Tiger Mike's SOM TAM ESAN OR MALAKOR

Dear Linus,
Hope you got back to Kuching safely. Re: our conversation on 9th Feb @ The Dog, socking to you the recipe that you like. Please give the appropriate wpn trg lesson to our gang in Sarawak.

The papaya must be dark green and firm.

1 medium dark green papaya
4 garlic cloves
6 cilli padi
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped green beans, in 1-in pieces
1 tbsp budu or Thai fish sauce.( Budu is better.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice or air asam jawa

Peel the papaya and rinse with running water to remove the acid. Remove the seeds and shred the papaya with a grater. Set aside.
Place the garlic cloves and the cillis in a mortar and mash with a pestle until crushed into chunks. Place the papaya and the remaining ingredients into the mortar and gently combine all ingredients by mixing with the pestle and a spoon.
If you need any Thai recipe, happy to oblige. I learnt much from Fred.
Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban,
Sorak,
Penghulu Telajan of Ulu Baleh.

Tiger Mike's Crab In A Carriage (Santola No Carro)

Nic,


In Portugal spider crabs are more generally used than the edible (common) crab popular in S'pore & Malaysia. Spider crabs have beautiful shells and the "carriage" of the title refers to the shell, in which the mixture is traditionally served (rameskin dishes can be used instead).

SERVE 4
* four small fresh cooked crabs
* juice of 1/2 lemon
* 25 g onion, finely chopped
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 1 tsp crumbled dried thyme
* 2 tbsp chopped parsley
* about 150 ml mayonnaise
* 1-2 tsp French mustard
* Cilli sauce
* salt
* fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs


METHOD


Twist off the legs and claws from the crab shells, crack open and remove the meat. Remove the white and brown meat from the shells and discard the grey sac and feathery gills. Flake the meat and mix with lemon juice.


Preheat the grill to moderate.


Fry the onion in the oil until softened.Stir in the crab meat, thyme and parsley and remove from the heat. Stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, cilli sauce and salt to taste; the consistency shud be soft.


Divide the crab mixture between the shells and sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top. Place under the grill until bubbling and golden.

Tiger Mike's Fried Kangkung In Belacan

300g kangkung (wash and cut the roots)
30g dried prawns (soak in hot water, drain and pound)

POUND THE FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS FINELY

1.5 cm cube toasted belacan
5 cili padi
3 shallots (slice)
1 clove garlic (chop)


3 tsps cooking oil
salt, pepper and soya or nam pla sauce to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish.

METHOD
Prepare the Ingredients:
1. Soak the dried prawns in hot water and drain.
2. Wash the kangkung under running water. Pick the leaves and cut the stems separately.
3. Pound the cilis, shallots, garlic and belacan together. Pound the pawns.
4. Fry the kangkung. Heat oil in a wok. Fry the pounded cili-mix with 2 tbsp of water till there is a fragrant aroma.
5. Add the dried prawns and fry for a few mins. Add the kangkung stems, then the leaves.
6. Add 3-4 tbsp water, cover the wok for a while. Cook until the veg are tender but not overcooked.
7. Season with salt or nam pla, pepper to taste.
8. Dish on to a plate and garnish.

Tiger Mike's Beef And Sheep Tongues

Prices:
Lucky Frozen: Tongue Swiss Cut Aust/NZ RM 52.40 per kg. Sheeps Tongue Ararat/GME RM 13.00 per kg.
SMB Frozen Foods: Jln Pencala PJ: Beef Tongue Aust/NZ RM 12.00 per kg. Sheeps Tongue RM 8.00 per kg.
Local Wet Market. Beef Tongue Aust RM 24.00 per kg.

The last time you had it with me was too soft with no bounce coz I pressure cooked it for 30 mins. There is no need to pressure cook at all.
The recipe below is for 1 kg of tongue.
Boil the tongue and remove the outer thick skin. Oblique slice to 1.5cm thick. Dry rub the pieces with turmeric and salt. Fry. Keep the oil for use a bit later.
Pound:
1 tsp jintan manis (aniseed or yau kok)
4 cardamon seeds ( buah pelaga or wok lok wuat)
5 cloves (bunga cengkis or teng heong)
Pound Separately:
1 inch ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 shallots

1 serai - bruised.
1 large Bombay onion cubed.
Mix 1 tbsp of meat curry powder, 1 tsp cili powder, 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder and a little water.
Use 3-4 tbsp from the balance of the oil to "tumis" :
1 inch cinnamon stick.
1 star anise.
Add the poundd ingredients, serai and 2 sprigs of curry leaves.
Add Bombay onion.
Fry until aromatic and minyak naik.
Add curry powder mixture.
Add a little water witth 1/2 tbsp of tamarind juice.
Pour carefully thick soya sauce just to make it dark.
Add tongue slices.
Pepper and salt to taste.

