I also reveal a good, cheap substitute that I’ve encountered in my recent trips to my local non-Asian fruit and vegetable shop, and how to “hack” the flavour to achieve the same result when used in Asian recipes.

For step-by-step instructions, here’s my video on making your own chilli paste –

The post Chillies (30 Days 30 Asian Ingredients Series) first appeared on Jackie M..

I knew very little about Khmer food prior to Siem Reap, but I had heard of Amok, a strong contender for the title of Cambodia’s national dish. I was also vaguely aware of some lively online debates as to what constitutes an authentic amok.

Chef Chanrith Van of Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort would later explain that there are in fact two broad versions of amok; one that’s steamed à la Thai Hor Mok or Penang Otak-Otak, and this one here which is like a mild curry.

Not knowing this at the time, I went into this shoot fully expecting to see steamed fishcake wrapped in banana leaf, so I think I deserve some credit in the video for hiding my surprise at the end.

Click to watch >>

Should you insist on the set custard version, just crack an egg into the sauce, mix well, transfer the ingredients onto a banana leaf and steam it for 8-10 minutes.

As with all recipes supplied by the chefs I work with, I try to keep any tweaking to an absolute minimum, hence why you might find some ingredient measurements different to what you might otherwise be accustomed to seeing.

PART 1

Amok Paste

INGREDIENTS:

25g lemongrass
¼ brown onion
1 garlic clove
1 kaffir lime leaf
10g turmeric
10g fresh krachai (Chinese ginger)
5g dried big chillies (soaked in hot water until soft)
50ml ice water

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients and blend to a smooth paste.

PART 2

Amok Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

30g olive oil
5cm young ginger
85g Amok paste
15g dried chilli paste
1.6g Prahook (fermented fish); (substitute with fish sauce)
25g Palm sugar
20ml fish sauce
25ml chicken stock
125ml water
½ tsp chicken powder
¼ tsp salt
400ml coconut cream

METHOD:

Combine chicken stock, water, chicken seasoning and salt; set aside.
Heat oil in wok, add ginger and saute until fragrant.
Add amok paste followed by dried chilli paste; fry for 30 seconds.
Add fermented fish sauce and palm sugar; cook until sugar is caramelised.
Add fish sauce, stock mixture and coconut cream. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat.

PART 3

Seafood Amok

INGREDIENTS:

50g butter catfish, sliced 1.5cm thick (substitute with any white fish fillets)
30g cuttlefish, cut 4cmx6cm
3 prawns, peeled; tail-on
50g oyster mushrooms, diced
180g Amok sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil or corn oil
2 tsps roasted peanuts, crushed
1 Amok (aka Noni) leaf, cut into 2mm strips (substitute with kai lan or spinach)
2 tsps coconut cream
3 pcs red needle flower (optional)
1 Tbsp deep-fried amok leaf

METHOD:

Season seafood with salt.
Heat oil until smoking hot; sear seafood. Remove and set aside
Wash wok, heat oil and saute mushrooms. Add 50g amok sauce and toss. Set aside.
Wash wok again, add seafood, amok sauce, crushed peanuts and amok leaves. Cook to 75C; remove from heat.
Place sauteed mushrooms on middle of plate, arrange seafood, flowers and deep-fried amok leaf and top with amok sauce.

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

The post How to Cook Khmer Seafood Amok first appeared on Jackie M..

(By the way, I enjoyed the session enough that I’m currently open to offers to do more of these workshops, so if you represent a company or organisation interested in this high priestess of Malaysian cuisine coming to your venue to run a class, hit me up before I change my mind or my schedule gets clogged up).

I made some tweaks to the recipe to accommodate a combination of my own flavour preferences and what ingredients I had on hand.

