A long due reply

First of all, very, very sorry to my dear Dikwi for such a long delay to complete this task. Anyway, here goes!

Here are the rules to accept the award :

1. Thank & link the person that gave you the award. THANK YOU DIKWI

2. Pass this award onto 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered and think are fantastic.

• All Around Ina
• Cupcakes Dream
• Nisza Beats & Peaces

3. Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won the award – I'm on the way!!!

4. State 7 things about yourself.

1) A kitchen addict - I resort to bread making to knead my anger away!

2) Caring

3) Love anything blue, green and brown but trying very hard to start accepting pink as also a nice shade of colour (err..sorry ya, Wi)

4) Love reading although hardly have the time to read

5) An avid recipe book collector

6) Love arts and craft

7) Adore nice wrapping papers - will buy them for no particular reason - love them to bits!

There! Finally it's done.

Cravings...

The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus defines craving as a strong desire or longing. Others would crave for new shoes, a new car or perhaps a new phone. Well, when it comes to cravings, mine would definitely be closely related to food and this usually involves giving more profit to the hypermarkets! It can be a can of condensed milk (although I only need to use a few tablespoonfuls) 'in case' my 'craving' to make my 'Apam Gula Hangus' arises or adding more ingredients to the already-stuffed larder so it is easier 'in case' my kids request for something special.

I'm a simple person when it comes to food. My cravings are usually very humble, easily and readily available. I will not deny that mood plays an important role in deciding what to eat and when is the best time to sample the food. For example, many would opt for sweet things just to get out of that annoying, depressive mood swing. Well, talking about sweet things, it is totally different with Mr KHz. He eats chocolates all the time and I can confirm that he's not depressed. Care to explain?

Have I told you that I hail from the kampung? As banana trees are in abundance and fresh bananas are always available, my Mak always serves this scrumptious treat at tea time. Piping-hot banana fritters or more deliciously known as 'pisang goreng' is never a failure to satisfy my need to have something sweet and crunchy. My preference would be to dip those oily chunks into a sweet and spicy soy sauce. With a cup of warm tea, life seems so blissful and all problems drift away.

"Goreng pisang panas! Goreng pisang panas!"

During both of my pregnancies, I craved for this sweet and cooling treat. I was very thankful that I did not suffer from diabetes or else, it would be a very tormenting period for me for I sampled this mostly every day! Yes, you read it right. Every day! Smooth, silky, cooling vanilla ice-cream. Nothing else but vanilla ice-cream. Just that.

Come the durian season, I will definitely go for this scrumptious fruit and I'll try my very best to go back to my hometown - just to satisfy another craving.

First, having a glorious time enjoying the fruit. Then, trying very hard to coax Mak (and my younger sister is very good at this as she always succeeded) to make the beauty in the photo below. Intoxicating, sweet, fragrant and chewy- all in one package.

The heavenly 'Kuih Koci Inti Durian'

And......to cut the long story short, I had another 'craving attack' yesterday. So...for lunch, I had a very satisfying meal. Cheap, simple and delicious!

Hot and Spicy Sardines

Well, dear readers, started to have cravings too? ;-)

After The Long Silence

Ahoy there! It's me again. Although I don't blog, I still find the time to keep on reading entries from my favourite sites and by doing this, I do feel at ease after my long, tiring day at work. Anyway, since this blog is about food and cooking, I managed to squeeze some time last Sunday to prepare a dish for my Mr KHz. I do miss cooking for him on a regular basis. On the other hand, I do feel grateful that he understands my situation at the moment (although he does mention that I haven't cooked his favourite meals for quite some time) so, here goes! To Mr KHz and his cherished tummy!

