Masak Lemak Udang Dengan Pucuk Paku 【椰香大虾蕨菜咖喱】

Masak lemak 按字面翻译是用椰浆烹制的咖喱菜，据说起源于马来西亚的森美兰州，是米南加保族的特色菜。 这道菜可以用各种食材烹制，如鸡肉 、鱼肉牛肉或各式海鲜。

其底料基本一样，用生鲜姜黄、朝天椒 以及其他香草和香料制作而成。 

这道菜也会被称为 masak lemak cili api (padi)，cili api指的是在这道菜中使用的朝天椒，表示这道菜的主旋律为辣和椰香味。 

这款咖喱菜在马来西亚很受欢迎，通常搭配参巴酱、米饭和蔬菜沙拉 (ulam)一起吃。

朋友不久前给我寄了一箱子蕨菜，蕨菜是绝对要拿来做一次这款椰香黄咖喱的，今天就开动吧！

Masak lemak is a type of curry dish in vibrant yellow color, tasting spicy and creamy at the same time. It is said to have originated from the state of Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, and is a specialty of the Minangkabau people. 

This curry is made with fresh turmeric, bird's eye chili, and other herbs and spices, it can be prepared with a variety of ingredients such as chicken, fish, beef or various types of seafood and vegetables. 

This dish is also known as masak lemak cili api (padi). The cili api/padi here refers to the chili peppers used in this dish, which is bird's eye chili, a type of chili pepper notable for its hot flavor. Which means that the main theme of this dish will be spicy aromatic.

This curry dish is very popular in Malaysia and is usually served with sambal, rice and fresh vegetables (ulam).

A friend of mine sent me a box of fern tips not long ago, I have been thinking of using it to make this masak lemak since, I finally have time to get to it today, it hit the spot right away!

【马来椰香烤鸡】Ayam Percik/Malaysian Grilled Spiced Chicken With Coconut Milk

这款烤鸡是在家乡时夜市里很受欢迎的一款美食，出国后我很喜欢做了来宴客，因为可以事前准备好，宴客当天烤熟即可，非常方便。

You can find this grill chicken in almost all the night and morning market in Malaysia, it is often sold together with Satay. 

I like preparing this grilled chicken for BBQ and party here in the States, it could be prepared in advance and grilled to charred and done before serving. Very easy and well loved by guests.

KEREPEK BAWANG (Onion Chips) 【洋葱螺旋饼】

 

When I was young, I used to snack on this Onion crackers that I bought from stores, and thought that this snack can only be made by factories or bakeries. 

Until one year it was Eid so my classmate and I visited a teacher, we were served a super crunchy and tasty onion crackers, I loved it so much that I asked my teacher where did sher bought it from.

When I was told that it was homemade by the teacher herself... I was amazed and truly impressed. 

It has been more than 25 years since and I have not been able to buy this Kerepek from any stores where I now lived. I decided to try making it at home, it turned out so good that I could not stop snacking on it!

这款洋葱脆饼是我小时候经常买的的零食之一，洋葱的香味越嚼越香，我非常喜欢。我一直以为这是食品厂才做得出来的味道，直到某年开斋节我和同学们去一位马来老师家拜访，老师家的洋葱饼特别好吃，脆脆香香的。

因为太喜欢，就问了老师是那里买的，被告知是老师自己做的之后，我至今仍然记得心里的惊讶和对老师的佩服，心想老师居然还做得出店里买的零食噢！真是太厉害了。

出国定居后，喜欢的家乡零食不再是花钱就购买得到的满足。突然想吃这款洋葱饼了，趁这几天工作不忙，就做了一批，真是好吃得欲罢不能呢！

【印尼红辣酱蘸茄子】Terung Belado/Balado

这款印尼红辣酱用处非常多，可以拿来做菜调味，也可以作为蘸酱吃。我最喜欢的吃法是蘸烤茄子或煎/煮鸡蛋，非常下饭好吃。

辣酱的做法不复杂，比较麻烦的是找到新鲜的红辣椒，所以每次只要看见红美人椒我都会买一包回来做这个辣椒酱，做好的辣酱可以冷藏好几周。

Sambal Balado is a very versatile chili paste from Indonesia/Malaysia, it can be used as seasoning in many dishes and is a very good condiment for many recipes. My personal favorite ways to serve this chili paste is with grilled egg plant, fried/boiled eggs. All serves really well as side dish to some hot steamed rice.

