spicy – 好心人

Thai Green Curry

September 14, 2015 by Ho Lang

Thai Green Curry

I have always wanted to learn how to make Thai Green Curry, and chanced upon a healthy cooking workshop at one of those Residents Committee places. They were demonstrating how to cook a healthier version of Thai Green Curry, and while watching them demonstrating it, I thought to myself that the healthier version actually looked quite oily in reality.

Anyway, I was there to observe, so no comments. Like I always say, if I wanted to say anything, I will only make comments on my own cooking. It looked fairly easy enough. And surprisingly, the results were really yummy when I cooked it. I used fresh Chicken Drumsticks as the meat was usually more tender and juicy. I think the meat from chicken breasts would be too dry or tough if not cooked properly, and not as yummy as the chicken drumstick meat. For my version I added a little more colour in terms of the vegetables used, yellow and red capsicum, carrots and long beans, and instead of the recommended high calcium milk, I used packet Coconut Cream (more lemak, more nice).

The key ingredient is of course the Thai Green Curry paste, I decided to get a pre-mix version from NTUC called “Dancing Chef”, and it was really nice. Of course, you can make everything from scratch if you wanted to.

Recipe

Ingredients

2 Chicken Drumsticks with Adjoined Thigh (Chopped into small pieces and marinate with Light Soya Sauce and White Pepper)
1 packet of “Dancing Chef” brand Thai Green Curry paste
3 cloves of Garlic (Chopped finely)
1 medium Yellow Onion (Chopped finely)
3 sprigs of Curry Leaves (Use only the leaves)
3 stalks of Long Beans (Chopped into 3 cm pieces)
Half of a Carrot (Chopped into bite-sized pieces)
Half of a Yellow Capsicum (Chopped into small pieces)
Half of a Red Capsicum (Chopped into small pieces)
1 small packet of Kara Coconut Cream
2 cups of Water
2 tbsp Light Soya Sauce
1/2 tsp White Pepper
Drizzle of Thai Fish Sauce (Optional)

Method

1. Chop the chicken thigh into bite size pieces and marinate with light soya sauce and white pepper for about 5-10 minutes.

2. Add 1 packet of the Thai Green Curry paste into a wok and fry at medium heat. There is no need to add additional oil as there is already oil in the packet (The paste can be quite spicy, so no need to add additional chilli). Add the chopped garlic and onions and fry together with the paste (Actually the paste is made up of these ingredients, I just added more so that it is not so spicy).

3. Add the Curry Leaves into the paste to fry, this will make the Thai Green Curry paste more fragrant (See picture below). Add the marinated chicken pieces to fry. Fry at medium heat for about 5 minutes. After that, add the chopped capsicum (both red and yellow), long beans and carrots. Continue to stir fry, this time around, turn the heat up to high.

4. Add the Kara coconut cream and add water. Give it a good stir. Do a taste test. If it is okay, then there is no need to add more flavouring. But if it is not tasty enough, then add a drizzle of Thai Fish Sauce. Cover the lid and let it boil for about 8 minutes or until it is bubbling. Do another taste test, it should be tasty and full of flavour with the coconut milk, the chicken pieces should be juicy and succulent. Then it is ready. Serve with steamed rice.

Bon Appetit!

Sambal Belacan Petai with Prawns

July 30, 2015 by Ho Lang

Sambal Belacan Petai with Prawns

I decided to cook Sambal Belacan Petai with Prawns tonight. The stinky beans Petai is one of those lesser cooked at home and not generally appreciated, but with sambal belacan, it is magically transformed into a delicacy.

The wet market vegetable uncle had a huge supply of Petai that weekend and I had to grab a pack and plan it into my weekly gastronomic journey through the kitchen. One of the things that I enjoy doing these days is quick cooking. That is to come back and quickly whip up dinner dishes for the family in under 30 minutes. It’s a challenge to do it, but I totally look forward to doing it everyday.

So this simple recipe cooked with pre-made sambal belacan will definitely rock your socks off. The key is the cooking time and a non stick pan/wok. Otherwise it is very easy to cook Petai.

Recipe

Ingredients

1 bag of Petai (stinky beans usually available at the wet market)
1 large tbsp of Sambal Belacan (I got those pre-made ones at the supermarket)
1 large Yellow Onion (quartered)
6 large Glass Prawns (I realised that this type of prawns are perfect for the dish, they are expensive, but no regrets)
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Method

1. Some preparation needs to be done with the Petai beans. You need to split the beans into halves and wash them thoroughly. We split the beans because sometimes there are worms burrows and those need to be discarded.

2. In a non-stick wok, add olive oil and stir fry the onions. You would want a non-stick wok or pan because you would be frying the ingredients over high heat for a while and you generally don’t want the ingredients to char and burn.

3. After frying the onions until they are softened and fragrant, add the Petai to stir fry. You then continue to stir fry until some of the onions begin to brown slightly. These visual milestones are important because cooking equipment and timing may differ.

4. Add the minced garlic and fry till you can smell the fragrance of the garlic. Then add a generous table spoon of Sambal Belacan and continue to stir fry, making sure that the ingredients are coated with the sambal sauce.

5. Once you can smell the fragrance of the chilli paste. Add in the prawns to cook. For this dish, you would want to cook the prawns until they turn into an “O” shape. Although I often say “O” means overcooked, it is permissible for this dish as the direct heat is shared with other ingredients.

6. Once sufficiently cooked, taste that the Petai beans are soft and yummy. Serve with steamed rice.

Bon Appetit!

