But when you’re thousands of miles away from home, you just have to cook it!  Not that people don’t cook these dishes at home in Malaysia, they do (well, maybe except for roti canai which is easily bought frozen) especially at the weekend.

Having lived away from home all these years, I’ve been on a mission to continually perfect my own rendition of chicken rice which had no recipe really ?. So I learned to cook it the way my mum did…And my mum’s chicken rice is  simply THE best! It is so good I can eat it on its own!” Sounds almost like the Malaysian radio commercial for Gardenia bread!

Hainanese chicken rice usually comes “steamed” or “roasted” and since I’m not at all fond of the steamed version, my recipe here is for the roasted chicken. 

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken soup
Chicken bones from 1 chicken carcass
5cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1.5 litres water

For the chicken rice
2 cups (rice cooker cup) jasmine rice
1/4 medium-sized onion or 4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cm chunk of ginger
1 tbsp Canola oil
5cm long cinnamon stick
1 Maggi chicken cube

For the roast chicken
1 kg whole chicken
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder (optional)
Canola spray oil

For the chilli sauce
6 red chillies
3 cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Garnishing
A sprig of spring onions
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves
Cucumber
Lettuce

DIRECTIONS

Marinade the chicken
Remove excess skin at the neck and bottom of the chicken and cut into quarters. Wash well and drain. Prick with a fork all over, then dry with a paper towel. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste the marinade for salt then add the chicken quarters to the bowl and rub the marinade all over. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.

Prepare the chicken soup
Wash the chicken bones and place in a pot with the water. Peel the ginger and garlic and smash with the sides of a large knife. Add to the pot of water and chicken bones. Bring to the boil on high heat, then let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand.

Prepare the chilli sauce
Wash the chillis, cut into 3 cm pieces and boil in 1 cup of water until chilli turns orangey. Drain and set aside. Peel the ginger and garlic and slice into small pieces. Place boiled chillis, ginger, garlic and salt into a container, add 1/2 cup of the chicken soup prepared earlier and blend using a hand blender until fine. Set aside.

Prepare the roast chicken
Preheat the oven at 180C. Spray Canola oil onto a baking dish. Remove chicken from the fridge and arrange the chicken quarters onto the dish spreading any marinade left in the bowl all over the chicken pieces. Spray the tops of the chicken with Canola oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces around and roast for a further 15 – 20 minutes till brown and crispy but not burnt. Turn again and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes covered in foil.

Prepare the chicken rice
While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the rice. Wash the rice under the tap to remove as much of the starch as possible. Drain and leave in colander to dry. Peel the onions or shallots, garlic and ginger. Slice the onion and garlic thinly lengthwise and julienne the ginger. Heat the oil in a non-stick pot. When hot, fry the cinnamon then add the sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Fry on medium heat till fragrant and the onions brown. Add the washed rice and fry till the rice is covered in the oil. At this point I usually just touch the edge of a knife in the Paella seasoning (basically saffron powder) then dip it in the rice to get a lovely light yellow colour. Add 3 cups (rice cooker cup) of the chicken soup prepared earlier and one Maggi chicken cube. Mix everything well and let the rice cook on medium heat. Taste for salt when most of the liquid is gone and add salt if necessary according to your taste. Turn the fire to low and insert a heat diffuser between the pot and and the gas fire to cook the rice slowly until all the liquid is dry without burning it.

TO SERVE
Cut each chicken quarter into two or three pieces and arrange on a bed of lettuce. Garnish on the side with sliced cucumbers and top with fresh coriander.

Add salt and pepper to the soup and serve with diagonal slices of spring onions.

Serve the rice, roast chicken and soup hot with chilli sauce on the side.

Once cooked each crepe is folded into four like in the photograph above, or sometimes, it is rolled, like the photograph below.

It is called “roti” in Malay I guess because it is never eaten alone. Like bread, it is always eaten with something, either a sweet dish or for us usually, a curry. When I serve Roti Jala, its always with my chicken curry!

