On our most recent trip to Malaysia for a Tourism Perak x Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) collaboration, our team had the opportunity to visit a number of coffee-serving establishments. 

This included Niang Republic and Chang Jiang Kopitiam (organised by Roselyn Lim of the Perak Tourist Guide Association) and Cascada by Magical Beans and Kong Fu Kopitiam (organised by Ben Yap of IpohTreats.com).

So what’s the difference between regular Malaysian kopi and Ipoh white coffee? It’s to do with the roast, actually – Ipoh coffee beans are a less dark roast compared to what you would find elsewhere – hence the “white”. 

This makes the coffee taste smoother and less bitter – which, as a non-coffee snob I’ve not paid much attention to in the past, but have now come to notice and appreciate every time I order kopi in Ipoh. 

Also, the beans used in Ipoh are typically a blend of Liberica (Malaysian), Arabica, and Robusta, slow-roasted in palm oil/butter/margarine.

In this demo, Michael Tan, the owner of Cascada by Magical Beans, explains the process of making Ipoh White Coffee – 

It’s clearly a better option to drink Ipoh White Coffee in Ipoh itself, but if you can’t wait, here’s the recipe extracted from Michael Tan’s explanation and re-jigged for a 2-cup serve at home – 

IPOH WHITE COFFEE HOME RECIPE

Adapted from Michael Tan, Cascada by Magical Beans, Ipoh

INGREDIENTS:

70g coarse-ground Ipoh White Coffee Powder

270ml boiling water

190ml evaporated milk

65g condensed milk (iced) or 35g (hot)

METHOD:

1. Bring water to a full rolling boil.
2. Place coffee powder into a coffee sock (or cloth filter bag) set over a heatproof jug.
3. Pour the boiling water over the grounds. Cover and steep for 15 minutes.
4. Lift the sock and let it drain. 
5. For hot coffee, warm it gently before adding milk – don’t reboil. For iced coffee, proceed straight to the next step.
6. Add evaporated milk and condensed milk. Stir well, or pour back and forth between two jugs tarik-style to blend and aerate.
7. For iced coffee – pour over ice. For hot coffee – pour and serve.

Condensed milk quantities are a starting point. Adjust to taste, and if you’re making iced coffee, remember the ice will dilute as it melts – lean slightly sweeter than you think you need.

Next time you visit an Asian grocery store, see if you can track down Malaysian coffee powder to get the best results. Here’s an example, from the factory we visited – they come in different varieties eg. 3-in-1 (coffee plus sugar plus creamer), 2-in-1 (coffee plus sugar), or just straight up coffee (which is what you want if you’re using the recipe above) –

To make kopi O (black coffee, Malaysian style) from the same base: dilute 50/50 with hot water, add sugar to taste, or leave it unsweetened as kopi O kosong.

By the way, at almost every place we visited, we were offered Ipoh White Coffee served with a piece of butter – which looked very cool and added a silky, slightly savoury hint to the coffee. 

I was told this was a throwback to the early years of Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, which has made a comeback in recent years (and nothing to do with the Bulletproof Coffee craze).

Next time you visit Ipoh, here are the places you should absolutely check out, not just for their Ipoh White Coffee but also for their food – 

Cascada by Magical Beans PT8299, Jalan Johan 2/6, Kawasan Perindustrian Pengkalan 2, 31550 Pusing, Perak Tel: +60 13-580 8825 Hours: Daily 9am – 6pm

Chang Jiang White Coffee 7, Jalan Windsor, 30250 Ipoh, Perak Tel: 05-253 8896 Hours: Daily 8am – 6pm

Kong Fu Kopitiam 39, Jalan Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak Tel: +60 17-733 1928 Hours: 9am – 5pm, closed Wednesdays

Niang Republic 14, Jalan Bijeh Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak Hours: 11am – 5.30pm, closed Tuesdays

Want more recipes, eating guides and articles? Grab your copy of our latest Truly Malaysian by MOMC digital magazine here – it’s completely free –  (click here to download or view the magazine) – 

The post How to Make Ipoh White Coffee At Home (And Where to Drink It In Ipoh) first appeared on Jackie M..

At the time, I assumed that my customers would already know how to use curry pastes and it would be just one extra step to educate them on using the dry variety. Turns out that was incorrect. Every now and then I’d hear back from people who had no idea.

In fact, a couple of months ago a Malaysian customer reported back raving about my Laksa, made using the Laksa Nyonya Paste – she didn’t buy it; she was gifted it by someone who did buy a pack but didn’t know how to use it.

You can read more reviews about my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits here (they’re just screenshots I saved to Google Photos; nothing fancy); most are by Malaysians, even Malaysians in Malaysia; all are unsolicited – Honest Reviews of Jackie M’s Curry Paste Kits

So I finally buckled down yesterday (yes I can be very productive when I put my mind to it) and compiled this recipe collection/guide – it contains not just the typical dishes you would use these Dry Curry Paste Kits for, but also creative ways to tweak them for other dishes.

