RECIPE: COCONUT RICE (NASI LEMAK) – AGAIN

I have published the recipe for COCONUT RICE previously but I thought I’d put it up again, with better pictures this time. Also, I served it with a different medley of dishes such as SQUID SAMBAL, STIR FRIED PAK CHOY WITH SQUID AND OYSTER SAUCE and CUCUMBER IN SPICY SOY SAUCE AND SESAME OIL. I am posting the dishes in instalments. Watch this space!!!


Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)

4 cups long grain rice
3 to 4 shallots or 1 red or brown onion – sliced
Thumb size ginger – sliced
2 PANDANUS leaves – torn into two and knotted (see my GLOSSARY post on PANDANUS)
1 tsp salt
1 tin coconut milk
Water

Method


Wash rice until water runs clear. Put in all the sliced ingredients, pandan leaves and salt.

Using the rule of one and a half cups of liquid for every cup of rice, measure out the coconut milk first, then make up the remainder volume with water [eg 4 cups of rice equates to 6 cups of liquid (4 x 1.5 = 6); and if only 1.5 cups of milk is available from the coconut tin, top up the rest with 4.5 cups of water].

Put into rice cooker and cook. Halfway through the cooking process, using a chopstick, carefully stir the sliced ingredients through so that they are well incorporated into the rice and not just on top. When cooked, allow at least 5 minutes before fluffing the rice.

Serve with curries or sambal such as SQUID SAMBAL OR PRAWN SAMBAL and accompanied by vegetables such KANG KONG BELACAN or STIR FRIED PAK CHOY WITH SQUID AND OYSTER SAUCE, salad such as CUCUMBER IN SPICY SOY SAUCE AND SESAME OIL and hard boiled eggs.

RECIPE: FRIED RICE WITH THREE SOY SAUCES (NASI GORENG MASAK TIGA KICAP)

This is my favourite way of cooking fried rice. The different textures and flavours of the soy sauces, in my opinion, enhance the taste of the rice. If you can’t find caramel soy sauce, substitute it with the Indonesian Kecap Manis.

Cook your rice at least six hours, preferably overnight, before making this dish and spread it out on a tray. I find a large roasting pan or large cookie tray to work well here. Just before cooking, add pepper and salt to the rice that is on the tray and mix well. This way, your pepper and salt will be evenly distributed before you add the rice to the wok. Another thing - make sure that your rice is not lumpy when you add it to the cooking process.


The beauty of cooking fried rice is that you can put anything you like in it, in terms of meat or seafood, and vegetables. All the vegetables that went into this fried rice (yes the garlic too) came from our garden. There’s nothing nicer than eating freshly picked vegetables, out of your own garden, I say. A big thumbs up to Mr G and his veggie patch!

So, here’s the recipe for my FRIED RICE WITH THREE SOY SAUCES which I served with SAMBAL BELACHAN WITH KAFFIR LIME LEAVES and FRIED EGG WITH CARAMEL SOY SAUCE.


Ingredients – for 6

4 cups of uncooked rice – cook according to method and left to cool
Meat or seafood of choice – I used 300g cooked prawns and 300g diced ham
Vegetables of choice – I used 2 large diced carrots, large handful of snow peas, 200g of sliced French beans and a handful of baby corn (sliced at an angle)
1 tsp salt and pepper to taste – I mixed this into the rice before frying. Go easy on the salt as the soy sauces will already be salty
4 cloves garlic – minced
2 large spring onions – finely sliced
2 to 4 red chillies – finely sliced (I used red cayenne chillies)
4 tbsp or to taste light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp or to taste caramel or sweet soy sauce
2 tsp minced chillies – optional (I would put this in if I did not make any SAMBAL BELACHAN WITH KAFFIR LIME LEAVES to accompany the dish. As I did, I omitted this ingredient)
Oil for sautéing
Cucumber - sliced (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a large wok and sauté the garlic for 30 secs. Add in the carrots and French beans and cook until the carrots and beans are half cooked.

Next add in the ham and prawns and fry for 30 secs. Moisten with 1 tbsp of the light soy sauce and add in the baby corn, snow peas, sliced chillies and crushed chillies (if using). Cook for a minute.
To make it easier to distribute the meat/vegetables, lift out half of it into a bowl. Now add half of the rice into the wok.

