Salam Ramadhan

Salam Ramadhan untuk semua. Alhamdulillah, dengan limpah rahmat dan keizinanNya, sekali lagi kita telah diberi peluang untuk bersama-sama mendapatkan keberkatan bulan yang indah ini. Semoga ibadah puasa tahun ini lebih bermutu dan diredhai.

Ramadhan memang sentiasa dikaitkan dengan rezeki yang melimpah-ruah sepanjang ianya berlangsung. Pelbagai makanan ada dijual di mana-mana. Ibu-ibu juga sedia memasak juadah berbuka pilihan ahli keluarga, yang selalunya menjadi cara menghargai dan memberi semangat dan dorongan buat anak-anak yang pertama kali berpuasa. Sekadar peringatan untuk pembaca dan juga diri saya sendiri, di bulan yang mulia ini, marilah kita bersama-sama mengelakkan pembaziran. Mungkin juga boleh dijadikan permulaan menanam sikap berjimat di kalangan ahli keluarga.

Memandangkan blog ini berkaitan masakan dan penyediaan makanan, sukalah saya berkongsi satu lagi resepi tukang masak tersohor, Puan Rubiah Suparman. Kepada yang memang menyukai masakan kampung, saya yakin resepi di bawah ini tidak akan mengecewakan.

'Sambal Tempoyak Daun'

Bahan-bahan
1 ikat pucuk ubi ( saya gandakan kerana tiada pucuk labu dan daun kaduk)
1 ikat pucuk labu       }
10 helai daun kaduk  } (saya abaikan kerana tidak dapat dicari di pasar)
1 helai daun kunyit (saya gunakan 2 helai)
2 batang serai
10 biji cili api
1 labu bawang besar
1 ulas bawang putih
1 sudu kecil serbuk kunyit
2-3 cawan santan pekat (saya gunakan santan kotak Ayam Brand dan dicampur air mencukupkan 3 cawan)
1 papan petai (diambil bijinya) (saya hiris tipis)
3 sudu besar ikan bilis (saya tumbuk kasar-kasar)
3 sudu besar tempoyak
garam secukup rasa
1 sudu teh gula pasir (ini tiada dalam resepi asal)


Cara memasak:

1. Hiris halus pucuk ubi, daun kunyit dan serai. Rendam dalam air garam.
2. Sementara itu, cili api, bawang besar dan bawang putih dkisar halus. kemudian, toskan bahan-bahan yang telah direndam tadi dan keringkan airnya.
3. Masukkan ke dalam periuk dan letakkan bahan-bahan kisar tadi bersama ikan bilis, petai santan dan tempoyak. Masak hingga mendidih dan pekat.

Ahlan Ya Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

Good morrow peeps! How's your Monday? I bet, most of us find it rather hard to accept that it's another Monday. Why must the weekend be so short? The usual claim of not having enough rest, I suppose.

Anyway, personally, I'm looking forward to this Saturday because the Muslims will be celebrating the blessed month of Ramadhan. The best month in the Islamic calendar. I sincerely wish that the Almighty grants me the chance and strength to sail smoothly throughout this much awaited month. I have actually planned to ask my Atush to have a try at fasting- just like how Mak trained the six of us. She believes that a child should learn how to fast when he or she is six! I started fasting for a half day and within a week, I was able to complete fasting for the whole day. Nurturing is always best done at a tender age.

Ramadhan, to me, is forever a month full of memories. I can stil picture out Mak preparing wonderful dishes for iftar (the breaking of fast). I'm not talking about elaborate preparation. The dishes were still ordinary, daily dishes but they tasted good. Perhaps, this is why Ramadahan is called 'the month of barakah'. You don't only taste the food but you are being thankful for what the Almighty has given at the same time.

Talking about food, I want to share this recipe from the talented Mat Gebu but I have reduced the amount of chillies. It's easy to prepare and I feel that it would make a good side dish.

