Sibu Fest 2007 - Kampua & Tattoo

Guess which is homemade & which is from Sibu?

I was in Sibu for work in conjunction with the Sibu Fest 2007. Plenty of things to see & eat. 2 things I enjoy the most there - eating kampua (not sure of the spelling) & tattoos. It was also the 2nd Borneo International Tattoo Convention 2007. Tattoo enthusiasts came from all over the world to showcase their tatts & convert new legions of followers :) Nevertheless, eating kampua is a permanent fixure for me when doing work in Sibu.

I did one thing right this time round, I bought 1 kg of kampua mee (uncooked) to bring home & made my own version of Sibu kampua mee :) The dry noodles is very cheap - cost only RM2.20 per kg, which is just like the price of kampua in the Sibu coffee shops. I've to give it to them for having the cheapest food in Malaysia.

Kampua Mee
Chopped Spring Onions
Sliced Cha Siew
Minced Pork
Fried Onions
Pork Stock as Sauce (homemade lard)

Boil kampua in boiling water (add salt) for 3 minutes.
Rinse the noodles & put aside in a bowl.
Add pork lard & toss kampua.
Garnish with cha siew, minced pork, spring & fried onions.

There you have it - KK kampua!
Sibu style breakfast.

Pork Belly with Chilli & Garlic Sauce

This is suppose to be a starter before the main course - Bak Kut Teh. Not many people would eat pork belly if served as it is. The pork belly (200 g) is cooked together with the Bak Kut Teh but not chopped into pieces. Slice it & put aside on a plate.

The Sauce :

Add garlic & chili into a hot pan,
thereafter the cooked Bak Kut Teh soup.
Sizzle it & add corn starch to thicken the sauce.
Pour sauce on top of the sliced pork belly & serve.

On the contrary to popular belief,
eating pork is good for health.
This is due to the good cholesterol & fatty acids :o)

True or False?
Answer:
So what? Only if eaten excessively. Same goes with any other food.

Bak Kut Teh

Don't you just love eating pork. It's God's gift to mankind. Being born in the year of the Tiger makes me a natural carnivore. Different places have their own unique style of Bak Kut Teh. In Malaysia, Klang Bak Kut Teh is most famous whereas back home in Kota Kinabalu, Yu Kee on Gaya Street is the talk of town. Seafood style Bak Kut Teh in Sandakan deserves a mention too. Here's the catch, famous doesn't mean best taste. Everyone has their own favourite. My favourite Bak Kut Teh is the one cooked at home. How bias is that? Well, it cost more than RM80 to eat Bak Kut Teh outside for 5 persons.

2 kg - Pork Ribs/Belly (80:20 ratio)
A1 Bak Kut Teh Herbs (forgot to take picture of the packet)
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Spoonful Light Soy Sauce
2 Spoonful Dark Soy Sauce
2 Spoonful Osyter Sauce
Dried Mushrooms (plenty)
200ml Pork Stock (homemade)
2 Litres of Water
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Dips:
Cut Chili/Garlic in Dark Soy Sauce

Rinse meat & add into 2 litres of boiling water. If you like, you can blanch meat in hot water to get rid of blood & sediments. Add garlic, the combination of sauces as well as mushrooms. Cook for ½ hour under medium heat & another 15 minutes on low heat. Best served with Cha Koay & Fried Soft Tofu, also with rice while hot.

Serves more than 5

Cost of Meat RM20
Cost of Spices RM5
Cost of Labour & Good Taste - Priceless
Anything else, there's MASTERCARD!

Mini Chocolate Cup Cake (Fondant)

Noah was looking through an old recipe book & said, "Daddy lets make dessert! This one!" I was about to let him down, so we rushed into kitchen & got all busy :o)

It looks like his interest in culinary is blossoming. I hope Eli would join us too in a few years time, though the two boys can cook up a storm NOW if they're both in the kitchen with me.

Fondant is a french word that means melted or melts in the mouth. Well, it's suppose to have a lava of chocolate in the middle - cooked on the outside & half cooked in the middle. Not a bad turnout on our first try with Noah under my wings.

80 g Dark Chocolate
3 Eggs
300 g Self Raising Flour
200 g Unsalted Butter
150 g Brown Sugar
100 ml of Skimmed Milk
Icing Sugar for Dusting (if you like)

Melt the dark chocolate/butter. Whisk egg with sugar, then add the molten butter & dark chocolate. Continue whisking till everything is nice & fluffy. Add flour in stages with skimmed milk to achieve a rich chestnut brown mixture. Put the mixture in a metal pudding tray & steam it on a steamer for 7-9 minutes. You can also bake it in the oven at 220°C for 7 minutes or so.

Chicken Fettucini with Tomatoes & Mushroom Sauce

I've been meaning to do a pasta dish for a while now & I finally got to do it. It's the simplest of dish which took me 15 minutes tops.

Boil fettucini with plenty of salt (enough for 2).
Cut chicken breast in small cubes.
Cut mushrooms/tomatoes in pieces.
Sauce - homemade tomato/mushroom sauce
or sauce from Alfredros/Ragu/Reego/etc.
Salt & Pepper
Butter
Cheese (preferably parmesan)
Cut Onions
Olive Oil
Dry (fresh) Parsley

Olive oil in frying pan then add onions/chicken.
Saute till meat turns white & tender.
Add mushroom/tomatoes & sauces/butter,
then add salt & pepper to taste.
Lower heat & simmer till sauce thickens.
Toss with pasta & sprinkle with cheese.

