Homemade Meat Curry Powder

This meat curry powder is posted at the request of my Auckland friends.  This can be used in place of the commercial curry power.  Also delicious as a dry rub for roast chicken. 

Give it a go...it will make a difference to your chicken, lamb or beef curries !

Yield : about a few tablespoon.

Ingredients :
5 cloves
10 black peppercorn
4 cardamon pod
2" cinnamon stick
2-4 Tbsp chilli powder
4 Tbsp coriander seed
1 tsp fennel seed
1 whole star anise
1 tsp tumeric powder

Method :
1. Partially roast the whole spices over low to medium heat until fragrant. Leave to cool.

2. Grind until fine with a coffee grinder.

3. Store in an airtight container and use as required.

Note :
Add as much or as little chilli powder as you like.  It all depends how hot you like your curries.

Tips :
1. Grind spices are best used within 6 months.  Whole spices can be kept for years.

2. In Auckland, I get all my whole spices in the Indian shops. Much cheaper.

3. For the chilli powder, I buy whole dry stemless chillies (again at Indian shops), dry it in the sun, toast it lightly, grind in a coffee grinder and store in airtight containers.  This is to ensure my chilli power is pure chilli powder with no other additives.

Ayam Kapitan ~ Spicy Kapitan Chicken

I managed to borrow Australia Master Chef winner Adam Liaw's cookbook "Two Asian Kitchens"  from our library. I quite like his cookbook and have already tried a few recipes from there.

Ayam Kapitan is not a dish I have eaten before but is quite well known in Malaysia. Loved the gravy. We mopped up the curry sauce with some freshly baked baquette.

Ingredients:
1½ kg chicken pieces
1½ onion, finely sliced
1 Tbsp cooking oil

200ml coconut cream
100ml water
¼ tsp salt

½ lime juice
2 lime leaves, to serve.

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Gong Xi Fa Cai....Yam Ring for the reunion dinner

Wishing all our Family & Friends A Very Happy Chinese New Year.

May the Year of the Tiger bring Lots of Happiness, Prosperity, Good Health and Good Fortune.

KONG HEI FATT CHOY !

And for our Reunion Feast tonight we will start off with none other than our favourite yam ring ...... Cheers !

Recipe Here

Kueh Bahlu ~ Mini Chinese Sponge Cake

Chinese New Year is fast approaching. This year it falls on Valentine's Day 14th February. Kuih bahlu is one of the many traditional cakes served during the new year period.

We don't restrict ourselves to having kueh bahulu once a year but make it quite often throughout the year for our morning tea. The tiny cake is spongy and light. With not a trace of fat, butter or oil it is a dieter's dream.

Makes 16

Ingredients
1 large egg
30gm sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract

30gm plain flour
1/8 tsp baking powder

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Stir-Fried Cucumber with Oyster sauce

Something to look forward to in the summer season is when cucumbers start making an appearance in our shops. Other than having it with satays, we like it simply stir fried with oyster sauce.

Some might think it odd, cooking a marrow that is normally eaten fresh. Try it. It really does taste delicious.

Here's us Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Eat, drink and be merry !

Ingredients
500g cucumber
1-2 Tbsp dry shrimps
1-2 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp oyster sauce
3-5 Tbsp water

1 tsp cornflour + 1½ tsp soy sauce (mix together)

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Soy Braised Fresh Mushrooms

We went a bit overboard when fresh flat mushrooms were on special at $3/kg bag. With beef wellington in mind, we bought 3 packets.

After the high cholestrol meal, we wanted something clean and simple for dinner the next day.

I decided to braise some of the mushrooms and have plenty of sauce to go with the homemade fresh noodles. The mushrooms were braised until they were really soft and it went extremely well with the silky smooth wanton noodles. The sauce was to die for !!

Ingredients
300g fresh mushroom

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small slice ginger, julienne

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Salting Chicken Eggs with Brine solution

Having tried different methods, I find soaking the eggs in wet brine solution is by far the best and most sucessful. It is really easy as there is no cooking skill involved. All that is required is dissolve some salt in water and one month later.....viola salted eggs. Cost wise it is cheap....price of ordinary eggs and some salt.

As we don't eat a lot of salted eggs, I salt about 5 at a time in a small plastic container.To salt the eggs, use whatever available sized container you have as long as the eggs stay submerged by the brine.

This lot was actually salted for mooncakes but I haven't got around to making the mooncake yet (too busy playing armchair golf !). Thank goodness I don't adhere to a strict festive calender ! Hard boiled salted eggs goes well with rice porridge.



