Mun Coffee @ Cheras

As the year 2020 draws to a close, it's been a year of little cheer and one I'm sure everyone is not going to miss...or forget! >_<  The coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc in our lives....and in the process changed the way we live forever.

As sad as the year has been, I, too, will end my blogposts for the year on the same note with a truly sad makan that I consider as one of my worst meals of 2020 (this was in September before the second CMCO was imposed)...and it was at this place, Mun Coffee @ Cheras! :O

I first got a whiff of Mun Coffee (pronounced Moon + there's a crescent moon in their signage) from eatdrinkkl and since Bandar Sri Permaisuri is just about 10 minutes away (from where I live), I thought why not.  Place is comfy enough with cemented flooring + wall dividers, marbled + wooden table tops and rattan + cushioned seating although the 2 (or 3) seater table (where we were seated) was rather small (to discourage you to order too much?...heheh!).

I ordered the Nasi to the Moon @ RM28 (one of their best sellers) which is a platter of nasi goreng kampung, ribeye steak and balinese-style satay with a mixed salad.  The mixed salad were just some salad leaves (from a packet) with no dressing stuck into a piece of fried papadum that was crispy but barely fragrant.

The ribeye steak (250g) was cooked to medium (can't remember if I was asked how I wanted my steak done). It wasn't very tender, in fact chewy enough that I had to ask for a knife to cut my steak into smaller pieces to eat (even though it was already in slices).  Getting the staff's attention was another matter all together.  The two that were behind the counter were fixated on their phones.  I finally managed to get the attention of someone who walked out of the kitchen (a kitchen staff, I presume) to attend to my request (the service leaves much to be desired).  The chimichurri parsley sauce on top of the steak turned out to be super salty that I had to scrape most of it off (must have been a minor glitch in the seasoning department that day).

Next were the two sticks of Balinese-style sate lilit of grilled ground chicken wrapped around a stick of lemongrass.  Only one of the satay stick was well grilled with a faint smoky flavour but the ground chicken was very dry.  I'd rather eat a stick of our local satay from a stall that cost less than RM1 than this! >_<

The nasi goreng kampung didn't taste like a nasi goreng kampung I know but a plain fried rice with bits of egg and chilli.  Again, one can get a better tasting nasi goreng kampung from any warung or mamak stall. Heck, even my home-cooked fried rice tasted better.  As for the fried egg, the runny yolk just about made it!

Overall, I found the dish not cohesive at all.  Each of the components in the dish seemed separate and  there wasn't one common thing that brought the whole dish together.  It was as if the steak with chimichurri and salad belonged to one dish and the nasi goreng, sate lilit, fried egg and papadum belonged to another.

Our other dish was the Pasta Au Ratatouille @ RM17 and, as the name implies, it's a dish made up of vegetables like zucchini (green & yellow), aubergine and sun-dried tomatoes in a house-made marinara sauce cooked with a trio of wild mushrooms (very little of it) that I found a bit too acidic without a well-rounded flavour.

The pasta was topped with a piece of chicken shnitzel, the batter coating of which was quite alright but the chicken breast again came off as dry.  There was also a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes (!), dried parsley/herbs (!!) and grated parmesan (probably from a bottle!!!).  Dried herbs are meant for home cooks only...they have no place in a restaurant-quality dish.  If you can't use fresh herbs, then just don't use any at all.

Another example of a not cohesive dish (in my opinion) would be their dish of Loko Moko (RM20.50)  I spotted on their menu which pairs nasi goreng with a beef patty, sunny side-up egg and cheddar cheese with the whole thing then drenched in a thick (and gloopy, from the looks of it) mushroom gravy.  It might seem original and different...but I think they may have gone a little loco with such a creation.  I'm imagining a beef burger with cheese (minus the bun) on top of rice drowned in mushroom sauce...that can't be any where near delicious, can it?  Oh, and the coffee....just drinkable.

My Personal Opinion

Although I've only tried two dishes here, both selection is not something I'd want to eat again.  Perhaps I made the wrong choices or perhaps I should have gone with something more local like Salmon Bungkuih (RM26.50) with marinated salmon wrapped in banana leaves served with nasi telang (blue-tinged rice), vegetables, sambal and keropok (crackers).  From what I see on their Facebook, their very reasonably-priced weekday set lunch menu (mainly local dishes, changes every week) at RM15 & RM17 looks far more enticing to me.

