: : Chicken Curry : :



As promised, here is the recipe for Granny's Curry Chicken. The number of ingredients here aren't a lot because most of the spices have already been added into the curry paste.



1 small bowl of curry paste or 2 tablespoon of curry chicken powder

1/2 chicken, cut into smaller parts

A few strips of beancurd, broken into slightly smaller pieces

8 small purple shallots, sliced into half

2 tablespoon of cooking oil

Some water

A big wok with a lid to fit (approx. 20-30cm in diameter)











A note about the curry paste used here. The spices have already been added in, including the chilli powder. However, when using curry powder, you'll need to use a lesser quantity in order to get the same taste.







I luv beancurd! Yummy with curry! The picture shown is a full length one. For the curry, the beancurd is broken into strips of smaller lengths. Then, it's later soak in water to rehydrate it so that it expands before being added into the curry.



Now onto the recipe!



Step 1







Heat up the oil on a slow fire until it is hot. To check, stick a dry spatula into the oil and press it against the wok. (Funny thing to note : over here, the spatula is called the frying stick!) If you start to see small bubbles come up, the oil is hot enough. Note that oil tends to spit if water is thrown into it. Slide the onions into the oil by pushing them from the side. Do not just drop them into the wok else the oil will start spitting. Fry the onions until they become soft and fragrant. Do not brown them.



Step 2







Fry the curry paste with the onions on a slow fire. Do not stop stirring. Add some water in if the paste is starting to dry up from the frying. No matter what happens, MUST NOT LET THE PASTE BURN!! Fry for a few minutes until there is a fragrant smell coming out. For first timers, be careful not to stand too close to the steam else your eyes will start to tear. I think it comes from the chilli inside the cooking.







Step 3







I hope that you still have a slow fire going. Big fire, smelly burnt smell. From the side of the wok, slowly slide the chicken in. The last thing you would want is a burnt mark on your skin, or worst, your face. (Incidently, if you do get burnt from hot cooking oil, the sap of a banana tree works wonders. Of course, you'll end up a sticker but when one is in pain, one doesn't care. Gotta look for a banana tree first!). Add some water if it gets too dry. Remember, the water is to prevent the chicken and curry paste from burning. Add in about 1 small bowl and stir the chicken until the outside is partially cook. Then, fill the wok with water : about half the wok should be filled with water. Turn up the file until the water starts to boil. Lower the fire and let the whole curry simmer. Cover the wok with a lid to cook the chicken faster. The lid creates a small pressure cooker so the chicken will be more tender.



Step 4



Once the chicken is cook, add in the hydrated beancurds. How to check if the chicken is cook? Try it lar! That's the only way to tell. Simmer it until the beancurd is hot.



Sorry I didn't add in a final picture of the finished dish. Completely forgot about it and when we had it for dinner again today, it looked to messy. Think there were some leftover so will take another pic tomorrow.



The orangey colour comes from a spice called tumeric. It doesn't add much spicy-ness to the dish but rather the colour. Notice that there is no coconut milk added in? Great for people who are watching their diet. Granny wanted to lose weight so omitted the coconut milk in most of her curry cooking. Although, I do think that this version is a lot spice-er compared to the version with the coconut milk.



As for buying curry paste, it's a 50-50 chance. Might get a good one, might not. Easiest way to find out is through word of mouth but do not be surprise if it doesn't come out well. I guess it's just plain luck. One thing good about curry paste is that it keeps in the freezer for ages.



So, that's just about the 1st actual recipe for this blog. Granny says that she hopes everyone enjoys it. I know we do, every Sunday. It's curry day every Sunday, 52 times a year.

: : Chicken Siew Pau : :



KBH and PC were in town on a short holiday, staying at PC's childhood home. So, I pop by to meet up with them and brought along some siew pau.







I asked for the pork version but got the chicken version instead. It still tasted good though. The pastry is very very soft and the filling is not too sweet. The meat was very tender which is actually one of the critical traits of this pastry.



I bought this from Expert Hawker Centre, Tabuan Jaya, as it was the closest coffee shop that sells 'Kuching Siew Pau'. Actually, other coffee shops also have this siew pau. Look out for a food warmer with the sign 'Kuching Siew Pau' on it. Sometimes, they put up a picture of a yellow tabby cat that is kicking his legs into the air with his paws behind his head. I only know of another place that sells this siew pau is the Siang Siang Hawker Center in Tabuan Jaya. 'Kuching Siew Pau' makes the better tasting version compared to others and I've tried many versions.



In KL, there is a very famous coffee shop in SS2 (or was it SS3?) that sells delicious siew pau. I remember the coffee shop was facing the highway and Damansara College. There are two huge ovens to cook this pastry and it's open throughout the entire day. Yum!

