[ Collaboration with Dancing Chef and Singapore Home Cooks ]

* Beef & Chicken Rendang Sliders using Padang Rendang Paste *

I'm very fond of making mini burgers because I think they look so cute and I feel less sinful about eating them sine they are mini ;p

I've been making different flavours of sliders such as classic beef & cheese, fish fillet and teriyaki chicken, this time I thought of using #DancingChef #RendangPaste to create my very own Beef & Chicken Sliders, an East-meet-West creation.


For the chicken patty, I use boneless chicken thigh and cut them into pieces around 5-6cm. Marinate the pieces with the Padang Rendang paste for around 2-3hrs. Coat the marinated chicken with tapioca flour, rest for 5 mins then deep-fry on medium heat till crispy and golden brown.

For the beef patty, I use minced beef; marinate the beef with the paste for 2-3hrs, shape into mini patties around 5cm, then pan-fry on medium heat till browned on both sides.

*If your family doesn't take beef, simply use chicken only and omit beef.

I also use the leftover paste to make a thick and creamy sauce, to add to the burger as well as a dipping sauce for the fries. The sauce tastes so aromatic, creamy and yummy! Similar to McD's curry sauce but much more fragrant and rich. I like!


And not forgetting the mini burger buns which I baked using the Yudane method, which yields a soft and fluffy texture, very suitable for making burgers. Dough weight for each bun is 35g, and each burger is around 5 - 5.5cm in diameter.

If you don't have time to bake your own burger buns, Gardenia and Sunshine have mini butter rolls which can be used as well.


Assembling the burgers is always fun, feel free to add any ingredients you fancy or none at all! For me, besides the chicken and beef patties, I added just coral salad leaves, cucumber, rendang sauce, as well as some cherry tomatoes and pickled gherkins as decorations.


Just look at these tantalising sliders, I bet you couldn't stop at one! They make great party food and everyone especially kids love burgers right?

The rendang marinate and sauce goes really well with the chicken and beef, it's a western burger yet with our favourite curry and spices flavouring that we Asians love. The paste is not overwhelming and not too spicy, even my son who doesn't take much spicy food enjoyed the burger.

I'm going to serve these for my next gathering!


Beef & Chicken Rendang Sliders
(Makes 12 sliders)

• 250g boneless chicken thigh, cut into 6 pieces around 5-6cm
• 300g minced beef
• 1 packet Dancing Chef Padang Rendang Paste
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 150g coconut milk
• 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed
• 3 pieces kaffir lime leaves, remove centre vein and tear into pieces
• 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
• Tapioca flour, cooking oil
• Salad leaves, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickled gherkins, mayonnaise

1. Marinate chicken pieces wth 2 tsp of rendang paste for 2-3hrs.
2. Marinate minced beef with 1 heap tbsp of rendang paste and finely chopped shallots for 2-3hrs.
3. Rendang sauce: Add remaining rendang paste (around 50-55g left), coconut milk, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves into a cooking pot, bring to boil, stirring continuously to prevent burning. Add desiccated coconut and reduce heat, simmer till sauce thickens. Set aside.
4. Coat the marinated chicken pieces with tapioca flour and set aside for 5 mins. Deep-fry the chicken pieces using medium heat till golden brown and crispy.
5. Shape the minced beef into patties around 5-6cm diameter each. Pan-fry the beef patties using medium heat till browned on both sides.
6. Assemble the burgers: Slice burger bun into half, spread a dollop of mayonnaise on the bottom half of the bun, top with a few pieces of salad leaves, follow by a slice of cucumber. Add a tsp of rendang sauce, top with chicken or beef patty, add another tsp of rendang sauce, cover with top half of burger bun. Finally decorate top of burger bun with halved cherry tomatoes or sliced pickled gherkins using toothpick or skewers.

(prepare night before)

• 50g bread flour
• 50g boiling water

1. Place the bread flour in a heat-proof bowl. Add boiling water and quickly mix the flour with the water using a spatula.
2. Initially the dough will be bits and pieces but keep pressing and bring the dough together, a rough dough will form.
3. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and once the dough cool to room temperature, transfer the bowl to chill in fridge till next day.

