb or beef is high in cholesterol & the soup is usually full of animal (saturated) fat. Chicken has less flavour but also less fat. Normally, a chicken cube (packet seasoning) is added to add more taste artificially!


Why not try my version:

Ingredients:

SPICES:
1" (2cm) stick of kayu manis (cinnamon)
2 buah pelaga (cardamon)
3 bunga cengkih (cloves)
2 parts of bunga lawang (star anise- break off 2 'petals' only)

1 large red onion (coarsely chopped)
1 teaspoon of grated (old) ginger
1 clove of garlic (chopped)

1 small potato (peeled & cut angularly)
1 small carrot (peeled & cut angularly)
3 tablespoons of black eye beans
1 firm tomato (not too ripe - quartered)

1 tablespoon of perencah sup (ground pre-pack spice)
3 sprigs of daun sup (local celery leaves- coarsely chopped )
Fried onion/shallots

1/4 packet of beehoon (dried, fine rice noodle) - Boil some water in a pot. Turn off fire. Soak the boohoon in the boiled water until soft. Turn it gently to ensure all strands are evenly blanched. Do not leave it unattended or soak too long. Just a few minutes. Drain in a colander or just dish out (shake off excess water) into a bowl.

Cili padi sauce - for extra spicyness & kick, you can make this simple sauce. Grind or pound 5 green cili padi with 1 clove of peeled garlic. Squeeze some lime (limau kesturi - calamansi) and add 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce.

Method:
In a large pot, heat aprox. 2 tablespoons of oil & fry spices for a few minutes. Add onions, garlic & grated ginger. Fry till fragrant. Add 4 cups of boiled water. Bring to boil. Add in potatoes, carrot, beans & perencah sup. Wait for it to boil again. Then lower the fire to simmer & cook until potatoes & beans are soft. The beans will add some body to the soup.

Add tomatoes and bring to boil again. Add salt, pepper & a little sugar to taste. Make it a bit saltier & spicier, if you want to serve with beehoon (fine rice noodle).



You can serve it as a soup or on a bowl of fine rice noodles. Garnish with daun sup & fried shallots. Top with 1/2 teaspoon of cili padi sauce for extra spicyness.

EATING OUT, vegan style..

1. Identify what you can eat at non-vegan stalls near your office, your home & shopping haunts. Make a mental note of what to order & what to tell the waiter to leave out & frequent places that are 'vegan' friendly.

The mamak stall near my apartment is very attentive to their customer's needs & wants. When I told them that I wanted vegetarian (not many lay persons are familiar with the term 'vegan') fried noodles, they said okay but they will leave out the 'sambal' (chilli paste) and use sliced chilli instead & no egg.

Try asking for your roti canai with a twist : instead of Roti Telur, ask the mamak to make Roti Sayur! Just stretch out the roti and sprinkle with sliced cabbage, sawi (mustard leaves) & carrot strips. Fold in and fry on a griddle as usual. Serve with dhall curry (leave out the sambal ikan bilis, though).

When I asked the 'wantan' mee (egg noodles) man, he immediately knew what to do -- 'chai' mee he shouted to his wife (the cook). Curious, I waited. It came as egg noodles tossed in dark soya sauce, with only a few blanched mustard leaves on top! (and charged RM1.50, instead of RM3.50 for the usual meat version)

If you like 'yong tau foo' (sorry no English translation), my suggestion is just to order chee cheong fun & deep fried foo chok (beancurd pieces). To lessen the oil content get the seller to soak the foo chuk for a longer time (til its soft) to remove residual oil (learned this from a Japanese cookbook). Go easy on the dark sauce which is very sweet.

My current fad is to go for 'steamboat-on-a-stick' or 'lok-lok' or satay celup, a local favourite eating past-time. The customers stand around an opened concept van. There are rows & rows of skewered seafood/fish/meat balls in all variants. The only choice I have is kangkung (veg) wrapped into tight balls & skewed on a bamboo stick & skewered foo chuk (deep fried beancurd pieces). I can also have the Japanese beancurd stuffed with shredded cucumber. Sometimes, there may be mushrooms, too. All these are dipped into a boiling pot of water & eaten with a choice of 3 sauces - a dark sweet sauce, satay peanut sauce and sour/spicy sauce. The sour/spicy sauce is the healthiest, I guess.