After a miss of two out of two, I'm not sure if I'll be back...most likely not.  You know the saying....once bitten, twice shy.  It's safe to say....don't fly me to the Mun! ;P

Mun Coffee

R-G-05 Avenue Queensville

Bandar Sri Permaisuri

Cheras

56000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9226 4611

For what it's worth, I wish everyone a healing & happier 2021!

Secret Garden #8 - A Christmas Doily

 Well, well, what do you know?  I've put down my colour pencils for more than 3 years now I just realised (looking at the date of my last piece)! >_<  That's quite like me, I go gung ho in the beginning with most of my projects but tend to not see them out (you can revisit my previous colouring works here).

With Christmas just around the corner, the festivity was obviously the inspiration for this piece.  After all, tis' the season to be jolly.....and God knows we need a little bit of that after almost a year of upended lives (and livelihood) caused by the global pandemic.

So I decided to colour this piece like a Christmas doily!  What better then to go with the traditional Christmas colours of red and green (I only had 4 shades of red and 5 shades of green to work with).  And if you see some uncoloured parts, they were deliberately left that way to mimic the look of a crocheted Christmas doily. :P

Since this piece is still life, no shading is necessary to make the subject look real (or as real as possible).  So, it ended up to be the easiest piece I've coloured so far...but also the most boring....lol! :D

Only a little bit of creativity was needed to pair and match the different shades of red and green together.  There.....my pretend Christmas Doily is finished. ^_~

As we near the end of a roller-coaster year, I'm more than happy to see the back of a gloomy 2020 but also thankful to have come through it safely thus far.  So, here's wishing you some Christmas cheer & joy (even if it's just a little bit)!

And we welcome a hopeful new year, hopeful that the end of the pandemic is near as vaccines roll out.....and we can eventually return to some form of normalcy.

In the meantime, let's stay resilient and continue to mask up and adhere to social distancing if you have plans to celebrate the year end festivities with family & friends..... stay safe & take care.

Merry Christmas everyone! ^o^

#ewew cooks (my version of) Egg Fried Rice

This simple and humble dish of egg fried rice seems to be getting a lot of fame and attention on the internet lately with many putting out their own videos and recipes on their version of egg fried rice.  So, I thought I'll join in the fun too.

Well, I think most of us would have read by now the hoo-ha surrounding the egg fried rice dish showcased by one BBC food presenter, Hersha Patel, who received a lot of brickbats on how she cooked the dish (watch Uncle Roger Disgusted by this Egg Fried Rice Video).

This incident got further traction when a Malaysian stand-up comedian (Nigel Ng) based in UK, using the moniker Uncle Roger, made a hilarious video and trolled the way she made her fried rice which went viral (and garnered more than 19m views) and, along the way, turned Uncle Roger into a household name with more than 2.9m subscribers currently on his YouTube channel.  Incidentally, he only had about 9k subscribers before that video which then shot up to over 900k after the video (sometimes all one needs is a lucky break).  They have since 'made up', of course, by appearing in an interview and subsequently made another video on the subject (watch Uncle Roger Meet Egg Fried Rice Lady).

And then Uncle Roger went and disturbed one of my favourite celebrity chefs pulak, Jamie Oliver with 11m views, and roasted his way of making egg fried rice (watch Uncle Roger Hate Jamie Oliver Egg Fried Rice Video).  Haiya, you touched one of my favourite celebrity chefs lah.  Next in the firing line was Gordon Ramsay with 14m views (watch Uncle Roger Review Gordon Ramsay Fried Rice) though his was more of an Indonesian nasi goreng...and then there's also one Australian egg fried rice.  Finally, we even have our own Malaysian chef's version, Sherson Lian's egg fried rice.  Well, I'm no chef, just a noob home cook but here's how I cook my version of egg fried rice.

First and foremost, egg fried rice is supposedly a humble dish, so I'll do justice to it by keeping it simple (as it should be) with just three basic ingredients - eggs, spring onions and garlic...and rice, of course.

The most important thing to get right is the rice itself....and you start by cooking it right.  I was horrified (like many others) when I saw the BBC lady drain rice.  Who cooks rice that way?  We never ever drain rice. We, Asians, cook rice in a rice cooker using the absorption method (rice cookers were designed to do exactly that) although sometimes I do cook it over a stove top by steaming if I'm making a small portion (but still using the absorption method, no draining whatsoever).

