Cooking for me is all about family
and friends, the earth, and its harvests. That’s what inspires
me to cook. Learn how to make restaurant dishes in a home kitchen.
Some easy-to-cook recipes describes what I really cook during
the week for friends and family. And once in a while, I will add
tabletop touches to make entertaining fun for both you and your
|As a child,
Hari Raya Puasa was one of my favourite feasts as we would visit
our Malay friends andshare in their joy. My love for traditional
Malay celebration cookies and kueh stem from these early childhood
memories and I share with you a recipe for a delectable cookie called
Kueh Makmur and for a savoury dish, I have chosen a squid dish cooked
in spices and coconut milk.
Serves: 3 to 4 as part of a meal
This is a simple family dish that we can all enjoy during this Hari
Raya celebration period. It makes a tasty addition to the feast which
usually includes Rendang Beef, Ketupat and Serondeng, a dish of grated
coconut stir fried with spices.
500g squid, small or medium-sized
1 tbsp tamarind pulp (assam)
1⁄4 cup water
1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup coconut milk
1⁄2 tsp salt
3 to 4 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)
4 tbsp vegetable oilSpice Mixture
5 candlenuts (buah keras)
10 fresh red chillies
1 stalk lemon grass (serai)
10 shallots, peeled
1⁄2 tsp shrimp paste (belacan)
For Spice Mixture: Wash candlenuts, drain. Discard
chilli stalks and slice roughly. Clean lemon grass and use only bottom
5 to 6 cm. Slice lemon grass and shallots roughly. Pound candle-nuts,
add chillies and lemon grass and continue pounding to make a rough paste.
Add shrimp paste and shallots and pound till fine. Or grind all ingredients
in a food processor.
Clean squid, peel off skin and cut into 2 cm rings. Wash the head,
and make sure you cut off the ink sac without piercing into the sac
as this will prevent the ink from spurting out. Use both the body and
Mix tamarind pulp with water, knead and strain through a sieve to remove
seeds. Retain tamarind water.
Heat oil in a wok or small saucepan and when it is hot, add the spice
paste and stir fry over medium heat till the mixture is fragrant and
the oil exudes. Takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add squid, and all the other ingredients and simmer gently till the
gravy is thick and the squid is cooked.
Serves: Makes 30 to 40 cookies
A traditional Malay cookie for the Hari Raya festivities, made without
eggs, Kueh Makmur is a particular favourite of mine – its melt-in-the-mouth
tenderness and peanut filling makes for a simply scrumptious cookie.
350g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp fine salt
200g butter or margarine
3 tbl iced water
1 tsp vanilla essence
Mix together for filling:
50g toasted peanuts roughly ground
30g fine sugar
1 cup icing sugar
Sift the flour with the salt. Melt the butter and when it is cooled
down, mix into the flour, kneading well. Add the water mixed with vanilla
essence and knead till you get a firm dough which does not break apart.
Break off a small mound of dough, make a well in the centre and spoon
about 1⁄2 tsp of the filling into the well. Seal by pinching the
Using a pair of pineapple tart pincers, pinch a leaf pattern on either
side of the pinched edge and place on waxed or greaseproof paper on
a baking tray.
In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 160 to 180 degrees C for 10 minutes.
Bake the Kueh Makmur in the oven for between 15 to 18 minutes till the
cookies are cooked.
Remove from the oven and when the cookies are not too hot, roll in
icing sugar. When the cookies are fully cooled, store in an air tight
Delicious as a cookie during the Hari Raya visit – serve with
coffee, tea or a soft drink.
Serves: 2 to 4
300g fillet of beef, cut into fine strips
4 cups vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled
Marinade for Beef
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Chinese yellow wine (hua tiao jiu)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together except for the sesame
- Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Just before cooking, mix the beef with the marinade mixture. Stir
well to mix before adding the sesame oil. You add the oil last so
that the oil will not prevent the other marinade ingredients from
penetrating into the meat.
