Lei Cha is my mother’s favourite Hakka dish. But one that she makes the least due to the amount of work involved. If you’d like to take the challenge to make this from scratch, watch the video to understand the entire process and shortcuts that you can take. If you wouldn’t cook it, I’ll tell you where to get the best Lei Cha in Kuala Lumpur.

1. THAI BASIL In Malaysian supermarkets, Thai Basil is not as common as herbs like mint. That is perhaps because that it’s one of the least used herbs in Malaysian dishes. But this flavour makes the dish.
2. SAWTOOTH CORIANDER The shape of this coriander is very different from that that we get at the supermarket. The leaf is long, flat, and with edges like the teeth of the saw blade. My Mom favour this as the taste is more intense. It’s also because it’s growing wild in our garden!
3. MUGWORT This is another herb that isn’t available at the market.
4. FU YIP SUM/ KU YE XIN (苦力心) Acanthopanax trifoliatus. This is perhaps the rarest of all herbs. We’ve made the recipe without this many times. I believe this is also not used in most restaurants as it’s not widely available for sale.

TOOLS

• Wok + spatula
• Chopping board + knife
• Blender
• Oven (optional)

RECIPE CARD

KITCHEN HACKS

1. Use a spice blender to crush the peanuts and sesame seeds. I am using the Panasonic blender with two attachments – one for blending smoothie/paste, and another for blending things like nuts. The finer it is, the better.
2. Toast peanuts in the oven Traditionally, my mother roast peanuts on the wok. I prefer to use an oven instead to leave it there and cook the many other dishes instead.
3. Freeze blended soup ingredients We like making extra soup paste to freeze. On busy days, we just defrost then put the paste and water into a pot to boil.

Although it’s a lot of work, I love making this with my Mom and keeping the tradition alive. 

The post Hakka Lei Cha Recipe (Tea Rice/ ‘Thunder’ Tea/ 擂茶) appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Malaysian Spiced Fried Chicken,  or Ayam Goreng Berempah in Malay, is something I make very often. I teach the recipe along with nasi lemak at my cooking class. The result? Sometimes, I eat it almost every day!

So I came up with a healthier version of it. This is one of my proudest inventions. I even shared this recipe with Nicol David in our Cook Off Challenge. Check out my Youtube video tutorial to see how I do it!

HOW IS IT HEALTHY?

1. BAKED Insted of deep-frying it in oil, I bake it
2. COATED WITH SEEDS To get the crispy texture, instead of coating it in breadcrumbs, I coat it in seeds
3. SPICES I use a lot of powdered spices including turmeric
4. NO OIL I don’t use any oil. Sometimes I like to good oil e.g 1  tbsp of coconut oil

TOOLS

• AirFryer/ Oven
• Blender
• Knife + chopping board

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

With a bit of tweaks, it’s possible to make our favourite food healthier.

Do try it and let me know how you like it!

The post Healthy Malaysian ‘Fried’ Chicken | Ayam Goreng Berempah – No Oil, No Breadcrumbs, Keto-friendly appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

So when Nigel suggests that we make Hainanese Chicken Rice together while making our Chinese Roast Pork Siu Yuk recipe – I immediately said yes. Now, I have in hand two Hainanese Chicken Rice variations. An authentic Chicken Rice where we use kampung chicken (free-range chicken), traditional Chinese condiments, and a cleaver to chop; and Nigel’s fusion Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe.

NIGEL’S ANCESTOR EASY HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

Nigel’s recipe is different in a few ways. It’s easier one for home cooks. A few things that he did differently:

• Dashi base for soy gravy and chili
• Cutting the chicken with a scissors
• Soup with pandan leaves

Nigel is quite a chill cook. I would normally not make this dish without a corn-fed kampung chicken, but he thinks it’s just fine.

