Farewell

It has been a good two years of blogging. I entered the blogging world with no expectation and I am happy to walk away with what I have achieved today.

Thanks for being there with me and supporting me through the journey. It has been rewarding and fun.

Almost Bourdain is history as I am moving on to a new phase of my life. Who knows, our paths will cross again. Someday, somewhere.

xx
Ellie

"Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." - Richard Bach

Burger Malaysia

'Burger Malaysia' is a popular miniature sized snack available in 'pasar malams' (night markets) in Malaysia.

The mini yeast buns are deep-fried and then filled with sambal ikan billis (dried anchovy sambal) and cucumber slices.

As much as I love these mini burgers, the deep-dried mini slider buns can get overly greasy and I have decided to make some with oven baked mini milk panini buns.

The sambal ikan billis can be made in advance and reheated or served at room temperature. They are perfect as finger / party food and ridiculously moreish.

'Burger Malaysia' Recipe
Makes 16


Ingredients

16 mini milk panini / slider buns (recipe follows)
Sambal ikan bilis (recipe follows)
cucumber slices

Method

1. Halve panini, top with a few slices of cucumbers.

2. Spread with sambal ikan bilis.

3. And sandwich together.

Mini Milk Panini / Slider Buns Recipe
(Adapted from Gourmet Traveller magazine May 2011 issue)
Makes 16

Ingredients

15 g dried yeast
625 g "00" flour
140 ml milk, plus extra for brushing
50 g caster sugar
125 g softened butter, coarsely chopped

Method

1. Stir yeast, 125 g flour and 150 ml water in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook to combine, cover and set aside until doubled in size (45 minutes - 1 hour). Add milk, sugar and remaining flour and mix on low speed until combined, then, while mixing, add butter a little at a time until incorporated. Cover and set aside until doubled in size (1 hour). Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knock back, then roll into 16 golf-ball-sized pieces and place on oven trays lined with baking paper (leaving 3cm between each), cover and set aside until doubled in size (1 hour).
2. Preheat oven to 180C. Brush top of panini with milk and bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, until golden and cooked through (12-15 minutes). Set aside to cool.

Sambal Ikan Bilis (Dried Anchovy Sambal) Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried anchovies (ikan bilis), rinsed and dried with paper towel
4 fresh red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
8 (100 g) small Asian shallots
3 garlic
1/2 tbsp shrimp paste, toasted
2 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tamarind pulp + 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 small brown onion, thinly sliced

Method

1. Deep fry the ikan bilis in hot oil until golden brown and crisp.
2. Mix the tamarind pulp with water. Squeeze out the tamarind juice from the pulp and discard the seeds. Strain through a fine sieve. Set aside until needed.
3. Combine fresh red chilli, bird's eye chilli, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste and candlenuts together in a mortar and pestle or a food process and pound or whiz until it forms a fine paste.
4. Heat oil in a wok, add the paste and fry under low heat until it's aromatic, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the tamarind juice to the paste together with sugar and salt. Stir and mix well.
6. Add brown onion and continue to stir fry until the onion has soften a little but still have slight texture, around 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the ikan bilis and give it a good stir. This sambal can be served hot or room temperature.

Babi Kecap (Slow Braised Pork with Ginger, Chilli & Sweet Soy Sauce)

Today is our 12th year wedding anniversary.

Looking back, the big day was a blur. Jet lag, rush, tiredness, excitement and nervousness all contributed to it.

Mr J and myself were still working in Malaysia. He just secured a job in Sydney, we were due to move to Australia in September the same year. It was a massive year for both of us.

Our official wedding was held in Holland with a dinner reception in Kuala Lumpur for our friends and relatives that couldn't make it to our wedding ceremony.

It was hard to plan a wedding ten-thousand kilometers away. So, we did the unthinkable: Let my parents-in-law be in charge of planning our big day! Talking about risk takers....

I wasn't aware that a wedding is an intense full day event in Holland. It started with breakfast at my parents-in-law's house with 20 close friends and family members, followed by a lengthy outdoor photo session. Morning coffee (Dutch can't live without their coffee). The civil ceremony at the town hall. A serene and relaxing boat cruise on the beautiful river. Dinner before more relatives and friends joined us at the church wedding and then a wedding reception in a cozy and charming restaurant converted from an old farm.

You may be wondering why I am featuring an Indonesian dish to accompany this story. Our wedding dinner that was planned by my parents-in-law turned out to be an exotic affair of catered Indonesian dishes paying tribute to my origin. Never mind Malaysia and Indonesia are actually different countries... I don't blame them as I know my parents wouldn't have a clue about the differences between German and Dutch cuisines either..

