Mee Goreng Mamak (Simple Version)

Mee Goreng Mamak, simple version. Or the MCO version, since  everyone of us is most likely sitting at home, thinking what to eat, what's in the kitchen, and what we can cook with whatever that we have...

The other day, I was craving for Mee Goreng Mamak. Something that's fond to me, as I always eat this when I stayed in Penang. Came from Penang, still love Penang no matter what... And so I made this simple version of mee goreng mamak. The taste is similar, though I still miss that kentang, sotong and cucur udang flavours...

Recipe

Sweet soy sauce (dark)

Light soy sauce

Tomato sauce

Sambal cili

Sliced onion and garlic

1 egg

1 bunch bok choy

Corn (just because..)

Note: 

I’d use taugeh instead of bok choy if I had it.. and serve with fried shallots and slice of lime or lemon.

Kapitan Lamb Briyani

Kapitan Lamb Briyani, a photo by <3SnowyGirl<3 on Flickr.

This has to be the most wonderful briyani ever, alking about mamak food in Penang. So if you're ever in Penang, please do head over to Kapitan Nasi Kandar in Georgetown for a savoury briyani. They have chicken, beef or lamb. YUMMY!

Fried Beef Briyani Bihun (Vermicelli)

beef briyani fried vermicelli, a photo by &lt;3SnowyGirl&lt;3 on Flickr.

The first time I had this was during a Raya (Eid) visit to my parent's next door neighbour's house in Penang. Auntie A has always cooked delicious Indian-inspired food and always, give some to us. I absolutely love her thosai and capati. And, she makes wonderful Malay kuih as well, like karipap and cucur udang. 

So, during the visit to her house, she served us Bihun Briyani - and I was like "bihun briyani???" I had never tasted it or seen it anywhere else at that point. It was superbly delicious, she made it with lamb which makes it even more special. Who eats bihun with lamb, usually?

Today, I just thought of bihun for dinner, after the tiring day at work and no much time to cook complicated meals. And Auntie A's Bihun Briyani came to my mind.... Thinking of the savoury dish makes me drool all the way home from KL to Shah Alam...

This is my first time cooking it. I wasn't expecting to cook this tonight, and so I used whatever ingredients I had at home. It would have been much better if I was prepared, so I could put in more ingredients to make it more special. Anyway, simplicity is the most important factor for a busy full time working mum like me. It's a challenge to cook simple meals after a long day at work, especially when you're cooking for a 2 year old. Thankfully, she has Wantan Soup prepared earlier for today!

Here's a simple recipe for this delicious Bihun Goreng Briyani. Hope you LOVE it!

1 packet dried vermicelli, soaked in water for 10-20 minutes (I used Jasmine brand, soaked in normal temperature water).
1 packet Maggi Briyani seasoning, mix with 1/2 cup water
300gm thinly sliced beef (I added some chicken too)
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 garlic, sliced
1/2 carrot, julienned
1/3 cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red tomato, chopped
1 stick celery, sliced
Cinnamon stick, 1 small one
Cloves, Star Anise, Cardamon - a mix of these flavourful spices, just a few of each
1 tsp coriander powder (additional, optional)
dash of salt, pepper, sugar
dash of McCormick's Mix Spice
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped (garnishing)
Some ready made fried shallots (garnishing)
1 large red chili, thinly sliced (garnishing)

Heat up a wok with olive oil and stir fry onion, garlic, adding the cloves, star anise and cardamon. Stir and add beef, chicken, briyani seasoning, coriander powder, and a dash of mix spice.

After aromatic, throw in the vegetables and vermicelli, and stir fry until the vermicelli softens. Add a little of water if needed. Taste, and add salt/pepper/sugar as like.

Fry until vermicelli is dried. Some people loves a soupy bihun goreng, but for briyani it won't taste as good until it's really fried well. So, stir, stir until cooked through. Transfer to a serving plate/bowl and garnish with coriander, chili and fried shallots. Or simply just whatever garnishing you have at home, like scallions or chopped celery or green chilies...

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hubs was asleep. We just came back from an almost full day outing, from breakfast to visiting my parents to shopping - it is hot, and driving home seemed like a long, long journey.. Zzzz.. All I wanted to do when I reach home is to just fall onto my comfy bed and doze off... Until ten minutes later, I just could not sleep or rest. And so I woke up, tried to organise some of my clothes and then thought, my kitchen. Some clean up would be good for the kitchen..

Then I stared at those baking pans and ingredients that Ihave not touched in a few months - since I got pregnant. What a waste it would be to just leave them until they expire... I have not had any mood to cook, not even a plain simple fried rice in 3 months since I found out I am pregnant. Well, before that I was busy studying for an exam. My blog has been left abandoned - till I baked my chocolate chip muffins today.

Here they are. My muffins. All nice and yummy. I placed one just beside hubs in the bedroom, he was half awake, and I told him, "There is a little present for you beside the bed when you wake up.". 5..4..3..2..1.. I heard him yelling at me that I made muffins? He he he... It is so nice to surprise someone you love when they least expect it, no?
:: Recipe Chocolate Chip Muffins ::

250gm plain flour
175gm castor sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbp cocoa powder
90ml cooking oil
150ml milk
1 large egg
1tsp vanilla essence
1 cup chocolate chips (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven at 200 degrees C.

Mix the all of the ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a mixing bowl, the mixture will be watery.

Place cupcakes on a baking tray and pour the mixture, half full. Sprinkle some chocolate chips and bake until ready.

Simple & Healthy Homemade Beef Burgers

I'm approximately 370 kilometers away from home, no access to a kitchen to cook, not much food choice - and looking at this burger I made some time ago makes my tummy growl. I miss my burgers. A long overdue post, now it is here to share with all.

My hubs is a meat person - chicken being his most favourite while others are acceptable. When it comes to burgers, the most popular and easy meat to use is the minced meat - I've found some recipes to make delicious beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian patties. I've yet to try some of them, but with beef - I have and it tastes really nice.

Homemade beef patties are really good and healthy as compared to fast food burger patties which is fattening and contains preservatives. Do you realise how much fat it contains? Though I must say, buying readily minced meat also do contain some fat, it is not as bad as those ready made frozen beed patties.

It is very simple to make your own delicious beef patties. Adding some oats and minced carrots and celery makes it healthy too, not to mention a way to make your family (esp. kids) eat their greens. You know some will just remove the lettuce and tomatoes from the burgers, but not the minced veges in the patties!


Here's a picture of how to prepare the beef patties:
Picture 1:
You will need:
350gm minced beef
1 egg
1/2 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoon breadcrumbs/biscuits
1 tablespoon oats
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of Italian herbs
dash of salt & pepper

Picture 2:
Mix well the chopped onion, breadcrumbs, Italian herbs and oats.

Picture 3:
In a medium bowl, mix the minced meat alongwith other ingredients using a spoon, and combine well.

Picture 4:
It is now ready to be formed into patties. Makes about 4 medium patties.

Form a ball with the mixture and using your hands, gently press them down to about 1.5cm thick. I do this as I did not use any patty moulds. The sides will tend to break a little, but simply form it gently again and place on an oiled grill pan, about 3 minutes each side until cooked.

For the burger:
Cut the buns in half, butter them and place on the grill for a minute, this will warm up the buns and give the surface a lovely taste. I love doing this also because it adds a little crisp to the buns.

In order: Place the first half of the bun on a plate and add some lettuce, onions, the patty, some cheese, your favourite sauce (mine was BBQ), tomatoes and place the top part of the bun to form the burger.

Serve immediately!