Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

This is a dish that I've been wanting to pt up for ages! Nasi lemak as most of you would already heard of, is indefinitely one of Malaysian's favourite favourite food to eat, be it breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, midnight - anytime. Just check out this very famous place in Kuala Lumpur, where nasi lemak gets even more happening late nights - Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa at Kampung Baru.

For those who haven't tried it, please do so. Especially if you love spicy food! Not to be missed. Many varieties of nasi lemak around, most famous and common are those wrapped in banana leaves, usually with a little bit of sambal, hard boiled egg, fried ikan bilis and cucumbers or, those where they have a variety of sambals, and curries to add with the coconut rice. The sambals are usually very spicy, mostly cooked with squids, ikan bilis, fish, or blood clams. Also served with nasi lemak is chicken or beef rendang, fried fish, fried chicken, and a whole lot more. Take your pick.
I love my nasi lemak cooked today. Usually mum cooks. Well, I am married and staying away from mum, it's time I cook my own and explore my cooking skills further. F enjoyed my nasi lemak, so... I guess it tastes delicious and guess what?? It's not that difficult to cook nasi lemak! :-)

Basic must-have is hard boiled egg, fried fish or ikan bilis (anchovies), and sambal. You can't go wrong. Since I had some extra stuffs in the kitchen, there's prawns, chicken and also papadams! :-P

Recipe may be a bit long down here, but they're all easy if you want to follow..

:: Recipe ::
serves two

(A) Coconut Rice
2 cups jasmine rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 pandan leaves
1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 shallots, sliced (optional)
pinch of salt

How: Wash and drain the rice, place in rice cooker along with the rest of the ingredients above. Cook the rice in the rice cooker, and meanwhile, prepare the rest...

(B) Sambal, and other side dish
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
a few slices of fresh cucumber
papadams, deep fried (available at most Asian grocery stores & supermarkets)

Sambal
2 tablespoon of tamarind juice
2 tablesppon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 red onion, ringed
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 stalk of small fresh lemongrass
medium sized prawns, shelled
1 cup processed dried red chili (chili boh) (made my own so it won't get too spicy)
1 teaspoon coconut milk

How: With about 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, fry the onions, garlic, lemongrass. Add in chili boh and stir. Add in tamarind juice, salt, and sugar and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until the sambal thickens and then add in the prawns and stir until prawns are cooked.Finally, assemble all together, like in the picture and serve warm. It's dinner time now, I'm off to fine FOOD!! :-)

Creamy Gumbo Rice

This gumbo is not exactly the gumbo you're thinking about - thickened soupy, gravy kinda veges served over a plate of rice. Nope, nothing like that at all. And to me, I don't know why this is even called gumbo rice, except that Sue (my sister) told me so. :-)

It's a recipe from her, long time ago, that I really liked. Hmm, what does she cook that I don't like? :-P So, a friend of hers gave this to her. Then she cooked for me. Then I cooked for me. Then I cooked for F. Then now, here it is, embedded on this beautiful day of April, in Foodilicious.

The taste? Apart from it looking very similar to risotto and fried rice, the taste is something I would go for during cool, rainy days. It is creamy, but not too overwhelming, warm, filling, has both that Asian and Italian kinda taste which I "fusionly" like, and what can go wrong with chicken and capsicums?? I like....

Kids love this too. It's flavoured rice, and a whole gazillion of people around the globe loves flavoured rice. I'm sharing my creamy version right here...

:: Recipe ::
serves 2

1 cup jasmine rice + 1 cup water
1/2 cup whipped cream
a dash of Italian herbs
1 cube Maggi ikan bilis stock (powder type)
1 cup mixed frozen vege, fresh green/red capsicum (add broccoli if you have)
1/2 green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
200gm chicken breast meat, cut into small cubes
some extra virgin olive oil to cook
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a rice cooker, pour the olive oil and fry onions & garlic. Add chicken meat & stir until it whitens, before adding the ikan bilis stock & a little bit of water to dilute the stock.
2. Pour rice, stirring while adding 1 cup water.

