The rice cooker is a very useful kitchen equipment and is present in many Asian households. Whilst it is primarily designed to cook rice, newer versions of the rice cooker has enable cooks to use it for steaming and even boiling soup.

Recently, my mum cooked Chicken Rice using the rice cooker. It is actually another version of the popular Claypot Chicken Rice. The beauty of using the rice cooker is that the rice does not get burnt at the bottom unlike the claypot. However, for those who are fond of burnt bits of rice, you may have to try this using the claypot instead.

This is the recipe for Chicken Rice using the Rice Cooker.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of rice (measure using the cup that comes supplied together with the rice cooker)
• 2 large chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs (chopped to bit sizes)
• 5 chinese dried mushrooms (pre-soaked in a bowl of water and cut to half or quarters. Do not throw away the water used for soaking)
• 2 chinese lap cheongs (chinese sausages) (sliced)
• 4 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 5 slices of ginger (more if you like a stronger ginger taste) {Added thanks to Earl-Ku's reminder}
  
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• warm water

Marinade for chicken

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoon of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of chinese cooking wine

Seasoning

• 5 teaspoons of light soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce

Method

Soak rice in water for about 1 1/2 hours. Marinade chicken for the same length of time.

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots.

With remaining oil in wok and at high heat, add pre-soaked chinese dried mushrooms and ginger and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add marinated chicken and stir fry for another minute.

Add pre-soaked rice and seasoning and continue frying for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle a little bit of warm water to keep the rice from drying out.

Remove rice with ingredients into the rice cooker. Place the lap cheongs over the rice. Pour water (previously used to soak dried chinese mushrooms) gently over the rice to cover the rice just like how you would usually cook white rice in a rice cooker. Add plain water if the water used to soak dried chinese mushrooms is insufficient. Turn on your rice cooker and let it cook.

Serve hot and sprinkle fried shallots over the rice prior to serving.

Note : As you learn to cook this dish, adjust the seasoning to your prefered taste. You can also sprinkle chopped spring onions over the Chicken Rice for added colour and taste.


Technorati Tags : Malaysian Food , Chicken Rice , Rice , Recipe

There are many variants of fried rice. In fact, it is only limited by the chef's imagination. One of the most popular is Egg Fried Rice, a recipe which I previously shared in this site. Another way of frying rice is to add meat to it and this gives the fried rice a good dose of flavour.

Sometimes, I will buy char siew (barbecued pork) from the market and use it as an ingredient in my fried rice. Most of the "tai chaus" (restaurants) also fry their rice this way though I must qualify myself and say that my recipe is more home-style and perhaps, different in some ways. Whilst the list of ingredients may seem long, it is actually not too complicated a recipe if you actually put your hand to it and try it for yourself.


This is my recipe for Char Siew Fried Rice.

Ingredients

• 3 bowls of cooked rice (preferably overnight cooked rice) [bowl denoting rice bowl]
  
• 1/2 bowl of french beans (cut into tiny cubes)
• 1/2 bowl of carrots (cut into tiny cubes)
• 3/4 bowl of char siew (cut into tiny cubes)
• 5 shallots (sliced thinly)
• 3 bulbs garlic (chopped)
• 3 eggs
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Seasoning

• 3 teaspoons of salt
• White pepper powder to taste
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoon light soya sauce
• 1 pinch of msg (optional)

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots and set aside.

With remaining oil in wok and at high heat, add garlic, french beans and carrots and stir fry for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper.

Make a "well" in the wok by pushing the french beans and carrots aside. Break eggs into the "well" and fry it till cooked. Mix with french beans and carrots followed by char siew. Fry and mix well for another 1 minute.

Add rice and stir fry the rice for 2 to 3 minutes whilst adding oyster sauce and light soya sauce. If wish to, add a pinch of msg. (The amount of salt, oyster sauce and light soya sauce can be adjusted to your prefered taste)

Serve hot and sprinkle fried shallots over the fried rice before serving.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Fried Rice , Char Siew

After having a nice bowl of Sarawak Laksa at Nam Chuan Coffeeshop today, something familiar caught my eye being sold at the same stall. It's Bee Pang (literally translated as "Rice Fragrant" in Hokkien but I would call it Rice Crispies). I have not seen it sold anywhere else here in Kuala Lumpur (yet), so I bought two packets.

Bee Pang is actually sold in many places but not the type which is made in Kuching, Sarawak. This Bee Pang which I bought is made in Kuching by Goh Hak Hiang of 17th Mile, Serian Road. Something about the Bee Pang made in Kuching makes it taste better than those made elsewhere in Malaysia which I have tasted before.

