Famous Curry Fish Head Recipe

Famous Curry Fish Head Recipe

Ingredients:

600g Garoupa Fish Head, chopped into pieces1 tablespoon tamarind pulp + 1/2 cup water3-4 tablespoons oil2 cups waterBunch of polyganum leaves (laksa leaves)4-6 okras, cut into halves diagonallySalt to taste

Sugar to taste, optional

Spice Paste:

1-2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, cut into small pieces1 small turmeric, skin peeled, sliced into pieces20-25g dried red chili paste50g peeled shallots

5g belacan (shrimp paste)

Garnishing:

Bunga Kantan (Torch Ginger Flower), sliced into small pieces

Bunch of mint leaves, optional

Method:

1. Prepare the spice paste by using a mortar and pestle. First, pound the lemongrass and turmeric together until they become a paste.
2. Deseed a big handful of dried red chilies. Soak in warm water for about 10 minutes. Pound the dried red chili into a fine paste. You will need about 20-25g depending how spicy you like. Save the unused chili paste in the refrigerator.
3. Pound the shallots and the shrimp paste together.
4. Mix the tamarind pulp and water using your fingers, extract the juice out of the tamarind pulp, discard the tamarind pulp and the seeds and save the tamarind juice.
5. Heat up a pot on medium heat and add the oil. Saute the turmeric and lemongrass before adding the shallots and belacan paste. Continue to stir-fry until aromatic before adding the chili paste. Stir until the oil separates from the spice paste and become red.
6. Add the tamarind juice into the pot, follow by the water. Bring it to boil before adding the polyganum leaves (laksa leaves) and okra. After the okra is half-cooked, add the fish head. Cover the pot and let cook for a few minutes until the fish is cooked. Add salt and sugar (if using) to taste. Garnish with the bunga kanta and mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes:

1. Use one lemongrass if it’s a big lemongrass and two if the lemongrass is thinner.
2. Fish head might sound intimidating to many of you, but it’s definitely one of the best parts of a fish—it’s fleshy, tender, and absolutely delicious. Curry Fish Head is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore.

Assam Pedas Pomfret

Recipe: Assam Pedas Pomfret

Ingredients:

1 pomfret (1/2 pound to 1 pound)
10 small okras
1 tomato (cut into wedges)
1 teaspoon of fish curry powder
2 sprigs of daun kesum (Vietnamese mint/Vietnames coriander)
5 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of palm sugar/sugar
Salt to taste

Spice Paste:

1 clove garlic
1 stalk of lemon grass (white part only)
4 shallots
8-10 dried chillies (depends how spicy you like)
1/2 tablespoon of belacan (prawn paste)

Tamarind Juice:

1 1/4 cup of water
Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)

Method:

1. Pound the spice paste with mortar and pestle or grind them in a food processor. Set aside.
2. Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
3. Heat oil and fry the spice paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
4. Add the tamarind juice, fish curry powder and bring to boil.
5. Add the tomato wedges and okras and bring to boil.
6. Add the fish, salt, and palm sugar/sugar.
7. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
8. Serve hot.

Sweet Potato Puree Recipe

Sweet Potato Puree Recipe

Ingredients:

4 oz sweet potato, finely diced

1 cup water

Method:

In a pot, bring the diced sweet potato and water to boil, for about 15 minutes or until it reaches the desired consistency that you like. If it’s too watery, boil longer. If it’s too thick, add some water.

The sweet potato should break down quite a bit after the boiling. If not, you can use the back of the spoon to mash the sweet potato to the desired texture. To make a silky smooth sweet potato puree, you can blend it with a blender. Let cool and serve.

Cook’s Notes:

1. If you have leftover sweet potato puree, transfer it to a container and freeze it. Thaw and reheat using the microwave when ready to feed.
2. In the United States, sweet potato is also labeled and marketed as yam. But this is not the yam (or taro) that is pale purple in color.

Satay Prawns (Prawns/Shrimps with Spicy Peanut Sauce)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound head-on & shell-on medium size shrimps (deveined)
3 tablespoons peanut sauce (click here for the recipe)
Some corn starch (to lightly coat the shrimps)
Oil for deep frying
1 garlic (finely chopped)
3-5 bird’s eye chilies (lightly crushed with a cleaver) – Optional

Method:

Lightly coat the shrimps with corn starch and deep fry them until golden and well done. Dish out and set aside on a plate with paper towels (to absorb the excess oil).

Heat up a wok and saute the garlic until light brown. Add in the satay peanut sauce and stir a few times. Toss in the fried shrimps and blend them well with the satay peanute sauce. Dish out and serve immediately.