You can download the eBook/Recipe Collection here – Click to View or Download

I actually have a few more recipes/recipe ideas I’ve not yet added to this compilation for various reasons, some as petty as that I don’t have good photos for them yet. So make sure you save the Google Drive link to this eBook because I’ll continue to update it, or if you want an easier-to-remember url, you can bookmark this page from my website, where the “Download Cookbook” lives – JackieM.com.au/CurryPastes

My curry pastes are only available online (unless you can make it to my Concord Hospital Market stall which runs once a month, usually on the last Thursday). You can buy them here – Shop.JackieM.com.au

The post A Collection of Recipes And Ideas for My Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits first appeared on Jackie M..

During this visit, organised by Ben Yap of IpohTreats.com, Mama Sheerah prepared an extensive array of dishes, but they were not the usual rendang, chicken curry, ayam goreng, nasi lemak, etc. that you would expect at a typical Malay eatery but rather offerings that were familiar and delicious but also a little less widely available.

I was so impressed I decided (once we were back in Sydney) to run a couple of Zoom sessions with my private Malaysian Cooking Club community covering some of the Nasi Minyak ensemble we ate at Mama Sheerah’s.

Here’s the recipe for Pajeri Nenas, based on what I found at ResipiCheNom.com, but adapted with my own tweaks etc. It’s a little different from Mama Sheerah’s but it’s very good – just ask Annie, who tried making it – not once but twice in two consecutive weeks – after my initial Zoom sessions.

PAJERI NENAS

INGREDIENTS:

1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices
½ cup cooking oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1-inch ginger, thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
4 cloves, optional
4 cardamom pods, optional
1 sprig curry leaves
3 TBSP meat curry powder, mixed with a little water
50 g ikan bilis, optional
1 TBSP dried shrimp, soaked in warm water, strained
½ cup coconut cream
2–3 TBSP kerisik (toasted shredded coconut)
2 TBSP sugar
Salt, to taste

METHOD:

1. Cut pineapple into thick pieces.
2. Pound ikan bilis (if using) and dried shrimp.
3. Heat oil. Add sliced aromatics, cinnamon, star anise, curry leaves (and optional spices). Cook until lightly golden and fragrant.
4. Add curry paste, pounded ikan bilis + dried shrimp, plus a little water. Cook until oil separates.
5. Add pineapple. Mix through.
6. Add sugar and cook 10–15 mins until pineapple absorbs the spices. Add a little water if you want more gravy.
7. Add coconut cream and kerisik. Season with salt and adjust sugar.
8. Cook until everything is well-combined. Remove and serve.

1. By the way, I’ve previously written about Mama Sheerah; you can check it out in this article here – Malay Food In Perak – 4 Must-Try Places
2. As mentioned above, this was part of an ensemble I made during the Zoom sessions; I collated the recipes in this PDF which you can download here – Jackie M’s Cooking Club Nasi Minyak Collection
3. Finally, more about these eateries along with Perak food stories and recipes can be found in our FREE Truly Malaysian by MOMC digital magazine.
   You can download the Perak issue by clicking on the magazine covers below (we published this issue with two different covers, but the same content) –

The post How to Cook Pajeri Nenas (Pineapple Curry) first appeared on Jackie M..

During my twice-weekly Zoom cooking sessions, my Malaysian Hawker Pro and Skool Malaysian Cooking Club students are always engaging with each other on the latest and greatest kitchen utensils and gadgets – most recently, silicone wok-stirring spatulas.

What triggered the silicone spatula conversation was my experience using a spatula that snapped in half after only a couple of weeks, because it had a wooden handle that was separate to the scoop.

Like this – 

So down the rabbit hole we went, until one of our members came across a Kickstarter project spatula called the Turnula – details here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/turnula/turnula-smarter-and-easier-way-to-cook?ref=cmcu5u

I approached the people behind the Kickstarter about doing a review, and they sent me two Turnulas – a right-handed and a left-handed one (Paul is left-handed).

Quick heads-up that I’m not getting paid for this review nor do I get any commission on sales etc. I’m just giving my honest opinion about the Turnula based on my experience of using it for different cooking functions over the last two weeks.

Truthfully, when we first started using the Turnula, I was using it the way I would normally use a traditional wok spatula – sometimes it worked well, other times, I was confused about the point of its side-scoop design.

Meanwhile, Paul was happily using it for his scrambled eggs and pancakes every morning – I even shared a clip of him doing so on social media – only to have the Turnula people contact me to point out he’s actually not using it the way it’s meant to be used. Either way, Paul remains very happy with his left-handed Turnula, so we’ll leave him at it.