Here’s the second half of a recent Twitch Live Asian Kitchen broadcast during which I made this dish >>

And here’s the original live broadcast from the Grand Hyatt KL (it’s a couple of years old), starting from the laksa portion (ie. about 10:48s in) –

Here’s the recipe I used in the workshop and also in my Twitch stream, to the best of my memory (allow for a large dose of “agak-agak” ie. guesstimating) –

Curry Laksa

INGREDIENTS:

3 brown onions, peeled
12 cloves garlic, peeled
6 large red chillies
40g mild chilli powder
100g minced lemongrass
60g dried shrimp
3 bunga kantan (ginger flower bud, optional)
150g fish curry powder

4 stalks curry leaves
2 cups oil

2L water or stock
1L coconut cream
1 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsps chicken powder
200g tofu puffs
Noodles
Vegetables
Seafood or meat etc.

METHOD:

1. Combine ingredients to fish curry powder in a blender, blend till smooth.
2. Add oil and curry leaves, and fry until the onion caramelises, the paste is aromatic and the oil separates.
3. Transfer half the paste into a stock pot, add water/stock, coconut cream, sugar, chicken powder and tofu puffs.
4. Simmer for about 10 minutes, adjust seasoning and remove from heat.
5. Separately bring water to boil in a saucepan, and use it to blanch or cook noodles, vegetables and any seafood or meat you’re using.
6. Arrange in a bowl and top with the curry laksa soup before serving.
7. Serve with an optional side of sambal belacan tumis (fried shrimp paste sambal).

Sambal Belacan Tumis

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ cups chillies, cut into chunks
6 bird’s eye chillies (optional)
1 ½ onions
2 Tbsp belacan powder (or equivalent if using Thai shrimp paste or Malaysian/Indonesian shrimp paste blocks)
1 ½ tsp sugar
2 Tbsp soya sauce or fish sauce
½ Tbsp chicken powder (optional)
½ cup oil

METHOD:

1. Blend chillies and onions to desired consistency.
2. Heat oil in frying pan. Add chilli/onion puree and all other ingredients and cook until oil separates and onion is aromatic – approximately 15-20 minutes.
3. Allow to cool, then store in glass jar. Sambal will keep in fridge for 6 weeks or in freezer for 6 months.

The post How to Make Curry Laksa (aka Curry Mee) – Cooking Class Recipe first appeared on Jackie M..

Kuih Ketayap, also known as Kuih Dadar in my part of Malaysia, is a popular teatime snack which consists of pandan-infused crepes rolled with a coconut and palm sugar filling. It’s an easy recipe to attempt, and the ingredients should be readily available at any well-stocked Asian grocery store. Should you have trouble finding pandan leaves (readily available fresh in Cabramatta, #postcode2166), you may substitute it with canned pandan juice, or a few drops of pandan concentrate. This recipe is courtesy of Parkroyal Penang Resort, from my Wok Around Asia project.

Watch the full video here (5 mins) >>

Kuih Ketayap

INGREDIENTS:

Crepe Batter:

20 pandan leaves

600ml water

400g plain flour

4 eggs

250ml coconut milk

pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. Cut pandan leaves into 1-inch lengths. Blend with water and strain.
2. Combine with the rest of the ingredients, mix well, sift and set aside.
3. To cook, brush oil on a non-stick pan and heat. Ladle some batter on it and swirl to make a thin crepe. Cook until crepe starts to lift from the pan.
4. Remove and set aside; repeat with rest of batter.

INGREDIENTS:

Grated Coconut Filling:

400g grated fresh coconut

400g chopped gula melaka (dark brown palm sugar)

4 Tbsps white sugar

200ml water

2 pandan leaves, tied in a knot

2 Tbsps cornstarch

METHOD:

1. Combine palm sugar, white sugar, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan, and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Discard pandan leaves.
2. Add grated coconut and salt and simmer until slightly dry. Add cornstarch to thicken. Allow to cool.
3. To assemble, put a spoonful of coconut filling on each crepe, fold in the sides and roll up like a spring roll.

My Wok Around Asia project is made possible through the support of the following >>

The post How to Make Kuih Ketayap (Coconut-Filled Crepes) first appeared on Jackie M..

The most popular version of Long Yoke, aka Bak Kwa, is made with pork, but since I don’t eat pork, I make mine with chicken mince. I could have sworn my parents used to make it with sliced beef as well, but it’s late as I type this, and I don’t want to wake my poor stepmom up with a phonecall to check.

