Wednesday, May 9, 2007

I went back yesterday to my hometown for a short business trip and took the opportunity to partake on some of my all time favorite food with a colleague of mine. I must say we returned back with our stomach full to the brim and mouth lingering with an unforgettable array of delightful tastes.

Luckily I remembered to take my faithful camera with me this time and here is a montage of good old Penang food for your viewing pleasure:






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posted by Daryl W.T. Lau at 12:10 AM | 4 comments
Sunday, January 28, 2007

Just got back home not too long ago and I am so tired. It was a wonderful event though I must say and glad to see some of them whom I rarely kept in touch with doing well. One of my old executives who was in my team is now residing in Hong Kong and getting married end of the year. She was indeed the highlight of the day as she met her husband to be on a flight to Hong Kong and he kept returning to Malaysia (on the pretext of business... lol) to see her. Well the good news is that he turned out to be a very very very wealthy businessman who was married to his business till he met her. So yeah... life is like a box of belacan huh?

Speaking of belacan, my friend called me so early in the morning today and asked me if I could make some homemade Penang Sambal Belacan for the event cause he thought it would go well with his dish. So I quickly went to buy some fresh red chilies at Jusco (nearest option) and made it for him. So today's recipe is a simple but treasured one... hope you guys enjoy it too.


Ingredients
10 fresh Red ChilliesRed Chillies

2 tsp Belacan (Shrimp Paste)
1 tsp Lime Juice


Directions
1. Pound the fresh red chillies.
2. Add in Belacan (shrimp paste) and just continue Pounding to mix.
3. Stir in the Lime Juice and serve.


Note: Notice the word 'Pound'? Cause thats the best way to make it instead of a blender.



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posted by Daryl W.T. Lau at 12:12 AM | 5 comments
Friday, December 22, 2006

With our the hot and humid weather, cravings for something cold and refreshing in a typical Malaysian afternoon is common. Well now with all the convenience stores at every corner it's pretty easy to go in and buy something that will do the trick but back about 10-15 years ago in Penang, it is the famous Cendol for all of us.

The most famous of them all is the stall located at Penang Road which still exist today. Crowds can be seen lining up (or sometimes more like shoving and pushing) to get their orders taken from the lady seller. I can recall the many brain freezes I had as I'm writing this... lol

Anyways here is a very complete Cendol recipe which I hope that some of the ingredients are easily obtainable wherever you may be from.


Ingredients
For the green bean flour droplets
10 Screwpine Leaves (pandan leaves)
A few drops Green food colouring
1/2 tsp Alkaline Water (kan sui)
250ml Water
250ml extra Water
65g Green Bean Flour
For the gula Melaka syrup
350g Palm Sugar (gula Melaka)
100g Castor Sugar
250ml Water
3 Screwpine Leaves (pandan leaves)
For the coconut milk
2 grated Coconuts
1 litre cooled Boiled Water
1/4 tsp Salt to taste

Directions
To obtain pandan juice, chop the pandan leaves and blend them in an electric blender with 250ml water.
Use a muslin cloth to squeeze out the juice then mix with the green colouring and alkaline water.
Pour the pandan juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Blend green bean flour with the extra cup of water into a smooth batter and add to the boiling pandan juice, stirring all the time until the mixture is transparent and thick. Remove immediately from the heat.
Place a cendol frame over a basin half-filled with ice-cold water. Put a little cooked mixture on the frame. Press the cooked mixture through the frame to form little droplets of cendol.
Leave the cendol to set in the ice water till firm. Add more ice cubes to the water to set the cendol faster. Drain in a colander and refrigerate till ready to use.
To prepare the palm sugar syrup, boil palm sugar, sugar, water and screwpine leaves until both sugars have dissolved completely. Strain and allow to cool completely.
For the coconut milk, add water to grated coconut. Squeeze in small handfuls using a muslin cloth. Add salt to the coconut milk.

Serving Instructions
1. Add the desired amount of cendol into serving bowls.
2. Add some crushed ice and pour on some coconut milk.
3. Add 1 tablespoon palm sugar syrup or to taste.

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posted by Daryl W.T. Lau at 12:41 AM | 3 comments