Nasi Lemak - Coconut Flavored rice dish

INGREDIENS

2 cups rice

2 pandan leaves (tied in knot)

1 shallot - chopped

10 tsp thick coconut milk

1 small piece sliced ginger

Salt and sugar to taste

1/2 cup dried ikan bilis (anchovies)

4 shallots

1 small piece belacan (shrimp paste)

1 clove garlic

1 large onion - sliced

1/2 cup tamarind juice

8 dried chillies - soaked

METHOD

To Prepare Rice:

1. Wash and clean rice

2. Add 2 cups of water and coconut milk

3. Add shallots, gigner and pandan leaves

4. Bring to boil, lower heat, simmer for about 10-15 minutes until water has been absorbed

5. Loosen rice grains with wooden ladle

6.Cover pot and leave rice to cook for 10-15 minutes 

To Prepare Sambal:
1. Heat oil and fry ikan bilis until crisp
2. Keep aside

3. Heat oil in wok and fry pounded ingredients till fragrant

4. Add sliced onions, tamarind juice, salt and sugar

5. Cook till gravy thickens

6. Add ikan bilis and mix well

7. Remove from heat

8.Serve with sambal ikan bilis, garnished with cucumber slices, sliced hard-boiled egg and roasted peanuts.

ASAM PEDAS FISH RECIPE

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium size black pomfret (ikan bawal hitam), cut into half

1 big onion, cut into four

10 lady fingers or okra

1 bunga Kantan (Torch Ginger Flower Bud), cut into half and slice thinly.

3 sprigs of daun kesum (Vietnamese mint)

4 small pieces of pineapple, optional

100 – 120 ml cooking oil

3 – 4 cups water

SEASONING:

2 – 3 tbsp brown sugar or to taste

3 tsp salt or to taste

Lime juice of 1 lime

FINELY GROUND PASTE (WITH BLENDER):

12 (100g) shallots

3 clove garlic

2 stalks of lemon grass (white part only)

1 inch Lengkuas (Galangal)

2 inch kunyit (fresh turmeric)

10 fresh red chillies

5 – 8 dried chillies, soak with hot water (depends on how spicy you like)

1 tsp toasted belacan powder (prawn paste) - optional

METHOD:

In a wok or pot, heat oil over medium heat and saute ground spices paste until fragrant.

Add some water, daun kesom, bunga kantan and pineapple. Stir and cook for a short while, add in lady fingers, onion and all the seasoning ingredients. Stir and simmer until lady fingers are cooked and remove the lady fingers to prevent from become soggy.

Add in fish and the remaining water. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until fish is cooked.  Transfer back the cooked lady fingers to Asam Pedas.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

FISH HEAD CURRY RECIPE

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg fish head (snapper or cod), cleaned and scaled

4 tbsp oil

2 stalks lemongrass, lightly bruised

3-4 cups water

1 1/4 cup (300ml) coconut milk (I used Kara canned coconut milk)

10 tofu puffs (Soya King brand)

2-3 tomatoes, quartered

10 okra (or add eggplant if desired)

Coriander leaves for garnish

BLEND FINELY:

120g (4oz) shallots

4 cloves garlic

1 inch galangal

1 inch ginger

2 candlenuts

1/2 tbsp toasted belacan

3 tbsp chilli paste (dried chillies that have been soaked until softened, and finely blended)

Curry powder (mixed with 4 tbsp water to form a paste):

2 tbsp ground coriander

2 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tbsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cumin

SEASONING:

2 tsp chicken/ikan bilis stock powder

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1-2 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

Salt to taste

METHOD

Rub some salt over the fish head and set aside for 1/2 hour before rinsing it off. Ensure there is no blood left on the fish as it may cause bitterness in the curry.

In the meantime, heat up 4 tbsp oil in a large pan/pot. Fry the blended ingredients (shallots, garlic etc) for 3-5 minutes. Then add curry powder mixture continue frying for 2 minutes until the chilli oil starts to release into the pan. Add the lemongrass.

Add water, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1/2 hour. Then add seasoning and coconut milk. Once it starts to simmer, quickly add the tofu puffs and okra. Simmer for 5 minutes before adding tomatoes and the fish. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the fish is cooked. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 3 minutes so that the oil rises to the top. Dish out

immediately, garnish with coriander and serve hot with steamed white rice.

FISH HEAD MEE HOON

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients

fish head/fish meat

rice noodles (mee hoon, or vermicelli)

choy sum

ginger

pickled mustard greens

 chicken stock

pickled plums

salt

green onions

tomatoes

fish sauce

evaporated milk

black pepper

vegetable oil.

