Finding Time to Cook

Friends always ask me when do I have time to cook / bake / roast... as I am normally out of the house by 9am & back after 10pm.

There are 3 reasons why & when I cook.

1. I am inspired!! .. after watching Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, Queer Eye... No matter what time it is, if I have the ingredients on hand, I will cook up a storm.... sometimes into the wee hours, trying hard not to wake up the neighbours.
2. When someone really wants to eat my cooking!! .. I find pleasure in cooking for others.. Its a 'labour of love' (even if it means hours of washing up). In my school days, we would offer our house for parties, as long as everyone chips in the food bill. I once baked some muffins for the trainers at my gym. One guy was appreciative and commented that usually there's not much healthy food to eat where the gym's located. That prompted me make to a series of simple meals for them over a few weeks... spaghetti, salads, sandwiches... It's nice to see people enjoying food. During the recent CNY reunion dinner, I cooked, cleaned, washed from 8am to 3 am the next day - felt like a marathon, but it was great. Not complaining... already planning next year's dinner menu :)
3. Waste not, want not!! .. As usual, when there is a celebration or festive occassion, we tend to over stock our ingredients. Better more food, than not enough, right? So what do we with the 'extras'? With a little creativity, we will not waste food. We can still get nutritious, tasty meals out of the extras. For example, we over estimated & cooked too much rice. We had rice coming out of both refrigerators at home! So, I took some and added boiled water & some cubed pumpkin and a little salt. Boil until the rice grains breaks slightly & the pumpkin is soft. Great with yesterday's dinner, reheated. When re-heated the veggies tend to be a little soft & the sauce thickens, even dries up & taste is more intense... but that goes well with the pumpkin 'porridge' ;)

There's always time to cook. It just requires :

• a little PLANNING : Stock up regularly used dry ingredients but keep track of its expiry period. That's why I usually don't pour out the ingredients into nicely labelled containers (as recommended by many chefs). It's straight from the pack - because the cooking, shelf life, nutrition details are all there. It saves time. But if I have to, I will snip of the important details from the pack & paste it on the container.
• a little ORGANISING : If I am going to bake tonite, I will call ahead & ask my mom to take out the butter & eggs, so that they are at room temperature by the time I reach home. If I want to make sandwiches or salad for lunch at work, I will slice up the ingredients the nite before. When I return from the market, I'll wash, dry & store the salad leaves in small, tight containers (enough for 1 meal). This will keep fresh for many days & in the morning you can just pop one of it into your lunch bag and assemble the sandwich at work.
• a little CREATIVITY : Create your recipe based on what you have in the kitchen. Be inspired by what you have to work with! Experiment, but keeping in mind the main cooking/baking principles. Dont' be a perfectionist. Cooking should not be a chore, ie. following exactly by the book (except for certain recipes, especially cakes).
• a little COMPROMISE : Use as little utensils & cutlery as possible. Less washing, more time to enjoy the meal. Substitute some ingredients; use canned, pre-cooked (eg. boil a whole pack of chick peas and freeze in small packs, freeze extra soup or stock in small containers), quick-cooking (eg. 2-min pasta instead of regular pasta, instant oats instead of cooking oats).

Eating out, as everyone agrees, has lots of oil (cheap oil, oil that has been re-used over & over - each time this happens the bad cholestrol level rises... you get the idea) and artificial flavouring & colouring. Yes, this makes it look, smell & taste delicious, but only because our tongue is desensitized, constantly being bombarded with chemicals! White sugar does that to you. Wonder why you keep having to add more sugar to make your drink taste good? Try this - go off sugary drinks for a few weeks. Then take a sip of packet drink. Yuck, its too sweet!!

I know, sometimes, it's not possible to cook everyday. If 'ta pau' (take-away) is the order of the day, at least try to combine it with some homemade salad or quick stir fry (in EVOO - Rachel Ray's short form for extra virgin olive oil - the good oil).

For more tips & ideas, http://www.rwood.com/Articles/Finding_Time_to_Cook.htm

Nasi Briyani.. a Malaysian favourite lunch/dinner fare

Nasi Briyani is made from Basmathi (long-grain) rice and a lot of Indian spices, onion and ghee. There are many versions but it is either cooked together with large chicken parts eg. Briyani Gam from Johor; or the savoury rice is cooked separately and served with chicken curry or fried chicken. The dish can be very rich & calorie-laden due to the high content of fat (ghee). To balance the richness of this dish, it is normally served with cucumber-pineapple-onion-green chilli-lime juice salad (Kachumbar) or vegetable acar (pickled cucumber-carrot-onion cooked in chilli paste).

