Malaysian Curry Laska

You might be able to tell that I have been craving for food from my country of origin, Malaysia. Not too long ago, my mummy sent me a care package with a bunch of food items that I am still not able to get in British Columbia, Canada. In this package she included a single packet of Curry Laska Paste. Below is what it looks like.

I haven't been feeling too well lately and thought this would be a simple fix. If it didn't live up to my standards, I could always get take out! Now, I have made curry laksa on my own from scratch before but I could never recreate it exactly because of the lack of some ingridients though I came close. I couldn't believe it when I tasted this. This is truely authentic! The only thing missing was the cockels to go with the meal. When I write about this paste, it only gives you the paste to cook the curry soup. The rest of the ingredients like the yellow noodles, chicken, tofu etc are fresh ingredients you have to put together yourself. I was so delighted with this. Not only that, it was so easy too! If I remember correctly, I just sauteed some minced garlic and onions, added the paste and water. Bring to boil and then add tofu and coconut milk. Simmer for a minute or 2 and its ready! HAH! It sure transported me back to the hawker stalls in Malaysia.

Malaysian Mee Rebus

I couldn't believe how close to home this packet sauce tasted. I haven't had this for over 4 years and even when I was back home it was difficult to find a place that made good Mee Rebus.

So I bought this packet mix at Eat-Vancouver. I have seen this before at T&T but never bought it because of the price and also I didn't know if it was any good. At Eat-Vancouver, the price was right and I decided to give a few of their items a try. With this one a success, I can't wait to give the others a try.
This of course is not totally original because of the different condiments I used. But close. I just followed the instructions to a tee (which I don't normally do) and the results were great. I used yellow noodles, boiled egg, pea shoots instead of bean sprouts, fried tofu, cooked shrimp, fish cakes and fried onions to garnish.

What can I call this?

Humm, not sure what I would call this. All I know it that I really liked it. I used a pack of pre-marinated chicken thighs (hot buffalo style) from Save-ons (local grocery store). Cooked them in my non-stick pan first, once it was nicely browned and cooked through, I added broccoli and cauliflower and a little water to deglaze the pan. I also covered the pan and let the veggies steam till cooked. Lastly, I added some shrimp and a little light soya sauce. It didn't take too long for the shrimp to cook. I served this with freshly cooked Jasmine rice. I'm open to suggestions as to what to call this dish.

I have also used these hot buffalo style chicken thighs in a salad. I just love how the chicken is marinated. Wish I could recreate it instead of buying it from Save-ons.

Fried MiFun (vermicelli)

Easy fried vermicelli. I guess it very simillar to fried rice though with using noodles to stir fry, I like to use green leaf veggies like bak choy or yau choy or kai lan.

First I sauteed some minced garlic. Then I browned some sliced chicken that had been seasoned with soya sauce and pepper. Then I added alot of veggies. This time I used yau choy and sugar peas. Then I added the prawns and vermicelli that had been soaking in warm water. Before stirring, I added sweet and thick dark soya sauce and a little light soya sauce. OH! I also added a shredded carrot and tossed it all till well mixed. This type of noodle does not need very much cooking. It just needs to be warmed through. It will start to break into tiny pieces if this is over cooked. Also keep this stir fry relatively dry. Too much liquid or sauce will make the noodle mushy. To spice it up, I added some sambal after adding the veggies. It just gave it a bit of a zing. Oh! Don't forget to add a splash of fish sauce. It just adds to the flavour of the noodles. Just don't sniff the sauce from the bottle. Trust that it will taste good!

Tom Yum Soup

This is a well popularised Thai soup. Coming from Malaysia, I do so enjoy a good Tom Yum soup. But eating out in Vancouver isn't always the most convenient or pocket friendly. Tom Yum refers to spicy fish or seafood soup. But it can also be chicken or other meats, too. It is generally hot and sour. A real hot Tom Yum should draw your sweat and tears.
4 cups water, 3 kaffir lime leaves, 1 lemon grass
1 cup shrimp, 5 mushrooms, 8 pieces okra
1-2 limes, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, 3 chili peppers
5 sprigs cilantro, 1 tablespoon Tom Yum paste

