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).

In Sydney, mention laksa to anyone and his or her eyes will light up. But if you say "Assam Laksa", chances are you'll be met with a quizzical look. It's not a dish commonly found in Malaysian restaurants around Sydney, perhaps because it's an acquired taste for the local palate, with its sour and spicy tamarind-based fish gravy served with a dollop of black prawn paste (used in Chinese rojak). There is no coconut milk in it, and the flavours in the soup come from heaps of shallots, laksa leaves (or Vietnamese mint - see picture below), lemongrass, lots of chillies, turmeric and mackerel. Mackerel is an oily fish with strong flavours, and when added to the rich stock gives it a complex and intense flavour.

Notice the thick, round and white noodles used in this dish? That's what you have to use. Not vermicelli, not kuay teow, not egg noodles. And then, there are the garnishes (just as important as all the other ingredients I mentioned!): cucumber for  texture and its cooling properties; chillies for extra heat; mint for its sweet and fresh taste; red onions for sweetness and flavour; juicy pineapple pieces are refreshing; and most importantly, the Malaysian prawn paste ("petis udang") which gives this dish its authenticity.

I invited EL and KL to try out my assam laksa, and KL, being a Penangite, gave it a thumbs up (not literally though since he had a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other). That will do it for me. I've passed the taste-test with flying colours and I'm certainly going to make this again soon, perhaps for our next party? :-)

Assam Laksa
(Serves 6)

Ingredients

1kg (2 pounds) thick round laksa noodles (or substitute with thick round tapioca starch noodles)
1.2kg ( 2 1/2 pounds) mackerel, cleaned
2.5 litres (10 cups) water
1/2 tsp salt

14 stalks Vietnamese mint (a.k.a. polygonum or laksa leaves)
2-3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, smashed
4 pieces dried tamarind skin

4-6 tbsp dried tamarind, soaked in 1 cup hot water and strained (repeat a few times)
3 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
Salt
Pinch of Ajinomoto

Blended together finely:
20 cloves of shallots
6 cloves garlic
1 inch galangal
1 inch fresh turmeric (or 3/4 tsp ground turmeric)
6 candlenuts
6-8 (large) fresh long red chillies
5-8 dried (long) red chillies, seeded and soaked in warm water to soften (use more if the chillies are small)
4-5 bird's eye chillies (optional, for extra heat)
1 tbsp roasted belacan (shrimp paste)

Garnish:
4 red chillies, sliced
1/2 pineapple, diced
1 cucumber, shredded
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 torch ginger flower bud, thinly sliced  (optional)
Mint leaves
5-6 tbsp black prawn paste (hae-ko), to serve

Method

Bring the water to the boil. Add the fish and salt, bring to a boil again and let it simmer for 15 minutes until fish is just cooked. Don't overcook it. Remove the fish and reserve the stock. Flake the fish and set aside.

Add the Vietnamese mint, lemongrass and dried tamarind skin into the stock. Add the blended ingredients. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Add the strained tamarind pulp/juice, sugar, salt and ajinomoto. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary More tamarind pulp can be added if you prefer it more sour. Put the flaked fish in the into the stock and bring to a gentle simmer on low heat until ready to serve.

Blanch or cook the noodles in boiling water. Drain and place in individual serving bowls. Ladle the hot gravy onto the noodles. Sprinkle with garnishings. Stir in a little prawn paste into the gravy and enjoy!

Mmmm....smells and tastes so good!

Mackerel, ready to be flaked

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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.

Here are ten good reasons to love pav bhaji:
1. It's vegetarian, so it contains loads of veggies which are good for you.
2. It's got potatoes, which I love!
3. Great flavour from the spices, and it doesn't have to be spicy (hot).
4. The dish is cooked with butter.
5. The dish is served with more butter.
6. The pav (bun) is fried with lots of butter.
7. It's almost like an Indian vegetarian version of a Coney dog, sans the dog.
8. It's not too difficult to prepare if you use a food processor to blend the veggies.
9. It tastes sooooo good, even though there's no meat (although that could be an option).
10. Butter. I love butter, don't you?

Here is my version of the recipe for this dish. You can use hamburger or hotdog buns for the pav. As for the vegetables, any combination of capsicum (bell peppers), carrots, peas, cauliflower or eggplant will do. The spice used is pav bhaji masala, which should be available at most Indian grocery stores.

 

Pav Bhaji

 

Ingredients

 

Vegetables, boiled and mashed/pureed:

2 large (or 3 medium) potatoes

1/2 cup green capsicum (bell peppers), chopped

1/4 cup carrots, chopped

2 cups cauliflower, chopped

1/4 cup peas

 

3 tbsp butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste (optional)

1 tbsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp pav bhaji masala

1-2 cups water

1/8 tsp hing powder (asafoetida) (optional)

1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (optional)

Salt and black pepper

Corinder leaves

Lemon juice

 

To serve:

Pav (burger or hotdog buns will do)

Butter

Chopped coriander leaves

Lemon wedges

1 small onion, chopped

 

Method

 

In a large non-stick pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry until onions are softened, then add tomatoes. Fry until tomatoes are slightly dry, then mix in the mashed vegetables and potatoes. Add tomato paste, chilli powder, turmeric and masala. Mix well and add 1 cup water. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add asafoetida, crushed fenugreek leaves, salt and black pepper to taste. Stir in some chopped coriander leaves and the juice of half a lemon. Simmer, adding more water if necessary and cook until it turns into a thick gravy. Dish out and add a knob of butter on top, garnished with chopped onions and coriander leaves. Serve with fried pav.

 

For the pav, slice the buns in half horizontally, and fry in butter until lightly browned and crisp. Serve with the prepared vegetables (bhaji) and some lemon wedges.