KERABU TELUR NYONYA

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 red onions

2 ripe tomatoes (cut into quarters, deseed and chopped into small pieces)

2 ginger torch (bunga kantan)

a handful of 'laksa' leaves shoots (pucuk daun kesom)

juice from 5 calamansi lime

1 and 1/2 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

2 red chillies

5 bird's eye chillies

1 pip of garlic

1 inch shrimp paste (toasted)

Method:

1. Fry each egg as an omellette, roll and slice thinly.
2. In a pestle and mortar, pound the red chillies, bird's eye chillies, sugar, salt, garlic and shrimp paste till fine. Put into a mixing bowl and pour the lime juice and mix till fine.
3. Shred all the other ingredients thinly and put into the mixing bowl with the pounded ingedients.
4. Put in the sliced omellette and chopped tomatoes and toss well. You may add, salt, sugar and lime juice according to your taste. Serve with hot rice and fried salted fish on the side.

Apa Tengok-tengok? Nak Gaduh Ke?

Ooooooppppp! Nanti! Nanti! Jangan gaduh-gaduh. Makan gado-gado tak apa. Resepi ni cikyah dapat dari KualiOnline. Bahan-bahannya dan resepi kuah kacangnya pun cikyah dah ubah sedikit. Berselera ke tengok gambar kat bawah ni? Apa? Nampak sedap? Cuba la......

GADO-GADO

Bahan-bahan:

• 5 batang kacang panjang (dipotong-potong sepanjang 2 inci dan dicelur sebentar)
• 1 batang timun ( buang empulurnya dan dipotong-potong sepanjang 2 inci)
• 3 keping tempe (potong nipis dan digoreng garing)
• 3 keping tauhu ( potong dua setiap satu, digoreng garing dan dihiris-hiris 1/4 inci tebal)
  
  Untuk kuah kacang:
• 1 cawan kacang tanah ( digoreng tanpa minyak, buang kulit dan ditumbuk halus)
• 8 batang cili kering(dipotong2,buang biji dan direndam dengan air panas dan ditoskan)
• 2 batang cili merah
• 5 ulas bawang merah (dihiris nipis)
• 2 sudu besar gula
• 2 sudu besar kicap manis
• 1 sudu besar asam jawa (diramas dengan 1 cawan air dan ditapis)
• 2 sudu besar minyak masak
• garam
  
  Cara-cara:
• Susun sayur-sayuran, tempe dan tahu di dalam sebuah pinggan hidang.
• Dalam kuali, panaskan minyak dan goreng cili kering, cili merah dan bawang merah hingga garing.
• Kemudian, masukkan ke dalam lesung batu dan ditumbuk hingga lumat dan masukkan semula ke dalam kuali bekas menggoreng tadi.
• Masukkan kacang tumbuk dan bahan-bahan lain.
• Masak menggunakan api sederhana hingga mendidih dan masukkan garam secukup rasa.
• Bila pekat, padamkan api dan hidang bersama sayur-sayuran, tempe dan tahu tadi.
• Untuk merasa gado-gado, gaulkan kuah dengan bahan-bahan tadi dan biarkan mereka 'bergaduh'.
• Nah......sekarang boleh makan.

Another Kampung Dish

I used to be puzzled why Mak had refused to take certain kinds of food. To me, her 'ikan pari masak asam pedas' and fried chicken are forever yummy while her seafood dishes are 'heaven on earth'. I wondered why she would choose a vege dish over a sinfully good helping of her delicious 'ikan pari' dish. She was not that old either. She was only in her thirties at that time. Finally, everything turns to be very clear for me. Being thirty-four, now I fully understand my mom's choice. Time has proven that your choice of food changes with age. Lately, I prefer vegetables and fish dishes compared to poultry, meats and seafood dishes. Could age be the factor?

In this entry, I am very glad to share my Mak's recipe using the ingredients found around the house. It is very common to find a papaya tree around a kampung house so the dish features raw papaya as the main ingredient.

'MASAK ASAM REBUS KEPAYA MENGKAL'

* The word 'mengkal' actually means the papaya is raw and going to the ripe stage. Since I'm from Padang Jambu, Melaka, I'm used to refer to the fruit as 'kepaya', not betik or papaya.