What the company clarified with me was that the Turnula is designed for lateral sweeping; for example, when it comes to sautéing, you’re meant to –

(1) Let the head glide along the surface of the pan so it slides fully underneath the ingredients before lifting.
(2) Sweep the ingredients sideways across the pan, allowing them to roll gently off the side of the Turnula.

Based on this previously overlooked functionality, I tested out the Turnula on a number of dishes/pans. Here are my thoughts on where it stood out, and where it struggled –

Everything clicked once I stopped trying to use the Turnula like a typical wok spatula (ie. scooping it forwards).

I started using a combination of the lateral sweep movement it was designed for (as demonstrated in the first clip), and also just turning it with my wrist (in clips 2-4).

Cooking sambal and rempah (spice pastes) in a wok, which requires a long, patient process of frying spice paste until the oil separates, is perfect with the Turnula.

The wrist-driven motion means the effort is noticeably less than with a traditional wok spatula (anyone who’s cooked a long rempah fry-off knows how much that can take out of your arm and shoulder).

The Turnula, by contrast, is so light and fluid and low-effort it feels therapeutic instead of stressful, and the continuous stirring motion suited the task perfectly.

Same story with congee (I tested it on Bubur Lambuk which is basically Malay-style congee). The Turnula handled the low, gentle, rhythmic stirring of the congee beautifully.

If your cooking life involves a lot of wok work, particularly the kind of low-and-slow paste frying that Malaysian cooking demands, this tool is what you need in your kitchen.

Low-walled frying pans are where the Turnula’s design works somewhat against it – scooping sideways didn’t feel like it gave me enough control to prevent my spice pastes from spilling over the sides, and it didn’t get enough leverage to lift up my crepes cleanly – so I still prefer using a regular spatula for these tasks.

The Verdict –

Ultimately I think you need to see the Turnula as a specialist utensil, rather than something that will replace all your cooking spatulas. Its lateral design fits in perfectly with tasks that require long, patient stirring – apart from rempahs, sambals and porridge/congee, think of tasks like roasting sesame seeds and shelled peanuts.

You’ll find that the effort is noticeably less than if you were using a wok spatula, where a lot of elbow and shoulder exertion is required.

Key Features of the Turnula, as listed in the Kickstarter:

• Innovative lateral-sweep design
  Enables smooth rolling motion for more even, efficient cooking.
• Designed for all users
  Available in both right-handed and left-handed versions.
• Precision-Tapered Edge
  0.03mm tip that slides under food without resistance.
• Flexible stainless steel core
  Firm support with enough flexibility to bend to different pan shapes.
• High-wall design:
  Allows quick, controlled scooping of ingredients and sauces in one quick sweep.
• Special Arch
  Creates a built-in safety clearance between hand and heat source to reduce burn risk.
• One-Piece Design
  The seamless finish prevents trapped grease for easy cleaning, and is dishwasher-safe.

Check out the Turnula page for more details (shortened link so it’s easy to remember): JackieM.com.au/Turnula

The post Review: Turnula for Malaysian Cooking first appeared on Jackie M..

I’ve written a bunch of Malaysian recipes for use in these machines, published e-book collections, and run cooking classes on them. 

And of course, I’ve used them for my Malaysian food business.

In between, I’ve been asked to evaluate other competing brands, notably the Thermocook, going as far back as 2016 (you can still find my content online on older versions of the brand). 

But it’s been a good five years since I owned a Thermocook (there was nothing wrong with them; I just had too many machines in the house so I gave them away), which means I’ve been out of touch with the newer models. 

So when I received an evaluation unit of the Thermocook Pro M 3.0 three weeks ago, I was basically starting from scratch in terms of learning its functionalities and how it compares with the Thermomix (broadly, the TM6 & TM7, since they’re the two most current versions).

Over the course of the last two and a half weeks, these are some of what I’ve used the Thermocook to make –

Beef Rendang –

Malaysian Chicken Curry –

Fish Paste for Yong Tau Foo etc. –

Kaya –

Serunding –

Sambal Udang Kering
Sambal Belacan Tumis
Prawn Stock Paste
————
Last weekend, I ran a Live broadcast covering some of the dishes above, along with my take on the Thermocook’s other functionalities eg. in processing hardy Malaysian ingredients.