Mala Hotpot (Review)

June 15, 2015 by Ho Lang

Mala Hotpot (Review)

Mala Hotpot has become so popular in Singapore in recent years such that it is almost impossible to ignore it. In fact it has become somewhat a staple for some as they crave and savor the insane levels of spiciness in the dish.

I remember doing a half-baked review of this other Mala place named 日日生麻辣香锅 which was located in Chinatown and another outlet in Tampines. The most outstanding difference is that they charge the items according to the portion as opposed to most other places that charge it according to type of ingredients and its weight.

But I also mentioned that my favourite Mala Hotpot had to be the one at Tampines Mall at the Kopitiam Food court. The prices are exorbitant as they charge according to weight of the ingredients and prices range from a low ten to about twenty dollars for a bowl.

You can choose from a huge variety of ingredients and they are mostly fresh as the stall is quite popular. So at least the ingredients enjoy high turnover, which is good. I love it because they use a particular soya bean to fry the ingredients and it is delicious.

I usually take the 少辣 (read: least spicy) version of the Mala Hotpot so that I could enjoy my lunch but that day I decided to have the works and opted for 大辣 (read: very spicy). Thinking back it was most definitely a mistake.

At level 3 spiciness, which was also the maximum level of spiciness before it becomes illegal, your tastebuds are wretched and there is very little taste of anything else except the stinging and burning sensation of the chilli. It’s Mala Hotpot Hell if there was such a thing as Mala Hotpot Paradise. Neither exist, but you can imagine the agony and pain that my mouth was going through.

But the sadist in me rather enjoyed it and finished the entire bowl but at the same time vowed silently to never order these ridiculous levels again. In fact when I ordered, the counter guy let out a smirk and laughed to himself. He probably thought I was being silly. He wasn’t wrong to have thought that way. It was foolhardy. Maybe I should consider buying my own Mala Hot Sauce to cook at home. Now that would be a pretty good idea.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love Mala Hotpot even though there was no trace of umami in this dish. It was very nicely prepared and I would still eat there. By far it is one of my favourite Mala Hotpot places. My favourite ingredients to order would be the mushrooms (all types) and chewy soya bean sticks and big intestines. Shiok!

Bon Appetit!

Ri Ri Sheng Mala Pot

January 26, 2015 by Ho Lang

Ri Ri Sheng Mala Pot

I had my first taste of real Sichuan Mala spiciness when I visit Beijing in 2004, it was just after a humanitarian trip to help some Mongolians build their own shelter under a scheme to eradicate global homelessness with a non-government organisation. We had initially spent about 6 days in Mongolia building and working alongside home owners-to-be, gleaning off their life experiences and learning from them their culture, food and language. We ate, laughed, perspired and ached with the Mongolian volunteers as we laid brick by brick towards their dream home. There was such a sense of community there and we all had simple expectations of each other.

Beijing was a sort of R&R for the team of volunteers who contributed both financially as well as physically towards the building of the two homes. We only managed to complete part way of the homes, only laying the foundations of the two plots of land in the middle of nowhere near Erdenet City. I have never been to Beijing, so it was a real treat when I had my first taste of Mala Sichuan peppers renown for their insane levels of spiciness and ability to turn every hard man into a puddle of tears. My friends and I randomly selected a Chinese restaurant and ordered all the foods that we wanted to try. Mala Spicy Fish was one of the dishes that left an indelible memory for me.

When the dish came to our table, there was no fish in sight as it was all swimming under a graveyard of chilli oil and Sichuan red peppers. Just peering over the bowl and staring at the contents inside the bowl caused us to break out with great droplets of sweat intermingled with blood (joking). But you could imagine the fine capillaries around our faces bursting at the thought of consuming such fiery foods. To put it in local slang, it was spicy beyond belief. We almost had to jerk back violently so as to protect our corneas from tearing as the sizzling fumes of the chilli peppers could very well cause much damage to our vision.

We waffled for a moment as to who should be the one to try it first and then we decided that we would all eat it at the same time. The fish was hidden beneath a glass coffin of chilli oils and peppers. The fish was superbly prepared and it was both fragrant and delicious when we ate it. It was so good that we forgotten how spicy it was for a moment and gobbled down the entire dish in a matter of minutes. Either we were too hungry or we were not thinking straight. I reckon it was the latter. However, what subsequently followed was sheer pain mottled all over every pore on my embattled tongue. We were pleased that we conquered Sichuan cuisine on our virgin attempt, but our lips had by now become bloated and swollen. Those earlier years of belachan and chilli padi training allowed my tastebuds to gear up with what we had just experienced in our mouths. But clearly it was way over my ability to handle spiciness. Both my cheeks had began to flow great beads of sweat that became like tributaries converging at the lowest point of my chin. I was literally melting into a puddle.

So when I saw these Mala stores popping up all over the island, I thought and remembered my Beijing encounter and those bittersweet memories of that Mala Fish began to flare up the synapses in my brain. I had to try it. I also realised at the same time that it was the most expensive thing to eat in the world. These Mala stalls usually charge each ingredient category according to the weight of the items. And everyone knows that if you weigh certain vegetables eg. bamboo shoots, you are likely to pay quite a bit for just one item. I felt the pricing system was a tad unfair.

Then I came across Ri Ri Sheng Mala Pot and it was by far one of the best places to go for Mala Hot Pot. The reason was because the items are counted individually and by portion as opposed to being measured by the weight of the ingredients. That is unreal considering that almost every other shop was going by the weight of the ingredients. You can find Ri Ri Sheng Mala Pot at Chinatown, and also there is a sister shop of the same name located at Blk 823 Tampines.

If you’re around Tampines area and don’t know what you would like to eat, then you should really consider Mala Pot. It is as close to Chinese cuisine as you can get.