Gettin' loco with.. Mojito

Mojito (pronounced [mo.hi.to])

The Mojito is a traditional Cuban cocktail. It is light and refreshing for a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

12oz Rum
12 Spearmint leaves
24oz Club soda
1/2 Lime
Tbs Sugar

Directions:

Muddle mint leaves and lime juice and a splash of club soda in a glass. Fill glass with ice and add remaining club soda and rum. Stir ingredients together. Garnish glass with lime wedge and mint leave. Also try making the mojito in a pitcher, this allows the flavors to mix better.

Variations:

The Mojito is a good drink to experiment with! Try adding new flavors like muddling strawberries with the mint or using a flavored rum to change the taste. Some recommended flavors to try are Apple, Melon, Orange and Raspberry.

Satay..

I'd love eating satay, this is a malaysian version of our local bar-b-q here, but this one tastes different with its peanut sauce. Have a try to cook this one this is easy as ABC!

INGREDIENTS for Satay:

• 1 lb beef [tenderloin, rib eye or flank steak]
• 1 lb boneless chicken [preferably dark meat]
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 12 shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 inch turmeric root [kunyit basah] [Substitute: galangal, lengkuas in Malay, or if both unavailable, substitute with fresh ginger]
• 1 tsp white peppercorn
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp belacan , also spelt belachan or blacan [dried shrimp paste]

To Prepare Satay:

• Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind shallots, garlic, turmeric root [or galangal, or ginger], peppercorn, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and belacan into a paste
• Add turmeric powder and sugar to the paste, and mix well. [This is the satay marinade]
• Slice beef and chicken into thin long strips, and place into separate containers. To each meat, add half each of the satay marinade, and mix well to evenly coat the strips of meat
• MARINATE the beef and chicken strips for at least 3-4 hours. Best if marinated overnight [refrigerated]
• Treadle 3 to 5 strips of meat onto each bamboo skewer, leaving 3 to 4 inch bare at the 'handle end'
• Grill satays on a hot charcoal bbq grill, indoor grill or on a stovetop grill pan until golden brown. Turn and baste often with the sugar & oil mixture, preferably with your homemade 'lemongrass brush'
• Serve Satay with a small bowl of satay peanut sauce for dipping, and the cucumber & onion wedges on the side. Satay is often served with Ketupat, [a Malay rice cake]

To Prepare Satay Peanut Sauce:

• Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind chili paste, onions, garlic, candlenuts, belacan and lemongrass into a paste
• In a bowl, add warm water to tamarind pulp. Using your fingers, squish and mix the tamarind pulp to extract ‘juice’. Strain to discard seeds and fibers
• In a saucepan, heat oil, add ground paste, sauté until quite toasted, and oil starts to seep out
• Add tamarind juice, bring to a boil, add coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Bring sauce to boil again, then reduce to slowly simmer for 10 mins
• Add pounded peanuts, simmer for another 5 to 10 mins, or until the sauce reaches a ‘thickness’ to your liking [Note: Add more coconut milk if sauce becomes too thick, and if sauce is too thin, simmer longer]

Serve satay peanut sauce warm, or at room temperature, in a small bowl as an accompaniment for dipping the satays. It is great for dipping Ketupat, [a Malay rice cake], often served with satay

NOT the usual Team Building..

This is one of the best team building I've ever been to... not the usual show and tell, reminiscing your past, or renewing yourselves type the usual theme for a team building that doesn't build a team. But this one rocks! COOKING yes you heard it right.. weird duh?! and i find it great, team effort and yet showing your culinary creativity. We have cooked different Malay and Singapore cuisines and eat-what-you-have-cooked after. The trick is, if dont cooked it well then you end up with empty stomach haha. Here's my team, of course me, Mahmud from Bangladesh, Suttee and Tosaporn from Thailand.

Kinilaw..

As posted on my "pinakurat" post, heres my kinilaw recipe..

- 1 kl fresh fish (I prefer tangigue)
- 2 cups of coconut vinegar
- 250ml of suka pinakurat
- challot
- scallions
- sili espada
- Kalamansi
- ginger
- gata (optional)
- mangang hilaw (optional)
- salt to taste

Slice fish into dice and set aside. Slice challot, scallions, ginger, sili espada the way you like (i prefer minced) then set aside.
Soak fish in coconut vinegar for about 2-3 mins. On a casserole, lay down the diced fish (without the vinegar) together with the spices and the suka pinakurat then mix it with your barehands (thats the secret of its wild taste!) You may squeeze as many kalamansi and chili as you want depends on your preferences. Then salt to taste and your ready to go with your kinilaw!

Optional
- You can add a cup of concentrated " gata" for a different taste.
- Chopped manggang hilaw will also compliment the vinegar and great for extenders!

On my personal preferences, i opt not to add the gata and manggang hilaw.

Pinakurat!