: : Tea-time : :



One of Granny's friend pop by to drop off some bak chang. Yum! She was making some for her daughter and had make extras. Granny immediately opened one and pop it into her mouth!



I've been pestering Granny for years to teach me how to do this but she has it's too much of a bother. Bak Chang is pork meat, chestnuts and black mushrooms stuffed in glutinous rice. This little rice ball is then steamed after being wrapped up in pandan leaves. It is actually shaped as a triangular pyramid.















There are many versions to different kinds of bak chang available as different types of stuffing are used. Other than pork meat, there is the tau sa (red bean paste) and peanut version. Sometimes, bak chang without any filling except for the glutinous rice, is available. Granny makes a mean sweet sauce to go with this : mixed gula melaka (thickened brown sugar) with soy sauce. Sounds pretty disgusting but trust me when I say that it goes well with plain bak chang!

: : Breakfast : :



Good morning! It's a really cool morning after yesterday's cold and dreary day. Granny bought some mea sua when she went to do her grocery shopping. Yum! Mee sua is a popular FooChow dish. It's actually just rice noodles with chicken soup with some Chinese red wine added in. Yep, potent stuff although this version didn't have that much red wine in it. The noodles look like bee hoon but they aren't. They're softer and more filling to the stomach. Also, they're thinner compared to bee hoon but have a flat surface.







It's actually a very simple dish to do. Cook the noodles separately, then drain out the water. The soup is made by boiling pieces of chicken, black mushrooms, some ginger (to add in a spicy and tangy taste) and some red wine. If you like more red wine, then put more inside. For the black mushrooms, please un-dry the dried mushrooms first! You can do this by soaking them in water until they expand. Then, rinse the mushrooms a few times to get rid of the strong taste unless you like it that way. I would suggest that the noodles be cooked last.



I did promise some pictures this morning of Granny's home-cook meals but couldn't wake up early enough. *sheepish grin*

: : Expiry Date : :



I wonder if I'll run out of things to talk about in another few more weeks. Hmm... well, let's see what happens. At least there is more than 3 weeks of blog posting up so I'm still here! By the way, so is Granny!

: : Granny's Cooking : :



Brrr... it was a really cold day today with the rain pouring down in the morning and afternoon. The temperature at night has dropped down to 24 degrees Celsius which is considered really cold for this part of the equator. It is surprising because it's supposed to be the start of the dry season at this time of year where it's usually very hot and dry.



Coming back late from the office, Granny had cooked sweet and sour fish. The picture is a bit unsightly because my uncle wallop half of it. Tried to rearrange such that it looks more attractive but could not do it. Then again, when one is in a typical Chinese Restaurant, the food always look like one big mess.







To prepare the dish, Granny deep fried the fish in oil first until it was very crispy. The fish used is ikan tenggiri / mackeral. Yep, we're still trying to clear the freezer of Uncle Cyril's fishing catch a few weeks ago. Here's a cooking tip to prevent the oil from spitting and popping : add a little bit of salt into the oil before frying. About less than 1/4 of a teaspoon is sufficient.



Granny then prepared the sauce using Maggi's tomato sauce with slices of cucumber and onions. No additional sugar was added as the sweetness would have come from the tomato sauce and onions. No cornstarch was added, hence there was a lot of gravy on the side. Can't really call it soup because it wasn't that much but it wasn't a lot that it was very thick gravy either. Well, I'm not complaining as this tastes a lot better compared to sweet and sour fish in UK!

: : Comments : :



Have added in a comments section at the bottom of each blog. Hopefully, it's more stable than SquawkTV.

: : Granny's Cooking : :



Had dinner at home today and surprise surprise! Granny has come up with some favourites. Yummy.



Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn







Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

One of the many many versions of mixed vegetables, otherwise known in the western world as chop suey! This one was with cauliflower and celery. Of course, chopped garlic is added into the dish to remove any unwanted smell or taste in the vegetables.







Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

This is an extremely easy dish to do for beginners to Chinese cooking. You can boil it for as long as you like and nothing can go wrong. Even if the pork turns out soft, it's okay as the taste would have gotten into it. This stew is more of a soup as it's not thick at all. Put a slab of pork meat (500-600 g) into a pot of water with dark soy sauce and garlic. How much garlic? Well, try a few cloves first, maybe 5-6 pieces with the skin on. Can always add more in. Don't worry about the garlic taste because it'll all go into the soup and pork. Can't even taste the garlic taste in the pork but somehow it brings out the taste in the pork. Boil the soup on a slow fire until the pork is cook. Remove the pork meat and wait for it to cool. Then slice it into slices and put it back into the pot. Boil again on a slow fire, adding in black mushrooms and fried tauhu cut into big cubes. Boil until the meat turns brown. Add sugar and salt to taste. MSG is up to you : usually less than 1/4 of a teaspoon is enough. Or, you can put everything into a crock pot and leave it cooking overnight. It's real easy to do. However, remember to add more water if the pot runs dry.







Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

This is seriously an adventorous dish for anyone but it is definitely tasty from the black peppercorns. Also, it's an extremely easy dish to do just like the pork stew above. Can cook it for as long as you like and it still tastes as good. Granny added in a small slice of ginger to bring out a slight spicy, tangy taste to the meal. Yummy! Nowadays, one can find this soup in herbal hawker stalls all over Kuching. So, don't worry about not finding it as you can do so.

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :



Yes, I went back to Thompson Corner for lunch again. AH had to eat where there was halal food so okay lor. Suffice to say that I ordered pork and ate in front of him but he's quite cool about it. BJ, SA and JJ were also having lunch together with us so I had more pictures to snap. Yes, I remembered this time!



Chinese Fried Rice

Malay Fried Mee

Bak Kut Teh





Chinese Fried Rice

This is a very "white" version of fried rice. One of the whitest I've ever seen. It's only so-so so be prepared. The reason why it's not so dark is because the hawker seller used light soy sauce and not the dark type. I suppose some people like it this way. Another thing missing is the taste of deep fried shallots. Now, the shallot is the ingredient that brings out the flavour of Chinese Fried Rice. Ahem, non-halal.







Malay Fried Mee

There is a difference between Malay Fried Mee and the Chinese Fried Mee. Malay Fried Mee is generally very spicy AND sweet as well. A lot of dark soy sauce is used for this one but it was still tasty. Checking the picture tonight, just realised that it was a bad shot because the chicken bone is exposed but oh well. Was being chased by people to hurry up to take the pictures. Be prepare for at least a 15 minute wait for this mee but it's worth it! Another favourite from this stall is the Malay Fried Kway Teow. That is also tasted. As the name implies, it is a halal hawker stall although it's not always open during lunch time.







Bak Kut Teh

I'm giving up eating bak kut teh at hawker stalls. The Sarawak version is so totally different from the West Malaysian version. Too much sugar and too little spices and garlic. Also, too much sugar. Yuck! Bak Kut Teh actually means Spare Rib Teh but that's the literal translation to English. What's inside the soup? Pork meat, pork skin, pork stomach, pork intestines, tauhu and lettuce. Definitely not for one who is not used to this. Granny makes better soup out of a packet! The best Bak Kut Teh quick fix packet is the A1 brand. I heard from a friend that the family that owns the shop selling the famous Bak Kut Teh in Klang, Selangor, is manufacturing this brand. Wouldn't be surprising as the packet version is good! This is an extremely easy dish to do and you can boil it for a long time without having to worry about it getting spoilt. Great during winter times in UK! However, for the Westerners, it's for the adventurous as there is some...er...shit in the intestines. Not much but enough to taste. Some places have it more than others. Sort of a delicacy.



Quick directions to Thompson Corner. It is the Tabuan Jaya branch, behind Bank Utama, facing the wet market and carpark. Can't miss the big sign. Always a popular foodspot during lunch time especially since it serves those iced drinks! Yum!

: : Granny's Famous Recipes : :



Had a request from Carla to put up recipes of Granny's tasty dishes. Will try to accomodate that. Problem is that I'd have to wake up early during the weekend to catch her doing it. Anyway, let's see what happens this Saturday. Must remember to sleep early on Friday night.



Problem is the measurement. I probably will not be able to get it write but hopefully, accompanied with pictures, I can work something out. Granny's policy is if you like more of something, add more in! That was how I learnt how to cook as well. Important thing is to taste the food to see if it taste just right.



I'll put up some of her basic tips on cooking food, especially the curries. Also, have to consult my nature-loving uncle on the English translation for some of the local vegetables. So, please bear with me.



By the way, I should be able to post a step-by-step shot of how she makes her tasty curries. Sunday is curry day so she usually makes an extremely big pot to last for the next 2-3 days. Also, I hope to persuade her to make Salted Fish Curry with Pineapple and Prawn. Now, that is a culinary wonder considering that the salted fish no longer tastes salty after the curry is done. But, not this Sunday. Gotta see if there are any pineables in the market.



Stay tuned to this blog!

: : Gamelan : :



You know what? Was so hungry today at dinner that I totally forgot to take pictures! Oh well, guess everyone has to settle for a quick rundown on the menu.



Gamelan is an Indonesian restaurant located just past the Simpang Tiga roundabout, behind Bank Utama. It's a nice place that is not noisy and very cozy as well. However, there are a lot of mosquitoes outside so would be advisable to sit inside where the aircon is.