A new innovation is a hot pot of dark looking oil (sitting quietly) for you to deep fry your choice. BEWARE that you do not accidentally drip water (from the ice used to keep the food fresh) into the pot!! I almost did. Did not realise the pot of oil. So watch out!

For dinner at the Malay stall, don't order noodle soup because their soup base is either beef or chicken stock. You can only have stir fry noodles which is rather oily. Make sure to ask if they put eggs in it. Best alternative, order stir-fry 'sayur campur' (mixed veggie) but remember to tell them no chicken, beef or seafood which is usually added in tiny strips.

2. Bring 'backup' food / snack eg. a muesli bar or dry fruits/nuts or vegan biscuits in a small container wherever you go. I sometimes have to wait an hour for my bus & often get hungry. So, I usually spread some jam or peanut butter on a wholemeal slice of bread & bring it along. A packet of soya milk(Yeo's less sugar) from 7-eleven if you don't have time to 'tah-pau' (pack a snack). This prevents you from following your 'nose' & succumbing to your desires.

3. Check 'vegetarian' restaurant/stalls for nutritional value. At many Chinese vegetarian (chai) places (restaurants or road-side stalls), to make up for the absence of tasty meat, they tend to add more artificial flavouring & tons of oil to make the food look good & appetising. Many try to mimic real meat, thus we have 'chai' meat. Also notice that in 'chai' shops, they do not use onion or garlic, only ginger. I always find it strange that in Cantonese dialect, 'choy' means vegetable, but vegetarian shops are called 'Chai' shops instead. Can anyone enlighten me on that?

Indian vegetarian shops serve lassi (yogurt), paneer (cheese), tairu (buttermilk) & have milk in some of their dishes & desserts (eg. payasam). Some dishes are oily / deep fried (eg. bahji, puri, vadai).

As far as I know, I have never met a Muslim vegetarian! But they do eat lots of raw herbs & veggie (called 'ulam') but topped with sambal belachan (made with prawn paste). This is a 'kampung' (village) style food. On the east coast, they have nasi kerabu & nasi ulam. This is rice salad with raw veggie & sambal & 'budu' (another kind of seafood paste). They also have deep fried taukua (soya beancurd) & tempeh. Some types of sambal do not have shrimp paste. So choose carefully. Good as topping for the 'ulam'. Beware the 'air assam' dressing for grill fish. It sometimes has belacan in it.

4. Get food delivered for lunch. This eliminates the stress of looking for nutritious, organic vegan food and possible relapse into meat eating. Very important, especially in the first two weeks of conversion. Try the organic, vegetarian fare @ Green Meadow Cafe. It has a 31-day menu of various palatable & nutritiously caliberated meals by their in-house nutritionist. This includes charcoal brown rice with a variety of dishes & salads/pickles; brown rice dumpling ('chang'); spaghetti; nasi ulam; briyani; porridge, california roll. The only setback is the price, RM200 for 14 days.

HAPPY MERDEKA... LOVE OUR COUNTRY, LOVE OUR FOOD

Malaysians LOVE food, ... no... LOVE to EAT! We'll travel miles & miles away from home just to saviour a popular dish recommended by fellow food-fan. The Chinese Hokkien's greeting of a friend or neighbour - "Chiak pah a-bo-eh? - Have you eaten until full, already?(finished your meal, had your lunch? ... to that effect lah!). "Ho chiak!", "Jalan-jalan - Cari Makan" & "Cooking with Chef Wan" are popular local TV productions. This does not include the numerous 'travel & eat' shows from Taiwan, Korea & all over China & Hong Kong.

We are Malaysians (although we call ourselves Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Kelantanese, Kedahans, Sabahans, Nyonya, Malays, Ceylonese, Indian, Chindian (Chinese+Indian mixed parentage), Mamak (Indian Muslim), Sikh, Hindus, Buddhists, vegetarians, 'Mat Salleh celup' (locals who try to act Caucasian/European), etc.. etc..