TOOLS

• Large 6L stockpot – to poach the chicken and make soup
• Large bowl/pot – to soak the chicken
• Scissors +knife – too carve the chicken
• Blender + grater  – to make chili sauce
• Rice Cooker –
• Wok/pan + spatula – to fry rice

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

POACHED CHICKEN
2 kg chicken 
4 litres water
4 cups of chicken stock from the soup

CHICKEN SOUP
2 kg chicken 
4 chicken feet
4 litres water
1/4 cup (10g) dried anchovies 
1 bulb of garlic
2 pieces of pandan leaves 
60 g of ginger 
1 gizzard

DASHI STOCK
palm-size kombu
1/2 cup bonito flakes 
2 cups of water 

SOY GRAVY
1/2 cup of dashi stock
1/2 cup of soy sauce 
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil

RICE
2 cups of long-grained jasmine rice
1/2 cups of glutinous rice 
4 cups of chicken stock from the soup or dashi stock
3 tbsp chicken fat/ pork fat
2 pieces of pandan leaves 

CHILI SAUCE
400 – 450 g fresh red chili
4 bird’s eye chili (cili padi)
3 inches (40 g) ginger 
2 shallots
8 cloves of garlic 
1 persian/ key lime 
1 cup of dashi 
1/4 tsp salt 

GARNISH
Coriander leaves
Spring onions

INSTRUCTIONS

POACHED CHICKEN & SOUP 

1. Blanch chicken and feet in 4L of water for about 5 minutes. Pour away the water along with the scumb.
2. Add another 4L of water in the stockpot along with chicken feet, gizzard, anchovies, garlic, pandan leaves and ginger.
3. Place the chicken in and let it cook until the internal temperature records about 70°C. It should take about 40 minutes.
4. In the meantime, cook the rice and condiments.

DASHI STOCK

1. Steep kombu and bonito flakes in 2 cups of water for 15 – 30 minutes
2. Drain with a sieve

SOY GRAVY

1. 1/2 cup of soy sauce  and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, into 1/2 cup of dashi stock.

RICE

1. Combined 2 cups of jasmine rice with 1/2 cup of glutinous rice. Rinse until clear
2. Fry rice in 3 tbsp of chicken/pork fat along with pandan leaves
3. Put the rice, pandan leaves, and 4 cups of water into the rice cooker. Cook until rice is fluffy

CHILI SAUCE

1. Chop chili, ginger, shallots, and garlic into small pieces.
2. Zest lime and squeeze lime juice
3. Blend everything together with dashi stock
4. Then season with salt.

I love that Nigel uses the dashi base for the sauces. Not only it gives a different dimension to the usual flavour, it also faster to make than slow-boiled chicken soup.

I grew up with poached or steamed chicken that is chopped perfectly into bite-size pieces with a cleaver. So I never thought to do it differently. Nigel’s method of cutting the chicken is much easier – only with scissors and a knife; and he happily eats the drumstick whole!

If you’ll like Hainanese Chicken Rice with less work, try this!

The post Nigel’s Easy Fusion Hainanese Chicken Rice appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

When I was living alone and at the busiest point of my life, lentil curry is something I made very often. I make a big pot, separate it in small containers, and freeze them!

ABOUT LENTIL CURRY

In Malaysia, lentil curry (dal curry) is not only enjoyed by the Malaysian-Indian community; every Malaysian loves it! We love eating it at the Mamak (Indian-Muslims restaurant) with roti canai, the Malay word for prata or flat bread.

At home, we eat it with rice too. This recipe is taught to me by Aunty Clara, she cooks this ‘kari dal’ (lentil curry) for her family a few times a week. I first published her recipe here and in my cookbook.

SIMPLIFIED: 25 minutes including preparation, washing, and roti canai!

But this time, I’ve simplified it. Originally she uses dried chillies, fresh red chillies, and milk. I omitted all that. So this dhal curry is not only vegetarian, but also vegan. If you’re on a keto diet, this is perfect as it’s filling and rich in protein.

But I personally love it for its immense health benefits. The potent spices and rainbow coloured vegetables are so good for our body. The best thing is, you can make it in just 25 minutes!

While simmering the curry, I even have time to wash everything up and make a roti canai!

