Nando's Spicy Rice a la Marina

If you live in Malaysia and you live eating at Nando's then you must know about the spicy rice. I like it sooo much but it could be pricey eating at Nando's daily .. at least with my salary. So I tried recreating the diah.. with little knowledge of Portuguese recipes. Nando's is Portuguese right?

I've made it a couple of times and I think it tastes nice. Lol.. for this recipe I'm using long grain rice. So I have to soak the rice first for at least 10 minutes before cooking.

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked rice (cleaned and soaked for at least 10 minutes)
Boneless chicken breast (skin removed)
1 green bell pepper
1 small onion
1 small tomato
Mushroom (i usually use swiss button mushrooms for this recipe but you can use any mushroom you'd like as long as it tastes good when grilled)
1 cup of water (or stock)
Coriander leaves
1 clove Garlic chopped finely
1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
chilli powder
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice

Method

1. Cut the chicken into small squares. Not too small and not too big. Marinade the chicken with salt, pepper and a few teaspoons of chilli powder. Cover and set aside.
2. Cut the vegetables (green bell pepper, onion,mushroom,tomato) to about the same size as the chicken. Bite size but not too small.
3.Heat the pan. Spray some cooking oil.
4. Brown the chicken. Not too long enough to brown it. Remove chicken. Set aside. Spray the pan again and brown the onion. Again not too long. We just need to have it charred. Repeat with the rest of the veges.
5. After the last vegetable has been charred, put the olive oil in the heated pan.
6. Stir in chopped garlic.
7. Add the drained rice. Stir. Add turmeric powder and the chilli powder. Stir the rice.
8. Add water (or chicken stock if you'd like). Stir the rice.
9. When the water reduced, add the charred veges and chicken. Stir.
10. Stir in chopped coriander, salt and pepper to taste.
11. Let it simmer.. when you don't see anymore water, turn off the heat and cover the pan fully. Let the rice sit for another 10 minutes.
12. Add the lime juice and stir thoroughly and serve warm.

If you like your meals hot eat it with peri-peri sauce. Baked sliced almonds would be great as garnish.

Enjoy!

Chicken Rendang a la Marina

Hello... It's been a while. I haven't been cooking lately. I took up a job.. and it's taking too much of my time. huhu..

Anyway, someone actually requested that I post a youtube video on how to make simple rendang. The easiest rendang I could think of is Rendang Pedas Ayam. It doesn't require kerisik (grated coconut that is fried until it's brown and oily), and it's really easy. Blend all the ingredients and cook. Simple. I used to make it when I was a student. During Hari Raya time.. before Raya of course, we'd go to Chinatown and get the ingredients. That was back in.. the late 90s. Darn.. now everyone knows my age. LOL! The ingredients are really easy to get back then, I am sure it's even easier to get now.

Hope you'll enjoy the recipe. The youtube video is here... http://youtu.be/KUwGlC8SlBg

Chicken Rendang a la Marina

Ingredients:

Chicken ( I used about 1 kg chicken cut into small pieces)
shallots (I used about 15 - 20. More is good :D )
garlic (1 clove is enough)
ginger (1 cm)
Galangal (1 cm)
2 lemongrass
chili boh (dried chili - soak in hot water, tossed and blended - I used 1/2 cup)
milk from 1 coconut (about 1 cup)
1 turmeric leaf sliced thinly.. or you could just mince it (this one is hard to find but no worries, you may replace it with screwpine leaf (Pandan). If you're using pandan leaf, simply wash it thoroughly and make a knot with the leaf and throw it in about the same time i put in the turmeric leaf)
sugar & salt to taste
vegetable oil for cooking.

Method:

1. Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass till fine.
2. Heat vegetable oil in wok. Once hot, add the blended ingredients. Stir frequently until browned. Make sure they don't burn.
3. Add in the chili boh. Let the chili cooked. Stir in low heat.
4. Once chili is fully cooked, add the coconut milk. Stir.
5. When it looks red and reduced, add the chicken. Fold carefully so not to break the chicken to pieces.
6. When chicken is cooked add the sliced turmeric leaf. Stir and add sugar and salt to taste.
7. Chicken rendang is ready to be eaten when they turn slightly browned and the gravy is reduced to paste.


