Mint chutney

 

Everytime i spot fresh mint leaves at the supermarket, its definitely coming home for mint chutney which has been a steady fave since childhood. 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons grated coconut

1 onion - sliced

2 dried red chillies (adjust to your preferred heat level)

Salt to taste

1 medium lime - juiced 

Method:

1. Remove the stems from the mint and wash well. Dry the leaves on a paper towel or salad spinner. 

2. In a pan, dry roast the onions, red chillies and grated coconut till aromatic. Add in mint leaves and take off heat immediately. Leave to cool. 

3. Grind the mixture together with lime juice and salt to a rough paste. 

Dry Podi-style veg curry

 

First things first, trying to photograph brinjal in a good way is super hard! But this is one of those where the visuals don't matter as much as the taste. 

Inspired by this Katrikkai Podi curry recipe, I've frequently adapted the base with other vegetables beyond brinjal - tomatoes, tofu pok, carrots and potatoes also go well. Best enjoyed with rice and yoghurt. 

Dry Podi-style veg curry

Ingredients:

2 large long brinjal / potatoes / carrots 

2 tomatoes (optional)

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 tablespoon chana dal

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2-3 dried chillies (adjust according to heat level you want)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Pinch of asafoetida 

1 teaspoon thalikran mixed spices (urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek)

Curry leaves

1 onion sliced thinly

1 tablespoon Ghee

1 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:

1. Partially cook the vege (parboil potatoes and carrots; brinjal & tomatoes can be airfried so there is a nice caramelised flavor

2. In a dry pan, roast chana dal, coriander seeds and dried chillis till fragrant. Remove and leave to cool, then grind to a powder. 

3. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and saute thalikran mix, curry leaves, asafoetida. Add ghee, onions and saute till lightly brown and fragrant.

4. Add in tamarind with half a cup of water. Bring to a boil. 

5. Add in vegetable of choice or tofu pok (if you didn't pre-cook it earlier, thats fine. Just leave it to cook longer till a fork can smoothly pierce through the piece)

6. Add in the ground spice powder and salt to taste. Stir well with the veg. 

7. Leave it to "fry" a little till aromatic and the raw chilli smell has disappeared. It should be a dry consistency paste around the vegetable pieces. Remove off heat and enjoy! 

Vegetarian claypot rice

 Vegetarian claypot rice 

Revisited one of my popular potluck dishes 'Claypot Chicken Rice' to try and see if a vegetarian version would do equal justice. Happy to report that chicken isn't missed at all in this dish - the rice is just a flavorful and aromatic, with the same nice caramelized crunchy bits around the edges and the shiitake mushrooms providing ample chewy bites!  

Ingredients:
2 cups long grain rice

1 sachet mushroom stock or vegetable stock powder
Dried shiitake mushrooms
Dried woodear fungus (optional)
1 knob ginger - grated finely
4-5 cloves garlic - minced finely
3-4 birds eye chilli - sliced thinly (or 1 tsp black pepper powder)
1/4 cup light soy sauce (taste the saltiness of the stock first and adjust accordingly)
1/4 cup vegetarian oyster sauce
1.5 tablespoons dark thick soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons shaoxing wine (or cider vinegar if you don't have it)

1 tablespoon sesame oil
Green spring onion for topping

Method:

1. Wash rice and drain. In a bowl, combine mushroom stock and 2 cups warm water; mix well. Add in rice and leave to soak for at least 1 hour. 

2. Soak dried mushrooms and woodear in 2 cups of hot water. Leave aside for an hour. 

3. In a bowl, mix well the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and grated ginger. Leave aside. 

4. After the hour is up, retrieve the mushrooms/woodear, squeeze out liquid back into bowl and slice them up. Keep the soaking water. 

5. Heat a large claypot (I used a Korean ceramic coated pot and it works just as well) on stovetop.

6. Add in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and throw in minced garlic & chillies. Saute till aromatic. 

7. Add in soy sauce mixture and mushrooms/woodear. Stirfry. 

8. Add in the rice and stock + 2 cups of mushroom water. Stir well. 

9. Cover pot with lid, reduce heat to medium and leave to cook for 15minutes without opening the lid. 

10. Once done, garnish with spring onions and serve. 

Crispy chilli garlic oil

I've been missing the infamous Lao Gan Ma chilli oil to top my noodles but this homemade version (inspired by all those viral IG reels) turned out much better. 

