baby spinach in miso

Probably the easiest veggie dish I've ever made!

simple..delicious..and healthy

if you are a miso lover

this is your treat 

Here is all there is to it:

soak 1 tsp of dried anchovies in a bowl of water for 5 mins to remove its head and intestines

wash the anchovies clean and put it in a pot

pour 2 cups of water into the pot and boil the anchovies gently for 10 mins

add in 300g clean baby spinach and continue boiling

when the spinach is cooked.. off the fire

add in 1 small packet of miso paste into the pot and mix thoroughly

serve immediately!

easy right? :)

a word on miso soup

a good and delicious miso soup needs fish stock as a base

I'm using anchovies as it is readily available here

it is important to note that the fish stock is not boiling when miso paste is added into it

boiling temperature will only destroy the good enzyme found in the miso paste

grilled eryngii mushroom

If you love eating mushroom you're gonna love this

So delicious and very simple to make

I'm loving it from the first bite!

Here's all it takes:


cut off the root of the mushroom, wash it clean and dab it dry with kitchen towel

thinly slice the mushroom about 1/8" lengthwise

heat a non-stick pan on low fire and pour very little oil..just enough to oil the pan

shake the pan to spread the oil evenly

place the sliced mushroom on the pan and let it cook for 2 mins before turning it to the other side

cook till golden brown on each side

remove from the pan and serve immediately

sprinkle salt and ground black pepper

delicious as appetizer or veggie dish

and a heaven for vegans :)









 a word on pan-searing
this method of grilling requires the mushroom to be really dry
otherwise there would be lots of hot oil jumping out of the pan hurting you
be careful okay :)

crispy chicken gizzard

Simplest recipe ever and boy does it tastes great! :)

thanks to Ane Haneefa of Manisa Turkey

your touch and your food always add warmth to my family!!

missing you so much Ane

till we meet again ..

All you need to do is:

wash 200g chicken gizzard real clean and cut them into smaller pieces

remove excess water from the cleaned gizzard

on a stove heat a medium non-stick pot over a medium fire

pour 1 Tbsp cooking oil or just enough to oil the surface of the pot

toss in the chicken gizzard with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder and mix well

immediately cover the pot with its lid as the oil starts to 'jump' on contact with the gizzard

after 2 mins when the oil has stopped 'jumping' take off the lid and stir the gizzard well

slow down the fire and cover the pot again and allow the water in the pot to dry up 

keep stirring for even cooking and golden color

when the gizzard has become crispy turn off the fire

serve hot

a word on the crispy gizzard

make sure the water has fully dried up in the pot before you turn off the fire

to get a crispy and crunchy fried chicken gizzard

makes an excellent side dish! 

beef stew

Is this the best ever beef stew I've ever tasted?

yes! because it was a rainy day and I was really hungry!

lol :)

here's how simple it is to cook the stew

marinate 250g beef with 2 grated garlic + 1/2" grated ginger and put this in a pressure cooker

add adequate water into the pressure cooker and cook for 20 mins

or until the beef is cooked and tender

on another stove heat a medium pot over medium heat and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

saute 1 cinnamon stick + 1 star anise + 4 cloves + 1 sliced onion

then add in the beef stock + 1 sliced potato + 1 tomato + 2 sliced mushrooms

allow the vegetables to cook before adding in 1 tsp salt

then add in the cooked beef into the pot

let it simmer over slow fire for 10 mins

final taste for the stew..add more salt if you have to

off the fire and let the stew rest for 10 mins before serving

garnish with cilantro

 serve with rice or baguette!

when served with rice accompany this with sambal belacan

or 

cut chili padi in fish sauce and fresh lemon juice

a word on cooking with pressure cooker

I usually cook mass quantity of beef into the pressure cooker

when the beef is cooked I would divide the beef into equal portion and freeze them

whenever I feel like eating beef I would thaw just 1 portion and cook them

this saves a lot of time :)

masak asam tumis kepala ikan jenahak

Fish head is best cooked in curry

that's what we have been told and it is true no one can deny that

however today I have the urge to cook fish head in asam tumis ie purely chili base

I'm so glad I did as it turns out to be so delicious

right from the first bite!

