When I was young, one of my favourite breakfast is this fried glutinous rice. I decided to make some for today and tried to find my recipe last night but I could not find it this blog. Sadly it must heave been lost with my old blog.

So today I decided to blog this and at the same time teach my daughter as she is on holiday and she likes this a lot too. Halfway on my camera’s battery died so I took a break and have a cuppa then continues.

In them days, the good old days, the market vendors used only glutinous rice, dried shrimps and eggs – the basic. Then later on some added Chinese sausages – lap cheong. I know some people nowadays will add dried scallops, mushrooms and others but I still prefers it simple. Nostalgia is inexplicable. Maybe I should say ‘nostalgia is the problem?’

Anyway so last night I soaked some glutinous rice and today I served this. I added some char sui because I made some the other day and I have a few strips left so I decided to let the family finish them. This is not a hardcore recipe dish, meaning you can give and take on the ingredients.

I will just post the basics. If you have any problem making just poke me and I will try to explain. Below I explained with my pics. Enjoy.

My daughter’s god-sister who love this dish wanted to make this but she could not find my recipe which was lost when I lost my old blog.

I promised her that I will do anther one for her. As I have recorded on Facebook this can easily be done.

As for me it is like ABC now. If you cannot or if you are not good in making any other kuih this is the one you sure can make as it is very forgiving. I normally don’t even need a recipe, on a good day when my brain works.

When shopping I will look out for 2 large mooli/daikon/turnip/loh bak or 3 smaller ones. I know when grated they will yield about 2kg thereabout in total.

Then I remember I need 450g of flours in total. Either 100g Wheat starch and 350g rice flours or 330g rice flour and sub 20g corn flour for a softer texture. It is entirely up to you.

This amount will yield 2 tins of 7×7 or 8×8. It is not be all or end all if you do not have the perfect tin.

The beauty of this loh bak cake is you can wrap portions nicely and freeze. It freezes very well.

Read my Tip for ensuring a smooth top with using a cling film.

Note – Use as much as 4 stick of lap cheong or less but you need to cut it small and thin. This is for your easy slicing later.

Note – It is must tastier if you have shallots oil for the tins.

Note – Taste the dough before you distribute to steam, making sure it is salty enough and meet with your taste buds. If not add salt & pepper. The lap cheong releases a sweetness, the dried shrimps the umami taste and I like mine with a touch more freshly ground Sarawak pepper.

Make it your own.

Every year during hubby’s birthday I will cook a special meal for his departmental colleagues which is usually around 15 to 20 people. That is all I can manage as the entire building will have a couple of hundreds personnel! (pre pandemic) Everyone does the same on their birthdays but mostly the food is shop bought so they all looked forward to my hubby’s birthday each year.

I enjoy doing it as I am weird. I actually enjoy the planning and executing more than eating the food itself. I was talking to a friend the other day and she roll her eyes at me. kekekekekeke I enjoy introducing the majority British colleagues with what I like to think a true Malaysian hospitality and cuisines. I also have to plan what I can cook that can travel, easy for hubby to carry in the boot of his car. Luckily his office is just 10 minutes drive away.

When the colleagues come back and tell my husband they went to this and that restaurants and order the same food I have made for them but they tasted totally different, not enough ooooomph….it makes the hubby proud and make my heart sings lah (honestly) That is why I like to plan, execute and give them different food each year; introducing them to our Asian, Malaysian cuisines.

It had been 2 years now that they missed their treats – This was in 2017

Tri-coloured nasi pulut with chicken tikka masala, tomato chachumbar, mango raita, cumin potatoes and spicy vegetarian aubergines with mock chicken for the vegetarian.

Yesterday was not a birthday or anything but the colleagues have missed hubby’s birthday twice due to the pandemic so the boss asked hubby if he could ‘persuade’ me to cook them something for their first “meet & greet”. The only annoying thing is I have 2 days notice!!! Darn it! Hubby forgot to tell me and it cuts down my pleasure of the ‘planning & executing’ process joy!

However I have to plan something the colleagues have not tried from my kitchen before and must be Covid19 friendly. I decided on individual boxes and must be dry not wet food. So I came up with Mee Siam for main. I have not been able to find a vendor to cater to my taste so far outside so I have to cook. I did not plan to write this recipe out as it all agak-agak and I cooked 3 packets of vermicelli noodles yesterday and the last wok I added some egg noodles. However to my surprise a few persons asked for my recipe so I am scaling down this recipe for 1 wok full or 1 packet of rice vermicelli. I also served crispy wantons for starters and cupcakes for desserts.

So please bear in mind to taste and TASTE your sauce before you add in your noodles to suit your taste. Mine is extremely sour and spicy or one of my friend who ate it said ‘zingy’ kekekekekekeke I am very liberal with my lime and tamarind juice. Over the past decade the hubby’s colleagues know that I do not compromise on taste for them. They can have red faces from the spiciness and still they will eat. Very funny.

TIP 1 – Do not boil your vermicelli noodles or over soak them. Just soak in cold tap water. When soft, remove and drain before use. (Ignore what is written in the packet)

TIP 2 – I do not use any soy sauces, dark or otherwise because I do not like the colour too dark and to me it is not necessary.

