The endless variety of stuffed vegetables and tofu that are poached, steamed or fried, and served with a clear broth and “tim cheong” (literally, sweet sauce), and the idea of making the fish paste from scratch, makes the prospect of recreating Ampang Yong Tau Foo at home somewhat daunting for most overseas Malaysians. Which, of course, has never been a good enough reason to stop me – I used to sell this at my restaurant here in Sydney, Australia, though I applied some liberal shortcuts including using basa fillets instead of filleting a whole fish from scratch, etc.

Watch the final episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia Series 2 (Selangor); my Ampang Yong Tau Foo cooking segment starts at the 1:39 mark >> https://youtu.be/lrPbCIy0Ogs

Ampang Yong Tau Foo

INGREDIENTS:

Fish Paste:
1⁄2 kg fish fillets
1⁄2 cup cold water
1 Tbsp chicken powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP tapioca flour
Tofu, tofu sheets & tofu puffs plus variety of
vegetables – eggplant, chilli, capsicum – slit open
Oil for deep-frying or pan-frying
Water for poaching
Broth:
3L chicken stock
1⁄2 cup soya beans
1⁄2 yam bean (sengkuang) or daikon
Salt and pepper to taste
Spring onion, sliced

Sweet Sauce Dip:
1 cup hoisin sauce
3-4 TBSP sugar
1⁄3 cup water
1 tsp tapioca starch + 1 TBSP cold water
Sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds

METHOD:

To make the fish paste & stuffed vegetables:

1. Divide ingredients into 2 batches; pulse to a paste in a food processor.
2. Use to stuff vegetables, tofu, tofu sheets, or to make fish balls (boiled or fried).
3. Fill cavity of tofu and vegetables with fish paste, using butter knife.
4. Cook all ingredients – Deep-fry at 180C for 5-10 minutes, or poach, steam or pan-fry to your liking.

To make the broth:

1. Place soya beans in a muslin bag, secure, then add to stock along with yam bean.
2. Simmer for 1 hour. Season with salt, pepper and/or chicken powder.
3. Garnish with spring onion, and serve with stuffed vegetables.

To make the sweet sauce:

1. Combine hoisin sauce with water and sugar and simmer on low heat until sugar is dissolved. Amount of sugar used will vary according to the brand of hoisin sauce and your own personal preference.
2. If necessary, thicken by adding tapioca starch plus water mixture towards the end.
3. Place some stuffed tofu and vegetables in a bowl, top with broth and serve with side of sweet sauce and chilli sauce.

Also in this episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia (Selangor) –

• Mazna Merten shows us how to make Satay Kajang
• Christopher Lee gives us a history lesson regarding Ampang Yong Tau Foo
• The JetLag Warriors are back with some Selangor food hunts
• Shaukani Abbas gives us his top picks of things to do and places to go in Selangor

The recipes for the entire series, produced in partnership with Tourism Malaysia Australia, can be found in the special edition MOMC eMagazine which you can download here >> Click to View or Download

Sign up to our email list so you don’t miss a single issue of our MOMC free recipe eMagazines >> MalaysianChefs.com/JoinToday

The post How To Make Ampang Yong Tau Foo (Stuffed Tofu & Vegetables) first appeared on Jackie M..

I now love the food, and I absolutely love Penang Char Koay Teow (as it’s more commonly spelled there), but I especially love that Penang isn’t overly touristy, and that the local hawkers cook for the locals – they don’t tweak their recipes to make them tourist-friendly. Everything about the place is real and raw, not “disneyfied” (yes, I made that up) – when you go there, you feel like you’re inserting yourself into a vibrant local culture, not the other way around.

On to oyster omelette (aka Or Chien/Or Luak/Oh Chien/Oh Luak), which wasn’t something I was familiar with in my part of Malaysia. It’s popular in Melaka and Singapore, and I regularly order a crispy version of it in Kuala Lumpur, but it’s Penang where it’s most famous.

The ingredients in this dish are pretty straightforward – oysters, eggs, tapioca starch, garlic chives, garlic, fish sauce, white pepper and minced preserved radish (aka choy poh) – and it doesn’t take long to prepare – so it’s definitely something you should try at home, because it’s delicious.

