One NOT SO HEALTHY, but..... YUMMY treat!!

If you go to the roadside 'goreng pisang' (banana fritters) stall, you get the usual deep fried sliced bananas, sweet potatoes & yam. I came across this stall in Pandan Indah (in front of the former Fajar Dept store, now The Store).

Guess what this is !!

"KREPEK DAUN BAYAM " (Spinach Leaf Fritters)

Take note, though... you don't always get it at the stall because they operate alternate weeks ('time share' with another vendor). I got it on the Nike event Sat (22 Mar 2008). They will also not fry this during the 'cempedak' season, ie. when they fry cempedak, they can't fry the spinach -- something to do with a difference in temperature!!

More durian cakes! (2)

Durian, an acquired taste! As mentioned before I don't eat durians but I was attracted to this little shop "HAPPY MEAL", near Petaling Street, by the sheer smell of its durian butter cake! Its at the traffic light junction where you can find the large Popular Book shop, Hotel Malaya, flower boutique (wholesale).

It had freshly baked cakes & tarts (I saw them mixing the batter & baking it, right behind the cashier). .... I got carried away and bought durian butter cake, banana butter cake, plain butter cake (all@ RM1 per slice- worth it); durian tart, almond tart (@RM 2.50- a bit pricey there); durian cream puff (@RM2.40 per pack of 6 pcs), pineapple tart, chocolate cake slice and mixed bean tart.
My friends loved it, especially the durian butter cake & durian cream puff.. It had REAL DURIAN pieces inside, not just the bottled 'essence/flavour'! Only one problem... I wanted to buy some for the Arts & Crafts Guild AGM mentioned in the Crazeepatches craft blog. http://crazeepatches.blogspot.com/

I went at 11.30am .. the durian cakes where not ready.... I hanged around until 12.00noon... it was not baked yet... maybe 12.30, they said! Well, I had to go to work, ... so no cakes :(

I went @12.00 noon a couple of days later... again they said.. may be later in the afternoon... My friend went in the afternoon and .... Oh! it's all sold out!! Apparently, they only bake one large square of the cake a day!!

So, durian lovers and butter cake lovers... Try your luck when you are nearby, around lunchtime! It's a hit with the tourists too! One American backpacker I spoke to bought a slice of banana butter cake. When I recommended to him the durian cake, he said has tried durians & liked it, but wanted to try the banana cake (or maybe his GF didn't like durian). However, minutes later, they were back.. to try the durian butter cake !!! One more plus for tourism !!

How to cut a pineapple, "Malaysian Style"

The pineapple, with all its spiky, rough & tough exterior actually masks a delicious, juicy interior for all who venture to try it!

But how do you get at the flesh inside?? How do you cut it??

• One way --- is to hold it by its crown (you may need to use an oven glove/dish towel, to avoid cuts from its spiky leaves) and just slice thickly the outer skin. Then you have the 'eyes'. You could slice until the eyes are gone, but so is the flesh!! Nothing much left to eat, then!!

• We (my mom, fruit sellers,...), normally will slice diagonally and remove a few 'eye' at a time. keep turning the pineapple around in one hand. This keeps as much as the flesh intact and makes a lovely design once you finish!!
  
  You can cut it into rounds or lengthwise. If lengthwise, you can slice off the hard stem.
  
  
  
  
  



• Martha's way : I saw on Martha Stewart's Show a 'strange' way (to us Malaysians-lah!) of removing the eye's. She just digs out the eyes using a small melon-baller (you know, the one used to scoop watermelon flesh into small balls). Left unsightly holes in the pineapple... However, slice the pineapple into thin (as thin as possible) round slices and BAKE IT (yes!) until its dry & crispy and... Voila! you have lovely delicate pineapple flowers. She used it to top small cupcakes using the Hummingbird recipe (a banana & pineapple cake).

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/dried-pineapple-flowers?lnc=5a79cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=recipecontent_food

Caesar's Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday !!

Caesar is two years old!


This is his cake --->

... a tulip shaped, peanut butter carrot cake !!


See him enjoy his cake at http://petcrazee.blogspot.com/

One-pot Lunch - Chinese Drunken Chicken (I did it my way...)

Looking through my piles of recipes for a chicken dish, I realised that all the recipes require tons of added oil, spices, sauces, marinades, etc... which got me thinking - "How then do we get to taste the real chicken?" Many people complain that the chickens nowadays have no taste. So they drench it with sauce, coat it, fry it,... I say STOP!!

