Having said that, not all “roti paratha” bear as close a resemblance to Malaysian roti canai as the ones that are from Malaysia, so just make sure the label does say “Made in Malaysia” next time you check out what can be a bewildering variety of “roti paratha” at your local Asian and especially Indian grocery store.

Once you get your hands on frozen roti canai/paratha/prata, you’ll start to appreciate how versatile it is – apart from serving it with curries and simply on its own, there are myriad ways you can use it in your meal preparation.

Here are six ways to use frozen roti canai/prata/paratha to get you started –

Watch on YouTube – https://youtu.be/lxwWaK1u2cg

1. Roti + Dhal Dip 

This is the most common way to serve roti in Malaysia. The lentil or dhal dip I used in my restaurant called for toor dhal and a bunch of spices, which seems complicated at first glance but with my shortcuts it’s actually pretty easy (I’ll email the recipe out to my subscribers soon, along with other tips from this series, so make sure you sign up at MalaysianChefs.com/Recipes ).

2. Roti Curry Puff

First up, you need to make the curry puff filling – again, I have a simple but effective recipe I use for my business. Just make sure you let it cool down before you use it.

Bake the puffs at 200’C for 15 minutes, brush one side with egg wash, then finish baking for another 5 minutes and your roti canai curry puffs are ready to enjoy.

3. Roti Pizza

Roti canai makes a great impromptu pizza base; to do so, cook up the roti per packet instructions, then just add your favourite toppings to it – in my case here, I spread the base with a spicy tomato-based paste, added some smoked trout and ricotta cheese, then finished off with grated cheese. It then went under the grill for 5 minutes and that’s it – a quick and easy homemade pizza thanks to frozen roti canai.

4. Roti Tuna Egg Roll

This is a super convenient way to eat roti because you can hold it in your hand like a burrito and munch while you walk. You can skip the tuna or replace it with any other protein of choice; the key is to make sure the egg is still runny when you place the roti in the pan, so that it sets on the roti itself.

5. Roti & Jam

I used to sell my roti canai with homemade kaya when I first started running market stalls in Sydney 20 years ago, and to this day, many Australians who were first introduced to either roti or kaya courtesy of yours truly still think that’s the best way to eat it. While roti with kaya is delicious, you could also use any kind of jam.

Since I’d just gotten my hands on some AgroMas Malaysian Pineapple Jam (courtesy of the Malaysian Agriculture Counsellor Office, Sydney), I decided to use that instead, and it worked brilliantly.

6. Roti Rendang Wrap 

Roti and Rendang are a match made in heaven; I happened to have some beef rendang in my fridge though of course, you can use any kind of curry or even leftover barbecued chicken with this, along with your favourite salad ingredients and sauces or dressings if required.

I hope these suggestions will inspire you to experiment with roti canai at home; let me know your ideas for how to use frozen roti canai and I would love to add that to my list. 

This is part of my Malaysian Ingredients Made Easy 2.0 series produced in partnership with the Malaysian Agriculture Counsellor Office, Sydney . Don’t miss out on the rest of the series – sign up at MalaysianChefs.com/Recipes.

The post 6 Ways To Use Frozen Roti Canai (Paratha) first appeared on Jackie M..

If you’re Malaysian like me, there’s a strong likelihood that your favourite way to eat durian is to have it straight; nonetheless, there are lots of creative ways to incorporate it into your cooking, especially when first introducing durian flavours to the uninitiated.

Here are 12 suggestions on how to use durian, as compiled from the chefs in my Masters of Malaysian Cuisine group plus yours truly (6-minute video) >> https://youtu.be/3cjDm1wqWys

Some of the recipes which work really well with musang king durian include:

(by Debbie Teoh – Nyonya Cuisine Expert) –

• Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Butter Cake
• Various Kuihs

(by Bob Adnin – Host of Chef Bob Cooking) –

• Serawa Durian (durian sauce, which can be used to serve with kuih dadar (coconut-filled pancakes) or with sticky rice

(by Rene Juefri – Michelin-trained Executive Chef of 5-Star Dubai Hotel) –

• Lempeng Durian (Malay pancakes)

(by Zaleha Olpin – That Rendang Lady from MasterChef UK) –

• Tempoyak (Fermented Durian)

(by yours truly) –

• Durian Ice Cream
• Durian Kaya
• Durian Ais Cendol or Ais Kacang (shaved ice drink/dessert)
• Durian Spring Rolls
• Durian Fritters
• Durian Tarts
• Durian Bread & Butter Pudding

The possibilities are pretty endless, so if you want to keep up-t0-date, make sure you sign up to my mailing list and I’ll send you all my PDFs on ways to use Malaysian ingredients, along with my recipes, straight to your inbox.

