Chicken Toast (Literally)

I first came across this in my first year of University, during one of the Malay Cultural Society's events. It's usually made with prawn, or sometimes a combination of chicken and prawn, but to my delight, they served up pure chicken ones! I really really liked them, so I searched high and low for a recipe. I found several, but never had the opportunity to make them until now.

The ones they served up last time were slightly different, in that they were more of a mini sandwich, as compared to chicken on bread, which is what I present to you here. Ibu also modified the original recipe slightly, so I might make the "proper" one later on, hehe. ;) In the meantime, here you go!

What you need:
Diced chicken, cooked
1 bunch spring onions, diced (optional)
Bread slices
Liquid chicken stock, and a bit of oyster sauce
Sesame seeds

What you do:

1. Blend the chicken pieces, until they are finely ground.
2. Mix the oyster sauce and chicken stock with the ground chicken, to make a "paste", of sorts.
3. Spread the paste onto pieces of bread, removing the crusts if you wish.
4. Sprinkle over some spring onion, if using.
5. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds to cover the chicken, and press into the chicken using the back of a spoon or a fork.
6. Either toast in a toaster over for about 5 minutes, or until bread is crisp, or cut into small pieces and fry until golden brown. We baked. :P

Because some of my siblings don't like spring onions (*gasp* How can they??), Ibu made two batches. One with spring onions, one without. Personally, I think the ones with spring onions look better. And they taste better too!


As for the overall taste... hmmm, it wasn't quite what I was looking for. The chicken was still a bit dry, though nicely seasoned. In the original recipe, the spring onion was also blended together with the chicken, so the taste of it was probably more prominent. The dryness could also have possibly been due to the fact we baked it, instead of frying it. :P But yes. Healthy healthy healthy...

The others were also not too enthusiastic about it. Mainly because they think it was nothing special, haha. Oh well... that just means we have the wrong recipe. On with the next one! (Next time, anyway...)

Quote of the day: Sesame seeds and Poppy seeds are the only officially acceptable "spots" that should be seen on the surface of any loaf of bread. Fuzzy and hairy looking white or green growth areas are a good indication that your bread has turned into a pharmaceutical laboratory experiment.

Restoran Aqil Shafiee (Thai Food)

I'm not sure what it is with restaurants here (no offense to anyone, by the way...) but they seem to always want to have their owner's name in their titles. I mean, this particular restaurant is trying (I believe) to market itself as a Thai food place, but the name of the restaurant kinda spoils it, for me at least.

But anyway, I am not here to review the NAME of a restaurant. People usually go to restaurants to eat their food, and that is what I am here to review, hehe.

So... yesterday, me and Hamizah (again) went out, since she wanted to pick up some Japanese drama CDs from me, and I wanted to know where UBD's Chancellor Hall was. Of course, being Bruneians, eating a meal after going out is really the only way to complete a "hanging out" session, so we went off to a restaurant. Again, I let Hamizah pick the restaurant, and this time, she picked a typical-looking Bruneian restaurant which supposedly sells Thai food, somewhere in Jerudong, near a big HSBC. Haha, great directions, huh?

The inside of the place was also quite typical. Rather dim, although the decorations were quite nice. Everything was rather typical, really. The menu was the usual laminated and spiral bound affair. Prices were mid-range, about $5 per dish (if not less), and drinks about $2-$3. I guess because it is Thai-themed, there were a lot of seafood dishes, but thankfully, some chicken dishes were also available. Both me and Hamizah got a bowl of clear soup with our orders. I love that kind of soup. You know the one they always give? Salty-ish, with green leaves floating in it? Hmmm, not sure what it is called.

Anyway, I ordered the deep-fried *cough* chicken with garlic and pepper.

Rather tasty, actually! I love white pepper, and this dish had plenty of it. I couldn't really taste the garlic though... The chicken pieces, although small and crisp, were still nice and juicy. Yum! A "finger" test of the chicken pieces showed that they weren't *that* oily, even though they were deepfried. Which is good, I suppose. Although, to tell you the truth, this could probably be made easily in the comfort of your own home. Just marinate chicken with minced garlic, plenty of white pepper and some salt, coat in flour and fry. Ah well...