Mix evenly and put half of all the sauces onto the rice. Mix well, ensuring that you cannot see any white bits of rice.

Now add the remainder vegetables, followed by the rice and the remainder of the sauces. Mix well and add more soy sauces if you prefer, depending on your preference, how deep you would like the colour of your fried rice to be. If you like it dark, add either more dark or caramel soy sauce, remembering that the dark soy sauce will not only give you a darker colour but could also make your fried rice saltier. I’d recommend using the caramel soy sauce to achieve the intense colour.

Garnish with the spring onions, lift and serve whilst still hot with cucumber slices, topped with FRIED EGG WITH CARAMEL SOY SAUCE and a side dish of SAMBAL BELACHAN WITH KAFFIR LIME LEAVES.

RECIPE: STEAMED GLUTINOUS RICE WITH MEAT (LOR MAI KAI)

A friend of mine (Teoh Moi See….where are you now, I wonder), when I was studying at Che Tom Secondary School in Sungei Petani, often used to bring in her grandmother’s Lor Mai Kai and share it with me. It was divine. I have never been able to capture the taste but my version, adapted from Amy Beh at STAR KUALI isn’t bad, if I may say so. I used Char Siew in my recipe and omitted the Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) because no one likes them (except me) in my house.

There is also a vegetarian (SEE HERE) and pork free version (SEE HERE). Check it out.

I normally make around a dozen of these and freeze them for my lunches at work. Wrap in freezer bags to freeze and to serve, prick some holes with a fork and microwave or steam until warm.


Ingredients (makes 12 small chinese rice bowls)

6 cups uncooked glutinous rice (see Glossary post on GLUTINOUS RICE), rinsed and soaked for at least 4–5 hours or preferably overnight
200g chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
100g Char Siew (see recipe HERE)
4 Chinese mushrooms, soaked and sliced
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 cup light chicken stock

Seasoning
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp thick soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 tsp sugar or to taste
½ tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

Method
Drain soaked glutinous rice in a colander.

Heat sesame oil and fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add chicken, mushrooms and seasoning ingredients. Toss well to combine. Add glutinous rice to mix. Pour in stock and cook until water is absorbed into the rice.

Arrange a few sliced char siew into each deep bowl. Spoon glutinous rice into the bowl (making sure the chicken and mushrooms are evenly distributed at the bottom of the bowls) until almost full to the brim. Press slightly. Steam the filled bowls over a medium heat for 30–35 minutes or until rice is done. Turn out the rice and serve immediately with chilli sauce.

PS: I prefer to eat this with Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce (available at most Asian grocers in Canberra).

GLOSSARY: GLUTINOUS RICE

Glutinous rice (also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, mochi rice and pearl rice) is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous in the sense of being glue-like or sticky and not in the sense of containing gluten; on the other hand, it is called sticky but should not be confused with the other varieties of Asian rice that become sticky to one degree or another when cooked.

Glutinous rice does not contain dietary gluten and thus should be safe for gluten-free diets.

In Malaysia, glutinous rice is known as pulut, and it is usually mixed with coconut milk (santan in Malay), along with a bit of salt to add some taste. It is widely used during Muslim festive seasons and weddings as traditional food, such as:

Palas - cooked pulut wrapped in triangular shaped crafts made from local leaves and left to be boiled for 3 - 4 hours to result nice shaped compression and to bring out the aroma or taste from the wrapped leaves.

Lemang - wrapped in banana leaves and inside a bamboo, and left to be barbecued/grilled on an open fire, to make the taste and texture tender and unique

Ketupat - square shaped crafts made from the same local leaves as palas, but it is usually filled with regular rice grains instead of pulut, but it depends on the maker.

Lopes - glutinous rice wrapped in individual triangles using banana leaves and left to boil for a few hours. The rice pieces are then tossed with grated coconut all over and served with palm sugar syrup.

It is also used to make desserts by the Malays and Peranakans.

In Chinese, glutinous rice is known as nuòmǐ (糯米). The Chinese use it to make savoury dishes such as Lor Mai Kai and the rice is also often ground to make glutinous rice flour. This flour is then made into niangao and sweet filled dumplings tangyuan, both of which are commonly eaten at Chinese New Year. It also sometimes used as a thickener and for baking.

