When I started my food business, my specialty was satay (bet you didn't know that) - I used to cook them on charcoal grills and sell them at the monthly Kirribilli and Mosman Markets in the mid-90s, back when I was still working in an office during the week. And I used to make a disproportionate amount of satay sauce ("kuah kacang" in Malay) to go » Read More
7 Ways To Use Spring Roll Wrappers (Kulit Popiah)
January 25, 2022 by
Everybody loves to eat spring rolls (aka egg rolls in America) and while you can buy pre-made spring rolls easily, in my opinion it always tastes better when you make it yourself at home. Not only that, you get to decide exactly what ingredients go into it. Nowadays in Australia, you can find frozen spring roll pastry that are Made in Malaysia » Read More
8 Recipe Ideas for Kaya (Coconut And Pandan Spread)
December 23, 2021 by
The word “kaya” has two meanings in Malay - it can mean “rich” as in “wealthy”, or it can refer to a coconut and pandan jam that’s universally loved by Malaysians. Making kaya at home properly can be laborious and time-consuming - back in the old days you would cook it in a double-boiler and stand over the stove for hours stirring the coconut » Read More
12 Ways To Use Chilli Sambal And Crispy Prawn Chilli In Your Cooking
June 2, 2021 by
Most of you are too young to remember, but if you lived in Australia in the 80s like I did, you’d know how hard it was to find Malaysian ingredients anywhere. That was why I had to learn how to make everything myself when I wanted to indulge in my craving for Malaysian food. Nowadays though, you should be able to see quite a few » Read More
How To Make Vegan Kaya II
May 22, 2019 by
This was my second attempt at a vegan version of Kaya; the first time around, I used mashed taro (=> https://jackiem.com.au/2017/02/23/make-vegan-kaya-onde-onde/ ), which basically tasted like sweetened mashed taro. Nice, but you're not fooling anyone who has any inkling of what kaya is like. This new recipe is adapted from one I found at » Read More
How To Make Vegan Acar (Spicy Pickles)
May 1, 2019 by
This is the same acar recipe (mixed vegetable pickle with crushed roasted peanuts and sesame seeds) that I used for my restaurant except for the omission of shrimp paste (belacan) in order to make it vegan. Please note my philosophy of "agak-agak" ie. guesstimating is in full force here, especially where the sugar is concerned, so take the amounts » Read More
How To Make Petis Udang or Hei Ko (Prawn Paste)
April 10, 2019 by
This prawn paste is sometimes called shrimp paste (not to be confused with belacan/terasi; I know, it's confusing), and it's best known as the base for Penang rojak aka fruit rojak, and as a topping/dip for Penang Assam Laksa. It's molassy, dark brown, sweet and pungent. In Chinese it's known as Hei Ko, and in Malay it's called Petis Udang or Otak » Read More
How to Cook Crispy Squid or Calamari
November 20, 2018 by
My seafood shopping choices are heavily dictated by budget, in the sense that I would pick up something simply because it looks cheap, and figure out how to make it palatable after the fact. This explains why I often use squid instead of the more expensive calamari; contrary to popular opinion, squid can taste pretty tender even when simply » Read More
How to Make Vegan Yam (Taro) Cake
October 17, 2018 by
This iteration of yam (taro) cake which I made during my Twitch Live Asian Kitchen broadcast did not start out being vegan, but it became so when I realised I did not have anywhere near enough dried shrimp for it. I did have some minced preserved radish, however (the stuff you use in Pad Thai, and which I use in my Chai Tow Kway or radish cake), so » Read More
How To Make Pickled Green Chillies
September 11, 2018 by
Pickled green chillies are a popular condiment back in Malaysia, and most commonly served as an accompaniment to hawker stall dishes like wantan mee (wonton noodles). I make this only very occasionally, since I don't often eat wonton noodles myself, and in all honesty, I don't really measure the ingredients that go into it. Nonetheless, for your » Read More