Serve hot with rice.

Yummy! Chicken Rendang a la Marina

Seared Madras Fish & Green Beans with Peanuts & Shallots

I now love green beans.. like seriously! 

Wow.. it's been a while huh? I haven't done much cooking the past week or so.. I've gained too much weight :p Anyway, to make up for the missing days.. I'll put up 2 recipes. They are actually recipes from my favorite chefs on AFC, Nigella Lawson and Laura Calder. :) I saw Laura Calder made her green beans recipe and I thought.. urghh who eats green beans! yucks.. I know right? but this recipe is to die for. It's sooo good! She used hazelnuts but ermm.. it's expensive. Peanuts are cheaper. I used that ;) The other recipe I found in Nigella's book, Nigella Express. It's called Madras Fish for a reason. It uses MAdras curry powder .. I didn't have any. Didn't even know what that was until I saw some sold at Cold Storage. So I changed the recipe a bit. Used the normal fish curry powder instead. I used some kind of white fish .. I have no idea what it was. LOL but I guess any of your favorite fish would do. Just make sure that the fish is defrost thoroughly and doesn't smell. if it does wash it with turmeric juice. that should do it. Nigella used Salmon .. and fried it using garlic infused oil. Don't worry if you don't have it.. hahaha :) I used vegetable oil.

Seared Madras Fish (inspired by Nigella Lawson)

Ingredients:

white fish
2-3 tbsp fish curry powder
salt, pepper
oil for frying

Method

1. Mix the curry powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Rub the mixture on the fish thoroughly. 
2. Heat the pan with oil and cook the fish on high heat for 2-3 minutes a side. Sear the sides if the fish is too thick. 
3. Serve on a plate. 

Green beans with Peanuts and Shallots

Ingredients:

Green Beans
2-3 tbsp fried peanuts (chopped)
2 shallots (minced)
salt, pepper
lemon juice to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Boil the green beans in salted water until tender. Drain and rinse in cold running water to set color. 
2. Heat oil in skillet. Add the shallots for 1 minute.
3. Toss in the green beans until heated through
4. Add salt and pepper. Squirt a bit of lemon juice. Remove from heat
5. Toss in the chopped peanuts. 
6. Serve with the madras fish. 

Madras Fish & Green Beans with Peanuts & Shallots

It's so elegant and so easy that no one would know you spent less than half hour to make this dish ;) Have fun in the kitchen!

Easy Fried Vermicelli (BeeHoon Goreng)

Right now I'm so into this game I found on facebook that I don't want to spend too much time preparing for my food LOL. This recipe is perfect for such times.. you know when you're occupied with other .. things :), when you need some easy to make recipes. It's great for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper... This recipe took me probably about 1/2 hour, and most of the time spent was on preparing the ingredients.

I'm using Rice Vermicelli for this recipe. If you don't have BeeHoon around, you can substitute the noodle with those cellophane noodles or Tunghoon.. I always have BeeHoon around .. it's dry, can be kept for a long time, and it's easy to cook.You may substitute it with yellow noodle.. but only if you absolutely have to.. :p

The recipe below is for 2-3 persons. But I can finish it all on my own thank you very much.. I guess that's why I look the way I am now.... :p

Ingredients:

3 cups of rice vermicelli (blanched in hot water for 1 minute and no more)
onion - sliced
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
3 tbsp chili paste (blend your favorite chili into a paste - I simply used chili boh)
3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
2-3 tbsp water
Some celery leaves & spring onions - chopped
salt
pepper
3 tbsp oil for cooking

for garnishing - a one egg omelet - sliced thinly

Method:

