Dried Cuttlefish Sambal

This is a follow-up post for my Lontong Sayur Lodeh recipe. Because a good lontong must be accompanied by a salivating sambal, so here's my Dried Cuttlefish Sambal recipe!

This sambal is a little different from the usual sambal I had because it has chopped roasted peanuts added. Supposedly, you will need to chopped the peanuts finely but I like the chunky peanuts, so I've only roughly chopped them. You may chop them however fine or coarse that you prefer.

To cook this dish, you will need to prepare the dried cuttlefish a night before. The soaking will need to be overnight to ensure that it expand to its fullest.
(Because I was too excited to cook this dish, I've forgotten to take photos of the soaking process. But don't worry, my daughter has requested this dish again. So, i'll do a detailed How-To post later for those who are first time handling dried cuttlefish).

DRIED CUTTLEFISH SAMBAL
(Recipe adapted from Seasaltwithfood)
Prep Time  : 55 mins
(+ 1 day for soaking)
Cook Time : 70 mins
Total Time : 2 hours 5 mins
(+ 1 day for soaking)
Serves       : 4 - 5 pax

Ingredients:
2 large pre-soaked dried cuttlefish (cut into 1 inch segments)
30g fried anchovies
100g roasted peanuts (coarsely chopped)
4 Tbsp sugar
30g tamarind paste, soaked with 350ml water (strain and discard pulps)
Salt to taste

Chili Paste (Blend into fine paste)
35g dried red chillies, soaked in boiling water to soften
150g shallots
1 Tbsp shrimp paste/ belacan (dry-fry in a pan to roast)
4 Tbsp oil

Directions:
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok on medium high heat, add in the chili paste and cook until oil separates.

2. Add in tamarind juice and peanuts. Bring to a boil and reduce to low heat. Cover with lid and let it simmer for approx. 30 - 45 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid the bottom burnt.

3. Add in sugar and salt to taste and then mix in fried anchovies and cuttlefish. Continue to cook until the cuttlefish is soft.

4. Season with more sugar or salt if needed before dishing up.

Notes:
● If you prefer finer texture, finely chop the peanuts.

● Be careful of the amount of salt added because the shrimp paste is already salty. Add bit by bit.


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Wishing on a Falling Star

Lontong Sayur Lodeh (with Cuttlefish Sambal)

My hubby has been asking me to cook this favourite dish of his for a long time. During my college years, there was a stall near my college that sells the best lontong sayur lodeh which my hubby never fail to patronize each time he fetches me to college. That was 10++ years ago and my hubby still couldn't find any lontong that can satisfy his craving.

...a dish made of compressed rice cake wrapped in bananaleaves..
Lontong is a dish commonly found in Indonesian and Malaysia. It is a dish made of compressed rice cake wrapped in banana leaves. Due to the steaming, the outer of the rice cake will have a slight green coloring from the banana leaves, while the inside will remained white. The texture is very similar to Ketupat, except that ketupat uses young coconut leaves instead of banana leaves.

Nasi Himpit/ Nasi Kapit is another type of compressed rice cake from Malaysia. The rice was compressed into a container to from a large chunk of compressed rice cake.

For my dish today, I've used the commercially packed nasi himpit which you can find in supermarket. They are very convenient to use, All you have to do is place the uncooked rice bags in water and boil for approx. 1 hour. You may season the water with some salt and few pieces of pandan leaves for better taste and aroma.

After cooked, drain the rice bags and let it cool for at least 2 hours. Do not cut them when they are hot. They will be mushy. If you need to use immediately, cool them down in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.

As what my hubby have said, "A good lontong must have cuttlefish sambal and kuah kacang/ peanut sauce!" Indeed! These two sides are truly a MUST-HAVE! It compliments the lontong with another layer of flavor and texture. Such a palatable dish!

(Recipe for Cuttlefish Sambal will be in another post. Will update soon k). [Recipe Dried Cuttlefish Sambal - UPDATED] For the kuah kacang/ peanut sauce, we got ours from a Lok Lok van guy some time back. If you put in freezer, it can last upto a month or more.

LONTONG SAYUR LODEH (WITH CUTTLEFISH SAMBAL)
(Recipe source from Masam Manis)
Prep Time  : 40 mins
Cook Time : 50 mins
Total Time : 1 hour 30 mins
Makes       : 4 - 5 pax

Ingredients:
8 pcs long bean (cut into 4cm length)
1 carrot (julienne)
1 jimaca (julienne)
1/4 cabbage (slice approx. 1cm width)
2 pcs hard tofu (cubes or small slices - deep fried)
1 pkt fucuk stick (70g)- break into small pieces, approx. 5cm x 4cm. Soak to soften.
20g glass noodle/ cellophane noodle (soak to soften and cut into 4-5cm length)
2 lemongrass (bruised)
200ml coconut milk
2.5ℓ water
1 tsp chicken stock granules
Sugar & Salt to taste

Blending Ingredients
2 big red onion
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 inch tumeric
2 Tbsp dried shrimp

Serve with
Nasi himpit
Hard boiled eggs
Cuttlefish sambal or any type of sambal
Kuah kacang (Peanut sauce)

Directions:
1. In a wok or heavy bottomed pot, heat two tablespoons of oil. Add in the blended paste and lemongrass, cook until fragrant or until the oil is separated.

2. Add in water and bring to a boil.

3. Add in the hard vegetables like carrot, jimaca, long bean, deep fried tofu and fucuk. Cook until the vegetables are soft.

4. Add in the coconut milk and chicken stock granules. Season with salt and sugar. From this point onward, stir often to prevent the soup turns curdly. Add in cabbage and cook until soft.

