臭豆炒虾

材料……随兴  Ingredients, ikut suka hati :

1.臭豆 (  Petai - Parkia speciosa )

2.老虎虾 ( Asian tiger shrimp,  Udang harimau - Penaeus monodon )

3.洋葱 ( Onion, bawang putih – Alium cepa Aggregatum )

4.茄子 ( Brinjal, Terung, - Solanum melongena )

5.辣椒 ( Chili – Capsicum annuum )

6.虾膏 ( Belacan )

Petai Belalang Sambal Belacan - Experimental Cooking

Petai belalang is  the name the local Malays call Leucaena leucocephala.  Wikipedia says that the Indonesians call it petai cina or lamtoro, while the Thais call it krathin. 

Petai belalang is definitely edible.  The taste is almost similar to petai ( Parkia speciosa ), only smaller in size. 

However, petai belalang is said to contained mimosine, a toxic non-protein acid amino.  Mimosine is reported to halt diving cell in the late G1 phase by inhibiting DNA replication. ( meaning what ? )  Mimosine is also said to caused lathyrism and depilation in some livestock.  However, fortunately for ruminants, mimosine is degraged to 3,4-DHP and 2,3-DHP, then further digested to non-toxic compound.

So,  it is not advisable to consume a large quantity of petai belalang.   Yet, if someone is lost in a tropical jungle or some inhabited island, I guess there are not much choice after all.   Unless there are a lot of mangoes and coconuts available.   Btw, I remember seeing Jack ( the main character in LOST, an American serial drama tv series on ABC ), in one of the final episode of Season 6,  standing by a thicket of petai belalang … do they ever know that its edible ?  

Some 10 immature pods of petai belalang only yield to a few spoonful of edible seeds.  The pods are dehiscent, meaning they will crack-opened when dried.  Immature pods are harder to open, but I soon discovered an easy way to extract the seeds : peel open from the rear end of the pod.  Easy eh ?!

I stir fried them with belacan and pounded Sarawak smoked prawns, just as a petai belacan dish would be.  The taste is less pungent than petai, more tender, less mouthful, yet still have some bitter aftertaste.

五大天王 5-Heavenly-Kings

四大天王 ( literally 4-heavenly-kings ) is a dish of 4 types of beans, namely : yardlong bean,  4-winged bean, petai ( Parkia speciosa ) and lady’s finger ( although lady’s finger is botanically not a bean, its from the mallow family ), stirfried with belacan.

I have all the ingredients in my garden, except petai.  Why not have something different, I say. 

So, I strolled down my veg garden and harvest whatever are available :
Hyacinth bean ( Dolichos lablab )

Yardlong bean ( Vigna unguiculata sesquipdealis )

4-winged bean ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus )

Lady’s fingers ( Abelmoschus esculentus )

Cute’cumbers ( tindoras ) ( Coccinia grandis )

Chili ( Capsicum annum )

Curry leaves ( Murraya koenigii )

First, cut all the beans, lady’s finger, and tindoras into bite-sizes.

Then, deep fry the curry leaves in hot oil till it become crunchy.  Set aside.

Next, stir fry till fragrant over hot oil some pounded Sarawaks-smoked-prawn, chili and some belacan. 

Put in all the cut vegs, stir fry till cooked.  Sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Serve hot !

( but its not as good as I imagined :(  ....
maybe next time, I will try stirfry without belacan  清炒 )

Hrm… I should name the dish : 五大天王, 5-heavenly-kings instead

Nasi Goreng Belacan 虾酱炒饭

Nasi Goreng Belacan
( shrimp paste fried rice )

must have ingredients :

1. rice ( duh ! )

2. belacan paste

3. dried prawn, pounded

4. fresh chili

garnish :

1. carrot, diced

2. onion, diced
3. sweet corn
4. green peas

optional ingredients :

1. fresh prawn, skinned

2. broccoli, bite size

3. yardlong bean, cut

Method :

Just stir it !

Belacan Kangkong 马来风光

Kangkong is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as leafy vegetable. It is identified as Ipomoea aquatica of the family Convolvulaceae.

It is knows as water spinach in English. Kangkong is the Malay name. In Mandarin, it is known as 空心菜; literally "hollow vegetable". In Cantonese, it’s 蕹菜. It has many other names in other languages : ผักบุ้ง – phak bung ( Thai ) , ga zun ywet ( Burmese ) , rau muống ( Vietnam ) , etc.

The leaves are usually stir fried with chilli, garlic and belacan.

Beef Curry 牛肉咖哩

Blend 3 pieces of shallots, 3 clove of garlic together with 1 slice of ginger with food processor.  Pound if you prefer it.  Stir-fry till fragrant in a generous portion of oil .

Mix tamarind juice, curry powder and beef.  Add 1 liter of water too.  Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the beef become tender.

Add in coconut milk, cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves.  Simmer again.

Don’t forget to put in cubed potato !

Add salt to taste.

Serve hot with rice or bread.

Note :

There are many variant mixture of spices in curry powder .  This particular concoction  I used in the recipe is manufactured by ADABI Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd, which is unfortunately not to my liking.



Belacan Winged Bean 虾酱四角豆

Sauté garlic with pounded dried-shrimps.

Add in crushed belacan ( shrimp paste ) and continue sautéing till a savory aroma arose.

Put in all the chopped winged-bean ( kacang botol 四角豆 ) , stir-fry till its slighly cooked. ( don't overcook it.  Overcooked winged-beans tend to be softy, and lost its crisp )

Belacan Pineapple 虾酱黄梨

Ingredients :

fresh pineapple, cut into bite size.
shallots, slice.
meat... be it chicken or pork, minced.
Sarawak's dried prawns, minced.
belacan ( shrimp paste ) dilute in water.
fresh red chilies
little bit of sugar.
salt to taste


Method :

First, saute the shallots and dried prawns. Before everything get burnt, put in the miced meat & chilies, stir for a while. Then, throw in all the pineapple, with the the belacan. Sprinkle a bit of sugar, and stir well. Simmer till the pineapple turn soft.

Its soury, sweet, hot and spicy all in a bite !!!

Daikon-Beef Porridge 牛肉白萝卜粥

材料 ：

1.白萝卜 ( Raphanus sativus var longipinnatus ) 半条，去皮，切片
2.红萝卜 ( Daucus carota spp sativus ) 半条，切丁
3.牛肉 100g，切丁
4.白米 250g
5.水 2.5liter
6.麻油 少许


做法 ：

1.全部材料先大火煮滚，然后转至小火，煲米成粥。( 约 30分钟 )
2. 加盐调味。
3......搞定！

........ 配皮蛋吃，一流 ！！！

Ongrizinal Heinz Beef 王子の棕醬牛肉

Marinate some 500g of diced Beef with generous portion of Heinz Traditional Steak Sauce, Lea Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, and some black pepper powder. Marinate it for as long as possible. I prefer to keep it in my freezer overnight. More than enough time for the meat to absorb the sauces’ flavour. Only need some time and effort to defrost it before cooking, which is extremely easy with microwave oven !

Dice 5 – 9 cloves of garlic, heat it over hot non-stick pan. Add in the beef. Stir a bit. Throw in diced carrots ( 2 pieces ). Add a cup of water.

Simmer it for 20 minutes. Or until the meat tender.

Finally add in diced onions. Sprinkle some frozen corn and green peas for garnish. Heat for a while and its done !

Serve with a nice hot rice !