Ikan Sepat Masak Lemak Nenas( Salted Perch Fish And Pineapple in Coconut Milk)

Ingredients:
A packet of salted sepat/perch fish, about 5 pieces.
1/2  pineapple, cut into pieces.
200 ml coconut milk, I used low fat coconut milk.
100 - 200 ml water
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste

Pounded/ Blended Ingredients:
20 gm dried chillies
120 gm shallots
6 cloves garlic
15 gm lengkuas / galangal
6 gm kunyit / turmeric
20 gm ginger
10 gm belacan/ dried shrimp paste
3 pieces buah keras/ candlenuts
3 stalks of lemongrass, I used white part only

Method:
Soak salted sepat fish for about 5 to 10 minutes. Wash and drain.
Heat up 3 tbsp oil in a wok.
Stir fry the pounded ingredients until fragrant.

Ok, after this step, I  removed half of the fried ingredients into a bowl. Because I cook this for 3 of us, and 1 meal only. I keep the other half in freezer for later use.

Add in water, after the water boils, add in pineapple and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add in salted sepat/perch fish and simmer for another 3-5 minutes. Do not cook the fish too long, else you can find lots of fish bones in the gravy.....that's not good , you'll choke the bones.... becareful.

Lastly add in coconut milk, salt , sugar and pepper to taste.
Dish up and serve.

I am submitting this dish to Malaysian Food Fest , Melaka Month hosted by Cindy of yummylittlecooks 

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Wishing all my Muslim friends and readers...........

Dodol/ Sticky Glutinous Rice

Dodol is a sweet candy made from glutinous rice flour palm sugar  and coconut milk.

So far I'd tasted 2 types of dodol, gula melaka dodol and durian dodol. You can find these dodol mostly during Hari Raya or Chinese New Year. But, in Melaka you can find these dodol in anytime.

Erm....now you can also find them in your own kitchen.......lol!!. Let's make dodol!!!!

It is not difficult to make dodol, all you need it time......howlong???...it really depend on you. If you like it chewy and dense, stir it constantly for about 11/2 to 2 hours.

In the making dodol,these are important things need to take notes :
1) Stir constantly, or the dodol will easily get burnt and destroy the texture and taste.
2) Use LOW Fire.
3) For a better taste, use Gula Melaka, not brown or dark brown sugar.
4) If you keep the dodol into a container, make sure the dodol is completely cool, before you lid on.

I used 11/2 to 2 hours making this dodol., because I like chewy and dense dodol.

Ingredients:
(A)
400-500gm Gula Melaka, cut into pieces
50 - 100 ml water

 (B)
150 ml water
500 glutinous rice flour
900 ml coconut milk...about 4 coconut

 (C)
200 gm sugar

Method:
Cook (A) until all the Gula Melaka dissolve, strain and keep a side for later use.
Mix ingredients (B), strain and pour it into a wok.
Cook over LOW heat, and stir constantly, until it becomes slightly thick.
Add in Gula Melaka and keep stirring.
Add in coarse sugar, and stir.
Keep stirring until dodol becomes really thick , heavy and separating from the walls of the wok.
Pour it out into a heat safe dish, container .
Allow it to completely cooled.
Cut it into strip, square or diamond shape and serve.

Chop, chop chop  Gula Melaka

Add water, and cook until the Gula Melaka dissolve.

Strain and keep a side.

Mix glutinous rice, coconut milk and water, strain.

Cook in a wok until thick.

 Begin to thick.

Add in Gula Melaka, keep stiring.

 See, it is very hard for it to come together, at this point add coarse sugar.

And ta-da, after adding coarse sugar, it become smooth and shiny,,,,yay!! If you like thin and runny dodol, you can dish up at this stage.

 If you're like me , like the chewy type, keep stirring until you get thick , heavy and separate from wallsof the wok.

Ta-da, see after few hours,cut them into square or diamond shape and serve.

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest , Melaka Month hosted by Cindy of yummylittlecooks

Chicken Tempra

This is one of my favourite nyonya dish. It has a little bit spicy and sourish taste.
I love the gravy, it goes very well with steamed white rice, or you can just sip it from the spoon.

Ingredients:
2 chicken thigh & drumstick, cleaned & chopped into pieces.
1 onion ,sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 chilli, sliced

Seasonings:
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
11/2 tbsp brown sugar
100 ml water , if you like the gravy, you can add more.
3 ml lime juice, from about 2-3 lime

Method:
Heat a wok, add in 2 tbsp oil.
Fry onion till fragrant, then add in garlic, fry a while.
Add in sliced chillies, fry a while.
Add in chopped chicken, fry until half cooked.
Then add in the seasoning and water. Let it simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked.