1. Heat the wok. It's easier to use the wok to make this dish. Add in oil. 
2. Once the oil is heated through, add sliced onions. On medium heat, cook onions until they are translucent. Add garlic. Keep stirring and make sure that the garlic doesn't burn. 
3. Add chili paste. Let simmer for 1 minute .. add all the other sauces - sweet soy sauce, ketchup and also water. 
4. Let the sauce simmer for 1 minute, add the blanched beehoon. Make sure the beehoon is well coated with the sauce. Add salt, and pepper to taste. 
5. Turn heat low, and keep stirring. Add the celery leaves and spring onions. Stir well. We'd like to have that fresh taste the two ingredients give to this dish. When the sauce is fully seeped into the beehoon, turn off heat. 
6. Serve with egg :)

Cooked Beehoon goreng with egg :)

Enjoy cooking!

Ketam Masak Lemak a la Marina (Crab curry)

mmm.... yummy 

Actually I'm not sure what this dish is called in English. I'm calling it curry because I saw someone called it curry on tv. Anyway... it's a Malay dish but I don't have all the ingredients required (of course) so I had to do it with whatever is available.

The recipe actually calls for coconut milk. It'll be more flavorful with coconut milk. But I don't keep any at home. I replaced it with low fat milk. Serves the purpose not as nice .. The real recipe also has a bunch of other stuff .. which I don't even know.. So I just go with what I know and I thought would be good in it.. :)

I'm not sure where this dish originated.. but it's really famous in Negeri Sembilan.. and some parts of Melaka. They make it really hot though.. My mum and grandmother don't make it too hot.. In fact I only remember eating "masak lemak" that's mild.. really mild.. like if you can rate the heat from 1 to 10, it'd be a 0. I guess it goes back to what Chasing the Yum's Chef said about taste and flavor.. It's about balancing the flavors and highlighting what you like. :)

Since the crabs I had at home are not really fresh.. (I'm so gonna be scratching tonight) .. so I decided to add fragrance of kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and some heat from bird chilis (lots ... about 6) and ginger. :D These ingredients are easily available in Malaysia.. I'm not sure about other places but when I lived in Pittsburgh way back when ;) I could find these ingredients at Oriental stores.. easy :D

I buy lots of kaffir lime leaves, I don't use all... I use maybe 1 or 2 and keep the rest in the freezer .. the kaffir lime leaves stay fresh in the freezer. so would "daun pandan" or screwpine leaves.. I'm not sure about other herbs though.. hmm.. perhaps I should try other types of leaves and see how they fare in the freezer :D

Anyway..... here's the recipe.. give it a try :)

Ingredients

1 Crab -  cleaned and quartered. (I also used the back of the knife to hit the claws of the crab.. it makes it easier to eat the crab and the curry to seep in :) yums)

Simply delicious

onions sliced
1-2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 inch ginger - sliced
5-6 bird chili - minced
2 kaffir lime leaves - sliced thinly
lemongrass - sliced
2-3 tbs turmeric powder  - coat the crab with the turmeric powder
1 cup of low fat milk
1 cup of water
Oil for cooking
salt for seasoning






Method

1. Heat the pan.
2. Add oil into the heated pan. I used a small milk pan, and I needed about 2-3 tbsp of oil.
3. Saute the onions, then add garlic, ginger and chili in the pan. Saute for about 1 minute at medium heat. Stir occasionally.
4. Add kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Saute for 1 minute. Stir. 
5. Add the crab coated with turmeric powder. Stir for about 1-2 minutes. 
6. Add low fat milk and water. Simmer for a few minutes until the crab is cooked. Season with salt. 
7. Serve warm with rice. 

Makaroni Bakar (Baked Macaroni)

just the way I love it :)

Baked Macaroni is actually an altered Mac&Cheese. But unlike the classic Mac & Cheese it incorporates Malaysian flavor.. using curry paste for seasoning.