Start boiling the water in a 2 quart pot. Peel and devein the shrimp and set them aside. Cut lemon grass into pieces, 5-6 inches long. Use the back of your knife to pound the lemon grass, just to bruise it to release the flavor. If you want, you can tie the lemon grass into a knot to make it easier to manage. Drop the lemon grass in water and let boil for 5 minutes. Put the fish sauce and 1 lime's juice into the bottom of the bowls you will serve the soup in. Crush chili pepper and add to the bowl. Remove the stems from the kaffir lime leaves and add the leafy part to the pot. Add the tom yum paste. Clean and halve the mushrooms and okra and add them to the pot. Add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Shrimp gets too tough very quickly, and will cook even when it is just sitting in the warm broth. Scoop the shrimp and liquid into the serving bowls immediately. As soon as you add the liquid to the serving bowl, you will see that the broth becomes cloudy because of the lime juice. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Be very careful, the peppers can be hot. Take a small sip at a time. Add more fish sauce and/or lime juice if it tastes bland. It's right if it's good for your sinus.

Tips and substitutions: Unfortunately, for the true taste, it is difficult to substitute anything for the kaffir lime leaves. The richness of the sour taste comes from the complement of the different citrus flavored ingredients. I serve this soup directly into individual bowls for each person. If you don't like it hot, cut down on the chili peppers or do not cut them up, but leave them whole for decoration.

West Restaurant, Vancouver, BC

WOW! My hunny and I went to this restaurant last night and it was fabulous! We even managed to sit at the chef's table. Its a booth that is close to the kitchen where you can see all the action first hand. It was certainly like ... watching an episode of Hell's kitchen (with out the swearing) or Top Chef or Iron Chef. The restaurant was running like a well oiled machine. The food was fantastic! Probably one of the best meals I have ever had. The service was impecable. Check out their website at http://www.westrestaurant.com/

This was a special occasion for us celebrating the day we got registered for marriage in Malaysia. Its been 4 years and also 4 years since I moved to BC, Canada.

We ordered a bottle of red wine, first courses were seared Quebec foie gras with candied grapes, honeycombed wine and lime syrup (I love foie gras) and my hunny had the spotted prawns(photo on right). Both were excellent. Then for the main, I had the organic Peking duck 2 ways with seared foie gras, carmelized endive and apricot jus(photo on left below) and hunny had Alberta prime beef with a warm salad of wild mushrooms, horseradish chantilly and red wine jellies. Again, just wonderful tasting dishes. I didn't manage to get very good pictures with each dish so I'm just showing the ones I got best.

Then ofcourse we must have dessert. My hunny being a great fan of green tea ice cream had that and I had the chocolate tasting menu. Ah! Chocolate girl would have been envious. Each bit oozed of a version of chocolate. The flat piece of chocolate dessert is a chocolate torte with candied almonds. The middle is a chocolate espresso cake with Bailey's ice cream. The combination was just spectacular. And the little cup is Manjari chocolate cappucino with mocha espuma. I finished it off with a glass of Quail's Gate late harvest Reisling. They weren't stingy with the serving of this either! This was the icing on the cake! Oh! what an evening. We were totally satisfied. A high quality restaurant definately to be recommended, a place we will visit again.

Chinese Style Fried Rice

I must be getting lazy. I make this when I have leftover rice in the refridgerator and am not in the mood to make anything fancy or creative. The most creative part of this meal was the simply carved flower tomato and the new plate this was served on. First thing I did was to dice up ...
1 cup of carrots which I sauteed in a large wok with
2 tbsp of canola oil and
2 cloves of minced garlic. Then I added in
1 cup of frozen peas (thawed and drained). For some spice or kick as Chocolate Girl would say, add
1-2 minced bird's eye chilies. Next add
2 cups of left over refridgerated rice (leftover plain white rice from Chinese take out works very well for this too). Stir out all the large clumps of rice. Next, scramble
3 eggs seasoned with a little salt and ground white pepper. Push rice to the sides of the wok and pour in eggs. Let it cook for a few minutes before turning the eggs and folding the rice into the eggs. Stir fry till eggs are cooked. Next add
10 medium prawns or diced ham in the middle of the wok and cook till half done before stirring in the rice. Next add
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
2 tsp sesamee oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp powdered vegetable stock(optional). This would give the rice a little more flavour. Garnish with sliced tomatoes and cucumber or shredded lettuce. Of course there are many variations that you can make fried rice. This is just one of them. You can use diced chicken, rost pork, minced beef instead of prawns or ham. To change the flavour, try adding some sambal or some curry powder or even use some tom yum paste.