fish in soya sauce

a.k.a. ikan masak kicap.

sometimes, simple can also be translated as nice. sometimes, you don't need to go all fancy to satisfy your taste bud. sometimes, when you've run out of ideas of what to cook  all you need is something very easy to prepare and yet, tasty.

today is the i-want-to-cook-something-simple-and-this-is-it day, or better known as 'makan aje apa mummy bagi day.' haha!

for some people, to prepare something like this, they do not need a recipe book or a specific recipe. i too have my own easy-peasy version of ikan masak kicap. BUT! since, i have a recipe book that has this recipe and since i'm still experimenting from recipe books, i decided to give this recipe taken from this book, Nostalgia Bonda.

the author of the book added a little something extra to her recipe, she added chicken stock cube, cinnamon stick and also cloves. whereas, if i were to cook my version, i'd just saute some shallots and garlic je. :-)

taste wise, because of the chicken stock cube and the cinnamon and cloves, i think it's a tad different, next time i will try this recipe with the recommended choice of fish stated in the recipe. biasalah senaaaah, temah ni kan tangkap muat sajork.

okay! on to the recipe, shall we:

you will need:
4 pieces of ikan tenggiri, mackerel (i didn't have any, so i used HRH Kembung)
1 cm cinnamon stick
2 to 3 cloves
10 shallots, pounded
4 cloves garlic, pounded
1 inch ginger, pounded
¼ cup dark soy sauce
¼ cup sweet soy sauce
1½ cups water
1 cube of chicken stock
2 tsps turmeric powder
1 tsp salt

the how to:
1)  rub salt and turmeric powder to the fish slices. leave aside for 20 minutes.

2)  fry the fish slices and put aside.

3)  saute cloves and cinnamon stick till fragrant.

4)  add pounded ingredients like shallots, garlic and ginger.

5)  when golden yellow, add water and stir well.

6)  add both types of soy sauce and allow to simmer.

7)  add in the fried fish slices and mix well.

8)  garnish with halved chillies and sliced big onions.

9)  ready to serve!

easy enough, right? well, let's go to the freezer and take the fish out already!!

recipe source:  nostalgia bonda, reminiscing mum's love by kamariah jamaludin

Mak's simple vegetable soup

okay, firstly, lemme tell you that the recipe is not from my mum, but it's from the author's mum. hehehe...my aunty gave me this book quite some time ago and this would be the first time i'm trying a recipe from here. i heard that the author and her mum and grandmum are wonderful cooks. so, i'm sure everything will be delicious.

one thing i like about this book is that it is like a story book. apart from recipes, the author shares personal photos of her family and stories that are connected to a particular recipe. i find this really interesting, not only do you learn new recipes, but you also get a piece of history with it. which makes the recipe and the dish itself, something really special.

to kak kama, or puan kamariah jamaludin (i only met her once, at my aunty's house a longggg longggg time ago, she came with a very interesting individual, someone i really, really minat. hehehe) thank you for sharing your recipes and your stories. and to my aunty adek, thank you for getting me this book!

well, what's there to say about this soup apart from it being really simple to make and really, really delicious. it's the kind of soup you'd want to have on your table when you're not feeling too good, just the kind of soup that i be wanting. :-)

ready? let's go!

you'll need:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 pieces of chicken fillet, sliced or ½ cup shelled small-sized prawns
1 cube chicken stock
vegetable of choice - sawi (mustard greens), green cabbage, cauliflower, carrots
1 tbsp cooking oil

the how to:
1)  heat oil and saute garlic till golden yellow.

2)  add water and sliced chicken or prawns.

3)  keep at boiling stage for about 10-15 minutes.

4)  add chicken stock and stir well.