I can't remember any of the dishes served on the day except for this Babi Kecap dish because it was so delicious that I remember my dad kept going back for more and we whispered to each other that it was the most tasty Babi Kecap we had ever tasted.

Fast forward 12 years, we are counting our blessings. Happily married with our 8 years old Miss C and content to have found our soul mates in each other.

Happy anniversary J!

Babi Kecap Recipe
(Adapted from Rick Stein's Far East Odyssey)
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
100 g shallots, thinly sliced
50 g garlic, crushed
25 g peeled ginger, finely grated
1.25 kg lean pork shoulder, cut into 3cm chunks
4 tbsp kecap manis (I use Conimex brand which is a Dutch Indonesian brand. Mr J grew up with the flavour of this brand)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp Tamarind water
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 medium-hot chillies, seeded and chopped
4 red bird's eye chillies, left whole
500 ml Asian chicken stock
Crisp fried shallots, to garnish

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and fry until they are soft and richly golden. Add the crushed garlic, ginger and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 1 minute. Add the pork to the pan and fry for 2 minutes until lightly coloured. Add the kecap manis, dark soy sauce, tamarind water, pepper, chopped and whole chillies and stock. Leave to simmer, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring now and then towards the end of cooking, until the pork is tender.
2. Lift the pork out of the sauce with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Boil the cooking liquid until it has reduced to a well-flavoured, slightly thicken, shiny, dark brown sauce. Season to taste with salt, return the pork to the pan and stir in.Spoon the pork onto a warmed serving plate, scatter with the crisp fried shallots and serve.

Mandarin Orange and Goji Berry Scones with Oolong Tea Cream

Cravings and inspiration are often stimulated by visual experiences. I was inspired to make a fig, ginger syrup and crushed pistachio pavlova after watching the pavlova challenge in the premiere episode of Masterchef season 2 last year.

It was the start of another new Masterchef season last Sunday. A scone challenge had many of us who are fans of this reality TV show rushed into the kitchen to make scones to sedate our cravings.

I like flavoured scones, especially with citrusy and fruity flavours. There are many great oriental flavours and ingredients that are fantastic for baking but are not being used frequently.

I took up the challenge to create this oriental flavoured scone recipe.

I firstly started with the imperial mandarins, which are in season. Mandarins are associated with Chinese New Year because "mandarin orange" in Cantonese has the same pronunciation as "gold" which signals prosperity. Hence, mandarins are plentiful in most Chinese households in Malaysia during Chinese New Year.

Goji berries (Wolfberries) are one of the ingredients that I have seen on the supermarket shelves in recent months. Chinese use these berries a lot in cooking, mainly in soups but also in a popular herbal chicken dish (药材雞), for the berries are believed to have medicinal value. My grandma used to tell her grandchildren to eat them for better eyesight.

We can't have scones without tea. I picked the subtle flavour of oolong tea to be infused into the cream to be served with the scones. All flavors work in harmony and I reckon it's a perfect recipe to be featured on Mother's Day.

Wishing all the wonderful mums out there a happy Mother's Day especially to my mum who is in London and my mother-in-law in Holland.

Mandarin Orange and Goji Berry Scones with Oolong Tea Cream
Makes 12

Ingredients

310 g plain flour
icing sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mandarin zest
30 g Goji berries
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
30 g butter, melted

Oonlong Tea Cream:
200 ml pure cream
10 g Oolong tea leaves

Method

1. To make Oolong Tea Cream: Infuse the oolong tea leaves in the cold single cream overnight. Strain the oolong tea-infused cream, lightly whip before serving.
2. Preheat the oven to 220C. Sift the icing sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the Goji berries and mandarin zest and stir to combine.
3. Add the buttermilk and butter and stir with a knife to combine. Knead quickly and lightly until smooth and then press out on a floured surface to about 3cm thick.
4. Use a cutter or glass to cut 5 cm rounds. Place close together on a greased baking tray. Gather the scraps together, knead again and cut out more rounds.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve with Oonlong tea cream and jam.

Golden Fried Quail Egg Sambal (Sambal Telur)

Golden fried quail eggs. Spicy sambal. Add a few slices of cucumber and a bowl of steamed rice of coconut rice. It makes a perfect dinner. For me that is.

There are many different way of making egg sambal. Mostly with hard-boiled chicken eggs, I like the eggs to be deep-fried before stirring in the sambal. The crunchy texture makes it more palatable. I use quail eggs purely for their daintiness.

