CLASSIC OSSO BUCO from Tiger Mike

M.N.Taib wants you to know: Enjoy


You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105436


CLASSIC OSSO BUCO
4 pounds (1.8 kg) veal shanks, cut in 1 1/2-inch ( 4 cm) slices
1/4 cup (30 g/1 oz) flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 bottle (375 ml) dry white wine
a 14.5-ounce (435 g) can plum tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
grated zest of 2 oranges
1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) veal stock, more if needed

For the Gremolata
3 or 4 garlic cloves
bunch of flat-leaf parsley
grated zest of 2 lemons
1. Heat the oven to 350°F (176°F/Gas 4). Put the flour on a plate, add generous amounts of salt and pepper, and coat the veal slices, with flour, patting to remove the excess. Heat the oil and butter in a sauté pan or frying pan big enough for all the veal slices to touch the bottom. Add half the slices and brown them over quite high heat, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them, brown the other side and remove them to a plate. Brown the remaining slices and remove them also.

2. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and carrot and sauté until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half, stirring to dissolve the pan juices. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, orange zest, veal stock, salt, and pepper. Immerse the veal slices in this sauce — the liquid should come at least halfway up the sides. Cover the pan and bring it to a boil.

3. Braise the shanks in the oven until the meat is very tender and falling from the bone, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir from time to time, gently turning the slices, and if the pan seems dry, add more stock. At the end of cooking, taste and adjust seasoning of the sauce. Osso buco can be cooked ahead and stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator, or frozen. Keep it in the pan ready to be reheated on top of the stove.

4. For the gremolata, chop the garlic; pull parsley leaves from the stems, and chop the leaves together with the garlic. Stir in the grated lemon zest and pile the gremolata in a bowl. It can be served separately from the osso buco, for guests to help themselves, or sprinkled on the dish just before it goes to the table.

Tiger Mike's South African Sausage (boerewors)

Category: African, Beef, Dinner, Grilled

Ingredients for 40 sausages:

2 kg ground beef,
1 kg ground pork,
45 ml whole corriander seeds
5 ml whole cloves
30 ml salt
15 ml pepper, fresh ground
2 ml nutmeg, grated
10 ml allspice, ground
10 ml brown sugar
125 ml dry red wine or dark vinegar
90 grams sausage casing, thick , soaked in water


Procedures:
1. In a large bowl put your ground meat and set aside.
2. Roast coriander and cloves in a dry frying pan, tossing the spices about until uniformly brown.
3. Don't allow to burn.
4. Grind spices with a pestle and mortar, sift to remove husks, mix with remaining spices and sugar and sprinkle over the mince.
5. Lightly mix in wine or vinegar.
6. Drain the casings and place over one end of the filling horn of a mincer.
7. Carefully push all of the casings on leaving a 3 inch length hanging down.
8. You can then feed the mixture into casing , guiding the filling in.
9. Feed the mixture into the mincer a little at a time, while securing the casing with a gentle pressure of one hand on the horn to control the unrolling of the casing as its filled.
10. Mould the sausage with your hand to make it uniformly thick.
11. Don't pack the casings too full, or the sausage will burst while cooking, but try to avoid air bubbles.
12. After the casing has been filled, remove it - still attached to the horn - from the machine.
13. Push any remaining filling into the casing and tie a knot in the end.
14. BBQ quickly over hot coals.
15. The skin should be crisp and the middle just pink.
16. Serve immediately.

Tiger Mike's Hamburger Patties

1 kg of minced lamb

1 kg of minced beef

2 fresh eggs

4 tsp of corn flour

¼ stick of real butter – melted

4 cloves of garlic chopped small

2 onions chopped small

1 tbsp of coriander powder

1 tbsp of cumin powder

2 tbsp of chopped coriander roots

2 tbsp of chopped fresh mint

2 tbsp of chopped Chinese celery

4 tbsp of scraped parmesan cheese

4 tbsp of breadcrumb

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl using gloved hands.100 gm size for kids and 180gm for adults. Use tin foil to wrap individual patty. Use a little breadcrumb on both sides before packing. Keep in freezer.

Buy minced lamb and beef from LEE Frozen in Kg Attap. Very good quality control. Ignore the proprietress; she has gone blonde with a sunflower hair style. Reading too much Aztec sex books listening to Oriah.

