Winky Lim's Mother Chicken Curry (copy)

The best chicken curry I've ever had in my life! I say this with a lot of appreciation & admiration for a dear friend's mom cooking. I tried to copy her version but somehow lack some of her ingenuity. No recipe for now cos it's her little tips & secrets for me to keep.

"Lu punya mama punya kari ayam yang paling sedap!"
"Your mother's chicken curry is the best!"

White Choy Sum with Pork

Well, well, well, it's yet another vegetable dish upon request which I find a little too hard to decline. This veggie goes very well with pork loins.

White Choy Sum
Diced Pork
Garlic - lots of 'em
Light Soy Sauce
Osyter Sauce

I cut the white choy sum into small pieces but would prefer not to do that - my mi'sous chef requirement. Customer is always right - a thing to always remember.

Anyway, put garlic on light oil & add pork, fry till brown. Add veggies, stir fry till green leaves soften. Add little water plus oyster sauce, then salt & light pepper to taste.

Claypot Chicken

This is a lazy way of cooking or mother-of-all-shortcuts for a quick dinner. A classic & will always be close to my heart for "we" had claypot chicken rice when I dated my old time girlfriend during college days. The rest as they say is history.

Chicken Wings/Parts (500g)
Dark/Light Soy Sauce
Sliced Ginger
Dried Mushrooms (diced)
Sesame oil
Chinese Cooking Wine
Chicken Stock (from supermarket shelf)
Rice
Egg

Fry the uncooked rice on light oil together with ginger inside the claypot & add dark/light soy sauce. Stir till rice has fully absorbed all the sauces, then add chicken, mushrooms, Chinese cooking wine (3 tbsp) & continue stirring till chicken is half cooked. Add 3 cups of chicken stock & cook under low heat. When the rice is almost cooked, add a single egg on top & garnish with spring onions if needed.

Serves 4

Weak Hands over the Weekend

It wasn't the best weekend. I'd cough, fever, a bad headache, not to mention the constant shouting & ranting from my boys & vice versa. Despite not being in the best of health, I managed to do a couple of quick dishes for us.

Sometimes when one is sick, a unique taste is created by default cos the cook's tastebud isn't at its usual best. The food was nevertheless savoured with much appreciation, i.e. wiped out clean. It was probably the best feeling I've had over the weekend.

Final Say:
Service Industry is like a pregnant lady
cos no matter what happens,
they've to DELIVER.
Good thing my kitchen is only opened for
small service industry of family & friends :)

Lunch - Tomatoes & Sweet Sour Pork

I took the day off as planned. It's a lousy feeling especially when you wake up at wee hours of the morning anticipating a 6th Champions League Title for my beloved club, Liverpool FC, gone with the break of dawn.

I fetched my Noah from school & headed straight home instead of the normal take away or lunch with him. I wanted him to eat my brand of home food cooking. Well, to my surprise, he did finish his meal after much persuading & given the opportunity to play his favourite Rally Race on my mobile phone.

2 Big Tomatoes - sliced
250g of Tender Pork - sliced
Ginger

Marinate with:
Dark/Light Soy Sauce
Sesame oil
Sweet Vinegar

Light fry the marinated pork
with ginger till light brown & tender.
Add the tomatoes & let it simmer.
Add some water, pepper & salt to taste.

I want my two boys to love eating at home
rather that the usual fast food
that kids love these days.
Good wholesome lunch for both of us at home.

Should be cooking more this weekend.

You'll Never Cook Alone

Imaginary Cooking

I'm now at KL International Airport waiting for my flight home. I've been here a couple of days for meetings & being away from the family does take a lot out of life, out of me. Somehow the thought of going home always puts a smile back on my face. The pots & pans may have missed me as well while I was gone :)

Whenever I'm on one of my biz trips, I'll tend to be analytical on most of the food that I've tried - from the 5 star hotel's kitchen, hawkers' corner, bistros, etc. But nothing beats home food cooking.

I could cook up a dish in my head while waiting for my sweet flight home & the good thing now is that KLIA offers FREE WIFI services.

My head is filled with assorted meats in black soy sauce (lean pork meat/duck slice/chicken). How & ways to do it? Well, I'd better save it for my journey which is 2 ½ hours & plenty of time to cook this dish up in the air.

Back in the real kitchen soon!

Sayur Manis

Sabah is its place of origin but most Sabahans love the leafy sayur manis. I'd say it's the signature veggie of Sabah.

There are many ways to cook this deliciously unique veggie, i.e. with belacan (fermented shrimp paste), fry it with garlic or make it into soup. My favourite way of cooking it is to simply fry it with garlic & egg! Nothing fancy - simple food with simple cooking resulting in excellent taste.

Heat up some oil, then add garlic & sayur manis. Stir fry for a bit before adding an egg & cook till veggie is soft. Lastly add salt & pepper to taste.

End.

Celery with Chicken Liver & Gizzard

A simple dish with chicken spare parts.
Not many would fancy eating the internal parts
of chicken/pig/cattle for that matter.
I personally find them really yummy
if prepared the right way.
Celery goes very well with the
internals namely liver.

Celery
Chicken Liver/Gizzard/Heart
Salt & Pepper
Sliced Ginger & Garlic
Osyter Sauce
Constrach
Soy Sauce

Heat up some oil, down goes the garlic/ginger.
Add the internals & stir fry till cooked.
Then add celery & some water.
For finishing, combine mixture of
oyster sauce/soy sauce/constarch/water.
Heat up till the sauce thickens & serve.

