Satay

It's not often that I make satay. We used to buy our satay from the Restaurant Mulia on the corner of Jalan Gurney and Jalan Tun Razak - the satay was good and the kuah kacang was also tasty. This is the first time that I really took the time to prepare the satay the proper way - with full ingredients. 

Ingredients:

Diced into bite sized pieces:

• Beef (tenderise by pounding with a meat tenderising hammer). Cut small portions of the fat to insert between the third and last piece of meat on the skewer)
• Chicken (best to use thighs as breast meat is a bit dry)
• You can also use lamb or beef tripe (perut lembu) if you want

Satay marinade: 

3-4 tbsp coriander seeds (biji ketumbar)

1 tbsp aniseed (jintan manis)

1 tsp white pepper (lada sulah)

salt to taste

lots of sugar (6-8 tbsp) or to taste

1 tbsp turmeric powder (serbuk kunyit)

1 red onion (bawang merah)

3 cloves garlic (bawang putih)

2 tbsp palm sugar (gula melaka)

1 lemongrass (serai)

1 inch galanghal (lengkuas)

1 inch ginger (halia)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Peanut Sauce (Kuah kacang):

This part was done by Doodlemon. See separate entry under kuah kacang / peanut sauce.

Nasi Impit / Ketupat:

I remember my mum used to make nasi impit (squeezed / pressed rice). You literally had to put the just cooked rice in a pot and cover it with a smaller lid with a heavy mortar on top to squeeze the rice. Nowadays life is made easy by the innovative and entrepreneurial folks. All you have to do is dump the rice packets into boiling water and let it cook.
Ketupat is a totally different story altogether.

Satay Method:

Grind / pound using a pestle and mortar the satay marinade ingredients. Which ones to pound first is your preference but the end result it to combine the all with the vege oil last.

Pour the marinade into the diced pieces of meat/chicken and mix well.Cover and leave in the fridge for about 24 hours to get it well marinated.

Next step: cucuk satay (poke the satay - [put it on the stick])

Some people would advise immersing the satay sticks for a few hours to prevent them from burning. (Take this advise with a pinch of salt - trust me, it will burn if left unattended and the stick exposed to fire).

The poking part - the meat is very cold especially if you just took it out of the fridge and can numb your fingers and hand. So having your other half to help is very useful.

Once all the satay has been poked or to use a proper term, skewered, prepare your bbq pit. Place the satay sticks so that the fire does not burn the sticks.

Dab the satay occasionally with vegetable oil. Use a stick of lemongrass (pound it a bit so that the fragrance infuses into the oil). Be careful as the oil tends to make the coals flare and overburn the satay.

Once cooked, serve with peanut sauce, nasi impit / ketupat, cucumbers and onions.



BBQ Lamb Rib / Lamb Shoulder

One of the easiest recipes for cooking bbq lamb is to just season the lamb with course sea salt and let it cook slowly. The salt brings out the natural flavour in the lamb and is just heaven for lamb lovers.

Others may want to add other ingredients to make the lamb more aromatic like adding rosemary (fresh if available) or simply garlic and cloves.

Method of cooking - slow and away from main heat. It could take hours if you do it right.

We were on a tight schedule when we served this to our last guests - so I pre-cooked the lamb rib and lamb shoulder halfway in the oven and barbequed it for smell and that smoky bbq flavour.


No need to list ingredients and methods. I've described it above.

To our beloved guests - sorry kalau tak sedap. Maybe next time datang lama sikit so that I can prepare better.

Lamb back strap - souvlaki style

I went to our butchers last week to get the normal stuff - i.e. chicken and mixed lamb. I saw a nice cut of meat and thought it was beef as it was next to the beef tray. Turned out to be lamb back strap (the butcher referred to it as lamb shish).

Anyway, the cut I got was 2x longer and costs about £6.

Cooked lamb souvlaki (greek) for lunch on the grill and without the skewers. BTW pix on right and below left are ciplak from others as I forgot to take pictures.

Ingredients:

Good sized lamb back strap (enough for you and your family)

For the Marinade (1 hour - 1/2 hour kalau tak sabar):
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves crusged garlic
salt and pepper (to truly season - sampai terasa)
crushed rosemary (or mixed herb or oregano - up to you)

Garlic Mayonaise:
Few tablespoons for mayonaise (enough for 1 bowl)
5 big cloves crushed garlic mixed well into the mayonaise
chopped mint or chives (if you fancy)

Cecah Kicap:
1 chopped onion
1 chopped red chili
1/3 bowl Hablal's Kicap Cap Kipas Udang Lemak Manis
1 squeeze of a lemon / lime (depends on what kind of fragrance you want)

Salad with Malaysian style Vinaigrette:
1 salad bowl of mixed salad - add Rocket salad (if you have any)
1 sliced tomato (optional)
Some sliced cucumber (again optional)
Dressing:
White vineger (about 1/4 soup bowl or less)
1/2 to 1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1 pinch of salt
some ground black pepper

Method of cooking the lamb:

Heat the griddle pan until very hot then reduce heat to medium.

Drizzle some olive oil and spread. Put the lamb on the griddle and let it sizzle for about 4-5 minutes depending on how thick the cut us. DO NOT TOUCH!!!

After the alotted time, turn over and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes.

When cooked, place the meat in kitchen foil and wrap. Leave for about 5-10 minutes to rest. This lets the meat to recover (and be tender not stringy) and absorb the juices back in.

Slice the meat, deck the table, get the hungry ones to the table - enjoy. Don't forget baca doa sebelum makan.

Braised Lamb with Mixed Vege

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braising

I remember going to Chinese seafood restaurants with my family when I was small and it always amazes me how food could be cooked in a different variety of ways.

This Braised Lamb with Mixed Vege dish, although not seafood, is influenced by the Chinese style of cooking (not truly authentic but according to my style at the very least, anyway).

Of late I like to use a lot of garlic - not so much for health reasons but maybe because it adds that sweet fragrance to the food.

Oh, one thing about my recipes: measurement according to wants and taste unless I specifically put it in.

Ingredients:

Mixed Lamb cuts
4 to 5 fairly large cloves of garlic crushed with pestle (anak lesung) - do not pulverise
1 onion (red or normal - cut into 4)
1 inch ginger sliced into thin pieces
snow peas or any similar flat bean
1 large carrot - sliced into thin round pieces
brocolli - cut into smaller trees (more like bushes)
dried mushroom - soften with boiling water (15-30 min or more) and get rid of muck sticking to it. I like the stems, but get rid of the bottom part - it's quite hard.
osyter sauce - depending on how much ingredients you've got - usually about 5 tbsp
vegetable oil - about 2 tbsp
sesame oil - a dash or two
black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

Method:
Heat the wok on high heat, put in the oil and then the garlic.
Stir a bit until fragrant (not brown) then add the lamb and ginger. Cook until slightly brown.
Add mushroom and about 2 tbsp oyster sauce, stir and cover for about a minute.
Add about 1/4 cup water. Cover and braise on medium heatfor about 15-20 minutes.

Add carrots, brocolli, peas and onion in that order so that it doesn't overcook.
Add rest of the oyster sauce, sesame oil and pepper.
Add another 1/4 cup water, stir and cover for another 5-10 minutes or until tender.

Meat is best served hot.

Hope this turns out well for you as it did for me. Enjoysss!!!