Hamizah, on the other hand, ordered Pad Thai Noodles, with seafood, I believe?

I asked her how it was, but apparently, she finds them practically the same in restaurants all over. The only thing different is how they present it.

But the main reason she wanted to come to this restaurant is for this drink. On the right is my Iced Milo (yes yes, saya is masih a kid), while the other pure white drink is Hamizah's Coconut Ice Blend, where they blend coconut meat with its water, ice and condensed milk. I don't like coconut myself, but Hamizah thinks Hadi would like this. Defnitely anyone with a sweet tooth. :P Or a coconut tooth?

So ... in the end, this restaurant was rather mediocre, really. Not bad, but certainly not outstanding. Everything was just average; prices, decor, food, service.... Although, I guess it is to be expected.

Oh well, until next time :)

Quote of the day: In a restaurant, choose a table near the waiter.

Which we did. Seriously. Not only was our table near the cashier, it was also right next to the kitchen. Haha, kiasu banar...

Breaded Chicken Bites

...or Chicken Breadcrumb, as they are apparently called.

I first came across these a couple of days ago, at my aunt and grandmother's place. My aunt had just finished steaming a plate of these "Bites", and according to both my sister and Ibu, they were apparently very tasty. Without any further ado, I just went and grabbed one, and indeed, they were delicious!

But apparently, they weren't quite complete yet. They still had to be coated in breadcrumbs, and then fried. But I am getting ahead of myself here. I should give you the recipe first. Here we go!

What you need:
4 slices of bread, crusts removed
100g boneless chicken, minced or cut into small pieces
40g cheese - or to taste!
- you can also add any other filling you like, eg carrot (cooked), sausage
3/4 cup milk (about 200 mL)
2 eggs
Seasonings - salt, pepper

Egg white, for dipping
Breadcrumbs, for coating

Tomato sauce
Parsley, chopped

What you do:

1. Cook the chicken - either by stirfrying, or boiling. Taste and season.
2. Rip the bread into four and soak in the milk, until disintegrated.
3. Add in the chicken and eggs, and mix until well-combined.
4. Prepare a steamer. Meanwhile, add the mixture into the molds (as shown below). Steam until the eggs are cooked and set. Repeat, until finished.
5. Remove the bites from the mold. Dip in egg white, and coat in breadcrumbs.
6. Deep-fry until golden-brown.
7. Serve with tomato sauce and garnish with parsley.
   

And that's that! Its so amazingly simple! You can actually eat them after the steaming step (as I did, when I first ate them) but at this point, their texture is kind of soft and squishy. Plus, they don't have any breadcrumbs on, so you would have to call them by a different name (although... the name of the recipe I translated this from was Ayam Bermangkukan Roti - Chicken in Bread Bowls? Breaded Chicken Bowls? Perhaps... ). But once you fry them, they get all crisp on the outside, yet soft and warm in the inside. They taste rather similar to our Cheesy Chicken Balls, actually - only you can't really taste the cheese with this (maybe because of the steaming). But these are much easier to make, so that's a point in its favour.



Anyway, the bowls can apparently be obtained from various shops in Brunei, such as Hua Ho or Sin Kiew Hin. They cost about B$1.50 for a dozen, so its not gonna be a very big invesment, hehe.

Now, the only thing left is to decide whether you want to fry them ... or bake them. Ibu Babah seem to be a bit on a health kick at the moment, and delight in scaring us by demostrating just how much oil can be found in fried foods. :P Ibu has been trying to get us to eat the baked version of these which, unlike the Chicken Balls, do not disintegrate in the oven. I had the baked version this morning, and really, they are still quite tasty. (Perhaps not quite as tasty as the fried version, but definitely a lot less oilier, and a lot more healthier!) Plus, the outside is nice and crisp, which is all that I am asking for, really.

We had a bit of a problem with the internal texture of our Bites, since they seem to be a bit too soft. That was either because we put in too much cheese *cough* or perhaps too much liquid, or maybe even that our chicken pieces were too big. I guess we'll do better next time, hehe.

Quote of the day: There are three types of friends: those like food, without which you can't live; those like medicine, which you need occasionally; and those like an illness, which you never want.