The Kuching variant as shown here is really crispy and light. The ingredients are rice, sugar, peanut, cooking oil, onion, wheat molasses, salt and sesame seed. Eack packet contains three blocks of Bee Pang. These blocks of Bee Pang has been pre-cut into smaller pieces measuring 5cm x 3.5cm x 1cm for easy eating.

It tastes sweet. The onions (which I suspect is shallots) and peanuts give the Bee Pang a nice hint of fragrance and the Bee Pang which I bought here is pretty fresh. It doesn't have that stale smell or taste associated with those rice crispies which have been left on the shelves for a period of time. It is also light and you can have a couple of pieces without feeling full.

Bee Pang is sometimes used as a hand gift when visiting others. It is also popularly used as part of the "hantaran" or "dowry" during engagements or marriages amongst some of the Chinese community. Try it when you visit Sarawak or if you are in Kuala Lumpur, you can get it from the Sarawak Laksa stall at Nam Chuan Coffeeshop.

Technorati Tags : Biscuit , Confectionary , Sarawak

I just want to share with you (pictures only though) what I always buy when I go back to my hometown in Pontian Kechil, Johor, Malaysia.




I've been eating this confectionary...or biscuit (if it is classified as biscuit) from the most famous confectionary shop in Pontian Kechil - Kedai Biskut Chai Huat Heng, ever since I was a kid. Not everyday, of course but at least once a year if I can get my hands on them.



We call this biscuit...or confectionary...let's just call it biscuit for ease of blogging, Ko Ah. Don't ask me what it is called in English 'cos I don't know. I only know it is the very delicious Ko Ah. It is sold in packets like what you see in the first picture above and has 6 pieces on every pack.



The ingredients that go into it are beans (I wonder what type of beans), sugar, flour, water, oil and salt. I always thought it also contains sesame seeds as there are tiny brown specks in the biscuit but it is not stated so in the list of ingredients.

How does it taste like?

Well, I will describe it as sweet with a hint of saltiness. The texture is slightly crumbly. Definately Delicious Asian Food!

Technorati Tag Confectionary , Tea

I like beancurd (aka. Tofu). It is so versatile and many recipes can be created out of it. You can fry it, steam it, boil it, mash it with ingredients etc. And the best thing is, it is relatively cheap and highly nutritious.

There are many types of tofu. Some are hard in texture and some soft. I have a prior recipe here for Simple Tofu with Dried Prawns. In this recipe, however, I use the soft type of tofu which is measures approximately 6cm x 6cm x 2cm (W x D x H) and more ingredients are used.

This is my recipe for Beancurd with Minced Pork. Though it suggests minced pork, I have added other ingredients to give it some colour. Feel free to experiment!


Ingredients

• 3 pieces soft beancurd. Alternatively, you can use Japanese Beancurd.
• 100 grammes minced pork (season with 1 tsp soya sauce and a dash of white pepper)
  
• Carrot (cut to strips. Amount up to your liking)
• Chinese dried mushroom (pre-soaked and cut to strips) or other button mushrooms. In fact, any type of mushroom will do or you can omit it altogether.
• Spring onions (cut to 2 inch lengths)
• 2 bulbs garlic (chopped)
• 2 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup corn starch (add 1/2 cup water to 3 teaspoons of corn flour)

Seasoning

• 1 - 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• White pepper powder (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine

Method

Fry shallots in cooking oil till brown. Remove shallots. Heat up the remaining oil and fry the garlic till beginning to brown. Add minced meat and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

Add carrots and mushrooms and continue stir frying for a minute. Add seasoning (minus the chinese cooking wine). Add water till it completely covers the ingredients and let it boil.

Once the water boils, place beancurd gently on top of the sauce / meat and cover the lid (in a way, you are steaming the beancurd whilst cooking the rest of the ingredients / gravy) for 2 to 3 minutes. Ensure that the gravy does not dry out.

Open lid, remove beancurd gently and place on a plate. Add chinese cooking wine to the meat sauce and stir to mix well. Add corn flour to the meat sauce to to thicken sauce to your liking. Add spring onions, give it a good stir and pour the meat sauce over the beancurd. Sprinkle fried shallots over the dish.

Serve hot with rice.


Technorati Tags Beancurd , Dinner , Lunch

Water Convolvulus (or Water Spinach) is also known as Kangkong in the Malay Language. It is a common vegetable found in abundance in Malaysia and has nutritional values similar to the spinach.