3. Add the veges, salt & pepper & stir. Close lid and let it come to boil.
4. Open the rice cooker lid, add in the cream, stir, and close lid until rice cooks.

So it's not just all creamy here. The chicken and sweetness of the vegetables all combined and makes the rice taste so good! Well, at least I liked it just nice! :-)

Baked Chicken & Small Potatoes

One of the healthy ways to cook is to bake, right? Hardly use oil, and if you can time it well, it's cooked just right? And it's easy, no mess way to prepare dinner. Just throw everything in the bakeware and put it in the oven, only to take it out once you're ready to eat!

Baked chicken is nice to eat with rice, garlic bread, buttered buns, chips, or just on its own. Add lots of veges for the sweetness and health. Sprinkle some herbs & spices for a little delicious taste. Sounds simple to me, and SIMPLE is what I need when I'm all tired from work and a hectic day...

:: Recipe ::
Serves 2

Medium size chicken pieces, about 6 pieces
a few cherry tomatoes
1/2 a carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly cut
a few small potatoes, cleaned
1/2 green onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, smashed
about 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
some whole round pepper
salt to taste

1. Clean the chicken pieces & pat dry.
2. With a baking pan (ensure some depth to make room for the juice to mingle), start by placing some onions, the garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes.
3. Place the chicken pieces neatly over the veges, and have some remaining veges put in between the chicken pieces.
4. Spinkle some salt & the whole round pepper.
5. Mix the BBQ sauce, Worcester sauce, ketchup, and honey. Then pour over the chicken pieces and cover with aluminium foil. Just let a small opening, just to let the top part of the meat to be "glazed".
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes.

Swiss Mushroom Beef Burger

When was the last time you had home made burgers that not only taste so good, they are much healthier than frozen ready made burger patties? Mine was... last 2 months ago. At my sis' home. That was the first and the last actually. My sis, Sue, as usual, always comes up with home made goodies I can always enjoy. Sue made these cute mini beef patties for her children to eat. She came up with that after she got bored of eating those frozen burgers.

I've been thinking of trying to make some at home ever since then. It's so much yummier and healthier... fresh minced meat, less fat, fresh ingredients and less salt. It's not that difficult to make and takes a very short time to prepare. I enjoyed preparing it... and besides beef, I think chicken or even fish would make great patties for dinner.

OK - I used normal bread loaf instead of round buns for making my "burger" - a little cheat huh? Hmm.. well, bread is what I have and I love toasted bread with butter anytime of the day. Mushrooms are great with burgers, really... So before you make some burgers, buy some fresh swiss browns or white buttons. They're deliciousss...

Wana see how I made my swiss mushroom beef burgers? :-)

:: Recipe ::
Ingredients
500gm fresh minced beef
1/2 chopped green onions
3 biscuits, crushed
1 tablespoon rolled oats
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Italian herbs (optional)
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
In a plastic container, add in meat, onions, crushed biscuit, oats, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce.
With a spoon, combine them well. I've got F to photograph while I was preparing it, so... here's my chance to show more pictures in my blog... yeah! Oh, the reason why I used a plastic container, is so that I can directly keep it in the refrigerator if I don't use them all for tonite's dinner.
After mixing the above well, add in beaten egg & combine. The crushed biscuits, oats & egg will seal the patties well enough during frying! Ready to cook some??
Heat up a large flat frying pan (I just bought this nice cool Tefal pan...) with some olive oil. Meanwhile, with a spoon, scoop up ping pong-sized balls of the meat and roll them into a ball. Then, flatten them with your palms and place them, one by one, in the pan. Like in the above picture. Lightly press them to flatten it a little bit and, fry for about 2-4 minutes each side. Less if you like them medium-raw. Gosh the smell is delicious....Mmmph!
Have some fresh cut tomatoes, green onions, cucumber, or any favourite veges - and layer them, along with the beef patties on the bread. And, most deliciously, add some lightly fried swiss brown mushrooms in between the patties and veges...

