Ikan Masak Asam Pedas

This used to be HB's favourite. Anyhow, his love for this dish has lessen. Wonder why?...... Perhaps he discovers a better "masak asam pedas" than mine... :l Nah... I realise that he seldoms opt for this dish anymore whenever we dine out for "nasi campur".

Okay let's start cooking. First is to blend some shallots & garlics. Use lots of shallots more than garlics. The thickness of the gravy depends on the amount of blended ingredients.Saute this until slightly golden & add in chilly paste. Depends on your taste buds. I like mine spicy.

Keep on stirring until the paste is cooked. Next put in the fish. In this recipe I used red snapper. Coat the fish with the cooked paste.

When the fish is half cooked, pour in the tamarind juice.

Next is the vegetables. Egg plant, lady's fingers, torch ginger, Vietnamese coriander all in the pan.

Egg plant

Lady's fingers

Torch ginger - "bunga kantan"

Vietnamese coriander - "daun kesom"

Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. I ran out of tomatoes. If you choose to put in tomatoes, wait until the other vegetables soften then only you add in the tomatoes & of course salt to taste. I do not use shrimp paste in this recipe. Hubby is allergic to it.

Now you have it, "Ikan Masak Asam Pedas".

Fried Squid with Oyster Sauce

This is a dish I experimented to prepare for the girls. All this while, the squid dish I serve the girls is squid coated with batter (will share the recipe one of these days..) I'm glad that they love this one too... because it is easier to prepare than the other squid dish they love ;D

First is to marinate the cut squid with turmeric powder & salt. Put aside.



Next is to stir-fry the squid together with cut onions. Once the onions tender, add in oyster sauce. Stir & cover. Let simmer for a couple of minutes.


No more salt added as the oyster sauce is already salty itself. Give this simple recipe a try.

Chicken Rice

Here is my family's favourite menu. It is really easy to cook, perhaps the preparation would take some time. This chinese cuisine might differ from others. But to me, this one is the best as it was the chicken rice my mother used to prepare for my siblings & I when we were kids. First is to marinate the chicken. There are many ways to prepare the chicken. Some prefer to roast, bbq or even steam... but I prefer my chicken fried. The chicken marinated with turmeric powder, salt & honey.

Put aside the marinated chicken. Next is to get the soup (chicken stock) ready. Saute some sliced shallot, garlic & ginger. Once golden & fragrant, add in chicken carcass. Stir for a few minutes & pour in water. Let simmer. Add salt to taste.

While waiting for the soup to boil, we can prepare the rice. First is to heat butter or margarine on a pan. Put in sliced garlic & ginger, with a 2 cm cinnamon stick & a couple of cloves. Saute until golden.


Transfer the ingredients from the pan into a rice cooker. Join in the rice & stir together with the sauted garlic, ginger & spices.


Next is to add in the soup prepared earlier. The measurement is 1 : 2 that is a cup of rice, 2 cups of soup. Put in pandan leaves for the aroma & a little bit of salt. Cover the rice cooker & wait.

Now take out the marinated chicken. Deep fry the chicken.


For the chilly sauce, blend fresh chillies with some garlic. Cook in a pan with half cup of water. Next add in ketchup, sugar & salt.


My soy sauce is rather simple. I simply use the sweet soy sauce which I get in the supermarket & add a half cup of the soup.


Now the chicken rice is ready to be eaten. Do not forget the vegetables. Cucumber, lettuce & tomato, served raw with the sauce prepared.

Wardah indulging in her favourite food.

Sup Tulang

It has been quite awhile I have not prepared this dish. HB though how much he loves it, advised not to serve this menu that often. "Tulang" is bone & attached to the bone isof course the fats which makes this soup superlicious.

This is one of the easiest meal to prepare. Lucky me I own a pressure cooker that makes the cooking period shorter. The key ingredient to this soup is the "sup bunjut". Inside the "bunjut" is some spices that I am not really sure of.


First is to put the meat, ribs, bones & water in a pressure cooker for half an hour as to make it tender. If you do not own a pressure cooker, boil the meat in a pot for 2 hours or more.



Once tender, add the "bunjut", 2-3cm of ginger & 2 -3 cloves of garlic (both slightly pounded). Pour in water if necessary. Simmer until boil & add salt to taste.

Serve with fried sliced shallot & chinese coriander.

Kari Udang

Kari Udang is Prawn Curry. Prawn dishes have always been my favourite since I was small. However, I was never introduced to this dish then. My mother never did cook prawn with curry. Hubby in fact made me try cooking this as he loves Indian cuisine. Now, this dish is another regular dish on my dining table. First is to saute some sliced shallots and garlic together with lightly pounded lemongrass.


Next, add in curry leaves and curry paste earlier prepared. I use curry powder meant for cooking prawns. Add about 2 tablespoon of chilly paste to the curry powder before stirring with ample water.

Keep on stirring until the paste is cooked.

Add in water and cut potatoes wait for the curry to boil.

Meanwhile, get the prawns ready. Really up to you what type of prawns you prefer.




Now is the time to put the prawns and cut tomatoes into the curry.



Add salt to taste and there you have it your "Kari Udang".

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi

This is my personal favourite dish. When I was small my mother used to cook this yummy Masak lemak Cili Padi. It is something like stew but it is super hot. With creamy coconut milk gravy & the chillies definitely challenge your taste buds! Let me warn you that this dish carries quite a high level of cholesterol. So, it should be alright to serve this only once awhile.

For the first time in this recipe blog, no sauteing required. I use sliced shallot this time, sliced garlic half the amount of the shallot, lightly pounded lemongrass, sliced ginger & the most importantly is the chilly paste. The paste is homemade. Consists of chillies, about an inch of fresh tumeric & a bit of water blended together. You can use any chilly you prefer but I always opt for bird eye chillies.


Bird eye chillies.


You can cook either chicken or meat with this recipe. Put all the ingredients above in a pan together with the chicken. Keep stirring until the chicken produces some juice & you may add a bit of water if necessary.


Once the chicken is half cooked, add in diluted coconut milk. Keep on stirring. That's the only thing to make sure that you won't mess up this dish. Stirring is highly important.


Next join in cut potatoes in the pan. Wait until the potatoes tender.



Add the remaining coconut milk into the pan, just nice to cover the chicken & potatoes.


Complete the taste with salt, according to taste & there you have it Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi. Great to serve with hot rice or bread.