Dear Suet Fun,
Forgot to include 2 tsp of Knoor's Aromat when you mix the patties.If you can make your own mince, so much the better. Finish with apple pie and Baskin. I understand completely your feelong¹. The food, the ambience, the relaxed company of give and take types and Coors using Rocky Mountain's water. Yes, there is a few things I dearly missed. I loved Idaho and Oregon. Apa boleh buat, Terengganu pun boleh tahan, lah!!


¹Past tense of feeling!!

Tiger Mike's Mexican Chili Con Carne

1 kg of good thick minced beef (buy from Lee Frozen in Kg.Attap)

2 tbsp of veg oil

1 onion sliced

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 can tomatoes (buy Italian)

1 cup of water

1 tsp of salt

4 tsp of chili powder

1 tsp of oregano

Dash of white pepper

½ tsp of cumin powder

2 cans of kidney beans* or butter beans


Use a wok to brown meat in hot oil. Add oil ingredients except beans. Cover, bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer. Stir occasionally. Add more liquid as needed. Add beans and simmer for 15 minutes more. 6 servings. Use French bread.

* Kidney beans. Soak overnight. Still will not be soft. Pressure cook for 30 minutes. No pressure cooker, boil for one hour or more. Then add to meat.

I have some additional suggestions:
* 1 tbsp of olive oil and one tbsp of butter. Use unsalted Anchor Brand butter from NZ or President Brand from France.
* Include four bay leaves. Best buy is in Lee Frozen. The bay leaves packed by S'pore's Singlong are broken up. You can buy fresh bay leaves in the wet market. Say; " Daun Salam ada tak?"
* Add 1 tsp of Aromat powder. One container of Aromat will last you at least a year. Please share with your kakis. I use it for almost everything.

If you buy the uncooked kidney beans. You have to use the pressure cooker for 1/2 hour from the hiss. If not, buy the canned kidney beans in water for RM 2.99. I discovered that the best canned tomato is Tesco's Italian Peeled plum tomatoes.RM 2.65. 400g.
Suet Fun, one can of Bud is RM 9.95. Lost the smell of hops and the taste is slightly reduced. Bad traveller.
Once the minced meat is cooked, bang in the beans and allow 10 minutes and serve. If kiddies are eating add green peas. Decor with coriander or mint leaves.

Wine Tips - Shake and Bake (From "Simply Recipes" Blog)

Sacramento, California, where I live, is surrounded by wine country - Amador, El Dorado Hills, Clarksburg. To gain a better appreciation of the fabulous wines that are made in the area, I recently took a series of wine tasting classes at The Wine School aboard the Delta King in Old Sacramento, taught by G.M. "Pooch" Pucilowski, Wine Editor for Sacramento Magazine, and the guy in charge of all of the judging of wines at the California State Fair wine competition. The purpose of this prelude is so that when I get completely skewered for suggesting the following, that you know that I didn't just make them up out of thin air. These are just a few of the tips that our wine expert Pooch recommended. And, if you are about to completely dismiss them as absurd or utterly sacrilegious, I ask that you first give them a try.

Tip #1: The Microwave
Red wine should not be consumed chilled, but closer to room temperature. It just tastes better that way. But if you open a bottle of red wine and don't finish it, the best thing to do is to pop the cork back on and put it in the refrigerator, where it can keep for a couple of weeks. When you pull the wine out to drink it later, you can leave it on the counter to slowly come to room temperature. Alternatively, you can pour a glass, put it in the microwave, and zap it a few seconds until it warms up to room temp. Every microwave is different, and depending on how much wine is in the glass, the number of seconds will vary. I suggest starting with 5 seconds and adding 3 second increments until you get there.

Tip #2: Shake that Bouteille
Red wine often needs to come in contact with some air to reduce some of its sharpness. Usually this is accomplished by pouring the wine into a decanter. If you're drinking a young wine that is just too rough, you can also accomplish the same oxygenation by pouring out 1/2 glass of wine from the bottle, putting the cork back in part way, and shaking the heck out of the bottle. Obviously, you're not going to do this with a well aged wine that may have some sediment. But if it is a young wine, sediment shouldn't be a problem, and it's the young wines that typically need this air.

Bonus Tip: Wine Ice-cubes
How do you keep your glass of white wine cool on a hot summer day? If you know what wine you will be drinking in advance, you can use an ice cube tray to freeze some of the wine into wine-cubes. Just add them to your glass of wine.

