Rojak Petis (Chinese Rojak)

Rojak is a popular fruits and vegetables salad dish in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.  There are various versions of rojak i.e. malay, chinese, indian, etc.  The following rojak sauce recipe is based on the malay preparation.  This time, I included yu char kway and century egg to get the chinese version.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, to be washed, dried & cut into bite pieces
1 sengkuang (bangkwang) - I used Kohlrabi (turnip) instead, to be peeled & cut into bite pieces
1 ripe pineapple, to be peeled, trunk removed & cut into bite pieces
1 mango (almost ripe), to be peeled & cut into bite pieces
2 pcs yu char kway, to be cut into bite pieces
1 century egg, to be cut into 4

Note:  One may also add "Granny Smith" apples which are sour!  Whereas, blanched bean sprouts and kangkongs are added in the malay version.

Sauce Ingredients;
2 tbsp skinned peanuts (baked or fried without oil)
1 tsp ground cillis (optional)
1 stalk chili padi (optional)
a few slices of bunga kantan (ginger flower/torch ginger bud) - optional
2 tbsp petis (shrimp paste)
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
a little tamarind juice - mix 1 tbsp fresh tamaraind with 2 tbsp warm water

Method:
Prepare vegetables and set aside.

Clockwise from from left:  pineapple, cucumber, kohlrabi & mango

Yu char kway

Century Egg

Brown sugar & Petis Udang (Shrimp paste)

Cobek

Add both types of chillis and bunga kantan to cobek and grind.  Then, add peanuts and grind coarsely. Add petis (shrimp paste), both types of sugar and about 1 tbsp tamarind juice (you may add more if the sauce is too thick). Mix well before adding the vegetables.

Mix all ingredients (except the century egg) well into the sauce and serve immediately!

Bon Appetit!

Laksa Lemak (Nonya Laksa)

Nonya laksa is a spicy noodle dish which originates from the Peranakan culture (a mix of malay & chinese) and is very popular in Singapore in Malaysia.  This dish is also known as Laksa Lemak. There are various types of laksa available and I will post them as and when I prepare them.  For this dish, I am using my late grandmother's recipe who herself was a mixture of chinese, malay and japanese. Kindly note that one can adjust the consistency of the gravy to one's liking.

Ingredients (serves 4 persons):

Spices to blended or pounded:

1 medium onion, to be sliced        

2 pips garlic, to be sliced

a small piece (or 1 tsp) belacan (shrimp paste)

5 slices lengkuas, to be skinned and sliced

5 pieces candlenuts (buah keras), to be soaked in hot or warm water

5 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut in 1 cm strips and to be soaked in hot or warm water

3 cm fresh turmeric, to be skinned and sliced (or ½ tsp turmeric powder)

2 lemongrass, to be sliced

40 g dried prawns, to be soaked in hot or warm water

5 stalks fresh red chillies, to be unseeded and sliced (depends on the hotness of the chillies)

1 tin (400 ml) coconut milk

2 cubes chicken stock

1 litre water or enough water to reach one's preference of consistency

salt to taste

a few stalks of laksa leaves, to be plucked

2 tsp sugar

300 g fresh prawns (without shells) or frozen raw prawns

300 g spaghetti or yellow noodle, to be cooked according to packet instructions

Garnishing:

cucumber (optional), to be shredded finely

soya beansprouts, tails to be removed

fishballs (frozen and thawed), to be cooked in boiling water shortly and left whole or sliced

dried tofu, to be cut into cubes (note:  I was unable to buy any - instead, I deep-fry some tofu)

4 hard-boiled eggs, to be halved

laksa leaves

Method:

Add 2 tsp sugar to fresh prawns (or thawed frozen prawns) and put aside.  Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pot and fry pounded (blended) ingredients until fragrant.  Add a little laksa leaves.

Then add water and chicken stock and bring to a slight simmer.  If needed, more water can be added.  Add coconut milk and reduce heat.  Season with salt to taste.  Simmer gravy over low heat until oil can be seen on the surface.

Heat a little oil in a small pan and stir-fry the prawns until they change colour.  Remove to a plate. Once the gravy is ready, add the fried tofu, fishballs, prawns and some laksa leaves.  Let it simmer before removing from heat.

To serve, add a portion of noodles in a bowl.  Then, add some beansprouts and shredded cucumber (optional).  Pour gravy over noodles and garnish with one half of hard-boiled egg.

Bon Appetit!