Stories and recipes from a Malaysian home kitchen
No, this pistachio pesto pasta is not classic, but after trying this recipe, you might just prefer it to the original version with pine nuts! First, why pistachio for pesto? For this wild idea, I gotta thank my frugal inner housewife. I love a good pesto pasta, but the price of pine nuts has skyrocketed….
Mum’s fried beehoon is “very simple only.” Come to think of it, that’s her standard answer whenever I ask her for the recipe of virtually any dish she cooks. She’s telling the truth. When she describes the process to me, it DOES sound simple. Ingredient lists are typically short. The steps, few. But somehow in…
This ridiculously simple sausage tomato pasta is so tasty I couldn’t believe it until I made it myself. I’ve seen variations of this floating around the internet. Jamie Oliver has made a version of it, among other people. But it wasn’t until I saw Catalina Tre’s gorgeous photo of her spicy sausage pasta that I…
I first ate iconic Thai dish goong ob woonsen (prawn glass noodles) 20 years ago at a restaurant in Thailand, while travelling with my mum and aunt. So long ago, yet I can still remember the taste like yesterday. The combination of juicy fresh prawns and saucy noodles in a spicy and fragrant peppery paste…
I never, ever thought I would cook lamb, let alone lamb pilaf. For a long time, I was under the impression that lamb/mutton needs hours of pre-boiling to soften the tough meat, until recently. Using my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and Made-in-Malaysia mixed spice brand Opah Herbs, I attempted to cook lamb shoulder. To my…
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…
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…
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…
Making braised yee mee always makes me feel sentimental because it was the first dish my mum ever taught me to make. It’s her go-to solution for days when she can’t decide what to cook. Why? Because it’s easy, tasty, and a Malaysian kitchen always has the basic ingredients for a yummy yee mee. Time…
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 fried glutinous rice! Not to be confused with loh mai kai, although they share common ingredients, this traditional Chinese dish is stir-fried with sausage, dried shrimps, shitake mushroom, and flavoured with aromatics. In other words, an umami bomb! In case you’re wondering about the difference between loh…
Who knew a K-drama could have such a huge impact? Since binge-watching Crash Landing on You, I’ve developed an unprecedented craving for Korean food. I went to BBQ Chicken because I wanted to eat the golden olive fried chicken that Seri and the ducklings were eating. Not another day had passed and I dragged the…
Bittergourd, dried shrimp and fried beehoon? Sounds strange? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, though. When this dish appeared at a table in a Chinese restaurant in Kuching a few years ago, I was skeptical as well. Seeing the look on my face, my Kuching host merely smiled and told me that it’s a…
Stewed potato, chicken and carrots in a gravy made from oyster sauce, soya sauce and one unexpected ingredient. So wholesome. A far cry from the early days of my cooking adventures, when I was all about “sexy” dishes like fried chicken, brownies and carbonara. Some say my age is showing. As I get older, I…
