#433 : Gulai Kangkong : recipe #236

The Scientific name of Kangkong is Ipomea aquatica. In Engllish it is known as the water spinach or the swamp cabbage. Kangkong is recommended to strengthen the body's resistance to cancer. Nutrients in kangkong are Vitamins A and C. Moreover, it is also rich in minerals, especially iron. Because of its high iron content, the vegetable is recommended to patients suffering from anaemia.

Kangkong can be made into salads, stir-fried or boiled.

Ingredients:
Kangkong plants - 2 ikat @ 2 bunches - roots removed; cut
1 medium -sized carrots; shredded
1 large red chili-sliced
2 shallots- sliced
1 garlic- sliced
2 tbsp coconut milk.
chicken stock powder

pounded ingredients:
1 large red chili
1 shallot
1 garlic size prawn paste@ belacan -toasted
1 small size ginger
2 tbsp soaked dried prawn
oil

steps:
1. heat oil in pan, add in the shallots, garlic and the chili until fragrant
2. add in the carrot, mix for 1 minute
3. Add in the pounded ingredients, mix well and fry for further 2 minutes
4. Add in the Kangkong, until the leaves half-wilted, then add in the coconut milk
5. season with the chicken stock and dish up.

#431 : Spicy Fried chicken : recipe #235

What to cook? If the mood is right, I will then try experimenting new recipes, otherwise it's just the usual boring one. This recipe came out very nicely, It was in my head for sometime now, so here it is:

Ingredients:
2 pieces of chicken breasts: skin removed and cut into small pieces
oil for frying.
3 tbsp corn flour
3 tbsp rice flour

Marinade:
2 tbsp curry powder- add more if necessary
2 tsp crack black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
sugar and salt
white vinegar

steps:
marinate the chicken pieces with the marinade
leave aside for 30 minutes
add the flour ; mix well.
deep fry the chicken pieces at medium flame, until they turn dark brown.

#430 : Curried beef patties: recipe #234

Ingredients:
250gm ground beef
2 tbsp oats
1 tbsp corn flour
A little water to combine

spices:
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp all-spice
salt
1 tsp black pepper powder

steps:
Mix the spices with the beef
Add in the oats and flour
add a little water
mix well until it forms dough like consistency
divide into small balls, flatten them and fry them on a non-stick pan

to serve:
insert the beef patties into burger bun and eat them with your favourite veggies and sauces.

I put my patty into wholemeal bun , with Edam cheese, lettuce leaves and hot dog relish .... yummy :)

#429 : Green Beans salad : recipe# 233

I bought a packet of Indonesian French beans from Supa Save the other day. I was thinking on how to use my safflower oil I bought a month ago from the German shop for sometime now, so here it is the opportunity to use it.

Ingredients:
A handful of Indonesian French beans: stalk removed, blanched, st aside
olive oil
safflower oil
lemon juice
salt
cracked black pepper
salt to taste.
2 pcs- canned anchovies.

steps:
1. Heat olive oil in pan and add in the anchovies, fry till anchovies breaks. cool
2. add in the safflower oil and lemon juice into the cooled olive oil- anchovies mixture
3. Add the mixture into the beans , stir to mix. Add in the salt and the cracked black pepper.
4. Adjust the seasoning, set aside for at least 10 minutes before serving

#428 : Fried chicken : recipe #232

A very simple chicken recipe

ingredients:
chicken cut into small pieces
oil

marinade;
turmeric powder
chili powder
coriander powder
sesame oil
salt
white pepper powder
lemon juice

mix together the marinade and the chicken, leave aside for 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge before frying. Fry at medium flame till golden brown.

#427 ; Sambal manga@ Malay ripe mango salad : recipe #231

I have been eating this since I was very young. Whenever mango was in season, My grandma will made a lot of this "sambal". The sweet-sour taste of this salad is perfect for the third dish of a typical Malay lunch/dinner.

What I used:
3 apple sized ripe mango: peeled and cut into small pieces or "cancang" in Brunei Malay.
1/2 bulb red onion - sliced
1 large red chili -sliced ; can be replaced with the hot bird's eye chili
garlic sized prawn paste@belacan- toasted and break into small pieces
soya sauce
sugar- optional

step:
mix all the ingredients together , adjust the seasoning, leave aside for at least 15 minutes before serving.

#426: Cucumber Coriander salad : recipe #230

Another variation of the salad I made using egg. The ingredients complement each other well.

Ingredients:
A medium size cucumber - skin partially peeled and sliced thinly
A handful coriander leaves-chopped
1 large green chili- sliced
1/2 red onion -sliced thinly
3 tbsp coconut milk- add more if necessary
1 dsp lemon juice
salt and sugar to taste.

steps:
Add the ingredients together, adjust the seasoning , let the salad "sit" for about 15 minutes before serving.

