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.

This is another dish I make to include more vegetables into my love one’s diet. How do you convince a boy who loves steaks and ignore vegetables to eat more greens? The answer to the conundrum is: make the greens seems secondary. In this case, the pancake is flavour with dried shrimps which umami flavour overpowers any bitterness from the chives.

I grew up having this pancake for tea though. My mother, a stay-home-must and an excellent cook, need her tea time. She makes this pancake often, and other snacks such as fried lin gou (nian gao/年糕)) with yam.

I never noticed then the amount of vegetables in each pancake and I believe nobody will. Make this and someone will be having vegetables for breakfast and wouldn’t even notice it 😉

INGREDIENTS

You need only these 3 main ingredients: flour, chives, and dried shrimps. The rest – oil, sugar, and alt – should be found in every cook’s pantry.

TOOLS

• Non-stick pan (I’m using a 28 cm pan)
• Chopping board + Knife
• Mixing bowl + chopstick (to mix batter)
• Sift (optional)
• Small bowl (to soak dried shrimps)

RECIPE CARD

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

STEP 3:

STEP 4:

STEP 5:

SHORT RECIPE

Add 6 tbsp of water into 4 tbsp of sifted flour. Mix well. Add 1/4 tsp sugar + 1/4 tsp salt + 10 g chopped 2 cm chives. Fry shrimps in 1/2 tbsp oil. Cook batter (3 min). Flip. Cook (3 min).

COOKING TIPS

1. Double the recipe. This recipe makes one pancake. Depending on how many pancakes you want, multiple by that number. Easy!
2. You can omit sifting the flour. This additional step will make the texture of the pancake better. When I want it fast and don’t feel particularly motivated, I happily skip this step.
3. How to make a round pancake? 
   • Pour batter in a circular motion into the pan and immediately swirl it around. You have to do this step really quickly.
   • Do not move the pancake until it is set. How do you know it’s set? When the flour is no longer white. It should be light brown.
   • Slide the pancake from the pan into the plate. As the pancake is rather flimsy, its best to transfer it this way to prevent unnecessary contact with it.
4. Cook longer to make it crispy I prefer my pancake crispy and browned. So I’ll normally cook longer than 3 minutes.

Enjoy it for breakfast or tea!

The post Easy Chinese Chives Pancake – 3 main ingredients appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

Instead of the usual chicken congee, why not make flower crab congee instead? Unlike mud crabs, flower crabs are not sold alive therefore easier to handle. Chuck the crabs, rice and aromatic ingredients into the PHILIPS All-in-one cooker, cook under pressure and have a sea-flavoured congee in no time!

This recipe is one that I developed for the Philip’s All-In-One Cooker. I tested this recipe again and again for a duration that I didn’t want to eat any kind of congee. I tried once using just water (instead of stock). Despite flavoured with umami-rich fish sauce, something is still missing. So I decided to add some chicken stock powder; it tasted much better. Then I used ikan bilis stock. The results? Awesome!

It’s quite easy with the All-In-One Cooker, or better known as ‘Instapot’. It’s a pot that allow you to do multiple things like frying, pressure cooking and slow cooking. What I did: make ikan bilis stock using the pressure cooking function, scoop ikan bilis out, chuck in all ingredients for the soup and pressure cook. So easy!

I really like how delicious and impressive this dish taste and look, but the fact is it’s incredibly easy to make. As flower crabs are not sold alive, you don’t have to worry about handling a crab with claws that might snip your finger off (I love mud crab but I really don’t look forward to killing it). I like that I can make the stock in the same pot. Then, it’s just a matter of tossing ingredients into the machine, press a button and wait for a little more than 20 minutes. That’s it!

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Toss 2 chopped flower crabs + 1.5 cup rice + 4 pcs scallops + 10 slices ginger + 4 pcs white spring onions + 1.8L anchovies stock. Boil then simmer until rice turns into congee. Season with fish sauce + salt + green spring onions.

COOK IN 20 MINUTES USING THE ALL-IN-ONE COOKER / PRESSURE COOKER

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 2 servings

INSTRUCTIONS: USING THE PHILIPS ALL-IN-ONE COOKER

1. Rinse and scrub crab to wash dirt off. Remove the shell and its innards. Break off the claws and crush it slightly with a pestle. Then chop its body into half.
2. Toss in flower crabs, rice, scallops, ginger, spring onions and anchovies stock into PHILIPS All-In-One Cooker inner pot.
3. Close the lid and turn the valve towards the ‘SEAL’ position.
4. Press ‘PRESSURE COOK’ and press ‘START’
5. When ready, wait until the pressure is naturally released and the floater has dropped. Then open the top lid.
6. Dish out crab. Then, season congee with fish sauce and salt. Stir to mix well.
7. Dish out congee and garnish with spring onions. Serve hot.

COOKING TIPS

• Make anchovies stock (50 g of anchovies to 1 L of water) in 10 minutes using the pressure cooker function.
• I can’t stress enough that it is very important to use ikan bilis stock. If you don’t have anchovies stock, add ½ tsp chicken stock granules into water.
• The fish sauce seasoning is also very important; it not only gives the salty but umami taste. Using salt alone is not enough.
• Note: Rice measuring cup is smaller ie. about 180 ml, ¾ of a metric measuring cup (250 ml).
• The ratio of rice to water is 1: 10.

This and many other recipes are available in my cookbook, ‘One Pot Wonders’

The post Flower Crab Congee (Fa Hai Chuk / 花蟹粥) appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

This is an incredibly easy dish when you’re in a rush. It’s delicious, filling, and can be made in under 10 minutes. I found that many Indian family in Malaysia make this often and have it with rice. My family who is used to ‘blander’ Chinese cuisine for dinner however prefer to have it with bread instead.