Here’s the 45-minute recording – 

I’m not here to tell you whether the Thermocook or the Thermomix is better – it’s for you to decide, based on your needs, but here are eight differences between the two machines that I’ve found, as it pertains to my style of Malaysian cooking – 

1. Bigger bowl – the Thermocook comes with a 3L bowl, nearly 50% bigger than the Thermomix’s, which is 2.2L. I have comfortably cooked 2kg of beef and 2.5kg of chicken ribs in it. The bigger bowl suits me because I cook for my business; if you have a big family or feel that the Thermomix’s bowl size is too small for the kind of meals you prepare, this feature is definitely something to consider.
2. Removable blade plus separate stirrer attachment – the stirrer allows me to cook softer proteins like chicken on the bone without having the meat torn and stabbed by the blades (yes it does stab and tear in the Thermomix even on reverse stir).
3. Wider bowl base – this means that the Thermocook’s bowl is more in the shape of a food processor while the Thermomix’s is more like a blender. The wider base makes a difference in how the food in the bowl moves around – great for cooking and for processing fish paste because of the bigger base surface area, though if you want to blend ingredients like garlic or sugar finely, you would need more of said ingredients or they’ll just get pushed to the sides of the bowl.
4. The Thermocook comes with a grater attachment ie. what’s known as a Cutter in Thermomix-speak. If you want to grate vegetables in a Thermomix you have to buy the Cutter separately (last I checked it was A$199).
5. The Thermocook does not require a subscription for you to access the 1000-odd built-in recipes. The Thermomix comes with tens of thousands of recipes on their proprietary Cookidoo platform and you can even programme your own recipes in it – caveat being that it’s subscription-based at about $89/year.
6. The price – the Thermocook Pro M 3.0 is about $1000 cheaper than the Thermomix TM7.
7. The Thermocook is less locked-down than the Thermomix – eg. two of the Thermomix TM7’s main differences from the previous model, the TM6, are that –
   a) it has a browning mode that can cook at 160C and
   b) it has an open-cooking mode.The problem is that both these modes, which got me really excited when the Thermomix TM7 was first released, are so locked down that they’re useless to me.The browning mode does not allow you to adjust the stirring speed/frequency, so my hopes of cooking rempahs (spice pastes) at 160C were crushed when I realised the stirring was too intermittent and my spice pastes were getting burnt as a result, whereas the open cooking mode only maxes out at 100C and does not stir at all, which means unless you’re boiling water or thin broth in it, it’s more or less useless.Also, the TM7 (unlike prior models) has a lid without a hole in the middle where the cap on older models used to sit, which you could remove when sautéing for the steam to escape – instead it’s got a few small vents that aren’t big enough so the steam gets trapped when cooking rempahs so it takes longer for the oil to separate and doesn’t turn out as “garing” (ie. dry).

   Which, again, you’d think you could work around by using the Open Cooking mode, but remember that setting maxes out at 100C plus it doesn’t stir so your rempah will burn (I’m venting now, aren’t I?).

8. You can cook in the Thermocook without the blades stirring (eg. for sous vide cooking) or you can just remove the blades unlike with the Thermomix, where you need to use a blade cover (which reduces the capacity of the bowl even further) or risk having your sous vide pouches or other soft contents breaking up.

Over the coming weeks and months, I expect to try more dishes in the Thermocook and I will, of course, share them with everyone, though if you want to make sure you don’t miss them, your best bet is to sign up to my email list at jackiem.com.au/email (don’t forget to confirm your subscription and don’t be a jerk and report me for spam down the track – just hit the unsubscribe link if you don’t want to hear from me again).

Finally, if you are in the market for a Thermocook, you can buy it from my affiliate link here – jackiem.com.au/thermocookbuy – you will get the following bonuses if you do (UPDATED 5 June 2026)- 

1. A complimentary glider board valued at $98 (IMPORTANT – select WITH SLIDING BOARD and on checkout, use code – JackieM to have the cost deducted from your total) 
2. Once the order has been processed, forward your receipt to jackie@jackiem.com.au I’ll give you access to my online Malaysian Cooking Club for 12 months (value USD$69) where you get to join us on Zoom for private cooking sessions and get your hands on my recipes and eCookbooks. Details here – jackiem.com.au/skool

Finally, finally, because I’ve been asked – the Thermocook is not currently available for sale to the USA because of the different voltage used there – I’ll let you know if that changes down the track.

It IS available for shipping to some other places eg. Malaysia & Singapore, though you’ll obviously have to pay for postage, and since they don’t currently have authorised serviced centres there, you’ll have to source your own, though the company WILL supply free spare parts. Hit me up if you need details and I’ll find out for you.

The post Thermocook vs Thermomix – 8 Differences for Malaysian Cooking first appeared on Jackie M..

So what I’ve done instead, is created something more casual and flexible – essentially an online Malaysian Cooking Club – run on the Skool platform.

You can join us here – JackieM.com.au/skool

Membership gets you access to me along with my Malaysian Hawker Pro students, who are already there sharing their cooking discoveries, results and tips.

The way it works is that twice a week (or more), we hop on a Zoom call and cook along or just tune in to watch and chat with our fellow participants.

The sessions are scheduled such that they cover different timezones, so that wherever you’re based around the world, you should find a slot that suits your schedule. Some people join occasionally, and others make time to do so every week.

