To live up to this website's name, I guess I should blog about something actually Malaysian. So I will show how I made a very basic staple Malaysian meal of fish, veg and soup.
For the soup, I just boiled some pork bones which I trimmed off the shoulder steaks which I marinated for Char Siew the next day. After an hour, I added potatoes, carrots, onions, and later on, tomatoes. Only salt, sugar and pepper is needed later on for taste.
For the soup, I just boiled some pork bones which I trimmed off the shoulder steaks which I marinated for Char Siew the next day. After an hour, I added potatoes, carrots, onions, and later on, tomatoes. Only salt, sugar and pepper is needed later on for taste.
For the fish, I use filleted mackerel. This is the closest you get to "ikan kembung" in the UK, which is my favourite fish in Malaysia. I could have cooked the fish whole, but wife and son do not like small bones in fish! For the veg, I bought freshly air-freighted kangkung (water spinach) from Thailand. Outside the winter months, you can actually buy Dutch kangkung here, but they are too thick for my liking.
I simply fry the fish in a non-stick pan. The fish will shed a lot of oil while frying, so there is no need to use too much in the beginning. I continue to fry the skin side in its own oil till it's crispy. Then turn it over and just lightly brown the flesh side. For the veg, I use my own sambal belachan (prawn chilli paste), where all the ingredients are readily available here.
Finally, I garnish both with fried garlic, ginger and shallots.
And dinner is served!