Tiger Mike's-Chickpea Pakoras (to go with the mint chutney)

500g chickpea flour, sieved
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp cilli powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
200g kangkung, leaves only
2 onions finely diced
2 potatoes, cut into tiny cubes
50g spring onions, chopped finely
50g coriander leaves, chopped finely
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
100g water
groundnut oil for frying
1 small can of sardines ( Cap Kings Cup) optional

Mix all the ingredients together, adding the water little by little until mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the bowl.
allow the mixture to stand for half an hour to infuse the flavours.
Heat the oil in a deep pan over medium fire. At this stage you mix the sardines into the mixture without the tomato sauce. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil and deep fry until golden brown.
Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve hot and crispy with the mint chutney.

N.B There is a South Indian way of making the mint chutney. Its excellent too.

Tiger Mike's Suggestion for Katapandhi

Goons hot and pungent curry (vendaloo)
by Julie Sahni (from Classic Indian Cooking)
Vendaloo is the famous fiery-hot, mustard-laced dish from Goa, a state on the southwest coast of India. Traditionally, vendaloo is made with pork, but there are many variations prepared with beef, chicken, lamb, and even duck. Pork is rarely eaten in India, except by the Portuguese Christians in Goa. Even though some religious sects permit the eating of pork, it is not as highly prized a meat in India as lamb or chicken. Indians tend to regard the pig, who eats most anything from everywhere, with suspicion. Another reason for its lack of popularity is that the feed-corn needed to raise the best grade of pig for good pork is not grown in India on a wide enough scale to feed an animal population.

Vendaloo is made by first marinating the pork in a mixture of spices and seasonings. It is then cooked in the marinade along with such additional flavorings as fried onions and tamarind juice. The ingredient that imparts the authentic vendaloo flavor is mustard oil. Mustard oil in its raw form has a very strong smell that many people find unpleasant. Before Indians use it in cooking, it is put through a mellowing process. This is done by heating the oil to a very high temperature (the smoking point), which releases the pungent smell and vaporizes the oil. When cool, the mustard oil is ready for use.

For 4 persons:

6 pork chops (about 1.5 lbs.)
Using a sharp boning knife, cut the meat off the bone. Reserve the bones. Trim all traces of fat from the meat and bones, and discard. Cut the meat into 3/4" cubes, and set aside.

1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. black mustard seeds
Heat a small frying pan over medium heat, and add cumin and mustard seeds. Roast the seeds, stirring constantly, until the cumin seeds turn dark and the mustard seeds gray (about 3 minutes). Transfer to a small bowl and let cool briefly. Then grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

1 medium-sized onion, peeled and quartered
4 medium cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger root
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. light vegetable oil
Put onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, and oil into the container of an electric blender or food processor, and run the machine until the contents are a fine pasty puree.

(pork and pork bones)
(ground cumin and mustard seeds)
(pureed mixture)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground clove
Mix thoroughly to distribute the spice paste over the meat pieces. Cover and marinate for 8 hours, or refrigerate for 48 hours.

1" ball tamarind pulp
1.25 C. boiling water
Put the tamarind pulp into a bowl, add the boiling water, and let it soak for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid, squeezing the pulp as much as possible, into another small bowl, and set aside. Discard the stringy fiber.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cooking
1/2 C. mustard oil, or substitute light vegetable oil
When ready to cook the meat, heat the mustard oil over high heat in a large enamel-coated pan. When the oil begins to smoke, turn off the heat, and let it cool completely. (Skip this step if you are using a vegetable oil other than mustard.)

(mustard oil)
1.5 C. thinly sliced onions
Heat the oil again over medium-high heat, and add onions. Fry them until they turn caramel brown (about 12 minutes), stirring constantly to prevent burning.

1.5 tsp. turmeric
1.5 tsp. red pepper
1.5 tsp. paprika
Reduce heat to medium, add turmeric, red pepper, and paprika. When the spices begin to sizzle and turn dark (about 15 seconds), add the meat and bones (reserve any marinade left in the bowl), and fry until the meat pieces are slightly seared and the oil begins to separate from the gravy (about 10 minutes).