A couple of days after each session, I publish key cooking tips from them, so that those who missed the sessions can go back and check them out.

For the record, we don’t all cook the same dish (though sometimes we do) – and you’re not restricted to cooking only Malaysian food – eg. in our most recent session, one of our members made pikelets using sourdough discards.

The idea is that we organically get feedback and support from each other (some of my Malaysian Hawker Pro students have culinary and nutrition training and bring a wealth of knowledge to the table).

Now’s a great time to join us, because you’ll be locked in to the founders’ membership price.

As a bonus, I’ll also give you access to my Malaysian Hawker Pro Masterclass on Homemade Rice Noodles once you sign up. Just message me after you’ve joined via Skool (I just need your email address to be able to set you up).

We’ve also built up a nice sub-community of Thermomix users, so if you own one, you’ll pick up plenty of tricks for adapting traditional Malaysian recipes for it.

Join Me for Live Malaysian Cooking Online

If you’d like to:

• Learn Malaysian food online in a relaxed, friendly environment,
• Take part in regular Zoom cooking classes, and
• Connect with others who share your passion for Malaysian flavours

then this is for you.

Join my Malaysian Cooking Club here

and start cooking with us online.

The post Join My Malaysian Cooking Club — Learn Malaysian Food Online first appeared on Jackie M..

Catch the replay here (63 mins) –

Here’s a breakdown of the key points from the livestream –

Concept: Malaysian-Style Swedish Meatballs

The core idea is an East-meets-West fusion dish, recreating the Swedish meatball experience at home but with a Malaysian twist. This approach was inspired by a craving for IKEA meatballs but wanting a more satisfying, flavourful, and budget-friendly version. The key innovation is using a Malaysian bouncy beef ball recipe as the base for the meatballs, which are then fried and served in the traditional Swedish style with lingonberry jam.

---

The Meatballs: Bouncy Asian Beef Balls

This recipe creates meatballs with a distinctively firm and bouncy texture, different from softer Western-style meatballs.

Key Ingredients & Principles

• Beef Mince: Use a fattier, “lower quality” mince. In Asian cooking, the higher fat content is desirable as it prevents the meatballs from tasting coarse and dry. It’s also more economical. We used a 1kg pack that cost $13, and only needed half ($6.50 worth).
• Temperature is Crucial: The minced beef should be kept in the freezer for about an hour before use. It needs to be firm and very cold, but not frozen solid. This prevents the meat from “pseudo-cooking” from the friction and heat of the blender blades.
• Seasoning:
  • Fish sauce
  • Chicken powder
  • Sugar
  • White pepper
  • Tapioca starch
  • Baking powder
  • A little water
  • A little oil
  • (The full recipe can be found here – https://jackiem.com.au/2017/01/19/make-beef-meatballs/)

Technique (Thermomix Method)

1. Blitzing: Combine the semi-frozen mince and all other ingredients in the Thermomix bowl. Blitz at a high speed (e.g., Speed 9) but for a short duration. I blitzed for 15 seconds, stopping to scrape down the sides. Blitzing for too long can overwork the meat and heat it up. The goal is to create a fine, pink, firm paste.
2. Kneading: After blitzing, use the Thermomix’s kneading function for about one minute. This step is vital for developing the bouncy texture.
3. Alternative Method (No Thermomix): You can use a regular blender for the blitzing step. For kneading, transfer the mixture to a stand mixer with a dough hook or do it manually by slapping the meat paste against the side of a large stainless steel bowl. Slapping helps expel trapped air bubbles, which is the key to achieving the desired bounciness (dahn ngaan in Cantonese).

Cooking Process (Two-Stage)

1. Boil First: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Form the meatballs by squeezing the mixture between your thumb and forefinger. Drop the balls into the boiling water. They are cooked when they float to the surface. Let them cook for another 3 minutes after they float.
2. Then Fry: After boiling, the beef balls are transferred to a deep fryer to get the classic brown, slightly crispy exterior of Swedish meatballs.
3. Meal Prep: These boiled beef balls can be frozen for later use.

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The Sides: Mashed Potato & Grilled Corn

Paul’s Mashed Potato (Thermomix Method)

• Preparation: Cut potatoes into smaller chunks to speed up the cooking time. There’s no discernible difference in water absorption or final texture.
• Skin On or Off?: This is personal preference. Leaving the skin on adds nutrients and texture. For a smoother, more IKEA-like mash, peel them. The Thermomix blends the skin in well, so you barely notice it.
• Potato Variety: Most standard supermarket “washed” potatoes work fine.
• Cooking: Place the cut potatoes into the Thermomix simmer basket. Fill the jug with water up to the max line. Cook for 20 minutes at 110°C on a low speed (e.g., 1.5).
• Alternative Cooking: You can also roast, grill, or even microwave potatoes to soften them before mashing.

