Lamb Rendang

"Rendang" is a semi-dry mildly spicy meat curry served mainly in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Variations of "rendang" can be found in other parts of Asia as well under different names and a slightly different taste. An authentic Malaysian rendang meat curry recipe is usually of a semi-dry gravy texture, using galangal root, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and coriander seeds, just to name a few of the spices.

Most importantly, the authentic Rendang recipe calls for "kerisik", which is the Malay word for toasted fresh grated coconut. "Kerisik" is THE essential ingredient in making the traditional Rendang dish. If you have ever wondered why the color of the Rendang is brown even with all the blended fresh cut chilis, its because of the "kerisik". So, if your meat Rendang recipe does not come out red like your usual meat curries, do not panic. As a last resort, coconut milk may be substituted if "kerisik" is unavailable where you live. Using kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and tamarind concentrate helps tone down the spiciness with their citrusy flavors and is essential for that sweet pungent taste that is released during the slow cooking process.

For this authentic semi-dry spicy curry recipe, you can pick almost any meat and slow cook in your crock pot for hours just like any other meat stew. Beef and chicken Rendang are two of the more popular versions that I'm accustomed to growing up. I'm not a big fan of lamb, but since this winter is a little colder and rainier than average, I thought it would be just the thing to keep me warm and cozy.

If you are tired of your usual curries, try this Rendang curry recipe. I'm sure you if you haven't already, you will enjoy this rich mildly spicy curry as much as I do :)

Lamb Rendang Recipe

Ingredients :
1.5 lbs lamb leg ( cubed )
1/2-2/3 can coconut milk ( depends on what part of meat used, marbly meats absorb less liquid than lean meat )
6 tbsp Rendang spice paste
kaffir lime leaves
1/2 stalk lemongrass
1 tbsp chopped shallots
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cardamon
2 tsp ground candlenut
1 tsp tamarind concentrate
a pinch of roasted shrimp paste powder
sugar and salt to taste

Rendang Spice Paste Recipe

1) Use the Sambal chili spice paste from my Masala Tumeric Squid recipe.
2) Mix in the coriander, cardamon, candlenut, tamarind concentrate, belacan powder, mix well, and then set aside.

Method :
1) Marinate lamb with the rendang spice paste for at least an hour, and then set aside.
2) Saute the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and shallots until fragrant, add the marinated lamb meat in and continue stir frying until browned.
3) Add water, coconut milk, mix well, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for an additional 45 minutes OR until meat is tender. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Tips: If you use a leaner cut of meat, you will need more spice paste, water and coconut milk as it will absorb more liquid and make your rendang too dry. It is preferable to use a tender, marbly-looking cut instead. If you prefer your Rendang a little saucier, simmer for a shorter period of time.

Claypot Chicken And Mushrooms

I was recently fortunate enough to pick up a clay pot for only USD $2.99 at one of the many popular "99 Ranch" Asian grocery stores here in Southern California. Since then, my regular pots have been collecting dust in the sidelines. My tastebuds, on the other hand, aren't complaining about the more tender and flavorful dishes produced with my new "toy".

Clay pot cooking is very much like a steaming process. Before cooking, soak the clay pot in water for about 15 minutes. That way, the water that's absorbed in the clay is released as steam during the cooking process, thus sealing the juices of the dish inside the clay pot while keeping any meat moist and tender.

Clay Pot Rice and Clay Pot Noodles are two of the more popular clay pot recipes in the Cantonese cuisine. I can't wait to whip both of them up anytime soon. But for today, since I'm short on Chinese sausage and salted fish, I'm going to stick with one of my mom's that I enjoyed growing up - Clay Pot Chicken and Mushroom recipe.

Other than shitake mushroom, I'm also going to use some "cloud ear" mushroom that I've been saving for this dish. The shitake mushroom is for the flavor whereas the "cloud ear" mushroom is for that interesting crunchy texture that I enjoy. The "cloud ear" mushroom may also be substituted with it's thicker cousin, the "wood ear" mushroom, like the ones you might find in hot and sour soups.

A final word on the clay pot before I move on to the recipe. Dish-washing detergent should not be used to clean them because it will absorb into the clay. I've read that scrubbing them with salt is the preferred cleaning method.

Clay Pot Chicken and Mushroom Recipe

Ingredients :
1 whole chicken ( about 2 lbs, cut into serving pieces )
green onion strips
ginger strips
3 tbsp shaoxing hua tiao wine ( OR any other chinese cooking wine )
cloud ear mushroom ( soaked and cut )
shitake mushroom ( soaked and sliced )
4 tbsp oyster sauce
white pepper
sesame oil
cornstarch solution
sugar and salt to taste

Method :

1) Saute the ginger, green onion, cloud ear and shitake mushroom in the clay pot until fragrant.
2) Add the chicken in, pan fry the chicken pieces on both sides until lightly browned.
3) Mix in the oyster sauce, chinese cooking wine, white pepper, sesame oil and water. ( up to your preference on how saucy you like it to be )
4) Cover the clay pot, and cook on medium-low heat for an additional 20 minutes.
5) Add sugar and salt to taste, cornstarch solution to thicken the gravy and mix well.