Pickled mustard greens

Pickled plums

METHOD

Fry the fish head and fish meat

Slice a fish head into 2 x 3 inch pieces. Ask your fishmonger to do this for you. Clean with water and pat dry. Marinate lightly with salt and pepper.

Add 4 cups of oil to a wok and fry the fish head on all sides until it’s brown and crispy. It will take about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

MAKE SOUP

Cut a handful of choy sum into pieces 3 inches long and set aside.

Chop garnishes: ½ cup worth of salty pickled mustard greens, ½ cup worth of tomato, and 2 green onion. Set aside.

Soak mee hoon in cold water. Set aside.

Heat up a pot and add 1 tbs vegetable oil, a few slices of peeled ginger (about 1 tbs worth), and stir until fragrant.

Cut a medium-sized tomato into quarters lengthwise and add to the pot.

Add 6 cups of chicken stock, 1 cup of salted mustard greens, and 3 mashed pickled plums to the pot. Let it boil over high heat for 10 minutes.

Open the lid, stir, and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove all the cooked vegetables, ginger, and the plum seeds from the pot with a strainer.

Blanch the choy sumin the boiling soup and remove it from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Drain the noodles, add them to the boiling soup. Cook for about 1 minute until softened and then remove from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Add the fried fish heads to the soup and boil for a few minutes. Remove from the pot with a strainer. Set aside.

Add ¼ cup evaporated milk and fish sauce to taste.

SERVE

Put the cooked noodles into a serving bowl. Add soup and fried fish heads.

Garnish with chopped  tomatoes, pickled mustard green, and green onions.

Serve with the soy sauce mixed with a few of chopped bird’s eye chillies.

FISH HEAD NOODLE SOUP

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

350gfish headcut into big pieces, preferably garoupa fish

1tablespoonsalt

1cupcornflour flouror tapioca flour

250grice noodlesor beehoon, round and spaghetti-thick

1piecepickled mustard greenscut into long strips

50gyoung gingersliced thinly

2tomatoescut into wedges

3pickled plummashed

1teaspoonoil

1teaspoonsesame oil

1litrewateror chicken stock for more flavour

1/4cupevaporated milk

Seasoning:

1/2tablespoonfish sauce

1tablespoonchicken stock granules

1/4teaspoonpepper

1/2teaspoonsalt

Garnishing:

1stalkspring onionscut into sections

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash fish head, cut into big pieces and drained well.

Sprinkle and rub some salt and pepper on the fish to marinate them for 1 hour.

           

Next lightly rub cornstarch over the fish. (Add a little rice flour to the fish if you want the fish to stay crispier for a longer time).  

Then fry the fish head in the oil. Fry for about 5 minutes and then turn them over. Fry them until brown and crispy, another 10 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on strainer.     

Prepare ingredients to make the soup. First cut pickled mustard greens into strips, cut tomatoes into wedges, slice ginger into pieces and cut spring onions for garnishing.

           

To make the soup, first heat up a little oil in wok or pan. Then add in slices of ginger.     

Add a dash of sesame oil and stir fry until fragrant.     

Then add the cut tomatoes and pickled mustard greens followed by sour and salty mashed sour plum.           

Next add in chicken stock or water. Cover and bring it to a boil. Let it boil over high heat for 10 minutes.

           

Then open the lid, stir and turn down the heat to low and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.    

Remove all the cooked vegetables, ginger and plum seeds from the wok with a strainer.           

Blanch the green lettuce in the boiling soup and set aside.  

Next, add the fried fish head pieces to the soup and boil for a few minutes. Remove from the wok with a strainer and set aside.

           

Lastly add in the evaporated milk and fish sauce to taste.

           

To serve, put the cooked noodles in a serving bowl. Add the blanched lettuce, fried fish and finally the delicious milky white soup.

           

Garnish with cut tomatoes, pickled mustard green and green onions.

           

Serve the fish head noodle soup hot with chopped bird's eye chilies in soy sauce.         

MILKY FISH SOUP

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Grouper (600g – 800g, the larger the merrier!)

50g of dried turbot fish

50g sliced ginger

1/2 tablespoon of white pepper

300g red tomatoes

1 head of chinese cabbage

N/A Coriander for garnishing

N/A Spring Onion for garnishing

N/A cooking oil

Salt to taste

Fish Sauce to taste

Chinese Shaoxing wine for extra flavor and complexity

Root of coriander (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean the fish properly. Check for scale, especially on the head, lower pectoral fins and its tail area.

Dry the fish with paper towel and fillet. *Check out the video on the right on how to fillet a fish*

Slice the fillet into approximately 1/2 inch thick. Keep the sliced fillet in the fridge.

Clean and slice the ginger, Clean and cut the tomatoes.