Malaysian-Style Grilled Corn

• Inspiration: Hawker-style grilled corn from Pangkor Island, Malaysia.
• Technique: Shuck the corn and place it directly on the grill. There is no need to pre-boil it.
• Seasoning: We used Hilmie’s barbecue seasoning (a Malaysian product meant for meat) to replicate the flavour. Butter is also a key component. The Hilmie BBQ seasoning was a revelation and worked perfectly with the grilled corn (we wanted to go right back out to Woolworths to get more corn).

The post How to Cook Malaysian-Style Swedish Meatballs first appeared on Jackie M..

And if you’re as painfully Malaysian as I am, your default supermarket cut for steak would be something like scotch fillet (which is why I rarely eat steak – it’s exxy). But Paul decided to add a “Budget Meal” angle to our South Africa Meets Malaysia broadcasts, so he tested three different ways to prepare chuck crest to produce the most tender results.

Catch the replay here –

Here are the key points and techniques from the broadcast:

1. Choosing and Preparing Cheap Cuts

• The experiment used chuck crest, one of the cheapest and toughest beef cuts (previously ~$12/kg, now ~$14.99/kg).

• Chuck crest is usually used for slow-cooked dishes (curries, stews), not steak. The goal was to see how it performs as steak using different prep and cooking methods.

• Always cut steaks 3 cm thick (approx.) to allow proper heat penetration and searing.

Budget tip:
Buy cheap “dog bones” and secondary cuts (like chuck, shank, ribs) from butchers or wholesalers such as Australian Meat Emporium. These are undervalued by mainstream customers but perfect for home cooks who know how to coax flavour from them.

2. The Three Methods Tested

For cheap cuts, slow pre-cooking (sous vide or oven) breaks down sinew and collagen. A quick sear at the end adds crust and flavour.

3. Key Searing Tips

• Use high-smoke-point fat — beef tallow, ghee, or canola (avoid olive oil).

• Dry the steaks thoroughly before searing to avoid steaming.

• Sear for 60 seconds per side, pressing down with a heavy object or steak press to maximise surface contact.

• Don’t cover with a lid — use a porous splatter guard to prevent moisture buildup and splatter.

• Flip often (every 30 seconds) if cooking directly from raw to build even crust.

4. Seasoning and Marinade

• Simple, Malaysian-influenced seasoning:

  • Salt

  • Chicken powder

  • Chili flakes

  • Sarawak pepper (adds floral aroma and depth)

  • Optional: a dusting of cornstarch for light tenderising

• Always season to taste — adjust salt and spice levels to your preference.

5. Sauce #1 – Mushroom + Peppercorn Sauce

Technique:

• Sauté fresh garlic and Sarawak peppercorns in butter to extract oils and aroma.

• Add button mushrooms (browned in butter if possible).

• Incorporate beef stock (preferably homemade from beef bones).

• Finish with evaporated milk for creaminess.

Budget notes:

• Cheap mushrooms from “specials shelf” or clearance bins work fine.

• Homemade beef stock from pet-grade bones yields flavour and tallow for frying later.

6. Sauce #2 – Malaysian-Style Chili Hot Sauce

Hybrid concept: a cross between a Western hot sauce and a Malaysian sambal.

• Soak dried chillies in hot water until softened.

• Blend with onion, garlic, tomato, vinegar (apple cider, ~1 tbsp), chicken powder, Sarawak pepper, and salt.

• Cook down until fragrant — consistency should be pourable, not pasty.

• Adjust thickness with water or the reserved chili-soaking liquid for more heat.

7. Stock & Fat Rendering

• Save and reduce leftover beef-bone stock until gelatinous.

• Once chilled, scrape off the fat cap to render into beef tallow.

• Use that tallow for frying steaks — it’s cost-effective and adds rich, beefy flavour.

8. Additional Tips

• If you only own one Thermomix, make chili sauce in it and cook mushrooms on the stove.

• Avoid bottled minced garlic — use pre-peeled cloves from Asian grocers (~$6–8 per kg).

9. Results Summary

• Sous Vide (57 °C, 2 hrs) → Tender, juicy, clearly the winner.

• Oven (90 °C, 2 hrs) → Acceptable, but firmer texture.

• Pan-only (raw) → Tough; not steak-worthy.

Takeaway:
To transform cheap chuck cuts into steakhouse-quality meals, low-temp precook + high-heat sear is the unbeatable combo.

The post The $10 Chuck Steak Challenge: Can You Turn the Cheapest Cut into a Decent Steak? first appeared on Jackie M..

I also have an inbuilt disdain for anything that looks too pretty – I instinctively write them off as flaky, superficial, and shallow. Instagrammable food (or travel photos or “lifestyle” posts) conjure up phrases in my mind like “attention-seeking” and “style-over-substance”. 

