My Kitchen and Me

One of my all time favorite kuih! The thin, soft, slightly chewy crepe filled with sweet coconut filing - just yum! Ingredients: For the Filling: - 1 cup grated coconut (fresh or desiccated) - 1/2 cup palm sugar (gula Melaka), finely chopped - 1/4 cup water - 1 pandan leaf, knotted (optional) - A pinch of salt For the Batter: - 1 cup all-purpose flour - 1 egg - 1 cup coconut milk - 1/2 cup water - A pinch of salt - Juice from pandan leaves (or a few drops of green food coloring) Instructions: 1. In a pan, combine the palm sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. 2. Add the grated coconut, pandan leaf (if using), and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mixture thickens and the coconut is well coated with the syrup, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the pandan leaf and set the filling aside to cool. 3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, egg, coconut milk, water, salt, and green food coloring until you have a smooth batter. The consistency should be similar to pancake batte...

We love our sambal in this household! We make all types of sambal - with anchovies, chicken, prawns and fish. Here's a delicious recipe for prawn sambal petai, a popular Malaysian dish that combines the unique flavor of petai (stink beans) with spicy sambal and prawns. Ingredients : 300g prawns, peeled and deveined 100g petai (stink beans), halved 3 tablespoons cooking oil 1 onion, finely sliced 1 tomato, diced 2 pandan leaves 2 tablespoons tamarind juice (soak tamarind pulp in water and extract the juice) 1 teaspoon sugar Salt to taste For the Sambal Paste: 10 dried chilies, soaked in hot water and deseeded 5 fresh red chilies 3 shallots 3 cloves garlic 1 piece belacan (shrimp paste), toasted (optional) Instructions: 1. Blend the dried chilies, fresh chilies, shallots, garlic, and toasted belacan into a smooth paste. You can add a little water to help with the blending. 2. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and sauté until it becomes soft and...

I personally enjoy Malay desserts more than other types of desserts. The use of coconut milk in most Malay desserts result in a rich and creamy flavor which I simply love. Bubur Pulut Hitam is a traditional Malaysian and Indonesian dessert made from black glutinous rice, coconut milk, and palm sugar. I make this for my family every now and then and we usually like to have it warm.  Ingredients : - 1 cup black glutinous rice (pulut hitam) - 6 cups water - 1/2 cup coconut milk - 1/4 cup palm sugar (gula Melaka), chopped (adjust to taste) - 1/4 cup granulated sugar (adjust to taste) - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 2 pandan leaves, tied into a knot  - Additional coconut milk for serving (optional) Instructions : 1. Rinse the black glutinous rice under cold running water until the water runs clear. 2. In a large pot, combine the rinsed black glutinous rice and water. Add the pandan leaves. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or u...

Malaysian chicken soup, known as Sup Ayam, is a fragrant and comforting dish that combines tender chicken, aromatic spices, and a rich broth. It’s a popular soup in Malaysian cuisine and is often enjoyed with rice or bread. Here’s a step-by-step recipe to make this delicious and heartwarming soup. Ingredients - 1 whole chicken (about 3-4 lbs), cleaned and cut into pieces - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil - 1 large onion, finely chopped - 3 cloves garlic, minced - 1-inch piece of ginger, sliced - 2-3 star anise - 2-3 cloves - 1 cinnamon stick - 1 teaspoon ground coriander - 1 teaspoon ground cumin - 1 teaspoon ground turmeric - 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks - 2 carrots, peeled and sliced - 2 tomatoes, quartered - 8 cups water or chicken broth - Salt and pepper to taste - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped - 2-3 green onions, sliced - Fried shallots (for garnish) - Lime wedges (for serving) - Cooked rice or bread (for serving) Instructions In a large pot (I use my trustee Zwilling pot ...

  This is my go-to biryani recipe! Perfect for busy days or novice cooks, this spicy  rice cooker  biryani recipe delivers all the rich flavors of traditional biryani with minimal effort. Let's dive into this delicious and easy-to-make dish! Ingredients For the Marinade: - 500 grams chicken pieces (bone-in or boneless) - 1 cup plain yogurt - 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste - 1 tablespoon red chili powder - 1 teaspoon turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon garam masala - Salt to taste - Juice of 1 lemon For the Rice: - 2 cups basmati rice - 3 1/2 cups water or chicken broth - 4-5 green cardamom pods - 2-3 cloves - 1-inch cinnamon stick - 1 bay leaf - Salt to taste For the Biryani: - 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil - 2 large onions, thinly sliced - 2 tomatoes, chopped - 2-3 green chilies, slit lengthwise - 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped - 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped - 1/2 teaspoon saffron strands soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk - 1/2 teaspoon biryani masala...

