Malay Yellow Rice ('Nasi Kunyit')

'Nasi Kunyit' means 'yellow rice' in Malay. It is a very special dish in the Malay custom as it is often cooked to commemorate an occasion of thanksgiving such as a special anniversary, a religious occasion or the completion of the milestone in one's life such as the completion of a course of studies. It is usually served along another very special Malay dish called 'rendang' which I will feature on the next post.

Nasi Kunyit is usually cooked in the confines of one's home; then wrapped in fresh banana leaves along with a serving of beef rendang, fresh sliced cucumbers and a hard boiled egg. These packets are usually distributed to friends and family - who receive this offering with much happiness; for this is such a special treat as it is truly a dying art. (See previous post - how it was done in Singapore for me.)

My mom cooked this dish for me in Singapore as our thanksgiving on the occasion of the completion of my MSF degree in Chicago. It was truly very special for me; as it took special effort on my 74-year old mom. (Thank you Mak! I love you very much.) 

I decided to make some for myself and Connie in Chicago; partly for our own thanksgiving occasion - but partly also to make sure that this tradition is kept alive.

The most formal version of this dish uses glutinous rice ('sticky' rice as it is called in North America). Unfortunately, we were unable to source glutinous rice and had used calrose rice instead. Nonetheless, the end result certainly did not disappoint and we are happy to share the recipe below with you. Stay tuned to Part II of this series, as we share with you a complex yet delicate authentic Beef Rendang dish that will showcase the beautiful spices of South East Asia! - Ros

Ingredients

- 2 cups of rice

- 1 tin of light coconut milk

- 1 tbsp turmeric powder

- Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Clean the rice with water. 

2. Soak the rice in sufficient water as below. Add in 1 tbsp of turmeric powder to the water and stir. Let it soak for about 6 hours.

3. Drain the water. The rice should be nice and yellow in color as per below.
4. Place the rice on fresh banana leaves if available. If not, wax paper is a good replacement. This is then placed on a flat dish; ready for steaming.
5. Steam the rice. 

6. When the rice is 75% cooked, take the rice out and place it it a deep bowl.
7. Add a dash of salt to the coconut milk, then mix the salt in. (Adjust salt to taste)
8. Pour the salted coconut milk onto the rice, then mix.

9. Place the rice back on the banana leaves / wax paper and put it back in the steamer.
10. Continue steaming the rice until it is completely cooked.

'Pulut Kunyit' : A Malay Thanksgiving

A very traditional Malay dish of glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk and the iconic Malay beef rendang, made by Ros' mom in Singapore. Indeed this dish is becoming more rare by the day, as authentic rustic Malay cooking becomes a dying art. Stay tuned to delimilli as Ros attempts to recreate this beloved rustic dish from our kitchen across the world in Chicago!

Steamed Red Snapper

We cooked a whole snapper for dinner yesterday, using Connie's family's Cantonese steamed fish recipe. It was delicious and very healthy! We laid the fish on a base of soft tofu and covered it entirely with spring onions, fresh cilantro and cut chillies. As sauce, we doused the steamed fish with a mix of light soy sauce and then hot olive oil.


For our recipe of steamed fish, please refer to our archive here: http://delimilli.blogspot.com/2011/02/steamed-sea-bass-over-silken-tofu.html

Spicy Eggplant with Minced Beef

Spicy Eggplant with Minced Beef

This is a delicious, easy to cook dish that can be served as a one dish meal for dinner. It contains a vegetable and some meat and great umami from our use of oyster and soy sauces. The dish takes 15 minutes to prepare, but the actual cooking should last no longer than 15mins. Try our recipe for a lovely savory and spicy meal that will guarantee to make you and your family happy!

Ingredients:

2 medium sized long Chinese eggplant

0.5 lbs of minced beef, marinated with a dash of light soy sauce and cracked pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 stalks of spring onions, cut approximately 1 inch long

1 red fresno pepper, sliced thinly

4 Thai chillies, sliced thinly

Sugar

Olive oil

A small handful of cilantro

Seasoning

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

1.5 tsp dark soy sauce

1.5 tsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese chilly oil

1 mug of water

Steps

1. Slice the eggplants lengthwise, and then slice into 3 parts. Soak these eggplant slices in salted cold water for 15mins. Soaking the eggplant in salted water will allow it to retain its beautiful purple color.

2. After 15mins of soaking, drain the water and pat the eggplants dry.

3. Heat olive oil in the wok, and panfry each piece until it becomes soft. Set aside.

4. Using the same wok, and the remaining oil, fry the minced meat for about 2-3minutes. 

5. Add the garlic and all other ingredients as shown below except the spring onion.

6. Pour in the seasoning and bring all the ingredients in the wok to a boil.

7. Add in the eggplant and stir for a while. 

8. Add in the spring onion and mix well. Season with sugar to taste.

9. When done, the dish should look like this. 

10. Sprinkle with minced cilantro. Serve with hot rice.

Savory Malay Pancakes (Roti Jala)

Eid marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan. It is a day to celebrate one's abstinence whilst fasting during Ramadhan. Traditionally, Malay Muslim families celebrate the first day of Eid with an abundance of delicious, festive foods, along with various sweet offerings including home baked cakes and cookies. 


Part of the fun of Eid is in preparing the food to be shared with friends and family. Being in Chicago during Eid for the second year, I was contemplating the special menu to celebrate this special occasion. Since I have to attend class on that day, I planned to prepare something simple yet delicious. So my thoughts went to 'Roti Jala' a very classic Malay savory pancake that goes very well with a beef curry. Roti jala is by no way an everyday dish. It takes considerable time to prepare, and usually served for tea in the company of special guests and loved ones. To be served roti jala is indeed quite a delightful treat for anyone visiting a Malay household! 


Special thanks to my sister, Su, for sharing this family recipe, and Kak Idah from Toronto for her brilliant idea on the apparatus. - Ros


Ingredients (Serving for 3-4 people):
- 1.4 cups of flour
- 2.8 tbsp evaporated milk
- 1 medium egg
- 1.4 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- A pinch of tumeric for color


The process starts with the preparation of the batter. Mix all the above ingredients to a liquid batter. Pour some of the batter to the 'squirt' bottle. (If you are in Singapore or Malaysia, you can buy the roti jala apparatus from many grocery shops). Then follow the process below:

1. A bit of butter and a dab of olive oil is added to the pan.

2. We used a 'squirt' bottle because we did not have the right apparatus.

3. Make round, concentric circles like above. Leave for pancake to cook, but just on 1 side.

4. They are folded into four like the above. Just love the ones that's ever so slightly browned.

5. The table is set up for dinner.

This is our second try at roti jala. It gets better each time. :)