Kway Teow Hailam

While out on a recent field trip, I had the privilege of sampling Malay hospitality. We made a visit to a colleague's home in Butterworth, the mainland side of Penang, and were greeted with a freshly made noodle dish served with a light peppery gravy. Our hostess called it Mee Hailam - I've seen it on the menus of local eateries here, but this was the first time trying it. I'm not sure about the etymology of the name - perhaps it's a corruption of the Chinese province of Hainan? This is my paltry attempt at replicating the dish. I substituted the yellow Hokkien noodles for flat kway teow rice noodles because it was what I had at the fridge.


Kway Teow Hailam

Noodles
250g flat rice noodles or yellow Hokkien mee
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp caramel sauce

Gravy
1/2 cup of stock (Homemade is the best of course, or else something low salt)
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp finely ground black pepper
Dash of sesame oil
Handful of spinach leaves
80g beef, cut in 1 inch chunks, then flattened - should yield 5 or six slices

*I prepared this as a wok recipe, i.e. high heat over low surface area, i.e. cooks extremely fast. I suppose you could use a skillet, but you might have to use a little more stock (say, 3/4 cup) to compensate for liquid boiling off.

1. Heat wok to high and stir fry kway teow with soy sauce and caramel sauce. Put on plate and set aside. (Note: Skip this entirely if using Hokkien mee. Instead, just blanch noodles in boiling water for 30 sec and plate)

2. Bring stock, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil to a boil. Add beef, wait for 30 sec and turn off heat before adding spinach.

3. Scoop out beef and veges onto noodles before pouring in the gravy - then pour the gravy over, as much or as little as you want. Garnish and serve!

Cost breakdown
Total cost: RM3 (Approx)
Rice noodles: RM1
Beef: RM1
Spinach: 40 cents

Tags: Mee Hailam

Sweet & Spicy Meat Balls

This is my housemate, Kevin's recipe. I usually never like meatballs but these are the only ones I'll touch.

Sweet & Spicy Meat Balls

500g beef sausage mince
Sultanas
Fresh Parsley
Chilli flakes

1. Empty the beef sausage mince in a large bowl.

2. Throw in a generous handful of sultanas, some fresh parsley and chilli flakes into the beef sausage mince (there are no exact measurements for this recipe: If you like sultanas, be generous; if you love chilli, go wild. Just estimate.).

3. This is the fun part: Start mixing everything up with your hands. Hands are the way to go. It's the best way to make sure everything's mixed in.

4. Create some rough-looking balls (no need for perfect rounds). Not too big, about half the size of a tablespoon. 500g of beef sausage mince should give you about 20 balls.

5. Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan.

6. Fry up meatballs until the inside is cooked. Set aside on paper towels.

7. Voila!

This is a perfect snack because you can keep it for a few days and you don't need to heat it up before eating.

Big yum. Seriously addictive.

* Courtesy from Kevin *


Tags: meatballs sweet spicy budget recipe

Spiced Steak

Wet-market butchers aren't all that known for custom cuts of meat - in my wet market, most of the butchers either sell pork or chicken. Only one stall sells the red meat, mutton and beef, so there wasn't a high chance of getting the "western" style cuts of meat like ribeye or tenderloin. But, I felt like a steak for lunch. So I went up to the Indian butcher and told him:

"I feel like a steak for lunch!"

He reached in his chilled meat compartment and took out a hunk of sirloin. "How thick do you want it?" I got a 3/4 inch piece of sirloin steak for $3. Seeing how I don't usually eat steak at home, I felt inspired to dress it up a little:

Noel's Spiced Steak

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp olive oil
A nice piece of steak

1. If you have the time (like I did), use whole cumin and coriander seeds, toast them lightly on a pan before grinding them into powder.
2. Form a paste using the cumin, coriander, chili powder and oil.
3. Marinade the steak, rubbing the spice paste of both sides of the steak before leaving in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour (I gave it two)
4. How to cook a perfect steak: On a medium heat, heat a little oil on a grill pan. Once hot, place steak on pan AND LEAVE ALONE FOR 4 min. Then flip over, for another four minutes. That's right. JUST FLIP ONCE. After that, move to a plate and cover with a pan cover, or something. For another FIVE minutes.
5. Serve with nasi padang, like I did. =D

Tags: spiced steakbudget recipe

gyutan don

awhile ago , i was a regular patron of a cozy japanese place until i became loyal to this particular item on the menu . the only catch was that , for the longest time , i never bothered to figure out what it was exactly .

