As I have mentioned in my Beef Panang post, I have saved a couple of juicy pieces of top sirloin sponsored by my friends at TX Bar Organics for an upcoming recipe, which is this one. Top sirloin is a very versatile cut of beef that can be enjoyed as a nice juicy piece of steak, sliced up for a beef stir-fry, or diced up, skewered and grilled ala shish kebabs or satay. Since I am in the mood for an appetizer, I decided to use it to make some Malaysian-style Beef Satay.
I would say Satay is undisputably Malaysia’s “King of Street Foods”. It is enjoyed by people from all walks of life, regardless if you is looking for a light appetizer or a complete meal. It is the perfect item to order, especially when you’re out with a group of friends. And it will definitely impress anyone that you are introducing Malaysian street food to for the first time.
Just as Ampang is famous for Yong Tau Foo and Klang for Bak Kut Teh, Kajang is another town in the State of Selangor that is famous for a signature street food – Satay. Kajang Satay is renowned for it€™s signature Satay sauce and slightly larger portion of meat among other secret ingredients used that have yet to be made public. I am sure it’s a closely guarded family secret just like KFCs 11 herbs and spices. Anyway, nowadays you don’t have to make a special trip to Kajang just for the Satay as more and more Kajang Satay outlets are springing up all around Malaysia. If you are jonesing for some Satay right at home, you can always follow my Recipe to satisfy your craving instead.
It has been more than three years since I posted my Beef Rendang recipe. I am pleasantly surprised that to this day I still get the occasional inquiry and request with regards to protein substitution, alternative cooking methods, or the usage of a different spice mix to make the paste. Especially after September of last year, when Rendang topped the readers’ choice list of CNNs “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods“. I am guessing that should be a plausible factor as to why Rendang suddenly scrambled on to a lot of people’s “to-cook” list.
South-East Asian curries are unique with their own distinctive tastes and names. Rendang, Panang, Kari Ayam, Massaman, just to name a few. All in all they share different takes and preferences on blended spices and other fragrant aromatics. For those of you who have yet to be acquainted with the exotic delicacy that is Rendang, it is in a nutshell, a mildly spicy, rich and flavorful, semi-dry curry that is popular throughout the South-East Asian region, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. And it is one of the main dishes that is served during Malay weddings and festivities.
This delicacy is especially dear to my heart because it brings back fond memories of how my mom used to break out her cache of spices tucked neatly away in an airtight Tupperware container marked “Rendang” and carefully measure each and every spice with her traditional mini brass metal kitchen scales that resemble an upright stickman dangling a wok on each hand.
As I’ve pointed out back in my Beef Rendang post, no two Rendang can turn out the exact same way. Mainly due to the varying amount of spices used and the ever crucial reduction process to allow the absorption of the spices into the meat yet not over-drying it. This time around, I am going to make Rendang using lamb, with a slight variation of the spices, and braising it in a crock pot/slow cooker. This was actually quite a leap for me as my preferred method have always been to stew it on the stovetop. But lo and behold, it turned out to be every bit as scrumptious as depicted.
Malaysian cuisine consists of three main flavors: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. I have said it many times, but I love Malay cooking and only wished that I could eat more Malay dishes. Today, I have invited my friend Zurin from Cherry on a Cake to guest post and she shares my favorite Malay Recipe with us: Spicy Honey Chicken. Cherry on a Cake is a delicious food blog with many baking and savory recipes. The recipes are authentic and the food photography is pure eye-candy. Check out Cherry on a Cake and I am sure you will like it.
Like those before me I was ecstatic to be invited to guest post on Bee’s blog Rasa Malaysia. It is the food blog that every food blogger aspires to guest post on. Bee asked me if I would be interested. Was she kidding?! If there is a hole in my roof I think I just made it…
Hers is one of the first blogs I scrolled through in my early days of blogging and still follow silently because my jaw hangs each time I stop by. Everything seems professional, the recipes precise, the photography perfect and most of all her repertoire of dishes are endless. It was and still is sheer inspiration. And here I am now making my little mark and taking up a teeny space on the famous food blog of Rasa Malaysia. Imagine that!