The menu for the night :



Cumis Sos Mentega

Direct translation would be squid in butter sauce. This is yummy and is always on the menu whenever BJ and myself head over to Gamelan for dinner. It's spicy and tasty at the same time although a bit oily from the butter.



Kangkung Belacan

Found out today that kangkung is actually Chinese spinach from another website. Normally, this dish had so much chillie inside that it makes one really really sweat. However, today was a very mild version so we wallop it pretty quick. One thing about kangkung is that it is one of the 'cool' food that it will cool your body down pretty fast. Also, there is a wive's tale that kangkung causes cramps in the legs. I can testify to that as well as some of my other friends! Another note about this veggie : if you're not careful, you might be eating one grown in a drain. Yes, it's a water plant and some small-time farmers do actually grow this in drains. It's a hollow plant so if you're cooking it at home, you'd need to rinse it thoroughly before cooking it.



Fried Chicken in Soy Sauce

Sorry, my knowledge of the Indonesian language is totally zilch so went for the English translation. I'm not sure what the spices used were but I suspect the chicken was marinated in soy sauce, sugar and unknown (to me anyways) spices. Still, it was extremely tasty.



Stir-Fried Long Beans with Tauhu

This is standard fare and we girls didn't want to have a heavy meal. So, it was mostly veggie all the way except for the chicken. This was so-so because the beans were not cook until it was soft. I guess some people just prefer it a bit tough.



Rice

It's amazing how a bowl of good rice can complement a good meal. If the rice is terrible, the entire meal is spoilt after that. I believe that the rice used is either the Siamese Fragrant Rice or the local Bario rice. The grains were slightly sticky and small as well. Very tasty. Yum yum.



So, sorry about that folks. Guess it was a pretty tiring day that taking pictures was the last thing on my mind! Plus, had dinner really late so was very hungry!!

: : Granny's Cooking : :



Dinner is, as usual, a beautiful (and delicious!) symphony of taste and colours! I just cannot do it justice with my camera.



Chopped Long Beans Stir-Fried with Egg

Teochew Fish

Chai Sim Soup (Chinese Mustard Soup)







Chopped Long Beans Stir-Fried with Egg

Long time favourite. (Notice how I enjoy my food? ;p) The long beans are chopped and then stir-fried with slices of garlic and egg. The taste is in getting the right amount of salt and egg into this dish AND at the same time ensuring that the beans are just nicely cook i.e. soft but still firm enough to bite into.







Teochew Fish

At least, I think it's a Teochew dish as they always like to cook with a lot of dark soy sauce. The fish used is a tenggiri or rather, mackeral. Uncle Cyril has been catching this fish for the past few months and we've been basically eating it non-stop! The fish is first deep fried. Later, the sauce is prepared by frying the soy-sauce with onions, garlic and serai (lemon grass). Then, the sauce is poured over the fish and served hot Hot HOT!!







Chai Sim Soup (Chinese Mustard Soup)

Another clear soup for dinner time. Very simple to do. Cut up the veggie, pour in a pot of water, when half-cook add in meat, add salt+pepper to taste. Name of the veggie is Chinese Mustard, courtesy of Uncle Cyril's vast pool of knowledge on plant life.

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :



Lunch today was really a moral booster after a bad Monday. Had my two favourite food :



Sarawak Laksa

Ais Jagung (Iced Drink with Corn)







Sarawak Laksa

An all-time favourite dish in Sarawak. The taste is similar to curry laksa but it is thicker with many other spices and herbs added into it. The one I ordered had the following ingredients inside : bee hoon, sliced chicken, sliced prawns, sliced squid, sliced omellete, taugeh (bean sprouts) with chopped spring onions as garnishings. It was accompanied with a slice of lime and belacan (prawn paste with chilli). The best laksa sauce is made from the Swallow Brand with the logo of a blue swallow there. The stall I ordered it from is not halal.







Ais Jagung (Iced Drink with Corn)

This used to be a kiddies drink for me and my sis when growing up. After that, we graduated to more fanciful iced drinks like ABC and ang tow chendut (red bean with green jelly in coconut). Anyway, for the iced corn drink, it's definitely a thirst quencher during a hot hot sunny day. It's actually ice shavings mixed with corn (of course), condensed milk, brown syrup and grenaldine syrup. Mix it altogether for a juicy, cooling drink!



Thompson Corner is a hawker food stall where a lot of proprietors sell different types of food for reasonable prices. This particular branch is located in Tabuan Jaya, behind Bank Utama, next to Expert Foodcourt. Note that there is only one halal food stall in this hawker centre.