Thanks to the Malaysian Agriculture Counsellor Office, Sydney, for the durians supplied for this post!

The post 12 Ways To Use Musang King Durian first appeared on Jackie M..

Weekends now mean sleeping in, and coming up with creative ways to keep Noah entertained. When we choose to visit a weekend market or festival, my brain starts working overtime to calibrate if the weather’s good, what the crowds are like, and if the event is a commercial success. 

This was my mindset on Saturday morning while I was keeping an eye on Noah at the playground in Randwick in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Never mind what was going through my head; I would have fit in with the other parents except I was also munching on a plate of durian, jackfruit and nangchem (hybrid jackfruit and cempedak) which I had “procured” at the Durian Fest 2021 tent about a hundred metres away. 

A curious Aussie bystander came up and asked me if what I was holding was that “famous smelly fruit” she’d heard so much about. 

She was intrigued at the sight of the massive lines of people near us, who had been patiently waiting for over an hour to get their hands on some durian. If your knowledge of durian is limited to what you’ve seen in YouTube reaction videos of white people eating it for the first time, I guess you would be similarly bemused to see hundreds of mostly Malaysians line up from as early as 9.15am (the event didn’t start until 11am) for a taste of this fruit.

When I shared a poster of the event on social media the day before, some people (clearly anticipating big crowds) asked why you would spend your Saturday lining up for durian when it is not that hard to find in the freezer section of your local Asian grocery store. 

I can’t speak for everyone who attended but personally, as a Malaysian, I much prefer Malaysian durian to the more commonly available Thai ones (sorry, Thai friends!). In particular, I love the variety called Musang King, which is often touted as the king of durian.

Nowadays you can often find frozen packs of Musang King durian next to Thai Mornthong durian at Asian stores. Whole durian in the shell like those sold by Durasia at the event, though, are a little harder to come by in my part of Sydney. 

So, does it make sense to line up for whole fresh durian, when you can buy frozen packs of it? I regularly buy and enjoy the frozen pack variety, so I wondered that myself. Then I managed to get my hands on one of these whole durians, courtesy of the Malaysian Agriculture Counsellor Office (I was attending as a guest).

The texture was exquisite and the flavour was phenomenal; it was as good a durian as I had ever eaten in my lifetime. I hope we get to see more of these events celebrating Malaysian fruit in future.

As a lover of Malaysian fruit and a cook who still misses the vibe of outdoor markets, I can’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday.

The post Durian Fest Sydney 2021 first appeared on Jackie M..

15 March 2021

MAFI Partners with Masters of Malaysian Cuisine to Promote Malaysian Ingredients to the World

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries of Malaysia (MAFI) will partner with the Masters of Malaysian Cuisine group to promote Malaysian ingredients through a series of global live cooking demonstrations and food tasting sessions.

These exclusive events will be held in 5 locations, namely Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Dubai, the UK and South Africa, with a total of 8 live cooking demonstrations taking place across 4 days from 27-30 March.

The core aim of the collaboration with MOMC is to raise awareness of the wide and varied range of Malaysian ingredients available globally.

Featuring some of the top Malaysian cuisine experts around the world – Johari Edrus, Zaleha Olpin, Jackie M, Dave Murugaya, Bob Adnin, Rene Juefri, Debbie Teoh and guest chef Liam Ghani – these events will be a unique combination of both physical and virtual demonstrations, which will be simulcast across all MOMC channels including their website (MalaysianChefs.com), Facebook, YouTube and Twitch, and on MAFI’s social media.

In response to COVID-19, a limited audience will be invited to join our chefs during the Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Dubai events at COVID-secure venues to experience these demonstrations first-hand.

The theme “Malaysian Heritage Cuisine” has been selected to highlight the diversity and quality of Malaysian products available to a worldwide market. To this end, MOMC will be presenting and demonstrating an array of Malaysian heritage dishes to show  the accessibility of recreating authentic Malaysian cuisine aboard.

ENDS

For more information or interviews with Jackie M and the Masters of Malaysian Cuisine chefs contact: Jackie M| M: +61 (0) 425 797 718 | E: jackie@jackiem.com.au

The post MAFI Partners with Masters of Malaysian Cuisine to Promote Malaysian Ingredients to the World first appeared on Jackie M..