#425 : Bean sprout and Tofu soup : recipe #229

My hubby is currently into tofu. So I made a very simple soup for him

What I used:

3 cups water
1 handful bean sprouts
I tube egg tofu- cut into pieces
onion- cut into pieces
garlic-chopped
Spring onion
green chilies

seasoning:
chicken stock powder
sesame oil
white pepper and salt
anchovies ( 1/2 handful)

How I prepare it:
1. boil the anchovies for 5 minutes in water, remove them.
2. to the stock add in the other ingredients except the bean sprouts.
3. Let the soup boil for a minute, add in the bean sprouts, adjust the seasoning and dish up.

#424 Halo-Halo

Halo-Halo is a Popular Philippines dessert consisting of shaved ice and milk to which are added various beans and fruits . It's very similar to ABC, but I much prefer this. I love the taste of Yam in this desert!This afternoon, we went to buy the Halo-Halo for ourselves, Oreo and Milo shakes for the kids. My pick would be the Halo-Halo from stall no 81 of the Sumbangsih complex at Beribi. To accompany these drinks, I made toasted foccacia bread topped with chicken and Mozzarella cheese.

#423 : Another lazy morning :)

Another awesome morning. Lazying around for me is a luxury, as a working mom with no maid at home, everyday is a struggle. During school days, I wake up as early as 4.00 a.m. preparing breakfast, set off from home at 6.15 a.m. sending Darwish off to school then arrived at work at about 7.15 a.m. I usually go home at 1.30 p.m, if I don't have any classes/ any CCAs in the afternoon, but most of the time I'll stay until 4.00 p.m or if there are meetings, until 5.30 p.m. More chores waiting for me at home when I returned from work.

This morning for breakfast I made Portuguese egg tarts , I made these before and the recipe is also featured in the 1st Brunei blogger recipe book. This morning, I purposely shorten the baking time, but increase the temperature during baking, as a result I created a lava Portuguese egg tart. Yummy!
To pass my time, I read a Malay novel. I have not read Malay novel for a looooong time, I did find them "cheesy" and "cliche". Somehow the other day, while browsing for reading materials in one of the book shop, this book caught my eyes. I bought it and was amazed at myself for buying it. After reading a few pages, I couldn't stop reading . It has 884 pages and I was able to finish it within a day. That's one page turner, with the climaxes beautifully executed. A very good read.summary:
It's a life journey of an undergrad by the name of Amilia and her friends. The novel portray the difficulties faced by these undergrads plus their journey to find their soul mates. In the end, Amilia did find hers, but he is a Leaukaemia patient. Did her wait worth it?

This novel is written by a young, talented female writer; Wan Noraini Wan Nordin. more about this writer here

salam :)

#422: Bamboo Charcoal bread anyone?

Another lazy weekday. It's a blessing to have a long school holiday to recuperate myself. We went for a family outing yesterday, bringing the kids out to buy some stuffs. I bought myself a thick novel to read. I have not been reading seriously for a while as my time was taken over by either office or house chores. We went to Yayasan Building and since we were there, I took the opportunity to buy the Charcoal bamboo bread from the Loft, a small bakery shop at the basement level, Yayasan complex.

Japanese has been using charcoal as food for detox purposes as it can absorb the toxic materials from the digestive system. They add them into their breads, cakes, cookies etc. The usage of Bamboo charcoal is fully approved by the Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation, MOH , Japan.

I made a sandwich from the charcoal bamboo bread with mozzarella and red pepper pickle filling, and grilled them and I am ready to continue my day.

#421 : Cucur Bubok : recipe #228

My hubby's favourite. I only ate these "seriously" after we were married, when I lived at my dad's place, I often wondered why my folks love them so much. Bubok shares the same genus as krill and in Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore they are known as "Udang geragau".

When in season, a kilogram of "Bubok" costs between B$2.00 to B$3.00. People usually make them into "belacan" or the shrimp paste which become one of the important ingredients in Brunei cooking. Other use of bubok would be the making of "cincalok" ( fermented bubok), which is also popular in the Philippines. Bubok can be eaten fresh or dried and "cucur bubok" or the "bubok" fritters is one of the popular dish in which the main ingredient is the fresh "bubok".

Ingredients:
1 bowl( medium-size) of fresh "bubok" ~ these need to be thoroughly cleaned as they tend to have a lot of sand, I usually soaked them first and rinse thoroughly 2/3 times.
1/2 bowl of all purpose flour
1 egg~ beaten
1 red chili ~ sliced
1 tsp baking powder
1 small size bombay onion~diced
2 pips garlic~diced
1 plant spring onion~ sliced finely
salt and lots of white pepper powder
a little water to bind the ingredients
lots of oil to deep fry the "cucur"

steps:
1. mix all the ingredients except oil. The batter should be in thick consistency. Adjust the salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan, deep fry the batter by putting them into the "not so hot" oil, put them a spoon at a time until you are done. Once the batter floats, turn the upper side down into the oil and once they are golden brown on both sides, take them out from the oil and drain them on kitchen tissue.

note: Best if serve warm with your favourite chili sauce. Alternatively you can eat these with your favourite salsa.