In any case, in this Live Asian Kitchen broadcast, I had some beef mince (not sliced beef) to use up, so I decided to make a batch with it, and it was far superior, in my opinion, to the chicken mince version. It didn’t help that the chicken I was using was a fine mince (unlike the coarser grind I used to use when I made it for my business), so the texture came out weird, like devon.

Watch the Live Asian Kitchen replay to see how it’s done from start to finish >>

This was the recipe I dug up from my restaurant files, though in all honesty I can’t be sure if it was really the same one we used back in the day (I haven’t made it in years), since I vaguely remember adding red food colouring to ours, which isn’t listed here.

Nonetheless, it turned out fine, so here it is –

Adapted from Tazz in the Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

500g minced chicken

1 1/2 Tbsps fish sauce

1 Tbsp thick soya sauce (aka cooking caramel)

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp 5 spice powder

1 tsp oil

METHOD:

1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl, use a pair of chopsticks or a fork and stir vigorously in one direction until a gluey paste is formed.
2. Pre-heat oven to 125°C.
3. Place meat on a large piece of parchment paper.
4. Cover with clingfilm.
5. Roll into a thin sheet (about 2mm thick).
6. Bake at 125°C for about 20 mins.
7. Increase temperature to 180°C and bake for about 20-30 mins or until the sides are charred.
8. Cool and cut into pieces.

The post How to Make Chicken or Beef Bak Kwa (Barbecued Minced Meat) first appeared on Jackie M..

However, this particular batch turned out different enough (in a good way) that I thought it worth sharing. Plus there’s the added element of serving it with egg noodles as an alternative to boiled rice.

There were several points of difference in this chicken curry recipe; I can’t nail down which of these elements helped lift it a notch above my usual effort but it’s worth considering next time you’re in an experimental mood –

• the use of turmeric leaf which was generously given to me by a fellow former Malaysian, Haryati
• a different brand of curry powder
• fresh chillies (I usually omit adding chillies)
• a different brand of coconut cream

Watch the Replay to get the most out of this recipe –

Malaysian Chicken Curry with Turmeric Leaf

INGREDIENTS:

2kg chicken drumsticks
8 cloves garlic
1 ½ onions, peeled & quartered
4 Tbsps (Malaysian) Parrot Brand meat curry powder
2 large chillies
3 Tbsps minced lemongrass
1 turmeric leaf, tied in a knot
2 cups Rasaku coconut cream
2 cups water
2 Tbsps chicken powder
1 tsp salt
⅔ Tbsps sugar
4 Tbsps oil

To serve:

Rice, or –

Fresh egg noodles, cooked in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then drained. Different types of egg noodles will produce different textures; in these photos, I used “wonton noodles” ie. thin egg noodles that look like they’re lightly coated with flour, available in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores.

METHOD:

1. Combine garlic, onion and chillies in a food processor and blend.
2. Mix to a paste with minced lemongrass and curry powder.
3. Heat a heavy-based pan and saute the curry paste with oil until the onion is browned.
4. Add chicken drumsticks and saute a further 3 minutes.
5. Add all other ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked. Adjust seasonings as needed before removing from heat.
6. Alternatively, after step 3, transfer all ingredients into a pressure cooker and pressure-cook for 15 minutes. This will produce a more saucy (ergo: watered-down, therefore add more seasoning as needed) chicken curry, which you can use as a curry base for egg noodles.

The post How to Cook Malaysian Chicken Curry Noodles first appeared on Jackie M..

I’ve had an aversion to pork since I was a kid, so I have no recollection of ever having eaten Bak Kut Teh (BKT), which is traditionally made using pork spare ribs. The smell of BKT is quite unmistakable however, and hard to avoid if you grew up in Malaysia or Singapore. Since I knew how it’s meant to smell, I felt vaguely confident going into this Live Asian Kitchen session despite it being my first attempt at the dish, and despite using chicken as a substitute.

I know this sounds like a cop-out, but nobody I know actually makes Bak Kut Teh using their own mix of spices; they buy pre-made BKT packs, either from their local Asian grocery store, or from their Chinese herb shop. You will see why when you read the ingredients listed on the packs, further down in this post.