I recipised the dish because I just had to try and make it. It’s fine in Malaysia – if you don’t know how to make it, you can order it, or you will find it in a Malay stall at a night market. During the month of Ramadhan, roti jala can be found at almost every Bazaar Ramadhan.

When I lived in Dubai of course, if you can’t make it then you don’t get to eat it! So when Mum and my late Dad came to visit us in Dubai, I watched her make it and forced her to measure everything. And this is her recipe.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
3 1/3 cups water
1 egg (or 2 for a richer taste)
Salt to taste
Yellow food colouring

Vegetable oil for the pan
Kitchen paper for applying the oil to the pan
Pandanus leaves for patting the crepes with oil

DIRECTIONS

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl using a hand blender. Make sure there are no lumps. Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove any little lumps.

Shred a couple of pandanus leaves lengthwise, fold into to and tie the end with a rubber band or twine to hold it together.

Heat a heavy-based pan and using a piece of kitchen paper, dab in a bit of oil and rub the pan with it. When it starts to smoke a little the pan is ready.

Make one crepe at a time. Pour a little of the mixture into the roti jala tool sitting on a plate, bring it to the pan and swirl in small circular motions making sure they overlap to create the lacey effect. If the mixture does not make a “smooth” lace but instead comes out in drips and drops, the mixture is too thick. Add a bit of water, mix well and try again.

When the surface gets shiny, it is almost ready. Dip the pandanus leaf into some oil and pat the crepe with it. Lift the crepe off the pan onto a plate and fold it or roll it. Refill the tool and make the next crepe.

I serve my chicken curry with anything – steaming hot white rice, roti canai (paratha) or roti jala (“lacey pancakes”). I love it as an everyday meal, during Eid or other special occasions when I have a gathering.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6 – 8 

2 kg chicken, cut into pieces (we like it skin off)
1 medium-sized onion (140 gms)
6 cloves garlic
5 cm fresh ginger
3 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
2 – 3 large potatoes
1 piece tamarind
Thick “santan” (coconut milk) made with 45 gms coconut powder and 1 1/2 cups water
Thin “santan” made with 45 gms coconut powder and 2 1/4 cups water
1 tsp salt

5 cardamom
2 pieces cinnamon approx 2” long
2 star anise
6 cloves
2 sprigs curry leaves
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the chicken and drain. Peel the potato and cut into 4 cm chunks. Soak in water.

Cube the onion and garlic and slice the ginger then use a blender to blend them. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary. Add the curry powder and chilli powder to the blended ingredients and mix well into a thick paste. Prepare the thin and thick “santan” and put aside.

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a non-stick pot and fry the dry spices and curry leaves. When fragrant add the curry powder and blended ingredients and mix well. Add a little water and mix as its frying.

When most of the liquid is gone, add one third of the thin santan and the chicken. Stir well to make sure the chicken pieces are well-coated with the curry mixture and let this cook till aromatic and “oily”. Add the rest of the thin santan, mix well and bring to the boil on medium heat. Lower the heat, add the salt and let it simmer till the chicken is tender.

In a separate pot, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and put it aside.

When chicken is tender, add the thick santan and tamarind and bring to the boil, then remove from heat. The curry should “pecah minyak” i.e. have a coating of oil on top – see photo above.

* This is where I use my little trick: instead of boiling on the hob, I transfer to a pyrex dish, cover and cook in microwave at high for 4 mins to get a perfect finish.

Add the cooked potatoes and let the curry stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. The longer the better.

I serve my chicken curry with anything – steaming hot white rice, roti canai (paratha) or roti jala (“lacey pancakes”). I love it as an everyday meal, during Eid or other special occasions when I have a gathering.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 – 3 

1 kg chicken, cut into pieces (we like it skin off)
1/2 medium-sized onion (70 gms)
3 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cm (1”) fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 large potato
1 piece tamarind
Thick “santan” (coconut milk) made with 25 gms coconut powder and 3/4 cup water
Thin “santan” made with 25 gms coconut powder and 1 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

3 cardamom
1 piece cinnamon approx 2” long
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 sprig curry leaves
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the chicken and drain. Peel the potato and cut into 4 cm chunks. Soak in water.

