ayonecan-cook

Yes I'm back ~ It took quite an effort to come back. But here I am again. Again. But honestly.... I have good reasons. Yes I do.  This was so quick to make, so delicious, so addictive that I had to blog about it. White Chilli sambal is something I learnt to make from my late Mother in law. Yes they are white chilies that she used and I have only seen white chillies in Sabah, East Malaysia.  White chillies remain white and do not turn red when ripe. Unlike normal bird chillies or othere larger chillies which are green when young and red when ripe. I'm not quite sure why these are white. They were green at first, then they turned white and finally red. H says they are not true white chillies which never ever turn red. They are also not as big as the 'true' white chillies. But cravings make everything possible. So I made some. And they certainly will do. And I found that it really didn't matter if they were white or black. Or red. This dish is so full of umami you just...

I craned my neck to look at the translucent sheet of rice paper rain that H had pointed out to me. It was pummeling the ground, before us, a few meters away. Within seconds I heard it drench our black Hyundai as we entered its realm. I ducked. It sounded like a Niagara. But I felt the eerie-ness of a clenched fist, at first knocking then spreading its fingers, softly, on top of my head. Have you ever felt that? Juxtapositions of weather never fail to fascinate me ....nature's abrupt seperateness of downpour and clearness existing within meters of each other...side by side, face to face, meeting up, merging, yet apart, clear on one side, grey on the other, dry over here and wet over there. How cool is that? That happened a few days ago. And it has nothing to do with these spring rolls. I just had to tell you. Because the past month has been a sort of tropical winter. Wet and gloomy most times yet smouldering in between. And my enthusiasm towards cooking or baking have shifted accord...

Papaya trees grow from a seed to a fruit-bearing 20 foot tree in about eighteen months. And they fruit the way rabbits breed. In a bunch. They are not one of my favourite fruit because they have a slight bitter undertone. But young green papaya when made into a Thai salad transforms into something quite, quite wonderful. Utterly refreshing.  My first encounter of a Thai papaya salad was at the Thai ambassador's cocktail party many years ago. In an effort to promote their cuisine they had booths set up to demonstrate the makings of various scrumptious Thai dishes. Surprisingly amoung all other mouth-watering dishes the one dish that I fell in love with was the Thai papaya salad.  I think it was the combination and perfect balance of fresh fruit, toasted dried shrimps, hot chillies, salty fish sauce, tart lime juice and crunchy peanuts that won me over. With the Thai papaya salad comes the above, right, which, I  believe, is a Thai invention. The papaya/fruit shredder. It l...

Dried shrimps are one of the most flavourful ingredients to have around in the kitchen cupboard. It is pungent and like all pungent ingredients it is packed with umami, like bonito flakes , like fish sauce, like belacan etc. A dish becomes irresistible when pounded dried shrimps are used as a flavour base. The list of dishes for dried shrimps is endless...stir fried veggies, fried rice, fried noodles...as a sambal, as a filling, as a topping... hey-ho. ....everything.  Hub had just come back from a  trip to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah,  also referrred to as 'The Land Below The Wind' by the Suluks , a sea faring people from the Southern Philippines. So named because Sabah is located just below and lies just of reach of the merciless typhoons that hit and devastate parts of the Philippines every year. This name has been popularized by Agnes Keith's book, The Land Below The Wind . Agnes Keith was an American born in Oak Park, Illinois. She married Henry G. Keith an Englis...

I was planning on posting a funny post but it just could not be. The men in this house are sitting in their corners sucking their thumbs and sulking. Their all time favourite team are out of the finals for World Cup this time. That is serious matter to some. Mourn worthy. So I'll just whisper to you..... I cooked long beans sauteed in garlic and minced meat . That's all I'm saying. It's good but it looks like it's not good enough to wipe out those long faces and furious eyebrows. As far as my men are concerned FIFA World Cup is so over. Yes. Who cares anymore. Yes. In this house FIFA World Cup officially ends here! But the giveaway is still officially open a for few more hours. So go here for the GIVEAWAY ! The recipe ~ 300 gn long beans 200 gm minced meat 2 pips garlic 1 red chillie 2 T oyster sauce a few splashes of fish sauce 1 1/2 T cooking oil some water or stock salt Rinse then cut long beans into 1 inch lengths. keep aside. Pound garlic and chillie pepper i...

 Warning : Healthy Recipe Ahead!  Don't be alarmed..... I'm not turning vegetarian or vegan. But I do enjoy some vegetarian food and sometimes I'm stunned how satisfying and lip smacking they can be.  I remember the the sambal tempe , the dhall curry , the spiced chickpeas , the kimchi , the chutney , the spring rolls ....Oh my god I counted and I actually have 20 vegetarian dishes on my blog!!  Perhaps I'm in the process of evolving into one. Perhaps.... I'm healthy! GASP. Divina of Sense and Serendipity has smitten me yet again with her fabulous and healthy recipes. It all started with the beautiful Mochi Chocolate truffles (well, ok, that's not exactly healthy. It's fabulous), then the sensational Tofu crusted in Bonito Flakes and now some fantastic Gluten free Korean pancakes. All from her beautiful and educational blog.  And the fact that she has the wonderful gift of making all her healthy food look unhealthy doesn't hurt either. Completely glu...

Kim Chi ~ Tell me how cute a name is that? Bimbim Bap ~ Tell me how cute a name is that? Soondooboo Jiigae ? Kimchi Bokeum Bap ? Have I made my point? And aren't those Korean actors and actresses just as cute too? I know my nieces definitely think they are. And as cute as the name may very well be....kimchi is not a photogenic food, like rendang . It took me all 2 days of sweat, sweat and sweat to come up with some decent photographs. After all it was simply cabbage on a plate and the other just a brown mash of meat. But like the Malaysian rendang there is nothing plain about the Korean kimchi. The spiciness from the chillie and the flavours from the garlic, grated ginger and a sweet edge from the fruit puree that I had used made it a fantastic appetizer. Plus I've had this craving for some kimchi-jeon (kimchi pancakes) ever since I saw photographs of my nieces enjoying a Korean meal in Korea with the said pancake in full view of my computer screen. I was told by a lady herb...