'KUETIAU KUNGFU'

This simple but satisfying dish was inspired by Mat Gebu ( with alteration, of course). After all, he is a master in the kitchen, so there's nothing to worry in trying his recipes. Well, the ingredients needed are:

A)

500g g flat rice noodles (kuetiau)

3 large eggs

B)

100g prawns (shelled but leave the tails intact)
150g chicken fillet (cubed)
100g squids (cleaned and cut into rings)

150g cauliflower (cut into florets)

150g broccoli (cut into florets)
1 medium size carrot (julienne)
3 pips of garlic (finely chopped)

2 red chillies (sliced)
2 tbsp of cooking oil
2 tbsp of cornflour, to be mixed with 1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp of chicken granules, to be mixed with 1/2 cup of hot water
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of ground white pepper

Method:

For the gravy

1. Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the chopped garlic till fragrant.
2. Put in the prawns, chicken and squids. Pour in the chicken granules mixture, pepper, oyster sauce and carrot and let to boil over medium fire.
3. Next, put in the cauliflower and broccoli and the cornflour mixture and mix well.
4. Then, lower the heat and simmer till the vegetables are cooked and add salt to taste. Keep aside.

For the noodles:

1. First, beat the eggs in a bowl and keep aside.
2. Then, using a non-stick wok, heat the oil and put in the noodles. Stir fry for 2 minutes and pour in the beaten eggs over the noodles and keep stirring till the noodles are slightly brown and crisp.

To serve:

1. Put in the noodles into a bowl and spoon the gravy over the noodles.
2. Serve with sliced red chillies and fried shallots.

A Recipe To Keep

Those who venture the eateries around Taman Tun area should be familiar with Restoran Puteri, owned by former actress, Rubiah Suparman. For your information, there are two branches of the aforementioned restaurant but the one I went to was on the hilltop. My verdict? A very nice and tasty spread of traditional Malay dishes, cooked to home-style perfection. For those with a sweet-tooth, not to worry for cooling desserts are readily available for you to sample . The dishes are served buffet style, at an affordable price, and to be honest, I was full( literally and figuratively) of glee. Satisfied and happy.

Some time this year (I really cannot remember when I bought the book and yes, age is definitely catching up!), I got hold of her second recipe book which features most of the dishes available at her restaurant. In this entry, I want to share with you a fish dish that looks like the usual 'sambal' but with a different taste. As I've always said, simple but satisfying.

TERUTUP IKAN TENGGIRI

Ingredients:
A:
4 medium slices of mackerel
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of salt

B:
1 large onion
2 pips of garlic
1/2 inch of ginger
10 dried chillies (deseeded and blanched in boliling water for 10 minutes and drained)
1/2 inch of shrimp paste

C:
1 lemongrass (bashed)
1 tbsp of tamarind (to be mixed with water to get 5 tbsp of juice)
1 and 1/2 tbsp of sugar
salt to taste

Method:

• Rub the fish with salt and turmeric powder and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
• Ground the ingredients in (B) till fine. In a large wok, heat up 5 tbsp of cooking oil and stir fry the ground ingredients with the lemongrass till fragrant and the oil separates from the gravy.
• Then, put in the sugar, tamarind juice and salt to taste. Put in the fried fish and stir gently.
• Serve hot.

A Cook's FAQ

Good morrow to all and Salam Maal Hijrah to all the Muslim readers. A new year, new hopes, new beginnings, and hopefully, with the Almighty's blessing, happy endings.

Since today is a non-working day, so............................ what's cooking in the kitchen? Nothing in mind? Planning to dine outside, I suppose? Well, when it comes to preparing food, usually mothers are the one deciding on what to prepare ( as well as experiencing headaches and mental block), just to state a fact. Hence, the most frequently asked question would be, "What should I cook today?"

Having picky eaters in the house, I do find preparing food for them to be quite tricky at times. Last Monday was one of the days where I had to prepare two dishes to suit Mr KHz's tastebuds as well as trying to succeed in making Atush and Daus eat! Want to know what they had on Monday? Here goes.....

For the two picky eaters, I had prepared "Fish and Chips" (minus the salad for it was meant for me). For your information, Atush was the one who decided to have this.

As for Mr KHz, I prepared this dish, using the recipe taken from one of my food magazines. Of course, me being me, some alteration had taken place. Below is the photo of "Udang Masak Wangi". The verdict? He liked it although I was skeptical at first for one of the ingredients used was finely sliced torch ginger. What a surprise, huh? Anyway, I'll include the recipe later for I have to look for the magazine first, tee hee hee........

