This dish is so simple yet delectable. Minimal seasonings required yet packed with flavors. I love to chew on the shell of these shrimps because that's the best part. Even my Evy who hardly eat shrimps asked for more. Edda who complaint too spicy finished her share after I told her to eat with white rice then it won't be too spicy anymore. :P If you have a bottle of Szechuan peppercorns at home, this will be a great way to use it. Can substitute the shrimps with chicken too.
This is a Nyonya style mixed vegetable which uses preserved bean paste. This dish is normally served during Chinese New Year and is associated with festive dishes. Since I have all the ingredients, I gave this dish a go (first time trying). My glass noodle disintegrated and almost melted following the recipe in the cook book (not sure brand of glass noodle plays a part or not). The taste did not come out well too and something was missing. In the end, I had to add a few more seasonings to bring out the taste and had to change the method in the cook book for my own record, so that one can still see the glass noodle once this dish is cooked. Believe it or not, I always refer back to my blog for my own recipes because most of the recipes I created out of the blue and often time I forgot what I put into the dish. So, these recipes are not only for my girls but for myself as well.
This is one of the common household dishes. Most Malaysian Chinese families should have their own version. I cooked this dish often for my family and I was surprised I haven't posted this recipe before. This is a good one dish meal too but often time I would serve it with another Asian green with or without a chicken herbal soup. I often cook a minimum of two dishes, one make up of protein/seafood and the other of fiber and about 2 soups in a week, one is herbal, and the other one can be of anything.
I love Kai Chai Beng or chicken biscuits, not sure why it is called that because no chicken is used in the recipe, but this cookie is crunchy and fulled of flavor. In Malaysia, we have two types of chicken biscuit, the fat variety (softer in texture) and the thin variety. Even though I like it but I never thought of making it myself because I don't buy Nam Yee. Then, on this recent trip to the Asian store, I spotted Nam Yee was on sales and it was placed in the front, so I just grabbed one, like it was calling me to pick it up. By the way, this chicken biscuit is different from the Western chicken biscuits that we see in the supermarkets.
Today, I am making the thin variety as I like it crunchy. I got the recipe from Lily's and I modified slightly to use what I have in the house. I cut down on the salt and added more dark soy sauce to compensate the honey that I substituted. The chicken biscuits turned out so crunchy and delicious, even my hubby could not stop snacking on it. Now I really have no reason to buy anymore since the homemade one is so good.
For some reason, Balado (an Indonesian sambal sauce) left an impression on me. I had some Chicken Bumbu Balado at a ladies gathering and I couldn't stop eating this dish. The sauce came in a bottle so it is on my next buying list. The next day, I saw Brinjal Balado at Gert's blog and she told me why buy when it is so easy to make at home. But you know me, I would still love to buy the sauce if I can but sadly I couldn't find it at my local Asian store. Frustrated, I IM Lily about it and she told it was like sambal tumis and asked me to make my own. I told her yeah it is like sambal tumis with added tomatoes but I don't buy tomatoes. But I know I can substitute it with ketchup, so here is my version of homemade chicken sambal balado with added red bell peppers, carrots and lemon grass. Next time I should add yellow onion or more shallots because it is so good with the sauce. Quite spicy too I might say!
Do you loved luncheon meat? We do as we grew up eating pan-fried luncheon meat. My mom used to pan-fried slices of luncheon meat, some sunny side up eggs and toasted bread for us to have as lunch. It was really a treat then because instead of the usual rice and dishes, we got to eat western food and with ketchup. As a kid, I was really looking forward to it. Now that I am older, I only buy SPAM luncheon meat, no more luncheon meat made in China for me anymore. Better yet, SPAM Lite where there is 50% less fat, 33% fewer calories and 25% less sodium and still tasted great, how cool is that? I stock up when it was on sales for $2 each, just for a day when I feel like cooking SPAM.
Today was the day as I have half a packet of leftover thin spaghetti and mee rebus sauce and a Presto Pasta Night event to catch. So, I sliced some carrots, washed some Chai Hsin (a Chinese veggie) and chopped some garlic to whip this up.
