Today is Shrove Tuesday. The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be “shriven” before the start of Lent.

We eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday in the UK. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It’s a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Day after the fried batter recipe traditionally eaten on this day.

I have decided to make Apam Balik, our Malaysian pancake. I am making the traditional fillings but please do use peanut butter, jam or anything else you preferred.

Hubby colleagues gets to be educated about Malaysian style pancakes Apam Balik.

Yeah!

Update 6th March 2019 – The children were complaining they did not get to eat any yesterday so I woke up early this morning and made another batch. Pandan apam balik. All I did was reduce half a cup of water and add in pandan juice.

Note – Photos added in.

Mamak basically means ‘uncle’ in the Tamil language. Dotted all over Malaysia are Indian stalls selling all sorts of Indian cuisines. Among the most favoured is Mamak mee goreng. It is a spicy, sour and pungent tasty noodle dish that really warms up the belly and so moorish. If you live in a foreign land like me and desperate for a good mamak style mee goreng sometimes, you just have to cook it yourself. 

Mamak mee goreng is not something you can order from an Indian restaurant here in the UK. It is as I have discovered a fundamentally Malaysian Indian Muslim dish so there is no pork involve and mostly using seafood and potatoes plus firm  tofu (beancurd). Hence most Indian restaurant do not know what I am talking about when I ask for Mamak Mee Goreng. 

Mamak ‘style’ Mee Goreng for me because I am using a reduced carbohydrate noodles which when cooked spicy taste no different than the ordinary egg noodles and I do not have potatoes in my portion. I have also added spring onions cause I just love the taste.

Updated 29th September 2020 – Pics with potatoes (Yeah) – the REAL mamak mee goreng!

The taste with potatoes bits that stick to each strands of flavoured mee is so good.

However today’s I do not have beansprouts so I have to do without. I have also updated some new pics of the steps by steps.

Update with TIPs 7th November 2022

I like to use the egg noodles from Aldi. In UK there is not much choice. The ones from the Asian/Chinese shops are often too soft and I do not like to eat soggy lumpy sticky mess.