TIP 3 – Whole grain fermented yellow beans smashed, taste a lot better than the ready mashed ones. Half and half is perfect.

TIP 4 – Place half the eggy strip before the gravy runs dry so they can soak up the taste a bit.

TIP 5 – If serve immediately please gives the vegetables a toss with the hot noodles before serving BUT if you are packing for people aka tapau do not do so. Residue heat will cook the vegetables to crunchy perfection. Overcooked limps beansprouts and vegetables just look so unappetising to me.

COMMON SENSE –

1 – More sauce – wetter Mee Siam so less sauce drier Mee Siam. It is entirely up to your taste!

2 – Making more of the sambal paste and serving some separately is also nice for those who can eat extra spicy. If you are serving sambal please add a pinch of sugar.

Here is another post hubby was able to recover from the net, from my old block. It’s ‘Chuk bi peah’ I have made both sweet ones and savoury ones.

This ‘peah’ literally means ‘biscuit’ in Hokkien dialect. This is only sold in Kuching in the old days as far as I know. Only those who grew up in Kuching will know this kueh and some have not even eaten them before.

A few times when I phoned my mother she was on and on about this chuk bi peah. She kept telling me how much she misses this kuih. and she’s in her 70ies.

So I wanted to learn this kuih and make it for her one day. Thanks to some of my classmates, their patience with me and guidance, taking pics for me so I am able to make this in UK. Thank you Ron, Cindy and Mary. Hubby extended his ‘Thanks’ too. He said next time in Kuching beers on him!

He preferred the haebee one because of my sambal even though he ate 4 of the tausah cause I fried and served them first! 

I will defo make this again. Love the crunchiness – Happy me.

First published – 1st August 2018

Nasi lemak is special, special to the hearts of all Malaysian. Although in my household one would think my husband was an Asian in his last life, or so all my elders (family & friends) members seems to think so.

The most important expect of nasi lemak is the nasi lemak sambal. Each person seems to have his/hers own special recipe as well as each household.

One can have nasi lemak with fried fish, chicken, sardines sambal, prawns sambal, sotong sambal and for me the dreaded petai sambal. (I just cannot get on with the smell of petai!)

There are limitless types of food you can serve nasi lemak with but the old school MUST have is the sambal sauce, the cucumber, peanuts, boiled eggs, and fried crispy ikan bilis (anchovies) served with fragrant coconut and pandan leaves flavoured rice.

This is my nasi lemak sambal recipe. I have a little chat with a good friend and finally found out what I have been missing in my nasi lemak sambal kuah (sauce). I was never quite satisfied with mine till now. I have since cooked this twice to make sure. Now I am extremely satisfied and felt I can share this. I do not document food I do not like.

Put this sambal in air tight containers and vacuum sealed. I have even posted to friends who are extremely happy with it. You can absolutely freeze them for a lazy day.

In this pic you will see my nasi lemak share platter which I served with tri-coloured rice. I cooked the nasi lemak sambal the night before and on the day itself I boiled plain coconut and pandan rice with a couple slices of ginger, then I did the same with pandan juice and saffron. I like a nice presentation, yes I do. Food taste much nicer if they are pleasing to the eyes.

TIP – After I fried my ikan bilis and removed from hot oil with a sieve I like to sprinkle them with a dusting of icing sugar while still hot. This makes your ikan bilis stay crispy longer and a lot more tastier. It’s the combination of salt and sugar that is irresistible. However you do not have to do so.

p/s I am sure you do not need me to tell you how to boil nasi lemak However do not forget your liberal pinch of salt.

Update (06/09/2020) – today I added galangal as part of my ginger portion and I really love the taste

Please note that I fried a bunch of anchovies (ikan billis) first then used the oil to cook the kuah. In the kuah itself I add in extras minced ikan bilis (not the fried ones) and minced undang kering. These really add extra ‘ooooomph’ to my kuah in my opinion. After the kuah is done then I added in a portion of the fried ikan billis and saved some for garnishing.

Stir fry rice vermicelli with dried shrimps. My comfort food. While away for the last 3 weeks this is the dish I wanted to eat most. A simple rice vermicelli stir fry.

Woke up early today and could not get back to sleep. So I was already frying this at 7am this morning.

Luckily my hubby is one that is happy to eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He’s extremely good when it come to food. Every so often I asked him if he is just eating to please me and his answer is always ‘not at all’

He eats with such total enjoyment and gusto that I just have to believe him. In fact a friend’s husband, also an Englishman recently commented that if he had not met and seen my hubby eats he would never have believed it, if told an Englishman loves Asian food so much and can eat so spicy. My friend and her husband visited for a weekend and we ate at mine and at restaurants too.

TIP – Do not add water to your noodles as there will be liquid from your fresh vegetables and beansprouts. I hate soggy noodles.

TIP – Only soak the noodles in hot water quick, do not boil them if frying. Again I hate soggy noodles.

TIP – If you like to eat the bottom burnt bit turn your fire to high for a couple of minute at the very end with a a few drop of oil to the side all round the wok. This will give you the happy crispy bottom. These are the cook’s perk!

TIP – If you have pork lard use it!