Monday, November 28, 2005

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak Stg Sambal

Nasi Lemak Ren. Daging

These two dishes are both Nasi Lemak from Mek Kelante in KLCC food court. It was a delight eating Nasi Lemak. I ate the one with fish while my husband ate the one with beef.

I posted this Nasi lemak for Thess who wrote that she misses Nasi Lemak as she is now in Europe, Netherlands in particular.

And for those who love Nasi Lemak, these food photos are for you too!

Friday, November 25, 2005

Lasang Pinoy 4: Food for the Soul

Ginisang Patola




I still remember up to this day that night when my two older brothers asked me to join them in watching a TV show in a house on the opposite side of the road in my little barrio in that small town in Laguna. On the way home after the show my brothers asked me to run once we reached the big house for they said it was a haunted house. When we reached that haunted house, I was so scared and ran so fast. I was so shaken. For it seemed that the white ghost was running after me.

After a few months, I learnt that the big house was not really a haunted house but my grandmother’s house. It was so sad to learn that I have a grandmother whom I knew existed only on the day she died. I could not explain what I felt then. I was angry.

A few months later, after my father was elected as the municipal mayor of our town, my family shifted to the big house. The house where they said ghosts were abound. I neither never ever experienced any sightings nor ever see that white lady or the golden hen which they said laid a golden egg and gave my grandmother just enough fortune. But I was happy for I felt that my grandmother was there with me. I was sure of that.

When I became an adolescent, I realized and understood the family conflicts that happened and why I never even see my grandmother in person then. And now that I am married myself, I came to understand my parents and my grandmother the more. And why they behaved that way then.

One old lady who knew my grandmother told me once that my grandmother liked eating ginisang patola combined with dilis and hibe. That was why I was happy every time any of my mother’s relatives cooked that dish. I felt that through eating that dish, I felt a nearness to my grandmother.

And over here in Singapore, I also cook ginisang patola. It is easy for me to cook as the ingredients like the split fish and the dried prawns come handy in convenient packages.

Here’s my ginisang patola:




















Ingredients:

Image hosted by Photobucket.comImage hosted by Photobucket.com

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
20 g split fish
20 g dried prawns
medium sized patola, sliced
10 g mee sua
Cooking procedure:
Heat oil in a pan and fry the split fish, then the dried prawns. Set aside. In another casserole, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic then onions until soft. Add the sliced patola and fry gently until cooked. Add a bowl of water and cook for at least 5 minutes. Then add the mee sua. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. Cover and cook until the mee sua is soft enough. Add the fried split fish and fried dried prawns and then stir. Serve hot.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Ice Kachang & Char Siew Wanton Noodle

Ice Kachang

wanton soup


Char siew noodles

I went to Causeway Point last Saturday. After buying some food stuffs in Cold Storage, me and my husband decided to went upstairs and eat at the food court. As I was not that hungry, I just ordered this noodles. It is called Char Siew Wanton noodles. It is a common dish here in Singapore and is cheap for it costs only $3.50 per dish. And it comes with a small bowl of wanton soup.

Compared with our very own pancit bihon and pancit canton, this noodle is cooked without oil. Though I like eating noodles that give me that oily taste, this noodle is not a disappointment. It tastes really nice. And as they say, it is healthy.

I was not able to stop myself taking spoonfuls of my husband's order, the Ice Kachang. As you can see, the ice is poured with that red and green coloured syrup and with evaporated milk. It is almost the same with our own Scramble. The only difference is that there are red beans, grass jelly and whole kernel corn inside. So it can be the same with our halo halo too. Only, our halo halo is more special as it has more fruit ingredients and has ice cream topping.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Lopez, A Malay Delicacy


Yes folks! This is called lopez and it is a Malay delicacy.

With this, I can't stop myself from camparing it with our very own suman na malagkit as they are almost the same. It is also made from glutinous rice though it is not wrapped in banana leaf and as you can see it is triangle in shape while ours is smaller and is mostly rectangle in shape.

When we were in Laguna, we usually dip the suman in a mixture of white sugar and shredded coconuts. Here in Singapore we eat lopez which is rolled in shredded coconuts and then the brown sugary sauce is poured in it. So yummy!

Ahh, I ate a lot of lopez today!! Why so? Yesterday was a public holiday in Singapore as it was Hari Raya Aidilfitri. And as they said that if Deepavali is for the Indians and Christmas is for us Filipinos and Christians everywhere, then Hari Raya Aidilfitri is for the Malays.

Isn't it nice that through food we learn from other cultures too?