395. Rebung & Kacang Panjang

This was given by my maid who helps me clean my house once a week. She told me near her house at Kpg Lusut she has one big bamboo tree, always once in a while giving out bamboo shoots like this. Actually this wasn't the first time she gave me, she often does. She said her daughter was getting tired of eating bamboo shoots too often ha ha... Just the opposite of my eldest daughter Zu, she loves it, she said when she eats it, it goes 'krupp, krupp' in her mouth.

Anyway, my maid said her bamboo tree doesn't give so much bamboo shoots like before that was why she gave me only one piece.

One Bamboo Shoot



I think I have blogged about this Rebung once here, but that was cooked as soup and the other with coconut milk.

This time I cooked it without too much gravy. Cooked it a bit dry and hot.


Sayur Rebung Pedas


To Prepare :-

1. Slice the bamboo shoot thinly.

2. Boil them in a pot of water.

3. After boiled and soft, pour into a sieve and let dry aside.


To Cook :-

1. Saute grounded small shallots (3 - 4 pieces), 3 garlic and 1 teaspoon of belacan (shrimp paste).

2. Add in grounded 2 big red chillies + grounded 4 chili padi.

3. Add in some roughly grounded dried prawns (optional).

4. When aromatic, add in the sliced bamboo shoots.

5. Stir well then add salt to taste.


p/s. Without adding water, there will be some water from the bamboo shoots itself.
Mak isah don't add dried prawns because my son has starting to be allergic to prawns and
if you cooked without adding prawns the bamboo shoots last longer (tak cepat basi).

Next I cooked 'Sayur Kacang Panjang'

My Sayur Kacang Panjang



There are many ways how one can cut this vegetable. Sometime Mak Isah cut it slanting but most of the time I cut it this way, into small small strips like this. Why, because any leftovers Mak Isah will eat it with some white bread for snacks or for breakfast.

To Cook:-

1. Saute grounded of 2 garlic, 3 small shallots and 1 red chilli.

2. Add in a pinch of belacan (shrimp paste).

3. Stir until aromatic.

4. Add in the cleaned cut Kacang Panjang.

5. Stir well for 3 - 4 minutes.

6. Add salt to taste.


Cheerio.

394. Today's Sunday Menu

Happy Sunday everyone!

Pagi tadi Mak Isah pegi breakfast dengan Noormy (my youngest daughter) . Sempat beli satu ikat of Sayur Cangkuk Manis(Cekur Manis atau Sayur Manis) ni, RM1 je...

Yesterday evening hubby bought 2 small pieces of already cut yellow pumpkin. So, I cooked 'Sayur Cangkuk Manis' with the yellow pumpkin.

There is no need to add coconut milk, just make it not too soupy (not too much water added). It's nice too :)


Tumis Cangkuk Manis dan Labu Kuning



To Prepare :-

1. Take the Cangkuk Manis leaves off their branches, put them in a small basin and soaked in water.

2. Before putting in a sieve to dry, squeeze the Cangkuk Manis with your hands to break the leaves. This enable to let some juice from the leaves to come out and thus taste nicer after they are cooked.

3. Put the sieve of Cangkuk Manis under running water then let aside to drip dry.

4. Skin the yellow pumpkin , cut into small cubes. Washed.


To Cook :-

1. Saute grounded of 2 garlics, 3 small shallots, 4 fresh red chillies and half a tablespoon of belacan (shrimp paste).

2. When aromatic, add a cup of water. Let boiled for 2 minutes.

3. Add in the Cangkuk Manis and the yellow pumpkin.

4. Add another cup of water. Let the yellow pumpkin become cooked and soft.

5. Add salt to taste.

Eat the dish hot with white rice :)


Do you like prawns?

Give them to me anytime but....you all know the task of taking off their skins ha ha...

Hubby bought 2 kilos (only RM4 per kilo) of small prawns yesterday evening too. It's 'bubok' season, so there will be plenty of prawns too. What I did was, I divided them into small plastic clear bags (1 small bag means for one meal) then just put them in my freezer, skin and all!

When I want to cook them I just take one plastic bag and soak in a basin of water an hour before cooking time. When soft I just take off their skins then.