Spicy Honey Chicken is quite akin to the Malay Ayam Masak Merah (red cooked chicken). In both, tomato ketchup is one of the main ingredients used. It is the Malay version of a Chinese sweet and sour chicken.
Ayam Masak Merah and Spicy Honey Chicken are relatively “modern” dishes. These two dishes go back only as far as the Western tomato ketchup became a popular condiment in our households and when, after much dipping, we decided to incorporate it into our cooking as an ingredient. Hence, the Ayam Masak Merah was born followed closely by Spicy Honey Chicken when honey too began to be used in our cooking.
So these were not dishes I grew up eating when I was a child. It was only in later years that it amassed popularity and became a dish that was discovered to pair well with a Rice Biryani or Nasi Minyak and was thus served at special occasions, particularly weddings.
Where most Malay dishes including Ayam Masak Merah (Red Cooked Chicken) use large amounts of onions or shallots to give sweetness and to bulk up the sauce Honey Spiced Chicken does not. This dish has very little sauce or gravy unlike a curry or sambal dish…which is quite uncharacteristic because sauce or gravy in our world serves only one purpose. To drown our rice in.
Lets face it. Rice. Is. Bland.
But I suppose we have compromised our love of sauce and sambal and have come to accept that little sauce is acceptable in some cases. And Spicy Honey Chicken is one of them.
To this recipe, however, I have departed a little by adding an extra ingredient—some lime juice—to balance out the sweetness from the honey.
Malaysian cuisine consists of three main flavors: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. I have said it many times, but I love Malay cooking and only wished that I could eat more Malay dishes. Today, I have invited my friend Zurin from Cherry on a Cake to guest post and she shares my favorite Malay Recipe with us: Spicy Honey Chicken. Cherry on a Cake is a delicious food blog with many baking and savory recipes. The recipes are authentic and the food photography is pure eye-candy. Check out Cherry on a Cake and I am sure you will like it.
Like those before me I was ecstatic to be invited to guest post on Bee’s blog Rasa Malaysia. It is the food blog that every food blogger aspires to guest post on. Bee asked me if I would be interested. Was she kidding?! If there is a hole in my roof I think I just made it…
Hers is one of the first blogs I scrolled through in my early days of blogging and still follow silently because my jaw hangs each time I stop by. Everything seems professional, the recipes precise, the photography perfect and most of all her repertoire of dishes are endless. It was and still is sheer inspiration. And here I am now making my little mark and taking up a teeny space on the famous food blog of Rasa Malaysia. Imagine that!
Spicy Honey Chicken is quite akin to the Malay Ayam Masak Merah (red cooked chicken). In both, tomato ketchup is one of the main ingredients used. It is the Malay version of a Chinese sweet and sour chicken.
Ayam Masak Merah and Spicy Honey Chicken are relatively “modern” dishes. These two dishes go back only as far as the Western tomato ketchup became a popular condiment in our households and when, after much dipping, we decided to incorporate it into our cooking as an ingredient. Hence, the Ayam Masak Merah was born followed closely by Spicy Honey Chicken when honey too began to be used in our cooking.
So these were not dishes I grew up eating when I was a child. It was only in later years that it amassed popularity and became a dish that was discovered to pair well with a Rice Biryani or Nasi Minyak and was thus served at special occasions, particularly weddings.
Where most Malay dishes including Ayam Masak Merah (Red Cooked Chicken) use large amounts of onions or shallots to give sweetness and to bulk up the sauce Honey Spiced Chicken does not. This dish has very little sauce or gravy unlike a curry or sambal dish…which is quite uncharacteristic because sauce or gravy in our world serves only one purpose. To drown our rice in.
Lets face it. Rice. Is. Bland.
But I suppose we have compromised our love of sauce and sambal and have come to accept that little sauce is acceptable in some cases. And Spicy Honey Chicken is one of them.
To this recipe, however, I have departed a little by adding an extra ingredient—some lime juice—to balance out the sweetness from the honey.