Here’s my take on Penang oyster omelette from my Street Food Journeys: Malaysia (Penang) episode. The segment starts at the 8:10 mark, and the recipe follows below >> https://youtu.be/4szV5dG7Tuw

Penang Oyster Omelette

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup water
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 cup garlic chives, cut into 2-inch lengths
5 TBSP oil
4 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp minced preserved radish (choy poh)
1/2 cup fresh oysters
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
Coriander leaves
Bottled chilli sauce

METHOD:

1. Combine tapioca starch with cold water, mix into a thin batter.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan; pour a thin layer of batter on it, then swirl to make a thin layer.
3. Add oil around the sides and fry until it starts to crisp around the edges.
4. Beat eggs in bowl, then add to pan and swirl. Cook until lightly browned, then scramble with the tapioca starch and push to one side.
5. Add oil and minced garlic, fry until garlic is fragrant. Add oysters, choy poh and seasoning.
6. Mix well, remove and top with coriander leaves.
7. Serve with bottled chilli sauce and optionally, some fresh minced garlic.

This Penang episode of Street Food Journeys: Malaysia also features –

• Wantan Mee (wonton noodles) by Liam Zainal Ghani
• a visit to the Char Koay Teow stall at Excellent Cafe
• Toh Soon Kopitiam in Georgetown
• Mee Goreng at the corner of Bangkok Lane and Burma Road
• Mark O’Dea on a flying visit to Penang to eat Char Kway Teow and Oyster Omelette
• Shaukani Abbas on places to visit in Penang
• The Tropical Spice Garden’s Katharine Chua, who takes us on a walkthrough of the property
• Masters of Malaysian Cuisine chefs Johari Edrus, Rene Juefri and Bob Adnin along with my Jackie M. community members Lynn Ong and GaikCheng Kevany, both of whom are from Penang, answering the question: “What dishes do you think of, when you think of Penang?”

The recipes for the entire series, produced in partnership with Tourism Malaysia Australia, can be found in the special edition MOMC eMagazine which you can download here >> Click to View or Download

Sign up to our email list so you don’t miss a single issue of our MOMC free recipe eMagazines >> MalaysianChefs.com/JoinToday

The post How To Cook Penang Oyster Omelette first appeared on Jackie M..

This Khmer-style squid recipe was inspired by the Sihanoukville Cuttlefish at Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap’s Lok Lak Restaurant. (That recipe, courtesy of Chef Chanrith Van, can be found here >> https://jackiem.com.au/2018/10/30/how-to-cook-sihanoukville-cuttlefish/).

I figured I’d have a go at making it using frozen squid tubes, which are pretty readily available here in Sydney, and also minus fresh green kampot pepper, which we can’t get (as far as I’m aware); it held its own in spite of these changes and the other liberties I took to simplify it.

Khmer-Style Grilled Squid

INGREDIENTS:

2 Squid tubes, about 180g each
2 TBSP pepper & lemongrass marinade
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Koh Kong Dressing

METHOD:

1. Score the squid on one side, and skewer with bamboo sticks along the length of the other side.
2. Marinate with pepper & lemongrass mix for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the wok until smoking hot, then sear the squid until a nice golden colour.
4. Remove bamboo skewers and cut the squid tubes into 3 pieces each.
5. Drizzle 1-2 TBSP Koh Kong dressing over them, garnish with more kaffir lime leaves, and serve.

Pepper & Lemongrass Marinade

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp crushed black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP lemongrass, minced
¼ tsp red hot chili, julienned
1 kaffir lime leaf, julienned
30ml oil

½ tsp salt

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients. This marinade is suitable for seafood, beef or chicken.

Koh Kong Sauce (Khmer Chilli Sauce)

INGREDIENTS:

7-8 big chillies
7 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bird’s eye chili, chopped
80g white sugar
20ml white vinegar
70ml fish sauce
46ml fresh lime juice
40g sweet chili sauce
3g fine salt

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend into a textured consistency; this sauce will keep for a week in the fridge.

The post How to Cook Khmer-Style Grilled Squid first appeared on Jackie M..

