Hainanese Chicken Rice

 

I wrote a post on Hainanese chicken rice sometime last year, though without the detailed recipe. Before I go on, let me just say that this recipe was provided courtesy of Mr G. If there's one thing he loves to cook and can cook well, it's chicken rice. The only part I play in the whole cooking process is preparing the chilli sauce and supervising the food styling. I'm only too happy to let him hold the reins on this one as he has cooked this umpteen times for the last few years, and has become quite an expert at it.

 

Char Kuay Teow, two-ways

 

Char Kuay Teow with sweet soy



If you know and love Malaysian food, then Char Kuay Teow needs no introduction. In terms of popularity, I would think that Laksa ranks number one, followed by Hainanese chicken rice, and then Char Kuay Teow. These three dishes are commonly found in most menus of restaurants serving Malaysian-style food in Sydney, but more often than not, the authenticity of the Char Kuay Teow is questionable. Char Kuay Teow (CKT) literally means fried rice noodles, but a plate of greasy fried rice noodles with black soy sauce does not qualify as CKT. I find that the CKT sold here usually omits the eggs, which is a must in every CKT. It coats the rice noodles and gives it flavour and texture. Cockles are another must-have in CKT, but I have omitted them in my dish as I was unable to find any at the shops here.

Penang Assam Laksa

It took me this long to finally attempt making Assam Laksa, and if mum says it's easy to prepare, she's quite right there. Just steam (or boil) the fish, add the blended ingredients to the stock and simmer before adding the flaked fish. Then serve with noodles and garnishing. Sounds easy doesn't it? In fact, I think I took more time preparing all the ingredients then the actual process of cooking it (man, those shallots sure took forever to peel, and they brought buckets of tears to my eyes).

Pav Bhaji (Bread and vegetables)

 

My Indian friends from work threw a little Diwali party at their apartment last Friday, and I must say it was a very enjoyable evening, with good food, great company and lots of dancing. Moreover, it's hard not to fall in love with the phenomenal view from the balcony of the 33rd floor apartment right in the heart of Sydney. Dinner was a wonderful spread of  home-cooked vegetarian dishes, including pasta, salad and this delicious dish called pav bhaji. Pav (pronounced "pau" as in char siew pau) is equivalent to bun/bread, and bhaji refers to a vegetable dish. Apparently (or so internet sources say), pav bhaji is a popular Indian streetfood snack that originated in Marathi cuisine. It is basically a dish of mashed vegetables cooked in spices, and served with fried buttered pav. This dish uses loads of butter, which explains why it tastes so good. The bhaji is also topped with chopped onions, coriander and a splash of lemon juice which lifts the flavours in the dish.

Sans Rival

 

Sans Rival is a rich, buttery and nutty cake (or dessert) made with crisp layers of cashewnut meringue and filled with French buttercream. Sounds decadent enough? It was Al from work who introduced me to this dessert, and as she didn't really know the exact name, she merely referred to it as Sandflower cake, or San something. I totally fell in love with it at first bite. The combination of silky buttercream, the light and crispy meringue and scattering of chopped cashews was just amazing. The next thing I did was to google Philippines, san, cashew and cake, and to my delight and excitement, I discovered the Sans Rival, which literally means "without rival", and it is indeed true to its name.