Spicy Honey Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, bone in ( with skin on)
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1-2 tsp curry powder, any kind
3/4 tsp salt
Water
Cooking oil for deep frying

Combine Turmeric powder, curry powder and salt with a little water to mix into a thick-ish slurry. Coat the chicken pieces with it evenly and deep fry the chicken pieces in a large wok or pan until cooked through and golden brown. Keep aside. Throw off most of the oil from the wok or pan leaving about 2-3 tablespoons behind.

3 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chillie paste (either homemade or bought)
3 T tomato ketchup
11/4 T honey
4-5 T water
1 lime, juiced (optional)
1 large onion, sliced into rings

Method:

Pound or grate the garlic and ginger. Saute the paste in the 2-3 tablespoons of oil left behind in the wok or pan until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, chili paste, curry powder and honey and stir to combine. Add water to loosen up the mixture. Add salt to taste. Add the deep fried chicken pieces and stir to mix so that the chicken pieces get well coated with the sauce. Add the onion rings. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the onion rings soften and the chicken pieces have absorbed some of the sauce. Add the lime juice. You may add a little more water if it gets a little dry.

Seared Scallops in Spicy Cream Sauce with Buna Shimeji Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 packs of Buna Shimeji Mushrooms (one pack per serving)
6 sea scallops (3 per serving)
1 tablespoon of oil
2 teaspoons of Japanese mirin (sweet glutinous rice wine)
2 tablespoons of butter
Salt to taste

Spicy Cream Sauce

5 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
1 teaspoons of garlic chili sauce
A few drops of lemon juice
A dash of sugar

Method:

1. Pat the scallops dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat, and sear the scallops for 3-5 minutes until both sides of the scallops turn golden brown. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the 2 packs of Buna Shimeji mushrooms lightly. Add 2 teaspoons of mirin and salt to taste and stir well. Dish up the mushrooms in equal proportion onto 2 serving plates.
4. Mix all ingredients of the spicy cream sauce in a small bowl.
5. Arrange 3 seared scallops on top of the mushrooms on each plate. Add some spicy cream sauce on the plate.
6. Garnish with parsley and chopped chives.

Ayam Briyani

By Chef Rossham Rusli

 Prep    About 1 hour | 

Cook

 About 1 hour | 

Makes

 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 kg whole chicken, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 cup ghee
Briyani spice paste
• 2 red onions, peeled
• 3 inches old ginger, peeled
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp black pepper powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 20g coriander leaves
• 20g mint leaf
• 1 cup water
• 3 cardamoms
• 3 star anise
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 6 tbsp briyani powder
• 50g cashewnuts, fried and pounded
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• Salt and sugar to taste
• 2 shallots, sliced and fried

Method

Wash chicken and set aside to drain.
Deep fry the chicken until medium cooked. Put aside.
Heat ghee or oil in a heavy-based pan over moderate heat.
Add cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and cloves, stir for 2 minutes.
Then saute the spice paste and briyani paste until fragrant about 7 minutes.
Cook over low heat for 3 minutes till well blended.
Add chicken and salt, stir continuously.
Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes.
Add cashewnuts and milk and cook for about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and sugar.
Garnish with the fried onions.

Rendang Tok

Ingredients

• 50g cumin
• 50g coriander seeds
• 40g fennel seeds
Spice paste
• 150g shallots
• 100g galangal, sliced
• 30g ginger, sliced
• 30g fresh turmeric root, sliced
• 40g dried red chillies, seeded and soaked
• 40g garlic
• 100ml oil
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise
• 10 cloves
• 30g black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 kg beef, cut into cubes
• 1 litre thick coconut milk
• 3 stalks lemongrass, crushed
• 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
• 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
• 250g freshly grated coconut, dry-roasted and pounded to make kerisik
• 200g coconut shavings, dry-roasted until lightly browned
• 2 turmeric leaves, roughly torn

Method

In a dry wok or pan, fry the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin separately, until aromatic. Grind all the seeds together until powdery. Set aside.
Blend the spice paste ingredients finely.
Heat the oil in a wok over low heat. Fry the cinnamon, star anise and cloves until fragrant. Add the spice paste, peppercorns and the ground coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin. Cook, stirring, until fragrant - about 5-10 minutes.
Add the beef, coconut milk and crushed lemongrass. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until gravy is thick and beef is tender. Season to taste with sugar and salt. Add the kerisik, toasted coconut shavings and turmeric leaves. Lower heat and cook, stirring continuously, until rendang is dry and oil appears.

