Friday 30 January 2009
Chinese New Year Celebration, Malaysian style!
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'.
Thursday 18 December 2008
Cupcakes...are not just for eating!
Cupcakes are the rage at the moment.
It has inspired not only bakers, but graphic designers too. Nowadays, cupcakes come in many guises.
Like the one above. It's actually soap!! I chanced upon it in this blog.
http://www.creategirl.blogspot.com/
Cupcakes are also used in product launches & themed parties or as souvenirs. Cuppacakes, one of the divisions of +Wondermilk Sdn. Bhd., a design company has created these beauties...
What sets them apart from many other cupcake makers is the subtle use & combination of colours, because these guys are graduates from the prestigious University of the Arts London, Central St Martins College of Art and London College of Printing.
http://www.ilovewondermilk.com/zenphoto/index.php?p=search
Many a time other bakers tend to over use food colouring and you get gaudy, fake looking cupcake toppings!
However, what makes a GOOD cupcake ? LOOK or TASTE? It's debatable.
A passionate baker friend who spent hours experimenting with various frosting & cupcake batter flavours, says that the frosting (topping/icing) must compliment the cupcake. You cannot just put any frosting on any cupcakes, even though they look beautiful. After all the cupcake is to be eaten!!
I guess, it depends on the FUNCTION of the CUPCAKE. If it's for publicity or as souvenirs, then the look matters. There must be attention to detail. It must be beautifully crafted and packaged!
However, for the cake connoisseur, it should TASTE heavenly!
Saturday 15 November 2008
Perut Ikan - 2 versions
Monday 13 October 2008
Making baked SEITAN ?
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.
Sunday 12 October 2008
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
Friday 3 October 2008
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
For the Recipe : http://mohdzawi.blogspot.com/2008/09/ketupat-daun-palas.html
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.
Monday 1 September 2008
EATING OUT, vegan style..
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.
Sunday 31 August 2008
HAPPY MERDEKA... LOVE OUR COUNTRY, LOVE OUR FOOD
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 :)
Saturday 30 August 2008
Fool-proof cake - as easy a 1-2-3-4 !
1-2-3-4 Cake
You only need these --
1 cup margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup any clear soda
Additional butter and flour, for greasing the cake pan
http://www.rachaelray.com/heirloom.php?heirloom_id=55
Sunday 24 August 2008
Penang Assam LAKSA
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!
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.
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
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 -->
Friday 22 August 2008
Going ORGANIC ... Justlife
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
Monday 18 August 2008
BIRTHDAY MEE!
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!!
Sunday 17 August 2008
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).
If you love chocolate...
http://www.theweekendchef.com.my/2006/08/11/dark-temptations/
Eggless Fudgy Brownies - my way!
I'm always into new food adventures! Sometime ago, I picked up a book published by the Vegan Society of Australia which inspired me to create my 'eggless' fudgy brownies. The book gave suggestions on how to substitute eggs with other ingredients - guess what they are! -- banana, icing sugar, cashew nuts, protein powder, etc.
So, I ventured to create my own version of the brownies shown in the book. Actually, I forgot to bring the book home -- so, 'necessity' being the mother of invention, I devised my own recipe based on logic, feel, look, taste & smell (will explain as I go along).
LOGIC - I started by blending a few minutes (pulsing - ie. push the on button only for a few seconds, off it, & repeat until you get the consistency you want):
100 gm dates (remember to check for seeds/pitts or you are going to break your blade!)
1 small (11cm) banana (peeled, of course!)
30 gm raw cashew nuts
3 tablespoons protein powder (whey & soya based)
50 gm icing sugar (its a mix of refined sugar & corn flour)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Van Houten, is dark & good) dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water
LOOK - It should come out slightly thick & gooey. Its okay if the cashews or dates are a bit coarse.
Heat up your oven to 180 degrees.
Pour mixture into a large bowl. Sift parts of 100 gm of self-raising flour and slowly fold in the mixture. Alternate with tablespoons of olive oil (total 5 tablespoons) and mix well.
FEEL - If the mixture feels heavy, slowly add a little boiled water & lightly stir. Do not over mix or your brownie will be too dense. It should be shiny & smooth & not too thick.
Line a long 8"x5" cake tin with baking paper slightly oiled. Spoon mixture into the tin. Lightly tap the pan on the table to remove large bubbles in the mixture. Top with pieces of dates & cashew halves.
SMELL - Bake for 20-30 mins. @20 mins or when the cashews look slightly browned, open the oven door & stick a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, stop the oven. If not, continue for another5 mins. You should also have a fragrant smell when it's cooked. Too strong a smell means the cocoa is burnt.
When cooked, remove and let it sit for 10 mins. Then remove to a wired rack until its cooled.
Wednesday 13 August 2008
Why be a vegan?
According to http://www.vegetarianvegan.com/
Most vegetarians claim that they became a vegetarian for one of three main reasons.
The first reason, which most vegetarians claim, is that they have serious ethical problems with eating meat. Most disagree with how chickens are debeaked, forced to live in small cages, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce eggs fast enough.
Most vegetarians also disagree with the crowded and stressful environments that animals are forced into; and the hormone-laden daily feed used to make them grow faster and produce more.
People who become vegetarians for this purpose often draw ethical boundaries in different spots, depending on their indept personal beliefs. For instance, some staunch vegans will refuse to consume yeast, wear wool, or even eat certain vegetables, such as carrots, that require killing the plant to harvest.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, some vegetarians, sometimes referred to as pseudo-vegetarians, will actually eat fish and chicken on a regular basis.
The second reason vegetarians claim for not eating meat is that it conflicts with their dietary preferences. Some of these vegetarians simply do not like the texture and taste of meat, others do not eat it because it is high in cholesterol and often contains very high concentrations of hormones and preservatives.
The third and smallest group of vegetarians cite some environmental reasons for not consuming meat. They complain that the consumption of meat causes farmers to continually deforest the land to create grazing land for their cattle.
My say ?... check out http://crazeefit.blogspot.com/
http://vegetarian.bhanot.net/