This Baked Macaroni dish is actually my sister, Ica's favorite dish. It's so simple to make and it took me less than an hour to whip up the dish. I think I spent more time waiting for it to bake .. :) All it needed was some kind of pasta... since it's called baked macaroni, the pasta would of course have to be macaroni hihi :) but it's really up to you.. you may also use other types of pasta. it's ok. no worries. I used minced meat.. because of the seasoning that I use for this recipe, I prefer minced meat. chicken may be a good alternative ... :)  I also used mixed vege because that's the only vege I had available in my very single home kitchen :p Mum always add celery. I love it for the extra crunch and a little bit of kick :)

I used shredded cheddar cheese for this recipe. But feel free to use your own cheese mix. Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella would be nice also .. oooo yumms :) You'd need an oven for this dish.. and a little bit of time on the stove. :) sounds tedious? mm... it'll be worth it.. :D

Ingredients: 

1 cup macaroni 

1/2 cup (or more ;)) minced meat - properly defrosted 

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables 

onions - diced

garlic - minced

2-3 tbsp curry powder mixed with 1/2 cup water - use more curry powder if you'd like it hotter

oil for cooking

salt to taste

pepper for seasoning

2 eggs - beaten

2/3 cups of milk - i used low fat milk

1 cup of cheddar cheese shredded

Method: 

1. Cook the macaroni as per on the package instructions. Toss and set aside.
2. Heat pan. Use a pan large enough to mix in the cooked macaroni. Add cooking oil. Saute the onions, and after a minute, add the minced garlic. use medium heat
3. When the onions have wilted, stir the curry powder mixture and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes.. stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pan.
4. Add the minced meat. Mix it well with the curry paste and stir occasionally until the meat is browned. 
5. Add the mixed vege. Stir occasionally until cooked. Season it with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat
6. Stir in the cooked macaroni. Mix thoroughly until the macaroni is covered with the minced meat curry. Add 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. 
7. Heat oven to 180degC. 
8. For this amount of macaroni, I used a 6" baking dish. 
9. Pour the curried macaroni into the baking dish. Press the mixture evenly with a spoon or a spatula. 
10. Whisk the egg together with the milk in a large cup. Pour the milk+egg mixture over the macaroni. 
11. Make sure the egg mixture fills up to top of the baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top of macaroni and cheese mixture.
12. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven..
13. Serve warm.. I personally love it with chili sauce.. so Malaysian.. haha :) 

Go on.. give it a try it :) 

simple & delicious :D

Kerabu Bihun (Thai Vermicelli Salad)

I'm supposed to be on diet. I've gained too much weight the past few months. Probably of all the cake recipes I've been testing and trying.. So I thought perhaps for dinner I'd just have salad. Not just any salad, Thai inspired Salad. I saw the recipe online once... but it's kinda too complicated.. Too many ingredients that I wasn't even sure what they were.. then I saw Nigella made it on tv. It's really simple. Like that Chef who's been Chasing the Yum said, it's all about balance..

Ingredients:

Salad:
Vermicelli - blanched
bean sprouts - blanched
tofu - diced and deep fried
carrot - julienned
egg - boiled (optional - can also use chicken or seafood or meat... your choice)
coriander

Vinaigrette:
Extra virgin Olive Oil (or other neutral flavored oil - soybean oil/canola oil)
lime juice (3 parts oil to 1 part lime juice)
bird chili - sliced
honey/sugar to taste
fish sauce/salt to taste
shallots/ green onions/onions (i used onions.. it's the only thing I had at home)  (sliced)
garlic (minced)
ginger (julienned)

Method:

1. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Set aside. 
2. Mix the Salad ingredient and toss in the vinaigrette. Mix well. :)
3. Indulge :D

sila makan :D

Cheesy Shrimp Tortillas

I was out shopping at Alamanda for groceries one day and I bought some wheat tortillas at Carrefour.. I came home and I didn't know what to do with the tortillas. So I was browsing for recipes on the internet and I found a Cheesy Shrimp Tortillas recipe. I tried looking for it again and I couldn't find it anymore. Perhaps the Rachel Ray Cheesy Shrimp Tortillas made more hits .. so it's pushed that recipe down.. But no fear.. I have the recipe in my head.. I've made it twice last Ramadhan. It shouldn't be that difficult kan? :p