Sam Cheong, a food writer from the Star (local newspaper) was introduced to 'the best briyani in Kuala Lumpur' recently. For the record, here's the extract of the story..

"He (the foodie) emailed me a couple of times, insisting that the best nasi briyani in the city could be found at (Lorong Bandar 13) and wanted to meet up to discuss more about food.


... Lorong Bandar 13 is located off Lebuh Pasar Besar. This is the heart of Kuala Lumpur's financial district and the most distinguishable institutions that you will find here are the moneychangers.

And, it will not be difficult to locate the nasi briyani stalls because they are located off Lebuh Pudu. The first thing you will notice is a fruit stall and then you will quickly recognise the makan places that are neatly lined up in a row.


There are at least a dozen food stalls in this narrow lane that leads to Central Market. I found it amazing that three nasi briyani stalls were squeezed into one location...."

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/19/central/21400287&sec=central

For some peace & quiet, to contemplate your meal!

My favourite spots are :

EDEN CAFE @ Amcorp Mall
- sit in the long padded bench, inside, furthest away from the counter.
I once seeked refuge from the hustle & bustle of the Sunday Flea Market and ducked into this cafe which serves a fairly decent ciabatta (type of Italian bread) Cajun chicken sandwich. I had chamomile tea, which is said to be soothing. Note: No more ciabatta sandwich. Now - Beef salami on Focaccia (Italian bread made with olive oil & oregano herb)

Service was friendly and non-obtrusive. I could feel comfortable enough to take out my book for a short read. There were only a few customers. Since the sandwich was to come with potato chips, I casually asked the male waiter if I could change it for some fresh veggie and he obliged with an understanding smile. Thumbs up for service! The female waiter politely commented that she liked my purse (it had an unusual feature) and the lady in the next table also noticed it, so there was some light conversation before I left, feeling refreshed & happy!! :))

TARBUSH @ Ampang Point
A Lebanese / Middle Eastern restaurant which started as a kiosk in the same mall. Its was very popular. A few years later, it expanded into a restaurant (and another in Bkt Bintang, I think). I had falafel sandwich which is chickpea (kacang kuda) patties deep fried and wrapped in the Arabic flat bread stuffed with salad leaves and a touch of hummus (blended chickpea paste). Served with some onion pickles, and French fries which I declined and the cook gave me a weird stare!

I also tried the 'Wara Ainab' which is flavoured rice wrapped in pickled wines leaves and steamed. Makes a good appetiser! I once saw it being made on TV during one of those Ramadan cooking shows. To compliment the meal, I ordered the Arabic tea, which is hot black tea poured into a cup with some mint leaves in it. A nice refreshing taste! I once had it with some honey at another restaurant.

It's quite a good place to hang out too. They have an interesting a decor : dark 3-D mural of Arabic pots and jars lining the whole beige wall, and two wooden camels in attendance! Service is average but obliging. I (being a bit finicky... not my usual self, I hope) asked for the menu a few times - wanted to try out the authentic dishes. Btw, a little tip : tabouleh is a parsley-based salad. You know, the type of parsley (dark green, small leaves) they use to garnish Western dishes. It has a strong taste and some (like myself) find it unpalatable!

ONAGI Japanese Restaurant (next to Hock Choon supermarket, opposite The Amp Walk & Sucasa)
The chef & owner formerly worked at Kampachi (THE Japanese restaurant most famous for its buffet-you have to book months in advance.. I was told some years ago) for more 10 years. Whenever I visit Japanese restaurants, I almost always order Saba Shioyaki and I have practically tasted the best & the worst of the lot. Onagi serves the best Saba Shioyaki I've ever had. The fish was fresh, and grilled to perfection - succulent inside & crisp on the outside, sealing in the juices. The portion was ample and the price was reasonable.

Although the waiters were young & inexperienced, the senior person at the counter was attentive. He recommended a potato salad to go with the fish but I felt the portion may be too filling, so he gave me a 'half' portion and charged half the price of that in the menu! Quite surprising. I've heard of half portions but never heard of any restaurants in KL implementing it. .. (maybe got to get out more... ha ha). ...The chilled potato salad was delicious, by the way.