Satay Peanut Dipping Sauce

Phew... it has been a while! The week started real fast and the first few days of the week went by in a swoosh! Hubby celebrated his birthday earlier this week. So really, the chaos was all about me trying to have a plan laid out for the mini celebration that we had over his birthday lol. A plan - one with a cake as the clock struck 12 in the midnight, a hearty breakfast to start off his day and a dinner plan on the big day itself.

Well I guess I must have planned too big a plan for me to handle comfortably. That few days prior, during and a day after pretty much witnessed myself working non-stop around the clock. It wasn't like I was preparing a party for tens or hundreds. In fact, apart from a dine-out dinner with a couple of close friends of ours, the rest was basically a mini celebration with just the two of us in the picture.

So then what was the chaos all about really?

Well, that was me dealing with plenty of my FIRSTs in preparing all his favorite dishes. You know, that pressure that builds up when you have zero experience in hand, and you have a plan that you so wished that it would not go wrong in any ways, all within a specific time frame. Stressed! I guess I'm never the right candidate who works particularly well under pressure lol. But but but... the plan went on well, and the birthday man had a good time (and a big feast, of course!). Phew phew...

the many different ingredients in the sauce making

The whole thing was... taxing. So taxing I slept so exceptionally well every single night! And then - I got unwell. Arghhh! What a week in life! And I slept even more. Right until today! I woke up feeling great, and I'm as fit as a fiddle now! So, I'm back!

Back to the birthday celebration. This satay peanut dipping sauce was really just a small part of it. It comes on the side alongside the main character that it always pairs best with - the chicken satay! Which was of course, hubby's all-time big favorite! And then there was the green tea castella mini cakes - not particularly anyone's favorite; the decision to make it just hit me - totally randomly. And then there's also a dessert to end it all - the durian freeze! Woohooo! lol.

the green tea castella mini cakes 

As small as the dipping sauce seems and sounds, I sweated over its making like none others. Another FIRST aside, my biggest issue was that I hadn't got a ready-for-use recipe in hand. Searching hi and lo over the websites and flipping through whatever cookbooks that I had with me, deciding and securing a recipe was proven to be even harder a task. Each looks awesome judging from just how they are presented, but then again no two recipes were close enough for me to securely feel safe with settling on either one.

Eventually I did. This is a recipe developed from the one featured by Kitchen Tigress in her post on How to Make Chicken Satay & Peanut Sauce. A recipe originated from The Best of Singapore Cooking  cookbook by Leong Yee Soo, it adapted a method somewhat unique and different from plenty others (in which it involves parboiling the peanuts). This sauce turned out really great! Fragrant and packed with a good crunch in every spoonful, it came with the right reddish hue so attractive it's such a delight to even just have it on its own. With a little tweak to make it slightly spicier (all a personal preference yes), I reckoned that this is definitely a recipe worth noting down (and a feature) and keeping!

And a final note - I made it a point to make a lot more than what I actually needed for those chicken satay that we had over a few days (probably about 30 skewers in total? Oh, and they were jumbo skewers btw lol). That allows for a really generous dipping with each skewer, not forgetting the cucumber/onion sides that came accompanying them.

So please do adjust the amount according to what you essentially need... and you're pretty much set to go!

Next up: The chicken satay!

Stir Fried White Radish Cake 炒蘿蔔糕

Stir Fried White Radish Cake 炒蘿蔔糕 - it goes by plenty other names. There's the Char Chai Tau Kueh 炒菜头粿 and there's the Char Kueh Kak 炒粿角 too. Honestly, I have not an idea how exactly they differ from one another. I would guess different communities in different regions with all the local influences over time must have adopted different names at one point or another. But all in all, I really do think that they are essentially the same Stir Fried White Radish Cake 炒蘿蔔糕. They probably just differ slightly in terms of their cooking styles and their final presentations, in which each is made and tailored to suit the locals.

Perhaps someone cares to enlighten me on this, pleeeeease?

Variations in name aside, there is a couple different variations in how they are stir fried too. There's the plain white version, and there's the version which incorporates the use of dark soy sauce, and hence a version with a darker hue in general. Some are loaded with bean sprouts and chives; and some simply stir fried with eggs and nothing else. Of course, there's also the very basic version - no extra ingredients, just cubed radish cakes first pan fried and then stir fried over a high heat with some light seasonings.

My favorite of all would be the version stir fried with Chai Poh (preserved turnip) 菜圃, loaded with bean sprouts, chives and plenty of chunky eggs. Yes, huge huge bits of eggs... mmMMmm lol. And one that comes with a tinge of dark soy sauce (I don't particularly fancy the plain white version, but of course not the one that's all too dark beyond recognition either). Oh, and of utmost importance, the cubed radish cakes will have to be pan fried prior to getting stir fried. Crispy exterior, soft and fragrant interior - PERFETTO!

pan fried radish cake, preserved turnip, egg, bean sprout and chive!

This Stir Fried White Radish Cake 炒蘿蔔糕 has gotta be one the few favorites of mine that I have truly missed ever since I moved here. I have not heard or read about a place actually serving this here where I live, let alone actually eating it here anywhere nearby. So each time the craving hits, my best option would be to make do with the pan fried radish cake commonly served in dim sum restaurants.

Same yummy stuff, same yummy origin, but but but - they are somewhat different kinds of yumminess!