I've been wanting to try this for a very long time. Finally made these for tea today! Yummy.. Ingredients: Pastry All purpose flour - 300g Margarine - 70g Water - 150 ml Salt - 1/4 tsp Filling Onion - 1/2 cubed Potatoes - 2 cubed Chicken breast - 1 cubed Chili powder - 1 1/2 tsp Meat curry powder - 1/ tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Water - 100 ml Salt to taste Pepper to taste Prepare the filling first by sautéing onions in a little oil.  Add chili powder, meat curry powder, turmeric powder and continue to stir.  Add chicken pieces and potatoes. Add water and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Once the potatoes are cooked and the liquid is reduced, remove from heat and let it cool. To make pastry, mix flour, margarine, salt, water and knead well until it forms a dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Cut the dough into circles about 2mm in diameter. Fold the filling in and seal the edges. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Kuih is a snack or dessert type of food found in many shapes, colours and textures. Seri muka is one of my favourite kuihs and I decided to try it at home. (Honestly, it's better to get them from the stalls as you will probably eat one or two pieces only.  ) Anyways, i t turned out well but we couldn't finish the whole tray at home. We gave some to our neighbours and.... they loved it!  Ingredients: Bottom layer Glutinous Rice - 250g (aoaked for 4 hours, and drained)  Bottom Layer Thin coconut milk - 150 ml Salt - 1/4 tsp Top Layer Eggs - 2 Castor sugar - 150g Pandan Juice (Blend approx 10 pandan leaves with 120ml water) Coconut milk - 350ml All-purpose flour - 120g Corn flour - 3 tbsp Salt - 1/4 tsp *Green colouring (optional) Steam glutinous rice with coconut milk and salt for 30 minutes. Let it rest for about 5-10 minutes and transfer to a square pan. Press it with the back of a wet spoon till firm and let it cool. To prepare the top layer, beat eggs an...

My family and close friends know that I am very fond of Malay and Thai food. Nasi Goreng Kampung is a type of fried rice with anchovies, water convolvulus and bird's eye chilies as the key ingredients. I used to have this very often during my campus days. Here's my take on one of Malaysia's most popular fried rice! Ingredients: Rice - 2 cups Chicken breast - 1 cut into small pieces Water convolvulus (kangkung)  - 1 handful Carrot - 1/4 cut into thin stripes Fried anchovies - 1 handful Bird's eye chilies - 5 slit Light soy sauce - 3 tbsp Salt to taste Pepper to taste To blend: Onions - 1/2 Garlic - 5 cloves Anchovies - 2 tbsp Bird's eye chilies - 6 Heat some oil in a wok and stir fry the blended ingredients, soy sauce and salt until they turn slightly brown. Add chicken pieces and stir fry until they are cooked. Put in the cooked rice and stir well. Add water convolvulus, carrots and bird's eye chilies. Continue to toss and stir. Ensure eve...

Phew! I'm finally able to update this blog after a 3 month hiatus! Hope you enjoy this chicken sambal recipe! Ingredients: Chicken - 15-20 medium sized pieces Dried chillies - 8-10 Red onion - 2 Garlic (crushed) - 1 clove Ginger - 2 inch piece Shallots -3 Tomato - 1 Chili sauce - 3 tbsp Lemongrass - 2 stalks Salt to taste Sugar to taste Blend half of the red onion, shallots, garlic, ginger and deseeded dried chilies with a food processor. You can also use a mortal and pestle. The latter gives a better texture and taste. Slice thinly the remaining red onion into rings. Put in the chicken and continue to stir until half cooked. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste with lemongrass until fragrant. Remove from heat and add them together with the chicken and cook well. Season with salt, and sugar. Add chili sauce and simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside and serve.

Made this non-spicy version of maggi goreng a few weeks back. You can spice it up by adding in some bird's eye chillies. Ingredients: Instant noodles - 1 packet Onions (thinly sliced) - 1 Garlic (crushed) - 1 Dried shrimps (crushed) - 10-15 Carrot (thinly cut into strips) - 1 Cabbage (thinly cut into strips) - 1/4 Chicken breast (cut into small pieces) Fish ball - 3-4 Eggs - 1 Soy sauce - 2 tbsp Salt to taste Soak the instant noodles in hot water. Drain them once soft and springy. Set aside. Heat up the wok with some oil. Put in the crushed garlic and dried shrimps and then the onions. Add soy sauce and salt. Then add the chicken pieces and sliced fish balls. Once the chicken is cooked, add the cabbage, carrots and instant noodles. Continue to stir until everything is well mixed. Separate the noodles to the sides of the wok and break the eggs in the middle. Once the eggs are almost cooked, give everything a good stir. Dish out and serve with some sliced cucum...

Nasi lemak is said to be the national food of Malaysia. It is typically eaten for breakfast, but these days, we even have it for dinner. Traditionally, this comes as a platter of food wrapped in banana leaf, with cucumber slices, dried anchovies ( ikan bilis ), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg, and hot spicy sauce ( sambal ) at its core. So, here I present you nasi lemak, a truly Malaysia dish. I replaced the usual sambal with prawn sambal . and the hard boiled eggs with fried eggs. Ingredients: Coconut milk rice: Rice - 2 cups Screwpine leaves (tie into knots) - 3 Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp Coconut milk Some water Salt to taste Prawn sambal : Prawns - 15-20 Dried chillies - 8-10 Red onion - 1 Garlic (crushed) - 1 clove Shallots -3 Carrot - 1/4 Tomato - 1 Belacan (prawn paste) - 1 tsp Salt to taste Sugar to taste Other ingredients: Eggs Dried anchovies Cucumber (sliced) -1 Rinse the rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, grated ginger, a pinch of salt, an...