Nasi Arab

Serves 5-6 people

Takes ~1 hour to prepare

Ingredients

a third of chicken (clean and cut into small pieces; can use beef or mutton)

1 packet Nasi Arab (buy from Pulau Melaka market): contains

  - 1 packet of Beras Basmathi (about 4.5 pots rice)

  - 1 packet of Nasi Arab curry powder (rempah nasi Arab)

2 tablespoonful cooking oil

2 tablespoonful of butter (ghee or margarine)

1 inch cinnamon

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods

3 pieces of star anise (bunga lawang)

1 big white onion (slice)

1 inch ginger (or 2 ginger slices; slice thinly)

3 pips garlic (slice)

warm/hot water

2 medium red tomatoes (diced)

2 limau kasturi (need 2 tablespoonful juice limau kasturi)

2 tablespoonful tomato sauce

1.5 tablespoonful sugar

1 tablespoonful salt

Method

1. Wash and soak rice for 15-20 minutes. Drain and place inside rice pot
2. Heat oil and butter in kuali
3. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise. Fry till fragrant
4. Add onion, garlic, ginger and fry till fragrant
5. Add tomato sauce, limau kasturi juice, and diced tomatoes.
6. Add chicken pieces and stir to mix
7. Add sugar and salt, and stir
8. Add 3/4 cup water to cover chicken pieces
9. Let chicken cook till done (masak empuk)
10. When the chicken pieces are cooked, separate the chicken pieces from gravy
11. Add all gravy to rice in rice pot. Stir to mix. Add 800 ml (~4 cups) hot water till 5 mark level
12. Add 1 piece daun pandan and 1 stalk daun kari
13. Cook rice till half done and add chicken pieces to rice. Stir and continue to cook rice for 20 minutes until rice is done.
14. Serve Nasi Arab while still hot. Serve with dalca and acar timun.

Fried Beef With Olives

Daging Goreng Dengan Buah Zaitun
(Aidiladha 15 October 2013)

Ingredients

1 kg beef - slice thinly

4 white onions - slice thinly

1 bulb garlic - slice thinly

1 slice ginger - slice thinly

black olives - one small plate - slice into rings

green olives - half a small plate - slice into rings

black peppercorns - crushed

half a cup of cooking oil

salt to taste

soy sauce

salt

tomato sauce

kuali

wooden spoon

Method

1. Heat up kuali
2. Wash beef and place in kuali. Cook on low heat without oil or water. Meat will turn from pink to grey.
3. When all meat have turned grey, add hot boiling water to cover meat. Cook on low heat.
4. When the water has dried down, stir and add more hot water. Stir and cook on low heat.
5. When the water has dried down, stir and add more hot water. Add salt, some garlic and ginger. Stir and cook on low heat.
6. When the water has dried down, add oil and stir. 
7. When the oil is hot enough, add crushed peppercorns, all onions and garlic. Stir to mix.
8. Cook till onions are soft. Add sliced black olives and green olives. Stir.
9. Remove to bowl.
10. Serve hot with mint leaves, small green chillies, daun pucuk paku (shoots), and keropok.

WHITE ONIONS AND GARLIC

BLACK PEPPERCORNS

BEEF SLICES

Cook meat on low heat without oil or water 

Meat will turn from pink to grey 

#1. Water added to cover meat 

#2. Water added a second time to cover meat 

#3. After the 3rd addition of water, add some salt, garlic, and ginger. Cook till the water runs dry 

Once the water has dried up, add oil and let it heat up 

Add all onion and garlic. Cook to soften the onion and garlic. Stir to mix. 

Once onions and garlic are softened, add soy sauce and tomato sauce. Stir. 

Add sliced black and green olives. Stir. Transfer to bowl. 

Sushi

Ibrahim made sushi 3 times. I ate them twice but he finished all the sushi the third time around. You can order sushi from him. Give him enough time to buy the ingredients and to make them for you.

Sushi made at home

Ingredients

1 black seaweed mat

1 cup glutinous rice (cook as for normal rice)

1 teaspoonful vinegar (cuka makan)

I can of cooked and flavoured tuna

1 small cucumber

1 small carrot

something green (peppermint/pegaga)

something red (chopped chili)

something black (black olives)

1 teaspoonful soy sauce (kicap HABHAL masin)

1/4 cup of plain water

Utensils

1 bamboo mat

1 chopping board

1 knife

1 tablespoon

1 plastic ladle (senduk nasi plastik)

1 sharp knife (bread knife)

Method

1. Wash and cook the glutinous rice in the rice cooker using as little water as possible (macam masak nasi)
2. Wash and dry the bamboo mat
3. Place bamboo mat on the chopping board
4. Place a dry black seaweed mat on the dried bamboo mat.
5. Take a piece of tissue and dab in water. Then dab on the black seaweed mat to make it sticky.
6. Place cooked glutinous rice on the sticky seaweed mat and spread it out to form a rectangle on half the seaweed mat.
7. Place a tablespoonful of tuna on the glutinous rice
8. Place a thin strip of cucumber on the tuna
9. Place a thic lone strip of carrot (or add the carrot later)
10. Pick up the edge of the bamboo mat and let the edges meet. 
11. Roll the bamboo mat and its contents to form a tight black roll. May have to roll a few times to obtain a tight roll. If the contents come out at the edges, push it back in using the back of a tablesppon
12. After the seaweed roll is sufficiently firm and well formed, remove it from the bamboo mat and place on the chopping board
13. Use a sharp knife to cut 1-inch thick sushi rings
14. Stick a small piece of carrot (like a match stick) into each sushi ring
15. Stick some green and red stuff to add colour to sushi
16. Arrange on a plate and serve with soy sauce or any sauce.
17. Can serve for breakfast in place of bread and nasi goreng. Arigato Ibrahim!

Fried carrots

They don't sell carrots cheaply. It feels funny when buying just a single carrot stick. What if you have too many carrots? What can we do? We can prepare tasty fried carrots. This recipe was prepared and cooked by Affandi.

Ingredients

2 red carrots

1 small red onion

half a big white onion

1 cup fine anchovies (ikan bilis halus warna putih)

2 tabspoons chili paste

1 teaspoon fine salt

5 tablespoons cooking oil

1 tablespoon virgin olive oil

Method

Wash, dry and fry the anchovies till brown.

Wash and slice onion thinly. 

Add sliced red onion, stir and fry till onions are brown.

Add sliced white onion.

Add carrots and stir. Let it soften a bit.

Add chili paste.

Add salt to taste

Switch off the fire.

Add olive oil and stir to mix evenly.

Serve.