I didn’t get a chance to visit Sihanoukville during my first Wok Around Asia jaunt, but I had the opportunity to taste one of its well-known dishes, Sihanoukville Cuttlefish, at Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort’s Lok Lak Restaurant. This recipe is courtesy of Chef Chanrith Van, who’s one of the most talented Khmer chefs on the scene today, and it is amazing.

By the way, I’ve since attempted this during one of my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts (I’ll post about it separately later) and even minus some of the local ingredients, eg. the kampot peppercorns and edible flowers, it tasted fantastic, so don’t let that put you off from attempting this at home using what you can find here in Australia.

Here’s the video on how it’s made, followed by the full recipe below >>

Sihanoukville Cuttlefish

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cuttlefish, about 180g each
2 TBSP pepper & lemongrass marinade
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Koh Kong Dressing
1 ea red radish, shaved
10 g fresh green Kampot peppercorn
1 TBSP pumpkin puree
5g red, yellow, pink needle flower
1 TBSP crushed peanuts

METHOD:

1. Clean cuttlefish and remove heads. Score the cuttlefish on one side, and skewer with bamboo sticks along the length of the other side.
2. Marinate with pepper & lemongrass mix for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the wok until smoking hot, then sear the cuttlefish until a nice golden colour.
4. Remove bamboo skewers and cut the cuttlefish tubes into 3 pieces each.
5. Smear plate with 1 TBSP pumpkin puree.
6. Arrange cuttlefish on top, then spoon 1 TBSP Koh Kong dressing over them.
7. Garnish with flowers, radish and crushed peanuts, then serve.

Pumpkin Puree

INGREDIENTS:

30g olive oil
580g pumpkin
1 ¼ TBS fine salt
450ml water
1 ¼ TBS sugar

METHOD:

1. Peel and cut the pumpkin into thin slices.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan, then add the pumpkin and cook until soft.
3. Add salt, sugar and water and bring to a boil.
4. Transfer to a blender and blend until soft, then pass through a sieve.
5. Allow to cool, then store in refrigerator until use.

Pepper & Lemongrass Marinade

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp crushed black pepper
20g green kampot pepper, crushed (or replace with black peppercorns)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2g lemongrass, chopped
¼ tsp red hot chili, julienned
1 kaffir lime leaf, julienned
30ml extra virgin olive oil (or any kind of cooking oil)
½ tsp fine salt

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients. This marinade is suitable for seafood, beef or chicken.

Koh Kong Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

70g red large chillies, deseeded, chopped
7 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bird’s eye chili, chopped
80g white sugar
20ml white vinegar
70ml fish sauce
46ml fresh lime juice
40g sweet chili sauce
3g fine salt

METHOD:

1. Pound chillies and garlic into a rough paste with a mortar and pestle.
2. Add all the other ingredients, mix well, then transfer into a bowl.

My Wok Around Asia Siem Reap trip was made possible through the support of the following –

The post How to Cook Sihanoukville Cuttlefish first appeared on Jackie M..

I’ve previously posted a couple of steamed fish recipes with preserved vegetables, and this is a variation on one of them; this time around, I’m using barramundi instead of silver perch (though, really, this would work with most white fish/fish fillets).

Since I get asked all the time, I’m also showing you the type of  “choy poh” ie. preserved radish that I use in this and in some of my other dishes (notably the Chai Tow Kway aka Char Kway Kak aka Fried Radish Cake that I used to sell).

It seems to me that most people who grew up in Chinese households think of one particular type of preserved radish ie. the super salty variety, when I reference the ingredient in any of my recipes.

That’s not the one I use; I get the Thai preserved radish that’s pre-minced, and which is slightly sweetened and much less salty.  These are some examples of what they look like, so keep an eye out for them next time you’re at your Asian grocery store –

The key thing is to look for the “Made in Thailand” product rather than the “Made in China” version; the latter is the uber salty choy poh (chye poh in Mandarin) your mom (and mine) uses in her Chinese home cooking, which requires rinsing and  which sometimes comes in finger-sized chunks.

