CHILLI SAMBAL

                         This is one of my favourite dipping sauce in Malaysia. It is a mixture of taste of sour, hot, sweet and tangy. It's a perfect dipping for fried fish or simply steamed veggies of your choice(okra,beans,eggplant etc.). I love it in my fried rice, it adds a bit of an oomph for it.

                                                  Ingredients:

                                                     5 pieces dried chillies, deseeded
                                                     5 pieces fresh finger chillies
                                                      2 pcs. Shallots, peeled
                                                      2 pcs. garlic cloves
                                                      1 inch of ginger, peeled
                                                      5 pcs of calamansi juice or 1 lime
                                                      1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
                                                      inch by inch piece of belachan or shimp paste
                                                       1 medium ripe tomato
                                                       1 tsp. palm sugar(brown sugar will do)

              Here's how to make it:

                    1.)    Soak the dried cillies in a hot water for at least half an hour before you start preparing..

                    2.)     Prepare the remaining ingredients. Wrap the belachan or shimp paste in an aluminum foil and roast it in the stove (direct fire) for 3 minutes.

                    3.)     Slice the chilli, shallots, garlic, ginger and tomato. Strain the soaked dried chilli. Put all the prepared ingredients in a blender, including the belachan or shrimp paste, fresh kaffir lime leaf( if using) and the juice of the lime or calamansi and sugar. Blitz it altogether and voila! Serve with your lunch or dinner.

SOUR PRAWN SOUP

                                                          Filipino Sour Prawn Soup
                                              
                                                         (SINIGANG NA HIPON)

This soup is one of my favourite, specially on chilly winter days. Sour and tasty with a little oomph of a jalapeño chilli. Eat it with rice or on it's own, so refreshing and mood lifter. So simple and easy to prepare. Fresh prawns are recommended with this recipe.

                                    Ingredients:

                                               500g Tiger Prawns (I used thumb sized ones)
                                               2 medium tomatoes
                                               3 stalks spring onions
                                               an inch by inch fresh ginger
                                               3 finger chillies
                                               handful of beans or okra
                                               handful of napa cabbage or kangkong if you have
                                               2 tbsp. of Tamarind paste concentrate(or juice of 1 lemon)
                                               3 cups fish or chicken stock (I used 1 chicken stock cube diluted in
                                                      3cups of water)
                                               pepper and salt to taste


      Here's how to cook:

                  Clean the prawns and prepare all the vegetables, cut in the sizes you desire.In a saucepan, pour in the stock, cover and let it boil. Once it's boiling, add in the beans or okra, tomatoes, onions, ginger (or any similar vegetable you are using) (leave the leafy veggies and chillies last to cook). Leave to cook for about 7 minutes then pour in the tamarind paste or lemon juice. Add in the prawns and napa cabbage or kangkong leaves. Simmer for another 10 minutes or till the prawns cooked. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve with steam rice and enjoy.

Chicken Rice (Malaysian style)

Chicken Rice 

(Malaysian style) 

This is my version of Malaysian chicken rice. I used to eat this often in KL back when I was working there. I wasn't aware that it is quite easy to cook it on your own kitchen as long as you got all the ingredients on hand, which is not hard to find wherever you are in Europe now. 

Ingredients:                                                               

One whole medium chicken

3 lemongrass stalks             

1 pandan leaf                        

3 sprigs of spring onions      

thumb sized ginger               

1 clove of garlic                    

3 cherry tomatoes                 

              2 dried chillies soaked in hot water   

2 red finger chillies             

         2 tsp light soya sauce                   

1 tsp sesame oil                  

2 liters of water                   

 1 chicken stock cubes           

salt and pepper to taste         

                                    sliced cucumber and coriander leaves for garnishing

How to cook:                                                                                                         

1.) In a big stock pot, pour in the 2 liters of water. Smash the ginger, 2 spring onions, 2 stalk lemongrass, add all in together in the pot with a teaspoon of salt and chicken stock cubes. Bring to boil.

2.) Rub the chicken with salt until the skin looks very clean and then rinse nicely in running water. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Then once the stock boils, put the chicken in and put back the lid on. Leave for at least another 5 minutes on medium fire then off the stove. DO NOT OPEN the lid of the pot to allow the remaining heat to cook the chicken through. Leave it for 45 minutes (this is according to the 1.5 kg chicken I cooked).

3.) While the chicken is on the pot, you can prepare the sauce. Slice the remaining ginger, garlic, tomatoes and chilies and blend them altogether (I used pessel and mortar). Then season it with soya sauce, set aside. Add some chicken stock later to thin a bit and add some taste too.

4.) After 45 minutes, Prepare the rice, wash nicely in a pot, smash the lemongrass and fold the pandan leaf and add into the rice. Take some stock on the pot where you cooked the chicken and use it to cook the rice(about 4 cups of it). Cook it as usual.  (Take some half a cup and add to your sauce too.)

5.) When your rice is nearly done take your chicken out and let it rest for few minutes before cutting to serve. Slice some cucumber on the side. Use the remaining stock as a side soup by seasoning with salt and pepper, bring it to boil, then garnish with chopped coriander. Serve it as pictured, enjoy!