If you can't stand their smell, wear plastic clear gloves when doing their skins :)

Tumis Udang Pedas



To Cook :-

1. Saute grounded of 2 garlic and 2 small shallots.

2. Add in a pinch of belacan (shrimp paste) optional.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of blended dry chillies.

4. Stir well and add in the washed prawns.

5. Stir until prawns are cooked.

6. Add salt to taste.


Enjoy the above dishes with hot white rice :)



Cheerio.

393. Bubur Makaroni Keledek

Tetiba je Aya gitau Mak isah dia ingin makan 'Bubur Makaroni'. Aya memang loves to eat 'Bubur Macaroni'.

Hish, Mak isah pantang dengar tu...lalu la pegi carik 1 paket Makaroni kat Ta Kiong di Merdeka Mall.

Then hubby said to add some 'keledek' (sweet potato) in. Then it will taste nicer he said. So I bought 3 small pieces of Sweet Potatoes :)

My Bubur Makaroni Keledek



To prepare :-

1. Soak 2 cups of Macaroni ( I use the shell shaped) in water for half an hour.

2. Skin the sweet potatoes and cut into small cubes. Washed them.

3. Soak half a cup of small sago pellets in water.




To Cook :-

1. In a pot, under medium fire, heat up half a litre of water.

2. Add one packet of 'Cocolin' Coconut milk which is already mix with some water to dilute it.

3. Throw in one piece of 'Pandan' leave (optional).

4. Add in the macaroni and the sweet potatoes .

5. Let boiled until the sweet potatoes are cooked and soft.

6. Add in the sago pellets.

7. Add a pinch of salt.

8. Add sugar to taste.

This can be eaten while hot but even tastier if it has been cooled and refrigerated.


Enjoy the desert :)


Cheerio.

392. Ginger Chicken Meat

Selalu masak 'Ginger Meat', tapi hari ni masak 'Ginger Chicken Meat' pulak :)

These are all meat part of a chicken, the breast part which is not popular with my children. So whenever I cook one whole chicken I used to cut the breast part and put it in a clean plastic sheet and keep them in my fridge freezer. Soon there are 2 to 3 small plastic sheet containing just the breast meat of the previous chickens that I cooked.

Today I decided not to keep them there too long but cook them. So I thought how to cook them in order my children eat them? They like anything cooked with soy sauce and with ginger.

And that was what I did.


My Ginger Chicken Meat



To Prepare :-

1. Sliced the chicken meat thinly and about 1 inch long.

2. Washed and put aside in a sieve to drip dry.


To Cook :-

1. Skin medium size fresh ginger, 2 inches long (sliced thinly) and another 2 inches long (to be grounded).

2. Ground the 2 inches long ginger, 4 garlic and 2 small shallots.

3. Slice 2 fresh red chillies. Keep aside with the sliced ginger.

4. Saute the items no. 2 above.

5. Stir well under medium fire until aromatic.

6. Add in the cut chicken meat.

7. Stir well for 2 minutes.

8. Add in half a cup of dark soy sauce. Then add in half a cup of water.

9. Stir and let meat cooked until tender.

10. Add in 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce (either chilli or tomato).

11. Add in the sliced ginger and the sliced red chillies.

12. Add in one tablespoon of sugar and salt to taste.


This is a dry dish and best eaten with hot white rice :)


p/s. Surprise, surprise, I was happy to hear my son kept saying,' eh nyaman ginger chicken tok ma'.


A Good Monday to you all!


Cheerio.

391. Instant Pancake

Do you like pancakes?

I do, especially when eaten with honey or peanut butter. But this morning instead of asking Zu to make a pancake batter for breakfast, I tried this instant pancake mix which I bought at Ta Kiong in Merdeka Mall on Saturday.

Sundays are my lazy days and Zu wakes up late as she has no tailoring class, so I decided to try my hands on trying this instant pancake.

Green's Pancake Shake


Instructions to prepare for the pancakes was easy -

1. Preheat a non-stick frying pan and grease well with some margarine.

2. Shake bottle to loosen dry mix which is in powdered form.

3. Remove lid but do not discard.

4. Fill bottle to level as indicated on the label (there is a line at the side of bottle).

5. Replace lid, turn bottle upside down and shake well until mixture is well mixed.

6. Pour batter in the frying pan into a desired size ( I use one scoop of a ladle).

7. Cook over a medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.



I made about 6 pieces of pancakes.