Dough

• Yeast mixture: 20g lukewarm water, 6g instant dry yeast, 5g caster sugar
• 200g bread flour
• 1 recipe Japanese Yudane (above recipe)
• 1 recipe yeast mixture (above recipe)
• 50g water 
• 45g caster sugar
• 2g fine sea salt 
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 egg white (reserve remaining half for brushing on burger bun)
• 40g unsalted butter, cubed and slightly softened

1. In a small bowl, mix water, yeast and sugar and let the mixture rest for a few minutes to turn frothy.
2. Add bread flour, Yudane, yeast mixture, water, sugar, salt, egg yolk and egg white into a mixing bowl. Using a dough hook, mix the dough ingredients on low speed (speed 1 KitchenAid) for a minute, then switch to medium low speed (speed 2) and knead the dough till rough dough forms. 
3. Add the butter, piece by piece into the dough. Once all the butter cubes are added, turn up mixer speed to medium (Speed 4) and knead the dough for about 10-12 mins. The dough is ready when it leaves the bottom of the bowl and "rides up" to the top of the dough hook. Or use the window pane method by stretching a piece of dough, it will be stretchy and almost translucent without breaking.
4. The dough is quite soft and slightly sticky, oil both hands and take out the dough from the mixing bowl. Lightly knead for a minute, round the dough and place the dough into a well-oiled bowl for first proof. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and let the dough proof for about 30-45 mins or till dough doubles in size. *based on summer weather, hot & humid
5. After 30-45 mins, take out the dough and knead lightly to press out the gas. Divide the dough into desired portions. Dough weight is about 500g, I divided the dough into 14 pieces of 35g each. Slightly round the dough portions, cover them with clingwrap and rest for 10 mins.
6. After 10 mins, tighten and round the dough (by cupping the dough in the middle of your palm), and place the dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover loosely with clingwrap and proof for 45 mins. *Preheat the oven at 200 degree celsius after 30 mins.
7. Bake the burger buns at 190-200 degree celsius for 10-12 mins. *turn down temperature to 180 or 190 degree celsius, and cover buns with aluminum foil if the buns browned too fast.
8. Let the buns cool on a wire rack. If keeping till next day, cool completely before storing in an airtight box.

My kiddo and hb love Chwee Kueh very much and the kiddo has been bugging me to make it for him. Both of them used to eat it at the hawker centres at least once or twice a week! We used to go to Ghim Moh market for the chwee kueh; the kueh is excellent, but my kiddo doesn't like their savoury type of chai poh. Alternatively, we would go to Clementi or West Coast markets where their chai poh are the sweet type. Well, now they can only get to eat this when they request and if I feel like making it :p


Frankly I've never make this in SG before because it's simply too convenient and much quicker if we were to eat it at hawker centres. For a batch like this, it took me around 1.5hrs! But now that we are in Thailand, cravings could only be satisfied by homemade I guess, which means OT for me in the kitchen -_-"

I like to make my chwee kueh mini size because I can literally put the whole piece in the mouth and munch away without the chai poh falling all over the place =D

The size of the mini chwee kueh is around 4.5cm and the chai poh topping is around 1 heap teaspoon, it's like a golden proportion to me ;p


I started off with cooking the chai poh or preserved radish first. I like my chai poh to have some crunch, not too oily and well-balanced between sweet and savoury. In Thailand, I can only find the sweet type of chai poh; it's actually not very sweet after rinsing and soaking in water for 15 mins.

Basically add some cooking oil to a pot, sautee minced dried shrimps, garlic and shallot till fragrant, then add the preserved radish and stir-fry on medium heat for about 10 mins. Thereafter add seasonings like light soy sauce, fish sauce, white pepper and sugar to taste; add a little bit of dark soy sauce for the colour, and also some toasted sesame seeds for the fragrance. Continue to simmer for about 10 mins on medium low heat and the chai poh is ready.


Anyways, I'm glad that I could satisfy my family's cravings for this quintessential hawker food of Singapore from time to time.

Chwee Kueh ??
*reference from Bear Naked Food, Eat What Tonight
(makes 50 pieces, using mini moulds measuring 5cm top, 2.5cm bottom)


Ingredients
Chai Poh

• 200g sweet preserved radish, rinsed and soak for 15 mins.
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp, soak in hot water till softened then minced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pcs shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup cooking oil (I used 1/4 cup shallot oil, 1/4 cup coconut oil)
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, for colour, adjust according to preference
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

1. In a pot, heat cooking oil on medium heat. Add minced dried shrimp and stir-fry till fragrant for a minute. 
2. Add garlic and shallot and stir-fry for a minute.
3. Drain the preserved radish and add into the pot. Stir fry on medium low heat for about 10 mins.
4. Add the seasonings and adjust according to taste. Add the toasted sesame seeds. Mix well.
5. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 mins on medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
6. The chai poh is ready to use.

