Larb Gai

This dish has become one of my favorites.

Larb Gai

400g ground chicken
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp glutinous rice
2 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp ground dried red pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped

1. Set a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the rice and stir occasionally to make sure the rice are evenly toasted. Wait until they turn medium brown, around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool. Turn the toasted rice into powder using pestle and mortar or grinder.

2. In another skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, take the skillet off the heat and add shallots in. Toss to wilt the shallots.

3. Add in the fish sauce and lime juice. Toss to combine.
4. Add the toasted rice powder. Toss.
5. Add the chilli powder and cilantro in. Serve.

Original recipe shared by she simmers.

Pad Ka-Prao

Pad Ka-Prao

400 g ground chicken
7 large cloves garlic, peeled
7 bird's eye chillies
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 cup basil leaves

1. Pound the garlic, chillies and shallot into a coarse paste.
2. In a skillet, heat up the oil over medium-high heat. Add the paste in and fry until fragrant.
3. Add the ground chicken and break it into small pieces.
4. Add the fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce.
5. Once the meat is cooked, add in the basil leaves before taking the skillet off the heat. Give it a couple of stirs to wilt the leaves.
6. Serve with rice and a crispy fried egg.

Original recipe shared by she simmers.

Hati masak ungkep

I love chicken liver the most, among all the chicken parts and I'm trying to cook something different than the usual liver in soy sauce or sambal. This is a Javanese style dish.

Hati masak ungkep

 400g chicken liver
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
15 bird's eye chillies
1-1/2 inch ginger
1 inch turmeric
1 piece asam keping
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp sweet cumin powder
1 lemongrass, bruised
1 inch galangal, bruised
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 tbsp palm sugar
Pinch of salt
Cooking oil
1 cup water

1. Parboil the chicken liver and set aside.

2. In a blender, make the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, green chilli and bird's eye chillies into paste.
3. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add cooking oil.
4. Saute the cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves. Add in the paste, lemongrass, galangal, coriander powder, sweet cumin powder and asam keping. Fry until the oil separates.
5. Add the liver and water. Put in more water if you want more gravy. Add the palm sugar and salt.
6. Let the liver cook through and the gravy thickens. Remove from heat.

Original recipe shared by K.Nor

Som tam

I made Som tam using the regular pestle and mortar we have at home, and I wish I could use the large version that would be perfect for making this dish.

Som tam (Green Papaya Salad)

6 ounces of green papaya, peeled and shredded
1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/3 cup green beans
2 tbsp dried shrimp
2 Thai bird's eye chillies
Fresh lime juice
Thai fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Palm sugar

1. Using pestle and mortar, pound the garlic and chillies until they form a smooth paste.
2. Add the dried shrimp and pound until the pieces are broken up.
3. Add 2-3 teaspoons of palm sugar. Pound to a paste.
4. Add peanuts and lightly pound until they are broken to tiny pieces.
5. Add the green beans and pound until they split and lightly bruised.
6. Add papaya and tomato and pound on them. Pound until the papaya strands soften up a bit and the tomato crushed and release the juices.
7. Add a couple of teaspoons of fish sauce and a couple of teaspoons of lime juice. Use a large spoon to help flip things over and scrape down the sides of the mortar. Keep pounding and flipping for a few seconds.
8. Taste and add more lime juice, fish sauce or palm sugar as needed.

Original recipe shared by Leela.

Thai Basil Eggplant

I found this recipe while looking out for ways to use the basil leaves. It is delicious and you can simply eat this dish with rice or even noodles.

Thai Basil Eggplant

1 large eggplant
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 firm tofu pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
Basil leaves
Vegetable oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
2 tsp corn starch

1. Heat up a pot and boil some water. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 3/4-inch slabs. Then cut each slice lengthwise into 3/4-inch slice. Cut each slice into 2 or 3 pieces diagonally. Parboil the eggplant pieces in boiling water. The eggplant is done once it is cooked, but firm so it is still holding shape. Take them out of the pot and set aside.
2. Place the tofu in clean paper towels and squeeze the tofu gently to remove excess liquid. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch cubes and pan fry on a medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until the tofu is light golden brown on most sides. Set aside.
3. Sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients. Mix until the corn starch dissolve.
4. Using the same pan for the tofu, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat on medium-high. Add the sliced onion and bell pepper. Saute until they are cooked but still crispy. Add minced garlic halfway through and saute them together.
5. Add in the tofu and eggplant pieces. Turn the heat up and stir in the sauce.
6. Once the pan is hot, turn the heat down to low-medium and mix until the sauce slightly thickens and coat the tofu and vegetables. Turn off the heat and add some fresh basil leaves. Mix once more and serve hot.

Original recipe by vegetarian gastronomy.

Bingka labu

I love all sorts of Malay kueh, and this is one of them. Bingka is basically a traditional cake made from flour, eggs and coconut milk. Different ingredients are added to turn it into a different variety. You can add in grated tapioca (Bingka ubi), sweet corn (Bingka jagung) or maybe banana cubes (Bingka pisang). There are many other types, of course.

Bingka labu

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 tbsp butter
Yellow food coloring
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C.
2. In a blender, blend the flour, sugar, coconut milk, evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, salt, eggs, butter and a few drops of the food coloring.
3. Pour into a greased pan. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
4. Bake for about an hour. Increase the baking time if you want the crust to have a darker brown color.

Recipe shared by ladyofleisure2101

Vietnamese spring rolls

A recipe I got from a friend on Instagram, the land of drool-worthy food.

Vietnamese spring rolls

3/4 Japanese cucumber
1 carrot
100g rice vermicelli (blanched in boiling water and strained)
1 small bunch coriander (chopped)
1/2 cup medium-size prawns (boiled)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 packet of rice paper

Dipping sauce:
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp garlic (minced finely)
1 lime
1 tsp fish sauce
Warm water
2 birds eye chillies (chopped)

1. Cut the cucumber and carrot into matchsticks.
2. Prepare the sauce. Dissolve the sugar in some warm water. Add the garlic and juice of half a lime. Add in the chillies and mix well.
3. Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and 2 tbsp of the dipping sauce.
4. Mix the cucumber, carrot, rice vermicelli, coriander and prawns in the vinegar mixture. Separate the vermicelli after mixing well.
5. Soak the rice paper and start assembling the spring rolls.

Recipe shared by Sara.

Kerabu mangga

This dish was inspired by the delicious Kerabu Mangga at The Chicken Rice Shop. A must-order dish whenever I eat there.

Kerabu Mangga

3 green mangoes
2 Kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp dried shrimps (soaked)
1 small handful groundnuts
2 birds eye chillies (chopped)
2 tsp fish sauce
2 limes
1 tbsp sugar

1. Dry toast the shrimps and groundnuts in a pan and set aside.
2. Peel and grate the mangoes.
3. Slice the lime leaves thinly.
4. Prepare the sauce by mixing the lime juice and sugar until the sugar dissolve. Add in the fish sauce.
5. Mix all the ingredients together.

Steamed tofu

This is a favorite dish that mom loves to cook for our family. You can use either silken tofu or firm tofu.

Steamed tofu

1 container of silken tofu
1/2 head of garlic (peeled)
2 birds eye chillies
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp dried shrimps (soaked)
2 tbsp black soy sauce

1. Heat up the oil in a pan.
2. Pound the shrimps, garlic and chilli.
3. Add the ingredients into the pan.
4. Sauté the ingredients and don't let the garlic get burned.
5. Add the soy sauce.
6. Prepare the tofu and top with the sauce mixture. Steam for 5 minutes.