Steamed Whole Fish with Choy Poh (Preserved Radish)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 x 700g whole barramundi, cleaned
• 1 stalk green onion
• 3 Tbsps minced preserved radish
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• ½ Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce or preserved soya beans
• 2 TBS Shaoxing rice wine (optional)
• 200ml water
• 1 Tbsp oil

METHOD:

1. Fill steamer with water and bring to a boil.
2. Place green onion on a plate in steamer basket and arrange fish on top.
3. Steam for about 8-10 minutes, then remove from heat. Transfer fish to a serving dish, minus the juices from the steamer.
4. Heat up some oil in a saucepan, then saute ginger, garlic and preserved radish until garlic is lightly browned.
5. Reduce heat and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer, mix well, then remove from heat.
6. Pour sauce over fish and serve.

The post How to Cook Steamed Fish with Choy Poh (Preserved Radish) first appeared on Jackie M..

This is one of my favourite ways to cook prawns; it’s quick, easy, and uncomplicated, and it goes great with steamed rice. It’s based on my stepmom’s recipe, but the flavour is also somewhat influenced by my experience eating at the Vietnamese-run Urban Crayfish Station in Las Vegas a couple of years back.

This time around I used Australian Crystal Bay Prawns, which are popular among Asians who like to eat prawns whole, because the shells on this variety of prawns are soft. You may, of course, peel the prawns if you so wish, but even with other prawn varieties, we Asians do tend towards cooking them with the shells intact.

Spicy Garlic Prawns

INGREDIENTS:

300g fresh prawns, preferably shell intact & slit along spine

1 ½ TBSP minced garlic

2 tsps chopped fresh bird’s eye chilli or 1 TBSP chopped large chilli

2 tsps chicken powder or 1 tsp salt

Dash of pepper (optional)

Curry leaves (optional)

3 TBSPS ghee, butter or cooking oil

METHOD:

1. Trim prawn feelers, slit the shell along the spine (I use scissors) and devein.
2. Heat ghee/butter/cooking oil, then add minced garlic and saute for about 10 seconds.
3. Add chillies (and curry leaves if using) and fry a further 10 seconds.
4. Add prawns and fry on both sides until cooked, sprinkling chicken powder (or salt) and pepper halfway through.
5. Remove and serve.

The post How to Cook 5-Minute Spicy Garlic Prawns first appeared on Jackie M..

I’m not going to claim this stir-fried Xinjiang Cumin Lamb dish is the real deal (hence why it’s titled Xinjiang-STYLE) since I’ve yet to even visit China, plus I’ve adapted it to accommodate what I had on hand ingredients-wise along with my own flavour preferences.

I discovered that half a leg of lamb (my recent purchase – see previous post) yields a lot of meat, so I had to figure out ways to use it up, and stumbled upon a recipe for stir-fried Xinjiang Cumin Lamb at omnivorescookbook.com.

I’d always assumed that lamb required slow-cooking but this quick stir-fry dish (along with the cumin lamb skewers I wrote about a couple of weeks back) has put paid to that notion; it doesn’t even need the Chinese restaurant soda bicarbonate treatment you would expect for red meat.

Stir-fried Xinjiang-Style Cumin Lamb

INGREDIENTS:

400g lamb fillets, diced into 2cm cubes

Marinade –

1 TBSP Shaoxing rice wine (optional)

1 tsp soya sauce

2 tsps oyster sauce

————————

3 TBSP tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

Seasoning –

1½ TBSP cumin powder

2 tsps chilli flakes

⅔ tsp sugar

1 tsp chicken powder (or ½ tsp salt)

¼ tsp pounded Szechuan peppercorns (optional)

Stir-fry –

⅓ cup oil

6 large dried chillies, halved

½ onion, sliced

1 TBSP ginger, minced

1 TBSP garlic, minced

————————-

½ TBSP toasted sesame seeds (optional)

METHOD:

1. Combine lamb with marinade ingredients, set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil, drench lamb with tapioca starch, then fry for about one minute, until lightly browned.
3. Remove lamb.
4. Reheat oil, add garlic, ginger and sliced onion, and fry until aromatic.
5. Add dried chillies, lamb and seasoning ingredients.
6. Toss well, cook until lamb is done (shouldn’t take more than a minute).
7. Remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve.

The post How to Cook Stir-Fried Xinjiang-Style Cumin Lamb first appeared on Jackie M..