To cut the long story short, all that you need are:

• A medium size raw papaya
• 3 shallots
• 2 pips of garlic
• 8 pieces of dried chillies(deseeded, blanched in hot water and finely ground)
• a handful of dried anchovies('ikan bilis') (Mind you, I have big hands!)
• 1/2 inch piece of fresh turmeric root
• 1 inch piece of shrimp paste (alah, belacanlah!)
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns (freshly ground)
• 1 piece of turmeric leaf (shredded)
• sufficient water
• tamarind juice
• salt and sugar to taste

To cook this dish you need to:

1. Skin the papaya and cut into halves. Deseed and divide into portions. Wash and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Put into a medium size pot.
2. Pound the shallots, garlic, turmeric root, shrimp paste and dried anchovies in a pestle and mortar. Since I find this dish to be rustic, I do not pound the ingredients till fine.
3. Put in the pounded ingredients as well as the ground chillies into the pot containing the papaya slices. Pour in sufficient water till it barely covers the papaya slices.
4. Simmer over medium heat till the papaya soften and pour in the tamarind juice.
5. Add in salt, sugar, shredded turmeric leaf and black peppercorns. Let to boil for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Serve with a plate of piping hot rice with a piece of salted fish at the side.

Bila Teringat Emak di Kampung......

Salam. Semoga hari ini bermula dengan baik untuk sesiapa yang membaca blog ini (er..ada ke orang baca?). Saya baru saja pulang dari Trengganu-pergi bercuti dengan Mr KHz dan anak-anak di The Aryani. Kepada sesiapa yang perlukan rehat dan suasana yang tenang, saya mengesyorkan anda ke tempat ini. Walaupun harga biliknya agak tinggi, pulangannya memang berbaloi! Disebabkan suasana di tempat ini yang penuh nilai2 tradisional (dalam erti kata lain, gaya kampunglah!), saya tiba-tiba teringat Emak. Selalunya, bila saya teringat Emak, saya pasti teringin mahu makan masakan dia dan saya akan terus sahaja ke kedai mencari bahan-bahan untuk memenuhi tuntutan tekak saya! Kali ini, saya sertakan satu resepi yang kalau Emak masak, hanya saya dan dia sahaja akan makan. Adik-adik? Hmm...tak nak lah, sebab pahit! Tidak mengapa, semuanya untuk saya dan Emak. Baru puas hati!

Mahu tahu apakah masakan itu? Inilah dia.........

PERIA GORENG DENGAN TELUR

Bahan-bahan:
1 biji peria saiz sederhana
3 ulas bawang merah
2 ulas bawang putih
2 biji cili merah
3 biji cili padi
segenggam ikan bilis (lagi banyak lagi sedap)
sebiji telur
garam

Cara:

• Belah dua peria, buang empulurnya dan dihiris nipis. Gaul dengan 2 sudu kecil garam dan biarkan selama 10 minit. Kemudian, perahkan peria dan cuci bersih. Toskan.
• Tumbuk halus bahan-bahan lain kecuali telur dan garam.
• Panaskan sedikit minyak dan tumis bahan-bahan tumbuk hingga wangi dan garing.
• Masukkan peria dan gaul rata. Masukkan garam secukup rasa.
• Pecahkan telur dan kacau sehigga telur masak.
• Hidang panas bersama sepinggan nasi putih. (kalau nak tambah nasi pun boleh.....)

Going Green

Hi! I'm back and as part of my new year's resolution is eating more vegetables, here's a simple recipe(adapted from Mat Gebu's) that you can prepare. I've mentioned beforehand that I really enjoy broccoli, so I've used it as the main ingredient for this dish. So peeps, go green and enjoy!

SWEET AND SOUR EGG TOFU WITH BROCCOLI Ingredients:

3 small tubes of egg tofu (each sliced into eight pieces)

1 piece of chicken breast (cut into bit-size pieces)

2 medium size tomatoes (quartered)

1 medium size head of broccoli (cut into florets)

1 onion (thinly sliced)

2 pips of garlic (thinly sliced)

2 tbsp chilli paste

1/2 cup Thai chilli sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1/4 cup of water

salt to taste

Method:

• Deep fry the tofu slices until golden brown and keep aside.
• In the same wok, using 3 tbsp of oil used to fry the tofu pieces, fry the oinion and garlic till fragrant. Next, put in the chilli paste and stir till the oil separates.
• Then, put in the chicken pieces and stir well. Pour in the Thai chilli sauce, oyster sauce and tomato sauce water and let to boil.
• Put in your broccoli and salt. Then, put in your tofu pieces and wix well.
• Pour into a serving dish and serve immediately.

For A Friend Abroad......