Cube the onion and garlic and slice the ginger then use a blender to blend them. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary. Add the curry powder and chilli powder to the blended ingredients and mix well into a thick paste. Prepare the thin and thick “santan” and put aside.

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a non-stick pot and fry the dry spices and curry leaves. When fragrant add the curry powder and blended ingredients and mix well. Add a little water and mix as its frying.

When most of the liquid is gone, add one third of the thin santan and the chicken. Stir well to make sure the chicken pieces are well-coated with the curry mixture and let this cook till aromatic and “oily”. Add the rest of the thin santan, mix well and bring to the boil on medium heat. Lower the heat, add the salt and let it simmer till the chicken is tender.

In a separate pot, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and put it aside.

When chicken is tender, add the thick santan and tamarind and bring to the boil, then remove from heat. The curry should “pecah minyak” i.e. have a coating of oil on top – see photo above.

* This is where I use my little trick: instead of boiling on the hob, I transfer to a pyrex dish, cover and cook in microwave at high for 4 mins to get a perfect finish.

Add the cooked potatoes and let the curry stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. The longer the better.

When I started cooking it myself, I used to add sliced string beans and I would garnish it with sliced telur dadar (like a crepe made of eggs).

The last time I was in Malaysia, my son asked me to cook it so he could learn. He said that when he tried his hand at making his own fried rice, it was “horrible and tasteless”! LOL

We discussed the various ways people make Nasi Goreng Kampung (“Kampung” means “village”) and he told me that in the “warungs” (I would define them as coffee shops that sold specifically Malay food) and “Mamak stalls” (kiosks that open till late night selling hot and cold beverages and cook-on-the-spot local favourites), they put chicken and kangkung (water spinach or convolvulus)! I said that that sounded a bit ridiculous as I had never ever had Nasi Goreng Kampung with kangkong in it! Chicken, maybe, but kangkung??

We wondered if this originated when the “chef” misheard “kampung” for “kangkong”! 

Anyway, we concluded that Nasi Goreng Kampung must be like the Italian pizza, where every household had their own way of cooking a spicy rice dish with leftover rice and whatever was in the fridge.

Here is how I make it.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 – 3

2 cups Jasmine (Thai) rice (I use the measuring cup that comes with most rice cookers. If you don’t have one, use any standard measuring cup.)
5 cups water

*Note: Basically I always use the same measuring cup for the rice and the water. And the formula is 1 cup rice: 1.5 cups water.

10 gms dried chillies
30 gms onions
2 cloves garlic
8 gms belacan (shrimp paste) granules
30 gms string beans
30 gms ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
2 – 3 tbsp Canola oil
2 eggs for making the garnish, telur radar or egg crepe (optional)
Salt to taste

The best nasi goreng is prepared with rice cooked the night before and refrigerated! Wash the rice to remove the starch, add the water and cook in a rice cooker. Once cooked, remove from rice cooker and let it cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. Before making the fried rice, wet your hand with water and “play” with the rice until it is not lumpy. Don’t try making fried rice with freshly cooked rice because it will just be a lumpy mess!

Cut the dried chillies using a pair of scissors, rinse and soak for 5 minutes in hot water. Peel the onions and cut into cubes. Peel the garlic. Place soaked chillies, onions, garlic and the belacan granules with some water in a blender and liquidise.

Wash the string beans and cut in 1/2 cm lengths.

Wash the ikan bilis. Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, fry the ikan bilis, stirring constantly on medium heat. When they are golden brown and crispy, remove and drain on a paper towel .

Add more oil if necessary and fry the blended ingredients on medium heat. Stir well until fragrant and the oil separates. Add the cut string beans and stir fry until they are cooked. Add salt to taste, then add the rice. Stir well (use two spoons) until all the rice is evenly covered in the chilli. Taste for salt then add the fried ikan bilis. Mix well and remove from heat.