It is fairly easy to make at home and could be stored in refrigerator for weeks to come.

【马来咖喱角】Karipap Kentang （Curry Puff)

咖喱角在家乡是一块钱三个的小点心，一般就是路边的小贩，架起油锅，卖很多不同的糕点，这个咖喱角是肯定要有的。

雨季的时候，泡一杯奶茶，加上几个热腾腾的咖喱角，就是很好的下午茶了。

Curry puff is a very hearty snacks for me, I am still living in the world of 3 curry puffs for a Ringgit (Malaysian Currency).

I was surprised to see the increase in price and reduced in size of curry puff sold at the road side stall when I visited Malaysia the last time.

It was costing a lot more at a much smaller portion! Talking about inflation huh! It makes sense to make it at home... I guess.

【马来炸虾饼】Cucur Udang

年少时放学后会和几位要好的同学到离学校不远的小摊子买小吃和零食吃。小摊子卖各种各样的炸物和糕点，有我喜欢的炸香蕉、炸香蕉糕和这款马来炸虾饼，马来友族的炸虾饼和华人小摊的炸虾饼不太一样，因为加了酵母，所以口感是外酥里嫩的，能更好的吸取酱汁。

This shrimp fritter is one of the snack choices in my hometown, often sold at the roadside hawker stalls. The hawker selling this also sells other snacks like fried bananas, fried banana fritters and some beverages.

Kuih Kasturi 【绿豆炸糕】& 【绿豆卷】

我上中学时的食堂是个马来食堂，不怎么卖中式的食物。但是食堂阿姨做的马来糕点非常好吃，这个绿豆炸糕是我最喜欢的高点之一，脆脆的外皮加上糯糯的带有椰香味的内陷非常非常好吃。

出国这些年我也做过好几次这款炸糕，也拍过照片想写食谱，但之前的照片拍得不好，我也一直没再做。这一周工作不忙，就做一次绿豆炸糕和朋友分享，邻居和儿子保姆都说很好吃呢！

The canteen in my high school sells only Halal/Malay foods as it is a Malay school, I loved some of the Kuih (pastry/snack) they sell in the canteen. This Kuih kasturi is one of them.

I have made this kuih a couple of times in the past few years, but didn't have a chance to photograph them. Since my work is a little relax this week, I made a batch of this kuih to enjoy and take a few snaps... 

Sirap Selasih【兰香子玫瑰饮】

One of my favorite drinks during the Ramadan month is this Sirap Selasih drink. This refreshing drink not only replenish sugar and liquid the body needed during the fasting month, the Holy basil seeds/Selasih/Sabja seeds added to it makes the drink very nutritious.

According to this website:

https://food.ndtv.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-how-to-use-sabja-basil-seeds-to-lose-weight-effectively-1893468

Sabja seeds, or basil seeds, are full of fibre content, which keeps your stomach fuller for longer time (reduces your appetite), further prevent overeating and unnecessary cravings. They are also a rich source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) that comes from high levels of omega-3 fatty acids present in the seeds. These acids help in stimulating the fat burning metabolism in the body. In fact, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, daily consumption of linolenic acid results in fat loss

. Besides this, basil seeds are low in calories and high in nutrients. A teaspoon of sabja seeds would not pack up more than two to four calories and will ensure that your body is loaded with vitamins and minerals - including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron along with vitamins A, B-complex, E and K - all of which are essential for weight management.

兰香子玫瑰饮是我家乡穆斯林斋戒月的时候最常见的饮料之一，它香甜解渴，又特别营养。

根据百度百科的记载：

兰香子，学名明列子，为唇型花科、罗勒属、一年生、芳香性亚灌木状、草本植物。原产于印度又名罗勒子、奇异子、南眉籽。当地土著称“达卡”从西元3500年前阿兹迪卡古文明已经开始种植食用，是一种带来健康及体力和耐力的食物。 兰香子可以作为饮料的种子，具有排毒、清热、健脾、养胃、减肥保健等功效。

兰香子是罗勒之成熟果实，其大小如芝麻，内含于果实中，颗粒饱满圆润，在东南亚曾一度被认为是稀有的草药。

Karipap Pusing 【螺旋咖喱角】

Karipap Pusing, also called Spiral Curry puff is a fancy version of the very humble karipap that I used to enjoyed as a kid. The spiral pastry gives a good texture and crust to the shell and it just looks a lot more glamorous!