Marshmallow Crispie Cakes

When these were first sold in Brunei a few years ago, Ibu tried her very hardest to duplicate them at home, since they were relatively expensive and we, being kids, ate a lot of it. But because of a lack of marshmallows being sold, Ibu tried making her own marshmallows using a recipe she had in one of her old old old cookbooks. But marshmallows, it seems, are tricky things to make and she never succeeded making them properly.

We've forgotten about the Rice Crispie Bars (or whatever they're called) as the years have passed by, but on their recent trip to UK, we saw them selling these again and the "passion was reignited", heh. :P They are *very* expensive in UK, so Ibu decided to try making them at home again. Luckily, marshmallows are being sold in SupaSave now, so that should make her - or rather my! - job easier. So here we go!

What you need:
250g bag of toffees - substituted with 200g white chocolate
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
45mL / 3 tablespoons milk
115g marshmallows - used only a 100g bag
175g crisped rice cereal

What you do:

1. Lightly brush a 8 x 13in roasting pan with a little melted butter. Line with baking paper, leaving two sides overhanging, and brush with more butter.
   
2. Put the toffees, butter and milk in a pan and heat gently, stirring until the toffees have melted.
3. Add the marshmallows and crisped rice cereal and stir until well-mixed and the marshmallows have melted.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared roasting pan, level the surface and leave to set.
5. When cool and hard, cut into squares, remove from the pan and place into paper cups to serve. We cut them into longer bars and wrapped them individually in more baking paper.

As you can see, it's a very easy recipe to duplicate, and there are a lot of recipes for it on the Internet. We bought the mini-marshmallows, which came in pink and white colours, which explains the pinkish colour of the bars.

I'm no longer too big a fan of these, but when I tasted them, I really do think they taste very similar to the commercial version. It seems that I made them a bit differently than Ibu expected though, since the commercial ones have a layer of white chocolate on the bottom, not mixed into the Rice Crispies. Also, she said I didn't compact them as ... er, compactly as I should have, so the bars kind of fell apart easily. Ah well, it'll come with practice, I suppose, since Ibu wants me to make another "proper" batch once this batch finishes.

Oh yes, you would want to store these in an air-tight container, preferably in the fridge, since these are much better if eaten cold. ;) Because we wrapped them individually, the problem of them sticking together was solved. Otherwise, you might want to place them in layers with cling wrap in between.

When proper adults tasted these, they found it too sweet, but I heard no such complaint from the kids, haha. I was actually planning to add in a layer of chocolate on the top, but was worried that it would be too sweet. Ah well...

Quote of the day: Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fibre, not for the toy.

Fusion (At the Mall)

Whoo... its been a busy few days, what with flying back to Brunei, getting Harry Potter and all. Me and Hadi actually queued at the Borders on Oxford Street at midnight to pick up the books. There were crazy amounts of people, but apparently, the Waterstones and WHSmith were the place to be - there were even more people there! It was totally not necessary, since we saw plenty of copies of the book at the airport the next day for the same price, but ah well. Hadi wanted to go for the "experience" and I must admit, it was rather fun. We got our books at almost half the Brunei price, but just to make you cry even more, apparently, Asda and Morrison's were selling it for 5 pounds! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

But yes. Harry Potter is finally finished, whooo! (Don't worry, no spoilers. I hate spoilers with a passion) Now, on to new books!

And new food. :D This would be my very first post on food from Brunei this summer, hehe. Hamizah, who kirimed a copy as well, wanted to meet up for lunch today so we can catch up a little bit and she can get her book, hehe. Being a little bit outdated with the Brunei eating scene, I left the choice of restaurant up to her, and she picked the new Fusion restaurant at the Mall, where Kura used to be. Its on 30% discount until... er, was it the end of this month? so those of you who are interested in checking it out better go and do so now! ;)

Anyway, since it used to be at Kura, I thought it was a Japanese fusion restaurant. Apparently not, it has random fusion food from all over the world, which sounds interesting. But because I assumed it was Japanese fusion only, I invited Hadi along (since he is a big fan of Japanese food). Oh well, he didn't mind all that much.

Anyway... on with the food!

