Lime Acar - Tangy main dishes

Recipe By Amy Beh

Ingredients

Fruits:

• 10 pieces pickled sweet limes - cut into halves
• 50g buah kurma (the variety usually eaten to break fast during Ramadan)
• 100g raisins
• 50g pickled nutmeg slices

Spices (A) - Slice thinly then dry in the sun for 1 hour:

• 5 shallots
• 50g ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric or kunyit powder
• 2 sections of a star anise ( bunga lawang )
• 4cm piece cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves

Combine spices (B):

• 2 tbsp chilli boh
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 cloves garlic - pound finely
• 2 shallots - pound finely
• 80ml good quality rice vinegar
• 100ml water
• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp honey/sugar or to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method
Heat oil and saute sliced shallots, ginger and garlic and add turmeric powder. Dish out and leave aside. Keep remaining oil in the wok.

Reheat oil, add star anise, cinnamon and cloves. Add the combined ingredients (b) and fry until aromatic. Add in vinegar, water and lime juice and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.

Return the fried ingredients (a) to the wok. Add honey or sugar, and salt to taste. Leave to cool slightly. Stir in the fruits and mix well. Leave the lime acar to cool completely before storing in clean, dry bottles.

Source: TheStar-www.kuali.com

Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs

Recipe courtesy Bobby Deen

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds baby back ribs, cut into 2-rib portions

Method
In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients except the ribs. Rub spice mixture all over the ribs. Cover and refrigerate ribs for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the ribs in a roasting pan. Bake for 1 to 2 hours, until meat easily pulls off the bones.

Indian Mutton Soup - Spice of India

Recipe by Amy Beh

Ingredients

• 500g mutton with bones, cut into small pieces
• 5–6 tbsp oil
• 5 shallots, sliced thinly
• 1 tomato, coarsely chopped

(A) – (combined)

• 4 ½ tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 green chilli, seeded and sliced

(B)

• 4 cloves
• 4 cardamoms, keep whole
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 1 onion, halved and sliced

Ground ingredients (C)

• 2 cm ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds powder (ground kas-kas)
• 2–3 dried chillies, soaked
• 2 litres water

Garnishing

• chopped spring onion and coriander

Method
Marinate mutton with 2 tablespoons combined ingredients (A) and leave aside for 3-4 hours.

Heat oil in a pan and fry shallots until golden brown and crispy. Remove shallot crisps and set aside. With the remaining oil fry ingredients (B) until fragrant. Add remaining ingredients (A) and (C) and continue to fry for 1–2 minutes. Stir in marinated mutton and fry until fragrant. Add chopped tomato and pour in water. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender.

Dish out and serve with a garnishing of shallot crisps and a sprinkling of chopped spring onion and coriander.

Source : Kuali.com - TheStar, MY

ROAST PORK NORMANDY -A Traditional Roast for Easter

By WOLFGANG PUCK

Serves 4

BRINE:

• 2 quarts (2 l) water
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
• 6 bay leaves
• 1/2 pound (250 g) kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) honey
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) maple syrup

PORK, APPLES AND SAUCE:

• 2 pounds (1 kg) pork loin roast, with ribs attached
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons Calvados
• 1 cup (250 ml) organic chicken or beef broth
• 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 Golden or Red Delicious apples, preferably organic, each peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges
• 1/2 pound (125 g) mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed, and sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Method
At least five hours before you plan to cook the pork, or the night before, brine it. Put the water, cloves, ginger, black peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a nonreactive pot large enough to hold the brine and pork together. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the honey and maple syrup until dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave the brine to cool to room temperature.

Rinse the pork under cold tap water. Lower it into the brine and place a clean kitchen weight on top to keep it submerged. Cover the pot and refrigerate overnight.

About 1 1/2 hours before serving time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (230 C).

While the oven preheats, season the roast with salt and pepper. Place it on top of a roasting rack in a roasting pan and put it in the oven. Roast until cooked through but still slightly pink inside, about 40 minutes; the pork should register 150 degrees. (65 C) when an instant-read thermometer is inserted into the center of the roast not touching bone. Transfer the roast to a heated carving board or serving platter and cover with a double thickness of aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Remove the rack from the pan and pour off excess fat. Place the pan over a burner on the stove, set to medium heat. Add the Calvados and stir and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. Then stir in the broth and continue deglazing. Carefully pour the liquid into a saucepan, stir in the cream, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan, cover, and keep warm.

In a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the apple wedges and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in another large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they just begin to brown, about 4 minutes.

Stir the mushrooms into the strained sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings, if necessary, with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, use a sharp carving knife to cut the roast across the grain into slices about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick. Spoon the sauce and mushrooms onto heated serving plates. Arrange the meat slices, overlapping, on top of the sauce. Garnish with apples, sprinkle with chives, and serve immediately. - Tribune Media Services

Courtesy of Kuali.com

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Nasi Lemak Nonya Melaka Recipe

The Malaccans like to add salted fish to their nasi lemak bungkus. (Makes 10 packets)

Ingredients
ikan bilis sambal

• 100ml cooking oil
• 1 1/2 big onions, peeled and finely ground
• 400ml chilli paste (cili boh)
• 1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste (belacan)
• 3 big onions, peeled and sliced
• 80g brown sugar
• tamarind juice, extracted from 15g tamarind pulp mixed with 200ml water
• 80g ikan bilis, deep fried
• 10 small salted fish, preferably ikan gelama, deep fried
• deep-fried ikan bilis
• hard-boiled egg wedges
• cucumber slices

for wrapping

• 10 pieces banana leaf, scalded and wiped dry

Method
To cook ikan bilis sambal: Heat oil in wok. Saute ground onion, chilli paste and belacan until fragrant, stirring continuously. Add sliced onions, brown sugar and tamarind juice; simmer for 5 minutes. Lastly, add the deep-fried ikan bilis and remove from heat. Set aside.

To deep fry salted fish: Heat oil in a wok over medium to low heat. Deep fry salted fish until crisp, turning over once. Remove and drain excess oil on paper towels.

To wrap nasi lemak: Scoop hot nasi lemak onto the middle of a banana leaf. Top with a piece of deep-fried salted fish and ikan bilis, a tablespoon of ikan bilis sambal, a wedge of hard-boiled egg and cucumber slices. Fold up the banana leaf on both sides and tuck the other two ends under to form a pyramid-shaped parcel.