BUT we can still SIT DOWN and enjoy our OPEN HOUSE BUFFET!
Yeh! Malaysia BOLEH!

HAPPY 51th MERDEKA (INDEPENDENCE DAY) today :)

Penang Assam LAKSA

Laksa is basically a spicy, noodle dish with soup. It comes in many forms & variations, depending on the area it originates from or the ethnic background of the people. The soup is usually made with fish, with a few exceptions. Fish meat is mixed into the soup to make it thick.

In the north, the Penang Chinese have the famous sour, spicy & fishy Assam Laksa (recipe is given below - traditional & vegan) using white, soft, translucent rice noodles (lai fun).

The Thais have a similar type of noodle and sold fresh in small coils. When we were staying in Alor Setar (almost near the Thai border), my dad will buy back these noodles on his regular visits the the border towns. Mom & all of use will be waiting patiently with a pot of the fiery, aromatic soup!

Note: Quite some time ago, there was a scare when some people & children died after consuming the noodles. It was traced to the over-use of boric asid in the making of this noodle. There were also rumours of unscruplous vendors adding toilet paper & chicken feed were added for extra flavour & bulk & of course, make a high profit! This prompted one organic cafe/shop to advertise their Assam Laksa as made from REAL FISH!

The Malays have a thicker, soup made of fish & the white rice noodle is stiffer and breaks easily. Cashew nut leaves (young shoots) were chopped & used as garnish.

The Kelatanese (in the east coast) have Laksan (not sure how that is -- will let you know after my trip to Kota Bahru, capital of Kelantan this Sept). Possibly a cross between assam laksa but with santan (coconut milk), influenced by the Thais.

The Chinese laksa (mainly in the central area) is santan, red curry-based with yellow noodles, with cockles & curry chicken. The most different of the rest.

In the south (Johor), spaghetti is used and it has a fish-based soup & vegetable topping is eaten RAW (!), including taugeh (mung bean sprouts). This gives a unique taste, quite an acquired taste. They have a special way to cut the cucumber, in thin circular strips. Needs some skill & lots of practice to master it!

Alternatively, you could check out Laksa Shack, a home-grown franchise, for its many types of laksa.

ASSAM LAKSA
500 gm Lai Fun (translucent, fresh white rice noodle) or dried thick beehoon (soaked until soft). Boil a pot of water. Blanch the noodles only a few minutes (longer if dried noodles used). Do not over cook. Its ok if under-cooked, as the hot soup later will continue to cook it when you pour it over the noodles. Strain & set aside.

Spicy soup :
1. Grind these into a fairly fine paste (grounded paste):
4 large red onions - cut into cubes
10 dried red chillies - soak in water until soft
3 stalks serai/lemongrass - sliced coarsely only first 6-8cm part
1 inch fresh kunyit/tumeric - sliced coarsely
1 inch fresh ginger (young/old) - sliced coarsely
A small piece of belacan (2cm x 2cm x 1cm)

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add :
grounded paste

2 stalks of daun kesom / 'chen hom' in Hokkien (leaves & stalk)

5 stalks of daun pudina /'poh hoh' in Hokkien / mint (leaves & stalk)

2 pieces of assam keping

1 tbsp assam jawa extreme (Adabi)

or 1/2 fist-sized assam jawa (original) mixed in a 1/2 cup water & squeezed to release the sticky paste & remove seeds

leftover serai stalks, bunga kantan stalks, pineapple 'hard spine' for added flavour

3. Let boil. Then simmer for 1o minutes. Add :
8 small ikan kembong/fish - cleaned & gutted

Bring to boil again. Cook for 5 mins. Then remove the fish onto a plate. Carefully separate fish from its bones. Keep half of the amount as garnish and pour the rest back into the soup. Cook for another 10 mins.

4. Taste & adjust seasoning - salt. Add a little sugar if the soup is too sour or wait until you add 'Har ko' (slightly sweet shrimp paste) when serving.