The restaurant itself was nice and bright, which makes it easy to take food photos! Yay! The decoration... was... well, I thought it was a bit out. It didn't seem to suit the image of the food somehow. I think they should make it look a bit more modern. I *think* it was a green-ish theme. My memory is a little fuzzy now.

The menu was nicely presented. It was divided into the usual Appetizers, Soups, Fish, Chicken, Meats, etc. I really liked the little pictures of the food on each page. They somehow managed to show a picture of each dish, without cluttering up the menu too much. Very nicely done! Aside from the steak list, the rest of the dishes were higher mid-range, at about $7-$10 each. Drinks were roughly $5 each.

I was torn between getting a sandwich and Cheesy Sakana (that's fish in Japanese ;) ) But in the end, I decided to go for the sandwich instead. Hadi wanted to eat something "meaty" and got himself a steak, while Hamizah followed a friend's recommendation and had Beef Pepper Rice.

Hadi and Hamizah both got a creamy green soup (as an appetizer, I assume). Apparently, my sandwich wasn't special enough for it. :P But never mind. I doubt I would've liked it anyway. It was apparently creamy, with a hint of mushrooms, amongst other things.


The dishes in the menu were mostly creatively named. Like Fish and Chips was named "The Pride of London", haha. It looked really nice, and I was really tempted to try it as well. But never mind. Sandwich sandwich. The drinks also had fancy names.
I had the Watermelon Slush, which is basically overglorified air sikui (watermelon juice). Don't bother having this. :P
Hamizah had the Coco Bahama Mama, haha. Hadi kept on thinking she was making the name up, but it was in the menu. :P Its basically a fruit smoothie with bananas and coconuts and ... erm, other things in it. She likes it a lot, she said.
hadi had tap water. TAP water. *cough*cheapskate*cough*


The service was surprisingly good (although that might be because there weren't all that many people there at the time). The waiter waited a good amount of time, before approaching us to take our orders. Our food came withing 10 minutes of ordering, and at almost the same time. Empty bowls and plates were also quickly whisked away. Very nice. :)

First to come was my sandwich. What's this?? There's green stuff growing out of it! I ordered the Clubhouse Decker, which is apparently a triple layer sandwich with chicken, cheese and beef bacon. They said nothing about veggies. :P And I didn't really check the picture all that carefully, sigh. But I was able to live with it. I just took out the more obvious ones, such as the tomatoes and pickles, but ate the rest. Yay me!

The sandwich was so so. I didn't quite enjoy it because of the veggies, but it was more than passable. You could probably make something similar back home, for a much cheaper price. It was also horribly messy to eat, but I found that quite fun to do, hehe. I couldn't really taste the cheese though! :( The chips that came with it, though, were very nice. It was nicely salted, with specks of a herb and what looks like Parmesan cheese. Interesting idea!


Hadi had the Picasso Steak, medium-rare, with mashed potatoes. I had a bit of it and it was... er, chewy. Very chewy. Hadi quite liked the chewiness, but he felt that it wasn't "meaty" enough. I assume that what he means by that is that the beef flavour wasn't all that strong. Not sure of that's a problem with the beef, or a problem with the sauce. Perhaps the sauce didn't really enhance the flavour of the beef - something to look into? Again, it was passable, but he felt that it was quite overpriced (without the discount). Then again, its steak, so I suppose the price tag isn't all that surprising.


They gave him what looks like a kitchen knife (though I suppose its a steak knife?) to cut the meat with. I found it vaguely amusing, so here's a picture. :P



And finally, came Hamizah's Beef Pepper Rice, which was served on a sizzling plate. It came strongly recommended by a friend of hers, but she found it rather tasteless she said. I had a bit, and it tasted *quite* okay, but not as peppery as I would've imagined from the name. Its your typical beef stirfry, with soy sauce and black pepper, I think. Perhaps a dash of oyster sauce might help, plus a lot more pepper.


All in all, the food was mediocre. Just good enough to be passable. The 30% discount put me in a good mood, because otherwise, I don't think the food is worth it at the prices shown in the menu. Plus, the price range doesn't suit the restaurant atmosphere. I think they should either lower their prices, or upgrade their surroundings (and food!). But again, this is my opinion and my opinion only. ;) Don't let it stop you from trying the food out for yourself, especially now that they're having the promotion. :D It is a new restaurant, after all, and I suppose we should give them a chance.