• 3 heaped tablespoons minced garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons gochugaru chilli flakes (if you prefer it more spicy, add in  tablespoon normal thai chilli flakes)
• 2/3 tablespoon chinese five spice powder
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 cup of rice bran oil (or any non-fragrant oils will do)

Method:

1. In a bowl whisk the garlic, chilli flakes, spice powder, soy sauce and sesames together till blended well. 

2. Heat the oil in a pot till sizzling (test by dipping in a wooden chopstick - it should start bubbling)

3. Slowly pour hot oil into the spice bowl and whisk till mixed well. 

4. Leave to cool and transfer to an airtight jar. 

** due to the "raw" garlic content; to store keep in the fridge for up to a month (ensure the oil covers the top of mixture)

Korean style pickled cucumber (vegetarian)

Super easy to put together and addictive! 

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumbers - cut into large strips (i've found the denser Japanese variant holds up better when pickled)

1 tablespoon gochugaru chilli flakes

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/2 - 1 tablespoon sesame oil (adjust to your taste)

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar

1 heaped teaspoon minced garlic

Method:

1. Optional: in a bowl, salt the cucumber and leave to sweat for 15mins. Rinse and drain the cucumber. This step helps reduce how watery the marinade will get and keep the cucumbers crunchy for longer. If salting, reduce the soy sauce to 1 tablespoon. 

2. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together. Throw in cucumbers and leave to marinade in the fridge for 30mins or more.

3. Enjoy!

Airfried Malai Broccoli

Creamy and beautifully caramelised cheese with a hint of spices over broccoli... we were a bit skeptical that an airfryer could recreate the smokiness of a tandoor oven or grill, but it certainly came close and easy enough to whip up on a busy day. 

Airfried Malai Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 broccoli - cut into large bite-sized florets

1 cup plain unsweetened greek yoghurt

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream (or cashew paste)

1 cup shredded mozarella and cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon garam masala / kitchen king powder

1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin

himalayan pink salt to taste

pepper to taste

1/2 lime juice

1 tablespoon dried kasuri methi (rub together in palm of hands to release aroma)

2 tablespoons cornflour

Method:

1. Wash broccoli florets and dry well in a salad spinner or on paper towel.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together till smooth - plain unsweetened greek yoghurt, heavy cream, shredded cheese, ginger paste, garlic paste, garam masala / kitchen king powder, ground roasted cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice, handcrushed kasuri methi and cornflour. 

3. Add broccoli into mixture, mix till it is well coated and leave to marinade in fridge for 10mins. 

4. Preheat airfryer at 180c. Meanwhile, line tray with parchment paper / foil. Lightly brush base with some oil.

5. Place broccoli florets in airfryer basket with some space between them. Top floret with some shredded cheese and a small dollop of butter. 

6. Airfry for 8-10 mins at 180c. Serve hot. Optional: sprinkle some togarashi powder or chilli flakes for added kick.

Sooji halwa

The Mr. was craving something sweet for teatime and it was pouring rain thus delivery options were a no-go. Coincidentally, it was the Rakshabandhan festival in India and a day when we were both working from home, so gave in to the puppy eyes... after some rummaging around the pantry and google, this sooji halwa came to fruition. Kind of a hybrid between kesari and ponggal, but delicious nonetheless!

Word of wise though - be sure to continuously whisk it as it cooks to avoid the lumps, and get a velvety soft melt-in-your-mouth texture! 

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina / sooji

Approx. 3 of water (add more if needed while cooking)

1 cup of brown muscovado sugar

A pinch of saffron strands (soaked in hot water)

3-4 cardamom pods (pounded fine)

1 heaped tablespoon ghee

A pinch of salt

Raisins and roasted cashews

Method:

1. In a pan, roast the semolina until it starts to lightly brown.

2. Add in water slowly, whisking mixture as it comes to a boil and cooks. 

3. Once mixture is hot, add in sugar and salt. Turn heat to low. Continue whisking constantly as semolina cooks to avoid lumps. Add extra water if needed, it should be a soft paste consistency. 

4. Once semolina is a thick, soft paste, add in ghee, raisins and cashews. Mix well, it should come off easily from the sides of pan. 