The recipe for the dish called 'Paprik' in this entry is requested by a friend. She's in the middle-east at the moment so, when she saw my photos at facebook, she asked me for the recipe. This dish is one of my regular dishes during the weekends. If you like vegetables, you should try this recipe.

'PAPRIK'

To cook this dish, you will need:

• 1/2 a chicken (cut into bite-size pieces)
• 4 red onions (pound coarsely)
• 2 pips of garlic(pound coarsely)
• 1 yellow onion (slice thinly)
• 5 birds eye chilles (crushed)
• 2 stalks of lemongrass(bruised)
• 3 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
• 2 ripe tomatoes (cut into
• 1/2 a carrot ( slice thinly
• 4 baby corn (slice thinly)
• 5-6 long beans (cut into 1 inch-length pieces)
• 4-5 florets of cauliflower
• 4-5 florets of broccoli
• 1 tbsp of tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp of chilli sauce
• 2 tbsp of oyster sauce
• 2-3 tbsp of water
• 2-3 limes
• salt to taste

Method:

• Heat some oit in the wok and fry the chicken pieces until cooked. Do not brown the chicken.
• Put in the pounded ingredients and birds eye chilles and fry until fragrant.
• Put in all the sauces, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and water. Stir and let to simmer.
• Next, put in the vegetables and stir well until all the vegetables are cooked.
• Then, put in the tomato wedges and sliced yellow onion and stir again.
• Add salt to taste.
• Before serving, squeeze the lime on top of the dish.
• Serve hot with plain, white rice.
  

Food Does Bring People Together

Through facebook, this friend of mine managed to locate me after more than five years of not meeting one another. She's my junior both at secondary school as well as in college. In short, both of us end up as teachers! Started with a simple hello in facebook, it continued with chatting and later, phone conversations. Finally, we decided to meet and I invited her for lunch at my place.

Since I am aware of the fact that she is a superb baker and bakes wonderful cupcakes, I was kind of worried of what to prepare for her. I gave her a call and she mentioned 'masak asam'. I'd expected this for both of us are Malaccans. There could not be another appropriate dish to celebrate our 'mini' get-together. We chatted over lunch and it was time for dessert. I served Mini Mixed Fruits Tartlets and 'Rojak Buah'. Here are the recipes.

MINI MIXED FRUITS TARTLETS

Ingredients :

For the pastry:

125g butter

60g icing sugar

1 egg yolk

220g flour (sifted)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the custard filling:

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp custard flour

4 tbsp caster sugar

1 cup / 250ml fresh milk

1 egg

1 tbsp / 30 g butter

1/2 a medium can of mixed fruits (drain the juice)

Method:

• For the pastry, combine all the ingredients and mix well until the mixture forms a soft dough.
• Take a small amount of dough and roll out to 5mm thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out rounds to fit into your moulds. Use your fingers to to press the pastry to fit into the well. Use a small knife to trim the edges.
• Heat the oven at 175C. Using a fork, prick holes in the middle of the pastry.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Take out from the oven and keep aside to cool.

• For the custard filling, put the flour, custard flour and sugar into a small pot. Using 2 tbsp of the milk, stir until the mixture is well-mixed.
• Put in the egg and mix again.
• Pour in the remaining milk and stir.
• Using a balloon whisk, stir the filling mixture continuously, using a double-boiler method.
• Cook until the mixture thickens and let to cool.

• To assemble your tartlets, spoon/pipe the custard filling onto the tartlet casings and decorate with the mixed fruits.
• Serve your tartlets within 2-3 hours after to prevent them from getting soggy.
• Enjoy!

ROJAK BUAH WITH HOMEMADE SAUCE

Ingredients:

A selection of pineapple, cucumber, 'sengkuang', raw mango, 'jambu air" (cut into bite size pieces)

For the sauce:

1 bottle / 340ml of chilli sauce

1/2 bottle / 175ml of sweet soy sauce

1 medium piece of palm sugar ('gula melaka')

4cm toasted shrimp paste ('belacan')

10 birds eye chillies ('cili api')

1/2 cup of toasted, ground peanuts

Method:

• For the sauce, mix all the ingredients and cook over a medium fire. Stir continuously.
• Cook until the mixture thickens.
• Put your selected fruits into a bowl and pour in the sauce.
• Mix well until all the fruits are evenly coated with the sauce and transfer into a plate.
• Sprinkle the toasted peanuts on the top and enjoy!