Fried Flat Noodle with Kicap Manis(Sweet Soy Sauce)

I always heard about kicap manis (sweet soy sauce)but never try to eat or cook until now!! Well as you all know there are so many type of soy sauce in the market this days.Sweet soy sauce or Kicap manis ,which has a thick, almost syrupy consistency and a pronounced sweet, treacle-like flavor due to generous addition of palm sugar. It is a unique variety; in a pinch, it may be replaced by molasses with a little vegetable stock stirred in.To my surprised I love sweet soy sauce taste and flavor in my cooking!! On the bright side I can save adding sugar in my cooking, I also like tangy sweet in many of the dishes I cooked.One of the dish is "Char Keow Teow"!!

Ingredients:

2 sheets flat noodle,cut 1/2 inch each stripe(if frozen microwave for 2 minutes)

2 Chinese sausage,soaked ,removed skin and sliced thin

5-6 egg

1 cup minced meat(pork,beef or chicken)

5-6 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped

1/2 pound medium shrimp,shelled
200 gm Chinese chives,wash and cut 2 inch

1 lb mung bean sprout

2 tbsp chicken granulated powder

2 tbsp kicap manis or to taste

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

2 tsp ground pepper

2 tbsp oil

some fried shallot for garnish*optional*

some cut red pepper*optional*

Method:

1:Heat wok or large skillet at high heat.Stir fry sliced Chinese sausage until fragrant or light brown on both side,then dish out,set aside.I didn't use any oil coz Chinese sauce have the oil itself..

2:Crack all eggs into the wok,make scramble egg,then dish out with the Chinese sausage .

3:Use the same wok,add in some oil and chopped garlic,fry until fragrant,then add in minced meat and shrimp..Stir-fry about 1-2 minutes,then add in flat noodle,soy sauce,kicap manis,oyster sauce and ground pepper.Toss or mix all the ingredients at high heat well,about 5 minutes.

4:Check the seasoning,then add in scramble eggs,Chinese sausage ,Chinese chives and bean sprout,mix well.Don't cook bean sprout too long .To retain the crispiness add in bean sprout at last..

5:Dish out ,sprinkle with some fried shallot and serve warm with cut red pepper.

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Pulut Panggang (Grilled Glutinous Rice)

Pulut panggang literally translate to English as "BBQ glutinous rice" .But actually this snack consisted of spices, coconut,dried shrimp and glutinous rice. You can find this snack easily at any hawker stall or night market (pasar malam) in Malaysia.Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to just step out to the street and get this snake anytime I like,so I have to make myself. Here are my simple version of Pulut Panggang..

Ingredients for Glutinous Rice:(A)

300 gm glutinous rice,washed soaked for 4 hours or overnight and drained

1/2 can coconut milk or 200 ml

1 tsp salt

2 pieces pandan leave(screwpine leave)

Filling:(B)

2 tbsp sambal-belacan-paste

4 tbsp dried shrimp,soaked and chopped fine

1 1/2 cup white grated coconut or more

1 tsp chicken granulated powder

1 tbsp sugar

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16-18 pieces softened banana leaves (20 cm x 15 cm)

some toothpick

Method:

1: Prepare steamer with water with high heat.Combine all ingredients (A) in a steaming tray or deep plate until cooked,about 45 minutes.

2:Remove and fluff up the rice,set aside.Divide into 16-18 parts.

3:Heat skillet or pan at medium heat with sambal-belacan-paste,chopped dried shrimp,grated coconut and all the seasoning .Sauteed and mix well until fragrant.Check the seasoning and dish out.

4:Shape 1 part of glutinous rice into a prepared cut rectangle on the banana leaf.Scoop 2 tsp filling in the center,roll up tightly in banana leaf.Pierce both end with toothpick.Trim some excess banana leave if necessary.

5:Grill and serve.

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Peanut Satay Sauce with Compressed Rice (Nasi Impit)

Peanut sauce or Satay sauce is a typical sauce made with a variety of spices and seasonings such as chili , coriander, cumin, caraway, garlic, shallot, ginger,palm sugar, lemongrass,coconut milk,tamarind juice and oil. I know alot of American love Thai's peanut sauce because it's taste tangy sweet compare with Malaysia's peanut sauce which is more spicy and powerful spices flavor.As a Malaysian ,I love Malaysia version peanut satay sauce compare with Thai's version,well maybe you can said I'm biased but I still prefer nutty and spicier peanut sauce than mild flavor sauce!.Here is my simple way of making peanut satay sauce..Hope you enjoy it! Ingredients:
1/2 cup sambal belacan paste
1 tbsp kurma powder
1 tbsp ground coriander powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 can coconut milk ,400 ml
2 large piece palm sugar or 200 gm coconut brown sugar
4 tbsp tamarind powder
salt to taste
1 lbs or 2 bowls fried peanut,grinded/crushed

You can buy ready pack compressed rice in plastic bag,boil following the instruction on the package.