Ingredients
1 cup water to ¼ cup salt (ratio)
large chicken or duck eggs

plastic or glass container

½ tsp szechuan peppercorn per 1 cup water (optional)

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Steamed Pork Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

I have been tweaking this dish for months now. It was missing that 'something' until I finally managed to get my hands on the illusive ingredient - preserved salted plums (wet suen mui) carried all the way back from Malaysia. I did try to substitute with dry salted plums (dry suen mui) but it just didn't quite work.

If you like to eat the steamed spare ribs at dim sum restaurants, then this is the dish for you. Not difficult as everything is thrown in to marinate and steam.

Ingredients
1 kg pork spare ribs (cut to bite sizes)

4 clove chopped garlic
2 thin slice ginger, julian
1 chilli, sliced (optional)

2 Tbsp soya bean paste, mashed
2 Tbsp salted fermented black beans, mashed
2-3 wet sour plum (suen mui)
4 tsp shao hsing chinese wine
½ tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
2 tsp plum sauce
2 tsp corn flour
pinch sugar
dash pepper

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Grow your own Galangal ~ Blue Ginger

Ever wanted to have a galangal plant in your own backyard, to harvest whenever you feel like cooking a rendang, teochew braised duck, assam babi, satay sauce or even to make your own red curry paste ? Fresh galangal adds flavor and depth to many dishes.

Well ......here's your chance. I have a few excess plants for sale to NZ readers.

The highly scented white flowers appear in April.

The plant will be supplied as a cut back, bare root rhizome (underground stem) with at least one growing shoot or bud.

If you are interested, please leave your email address in the comments column and I will come back to you. I can only post to New Zealand addresses. Limited stock only.

Beef Rendang 'Shiok' ~ Spicy Dry Coconut Beef

This particular rendang uses a bit more spices than the kerisik rendang but they are both equally good. We love our rendang and always have a container or two in our freezer for that quick and easy meal.



Ingredients
1 kg beef (stewing beef, shin, rump or any other cut)
300ml coconut cream + ½ cup water
3 stalk lemon grass
6 lime or tahitian leaf
4 slices blue ginger (galangal)
½ tsp salt

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Bouncy Chicken MeatBalls

After successfully making bouncy meatballs from beef and pork, it was time to try with chicken. The recipe is basically the same.

For those who don't eat red meat you will be pleased to know that the chicken meatballs have just as much bounce and 'spring' but with a much softer texture. Handy to have in the freezer to add to that instant noodle meal anytime.


Makes 48 balls (½ Tbsp size)

Ingredients
500 gm chicken breast, cut to smaller pieces

½ cup (125ml) icy cold water
1 Tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cornflour
1¼ tsp baking powder

dash of white pepper (optional)

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Asian Style Braised Lamb Shank

I had three lamb shanks sitting in the freezer like forever ! All the recipes I looked up were leaning towards the European style cooking with red wine or port. The lamb shanks I had were not exactly bursting in the meat department. In fact it had very little meat and I was not too keen to open a bottle of red just to cook some bones.

Trawling the net, I came upon these Asian flavoured lamb shanks. This was more my cup of tea. The flavours were really good and the meat literally fell off the bone.

Ingredients
3 lamb shanks

4 Tbsp soy sauce
150ml water
5 slices ginger
2 star anise
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp white vinegar or 2 tsp rice vinegar

Method
1. Put all the ingredients except vinegar into the pressure cooker.

2. Pressure cook for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

3. With the lid off, boil to reduce and thicken the sauce. Turn the shanks over often. Add vinegar. Season with salt if required.

4. Remove the shanks from the sauce and grill/broil for 5-10 minutes to brown the meat. This process is optional.

5. Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks and serve with rice or noodles.

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Assam Sambal Prawns ~ Spicy Tamarind Prawns

My mum used to serve a mean dish of assam prawns. I was younger then, and had no interest in cooking. I wish I had paid more attention. So many dishes are for now just a memory. It took me years of searching and testing various prawn sambal recipes. So pleased I have finally managed to nail the flavours of that memorable dish.

The aroma coming from this dish will draw everyone to the kitchen. For once there will be no need to ring the dinner bell.

Serves 2

Ingredients
300gm raw prawns
¼ onion, finely sliced
1 small tomato, cut to wedges
1 Tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp cooking oil

½ Tbsp tamarind paste
3/4 cup hot water

Spice Paste (grind together)
2 red chilli
½ onion
2 clove garlic
1 lemon grass (serai)
1 tsp belacan
4 candlenut (buah keras)

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Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

The best chilli sauce ever. We now use this chilli sauce for dipping everything and anything from boiled mussels, bouncy beef balls, pork balls, chinese roast pork, salt and pepper squid to fried beehoon.


