AFC GRILLED : Chef Sean Connolly

An evening of good food.

Lap Cheong Watermelon Bites

An asian take on watermelon bites!

Baked Fish with Kiwi in Sweet and Sour Sauce

Add a twist to sweet and sour fish!

Semperit Pandan Cookies

Cute cookies for the festive season!

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Food Discovery: Wajik Sirat

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Wajik Sirat is a traditional sweet treat that can be found in many parts of Malaysia. I didn't try it until my recent trip to Melaka where it was abundantly sold in the touristy Dutch Square.

The word wajik (Malay) means diamond in English. Wajik, a sticky rice snack, is commonly served sliced in the shape of a diamond. That's where it gets its name. Wajik Sirat is similar to Wajik except that the glutinous rice, instead of being used whole, is ground into coarse powder .

Wajik Sirat

Wajik Sirat
is also known by other names such as Kuih Kasirat or Kesirat. A few call it Beras Rendang .

There is a risk that treats like these can be too sweet but the ones I bought were just perfect. It had the distinct well rounded flavour of palm sugar. The texture was lovely. It was soft but not overly gluey that it sticks to the teeth.

Wajik Sirat - Soft, Not Overly Sticky

Would you believe that this snack is an easy one to make? There are slight variations from household to household - some cook it with pandan leaves for a more aromatic take, some use brown sugar, some add a little salt into it, some prefer it with toasted coconut paste and so forth. This is the gist of how it's done.

The basic ingredients: Glutinous Rice, Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka), Coconut Milk

Method:
First, the glutinous rice is pan-fried without oil. It is then left to cool completely before being blended into a coarse powder. Palm sugar blocks are dissolved with some water in a large cooking pot. The coconut milk is then added. Once the mixture is well combined, the blended rice is added in and cooked into a thick malleable paste that looks like dough. It is then pressed into small containers optionally lined with banana leaf or wrapped in plastic like the ones pictured below.

A Packet Of Wajik Sirat
Have you eaten this snack before?
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Thursday, November 10, 2016

The 2-Ingredient 'Lap Cheong' Salad

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Have you ever googled for a 2-Ingredient salad? I did. The results were not quite what I had in mind. Tomatoes and onions? Several other recipes included dressing that required a further 3 ingredients at least!

Well, that's not happening here. This really is a 2-ingredient salad. I'm going with lap cheong, a dried Chinese Sausage that is sweet, savoury and packs a punch in any meal.

Wikipedia describes it as:
"Lap cheong is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and a high content of fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce."


Lap Cheong Salad

The 2-Ingredient 'Lap Cheong' Salad
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Lap cheong / Chinese Sausage (sliced)
- Chilled fresh flat-leaf parsley (roughly chopped)

Method:

1) Heat a non-stick pan up without oil. Dry pan-fry the lap cheong pieces. Do this on medium-low heat as it gets burnt easily. Remove the lap cheong from the pan the moment it's slightly charred. 

Note: You can use the oil that has oozed out from the lap cheong during pan-frying to do a quick vegetable stir-fry. I do this immediately after removing the lap cheong.


2) Mix and toss with flat-leaf parsley.

Enjoy as a side dish with rice or congee.

Alternatively, you could use fresh coriander but I find this parsley to be a better contrast of flavour and it stays crunchy for a longer period.
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