Make the telur dadar, if desired. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Heat a small frying and grease it with some oil on a paper towel. Pour 2 tbsp of the beaten egg then swirl the pan to cover the base with the egg. Pour any egg left back into the bowl. Let the egg crepe cook (the edges should start to curl up – don’t let it turn brown) then remove and repeat with the balance of the eggs.

Roll each crepe, then slice thinly.

To serve the rice, separate the sliced egg crepe and sprinkle them on top.

Broccoli or kale or even french beans or long beans can be cooked the same way and they all go great with steaming hot rice! This is an especially great way to cook broccoli which is oh-so-healthy and I personally could eat a plate of broccoli belacan like a salad!

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized head of broccoli
3 small red chillis
1 tsp belacan granules

2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Canola oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Warning!!!! Make sure the extractors are on and kitchen doors closed before cooking this dish!!!

Prepare the broccoli – here’s a good how to video. Scroll to the middle to see the part dealing with the broccoli.

[youtube]RrGoIbXvkaA[/youtube]

Wash the cut broccoli and place in a microwave-proof with a little water and microwave for 2 minutes. It should be a bright green and still crunchy. Rinse in cold water to stop it cooking. Discard all the water.

Peel the garlic and smash with the side of the knife then cut into small pieces.

Wash the chillies and cut into a few small pieces. Place in the plastic jug together with the belacan granules, add 2 tablespoon water and a bit of salt and use the hand blender to blend it into the “sambal”. Set aside.

Heat the oil in the wok, and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the “sambal” and fry quickly careful not to let it burn. When fragrant add the broccoli and mix well using two non-stick spoons.

When everything is covered with the “sambal” remove from heat and serve with hot steamed rice.

Whatever it is, every one has her own way of preparing it so it does not really matter if its a Malaysian dish or an Indonesian dish.

Its a very adaptable dish..when I want to eat it carb free, I omit the potatoes in the meat patties and of course the rice cakes or noodles.

One of the ingredients in this dish is ketupat or nasi impit (compressed rice cubes), you must make these the night before and keep in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken soup:
300 gms chicken bones
300 gms chicken breast
4 cm cinammon stick
1 star anise
2 cardamoms
10 black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp fennel powder
5 cm ginger, peeled and crushed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Maggi chicken cube
1 litre water

Beef patties:
300 gms potatoes (optional for low-carb)
300 gms low-fat minced beef
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg
4 tbsp fried onions
Spray oil for frying

300 gms bean sprouts
2-3 sprigs spring onions
2-3 springs flat celery if desired
Crispy fried onions
5-6 bird chillies
1 tbsp thick soya sauce
2 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the soup:
   Clean the chicken bones, remove any skin or fat. In a heavy pan, place all the ingredients and the chicken bones (not the chicken breast) and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking for 30 minutes until the soup tastes of all the flavours of the spices and the chicken. Add the chicken breast and cook again on the slow fire until the soup is clear again and the chicken breast is cooked. Remove chicken breast and let cool.
2. Prepare the beef patties (“pegedil”):
   If using potatoes in the beef patties, clean and boil them. When cool, peel and mash them in a bowl. Add the minced beef, fried shallots, salt and pepper and mix well. Lightly beat the egg in another bowl, add to the mixture and mix well. Heat a pan, spray with a little oil. Form small balls with about 2 tbsp of the mixture and then flatten to look like a burger. Cook on medium fire until both sides are well-done. Place in a serving dish.
3. Shred the cooked chicken breast following the natural grain of the chicken. Place in serving dish.
4. Cut the ketupat / nasi impit into cubes.
5. Wash the bean sprouts and tail them if necessary and blanch in boiling water. Drain and place in serving dish.
6. To prepare the hot chilli condiment, use a pestle and mortar to crush the bird chillies. Place in a small bowl and add the soya sauce and water.