Quote of the day: We lack but open eye and ear to find the orients marvel here.

That was a quote from the restaurant placemat. I've already featured the other three that were also there as Quotes of the Day, previously, but now that I think about it, this doesn't necessarily have to be talking about food. Oh well, never mind.

And so, here we are...

Hadi and I have just arrived in Brunei, barely 24 hours ago... You know what I think?

Brunei is swelteringly hot. Panas nya! Even today, which is supposed to be relatively "cool" for Brunei (according to my sister), is... hot. Smelly hot. Eeeeeee......

But everything in Brunei is so small, its so cute, haha. The buildings... the bridges... the people... ;) Only the cars are bigger than UK, it seems, haha.

Anyway, as I've mentioned before... Food for Thought's HIJ have all graduated. Since you awesome people have been reading this blog since I first started it in May 2006 (or perhaps a little bit later than that..), I thought you deserve to know the faces of the people whose food you've been reading about for the past year! You've drooled over our food, now its time to drool over the people! *ahem* ;)

Hadi, proud to be a graduate.

I is a graduated from Bristol :P

Er... yeah...

So anyway... Justin seems to be not checking his email all that often these days, and I don't have a picture of him in his graduation robes... Will update that picture as soon as he sends me one...

So anyway, yeah... we've graduated. That actually has some implications for this blog, unfortunately. This actually started out as a chronicle of all the dinners (and other foods...) that we've consumed as housemates in our second year, all the way to our third and final year. Unfortunately, we no longer are housemates and, indeed, it is highly unlikely we'll be in the same place next year...

Hadi is planning to take his bar, of at all possible. Wish him luck people!

Ihsan has obtained a place in London to do her Masters, and is currently waiting for scholarship results from the government. Wish her luck people!

Justin is looking for a job in investment banking, and hopes to continue on in UK as well. Wish him luck people!

That's right, we've gone (or will be going - since me and Hadi are still living in the same house in Brunei :P) our separate ways. But since I'm the one who writes the blog, I'm really the only that matters, aren't I? :D hehehe

Let's see... being in London, the most likely place to stay in would be Brunei Hall - which has cheap catered food. Plus, I took a look at the kitchen for students' use and it was absolutely... er... not conducive for cooking. So if I end up there, this blog most likely won't be updated all that regularly.

However, I am trying my very best to get a place in university accommodation which is very conveniently placed for the campus I'm going to. The kitchen there seems to be a bit better (and, we get a mini-fridge in our rooms!) so if I do end up there, more regular updates might be possible. :)

But at the moment, my place is not yet confirmed so I can't get an offer for accommodation yet... sigh... so I'll have to update you on that.

In the meanwhile, enjoy my offerings for the summer. First up (tomorrow), is a review for Fusion restaurant, which I went to today. There will also be various other reviews and tidbits, which I didn't have the time to write about whilst in London.

Until then, Ihsan is out!

Chocolate Chip Oaties

If you still remember it, a couple of months ago, I made Chewy Golden Cookies, which were basically oat cookies (with a LOT of sugar). Looking through my aunt's cookbooks here in London, I came across this particular recipe. Its like a chocolate chip cookie, only it has some oats mixed into the dough. This, apparently, gives it a "light texture and nutty flavour" to the cookies. Sounds nice enough. Poking around the cupboards, it looked like they had all the ingredients! So here we go!

What you need:
115g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
115g light muscovado sugar
1 egg
100g porridge oats
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125g plain flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
175g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
175g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

Note: I used 200g plain chocolate chips and 200g white chocolate, broken into pieces. You can also replace half of the chocolate with chopped nuts - pecan nuts were suggested.