it's understood that many will be uncomfortable even with the thought of using the main ingredient .

why ?

gyutan is japanese for ox tongue .

i can already sense the squirms...but hey , at a mere flat market rate of 3 bucks per giganormous piece , it's will save you loads of money when it comes to meals , expecially with such a simple recipe . at this price , you'd be wondering how much those korean barbeque places earn . peculiarly , i've encountered gyutan don only in the japanese place i mentioned .

just a few notes before you attempt this ( if you actually want to ) . when working with ox tongue , understand that you need to wash it very thoroughly with cold water and then wash it even more thoroughly again and again . get the point ? haha...why the cold water ? it's extremely difficult to manouver around and slice when it's not stiff and almost impossible without a sharp knife . also , make sure you skin it and only use the meat . one final thing , don't chop it into chunks like me...really...only use very thin slices .

there are absolutely no recipes for this online , so i had to come up with one myself...a not so japanese but simple one .

what you need ar?

1/2 ox tongue , sliced very thin
1/3 cup mirin
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oil
spring onion , chopped
small red chillis (a.k.a. cili padi) , chopped

how liao ?

see how short the ingredient list is ? simply marinade the well-washed tongue slices in mirin and dark soy sauce for an hour or two . grill on an oiled pan until cooked ( which would take only a couple of minutes if you use slices hor ) . towards the end , season with a touch of mirin and off the fire . just before serving , briskly toss it in the spring onion and chillis to give them that extra oomph . it's that simple lor .

Tags: beef japanese ox tongue gyutan don budget recipe

chilli con carne !

i shamelessly admit that this is similar to noel's chilli , with a few exceptions of course...i maintain mine is a mexican version (haha) and it's capable of standing as a dish alone...but still simple. furthermore, with the heat wave now, i was too lazy to obtain the fresh tomatoes.

what you need ar?

500 g minced beef (doesn't matter whether it's premium or lean)
1 whole white onion, chopped ( i tend to shape them as rings, but diced also can lar)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 whole red chilli (note that they're actually called capsicums here) , cored , seeded and diced
5 small red chillis (erm...a.k.a cili padi...the thin ones...not capsicums) , chopped...of course , to be truly mexican , you'd add jalapenos here...but i can't seem to find any .
1 standard 400 g chopped/diced tomatoes
1 standard 400g red kidney beans, drained
1 cup beef stock/water mixture
5 teaspoons ground cumin seed
3 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander

how liao?

in your pot , sautee the onion and garlic on a low fire until soft . then , chuck in the minced beef and cook the mince until it loses its reddish pink colour....make sure to break the meat up hor ( a fork will execute this just fine ) . add in the can of tomatoes (with the juice hor) , the diced capsicum and the chopped small chilllies . stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes ( let the meat absorb the main flavour hor ) . next , add in the beef stock/water mix and season with the ground cumin, chilli power and ground coriander . cover the pot and simmer over gentle heat for 45-60 minutes ( depending on your desired consistency lor ) . finally , add the drained red kidney beans and cook for another 10-15 minutes . tenga...fruir la aji .

warning : please never underestimate the spiciness of this recipe under any circumstances .

notes: you may wish to season with some fresh ground black pepper as well but i don't think it makes much of a difference and for those of you who are willing to be adventurous , add a couple of blocks of dark chocolate too (make sure it's >70% cocoa hor)...and you'll have dark chocolate chilli con carne .

extra note : i realise that the amount cannot be finished within a single siting ( unless you share) but that was done on purpose...because chilli tastes better a day old...or more :)

Tags: chili con carne beef budget recipe

Satay Beef Skewer

Easiest dish ever.

Ingredients:
+ 250 g of diced beef/chicken/pork/lamb
+ 4 bamboo skewers
+ satay sauce
+ honey (optional)

Steps:
1. marinate meat with 1 tbsp satay sauce
2. stick the meat on the skewer
3. baked it for 15-20 minutes at 210 degree
4. add honey to finish (optional)
5. serve with satay sauce (optional)

Ta-da!

*

Tags: satay beef pork chicken skewer budget recipe

boeuf bourguignon

whoever claimed that french cooking is feminine wasn't offering you the complete truth . this is one machismo pot for the guys...filled with rump , belly pork and bacon brewed in a full-bodied alcoholic broth :

note : i admit that this one is initially complicated but on the upside , it'll feed you for days (as long as you can take it lar)

what you need ar ?

