Asian Dishes – Page 10 – The Occasional Cook

Asian Dishes, Bread and Batter, Malay, Meat, Singapore

Roti John

June 2, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

Essentially a minced beef french toast on a batard. Who invented this nobody really knows but definitely in Singapore/Malaysia during Colonial rule.

Buy baguette or batard or what we locals simply call the French Loaf (Roti Perancis). Cut in half and then slice open but don’t cut all the way through.

Prepare seasoning ingredients. Curry powder, ground chillies, chopped coriander, minced beef. Crack five small eggs and whisk till smooth.

Pour two to three tablespoons of oil, and then add a teaspoon of ground chilli paste. Fry till chilli is cooked then add minced beef. Mine is already precooked but it’s ok to use raw ones too, just cook longer till beef is thoroughly cooked through. Add 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder and salt and black pepper. Add one teaspoon of chopped coriander.

Now this is the tricky bit. Form and spread meat mixture in the hot pan to roughly cover the area of the bread. Quickly pour just enough whisked egg to cover the meat mixture and the spread the bread on top of it. Use your fingers to manipulate and get all the egg and meat mixture into the bread. Press down and cook till browned. Flip over and cook the other side so both sides are crispy.

Above is the non-chilli version. Suitable for kids and those who don’t like it too spicy.

To serve, fold the bread and then slice into roughly one inch portions. Make a mixture of ketchup, chilli sauce, water and lime juice to dip the bread with.

Try it! It’s a hawker favourite, especially back in the 80s.

Asian Dishes, Malay, Salads and Vegetables

Lemak Lodeh

May 31, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

This is a VERY typical and common dish in the Malay world. So today I thought I’d make this since there was a special request for it.

There are many variations so I used the simplest one. The best part is no oil in the dish, just boil and boil.

This dish is usually eaten with lontong or compressed rice and serondeng, a coconut floss dish. But the Malays eat this with rice quite regularly too as a day to day home dish with sambal tumis.

Today’s version is not thick because the special requester asked for a thin version. And also requested for lots of vegetables. No problem there!

Step 1.

Blend one large red onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, a piece of turmeric and a small handful of ikan bilis. Blend with water to a super fine paste.

Step 2.

Boil blended paste with enough water to cover half the pot for ten or more minutes till the paste has a wonderful aroma. Add two teaspoons of salt. Basically the concept here is to cook the raw ingredients in the paste but instead of using oil to cook it down, you just boil with water long enough to cook it. A much healthier option.

Step 3.

Add bruised lemon grass and daun salam, or fresh local bay leaves.

Step 4.

Prep the vegetables. French beans, carrots, cabbage, firm tofu and tempeh. I fried the tofu and tempeh first because I wanted that golden colour in the dish later. Not the healthier option. You can choose not to fry first.

Step 5.

Add the vegetables and let boil till tender but still has a nice crisp.

Step 6.

Add one packet of coconut cream. Add a bit of salt if needed after tasting. Let simmer but don’t let it boil or the coconut cream will separate.

And this is the meal today:

Asian Dishes, Japanese/Korean, Salads and Vegetables, Sides

Spinach Namul

March 24, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

The best spinach ever. And it’s so super easy to make! Such a hit. You need to use Asian spinach called Phuay Leng here. All you need is to boil it (not too long!) and then toss it in a mixture of garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Delicious! This afternoon I ate with brown rice, boiled cabbage and beans in peanut sauce, and chicken. 🤪

Asian Dishes, Places, Thai

Markprok Seafood

February 18, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

We googled and we discovered a great seafood haunt in Phuket. Phuket is expensive, depending on where you stay. The cost of the trip itself to Markprok is as expensive as the meal itself! Seriously staying in the northern part of Phuket is not wise if you intend to travel for food or fun.

The food itself is good authentic Thai food. We ordered quite a lot but the best is the clear and very spicy tom yum seafood soup! We got prawns and sweet sour fish. All very light on the palate and tasty. Of course, as Singaporeans we had tasted fantastic Thai food in restaurants but for the authentic experience of local dining, and the fact that in Singaporeanised versions which tend to be heavier in seasoning and oil, we enjoyed the food here tremendously. It’s also very fragrant with all the many herbs and aromatic leaves thrown in.

I am always inspired by my travels. Looks like the next weekend I’ll be whipping up some Thai recipes! 😉

Asian Dishes, Japanese/Korean, Meat

Korean Galbi

February 7, 2018March 3, 2021 7shasha7

I had recently purchased a griller. And am having so much fun having Saturday or Sunday dinners eating grilled food!

My latest try is Korean beef galbi because while the boy was having his taekwondo class, I was roaming in the supermarket when I spotted beautiful boneless beef short ribs.

So that morning, I put the beautiful fresh meat in a ziplock bag. And in a mixing bowl, added 3 tbsp brown sugar, light soy sauce, garlic, smashes of thinly sliced ginger and sesame oil. And then I poured the marinade in the bag and left it in the fridge.

That night, out came the portable grill and soon, the whole kitchen was smokey. I sliced the meat fairly thinly and then we ate that with lettuce wraps, Korean style. I also had some extra chicken breasts which I had marinated simply with bottled honey soy sauce marinade and grilled that too. Overall, I am happy with my weekend grilled dinners and this weekend, I’ll try grilling something else instead!