Next question is...how much water do you use?  No, Uncle Roger, I don't use my finger as a gauge.  If I did, the water would be too much and the rice would be too wet.  How much water to use really depends on the type of rice you use.  For me, I let the water come up to about half an inch above the rice.  But I do remember my mom teaching me how to press my hand against the rice (once it's in the rice cooker) and let the water come up to a certain level of my palm...but I didn't see a need to practise that method either).  As to whether we need to wash the rice, I've seen some good quality rice that doesn't need to be rinsed (like some salad leaves we eat out of a packet).  But many Asians (and Malaysians) may buy cheaper rice, so it needs to be rinsed + it helps to get rid of starch for a better texture. >_<

Once you've got the rice cooked right, some will tell you it works best with leftover rice, preferably left overnight in the fridge to dry out (this was what Sherson Lian recommended too).  But I will tell you (from my own experience) that you don't have to use leftover rice or rice cooked from the day before.  You can cook it on the same day you want to make fried rice as long as the cooked rice is fluffed and had enough time to cool down.  For me, if I want to make fried rice for dinner, I make sure I cook the rice by lunch time.  In other words, use room temperature rice...not cold rice from the fridge.  I did that once and found the rice too dry, hard and clumpy (even after I've loosen it)...and you end up having to splash water on the rice (during the frying process) to moisten the rice.

Great fried rice starts with frying (two) eggs (beaten with a pair of chopsticks or a fork, there's no difference whatsoever...lol) in 2 - 3 tbsp of oil, scrambling it actually.  We do that by stirring the eggs around the pan to get the eggs fluffy.  Some say to add a bit of water into the eggs to get them fluffy but I've never tried or had to do that coz the key to fluffy eggs is to not overcook them...it's as simple as that.  So, don't wait for them to be fully cooked before you dish them up, it just needs to be 50% - 75% cooked since the heat of the rice will cook it fully later.

Add in another 2 - 3 tbsp of oil and stir-fry the chopped garlic (lots of it, at least 3 large garlic cloves).  You could also use a combination of garlic and shallots like Sherson did.  I watched Seonkyoung Longest cooked her version of fried rice and was greatly surprised that she didn't use any aromatics at all.  In Chinese cooking, we were taught that aromatics (such as garlic, shallots, onions, ginger, chillies or even the white parts of the spring onion) are very important, otherwise it just wouldn't taste as good.

Once the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant, you can put in the cooked rice (the portion here is about 2 rice bowls or 2 cups).  If you didn't cook the rice right and start with mushy rice, you're doomed already.  A tip would be to use a little less water than you normally would to cook the rice so that the grains stay firm.  Use your spatula to press down on the rice to get rid of any lumps.

At this point, you can season your rice with salt or light soy...but do be forewarned that the liberal use of light soy will darken your rice and we don't want that in egg fried rice, so make sure you use good quality soy (that's light-coloured)...or use a combination of salt and soy.  Of course, Uncle Roger highly recommends the use of MSG in fried rice or any dish...lol.  Sorry, Uncle Roger, I did not use MSG but I did use 1 tsp of chicken stock granules (does that count?).  You can certainly bump it up to 2 tsp (or more) if you like your fried rice saltier together with 1 tsp of light soy (just for a bit of colour).  This was lightly salty, nicely subtle for me.

If you're happy with how your rice look and taste, pour the almost cooked eggs back into the rice.  Break up the egg into smaller pieces with your spatula.  I like to keep some in big pieces for a good bite.

Once that's done, add in the chopped spring onions.  My rationale for seasoning the rice first before the eggs and spring onions go in is because once these two go in, you'll only need a minute or so to stir that into the rice to ensure the egg is not overcooked.

