Grab Your Chopsticks!

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 2

Fish Curry

Ingredients

400g Fish fillets
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped and seeded
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp ketchap manis
juice from 1/2 a lemon or lime
4 tsp dessicated coconut
1 tsp turmeric
3 tsp sugar
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp shrimp paste or 1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp lemon grass
2 tsp garlic, crushed
2 chillis
2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
salt & pepper

Method

1. Cut the fish into large chunks.
2. Fry the dessicated coconut without oil until evenly brown, then add oil, ginger, chillies, garlic and lemongrass, and fry for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp paste and coconut milk, chicken stock, turmeric, sugar, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the fish and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Result

A great taste!

Preparation Time: 90 mins
Cooking Time: 60 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4

Coconut Beef Curry

Ingredients

350g steak
6 red chillies
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
1 onion, chopped
2 – 4 cloves garlic
2 stems lemon grass (or dried lemon grass soaked overnight in hot water)
3cm piece galangal sliced (or dried galangal soaked overnight in hot water)
2cm fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 teaspoon grated lime rind (or lemon if lime is unavailable)
oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon ketchap manis
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate (mix tamarind with hot water, mix and drain the liquid to make the concentrate)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 spring onions

Method

1. Place steak in hot water and simmer over a low heat for about 40 minutes.
2. Soak the chilli in hot water for about 15 minutes, then drain off the water.
3. Spread the coconut on a tray and brown in the oven at about 100 deg C until golden brown (watch this it will brown quickly.
4. Place the chilli, onion, garlic, lemon grass, galangal, cumin, ginger, turmeric, shrimp paste, lime rind and 2 tablespoons of oil into a food processor and blend until smooth.
5. When the meat is done, remove from the pan, and cut into small rectangles, mix the meat with the paste and marinate for 10 minutes.
6. Heat some oil in a kahrai, wok or heavy based frying pan, and cook the meat over high heat until browned. Add the coconut milk, ketchap manis, tamarind liquid and salt and stir until the mixture is almost dry.
7. Add the toasted coconut and mix.
8. Add a garnishing of spring onion and serve with rice and vegetables.

Result

Very nice! This is a dry curry, so have something nice to drink with the meal. I always enjoy a soothing glass of milk with a curry…

Preparation Time: 2:30 (2 hours marinating)
Cooking Time: about 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 8

Malaysian Style Beef Satays

Ingredients

750g Rump (or sirloin) Steak
1 medium onion, grated
1/2 teaspoon lemon rind, finely grated
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon ketchap manis (or regular soy sauce)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Trim the meat of any fat and slice into long thin strips.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.
3. Add the meat strips and mix.
4. Leave covered bowl in the fridge for at least two hours, but preferably overnight to 24 hours.
5. Thread the meat onto skewers and brush with remaining marinade.
6. Place the satays onto a lightly oiled grill and place under high heat, turning occasionally.
7. Serve with rice and a garnish of cucumber and onion wedges (I only used rice).

Result

I was a bit unimpressed with the result. Although the meat was perfectly tender and had a great taste, it wasn’t what I was expecting. I suggest you play with this recipe, maybe adding more sweetness in the form of a tomato paste.

I have heard that people have used satays in a dip. I imagine this could be quite nice. The photo was taken from a magazine by the way. This wasn’t our result! Not that ours was bad, we just lost the photo!