French Beans in Coconut Gravy (Malay Style)

This simple dish is also known as Kacang Bonces Masak Lemak in the malay language.  It is one of my husband's asian favourites which is easy to prepare.  Normally, I would serve this dish together with fried chicken, fried omelette and rice, not forgetting the sambal belacan.  Following recipes serve 4.

Ingredients:
500 g french beans, to be washed, dried and cut into 5 cm lengths
1 can (425 ml) coconut milk
a little tang hoon, to be soaked in warm water
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Blended Ingredients:
2 tbsp dried prawns, to be soaked in warm water
1 big onion, to be sliced
2 cloves of garlic, to be sliced
1 red chilli, to be sliced

Method:
Heat oil in a pot and stir-fry blended ingredients until fragrant.  Add in coconut milk and bring to a boil slowly.  Reduce heat and let it simmer until some oil are seen on the surface.  This will take about 10 minutes.

Add french beans and cook until they are almost tender.  Season with salt to taste.  Then, add in tang hoon and let it simmer gently.

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken legs, to be washed, dried and cut into two at the joints
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp corriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp aniseed powder

oil for deep frying

Note:  Preferably, I will use fresh turmeric, corriander seeds, cumin seeds & aniseed.  These have to be blended together and is optional.

Method:
Combine all spices and coat the chicken pieces.  Heat oil in a deep fryer and fry them until golden brown.  Remove to a plate which is lines with absorbent paper.

Fried Omelette

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 big onion, to be sliced finely
1 red chillie (optional), to be sliced finely
salt & pepper to taste
a little oil

Method:
Beat eggs lightly in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.  Heat a little oil in a pan and fry omelette.

Bon Appetit!