That’s why I don’t hang out on Instagram – sorry for those of you whom I follow back out of courtesy – don’t be offended if you never see any engagement from me. I’m not there except for the couple of minutes it takes to upload my own content (social media being a necessary evil to keep people updated on what I’m doing etc.). 

I know, people buy with their eyes and all that – so I do sometimes try to remember to snap photos – but it’s not my natural instinct to do so.

Anyway, that’s my preamble on the topic of the packaging of my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits.

In case you’ve never come across them, these packs are based on recipes from my Malaysian restaurant back in the day – but using dried ingredients so they’re shelf-stable.

You use them by emptying a pack into a saucepan/pot with your protein of choice, plus water, coconut cream and oil – then cooking until the protein is done.

Basically.

(My label instructions will tell you to mix the contents with water, then saute with oil before adding the protein & coconut cream, but if you’re slow-cooking lamb or beef you can honestly just throw them all in at the same time, and end up with the results in the photos below.)

Anyhow, we sent a couple of packs of my dry curry paste kits to South Africa a couple of months back, to Paul’s side of the family. They came back with unsolicited feedback on them (I never ask for feedback, as an fyi, but I am grateful for them – the good ones anyway). 

The good news – these products are amazing and on a totally different level to anything they’ve ever tried.

The bad news – you know, the packaging doesn’t do it justice – maybe Jackie might want to redesign it so it looks more upscale/elegant.

I’m not offended in the slightest, but no, I’m not going to redesign nuthin’.

Here are 7 reasons why – 

1. I want to keep my overheads to a minimum – this means that you’re getting the best bang for your buck when you buy my products – you’re not paying for branding consultants or graphic designers etc. The label design is by yours truly, using good ol’ Canva.
2. I don’t want my products to look too pretty to use – they’re meant to make your life easier in the kitchen, not sit on a shelf or in your pantry as decoration.
3. I kind of like the idea of keeping expectations low when people first come across my dry curry paste kits, so they’re blown away by the end results.
4. I vibe with Malaysian hawkers, not glamorous “celebrity” chefs.
5. I want to target people who look for substance over style in their life (including dining) choices. 
6. I want to inspire other would-be food business owners to a) similarly focus on perfecting their cooking and b) recognise they don’t need to remortgage their house just to get all their branding assets sorted.
7. Honestly, as a small business owner, I don’t have the time to revisit the labels I did a year ago (and stuff around with things like font choices), or spend months sourcing packaging suppliers etc. that in my mind, don’t matter.

So next time you get a shipment from me that’s packed in a re-used Amazon delivery (or similar) box, remember, your money’s not being spent on custom-designed and branded packaging; it’s going straight to the product. Bonus – you’re doing your bit to save the environment.

Buy my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits here – Shop.JackieM.com.au

Yes, I do ship internationally (except the USA because of logistical issues at the moment).

A handful of unsolicited feedback (most, if not all, from fellow Malaysians) –

The post 7 Reasons Why My Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste Kits Look Ugly first appeared on Jackie M..

• Grilled lamb fillets (reverse-seared)
• Malaysian lamb curry using my Handcrafted by Jackie M. Meat Curry Paste
• Beef Bak Kwa using a recipe I had previously posted here – https://jackiem.com.au/2018/03/09/make-chicken-beef-bak-kwa-barbecued-minced-meat/
• Chakalaka (a South African side/relish that I’d never come across prior to that day)

Here’s the replay of the livestream (1 hr 08 mins long) –

1. Grilled Lamb Fillets (reverse-seared) by Paul:

Paul experimented with the lamb two ways:

• Air fryer method: 120°C for 25 minutes. This cooked faster than expected, so it was closer to medium than medium-rare.
• Sous vide method: 55°C for 4 hours using the Thermomix sous vide function. This turned out more tender and juicy.
• Both were finished in a hot pan with butter and beef tallow for about 60 seconds a side, then rested for 5 minutes.
• His marinade was a mix of oyster sauce, garlic, chicken powder, cumin powder, and cumin seeds.

Keep in mind that oyster sauce contains sugar, so the meat caramelises and chars quickly in the pan.

2. Malaysian Lamb Curry by yours truly – 

Since I didn’t want to get in Paul’s way on camera, I did my Malaysian lamb curry in the Thermomix, as follows:

1. Dice the lamb.
2. Add my meat curry paste, a little water, some oil, and coconut cream.
3. Cook for 45 minutes at 120°C in the Thermomix on reverse stir, measuring cup on.

You don’t have to use a Thermomix; this recipe works just as well on the stovetop, in the oven, or in a slow cooker.

I do things agak-agak (guesstimate)-style – I didn’t weigh how much lamb was going in, nor measure the amount of water, oil or coconut cream – I just eyeballed everything. I would guess there was about 1kg of lamb in my batch, and I used a whole pack of my Family-Sized curry paste kit in it, probably about 1/2-2/3 cup water, and about the same amount of coconut cream, along with about 2 TBSP oil.