It's dinner time now, I'm going to make some again tonight! :-)

Dining out: Opera, Penang

I was taken out for a lunch treat by my colleagues today. The whereabouts were a surprise until the very last minute. I was hungry and all I hoped was that where ever we're eating, the food will be good. To my surprise, it was. My only regret is that I did not bring my camera to capture the very pretty place and nice food. Since a camera phone was all I had, I managed to take some pics to share with you...

The name of the place is 'Opera'. Meaning: A theatrical presentation in which a dramatic performance is set to music. True to its meaning, Opera is a beautifully decorated restaurant offering fine oriental cuisine. Located in a quiet (during the hot day) but happening (after sun set) of Penang Road (it is just very nearby Slippery Senoritas), this small pretty restaurant is a real surprise. From the outside, it looks quiet and dark, like nothing much to talk about. Well, here is where I changed my mind about the term "first impression counts".
We were greeted by a waited in a black cotton oriental shirt. The 2 storey reataurant is filled with various sizes of Buddhas with candle lights in their hands. Even on each tables. Lights were beautiful, wall decorations were interesting. I love the use of black and grey satin table cloth against some fresh green walls. Soothing music to ease your mind, body and soul. All put together, it offers a unique, Thai fashioned fine dining place.
During lunch they offer set lunch menu and we did not see any other menu provided. It was fresh vegetarian spring rolls (entre), a choice of either Sri Wangi grilled chicken with spaghetti and baked potatoes OR fish fillet with white sauce, baked potatoes & fresh mix veges and dessert. We had banana fritters with vanilla ice cream. For drinks, a choice of ice lemon tea, coffee or tea.

The food tastes good, especially the Sri Wangi grilled chicken with spaghetti. You MUST try this if you're there for lunch! The spaghetti is stir-fried in a lemongrass & herb sauce which is just delicious beyond words, at least in my honest opinion. My colleagues agreed and it also happened to be the Chef's recommendation! Dessert was superb. I really loved the way they presented the dessert. I am so thinking of making some to impress F :-P Bananas, standing tall on the plate, with ice cream. I normally do not eat banana fritters but this was a winner. What made it a bit too sweet was the gula melaka on top of the ice cream... but it still tasted good.
Next time I'm there, definitely bringing my camera. I would recommend this place to anyone and, perhaps go during dinner when they have more on the menu to order. But it's quiet during lunch and hence, a good date place for couples who want some peaceful, romatic lunch :-)

Read what other bloggers say about this place:
Lingzie from Lingzie's Tummy Treats: Opera Oriental Cuisine & Lifestyle Gallery @ Upper Penang Road
New Kid on the Block from My Love, My Food: Opera

Opera
3-E Penang Road
10 000 Penang.
Tel: 604-2632893
Email: opera1pen@yahoo.com

Chicken & Spice Rice

To spice up my chicken rice, this time, I used some spices to cook the rice and chicken. A very simple, yet popular dish in Malaysia, here's sharing with you a delicious, home cooked version. I may call it "Spice", but trust me, it is not spicy at all. The turmeric just adds a wonderful fresh glow, don't you think? :-)

:: Recipe ::
Serves 2

Spice Rice
1 cup Jasmine rice, wash & drained
2 cups **chicken stock
1 star anise
3-4 cardamon pods
3-4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

** I made my own, using chicken carcass, some carrots and celery. Then I add 1/2 cube of chicken stock, and a dash of salt. This broth will be used to cook the rice, instead of plain water.

Pour chicken stock in a rice cooker, along with the rice. Then, sprinkle the turmeric powder & mix well. Throw in the mix of spices and let rice cook.

Fried Chicken
6 pieces chicken thighs/wings
2 tablespoon honey
5 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
a dash of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
a dash of black pepper
2 tablespoon of *ginger/garlic/onion mix

* for some extra delicious marinade, prepare in advance some cloves of garlic, shallots and about 1 inch fresh ginger - and process in a blender with a little bit of water. You can keep the remaining portion frozen for other cooking use :-)

1. Clean the chicken pieces and pat dry. Mix all the sauces with chicken and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat a large frying pan with about 1 cup of cooking oil. Ensure oil is heated enough for frying.
3. Place chicken pieces one by one in the pan and cook each side until colour is darkened, about 5 minutes each side.