Method:

1:Heat large wok or skillet at medium heat with sambal-belacan-paste.
Then add in coconut milk,kurma powder,coriander powder,palm sugar,sugar and tamarind powder.
2:Stir-fry all the ingredients until fragrant.Check the seasoning,keep stirring until the gravy become thicken,leave it to cool.Add in crushed peanuts into the gravy.
3:Serve with satay or compressed rice.
Note:

This sauce is suitable for serve with satay(BBQ meat on the stick) .If the sauce is too watery,add more crushed peanuts.

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Soybean Juice/Soy Beans Drink 豆漿水

Mishu loves fresh soy drink or soy juice..She always ask for soy juice when she want something to drink.I know soy juice is good for her health.It's contains calcium and protein which as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and it's may reduce the risk of heart disease .Usually I bought fresh ready make soy juice from Asian supermarket shelf but most of the time the ready make drink smell weird.I guess maybe it's almost near the expired date. So I decided to make my own soy milk at home for her.Chinese soybean juice basically consists of ground soy beans and water .American soy milks, on the other hand, contain all kinds of other stuff like vitamins, salt, and vanilla or chocolate flavor are other common additives.Actually making pure soy milk at home is not really as hard as you think..Just some extra work involved but it's really refreshing good when you gulp the whole glass down your throat. Ingredients:
2 lbs soy beans,soaked overnight preferred
4 liter water,divided
2 cups sugar
6-7 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves)

Soaked soy bean overnight before blended/ground fine
Blend soy beans until fine/puree,add some water to help the machine to puree the beans,one cup at a time until very fine
Then use a clean cheese cloth to wrap the ground puree and squeezed the juice out to a large boiling stock pot.Add some water to mix with the pulp fiber to squeeze the juice out if necessary.Removed pulp fiber from the cloth carefully .Keep repeat the same procedure until all the grounded beans done.

Add in the remaining water into the stock pot,then add in pandan leaves together and boil at medium heat for 1 hour.

You can add in the sugar with the ready cooked soy juice or cook the sugar syrup separately but I prefer to use sugar syrup for my soy juice.

Note:

It's best to consume soy juice on the same day.If you have leftover,don't leave the soy juice at room temperature.You must store it in refrigerator!

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Three Cups Chicken Wing (San Bei Ji 三杯鸡)

I remember one of the first Taiwanese dishes I had was 3 Cups Chicken at Formosa Taiwanese restaurant in Queens,NYC. From there I learn to love this Taiwanese dish. Originally Taiwanese restaurant use chicken in bone for this dish but these days alot of restaurant served"San Bei Ji" with boneless chicken. The dish derives its name from the three cups of sauces required. For each chicken, a cup each of soy sauce, rice wine (usually mijiu although it may be mixed with Shaoxing jiu), and sesame oil are added beside Asian /Thai's basil and ginger. I like my Three Cups Chicken spicy and cook with chicken in bone, so I used chicken wing and infused dried pepper to cook this dish..Bones add more flavor,I believed.The aroma of this chicken dish is really heavenly garlicky and tangy sweet.If you can't find an authentic Taiwanese restaurant nearby,why not try to cook this dish at home? Ingredients:
10 whole chicken wings,wash and clean
3-4 inch ginger,scale the skin and sliced
2 bulbs fresh garlic,peeled and chopped
10 pieces dried whole pepper
2 stalks Thai's basil ,use leaves only
( I used regular basil from my garden)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup rice wine
2 tbsp sugar

Method:
1:Heat wok/skillet with sesame oil at medium heat,add in sliced ginger,dried whole pepper and chopped garlic,stir-fry until fragnant or lightly brown.
2:Then add in clean chicken wings and let's it braised for 5 minutes with lid on.
3:Remove wok's or skillet's lid,then add in soy sauce,rice wine and sugar .Stir-fry all the ingredients well and reduce heat to low.Let the chicken wings simmer in the gravy for another 30 minutes or until the gravy thicken.
4:Check the seasoning,then add in basil .Braised for another 3-5 minutes before remove from heat.
5:Dish out and serve warm with white rice.
Note:

You can use others meat beside chicken for this recipe.

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Grilled Mackeral with Sambal Belacan

Summer is the time for outdoor grilling a.k.a BBQ grilling. Recently I bought some fresh mackerel from Chinatown and would love to grill it with pre-cooked homemade sambal belacan I made. Eating grilled sambal fish at Malaysia restaurant in US is really pricey ,so the ideal and affordable method is making this fish at home,right? Honestly,grilling your own fish at home is really easy and simple,provided you have aluminum foil ready and handy..Of course when I bought these fish at the market,I requested the seller to clean and remove the head for me.....make my life easier,right?

Ingredients:
1 clean mackerel,clean and head removed
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sambal-belacan-paste
1/2 lime
handful cut cilantro
1 piece 12x12 aluminum foil

Method:

1:Rub sea salt all over clean mackerel,then wrap mackerel with aluminum foil,12 x 12 size.
2:Grill wrapped mackerel on the grill at medium heat on both side..about 5 minutes each side.
3:Remove grilled mackerel from heat,open the wrap on the top,then spread 2 tbsp sambal belacan on the fish.Sprinkle some cut cilantro and squeesh lime on the fish.
4:Serve fish warm immediately..