(tamarind juice)
2 tsp. Kosher salt
(remaining marinade, if a

TIGER MIKE'S MINT CHUTNEY

Re our coversation in the Khalsa Club on 31st Mar 06, here's the mint chutney recipe from Kpg Boyan;

2.5 cups of coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups mint leaves, coarsely chopped
6 green chillies, seeds removed, cut
1tbsp of salt
1piece tamarind peel (assam keping)
1tbsp lime juice or to taste
4 tbsp water
Whiz the coriander, mint, green chillies, salt and tamarind with two tbsp water in an electric blender for 30 seconds.
Add another two tbsp water and blend for a minute. Add lime juice and stir to mix well. Chill chutney before using.
Try the above first. Later try with two bawang merah kecil, a pinch asofoetida and one tbsp of fresh kelapa parut.
Do you know how to make Chickpea Pakoras? The Kpg Boyan Baaii add Kangkung leaves, no batang. Manyak bes, ma!!

Mike's Parupu - nala shapadu

Mon Cheri Suet Fun,

Gracias for the lentils recipe. It’s good. I am a lover of lentils and I believe that most Taipingites do so. Please, if you like, I am giving you my version of cooking the parupu.
Ingredients
250 g. (½ lb.) lentils
½ onion chopped
2 green chilies sliced
2 gloves garlic sliced
½ tsp tumeric
500 ml. (2 Cups) water
125 ml. (½ cup) coconut milk
1 – 2 tsp of salt
For tempering:
2 tbsp of olive oil
6 curry leaves
2 shallots sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry chilies.
Method
Wash lentils well. Drain
Put lentils in a saucepan; add onion, green chili, garlic and turmeric. Add water and bring to boil. Cover and cook on low heat until lentils are soft.
Add coconut milk and salt, cook for 5 minutes. Remove cooked lentils from saucepan.
Tempering:
Pour in oil and heat. Fry tempering ingredients per sequence as listed. Pour lentils back into the same saucepan, close the lid and turn off heat. Lentils should be the consistency of runny porridge.
Tips:
* Best lentils in the world come from Australia.
* Put in four match heads of asoefotida or parangayam in your lentil, if you wish for extra kick.
* Always eat lentils with moru mulega. Fry in small amount of hot oil just for one day consumption. Easy to masuk angin
* Scintillate your taste buds with rasam before makan. Ah Swee told me to drink nande rasam because it’s more potent than tongkat Ali. I have been taking gallons of the stuff. Buy your rasam from Cettinad in Bangsar. Get the nande from any Chinese mini-market in packets. Made in Indonesia. Don’t short cut using rasa podi.
* Drink a dry gewürztraminer from Alsace as the food is very tasty. Don’t buy your wine from the shop next to Uncle Ho’s in BSC. Potong lehir, ma! Get the stuff fro Tesco’s wine Shoppe.
* If you don’t have a kah lee yip tree, I’ll give you the best seedling.
* Place two leafs of Daun Pandan (Cheen loi yip) and a little sea salt when cooking your basmati.
My favourite curry is “Katherikai (ai kwa), karavadu (harm yee) and machakote”. Interface it with pudina sambar. Ayoo, Kadavaleh. May the Lord Venkateshwara bless us all. Nala shapadu ma!
Souhaiter l’amour et la bonte a` votre art de l’auto – portrait distingue`.

Michel.
MAGNI NOMINIS UMBRA

Tiger Mike's Tan Kwe Special Soup

Dear Ah Swee,
This is for Jeannie. I am afraid you have to do it for her at any time of her own choosing. This clear soup appetizer must be served hot. My mother-in-law swears by it. I surmise it must help the ang ang tua tua liap.
The Tan Kwe Special Soup.
250 g winter melon (about half a medium-sized melon)
1 knob of lengkuas – lam keong (crushed)
1 large chicken breast
1 fistful of sliced tan kwe
150 g small prawns
800 millilitres water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of sesame oil (optional)
Skin winter melon and remove seeds and soft pith. Cut into 5x3x1 cm pieces. Cut chicken breast into medium sized cubes and shelled prawns.
Bring water to boil with lengkuas and tan kwe and cook chicken for 2 minutes. Add melon and prawns and simmer for five minutes. Add seasoning serve. If you like fold in the sesame oil.
I have been taking tan kwe gin to improve my haemo problem. It comes in a small bottle from any refutable sin seh shop. Made by Chung-Lien Drug Works, Hankow, China. I assure you that there is no contraindication. No chemicals, ma!