Kueh

• 135g rice flour
• 4 tsp wheat starch
• 4 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp salt
• 400ml room temperature water
• 400ml boiling water

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, starches and salt and mix well.
2. Add the tepid water and whisk till the dry ingredients are dissolved.
3. Add boiling water in a steady stream, whisking the mixture at the same time, till batter is well-mixed.
4. Prepare a steamer and bring water to boil (I'm using a wok with steamer insert). Wrap the cover of the steamer with a piece of towel/cloth to prevent water from dripping into the chwee kueh.
5. Brush the mini moulds thoroughly with oil, and place the moulds into the steamer with the water boiling.
6. Pour the batter into a jug with spout (stirring constantly to make sure batter consistency is homogeneous). Then quickly pour the batter into the mini moulds (with the water still boiling), stirring batter after every few pours. Repeat until all batter used up.
7. Cover and steam the chwee kueh for about 15 mins. *if mould is larger, steam for 3-5 mins more.
8. After 15 mins, remove the steamer insert from heat and let the chwee kueh cool down slightly and set. 
9. Use a mini spatula or butter knife, insert in into the sides of the mould and lift the chwee kueh out of the mould. The chwee kueh should be able to be removed easily.
10. Top the chwee kueh with about 1 heap tsp of chai poh each.
11. Enjoy by popping one whole piece of chwee kueh with chai poh into the mouth!

[ Collaboration with Dancing Chef and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Laksa Yong Tau Foo
Dish 2 - Curry Puff / Karipap

"Curry pok! Curry pok!"
I remember during the 80s when I was in Primary School, every afternoon around 3pm, a Malay boy would carry a basket of freshly fried karipap and make his rounds in my block peddling his wares. There were two flavours, curry potato and sardine, differentiated with a red dot.

This is one of my favourite Malay kuih and needless to say, I would buy one of each flavour as my afternoon snack every other day. I cannot remember how much it cost, I think one piece was 10 cents? I recall savouring the puffs while they were still warm, eating the rounded part with filling first and the crispy edges to the last or sometimes I would do the other way round :p It's a very simple snack, but it's one of those simple pleasures we enjoyed in our childhood, isn't it?


This type of homemade karipap has a very nostalgic old-school taste, with a fragrant and thin crispy blistered crust and an aromatic curry potato filling, or sweet spicy and tangy sardine filling. These days, some Malay stalls at hawker centres or coffee shops still sell such karipap but somehow they don't taste as nice as they used to be.


Nowadays, there are many variations of curry puff, from the buttery flaky ones to thick chunky ones to super crispy spiral ones and many types of fillings as well, such as chilli crab, otah otah, black pepper and more. But the old-school one still holds a special place in my heart.

When I was researching on recipes, there are also many variations to achieve different results. Some recipes use hot oil which apparently makes the pastry super flaky; some recipes use more butter and less water which makes the pastry smoother, more buttery and a bit flaky; some recipes use separate oil and water dough to get the super flaky spiral effect; the recipe I'm using uses less butter and more water, resulting in a slightly blistered pastry skin, which is similar to the old-school curry puff I grew up with.


I made only chicken potato curry filling this time, using Dancing Chef Indian Curry Paste, which has No MSG, No Preservatives, No Artificial Colouring, and super convenient and easy to use! The curry paste has all the aromatics and spices already so no messy chopping, grinding or frying work to do.

I just have to prepare some chicken breast meat, potato, onion, garlic and coconut milk (and water). I simmered the chicken curry potato till the potato is soft but not mushy and with just a little gravy left. The taste is so good without being overwhelming, really suitable as filling for curry puff or pies.


Now to the pastry part, which is trickier. Frankly this is my first proper attempt in making curry puff! I think many many years ago, I tried making it but failed miserably at the dough. Not sure what happened but I simply couldn't close the dough properly and did such a horrible job at pleating the edges that most of my puff opened up before or during deep-frying resulting in a horrible mess.