螺旋咖喱角是很有名的马来小吃咖喱角 的升级版，多层次的酥皮更酥脆更好吃，摆盘出来请客也倍儿有范呢！

Assam Pedas Fish 【亚参鱼】

Assam Pedas' direct translation in English is “sour spicy”. It is a classic Malaysian dish that almost every housewives in Malaysia will have their own recipes for Assam Pedas.

Albeit endless versions of the recipe, one thing never change, that is : It has to be sour, spicy and burst with flavor in the mouth!

亚参鱼是一道非常家常的马来（西亚）菜。在马来西亚，几乎家家户户都会有自己独特的食谱和烹饪方式。

虽然食材和烹饪方式有些变化，不变的是这道菜的味道：酸辣开胃，丰富的味道让人欲罢不能哦！

Sotong Kangkung 鱿鱼蕹菜

Sotong Kangkung or Cuttlefish salad with Water spinach/Convolvulus is a very common street food in Malaysia, it is normally sold at the same stall that sales Rojak Buah/Fruits Rojak since the sauce are pretty similar.

Sotong Kangkung contains blanched cuttlefish and water spinach/convolvulus then are tossed with prawn paste, chili, sweet sauce. It will then top with sesame seeds and grounded peanuts before serving.

鱿鱼蕹菜是一款水发鱿鱼和蕹菜烫好后拌上虾膏，辣椒酱，甜酱油和海鲜酱混合酱料的小吃。吃之前会撒点烤香的花生和芝麻。

在马来西亚，它通常和水果罗惹一起卖，可能和酱料的材料类似有关系吧！

How to Soak and Prepare Dried Cuttlefish 如何泡发鱿鱼干

I wanted to make Kangkung sotong for a long time, but I had difficulty finding pre-soaked cuttlefish in the local market. I read an article about how alkali/alkaline water was made from the wood ashes in old time.

Since I have ashes in my Charcoal BBQ grill and some dried cuttlefish, I decided to create alkaline water and soak the cuttlefish the old fashioned way.

我一直想做家乡有名的小吃鱿鱼蕹菜和叁巴水发鱿鱼。但我家周边的亚洲超市都找了个遍，没找着水发鱿鱼。

有一天在网上游览时读了一篇有关古法制作碱水的文章。突然灵机一触，后院的炭炉里还有炭灰，冰箱里还有鱿鱼干，不如就尝试一次古法碱水泡发鱿鱼试试看？

Pecel/Pecal (Vegetable salad with Peanut Sauce) 【印尼Pecal沙拉】

Pecel or Pecal in Malaysia is a traditional Javanese food, a type of vegetable salad with peanut gravy, it is very nutritious and ideal for snacks and breakfast.

You can toss in some Tofu，boiled egg and Tempeh to make it high in protein, a good way to incorporate more greens into your diet.

Pecel （印尼语) 或 Pecal （马来语）是一款淋上花生酱的印尼/马来沙拉，非常美味营养，加上水煮蛋、炸酥的丹贝和豆腐干，就是一款高蛋白，高纤维的美食了。

也是让自己多吃蔬菜的一个好方法哦！

Ayam Goreng Berempah（Malaysian Style Spiced Fried Chicken) 【马来香料炸鸡】

This spiced fried chicken was made last weekend to go with some steamed rice and lentil soup, my all time favorite combination. This fried chicken is normally served back home with Nasi minyak or Nasi Lemak.

I made this mainly for me, hubby tasted it and loved it.  I ended up sharing a little more than half of my yummy fried chicken with him. 

这款炸鸡是我给自己做的午饭，它是椰浆饭 和马来油饭很好的一个菜肴，是我自小很喜欢的一道美食。做这个炸鸡的小贩会把炸鸡时掉在油里的香料一起捞起来滴干油，这样的香料渣渣特别下饭，有的人还会特别要求小贩多给一些呢！
 

做这款炸鸡的时候本来还觉得我腌得有点多了，结果一炸好俊爹跑到厨房取了好几块，边看电视边当零嘴给吃了，吃饭时还跟我分了一大半去。

看来这款炸鸡可以再做哦！

Nasi Minyak / Malaysian Ghee Rice 马来油饭

Nasi minyak is synonymous with wedding for most Malay back home, it is one of the main dishes served at the wedding reception. I used to look forward to a Malay wedding to enjoy the feast when I was young. 