And yes, Uncle Roger, I used a pan to cook egg fried rice (I can hear your haiya already)...but, at least, I used a wooden spatula...hehe!  That's my new Shogun pan, by the way, after my Chefology pan lost its non-stick capability after 3 years of usage.  Let's see how long this one (which I bought during a Shopee promotion) lasts.  The gwai lo try to look authentic by using woks when they cook Asian dishes while I, an Asian, prefer to use a pan to cook (role reversal..haha!).  Anyway, I find cooking in a pan way more ideal (and easier) for 3 reasons...1) when cooking smaller portions of food for a small family, 2) it's so much easier to pour cooked food onto a plate/bowl and 3) no need to wash a big-ass wok! ;D

Hey, I've not used a wok in ages since I switched to induction cooking...yes, you heard right, Uncle Roger, I use an induction stove and we can't very well use a rounded bottom wok when we're using a flat top induction cooker, can we?  And Uncle Roger, a flat-bottom wok is not a real wok lah (at least not to me)! ;P

Wok hei can only be achieved with high heat...and flames!  So we can't expect that for our home cooking (sorry, no fire!) even if we're using a gas stove coz it's not those high heat intensity industrial cooktops like the ones used by restaurants (if you're using induction stove, lagi no hope).  Neither do we pour oil into a smoking hot wok (and pour it out) to get the wok hot like a restaurant chef (otherwise we might need to call the Bomba to come when our kitchen is filled with smoke!).  If we fry and toss our rice well enough (the key is to not fry too big a portion at one time), we should be proud if we get a slight hint of wok hei (I did get a little bit, perhaps not wok hei but pan hei).

Now, all three chefs used a chilli paste in their fried rice (Jamie called it chilli jam, Sherson called it sambal belacan and Gordon added both sambal and rendang paste...call it whatever you want, it's the same thing...it's some form of chilli paste).  It's quite common and acceptable to fry rice with a chilli paste for flavour...but not in egg fried rice, not for me.  That would be more of a Malaysian or Indonesian nasi goreng or a Thai fried rice.

Sherson also added pounded fried ikan bilis to provide that salty, fragrant, umami taste to the fried rice.  I guess, we (Malaysians) love our ikan bilis as I've seen it with Ili Sulaiman's nasi goreng kampung as well where she blended dried ikan bilis together with a chilli paste for her fried rice.

Of course, fried rice is a very versatile dish so it's up to the chef's interpretation of how he wants to cook it, so you see chefs adding all sorts of things like meat (pork, chicken or beef, bacon, even sausages, lap cheong, char siew or luncheon meat) and vegetables (carrots, bell peppers, peas, onions, long beans) into it...and they call it egg fried rice as long as egg is one of the ingredients.  I prefer to call that fried rice.  For me, egg fried rice should stay to its truest form...with egg as the only star ingredient.

I think Jamie's fried rice is ok except I won't put all the spring onions into the oil to sizzle in the beginning (maybe just the white part as that's considered an aromatic in Chinese cooking).  I also would skip putting tofu as that would give the rice a wet consistency since silken tofu is 90% water anyway (+ I've never seen tofu in fried rice before).  I can understand why Jamie added water to his rice coz he used chilled rice (from the fridge) and (from my own experience) the rice grains will be dry.  I can also relate to Jamie putting in chilli jam which is like bottled chilli sauce to us (I do that sometimes with my spicy fried rice too when I don't have a fresh chilli paste on hand).  

This egg fried rice dish is one that many Chinese households have cooked at one time or another.  Eggs, garlic and rice are staples in any Chinese pantry and this simple fried rice is something that can be whipped up at a moment's notice when we have nothing to cook or don't have time to cook something elaborate.

Although I've not cooked (and eaten) this egg fried rice for a long time, I've cooked it quite often since the egg fried rice video went viral.  Believe it or not, this humble egg fried rice is now my favourite form of fried rice...overtaking luncheon meat fried rice, shrimp fried rice....even bacon fried rice! :P  What can I say....it's the simplicity of it that I like and you'll be surprised at just how good it is.  Fuiyoh, my simple version was rather delicious (if I have to say so myself)....and best presented too in my new green design, yellow-rimmed plate to match the dish! ^o^

It's even better if you happen to have some crispy, fried shallots around that can be used as a topping for your fried rice.  And if you happen to have fried shallots, that means you'll also happen to have shallot oil, so use that to fry your rice and it'll be even tastier.