1.5 kg beef rump (cubed...and ya...i made this is bulk too...so adjust accordingly hor)
1 bottle of wine ( use a robust wine...which means you can rule out the sweeter ones...i.e. merlots and blends...i used a shiraz )
5 tablespoons rum (okay...this was supposed to be brandy...but rum's a good substitute)
bunch of thyme
bunch of rosemary
2 bay leaves

250 g belly pork
250 g bacon

2 heaped tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 large white onion
2 whole garlics , cloves crushed
salt and pepper to taste

bunch of grapes

how liao ?

in your pot , marinade the beef rump cubes overnight with the wine (make sure every piece gets some hor...don't stint...you should use just over half the bottle) , thyme , rosemary (don't use too much hor...just five small sprigs of each will do) and 2 bay leaves .

the next day , transfer the beef somewhere else and reserve the marinade as well . powder the beef with the flour and ground allspice mix . set aside for now .

skin the belly pork and cook it in the pot in its on juices (use some lard / oil if needed) until lightly browned on each side . remove and set aside .

in the same pot , briskly sear the bacon slices . remove and set aside .

introduce the chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves into the pot . do not brown hor .

after all those annoying baby steps , add everything that was set aside earlier into the pot including the marinade . let this simmer for 2-3 hours . add wine , salt and pepper if needed .

after the required time , remove the herbs (which will probably seem disgusting by now) and serve with some red grapes (erm...i added this myself...but i really think grapes go well here) . boeuf bourguignon is also perfect with pommes de terre mousseline .

bear in mind that the sauce is not a mild alcoholic one...so haha...don't be taken aback by it's rich strength .



bon appetit.

Tags: beef boeuf bourguignon budget recipe

beer battered steak

most guys will agree with me that a cold beer always provides soothing comfort after a long , hard day . more will agree that a good steak always translates into a hearty meal . i stared at my stash of beer in the fridge ( i'm one of those who feels that the house is empty without at least a six pack sitting in the fridge) . then i diverted my attention to the fresh meat beside it and thought , why not combine both ?

what you need ar ?

serves two normal people , one of me . haha .

2 scotch fillet steaks (about 250-300 grams each) .
4 teaspoons ground black pepper .
1 tablespoon of oil .
5 mushrooms ( left whole or chopped is your choice . for this recipe , i prefer them whole ) .
200 ml tomato based pasta sauce (yeah...i cheated...i was too lazy to mix tomato paste and some herbs together plus there was a bottle of unused leggo's napoletana sitting on my table haha...if you do want to do it the original way i thought of...mix the same amount of tomato paste with some fresh basil and rosemary . )
1 bottle of beer ( i used carlton draught...really any beer that's not too bitter will do ) .
1 medium red onion , diced .

how liao ?

easy peasy lor . season the steaks with some of the ground black pepper ( i don't think i have to pester and recommend sarawak pepper hor ? ) . then seal the steaks by searing them on a pan / grill for a minute on each side . it should look similar to this hor :



after that , simply heat up the pasta sauce / tomato paste with herbs and cook the mushrooms as well as the onions with it in a small pot (not a shallow pan hor) . bringing it to a boil , add a quarter of the bottle of beer (now...don't be so excited until you add the whole bottle hor...really...it will become too solute) . chuck in the steaks and let cook ( pot uncovered) for at least ten minutes ( remember to put your beer in the fridge hor or sip it while you wait but make sure you have some left ) . if you're afraid you've boiled all your beer away , fear not . hear the final step...the secret to all sauces involving alcohol (beer or wine or whatever) is to daringly dash the alcohol just before you serve to preserve its flavour . so just as you switch the fire off , dash some of that beer and watch it sizzle . smell the flavour and gobble immediately with the rest of the beer . cheers .







Tags: beer batter steak budget recipe

May's Lagsane

You know how a lagsane looks like, right?

Well, because I forgot to take a picture of my finishing product the other day *knocks head*

I learnt this recipie from my Mum but made quite a number of alterations to it as I am, after all, lactose intolerant and I wanted to do away with the rich, too creamy (and very fattening) white sauce that often accompanies your usual lagsane.

So yes, May's little version of her lagsane. This recipie makes a small portion, not the big arse ones in those huge ceramic trays.

Vat you need:

Instant lagsane sheets
1 small bag of Pizza Cheese (a combination of mozarella, cheddar and parmasen cheese)
250g mince beef
Tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 carrot, grated finely
2 bay leaves
Parsley, chopped roughly
Garlic, chopped finely
2 onions, chopped roughly

How now brown cow?

