Monday, August 31, 2009

recipe is : lazybum's devil curry



Ingredients

1 chicken, chopped into pieces OR pieces of whichever part of the chicken you prefer
2 big potatoes, skinned and cut into wedges
3-4 fresh green chilli, cut into half lengthwise from the bottom to almost to the stalk end
3 tbsp chilly powder
1/2 head garlic, pounded/blended/thinly sliced
6 shallots, blended together with the garlic/thinly sliced
a big chunk old ginger, julienne/blended together with the garlic
a good squirt of good ol mustard
3 tbsp vinegar
a cup or so water
2 tbsp oil

Method

in a big pan/wok, heat up the oil, fry the ginger, blended ingredients and chilly powder for a few minutes over a low flame. add the green chillies and stir fry a couple more minutes

turn up the flame and add the chicken and stirfry to coat well with the spices

add the water (add more water if you prefer more watery gravy). let it simmer til chicken is almost cooked. add the potatoes, the mustard and the vinegar. simmer til chicken and potatoes are cooked

note:
add more chilly powder if an even spicier taste is preferred

Sunday, August 30, 2009

recipe is : rendang tok



Ingredients

1 kg beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

To be blended together:
10 fresh red chillies
8 dried chillies, soaked
20 shallots
1 head garlic
5 stalks lemongrass, use only the bottom white part
1 knob ginger
1 big knob galangal
1 big knob tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder (jintan putih)
1 tsp fennel powder (jintan manis)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Dry spices:
2 star anise
3 inch cinnamon bark
7 cardamoms
6 cloves

Leafy stuff:
coconut cream from 2 coconuts
1/2 grated coconut, toasted over a low flame til dry and browned
5 stalks lemongrass, top trimmed off and lightly bruised
3 pandan leaves, knotted
2 tumeric leaves, crushed to release the aroma
5 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 heaped tbsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water, and pulp removed
1 cup water
salt to taste


Method

marinate the beef with the blended ingredients for at least 2 hours in the fridge

in a pressure cooker, put in the beef and all the marinade, all the dry spices, and the 'leafy stuff'. If the amount of liquid looks insufficient, add more water. cook for 35-40 minutes

the end result should be quite dry and gravy quite thick. if it's still watery, cook uncovered on a medium flame til gravy thickens, stirring occasionally, taking care not to let it burn

add the dry toasted grated coconut and mix well


NOTES:

if cooking on normal pot/pan, it takes about 2 hours or so for the meat to be really tender. stir occasionally. add water when necessary

the amount of spices and ingredients is up to you to adjust to your own preference. the amount in this recipe is to my own taste

i normally marinate the beef in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a couple of days

the toasted grated coconut is normally pounded til fine after the toasting. but i prefer it this way

recipe is : braised beef with radish


Ingredients

1 kg beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 kilo white radish, skinned and cut into wedges
1/2 head garlic, skinned
1 big knob ginger
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3 inch cinnamon stick
2 star anise
water
2 tbsp oil

Method

heat the oil up in a big pot. add the garlic and ginger and quickly stirfry for a minute or so. add the beef and brown the sides.. add just enough water to just cover the beef add the cinnamon, the star anise, dark soya sauce and light soya sauce. stir well. braise for about 90 minutes. top up water when necessary. add the radish and braise for another 30 minutes or until tender

Note:

i normally use the pressure cooker to prepare this dish. 30 minutes for the beef and 10 more minutes after adding in the radish.