5. Lastly add in glass noodles and off the heat. Let the remaining heat cook the glass noodles.

6. Place nasi himpit and other accompanying condiments in a deep plate. Ladle a spoonful of soup with vegetables on top and finish off with kuah kacang and sambal. Serve while the soup is hot.

Notes:
● Do not boil the soup for too long after adding coconut milk. It will turn curdly.


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Classic Stir-fry Tomato Eggs

I used to dislike Tomato Eggs even tho' at that time I haven't try this dish before. It was because I was not a big fan of tomato nor ketchup. My prejudice thought turned 360° after I ate my Kam Mo's (aunty) homecooked Tomato Eggs. It was really appetizing. I could eat a whole bowl of rice with it. That was 4-5 years back.

Recently I tried recreating this dish again. My first 2 attempts were unsuccessful. My eggs were overcooked on 1st attempt and 2nd attempt, my gravy was too watery. I truly believed in practice makes perfect. And with failures, you gained knowledge.

So, with the experiences from my 2 unsuccessful attempts (and a brave heart) , I tried recreating this dish again. And voila, third's a charm! Finally I managed to cook a smooth~licious Tomato Eggs.


These eggs were really smooth and the gravy was just on point - not too dry nor watery. The taste... oh, it was yummylicious! This dish is most suitable for children because of the sourness and sweetness which is so enticing it elevates their appetite (and mine too!).

If you are planning to get this dish right on first attempt, things to note are:
EGGS
-Make sure not to overcooked it. Dish it up when it's about 70% cooked.

TOMATOES
- The way you cut the tomatoes play a big role in this dish. I found that by cutting it into bited-size (like diagram shown on the right), the tomatoes are able to soften in an ideal time.

Hope you'll enjoy my recipe!

CLASSIC STIR-FRY TOMATO EGGS
Prep Time  : 15 mins
Cook Time : 10 mins
Total Time : 25 mins
Serves       : 2 - 3 pax

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 tsp tapioca starch + 1 Tbsp water

2 tomatoes
1/2 onion (cut into vertical slices of desired size)
2 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp sugar or to taste (depending on the ketchup used)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp chicken stock granules
100ml water
A dash of monosodium glutamate

Thickening (Combined)
2 tsp tapioca starch
1 1/2 Tbsp water

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, beat eggs well with salt, white pepper and the slurry mixture (1 tsp tapioca starch + 1 Tbsp water). Set aside.

2. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok on high heat. Stir-fry the eggs until it is about 70% cooked. It takes less than a minute. Dish it up and set aside.

3. In the same wok, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil on high heat. Add in the onions and cooked untill fragrant. Add in the tomatoes, give it a few stir-fry and then add in water, follow by the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil.

4. Turn the heat to medium high and close the lid. Let it cook for approx. 1 - 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soften to your liking.

5. Lastly add in the pre-cooked eggs, give it a few good stir-fry and thicken up with starch mixture.

Notes:
● The slurry mixture will make the eggs really smooth.


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Beetroot Soup with Corn and Carrot

Even tho' beetroot has been around for a long time, but it was only made known as one of the superfood about a decade ago. Beetroot is a sweet root vegetable which most people will either love it or hate it due to its distinctive earthy taste. And my family happens to belong to the "Love it!" group.

I begun adding beetroot into our diet mainly because it was known to helps lower blood pressure. You see, both my parents had and is having HBP, so me being their daughter is prone to having it at later stage. Like my late father always said, "Prevention is better than cure!"

Knowing about its other nutritional value (such as below) also helps to deepen our love for this beautiful vegetable.

NUTRITIONAL VALUES
- a good source of potassium and other minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, sodium, zinc, copper, selenium).
- contain vitamin C which helps boost your immune system and protect cells from damaging free radicals. It also supports collagen production, wound healing, and iron absorption.
- contain betaine, a substance that helps prevent or reduce fatty deposits in the liver. Betaine may also help protect your liver from toxins.
- may prevent cancer.
*source from healthline.

You can enjoy beetroot by juicing it or cooking it. In this post, I am going to show you the latter option which is also my children's favourite. They are both 5 years old and 3 years old respectively. It is such a breeze cooking this for them because they will finish up all the beet and soup in no time.


A Hearty Bowl of Red~licious Soup

Usually I will cook this soup in the morning so that my children can have them for their lunch and dinner. For lunch, I will add pasta and a hard boiled egg to it. While for dinner, they will be drinking the soup alongside with other dishes and rice.


As you can see in the photo above, I've cut the carrot in slices. This is because my children likes soft carrot. You can cut it into thick chunks if you prefer some texture to your carrot. I've added wolfberries because they are said to improve eye sights and also simply because my daughter love them.

Hope you'll enjoy this recipe!

BEETROOT SOUP WITH CORN AND CARROT

Prep Time  : 20 mins
Cook Time : 135 mins
Total Time : 2 hours 35 mins
Makes       : 3 - 4 pax

Ingredients:
300g pork ribs
2pcs chicken feet (optional)
1 beetroot (approx. 400g) - (peeled and cut into approx. 1.5cm thickness)
1 corn (cut into 3 parts)
1 carrot (thick chunks)
1 Tbsp wolfberries (soaked 10mins in warm water to soften)
2ℓ water
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. In a small pot, blanch pork ribs for 5 minutes to remove impurities. Discard the water and wash the pork ribs briefly under running tap water.

2. In a big pot, add pork ribs, chicken feet and the rest of the ingredients except wolfberries, and bring to a boil over high heat.

3. Reduce to medium high heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. After that, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 2 hours.

4. Add wolfberries and salt to taste and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Notes:
● Do not boil longer than 3 hours, it will change its color to somewhat brown.


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