So make my own it is then! The steamed radish cake recipe was one adapted from Yi at Yi Reservation on his post on Dim Sum Classic – Turnip Cake (蘿蔔糕). The stir fried part was one slowly developed over time based on my very first trial (which failed big time btw! lol). Took me a couple more times to experiment with plenty of changes in between, but it's all so worth the time and patience in the end.

My wish for now - is that the craving doesn't come hitting me (AGAIN!) anytime soon. lol.

Economy Fried Vermicelli 经济炒米粉 (Updated)

Economy Fried Vermicelli 经济炒米粉 updated! With a couple more photos on the serving suggestions...

with the classic fried chicken

or sambal eggs!

Check out the Economy Fried Vermicelli 经济炒米粉 post for the recipe!

Stir Fried Asparagus with Shrimps 芦笋炒虾球

Spring is here! Well there's the light snow tapering off ever so slowly still, and yea it doesn't exactly feel like spring just yet, but the fresh asparagus is making an appearance in the grocery stores' produce isles everywhere. And that's one sure sign of spring!

A simple post featuring just that, this makes a pretty spring dish showcasing the beauty of the asparagus paired with the plain elegance of the shrimps. Pretty much the replica to the version commonly seen and served in those Chinese restaurants back in Malaysia. A serving of any greens with  the asparagus being the leading role is never exactly cheap. Well in fact, asparagus has never one of the really economical ones among all the other available greens in Malaysia. But there's just something about them that keeps the demand going and people coming back for it - the unique sweetness, succulence and tenderness all within the same bunch of spears, I would think.

As with many other stir fried vegetable dishes, this dish comes packed with minced garlic, loads of it in fact! Done in a wok over a very high heat, cooking it right is about retaining the mild, tender and slightly nutty-tasting of the asparagus, just perfect for serving. And having sweet and bouncy shrimps in the picture - they complement the delicate natural flavor of the vibrant green spears without overpowering them.

Plump or slim and skinny -  I personally don't quite think that one is exactly better than the other. It is commonly said that the larger the diameter, the better is the quality. While larger does usually correlate with succulency, sadly I have also had too many large ones with relatively tougher skins. Of course thick never equals tough and old; it could be all just a matter of freshness (which explains why locally grown ones always win hands down!). But take none of these comments - give them both a try and you be the judge for yourself!

Taste is after all so very subjective...

My key to some good spears? They snap well (well, just please don't go snapping each and everyone of them now lol), they LOOK fresh (duh! myself), feels firm to touch and they have nice, tight, neat and compactly closed heads.

And now into the making of the delicious treat...

Pork Noodle 猪肉粉

Cravings alert! Yea, that's how bad it was! My craving for this pork noodle has always been there left unattended, well technically ever since I moved here. But each time it hit, I would usually manage to brush it off, distracting myself making do with plenty other options - settling especially on those that are not as much of a hassle in their making and of course a lot less time consuming too.

But having seen Sonia (Nasi Lemak Lover)'s post on her 新山粿條湯 Pork Kuey Teow Soup (Johor style), that craving couldn't be crushed any longer! So Sonia, thanks for the real good push! With streams of photos so attractive in her post, it's just hard to convince myself (and especially my tummy) that we can and should still wait until our next trip back to Malaysia for a bowl of this swine-centered goodness.

Pork noodle is especially my dad and my brother's all-time favorite. They just love everything with pork! Mom - she's the total opposite of them. She despises almost everything with pork! Me - I got a bit of both. My affinity for them does comes with a limitation though; anything beyond lean is a strict NO, and liver is the only innard that I tolerate pretty well.

Me and the liver - that story started when I was first told that I needed a boost in my iron consumption. So I started taking pork livers and cockles! Took me a couple of trials (and rejections), but eventually I have decided that the liver's not bad and cockles are amazing! So, some kinda acquired taste in both cases? Maybe...

A bowl of pork noodle usually comes with all the essential pork-based ingredients - there's the thinly sliced pork loins, minced pork and pork meat balls. A step up the adventure ladder and you get the liver slivers, intestines and kidneys. Of course, all these come tailored to your order; you can opt for some and exclude the rest. Served with some greens on the side [most of the time the Chinese mustard green (choy sum)], each bowl comes finished with some crispy fried garlic (essentially with their oil) and the crispy pork lards. So artery clogging! But still I can't help having a weak spot for them!

Having an extra egg is optional; but I certainly wouldn't object to having that beautifully poached egg topping a bowl of this pork noodle. And when you finally do breach the protective layer and get the runny yolk blended into the broth... gosh! A classic case of taste buds overloading!

Ultimately the broth that bathes all the ingredients in the bowl of pork noodle is what makes a stall selling this different from another selling exactly the same. Made with what must have been loads of pork bones simmered over a substantial amount of time, the resulting broth is one so flavorful it's just hard to miss the natural sweetness infused in it. And that is how the real good ones defined.

This homemade version incorporates the ribs and some vegetables that are sweet in nature in its broth making. It does come with a light difference compared to those 100% porcine-based broth, probably with an extra light hint of vegetables while missing the slight cloudiness and murkiness coming naturally from the heaps of pork bones. But this version inspired by Sonia is great nonetheless! Sweet (nothing artificial, of course) and flavorsome! And the good news? It has got my immense cravings for this pork noodle totally checked!

A mental note to myself - my next try would be a broth made with plenty of just the pork bones and nothing else and I'll see how that turns out... *evil grin*.

And now... let's get to the making!