Mike's Asam Pedas

Bahan-Bahan A

3 cili hidup merah

12 cili kering ( boil to soften )

½ keping belacan sudah dibakar ( Singlong Brand from S’pore )

2 serai ( slice very thinly)

½ inci halia

1 inci lengkuas

3 buah keras

5 bawang merah

3 bawang puteh

1 inci kunyit hidup



Bahan-Bahan B

1 bunga Kantan

15 daun kesum

4 asam keeping

2 tbsp of veg oil

3 cups of water



Aturcara

Blender all ingredients in A with oil and a little water.
Fry until the oil shows.
Add items in B and fish.
Taste for garam and asam.


N.B. I like Sembilang Karang or Striped Eel Catfish. Norwegian mackerel is also a good bet.

Tip:
1. Cut the keong fah bud into four, length wise. The bud must remain intact.

2. Strip the heong fah choy from the stems and wrap them in a gauze swab 10cm x 10cm. Tie the gauze by cutting its side into a string. Buy the gauze from any pharmacy.8 ply qty 100 pcs – velly cheap. It’s useful in the kitchen because you can wrap your spices when making Penang soup tulang for the kids.

3. Use medium heat or the sauce will splutter and splotch all over your oven and the OCPD will start her “drama minggu ini”.

4. Amazing luck and success.

Ranger Mike's Umai

Dear Tigers/Tigresses,

I often wonder why some husbands like to mess around (better words than cook) in the kitchen. It is traditionally a “given” domain of the opposite sex – indeed my favourite sex forever and ever. Is it an extension of the conquering macho mentality? It is probable that they should not have space to play. Everything belongs to the MCPs.

My attitude is that if they are happy, I am happier. I think my OCPD’s kakis are fantastic types. They seek fervently to celebrate life and I remain a special camp–follower. These bekas TMGS like steamed kembong from Kota Rd Wet Market, Taiping. The meat of the lovely fried kembong is placed on croutons and washed down by Alsace Gewurztraminer.

Let us face the reality of our lives. Who are the people we cook for? 99% of the time is for our OCPDs and their friends, of course aided by the nervous maid watching us reading recipes, cooking and drinking all at once. So, Tigers, here’s Umai to ensure your Datins get scintillated by the pedas-pedas.

Barang-Barang

500g medium-sized prawns, shelled.

100g shallots, peeled and sliced

150g Taiwanese white onion, peeled and thinly sliced

60g young ginger, shredded finely

25g chili padi hijau, finely sliced

400ml air limau kasturi or limau nipis

1 batang serai sliced thinly

2 daun limau perut, Julianned

1 bunga kantan, sliced thinly (keong fah)

Salt, pepper and sugar to taste (do not use finely grinded pepper, guna kasar, lah)

Garnish: Chinese celery tips (Kun Choi)

Method

Drown the prawns in the lime juice for 30 mins. They will be cooked naturally by the lime juice. After which, combine all the ingredients except the garnish and set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Garnish before serving.

Optional

500g towgeh, tailed. Place 1x 2in cinnamon, 4 cloves and one bunga lawang in a sauce pot and simmer a cup of veg oil. Blanch the towgeh with the oil. Make it a side dish to accompany the umai.

Recommended wine

Wolf Blass Red Label Frontignac Traminer 2004, Nurioopa, South Australia (RM 61) Distributed by Milawa Tel: 62588262.

NAHARI GOSHT - Mike's Mother Of All Curries

Dear All,

I am giving you, if I may, the mother of all curries. I have refrained from socking it to you for fear that Amir Gan - the Hong Kong Film Star – may get bent out of shape with me. If you MCPs can do it for your OCPDs, you will activate a new love affair. Jetey and Rohani know how to do it with alacrity and passion. So I think they are laughing at my naivety.



INGREDIENTS

Lamb with bone (any cut) 1 kg

Daun curry 2 stalks

Black pepper 20

Cinnoman sticks 4

Cloves 10

Garlic Paste 1 tsp

Ginger paste 1 tsp

Gram flour ¾ tsp

Green Cardamoms 10

Green Coriander, chopped 3 tsp

Lemon Juice 2 tsp

Mace 2/3 tsp

Mustard Oil ½ cup

Onions, chopped 11/2 cup

Onions sliced 11/4 cup

Red chilies 8

Saffron 1 gm

Turmeric Powder 2 tsp

Essence of Daun Pandan 1 tbs

Yoghurt, whisked 1 cup

Salt to taste.