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Chinese Crackling Roast Pork (Siu Yoke/Siew Yoke)

I love Chinese crackling pork but it's hard to get a good crackling pork in Long Island..Mostly all the Chinese restaurant here in Long Island sell America's Chinese food like Chicken Broccoli,General Tso's Chicken and etc..Well,of course I still can get good crackling pork but I have to go to NYC's Chinatown restaurant .Almost every Chinese restaurant in NYC do sell crackling pork hanging at their store front .Mostly people called roast crackling pork as"Siew Yoke" but the name given by Chinese restaurant here is Roast PIG!! And for "Char Siew",they called Roast Pork!! Don't ask me why!! I guess they try to differentiate the name in English.To make life easier, I bought a block of pork belly ,weight about 5 pounds plus..Actually it's not much work to make this crackling pork at home,it's pretty easy and simple..I just prick the pork skin all over with sharp knife before I rub with sea salt,sugar and red fermented bean curd(nam yue).Then bake and broil in the oven..after 2 hours I have fresh crackling pork for my dinner!! Hubby love it,he thought it's cueritos or Chicharron( South American food)!! If you miss crackling pork and can't get it anytime or nearby, you might want to try this recipe.I promise you ,you won't regret it!!

Ingredients:

5 -6 lbs pork belly or shoulder

4 tbsp sea salt

3 tbsp red fermented bean curd ( nam yue)

1 tbsp sugar

Method:

1:Wash pork and pat dry with paper towel. Then score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern all over the skin.

2:Rub sea-salt,sugar and red fermented bean curd all over the pork,well.Placed the marinated pork skin down over an aluminum foil over a baking tray in fridge for 2 hours or more.

3:Bake marinated pork at 375 F for 45-50 minutes,then turn the skin facing up,bake for another 45 minutes. Changed oven setting to broil ,cook for another 15 minutes or until the skin crackling puffy and crispy.

4:Remove crackling pork from oven and let's it rest for 10 minutes before cut and serve warm as appetizer or main dish I didn't realised I didn't score or prick the skin well,so you still can see the skin in the middle is not crackling puffy.

I love to dip this crackling pork with cut Thai's chili and soy sauce!! very yummy!!
Note:

If you want your pork's meat tender and moist,use bake setting first to cook the pork belly or shoulder..

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Sambal Belacan Paste

I found out I still have a large bag of dried whole pepper from my mom when I was preparing food for my BBQ party 2 weeks ago.Actually I requested my mom to get me some dried whole pepper when I visited Malaysia last year. But now some of the dried whole pepper almost changed to pale color ..Well, I better make full use of them before I have to trash away the whole fried pepper that I bring home across the ocean and mountain!! Luckily when I was at JFK airport ,the custom didn't check my luggage at all.Thanks God!! You must wonder why I bring whole dried pepper all the way from Malaysia,right? Of course,in US and A we do have whole dried pepper but it's Thai's whole dried pepper which is very hot and spicy..Recently I found another type of whole dried pepper (cayenne pepper I believed) at South America's grocery store ,look similar like the whole dried pepper that I bought from Malaysia..As usual I like to cook my own sambal belacan paste in advance for keeper..I can use this paste to cook with any type of curry dishes,chili dishes like seafood and vegetable...If you're miss hot and spicy food like me..why not try to make your own sambal paste at home..Honestly it's better than any prepacked paste selling on supermarket rack out there!!
one block of belacan (shrimp paste) 250 gm

blended fresh chili and whole dried chili mixture
prepare a clean stainless steel skillet to fry belacan...advisable not non-stick wok or skillet..As usual I cook my sambal belacan outdoor on my BBQ grill side stove to prevent the strong fragrant in the whole house
after frying belacan, dish out ,set aside then fried lemongrass mixture with oil in skillet fry lemongrass mixture until fragrant
then mix in blended chili paste into the lemongrass mixture
keep frying the chili and lemongrass mixture with cooking oil at medium high heat until fragrant
then add in fried belacan into the chili paste,mix well
keep frying
until the chili oil floated on the surface

then add in sugar and sea salt into the sambal pasta mixture

keep frying until the color change to deep dark red and oil separated from the paste

check the seasoning before remove from heat,let it cool completely before store in air tight container..
In fridge is about 2-4 weeks

In Freezer is up to 1 year

Ingredients:

200 gm dried whole long pepper( if you like extra spicy add more pepper)

100 gm dried whole small pepper (thai's pepper),remove the stump

2 lbs fresh whole long pepper (remove the stump)

6-8 stalks lemongrass, slice thin up to 2/3 of the stalk :the green and woody part.

4-5 bulbs fresh garlic,peeled

1 lb shallot,peeled

2 inch fresh turmeric

3 inch galangal

2 inch fresh ginger

1 cup candlenut,washed

2 cups cooking oil

*blend above ingredients with oil until fine*

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250 gm belacan, cut pieces for pan fried both side,not burn

2 cups sugar or to taste

5 tbsp sea salt or to taste

1 cup cooking oil

* For the method refer to above photos*

Previously I cooked some sambal belacan paste with Charcoal's BBQ pit.Check it out HERE!!!

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