Recipe: Rendang Ayam (Chicken Rendang)

Rendang is a traditional recipe, very famous in Malaysia and Indonesia. The origins of the dish varies (depending on which country/ nationality you ask!) but one thing is certain: rendang is very delicious. It is a little time-consuming to cook, and requires a certain labour of love. I know there are chefs out there who have claimed to create "time saving rendang" where they omit certain ingredients or reduce the cooking time; to each its' own, but generally rendang is known to take at least 2 hours to cook.

Depending from which state you are in Malaysia, the ingredients might very slightly, but the main ingredients should include meat, coconut milk, and kerisik (grated and toasted coconut - it's different from dessicated coconut). Some people tend to omit the kerisik as it provides a nutty depth to the rendang. 

During Hari Raya Aidilfitri (eid al-Fitr), rendang is traditionally served with "nasi himpit" (compact rice cubes) or "lemang" (glutinous rice + coconut milk cooked in bamboo hollows), but it's also a famous dish eaten with one of our top national breakfast, "nasi lemak" (literally means fat rice). You may eat this with bread as a snack. Rendang is really flexible, and you may opt to use beef instead of chicken. My grandma makes duck rendang every eid. 

Click the 'Read More' link below to view the full recipe!

Recipe: Daging Masak Hitam (Beef in Black Sauce)

Generally, I don't cook beef much as it's pricey, and most Malaysian recipes require at least 1 kg of fresh beef block. My parents are most gracious to give us beef and bones (especially for Imaan to place in her porridge), so I have a little stock of it at home.

I came home without defrosting anything or buying anything from the market, so I was glad to have some frozen beef. The fastest way to thaw beef is by placing it in a plastic bag and leaving it in a small container of running water.

This recipe was taken and adapted from the awesome Azie Kitchen. Azie calls it Daging Masak Hitam but some may call it Daging Masak Kicap. I have digressed. Try this simple recipe, it's quite easy to make!

Click the 'Read More' link below to view the full recipe!

Recipe: One Pot Cheesy Ranch Meatball Pasta

I'm going to start compiling recipes of the things I've cooked that are husband-approved, or daughter-approved, or both.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Unsalted Butter
2. 1 pack Beefballs
3. 1 Cup Fresh Milk (prefer Full Fat)
4. Chicken stock (soup form) or water.
5. 1 Beef Stock Cube (optional)
6. Kraft Buttermilk Ranch dressing (Kraft brand)
7. 4 tablespoon cornflour

Steps:

1. Boil your pasta as pasta pack instructions - keep to al dente. Mushy pasta no good. After cook, strain and keep just a little of the pasta water.
2. Heat two tablespoons of butter over low heat in a pan.
3. Brown your beefballs in the heated butter, remove once cooked.
4. In the same pan, add five spoons of butter. Wait until melted.
5. Add cornflour (tepung jagung) to the melted butter. Mix well.
6. Add in the fresh milk.
7. OPTIONAL: Add beef stock, stir well.
8. OPTIONAL: Add chicken stock (soup form) if you have any.
9. Add the pasta water from the pasta you strained earlier.
10. Add in the Kraft Buttermilk Ranch Dressing and stir well.
11. Add in your cooked beefballs and pasta, stir well.
12. Season well.

Notes: I added some steamed broccoli for some freshness because this dish is really really fattening. Shouldn't eat this every day as the sodium from the dressing and frozen beefballs can be alarming but memang finger licking good la haha. The Kraft bottle looks like below.

Recipe: Spicy Ginger Chicken Asian Style

Spicy Ginger Chicken Asian Style served with Panfried Brussel Sprouts in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1x Whole Garlic Bulb (Roughly 8 Pieces) (Bawang Putih 8 Biji)
• Ginger, julienned (5 inches) (Halia Muda, Hiris Nipis)
• 4x Red Bird's Eye Chili less if prefer non-spicy (4 Biji Cili Api)
• 2x Red Chilli (2 Btg Lada Hidup)
• 1x Cinnamon Stick (1 Btg Kayu Hidup)
• 2x Star Anise (2 Biji Bunga Lawang)
• 2x Cardamon Seeds (2 Biji Pelaga)
• 1 stick Carrots, Julienned (1 batang karot, dihiris)
• 1 tomato, quartered (1 biji tomato, dibelah empat)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (tepung jagung) [optional]
• Coriander leaves (daun sup) / can be subbed with chives (daun kucai)

Steps:

1. Brown your chicken in a pan (low-medium heat, no oil, no water)
2. Saute items 1 - 4 in some oil over medium heat until it browns slightly.
3. Add in items 5 - 7
4. Add in the black pepper
5. Add in the browned chicken
6. Stir in the oyster sauce and the chicken stock
7. Cover with a lid until chicken cooks
8. Add in corn starch if you wish to thicken the sauce (optional)
9. Add in the carrots, leave for two minutes
10. Add in the tomato
11. Add in the coriander leaves. Season with salt

Step 1: Browning the chicken.

Step 2 - 3: Saute-ing some items with the spices.

Step 6: Adding in the browned chicken

Step 11: Adding in the chives and salt.