I guess with more experience in the kitchen, I did a much better job this time round \(^o^)/ The first few pleating were super ugly and my puffs were totally out of shape, but subsequently I got the hang of the pleating technique and managed to get pretty decent looking ones! But somehow I find it easier to roll the dough into an oval shape and make the puff round and fat. I think I need more practice to make the conventional long and slim one :p


Curry Puff | Karipap
(makes 18-20 pcs)

Filling

• 1 packet Dancing Chef Indian Curry Paste
• 300g potato, cubed
• 200g chicken breast, cubed
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

1. Marinate cubed chicken breast with 2 tbsp of curry paste for about 30 mins.
2. In a frying pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil, stir-fry diced onion and garlic till fragrant and translucent.
3. Add the marinated chicken breast and stir-fry till the meat turns opaque/slightly cooked. 
4. Add potato and remaining curry paste and stir-fry till all ingredients are well-coated with paste.
5. Add water and coconut milk, and bring to boil.
6. Lower heat,  cover and simmer till potato is soft, and gravy is reduced and the filling is moist (do not let the gravy dry up).
7. Set aside to cool completely.

Dough

• 375g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 75g butter (I use Golden Churn canned butter)
• 200ml water (could be slightly more or less)

1. Add flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, stir till well-mixed for about a minute.
2. Add butter and water (bit by bit) into the flour mixture, use a spatula to fold and mix the ingredients together. 
3. Once the ingredients are mixed and a rough dough is formed, use the hand to knead the dough till smooth and non-sticky. 
4. Cover the bowl with clingwrap or towel and let the dough rest for 15-20 mins.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured mat. Roll the dough to about 4mm thickness, use a 9cm round pastry cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Knead the leftover dough into a ball, and repeat till all the dough is used up.

1. Take a piece of round dough, roll the dough to oval shape, place the dough onto the palm, scoop about 1 tbsp of chicken potato curry onto the dough and fold the dough to close.
2. Seal the edges by pressing the dough using finger tips. Pleat the edges together starting from right to left, by pressing a small piece of dough using finger tip into scallop, then push the scalloped piece of dough downwards. Repeat till the whole puff is pleated.
3. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling till all ingredients are used up.
4. The curry puffs are best eaten freshly fried. If a big batch is made, at this point, the curry puffs can be stored in freezer. Lay each piece on a lined tray single layer and cover tray with cling wrap or aluminium foil. Place the tray into the freezer. Once the puffs are frozen, they can be transferred to a ziplock bag or box and stacked.

 Deep-frying

1. Heat a pot of cooking oil to medium heat. Make sure the depth of cooking oil is able to fully cover the curry puff.
2. Deep-fry the curry puffs till they turn golden brown on both sides. 
3. Drain the curry puff with kitchen towel or metal strainer.
4. Best eaten warm.

I must say I'm quite pleased with how the curry puffs turned out :) The HB also gave thumbs up!

They are not perfect yet, but better than nothing right? This is not readily available at where I stay, and can't recall whether I see them in BKK or not. Anyways, I'm happy that I can now make a big batch and freeze them so that I can satisfy my cravings anytime!

I'm gonna explore other fillings next time round, like sardine and even Thai flavours like Tom Yum or green curry!

Meanwhile, let me enjoy a few more shiokalicious curry puffs with a nice warm cuppa Teh Tarik and reminisce the good old days!

Happy National Day in advance to all Singaporeans!


From 1 to 31 August 2018, purchase 3 packets of Dancing Chef��s pastes or sauces at just S$7.85 (UP: S$2.85/packet), and stand a chance to win a pair of passes to a cooking workshop helmed by local celebrity chef Lisa Leong on 16 Sep 2017. There are 30 pairs of passes to be won.

Dancing Chef promotion is available at FairPrice supermarkets exclusively.

#dancingchef #dancing chefs

[ Collaboration with Dancing Chef and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Laksa Yong Tau Foo

How time flies, next week is already Singapore's National Day and my family has been away for almost 8 months! As true blue Singaporeans who love to makan, we tend to miss local food from time to time.

Premix pastes like Dancing Chef really comes in handy whenever we have cravings. Sometimes it's too much hassle to cook from scratch or there are certain ingredients not readily available. I always stock up on our favourite pastes whenever we return to SG for visits; it's great that the packs are small and doesn't take up too much luggage space.


One of the SG local dish that we miss is Yong Tau Foo! Here in Thailand, there's no YTF stall where you can pick and choose the various ingredients like beancurd, bitter gourd, vegetables, fishballs etc...
Back in SG, we used to eat YTF at least once a week, and we always ended up ordering laksa gravy as the pairing is simply shiokalicious!