Time taken: 10 mins tops

Green Choy Sum with Mushroom & Cha Siew

Vegetable dishes can very interesting
& is actually a MUST for a typical dinner at home.

Choice of vegetable: Green Choy Sum
Mushroom
Cha Siew (chinese BBQ pork)
Oyster Sauce
Chinese Cooking Wine
Salt & Pepper
Garlic (plenty of them)
Cornstarch

I like this dish purely for its' simplicity & good taste.
The cha siew can be omitted to own likings.

The Way:
Heat up some oil, add garlic & fry till brown.
Add mushroom/cha siew & stir fry for another minute or two.
Add the veggies, oyster sauce/chinese cooking wine
then some water with constarch to thicken the sauce.
Let it simmer for a while.
When the veggies soften & the sauce thicken,
it's ready to be served.
(Never allow veggies to overcook for it'll lose its gloss & colour,
not to mention the taste!)

Serves the Health Well

Big Pheasant (Chicken) with Sweet Butter Sauce

I classify this dish European due to the ingredients
but still very much home cooking.

Chicken (5 parts) - Marinated with Lea Perin sauce
Olive Oil
Butter - 50g
Apple Cider
Lemon Zest
Lemon
Tomatoes
Garlic - Lots of them in pieces

Deep fry the chicken and put aside.
Heat up another pan (wok) with olive oil & add garlic,
then butter/lemon zest/apple cider/tomatoes (mashed).

Lastly add the chicken & let the sauce thickens
before dish is served.

Keep on rolling...

Serves The Hungry

Sliced Pork Belly with Cashew Nuts

Another all time favourite. Another chinese influenced dish.
(Like myself)

A twist of taste for every dishes. Chinese mix with yet another style/way but whatever you wanna call it, please by all means don't called it fusion - it's insulting the cooking fraternity. Haha - only joking! Normally for every half, there is always the other half. It doesn't really matter 'cos the other half is always CRAZY (not supposed to be understood).

The Stuff:
Pork Belly & Loin Pork - 300 g
Ginger
Cashew Nuts (roasted)
Dark Soy Sauce/Sesame Oil
Salt & Pepper

The Way:
Heat up the wok with some oil,
add ginger & the pork belly/loin
(marinated with dark soy sauce/sesame oil/salt & pepper).
Stir fry till it's really cooked.
Let it be a bit overcooked for better taste & to BURN the FATS!
Lastly, add cashew nuts & serve.

Serves A Plenty

Chicken Curry My Way

What would a Chicken Curry dish do on a cold rainy day for dinner?
The perfect dish!
Sometimes, the curry house (Mamak Corner) can't beat the
all time classic curry chicken from home.

The Stuff:
Chicken - 1 kg (drumstick & thighs)
Curry Powder - 3 to 4 tbsp
(you can mix a few brands together,
e.g. Babas, 888, Ayam Brands, etc.)
The best option of course would be to go to the spice shops.
Onions/Garlic
Coconut Milk
Tamarind
Salt & Pepper
Lemon Grass
Potatoes

The Way:
Heat up some oil in a Hot Pot (clay), add onions/garlic,
then the mixed curry powder.
Fry them till your whole kitchen smells of curry.
Add the chicken & ¼ cup of water (dilution of tamarind juice)
& allow it to simmer away.

Add the potatoes & coconut milk
(200ml for thick or 400ml for watery).
Next, add salt to taste.
Cook under medium heat up to 1 hour.
The slower you cook in a hot pot the tender the texture
of the chicken & the spices coagulate in harmony.

Serves 6

Corned Beef in Petula with Baby Corn

I really don't know where this one is coming from but I simply enjoy making the fillings for this green veggie called Petula (scientific name: Luffa Acutangula Roxb) with its almost rOunded centre.

From the can:
Corned Beef - get the one from Brazil or Argentina (more beefy)
Baby Corn

Petula (cut into rings)
Onions/Garlic
Oyster Sauce/Soy Sauce

Fry the corned beef with garlic & onions.
Add some pepper and put aside.
Stir fry the veggies plus the baby corn, then add oyster/soy sauce.
Make it simple.

When it's done, fill up the beef into the centre & serve.
Very Corny but hey, you might just see this in a menu
of an uptown restaurant one day.

Serves 5

Steamed Fish with Salted Lettuce

Fish is something I don't really fancy cooking to be honest! But whenever I've caught any good fish from my fishing trip with my brothers (can't remember when was the last time I caught one or went fishing for that matter), I will definitely serve up a dish.

This fish is called Belanak (locally or a.k.a. mugilidae).

The Stuff:
Fish
(must be fresh whenever steaming is concerned)
Salted Lettuce (preserved) - from your regular supermarket
Sliced Ginger
Fish Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper

Toss everything onto the plate and steam it
in a steamer for 8 minutes.

Simple & Delicious.

Therapeutical Cooking

Cooking makes me feel very relax, calm & collected. You can say it's a theraphy or could be an addiction! Well, that's what I call passion. When I do my little thing with the pots and pans, the rest of the world kinda stop until the occassional "I want to cook too!" from my boys. I'm sure they'll be cooking one day 'cos after all I got this cooking habit from my dad.

Been cooking plenty of dishes over the last few days. Shores of them on the next postings :)