5. Take off heat and serve. 

Vegetarian turmeric miso soup

As a noodle soup lover, I've been experimenting a fair bit with vegetarian stocks and soup broths. Frankly, few have hit that comforting spot the way chicken broth does. Or are overly complicated / time consuming to get the right layers of flavors. Plus store-bought vegetable stocks seem to be on the sweetish side. 

But this one has made it out top so far and is super easy to whip up fast yet warm & comforting to tuck into especially on a rainy day. A bit of a surprise too given the combination of spices and miso. Reminiscent of a light laksa broth. 

Vegetarian turmeric soup noodles

Ingredients:

1 pack brown rice vermicelli noodles (or any rice noodles to your preference)

Bean sprouts

spring onions - chopped

1 red onion - chopped finely

4-5 cloves garlic - smashed

1/2 inch ginger - cut into large pieces

2-3 red birds eye chillies - i prefer keeping them whole so its less fiery, but you can finely chop too

1 pack of mixed mushrooms (enoki, shimeji, eryngii)

1/2 tbsp ground roasted cumin 

1/2 tbsp turmeric powder

1/2 tbsp curry powder

1-1 1/2 tbsps white miso paste

1 cup vegetable stock (i used a shitake mushroom stock; add more if needed later)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 cup water

Round tofu puffs - halved

Salt to taste

Lime

Method:

 

1. Soak vermicelli noodles in hot water and drain once soft. Leave aside. 

2. In soup pot, saute red onions, garlic, ginger, chilli, thicker mushroom stems and the white ends of the spring onions until it is fragrant and slightly caramelised. 

3. Add in ground cumin, turmeric, curry powder and stir. Add vegetable stock, miso paste and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. 

4. Add in mushrooms (and if needed water). 

5. Once mushrooms are cooked, add in tofu puffs (tofu pok). Turn off heat.

6. Assemble bowl with vermicelli and some bean sprouts. Ladle the hot soup over. 

7. Add a spritz of lime juice to the bowl and enjoy! 

 

Quick spicy potato sambal

An easy peasy vegetarian dish for those busy work days - its quickly become a house favorite. 

Spicy potato sambal

Ingredients:

2 potatoes - cubed

1 onion - sliced thinly

1 packet Maggi sambal tumis paste (i recommend this paste as its more savory/not sweetened like the other brands; otherwise using a home blend of sambal paste is fine if you have more time)

Curry leaves (optional)

Water 

Salt

Oil

1 tsp Tamarind paste

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok and saute onions & curry leaves till golden & fragrant. 

2. Add in potatoes and some water, salt to taste. Cook till potatoes are half done. 

3. Add in maggi sambal tumis paste and tamarind. If needed, a little more water (no more than half cup) and cook covered till potatoes get soft. 

4. Uncover and fry on high flame - it should be a fairly dry dish, with the oil from sambal appearing. 

5. Enjoy with white rice, iddiyappam or roti. 

Mushroom perattal

I've been venturing more into the realm of vegetarian food these days, thanks to the Mr. who is pure veg. Also known as Mushroom fry, this dry curry is just the right vegetarian fix for when chicken varuval cravings hit. in fact I was so deliriously happy at the first taste that I just had to do a little victory dance around the kitchen! And it was mindblowing with a bowl of plain rice and dollop of thick yoghurt. 

Mushroom perattal / Indian-style mushroom fry

Ingredients:

1 pack oyster mushroom - large pieces shredded from stem to bulb by hand to retain its texture. Avoid rinsing mushrooms too.

2 medium-sized onions - thinly sliced

2 tablespoons minced ginger & garlic

2 medium-sized tomatoes - diced

2 dried chillies - cut in halves

1 sprig curry leaves

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

3 cloves

2 cardamom pods

1/2 tsp cumin

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander powder

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok. Saute the cumin till it crackles. Add in cinnamon, curry leaves, cardamom, star anise, cloves and saute till aromatic.

2. Add in ginger garlic mince, onions, dried chilli and saute. I prefer bringing it to a point slightly past golden brown where the onions caramelises. 

3. Add in chili powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.  

4. Add in chopped tomatoes and continue sauteing until tomatoes break down and the raw masala smell is gone. The mixture should be thick and a rich brown color by this time. 

5. Add in shredded mushrooms and toss through the mixture. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and the mushrooms will start releasing its water. If the mushrooms are dry then turn down the heat and cook till tender. They should not be too soggy.

