Stir-Fried Rice Macaroni

I was introduced to this rice macaroni by Lily while we shopped together at the Asian store. She told me this dried noodle resembled the "lor see fun" and since I have been wanting to eat "lor see fun", I quickly grabbed it and put in my cart. Sorry for the empty packet because I only remembered to take a picture after I done cooking it. Lily, thanks for the recommendation! :)

This is what I came out with. Stir-fry rice macaroni with "chai hsin" and fish cakes. The sauce I used were oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and sesame paste. It tasted pretty good along with some cut chili padi. But I don't think it really resemble the "lor see fun" leh. Man, I miss eating "lor see fun" with ground pork.

Introducing Ibumie Instant Noodles & Update

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. I stayed at my friend's house while people working on my hardwood floor. When I returned, I had to air my house plus lots of cleaning to do. My pantry needed a thorough cleaning, not helping with the amount of stuff I have in there. Then, I have to wash all my plates, utensil, pots & pans, containers, basically everything. Hence, I have not been really cooking.

Worst of all, my Edda got spoilt at my friend and Lily's house and have been clingy to me ever since we returned. She wanted me to carry her all the times, I put her down, she cried, I walked away, she cried and crawled to look for me. She didn't even want to open her eyes to see the treat I present in front of her, she just cried and cried. She only stop when I carried her. Thus, I need to re-train her to be independent again. If not I won't be able to do anything. Today is so much better, at least she started to play on her own again, crawling around and play with her sister instead of crying and looking for me to carry her.



I want to introduce this Indomie instant noodles to you readers (since I haven't been cooking and have been eating instant noodles), if you haven't tried it already. These Prawn noodle and Herbal Duck Flavour noodle are soooo good. I totally loved it and thought that it tasted better than Maggi mee. The Prawn noodle also comes with dried shallot bits and actually kinda spicy. The herbal duck flavour noodle has a subtle herbal taste in the soup. Furthermore, this brand is more affordable too. If you haven't tried this brand, go ahead and give it a try. For those that living in the States, you can buy it at MyTOA.

We really get lots of variety of instant noodles these days huh?

Merdeka Open House 2007: Murtabak Muhibbah

Babe in the city left an invitation at my comment box for this year Merdeka Open House 2007: Muhibbah. This year theme is to create a different ethnic group dish and explain how this dish has been known to me and why it has became my favorite. It was an honor to be invited and I am proud to present you my first participation in the Merdeka Open House.



Murtabak is a well-known Indian pancake stuffed with curry meat, onion and egg. It is also known as Martabak in Indonesia. This Indian Malaysian snack is commonly found in the mamak stall or pasar malam (night market). Mamak stall or hawker stall is very common in Malaysia and it usually filled with mouth-watering food and snacks.

While growing up in Malaysia, I love to go jalan-jalan (walk) in the night market. Since the night market is not only filled with food but also things to see and buy. I guess it is also one of Malaysian way of passing time or people watching. But these days, the youngsters might prefer the air-conditioned mega Mall instead of pasar malam. Haha! Anyway, that was how I discovered murtabak! While walking around the pasar malam searching for my dinner and got attracted by this Indian man making and cooking his murtabak for sales. He cooked his murtabak in a big rectangle griddle. First he spread the thin dough on the griddle and then he put in the filling, spread beaten egg on top, wrap it up and pan-fried until cooked and crispy on the outside. That's how I got introduced to Murtabak, by watching how the Indian man cooked his and bought some and tried it myself. Murtabak is delicious because it has the crispy exterior and thus crispy as you bite into it and then your mouth just filled with the delicious curry filling of meat and veggie. Who wouldn't love it? That's how it became one of my favorite snacks to eat.



I got my Murtabak making inspiration from Teczcape. T, thanks for providing me with this idea to fulfill my Muhibbah project. :)

Here's my adapted recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup green peas
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
5 Springs Home frozen plain roti paratha

Method:

Heat 2 Tbsp. canola oil in a non-stick pan and add in onion. Fry til soften, add in ground pork, separate and fry til cooked. Add in bell pepper and green peas and all the seasoning. Add a little water if needed. Mix well and pour the beaten egg on it. Fry til the egg is cooked. Dish out and set aside.

Let the roti paratha soften til foldable consistency, about 5 minutes. This can be quite a sticky job. Spread the filling in the center of the roti paratha and fold in on all edges to close. Put fold side down on a med. heat non-stick pan with a little oil and pan-fry until brown and crispy. Then, flip to the other side and do the same.

Serve warm! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.


Lastly, for all the Malaysian around the world, I would love to wish you a Happy Independence Day! Kepada semua rakyat-rakyat Malaysian, Selamak Hari Merdeka ya! :D

Tags: Merdeka Open House 2007

Nonya Assam Heh (Nyonya Tamarind Prawns)

One of the Penang Nyonya dishes is Assam Heh or Tamarind Prawns. I first learned about this dish from my mom. My mom was from Alor Star, Kedah and thus a lot of her cooking has been influenced by the Nyonya in Penang. I guess any dish that tasted good would be adapted in a family, and in this case my mom. It has became my favorite because of how delicious it is and how easy it is to cook. Tamarind is a common item used in a Malaysian household. And I would love to share with you this easy Tamarind Prawns recipe. The used of tamarind made this dish a Nyonya dish (incorporation of Malay ingredient into Chinese cuisine).

Banana Fritters/ Kuih Kodok

I finally found a quick and easy way to get rid of my ripen banana instead of use it for banana cake. That is to make banana fritters, it's easier, less thing for me to wash, and can use as little as one banana! I don't know about you, but I hardly left with 3 ripen bananas that nobody wants to eat. It will either be one or two and that was not enough to make banana cake or muffin. So, I adapted my recipe from Isha's kuih kodok. And since I only have two black banana looking at me instead of three, this is what I did,

BBQ Pork Noodle/ Char Siew Mee

Another one of my lazy dinner. Decided to make char siew because I saw this and also pork was on sale. So, I marinated my pork a day before with LKK char siew sauce, hoisin sauce, honey and dark soy sauce. Then, I baked in preheated 400'F oven for 20 minutes on one side, and then flip it over, brush with more marinade and baked 15 minutes more. After that broil for 3-5 minutes.



I added fish balls and cabbage. I can't eat a meal without a veggie and since I didn't go grocery shopping at the Asian store, I was left with green cabbage. I just blanched it in hot water (since cabbage can be eaten raw), but what a mistake! It didn't go well together at all because the cabbage was still kinda hard. As figure, my hubby didn't eat much of the cabbage. I myself couldn't finish all the cabbage too! :P What a mismatch!