Using Dancing Chef Laksa paste, all I have to do is to prepare the YTF ingredients, cook the gravy and viola, a piping hot bowl of Laksa Yong Tau Foo!!


Laksa Yong Tau Foo
(makes 3-4 servings)

Minced fish & pork filling

• 200g fish meat (I use spanish mackerel/batang), chop into small pieces
• 200g minced pork
• 10g salted fish
• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 stalk spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk coriander, finely chopped

Yong Tau Foo
(filling above is enough for the listed ingredients)

• 2 small or 1 big brinjal, cut into 6 pcs about 1" thick with slit inbetween
• 1/4 bittergourd, cut into 6 rings about 1cm thick and hollow out the middle seed portion
• 2 blocks tau kwa/firm beancurd, cut diagonally into 4 pcs
• 3 pcs tau pok/fried beancurd, cut diagonally into 6 pcs
• 1 big red chilli, cut a slit inbetween and scrap away the seeds
• 4 pcs ladyfinger, cut a slit inbetween and scrap away the seeds
• Pot of cooking oil

1. Wash, pat fry and prepare the ingredients accordingly.
2. Using a small butter knife, stuff and spread the fish/pork filling into the prepared Yong Tau Foo ingredients.
3. Heat up a pot of cooking oil to medium heat and deep fry the yong tau food until cooked and golden brown. Drain using kitchen towel. Set aside. 

Laksa Yong Tau Foo

• 1 packet Dancing Chef Laksa paste
• 450ml water
• 250ml coconut milk
• 400g thick rice vermicelli (laksa noodles)
• 2 bunches kang kong (water spinach)

1. In a cooking pot, add laksa paste and water and bring to boil on medium heat.
2. Lower heat to simmer and stir in coconut milk. Simmer for another 5 mins and the laksa gravy is ready.
3. In a separate pot, blanch rice vermicelli for 15-20s, drain and scoop into individual bowls.
4. Blanch vegetables for 10-15s, drain and add into the individual bowls.
5. Top the bowls with desired pieces of Yong Tau Foo and finally ladle laksa gravy into the bowls.
6. Best serve hot.

Yum yum yum! This bowl of Laksa Yong Tau Foo was so satisfying! The HB also gave thumbs up! How I wish I could have more, but alas I ran out of the Laksa paste already :( Time to go back to SG to stock up?


From 1 to 31 August 2018, purchase 3 packets of Dancing Chef��s pastes or sauces at just S$7.85 (UP: S$2.85/packet), and stand a chance to win a pair of passes to a cooking workshop helmed by local celebrity chef Lisa Leong on 16 Sep 2017. There are 30 pairs of passes to be won.

Dancing Chef promotion is available at FairPrice supermarkets exclusively.

#dancingchef #dancing chefs

[ Collaboration with Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom
Dish 2 - Thai-themed ~ Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cake) and Khao Pad Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice)

In the recent years, I've switched to using olive oil and grapeseed oil for most of my cooking, because they are healthier and boast of multiple health benefits. Many people have this misconception that olive oil and grapeseed oil can only be used for western cooking or drizzling on salad; however both oils are good for stir-frying and deep-frying as well!

Really pleased and honoured to be partnering with Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks to demonstrate the use of olive oil and grapeseed oil in our common daily Asian dishes :)

For my first dish, I'm using the Borges Classic Olive Oil to cook this simple but wholesome one-pot meal, Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom. I believe most chinese families would have our own rendition of this classic chicken stew at home, as it's like a comfort and homey dish to many of us.


Olive oil is considered as the healthiest fat due to its high content in oleic acid. For the Borges Classic Olive Oil, it is a blend of quality refined olive oil and a high quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Due to its less accentuated flavor and aroma, it is the most suitable oil for frying, braising and for vegetable and meat stews. 

Some useful information about using olive oil in the kitchen (source from Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks):
1. Whether fried, boiled or roasted, any food should be cooked at low heat. The temperature should never exceed 200�C so that the olive oil does not deteriorate.
2. The best temperature to fry green vegetables and fish is between 155 and 160�C. For other foodstuffs, between 175 and 185�C. Never exceed 210�C, as olive oil starts to burn beyond this temperature.
3. If the recommended temperature is respected, olive oil hardly penetrated the food, does not increase its calorific value and maintains its nutritional qualities.
4. Filtering olive oil after frying allows to be re-used 4 times.


Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom
(served 4-5)

Ingredients

• 1.2kg chicken meat, chopped into pieces
• 12pcs dried mushroom, soaked in water to re-hydrate
• 200g bamboo shoot, sliced
• 6 stalks spring onion, lower portion only
• 5 slices ginger, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 5 tbsp Classic Olive Oil (Borges)
• 1/2 cup mushroom water (used to soak the mushroom)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• Corn starch slurry (1 tsp corn starch + 2 tsp water) 
• Garnish: spring onion, chilli, coriander

Marinate

• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hua tiao cooking wine
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Steps

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with oyster sauce, soy sauce, hua tiao cooking wine, sesame oil, corn starch and white pepper for 3-4hrs.
2. Heat a cooking pot to medium high heat, add olive oil and saute spring onion, ginger and garlic till fragrant.
3. Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir-fry till slightly browned.
4. Add the mushroom and bamboo shoot, and stir-fry with the chicken for a minute.
5. Add the mushroom water and bring the mixture to boil.
6. Turn heat to low and let the chicken simmer for about 20-25 mins.
7. Add dark soy sauce to the braised chicken for some colour and corn starch slurry to thicken sauce slightly. (add sea salt to taste if desired, I didn't add as I find the sauce flavourful enough from the marinate).
8. Garnish and serve hot with rice.

This pot of wholesome goodness smells so aromatic when I'm cooking it, even my mum who's with me exclaimed that the aroma is tantalising. And indeed, the sauce is heavenly and goes so well with rice! Couldn't resist second helping :d~~~

Do give this simple one-pot dish a try with Borges Classic Olive Oil :)

Want the best from the Mediterranean? We are giving away three sets of Borges Gift Basket worth $60 at http://bit.ly/2INmCz4 

Be sure to check it out!
#BorgesRecipes

It's been more than three months since my family relocated to Chonburi, Thailand. Although I mentioned that I would resume my blogging once we settle down, the truth is, I've been procrastinating. Yes, I have visited some interesting places, dined at some lovely cafes and restaurants and been cooking a lot, but simply couldn't find the mojo to write. I really have a lot of backlogs. Urgh.

So yes, I'm forcing myself to kickstart with this piece! Initially thought of starting with a Thai recipe since I've been cooking more Thai food, but on the other hand, I've also been cooking SG local dishes due to our cravings :p

Frankly this is my first time cooking a whole set of Nasi Lemak from scratch. In SG it's simply too convenient and relatively easy to find reasonably good Nasi Lemak; plus I'm lazy lah! But now that we are away and it's not readily available anymore, I start to miss it.

My Nasi Lemak set consists of Butterfly Pea Flower Coconut Rice, Tumeric Chicken Wings, Nyonya Achar, Tempe, Sweet Sambal Chilli, Ikan Bilis with Peanuts as well as hardboiled egg. I separated the process into different days so that it's not too rush. Spent a day making the Nyonya Achar, another making the Sweet Sambal Chilli and marinate for chicken wings and finally ready to cook the rice, fry the wings, assemble and eat!



How does my Nasi Lemak set look? Love the addition of butterfly pea flower tea to the coconut rice, it gives the rice a lovely bluish hue and somehow the whole set looks much more sexy, exotic,  appealing :p

Here are the recipes, with reference from several sources, such as Nasi Lemak Lover, Noob Cook, LadyHomeChef (hosted under Miss Tam Chiak).

Butterfly Pea Flower Coconut Rice
(1 cup of rice, serves 2A1C)

• 20 pcs dried butterfly pea flower
• 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Infuse the dried flowers in boiling water till the flowers are fully bloomed, around 30mins.
2. Set aside 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp infused butterfly pea flower water

1. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt to a small pot, bring to boil till sugar is dissolved.
2. Off heat, add lemongrass and pandan leaves to the coconut milk and let them infuse till mixture is cooled down.
3. Stir in the infused butterfly pea flower water.
4. Place rice into rice cooker, add the coconut-butterfly pea flower mixture (together with the lemongrass and pandan leaves) and stir to mix well.
5. Add shallot and galangal, and set the coconut rice to cook.
6. After rice is cooked, let it rest for 10 mins before fluffing the rice.