6. Taste and add salt if needed. After cooking, you can spritz in the juice of 1 lime for added kick. 

7. Spoon over a plate of rice, dollop of yoghurt by the side and enjoy! Best served hot. 

Tomyum-flavoured fried glass noodles

This one's dedicated to the 2011 lunches with BHCKL colleagues at the Gerai Bawah Pokok; a humble malay stall with no-name or sign located somewhere in Jalan Damai (can't even recollect its exact location as we always carpooled)... been trying for years to recreate the taste of their tomyam mee goreng dish with various brand sauces and gave up along the way till today... turns out all it needed was sticking to natural ingredients and herbs and boom, success... simple & so good! 

Ingredients:

1 pack glass noodles / soo hoon - soaked in hot water for two minutes till softened and translucent

2 birds eye red chillies - chopped

2 lemongrass stalks - bruised

2 kaffir lime leaves

2 culantro leaves

3 cloves garlic - minced

1inch ginger - sliced

2 stalks spring onions - chopped

Prawns

Mushrooms

Oil

2 tbsp or to taste - Soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 large lime - juiced

Method:

1. Soak glass noodles in hot water for 2minutes till softened and translucent. Drain and set aside. 

2. Heat oil in work till sizzles. Throw in all the chillies, garlic, spring onion, lemongrassn, lime leaf, ginger, culantro. Fry till fragrant. 

3. Add in prawns, mushrooms, soy sauce, oyster sauce. Stir and leave to cook. Add in a little water if needed. 

4. Squeeze lime juice over glass noodles. 

5. Add in glass noodles to the wok and stir. Let it the noodles soak up the juices. 

6. Switch off flame. If too saucy, leave it in wok for couple of minutes longer to soak  up with the residual heat. 

7. Top with fried shallots while serving (optional)

Homemade ikan bakar

 

Since we had some leftover banana leaves from a banana leaf rice delivery, decided to give this grilled fish a try. Sumptious sauce so definitely noting the ingredients now for future seafood grills (lol, I had just guesstimated and thrown a bunch of stuff in). Only thing missing was the lovely smokiness from charcoal grilling like the ikan bakar sold on the street, but thats hard to achieve when grilling in the oven. 

HOMEMADE IKAN BAKAR

Ingredients:

3 King mackerel fish steaks (ikan tenggiri) - halved or quartered

1 teaspoon Turmeric powder

6-7 small red onions

4 pips garlic

Half inch ginger

4 Kaffir lime leaves

1 stalk curry leaves

1 stalk Lemongrass

1 cup coconut cream (santan pekat)

2-3 tablespoon ground chilli paste (chilli boh) 

5 small calamansi limes (limau kasturi) juice

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons oil

Banana leaf to wrap

Method:

1. Cut and rinse the fish in turmeric water (helps to remove the smell). 

2. In a wok, heat the oil and fry - onions, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, curry leaves, chilli paste, turmeric. When the onions are soft and caramellized, add in coconut cream and take off heat. Once slightly cool, grind this mixture to a paste in the blender. 

3. Prepare the banana leaf by cleaning and drying it, cut into squares, then quickly run over gas flame to soften so that its easier to wrap and doesnt tear. 

4. Place banana leaf on flat surface. Add a few spoons of the spice paste. Place fish on top and add a spoon of calamansi lime juice. Then add a few more spoons of spice paste till the steak is well covered. Ive found that smaller cuts of steak work better than a whole piece to absorb the spice flavour better. 

5. Slowly, wrap the banana leaf in a parcel around the fish. Secure with a moistened toothpick or yarn. 

6. Place wrapped parcels on an oiled baking tray and cook in oven, on the grill setting, for approximately 20minutes at 200c. 

Claypot chicken rice

Yeay, no more hunting high and low on trips back to KL for this fave of mine! Now, I can have it anytime the craving hits...

Turns out recreating (clay)pot chicken rice at home is pretty easy even if one doesn't have a proper claypot or charcoal flame. Managed to get the yummy caremelized crust bits at the bottom and have it laden with chinese sausage, shitake mushrooms and ginger just the way I like.