Senang aje, brudder!!

Tiger Mike's Miang Kham

Dear Nic,

Happy to see that you are always keen and curious about food. Miang Kham is a must Thai hors d'oeuvre and is automatically served when you dine in a Thai Restaurant. I have not met a Malaysian who dislikes it. It interfaces well with drinks - beers or a dry white wine. Please read attached.

The Thai will never use lettuce leaves but daun kaduk which you can get in the morning markets in S'pore.

The Thais serve the stuff in a special plate on a rotating wooden plate and beautiful ceramics. Will send picture after this. I think you can procure it in S'pore. Mine came from Thailand.

 

Dear Sham,

I'll bring the Bt. Tinggi aromatic ginger. Use young limau nipis, udang kering kecil and cili padi and not cili merah. For the kerisik use kelapa parut muda. Jude will have no trouble making the sauce, if not Cha Cha Mike will do. Please as usual, remember portion control.

Tiger Mike's Nasi Lemak

1. Two cups of the finest Basmati rice for 6 pax.

2. Four and half cups of good santan.(Harmony Brand)

3. Four helai daun pandan, stripped and tied into knot.

4. Two cm ginger, sliced finely.

5. Three cloves garlic, sliced finely.

6. One teaspoon salt.

7.Three bunga cengkih.

8. Two cm cinnamon.

 

Method.

1.Wash the rice and leave it to rest with some water for 5 minutes.

2. Drain the rice and put rice, four cups of coconut milk and other ingredients into pot or rice cooker. Cook until all liquid is absorbed.

3. Loosen rice grain and test for donness. Place daun pisang round the inside of the rice cooker. If necessary add the rest of the santan. Steady.

4. Cover the pot tightly until rice is fluffy.

 

Sham, If you decide to do nasi lemak on Sunday (SU 1), I'll cook the sambal tumis lala and prep the accompaniments.

Tiger Mike's Miang Kham Sauce

OP Sham,

Now we have a lot more experience with Miang Kham. I have now a daun kaduk bush. As you notice B.S "Lord Ganesh" Maniam loves it like his favourite betel leaves (vitelleh) and he spits the juice into the paper napkin. He is following Dr.M's style of eating sireh-pinang.

It goes super well with Nira Cola. Bless these South Indians!!

The only small hassle with Miang Kham is the sauce. Once ready, you can keep it for one month in the fridge or three months in the freezer with no degradation.

 

The Sauce

1/4 cup of thinly sliced shallots

1 tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass

1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger

1 tbsp of  belacan

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup dried shrimp

11/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups + water

11/4 cups palm sugar

crushed peanuts for garnish

1. Roast the onions, lemongrass, ginger and shrimp paste at 120C until golden, about 15 minutes. Roast the coconuts at 180C until golden brown, stirring often, about 10 mins.

2. Put the onions, lemongrass, ginger, shrimp paste, shrimp, coconut and salt into a blender and add 1/2 cup water slowly, gradually and process, adding more water if necessary. Process for a few seconds; the consistency does not need to be smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan and add 2 cups water and palm sugar. bring the mixture to boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for one hour and 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and cool. Serve with Miang Kham.

The South Indians eat their sireh-pinang with kapur, gambiar, roasted cloves, uma and coriander seeds and spit the juice all over your blardy carpet!! But, we pure Malays enjoy Thai Miang Kham without any problem.

If you need, I'll give you the ingredients for the kaduk cup.

Tiger Mike's Spicy Catfish Kerabu

4 large catfish

oil for frying

4-5 shallots, chopped

1 tablespoon grated ginger 10 small cili padi seeded, crushed

3 tablespoons crushed peanuts

1/2 green mango, cut into fine strips (match sticks)

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

salt

black pepper, freshly grinded

3 helai lemau perut, sliced finely

5 kaduk leaves

Garnish:

Coriander leaves

 

Wash and gut the fish and steam for 5-7 minutes. Before they are completely cooked remove the fish from the steamer and dry them.

Fry the steamed fish on both sides in the hot oil until golden. Remove the bones ans skin, and flake the flesh.

In a bowl, mix the fish meat with the shallots, ginger, cilis, peanuts and mangoes. Add the lemon juice and rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Serve on a bed of daun kaduk, and sprinkle with coriander leaves.

 

Good Luck.

 

Tiger Mike's Beef Noodle Soup

PART 1 Make the Stock:

You can prep the stock in advance. Can be kept in the fridge for a max of 3-4 days or in the freezer for long-term storage. You can use one of the three meats - chicken, pork or beef.
9 cups of water

1 kg of meat bones - well cut-up
2 cloves garlic
1 medium turnip (lo pak)
2 stick celery
2 bunches daun sop (kam choy cina)
2 shallots
1 pinch of ground ginger
ground black pepper

Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a large pan over medium heat.
Lower the heat and simmer for one hour. Strain.
I use the pressure cooker for 35 minutes to save time but must strain it to remove the scum.