I managed to pick up two different brands of BKT spice mixes during my recent Wok Around Asia trip; one was made in Johor (A1 Brand) which is the southernmost state in the Malaysian Peninsula, and the other was made in Penang (CKC Brand), up north.

This gave me the perfect opportunity to test both out in front of my Live online audience, and along the way, I found out there are different versions of BKT floating around; for instance, the Singaporean version is meant to be lighter and more peppery, whereas in Malaysia it’s darker and richer.

I had been told prior to the broadcast by KL native Alexx Lee of MyBlueTea.com.au that eating BKT with fried crullers (yow char kway) is a uniquely Kuala Lumpur-thing. During the live video, however, Lisa Lee Allerton of AussieTrendHandicrafts.com, who’s from Penang herself, insisted she did in fact enjoy hers with crullers, so there you have it. A mass of culinary confusion all round, the lesson here being that even we Malaysians don’t see eye-to-eye regarding our own food.

Further research tells me that some typical sides that work well with BKT are –

• Crullers (as mentioned previously)
• Lettuce
• Yam rice
• Meat floss (this sounds odd even to me, but apparently it’s the done thing at some stalls in Penang)
• Steamed rice

I found from testing both brands of spices, that they are worlds apart in flavour, cooking instructions and even in what’s in them; the A1 brand BKT pack contained what looked like a couple of mega-sized teabags, while the CKC brand had a combination of whole herbs and a smaller teabag of powdered spices.

I’m reposting the cooking instructions for both brands, and I’ve also added below, what I used in mine (along with splitting the difference between the two sets of instructions).

Watch the full replay to see how I tackled these recipes, along with their outcomes >>

A1 Bak Kut Teh Spice Pack (made in Johor, Malaysia)

Contents –

Cinnamon, angelica pepper, aralia cordata, sinensis, star anise, paurantii, cigusticum, radix rehmanniae, rhisoma atraclylodis, radix glycyrrhizae, rhizoma lingustic

Cooking instructions –

Combine meat, 1 garlic bulb, thick soya sauce, light soya sauce, oyster sauce, salt, msg, water and spices; simmer for 30 minutes, add pepper before serving.

CKC Bak Kut Teh Spice Pack (made in Penang, Malaysia)

Contents –

Fructus jujubae, polygonatum odoratum, codonopsis pilosula, rehmania glutinosa, fructus lycii, rhizoma linguistici, angelica sinensis and spices

Cooking instructions –

Combine water, bak kut teh spices, meat, 3 garlic bulbs, salt & soya sauce; simmer for an hour.

Tldr; the A1 version produced a very dark BKT, and the CKC version produced a light, very aromatic soup.

Ingredients I used, along with what was specified on the packs –

1 whole chicken, about 1.6kg
8 dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water, drained
8 tofu puffs, halved
1 Tbsp chicken powder for every 1 cup of water

Let me know if you have a favourite brand of BKT spices, and also what your favourite side dishes are; as mentioned at the start, this is all very new to me, and I’ll admit I’m still trying to wrap my head around its popularity

Finally, a shoutout to AussieTrendHandicrafts.com, the Australian distributor of Diamond Dotz facet art, for sponsoring the Giveaway for this broadcast; Karen Khoo of Melbourne won this Flower Mandala Diamond Dotz kit just by tuning in to my Live Asian Kitchen >>

If you know anyone who’s interested in sponsoring Giveaways for my Live Asian Kitchen shows, just get them to drop me a line

The post How to Cook Chicken Bak Kut Teh (Chik Kut Teh) first appeared on Jackie M..

It was my first morning in Siem Reap, on my first ever trip to Cambodia. I knew no-one except a handful of staff I’d met the evening before at the hotel. I couldn’t speak one word of Khmer, and I was still trying to wrap my head around the local currency – I had converted my Aussie dollars into Cambodian riels but was pondering if I should have brought some US dollars instead, as some had advised. You would think having been raised in Southeast Asia and looking more or less like a local, that I would fit effortlessly in; you would be wrong. This was all quite new and quite strange to me.

