Truth be told, growing up in Seremban, Dosai (aka Dosa) was never on my radar. (Though, in my defence, I can't be the only Malaysian who's all about roti canai when eating breakfast at a mamak stall.) Times have changed however, and we now eat dosai at home practically every day (by "we", I mean Paul and Noah - I might indulge a couple of times » Read More
The Durian Cookbook: Bridging the Gap Between Love and Hate
July 29, 2024 by
A Cookbook for the Durian-Curious I get it: durian is divisive. Some people can't get enough of its pungent aroma and creamy texture, while others run for the hills at the mere mention of it. But what if I told you there's a middle ground? A way to enjoy the unique flavour of durian without being overwhelmed by its infamous smell? That's exactly » Read More
Jackie M’s Handcrafted Curry Paste Kits
June 25, 2024 by
A few weeks ago, I launched a new range of handcrafted curry pastes online, and I now finally have a chance to actually explain what they are and how to use them. First of all though, a bit of background - As many of you would know, I use to be the owner-cook of my namesake Malaysian restaurant, Jackie M, in Concord (Sydney). When I » Read More
How to Make Homemade Tau Fu Fah (Soy Pudding) That Doesn’t Fail
June 11, 2024 by
This is a post covering some troubleshooting and tips for your next batch of homemade tau fu fah. It's not a recipe post, since I've already previously shared the recipe: Here (making it from scratch) - https://jackiem.com.au/2019/07/24/how-to-make-tofu-pudding-taufu-fa/ and here (using the shortcut version) - » Read More
Jackie M’s 10-Day, 9-Night Durian & Culinary Tour of Malaysia
May 22, 2024 by
Since Covid travel restrictions ended in 2022, Paul, Noah, and I have visited Malaysia five times. During some of these trips, we teamed up with our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) chefs and YouTube content creators like the Dodo Explorers and the Jetlag Warriors. Other times, it was just the three of us. We even joined an exclusive » Read More
My Prawn Durian Sambal – The Story Behind It
October 5, 2023 by
There's a story behind this dish. The Malays use fermented durian (tempoyak) in a number of dishes including in a prawn sambal (it's called Sambal Tempoyak Udang). Back when I had my restaurant here in Sydney, my Malay staff (Iza and Tawfik) taught me how to cook this dish but because we didn't have any fermented durian on hand, we used the » Read More
Martin Yan In Sydney – What’s On, Where
October 3, 2023 by
When I first came to Australia in 1984 I watched an Australian TV chef misconvey how to handle a basic Asian ingredient (rice vermicelli) on breakfast television. It made me so angry I swore off watching cooking shows, and the passage of time hasn’t really repaired my cynicism about TV chefs (I’ve never even watched my own cooking segments on » Read More
Review: Portable Concave Induction Stove
September 11, 2023 by
I’d always assumed high-powered gas stoves were my only option if I wanted to - 1) use my round-bottom traditional Chinese woks 2) generate good “wok hei”. That was before I met Kenneth Lim, the owner of Omnomnom Food Truck in Perth. Kenneth convinced old-school (behind-the-times?) me that chefs in China have long ago adopted concave » Read More
How to Convert Malaysian Recipes for the Thermomix
August 24, 2023 by
Plus - A Case Study Using My Easy Prawn and Pineapple Curry Recipe If you’re a Thermomix TM6 owner you’re likely familiar with Cookidoo - a platform where you can pick and choose out of thousands of recipes. You select what you want to cook, and it guides you step-by-step with preset temperatures, times and speeds. But if you’re a Malaysian » Read More
ChatGPT vs Foodies Against Revolutionary Technology
August 12, 2023 by
So, last week, one of my online students threw me a curveball — could I demonstrate how to use a Thermomix to cook non-Thermomix-specific recipes? Now, I have some 400 recipes on my website (the one and only jackiem.com.au) but most of them weren’t written for a Thermomix audience. I figured, why go back to the drawing board and reconstruct my » Read More