PART 2 Making Beef Noodle Soup

5 cups of beef stock given above
2 cloves garlic
2 sticks celery
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light Soya sauce
pepper to taste
300 g beef fillet, cut into thin strips. ( Buy Brazilian @ RM 51.00 per kg)
200 g imported tripe (cooked) Optional
500 g rice noodles
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tbsp chopped spring onions (chung)
100 g towgeh
Cilli powder to taste
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice to taste

Heat the stock with whole garlic cloves, celery, fish sauce, soya sauce and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 mins.
Remove the garlic and celery. Bring the stock to full boil.
Place the beef in a straining spoon or strainer and hold in the boiling stock for 30 seconds.
Remove and drain. Reduce heat.
Cook the noodles in the simmering stock for 2 mins, then remove and drain them. Put in ice water. When cooled, remove and drip a little olive oil and toss the noodles.
Meanwhile lightly brown the chopped garlic in the oil.
Cut the tribe into small strips and pressure cook it for 6 mins.
Serve the soup in individual bowls. First place the noodles in each bowl and sprinkle with coriander, spring onion, browned garlic, cilli powder and pepper. Add the meat, tripe, a few drops of lime or lemon juice to the stock. Lastly a bit of towgeh.
The Cilli powder that I use is Thai Mae Pranom Brand (Shrimp Seafood Crushed Chilli) Thai Product # 3043 which is excellent. Easy to get. If you have difficulty, I'll get it for you.
Enjoy and best of luck.

Tiger Mike's Mangiare

Carissimo Michelino!

Instead of using oil and rosemary, try the following:

2 ½ pounds brisket of beef, cut into 3-inch pieces
3 fresh rosemary branches, each 6 inches long
1 celery stalk
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 onion, 3 to 4 inches in dia, peeled and cut into eights
2 table spoons salt
2 small ripe tomatoes, cored and seeded
3 ½ quarts cold water

Put a wide 9 to 12 quart pan over high heat, film the bottom of the pan with olive oil, and brown the meat very well on all sides, lowering the flame if the meat juices threaten to burn. After the pieces of meat have browned on one side, begin adding the rosemary, celery, garlic, onion and salt, waiting 30 seconds between additions as the meat continues to brown. When the meat juices begin to caramelize on the bottom of the pan, add the tomatoes.

When the meat is well browned, add the water. Let the water come to boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 3 to 4 hours. During the first 30 minutes, skim the white foam that collects on the surface. Then cover partially and skim occasionally. Strain. You may refrigerate any broth that you do not need for that day.

You will you this broth as undertone for your pastas. I would suggest as follows:

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a skillet, ad 6 large fresh sage leaves and a peeled garlic clove, and lightly brown the butter over medium heat. Remove the garlic, add 1 ½ cups of the above broth, simmer for a moment, and remove from heat. Cook enough pasta (Michelino, try to find at Hock Chung Taglierini or smaller Tagliatelle) for your guests, until just - it will cook further in the sauce. Bring the sauce back to simmer, add the pasta and 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan very loosely packed and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, tossing until the cheese has disappeared and the pasta is hot. Serve on hot plates, grating on top some fresh Parmesan!

Michelino, after you did this and you ate the pastas , you are eligible for Italian Nationality! Buon Appetito!

Luve, Pavlevic, Chef par Excellance!

Tiger Mike's "How to Steam Rafidah Aziz"

Dear Nic,

Please try and make sure that the moistness of the flesh of the Napoleon Wrasse is retained and that the flavour of the herbs and spices permeates through.

1 Napoleon Wrasse, about 750 g
2 tbsps rice wine - Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 tbsps fish sauce (Thai)
1/4 cup lime juice
2 stalks lemon grass (heong mau), crushed and cut into large pieces
1/4 cup sliced onions
2 garlic cloves,crushed
2 spring onions (chung), sliced in halves and crushed
4 fresh chili padi , crushed
1/4 cup of sweet basil leaves (heong fah choi)
1/4 cup slivered galagal (lam keong)

* Do not slash the fish
* Place the wrasse in a steaming plate. Spread the remaining ingredients evenly over it.
* Steam for 25 minutes. Serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

Serve 4. Good Luck,Bro!!

Tiger Mike's Sauce For Gung Chet Nam Pla

Paul,
Am giving you my personal recipe first. I'll try and compare with a Malaysian Thai officer friend's with whom I get to feel no pain frequently. He is a good Thai chef by hobby. Here goes:

8 garlic cloves, minced
10 chili padi, minced
2 tbsps finely chopped coriander roots and leaves
1/4 cup of Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup of lime juice
2 tbsps of sugar

Blend the whole lot, then fridge it for a while. Serve 4. If your kaki-s are gelee about the prawns, sock to them steamed crabs ( 10 mins in the steamer ) with the shell intact.