Malaysian cuisine consists of three main flavors: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. I have said it many times, but I love Malay cooking and only wished that I could eat more Malay dishes. Today, I have invited my friend Zurin from Cherry on a Cake to guest post and she shares my favorite Malay Recipe with us: Spicy Honey Chicken. Cherry on a Cake is a delicious food blog with many baking and savory recipes. The recipes are authentic and the food photography is pure eye-candy. Check out Cherry on a Cake and I am sure you will like it.
Like those before me I was ecstatic to be invited to guest post on Bee’s blog Rasa Malaysia. It is the food blog that every food blogger aspires to guest post on. Bee asked me if I would be interested. Was she kidding?! If there is a hole in my roof I think I just made it…
Hers is one of the first blogs I scrolled through in my early days of blogging and still follow silently because my jaw hangs each time I stop by. Everything seems professional, the recipes precise, the photography perfect and most of all her repertoire of dishes are endless. It was and still is sheer inspiration. And here I am now making my little mark and taking up a teeny space on the famous food blog of Rasa Malaysia. Imagine that!
Spicy Honey Chicken is quite akin to the Malay Ayam Masak Merah (red cooked chicken). In both, tomato ketchup is one of the main ingredients used. It is the Malay version of a Chinese sweet and sour chicken.
Ayam Masak Merah and Spicy Honey Chicken are relatively “modern” dishes. These two dishes go back only as far as the Western tomato ketchup became a popular condiment in our households and when, after much dipping, we decided to incorporate it into our cooking as an ingredient. Hence, the Ayam Masak Merah was born followed closely by Spicy Honey Chicken when honey too began to be used in our cooking.
So these were not dishes I grew up eating when I was a child. It was only in later years that it amassed popularity and became a dish that was discovered to pair well with a Rice Biryani or Nasi Minyak and was thus served at special occasions, particularly weddings.
Where most Malay dishes including Ayam Masak Merah (Red Cooked Chicken) use large amounts of onions or shallots to give sweetness and to bulk up the sauce Honey Spiced Chicken does not. This dish has very little sauce or gravy unlike a curry or sambal dish…which is quite uncharacteristic because sauce or gravy in our world serves only one purpose. To drown our rice in.
Lets face it. Rice. Is. Bland.
But I suppose we have compromised our love of sauce and sambal and have come to accept that little sauce is acceptable in some cases. And Spicy Honey Chicken is one of them.
To this recipe, however, I have departed a little by adding an extra ingredient—some lime juice—to balance out the sweetness from the honey.
January 30th, 썛 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Malaysian recipes, Singaporean Recipes | 6 Comments
We will be leaving for Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow morning. Before I leave, I feel obliged to share a very delicious Recipe with you, so here is my crab in sour and spicy sauce (…¸è蟹), or known as “chili crab” in Singapore. The timing couldn’t be better as Chinese (Lunar) New Year is just a few days away and I am sure many of you are scouring the web for a great recipe to share with the family.
I have an equally tasty home-style chili crab recipe (my late mother’s recipe) but this rendition with the eggy, sweet, sour, and spicy sauce is perfect for entertaining guests or simply when you want to have a crab feast. The sauce pairs beautifully with Chinese mantou—steamed or fried—as the bun sops up the scrumptious and addictive spicy and sour sauce. I prefer the soft and puffy steamed buns…
I made this for my good friends E and N last weekend and they practically begged me to share the recipe. I took them to the Asian market and got them the “starter kit” or ingredients to prepare this dish. For the crab, we are lucky as Dungeness crab is in season and the market will clean and cut it up for you. Save the shell and pick out the tamale or mustard inside the shell. Add them in the sauce and you will be rewarded with a richly flavorful sauce that you just can’t stop eating. You can also prepare this dish with mud crab, blue swimmer crab, or stone crab but I just love the fleshy Dungeness crab.
5 tablespoons ketchup
5 tablespoons Lingham’s Hot Sauce
1 heaping tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar or lime juice to taste
1 cup water
Method:
Clean the crab and cut into 6 pieces, drain the crab and discard the water seeping out of the crab. Pick out the tamale (or mustard) inside the crab shell, set aside. Discard the shell.
