Curry noodles

I can't recall where I bought my first packet of ready mix under this same brand. If it wasn't from Penang, then it must have been from JB. That first packet was a curry chicken-flavoured one. I loved it and later on, found it on my local NTUC supermarket shelf. However, on the day that I wanted to pick a pack up, no curry chicken was available, thus I made do with the rendang. It was a mistake. I didn't like the end result and have decided to stick to the former flavour.

I cooked a big pot of curry using the mix, and had half a pot leftover. It so happened that we're in the midst of rainy season and it almost always rains every evening. This remainder pot of curry was put to good use last evening. I cooked some porridge for the princess as she's been complaining of tummy pains, thus something light would do her good. She didn't want to go to school this morning, saying her tummy hurt, but I wouldn't hear of it and got hubby to rub some tummy oil on her before packing her off to school. I boiled some bean sprouts and sliced some fishcakes, and together with laksa noodle, created a curry noodle dish. To top it off, I finely cut some laksa leaves and sprinkled them over the noodles. Lovely for a chilly evening of thunderstorm. Princess had a small bowl of it in the end. I'm very proud of her now that she can take spicy curry. I have not tried other spicy food stuff but curry alone is enough for now. It makes cooking easier. And to think that all this started with her first taste of Japanese curry. She won't eat roti prata now, without curry. :)

This curry was not cooked with coconut milk, as with most of the curries I prepare. It ensures that I get to enjoy it without suffering from all the pain the coconut would otherwise do to me. I simply replaced the coconut with normal fresh milk. At times, I use evaporated milk but I usually have a lot of the milk left and do not know what else to do with it, thus it was a waste. Fresh milk is handier.

Golden Ingots

With the Chinese New Year just round the corner, I tried out a new dish today, and would like to introduce it to my readers. As an avid fan of cooking shows as well as food-related ones, I pick up ideas now and then. My favourite channel, but of course, is the Asian Food Channel, but then again, it’s the one and only food channel on our local cable station.

While watching a certain programme in which they visited coffee shops where they suss out the best zhi char eats, this particular dish caught my eye, reason being it’s so simple to do! Who would have thought that just by turning a tau pok inside out, the tau pok would have a different texture altogether. If well-fried, the skin would be a lovely crisp. Great with a dip or on its own. I didn’t prepare a dip here.

Princess loved them and I am so glad. Here's what they looked like pre-cooked.

Ingredients -

Tau Pok or dried beancurd skin (small)

Minced Pork

Prawns

Water chestnuts

Spring Onions

Seasoning -

Soya Sauce

White pepper

sesame oil

corn starch

Method -

1. Cut water chestnuts into cubes, likewise cut prawns into same size as chestnuts.

2. Season meat with the above ingredients and add in prawns, chestnuts and spring onions.

3. Cut a slit on one side of the tau pok and turn it inside out gently.

4. Stuff it with filling & fry till golden brown.

Note : Sorry I do not have exact measurements for the above. I just went by the usual estimation method. The skin was a lovely crisp and it stayed that way for an hour at least, but they didn’t last long enough for us to find out if they went soggy. They were gone in minutes!

Nasi Lemak

How coincidentally that on the day I made this meal, my friend little corner of mine had the same thoughts in her mind. Our versions are both very different, except for the hard-boiled eggs. Check hers out. I think her's looks more beautiful with the green rice. :) My version had store-bought otah, sambal oelek prawns, halfway fried then baked drumlets (these were most tender), hard-boiled eggs & cucumber slices. The sambal on top of the eggs was bought from the same otah stall.

For Otah & Sambal -
Lee Wee Brothers
51 Old Airport Road
#01-79
Tel : 6348 9122

For the kid's version, no sambal (chilli paste) was present as you can see. There was an omelette, non-spicy otah (which is really just fishcake), ikan bilis (anchovies), a drumlet & cucumbers. She only ate some rice and some ikan bilis, and lots of cucumber. In fact, half of her dinner was left intact. Omelette not touched, and neither was chicken. She did however eat all the fishcakes.

I don't do nasi lemak quite a lot, in fact I've only done it a couple of times. Reason being I can't consume lots of coconut or any 'cooling' or what the Chinese would say 'yin' food. Recently, my girl has been on the catered food programme in her school and she tells me about her liking for nasi lemak, so I thought I'd try cooking it at home. Thank goodness I didn't suffer much the morning after the meal. When affected, the joints get all painful.

I had some remainder lemongrass which prompted me to boil them and make it into a drink to accompany the dinner. This drink is commonly found on the menus of Thai restaurants. From what I know, this drink helps to get rid of 'wind' in the body. I thought it would be the best accompaniment to counter the effects of the coconut. Maybe it did work after all.

This is very easy to do. Just boil approximately 5-6 stalks of lemongrass (after cutting off the top part & bruising them a little) with enough water for 4 glasses. Add sugar to taste.