TOOLS

• Wok + spatula

ACTIVE TIME

10 minutes

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Fry 2 sliced onions, 2 sliced chili, and 2 stalks of curry leaves in 2 tbsp of oil. Add sardine and sauce. Mash. Cook until sauce boils. Add 1 tsp chili powder. Cook until dry.

COOKING TIPS

1. Control the heat As I like this food spicy, I like to add 2 – 3 tsp of chili powder. If you don’t, 1 tsp is enough. You can omit it entirely too if you can’t take spice at all.
2. Fillings for sandwich You could also use if for sandwich fillings
3. Leftover for breakfast If you make this dish for dinner and can’t finish, use it to make sandwich for breakfast.
4. Party food If you’re asked to bring sandwich to a potluck party, consider making this.

Enjoy this simple yet delicious dish!

The post Sardine Peratal – 5 ingredients, 10 min appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

The Japanese restaurant in Selangor Club Bukit Kiara is my go-to lunch place. I like that the food is homey, the location is quiet, and the price is reasonable. I’ll normally order salmon shioyaki, beef teppanyaki, or mix seafood set – all which comes with a bowl of chawanmushi.

Peculiarly, I am not a big fan of chawanmushi. I always request for it to be changed to agedashi tofu. My thoughts of chawanmushi changed when I make it from scratch at home. Homemade chawanmushi tastes so much better. I’ll credit it to concentrated homemade dashi stock and fresh kampung eggs with sunset coloured yolk. Quality ingredients really does make a difference!

If you like chawanmushi, this is a simple recipe that you could try. If you don’t, do try making this anyway – it may change your mind. The original recipe from a cookbook I bought in Tokyo includes 200 g of soft tofu. It’s also topped with mitsuba leaf (which can be replaced with coriander leaves) to make it prettier.

However, I don’t always have tofu or herbs at home, I only use 5 ingredients that is almost always available in my kitchen: eggs, dashi stock, dried Chinese mushrooms, soy sauce, and salt. Despite its simplicity, this dish is packed with natural flavours. I love its soft, velvety texture too.

TOOLS

• Wok with lid + steam rack + steaming tray
• 3 – 4 bowls for steaming
• Sieve (for straining egg mixture) – optional
• Aluminium foil (to cover egg mixture)

ACTIVE TIME

5 minutes

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Whisk 2 eggs. Add 300 ml dashi stock. Strain. Add 1/2 tbsp soy sauce + a pinch of salt. Place sliced mushrooms into bowl. Pour egg mixture into bowls. Steam at high heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat and steam for 10 min or until set.

COOKING TIPS

1. Make dashi stock in advance. Dashi stock is integral in Japanese cooking. It’s very easy to make and can be kept in the fridge for up to one week. On top of making chawanmushi, it can also be used to make miso soup and Japanese Spinach Salad. Recipe: Japanese Dashi Stock

Enjoy!

The post Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg) – 5 ingredients appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.

When I came back from a short stay with my Japanese host family, I was encouraged to eat like a Japanese for breakfast. The huge traditional meal which consist of plenty of greens kept me full and energetic until late noon. Okaasan serves the same breakfast everyday: rice, miso soup, fried egg, salad with sesame sauce and pickles. Though I normally do not like salad, I found incredible joy in eating them because the lettuce and tomatoes are planted and harvested from Otoosan’s farm.

When I’m back home, I did make Japanese breakfast once in a while. But I realise that I always skip making the salad; raw vegetables from the market don’t taste the same as those harvested directly from farm. “Wakame is green right?” I lied to myself, as I ate my ‘vegetable-less’ Japanese breakfast.

So in my attempt to eat more leafy vegetables, I learned to make a simple Japanese Spinach Salad (ohitashi). It is just cooked spinach topped with dashi stock, soy sauce and bonito flakes. So easy to make, yet so tasty from umami-rich seasonings!

If you prefer cooked vegetables over raw salad, and like to eat more vegetables but lazy to cook elaborate meals, this is the recipe for you.

TOOLS

• Large bowl (to wash/soak spinach)
• Wok/ pot (to boil spinach)
• Sieve/ chopsticks (to remove spinach from wok)
• Mixing bowl (to wash spinach and place cold water)
• Spoon

ACTIVE TIME

5 minutes

RECIPE CARD

SHORT RECIPE

Boil 100 g of baby spinach for 2 min. Squeeze excess water. Arrange on plate. Pour 1/2 tbsp dashi stock + 1/2 tbsp soy sauce. Top with bonito flakes.

COOKING TIPS

1. Buy organic baby spinach. The original recipe uses regular spinach which comes in a bundle. After squeezing the excess water, it’s then chopped into 1.5 inches long. But for convenience, I buy a packet of organic baby spinach instead. Each packet is 100g – the exact amount of this recipe. Not only do I not have to wash the vegetables throughly, I don’t have to chop it either.
2. Make dashi stock in advance. In Japan, it’s easy to buy pre-made dashi. My host mother keeps a bottle in the fridge at all times. When I know I’ll like to have Japanese at home, I’ll make a big batch of dashi stock and keep in plastic bottles. It can keep in the fridge for a week. Recipe: Japanese Dashi Stock

Enjoy this simple but delicious plate of vegetables!

The post Japanese Spinach Salad (Ohitashi) – 4 ingredients + 5 min appeared first on New Malaysian Kitchen.