Great things start from small beginnings. This is the story behind the famous vinegar nowadays.. "SUKA PINAKURAT". I myself is a self confessed pinakurat fanatic! One of my famous recipe that my family and friends craving for is "Kinilaw" (il be posting a recipe for this later) and yes you heard it right kinilaw is everywhere and everybody can prepare kinilaw. But whats with my kinilaw? But one thing that makes my kinilaw special is it soaked with Pinakurat!

Ka-Toque TV!

Ive been hooked with guys every Saturdays at 11am-12.. I always make sure to watch every episodes of them. Whoooa man this guys can cook with attitude from conventional dishes to complicated even experimental! See it for yourself and got to know what i mean! Saturdays at QTV channel 27 11am.

Native Chicken Halang Halang

Hangover? This chilly soup will blast your post alcohol influenced body and goes back to normal after a sip of it!

Ingredients :

1 whole native chicken (about 1 k.), cut into serving pieces
3 chayote, skinned, cored and cut into wedges the same size as the chicken pieces
1 head of garlic, finely minced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
1 onion, halved then sliced thinly
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
2 c. of gata (coconut cream)
1 sili espada (hot chili, big variety), optional
a handful of sili leaves
water
patis (fish sauce, Rufina Patis will do)

Cooking procedure :

Heat a large saucepan or casserole. Pour in the cooking oil and heat until smoking. Add the chicken pieces and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, onion slices and siling haba. Season with 4 tbsp. of patis. Cook, stirring, until the onion slices are soft. Pour in a cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the chayote wedges and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Pour in the coconut cream. Add more patis, is necessary. Bring to a soft boil then turn off the heat. Place the sili leaves on top, cover and leave for the flavors to infuse for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

The LousyChef Experience..
Do you have "bahaw"? this would compliment the hot soup and tastes even better!

Calamares..

All time favorite pulotan... I HATE to cook this one, know why? every time a piece done, il had handpicked and eat a little, then i end up nothing coz everything was pig out during my cooking session :)

Ingredients :

1 kilo of large squids
2-3 c. of flour
salt
pepper
2-3 c. of vegetable cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Clean the squids. Pull out the tentacles with the intestines, ink sac, etc. Feel inside the cavity and locate the spine. Pull it out. Peel off the skin. Cut off the intestines from the tentacles. Wash well and rinse. Cut the squids’ bodies into rings about one-fourth inch thick. Lay the rings, and the tentacles, on a plate covered with several layers of absorbent paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Some cooks prefer to season the flour instead of the squids. I prefer to season the squids. They taste better.

Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan.

Place about a cup of flour in a resealable plastic bag. Add about a third of the squid rings and tentacles and shake well. Pour the contents of the bag into a plate or bowl. Test the temperature of the cooking oil by dropping a squid ring into the frying pan. If it sinks and takes too long to brown, the oil isn’t hot enough. If it browns in 2-3 seconds, the oil is too hot. Ideally, the squid should cook in 30-40 seconds with the flour coating turning crisp.

Cook only a few pieces at a time, shaking off the excess flour before putting them into the oil. As the pieces brown, lift them off the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper towels. Do not overcook the squids or they will turn tough as rubber. When the first batch is done, put more flour into the resealable plastic bag and repeat until all the squids are cooked.

The LousyChef Experience..
As for the sauce, I personally recommend Mama Sita's Siling Labuyo hot sauce with minced garlic around.. it would blow your craving!

Crispy Pata..

One of my favorite dish.. this is very easy and "lousy" to prepare trust me!

You need the following ingredients..

1 pork pata (preferably the front), about 700 g. in weight
salt
1 whole garlic
1 whole onion
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3-4 c. of cooking oil

how to :

Clean the pata. Scrape the skin with a knife. Use a kitchen torch or a cigarette lighter to burn any remaining hair. Don’t use a candle–the black smoke will turn the pork rind dark.

Place the pata is a casserole and cover with water. Add the whole garlic, onion, peppercorns and bay leaf. Season with plenty of salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, skimming off scum as it rises. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, or until tender. Alternatively, pressure-cook for 30 to 45 minutes from the time the valve starts to turn.

Remove the pata from the broth, draining well. Cool. If you have the time, wrap in foil of cling film and place in the freezer for thirty minutes.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or deep fryer until it starts to smoke. Gently lower the pata in the hot oil. The oil will spatter, no doubt about that. It is best to immediately cover the wok or fryer. Make sure that the cover has a steam valve to allow the hot steam to escape and to prevent it from condensing back into the oil. Cook the pata until the rind is puffed and golden. My clue is that when the spattering weakens, the pata is ready.

LousyChef Experience...
On a personal note, if you want something great "sawsawan" I suggest a Pinakurat vinegar.. this would add great eating experience!

Why lousy chef?

Think of a hobby and past time at the same time, my answer is COOKING! Im going to define LOUSYCHEF here as a freestyle and experimental way of cooking. Why lousychef? not that lousy as you think I just find it cool and catchy.