I was in Siem Reap for Wok Around Asia, a food and recipe-focused web series I’m producing for my online platforms. In two days, I would be filming 5 Khmer cooking videos with Chef Chanrith Van of Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort. I needed to get up to speed quickly on Khmer food, so what better way to do so than to visit the sprawling local market, with Chef Chanrith as my guide?

(I would later learn that Chef Chanrith Van is one of Cambodia’s most highly-regarded chefs, though you wouldn’t know it from his humble demeanour. There’s a funny story about how I found out, but we’ll get to that in another post.)

This was what I learned from Chef Chanrith that morning and during my 5-day stay; the list is by no means comprehensive and it’s not in any order. It largely reflects what I found fascinating and different about Khmer food and cooking –

1. Lok Lak

This is both the name of the in-house restaurant at Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort, and the name of a famous Khmer dish. It literally means “cube”, hence why Chef Chanrith’s version has the beef cut into small cubes, unlike at most other places, where it is sliced. The beef is cooked in an intriguing mix of oyster sauce, kampot peppercorn, dark soya sauce and palm sugar among other ingredients, and it’s so good I ate it again as my last meal before I left Cambodia. By the way, there’s great lok lak per what I found at Lok Lak Restaurant, and there’s lok lak that tastes like a regular stir-fried beef with oyster sauce, at any number of eateries in Siem Reap.

2. Prahok

Fermented fish; Chef Chanrith explains that Prahok is used in 9 out of 10 Cambodian dishes (click to watch).

WOK AROUND ASIA – SIEM REAP Chef Chanrith Van of @courtyardsiemreap explains Prahok Don’t forget I’m going Live with another Khmer cooking masterclass with Chef Chanrith Van in the kitchen of Lok Lak Restaurant – tune in at Facebook.com/JackieMFood or www.JackieM.Live at 7pm Sydney time (GMT+10) #food #foodshare #foodie #foodlover #foodporn #foodgasm #foodstagram #getinmybelly #instaeat #sharefood #instafood #devourpower #foodblog #EEEEEATS #huffposttaste #tastespotting #foodgawker #instayum #buzzfeedfood #foodcoma #foodforfoodies #nomnomnom #foodieforlife #wokaroundasia #siemreap #khmerfood #rawfoods #travellingfoodie @tourismcambodia @cambodiatourism

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Jan 22, 2018 at 9:50pm PST

3. Flowers

Cambodians use a variety of flowers in their dishes, as garnishes and in salads.

4. Pickles

I saw all kinds of pickles at the market, made from what looked like papaya, cucumber and daikon; I’m told they’re commonly served with rice or grilled fish.

5. Red Ants

In one of my upcoming videos, Chef Chanrith uses red ants in a rare beef salad; they taste sour and when deep-fried, they provide a crunchy texture to any dish.

6. Green Tamarind

I spotted these tubs of what I thought were a chilli paste, but it turns out they were crushed green tamarind. It tasted sour like tamarind, but with a lighter, fresher note.

7. Vegetable Soup

You could be forgiven for thinking these were vegetable offcuts but in fact they’re vegetable premixes used for making soup, which is a staple of Cambodian diet; I’m told that’s what most people eat every day.

8. Palm Juice and Palm Sugar

Cambodians drink palm fruit juice the way we Malaysians drink coconut juice; they also use it to make terrific palm sugar (I brought some back with me to Sydney).

Click to watch >>

WOK AROUND ASIA – SIEM REAP Unusual food finds with Chef Chanrith Vann Head Chef Chanrith of @courtyardsiemreap and formerly of Shinta Mani and Marum takes me on a tour of Siem Reap’s local market just down the road from the hotel. He explains what this is – #food #foodshare #foodie #foodlover #foodporn #foodgasm #foodstagram #getinmybelly #instaeat #sharefood #instafood #devourpower #foodblog #EEEEEATS #huffposttaste #tastespotting #foodgawker #instayum #buzzfeedfood #foodcoma #foodforfoodies #nomnomnom #foodieforlife #siemreap #khmerfood #cambodia @courtyardsiemreap @tourismcambodia @office.tourisme.siemreap.city