(Clay)pot chicken rice
Ingredients:
1 - 2 chicken thighs, chopped into 3 pieces
1 knob ginger, grated
2tbsp oyster sauce
2tbsp shaoxing rice wine (or cider vinegar)
1.5tbsp dark soy sauce
1.5tbsp light soy sauce
Pepper
1tbsp sesame oil
1-2 chinese sausage, sliced
Handful dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1.5 cups of rice
1cup of chicken broth
Half cup of water
Spring onions, chopped
2 birds eye chilli, chopped (optional as garnish)

Method:
1. Marinade chicken thigh pieces for 30minutes to an hour with ginger, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper.
2. Heat some oil in a dutch oven pot or claypot. Throw in chinese sausages and sliced mushrooms. Fry.
3. Add in chicken pieces and sear it a little.
4. Add in rice. Add in remaining marinade sauce from chicken. Mix well and leave to cook till a little more transluscent (important if you want the bottom crust bits).
5. Add in chicken broth and water. Give it one stir and close lid. Leave to cook for about 15mins and do not disturb. Its done once the rice has absorbed the water and can be fluffed.
6. Garnish with spring onions and chilli.

Panseared chicken breast with mushroom cider sauce

Who would have thought we would be living in times where we are, globally, all on lockdown in our homes thanks to a raging pandemic (sounds almost like a movie plot). I will admit that one week of staying put at home is starting to get to me... apart from the fact that I have been cooking a whole lot more! Was feeling like doing something a little more "gourmet" than the usual one pot grub I've been making, so rummaged through the supplies and put this together.

Panseared chicken breast with mushroom cider sauce, creamed spinach and cauliflower mash

A) Panseared chicken breast
2 chicken breast - sliced in half so it cooks evenly in pan
Salt, pepper, garlic powder 
Method: Marinade the chicken breast. Heat a cast iron pan with some oil. Sear the chicken breast and flip over till cooked evenly.

B) Mushroom cider sauce
1 packet button mushrooms - sliced
2 cloves garlic - chopped
Shallots - chopped
1/2 cup - 1 cup of cider / white wine / chicken broth
1/3 teaspoon Italian herbs
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon flour 
Method: In the same pan you cooked the chicken, stick in the butter and saute chopped garlic and shallots. Pour in cider and be sure to use your spoon to get the nice brown bits off from the bottom of the pan (all the flavour). Add in mushrooms, herbs and leave to cook. Once mushrooms cooked, add in flour to thicken. Serve chicken and spoon sauce over.

C) Creamed spinach
1 pack frozen spinach
2-3 tablespoons sour cream
Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
Method: Cook frozen spinach according to instructions (I just put it in the microwave for five minutes). Stir in sour cream and seasonings.

D) Cauliflower mash
1 cauliflower head (small to medium size)
A dash of milk
1 teaspoon butter
Salt, pepper, garlic powder 
1 sprig spring onion - chopped
Method: Steam cauliflower till cooked. Transfer to a food processor and throw in butter, seasonings, milk. Blitz till it is the consistency you like. Pour into a bowl and stir in spring onion.

Chilli con carne y verduras

Nachos and chilli are a bar night out favorite, but decided to see if I could recreate a slightly healthier home version. This got two thumbs up - and it has a ton of veggies lurking in it too!

Chilli con carne y verduras

Ingredients:
200g mince meat (i used lean lamb mince)
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 box button mushrooms
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli - chopped coarsely
1 small can tomato puree
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Italian herbs (to taste)
Salt to taste

Method:
1. In a food processor, chop carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, onion and garlic
2. Heat oil in a saucepot and saute the above chopped vegetable mix till soft.
3. Add in mince meat, tomato puree, spices, salt and herbs. Add some water if too thick. Leave to cook.
4. Serve with your preferred accompaniments. I swapped out the traditional ones (nachos, sour cream) and served the chilli with fresh cut corn tortillas, a dollop of yoghurt and dash of green jalapeno hot sauce and sprinkle of cheese.

Crunchy tofu salad with japanese sesame dressing

Its that New Year season where resolutions (or "dares" as I call em nowadays) are high -  including more ways to incorporate healthier foods, working out more to balance the foodie-ness. So i've been thinking of ways to make salads less boring!

Usually its a chop and toss deal but the extra 5 min effort of panfrying the tofu into lovely "crispy on the outside, tender inside" cubes made a huge difference.

