Bon-Appetit-Inspired-Caesar-Salad

Since I just hit my 30's, I have been trying to introduce more healthy food options for our family menu options. Simple ingredients, and simple methods appeal most to me. Less is better! I got inspired watching Bon Appetit's Molly made a Caesar Salad.

In case you didn't know, I had a bad experience with Caesar Salad a few years back, which caused me to spend almost a week in the loo, and ever since I have avoided the Caesar Salad at all cost. So the fact that Molly made a video which made me want to make the salad dressing says quite a lot! Anyway, the dressing was really zingy and good, and what made me happy was watching my husband enjoying the dressing as well! I modified the recipe slightly from Molly's original recipe.

View The Ingredient & Method By Clicking This Link!

Recipe: Easy, Beginners Nasi Lemak (With Step By Step Photos)

"Nasi lemak", which literally translates to Fat Rice in English, is a popular and signature dish in Malaysia, typically served for breakfast. You can find different versions of this within almost 5 km radius anywhere in KL on a normal weekday. Traditionally, it was eaten by our ancestors as breakfast due to the labour-intensive work they had to do during the day, such as rubber tapping, agriculture, carpentry etc - and nasi lemak fuelled their daily activity. 

Usually, nasi lemak's main focus is the rice, cooked in coconut milk, along with its' other condiments, mainly the sambal (spicy dried chilli sauce), boiled egg, fried anchovies, cucumber, and peanuts. Sometimes it is also served with other protein such as fried chicken (which you can see above), rendang, gulai and other dishes. I tend to get breakouts when I eat ground peanuts, so I usually never include it when I prepare nasi lemak at home. As it is a rather tedious cooking method, I cook this maybe once or twice a month. This is the most fuss free recipe to satisfy your nasi lemak craving.

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

Recipe: Cili Kisar/ Homemade Dried Chilli Paste

Cili Kisar (Cili Giling in the supermarkets), or Homemade Dried Chilli Paste is a staple in Malaysian recipes. This is the base for many sambal (Chilli) dishes in Malaysia. It's a relatively easy item to make, except for the fact that your hands will be "heaty" for a while, so you can't rub your eyes, touch your skin or take a shower for a good while. When I was younger, I hated making cili kisar because my mom would make me cut the chillies and I would sweat profusely and rub my eyes afterwards.

You can use it for rendang, masak hitam, sambal dishes and many other Malaysian dishes. It keeps in the fridge for one week and freezes well too (freeze in portions!). I always only make one portion because I dislike cutting so much of the chillies and deseeding them. Some people don't cut them, some people don't boil them (they just soak them in hot water) but I prefer cooking it to be safe and to reduce the spice level.

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

Recipe: The Best, Easy Peasy Blueberry Muffins

I had some blueberries in my fridge (RM 6.90 per pack! So cheap!) and my daughter was a little fussy as she had a cough and was teething (what a terrible combination) so I searched for an easy blueberry muffin recipe online to get her to eat more antioxidants (she won't eat the blueberries on its' own). What's worse is the blueberry stains she left on the carpet trying to destroy it.

The recipe from AllRecipes.com claimed to be To Die For Blueberry Muffins, and definitely was true! It had a crumbly sugary top (upon baking I realised how this recipe was not waistline-friendly) unlike other muffin recipes. I'm not a baker at all but it's really easy to follow so if you're not so confident with baking (I have zero confidence!), and have any blueberries in your cupboard then this recipe is perfect!

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

Recipe: Siakap Stim (Steamed Seabass)

I love ikan siakap (seabass), whether fried or steamed. Usually at home, I'll steam it because it's really easy to do. Frying requires old and turmeric and is generally messy, so I'm lazy to clean the aftermath haha. It's really easy and healthy, and you only need a few ingredients.

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

Recipe: Home-made Babyfriendly Chicken Nuggets

I'm always trying to find easy and baby-friendly recipes for my daughter. During the weekend, we tend to eat a lot of junk and unhealthy food as we're always at wedding receptions and just generally out seeing people, so I'll try to feed her healthier food during the weekdays when I send her to her nursery. 

Asian food generally is high in carbs (porridge/ congee) for babies, mashed potatoes etc - so I was trying to find a recipe to incorporate more protein and veggies, and I found a really great recipe from foodbabieslove.com.au for chicken nuggets, coincidentally I had all the ingredients in my fridge. My daughter's also at the age where she prefers to feed herself, so porridge can get a little messy. These nuggets are convenient and great for babies who wants their little independence.

The recipe is really easy to follow and produce - although I would probably sub the onions and garlic with powder next time. 

Happy face enjoying the chicken nugget.

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

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: Empire Roast Chicken (Jamie Oliver's Recipe)

Essentially, I was bored of the normal lemon + garlic roast chicken, so once day I googled roast chicken recipes and stumbled upon Jamie Oliver's Empire Roast Chicken. I had almost 95% of the ingredients so proceeded to try it out. The first time I made it, I only marinaded it for 15 minutes, but the second time I made the chicken, I marinaded it before I went to work and cooked it around 10 hours after marinading it. The several hours of marinading really did the trick as the chicken was more juicy and the flavors burst through the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken - roughly 1.6 kg ++

1 heaped tablespoon fresh ginger grated or chopped finely - roughly 1.5 inch

1 heaped tablespoon garlic, grated or chopped finely - roughly 3 cloves

1 fresh chilli, grated (I couldn't grate it so I just roughly chopped it)

1 heaped teaspoon turmeric powder (I also added fresh grated turmeric)

1 heaped teaspoon garam masala

1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander - I didn't add but I'm sure it would be a great addition

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin 

1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree

2 heaped tablespoon natural yoghurt

1 whole lemon, zested + juice

Salt + pepper season

Basically chuck everything into a plastic bag, massage all the ingredients under the chicken skin and leave to marinade at least 20 minutes. Ideally overnight.

Cooking Method

1. Preheat oven 220°C, line oven tray with foil/ greaseproof paper
2. Add cubed potatoes (scrubbed and washed, salted), then add your marinated chicken
3. Add chicken on top of potato
4. Place in chicken  in oven, reduce heat to 200°C.
5. Cook for at least 50 minutes in the oven. Once cooked (pierce drumstick with a knife, the juice should run clear), take chicken out of oven and leave to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Notes: You can leave the chicken uncovered for 20 minutes, then once the skin starts browning, cover it with foil whilst it cooks.

I usually serve the chicken with buttered + cheese naan bread/ toasts, and yoghurt. You can make raita (yoghurt + lemon + cucumber + coriander) to accompany the chicken if preferred, but the juices from the chicken will make for a good dipping sauce alone.

There might be leftovers, perfect for a quick casserole dinner the following night or some chicken sandwiches to bring to office the next morning.

Pst: For Malaysians, it literally tastes like tandoori chicken hahaha.

Left: Imaan stealing bits of the rested chicken.

Right: Enjoying the naan bread sprinkled with Italian cheese + garlic + butter

Right: Too tired after her dinner. With the turmeric from the chicken staining her pyjamas.

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.