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 recipe will work just as well if you use only fresh eggs, or you replace the fancy eggs with other ingredients.

Steamed Three-Colour Eggs

INGREDIENTS:

2 large fresh eggs

1 salted duck egg, yolk diced, egg white separated

1 century egg, diced

Chicken stock or water at 2:1 ratio to fresh eggs

pinch of white pepper

pinch of chicken powder or 1/2 tsp soya sauce

METHOD:

1. Bring water in steamer to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer.
2. Beat fresh eggs along with the egg white from the salted duck egg, then add water or stock, chicken powder or soya sauce, and pepper.
3. Strain into a shallow steaming dish and scatter the diced salted egg yolk and century egg on top.
4. Cover with cling wrap, then steam on low simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and serve, drizzled optionally with sesame oil and topped with spring onion.

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The post How to Make Steamed Three Colour Eggs first appeared on Jackie M..

Kuih Bingka Ubi or Baked Cassava Cake is about as simple a Malay kuih as you can make, and the bonus is that it’s gluten-free. If you’re based in Sydney, you should be able to find grated cassava easily in the freezer section of Indian and well-stocked Asian grocery stores – it’s a definite timesaver.

BTW I know I’ve posted this recipe on this website previously; this version is based on baking it in an oven as opposed to an air-fryer. I’ve also made some tweaks based on the recipe posted in Malay (that’s why it pays to be multi-lingual, folks) at Resepi Bonda.

Cassava Cake (Kuih Bingka Ubi)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups grated cassava
• 1 ½ cups coconut cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients except butter, and pour into a greased 8-inch baking tray.
2. Dot the surface of the cake with butter.
3. Bake for 60 minutes at 200°C or until done.
4. Allow to cool before cutting into slices to serve.

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The post How to Make Kuih Bingka Ubi (Baked Cassava Cake) first appeared on Jackie M..

The fact that you need to deep-fry them is probably a bit of a turn-off for your average Australian cook, but as I often tell my Live Asian Kitchen audience, you don’t in fact need a deep-fryer to do decent deep-frying; a wok or pot filled with oil will work just fine.

The filling for this is the same as what I use for pulut panggang – those grilled sticky rice rolls wrapped in banana leaf that I used to sell back when I ran market stalls around Sydney. Essentially, we’re replacing sticky rice with steamed & mashed sweet potato kneaded into a dough with some flour, before dropping them into oil.

Cucur Badak

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:
500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
7 Tbsps plain flour
1 tsp salt

Filling:
3 Tbsps dried shrimp, soaked and drained
1 onion, quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsps minced lemongrass (optional)
3 Tbsps sugar
⅔ Tbsp chicken powder
2 tsps belacan powder (optional)
⅔ cup desiccated coconut
1 Tbsp chilli crush
4 Tbsps oil

Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1.  Steam sweet potato until soft, then mash. Allow to cool until it can be handled; add salt.
2. Add flour gradually and knead to form a soft dough.
3. Combine onion, garlic and dried shrimp in a food processor; mince.
4. Transfer to a saucepan and fry until most of the liquid has evaporated; add oil.
5. Fry until oil separates and onion caramelises. Add all other ingredients and fry until aromatic.
6. Allow to cool, then form into balls about 2cm in diameter.
7. Divide sweet potato dough into 1 ½ Tbsp portions.
8. Place dough on palm of hand, flatten slightly, then make an indent in the middle.
9. Place a piece of filling in the middle, then seal with dough.
10. Heat oil to between 160-180C; deep-fry evenly until they float and are a light golden brown.
11. Drain on paper towels, allow to cool, then serve.

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The post How to Make Cucur Badak (Stuffed Sweet Potato Dumplings) first appeared on Jackie M..

This is part 2 of a two-part series on how to make roti canai; part 1 (click here) covered how to make the dough, and this part shows you how to flip, fill and fold the roti.

Chef Chandra of Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur covers all the popular roti styles available at your local mamak store, in the following order –

1. Roti pisang – banana roti, using sliced bananas and condensed milk
   
   
2. Roti cheese – shredded cheese
3. Roti telur – egg
4. Roti bom – butter + 3 tsps sugar
5. Roti murtabak – minced meat curry + egg

You really need to watch the video to capture the nuances of how to flip the roti and also what ingredients go into it, so I won’t try and spell them out for you here.

Roti Murtabak Filling

Roti murtabak filling is made the same way you would a curry sans coconut milk, and using a mild curry powder mixture like kurma curry powder. You should really only need minced garlic, minced onion, curry powder and seasoning (salt or chicken powder) sauteed with minced beef until dry and aromatic.

For what it’s worth, when I used to make roti murtabak for my restaurant, I used the same filling as what goes into my meat curry puffs (but minus sugar and minus potato). Mix about 2 Tbsps of the filling with a raw egg, then smear on the roti and fold up the sides.

Finally, recipe for vegetarian dhal dip to go with the roti canai is as follows (this is courtesy of yours truly, from my many years of selling it at my markets and my restaurant).

Roti Canai Dip

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 g toor dhal, soaked and drained
• 1 L water
• 250 g potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 1/2 small green chillies
• 1/8 cup tamarind extract
• 1 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp mushroom seasoning
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1 stem curry leaves
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fried shallots

METHOD:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a thick-based saucepan and brown the onion and garlic in it.
2. Add everything except the potatoes and tomatoes, and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the potatoes are soft and the lentils are of a mushy consistency – approximately 20 minutes.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

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The post How to Flip & Cook Roti Canai | Roti Bom | Murtabak & More (Part 2) first appeared on Jackie M..

Savoury Taro Cake (Wu Tao Ko in Cantonese) was a breakfast snack that I remember being sold alongside Chee Cheong Fun (steamed rice noodle rolls) back in my hometown of Seremban in Malaysia.