In the end, I guess there's no right or wrong way of cooking egg fried rice as it's opened to many interpretations.  Since fried rice is a pretty versatile dish, we usually cook it with whatever we can find in our pantry or fridge.  As long as it's a delicious outcome that you and your family enjoy, you can cook it in any way you like.  So, how would you cook your version of egg fried rice? ^_~

I'm proud that a fellow Malaysian has found success...and wish him even greater success in the future (and make more videos, I'll be waiting to watch).  Hmmm, I wonder if Uncle Roger would approve my (his humble niece from Malaysia) version of egg fried rice.  I can already think of three things he will call me out on...1) not using a wok to fry rice (haiya, where's your wok, where's the wok hei?), 2) using induction cooktop (haiya, no fire?) and 3) not using MSG (haiya, must put MSG, the king of flavour, on everything)...lol!  Thanks, Uncle Roger, for your viral (and funny) videos on egg fried rice...and making me want to cook egg fried rice.  P/S: Happy watching (the videos if you've not seen them yet) over the long weekend/festive holiday! ^_~

Serves 1 (if all you're having is fried rice) or 2 (with other side dishes)

A&W @ Sunway Velocity

It's been so long since I've had A&W...and that's because most of their outlets (closed to me) closed down one by one...finally even their iconic first drive-through outlet in PJ is closing this year after more than five decades in operation (perhaps the pandemic had delayed such plans).  I, too, went with my family one last time just for old times' sake (not that I frequent the outlet all that much since it's far from where I live) but just to savour a piece of history before it's gone forever.

Under a new ownership, the new owner has vowed to make the oldest fast-food chain great awesome again. I'm rooting (pun intended) that he does as he plans to open more than 100 A&W outlets in the next few years.

Now that I can get A&W on the delivery platform (or many other food for that matter since the pandemic struck), it was time to revisit an old and familiar flavour.  These deliveries also come with two stories.

Since food delivery platforms prices are higher than in-store prices, we usually try to look for those restaurants that offers discounts (and we had this when there was a 25% discount).  The first time we ordered A&W delivery, it came from an outlet in EkoCheras Mall.  

My all-time favourite order from A&W has always been their Beef Coney (RM12.20 a la carte, RM10.80 for Chicken Coney, all prices quoted here are delivery prices and before discount).  We've got fried chicken and burgers from other fast food restaurants here but none offer hot dogs.

And A&W's hot dog is no ordinary hot dog, it comes with their signature meat sauce with onions.  I always go for the Beef Coney (I don't think I've ever ordered Chicken Coney before or, if I did, probably only once).  It's like burger and pasta, who wants a chicken burger or chicken bolognese when there's a beef option...hehe! ;D

Their signature coney sauce with minced beef and diced onions is the very reason why I go for their Coney Dog coz the meaty sauce is what elevates this ordinary tasting hotdog, one that tastes just like any commercially produced hotdog out there.  I wouldn't mind if there was a bit of relish to top it all off but, luckily, the oniony flavour of the crunchy onions made up for it.

You can also get this coney dog in a set which comes with Large Curly (or French) Fries (RM7.10 for curly fries, RM6.60 for french fries) and a 600ml bottle of Root Beer.  Their latest promotion is the Satay Coney & Burger...but the idea doesn't entice me (I think I'll leave the traditional taste of satay sauce alone and enjoy it with satay instead).

My next favourite item from A&W is their Onion Rings (RM7.70).  I can't remember if they were the first to offer onion rings before the rest of the fast food chains but they certainly offered the best tasting one for me.  It's their recipe of a super crunchy batter on the onion rings while keeping the onions juicy on the inside that made them better than the rest.

I try not to indulge in sweet drinks but if I did, their Root Beer (RM4.90 for 600ml, RM11.90 for a 2L pitcher) would definitely be the third and final thing I'd indulge here.  Nothing quite like having a root beer or root beer float on site in one of their frozen, frosty mugs as the chilled mug made the drink even better.

We also ordered the 2-pcs Golden Aroma Fried Chicken (RM12.70, RM18.60 for 3-pcs) which comes coated in a thick and very crunchy batter...a bit too thick and crunchy for me though....and the chicken meat was a bit dry (my favourite fast food fried chicken is still Wendy's).

Glad that foodpanda gave me the option to pick my favourite chicken parts (thigh and drumstick, of course).  The chicken pieces were of a good size, at least bigger than KFC's.  They also offer a spicy version.

Noticed Fried Mushrooms on the menu (can't remember the price but it's no longer on the menu) so I ordered it only to realise when it arrived that they were shiitake mushrooms.  The flavour of shiitake mushrooms (whether fresh or dried) is too intense.  The mushrooms were so chewy that not even the batter can save it. Worst fried snack ever! >_<  They're not suitable in a western-style dish.  For me, they taste the best when braised in a Chinese-type dish.