Tea Eggs With Chicken Wings

Cleansing tea, one of my night time rituals before bedtime is to brew a cup of water with green tea leaves, to detox all the fatty foods I consumed during the day. Besides, I love a good cup of tea :) However, yesterday night, I accidentally broke the tea bag, and did not want the leaves to squirm all over my cup, hence, I decided to use these flavorful tea leaves to cook some chinese tea eggs.

When cooking with tea leaves, this leads me to one favorite recipe, eggs cooked in crockpot with chicken wings. I am not sure about the origin of this tea egg recipe, but mom had used tea leaves in her meat stews many times during my childhood, to coax us in consuming something cleansing by adding pieces of meat.

Tea eggs, one of the many flavors in chinese cuisine, is particularly famous in many Taiwananese cafes/ restaurants here in the US. This chinese tea egg recipe is prepared by slow cooking the eggs in their shell with tea leaves, some light spices, chinese cooking wine, and some soy. They are then peeled, and you can enjoy them over breakfast, as a snack or appetizer, OR eat them with hot steamed rice OR tossed in your leftover egg noodles with the stewed sauce.

This tea egg recipe cooked with chicken wings makes a great one-pot-meal, pungent flavors, refreshing and simply irresistable. Another great welcome dish that compliments the friendly weather here in Southern California.

Guys and gals, time to dig up your crockpot or claypot. First thing tomorrow morning, enjoy the aroma of tea leaves, sit back and relax, tea eggs for breakfast, and tea flavored soy chicken for dinner. Sounds good to me, how about you ?

Tea Eggs With Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients :
4 eggs
5 chicken wings
1 star anise seed
2 cloves
sliced ginger
1/4 a cinnamon bark ( optional )
5 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine
2 tsp green tea leaves ( OR Black tea leaves )
2 pc rock sugar ( OR small crystalised sugar )
1/4 cup water
salt to taste

Method :
1) Put all the ingredients in the crockpot.
2) Set crockpot temperature to high, and slow cook for 2-4 hours, OR if crockpot settings on low, slow cook for 4-6 hours.

Sweet Mung Bean & Taro Dessert

I think my mom, my grandma or somebody along the family tree created this sweet treat. I use to enjoy these sweet mung bean dessert soup all year round. Back then, I like it cold. With the weather blues still surfing at my end, I will eat this warm. I'll pull out an all-week treat to serve my sweet tooth. Mom would make this with red beans, green beans, walnuts, peanuts, OR black sesame seeds. Often times, she would get creative with taro, yams OR any other high fiber source of dessert soups. This mung bean dessert recipe is a pure sweet sensation. Don't worry about bloating afterwards. Unlike kidney beans or some sorts, mung beans are relatively easy to digest :)

So, after reading OC Food Blog's review on those sinful eats, those Vietnamese/ Saigon sweet desserts came knocking on my not-so-subconscious-mind. I've decided to get my brand new Rival crockpot to use, count every mung bean I can find in my refrigerator and slow cooked some sweet mung bean dessert. To start out a good mung bean dessert recipe, I did not neglect my favorite sort of yammy craving - "taro", hmmm-so-yummy ! :) My last favorite ingredient to make this complete, mini tapioca pearls. This petite little things are almost translucent and bit doughy, reminds me of those green doughy floured strips in one of the many desserts Wandering Chopsticks manage to terrorised. I like it that way. I've also substitute regular sugar with rock sugar as this would deliver a smooth, creamy appeal to the dessert. Just like how you adore the scent of vanilla bean when baking, I like the scent of the screwpine leaf & loves how a couple of leaves does wonders to the flavor of this mung bean dessert recipe.

A quick snap this Monday morning, I creamed in a bowl OR two before I head out to a cheery, winter day ?:)

Ingredients :
1/2 a taro ( cut into small cubes )
1 can coconut milk
16 oz yellow mung beans
10 oz mini tapioca pearls
2 big pc. Rock sugar ( You can use tiny crystallised sugar for easy dissolve. )
2 pc. screwpine leaf
2 Qts water ( OR any amount that will cover the beans and taro in the crockpot )

Method :
1) Place the taro cubes, washed yellow mung beans, rock sugar, and water in the crockpot. Cook on high for a minimum 4 hours.
2) Add the coconut milk, mini tapioca pearls and cook for an additional 1 hour and then switch from cook to warm.