Begging your pardon

...with a tray of sweet, roasted Campari tomatoes.



I've been exceptionally busy with work and physically tired these days. I just moved to a new kitchen and my new oven is just begging to be used. There's been a lot of simple eating going around but nothing spectacular I want to document. But soon, there will be blog posts coming soon.

Btw, roasted tomatoes and garlic is crazy good with some pasta or the bbq. Mmh!

12 campari tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to coat

Method

1. Slice campari tomatoes in halves width-wise and arrange them on a tray. Toss in the garlic.
2. Sprinkle generously with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake in a 300F oven for 45 minutes and then use it on top of pasta or your favorite grillade foods.

Malaysian Steamed Fish Custard (Otak-otak)

Remember a few posts back, I was posting a bunch of Malaysian recipes because I was having a ginormous Penang food cookout at home? This is one of those recipes and the last of the recipes from that event. Otak-otak is a Malaysian fish custard steamed with a spice paste wrapped in banana leaves. The type of fish used are usually white meat and firmer so they do not fall apart too easily; monkfish, halibut, cod, seabass and the likes. There are also variations of this recipe using other types of seafood - this is one of those variations using shrimps.

The spicy custard is key in making this delicious and also a certain kind of leafy herb called Daun Kadok or Piper sarmentosum. The locals in Malaysia sometimes substitute this herb for mint leaves because Daun Kadok has a rather minty profile but by substituting it with mint leaves, the minty profile is pretty much all you get because Daun Kadok also has a lemongrass and a green herbaceous profile that cannot be replicated. But in the event that you could not find this herb, go ahead and use mint. It would still be pretty good.

So, the French have their pates and terrines, the Malaysian have their Otak-otak and it is absolutely delicious to eat when spread on toasts, crackers and even with a steamy hot bowl of rice. To make otak-otak, there are basically three steps 1) POUND 2) ASSEMBLE 3) STEAM - and on we go.

Malaysian Steamed Fish Custard (Otak-otak)
makes 8 pouches


To be pounded:
10 shallots3 slices of galangal root
2 inches of turmeric root
5 dried red chilies, de-seeded
5 fresh red chillies, de-seeded
2 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of lemongrass, cut into small manageable pieces
1 tablespoon of fish paste, also known as belachan

Custard ingredients:
1 cup of coconut milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoon of rice flour, can be substituted with cornstarch or regular all-purpose flour
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt to taste






The filling of the custard:
150grams of shrimp, chopped into small chunks
Other options: Any firm fleshed white fish, shredded chicken breast, shredded beef and scallops
16 Daun Kadok  or Piper sarmentosum


Method:

1. Pound the spices with a mortar and pestle until a paste is formed. You can also blend it in a blender but I am partial to hand pounding my spices simply because it just tastes better than mechanical blending. Something about synergistic transference of energy from the cook to the food and I do believe in that shit, don't laugh. :)
   
2. To assemble - mix the pounded spice with all the custard ingredients very well. A creamy, rich yellow batter will result from all the mixing and you're one step away from steaming.
   
3. To steam - take a sheet of banana leaf, softened in boiling water first, and lay 2 daun kadok at it's base. Add some shrimps or fish in the center of the leaves and ladle approximately 1/4 cup of the custard batter. Slowly bring the sides of the banana leaf up and form a pouch, tucked safely with a toothpick. Repeat until the batter is all used up. If you do not have banana leaves, you can also use aluminium foils as well - just oil it a little bit before assembling all the ingredients in. Steam the banana leaf pouches in a steamer for 15 minutes. 

It's ready to eat with some rice or with a slice of toasted baguette. Mmmm....

I made otak-otak before 3 years ago but this is definitely the better version. I gather it's because I put a lot of love into it. :)

Vegetarians - you can omit the fish paste in the custard and also substitute shrimp with medium soft tofu. It is equally delicious.

A new look - temporarily

What do you know, Blogger has this really awesome feature implemented that made revamping the look of your site a jiff. People who are not html/css savvy need not fret now since the combination of templates, background images and colors gives an almost endless variations to the customization. Well, the background is a chopping board - how original but it's one of my favorite things in the kitchen after knives and Kitchenaids wallpaper of forks and spoons. How delightful. ;)

Back with more soon!

