that bloody botak!

  DRY PORK CURRY  When I was running a car repair shop in Damansara Jaya, there used to be this Chinese chap fan stall that makes the best dry pork curry I've ever tasted! This is my take on that dish.  Ingredients  150g pork belly slices  2 shallots  5 small cloves of garlic  A 1.5cm knob of ginger  A stalk of lemongrass  2 tablespoons meat curry powder  Half teaspoon turmeric powder  1 teaspoon cumin powder  1 teaspoon fennel powder  A piece of cinnamon stick  3 cardamom pods 1 star anise  A sprig of curry leaves  3 tablespoons coconut milk  A pinch of salt  Water Method  In my manual food processor, put in the garlic, shallots and ginger and do the peranakan workout till it becomes a paste. This is very good for those with anger management issues  Once that's done, mix it with all the spice powders  In a hot pan with some oil, sautee the cardamom pods, star anise, curry leaves, ci...

  CANTONESE CHOW MIEN  This might sound weird to some, but Chinese celebrate the birthday one last time for a person who has recently passed on. My mother-in-law passed away quite a few months ago. Today is her birthday, so they are celebrating it with all of her favourite foods. Being the good son-in-law I am (my father-in-law will be violently objecting in hell), I made siu yoke and birthday noodles for her. The regular Cantonese chow mein does not have meat in it, but since we're gonna eat it too, I put marinaded slivers of pork loin inside. They have bean sprouts but I left that out too. Hell, what does a Baba know about Cantonese food, right?😜😜😜 So here's what u need and how to do it. Ingredients 2 portions of dried egg noodles   Light soy sauce  Dark soy sauce  Oyster sauce  Sesame oil  Corn starch  Chinese rice wine  8 slices of pork loin, thinly sliced and cut to slivers  Carrot, cut to slivers  Chilli, cut to slivers...

  HOW TO IMPROVE A CAN OF BAKED BEANS How I wished I've known this when I was in the army. Baked beans was one of the items included in our combat rations, the others being canned chicken curry, sardines, hardtack biscuits, chocolate and powdered lemonade. I used to mix the hardtack with sardines and baked beans to make a kind of porridge. Wish I had the kind of ingredients I have now. They are easy to store and keep well, just the kind of things u need for a day or two when we're out in the field. I suddenly had the cravings for baked beans, so I went out and got myself a small can. Since I had all the other ingredients at home, I made the can of baked beans into something a hundered times better than what came out of the can, These are what u need to do the same.... Ingredients A small can of baked beans A thick slice of luncheon meat, cut to small cubes Chopped onions 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon of cumin powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 teas...

  AYAM MASAK LEMAK  I first had this dish at a stall selling food from Negri Sembilan. Fell in love with it on the spot! It was called ayam salai masak lemak chili api. They used chicken that has been smoked to make the dish. But I don't have smoked chicken here, so I'll just have to make do with what I have. The lemak and chili api went really well, so I tried to recreate it here. Ingredients  As much chili padi as u can take  1 stalk lemongrass, bruised  6 shallots, peeled  2 cloves of garlic, peeled  Half a chicken, cut to bite sized pieces  2 teaspoon tumeric powder  I thumb sized piece of ginger 1 tablespoon chicken stock  1 teaspoon assam paste Water  250ml coconut milk  Salt to taste Method  Marinade the chicken with tumeric powder and salt  Do the Peranakan Workout with the chillies, garlic, shallots and ginger till it becomes a paste  In a hot pot with some oil, brown the chicken. Once the chicken is sli...

  EASY WAY TO LABEL BOTTLES  I just made a fresh batch of sambal balachan. Since I'm a lazy person and the Peranakan Workout can be really taxing on my biceps and shoulder muscles, I make a big batch and keep it in a repurposed glass bottle. These are the bottles that the jam, mayo, taucho or anything else come in. Sometimes the sizes are just perfect for spices I buy that comes in plastic bags. When I'm done with the contents, I tear off the labels and keep them to use as containers, or drinking glasses, as in  the case of the taucho bottles. I would usually label the bottles with the contents and the date of filling, so I know how long it's been there in the spice cupboard or the fridge. I would usually use a bit of cellophane tape, a marker to write and another layer of cellophane tape to cover the writing, so it won't wash or wipe off. And if u look carefully at the bottle, you will see that there's a little bit that's sticking out.  I actually did that on p...

  CONEY DOG   A&W's coney dog was a childhood favourite! It's a rare treat, but savoured every time I get it. At that time, it looks really big, but the bigger I got, the smaller it became😜😜😜. So this time I'm making my own. Out with the puney sausage, in comes an eight inch sausage with cheese. Regular hotdog buns? No way! I got these buns from Aeon's in-house bakery! Bigger, fluffier and tastier that the normal off the rack hot dog buns! I made my own chilli with minced pork as I don't have minced beef lying around. Turned out really good too! Buying spices like paprika, onion and garlic powder can be costly at the supermarket, so I get mine at bake with yen..... Cummin is cheap at lotus's. The rest of the stuff I have lying around tye kitchen. Once you e made this, u won't want to pay for coney dogs at A&W's again!  Ingredients  2 teaspoons cummin powder  1 teaspoon paprika  1.5 teaspoon onion powder  1.5 teaspoon garlic powder  3 ta...

  AYAM GORENG REMPAH  This has just gotta be the easiest way to make a super tasty fried chicken to go with any kind of rice. It's so easy to make it's unbelievable! Tastes about the same as those fried chicken at the local mamak, but without all that flour coating. Cutting the chicken to bite sized pieces before marinading makes it easier to cook and the marinade will cover more chicken, which means more taste with every bite! This is what u need and how to do it..... Ingredients A quarter chicken plus a whole wing, cut to bite sized pieces  1 teaspoon each of the following..... Garlic powder  Onion powder  Chili powder  Cummin powder  Fennel powder  Tumeric powder  Corriander powder  Salt  White pepper  2 tablespoon flour  2 tablespoon water  2 sprigs of curry leaves  Oil  Method  Mix everything except the oil with the chicken and leave it to marinade.... The longer, the better.  Heat up a pot wi...