Too much and your taste buds will be over-powered. So you need even more, to feel the taste. (Think, added calories, preservatives, cavities). That's probably why, some people automatically pour chillie sauce or soy sauce onto anything they eat. They say it tastes better. I say, "They may just as well eat just the sauce!

CONCEPT : Let's go back to the basics. This is inspired by watching Martha Stewart cook. She often just sprinkles a pinch of salt & pepper to bring out the natural flavour of her the ingredients in her dishes. So for lunch today, I took a quarter chicken (breast & wing part). Trimmed the fat, removed all skin from the neck area, leaving only some skin near the wings. I rubbed some salt & pepper into the chicken and left it while I prepare the ingredients - a few slices of ginger, 6 kei chee (gooseberres) and washed a bunch of baby spinach (don't cut it, leave it long - it's only about 6-8"). I like to add some canned mushroom (I used scallop mushrooms, this time) and some Chinese cooking wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew).

SLOW COOKING : I placed the chicken, skin-side down, in the pot and added a quarter cup of boiled water, kei chee, mushrooms and a tablespoon of cooking wine. Placed the pot on an electric cooker (steamboat pot/ ricecooker / slow cooker) and closed the lid. Slowly cook (simmer) it until the chicken breast (thickest part) is cooked and it will be tender. By cooking slowly with just a little water and a closed lid, it will be more of a steaming process and the chicken will retain much of its flavour!

ADD CARBS : We've got protein from the chicken, sweetness from kei chee, subtle flavour from ginger & wine - so to balance it off, drop a bunch of baby spinach whole into the pot. Cover it and 'steam' it for a few minutes and your DONE! All in ONE POT!

ADD-ON #1 : No patience to wait for the SLOW-COOKING? (watched pot, never boils, they say!).... WELL, ME TOO - So, while waiting, I cut some purple brinjal (eggplant) lengthwise and scored it to better absorb the olive oil. Arrange it in one layer on a 'seasoned' non-stick pan, drizzle some olive oil on each piece and heat the pan on a slow fire. Turn over when one side is slightly grilled. It's done, once the pieces become soft. Be careful not to burn it!

ADD-ON #2 : I had some pineapple paste leftover (from making pineapple tarts) and some milk, so what can I do with them? First thought - pancake?? But that takes time .... (lazy Sunday, lah!) so I created my own "Pineapple Baked Sandwich" !

Make the batter : In to a large bowl, sift 1 cup plain flour with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (or just use 1 cup self-raising flour) + 1 cup wholemeal flour (for added fibre and texture) + 1 pinch of salt + 1 pinch of cinnamon powder (if you have). Pour bit by bit, 1 small packet of low fat milk into the centre and slowly stir from the inside out, to get a smooth paste or else it will be lumpy! Break 1 egg into the mixture and stir. Add 25g of butter (melted) and stir. Finally add 10 coarsely pounded/chopped almonds (or any nuts you like).

Prepare baking pan : I used to line pans with tracing paper but I learned an easier way (when I ran out of tracing paper, one day!). Take a paper napkin to wipe the leftover melted butter and use it to grease the baking pan (a 5"x 8" pan). Sprinkle some flour onto the pan and tap it on its sides to spread a thin layer all around. You can pour the excess flour into the batter.




Baking it : Pour half of the batter and bake for 10 mins (180 degrees). Take it out and spread a layer of pineapple paste. Then, pour the balance of the batter and continue to bake another 15-20 mins or until you can smell it! Insert a toothpick into the centre and it it comes out clean, it's done! Take it out and leave for 10 mins to cool and keep its shape. Then use a butter knife to loosen the sides. Place a wire rack over it and invert. Leave to cool completely.

Notes:
Seasoned Pan : After spoiling so many non-stick pans, I finally managed to 'season' a small frying pan which I use solely for omelettes and pan frying. It's been some time ago, so I've forgotten how I managed to 'season' the pan but generally, we should oil a new 'non-stick' pan and leave a layer of oil (don't wash it off!) for sometime. NOW, I remember!! - After cooking an egg omelette in a lot of oil, I covered the pan and forgot about it for a few days! When I poured away the oil, there was a nice smooth layer surrounding the pan. So I heated it and managed to fry another omelette, this time with considerably less oil. So, after that I washed the pan but with only a little diluted detergent, so that it is still slightly oiled. I always cover it when not used.
Pineapple paste: You can buy ready made pineapple paste from the Baking specialty store (or supermarket) or make your own - it's easy but time consuming (stirring)! Grate 3 ripe pineapples, add 2 sticks of cinnamon (kayu manis) and stir in a pot over a slow fire. When almost dry, stir in 2 tablespoons of honey (I like the Cameron Highland Wild Honey) and some golden syrup (if you have) and 1 tablespoon (or according to taste) of brown sugar. Makes two rice bowls. It can be frozen in small containers, for later use.