Dining at Alinea, the mecca of my culinary world

Experience. I don't think I will ever get over the fact that dining at Alinea has changed something in me. It's good, bad and hungry. I will never looked at food the same way again. I looked at my bowl of ramen yesterday and thought to myself, "What would Chef Achatz do this bowl of piping hot instant noodles?" and instantly fall into a slight depression because I would never know the answer. Antigriddle it, maybe?

It's been a week since I sat in that restaurant today. It's been a week, too, that I've been talking, thinking, and longing to go back. The feast we had at Alinea struck a momentous chord in my stomach, er..mind and reinstated my love for food and cooking. That was the good part.




Now, the bad. I miss the experience at Alinea. Like homesickness. It hurts. Like having a long distance relationship. And I am counting the days until I am back again in my food mecca. October, perhaps. If I can get reservations. Since coming back, I've read everything I could about Chef Achatz, his restaurant and even ordered their cookbook of the same name. And I would pay a small fortune to have a small stainless steel table for me and my beloved in a corner somewhere in their kitchen. Wishful thinking, of course. You know you've got it bad when all the other restaurants you've tried in the past now pales in comparison and it seems like nothing else would do but Alinea.

"What kind of food is served at Alinea?", I was asked. I didn't know how to answer that question. I don't think it would justify it because food in Alinea is unique, it's not really molecular gastronomy, it's not anything... it's more like a summation of everything. It's Food done well that pushes the envelope, and yet it does not lose it's dignity nor does it lose any of it's identity. It's pure and tasty. Boy, was it tasty! If I had to summarize my experience, it would be in the form of pictures.

Click below to view all images from our dinner at Alinea.

Food. Every plate was carefully detailed and every flavor is immense, pure and delicious. I will never forget the taste of that small piece of sugarcane infused with flavors of shrimp and mint. It was divine. Never once during our experience did I feel that I was eating something made out of a sterile laboratory. Molecular gastronomy is only a medium used to channel Chef Achatz's creativity so that we could experience the profundity of his cuisine. Apparently most of his ideas were created when he lost his sense of taste during his radiotherapy treatment for tongue cancer. I have only great respect for him after learning all that I could about him and his restaurant. And as I toured the tasting menu that night, it struck me how I was very emotionally touched by his food. It makes sense because food like that can only be created with a lot of heart and hard work.

Service. Never have I experience a class of wait staff so dedicated and enthusiastic, so knowledgeable and observant, so friendly and wonderfully warm. It was a wonderful experience. The level of professionalism surpassed any fine dining establishment I've experience and has definitely set new standards for service in my books! To Emily and her crew (I wished I had asked all of your names), you guys are rockstars.




If you ever get the chance to visit Chicago, eat at Alinea. It a mecca for all foodies and unsurprisingly more people are starting to notice. I would go to Alinea again at any moment's notice, if I can get reservations. So before they take out the 1 year waiting list form, I suggest you try to get a spot before the herd flocks over.

The staff at Alinea are very generous in sharing what they know and how the dishes are created, you can learn more about their work and get updates on their upcoming project (nextrestaurant.com) by following Chef Achatz's Facebook and Twitter pages.

Alinea
1723, North Halsted,
Chicago, Illinois 60614

A life changing experience at Alinea

...but how do you put that into words? Hanging by a thread here.

Savory Taro Cake (Orh Kueh)

Taro cake has never really been a favorite snack of mine. I didn't hate it nor was I extremely crazy about it back in Malaysia but recently, I've been craving for a plate of diagonally cut taro cakes topped with dried shrimps, fried onions doused in sweet and spicy sauce. It's like one of those things that's innately sitting inside the Malaysian side of me and god knows, what else is there? I wasn't big on durians either back in Malaysia.

Onde-Onde (Sweet Rice Dumplings filled with Palm Sugar and rolled in Shredded Coconut)

And a week or two later, the onde-onde recipe is finally here!

Onde-onde is a sweet rice dumpling that most Malaysians enjoy as a part of their tea time snack. I'm not very sure what its origins were, but onde-onde is a must as part of Malaysian tea time snacks. It is probably my favorite form of sweets and it has been a long time since I've had any of these soft, chewy green bursting balls of coconuty goodness. MMm!