- Heat oil in a wok or saucepan and when it is very hot, that is,
when smoke exudes, put a sieve into the oil, making sure that the
sieve is smaller than the wok or saucepan rim. Add the beef and with
a pair of chopsticks vigorously stir the beef for about 30 seconds
till the beef is cooked. Remove the sieve from the oil and suspend
it over a pot to allow the excess oil to drip off. This method of
frying beef is the correct restaurant cooking method as it ensures
that the meat is cooked evenly and quickly all round so that the surface
is lightly crispy browned while the inside of the meat remains juicy
and tender. If you are health conscious, you can omit the deep frying
and stir fry the beef in 4 to 5 tablespoons of very hot oil.
- Drain the oil, but keep about 3 tablespoons in the wok. Heat it
up again and stir fry the onions till limp. Remove onions from wok,
- Add the garlic and stir fry till fragrant and then add the beef
slices and sauce and stir fry for a few seconds, around 6 to 10 seconds.
Remove and serve, with a garnishing of fried onions.
NOTE: Though this recipe is simple and
contains few ingredients, it showcases the classic Cantonese restaurant
cooking technique of deep frying meats, and even vegetables to ensure
even cooking and a crisp outer surface. This style of fast cooking prevents
the meat from exuding its juices and keeps it all deliciously intact.
Serves: 2 to 4
Prawns fried in tomato sauce, Cantonese-style, are a great party food.
It’s easy and quick to prepare and goes with all kind of dishes.
10 to 12 large prawns with shells
3 cups vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 plants spring onions, washed and cut into thump lengths
2 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp pounded brown salted soya bean (taucheo)
1 tsp oyster sauce
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
- Wash prawns, trim heads. Cut a slit down the back and with a toothpick,
pull up the intestinal vein and discard.
- Heat oil in wok. Add prawns and deep-fry till shells turn red.
Remove and drain.
- Pour out oil, leaving only about 2 tablespoons in the wok. Heat
again and add chopped garlic. Stir-fry briefly and add sauce ingredients.
When sauce thickens, add spring onions and mix well, stirring three
times before turning off the heat.
NOTE: This is a dish which demonstrates
the Cantonese method of deep frying ingredients before putting them
through the stir fry process. Prawns with shells in particular, are
ideal for this type of cooking as the prawns will get cooked and golden
red very quickly.
MANGO AND RAISIN SALAD
Serves: 2 to 4
200g scallops, lightly steamed till cooked
2 firm semi-ripe mangoes
1 stalk celery, sliced thinly
2 large onions
10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
15 to 20 red and green bird-chilies (chili padi)
2 stalks lemon grass (serai)
5 to 6 tbsp golden raisins
2 plants coriander (wan swee)
3 to 5 tbsp freshly-squeezed lime juice*
2 to 4 tbsp fish sauce or light soya sauce
Lettuce leaves to garnish
Julienne of red peppers
- Fresh scallops are usually sold frozen. De-frost, steam for about
2 to 3 minutes, re-fresh under cold running tap water, drain and pat
dry. Cut into 3 to 4 circles.
- Peel the mangoes and slice into thin slices or into julienne.
- Peel onions and slice lengthwise into thin strips.
- Wash tomato pieces and discard the seeds and pulp. Pat dry with
- Slice bird-chilies finely. Discard seeds which drop off.
- Cut off outer portions of the lemon grass and shred the bottom 2
cm (1 inch) finely on the diagonal. Discard the remaining lemon grass.
- Cut coriander leaves into short 1/2 cm lengths.
- Put mangoes and celery into a large bowl with the onions, chilies,
lemongrass and raisins Toss well.
- Add lime juice and fish sauce or light soya sauce and toss well.
Add scallops just before serving and garnish with the tomatoes and
coriander leaves and serve. Decorate with lettuce, julienne of red
peppers and other leaves for an exciting appetizer presentation.
* Use either Thai thin-skinned
limes or the small tangerines known as Limau Kesturi in Malay
and as Calamansi in Filipino.
|© All pictures by UV Picture Library