Sift or whisk? : Sifting flour can be extremely messy!! I tried many type of sieves and finally found one convenient to use. Now, according to Martha Stewart, we can use a whisk instead! Why do we need to sift the flour ?? For making cakes, it is necessary, so that the cake will be light. Sifting dry ingredients together also helps to evenly mix the ingredients. BTW, a whisk can also be used in place of an electric beater to cream butter & sugar together for butter cakes.

25gm of butter : Don't you hate it when the recipe say's XX gm and you have to lug out the weighing scale just to measure one ingredient? Well, some sticks of butter have markings on the back of its wrapper in 50gm sections. That'll help!

Melted butter : How do you melt butter or chocolate ? Traditional way would be to stir it over another pan of hot water - messy! I just put the butter (or choc) in a small metal bowl and put it on top of any heat source - eg. on top of the oven, inside the oven (only a few minutes - must take care) or JUST found this out today ! -> place the little bowl on the cover of the SLOW-COOKING chicken in the pot. This will heat up the metal bowl and the butter within.

Brickfields food adventure

During the Chinese New Year, I decided to take a stroll along Brickfields and I stumbled upon a place which sells 'puttu atta' and 'puttu ragi'.

Well, most of us are familiar with 'puttu mayam' - those strings of beehoon-like snack served with coconut shavings and brown sugar.

Well, there's also 'puttu bambu (bamboo)' where the powdery white rice mix is steamed with a few raisins in bamboo sections and 'puttu piring' where the mix is steamed in slightly flat metal plates with dark brown sugar inside.

Now, there's 'puttu atta' where the mix is wholemeal and 'puttu ragi' has a darker mix made of ragi (not sure what that is). Communication with the staff was difficult, punctuated with lots of head shaking and smiling.

However, they were nice enough to let me take some photos. One even offered to pose for me!! Guess they are used to 'tourists' (ha, ha)!

Notice the unique steaming 'towers' too! The mix is stuffed into the long towers and placed over the base in the stove.

Mud cakes vs Chinese New Year cookies

It's a sobering thought! At this time, when everyone (in Malaysia) is worried about eating too much CNY cookies & goodies during their 'Open House' visits, there are people in this "modern-day, high technology" world who literally have to EAT cookies made out of MUD! Sadder to learn that they have no choice but to feed this to their children too!! The 'cookies' are made from yellowish dirt, salt & vegetable shortening.

Do read this article and REMEMBER to be GRATEFUL that WE CAN CHOOSE WHAT TO EAT, unlike some:

Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt
By JONATHAN M. KATZ – Jan 29, 2008
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.
(excerpt from)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcJ474CjaJGOUznskl4ZgTHdpxUAD8UFQVR00

Fancy any durian pastries ? (1)

Just saw this in the Star online video section.

http://videos.thestar.com.my/default.aspx?vid=87676

Do try this out and let me know... I don't like durians, so no way am I trying this. But to those durian 'fans' it should be a real treat !!

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.

Indian Vegetarian - by Brahmin chefs

TRY THIS !

Bajji (Indian snack ala 'tempura')
Slices of potato, onion, bread, carrot coated in a red batter & deep fried.

Vegetable Kofta
An assortment of vegetables topped with a thick creamy gravy and a few cashew nuts. Not spicy at all.

There's a story behind how I ended up with both. Being a bit of a glutton, to accompany the one tosai I ordered, I thought I'd try a side dish picked randomly from the menu - the Vegetable Kofta. The waiter informed the guys in the kitchen. There was some talk & movement in & out of the kitchen. After sometime, he came back & said that they couldn't make it because the cook was away. He recommended the bajji instead but it was deep fried, so I was hesitant but finally gave in as he was quite persuasive.

So, I tried the bajji, which was crispy but way too oily. I took only 1 1/2 of the 4 piece set and packed the rest. Then to my surprise, the kofta appeared! Apparently, the cook came back and saw the order. So I tasted a bit of it- it was good - and packed the rest.

That reminds me - On an earlier visit, when I ordered Teh 'O' kurang manis (tea with no milk and less sugar), but I got teh halia 'O' (ginger tea with no milk) instead! Such, an adventure eating here - you never know what you'll get! Maybe that's why I keep going back there, ha.ha...

