Category: Asian Dishes

Asian Dishes, Malay

Sambal Goreng Tahu Tempeh (Version 1: The Simple One)

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Fasting month is coming and The Hubster mentioned he’d like to eat this every morning. I’ve never cooked it before. Even when I was more diligent in cooking as a young Wife. So now I thought I’d better learn to cook this dish.

This shall be variation 1. Simply because I’ll try other versions when I have all the ingredients I actually need.

This variation is missing 1. Tamarind water/paste 2. All the herbal aromatics like kaffir lime leaves or fresh local Bay leaves 3. Galangal

But no matter. I’ve learned how to use substitutes and the result was good. The Hubster was a happy man and I felt more confident also knowing if ever we have to move to a Western country, and I will actually blow a sizeable amount of money on tempeh there, I can cook this dish. 🙂

First up, the tofu. It needs to be the firmer kind. And soft on the inside. Cut into cubes and fry.

Next, the tempeh. Cut into cubes and fry.

Then, the Long beans. Cut into bite sized lengths.

And then, prawns. Wash and devein.

The paste. Onions, dried chillies, garlic. By right blend also the lemongrass but since I had my blended chilli paste separate (from the freezer made prior by The Helper) I sliced thin the lemongrass.

The substitutes: No tamarind water so I used one piece of tamarind fruit (asam gelugur). I didn’t have fresh Bay leaves so I used dried Bay leaves.

The cooking process.

1. In oil, fry the blended chilli paste. Add the thinly chopped and sliced lemongrass. Add one bruised lemongrass and then sautee till the oil separates from the mixture.

2. Add the prawns.

3. Add the Long beans.

4. Add two tablespoons of coconut cream and the asam gelugur.

5. Once prawns and beans are cooked, add the tofu and tempeh cubes.

6. Season with salt and sugar.

Asian Dishes, Middle Eastern/Turkish, Salads and Vegetables, Sides

Haloumi Tomato Sticks

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Such a simple recipe (in fact, not even a recipe!) but so delightful and delicious.

Cut haloumi into squares, fry them till very brown in olive oil, and skewer them with cherry tomatoes. Just before serving, place skewers on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for about only 5 minutes.

I am so going to make this my signature dish to bring for family events! See how pretty it sits together with the other potluck dishes 🙂

Asian Dishes, Bread and Batter, Indian, Snack

Indian French Toast

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A Friend posted on Facebook a video of an old Indian Sikh man who is famous for his egg dishes. A makeshift stall by the side of the road selling only three types of eggs – boiled, half cooked or scrambled with bread (essentially a French toast style).

I decided to make the French omelette style bread.

In a bowl crack in three eggs. Add finely minced green chillies, tomatoes, a sprinkle of dried Mun and a few rounds of freshly ground black pepper. Salt to taste.

Pour the mixture into some hot oil and then proceed to add two slices of white bread. I didn’t manage to snap a photo when the bread went in. Fold the bread with the egg underneath it in half so essentially you’ll have two breads sitting on TOP of each other. Cook till eggs are done and cut the bread into two then fours using your spatula.

Voila! Is all done. For the egg mixture it’ll be nicer with finely minced purple onions but the family here doesn’t like onions so I’ve omitted it from the recipe.

Asian Dishes, food, Places

The best of halal Thai Street food

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So we just came back from a very good holiday in Krabi with a belly full of good food and a good shade darker.

Featuring the best of what I ate. Last photo of insects is just a novelty. Didn’t see a single person buying them at his stall at the Krabi Night Market. By the way, this is SUPER overated and really not worth the visit.

1. Grilled meats. Soooo tender and flavourful. There’s cubes of fat in the middle of the beef and hence the melt in the mouth deliciousness.

2. Fresh grilled squid with barbecue sauce.

3. Mango sticky rice!

4. Grilled corn. So delicious!

5. Khanom Buang. Traditional Thai snack only found on the weekends night markets. It’s meringue with a savoury topping. Nothing I’ve ever tasted in Singapore before. Yum!

6. Pad Thai! I bought packets of pad Thai sauce in this trip. Will be whipping some up when I get my new kitchen in a month’s time!

7. Thai tea! So good here especially when the weather was sooo hot on some days.

8. Fried insects! For the fearless and boundary-less 😃

Asian Dishes, Japanese/Korean, Noodles and Pasta

Japchae

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A few years ago I posted a very lazy version of japchae: just using the noodles but stir frying it like how SE Asians fry noodles.

Yesterday I tried doing it the traditional Korean way ie to cook each ingredient individually and mix them into the noodles instead of stir frying them.

For the noodles, after boiling them, season with 6 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tbsp is sesame oil and 1 tbsp of yondu sauce. This yondu sauce can only be found in Korean grocery stores. And because I can’t read Korean, until today I do not know what it is. My BIL who married a Korean said that it is simply ‘magic sauce’ 😂

For the beef, I marinated with light soy sauce and erm worschestershire sauce. Not so authentically Korean here but that’s my liberty as a cook! Lol

For the carrots, stir fry till soft but there’s still a nice bite to it with chopped garlic, light soy sauce and the yondu sauce. I seasoned the sliced white button mushrooms the same way.

Mix the cooked ingredients into the noodles gently and sprinkle lots of sesame seeds. And voila! Japchae.