Pad Thai

Made a simple dinner on Sunday night using Ding's Pad Thai paste. I cooked it the same way as frying Char Koay Teow; individual plates at a time. It's makes a difference to the taste.

Malaysian Monday #13 - Har Mee (Prawn Mee)

One of my favourite Malaysian hawker food is Har Mee or Penang Prawn Mee. As mentioned, this soup noodle dish is from Penang island, located in the north of Peninsular Malaysia.

To make this dish, it takes some time to save up the prawn heads. When I have saved a reasonable quantity, I will make the prawn stock. The critical element in this dish is the prawn stock, made by frying prawn heads in some oil, garlic, onions, ginger, dried chillies and chilli paste. Then add some water and let the stock simmer for an hour or two on low heat. Season with rock sugar, salt and pepper. The smell is mouthwatering. When stock is ready, strain to remove prawn heads etc into the pork stock.

Prawn heads simmering for stock

In a separate stockpot, I add in water; when it is boiling, I add in the pork ribs and pork loin. Leave the pork stock to simmer for 1-2 hours. After an hour, check that the pork loin is cooked, remove and set aside to cool for later. When you've added the prawn stock to the pork stock, taste and season according.

Other ingredients needed:
Yellow noodles
Mee hoon - soaked in water to soften
Kangkung or Water Convulvus
Bean sprouts
Hard boiled eggs
Prawns - shelled
Fishcake - sliced
Pork Loin - sliced
Sambal - I use Tean's Gourmet Prawn Mee Paste
Fried shallots to garnish

This is my way of cooking Har Mee as my Mum taught me. There are different methods out there. Singapore has its own version of Prawn Mee as well which is very different to the Malaysian style.

I am submitting this post as part of October 2012's Muhibbah Monday - organised by Test for Skewer,3 Hungry Tummies and Just As Delish.

Malaysian Monday #10 - Nyonya Laksa

At our last visit to Eveleigh Markets, I bought this jar of Nyonya Laksa paste from Ding Gourmet Paste stall (same place where I bought the White Curry paste). To cook the laksa, slowly heat a medium size stock pot, add a tablespoon of oil and 4 tablespoons of the Nyonya Laksa paste. Wash and remove curry leaves from stalk and throw into the pot. Lower the heat and fry the spice paste till fragrant. You can add some chicken stock (a few tablespoons) so the paste does not burn. Once fragrant, add the chicken stock and simmer till boil. Follow with a packet of Kara coconut milk. Keeping the heat low, add the fish balls, tofu fish and fried tofu.




Serve with hokkien noodles, bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and bean sprouts.
For additional heat, I served with Ding Sambal Belacan. 

I am submitting this post as part of July 2012's Muhibbah Monday - organised by Test for Skewer, 3 Hungry Tummies and Just As Delish.

Vietnamese Pho (Beef Noodle)

One of my favourite soup noodles is Vietnamese Pho, especially on cold day. The clear beef broth and slippery rice noodles topped with beef balls and thinly sliced beef garnished with crunchy bean sprouts and thai basil definitely hits the spot to warm me up. Sydney has a Vietnamese precinct in Cabramatta which is too far from where I live. There are other Vietnamese enclaves too around Homebush and Flemington, about 30 minutes from my home. Too far for me to head to when I crave for a bowl of pho. The local Vietnamese is alright but it's always busy and crowded. What's a girl to do? Make my own.

Lorraine from NQN shared her recipe a few weeks ago. It didn't seem too difficult, time consuming maybe to make the broth but it is worth it. I left the bones to simmer on low heat to make the stock for about 3 hours. Then, I removed the bones, sieved the stock several times using a muslin cloth and two sieves to get a clear broth. After which, I added 2 star anise, Vietnamese cardamon (3 pods, bruised), ginger and cassia bark and left it to boil for another hour. The fragrance from the stock was heavenly.

In a bowl, add the rice noodles (thin ones), beef balls and sliced beef and white onions. Ladle the soup over the beef - the hot soup helps to cook the raw beef. Top with bean sprouts and basil. Ta da....

Assam Laksa

I love Assam Laksa, a soup based noodle dish served with a spicy sourish fish stock. Assam Laksa comes from Penang island in West Malaysia. It's difficult to find Assam Laksa in the Malaysian eateries in Sydney. I guess the fishy sourish taste is an acquired one. My hubby doesn't like it as he find the smell too fishy.

The wet summer has resulted in overgrowth of daun kesum or vietnamese mint in our herb garden. I managed to coax my Mum to cook Assam Laksa one weekend since it has been ages sinc she cooked it.

Mum painstakingly steamed the fishes - she used mullet and slimy mackerel - and removed the flesh from the bones, taking care to remove any fine bones too. Then she made some chilli paste for the stock. To get the right sour taste, she added tamarind puree and dried tamarind pieces (pre-soaked). It's difficult to pin down what else she puts in as Mum cooks the way she was taught by her Mum - agak agak (based on taste and trial and error).