Malay wedding reception is a true spirit of "Gotong royong" (Communal work), most people in the village (Kampung) gathered together to share the tasks of cooking/preparing for a reception. 

Every village/kampung has its own team of cooks for such occasion, in other word, every village has their own specialty that passes down generation after generation.

I made Nasi minyak last weekend for a gathering to go with my Malaysian mutton curry, Ayam Goreng Berempah and Achar Timun, everyone enjoys it very much, it was a perfect meal!

在马来西亚，如果想要知道马来友族朋友什么时候结婚的话，只要开玩笑地问道：“你们什么时候请吃油饭呀？”即可。可见这款马来油饭在马来族婚宴是举足轻重的一道美食。

马来西亚的乡村(Kampung)有个很特别的文化叫“Gotong royong"。 就是村子里的人集合在一起同心协力地去做一件事的意思。村里的婚宴一般都是村民们集合一起共同完成的，每个村子都有自己的婚宴团队，专门负责婚宴煮食和安排。换句话说，每个村子的婚宴美食都是很独特的哦！

周末我们请朋友一家和他们来探亲的父母吃饭，我做了马来羊肉咖喱，马来香料炸鸡 和 凉拌黄瓜，大家都很喜欢，连小孩都很喜欢颜色好看的这道米饭哦！

Nasi Lemak Kukus (Steamed Coconut Rice) 【椰浆饭】

With many of my fellow Malaysian friends showing their Ramadan feast on facebook the last couple of weeks, I started craving for nasi lemak to no end. Nasi lemak used to be my breakfast back home for years. I especially loved the small packets of Nasi Lemak wrapped in Banana leaves sold by street hawkers, it is simple, authentic and full of flavors. 

My love for nasi lemak probably was responsible for my weight and cholesterol level then, but then, it was totally worth it!!

I had to make this nasi lemak for lunch this weekend, I could wait no longer. This steaming method really works great and my nasi lemak turned out just the way I liked it! The only thing I am missing here is a fresh banana leave!

P/s：Original recipe was written on 7/26/2014, updated with photographs.

斋戒月这几个星期让人有点郁闷，亲戚朋友们都在FB上发好吃好喝的照片。让思念家乡美食的我都要抓狂了。于是这个周末就不怕麻烦的做了这个得三蒸三煮的椰浆饭。出来的效果跟我思念的味道一模一样。就差那一叶垫底的新鲜芭蕉叶啦！

注：原食谱写于7/26/2014，照片更新。

Rempeyek Kacang (Crispy Peanuts Fritters) 【炸花生饼】

I always buy this fritter as a snack from Kopitiam (Coffee shop) near my house when I was young. I remembered paying 5 cents apiece years back, I loved the taste of spices and the crunchiness of it. 

Rempeyek is normally made in round shape using a special metal mould back home. Since I do not have a mould here , I used the Javanese method to make it, which is to flow the batter by the side of hot wok and later push it down into hot oil using a turning spade to deep fry.

小时候很喜欢这款炸花生饼，是每次去咖啡店都要买的一款小点心。我还记得多年前一块炸花生饼是5分钱。不晓得现在一块多少钱呢？

炸花生饼在马来西亚一般是圆形的，用一种类似勺子的平底模子铺上米糊和花生炸酥。我手上没有模子，所以就做了印尼款的花生饼，把米糊淋在锅边定型后再铲到热油里炸酥。

Pumpkin Kuih Lapis 【南瓜九层糕】

I have always thought Kuih Lapis a local Malaysian snack, it was known to me as 9-layered kuih (九层糕 in Chinese）for a long time. I later learnt that not only the Malaysian, the Singaporean, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese all have similar versions of this cake, the difference are mostly on the ratio of rice flour and starches.

I have also learned that 9-layered cake is a specialty made in Hainan and Canton province in China during festive seasons. Its name implies "longevity and growing upwards" It is also something that is made only for prayers and serves only to family members. It is not to be shared with outsiders as luck and prosperity should be preserved within the family.

As its name suggested, there should be nine layers in this kuih, hence I designed my recipe based on that. It is normally made with food coloring (red being the most common choice) in my country. I made mine with pumpkin for its sweetness and bright color, I am really pleased with the color!

