A Malaysian Christmas Spread: Green Apple Chutney

By: Erna Dyanty

Every year in December, the streets will be covered with shades of red, green and white. Everything seems warmer even when you’re in the cold. Kids come up with a wish list, dad’s figuring out the wiring for the lights and mom is listing out her shopping list for the kitchen. Christmas is that time of the year where everyone comes together under the tree for presents and at the dining table for a major end of the year feast.

While some of you may sit at home, dreaming of a white Christmas and a huge Turkey, we Malaysians wait for a sunny holiday and a feast with a spread of local goodness. Christmas in Malaysia, like any other festive season is celebrated by everyone! Whether you’re a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Atheist, we come together and just celebrate the year with thanks, a feast and of course the presents.

Sweet potatoe and Corn Pudding

By: Erna Dyanty

Ramadhan is the month that families come together to break the  fasting. It is also during this time, recipes are shared between mothers and daughters. This year I've been fortunate to have my mother in-law share her delicious sweet potato and corn pudding recipe with me and in the spirit of Ramadhan, I will now share it with you!

Kuih Cara Berlauk Recipe (Malaysian Mince Beef Dumplings)

By: Erna Dyanty

Kuih cara berlauk is a Malay inspired dumpling cooked on a hot plate like the Japanese style dumplings called Takoyaki. It’s a savoury snack that can be prepared for breakfast or tea. Suitable to serve during special occasions. It is also great served as appetizer during a fancy party.

If you have a special takoyaki pan, use that, if not use any flat frying pan.

Pecal Sayur/Gado-Gado Recipe

By: Erna Dyanty

My mother in-law loves it when we come by the house. She would always make me her famous pecal sayur which is blanched vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce. In Indonesia, this dish is known as gado-gado. You can alternatively use cabbage and/or lettuce. Here is the recipe to make this delicious healthy Asian salad.

Sambal Bendi Recipe (Okra Sambal)

By: Erna Dyanty

Sambal Bendi is absolutely amazing!  The first time I had this at a vegetarian restaurant in town, I ended up going back to the restaurant the whole week.The heat from the chilies complement the okra so well, it is almost a dish on its own!

I hear the key to making good sambal is to add plenty of shallots in your chilli paste blend. This makes the paste sweet. To get that slightly toasted-salty taste to the sambal, you can use salted fermented soya bean paste, as to using belacan (shrimp paste). You’ll enjoy this one just as much as the non-vegetarian sambal!

Asian Vegetarian Recipes: Tofu & Mustard Greens Soup

By: Erna Dyanty

When I feel like the day has just let me down, I’m tired and exhausted from the mad KL traffic – I start thinking about making a dish that takes under 10 minutes to prepare. This wonderful Chinese style soup is perfect for my gloomy days. Make sure to use the soft tofu, not the firm one. Its very light yet so warm to have, served with rice in a large soup bowl, curled up on the sofa in my favourite pyjamas.

Asian Vegetarian Recipes: Hot Brinjal Curry

By: Erna Dyanty

Brinjal (or eggplant or aubergine), are a match made in heaven when cooked in a hot bubbly pot of curry. Vegetarian food is sometimes snowed under on the Malay menu. Yes, we do have our salads (called ulam), but it is a rare sight to have a vegetarian only set meal. You would always see the vegetables accompanied with at least a small piece of deep fried salted fish.  The exception would be the Indian cuisine in Malaysia, that offers many vegetarian dishes. Here I offer you a curry dish made with just good clean vegetables. No animals were harmed during this cooking process. Your tastebuds will also be pleasently surprised!

Sardines in Tomato Sauce: a Cook’s Survival Kit

By: Erna Dyanty

When I first started to cook, one of the recipes my father taught me was how to cook a can of sardines. He says it’s a cooks’ survival kit. If you want to know if a person can cook, you try their sardines cooked in tomato sauce. This fish in a can is great to eat with rice or even taken straight out of the can with a squeeze of lime dunked with bread.

Here's a simple yet very delicious recipe to whip that can of sardine into a family favourite - guaranteed to stay on your menu. Great served with steamy rice or simply dipped with bread and done in 15 minutes!

Recipe for Fried Turmeric Calamari

By: Erna Dyanty

Calamari is a type of seafood that is versatile in that it doesn’t have a strong taste to it – adding spices, marinating it in some pepper and salt for grilling or even just a simple dash of turmeric and salt is enough to make a happy seafood meal.

This recipe makes a small serving for 2. I used about 5 pieces of medium sized calamari. Cut them into rings. Here is what you will need to prepare this simple yet satisfying dish to be served on a hot plate of rice. You can even use this as a filling to be wrapped in fresh butter cabbage leaves.

Otak-Otak is Not Zombie Food!

By: Erna Dyanty

Otak-otak is a type of fish cake or fish pate that is cooked in a parcel. Otak means ‘brain’ in Malay and Bahasa Indonesia, yet otak-otak has nothing to do with brains, so don’t be afraid to try out this delicious treat! This parceled food can either be a meal on its own or a snack that contains either deboned fish fillets, prawn or crab meat. The seafood is smothered in a paste that blends chili, thick coconut milk, aromatic herbs and spices. The parcel that is made out of either banana or coconut leaves is either steamed or grilled.

This wrapped goodness is a famous snack in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In Malaysia, you can find many different versions of the otak-otak, starting with the Nyonya Peranakan style where the parcel is folded into a bundle and eaten as a main dish. The Muar-Johor style folds the otak-otak into rectangular neat folds, which it is then grilled on a bed of charcoal, very similar to the Singaporean style and from the east-cost of Peninsular Malaysia in Terengganu known as the satah.