Category: Malay

Malay, Meat, Snack

Ramly…of Sorts Burger

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For those living in this region, the Ramly burger is like the epitome of street food burgers. Beef patties are grilled and encased in a thin layer of omelette. The sauce…that’s their secret. Lots and lots of brown sauce, mayonnaise, chilli sauce…. the perfect night stack in Malaysia.

The burger Ramly is banned in Singapore, but there are many stalls during bazaars selling these burgers under the Ramly banner. They used other patties but because the original patties are banned, I guess the manner how these burgers are made allowed the Singaporean vendors to use the Ramly name.

At home, I decided to make my own version. Well, for this one that The May made them. I used expensive Angus beef patties instead of the cheap unhealthy frozen kinds because I wanted the kids to eat healthily. But we followed the Ramly style, with an omelette encasing the juicy patties. And for The Son, a slice of cheese on the beef patties before it got wrapped in the golden eggy blanket.

It was a hit for dinner that night. Will definitely make it again!

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, Malay, Rice

Nasi Goreng Kampong Hijau: Green Fried Rice

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Nasi goreng kampong hijau or village green fried rice in its literal translation, is a typical Malay home cooked dish when you’re just too lazy to cook white rice with all its accompaniments. You know Malay cooking is tedious. You have the rice but you need a protein gravy dish. And if that’s not enough, it needs to be accompanied with a vegetable dish and sambals. So when tired or lazy, this one dish fried rice is a fixture once a week 😌

I love eating the green chilli version. It’s more fragrant.

In a chopper or blender, blend not too finely green chillies, some green chilli padi (for fiery heat), 3-4 garlic, onions (1 large) and a handful of ikan bilis or dried anchovies and a tablespoon of ground belacan (fermented shrimp ubiquitous is SEA cuisine).

Once the paste is done, the rest is easy. Fry paste in oil over medium heat till cooked and then add an egg in and rice. Mix well.

I use basmati rice hence the longer grains. And to serve, vegetables fried with beef and omelette. It’s usually served with keropok, or fish crackers but now is not the time for frying because of our busy work schedules.

Bread and Batter, Desserts, Malay, Snack

Jemput-jemput Pisang (Banana Fritters)

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I posted once before jemput-jemput durian. That was my own take on the classic Malay jemput-jemput or fritters. It’s usually made with bananas.

And since the weather here has been absolutely punishing, the bananas that I had just bought hours ago quickly ripened so fast left out on the kitchen counter. So I decided to save them and make these banana fritters which The Son loves so much.

It’s so simple to make. I used three overripe Malaysian bananas, 1 cup plain flour, 1 tbsp raw sugar, a pinch of bicarbonate soda and a pinch of salt. Now, there is no need to add salt at all actually but I just like the idea of sweet and salty together.

Mash bananas first and then add the rest of the ingredients with 1/2 cup of tap water and mix them all up. Using an ice cream scoop, drop dollops of the dough and fry them till golden and cooked through.

Delicious eaten hot or warm with a cup of tea. 🍌🍌🍌

Asian Dishes, food, Malay, Rice

Ketupat and Rendang and more…

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It’s Eid or what we call Hari Raya in this part of the world. And though none of my family members celebrate by making and eating ketupat or rice cakes, we always welcome them if anyone would pass them to us.

And someone did to me! A good Malay friend passed some of the ketupats her family makes together with all the trimmings.

Ketupat is usually served with beef rendang, sambal tumis sotong, sambal goreng or sambal godok. All these are traditional dishes that go so well together with the rice cake but also served a lot on a daily basis too! So I never understood why the longing for these dishes especially on Hari Raya!

Ketupat is made by making the casing first. My late father used to be able to weave them. The casings are made from coconut leaves. After the casing is made, rice is poured halfway into the casing and then boiled for hours and then hung to dry.

My goal is to share because I don’t really know how to weave the casings but there are many videos on YouTube by real Malays to show how it’s done.

Below are pictures of the wonderful food my friend passed to us the night before Hari Raya. Enjoy watching and maybe googling more about how the Malays celebrate Eid! ☺️