French Fries with Onion

Potatoes product is one of my favorite ingredients. And French Fries is one of the dish that I've experimented for many time. I've always wanted to make that perfect, crispy homemade french fries, and haven't really succeed.

Anyway, I made this French Fries with Onion the other day. I wanted to combine two of my favorite potato recipe - French Fries and Lyonnaise Potato (a French dish of sliced pan-fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions, sautéed in butter with parsley). 

French Fries with Onion

3 nos. Potato

1 medium onion - sliced thinly.

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1 tsp vinegar

oil

1. Preheat oven. Wash and scrub potato.

2. Arrange potato on baking dish. Drizzle some olive oil and salt. Bake potato with skins.

3. Let potato cool for a few minutes. 

4. Cut potato into finger size. Combine fries with salt, pepper, vinegar and onion. Marinade for 30 minutes.

5. Heat oil. Deep fried fries until brown (along with sliced onion).

6. Serve while it is still hot!

Homemade fries are very easy to prepare, don't you think? I love French Fries with Onion. But I think it needs to be a little more crispy. I'm going to experiment and research a bit more on how to make my fries crispier! Do share with me if you have any tips to make your fries crispy :)

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Mutton Dhalca

I learnt to prepare this mutton dhalca during my stay with my aunt years ago. But I never had the chance to try them. And I finally did! Although, my dhalca didn't taste as good as my aunt. I guess, that is predictable. I mean... I know what kind of ingredients went in, and when they went in. But I never get the standard recipe -- the measurement for the recipe. How many onion do I use? Things like that. I guess I had to try and practice? But my mum give me a tips after she gave my mutton dhalca a taste. She told me to use ghee instead of oil the next time I made this.

The taste of this dhalca is a bit different than Indian's dhalca. In Malaysia, you could always tell if the curry is Indian curry or Malay curry. Indian curry is a bit thicker than Malay curry. And I think the ingredients used is a bit different. The spices used in the curry, perhaps? I'll have to try making my own Indian version of curry to tell what is the difference. Now that I think of it, Japanese curry is a whole lot different too. Japanese curry taste a bit sweet than the others.

I wonder how many curries are they in this world?

Mutton Dhalca
(Recipe from my aunt, but I came up with the measurement)

Oil/Ghee

2 medium onion

5 clove garlic

1 inch ginger

2 stalk of lemongrass

1 stalk lemongrass

2 stalk curry leaves

5 cardamom
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
5 clove
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup dhalca - soaked with cold water for 2-3 hours
1 cup coconut milk
400 g mutton - boiled till tender (reserve the juice)
2 medium size potato - cut into desired size

1 medium size carrot - cut into desired size

1 medium size brinjal - cut into desired size

a bit of long beans - cut into desired size

1 medium size tomato - cut into wedges

1.  Blend onion, garlic, ginger and 2 stalk of lemongrass to a paste. Set aside.
2. Heat oil or ghee in a sauce pot. Add in 1 stalk lemon grass and stir for a while. Then, add in curry leaves.
3. Add in cardamom, star anise, cinnamon stick and clove. Stir for a while and add in blended ingredients.
4. Add in curry powder and stir well. Then, add in tossed dhalca/lentil into the curry.
5. Pour in coconut milk. Mix in boiled mutton and add in the reserved juice from boiling the mutton.
6. Let it boil for a while. Then, add in potato. Let it stand for 2 minutes, then, add in carrots.
7. When the potato and carrots are tender, throw in brinjal, long beans and lastly tomato.
8. Salt to taste. Serve as side dishes with white rice. Or biryani if you prefer :)

Note:

Cardamom, star anise, cinnamon stick and clove -- these four spices are also referred as four best friends by Malay as we always use these four spices in many Malay dishes.

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api

I was never good with Malaysian cooking. I rarely cook any Malaysian food, although I'm a Malaysian. My mom is much better with Malaysian cooking, and I figured that it would be better to let her cook Malaysian dishes.

But, I learned this recipe while I was in my culinary school. I didn't learn this from any of my lecturers, though... I learned this from a friend who was really, really into spicy food. My friend told me that Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (can I translated this as Chicken cooked with Bird Eye Chili in Coconut Gravy?) is one of the simplest dishes. It was easy. Even for a Malaysian noob cooks like me...

My friend taught me to add in 25 stalks of bird eye chili. But, I reduced it to 20 stalks instead (as not everyone in my family likes spicy food). But it was still really spicy. At least for my little sister it is. She end up sweating, and she ran straight to the kitchen with a glass of iced water to help her reduce the spiciness. It was amusing to see that happen once in a while, though... :D Okay, I should probably reduce the amount of those chili the next time I make this.

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (Chicken cooked with Bird Eye Chili in Coconut Gravy)

1 whole chicken - cut into small parts.

2 stalk lemongrass - bruise the lower bulb

4# potatoes - cut into medium size

2# tomatoes - cut into wedges

1 piece asam gelugor

1 cup pure coconut milk

salt to taste

2# red onion

3# shallots

3# garlic

1 inch turmeric root

1 inch ginger root

10-25 bird eye chili - depends on your preference spice level.

1. Blend red onion, shallots, garlic, turmeric root, ginger root and bird eye chili in a food processor.

2. In a soup pot, mix in the blended ingredients with chicken, lemongrass and potato. Combine well on medium heat until the juice came out from chicken. Stir occasionally.