For those who has been following my blog, you would have noticed that I had been experimenting with ground rice instead of rice flour in recipes lately. My Chee Cheong Fun (steamed rice rolls) project got me obsessed to ground rice, the texture and taste a freshly ground rice provides is simply out of the world. It is truly worth the while and it is hard to go back to the ordinary rice flour now.

我一直以为九层糕是马来西亚专有的娘惹糕点, 出国后才发现其实很多国家都有类似的糕点，用的材料也都近似，不外是米粉和淀粉以不同的比例蒸制而成。

【佛山、南海一带民间喜庆节日，尤其春节，家家必做九层糕，取其“长长久久，步步高升”之意。九层糕是 一种甜米糕，做工讲究。民间用白米浸透，用石磨磨成水粉，搅拌成浆，加入糖水，用铜盘放一层薄水粉，加热蒸熟，然后逐层加粉至九层。蒸熟的九层糕层次分明，软滑可口。

有些人还用食用色素掺入，每层红白相间，十分好看。[1] 节日期间，人们将蒸好的九层糕切成菱形小块，每四块叠成一盘（三块在下，一块在上），先敬神、后敬祖先，然后是全家吃糕。取其吉祥之意。春节时，人们往往以松糕、年糕、煎堆、油角互赠亲友，但九层糕则不赠与别人，据说分给别人会把吉祥分薄，于己不利。[1] 层匀美观，软滑可口，乳香甜润。】资料来源：http://baike.baidu.com/view/121245.htm

我自从做了纯米肠粉之后，对自磨米浆有了新的认知和喜好, 自磨米浆做的糕点带有清新的米香，口感更柔滑，放置至第二天还是软软QQ的，简直让人欲罢不能。

今天做的这款九层糕用了南瓜泥，南瓜的甜香和漂亮的颜色让成品看起来更吸引人，是很好的天然健康色素呢！

Sambal Ikan Kembung 【叁巴甘榜鱼】

I made Ribs Congee not long ago and posted the picture on my FB page, it was my maternal grandma's recipe, my cousin Yin saw that and asked if I remember the Chili/Sambal Mackerel that grandma used to make.

It brought back so many memories when she mentioned this dish, I was very young and was still learning to eat spicy food, a little of this sambal paste with fish will have to be eaten with lots of white rice for me. I will fold a little of the sambal paste in the rice with some crushed mackerel and enjoyed it like I would with fried rice.

我不久前重做了外婆的排骨粥然后把照片放到我的面子书上，表妹盈看见后问我是否记得外婆常做的辣椒甘榜鱼。

外婆嗜辣，几乎顿顿饭无辣不欢，做的辣酱特别的香辣，浇在炸得酥酥的甘榜鱼上，更是美味。我小时候不太能吃辣，却特别喜欢外婆的这款辣椒鱼，我会把鱼肉挑出来用勺子压碎，加上一小勺的辣酱和米饭拌着吃，一边辣得流泪一边大口喝水，满满的都是回忆哦！

Mee Kari/Curry Mee 【马来咖喱面】

Being out of Malaysia means a good bowl of curry mee is hard to come by, even back home though, it is getting harder to find good curry mee around. Too many hawker owners either taking shortcuts in preparing the broth or using inferior ingredients to prepare the dish.

I received multiple requests for the recipe for this dish over the years and made too many rain-checks that I am starting to feel guilty.

It took me sometimes to finally work on it for gathering ingredients itself takes quite a bit of time, the actual cooking process too is no brisk walk, it is tedious and lengthy.

But it was so well worth it when I finally got to sit down to enjoy a bowl of this delicious dish, craving fixed and recipe recorded. Sigh of relief!!

叻沙/咖喱面是马来美食里一个很有代表性的面食，汤汁鲜香浓郁，加上各种的配料，一碗下肚很容易就大汗淋漓，感觉很爽！

近年来即使在马来西亚也越来越难找到原汁原味的叻沙/咖喱面了。繁琐的工序和多样化的材料让很多小贩都在工序和材料上找捷径, 那些让人缅怀的味道也只有在家不怕麻烦地重寻了。

这些年来我收到不少朋友有关咖喱面/叻沙食谱的询问。也答应过不少的朋友有机会要做一次。但因为汤料费时费事，所以一直都没有机会好好记录。上周刚好有空，就做了这个咖喱面，老公和朋友吃了说非常好！