Review: MyKuali White curry noodles

White curry noodles...I know...White Curry?? It turns out it has an additional sachet in there, 'non-dairy creamer' plus the usual soup seasoning (which contain msg) and sambal (dried shrimp, chillies and spices mix).

I enjoy instant noodles. Seriously. Its quick and tasty. Its comfort food. I am quite sure it contains absolutely zero nutritional value...might even be bad but hey, I love it and I always have a pack of Maggi mee curry, asam laksa and Indo mee goreng in my pantry. And without the convinience of the everyday Sarawak Laksa I used to be able to enjoy, finding an instant noodle substitute would be awesome.

So 'white curry' needs to be reviewed. Its a penang laksa variant. I've always thought the difference between curry mee and laksa mee is the dried shrimp but I could be wrong...this curry mix has a very strong dried shrimp taste. But its a curry...not a laksa. Someone please educate me.

Anyway here is it.

Spicy: 6/10 ...spicy but not too much
Flavour: 9/10 ... I actually like it! Much better then the Maggi curry/asam pedas. I read there is a close competitor brand...haven't been able to find it in my local Asian store. When I do...this might be revised!!!

There you have it. I will buy and stock my pantry up with this now.

Cooking tip: I cooked the noodles separate from the soup. This way the noodles won't be over cooked as you boil the sambal, soup seasoning and creamer to an even broth. The sambal is hard out of the packet, took me longer to make the soup then cooking the noodles.

How it looks like

The 3 packet mix with dairy creamer

My basic garnish

Taadaa!

Will have this stocked up in my pantry!

Best sambal ever!!!

Best sambal ever, is my mom's sambal udang. I must attempt to recreate this one day...sooner more then later as I am out of it!!!

I had the last bits with my nasi goreng tonight. And its sooo good. Its even good with bread as a sandwich!! I LOVE YOU MOM :)

Vietnamese fusion salad

Easy rating 4/5, 5 very easy. This just needs chopping up.

Salad
Coriander
Bean sprouts
Carrots
Rocket mix
Crushed peanuts
Fried shalots
Rice noodles
Roasted meat of any kind

Dressing
Lemon, 1/2 cup
Raw sugar, 2 tbls
Rice vinegar, 1 tbls
Fish sauce, 1 tbla
Fresh/dried chilli whole
...taste it...as the measurements are just indicative. Vietnamese dressing should be somewhat sweet.

Then toss.

Taddaaaa

15 minute Olio Pasta

So, day has been hectic and I haven't prepared any dinner or defrosted anything at all.

My 'go-to' is any easy olio pasta.

5 ingredients in total...15 minutes!! Uep, beat tht Jamie...ok...you did.

1. Chilli, fresh or dry
2. Garlic, chopped
3. Olive oil
4. Penne, cooked al dante
5. Choritzo/bacon bits/leftover roasts

Throw 1-3, in a pot. Stir till the garlic browns then throw in the meats.

Once cooked, turn the heat off and mix in the penne. At some stage, you need to try it. With the choritzo or bacon plus chillis, this dish is often enough with just a table top seasoning of salt. if not...add it to the mix.

If you are feeling a little 'luxurious', half some mini romas and throw it in at the tail end of cooking the choritzos. Don't overcook it, aim to just softhen it slightly.

Garnish! Any green herbs (coriander/parsley/basil/wild rocket) or skip it all together. Pour that white or rosé and settling in a couch.

Luxury! Especially after a long day!!!

Btw, extremely versatile as a tapau/take away!

Passage to India, Vindaloo

Every week, I will review an Asian inspired premix and follow the cooking instructions. Which is ...hard.

This week, its Passage to India's Vindaloo simmer sauce.

It warns HOT. I like spicy but I have my limits. Hmmm...scratches head.

I decided to use pork. Its a solid meat so it won't start to disintegrate too quicky in this sauce.

I broke the rule by adding some diluted coconut cream as the sauce was getting too thick. I could have used plain water but the smell as it was simmering was telling me its chilli hot...I was hoping I could tone down the 'hot' so I can taste the spices.

You will need to cook/simmer it till the oil rises to the top. This is basic for all curry type cooking. Its the test that tells you the sauce is cooked and ready to serve.