Clean and cut the chinese cabbage to approximately 1 inches width.

Clean and cut the coriander to 1 inches in length.

Clean and cut the spring onion into strips.

COOKING

Heat up your pan with cooking oil.

Pan fry the dried turbot fish to crispy. Set the fire on low heat during this step to prevent the dried turbot fish from burning.

Set aside the turbot fish.

Pan fry the fish bones to crispy. Set the fire to medium heat during this step so the fresh fish bone are fried evenly. Take extra measure to ensure the fish bone are fried off most of their moisture content, this will give a creamy flavor to the fish stock.

Once you have all the fish bones pan fried to crispy, set the fire to high and add water into the pan.

Then transfer the fish bones along with the water into a stock pot.

Add more water to slightly more than enough to cover the fish bones.

Bring to a boil and then switch to low heat.

Add ginger, white pepper and root of coriander (optional) into the stock.

Keep covered and simmer for 1 hour.

Uncover and strain. You should now have a cream colored fish stock.

Bring the fish stock back to a boil.

Add cutted tomatoes and chinese cabbage into the stock.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chinese cabbage soften.

Meanwhile, prepare one portion of rice noodles and set aside in a bowl. (Rice vermicelli or flat rice noodle would goes well too)

Once the chinese cabbage have softened, season with salt and fish sauce (ratio of 2 : 1).

Blanch the sliced grouper fillet in the fish stock for approximately 30 seconds. (Do not over cook for a spongy texture)

Place the cooked grouper fillet on top of the rice noodles.

Pour plenty of fish stock over the grouper fillet and rice noodles.

Pour 2 tablespoon of Chinese shaoxing wine into the bowl of grouper fish noodle.

Garnish with coriander and spring onion. Voila! Done!

MALAYSIAN STYLE STEAMED FISH

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large fish (snapper, trevally, kahawai or any of your favourite fish.)

4 stalks spring onions, sliced

1 thumb sized ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

3 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

salt

½ tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp peanut oil

chopped cilantro, to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Pat dry the fish with paper towel inside and out then using a knife score fish on each side.

Season fish with salt.

In a bowl combine spring onions, ginger, garlic cloves, chilli, light soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, 1 tbsp of sesame oil and brown sugar.

Place ⅓ of the mixture in a plate then place fish on top, place the ⅓ in the fish cavity and finally the ⅓ on the top.

Place plate in a large work lines with a removable bottom quiche pan or anything that can hold it, you can also use a steamer if you wish but woks heat will be more intense as the volume inside a covered wok is smaller than that of a steamer.

Now add enough water to the wok up until half the height of the quiche pan. Bring to a boil then cover the wok and steam in very high heat 10 minutes or until the fish is nearly cooked, do not overcook, the cooking process will not end once you stop the heat as there is enough heat left on the fish meat to cook the remaining.

While the fish is steaming, heat the peanut oil together with the remaining sesame oil in a saucepan, heat until it nearly reaches its smoking point. Drizzle hot oil over the fish then serve immediately.

PAN FRIED MACKEREL FISH WITH SAMBAL

Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multiethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.

INGREDIENTS:

King Mackerel (cut into steaks)- 500 gms

Onion (sliced)- 1

Sambal paste- 2 tbsp

Tomatoes (chopped)- 1

Oil as required

Salt as per taste

Curry Leaves (optional)- 1 sprig

To marinate the fish-

Red Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Salt- 1 tsp

For the Sambal paste-

Shallots/ Pearl Onions - 10

Red Chillies (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes)- 5

Garlic- 5 cloves

Galangal (I used Ginger) - 1 inch piece

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Tamarind - 1 small cherry sized ball

Dried shrimps (optional) - 1 tsp

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinate the fish with red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder for 15 minutes. Also in hot water, soak the dried red chillies for 15 minutes.

Slice the onions, peel the pearl onions, ginger and garlic.

Then add the peeled pearl onions, garlic, ginger, soaked red chilli, sugar, turmeric powder, dried shrimps (if using), tamarind and grind to form a coarse paste. (This is the sambal paste and refrigerate it well for later use, it can be used in a wide variety of dishes.)

In a pan, add oil to heat and once it's hot, add in the marinated fish and fry until it gets cooked well. Drain the fish and set aside.

In the same oil, which holds the flavours of the fish, add in the sliced onions and cook until it gets translucent in colour. Add in the salt and the grounded sambal paste. Stir until the raw smell goes away.

Stir occasionally as it may get burnt easily, if needed sprinkle a little water. Once the sambal paste gets cooked, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook until the oil floats on top.

Next add in the fried fishes and simmer for 2 minutes for the fish to absorb the flavours.

Serve it hot with rice.