My parents would typically order a small share plate of it from the hawker stall at breakfast, and it was served steamed (not pan-fried like what you get at yum cha here in Australia) and with some tim cheong (hoisin-based sauce) and a chilli sauce that’s not too dissimilar to Sriracha.

I’d previously attempted the recipe for this from my Famous Street Food of Penang cookbook and found it way too taro-y – which made me think that the Penang version of this dish must be quite different from what we had in the southern states. This time around, I made it with the amount of taro halved, and I was much happier with the result.

I also remember the version from my childhood having the dried shrimp in the taro cake rather than minced and sprinkled on top of it, so I covered both bases and did both, because, why not. And I added other features from the version I know – ie. toasted sesame seeds, spring onion etc.

This was broadcast on my Live Asian Kitchen on Twitch, though rather than sharing that full recording, I might shoot a separate, edited video and embed it here at some point.

Savoury Taro Cake

INGREDIENTS:

350g rice flour
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
1250ml water
2 Tbsps oil
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped
300g taro, peeled and cubed
½ tsp five spice powder
2 Tbsps dried shrimp, soaked in hot water, then drained
½ Tbsp chicken powder or ½ Tbsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
3-4 Tbsps oil

Toppings –
150g dried prawns, soaked in hot water, then drained
½ cup crispy fried shallots
3 Tbsps oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Sesame oil or onion oil
Sliced spring onion

To serve –
Hoisin sauce
Bottled chilli sauce

METHOD:

1. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and water, and mix into a smooth batter.
2. Heat oil, then brown onion and garlic. Add all other ingredients and mix well, then add batter.
3. Cook on low heat until it thickens. Transfer into a greased tray and steam on medium heat for 40 minutes or until done. Line steamer lid with a clean kitchen towel to prevent water collecting on the taro cake.
4. Set aside and allow to cool.
5. Heat oil and fry the dried shrimp for the topping until browned. Transfer into a blender and blend to a floss.
6. Cut the taro cake into diamond shapes or slices, and sprinkle with the minced dried shrimp, toasted sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots and a drizzle of sesame oil or onion oil.
7. Heat some hoisin sauce in a saucepan, add some water and sugar to taste, simmer until sugar is dissolved and sauce is thickened. (I do this because bottled hoisin sauce is generally too strong flavoured and too salty to use straight out of the jar unless as a spread eg. on Peking duck skin or popiah skin).
8. Serve taro cake with the hoisin-based sauce and some bottled chilli sauce.

The post How to Make Savoury Taro Cake (Wu Tao Ko) first appeared on Jackie M..

When I got into this whole “food thing” back in the day, I had to learn how to make everything myself through trial and error, because hawkers in Malaysia were notoriously secretive about their craft.

One of these recipes was for roti canai (roti prata if you’re Singaporean), and I’ve been able to make decent enough rotis that I sold it for years at my now-closed restaurant, I’ve demonstrated the art of flipping roti on Australian television, and I’ve run cooking classes on it.

Even so, I always felt my roti dough recipe was missing je ne sais quoi compared to what you could find at a Malaysian mamak stall. (FYI “Mamak” in Malaysia refers to roti canai stalls and to the Indian-Muslim cooks who run them; I’m not talking about the restaurant chain by the same name here in Australia, much as I admire their business.)

This session with Chef Chandra, who is the in-house the roti canai specialist at Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s Gobo Chit Chat restaurant, is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to learn from a master of the trade directly.

Chef Chandra started out as an apprentice at a Malaysian mamak stall who, after many years of learning and selling roti canai, was recruited by Traders Hotel.

I should mention that this roti canai, which is made fresh and served at the breakfast buffet at Traders Hotel’s Gobo Chit Chat restaurant every morning, is pitch perfect and as good as any roti canai I’ve eaten anywhere in Malaysia.

Here is the first part of my roti canai masterclass as taught by Chef Chandra; click to watch >>

Roti Canai Dough

INGREDIENTS:

100 grams Butter
25 grams Salt
75 grams Sugar
100 grams Condensed Milk
750 grams Plain Flour
100ml Fresh Milk
125ml water

METHOD:

1. Combine butter, salt, sugar, condensed milk, fresh milk and water. Mix well.
2. Add flour and knead for 10 minutes. Rest for 20 minutes.
3. Roll into balls (you’ll need to watch the video to see how it’s done; it’s important to learn the technique).
4. Coat with butter, then rest for 2 hours before using.
5. IMPORTANT – The dough balls will need to be at tropical room temperature for them to be easily manipulated & flipped; in winter time at my restaurant I used to turn the oven on for 1 minute at the lowest setting, turn it off, then store the dough balls in it until they’ve softened.

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

The post How to Make Perfect Roti Canai Dough 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..

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..

If you’ve followed my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts for any length of time, you would know that the term sambal belacan” (shrimp paste sambal) covers a number of different chilli dips – there’s raw sambal belacan which consists of pounding chillies with toasted shrimp paste, some seasoning plus a dash of fresh lime juice – popular in Malay and Nyonya dishes – and then there’s the fried variety used in Chinese-inspired recipes like Har Meen (prawn noodle soup).

The sambal belacan I make and sell at the markets is actually a sweeter version of the latter, which works for the Char Kway Teow (fried rice noodles) it’s served with. The recipe for that is located here >> How to Make Sambal Belacan.

For personal consumption however, I prefer the more savoury version, per in this broadcast; I try to make sure I always have a jar of it in my fridge –

Sambal Belacan for Har Meen (Prawn Noodle Soup)

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 (optional, if you’re really hardcore low-carb, or feel free to replace with coconut sugar, etc.)
• 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 Sambal for Prawn Noodle Soup (Har Meen) (Low-Carb) first appeared on Jackie M..