Tumeric Chicken Wings
(serves 3)

• 6 chicken wings
• 3 pcs shallot
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• Cooking oil for brushing

1. Pound shallot, garlic and coriander seeds in a mortal into a paste.
2. Add turmeric powder, curry powder, salt and shallot oil and stir till well-mixed.
3. Place chicken wings and marinate paste into a ziplock bag.
4. Seal and rub the marinate till each piece of chicken wing is well-coated.
5. Marinate for at least 4hrs or overnight in fridge.
6. Remove from fridge 30mins before cooking to bring the wings to room temperature.
7. Place the chicken wings in the basket of an air-fryer, brush cooking on both sides of the wings.
8. Air-fry for 15 mins at 180 degree celsius, turning over once after 8-9 mins.
9. Best serve hot. 

Nyonya Achar
(makes 5 jam bottles)

• 2 small cucumbers (about 450g)
• 1 small carrot (about 200g)
• 100g cabbage leaves
• 200g pineapple flesh, cut into small pieces
• 40g skinless peanuts, roasted and pounded
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, roasted
• 3 tsp sea salt

1. Cut the cucumbers into 3-4cm sections, cut each section into quarters and slice away the seed block. Next cut the cucumber into thin strips. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the cucumber strips and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber strips, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
2. Cut the carrot into 3-4cm sections, then cut the carrots into size of matchsticks. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the carrot sticks and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the carrot sticks, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
3. Cut the cabbage leaves into bite-size pieces. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the cabbage pieces and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage pieces, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
4. Place the cucumber strips, carrot sticks, cabbage leaves and pineapple pieces into a large glass bowl and set aside.

Rempah

• 7-8pcs shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 pcs candlenut
• 3 pcs dried chili, soak in hot water till soften, remove seeds and cut into small pieces
• 3 pcs big red chilli, remove seeds and cut into small pieces
• 1 stalk lemongrass, lower section only, sliced thinly
• 5 slices galangal
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 100g brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Place the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, dried chilli, red chilli, lemongrass, galangal and shallot oil into a blender, blend into a smooth paste.
2. Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a pan or wok, add the rempah paste and turmeric powder and stir-fry till paste is aromatic.
3. Add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to the paste and bring to simmer.
4. Remove from heat, let the rempah paste cool slightly and add the rempah paste into the mixing bowl of vegetables. Add the pounded peanut and sesame seeds. Stir to mix everything well.
5. Let the achar cool down completely before bottling. Divide the achar into glass containers (prewash with boiling water) and store in fridge. Let the achar pickle overnight for flavours to develop before consumption. Bottled achar can be stored in fridge for up to 4 weeks, but best eaten within 2 weeks.

Sweet Sambal Chilli
(makes 1 jam bottle)

• 8 pcs shallot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 15 pcs dried chilli, soak in hot water till softened
• 4 pcs big red chilli
• 3 pcs chilli padi
• 1 tsp belachan, toasted
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• 1/4 cup cooking oil 
• 100g Gula Melaka
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Remove seeds from the dried chilli, red chilli and chilli padi and cut them into small pieces. Retain some seeds if wish to have a more spicy sambal.
2. Place the shallot, garlic, chilli, belachan and shallot oil into a blender and blend till a smooth paste.
3. Add cooking oil into a wok, then add the rempah and fry on medium low heat till the sambal is cooked and aromatic (turns from bright orangey red to dark red).
4. Add gula Melaka and sea salt and mix till gula Melaka is melted.
5. Let the sambal cool completely before bottling.

Tempe - store-bought (I lugged back from SG) and freeze. Simply deep-fry or air-fry till golden brown (around 10 mins at 180 degree celsius).
Ikan Bilis and Peanut - store-bought. I air-fry them around 15 to 20 mins at 160 degree celsius, till golden brown.
Hardboil egg - place egg into water (fully covered) and boil for 10-12 mins.

To serve, simply assemble all the ingredients onto a serving plate.


I must say I super love my Nasi Lemak set, it's visually appealing with myriad of colours and tastes totally tantalising! So does my HB and kiddo. (The kiddo only ate the coconut rice, chicken wings and egg))

The coconut rice is fragrant but not too oily or overwhelming. I chose to air-fry the chicken wings as it's more convenient, less oily and cooks more evenly. This chicken wing has a kampung feel to it, like those sold at Malay stalls. Super love the sweet, spicy and tangy achar, so aromatic and flavourful with the spices. Homemade achar seems to taste "fresher". And the sweet sambal chilli, super like it as well, only thing is, I retained a bit of chilli seeds and the sambal is a tad too spicy for me. But the HB says it's just nice.

Very pleased with my first attempt, and this shall be on my regular menu probably once a month =D