Easy Malaysian home cooking with air fryer and stovetop recipes, and smart shortcuts
For years, I’d been reading all kinds of tricks for making crispy chicken wings. Add baking powder lah. Double fry lah. Steam them lah. Dry them overnight in the fridge. Aiyo, so much work! After some experimenting, I stumbled upon this SIMPLE method to make the crispiest airfryer chicken wings – with a fraction of…
For most of my life, I regarded tempeh as a sidekick ingredient: a few slices next to nasi lemak, maybe fried with sambal at economy rice stalls, or tossed into a simple home-style stir-fry. I liked it well enough, but I never craved it. Until this two-texture tempeh sambal changed my mind completely. While researching…
Chau lup lup is one of those old-school Cantonese home dishes that doesn’t look flashy, but once you start eating it, wah… very hard to stop. The name literally means “stir-fried dices”, referring to how almost everything in the dish is cut into little cubes: tofu, French beans, preserved sweet radish. It’s colourful, deeply savoury,…
Read More “Chau Lup Lup is the answer for poor appetites, Mum-approved” »
I learned to make sardine puffs using frozen roti during MCO. You know, when every other human was inventing all sorts of wild things with Kawan Food roti …. (their share price must have gone through the roof. Should have bought their stock, aiya!) To my surprise, I discovered that frozen roti is a really…
Read More “Easy Sardine Puffs with Frozen Roti – the best thing to come out of MCO” »
My mum makes many wonderful soups, but this one might just be my sentimental favourite because she made it when I needed it most. I wasn’t feeling well and my appetite was very poor. Seeing my condition, she simply said, “I’ll make a soup to wake up your appetite.” I remember thinking … sure or…
Read More “Old Cucumber Soup with Red Dates & Chicken (老黄瓜汤)” »
There are two types of nasi goreng kampung in this world. The sad, pale, under-seasoned kind you regret ordering. And the one that smacks you with chilli, ikan bilis and enough wok hei to feel like someone’s grandmother just cooked it up. Oh, and a runny fried egg on top (non-negotiable) This is the second…
Read More “Nasi Goreng Kampung with Homemade Sambal Hijau” »
I’m currently obsessed with sambal hijau (ijo)!! This whole journey started when I had a nasi goreng kampung craving. I’ve eaten some really good ones before, but honestly, many commercial versions are just … not great. The rice is too soft. Not enough wok hei. Barely any spice paste. And don’t even get me started…
Steamed sambal stingray is my home-style riff on the ever-popular grilled Portuguese stingray, the one dish I order without fail whenever I see it on the menu. But lately, seafood prices have soared, and that was when I decided to take a closer look at the wet market. One morning at Lip Sin Market, there…
Can you see me drooling as I film my mum – this onion omelette is one of those dishes that look too simple to impress. Just three eggs, two red onions, soy sauce, salt, and oil. But somehow, in her hands, it becomes magic. In Malay, we call that ‘air tangan’, the special touch that…
This Chinese New Year, I had the privilege of learning how to make jiu hu char, a beloved Nyonya dish, from my mum. For those unfamiliar, it’s a stir-fry of jicama (or bangkuang) and dried cuttlefish. Typically enjoyed as a side dish with rice or wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves, it embodies the essence of…
Read More “Jiu Hu Char (Stir-Fried Jicama with Dried Cuttlefish)” »
No matter where you are in the world, chances are there’s a version of the curry chicken. From the rich, slow-cooked curries of India to the mildly sweet Japanese kare, every culture has its own spin. Here in Malaysia, curry chicken isn’t just one dish — it’s a reflection of our multicultural society. With Chinese,…
If you’re craving a bowl of comforting, flavorful soup but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen, try my cheat version of Chinese style fish soup noodles. With just a few key ingredients (only 4 for the soup base!) and a simple technique, you can whip up a one-pot meal that feels like it…
This is a super simple recipe on Indian butter chicken that will deliver restaurant-quality results! If you found your way here, you probably already know butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani, is an insanely delicious Indian dish served with a creamy sauce made from tomatoes and butter. I’ve made multiple attempts at creating North…
Cili boh, chilli paste, cili giling. When I first dipped my toes into the cooking world, I came across these terms in Malaysian recipes and was thoroughly confused. Alamak, so many types of cili. What’s the difference? Actually, was there even a difference? If you are like me, be confused no more. The terms essentially…
Or how I found the Javier Bardem of Roti Canai … read on 🙂 One sunny morning, hubs and I wanted to eat somewhere new, so we ended up at a food court near the Sg Tiram Shell station. “I ordered roti canai with mutton curry,” hubby announced. I nodded disinterestedly. To be honest I…