Will love to do this more!

Side Dish: Salted Duck Eggs

Last of the 3 side dishes we'd over the weekend.
Boil 2 eggs for 15 minutes,
let them cool
then cut eggs into 4 equal pieces.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serves as an appetizer.
Also goes very well with congee.

Side Dish: Leeks & Pork Liver

A very nice combination of tastes.
Pork liver has to be really fresh.

I love this dish very much simply cos it has pork liver. The liver has a distinctive taste & it's definitely not everybody's cup of tea. But combining it with leeks & ginger would take away the smell & transform it into an aromatic blends of food. A classic!

Pork Liver
Leeks
Ginger
Salt & Pepper
Corn Starch & Soy Sauce

Add oil to wok, then add ginger & liver. Fry till brown before adding leeks & the rest to taste. Add water with corn starch to thicken the sauce.

Another express dish!

Side Dish: Spinach - My Favourite

Popularized by Popeye the Sailor. I wasn't much of a veggie boy growing up. My mom used to convince me that I need spinach to be strong like Popeye. I've been eating spinach ever since but I've not been beating Brutus in my life though I did meet my Olive Oyl :)

Spinach is high in iron which makes it a good veggie, not forgetting that it's yummy too. Simply fry it with lots of garlic & salt to taste. A great fuss & furious free side dish!

"Chu Kiok" - Pork Trotters in Sweet Dark Vinegar Sauce

If there's ONE dish I've to pass down to my boys it'd be this ONE. My dad cooks the best "chu kiok" ever! This is his specialty & I'm proud to cook this dish, thus passing down the generation & closing the generation gap. As I'll always say - home food cooking isn't just about cooking, it's a recipe for a happy family.

Chu Kiok (pork legs in hakka) - 2 kg
ask your butcher to chop them into pieces
Ginger - lots of 'em
Sweet Vinegar Sauce
A Bottle of Mixed Pickle (ginger/onions/red chili/etc)
Black Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper
Potatoes

Boil pork legs for 10 minutes
to get rid of blood & sediments.
Take out legs & transfer into a big cooking pot.
Add vinegar, then mixed pickle.
Use only ½ the juice from the bottle
or else it becomes too sour.
Add black soy sauce, salt & water.
Lastly add potatoes.

Serves 4-8 over two meals

Chicken Rice - Pyramid Style feat. Noah

The best chicken rice in town (Kota Kinabalu i.e.) has got to be Nasi Ayam Viya @ Segama. Noah loves it very much that we decided to give it a try. There was no whole chicken at home for I've not been to the market in recent weeks. So we just tried it out with chicken parts though a whole chicken would make the best broth.

Noah finished the chicken rice, not the chicken though but it's yet another success story seeing him eat the food that he helped to cook.

HE WHO COOKS, EATS! Good tip for parents with kids who are very picky eaters.

Chicken (whole/parts)
Ginger (smack 'em)
Rice
Salt
Chicken Stock

Broth:
Add chicken into (2 cups) boiling water.
Add ginger & salt to taste.
Boil it for ½ hour & continue to do so
for another 15 minutes under lower heat.
Let it settle in order to get a thin oily surface.

Rice:
Fry rice grains with (minimal) cooking oil & ginger.
Add some chicken broth (take top layer of the thin film).
When rice grains turn yellowish
& the whole kitchen smells of lovely ginger,
you know it's time to put the rice in the rice cooker.
Add the remaining chicken broth to rice & let it cook.

Chicken:

The boiled/steamed chicken is normally good enough to be taken with rice but I deep fried our chicken since it was in parts & not whole plus just to be different.

The next time you want to go for chicken rice outside, think again :)

Noah's important tasks:
peel ginger
put 2 cups of rice in rice cooker/wash the rice
set the table
EAT
wash the plates

Travelling Blues

Been buzy.
Travelling to Tawau & Sandakan the last few weeks.
Been eating lots of food outside.
Can't be avoided.

Seafood all over - Sabindo, Ocean King, etc. Frequent travellers & the locals would know what I mean. Nevertheless, nothing can stop me from being busy in the kitchen during the weekends.

I've always admire cooks who gets to travel & cook at the same time. It's the best job! I'd quit my day job for that anytime!

Wishful thinking.
Then again what's life without dreams?
It's like a dish without SALT.

I'd better start updating my cooking adventures!

Chicken Burger - Flat Patty

I always feel that the FAST FOOD burgers aren't really healthy despite them (the management) stating otherwise. Their patties contain too much processed food & miscellaneous ingredients of unknown origin. For me, the quality of the patty defines the burger, good or bad. The sauces such as mustard, tomato ketchup, mayonnaise are secondary & is entirely up to individual taste, so are pickles & lettuce. The patty, therefore, tells the story.

Minced Chicken
Onions
Lea Perin Sauce
Corn Starch
Salt & Pepper

Mix all together
& shape it into flat patties.
Fry it on a non-stick pan
or have it grilled.

4 pieces for my two boys :o)