I am so glad to be able to cross out yet another type of processed food from my shopping list. Plus the price of a bottle of chilli sauce has really gone up. Must keep my eye out for a special on fresh chillies now so I can buy heaps to freeze.

As it is so quick and easy to make, I prefer to cook only a small quantity so that it doesn't need to 'hang out' in the fridge for too long. Even though I used my super hot chillies from the freezer, the finished product was not that hot at all. I can now use up my homegrown red hot chillis which have been residing in my freezer for years.

Makes about 75 ml

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Thai 3 Flavoured Fish ~ Pla Lat

It has been a while since I cooked a fish dish. Fish not being Mr Redneck's idea of a good feed, I have to be particularly picky when trying out a new recipe . The dish has to be strong flavoured and with plenty of sauce to mask the fish smell.

I used Trevally for this recipe. Spicy, sweet and tartiness - that fits Mr Redneck's criteria of a good fish dish. The original recipe deep fries the fish but I prefer to do the healthier version of just frying with a little oil on the cast iron pan.

Ingredients
800gm whole fish, clean

Grind together
1-2 Tbsp chilli paste
3 clove garlic
½ onion

Sauce
25gm tamarind paste + ½ cup hot water
25gm palm sugar, shaved
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp oil

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Siew Ngap ~ Chinese Roast Duck

This year Chinese New Year falls on 26 January. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my friends and family KONG HEI FATT CHOY ! All the best for the year of the Ox. Good eats and all things nice. May the recession be over and food prices drop back to normal.

Our favourite all time food has to be duck. Recently our Indian shop decided to stock huge ducks (2.8kg) and at a reasonable price too. Choice! Usually ducks at 2kg or less come out a bit disappointing especially when we spent so much time and effort cooking to end up with just a thin sliver of meat.

At first I was worried that this enormous duck would end up being fatty. But not at all. It had this thick layer of meat and very little fat in the skin (could be due to all that pricking). We were able to get 4 meals out of this one duck. Guess how many bird I ended up buying....yes 5 is sitting in my freezer. I would hate the shop to run out of stock so I ended up hoarding. ha ha


Because this bird was huge I decided to try a different take on the roasting so as not to end up with burnt skin and uncooked meat. This duck is cooked for a longer period starting with a low temperature. Even though I only managed to marinade it for a short time frame of 4 hours, the meat had plenty of flavour. As usual we end up fighting over the skin. lol

A mouthwatering duck that is moist and succulent yet is not as time consuming and tedious to cook and prepare.

Ingredients
2.8 kg whole duck

2 ½ Tbsp five spice powder
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar

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Honeycomb Biscuit~Kuih Loyang~Kuih Rose

A biscuit with many names. Some call it kuih loyang, kuih goyang, kuih rose, beehive or plain old honeycomb biscuit. This is a very popular cookie for Chinese New Year.

This recipe produces beehives that are light and crispy. Mr Redneck likes his with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

Makes about 16 biscuits

Ingredients
1 small egg (45g with shell, 40g without)
35g sugar
100ml coconut milk
60g plain flour
25g rice flour
1 tsp water

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12345 Pork Spare Ribs

Thanks to Jackie who emailed me this recipe and suggested I try her family favourite. As the name implies, it is a very easy dish using five very basic ingredients. Love the intense flavour of the sauce. It is a very appetising dish.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Everyone a Very Happy New Year.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
4 Tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar
500 gm pork spare ribs or meat (cut to bite sizes)

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Spicy Yoghurt Roast Chicken

The colour of this chicken when roasted was just amazing. I got the idea for this combination of herbs and spices from the November issue of Taste magazine. We thoroughly enjoyed the flavours.

I prefer to use the rotisserie to roast the chicken since it is by far the easiest with the least amount of handling.

Ingredients
1.1 kg chicken

Marinade
100ml low fat greek yoghurt
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp chilli powder

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Chu Yoke Yuen ~ Bouncy Pork Balls

Beef balls is something I always have in my freezer to add to my noodle lunch. The opportunity to make 'balls' out of a different meat presented itself when a slab of frozen pork leg I bought did not turn out to be as tender. The only thing the meat would be good for would be a minced up dish. Reminder to oneself.....never buy frozen pork again no matter how tempting the special is !

The pork balls turned out to be as springy and bouncy as the ngau yoke yuen. The process is the same though I have omitted lye water in this. Any lean cut of pork can be used. And best of all, it is preservative free.

Makes 48 balls (½ Tbsp size)

Ingredients
500 gm pork, cut to small pieces

½ cup (125ml) icy cold water
1 Tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp cornflour
1¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp white pepper

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