'UDANG MASAK WANGI'

As for me, my idea of a satisfying meal is having something very simple. My kids only eat fish if it's "fish" and chips" while Mr KHz opted for less bony ones. I, on the other hand, like fish of any sorts possible. Want to know what I had for lunch on Monday? Well, look at the photo below.


A plate of piping hot, fried 'ikan selayang' eaten with a mixture of sliced onion, bird's eye chillies and sweet soy sauce, and not to forget, a decent portion of fragrant rice. Aaahhhh....what a bliss!

A Lesson on Economy?

Good morrow and another new day has arrived, Alhamdulillah. What's your plan for today? Hope that it starts well and ends well. Anyway, I shall rather keep this entry short for the dish that I'm going to feature is very common and perhaps, everyone can cook it. However, I want to share my Mak's recipe of 'Hati Ayam Masak Kicap' or Chicken Liver in Soy Sauce . Economical yet satisfying. By the way, if you may ask, why chicken liver? It's Mr KHz's favourite and of course I couldn't stop him from buying, especially when he comes along for our grocery shopping.

"HATI AYAM MASAK KICAP"

The ingredients needed to cook this dish are:

400g chicken livers (trimmed, cleaned and drained)
5 pips of garlic }
2 inch of ginger } finely ground
1 tsp of fennel seeds (finely pounded)
2 tbsps ground chilli paste
1 large onion ( cut into rings)
1 fresh red chilli (sliced thinly)
5 tbsps of sweet soy sauce
1/4 cup of oil
salt to taste

Method:

1. Put the chicken livers in a bowl and add ground garlic, ginger and chilli paste. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour.
2. After 1 hour, heat the oil in a wok and fry the marinated livers till half cooked and keep aside.
3. Using the same oil, fry the onion, red chilli and ground fennel till fragrant. Put in the soy sauce and half-cooked chicken livers and stir gently.
4. Add salt to taste and serve hot once the livers are cooked.

From Kinokuniya to The Kitchen

Mr KHz finds Kinokuniya in Suria KLCC to be the ultimate bookstore. His trips to this place are usually done alone. From my deduction, I can surely say that all he wants is to have personal moments with those books he loves so much. It is as similar as we, ladies, spending precious moments looking at and caressing those delicious new shoes!

His purchases do include books for our kids but rarely for me. However, some time this year, he brought home two cookbooks for me. Not being a cook himself, I was impressed because he managed to get two wonderful ones. Frankly, my collection of cookbooks and recipes has been a great help on those days when time is not on my side. This is what usually happens. I would try a new recipe and if Mr KHz loves it, the dish stays. If he doesn't, the trial would be the first and the last attempt. So, in this entry, I would like to share one recipe which has become one of my everyday dishes. Heartfelt thanks to original recipe owner, as well as the writer for this wonderful recipe, if they are reading this blog.

First, I want to show you the cover of the book which I find to be very nostalgic. I really like the tiffin carrier effect. Hailed from the kampung myself, I have vivid memories on glorious dishes that Mak had prepared with much love and care, using ingredients easily found around the house. In fact, she is my saviour whenever I'm having my 'cook's block' or when Mr KHz requests for extra special dish. Thank you so much, Mak.

The book cover

First the cover, now the photo of the dish

Prawn Sambal with Oyster Sauce

Next, the recipe if you wish to try it.

Prawn Sambal with Oyster Sauce (original recipe by Datin Norsiah Bakhari)

1 kg king prawns

1 large Bombay onions (cut into half and sliced thinly)

3 heaps tbsp of ground chilli paste ( I used 2 tbsp only)

2 tbsp oyster sauce

6 shallots

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of cooking oil

salt to taste

1/2 tsp of sugar ( the original recipe does not include sugar)

Method:

• Trim the whiskers of the prawns but keep the shells intact. I peel mine but I leave the tails intact because Mr KHz finds peeling the shells a hassle.
• In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and fry the onion until golden brown, then drain and keep aside.
• Pound the shallots and garlic. Next, heat the remaining oil and fry the pounded ingredients until fragrant.
• Add the ground chilli paste and stir until it is cooked before pouring over the oyster sauce. Add in the sugar and salt.
• Put in the prawns and stir well until the sauce coats all the prawns.
• Serve hot!