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Fry garlic and onions until garlic is fragrant and the onions are soft.
3. Over medium flame, add mince beef a little at a time.
4. Once cooked, add in about 5 or more tablespoons of tomato paste. Turn flame down to low. Add diced tomatoes.
5. Add grated carrots, bay leaves and parsley.
6. Add more tomato paste, about 3 tablespoons more.
7. If you need to add water, add only a little (I normally do not add any water. Always use boiled water if you have to.)
8. Allow the sauce to simmer. Season to taste with sugar, salt and black pepper.
9. Alternatively, you could add some chili flakes to spice up the taste of the sauce!
10. Remove sauce from heat.

So now you have your sauce, yes? Good. Now's time to arrange the lagsane sheets before you pop it into the oven. So how?

First, oil the tray with a little olive oil. Then arrange the sheets like so:



Remove bay leaves from the sauce, then pour the sauce onto the sheet like so:



Then sprinkle the Pizza Cheese on top of the sauce. If you're a cheese fan then you can sprinkle lots. If you're like me and cautious about the fat/lactose content, go easy on the cheese!



Now, repeat those 3 simple steps. Sheet-sauce-cheese. If you are using a big ceramic tray to cook your lagsane, you need to turn the lagsane sheet(s) the other way around (you'd need to break the sheet in half to do this.) This is done so that when the final product pops out of the oven you'd be able to see nice criss-cross layers.

Once you've repeated those steps (you may need to repeat the three steps 2-3 times depending on the size of the tray) and your tray is now filled to the brim with cheese, pop it into the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Check that the lagsane is cooked! We don't want our guests biting into hard pasta, no?

Tags: beef lasagne budget recipe

mum's ginger soy beef and oyster sauce broccoli

i had been craving for mum's cooking lately and having indulged in too many luxuries during the holidays , my pockets are losing their depth liao . furthermore , my housemate and i have also decided to cut the cost of eating out . so i attempted to recreate two of mum's most basic dishes that will ultimately cost only a total of six dollars . split that into two and it's only three dollars a meal . good value leh?

what you need leh ? (for ginger soy beef...serves two hungry growing guys)
500 grams of beef (stir fry cuts are readily available in makets)...i used stroganoff hor.
2.5 inch piece of ginger , peeled and cut into thin strips .
marinade : depending on how much you require , keep the dark soy sauce to oyster sauce ratio one to one . i normally use five full tablespoons of each . add the ginger slices and also white pepper to taste (a little spicy taste will make it taste better hor) .
1 tablespoon of oil (any oil will do lar)

then how liao?
wash the beef to get rid of excess blood and massage your beef . that's just an option hor haha . then let the beef mixed with marinade sit for at least an hour .



after that , it's just as simple as heating the oil and cooking the beef in the wok for a few minutes till the beef is cook lor . so simple hor? if too salty add brown sugar lor . if too sweet , add soy sauce lor . if not nice , don't eat lor haha .



for the oyster sauce broccoli leh?
a bunch that is of a nice size ( i believe mine was about 300 g) , big fat stalk chopped away and the rest split into feasible mouth sizes .
sauce : a cup (250 ml) consisting of 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce , 1 tablespoon of cornflour and the rest is water . my bottle of oyster sauce was finishing...hence , the opportunity to just mix the stuff in the bottle...heh heh :



5 cloves of garlic , chopped . most people like to mince it well , but in this case , because of the time used to cook this , i recommend the garlic to be a little coarse hor .
1 tablespoon of oil .

how to cook leh?
wash the brocolli properly and after splitting it accordingly , leave it aside hor . heat the oil in a pan / wok , and then fry the garlic until fragrant . then ar , throw in the broccoli and cover for awhile to let it cook in it's own water and also seal the garlic flavour into them . i do this so that you don't get the raw broccoli taste later too hor . after a few minutes , the broccoli should be soft without the raw taste liao . then quickly stir fry the broccoli with the prepared sauce . everything should be done within a minute hor . don't leave it too long or the broccoli becomes too soft lor . oh ya...if got money , then add chopped chinese mushrooms too .



that's it . time your rice to be done at the same time and eat everything warm ( i assume everyone know how to cook rice hor ? ) .

Tags: ginger beef broccoli soy sauce budget recipe

happiness is...

a hot serve of chili dogs, especially after your friend tuahs you for dinner.

