How to Make Thai Crab Cakes
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How to Make Thai Crab Cakes

When I was staying at Shangri-La Chiang Mai, Thailand, I was taught a number of dishes that were exclusively served to the Thai royal household. (Playlist for these videos can be found here – Jackie M’s Northern Thai Recipes) I was sufficiently intrigued therefore, when I came across a recipe for Royal Thai crabcakes at  www.panningtheglobe.com, that I…

How to Make Malaysian Popiah – 2017 Edition
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How to Make Malaysian Popiah – 2017 Edition

I remember the time I was invited to Singapore to film a series of cooking videos for an online media company. I was quite happy with the results but for the fact that they described me on their portal as a “food blogger”. Anybody can blog, but I’d bet my bottom dollar there aren’t many…

How to Cook Malaysian Lamb Curry
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How to Cook Malaysian Lamb Curry

This was a personal favourite from my range of Jackie M frozen meals, at least before I substituted fried fresh onion with commercial fried shallots. I employed a lot of shortcuts for my business because of time and cost constraints, but I’ve always acknowledged that fresh is best. Full cooking lesson for this dish brought…

How to Make Keropok Ikan (Fish Crackers) – Nasi Kerabu Part 2 of 4
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How to Make Keropok Ikan (Fish Crackers) – Nasi Kerabu Part 2 of 4

Kelantan is famous for its keropok, but there are in fact two different types – keropok lekor, which is chewy in texture, and this, which is essentially the prawn crackers I grew up eating in my neck of the Malaysian woods, except with fish. Using basa fillets instead of mackerel or featherback etc. is an…

How to Make Kelantan Nasi Kerabu – Part 1 of 4
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How to Make Kelantan Nasi Kerabu – Part 1 of 4

It’s taken me nearly four years since my first live video on this herbed rice banquet to finally put pen to paper (keyboard to website, whatevs) and publish the recipes for it. Here’s the highlights video from the original broadcast, streamed from The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (click on video to watch) >> I’m vaguely…

How to Cook Indonesian Ayam Bakar (Barbecue Chicken) – Asian BBQ Series
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How to Cook Indonesian Ayam Bakar (Barbecue Chicken) – Asian BBQ Series

One feature of Indonesian cooking is that the chicken is commonly cooked in its marinade before it’s grilled or fried. This is a brilliant way to prevent under-cooking your chicken on the barbecue, and it also allows you to prepare a day or two in advance and keep the cooked chicken refrigerated until needed. INGREDIENTS: 2 kg chicken pieces 3…

How to Cook Malaysian Otak-Otak (Fish Cakes) – Asian BBQ Series
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How to Cook Malaysian Otak-Otak (Fish Cakes) – Asian BBQ Series

There are two broad versions of Otak-Otak in Malaysia; the otak-otak in Penang are wrapped in banana leaves, folded in square parcels and steamed; the otak-otak in the Southern states of Johor and Melaka are wrapped in coconut leaves and grilled. This recipe splits the difference in that I use banana leaves but grill the…

How to Cook Vietnamese Barbecue Prawns with Papaya Salad – Asian BBQ Series
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How to Cook Vietnamese Barbecue Prawns with Papaya Salad – Asian BBQ Series

This Vietnamese-inspired barbecue prawn dish is served on a bed of shredded green papaya, but young mango would work just as well, and would add a nice tangy note to the dish. In the absence of either, I would suggest thinly shredded cabbage. Adapted from Luke Nguyen’s “Indochine”. INGREDIENTS: 600g prawns, peeled 2 Tbsps oyster…

How To Cook Indonesian Ikan Bakar (Barbecue Fish) – Asian BBQ Series
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How To Cook Indonesian Ikan Bakar (Barbecue Fish) – Asian BBQ Series

While Barbecued or Grilled Fish is popular throughout Southeast Asia, the use of kecap manis (aka kicap manis in Malay) gives an Indonesian flavour to this recipe. This is more traditionally cooked with whole fish, where the marinade is not only basted on the fish, but also stuffed in its stomach cavity. If using fish fillets that…