Mix all the ingredients in the Sour and Spicy Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat up a wok and add the oil. When the oil is heated, add the minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until aromatic or when they turn slightly brown. Add the crab and the tamale into the wok, stirring for about 10 seconds. Add the Sour and Spicy Sauce, stir to blend well with the crab. Cover the wok with its lid and let cook for about 4-5 minutes.
Uncover the wok and slowly add the cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Stir the sauce until it thickens. Add the egg into the sauce and stir a few times so the egg is distributed evenly in the sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds or so, add salt to taste if needed. Dish out and serve immediately with the steaming hot buns.
Cook’s Notes:
If you can’t find Chinese steamed buns where you are, you can try out this recipe by Almost Bourdain.
I strongly recommend Lingham’s Hot Sauce for the best result. You can purchase it online at AsianSupermarket365.com.
If you can€™t find Lingham’s Hot Sauce, you can make this dish with Sriracha but do adjust the quantity according to your taste as Sriracha is very spicy. If you use Sriracha, do add sugar into the sauce.
I love Thai food. Come to think about it, a lot of Thai recipes that I like are basically Chinese in origin, with local influences, which add an exciting layer of taste structure to the originals. There are many examples: Rad Na, Pad See Ew, and in this case, chicken with cashew nuts. In Chinese cuisine, these dishes are prepared the Chinese way, but the Thai versions are flavored with fish sauce or other local seasoning sauces, spices (yes!), and slightly varied ingredients. The end results are always delicious, sometimes more so than the Chinese equivalents. I always appreciate the local touch, which make good recipes even better…
This Spicy Chicken with Cashew Nuts is adapted from my favorite Thai cookbook “Thai Cooking Made Easy.” This variation of cashew chicken is also popular in Malaysia. In fact, itâ€s one of my favorite chicken dishes whenever I eat out at local hot stir-fries stalls. To me, it’s the local interpretation of Chinese cashew chicken and Kung Pao Chicken.
If you love cashew nuts and like your chicken spicy, this is a great Recipe to try out.
2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, cut into halves
6-8 finger-length dried red chilies, seeded and cut into halves
1/2 cup cashew nuts, rinsed and drained
8 oz chicken, cut into small cubes
1 scallion, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-in lengths
Sauce:
1 teaspoon soy sauce/Maggi seasoning/Golden Mountain sauce
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar or to taste
2 tablespoons water
Method:
Heat up a wok and add the oil. When the oil is heated, add the garlic, onion, dried red chilies and stir-fry until fragrant or when you smell the spicy aroma of the chilies. Add the cashew nuts and follow with the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken until the surface turns opaque. Add all the ingredients for the Sauce into the wok and continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked. Stir-in the scallion, dish out and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Cook’s Note:
To learn more about the different soy sauces used in Thai cooking, please check out this great post by She Simmers.
Spicy salt and pepper mix lends flavor to deep-fried spareribs. If it is available, feel free to substitute Szechuan peppercorns for the black pepper.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 29 minutes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds boneless meaty spareribs or pork shoulder
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
3 to 4 cups oil for deep-frying, or as needed
3 tablespoons cornstarch, or as needed
Preparation:
Stir-fry the salt and black pepper in a heavy frying pan over
medium-low heat, shaking the pan, until the salt darkens. Remove from the heat
and stir-in the five-spice powder. Cool.
Cut the spareribs along the individual bones. Rub lightly with salt and pepper
mixture. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Preheat the oil for deep-frying to between 360 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dust the spareribs with the cornstarch. Use a deep-fryer basket to carefully add
the ribs into the oil. Deep-fry the submerged spareribs for 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove and drain.
Deep-fry the spareribs a second time, until they are crispy and cooked (about 1
minute). Drain. Serve with any remaining salt and pepper mix for dipping.
[br Reader Reviews:
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
ReaderAfter I tried, the result of the spare ribs are not tender enough like we used to have it in restaurants. The taste is good, but I wonder, what if we cook / boil the spare ribs first instead of frying instantly after being marinated ? From Emalia.