Coming back to the stories of these deliveries.  Well, in our first order (from A&W EkoCheras Mall), they forgot to pack one of our mains.  A burger was left out though the sides of curly fries and drink came.  A call to foodpanda later and we were given a credit voucher as compensation.  We used that credit voucher for our second order with A&W again (it can be used for other restaurants too if we so choose).  This time it was A&W Sunway Velocity.  And, lo and behold, they forgot to pack yet another item (this time they left out our order of a large bottle of root beer).  So, we got yet another compensation voucher.  Can't remember the exact value of the vouchers given but the amount is always higher than the missing item (as it should be since it actually means we're kinda forced to make another order).  We didn't know if we'd be third time lucky, so we chose to use the second compensation voucher for another restaurant instead....lol! :P

On a side note (sorry to digress), if you're a fan of Texas Chicken's biscuit, make sure you get your hands on their new herb & garlic biscuit.  I liked it better than their usual honey butter biscuit as this one comes with a fairly strong hint of garlic (but only if you or your other half like the flavour of garlic, of course).  I'm sure you know which one of the two (above) is the herb & garlic one.  A little tip: If you're having your biscuit a little later, reheat it in a toaster oven for a few minutes and it'll be even more fragrant.  And oh, the Prosperity Burger is back...yes! ;)

My Personal Opinion

I still enjoy eating A&W but I only like 3 things here....their classic coney dog, onion rings and root beer since there are better fast food fried chicken and burgers out there.  For some of us, eating A&W brings back nostalgic memories...and now you can have a bit of that '60s, '70s and '80s vibe at their first ever retro concept store (at PJ's Seventeen Mall) complete with jukebox, bar seats and checkerboard floor!

A&W is an old but timeless flavour.....and I think they're still AW-some in some ways after more than half a century! ^_~  But they seriously need to improve on their SOPs...and, by that, I don't mean the SOP due to the pandemic, I mean their SOPs for service and delivery (there are complaints even at their newest retro outlet). >_<

A&W

B-21A Basement 1 Sunway Velocity

Lingkaran SV

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Make & Store Own Blended Fresh Chilli Paste

This second round of CMCO that was re-enforced on us seems to be really taking a toll on many food businesses.  Many have mentioned to me that their businesses have been affected the most during this last CMCO as there are less people tapau-ing....and even lesser people dining in.  Well, the latter can be attributed to the stringent SOPs in place.  We hear stories of people being fined for all sorts of reasons (and some of these SOPs are vague and open to interpretation), so we certainly don't want to subject ourselves to that.  Plus, the high number of cases reported daily in the Klang Valley didn't help either.

Luckily, some of these SOPs have been relaxed even though the CMCO has been extended for a further two weeks (for certain states).  Hopefully, the relaxation of some of these SOPs will help spur the many food businesses that are struggling to survive now that there are even more competition for them with the government allowing Malaysians to open stalls selling anything and anywhere.  I was a little amused by one stall owner's reasoning for her drop in business though.  She said we've gone through so many MCOs already...CMCO, RMCO, EMCO, TEMCO-lah that people who can't cook have learned to cook....those who do cook have learned to cook better...and those who don't used to cook are cooking more (lol!), so no need to tapau food so often anymore.

Well, perhaps there are some half-truths in there....I'm also guilty of cooking more than usual.  Either that or the long, drawn out pandemic is finally hitting people's pockets...and cooking (or eating in) seems to be the cheapest (and safest) alternative right now.

I'm glad to report that I learned to make...and store my own blended fresh chilli paste during this CMCO.  Ok, ok, I first learned to make my own blended chilli paste (after watching Ili Sulaiman) but admit I do not make it often enough for a reason.

That's because I found it too troublesome to make just a portion of chilli paste.  First of all, it's difficult to buy (more like too embarrassed to buy) just a few chillies and secondly, it involves taking out the blender (meaning more washing afterwards).  Previously, I would follow a specific recipe for the chilli paste but these days I keep it simple with just fresh (red) chillies, onions and garlic. 