Lets get started shall we..

clean the fish head thoroughly

it is best to get your fishmonger removed the gills for you

after washing away the blood rub salt and tamarind paste on the inside of the fish head

and immerse it in a bowl of water and let it sit for some minutes

meanwhile in a mortar pound finely 5 shallots + 3 garlic + 1/2" ginger

heat a medium pot over medium fire and saute the above pounded ingredients till fragrant

then add in 4 tsp chili paste + 1 tsp salt and saute till the chili gets crispy

add in 1/4 cup water + 1 tsp tamarind puree + 2 cut tomatoes and allow it to cook

slowly lower in the fish head into the pot and cover with lid and let it cook for 5 mins before you turn

 the fish to the other side to cook for another 5 mins

by now you get more gravy in the pot from the fish head

mix well and do it slowly to avoid the fish head from breaking up

final taste for salt on the thickened gravy and off the fire

throw in 1 kaffir leaf and cover the pot

hhhmmm...

the fragrant from the kaffir leaf when combined with the gravy is awesome!

serve hot with white rice











a word on the vegetables
the best and recommended vegetable for asam tumis is ladies finger
I ran out of it so I use tomatoes instead :)

sambal goreng sotong

Sambal goreng is my all time favorite dish

it is quite versatile and can be cooked with any type of seafood and meat

very much sought after when serving nasi lemak, ketupat, "ubi rebus" and also sandwiches

the key to successful sambal goreng is never to add water during cooking

and do not use blender to chop up any of the ingredients

here is where the pestle and mortar comes in handy

and the older it is the better..

Very simple to make:

in a mortar, pound 4 shallots + 2 garlic + 1/2" ginger until fine

heat a medium pot over medium heat and pour in 5 Tbsp cooking oil

saute the pounded ingredients then add in 5 tsp chili paste/chili boh with 1 tsp salt

reduce the fire a little bit and keep stirring all ingredients until the chili gets crispy

then add in 1 tsp concentrated tamarind puree and mix thoroughly

add a dash of sugar and 1 sliced onion.. continue stirring

taste for balance of saltiness, sourness and sweetness

add in 5 cleaned and cut squids and stir well until it is cooked

which shouldn't take more than 2 mins

off fire and serve immediately

a word on tamarind
if you are using the normal tamarind paste
just throw out the seeds and put the paste straight away into the sauteed chili
otherwise the concentrated tamarind puree makes an excellent subsitute

squid in ink sauce

Never in a million years would I thought of cooking this dish

you see...my mom never cook this dish for our family 

yet this dish is loved by many Malaysians

so just when I was thinking on how to cook my squid today

a friend called me on the phone and naturally I asked her for some ideas 

to which she suggested this dish and gave me her recipe on making it!

thanks Danila...for this beautiful surprise 

truly an amazing and delicious dish

never would have made it without your encouragement :)

don't get distracted by its color

as the color is where the secret to its delicious taste lies :)

here's how simple it is to cook this dish:

clean 4 squids taking every care not to rupture the ink sac

cut the squid crosswise but only halfway like the picture above

heat a medium-sized non-stick pot and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

saute 1 sliced onion + 3 crushed garlic + 1" sliced ginger + 5 crushed chili padi

add in the squid together with its ink sac and stir thoroughly

by this time the ink sac will rupture upon contact with heat and the gravy turns black

allow the squid to cook for a maximum of 2 mins only

remove the squid immediately from the pot as it turns opaque white 

and put it straight onto a serving bowl

add in some cilantro into the gravy and let it simmer for a further 3 mins

taste for saltiness and off the fire

pour the black gravy all over the squid 

squeeze fresh lemon juice all over the gravy and mix well

garnish with cilantro

serve immediately with rice and sambal belacan

hhmmm...delicious!!