Garnish/topping :
1 stalk Bunga Kantan (flower part only - finely sliced
1 piece of pineapple (remove hard spine for soup, slice into strips)
1 pc red chillie - sliced
3 pc small green chillie padi (extra spicy)
2 pcs limau kasturi / calamansi or lime - halved
1 large onion - sliced finely
20 slices of cucumber - cut into strips
A handful of mint leaves (stalks removed)
A can of 'har ko' - dark, thick shrimp paste ('hea koh' in Hokkien) .. see the blue can in the pix -->

Serving :

Heat up the soup. Half-fill deep bowls with rice noodles. Arrange in this order - mint leaves, cucumber strips, pineapple strips, bunga kantan, chillies & top with some cooked fish. Dip a dry spoon into the 'har ko' and scoop a little and place in the bowl. Lastly, pour hot soup over it & serve. If it's not sour enough, squeeze half a limau kasturi (remove pips).

MY VEGAN version

Serves one vegan 8-)

In a small pot, boil 2 cups water. Put in a few pieces of konbu (thick Japanese seaweed - RM2 /pkt @Jusco) or seaweed paste (from vegetarian grocers) & simmer until konbu is soft. Lightly break or cut a piece of hard tofu into smaller pieces. Add to the soup. Add 2 tablespoons of freshly ground chillie paste (as above, but leave out the belacan). Add assam (or juice of 1 limau kasturi) & let it simmer. Add a little soya sauce and sugar. Adjust to taste. It can be a light strong, because once poured into the bowl, the noodles will dilute the taste.

Assemble the ingredients as above & pour the soup over it. Much of the taste & aroma comes from the herbs & chillie paste and garnishes. Konbu (thick seaweed) gives it a bit fishy flavour. For a more fishy taste, serve with a teaspoon of Biosoft seaweed (from Taiwan) -->

SLURP UP! :P

Going ORGANIC ... Justlife

I came to know of justlife through the Climate Change event @ Bukit Jalil recently. I've always been sceptical of these 'organic' kind of shops -- Expensive! .. comes to mind. This view is shared by many, .. but I always remind myself - in order to accept or reject a concept/idea, we should study it, give it a chance for we may learn a thing or two. Either way, we will benefit from the knowledge gained, regardless of whether we decide to follow the path to an organic way of life or NOT!

Having read their magazine, checked out their website, seen their commitment in organizing the Climate Change event,.. maybe there is some thing more to this....

No GMO, fair price to farmers, respect for nature, .. See, read for yourself ... and you decide ...
http://www.justlifeshop.com/pages/about_us.html

For Lui Cha lovers!

I'm intrigued by this Hakka dish (originally vegetarian). A search on the net shows that I'm not the only one.. here, pls allow me to gather all Ho Po Lui Cha sites, blogs, recipes together so we Lui Cha lovers can unite... ha. ha. UNITY through FOOD!

EatingAsia
http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2006/02/green_tea_soup_.html?cid=126752744#comment-126752744 (the story)

The WeekEnd Chef
http://www.theweekendchef.com.my/2005/08/22/hor-por-lui-cha/ (the recipe)

Across the causeway...
http://sg.88db.com/sg/Services/Post_Detail.page/food_entertainment/hawker_food/?PostID=206795 (where to eat it in Singapore)

Lei Cha on Wikipedia..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_cha (the whole story)

Also known as Thunder Tea Rice @SS2 shop
http://masak-masak.blogspot.com/2007/01/lui-cha-or-thunder-tea-rice-restoran.html

Kuali, The Star
http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1022 (recipe)


Lui Cha is the food of the hillside monks.. must have 7 greens, eaten only in Aug/Sep
http://www.fh2o.kuchingkayak.com/2006/07/of-lui-cha-and-vegetarian-hillside.html

Btw, how do you eat it? What's the traditional way... I read somewhere that you pour the soup into the rice & veggie !! I prefer to eat them separately... lots of chewing required, though....ha ha. Also eaten with rice crispies (mai peng) instead of white rice.

My favourite is the one in the coffeeshop across the road from Spectrum Shopping Mall, Bandar Baru Ampang (opposite end to Hong Leong Bank).