July 14, 2020 In All recipes, Meat, Noodle/Pasta/Rice

Bastardized pork belly biriyani

[ezcol_1half] "  NO REASON NEEDED, NO APOLOGY GIVEN.  " I'm not religious.  I don't have to explain why there's pork, or fat-laden pork belly to be exact, in my biriyani. Some truths hold themselves to be self-evident.  Very few gets realized. I also don't have to explain this recipe's utterly impure pedigree, a zig-zagging parentage between Southeast Asian and Indian and even a little of Chinese, making it an indecent, inglorious, bona-fide bastard.  Drifted increasingly untethered to any particular nationality or culture, I feel somewhat of a kindred spirit to such mis-bred type, comfortable, reciprocal, defiant even.  From one bastard to another, we know what we like, no reason needed, no apology given. Right is right.  Good is good. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter_end][/ezcol_1quarter_end] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter][/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_1quarter_end][/ezcol_1quarter_end] [ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end] [amd-zlrecipe-recipe:215]

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April 23, 2018 In All recipes, Condiments, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Poultry, Seafood

Singapore hawker marathon: Coconut rice part two, lemongrass fried chicken and fragrant salmon cake

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] THE CRUST IS THE HERBS, THE HERBS ARE THE CRUST, ONE AND INSEPARABLE, CRUNCHING TOWARDS A COMMON, GLORIOUS PURPOSE WHAT:  The overkill toppings for my nasi lemak, none other than the jacked up lemongrass fried chickens, and a salmon shrimp mousse fused with herb pastes and grilled inside aromatic leaves. WHY:  Nasi lemak wants toppings. HOW:  I was once floored by a fried chicken I came across in Kuala Lumpur during the Ramadan, and it took me several years and at least six attempts to get it as close to what I remembered as possible.  Instead of heavy flour-based breadings, these chickens are suited in a delicate, crispy, nest-like formation of blazing lemongrass, ginger and spices.  The crust is the herbs, and the herbs are the crust, one and inseparable, crunching towards a common, glorious purpose.  And that is to be the best damn fried chicken you'll ever taste.  A few of my past mistakes that you should take note from, is that the chicken needs to be marinated inside the herb-puree for at least six hours in order to reach its true calling.  Then instead of a breading, a minimal amount of potato starch or cornstarch is added at the end

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April 23, 2018 In All recipes, Condiments, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Poultry, Seafood

Singapore hawker marathon: Coconut rice part one, tomato chili sambal and lemongrass ricotta

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] An incredibly fragrant coconut rice cooked in pandan extraction, a tomato-based chili sambal boosted with Italian anchovies, and a lemongrass-infused coconut milk ricotta crumbled with thinly sliced shallots and bird's eye chili marinated in fish sauce WHAT:  Nasi Lemak, Malay's signature fragrant coconut rice cooked in coconut milk and served with a spicy and sweet chili sambal. WHY:  You haven't really had rice until you've tasted nasi lemak.  And if you have tasted nasi lemak and consider this statement grossly exaggerated - as I once was - then it's highly probable that it's because you haven't had this nasi lemak.  Best yet, most components can be made days ahead of time. HOW:  Let's face it.  There are a lot of underwhelming nasi lemak out there.  And I say this with the full acknowledgement that it's an explicitly personal opinion resulting from my deeply rooted disagreement with more than one of its traditional, possibly beloved, practices.  The coconut rice, without any dispute, is the heroine of the entire dish.  We should all agree that if this part isn't done right, then none of the others shall matter.  But in my three to four encounters of nasi lemak in Malaysia and Singapore, more often than

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June 15, 2016 In All recipes, Meat, Noodle/Pasta/Rice

that spicy, sour Thai street noodle

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] Just came home from an extra long weekend-getaway from Bangkok, my second time visiting this feasting sanctuary and wow, it is even better than I remembered.  I'm not going to play expert and include a traveling guide with this post because when it comes to Bangkok, I'm not, yet.  But I will however, include some links (with or without photos) to some of the memorable moments we experienced on this trip.  It's not a lot.  After all, it was a 2 1/2 day quickie.  Plus a noodle recipe that brings me back whenever I miss that city, which is to say, always. JUST STICK WITH THE DON AND THE HOLY FOURSOME   [/ezcol_3fifth] [ezcol_1fifth_end]  [/ezcol_1fifth_end] [ezcol_1half][/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end][/ezcol_1half_end] [ezcol_1third] BOAT NOODLES [/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third] RICE VERMICELLI WITH PORK DUMPLINGS [/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end] DUCK NOODLE WITH CHINESE HERBS [/ezcol_1third_end] [ezcol_1half] T&K SEAFOOD [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end] ANOTHER SEAFOOD JOINT ACROSS THE STREET [/ezcol_1half_end] PORK OFFAL SOUP WITH FLAT RICE NOODLE TOM YUM SOUP WITH RICE VERMICELLI SIAM PARAGON - shopping mall with an entire floor of food paradise KITCHEN SUPPLY STORE WITH UNIQUE FINDS THAT SPICY, SOUR THAI STREET NOODLE: Before you say anything, you're right, this isn't authentically anything.  It isn't a particular Thai dish, doesn't even have a real title (the fact of the matter is, I didn't have a clue what most of the dishes

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July 26, 2015 In All recipes, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Poultry

TURMERIC BUTTER CHICKEN RICE

WHEN YOU RELEASE THE CHICKEN-BAG WITH A SCISSOR OVER THE BED OF COCONUT RICE, ALMOST LIKE GOD-SENT, A STREAM OF PROMISED GOLDEN LIQUID WILL PERCOLATE FREELY INTO EVERY THIRSTY GRAIN OF HAPPINESS THAT YOU'LL ALMOST HEAR THEM PURR. [ezcol_1half] Hey, I own a shit load of cookbooks, I do.  And I'm not saying it isn't a problem.  Especially when it's become a very common first remark that people make when they visit our apartment, noticing from the ungoverned stacks that seem to occupy every flat surfaces of every able furnitures, evidently overrunning our shelving-space that is already working its double-layer capacity.  And my worst fear is that before long, Jason has to kindly ask Thomas Keller to scooch over before he can "relieve" himself, if you see what I mean.  So yeah, there is an issue there.  But you know, I guess it could be reasonably understood.  I mean, for someone like me and for what I sort of do, I guess, it makes sense.  What doesn't make sense, at all, is that for someone who owns this many cookbooks, I have almost never cooked a recipe from any one of them.  And I mean never, except maybe once but not really, ok?  Because I can't follow instructions.  Period.

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June 14, 2015 In All recipes, Soup, Vegatables

THAI SPICY TOM-YUM-GOONG TOMATO GAZPACHO

[ezcol_1half] I FELT LIKE MY MOUTH HAS TAKEN A BEACH VACATION DOWN IN  THE SOUTHEAST, THAT I COULD HEAR THE SOUND OF TURQUOISE WATER MASSAGING MY TASTE-BUDS [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end] Something is happening here, and if you had any loved ones residing in Beijing, you may have felt this.  Perhaps from the shaken jitters that come through their voices, perhaps even traceable within their text messages

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