Set Lunch
They also have set lunches served in large metal trays lined with banana leaves. A mountain of white rice comes in a small oval platter placed in the centre of the tray, surrounded by 5 small cups of curried veg., 1 cup rasam (sour soup), 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup payasam (sago & milk dessert), 2 small deep-fried salted dry chillies & 1 piece of pappadam.

As I was cutting down on carbo, I had to ask them to reduce the enormous rice portion, twice. It was still quite a lot but I gave up trying to lessen it. The guys just could not believe it and I didn't want to be a difficult customer.

Lunch is served only from 12 noon. So, I can only have the set lunch on weekends or public holidays. Tosai & snacks like bajji, samosa and vadai are available throughout the day. There's also supposedly a healthier version of the (rice) tosai - 'atta tosai', made of wholemeal flour like in a chappati. But it was quite a letdown as the atta tosai turned out to be a rubbery pancake.


Shop : Bakti Woodlands, Jalan Leboh Ampang (opposite BSN)

Low carb (no-starch) meal : My weekend dinner

Menu : OVEN-ROASTED FISH & GREEN SALAD WITH BALSAMIC DRESSING


PREPARING THE FISH
In the rectagular oven pan, marinate the fish (two fish tails) with a little salt & kunyit (tumeric) powder & curry powder for at least an hour. You can grate some ginger into the marinate, too- making it less fishy. Grating is much easier than cutting & pounding it. (Learned that from Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef).

Roll the fish slices in a teaspoon of olive oil, if you like (olive oil is considered the 'good' oil). Makes the skin crispier when roasted.

Then arrange the slices top of a layer of sliced big onions & tomato. This is my way of preventing the fish from sticking to the roasting pan (easier to wash, la!) . Some people use aluminium foil but then again I think it is quite wasteful and some have health concerns about the aluminium in it. BTW, I once bought a pack of aluminium foil and opened it. It smelled funny and upon inspection, suffice to say that it was not clean. I suspect the pack left was opened for sometime & someone later re-sealed & sold it! Buyer beware..

Arrange some slices onions on top of the fish too. Then when roasted, it will be crispier and sweet! I roast the fish in my small oven for around 20-30 min on 180 degrees. How do you know if its done? My unconventional way is to use the 'Nose' test. If a delicious smell comes from the oven, then most probably it's cooked! However, if you smell something burning -- oh-oh!

Alternatively, you can also use an oven-toaster but for smaller fish slices. Small ovens, I believe are more energy efficient if you are roasting only 2 slices of fish!

PREPARING THE SALAD
I don't like to use the iceberg lettuce (a common salad veg.) as it practically has no taste. A better tasting veg. would be the baby Romaine (as in the photo), commonly known as 'Yau Mak'. After washing, you must remove as much water from the leaves as possible. There are many ways to do this, the conventional & the wacky!. The normal way would be to just flick each leaf to remove the water (make sure no one's standing beside you, though :)) or you can dab it with a clean kitchen towel (now, don't waste by using paper towels!). Or you can follow, Mr. Bean and put into a sock, hold one end and spin it. There's actually a gadget (which Martha Stewart uses) called the salad spinner.

I just put them in a plastic container, hold the lid over it with a slight gap, then turn the container upside-down and shake the leaves inside. The little gap will allow excess water to flow out! Close the lid tightly and it can keep fresh & crispy for many days.

Tear each leave into 2-3 parts and place in a bowl. For dressing, I just drizzle a little extra virgin oil and some balsamic vinegar and toss. Add a sprinkle of fine salt & black pepper. The black pepper should be freshly ground to have that nice peppery aroma but after having used & broken 2 pepper grinders, I resorted to pounding a bunch of black peppercorns in a mortar and storing it in a small container.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Once the fish is cooked, put it on one side of a large dinner plate, add the salad on the side and scoop the onions & tomatoes which should be a well-cooked and juicy & spicy, on to the salad. If it is hot, it will slightly blanch the salad leaves, which is fine if you don't really like raw veg.

Use a knife & fork, and you will have a quick, elegant dinner to enjoy which has protein (fish), carbohydrate & nutrients (veg., onion & tomato) and some fish oil & olive oil.

If you are having one of those 'dinner in front of the TV' nights, then break up the fish and put on top of a plate of salad, top with the onion/tomato gravy. Sprinkle a bit of black pepper to perk up the dish. Then you can eat with one hand while glueing your eyes to the TV!

Washing up : 1 oven tray, 1 bowl, 1 dinner plate, 1 grater, 1 fork & 1 knife.

P.S. Oops, just realised that my salad (on the plate) is made with 'Butterhead' salad leaves instead. Tastes great too and not too expensive.