My packet instructions say to reconstitute the paste ingredients in water, saute for a couple of minutes with oil, then add the protein etc., but really, throwing everything in together works just as well when you’re cooking meat that requires a longer cooking time.

3. Chakalaka by Paul – 

Paul also made chakalaka, a South African side dish often served with grilled meat and pap (maize porridge). He calls it the South African version of sambal.

The base ingredients are onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, capsicum, chillies, and tomato. We used an official Cookidoo (ie. Thermomix) recipe and skipped all the ingredients we didn’t happen to have on hand, ie. the capsicum and the beans. Despite their omission and the fact that we didn’t adapt the rest of the seasoning to accommodate their absence, the end result was really good and flavoursome (and not too salty etc. as you would have expected).

4. Bak Kwa (Malaysian-style Barbecued Meat Slices) by yours truly – 

Bak kwa is something I used to make occasionally at my restaurant, and I revisited it for this session. This time I used beef mince, but pork or chicken will work too.

Ingredients (for 500 g mince):

• Thick cooking caramel (kicap pekat / caramel sauce)
• Five spice powder
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce
• Chinese rice wine
• Sugar
• Oil
• Fried onion (I tested this to absorb moisture and add texture – didn’t really make any noticeable difference)

Method:

1. Knead everything together until the mixture turns sticky. I used my Kenwood dough mixer with the K whisk.
2. Roll it out thinly (about 2 mm). Traditionally I would place the mince in between parchment sheets before rolling with a rolling pin, but this time I tried heatproof cooking bags, which created much less mess.
3. Bake at $120°C$ for 20 minutes.
4. Cut into squares.
5. The original recipe I published (refer link at top of this post) said to bake again, at 180$°$C, for 20-30 minutes. Because I wanted to wrap up the session in a hurry, I skipped that step and instead, scorched the slices with a torch to create a smoky char. In hindsight I think they would have been better served being baked – it felt like the sugar didn’t not have enough time to soak through and caramelise the pieces.

FYI shop-bought bak kwa usually looks redder thanks to food colouring. Mine skips the colouring, but the flavour is the same.

Camp Food Packing Tips:

Apart from the above, we also had some beef rendang which I had made the day before – again, using my famous Handcrafted by Jackie M. Rendang Paste Kit – I made that in a slow cooker, also throwing everything in – the diced chuck crest, a pack of my curry paste, about half a cup of water, some coconut cream, and some oil – and cooking it on the high temperature setting for about 5 hours. At the end, I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of kerisik which I had made previously (completely optional) to give it that extra toasted coconut paste nuance.

What we took with us in two chiller bags (there was a fridge and a microwave onsite):

1. Both beef rendang and lamb curry keep very well since they’re dry-ish and slow-cooked; we packed them in takeaway boxes.
2. We vacuum-packed the bak kwa in small vacuum pouches – several slices per pack.
3. We also vacuum-packed what was left after our lunch, of the reverse-seared lamb cutlets.
4. We packed the chakalaka in a leak-proof tub.
5. We packed some acar which I’d made in last week’s South Africa Meets Malaysia broadcast – but didn’t end up eating it because there was too much food in the end.
6. A small thingy of bird’s eye chilli powder

As an FYI the food above was meant to supplement what was being served at the retreat; eg. we ‘d eat their rice/toast/even their scrambled eggs, but we’d scale it up with our stuff.

Why did we go through such trouble? You’re going to think we’re food snobs, and you’re probably right.

I just don’t like the idea of wasting my calorie allocation on forgettable food:

1. I don’t eat pork, and being an Australian-run retreat, pork features a lot on the menu – think bacon, pork chops, pork sausages etc. If you ask for a pork-free serving, you may end up with less food (ie. the pork stuff are omitted but not always replaced with bigger portions of other stuff) or they give you a vegetarian substitute and you become an involuntary vegetarian for part of the weekend.
2. We often joke about English food and how plain and bland it is – well, in my controversial opinion, the English influence on Australian camp food is still alive and well 200+ years after the poms settled in this country. My fellow retreat attendees will protest that hey, they did serve Butter Chicken for dinner – but look, it was an Indian dish in name only – any spice in it was so diluted the sauce might as well have been ketchup stirred into cream.
3. For the record, everything else about the retreat was beautiful – the accommodation, the facilities, the staff (not to mention the talks) – but really, I wish they’d allow me to set up a market stall onsite next time for those attendees who, like me, prefer food with a bit more punch.

The post Camp-Ready Food – Lamb 2 Ways, Chakalaka, Bak Kwa (South Africa Meets Malaysia 2) first appeared on Jackie M..