The remaining batter, I keep it in the refrigerator and can be used up to 3 days.


p/s. I am sure you have seen other types of instant pancake mix in your area.


Cheerio.

390. Just Sharing

Earlier this evening my youngest daughter Noormy text me asking if I am home. I said yes I am. Then she said I've got news for you. I said,' Good News??'

But I've to wait until she arrived home a couple of minutes later riding on her motorbike after finishing morning duty at Marriott Resort and spa to confirm what I was guessing.

She's been promoted to GSA Supervisor!

That's the job she and I had been discussing for the last couple of weeks. She's been eyeing for the job as there was a vacancy. She's new there and barely been working for 2 years but I am so happy she got the job :)



Noormy with her sister Aya




Last month my 3rd daughter Aya was also been promoted to Regional Executive at her own line of job.


As a mother, I am too happy for words. I am glad they are where they are today.

What more can I ask?

p/s. Mak isah just wanna share :)



Cheerio.

389. No Place Like Where I Live

Every time I came back from KK (it's where I often go to) I learned to appreciate the place where I lived. That's Taman Tunku in Miri.

That is how the saying that says,'There's no place like home'. For me, it is more like,'There's no place like where I live'. :)

The pictures below show some area where people of Taman Tunku go shopping to. I remember when we first lived in Taman Tunku 20 years ago, there were only a few shops opened at these shoplot houses. Most of the shops were either empty or aren't sold yet. So at those time even though we come here to shop for things, we still have to go downtown to Miri to shop as some of the things we needed were not available here.

Today it's different, there is a vast change going on, we can get what we want here and there are plenty of shops opened beside just groceries. There are now telephone shops, CD shops, bakery, a One Stop Center shop, coffee shops and eateries and even Pet shops. At the same time more buildings for shops are being built or just finished being built. I foresee there are going to be more and more shops being opened in the near future.

The reason we who are in Taman Tunku buy things in Miri town nowadays is because we bring our families for car rides during the weekends or eating at KFC, or at Mc Donalds or going to the big supermarkets.

I took these pictures at about 9am on my way to buy some groceries (on my motorbike LOL..)

These 2 shop lots buildings are newly built. On the left are already occupied with shops, the right one was just built and open for sale.


Going clockwise... towards the right is this old shoplot building, remember I talked about the Capital Market in my older post before?




It's in this building (there's it's signboard). You can also see big cranes in the air and that means some more shop buildings are being built there.



This one was in the middle of being built. And it is behind the 2 buildings of that 1st picture above. Hopefully it is going to be a wet market and a fish market.




This one was previously the 'Tamu' where I always went to buy my vegetables. I talked about this 'Pasar Tamu' in my entry Here.


Now the MCC (Miri City Council) have good news for the local traders here. They are renovating the 'Pasar Tamu' and move them back to this new place later as well as giving them license to trade at this 'Pasar Tamu'. That will enable the traders to have a stable income and not worry they are chased away some day.

Meanwhile while waiting for their new place the traders of the 'Pasar Tamu' have to squat under their umbrellas at the sides of the road.




Speaking about eateries in this area earlier on, I read a friend blogger's entry (Sarawakiana@2) several hours ago, and she was talking about one Cafe opened here in Taman Tunku!

You can read her blog Here.


Cheerio.

388. Cheap Cappucino

Ever drink a cup of cappuccino for just RM1.80?





That was why when I entered this bakery station which is called 'Syazwan Bakery Station' in Miri, I was surprised when the lady told me their cappuccino costs RM1.80.

I was trying to off coffee totally gradually but I am still drinking it occasionally especially when I am busy. And I used to love cappuccinos.

If you look at a cup of cappuccino, the milk foam that floats on top of it is what distinguishes it from most other coffee drinks. The foam acts as an insulator and keeps the drink hotter longer. And the porcelain acts as another heat retainer. Paper and glass cups would allow the heat to seep out faster.

A cappuccino starts out with a shot of espresso. The server then steams the milk, which is the second most important ingredient.
When the milk is properly steamed, it will be velvety and sweet. The server will then float one centimeter of the foamed milk on top of the espresso.
If the texture and temperature of the milk is wrong, the drink won't be as good as it should be.