Source: WIKIPEDIA

RECIPE: SPECIAL NYONYA STYLE FRIED RICE

Different from your traditional Chinese fried rice – the flavour from the anchovies (Asian variety) really comes through in this dish. Do try go get the small variety if you can. You should be able to find this in most oriental grocers.

Ingredients – serves 6 to 8
3 tbsp oil (approx)
Large handful of dried tiny Asian anchovies or Ikan Bilis – washed and drained
4 cloves garlic – minced
1 large chicken breast – diced
200 g medium fresh or cooked prawns
4 eggs – beaten
6 to 8 cooked cups of rice – preferably cook the rice the night before and laid out in a large dish (I use a large roasting tray)
2 to 3 tbsp light soy sauce – you may want to add more
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper powder
½ tsp sesame oil
2 handfuls bean sprouts – tailed
3 spring onions – sliced at an angle

Method
Heat oil in a large wok and stir fry the fish until brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel.

In the same wok, and on medium heat, gently fry the garlic for 10 secs, then add in the chicken. When the chicken is half cooked, add in the prawns and fry until the chicken is done. If using cooked prawns, only add the prawns when the chicken is nearly cooked.

Increase the heat and add in the eggs, stirring until the eggs are cooked. Add in the rice and fry over high heat to heat the rice through. Add in all other ingredients and stir fry for another 1 to 2 mins. Add in the fish, mix well and serve immediately. A serving of sambal belachan goes well with this meal.

TIP: I normally add the salt and pepper to the rice just before starting to cook this meal. This ensures that the salt and pepper is well incorporated in the cooked rice and it gives you a larger surface to mix the ingredients through. You can then adjust the seasoning during the cooking process should you require.

RECIPE: CUMIN AND CARROT RICE

A nice change to the normal steamed or boiled rice. Delicious and very easy to prepare.

Ingredients – serves 5 to 6
4 cups uncooked rice
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 large carrot – grated
1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

Method – I used a rice cooker
Wash your rice to remove any starch and put in water as you would do to make normal boiled rice (rule of thumb – 1 ½ cups of water for every cup of uncooked rice).

Heat the ghee on medium heat in a small saucepan and fry the cumin until it is slightly brown. Add in the carrots and fry until the ghee has absorbed into the carrots. You don’t need to cook the carrots, just coat them with the ghee. Pour into your rice, place in rice cooker and turn on the switch. Easy peasy! Enjoy with curries.

RECIPE: THAI STYLE PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

Presentation is every thing for this easy to prepare dish. In my opinion, the casing of the pineapple not only adds to the aesthetics of the dish but also the flavour. This is another instalment of my STOP FOOD WASTE Campaign using pineapples.

Ingredients
1 pineapple – slice the pineapple lengthways (not half but more 1/3 to the top) to make a base and a lid. Cut 1 cup of the pineapple into cubes for the dish
4 tbsp peanut oil
4 cups cooked rice
1 cup diced ham
1 cup diced bacon
3 cloves – chopped
½ cup raisins or sultanas
3 tbsp curry powder
¼ cup chicken stock – I used ¼ tsp chicken stock powder diluted in ¼ cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste – I mix this into the cooked rice

Method
Heat oil in a wok and fry the garlic, ham and bacon until the bacon is golden. Then add all the ingredients except the rice and sultanas and cook for 2 mins. Next add the sultanas, mix well and add in the rice. Toss the rice well so it is well coated with all the ingredients.

Turn off the heat and fill the pineapple with the rice. Cover with the pineapple ‘lid’ and bake in a 140°C oven for 30 mins. Serve hot with a side dish of crushed peanuts.

FYI: If you don't eat pork, you could subsitute the bacon and ham with small prawns.

RECIPE: STRING HOPPERS (PUTTU MAYUM)

For a change, I made some STRING HOPPERS (aka PUTTU MAYUM in Malaysia and Singapore) to go with my SAMBAR (see previous post). It may look complicated but it is actually very easy to make; more so if you get the premixed string hopper flour.