STEPS

1. Clean and cut lamb into small pieces with bone.

2. Heat ½ cup oil in wok; add the sliced onions and sauté over medium heat until golden brown.

3. Add the lamb, chopped onions, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper and curry leaves and cook until the liquid evaporates.

4. Add coriander powder, red chilies, turmeric, ginger and garlic pastes and salt and cook until the oil separate from the mixture.

5. Add the yoghurt, bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Add a liter of water and bring to boil again. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lamb is tender.

7. Remove the meat from the gravy and keep aside.

8. Heat three tbs of oil in a pan, add the flour and gram flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until light brown. Add the gravy and stir.

9. Pass the thickened gravy through a soup strainer, return to fire and bring to boil.

10. Add the lamb, garam masala, fennel powder, lemon juice, pewangi daun pandan, saffron and the mace, and stir.

If you like it, Tigers, I’ll give the special recipe that I acquired as a Ranger Paratrooper in East Malaysia. The exotic UMAI. When your OCPDs are having” Coffee Parties” do you ever see any coffee? I have never seen any ever. They drink expensive wines. The UMAI makes them supremely happy. But, you have to do it for them. It is my happiness to give it to you if you think you need it.

Sorbet for Alcholics

Ingredients

175g/6oz caster sugar
425g/15oz water
rind and juice of a lemon
120ml/4fl oz beer
1 egg white
lemon rind to decorate (optional)

Method

1. For the stock syrup, add the sugar to the water in a saucepan. Dissolve the sugar and add the rind of the lemon. Bring to the boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain the syrup and reserve the rind. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
2. For the sorbet, add the lemon juice and the cider to the syrup. Place in a freezer for 30 minutes to cool. Pour into an ice cream maker for 30-40 minutes.. Add the lightly whisked egg white to the mixture after 10 minutes.

Decorate with lemon rind if required.

Amirgan's Japanese-style chicken and egg on rice

Serves 4.
This recipe is best made just before serving.

Ingredients
2/3 cup (160ml) salt-reduced chicken stock
¼ cup (60ml) salt-reduced soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 teaspoon sugar
500g chicken breast fillets, sliced thinly
1 small (80g) brown onion, sliced thinly
2 (120g) finger eggplant, sliced thinly
1 medium (200g) red capsicum, sliced thinly
4 eggs, beaten lightly
4 cups cooked sushi rice
4 green onions (green shallots), sliced thinly

Method
Combine stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a large frying pan; bring to the boil.

Add chicken, onion, eggplant and capsicum; cook, covered, for about 5 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through.

Pour egg over chicken mixture; cook, covered, over a low heat for about 2 minutes or until egg is just set.

Divide rice among serving bowls; top with chicken mixture, sprinkle with green onions.



Amir Gan Abdullah

Mike's Sambal Belacan

Once my OCPD asked,” Why are you so committed over your sambal thing? “I answered, “It’s an everyday thing, so I am very conscientious as I am over you.”

I thought she was kembang for one minute. She went off whispering under her breath, “Liar.” But did a double Cuba Libre for herself.



Introduction

1. The Malaysian made belacan that is sold in our market is largely made of rotten fish heads. Try to get belacan from Rayong, Thailand. The best local belacan is from the Portuguese Square, Melaka. ( Rumah De Melo.) Otherwise get from Carrefour or Bangsar Shopping Centre, “ Singlong” spec-in belacan made in S’pore. Expensive but hi-quality.

2. Burn holes in a plastic drinking cup (inverse orifice) large enough to discharge chili seeds flushed by running water of your tap.

3. Stand by a pair of latex gloves.

4. Large lesung tumbuk or a hand held blender.

5. A sharp paring knife.



Ingredients

20 Fresh red chilies, cut into two halves lengthwise and seeded by the blunt side of your knife.

10 Fresh green chilies cut and seeded as above.

30 Fresh chili padi, preferably chili kampung.

¼ cup thick tamarind juice, strain after you mix it with your fingers.

12 cloves of good garlic (bukan layu)

2 buah keras

4 sudu besar gula merah (optional)

2 bawang merah kecil.