Syazwan Bakery Station



Nice Entrance Deco


And if you enter inside they have buns, biscuits, cakes and sandwiches for you to choose from.


These tables and chairs are arranged outside at the entrance corridor so if you sit there, you can see the road and cars passing by in front of you.





This bakery has Wi fi too.


The cappuccino? If you are in Miri or nearby, you can come here and try it, then have your say.

It's at -

Lot 1197, Ground Floor
Jalan Sylvia. 98000. Miri.
Tel. 085-423290



Cheerio.

387. Chicken Wings with Salted Mustard

Yesterday almost whole day I went out with Zu (my eldest daughter) and grandson Alif.

This morning when I woke up I felt lazy even though I woke up early and have had a good night sleep. I took my time breakfast alone in my kitchen listening songs at my hp media player ( of course Mak isah and her oldies! ). Hubby 'puasa' today that's why I was alone :)

Feeling lazy means I was feeling lazy to cook. So I cooked the simplest, one soupy dish (hubby and my son need to eat one soup whenever taking rice) and 'Sardine'... :p

My Soupy Dish - Chicken Wing Soup with Sliced Salted Mustard


To Prepare :-

1. Cut the chicken wings into medium sized cubes, washed and let to dry in a sieve.

2. Slice half a packet of Salted Mustard into small pieces. Washed lightly.


To Cook :-

1. Saute one small shallot, one garlic and 1 and a half inch ginger (all grounded) in a pot.

2. Add a cup of water.

3. Let boiled for 2 minutes.

4. Add in the chicken wings cubes and the sliced salted mustard.

5. Add water same or a little bit more than the chicken cubes.

6. Let cooked.

7. Add salt and ajinomoto to taste.


My Sardines



I think YEO's Sardines taste nicer than other brands. This one is Yeo's brand. Hubby said to cook it with out adding any tomato sauce.

So all I did was saute half sliced big onion and sliced half an inch of ginger. Then just pour the 2 small tinned sardines in. When boiled, add a pinch of salt and some ajinomoto.

We ate these 2 dishes with hot rice and some HOMEMADE Cencaluk!


Cheerio.

386. Rumpai Laut

The Sabahans called these 'Agar-agar' (jelly).

And I first learned how to eat these while I was in KK last week.

We went to have lunch at Gerai Pare Pare at Pasar Besar ( also known as Pasar Gantong) on our first day there.

Besides the other dishes we chose, we also tried these 2 dishes. Both were seaweeds that came from the sea, made into 'Kerabu' or in the form of 'Umai'.

They tasted nice and crunchy and you almost feel like you are eating 'Umai' Jellyfish.

This one was brown in color, initially dried then soaked and made into Kerabu


This one you have to buy it fresh then cooked immediately (that's what I learned).


So bila dah gian makan ni, I bought the same dried kind to bring home so that I can try and cooked it myself.

And I did :)


This came in a packet of RM6. Dried. Not the brown color but more on the purplish. This was how it looked like after washing away some of the salt (when they dried it they added some salt to it)




After washing, soak it for a couple of hours (at least 2 hours)



My Seeweed Umai



To Prepare :-

1. Cut the soaked Seaweed (Rumpai Laut) into an inch long. Washed clean, let dry in a sieve.

2. Add half of one big onion and several cili padi ( sliced).

3. Squeezed juice of limes (8 - 10 or more to taste).

4. Add salt to taste.

5. If you like, you can also add some slices of mango in it.

6. Serve as a side dish.


Have you tried this Rumpai Laut atau Agar-agar or Seaweed or Algae before? Before going to KK, I saw (for the first time) that brown colored seaweed (1st pic above) being sold by one Chinese lady in my house area 'Tamu'. But for RM40 per kg! I

I was asking myself at that time, what was so special about these that cost that expensive? Now, I know how it taste :)


Gerai Pare-Pare (What a name, somehow I cannot forget it's name :)


The table we were sitting


Our other dishes (2 types in one plate). Actually it was supposed to be 'Nasi Campur', whereas one person has a plate of her own with the dishes that she chose in the plate too, but they served us in this way. Very cheap too! For 3 of us they only charged us RM9 including free ice water & free 'Sup Kosong'.
















Cheerio.