Chickpea Snack

By Chef Priya Menon

  Prep   Less than half hour   |

Cook

 Less than half hour

Ingredients

• 2 cups chickpea,soaked and boiled till soft.
• 1 onion, diced finely or sliced if desired
• 1 tbsp ginger, diced
• 1 sprig curry leaf, finely sliced
Spice Mix
• 1 pinch of cuimn
• 1 pinch of fennel
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 dried chilli, broken into small pieces
• oil
• salt

Method

Heat oil in a pan and keep flame low. Then add mustard,cumin,and fennel. Saute till the seeds stop spluttering.
Then add the onions, ginger, dried chillies and curry leaf./p>
Fry the onions till soft and add chickpea.
Taste for salt and coat the chickpeas with the spices. Mix well.
Remove from heat and serve.

Ikan Tenggiri Acar Berempah

Prep

 About 1 hour | 

Cook

 About 1 hour | 

Makes

 10 servings

By Chef Rossham Rusli

Ingredients

Marinate
• 1kg mackerel fish, cut and sliced 2 cm thick
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp fennel powder
• Salt
• Cooking oil
• 1 cucumber; cut into one inch sticks
• 1 carrot; cut into one inch sticks
• 10 shallots, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 5 green chillies
• 5 red chillies
• 3 tbsp chilli boh
• 2 inches ginger; julienned
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• salt and sugar to taste
• cooking oil

Method

Marinate the fish with coriander, cumin and fennel powder. Season with salt and oil.
Deep-fry until golden brown and set aside.
Peel cucumber and carrot and cut them into one inch sticks.
Soak vegetables in salt water for about 20 minutes and drain.
Cut chillies lengthwise and cube them.
Saute shallots, garlic and ginger strips in oil until fragrant.
Add chilli paste, cook until fragrant and turns oily.
Then add in turmeric powder, vinegar, salt and sugar.
Simmer and remove from heat.
Quickly add in the vegetables, chillies and fish. Mix it thoroughly.
Lastly, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Indonesian Style Curry Prawns

Ingredients

• 400g fresh water prawns, feelers trimmed
• 4-5 tbsp oil
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, shredded
• 100ml thick coconut milk
• 50ml fresh milk
Spice mix (A)
• 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed
• 2 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and coarsely chopped
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 1 stalk curry leaves
Ground spices (B)
• 4 shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 red chilliles, seeded
• 5 dried chillies, soaked
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 slices galangal
• 1 tbsp meat curry powder, mixed with enough water into a paste
Seasoning
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar or to taste
• ½ tsp anchovy stock granules

Method

Heat oil and sauté spice mix (A) until fragrant. Add ground spices (B) and fry until aromatic and oil separates.
Pour in coconut milk and fresh milk, and add the prawns and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until prawns are cooked through and the sauce thickens. Dish out and serve with a sprinkling of shredded kaffir lime leaves.

Malaysian Banana Pancakes with Lemon Coconut Curd

Malaysian Banana Pancakes with Lemon Coconut Curd
Makes approximately 7 pancakes

Ingredients:

For the lemon & coconut curd:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately the juice of 1 lemon)
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (approximately the zest of 1 lemon)
1/3 cup (70g) sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, cubed
4 tbsp coconut milk

For the pancakes:

1 egg
30g (approx 1/8 cup) sugar
60g (approx 1/2 cup) self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup coconut milk (can be replaced with regular milk if unavailable)
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
Butter, for frying
Optional: vanilla ice cream to serve

Method:

1. Prepare the lemon and coconut curd first; place lemon juice, zest and sugar in a medium saucepan. Place on medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Whisk egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl until frothy and then gradually add the hot lemon mixture, whisking continuously to combine. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
3. Return to the heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
4. Remove from the heat and add the butter cubes, one at a time, whisking until fully combined. Finally, add the coconut milk, whisk to combine and set aside to cool.
5. For the pancakes, whisk eggs and sugar until light and frothy in a large mixing bowl.
6. Sift flour and salt and fold into beaten eggs, along with the coconut milk. Add in mashed banana and mix until combined well.
7. Heat a small frying pan with a small pat of butter. Pour in two tablespoons of batter at a time, turning the pan so that the batter forms a thin layer (or you can spread it out with the back of a spoon as the mixture is quite thick). Cook until lightly browned on both sides. You can use a paper towel to dab off any extra grease on the pancakes. Stack pancakes on a plate to keep them warm while you are cooking the rest of the batter.
8. Serve pancakes warm with the lemon and coconut curd and (optionally) a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pancakes can also be served with slices of fresh banana or lemon.

