On hiatus

My oh my.. do I feel bad or what for not updating this blog? I'm sorry readers, but I have been very busy lately thanks to my new job. It does not end, and when it does, I am too tired to even cook. Even when I cook, I don't really try cooking new things and keep cooking the same 'ol things coz I just can't crack my brain open for new recipes. On top of that I wasn't as free as I was in my previous job where I got so much time to browse through online recipes and make them halal.

I will try my utmost best to update this blog during my school holidays okay? On the brighter note, I am getting married in 1 year! So I NEED to practice cooking more new recipes so that I can cook for my future hubby! :)

Until then! And HAPPY NEW YEAR! (26 days late)

After steaming

So here is how it looks like after steaming. The last picture in the previous post was after all the preparation. Oh gosh I can't describe to you how delicious this is! Especially the fact that I am craaazzzyyy over steamed fish. Go and try guys! Great to cook for last minute family gathering moments.

#42 Tom Yam Steamed Fish

Hey there readers of my blog (if any lol)! Today will be the first time I am posting an original recipe of mine. Unless there is a similar recipe out there, might be purely coincidental coz I did not refer to any recipes online for this recipe.

I am never a fan of cooking fish as I can be a little bimbotic about the fishy smell. Lol. But when I do, it's fillet dory. No bones, no guts, and no scales. Haha. Got that for $5 for 2 packets, so that's 6 fillets from Giant Hypermart. I wanted to cook something else today but the rain just wouldn't stop. Thus, I had to stay home and use whatever ingredients I can find at home.

Ingredients:
2 Dory fish fillet (or any fish you prefer)
1 Lemongrass (sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 teaspoons Knorr tom yam paste (1 tsp for each fish)
2 stalks of spring onions (chopped)
4 bird's eye chillies sliced (2 chillies for each fish)
3 inches worth of ginger (sliced)
4 kaffir lime leaves (sliced)
2 teaspoons light soy sauce (for each fish)
1 tablespoon sesame oil (for each fish)

Instructions:

Wash your fish and then smother them with the tom yam paste, front and back. Place the fish in aluminium foils (2 separate ones as the ingredients mentioned are for 2 servings). Take half of the sliced ginger and place it on the fish, and sprinkle half of the chopped garlic. Same for the spring onions, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, separate them into halves and then sprinkle them on top of the fish. Last but not least, your chillies. You can use normal red chillies if you do not like spicy food. Ohhh I loveee spicy.

Now pinch the sides of the foil to make it into a boat like structure to ensure the liquids do no flow out of it when steamed. Now you add in the 2 teaspoons light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in both foils above all the garnishing. Now cover up the foil like a tent and not resting on the fish. Steam it for like 12 to 15 minutes, and it's ready to eat. YES IT IS THAAAT SIMPLE! NOW GO AND TRY ALREADY! :)

Down right delicious

Just broke my fast, and this was downright delicious guys! Go and try cooking it! Don't worry it's not spicy but it's so fragrant, and just the right amount of savoury. Yummmy! Alhamdulillah, 2 more days to complete my puasa 6 and I can eat this for sahur tonight! Meh aku belanja gambar haha.

#41 Ayam Masak Bali

This is the second time I am cooking this but the first time updating my blog about it coz I am too lazy. Haha. Anyway I don't know why they call it Ayam Masak Bali coz i have never been to Bali.. maybe they sell this in Bali? No? I got the recipe from facebook after losing it for soooo long! So I am going to blog about it in case I lose it again!

Ingredients:

3 Chicken drumsticks (cut into 3)
6 stalks of lemon grass
8 stalks of curry leaves, dispose the stem
A handful of dried chilli
3 big red onions (peeled and quartered)
5 cloves of garlic (peeled and smash)
1 inch worth of ginger (cut for easy blending)
2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon spicy soya sauce (Kicap Pedas Mahsuri, optional.. I just like to tweak recipes haha)
3 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt (or to taste lah)
A small piece of belacan (like 1 square of Cadbury's chocolate bar)
Water

Instructions:

First, boil your dried chillies, and once that's done drain the water. Add in the onions, garlic and ginger together with the boiled chilli into a blender and don't forget your belacan! Add in water accordingly to ensure that it becomes a smooth paste. Not runny. But a paste. Okay? Done? Set that aside.

Take your lemon grass and hit them hard maybe using brick and mortar possible, just to make them open up. Done? Now set that aside together with your curry leaves.