Some egg sambal recipes call for coconut milk, especially from the Southern region of Malaysia and Singapore but I like it without the coconut milk and slightly sweeter with lots of thinly sliced Bombay (brown) onions. It's similar to the sambal ikan bilis in Nasi Lemak except to replace the dried anchovies (ikan bilis) with deep-fried quail eggs.

Quail Egg Sambal (Sambal Telur) Recipe

Ingredients

24 hard-boiled quail eggs
4 fresh red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
8 (100 g) small Asian shallots
3 garlic
1/2 tbsp shrimp paste, toasted
2 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tamarind pulp + 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 small brown onion, thinly sliced

Method

1. Deep fry the quail eggs in hot oil until golden brown and crisp.
2. Mix the tamarind pulp with water. Squeeze out the tamarind juice from the pulp and discard the seeds. Strain through a fine sieve. Set aside until needed.
3. Combine fresh red chilli, bird's eye chilli, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste and candlenuts together in a mortar and pestle or a food process and pound or whiz until it forms a fine paste.
4. Heat oil in a wok, add the paste and fry under low heat until it's aromatic, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the tamarind juice to the paste together with sugar and salt. Stir and mix well.
6. Add brown onion and continue to stir fry until the onion has soften a little but still have slight texture, around 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the deep-fried quail eggs and give it a good stir. Served hot with steamed rice or coconut rice.

Sweet Corn Kakiage with Green Tea Salt

Everyone loves a holiday. We used to travel a lot. We both had jobs that required us to travel frequently & we have been to most of the continents except for Africa and Antarctica.

When we moved to Sydney 12 years ago, Mr J took up a job with extensive travel. I quit my job so I could travel with him instead of spending time apart. Newly married, childless. It was a good time of our life.

We both love road trips. We have done many amazing ones around Malaysia along the coastline, visiting alh the small fishing villages, coastal towns and beautiful tropical beaches & islands.

Darwin to Alice Spring was mind boggling. Being in total isolation, deep in the red centre, without a care of the world. Amazed with God made nature.

Spending weeks driving around the south island of New Zealand was breath-taking. The beauty and serenity overwhelmed us.

Let's not forget the many many road trips all over continental Europe. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland. Visiting all the small towns, away from the tourist hot spots, staying in charming guesthouses and cottages.

We didn't pause our travelling plans after Miss C was born. She was on her plane trip to Singapore when she was 2 months old and made her first flight to Europe when she was barely 2. However, the initerary of our holidays has changed. It's more about kids-friendly, kid clubs, resort type of holidays. Destinations have changed to Fiji, Hamilton Island, Gold Coast. All parents acknowledge that if the kids are happy, it's a good holiday for the parents.

We are glad that Miss C has picked the love of travelling from our genes from a young age. We couldn't wait for her to grow up a little and continue our adventures to discover the world.

When I first registered my blog back in December 2008, I named it after Anthony Bourdain because Miss C was 6 and we were ready to be on the road again. It was a blog intended to document our travels and unique food finds, staying true to the spirit of Bourdain's show: No Reservations.

A 5-month silence followed. I had an unplanned surgery. Many unforeseen events happened gradually. I slowly realized that I may not be able to travel the way we used to for a very long time.

I picked up the blog where I left it 5 months later and started to document my cooking journal in my kitchen instead of my travelling.

2 years later, I am still struggling but managing. Experimenting with short trips. We took a 1-hour flight for a 5-days holiday to Melbourne last week. Although I wasn't able to be on the road trips with them to Sovereign Hill and Phillip Island, I hope one day I can and will be do it again as a family.

Having a 8 years old child with us meant no fine dining on our agenda. The more casual tapas and Izakaya style of dining are the perfect alternatives. Movida Next Door and Izakaya Den are two places that we spent a great evening at.

This sweet corn kakiage is one of the many outstanding dishes we have tasted in Izakaya Den, which came  highly recommended by Shellie. The traditional kakiage is made with tempura batter but I have changed it to a more eggy, less floury batter with panko breadcrumbs to contrast it with the sweet corn texture.

It an extremely moreish dish and great party finger food with cocktails or beers.

Sweet Corn Kakiage with Green Tea Salt Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

200 g cooked fresh corn kernel
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/8 cup flour
2 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
Salt and black pepper
Oil for deep frying

Green Tea Salt:
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp matcha (green tea) powder

Method

1. Add corn kernels, eggs, flour and panko breadcrumbs in a medium bowl, mix well with a fork. Season with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a deep fryer at 170C. Gently spoon a tbsp of the batter in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until it's cooked and lightly brown. Repeating until batter is finished.
3. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with green tea salt. 
4. To make green tea salt: Mix sea salt and green tea together.