I first got a taste of spicy cumin lamb skewers during what was meant to have been a satay feast at my parents’ house in Sydney’s southwest. In amongst the hundreds of Malaysian satays that were cooked up that day, there  were also some Xinjiang-style lamb skewers; apparently it was a dish introduced to them by their new northern Chinese friends from church.

As a loyal Malaysian, I was there for the satays, but I was immediately converted once I tasted the lamb skewers; I was even more impressed when I found out how easy they were to make. No lengthy list of ingredients and no marinating required beforehand; just skewers of lamb sprinkled with salt, cumin and chilli flakes as they cooked on the grill.

I did a quick online search and found some recipes that do require marinating and some additional ingredients, but this version was what I ate at my parents’ as taught by their Xinjiang friends, and I think it works great, so here it is.

Xinjiang Lamb Skewers with Cumin

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg lamb, cut into 2cm cubes

2 TBSP salt

2 TBSP cumin powder

2 TBSP chilli flakes

Oil for brushing

Bamboo skewers

METHOD:

1. Skewer the lamb pieces onto bamboo sticks; make sure there are no gaps in between the chunks of meat.
2. Place lamb skewers on hot barbecue or grill, brush with a little oil and sprinkle with salt, cumin and chilli flakes.
3. Repeat on the other side.
4. Cook until done, remove and serve immediately.

The post How to Make Spicy Lamb Skewers with Cumin first appeared on Jackie M..

Lately, my local greengrocer has been stocking the variety of eggplant that I grew up eating back in Malaysia (correct me if I’m wrong, but I often see them referred to here as Japanese eggplants), and it prompted me to get some for one of my favourite Indonesian Padang dishes known as Terung (Eggplant) Balado.

I air-fried the eggplants in my Optimum HealthyFry during my Live Asian Kitchen broadcast so as to free up my stove for the balado sauce, but you could just as easily pan-fry them with some oil or grill them in the oven.

Also, I used chicken powder in the sauce, but substitute that with half the amount in salt and just like that, you have yourself a vegan dish.

Terung (Eggplant) Balado

INGREDIENTS:

1kg long eggplants, halved
4 tomatoes
1 large onion
6-8 garlic cloves
¼ cup chilli paste (or sambal oelek)
1 TBSP chicken powder (or 2 tsps salt)
1 TBSP sugar
½ cup water
2 tsps lemon juice (optional)
⅓ cup oil

METHOD:

1. Brush eggplant halves with oil, then grill/airfry or pan-fry them until soft. Set aside.
2. Dice tomatoes; mince onion and garlic.
3. Combine onion, garlic and chilli paste in a wok or pan and fry until the moisture is reduced.
4. Add oil and fry until onion is caramelised.
5. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute, followed by all other ingredients.
6. Simmer until mixture is reduced by half, remove from heat and spread on eggplant to serve.

The Optimum HealthyFry air fryer is from Prestige Home Appliances; you can find out more about it in this link –

The post How to Cook Indonesian Padang-Style Eggplant Balado first appeared on Jackie M..

Sup Soto

INGREDIENTS:

1 piece chicken breast, poached, cooled and shredded

2 cups beansprouts, blanched

½ lemon (optional)

2 eggs, boiled and halved

6 pieces white medium firm tofu, fried until browned, then quartered

2 ketupat (compressed rice squares), cooked and cut into squares – (omit if opting for low-carb)

————————————-

1 onion, quartered

5 cloves garlic

1-inch piece of ginger

30g Sup Soto spice mix or mild curry powder mix

1-inch stick of cinnamon (optional)

2 star anises (optional)

1 ½ L water or chicken stock

250ml coconut milk (optional)

3 Tbsps chicken powder

2 Tbsps oil

Fresh coriander and sliced spring onion for garnishing

METHOD:

1. Combine onion, garlic and ginger and blend in food processor.
2. Transfer into a deep saucepan and fry until most of the moisture has evaporated.
3. Add oil and saute until browned.
4. Add spice mix and fry until aromatic.
5. Add water, coconut milk, chicken powder and cinnamon and star anises.
6. Simmer for 10 minutes; adjust seasoning, then remove from heat.
7. Arrange chicken tofu, egg, ketupat and beansprouts in a bowl; top with soup and serve optionally with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and sambal.

The post How to Make Indonesian Sup Soto (Low Carb) first appeared on Jackie M..