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease some baking sheets. (Not necassary, if you're using non-stick ones, or baking paper)
   
2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg, then add the oats, milk and vanilla essence. Beat together until well-blended.
4. Sift the flour and cocoa and baking powders into the mixture and stir.
5. Stir in the chocolate pieces.
6. Place dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on the prepared baking sheets and flatten slightly with a fork.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until slightly risen and firm.
8. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes (to ensure that they do not fall apart), then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

A gorgeous picture for a gorgeous cookie, don't you think? ;) I "accidentally" used more chocolate than was required, so the cookies were absolutely loaded with chocolate! Super yummy! But don't worry... they have oats. *cough* should be "healthy", right? :P

Because of the oats, the cookies had some shape and structure to them, unlike my usual cookie, which is flat. I like lumpy cookies better, actually, and have been trying to figure out how to make them hold their shape, instead of flattening. Some tips I got was either to bake them cold, or to use margarine/shortening instead of butter. The cold tip didn't work. I haven't tried the margarine/shortening thing, though it might work, since they don't melt as easily as butter. But I don't really want to sacrifice the taste, just to make the cookies lumpy. Ah well...

But anyway, my point in all that rambling was that it seems like oats can work quite well to keep the cookie lumpy, hehe. Of course, it adds a slight flavour, but in this case, you barely taste the oats. They were just nice. :) One thing that *was* affected though, was the texture. These cookies were kind of soft, almost cakey, except for the ends which were crunchier. I like my cookies chewy, instead of cakey, so this was not all that desirable. I absolutely loved the cookie edges though, hehe. :D

But it looks like all the others (namely, my cousins...) didn't mind at all. They were gobbling down the cookies one after another as soon as they came out of the oven, until I had to keep the next few batches away from them, so that they wouldn't spoil their appetite for dinner (or get fat either, for that matter :P ). Nevertheless, I got about 35 cookies from this (I used a tablespoon, instead of a dessertspoon. Otherwise, you should get about 20) and by the end of the day, only about 5 were left. This was gone by early the next morning (which was today).

So... all in all, looks like this was a success. Even my cousins, who get abundant amounts of store-bought cookies and treats seemed to like it. Must be good, right? ;)

Quote of the day: One day when he was eating a cookie he offered me a bite. Don't underestimate that. The poor guy's so frightened of germs, it could darn near have been a proposal.

Putu Mayang (Katu Mayang)

Well, I've never heard of this, before Nini decided to make it. It was only when I saw the white noodle-like threads of rice flour, and the green sauce, before I decided that I *have* actually seen it before! So for future reference, this is putu mayang people! (Though apparently, its "real" name is katu mayang?)

Now, I don't actually eat this, but when Hadi heard Nini was making this, he was like.. "Oooooh! Yang manis atu!" Haha. Yes, to Hadi, the manis-ness is what counts! So here we go!

What you need:
Rice flour

Sauce:
5 eggs
1 pandan leaf - blended, and strained to collect thq liquid
Sugar
Santan - 1 can
Plain flour (to thicken)

What you do:

1. To make the "noodles", first steam the rice flour until it is "cooked" and slightly damp. But Nini says that you can buy specially made flour in Brunei, which is already damp.
2. Add just enough warm water (air suam) with a generous pinch of salt to the rice flour, to make a dough of cookie dough consistency. (You are going to have to try making cookies someday, if you haven't! ;) These recipes all seem to have "cookie dough consistency", haha)
3. You make the noodles by using special equipment - the syringe from the maruku last time, only with a different nozzle. A thinner round hole, and lots of them. :P
4. To make the sauce, mix the sugar, eggs and flour in a saucepan and mix well. Then, add the santan and pandan.
5. Simmer over low heat, until cooked. Don't take too long, or the santan will turn to oil.
6. Meanwhile, steam the noodles again, for about 15 minutes, or until softened.
7. Serve the noodles, with sauce poured over it.
   

I haven't had even a bite of this, but other people seemed to like it well enough. The "proper" way to eat it, apparently, is to drown the noodles in sauce, haha.

I assume this has a similar taste (and possibly texture) to pandan pudding. Soft-ish, with a pandan flavour. I can't say much more, really, but Hadi says it was delicious, haha. Nor surprise there. The sauce, after all, has a LOT of sugar. Better too sweet than too bland, they said yesterday. :P

Quote of the day: Custard - A detestable substance produced by a malevolent conspiracy of the hen, the cow, and the cook.