To serve Aoto Ayam:

In a bowl, place a few pieces of ketupat, some beansprouts, beef patties and shredded chicken. Pour hot chicken soup over it generously, sprinkle some fried onions, spring onions and celery and top off with the spicy chilly condiment.

So one day in 2009, I followed her around her wet kitchen, watched her, weighed and measured everything, took pictures and took notes! And this post is the result.

After recipising it, I tried cooking it on my own at the apartment and the result was…..THIS…fish curry that looked and tasted exactly like Mummy’s!

INGREDIENTS

2 – 3 slices of “ikan tenggiri” or king fish
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 – 3 ladies’ fingers, each cut into two
3 – 4 fresh “belimbing”, if available
1 strip of fresh curry leaves or a handful of dried leaves as substitute
25 gms curry powder (Babas curry powder is great!)
25 gms of “santan” powder (coconut milk powder, “Santan” brand or other)
Golf ball size “asam jawa” (tamarind pulp)

This is how to prepare the curry in pictures:

Serve hot with white rice!

This is a great way to fry chicken. The longer you marinade, the better the taste. And its great with white rice, beriyani rice or tomato rice. Even nasi lemak.

The best part of the chicken is the crispy stuff that made up the marinade…mmm so crunchy!

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken, skin off

1/2 medium sized onion

3 cloves garlic

2” ginger

4 lemon grass

2 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp thick soya sauce

2 tbsp honey (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Cut the chicken into small pieces (like you would make a curry), wash well and drain.

Cut the onion, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass into cubes and blend everything. Do not use any water. Add the curry powder, soya sauce and honey (if using) and mix well. Add salt to taste.

Mix well with the chicken pieces, place in a bowl and leave in refrigerator to marinade overnight.

To fry, heat oil (not as much as for deep frying) and pour everything into the pan and let it fry on medium heat till chicken is cooked and the marinade crispy.

After that I happened to see the pre-prepared pack for this dish in the supermarket and it was called “Cereal Prawns”. The photo they had on the pack was exactly like Lela’s butter prawns, so I bought it and tried to make it one day in Malaysia and it turned out pretty good.

Its a very rich dish and its possible to make it with carbs or no carbs depending on which diet you’re on. If you look on the internet, there are several ways to make it. I made it today after consulting my niece Ninie, currently in Miri, Sarawak. I saw her making it during my last trip home but couldn’t remember where I put the recipe. So I made it based on her text message.

I have to say it turned out fantastic and hubby loved it! The photo I took of the dish I made shook so bad I had to throw it away. This pic is from a blog I found.

INGREDIENTS

300 gms large prawns (about 20) with shell or without head and shell (I prefer de-headed, de-shelled and de-veined, tail on)

3 – 4 sprigs curry leaves (I used the ones I have dried and preserved, works fine)

3 tsp minced garlic

2 red bird chillies, cut in wedges

5 egg yolks

1 tbsp evaporated milk

250 gms butter

1 tbsp Canola oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the prawns in water and salt and rinse until water is clear. Drain and when all the water is gone, pat dry in kitchen towel.

Beat the egg yolk in a dish.

Heat half of the butter and oil in a heavy wok. When hot, add the prawns and fry briefly until pink.

Remove from wok and let the butter fry a bit on medium heat to lose the water from the prawns. Don’t let it burn. If it looks like there’s too much butter and oil mix in the wok, remove half and put aside for later. Add the egg yolk and moved it around so the egg becomes grainy. Use two utensils to move it around the wok effectively. When golden yellow, removed from wok and set aside.

All the butter will have been absorbed by the egg yolk. Wipe the wok and add the balance of the butter and oil and heat on a medium fire.

Add the minced garlic and fry for a while until fragrant, add the curry leaves. Whichever you’re using whether fresh or dried, fry until they become crispy. Add the cut bird chillies, move everything around, and add salt to taste.

Add the prawns and egg, mix well and heat through. Add the evaporated milk to make the dish “wet”.

Remove from heat and serve hot.