3. Pour in coconut milk and add in asam gelugor.

4. Cook until the potatoes are a bit tender on low heat. Add in salt to taste.

5. Add in tomatoes just before serving. Best served with hot, white rice.

Ratatouille

I bought some Zucchini and had ratatouille in my mind. I always wanted to make this since I watched Disney's Ratatouille. Shopping and cooking using ingredients I've never used is my new hobby!

I googled for recipe and decided to try Chef Wan's version (adapted from 'From the Garden to the Kitchen). It's simple as compared to the other recipes. (I found a recipe of traditional ratatouille too! It requires some work, but I'll try them someday).

Ratatouille 

1/2 zucchini 

1/2 eggplant cut into small cubes

1/2 red capsicums (I used 3 colors capsicum)

15 black/green olives (I discarded this)

1 large onion chopped

4 garlic, minced

A handful of fresh "Herb de Provence" 

3 tomatoes diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup olive oil 

1. Heat oil. Fry garlic, onion and sweat all vegetables.

2. Add chopped tomatoes, paste and "Herb de Provence".

3. Season with salt and pepper and stew the vegetable for another 25 minutes on low heat.

Stir Fried Pea Sprouts with Garlic

My mom bought some pea sprouts the other day, and she asked me to cook them. I searched for recipes that would go really well with pea sprouts, and most of them said, stir fry them with garlic.

Stir Fried Pea Sprouts with Garlic

250g Pea Sprouts

2 clove Garlic, sliced or minced

50g Shrimps

1 tablespoon Water

1 tablespoon Oil

1/2 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce

a pinch of Salt

1. Heat wok with oil.

2. Add in the garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Then, stir in some shrimps.

3. Add in your pea sprouts and stir fry quickly to let them 'shrink' evenly.

4. Add in 1/2 to 1 tablespoon water your pea sprout is too dry.

5. Add in light soy sauce and a pinch of salt to taste.

6. Stir well, dish and serve.

Kimchi Jjigae/Chigae

I've been keeping this recipe for quite some times. I've always wanted to try this. So, when my brother and I were making some kimchi last time, I took some and made this kimchi stew. They were really easy to prepare. Although I think mine turned out a bit spicy. I should reduce the chili paste next time I'm making this.

Kimchi Jjigae/Chigae (From Maangchi)

200 grams of  beef/tuna

4 or 5 cups of chopped kimchi 

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp of hot pepper flakes

1 tbs hot pepper paste 

onion, 

green onions

half a package of tofu 

sesame oil and water

1. In a shallow pot, put some chopped kimchi and juice.
2. Add sliced onion, hot pepper paste, and hot pepper flakes, sugar, and green onions.
3. Pour water until all ingredients are submerged.
4. Close the lid of the pot and boil it 25 or 30 minutes. (first 10 minutes will be high heat and then turn down the heat over medium heat)
5. Add some tofu and boil it 5 minutes more and put some sesame oil right before serving.

Nikujaga: Japanese Stewed Potato and Meat

I have always wanted to try making this dish since I've seen the recipe in Just Hungry. The problem was that I've been searching the bonito flakes to make some dashi, but couldn't find any supermarket in my area. So, a few days ago, I tried to google for some dashi substitute. Some of them suggested to use fish cubes to make some broth. Some of them suggested to use chicken broth or vegetables with some Thai fish sauce. Then, there was one person suggesting to use beef broth with a bit of soy sauce and sugar. So, my problem was solved.

Nikujaga

500g boiled potatoes

300g thinly slice beef (I used ground beef)

150g carrots - cut into bite size

1 medium onion - sliced

1 inch ginger - chopped

2 cups dashi, or substitute

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Some green onion for garnishing

1. Heat 1tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep pot, and sweat the onion and ginger. Then, add in the meat, and saute until browned.

2. Add in carrot and potato, and saute.

3. Pour dashi and bring them to boil.

4. Turn down the heat to medium and skim the scum. Add in sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Put a pot lid which is smaller than the pot you're using on top of potatoes.

5. Simmer until vegetables are softened, and liquid are almost gone.

6. Garnish with green onion before serving.

Kimchi

I was smitten with the taste of Kimchi when I experimented for my Cabbage Wrap with Kimchi Paste. I love spicy food, and I love the spiciness of Kimchi. So, I went to Maangchi, and found an easy recipe of Kimchi. It's a perfect side dishes! I made 1/4 of the recipe given, and stored them in a jar. When I need something spicy, I'll just pop open the jar, and have the Kimchi as my side dishes.

Click here for recipe

Fish Fillet with Chillies and Thai Herbs

In my home, I rarely cooked side dishes. My mother did a better job at that than I am. When my mother asked me to cook, I was thinking of cooking a side dishes to go with the white rice. I browsed through my recipe book, and found a recipe for stir fry chicken with chillies and Thai herbs. I substitute the chicken for fish fillet, though... The recipe is very easy and quick! My family said it tasted good too! I'm sure I'll be making them again sometimes :)

Ingredients:

2 lemon grass stalk

4 tbsp vegetable oil

6 fresh bird's eye chillies - deseeded and chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

800g fish fillet

3 tbsp thai fish sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriender

3 fresh bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced to garnish

5 baby tomatoes to garnish

1. Cut off and discard the woody top part of the lemon grass stalk, leaving about 5 inches of the bulb end, and slice them. Heat the oil in a wok. Add in the chilies, lemon grass and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the fish fillet and stir fry for 5 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce, sou sauce and continue to stir fry them until the fish is cooked thorough.

3. Stir in the coriander, Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with sliced chillies, baby tomatoes and coriander leaves.