Cucur Kacang Hijau (Green Bean Fritters)

I don't actually eat this, but my aunt was raving about it, so I thought some other people might be interested to know this recipe. Here we go!

What you need:
250g kacang hijau (dried green mung beans)
1 packet santan (equivalent to 1 coconut) - or, even better, use the meat of 1 coconut, finely grated
Sugar, to taste

Coating:
Rice flour
A pinch of salt
A generous pinch of turmeric

What you do:

1. Soak the beans in warm water, then boil until soft and fluffy.
2. Add in the santan (is there an English word for this? dessicated coconut, maybe?) and sugar.
3. Stirring occasionally, boil the micture until it forms a thick and stiff paste. Again, its about the consistency of cookie dough, if not stiffer.
4. Shape the mixture into flat rounds, roughly 5 cm in diameter. Make sure you compact the rounds properly, or the fritters may break apart when you fry them. At this point, it can be stored for a couple of days in the refridgerator.
5. Make the coating by adding the ingredients to enough water to make a thin batter.
6. Heat up enough oil for deepfrying. Dip the fritters into the coating batter, then fry in the oil until golden brown.

My aunt was insisting that this was really really nice, even though I told her that I can tell it wouldn't be my taste from the smell. :P Haha. To appease her (and my grandmother, who, again, made this. Though I shaped the fritters! ;) ) I took a tiny bite. Indeed, it wasn't my taste. Though I can see how it will be delicious.

The coating was nice and crispy, while the middle was soft, almost gooey. Definitely a dish best served warm, if not immediately. The coating was slightly salty, but the middle was sweet. This makes a contrast, which my aunt apparently likes, haha.

Also, the proportions of the shapes you make are supposedly important. You want it not too big, and not too small. Supposedly. If its too small, it might turn out too dry in the middle, and the other way round if its too big. Supposedly.

I wouldn't know. The only cucur I eat is cucur ayam, which is one I am trying to get them to cook at the moment, haha. I'll probably end up making it though, sigh.

Quote of the day: Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.

Crispy Chicken Pancakes

This is a dish my aunt and co usually like to eat when they go to (halal) Chinese restaurants here in London. I've never had this before, though they all assumed I had . :P Still. Everyone was very enthusiastic, so it is definitely a family favorite. I didn't actually make this, but the only cooking required was for the chicken, so the recipe isn't actually very hard. Here we go!

What you need:
2 whole spring chickens (to feed 5-10 people)
Five-spice powder
Ground ginger
Salt, for seasoning

Pancakes for crispy duck (looked quite similar to spring roll pastry, only they were circular. They should be easily available in Brunei, and can be found in oriental supermarkets in UK. They need to be steamed before use.

Garnishing and accompaniments:
Cucumbers cut into batons
Spring onions, chopped into 3 cm lengths
Crispy duck sauce
Shrimp chilli paste



What you do:

1. Marinate the chicken in the five-spice powder, ginger and salt for about a day. remember to rub the mix in the the cavity and under the skin of the chicken as well.
2. Then, steam the chicken until cooked through and juices run clear.
3. When ready to eat, heat up a LOT of oil in a wok. You want enough to cover at least half the chicken. (Ideally, you would cover all the chicken, but that's just too much oil, really).
4. When hot, add in the chicken. Fry until it is golden brown and crispy all over, including the first cm or so of the chicken meat. But be careful not to burn it!
5. Drain and leave to cool slightly, then, using a fork (or whatever), shred the chicken meat into smallish pieces, and place on a plate. Steam the pancakes according to instructions - usually 5-6 minutes. And dinner is ready!
6. Assembling the pancakes is up to the individual. After looking around to see what other people are doing, I spread some of the crispy duck sauce (tasted a bit like hoisin sauce, really) onto one pancake. Then, I added chicken roughly in the center, plus a few pieces of spring onion on top of it. I also added a few drops of chilli oil, before rolling up the whole thing, as below. Then, just tuck in!
   

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... This was nice. I love the crispy chicken pieces, particularly the skin *looks around guiltily* People can assemble this themselves, so this can be a rather interesting thing to serve when holding a small dinner. Its quite funky, hehe, plus, people can individualise it according to their own preferences. I love the spring onion, but my cousins didn't touch the greens at all. They also smothered the sauce over their pancakes, but I used much less, since I found it too sweet. Its all up to you, really!