So, the verdict?

Chilli hot: 9/10, too hot for me actually but my welsh other half thinks it could be spicier.

Spice mix: 7/10, despite the 'hotness', the spices was still tasty. Sometimes, all you can taste are just two spices.. chillies and curry, this still has a good blend.

Overall sauce: 7/10. It was a little too starchy I think. The sauce would keep together in a flat bread really well. I served it on basmati rice with stir fried long beans. But I think I will serve this next with naan and yogurt raita!

So yes. Definitely will buy again but served with bread me thinks!

Spicy Fusion Penne Arabiata

On days that I feel a little lazy but still feel like some wicked zing especially if there is a movie to watch...I cook a spicy penne arabiata.

With all things in my cooking, its fusion. I take italian and look at my asian pantry and go hmmm.

I use dry hot chilli and sweet chilli sauce to add the zing.

Here it is!

Spicy fusion Penne Arabiata

• Penne, cook al dante for two
• 1 tblsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp part dried chilli 
• 2 tblsp thai sweet chilli sauce
• 6-8 mini roma tomatos, halved.
• Prefried choritzo or bacon or both
• Use the pot you've used to cook the pasta, heat it up with 2 tblspn of oil. Once hot....
• Throw in garlic, wait it slightly brown.
• Throw in dry chilli, wait for about 30 seconds.
• Throw in half the romas that has been halved.

Finally pour the sweet chilli sauce into the pot. Stir to mix then turn off heat.

All this happens within 5 minutes and is very quick after the garlic browns as you must not let the chilli burn.

Not that the heat is off, mix in your pasta, choritzo and fresh tomatoes.

You can squeeze a bit of lemon before serving. And garnish with coriander or you can keep to the traditional parsley.

Didn't I tell you its all fusion?

Tadaaa!

I cook the choritzo the same time as the pasta so this whole meal will take about 15 minutes, prep to serve.

Sometimes, I add fetta on it if I feel a little 'hardworking' but can go without.

Spices!

Perfect with cold white wine

Pasta pack away

We're going to the zoo-oo-oo!

We're having a picnic at the zoo with kids and some awesome moms and their family. Packed away pasta for this. Spicy oilio with choritzo and bacon.

Hopefully they love it and much as my big man!

Recipe will come! Its really easy! 

Happy Mother's Day to all moms who always tries their best in the kitchen...and everwhere else!!!

P/s.. I used to hate the kitchen...growing up, it seemed like the symbol of oppresion for women. How wrong I was! It is the heart, the center.

Update. 

The recipe has been uploaded. Works well cold/day after! Spicy fusion penne arabiata. 

Mee goreng with curry paste

I don't think anyone who was not raised in Asia, can really understand the Asian obsession of noodles!

I must have noodles in my pantry. The dehydrated type. Fresh are great too but it really needs to be done within a week or so after you bought it or it starts to mold.

Today for brunch, I decided its a mee goreng day.

I use a premixed curry paate usually available in Asian aisles in Woolworth and Coles supermarkets. Anyone will do but I tend to gravitate to Malaysian premixes. Malaysian tend to be less 'chilli' spicy then Thai's. And I think it tends to be less 'fishy' as most premixes has to some degree either anchovies or shrimp paste as part of their ingredients. I don't really care much, I love them both!!

Bottled curry premixes can last a long time, I only need 2 tsp. And you will need soy sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock in powder form, salt and pepper.

There are really 4 parts to a mee goreng

1. The noodle itself
2. The meat/seafood mix, protein that you want to add
3. Vegetables, think colours...red, green would look perfect on yellow noodles
4. Putting it all togerther

So

Part 1: Noodles
1. Soak the dry cakes in hot boiling water. Usually one cake feeds 1 person.

Part 2: Protein
For this dish, I decided pork. You can add anything really. Stir fry it in a wok with garlic, a dash of chicken stock powder. Make sure its ready to eat 'cookness'. Tiday I decided to add julienned kohlrabi. Turned out really yummy on its own.

Leave it aside on a plate.

Part 3: Vegetables
Think colour. I love colour. My choices depend on texture and colour...I am food vain. So its red pepper (red) slices and snow pea shoots (green).

