A Plateful of Malay goodness

My dinner last night,- sambal tumis telur, cut into halves- nasi minyak serai (lemongrass oily rice) with crispy shallot- keropok (prawn crackers)- cucumber slicesHere is the recipe for the rice. I use 50:50 basmati and red rice. This red rice is Thai, bought from oriental supermarket.

Nasi Minyak Serai (Lemongrass Oily Rice)


Ingredients: (enough for 4), cup size 250ml1 cup basmati rice1 cup red rice or brown basmati rice or just plain basmati ricewater5 - 6 lemongrass (serai)1 thumb size chunk ginger3 walnut size shallots1.5 tsp cumin seeds (jintan putih)2 star anise2 tbsp ghee* or cooking oil1.5 tsp salt2 tsp sugar* ghee gives a nicer flavour to the rice

Red rice or brown rice is more fibrous better pre-soaked before cooking or else can be a bit tough and longer to cookMethod:Soak red rice or brown basmati for 1 - 2 hours. Drain. If using all plain basmati no need to soak.

Rinse plain basmati. Drain

Trim the lemongrass, remove the woodier leaves leaving a tender centre.


Take all the woodier part of lemongrass and 2 star anise, boil with 3.5 cups of water. When water is boiling. Turn heat off, let infuse for about 20 - 30 minutes. Remove lemongrass , leave star anise to be added to rice later.

Slice the tender part of lemongrass as thin as possible.


Finely chop shallots and ginger.
Heat ghee or oil in a medium size pan or pot enough to hold 6 - 7cups, fry the cumin seeds till they pop a bit.

Add shallot and fry till fragrant.

Add ginger and tender lemongrass. Stir a little while.

Add both rice and stir to coat with fragrant oil.
Add 3 cups of the spice infused water. Also add in the star anise too.
Season with enough salt and sugar.

Cover and let the liquid come to a boil. Do not let the water boiled over. Turn heat down and gently simmer till all moisture is absorbed and rice is cooked. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, loosen before serving.



Can add some roasted cashew nuts, toasted almonds or raisins to rice.








Source

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nyonya kuih lapis - nine layers cake 九層糕

Image
This colourful steamed cake is a Chinese Nyonya fusion, soft and slightly chewy. I love this since I was a kid. I like to peel the layers one by one and eat it that way.This cake is more like a pudding than a western cake. It is normally called nine layers cake due to the number of layers. It is not essential to have nine layers but that has been a tradition passed down from generation to generation, mother to daughters recipe. Nine is an auspicious word to signify long lasting and long life. There are so many different ways to make this cake, different colours, different flavours and different flour mixture to give various degree of softness and chewiness. Rice flour is the base of this cake mix, tapioca and wheat starch are added to give a more bouncy and chewier texture, some recipes use mung bean starch.I like to add coconut to give nice rich flavour. With the colours, I am not keen to add artificial colours. I sometime use two colours sometime three. I love the flavour of panda...
Read more

Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵 - Fried sauce noodles

Image
Zha Jiang Mian 炸醬麵 is fried sauce noodles, I called it Chinese spag bog. These noodles are very popular in most parts of Northern China, especially Beijing.Koreans are also fan of zha jiang noodles, similar name called jajangmyeon . The sauce Korean used is not the same as Chinese, similar flavour but made with black beans called chungjang .Chinese zha jiang sauce is dark brown, salty, sweet and very fragrant. The main sauce ingredient for the sauce is sweet bean sauce (sweet flour sauce) 甜麵醬 and/or yellow bean sauce 黃醬. I like the sauce a bit spicy so I always add some chilli bean sauce ( douban jiang ) 豆瓣醬. The sauce mix is fried till caramelised in plenty of oil till fragrant. If you use only a little oil you won't get the same flavour.Other than meat, fried or marinated firm tofu can be added. Some people like to add shitake but not common.I really like Zha Jiang sauce a lot. It keeps really well...
Read more

Homemade rustic pulled noodles

Image
When I have few hours with nothing to do at home, I always ended up in the kitchen making something. Today was no difference. I wanted zha jiang mian 炸醬麵 (fried sauce noodles) for dinner but don't fancy using dried noodles. So I made some rustic pulled noodles. I am not expert enough to make those super pulled noodles. My version is easier and more rustic.Here was what I did. This portion is enough for 2 peopleIngredients:250 - 275g strong white bread flour (extra strong if you can find some)1 medium or large egg3/4 - 1 tsp saltwaterExtra flour for dusting Method: Beat the egg and salt in a measuring cup. Top up the egg with water to 1/2 cup (125ml). Stir. Put around 250g of the flour in a mixing bowl, pour in the egg mixture. Start mixing till all the dry flour is absorbed into the dough. This dough should be quite stiff. If a bit sticky add in more flour. When the bowl is clean, cover and leave to rest for about 15 minutes. Then knead the dough. The dough should n...
Read more