In Malaysia, it is often served as Kangkong Belacan (stir-fried with spicy shrimp paste) or Sotong Kangkong (mixed with cuttlefish in fish paste and sprinkled with crushed peanuts). It is very easy and fast to cook. You should ideally have a cooker with high heat as it is imperative that this Kangkong Belacan dish be cooked as fast as possible. Otherwise, it will be flooded with juice from the vegetable and watery.


This is my recipe for Kangkong Belacan.

Ingredients

• Approximately 400 grammes of kangkong. Separate leaves from stem. Cut stems to reasonable bite sizes
• 50 grammes of belacan (shrimp paste)
• 50 grammes of dried shrimps (pre-soaked in about 150 ml of water. Do not throw away the water)
  
• 5 bulbs of shallots
• 5 bulbs of garlic
• 4 to 8 red chillis (remove seeds if you want the dish to be less spicy)
  
• 4 tablespoons of cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Method

Prepare belacan mix as follows. Pound belacan, dried shrimps, shallots, garlic and chilli in a mortar pound / blend them.

Heat oil in wok till smoke appears from wok. Add oil (which should be heated up substantially). Add belacan mix and stir quickly whilst reducing to medium heat. Do not burn the belacan mix.

Once belacan mix is fragrant and slightly brown, increase heat to high and add kangkong. Stir briskly and add a little water (from the water used to soak dried prawns) if the dish is too dry for your liking. Once kangkong is slightly limp, it is ready for serving.

I usually do not add any seasoning as the belacan and dried shrimps are quite salty in itself.

Technorati Tags Vegetable , Recipe , sambal belacan

Chinese leek flower can be considered a delicacy in chinese cuisine. It belongs to the same family as onions and is highly nutritious and sweetly flavoured. Usually, the "flower" is eaten before it blooms.

A secret to good tasting leek flower is to remove the "skin" very carefully from the stem. This layer of "skin" is as thin as cling-film and takes some practice to remove them.

Try not to use a knife as you will remove the outer-layer of the stem instead. Once you have removed the transparent looking "skin", y0u are on the right track.

I usually cook the leek flower with beancurd (hard type), prawns and carrots. You can also throw in roast pork for added flavour.

This is my recipe for Chinese Leek Flower with Beancurd, Carrots and Prawns.

Ingredients

• 200 grammes chinese leek flower (cut into an inch lengthwise, remove skin)
• 100 grammes carrots (cut into strips)
• 2 pieces of beancurd (hard type. Cut into strips and fry them till brown)
• 100 grammes of medium-sized prawns (keep tail intact and devein)
• 2 bulbs garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 50 ml warm water
  

Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• Dash of white pepper

Method

Heat oil and fry garlic for 15 seconds or so. Add leek flower, carrots, prawns and pre-fried beancurd. Stir-fry till prawns are cooked.

Add seasoning and warm water and close lid. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add a little bit more water if the dish dries up.

Serve hot with rice.

If you want to add roast pork, chop the roast pork (amount up to you) and add it into the dish before seasoning. You might want to reduce the oyster sauce because roast pork can be a bit salty.

Ginger and spring onions are the best of pals. Somehow, when combined, they compliment each other very well and gives the dish a good taste regardless whether you use pork, fish slices, chicken or beef.

Today, I would like to share with you my recipe for Pork with Ginger and Spring Onions.

Once you have mastered this dish, you can substitute the meat with chicken, fish or beef.


Ingredients

• 200 grammes of pork (preferably tenderloin, sliced thinly and marinated for 30 minutes with a few dashes of light soya sauce, white pepper powder and a few sprinkles of corn flour. Sprinkle some chinese cooking wine for added flavour)
• 5 dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked and sliced. You can use any mushrooms you like or omit it altogether)
• 5 bulbs garlic (minced. Use more if you like)
• About 2 cm ginger (sliced thinly into strips. Use more if you like)
• Spring onions (cut into 2 inches length)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil preferred)
• 50 ml warm water
• Corn starch to thicken the gravy (add a little corn flour with water)
  

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
• A dash of dark soya sauce
• A dash of white pepper powder
  
• A dash of chinese cooking wine (optional)
  

Method

Heat oil in wok. Stir fry the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and pork and continue to stir fry for about 2 minutes till pork is seared.

Add sauce to taste and warm water. Cover wok for about 2 minutes. Add spring onions and corn starch to thicken the gravy to your liking.

Serve hot.