The recipe called for shrimps but I think chicken can also be used. I've also changed the flour tortillas to wheat tortillas .. I thought it would be healthier ;p. but it kinda darken a bit when baked .. how long it needs to bake actually depends on the oven.. and your preference. I bake it until the cheese melts. It'll probably take about 10-15 minutes depends on your oven :) sometimes i bake it until the tortillas darken.. that way it'll crunch a bit.. awesome!

I've changed the ingredients so much so that it fits to what's available in Malaysia. So cili boh instead of chipotle.. hihi... have fun in the kitchen.. if u don't have the ingredient.. no sweat.. use something else that fits.. it'll be different. it'll be yours :)

Ingredients:

Tortillas
1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
shrimps (i use about 6 shrimps per tortilla...) -cleaned. Shells removed and deveined
onions (sliced)
red pepper/capsicum (julienned)
oil
cili paste/puree (depends how hot u want it to be)
shredded cheese (i used mixture of mozza and cheddar.. loves the pungent cheddar and gooey mozza)
coriander
salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180degC
2. Heat the oil. 
3. Saute the garlic. Don't let it burn.
4. Add the chili. Stir until it cooks. 
5. Throw in the cleaned shrimp. When the shrimp cooks, it'll take about 3-5 minutes on medium heat, stir in the coriander leaves. 
6. Turn off the heat and set aside.
7. In a clean pan, heat oil. 
8. Cook the onions until they wilt. Set aside.
9. Using the same pan and leftover oil from the onions, cook the red pepper until they soften. Set aside.
10. Put one tortilla on a big plate. 
11. Take the onion, scatter them on one half of the tortilla. Put lots of onions. Yummy :)
12. Then scatter the cooked red pepper on top of the onions evenly.
13. Then arrange the shrimps so that they are distributed evenly on half of the tortilla. We are going to fold it.
14. Shred the cheese on that half of the tortilla. 
15. Fold the tortilla. It won't hold. So I used toothpick to hold everything together. 
16. Bake the tortilla for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts.
17. Cut in half and serve with salsa. 

Simple Sambal Ikan Bilis with Potatoes

Sometimes I come home feeling sooooo hungry and I don't want to spend too much time cooking.. I want something quick and delicious... I want it express.. hihi *feeling like Nigella*

Spicy Sambal is a really easy dish. It's one of those first dishes I learned how to make .. in my recipe I use ikan bilis or dried anchovies and potatoes sliced thinly. You may also use tempeh, peanuts, chicken, fish.. anything you fancy. I use dried anchovies and potatoes because they are my favorite and I usually have them in stock during ermm dry days ;) There are many kinds of dried anchovies.. I prefer the tiny ones because they are really crunchy when fried. The bigger ones I typically use in my sambal tumis.. that's a different recipe.. Maybe in the future we'll see sambal tumis ikan bilis here ;)

In this recipe, I use cili boh.. quick and easy. You may also make your own cili boh.. by pureeing dried chili that's been blanched in hot water. You can also use fresh chilies but it won't be as spicy...

Ingredient

1/2 cup dried anchovies (cleaned)
1 medium/large sized potato (peeled, sliced evenly)
small onion (chopped)
3-5 tbs  chili pureed
sugar and salt to taste
oil for frying

Method

Fry the dried anchovies until crispy and set aside.
Fry the sliced potato and set aside.
Heat the oil used for frying the anchovies and potato and saute the onion.
Add the chili puree and stir it so it won't stick. Make sure the chili is thoroughly cooked. We don't want to end up with stomachache later.
Add the sugar and salt to taste. Stir
Stir in the fried dried anchovies and also the potatoes. Make sure the chili covers them all. Turn off the heat and serve it with rice or bread :)