I thought 2 chickens wouldn't be enough (since there were 10 of us) but, rather surprisingly, it did! Two of my cousins weren't very hungry, admittedly, and another two are still little boys, but still. These were surprisingly filling. I didn't count how many I ate *cough*, but it must've been between 4-6 pancakes. And I was STUFFED after that. So yes. Very filling. Must be all the meat. But you can also serve this together with a rice or noodle dish, perhaps fried rice? Though perhaps, something a little more Chinese-y than the ones I have would do. I doubt cheese would go well with this, haha. ;)

You can also use different types of meat with this. Just fry them until crispy. We had a lamb thigh available (which I don't eat, but was apparently nice). You can also use a large piece of beef, etc. Just cut them into small pieces, or shred as with the chicken, before serving.

But of course. I would prefer chicken anytime! ;)

Quote of the day: Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.

OMG! Its true! hahahaha! Interesting!

Tumpi (Bruneian Pancakes)

With my grandmother here in London with us, it seems that I can get to see her make various "traditional" recipes. First up was last time's Maruku. Now, its Tumpi!

Tumpi... I suppose, is sort of a Bruneian pancake. (I asked one my my friends. In Kedah, at least, they don't have this. Not sure about other parts of Malaysia.) Its ... sort of a flattish bread (made withour raising agents) that is deepfried until crispy. Its usually eaten with chicken or beef curry.

And I love it. I really really do. Especially if the curry is made well. *drool* But for now, I have the recipe for Tumpi for you! Here we go!

What you need:
Plain flour
Softened butter, or margarine
Salt, dissolved in some water

Unfortunately, you will have to play this by ear, since my grandmother doesn't measure this out at all. If I had to guess, she used about 500g of flour, with roughly 1 tablespoon of butter per 100g of flour.

What you do:

1. Place the flour in a bowl. Add in the butter or margarine, and rub it in with wyour fingers. (similar to pastry making).
2. Add in a little bit of the water, and start kneading with your hands. I suggest using plastic gloves, since its very sticky in the beginning.
3. Adding more water slowly, add enough water so that the dough is smooth and elastic. If it seems to be a bit dry, add in some butter.
4. Now, to make the tumpi, there are several ways. The overall aim is to make a dlat, circular piece of dough, about the size of a saucer. You can either just flatten a round ball of dough, or roll up the dough into a log, as shown below.
5. First, take the dough (dividing it into portions, if necassary) and, using a rolling pin, flatten it out to a roughly rectangular shape. Don't make it too thin. Spread a little bit of oil over the top surface, and roll the dough into a log shape. If you want, you can flatten this log and repeat the process. Apparently, the more you do it, the more "spirals" your finished tumpi will have. It doesn't add anything but decorative value. Which is nice, I guess. ;) Repeat with any remaining dough.
   
6. To fry the tumpi, take each log shape and cut into thick slices. Roll out each slice to make a saucer-sized piece of dough. Remember, don't make it too thin.
7. Heat up some oil for deepfrying ion a frying pan, and fry the tumpi until golden brown. Alternatively, you can use minyak sapi (er, cow oil?) or ghee.

This was much simpler to make than I thought! Although I don't think I explained it well, but I'm sure you can still understand the instructions, yea? :D The best thing is, the dough keeps quite well. About two days in the fridge, and for a couple of months in the freezer. Thaw it before frying, if you decide to freeze it. Plus, if you freeze it in between sheets of baking paper, you can easily separate them, so you can just thaw what you need. So, you can get fresh tumpi whenever you want! How nice. :)

But the best thing about tumpi, in my opinion, is the curry. Unfortunately, I can't quite make a good chicken curry yet, *sigh*. But eventually.... *drool* The one we had with this batch of tumpi was delicious. But I think... curry is hard to get a recipe for, isn't it? There are so many variables...

Then again, some people eat this with susu manis (condensed milk). *cough*Hadi*ahem*

Quote of the day: Mosquitoes remind us that we are not as high up on the food chain as we think.