Ingredients:
Cucumber
Green apple
Firm tofu - cubed and lightly panfried till the edges are browned

Dressing:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon or slightly more mirin
Roasted sesame - roughly crushed
Couple of dashes of sesame oil

(there are various better recipes online for japanese sesame dressing, I used what I had on hand)

Oven-baked ayam "goreng" berempah

The crispy aromatic fried chicken served at mamak restaurants in Malaysia ranks up there on my list of seriously addictive meals for as long as I can remember. Of course deep fried oil soaked dishes are a lot more guilt-ridden as an adult than as a kid (seriously, I used to have it at least twice a week during my schooldays; perhaps my parents thought it was a better, local option than KFC!)... so pretty glad when this oven-baked low-oil version turned out pretty close!

Oven-baked ayam "goreng" berempah

Ingredients:

250g Chicken pieces

2 tablespoons meat curry powder

1 tablespoon white pepper

3 tablespoons rice flour

3 tablespoons corn flour

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

2 lemongrass stalks

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method:

1) Grind into a paste: onions, garlic, ginger, lemongrass

2) Marinade the chicken pieces for an hour or more with all the ingredients

3) Lightly oil a pan and place chicken pieces 

4) Bake at 200c for 35-40mins depending on how large your chicken pieces are. Be sure to scrape off all the "burnt" crispy bits at the bottom as that is the best part! 

Optional: If you choose to fry the chicken, add 1 egg into it and mix well before frying. 

Baked masala-yoghurt chicken with dry coconut chutney crust

A quickie throw some stuff together into a marinade and baked, but it turned out amazingly flavorful! Served with a refreshing side of cucumber to balance out the spice.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breast - cut into large strips
1/2 an onion - finely sliced
Few cloves garlic - crushed
3 tablespoons yoghurt
2 tablespoons Meat masala curry powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
Salt to taste
Eastern brand coconut chutney powder

Method:
1. In a bowl, mix yoghurt, crushed garlic, onions, garlic powder, meat masala, garlic powder, coriander powder and salt. Add chicken and mix well. Leave for an hour to marinade.
2. Place marinaded chicken on an oiled baking tray. Use the onion slices from marinade on top so it gets caramelised easily when baking.
3. Bake chicken for 30mins at 200C. Halfway through, take it out and sprinkle coconut chutney powder on top. Return to oven to finish cooking.

Cantonese style Kong Foo Chow noodles

Google + supermarket 10mins walk away are great enablers for when a craving hits! I'd always thought this was a dish that needed the restaurant-grade "wok hei" to get right, so super surprised at how effortless it actually was to replicate at home! Now if only I can find the correct type of yee mee or hor fun in Bangkok...

Cantonese style Kong Foo Chow noodles

Ingredients:
Rice noodles
1 tbsp soy sauce - for noodles
1 tsp sesame oil - for noodles
Prawns
Fishcake - sliced thinly
Kailan (usually whole stalks but I prefer smaller slices)
Mushrooms (optional)
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp corn flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Method:
1) In a bowl, mix rice noodles with 1 tbsp soy sauce and sesame oil.
2) Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok and fry garlic. Once fragrant, remove garlic into a seperate bowl. Use same oil to fry noodles. Remove noodles into a bowl.
3) Add 1 tbsp oil, return fried garlic, throw in prawns, fishcake and cook till prawns turn pink.
4) Add in chicken stock, kailan, mushroom to wok.
5) In a bowl, mix well oyster sauce, pepper, soy sauce. Add mixture into wok. Leave veggies and seafood to cook.
6) In a bowl, whisk corn flour, water and egg until smooth.
7) Add in egg mixture to wok and quickly stir well till veggies coated. Remove from heat but leave in wok stirring until creamy.
8) Ladle silky egg sauce over noodles.
9) Serve with pickled green chillies (I just soak sliced chillies in vinegar and leave it in the fridge until ready to serve).

Note: If you plan to keep leftovers, store noodles and sauce seperately!

Lemongrass stirfry marinade

This is one of those dishes that fills the room with lovely herby aroma and its worth to make ahead & marinade for a night or two. 

Lemongrass stirfry marinade

Ingredients:

1 stalk young lemongrass

2 kaffir lime leaves

5 cloves garlic

Small piece of ginger (about 2cm)

1 green chilli

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Method:

1) Blend all of the above together. Marinade  with meat (pork or chicken work well) for a couple of hours or best overnight in fridge.

2) Heat oil in wok. Saute sliced onions until translucent. Add in meat and quick stirfry on high flame. You can also add in veges such as corn, broccoli and capsicum to the stirfry (add pinch of extra salt if needed).