Lastly add in lime juice and turn off the fire.
Dish up and serve.

I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest , Melaka Month hosted by Cindy of yummylittlecooks

Cincalok

Cincalok are so popular in Melaka. When you're in Melaka and have lunch or dinner in Baba & Nyonya restaurant , you can ask for cincalok omelette, cincalok chicken, or cincalok as a condiment together with chillies, shallots and calamansi lime juice.
Cincalok was made from geragao or krill, rice and salt. And let it ferment for about  3 days. But, my mom said,you can have it on the second day....hahaha.And also, my mom said, years back, when she did cincalok she didn't wash the geragao or krill....lol..imagine all the dirts...yucks.Maybe years back the sea water were so clean, but not now.....:(

This is my first attempt to make cincalok, and really happy it turned out very nice, not too salty. My sister also said it's very nice, and now she's asking me to teach her....lols 

Here's how I made my Cincalok:

Ingredients:
9 cups geragao or krill
3 cups cooled rice
2/3 cup salt
Rice wine
Cleaned bottle for storage.

Method :
Fry the salt in a wok or pan, until light brown. Set aside to completely cool.
Meanwhile, rinse the geragao/krill, and fish out all the dirts.
Place the clean geragao/krill in colander, and let the water drip off. 
Mix the cooled rice with the cooled salt. Set aside.
Place the geragao in a mixing bowl, mix in the mixed rice.Stir until well combine.At this stage , you can add food colouring (red)if you like, but not for me.
Take about 1 tbsp of rice wine, pour into the clean bottle and swirl around to kill germs( that's what my mom said...hehehe).
Scope some cincalok, and pour it into the bottle and sealed tightly with the cap, keep it in room temperature for 24 hours, then move it to refrigerators.
Why need to refrigerate?
*** No preservative
*** I use less salt, (store bought cincalok are so salty)
*** prevent flies for bugging into your house. You know what , my mom used to say this "tutup botol baik baik, jangan bagi lalat kentut, nanti ada ulat, tak boleh makan" what she meant is seal the cap properly, don't let the flies lay eggs on the cincalok, else you can get to see lots of worms...yucks and yes, my mom and me speak Malays, nyonya language...hahaha

Fry the salt until it becomes light brown.

Let the salt completely cooled off.

Rinse the geragao/krill and fish out the dirts.

There, you see, how not to rinse the geragao/krill??

The mixed rice ( rice with fried salt)

Cleaned geragao/krill.

Mix the mied rice with the geragao/krill and stir until well combine.

Tada......cincalok....

Ready to store it in a clean container. I used recycle container.A glass container with a plastic cap. You can see there's mayonaise bottle, to prevent the cap from rusty,I used cling wrap to wrap the mouth of the bottle, then sealed it with the cap.

Pour some rice wine and swirl around the inner bottle...pst.. you can use brandy if you want...This is my first attempt, I used rice wine, cheaper.

All done, and let it ferment for 24 hours, then keep them in fridge.

Fresh new cincalok.

After 24 hours...

"I'm submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest , Melaka Month hosted by Cindy of  yummylittlecooks"

Malaysian Food Fest (Melaka)

Malaysian Food Fest starts with Melaka and I’ll be hosting it.
What’s that? Read more about it here.
Without further ado, let me introduce to you my homestate that I grew up in, and still am living in.

Malacca( Melaka) has over 600 years of history, and has golden years and turbulent years. Malacca was the cradle of Malay civilisation and through Malacca, Islam spread in South-east Asia. Due to the strategic location and a trading hub in 16th. Century for spices and other sought-after commodities, it encountered the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English and Japanese before securing the future in Malaya in 1957 and in Malaysia in 1963.

The long history has created a melting pot of people, cultures, cuisines and languages and different races have lived together since Independence in 1957 as Malaysians.

The Malays are the biggest group of people in Malacca. Malay cuisines in Malacca is infamous for its heat. Fiery hot asam pedas (translates into hot and sour) method of cooking is favourite of the state. The basic recipe is used and adapted according to main ingredient used. For instance, kaffir lime leaf is used for catfish, beef and stingray and Vietnamese mint is used for mackerel and snappers. It differs from other states because torch ginger bud is not used at all. (Source )
Other famous food of the Malay community includes cincalok and dodol.