Keep these aside. I love these veges so its half of a pepper and 2 hand fulls of shoots.

Chop some garlic up, 4-5 cloves.

Just about now, drain the noodles and separate by hand.

Now, the exciting bit!

Part 4!!

1. Heat up the wok you've used to fry the pork, don't wash it! It has lovely flavours from the cooking.
2. Dash a tbls of oil into hot wok
3. Add garlic, wait till just browning
4. Add 2 tsp of curry premix, let it heat up till the flavours begin to rise and the oil turns red fron the paste
5. Stir it around
6. Noodles go in by hand one at a time, mix it as it goes in until all done. Keep stiring till the curry mix is evenly distributed on the noodles. A pair of wooden chopsticks work really well for this.
7. Add a bit of soy sauce, 2 - 3 squirts.
8. Add a tiny bit of fish sauce. They come in a small bottle and should be used sparingly. Its very salty.. and fishy! But I think this fishy juice when used properly brings out the flavours in the premix.
9. When the noodles are done, i.e. they start to look brighter yellow and more elastic, ADD the meat mix.
10. Stir till mixed in. Then SHUT the heat.
11. Immediately mix half of the pepper and all of the shoots in. MIX.

Add this point, get your bowls ready. The residual heat will 'cook' the veges.

Now its ready! Serve in bowls. Distribute the remining pepper. Garnish with coriander and fried
shallots. And pepper to taste.

Tadaaaa!

The egg noodles, a cake usually feeds one

Premixes that comes in a bottle

My part 2: Meaty bits

Part 4: Mixing it up

All dished out, garnished with fresh capsicum/red pepper and fried shalots

Later! Time to om nom nom

My love affair with Sunny

I have a love affair with eggs cooked sunny side ups, bull's eye, mata lembu, mata kerbau or what ever else its called!

But I am pretty fussy about it...
1. The yolk must'n be over cooked, so no blocky solids please.
2. The white mus't wear a black skirt...i.e. over cook it till it tastes like plastic. But must be slightly brown n crunchy
3. No pock marks on the yolk
4. Not too hot
5. Not too oily

Frying on a hot pan will often burn out the whites...yes? But the yolk is more raw then your half boiled!

Putting the heat in low will take forever!!

So, heres my cheat.

The 2 minute sunny

1. Heat pan high and hot, glaze with olive oil
2. Crack ur egg carefully
3. Leave it for about 30s, the white edges will slowly turn to brown.
4. Take about 1 tbls of drinking water
5. Pour into pan and cover it with a lid. It turns to steam and cooks the yolk and white on top.
6. Turn fire off as the white on the yolk starts to turn white. Residual heat will cook it gentle...while you get your plates out.

Taddaaa...Mr. Sunny is ready.

I love them with a little sweet chilli sauce. This time with some edamame. The yolk oozes nicely and blends in with the sauce beautifully! Plate licking yummilicous!

Emergency Banana Bread

I call this an emergency banana bread mix because I am in one of these situation when I make this:

1. My banana is about to rot
2. Friends are coming and I forgot to buy some thing for tea
3. Friends are over for a meal and ...I have nothing but bananas
4. I just feel like something needs to go with my coffee

Its super easy, not a very delicate cake but just good enough especially toasted under a grill. Its one bowl so I don't need to do too many washing up! 

Emergency one-bowl banana bread

2-3 over ripe banana, mash then squirt a little lemon juice
1.5 cups whole meal self raising flour
1/3 cup of raw sugar
1/3 cup melted butter or olive oil
1 tp vanilla
2 eggs

All in a bowl. Zap it with a mixer or just spoon mix.

Pop it in a preheated oven at 160c for 45 minutes.

Tadaaa.

Add almonds or walnuts if you like. Or a tsp of cinnamon spice. Once cooled I dust the top with icing sugar.

When warm...its nice and soft. As it cools...it toughens out a bit which then becomes excellant toasted with butter! Its an extremely forgiving mix. Use half white, half whole meal if you want a softer version. Or more sugar and butter for a sweeter/fatter version.

I forgot to take a photo fresh off the oven and dusted with sugar. Whats left...in the photo!

i

last photo is an update of my day after banana bread...toasted with butter!