6x6x2 cm of roasted belacan



Method

Cut the chilies. Use the perforated cup to get rid of the chili padi seeds. Pound the chilies only in the lesung tumbuk or use a hand blender. Do not grind them smooth. Kasar sedikit. Grind the garlic and bawang merah kecil until very fine. Roast buah keras and fine grind . Fold everything into a ceramic bowl and mix them thoroughly using your gloved hand. Taste for pedas and cukup belacan which should give enough salt. Modify as you wish. Keep in ceramic bottle. Refrigerate. No lime please. Use lime before makan.Enjoy!

N.B, For OCPDs and other Datins who cannot tahan pedas, use water chestnuts (Ma Tai) as ulam. For gayaness, microwave for one minute some ikan bilis and create a small hill on the sambal and serve.

Hey! The Teowchew specializes in making fresh salt fish !!??

Amirgan's Clam chowder

Serves 6.
This recipe is best made close to serving.

Ingredients
1kg clams
½ cup (125ml) dry white wine
2½ cups (625ml) water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium (150g) brown onion, chopped finely
2 bacon rashers, chopped finely
2 tablespoons plain flour
1½ cups (375ml) fish stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 large (600g) potatoes, chopped finely
300g white fish fillet, chopped coarsely
½ cup (60ml) cream
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Rinse the clams under cold water and combine with the wine and 1 cup of the water in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to the boil and steam, covered, for about 5 minutes or until clams have opened.
Strain over a large bowl; reserve cooking liquid. Remove ¾ of the clams from the shells; reserve clam meat and remaining clams in shells, discard empty shells.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan; cook the onion, stirring, until soft.
Add bacon; cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add the flour; cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Gradually stir in the stock, then the reserved clam cooking liquid, remaining water and tomato paste.
Cook, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the thyme and potato; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the potato is almost tender. Add fish; cook, covered, 5 minutes or until just cooked.

Just before serving, stir in the clams, cream and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Suitable to freeze.
Not suitable to microwave.



Amir Gan Abdullah

Amirgan's Mexican Beef

Serves: 4

Ingredients
400 g lean beef
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 green capsicum, deseeded and diced
420g can HEINZ BIG RED Condensed Tomato Soup
300g can red kidney beans, drained
3/4 water or beef stock
1/4 cup freshly chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat a dash of oil in a deep frying pan and brown the beef mince. Set aside.

2. Add the onion, garlic, chilli, cumin and capsicum to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.

3. Stir in HEINZ Big Red Condensed Tomato Soup, red kidney beans, water (or stock) and browned mince, simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add coriander and season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve the Mexican Beef accompanied with flour tortillas, grated cheese, guacamole and sour cream.

Alternately, serve over a bed of steamed rice or over baked corn chips to make a delicious nacho recipe


Amir Gan Abdullah

Amirgan's Swordfish with celery and bean salad

Salad can be prepared two hours ahead; add celery leaves close to
serving.
Serves 4.

Ingredients
1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, torn
1 tablespoon baby capers, rinsed, drained
4 (700g) swordfish steaks

CELERY AND BEAN SALAD
2 trimmed sticks celery (200g), halved, sliced thinly 300g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained ¼ cup coarsely chopped young celery leaves

Method
Combine juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oil in a bowl; whisk until thickened slightly. Stir in oregano and capers.

CELERY AND BEAN SALAD: Combine celery, beans and celery leaves in a small bowl. Add ¼ cup (60ml) of the dressing; toss gently.

Heat a lightly oiled large frying pan, cook fish until browned on both sides and cooked as desired. Remove from pan.

Add remaining dressing to same pan, bring to the boil.

Serve celery and bean salad with fish drizzled with warm dressing.

Not suitable to freeze.
Not suitable to microwave.

Amirgan's Char Koay Teow

Recipes for 10 pax

Sauce

500ml Light Soya Sauce }
4tsp Sugar }
4tbsp Fish Sauce } Mix well in a big bowl
3tbs Oyster Sauce }
2tbs Dark Soya Sauce }

Ingredients

600g Kaoy Teow
20g Garlic – chopped
100ml Cooking Oil
120g Prawn Meat
20g Chili Paste
120g Koay Teow Sauce – above
80g Bean sprouts
40g Chives – kuchai
4nos Eggs


Method

Heat cooking oil in wok and fry garlic till fragrant Add prawns chili past and flat noodles Add koay teow sauce and stir fry till well mix and dry Move to the side and crack in the eggs
Mix the eggs and noodle and then add in beansprouts and chive
Serve hot