Now your cut up chicken, marinate with tumeric and a pinch of salt. Done? Now heat up some oil and fry those chicken pieces! Of course you have every right to change to a chicken part of your choice but this is my favourite! Fry them for about 8 minutes or so or until the chicken stops bleeding (I can't stand the sight of blood oozing). Fire should not be too high as only the external part of the chicken would cook but not the internal part. Then set aside, but don't turn off the heat or dispose off the oil.

With that same wok, add in your lemongrass. Fry them until they turn yellowish and the aroma comes out, then add in the curry leaves. Not too high of the heat as it would burn those leaves. Once you see like the leaves turned crispy, add in your blended ingredients. Stir them good! 

Then add in the 2 different types of soya sauce. It depends how dark you want your dish to be actually.. I prefer darker that's why I used like 3 tablespoon of soya sauce. You can just stop at 2. Or less?

Stir them up and let the ingredients cook. How to know? The oil will begin to separate and surface from the ingredients. Once you have reached that stage, add in your chicken and stir again. Make sure they are all covered with the sauce. At this stage I prefer to put to medium to low heat to make sure the chicken is not only thoroughly cooked but the flavour from the lemongrass and curry leaves has penetrated into the chicken for better flavour. I left it like that for about 10 minutes before turning off the heat.

It's as simple as that! But I am fasting so unable to taste my cooking! It's okay.. just 45 more minutes! Happy trying guys! Good luck!

Sorry I missed out the belacan here.

Last 2 days of Ramadhan~

Assalamualaikum my followers (if any?)! hahaha!

I know it has been a while since I posted a recipe. Been pretty busy with school, but I still cook, just that I don't have much time to post the recipes up.

Anyway, Hari Raya is around the corner! I bought some instant lemangs already~ What should I cook with it? Rendang ayam? Ayam masak merah? Yes I am putting an emphasis on ayam~ Coz I am a chicken lover!

The only thing I look forward to for Raya is the food. Not the washing of endless glasswear each time people leave my house definitely. Oh! And also Siti Nurhaliza's raya song~ Hehehe Smule! Any smulers here? follow me on Smule also ok! Srikandi_Rin ! I don't just cook, I also sing~ hahaha. I sing while cooking...

Okay lah I have decided to cook rendang ayam. So I can post up a new recipe on my blog, coz I don't have any rendang recipes here do I? :D Rendang and lemang is melokekk~

Wait for my recipe update tomorrow on Chicken Rendang okay guys, in shaa Allah! :)

#40 Salted Egg Prawn

Salted Egg Prawn & Snow Crabs

Hi guys! I can't really remember if this is a repeated recipe, but I will still just update my blog anyway! Hehe! Amidst my busy schedule and overloading assignments, I need to spare some time for my hobbies too. Thus I decided to cook yesterday. 

I went to Sakura International buffet at Downtown East on Thursday, and so we received complimentary snow crabs. They're pretty much just boiled crabs. Since there were still a few left and we were already too full, I decided to bring home the crabs. But then again, just the crabs alone won't be enough and won't make me feel full, thus I bought a packet of big prawns as well. 

So here's the simple ingredients you need for this recipe

Ingredients

1 cup of evaporated milk 

About 9 big prawns

Some crabs (but optional)

Salt

Pepper

3 Salted eggs 

3 Chilli Padi (finely sliced)

About a handful of curry leaves (without the stems)

1 cup Corn flour

1 cup Plain flour 

1 teaspoon Hao Chi

2 cloves of chopped garlic

2 tablespoons butter

Some oil for frying 

1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions 

So let's begin! First of all, wash the black stuffs off your eggs, and boil them for about 15 minutes or so. When you're done, cut the eggs into halves. So now you should end up with 6 halves of eggs. Use all of the yolk, and take out only 3 egg whites. Mash these eggs together, and put aside. 

Prepare your prawns. Shell off, just leave the tail, and then devein the prawns. Mix in a bowl your plain flour, corn flour and hao chi powder. Wash your prawns, coat with some salt and pepper. After which, dip the wet and seasoned prawns and crabs in the flour mixture. Then fry them all up. Not too long to the extent it would make the prawns dry up and shrink. Put them aside.

Now for the sauce. In a separate wok, melt your butter in there, add in the chilies, curry leaves and garlic. At this point you'll smell the beautiful aroma of the curry leaves. about 1 minute or so, add in the milk and keep stirring. Then add in your mashed salted eggs, and stir well to incorporate the milk and eggs. Last but not least, add in your sugar. Once you think that all the sugar has caramelised, add in the prawns and crabs. Stir well, as the sauce will thicken up due to the cornflour on the prawns/crabs. Let it cook for about 2 minutes or so while continually stirring. Turn off the heat, and you're done! 

Happy trying guys! This think is HEAVENLY!