For the longest time, like, since I was a kid, I was always facinated by the Americanese version of chili. For starters, they weren't chillis. As in the hot pepper,but more like a thick beef stew that used to garnish the tops of hot dogs. I loved them the moment I saw them on TV. I loved them even more when I first ate them as A&W's coney dog. Then only recently I discovered how easy it was to make it... and the rest is history. The best part is, it's really made up of the simplest of ingredients!

Noel's Chili

One small onion, chopped finely
Two red chillis, seeded and chopped*
Two tomatoes, chopped*
200 - 300 gm of minced beef
1 tbsp butter
5 tsp cumin
2 tsp chilli powder
1 cup beef stock

1. On medium heat, fry onions in butter. When softened, add beef.
2. Once beef is browned all over, add red chillis, cumin and chilli powder. Mix well, unti fragrant.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, including liquids, and stir in beef stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer until desired thickness.
4. Eat with hot dogs! or nachos and guacamole!

* For better consistency, try running the red chillis and tomatoes through a blender. Just an idea. Haven't tried it out myself.

Tags: beef chili con carne budget recipe

Steak with A Twist

Hmm...this blog has been silent for quite some time...people aren't blogging because:
(a) too busy during exam period to spend time on blogging
(b) too busy during exam period to cook
or i think the most plausible answer is
(c) all of the above

I woke up from my afternoon nap a couple of days ago dreaming of a good dinner...probably because i missed lunch...normal for a student facing exams lor. Deciding somehow that i didn't want it to be spicy like the last steak recipe...i thought well...Noel used marmalade for his pork chops , why don't i make something slightly sweeter too...heh heh...and since my house mate was trying to finish some up , i decided to use this...jeng jeng...*drum roll*



that's right...raspberry jam...wahaha

How to make this dish leh?

Use the same "marinade" from the last steak recipe i.e butter and pepper...After that for the sauce , use :

2-3 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
2 pinches of black and white crushed peppercorns (of course , again...Sarawak pepper is the ideal hor...)
2 pinches of paprika powder.
reasonable amount of chopped coriander...about 2 teaspoons will do.
some butter...about a teaspoon should do.
and a touch of red wine (only if you have some lar...no point buying some just for this dish)...just to give it some class (if you can actually taste it out lar like me)

Don't worry too much about the spices...most people hardly taste them...raspberry jam has a good powerful flavour...the spices are there to bring up the flavour a notch or two. Enjoy .

Tags: steak raspberry sauce budget recipe

Me Steak and Sweet Potato Mash

Last part of my marathon...Hmm...craving for some juicy meat , i set out to buy some to make this dish...satisfaction of a growing boy's primal craving for steak is priceless...

What you need ar?
For the steak:
One piece of big juicy steak (i used a 350 g rump steak because its one of the cheapest you can get in any market)
Some butter
Some mixed crush peppercorns...which means black and white peppercorns lar (as always , Sarawak pepper is the best hor)
An oven
2 tablespoons of Horseradish cream(can get in almost any supermarket ya)
2 tablespoons of cream or 1/2 cup of milk (preferably extra creamy wan)
2 tablespoons of butter

For the sweet potato mash:
one sweet potato...i used a big 300 g wan
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cream or 1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
A sprinkle of thyme

Now what?
Use your hands to massage the steak with butter until you happy with the coating...then rub the crushed mixed peppercorns however much you like (some people like more spicy wan mar) onto the steak...chuck in fridge to marinate for at least half an hour.Before cooking the steak , preheat the oven to about 180 degrees celcius (my oven lies about the temperature...so i think you people better use 210 degrees instead or you can just follow me if you want).Boil the sweet potato in water until soft soft.After your potato confirm soft soft , chuck the steak into the preheated oven for 4 to 5 minutes per side...or more if it doesn't look done to your liking.Whilst waiting , peel the boiled potato and mash it...then cook it on a pan with the 2 tbs butter , 1 tbs cream or 1/4 cup milk , 2 tbs sweetened condensed milk and thyme until everything is absorbed.By now your steak should be done...so dish it out onto a plate.To make the sauce for the steak , mix the horseradish cream , 2 tbs cream or 1/2 cup milk , 2 tbs butter and a sprinkle of mixed crushed peppercorns.Cook this for awhile on the pan and then pour over steak.Sauce for the sweet potato mash is just some more sweetened condensed milk to your liking.Decorate nice nice with some coriander and impress some girls if you want...

Warning ar : The sauce for the steak usually looks very slimy fatty at first but it will set wan so don't worry...and the sweet potato mash is not for the faint-hearted...it is a delicious acquired taste...so try only if you're willing to try something new hor...

Tags: steak sweet potato mash budget recipe