Tiger Mike's Flied Lice of the Crouching Tiger

This is the mother of all nasi goreng. One of the best party dishes particularly when there are teeny bobbers. Caters for 15 people at a time. As these ingredients cook so quickly, your guests will all get piping hot, freshly cooked food. Its a heresy to serve it cold. Do not microwave, the rice grains will glue to each other.

Ingredients

Amount Remarks
Chopped celery 1 cup
Chopped leeks 1 cup
Chopped onions 1 cup
Chopped parsley !/2 cup
Garlic crushed 3 cloves
Chopped Green onions
plus green parts 1 bunch
Diced chicken 31/2 cups
Peeled and deveined prawns 21/2 cups
Salt & black pepper
Thai fish sauce To taste
Cold cooked rice 41/2 cups Local Puteri is good.
Vegetable oil
Sambal belacan & sugar
Pastrami diced 4 slices Pok Bros or Equatorial

Extra Kick
Minced meat 11/2 cups
Chopped onion 1/2 small
salt and black pepper
Thai fish sauce

Garnish
Two-egg omelette
Cooked prawns 8
Chopped parsley

Accompaniments
1. Lengths of fresh or pickled cucumber.
2. Pineapple rings fried in butter and sprinkled with red wine.
3. Chopped tomato and onions.
4. Fresh slices of banana or chunks fried in butter and sprinkled with coconut.
5. Combined toasted coconut and peanuts.
6. Keropok: flaked crayfish, chicken or dried shrimps served with peanut sauce.
7. Prawns slices or chips.
8. Chicken satay with peanut sauce.

Place all the vegetables in one bowl, the chicken, prawns, seasonings and fish sauce into another and the rice into a third.
To make the Extra Kick: Combine all ingredients and form into very small balls. Fry briefly in a little hot oil.
Heat your wok. Not too hot Add 1/2 cup of groundnut oil and when hot add a little sambal belacan and sugar. Now add the vegetables and the chicken. Stir fry with two ladles for a few minutes, then add the rice and stir- fry until heated through. If you wish to give it a shine, stir in a tbsp of butter. Add fish sauce. Stir in the Extra kick and the pastrami..
To serve, pile into a serving platter and top with a lattice of omelette strips. Garnish with prawns and parsley Serve with eggs and a selection of the accompaniments.

Select a dry white wine.

Suet Fun’s Recipe for Avoiding Egroup Angst

Dear Ching Pin,
I have known you since we were cycling around Taiping; I attended your 17th birthday party where your mum made such a lot of wonderful food and she was so happy when so many of your friends came to celebrate the big day with you. That was a long time ago.

I do not lay claim to the fact that I knew you so well then, neither do I do so now. But may I take the liberty to say that Fabian is so right to say that you are a unique individual. You are. Likewise, everyone else in this e-group.

As a member of the group, I must admit that I have been, at turns, irritated, frustrated, amused, horrified, angered at some of the exchanges. At the same time, I also understood that much of what was said, is not unlike what happens in the real world. It is not unusual to meet people who are unkind, nasty, rude and unreasonable. Neither is it unusual to meet people who are kind, polite, considerate and reasonable. It struck me that our e-group was very much a microcosm of the real world, except we are held together by the bond of the alma mater. For some, that's tenuous; for others, its enough to bind us although we hate each others' guts.

Expecting everyone to be humane and respectful doesn't exist in the outside world. What makes us think that we can expect these of each other just because we are Tigers? Don't you think its an exercise in futility? Don't you think we are setting ourselves up for a big fall?

Early this year when I wanted to raise funds for eggs for our rugby boys, all these came home to me very quickly. What began as a well-intentioned effort on my part turned into objections, suggestions and comments, and very little true support in terms of pledges. It left a very bad taste in my mouth, particularly when someone insinuated that I was only doing it because of my "personal relationship" with Coach Din, and I was not really thinking about the well-being of the boys. It rankled me deeply then. I questioned rigorously the kind of group we really were. I thought then, and even now that maybe our stripes was mere skin, they never came near our heart. But I stayed on.

The reason I am still with the e-group is because I learnt that we are not all the same, and never can be. That the only thing that's important to me is my own conviction, and that whatever I do comes from my heart. I also understand that this is an e-group, not a care group. We can say what we think and feel, but we do not have to share our personal angst and challenges and expect people to be considerate, pat us on the back and extend sympathy.Ironically, the latter is one reason why I also enjoy being a member. The lively, hard-hitting exchanges hardly exist in any other forum.

And so, its actually up to us how we deal with the bullets. We can shoot back, but do expect to be shot at. If you don't want to play, lay low. It's just like the real world Ching Pin, just like the real world.

Take it easy, my friend.
Suet Fun

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.