Cucumber and Carrot Pickle

Salut,

The first time I made this pickles here, it was for mon mari and our friends a few years ago. I guess this is the first time they eating cold pickles like that. I've made this pickles quite a many times now because everyone loves it!

Cucumber pickles or we called acar timun is popular as a side dishes and is a good combination to go with rice. It is simple and easy to make, delicious and healthy.

CUCUMBER AND CARROT PICKLE/ ACAR TIMUN

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, remove seeds and sliced or cut into strips
2 carrot, cut into strips
1 shallot, sliced
2 small chilli, optional
A few assam boi or chinese dried sour plum, optional
4-5 tablespoon rice vinegar
1-2 tablespoon sugar
Salt

METHOD:

- Dissolved sugar and vinegar and mix all ingredients together.
- Add more sugar or salt and make it as suitable to your taste.
- Chill for at least 30 minute before serving.

Enjoy!

Nasi Lemak

Bonsoir a tous,

The weather is not so pleasant this week, humid and rain almost every day. Grey and windy all day long, it's better if we just stay at home, cleaning up and watching movies.

Okay, forget about the weather, few days ago, I cooked nasi lemak for our lunch with friends. Nasi Lemak is one of the most popular dish in Malaysia and traditionally it's served as a breakfast meal but these meal can be eaten any time of the day. Nasi lemak is a rice cooked in coconut milk and served with sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg and cucumber.

I've made nasi lemak many times since I moving here few years ago. This time, I made my sambal chilli entirely vegetarian and less spicy so all my French friends can enjoy it. And to my surprise, it worked and they loved it.

The two different photos of nasi lemak that I made quite a while ago.

NASI LEMAK

Ingredients:

For coconut rice;

2 cups rice, preferably basmati rice
3 cups coconut milk
2cm ginger, sliced
Salt to taste

For sambal chilli;

2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup dry chilli, boiled or chilli paste
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2cm ginger, sliced
2 tablespoon tamarind, add 1/2 cup water to make a paste
Palm sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

To prepare coconut rice:
- Wash and clean the rice and put it in a pot or can cook use a rice cooker as well.
- Add coconut milk, ginger and salt.
- Cover and bring to boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the water has been absorbed.
- Removed from heat and loosen rice with wooden spoon.
- Cover up and allow rice to cook in its own.

To prepare sambal chilli:
- Using a blender or food processor, blend onion, chilli, garlic and ginger into paste.
- Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté blend ingredients for a few minutes.
- Add sugar and tamarind paste and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Season with salt then remove from the heat.
- Dish a serving portion and serve the coconut rice with sambal and other garnishing like fried anchovies, fried peanuts, hard boiled egg or fried egg and cucumber.

Bon appétit!

Gateau Grand-Mere aux Pommes

Salut,

I learned to make this gateau grand-mere aux pommes or grandma's apple cake from my French boss when I was working in cinema catering a while ago. So I made this cake few days back for our afternoon tea break. Though, I'm not a big fan of apple cake but mon mari liked it. I knew that most French people loves apple cake or pie and they really know what to do with them.

GRANDMA'S APPLE CAKE

Ingredients:

3 eggs
150g flour
150g sugar
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 tablespoon milk
30g butter, melted
4-5 apples, peeled and cut diced

METHOD:

- Preheat oven 180° and prepare grease baking pan.
- Put the cut apples in the prepared pan.
- In a large bowl, mix sugar, baking powder, vanilla and eggs.
- Add flour and milk, mix well.
- Add in the melted butter and stir until well combined.
- Pour the batter over apples in pan, spread the batter so that it covers all apples.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
- Serve warm or cooled or with vanila sauce or ice cream, it's delicious.

Bon appétit!

Squid Curry

Coucou,

Cooking squid is easy and can be as simple as cooking prawn. When it comes to squid, I actually prefer the squid to cooked with curry just like my sister style squid curry. For me, the texture and taste of squid goes well with the curry flavor.

For those who like curry and spicy, here is the simple and easy squid curry recipe.

SQUID CURRY

Ingredients:

300g squid
1 red onion or shallot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2cm ginger, chopped
2 tablespoon curry powder, add little water to make paste
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

- Heat little oil in a saucepan and fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add in onion and fry for a minute.
- Add curry paste, stir and let the curry cook for a few minutes. Add little water if necessary.
- Add in the squids and stir thoroughly.
- Cover and let the squids cook through for 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Onde Onde

Bonsoir,

I made this simple and easy Malaysian dessert called onde onde or kuih gula melaka few days ago for our friend farewell party. Onde-onde should be tender and chewy texture made from glutinous rice flour and filled with palm sugar.

These chewy little balls dessert doesn't require many ingredients and it's easy to prepare.

ONDE ONDE/ PALM SUGAR BALLS

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup pandan leaf juice or plain water
1/2 cup palm sugar, chopped
1/2 cup grated coconut, mix with a pinch of salt
Few drop green food coloring, optional
Salt

METHOD:

- Combine glutinous flour and pandan juice or water in a bowl and knead to form a smooth dough.
- Add a few drop food coloring and more glutinous flour or water if needed until you get a pliable dough.
- To assemble, pull off small size portion of dough and flatten in your palm and fill with palm sugar, then fold the dough to seal and gently roll it into a ball.
- When all the dough has been prepared, boil a pot of water and add the balls into boiling water.
- The balls are ready and cooked when they start floating on the surface.
- Removed with a slotted spoon, drain briefly and roll each ball in coconut mixture.

Voila, c'est pret! Bon appétit!