I belong to that demographic of Malaysians who turn up our noses at our Singaporean neighbours’ sad attempts to use durian in edgy ways, such as in a pizza, hot pot (ie. steamboat) or chee cheong fun (rice noodle rolls). It seems like a bit of a waste of good durian, which I prefer to eat straight and unencumbered by ingredients that effectively » Read More
How to Make Red Bean Paste
October 25, 2018 by
Red bean paste filling is popularly used in Chinese snacks, from steamed buns to mooncakes; here are some examples of what I’ve been using my most recent batch in, with recipes to follow in my upcoming posts - You can buy canned red bean paste filling at Asian grocery stores, but I like the idea of making my own when I can; it’s » Read More
How to Cook Stir-Fried Xinjiang-Style Cumin Lamb
October 11, 2018 by
I’m not going to claim this stir-fried Xinjiang Cumin Lamb dish is the real deal (hence why it’s titled Xinjiang-STYLE) since I’ve yet to even visit China, plus I’ve adapted it to accommodate what I had on hand ingredients-wise along with my own flavour preferences. I discovered that half a leg of lamb (my recent purchase - see previous post) » Read More
How to Cook Stir-Fried Lamb Noodles
October 5, 2018 by
I go through phases with my food shopping habits; if you're part of my Live Asian Kitchen community you'll know that for awhile I bought and cooked a lot of lamb casserole pieces because it was the cheapest cut of lamb available at my local butcher. That was until my butcher overcharged me on one batch which also turned out to be super fatty and » Read More
How to Make Spicy Lamb Skewers with Cumin
September 18, 2018 by
I first got a taste of spicy cumin lamb skewers during what was meant to have been a satay feast at my parents' house in Sydney's southwest. In amongst the hundreds of Malaysian satays that were cooked up that day, there were also some Xinjiang-style lamb skewers; apparently it was a dish introduced to them by their new northern Chinese friends » 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
How to Cook Indonesian Padang-Style Eggplant Balado
September 11, 2018 by
Lately, my local greengrocer has been stocking the variety of eggplant that I grew up eating back in Malaysia (correct me if I’m wrong, but I often see them referred to here as Japanese eggplants), and it prompted me to get some for one of my favourite Indonesian Padang dishes known as Terung (Eggplant) Balado. I air-fried the eggplants in my » Read More
How to Make An Easy Nut-Free Carrot Cake
September 11, 2018 by
I rarely bake because I’m not much of a cake eater, but I have on occasion had to use up some leftover carrots, in which case my go-to option is to bake it into a carrot cake. This recipe was originally sourced from the Thermomix recipe community, but I’ve made so many adjustments that it bears no resemblance to the original. I find Western » Read More
How to Cook Sang Har Yee Meen (Crispy Freshwater Prawn Noodles)
September 4, 2018 by
I remember Sang Har Yee Meen (literally, freshwater prawn crispy noodles) as a popular dish at open-air restaurants in Malaysia, but they're actually pretty easy to make at home. If you're not too fixated about using freshwater prawns, you'll save a few bucks by using a cheaper and more commonly available variety like the banana prawns pictured » Read More
How to Make Hakka Lo Pek Pan (Hakka Radish Cake)
July 24, 2018 by
I sometimes feel sorry for those not born into the culture trying to learn all the nuances of Chinese food. It’s hard enough trying to wrap your head around the topic, let alone recognise all the different iterations of specific dishes by different Chinese dialect groups. Radish cake is one such example; the Cantonese version found at yum cha » Read More