And now, thanks to my neighbour who taught me to freeze individual portions of chilli paste and defrost a portion for cooking whenever I need it, I make it more often.  Now why didn't I think of that...freezing the chilli paste, I mean. ^_~

Now I can make a bigger portion of chilli paste and freeze them in individual portions of 3 - 4 tablespoons each.  That way you can choose to defrost one or two portions depending on the serving size of the food you're planning to cook.  It keeps very well...frozen...for months, my neighbour said.  So far, I've kept it for anything between 4 - 8 weeks before they were all used up.

The chilli paste ingredients are also flexible (there's no hard and fast rule as to the exact amount to use).  You can follow the amount I use (see photo above) or go with your own recipe.  I like to use double the amount of shallots to garlic (shallots are always great in sambals) and I use fresh chillies instead of dried chillies or bird's eye chillies (for less heat).  It's really up to you to use more chillies (or cili api) if you prefer it spicier.

This chilli paste with just chillies, onions and garlic I'd keep for cooking proteins like prawns, chicken or fish. It's also good with fried rice and fried noodles.  My neighbour mentioned that she uses big onions as she's too lazy to peel the small onions.  I tried that once but found the chilli paste too wet as the big onions tend to leak out more water when blended.  I prefer to stick with shallots.

I'd add dried prawns to the chilli paste if I intend to use it for frying vegetables like kangkung, ladies finger, brinjal, long beans, sweet potato leaves, etc.  Of course when you think of these type of vegetables, you'd think of belacan.  You can certainly add some toasted belacan into the mix but I choose not to coz I don't like to stink up my house (I'd leave the cooking of kangkung belacan to the restaurants where I order it...hehe). Anyway, I think it's still good enough without the belacan...though some choose to omit it because they think it's unhealthy.

So, what do I (or can you) cook with this own-made blended fresh chilli paste, you ask?  Well, you start by sauteeing the blended chilli paste in oil until fragrant...or tumis sampai pecah minyak (fry till the oil separates) as they say (but you'll need to use a lot more oil if you want to do that).  Since I prefer to use less oil (for home cooking), it's difficult to see the oil separate but I saute it low and slow (and don't forget to season with salt) to get the paste as fragrant as possible.

I store my chilli pastes in individual portions in my little, colourful Tupperware containers (I finally put my small containers to good use) whereas my neighbour would just store them in small plastic bags.

This chilli paste (with added dried prawns), of course, goes very well with selected vegetables.  A very common one would be kangkung.  Although this one is without belacan, it's still good enough in my books.

Another favourite of mine is to cook it with brinjals...either with brinjals alone or with some added minced pork.  I recently discovered a quick (and easy) way to cook and soften brinjals, so I'll share that in a separate post soon.

I also use it to fry ladies finger.  This I would do only a small, single portion (for myself) since my family isn't a fan of okra.  The key to cooking okra to keep the slime at bay (I was told) is to not stir it too much (so, add a little water and cover your wok/pan to let it steam/cook through).

As for the chilli paste with just chillies, onions and garlic (minus the dried prawns), it goes great with fried rice especially if you want it with a bit of a spicy kick.....like this Shrimp Fried Rice that I cooked previously.

It's also good with Mamak Mee Goreng which I attempted earlier....or with any other fried noodles that you might want to whip up like fried meehoon.

Another dish I thought went very well with this chilli paste was when I used it to cook prawns.  I was inspired to replicate this when my neighbour sent me a photo of the prawn dish she cooked (will put out a separate post on this dish too).

Fry the chilli paste well and it can also be a very good topping for fried fish.  You can use just about any fish that you fancy like kau yue (Spanish mackerel/tenggiri papan) or sek pan (grouper/kerapu).  Ikan kembong (Indian mackerel) works too.  Remember to season your chilli paste with salt during the sauteeing of the paste (since there won't be a sauce of light soy with this recipe).

Now that I know I can freeze chilli pastes, I've cooked with it more often since I can make a bigger batch at one go, freeze it and just defrost the portion (or portions) I need to cook with.  This is especially great for those of us who can't go through a meal without having a bit of chilli and spice in our food.

Nowadays, if you open my freezer, you'll most likely find a couple of colourful containers of stored, frozen chilli pastes in there....hee...hee! ;)  Having ready-made, frozen chilli pastes is a great help to whip up a delicious dish for your family at a moment's notice since it has already been pre-prepared and left in the fridge to defrost.  This chilli paste is so versatile you can use it in many dishes.