5)  add in vegetables, do not overcook.

author's mak's tips:

~ another simple vegetable dish that can be prepared real fast. just saute sliced garlic, add some oyster sauce and add lettuce or other types of vegetables. this dish needs to be served piping hot!

see? told ya it was easy.

recipe source:  nostalgia bonda, reminiscing mum's love by kamariah jamaludin

spicy squid

or sotong goreng berempah.

i don't know, when i saw the word 'goreng' (fry) in the recipe, i would imagine frying the squid, which has been coated with spices, in hot oil. but, this is a totally different method. well, we are all about learning something new, right?

my take on this dish is that, it's like a typical nasi kandar squid dish. spicy but not hot. pak aji sukalah ni! hahaha!

wanna give it a go?

let's go!! :-p

you will need:

(a)

500g squid

2 tbs of curry powder, mixed with a little bit of water to make a paste

½ cup of tamarind juice

1 big onion, cut in rings

2 tomatoes, cut into 4

2 tbsp of cooking oil

salt to taste

(b)

things to saute

1 tsp of mixed spices

ginger, about 1", sliced thinly

3 shallots, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

some curry leaves

the how to:

1)  heat oil in wok and saute (b) till fragrant.

2)  add in the curry paste, stir and let it cook for a bit.

3)  in goes the squid*, tamarind juice and salt. let it simmer for a while.

4)  add in the big onion rings and tomatoes.

5)  ready to serve.

*since i don't like my squid to be all macho and tough due to it being overcooked, so what i did was i waited for the gravy to start boiling, then i added in the onions and tomatoes. once the tomatoes became a little bit soft, then only i added the squid.

luckluck!! :-)))

image of mixed spices taken from: resepisedap-nennie.blogspot.com , thank you!!

recipe source: 1 hari 1 masakan by chef hanieliza

ikan bilis cili hijau

or, anchovies with green chillies.

never thought i would say this...but, i miss blogging. i miss updating this place with new recipes that i have tried and most of all i miss trying out new things. :-(

it's ramadhan now, and that means MrG will go crazy over the ramadhan bazaars. he loves going to e-ve-ry sing-le stall looking at e-ve-ry sing-le items for sale. let's just put it this way, him going to the ramadhan bazaars is like women shopping. nuff said. 

i still cook though, but it's only for sahur and those are really simple stuff, plus i don't think he'd appreciate me taking shots of our early morning food. you know how i get, right? sometimes, i'd have to take 50 shots before i can be satisfied. anyhoo, just thought i'd share this recipe with your guys, it's really simple to make but the only thing i'd change about this recipe is, i'd prolly squeeze in some lime/lemon juice right before serving. call it the ramadhan appetite, but i think it'll taste a tad better with some acidic action going on.

i took the recipe from the sabah book. it's a pretty simple recipe to follow. you can do it with both eyes closed.

okay, here goes the recipe:

you will need:

1 bowl of ikan bilis or dried anchovies

10 green chillies, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 big onion, sliced

2 shallots, sliced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

cooking oil

the how to:

1)  heat oil in wok and fry the dried anchovies, set aside.

2)  with the same oil (maybe you need to reduce it jusssst a tad) saute the sliced shallots and garlic till they are both a wittle bit on the yellow side.

3)  add in the fried dried anchovies and stir till combined.

4)  add in the salt and sugar to taste, stir till everything is combined.

5)  last but not least, in goes the big onion and sliced green chillies.

6)  stir, stir and stir some more...and it's done.

7)  get a plate of rice and eat away!!

*like i mentioned earlier on, i would definitely add in freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice before serving and i would also opt to not put in the sugar.

why don't you guys give it a go and lemme know.

come by again, aight?

recipe source:  citarasa Malaysia - Sabah by chef Arm

image of the bookcover taken from http://pts.com.my/ terima kaseyyyy!

sambal tumis udang dan petai

or, chilli prawns with petai, or bitter beans or stink beans.

waaahhh...kemain lama lagi mak temah tak hapdate blog ye... (read: i've been a bit lazy. :-p) well, a lot has been going on lately, with the baking AND stamping of 50 million shortbreads, 50 million red velvet cupcakes AND one chocolate cake for kamiyya's birthday party and all, i thought after all that is over and done with, i could have a little quiet me time, right? W.R.O.N.G! because now, i need to continue baking for our Ramadhan project and also after that straight to the orders of cookies for hari raya (that are already coming in, alhamdulillah, thank you guys!!). as with the past years, the oven and the giant, will be given a ONE month break immediately after Ramadhan. hehehe...