TOOLS

• pot with lid
• spatula
• Knife + chopping board

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

COOKING TIPS

1. Mixed Spice is called ‘Halba Campur’ in Malay. You can use mustard seeds as a replacement. Find out more about the mixed fenugreek spice or talipu here. 

Watch the video for more random little tips 🙂

The post Easy Lentil Dhal Curry In 25 Minutes appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

WHY FISH HEAD?

In Asia and some parts of the modern world, it’s common to eat an animal (or fish) from head to tail. In Malaysia, fish are normally served whole – with the head and tail.

Funny thing is that the fish head is considered a delicacy. I remember my uncle who dotes on his daughter always saves the cheek of the fish for her. According to him, it’s the best part because it’s the softest, most delicate part of the fish.

Though we call it ‘fish head’ curry,  we don’t only serve the head alone. The head is attached to the upper part of the fish and the curry is made with a lot of vegetables too!

MUST I USE FISH HEAD?

Nope.  You can just put the fleshy part. In fact, I personally prefer the body over the head. My Mom and the older generation like my Uncle on the other hand eat the head like a pro.

WHAT KIND OF FISH HEAD SHOULD I USE?

Any fish head will do. Even if you want to use salmon (which is not commonly used here in Malaysia). But in Malaysian Chinese restaurant normally offers garoupa (grouper) or snapper. I like garoupa’s flaky texture so it’s my preferred choice.

TWO TYPES OF FISH HEAD CURRY IN MALAYSIA

There are two types of Fish Head Curry: Mamak Fish Head Curry and Nyonya Fish Head Curry. Mamak-style is from the Indian & Muslim community in Malaysia. In this curry, we used spices like mustard seeds.

Whereas Nyonya Fish Head Curry is from the Malaysian Chinese community who had adopted the Malay culture. In this version, typical Nyonya herbs like daun kesum or laksa leaves (Vietnamese coriander) and bunga kantan (torch ginger flower) are used to create a spice paste.

These two tropical herbs are hard to get out of Malaysia and Singapore. Growing them in my garden made me understand why – they need a lot of sun and water. And laksa leaves propagates through stems. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to export.

If you love curry laksa, you will love this dish. They are made from similar spices. In a Malaysian restaurant, it’s normally served in a claypot and served bubbling hot!

TOOLS

• Blender
• Knife + chopping board
• Pot/ Wok/ Pan + Lid
• Cooking spatula

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Blend spice paste: 4 tbsp fish curry powder + 10 shallots + 3 cloves Garlic + 1 cm ginger + 2 thumbsize galangal + 2 stalks of lemongrass + 5 fresh red chili + 1 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste + 2 tbsp oil. Cook spice paste in 1/2 cup oil + curry leaves. Add 3 cups of water + 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste + 2 stalks of laksa leaves. Bring to a boil. Add 1 brinjal + long beans. Simmer until veg soften (~5 min) Add 200 ml coconut milk+ 3 ladies fingers + 2 quartered tomato + 1 kg fish head. Simmer until fish softens (~5 min). Season with sugar (~1 tbsp) + salt (~2 tsp) + fish sauce. Garnish with torch ginger flower.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sara Khong (@sarakhong) on Jun 4, 2020 at 6:56pm PDT

KITCHEN HACKS

1. Blend spice paste with boil There’s a lot of spices to blend so putting oil in it will make blending much easier. If you were to put in water, the oil in the pan will splatter once you put the spice paste into the oiled wok!
2. Leftover soup can be made into curry laksa If you have leftover curry, remove the vegetables, and save the soup for the next day. Put in some chicken, egg noodles, and long beans and you’ll have a quick curry laksa!

See more hacks in my Youtube video!

This dish may be a little overwhelming as compared to my other recipes which focus on simpler, faster food.

But the bright side is this is all you need to make for a meal! While cooking this, cook your rice in a rice cooker

I taught The Food Ranger how to make a big pot of it. As I have leftover, the next day I have it with noodles.

But I love it best when it’s served bubbling hot and eaten with rice!

Enjoy!

The post Nyonya Fish Head Curry appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

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