KUNG PAO CHICKEN

Marinate small pieces of chicken with:
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 egg
1 tbsp water

Prepare the sauce mixture:
1.5 tbsp Hoisin sauce (Available at most asian food section)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp corn starch mixed with cold water (Makes it easier to dissolve)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil

Prepare the spices..
De seed 5 dried chili
Toast 1 tbsp of Szechuan peppercorn (optional or replaceable with black peppercorn)
Chopped green onion (spring onion)
8 thin slices of ginger
4 cloves of crushed garlic
Soaked & sliced shitake mushroom
Handful of roasted groundnuts of cashew nuts


Time to cook…
Fry the chicken till light brown and set aside

Stir Fry:
Shallow fry the dried chili, Szechuan peppercorn till it’s brown (Use Olive oil or Canola oil)
Add garlic & ginger
Add shitake mushroom
Add the chicken
Add the sauce mixture
Add the green onion & nuts

Serve with rice
Alternatively, you could replace the chicken with thinly sliced beef.

NASI LEMAK.. A Malaysian favourite

Ingredients for Nasi Lemak
2 cups of long grain rice
3 screwpine leaves (pandan, tie them up into a knot)
Ginger slices
Lemon Grass
2 cloves of sliced garlic
Salt to taste
1 bowl of thick coconut milk
Some water

Ingredients for Sambal Ikan Bilis
1 cup of waterTamarind Juice from Tamarind pulp (1 tablespoon, heaped) 2 shallots
1 bulb of garlic
1 Cube gula melaka
1 cm ginger
10 dried chillies1 teaspoon of belacan (prawn paste)
1 tablespoon of dried shrimp
1/4 teaspoon of salt
½ cup raisins
3 ringed Onions
1 cup fried ikan bilis (dried anchovies)

For Garnish..
2 hard boiled eggs (cut into half)
Peanuts roasted or fried

1 small cucumber (cut into slices and then quartered)

Method:
Nasi Lemak
Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves, ginger & garlic into the rice and cook your rice.

Sambal Ikan Bilis
Rinse the dried anchovies and drain the water. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside. (Just 1/2 cooked)

Pound the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, and deseeded dried chilies with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind them with a food processor.
Slice the red onion into rings.
Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes.
Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water.
Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant.
Add in the onion rings.
Add in the fried ikan bilis and stir well.
Add tamarind juice, salt, and sugar.
Simmer on low heat until the sambal thickens.

Serve...
Dish up the steamed coconut milk rice and pour some sambal ikan bilis on top of the rice.
Serve with peanuts, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs

THAI STEAMED FISH

The fish..
Steam hammour or any white meat fish with ginger, coriander roots, salt & sesame oil

The gravy..
Boil fish stock from the steamed fish water

Add in:
Blended lemongrass (2stalks)
Match shapes galangal & ginger
Kaffir lime leaves
Sugar & salt
Fish sauce
Vinegar (cider & rice)
Light soy sauce (Not too much)
Chili padi (Bird's eye chilli)
Lime juice
Sweet Onion
Garlic
Fish Sauce 2 tbsp
Add Thickening sauce (Corn Flour with cold water)

Serve..
Place the fish on a metal plate with candles heating it up. Pour the gravy over the fish & garnish with spring onion & coriander