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Jan 19, 2018 at 7:29pm PST

9. Raw Salted Clams

This has to be one of the most exotic foods I saw in Siem Reap – raw clams laid out on trays in the sun, with salt and chilli sprinkled over them; they’re typically eaten with rice. I didn’t get to try them on this trip, so that’s something to look forward to another time. Click to watch >>

WOK AROUND ASIA – SIEM REAP Unusual Foods – Sun-salted clams One of the most interesting-looking street foods in Siem Reap – clams sprinkled with salt and chilli – listen to what Chef Chanrith of Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort has to say about them. #food #foodshare #foodie #foodlover #foodporn #foodgasm #foodstagram #getinmybelly #instaeat #sharefood #instafood #devourpower #foodblog #EEEEEATS #huffposttaste #tastespotting #foodgawker #instayum #buzzfeedfood #foodcoma #foodforfoodies #nomnomnom #foodieforlife #malaysiatrulyasia #wokaroundasia #siemreap #khmerfood #rawfoods @courtyardsiemreap

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Feb 7, 2018 at 11:33pm PST

10. Kampot Pepper

Considered the world’s best pepper, they come in a number of varieties – green, black, red or white. I’m still kicking myself for not bringing some back with me to Sydney – long story (though I did find out that the green variety would have been confiscated by Australian customs).

If you’re familiar with Cambodia, let me know your thoughts on what other Khmer foods should be on this list.

I saw and tasted many fascinating dishes during my stay in Siem Reap, and I came away with the conviction that Khmer cuisine is very much under-recognised in the West. Now that I’m back in Sydney, I plan to explore and experiment with Khmer recipes in my own kitchen, and also to check out some Cambodian restaurants I’ve spotted in Cabramatta. Meanwhile, I also have the 5-part series of Khmer cooking videos with Chef Chanrith Van currently in post-production, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for them.

* Baby Noah and I stayed as guests of Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort as part of my Wok Around Asia project.

The post 10 Cambodian Foods That Will Make You Fall In Love With Khmer Cooking first appeared on Jackie M..

The insolent teen in me resented being mistaken for an Indochinese refugee when I started school at Fairvale High (I’ve blogged about my early years over at SerembanGirl.com) but I did fall in love with Cabramatta pho, the rice noodle broth served with rare beef slices.

That, along with the area’s abundance of Southeast Asian ingredients, made sure that my tastebuds, culinary inclinations and recipe experiments remained fairly uncontaminated by compromise over the years.

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Jan 2, 2018 at 3:57am PST

Looking back, I can honestly say that but for postcode 2166, my food career would not be where it is today.

It is my incredible privilege, therefore, to be involved in #2166 – a campaign to promote the unique food offerings of each of these three suburbs – and what an eye-opener it’s been for me.

Getting ready in Canley Heights for my third shoot for postcode 2166. No Live Asian Kitchen tonight as a result See you Friday at 6pm Sydney time at www.Jackiem.Live #jackiemlife #twitchcreative #asianfood #2166 #canleyheights

A post shared by Jackie M (@jackiemsydney) on Oct 17, 2017 at 10:08pm PDT

I’ve discovered that postcode 2166 is so much more than beef pho (much as I love the dish) – and not only that, but I’ve come to realise each of these food destinations has its own distinct vibe:

Cabramatta is the big brother of the lot – always bustling during the day with food outlets packed to the rafters, and grocery stores selling all kinds of ingredients that you can’t easily find in other parts of Sydney.

One stop up on the train line is Canley Vale, where you’ll find larger, sophisticated restaurants that come to life in the evenings, as families descend on the area for dinner after a long day at work. Canley Vale, by the way, is great for parking.

Canley Heights is like a brash teenager – its hip and funky international eateries, neon lights and outdoor dining attract a millennial crowd, especially in the evenings and on weekends.

I’ll be diving deep into some of the fascinating food offerings in each of these suburbs, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming posts. In the meantime, enjoy these images of some familiar and not-so-familiar dishes I’ve come across on my food hunts in #2166.

The post #2166 – One Postcode, Three Food Destinations 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..