I never thought I would miss palm sugar. Making onde-onde at home in Montreal, the land of poutine and Schwartz's smoked meat, it cannot get any better than this. The sweet pop of palm sugary sweetness from this sweet dumpling was just too much to bear, too nostalgic, too good. And it's an easy recipe to make too, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but before I digress -

Onde-onde Recipe 

200grams of glutinous rice flour
100 grams of ruby sweet potatoes, peeled and steamed till soft
1 tablespoon of pandan leaves extract, mixed with 200ml of water to make juice
a pinch of salt
150 grams of palm sugar, chipped into small 1/4 inch pieces - try to get those darker ones but the Thai palm sugar would work just fine too
 2 cups of grated unsweetened coconut


Method:

1.  Mash sweet potatoes well will a fork.
2. Mix glutinous rice flour and pinch of salt in with the sweet potatoes and slowly add pandan leaves juice into the flour mixture and knead into a dough.
   The pandan gives this recipe that required flavoring. The extract comes from pandan leaves, or otherwise also known as screwpine leaves. The fragrance has a fresh green scene with an overtone of florally flavor that nothing really compares to it. It's a very Malaysian flavor.
   
3. You will have a green smooth lump of dough that is slightly wet but not sticky. Pinch a small piece away and roll the green dough into a ball. Flatten it with your palm and put a piece of palm sugar in the center of the flatten dough. Close the dough over the sugar and roll into a ball. Repeat this process until all the dough is used up.
   
4. Boil a pot of water. And when the pot is in a rolling boil, plop the green glutinous rice balls in and when they float to the top, you know they are done. Fish them out with a slotted spoon and rid them from as much liquid as possible.
   
5. Roll the hot and cooked glutinous rice balls into the grated coconut and repeat until all glutinous rice balls are done.
   
6. Eat, really. Gobble one up while it's still warm and experience that soft pillowy texture followed by a pop of sugary explosion in your mouth.
   
   Oral explosion experiences may vary from one individual to another depending on how the palm sugar is nestled into the dough. But even without it, onde-onde is still a pleasure to eat.

Chicken Gulai (Chicken Curry with Kaffir Lime Leaves)

I love Kaffir lime leaves. They impart a wonderful citrusy flavor and when they're sliced finely and added to chicken curry, it brings the dish to a whole new level. The lemony scent it gives off in this chicken gulai dish opens up the appetite of even the pickiest eaters.

In case you're wondering what gulai is, it essentially means curry. But in my understanding when gulai is made at home by my family, it usually has a citrusy tone to the curry with the addition of Kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and/or juice of pineapples. This chicken gulai, besides the Kaffir lime leaves, I've also added pineapple juice to round off the flavor. It tastes very much like home. Actually this entire weekend has been like a trip down memory lane for my taste buds.

Chicken Gulai (Chicken Curry with Kaffir Lime Leaves)

A good curry starts with a good base. Pounding the spice in a mortar and pestle releases the flavors and meld them together better than blending it with a blender. When possible, try to pound your spice instead of blitzing them. There's more love when you hand pound your spices. ;)

250grams of chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch slices
6 Kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced (Tip: Roll the leaves together into a long tube and slice)
250ml of thin coconut milk
50ml of thick coconut cream
50ml of pineapple juice
5 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt to taste

Spice paste (ground)
10 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
1-inch thick of galangal
1 stalk of lemongrass
1-inch thick turmeric root/ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon curry powder

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the spice paste until fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add your chicken pieces in and stir first for a few seconds before adding the coconut milk and pineapple juice in. Let the concoction come to a simmer until chicken is cooked.
3. Add Kaffir lime leaves and coconut cream. Season to taste with salt and mix well. As soon as the gulai starts to come to a boil again, turn heat off.
   
Serve with rice.

***If you wonder why there are carrots in the gulai, the pictures are showing you the vegetarian version of the gulai during cooking period. The spices are exactly the same. Oh, this is also P's first experience eating proper Nyonya food too.

I've also made some onde-onde, a cousin to the mochi but it's coated with grated coconut and stuffed with palm sugar that bursts in your mouth with sweetness. It possibly my favorite childhood Nyonya kueh, a Malaysian tea time snack. That recipe will come next!