FYI: The string hopper, is made from rice flour. It is traditionally served for breakfast in Sri Lanka with a thin fish or chicken curry, containing only one or two pieces of meat, a dhal (lentil) dish, and a spicy sambal or fresh chutney. String hoppers are made from steamed rice flour made into a dough with water and a little salt, and forced through a mould similar to those used for pasta to make fine vermicelli like strings. They are cooked by steaming. (Source: WIKIPEDIA)

In Malaysia and Singapore, these hoppers are sold very cheaply in coffee shops or road side stalls. It is however served with grated fresh coconut and palm sugar as a breakfast food or snack.

This is how I make my STRING HOPPERS.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup bread flour
OR use 3 cups premixed String Hopper flour
1 teaspoons salt
Scant cup of luke warm water (approximate only)

Method
If using your own flours, warm the flours in a cool oven or in a sauce pan on low heat. Add salt.

If using premixed flour, skip this stage. Just add salt to the premixed flour. For both flour versions, slowly add water to the flour and work into a soft dough. The mixture must not be gooey.


Place the dough into a string hopper press and squeeze onto hopper mats (available at Indian grocers – In Canberra, go to SPICE WORLD which is located at 28 Colbee Court, Phillip).


Place the mats into a steamer and steam until strings are fully cooked and springy, about 7 to10 minutes.


Serve hot with curries or dhal dishes such as SAMBAR. Alternatively, serve with freshly grated coconut (mix with some salt – go easy here) and sugar (such as jaggery, palm sugar or ordinary white sugar).

FYI: You can use fresh banana leaves in place of the hoppers mat. Cut banana leaves into 8 cm squares and press you hoppers onto these. If you can’t find a hopper press, check your cookie/icing press gadget (if you have one). You may find a vermicelli mould in it which you could use to make the hoppers. My Avanti Cookie Press and Icing Set has this.

RECIPE: CHICKEN FLAVOURED RICE (FOR HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE)

I used a Rice Cooker to make the rice. You can use a microwave or the stove top. Use the normal absorption method.

Ingredients
Long grain rice – I use 4 cups for 6 people
Hainanese Chicken cooking stock – 1 ½ cups of stock for every cup of rice
1 tsp chicken stock powder

Method
Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Measure out the stock water according to the amount of rice cooked. Add in the chicken stock powder. Mix well and start the rice cooker! That easy.

RECIPE: NASI LEMAK OR COCONUT RICE

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)
4 cups long grain rice
1 red or brown onion – sliced
Thumb size ginger – sliced
2 pandanus leaves – torn into two and knotted
1 tsp salt
1 tin coconut milk
Water

Method
Wash rice until water runs clear. Put in all sliced ingredients, pandanus leaves and salt.

Using the rule of one and a half cups of liquid for every cup of rice, measure out the coconut milk first, then top off with water [eg 4 cups of rice equates to 6 cups of liquid (4 x 1.5 = 6); and if only 1.5 cups of milk is available from the coconut tin, top up the rest with 4.5 cups of water].

Put into rice cooker and cook. Halfway through the cooking process, using a fork, carefully stir the sliced ingredients through. Serve with curries or sambal such as SAMBAL PRAWN accompanied by KANG KONG BELACAN and boiled eggs.

RECIPE: TURMERIC RICE OR NASI KUNYIT

This recipe is adapted from the Star Kuali website. Great with rendang and curries.

Ingredients
500g glutinous rice
3-4 pieces dried tamarind pieces (asam gelugor)
1 tbsp turmeric powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp white peppercorns (I used black peppercorns)
2 pandan leaves – cut into 6 equal lengths and I used this to line the steamer, allowing some vents to be visible
1 can coconut cream
Salt to taste

Method

Wash and soak rice in water (just enough to cover the rice) mixed with turmeric powder, dried tamarind pieces and salt overnight or at least for four to five hours.

Drain well and place the rice in a steamer with the peppercorns and pandan leaves and steam for 15 minutes.

Remove the rice from the steamer and add 1/3 of the thick coconut milk to the rice. Mix well then steam for 15 minutes. Fluff up the rice then add another 1/3 of thick coconut milk; steam for 15 minutes again. Remove from heat and fluff up rice.

Add salt to the last 1/3 portion of the coconut milk. Stir well to mix then add to the rice. Steam for five minutes then remove rice from steamer and set aside to cool before serving with rendang or curries.