The bowl of noodles is garnished with pineapple, sliced spanish onion, julienne cucumber, butter lettuce and prawn paste (har ko) with freshly cut chillies as optional.

Malaysian Monday #4 - KL Hokkien Mee

Ooohh... it has been years since I've tasted the black hokkien mee in KL. I like the combination of the yellow mee (noodle) and rice vermicelli. The secret to making this noodle tasty is the garnish of crunchy bits of pork lard on the top. Yes, I know it's very bad for the cholesterol level, but life's too short. And If you've not had this noodle dish for over 10 years, I figure it justifies it.

1 packet of Yellow hokkien mee (noodle), rinsed with hot water
1 piece of rice vermicelli (pre-soaked in hot water)
handful of cabbage, sliced
10 prawns or shrimps (deveined)
120gm lean pork (thinly sliced and marinated in light soy, pepper and sesame oil)
3 pips of garlic, chopped finely
water

Seasoning (to taste)
oyster sauce
light and dark soy sauce
salt and pepper
sugar

1. Cut the piece of pork fat into cubes. Heat the wok, and place the cubed pork fat in it. No oil is required because the fat will melt. When pork cubes are crunchy and golden, remove from oil and set aside.
2. Add in the chopped garlic to the oil remaining in the work, then add in the pork followed by the shrimp. Remove shrimp (to avoid overcooking). Then add in the sliced cabbage.
3. Put in the noodles and vermicelli and water, followed with all the seasonings. Cover and simmer till noodles are tender. Taste.
4. If noodles are tender, serve immediately. This noodle dish is best accompanied with sambal belacan. 

Note: I did not add enough dark soy sauce to get a darker version.

Crispy Fried Noodles with Beef

With the leftover noodles and kailan, I cooked the same dish as here, but I used beef instead. Tasted just as good.

Malaysian Monday #1 - Sang Har Meen (Crispy Fried Noodles with Prawns)

I love reading Gert's My Kitchen Snippets blog. She is a talented cook who enjoys baking and cooking great meals for her family and friends. I showed hubby a photo of her Sang Har Meen the other night, and he recalled the best Sang Har Meen he ate when he visited Malaysia over 10 years ago. When he saw the king-size prawns at the fish shop today, he asked if I wanted to cook Sang Har Meen for dinner.

Here's my version.

5 large size prawns, halved

Dry egg noodles (I bought noodles that were already par-boiled)

a knob of ginger, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

35stalks of kailan 

1.5 cups of chicken stock

1 egg, lightly beaten

corn flour mixed with water

Seasoning

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbs of light soy sauce

1 tsp of Shao Shing Wine (chinese cooking wine)

1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the freshwater prawns into halves. Sprinkle lightly with a little salt and pepper. Heat a pan with a little oil, place the prawns in when pan is hot and cook until they turn red. Dish out and set aside. 
2. Loosen the noodles and fry the noodles in small batches till golden and crispy. Drain and set aside in serving dish. Place the prawns on top of the noodles.
3. Heat a little vegetable oil in the wok and add the chopped garlic, sliced ginger and sesame oil.
4. When fragrant, add in the kai lan. Fry for about a minute or two on medium high heat and then add the seasoning, followed by the chicken stock . Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer until boiling.
5. Then add in the corn flour mixture to thicken the gravy. Stir in the beaten egg.
6. Ladle the gravy over the prawns and noodles. Serve immediately. 

P. S. I am submitting this to Shaz's blog as my 1st entry for Muhibbah Malaysian Monday.

Fried Beef Hor Fun

One of my favourite Malaysian noodles is the 'char hor fun', or wet hor fun. I love the gooey, eggy gravy that coats the noodles. I came across this recipe on 3 hungry tummies blog. I gave it a try tonight for dinner. It was tasty and noodles were slippery... but next time, I must make more gravy and also pan-fry the hor fun (rice noodle) a little longer to get that 'charred' taste.

Fried Beef Hor Fun

Koay Teow Th'ng (Koay Teow Soup)

My two girls have been down with sore throats and colds. This generally happens when the seasons change from summer to autumn. The mornings and nights are cool and the days are warm with beautiful blue skies. Autumn is my favourite season. I have not cooked this one-dish for ages. On a cool autumn evening, it was good comfort food to soothe the throat and warm the soul.

According to Wikipedia, Koay Teow Th'ng (Chinese: 粿条汤) - fresh flat rice noodles are served in a clear soup broth, topped with fish balls, slices of pork, chicken, golden brown garlic bits and chopped scallions. A condiment of sliced fresh red chilies in soy-vinegar usually accompanies the dish. It is a dish from Penang Island, in the North of Peninsula Malaysia.