My notes on Laksa

I am a huge laksa fan. There are so many versions of laksa and currently.

I am still trying to debunk all the different types...

1. Penang Laksa, usually extremely hot and spicy with a huge prawn on top 
2. Curry Laksa, normally comes with copious amounts of tofu and the curry base comes out very strong 
3. Prawn laksa, stock is prawn based, very yummy, and as the name implies, usually comes with a giant prawn 
4. Singapore laksa, usually thick with fried tofu 

Yes, there all sound similar, I know. I love them but debunking the ingredients and delicately identifying the differences is beyond me.

My favorite, is the Sarawak laksa. Thick, spicy with de-shelled prawns and flossed steam chicken with bean spouts and fried shallots. My tummy grumbles as I scan my brain-archive and recreate the experience in my head. I have been testing a few laksa premixes available in the stores. Some turned out less then yum but yesterday's laksa was great! Its Singapore laksa by Hai's found in the dry isle so it can keep quite well.

I must do my reviews more systematic, thats the plan. So watch this space.

Meanwhile if you do decide to buy one always think about making a fishy stock for the soup. More often it says add just plain water or chicken stock...just work a little harder...make a home made fish stock for the soup.

Here is how I made mine:

Quick and easy fish stock for laksa 

• Large pot 800 ml/1 liter water (usually per packet it will ask for 800ml to 1 L of water) 
• Throw in Prawn heads (you can fry these in some butter before adding to pot but the premix is usually already oily and I don't really need anymore oil added if I can help it) 
• Fish bones 
• Fish meat 
• 1 large onion cut into half 
• 1 carrot break into two 
• Salt to taste 

Boil for about 15 minutes then simmer for another 30 minutes.

Drain stock into a jar or straight into the pot you intend to use for the Laksa premix.

Taddaaaa. What ever Laksa premix you have will taste 10X better.

UPDATE

Recomended and easily available, Hai's from the fridge section. There is also the Hai's from the dry aisle. Both are good. I recently bought a 'home mix', will try that!

Satay the quick and easy way

Satay is a Malaysian favorite but all other nations has its version of satay. Its a two part dish, the satay sticks and the satay sauce.

Way back in Malaysia, almost no one makes satay at home because its so easily available in the food stalls and hawker centers. They are often cheap at around $0.15 per satay stick. And this includes the satay sauce already!

My mom home cooks satay in a dish form to be eaten with hot steamed rice. This I will write about later.

Here, I have found them for $1 each with barely enough sauce to cover the meat sticks.

So, I've decided to make it as part of my 'dinner' reportoir.

As it turns out, marinating the meat requires an entire garden of asian herbs and spices and grounding them. Errr....no time...two feral kids who always seem hungry and always trying to wage a war between them accords me with really 'minus' minutes.

There are premixes too but I decided to just reconstruct so I can have it anytime.

I use all dry powdered products.

1 part garlic
1 part tumeric
1 part lemon grass
0.5 part ginger
1 tbls soy sauce
2-3 tbls brown sugar
2-3 tbls of oil
Dash of sesame oil

This pretty much seals the deal. I sometimes get a bit generous with the sugar and soy sauce depending how 'dark and sweet' i feel like. Malaysian satays are generally sweet...but I feel guilty!

Leaving it overnight ensures the powdered texture of the spices dissapears.

Then its oven time.

Doing it on the barbie is a luxury. So
Oven at 180c for 20-25mins cooks it.

Bask it with sesame oil before it goes into a preheated oven.

Tadaa.

I squeeze lemon juice on the satay as it comes out.

Now...the sauce.

Premixed satay sauce is handy. The best is Brahims satay sauce. It says just heat up...nope. Add tamarin juice, about 1 tbls and add peanut butter...about 1 tbls spoon too. If you want it creamier, add one more tbls but no more. Tadaaa. All done. The tamarin brings the spices out a bit more I think!

By the way, I am leaning towards chicken thigh meat or anyother meats with a bit of fat for this and cut it in long strips of 1cm ish versus cubes. Then thread it on a pre-soaked bamboo stick. Pre-soak it for 20 mins in boiling water. This makes sure the sticks are clean.

Enjoy. Aramaiti! (Cheers in indigenous Kadazan)