but, baking tu baking ler jugak, the dapur still have to cook for lunch and *ehem, sometimes* dinner, right? so, my lovelies, today, i present to you what i made for lunch...(lohhhh...tengokler gambor kat atas tu...)

you want in on the recipe? i let you in on the recipe, okay? by the way, i took the recipe from the Melaka book. :-)

here we go!

ingredients:

(a)

10 prawns. TEN prawns? biar betik chef...only TEN? well, i added a lot more

petai or stink beans

1 tbsp of tamarind juice

some dried chilli paste (blended dried chillies)

1 big onion, cut into circles

salt and sugar, to taste

(b) please blend these
4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1" belacan or shrimp paste

the how to:
1)  heat oil in wok and saute (b)

2)  then add in the dried chilli paste, and tamarind juice. let it simmer for a while or two. :-p

3)  next, in goes the prawns, petai, salt and sugar. stir and incorporate everything. (read: let them friend-friend)

4)  lastly, add in the big onion, stir and heat off.

5)  ready to eat! like i'm about to do now. join me? :-)


recipe source: citarasa Malaysia - Melaka by Chef Salbiah
information on petai and belacan taken from: en.wikipedia, thanz horrr...

lemak cili api rebung muda and udang

wow! that was a mouthful! hahahaha!! okay, you know all great things (like lazying around and over-extending the vacation from the kitchen) must come to an end at one point in time. that being today and now. i don't think i can go out and eat anymore. truth be told, i miss my kitchen and i know (read: perasan nak mampos!) my kitchen misses me too...*honest, i asked, and it answered* :-p

so, lo and behold...this really easy, well...did you think i was going to go all fancy, especially after such a long break from the kitchen? aiyer.... don't get me wrong, i will go all fancy soon enough, because i actually have a list of things to try, but not todaylah. cut me some slacks, okay? okay. i am rambling, which is not good because at this rate that i'm going we will NEVER get to the recipe. here is the recipe...

ingredients:
(a)
500g rebung, or bamboo shoots
200g prawns
3 cups thick coconut milk (from 1 coconut)
2 lemongrass, bruised
salt to taste

(b) things to blend
20 bird eye chillies
3 shallots
1" fresh turmeric

the how to:
1)  boil the bamboo shoots with a little bit of salt and water till tender. drain.

2)  in a pot, add all the blended items, lemongrass, prawns and the bamboo shoot and let it simmer till it starts to boil.

3)  then in goes the coconut milk and salt.

4)  be sure to stir so that will not go all wonka (read: pecah minyak). once the gravy starts to thicken, take it off the heat.

5)  ready to serve.

see? i told you...it's easy as easy can be.

wanna have a go at it? :-)

that's it folks, i'm going to have dinner now. come back soon, aight?

recipe source: 1 hari 1 resipi, by chef hanieliza
bamboo shoot photo and information taken from wikipedia, terima kasih.

singgang sotong

nope. i kid you not. this entry is about singgang sotong. and let me tell you, this is the first time i've tasted and made singgang sotong.

i haven't been feeling too good for the past few days...and my appetite is craving for the weirdest i don't know whats...so, yesterday i decided to make singgang. not fish, like the kind i'm used to, but sotong. i took the recipe from chef hanieliza's book, again.

i dunno...maybe it's because i'm used to fish singgang...or maybe it's because i'm not feeling too good, but to me, squid and singgang, just do not go. the taste of the squid was really bland, not like fish when the flesh of the fish sort of absorbs the singgang gravy...i dunno. maybe you guys can give it a try and let me know.

here's the recipe.

ingredients:
500g squid
2 cloves garlic, pounded
2 lemongrass, lightly pounded
2 red chillies, sliced
1 cucumber, cut in strips - i used just a little bit
3 stalks chinese celery, i used only a litle bit for garnishing
2 asam keping, or asam gelugor
½tsp turmeric powder
2 cups water
salt to taste

the how to:
1)  clean the squid and set aside.

2)  in a pot, put everything inside except for the squid and the chinese celery.

3)  let it simmer till it starts to boil.

4)  add in the squid and let it boil once again.

5)  take the pot off the heat and it's ready to serve.

recipe source: 1 hari 1 resipi