a word on the ink
for those of you who were afraid to cook this dish because of its color
try it and you will be sorry for not cooking it much earlier in your life :)

spaghetti meatballs

After making the meatballs
it is time to cook the spaghetti and its sauce
I don't really have a specific recipe for making the sauce
whatever is available in the fridge will find its way into the cooking pot :)
please click here for my simple recipe on making the meatballs  

To cook the spaghetti and its sauce;

in a medium size pot, fill it halfway with water and bring it to boil before adding the spaghetti

let it cook for 15 mins or longer depending on your desired thickness

and while waiting for the spaghetti to cook 

heat a medium sized pot on the next stove and pour in 3 Tbsp of cooking oil

saute 3 sliced shallots + 2 crushed garlic + 1 tsp chili paste + 1 tsp salt till the chili gets crispy

then add in 2 tsp tomato paste + dash of black pepper ...keep stirring

then add in 2 cut tomatoes + 1 cut celery stalk + 1/2 sliced yellow bell pepper + 1/4 cup water

cook all vegetables till tender

check the spaghetti and if it is well cooked, drain water from the pot

get back to the sauce and taste for saltiness before adding in the meatballs

stir the meatballs thoroughly for 1 min to allow it to soak in the sauce

then add in the cooked spaghetti

mix thoroughly until the sauce evenly coats the spaghetti

off the fire and grate Parmesan cheese over the spaghetti and mix well

serve hot 

squeeze fresh lemon juice over the spaghetti just before eating

bon appetit!!

meatballs

Ever tried making meatballs from scratch but failed?
You're not alone..
I have not found the perfect recipe to make scrumptious meatballs
instead I found an easy way to make the most delicious meatball ever
no doubt it is not from scratch
but until I found the perfect recipe to make one... this would suffice for now

To make the meatballs here's what you need to do:

simply thaw 1 piece of "Ramly" Beef  Burger at room temperature

when it has soften break it up into a paste and add in finely sliced fresh oregano

mix the burger paste well using your fingers and form 6 meatballs

fry with very little oil in a skillet and keep turning the balls so that it gets thoroughly cooked

a word on the burger

the choice of burger is all yours

I chose "Ramly" because it is the best rated burger and most popular in Malaysia and Singapore

most important it is HALAL and extremely delicious!!

so go get your favorite burger and start to cook smart :)

chicken vindaloo

For Eid celebration, our family stayed in a rented bungalow by the sea in Kuala Sg Baru Melaka

almost perfect view and we had a truly relaxing and fun time together

we are thankful to our host, Aishah for preparing the sumptuous barbeque 

and simply delicious breakfast during our stay there

Aishah was asking me if I have the recipe for chicken vindaloo

I'm cooking this dish for the first time today 

and it turns out to be so delicious!!!
this is for you Aishah :)

Here's how I cook it:

on a skillet over small fire, fry 1 Tbsp coriander + 1 tsp cumin + 3 cloves for 1 minute

then pound this in a mortar till finely grounded

 then mix this with 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp red chili powder +  1/2 tsp black pepper powder + 2 grated garlic + 1" grated fresh ginger + 2 Tbsp vinegar into a thick paste and marinate 300 g of chicken thigh in it for at least 1 hour

heat 3 Tbsp oil in a medium pot and toss in 1 cinnamon stick plus a pinch of mustard seed and fenugreek

as the oil gets hot the mustard seeds will splutter so be careful not to stand too close to the pot

add in 1 diced onion + 2 crushed garlic + 1 cut green chilies and saute till it gets cooked 

then add in 1 cup diced tomatoes + 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and stir well 

allow the tomatoes to cook till tender 

add in the marinated chicken and mix thoroughly all the ingredients in the pot 

keep stirring until the chicken becomes white an indicator that it is cooked

add in 1/4 cup water and let it simmer for 20 minutes

sprinkle in some sugar into the curry gravy

garnish with cilantro 

taste the gravy for sourness and spiciness 

off the fire

serve with hot rice or bread

simply awesome :)

a word on the spices
grounded spices are readily available in the market and can be used in this recipe
my mom however never buy those..she rather buy spices in their raw form and grind it herself
and that is what I'm doing :)