Pickled Green Chilies Recipe

Pickled Green Chilies Recipe

Ingredients:

4 oz. green chilies (discard the seeds and sliced into pieces)
1 cup Chinese rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water (boiled)

Method:

Prepare the green chilies and transfer into a small bowl. Bring the water to boil and transfer it to the small bowl. Let the chilies sit in the boiled water for about 10 seconds. Drain and discard the hot water.

In the same bowl, add in the rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Stir to blend well. Transfer everything into a small glass container or canister jar and leave it overnight in the fridge. The pickled green chilies will be ready overnight.

Cook’s Note:

Any green chilies (except bird eye’s chilies) can be used. If you are in the US, you can use green serrano pepper or jalapeno.

Crepe Suzette

Even if you haven’t ever had Crepe Suzette, you’ve probably heard of this famous crepe dish. Most of us have probably watched a scene from a movie or television show in which the waiter in a high-class restaurant prepares them at the table with a flourish of liqueur and flame. 

Probably the most interesting thing about the original crepe Suzette recipeis that it was an accident :)! In 1895, a waiter at a posh restaurant in Paris was prepping their signature dessert for the Prince of Wales. A burning chafing dish was on his cart as he worked and he accidentally caught the liqueurs he was going to use in the dessert on fire. Rather than throw it away, he took a taste and discovered it was delicious. The Prince was also impressed and insisted this new dish be named for the young lady who accompanied him – thus the name, Crepes Suzette.Fair warning to all who plan to embark on this culinary adventure: a crepe Suzette recipe is not simple. It involves making the crepes and the sauce, then combining the two and performing the perfect flambé. Making the crepes is the easy part. 
Ingredients for Crepes Suzette 
(makes about 15 crepes)

2 cups of flour
2-1 cups of whole milk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons of melted butter
salt
vanilla extract (optional)
vegetable oil

Instructions for Crepes 

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and mix in a pinch of salt.
2. Make a “crater” with the back of a large spoon and crack the eggs into this crater.
3. Gradually pull the flour into the crater with a whisk until the eggs and flour are mixed well.
4. Slowly add the milk, whisking well between each bit of milk added.
5. Continue to stir the batter until it looks bubbly on top.
6. Stir in the melted butter and a few drops of vanilla.

To make the crepes:

1. Put a small amount of vegetable oil on a paper towel and wipe the bottom of the crepe pan. (You’ll need to repeat this for each crepe.)
2. Heat the pan on medium high heat.
3. Drop about 3 tablespoons of crepe batter into the pan and swirl the pan so that the batter spreads out evenly over the bottom.
4. Cook for about 1 minute, and then flip the crepe to cook the other side for 30 seconds.

Repeat this process for each crepe. NOTE: The first one or two crepes may end up being “throw-aways” while you find the right temperature for the pan.

Ingredients for Crepe Suzette Sauce 

This recipe is enough for 8 crepes. Rather than doubling the recipe, it is recommended to make two separate batches.

1 orange rind, shredded*
3 cup sugar
5 ounces of butter at room temperature
1 cup Grand Marnier liqueur**
1 cup Cognac

*You can use a cheese grater to shred the rind while still on the orange.
**You can use another orange liqueur like Cointreau.

Instructions for Saucing the Crepes 

Before beginning these steps, simmer a pot of water (make sure it is not boiling). Put a plate on top of the simmering pot.

1. Stir the orange rind and butter together.
2. Melt about 1 teaspoon of this mixture in a pan over medium heat.
3. Place one crepe in the pan and heat for 30 seconds on each side.
4. Sprinkle sugar on the crepe and then fold it in half and the half again to form a triangle.
5. Put the completed crepe on the plate over the simmering water.

When all of the crepes are done you are ready for the true test – the flambé. 

1. Combine the liqueurs and heat them in a saucepan just until the liquid begins to bubble. Do not bring to a complete boil or the alcohol will burn off.
2. Place each crepe on a serving plate.
3. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the liqueur mixture over a crepe and light the fumes around the edges immediately so that the crepe does not soak up the liqueur. Use long matches or a long barbeque lighter.
4. Let the crepe cook until the flame disappears on its own and serve it immediately.

Crepe Suzette Variations 

A true flambé is done in a chafing dish, large skillet, or a pan made specifically for flambéing. You can use one of these and transfer the crepes to serving plates after the flame has gone out.