After the Malays comes the Chinese, the next biggest group of people in Malacca. And there is something special about the Chinese descendants in Malacca. It’s the Peranakan or Straits Chinese, Chinese migrants who intermarried with the locals and settled here during the early 1400s. Most have lived for generations along the straits of Malacca. The Peranakan retained most of their ethnic and religious origins (such as ancestor worship), but assimilated the language and culture of the Malays.


Peranakan Chinese cuisine came about because these settlers applied the Chinese method to Malay ingredients and recipes. Their food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and also herbal. It differs from its northern counterparts that has more tangy notes and less usage of coconut milk. Perennial favourites include nyonya laksa, kapitan chicken, itek tim, cendol and nyonya kuih. Read more here.

Besides the straits Chinese, there are also Peranakan Indians, or Chittys. Chittys are actually Indian traders who came to the Malacca in the early 1400s from the southern part of India, during the days of the spice trade. Many married local Malay women like the Chinese Peranakans & adopted the cultures and languages of the region while retaining their own religion – Hinduism. Chittys are not to be confused with chettiars. Chettiars are money lenders. (Source)

Though the Peranakan Chinese and Chitty Melaka cuisine is almost similar, the latter has its own originalities. The Chitty Melaka does not eat pork or beef; some dishes are distinct Indian and ingredients used are not the same. Both communities are meticulous in the preparation and cooking of the dishes Visit this site and this site to read more about Chitty cuisine.

Now, there is another community that is found in Melaka, the Portuguese Eurasians or Kristang. Portuguese men (sailors, soldiers, traders, etc.) came to Malacca during the age of Portuguese explorations, and in the early colonial years and married local native (Malay) women. The creole group arose in Malacca (Malaysia) between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the city was a port and base of the Portuguese.

Kristang food is similar to Malay cuisine, with the additions of stews and the inclusion of pork in the diet. Early Kristang and other colonials adopted the same ingredients used by the locals. Some roots of Portuguese-style cuisine are evident in kristang food; however, it has more of an eastern than western style, related to years of local influence and ingredients. Lots of information about Kristang cuisine here.

Besides the traditional fare, Malacca is also known for other foods ie: satay celup, chicken rice ball, roti john, fried oyster, cendol, nyonya kuih , pulut tekan, crepes and many more…..


You don’t need to travel here to have a sampling of the food found in the state. Here are some recipes that you may want to try in your own kitchen,

1. Asam Pedas Melaka
2. Devil’s Curry Chicken (Ayam Debal)
3. Eurasian Curry Puff
4. Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls
5. Satay Celup

Now… that’s the intro to the food of my beloved state.
It’s the time for me to tell you how to participate in this event.



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TO JOIN

1. Who can join? Anyone can join. Come let’s replicate some (state) food at home!
2. Prepare a dish (sweet or savoury) that is from (state), be it old time favourites, modern goodies or dishes that has been localized. Take a picture of the food, or many many pictures. If possible, tell us the story about that dish, share with everybody so that others will learn.
3. Provide a recipe that is credited (from books, from internet, from friends or family or maybe it’s your own, BE SPECIFIC). Submissions without stating recipe sources will not be accepted for all forms of submission.
4. Submit your entry latest by 31 August 2012 except for Facebook submissions.

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TO SUBMIT

1. Bloggers
a. Prepare a dish (sweet or savory) that is from the Melaka.
b. Blog about it from 1st August – 31st August
c. Include this caption below your blogspost
“I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest (link to here , Melaka State hosted by Cindy of yummylittlecooks)”

 Send the following information to this email address (cindyensia<@>yahoo.com) with the email title as “MFF Melaka”

Name/Nickname:
Title of Blog:
Name of dish:
URL of blog post:
Picture : (URL or attachment that is lesser than 500k.)


2. Facebook users
a. Like this FB page
b. Prepare a dish (sweet or savoury) from the state of Melaka
c. Take a picture and upload it into Facebook (This month’s FB page link )
d. Provide recipe together with the picture

*Bloggers can submit old recipes to FB. Anyone that has once cooked a Malacan dish and have the picture and recipe can submit to Facebook. Not necessarily a recently done dish.
For a pictorial guide on how to submit, please visit here



3. Non Facebook users + non bloggers
Email it a picture of the dish together with the recipe to (cindyensia<@>@yahoo.com)