 

Note: If you don't have pav bhaji masala, try substituting with garam masala instead.

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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.

After sifting through the various recipes available on the internet, I finally settled on this one below that comes from a Filipino cookbook. The original recipe uses rum in the buttercream, though I think I might omit it next time and substitute with vanilla instead. Although the recipe seems fairly simple, it is a multi-step process that involves cooling, chilling and assembly time. The tricky part came down to slicing the actual Sans Rival, as the meringue is so brittle that it takes a bit of patience and skill in cutting it into neat slices without leaving too many crumbs on the plate. After a series of "shattered" meringues, I found that the best way was to cut it straight down in one swift stroke using a serrated knife. I brought this dessert to a party and I think it was quite well received by everyone (sans the kids). Guess I'll have to wait for the next party before I make this again, although I did read somewhere that it freezes well. I'd better start clearing out some space in my freezer then.

Sans Rival
Adapted from Nora Daza

Ingredients

6 egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted cashew nuts, chopped finely
1 tsp vanilla extract
Extra 1/2 cup chopped cashewnuts set aside for decoration

Method

Grease and flour three 14” x 10” cookie sheets. Set aside. Beat egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until egg whites are very stiff. Fold in the 1 1/2 cups chopped cashew nuts and vanilla. Spread thinly in prepared pans. Bake at 160C/300F for 20-30 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Turn off oven and leave the wafers in the oven for 2-3 hours until cool. They will turn crisp by then. Gently loosen and slide wafers to a flat surface. Trim off the uneven edges with a serrated knife.

Prepare filling:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
6 egg yolks
1 1/4 cup / 300g unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp rum (optional)

Method

Boil sugar and water until it reaches the soft ball stage, or it spins a thread. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Pour hot syrup to egg yolks in thin streams while beating on medium speed until the mixture thickens. Transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge.

Cream the butter with a mixer. Blend in the chilled egg yolk mixture and rum (if used).

Turn the wafers over (smooth-side up). Spread a thin layer of cream over the wafer and place the next wafer on top. Spread the cream and repeat with the next wafer. Cover all over with remaining cream.  Sprinkle top with extra chopped cashew nuts. Chill well before slicing and serving.

 

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Grilled Pork Belly with Spicy Sauce

Hello! It's been a while since I last did a proper post on my blog. Life has just been a little busy lately, and just when I thought things were starting to wind down, my calendar for the next two months is fast filling up with dates for parties, school events, concerts and birthdays. And when you have three kids like me, multiply that by three and you'd wish weekends were a little longer, and perhaps with a free day for cooking and baking. Last weekend, I managed to find time to prepare these grilled pork belly skewers which were inspired by my recent dining experience at Sake restaurant in Sydney. What I found interesting was the spicy antichucho sauce that was served with the grilled pork (kushiyaki). Antichucho is apparently Peruvian grilled marinated beef hearts, served with a tangy and spicy sauce, I believe. As there is a considerable Japanese influence on Peruvian cuisine (one of Peru's presidents was of Japanese descent), that explains the use of the antichucho sauce in this dish.

I recalled seeing a recipe for antichucho sauce in the cookbook "Nobu Now" which I have adapted below by substituting the aji panca (a type of Peruvian chilli paste) with - Korean red pepper paste! I mean, they are both chilli peppers right? Just of different descent. The sauce turned out pretty good actually, spicy and tangy with a hint of cumin, a flavour I immediately picked up when I tasted the one at Sake. I drizzled some of the sauce onto the tender and fatty grilled pork belly (see also Crispy Roast Pork Belly), topped it with chopped scallions and squeezed some lemon juice over it which lifted the flavours altogether. Mr G tried it and gave it two thumbs up! Try out this dish for your next barbecue this summer!


Grilled Pork Belly Skewers

Ingredients

1kg (2 lbs) pork belly

Salt

Pepper

Vegetable oil

 

To serve:

Sesame oil mixed with a pinch of salt (for brushing)

Chopped scallions/spring onions

Lemon wedges

Spicy sauce (see recipe below)

Method:

1. Boil some water in a pot with 2-3 teaspoons salt, and place the pork in the boiling water, making sure it is totally submerged. Boil uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Pat dry with a paper towel and leave for about 20 minutes to dry out. Rub about 1/2 tbsp of salt over the meat and skin. Place in the fridge uncovered for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Score the skin in a criss-cross diamond pattern with a knife, about 1/2 cm apart. Make sure it cuts through to the fat, as this will allow the fat to render. Rub a little salt and vegetable oil over the skin.
3. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).  Place on a wire rack skin side up, and pour about 1-2 cups of water into the roasting pan so that it steams the meat in the oven. Place the pan in the middle rack in the oven and roast for 1 hour. Increase temperature to 220C (450F) and roast for another 15 minutes or until skin starts to brown and sizzle. Turn on the grill/broiler on high to crisp up the skin, which should begin to bubble and blister! When it starts to char, and the skin is evenly crisped all over, remove from oven and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes (you can scrape off the blackened charred bits first using a knife). 
4. Slice the pork into 1 inch cubes. Thread them onto wooden skewers and grill them on the barbecue or non-stick pan until lightly browned on both sides. Arrange on a serving dish. Lightly brush the pork with the sesame oil and salt mixture. Then, drizzle with spicy sauce, garnish with chopped scallions and add a splash of lemon juice.
 

Spicy Sauce Recipe

3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 1/2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1 1/2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white rice vinegar)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp tomato sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp dried oregano

Method:

Combine the ingredients above and place in a small pan on medium heat. Fry briefly, then transfer to a small serving dish.

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