Easy Malaysian home cooking with air fryer and stovetop recipes, and smart shortcuts
If you’ve attended a Malaysian national school, you would have fond memories of mee goreng makcik kantin. Or as some of us call it, mee kosong. Because this type of fried noodles was really, literally “kosong” (empty): hardly any vegetables, no meat to speak of, not even egg, the cheapest of proteins. But somehow the…
If you watched hit K-drama Itaewon Class, you will instantly recognize sundubu jjigae, a Korean stew with tofu and kimchi, served at hero Park Seroyi’s restaurant-bar. A one-pot dish where you literally chuck everything in, it may not be the most photogenic dish. But it’s really delicious – and has become a firm favourite of…
Every Chinese family has their version of the classic soya sauce chicken, but when I saw a photo of Alfred Lam’s rendition, I immediately wanted his recipe. Look at that glistening honey-brown skin! I bet that got you drooling. Now, scroll down and check out this cross-section of the meat. . . . . ….
Next to kai si hor fun, wat tan hor must be the most popular noodle dish in Ipoh. I’ve never received so many responses to my Instastories until I posted a picture of the wat tan hor I made last Friday! A rich eggy sauce poured over wok-charred rice noodles loaded with vegetables and…
How do you prevent fried beehoon from sticking to the wok? Ask any cook and that is probably their no 1 pet peeve when cooking fried beehoon, a simple and most delicious dish. Washing the wok after frying, however, is a pain of epic proportions. I usually soak the wok in hot water to “lift”…
Every Ipohite has their favourite kai si hor fun stall. Mine is Canning Garden’s Little Katong, a relative newcomer compared to the old stalwarts in other parts of Ipoh. I prefer this version because the soup is rich and flavourful without being overly sweet. For the uninitiated, kai si hor fun stands for shredded chicken…
What could be so luxurious about chicken porridge? If you make them the way my Aunt Wong Kim Yeng does, then it is SUPER luxurious. In fact, better than any dim sum restaurant out there! I found out about her special porridge way back in 2006. I had just moved to Kuala Lumpur permanently to…
Sang har meen brings back wonderful memories. Growing up, I would visit my relatives in Bukit Bintang whenever I came to Kuala Lumpur. The neighbourhood was a hotspot for sang har meen, a popular Chinese restaurant dish featuring giant river prawns atop a bed of crispy noodles swimming in a rich briny sauce. Yum!! The…
Before I dive into the mechanics of making braised turmeric chicken, allow me to digress a little. When I started sharing recipes on social media, I didn’t expect it to become such a rich learning resource, thanks to friends who comment. The recipe for this braised turmeric chicken is inspired by a FB post about…
Growing up in Ipoh, I got to know claypot chicken rice at a very young age. I still remember where I ate it: a roadside stall in Hugh Low Street. The uncle and aunty would monitor multiple claypots on stoves like hawks, holding fans to control the flame and lifting the lids occasionally to check…
Thank you Periuk for featuring my mum’s braised yee mee recipe. Braised yee mee is one of my favourite 15-minute comfort meals — saucy, slurpy, and perfect for using up whatever vegetables and protein you already have at home. The first dish my mum ever taught me, it’s her go-to solution for days when she…
Turmeric fried chicken (ayam goreng kunyit) is one of those dishes that looks deceptively simple but tastes like heaven when done right. I rarely make fried chicken — the fumes, the oil splatters, the calories, the floor mopping … aiyo! So when I do make it, I make sure it counts. As in you’d better…
Too many K-dramas during COVID19 are triggering an overwhelming craving for Korean food, so I made kimchi fried rice a few days ago 😂 What you need Rice You’ve probably heard that day old rice is best for fried rice. However, if you don’t have time to plan ahead, just use less water to boil…
A savoury cake that Malaysians eat as a traditional snack, yam cake or woo thau koh is the ultimate flavour bomb. We’re right smack into the 2nd phase of the COVID19 MCO as I write this. Last week, I was getting bored of the usual Chinese dishes and pastas, and started fantasizing about some kopitiam…
Ooof, how I love loh mai fan or Chinese fried glutinous (sticky) rice! Unlike loh mai kai, which is steamed until soft, loh mai fan is stir-fried, giving the rice more bite and a deeper, savoury character. Made with Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and aromatics, it’s an umami bomb that’s worth every bit…
