My Green Highway

Every year during festive season, thousands of Malaysians get into their trusted car and flood the highways of Malaysia. They travel many kilometers and brave the notorious traffic jam which literally turns highways into your neighbourhood roads. The only similarity between your neighbourhood road and highway would be the speed of your drive, almost at snail pace. Why do we do it then? Why join the mad rush of balik kampung?

We do it too and I can give you many reasons as to why we do it but that's not the point of this post. It is also not a place for me to vent my frustration over all the wrong doings committed by weary drivers. (I am no exception)

My family and I have travelled these roads more times than I can recall and it never ceased to amaze me with its beauty. I have not travelled much outside my own country but to the few places that I have been, its beauty cannot compete with what I see here on my green highway. Perhaps that's me just being bias. After all, this is my country. 

Let's start with North-South Highway which is the longest highway in Malaysia. It pretty much connects most of the the states (West Coast of Peninsular), from Johor to Perlis and the famous Penang and Langkawi Island too.

The drive along the highway from KL to Ipoh is pretty much boring (to me) because it is mostly commercial land with palm oil plantations. That's rows after rows of me staring out of my window and looking at neatly aligned matured palm trees. 

As you get closer to Ipoh (the land of hills and many caves), things start to get exciting and you switch from straight line cruising to driving along a windy highway. Highway that was built along the grid lines of nature instead of a concrete tunnel that cut through the magnificence hills and concealing your sight from beholding its beauty.

Aim to be near Ipoh either at sunrise or sunset and be awed at the beauty this highway has to offer. 

I am a true beach bum and enjoy watching the sun paint the sky with different shades of orange and red. Also how these colours reflect on the water as it sets. Making it look like a magical display of colours on moving canvas. I get the same thrill (minus the wet sand between my toes) watching the sunset on this highway. The same display of colours in the sky but instead of a reflection off the water, the sun rays peeking through thick clouds  and mountain top, makes it look like a laser show at some big concert. 

A breathtaking sight that no photography skill of mine is ever able to capture its beauty to share. This is one of those nature's bounties that you have to be there, be one with the moment to experience and take it all in. 

The drive from Ipoh to Taiping is covered with lush green flora and fauna (though I did not see any fauna but I know they are there, hiding). Taiping is the wettest part of Malaysia so it is nice to wind down car windows and let in some fresh air.

After Taiping, the drive up north will showcase padi fields. Get used to seeing vast green land with neatly arranged low shrubs and sometimes a flock of storks performing their perfectly synchronised bird flight in the clear blue skies. 

Hope you've enjoyed my short glimpse of my green highway. I've shared only a fraction of the beauty seen on my green highway. Head over to Karak Highway or even up to the chilly mountains of Frazier Hills, Genting Highlands or Cameron Highlands for a completely different experience. Be mesmerised by what our bountiful nature has to offer and bask in its beauty. Let's not let these treacherous traffic jams turn us into monstrous being. Stay calm and drive safe.

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Do it for the living

"Are you sure we are doing the right thing?" I asked my husband again, as we were driving back to his hometown for our annual Chinese New Year's reunion dinner.
It seemed a little odd to be having a celebration when just a hundred days ago, we were grieving over the loss of his mom.

"We are doing it for the living" that was all he had to say to put my doubts at ease. So much truth in what he had just said.

Death is inevitable and a sad experience but it should not stop the rest of us from carrying on with our life. It may alter one's lifestyle (when someone you love is taken away from the equation) but always presents an opportunity to adapt to a "new" lifestyle without that someone.

Today we learned to adapt to that new lifestyle. This was the first time we were having our Chinese New Year's reunion dinner without her around. She, a mother, a wife, a grandmother, a daughter and a sister who would organise this reunion dinner, year after year, wasn't there doing what she did the best, being in charge of the kitchen.

I must confess, it was not awkward at all! It was nothing like I had imagined. It was the way it had been every year prior to her demise. The food may have been a little different this year and my girls did some work in the kitchen without being asked to, which was a pleasant surprise but the reunion had the same warmth and love. It was an enjoyable evening sitting together and enjoying the meal prepared by my aunt (her younger sister).

I learned a few things from my aunt who is known for her creativity in cooking and made some very unique dishes for us. One worthy to be mentioned was her vegetarian drumsticks. She used sugarcane as the sticks and bean curd skin as the meat! How innovative is that? You get to enjoy the "meat" and the "bone" too! Sweet suckling bone.
Everything she made (except for the meat) was from her own backyard. She has tapioca plants, papayas, chilies, sweet potatoes and much more.

I know now why mandarin oranges are a must during Chinese New Year. In Chinese they are referred to as gold. Kam means gold. So it is expected of you to bring along some Kam when you visit your relatives and friends during this festive season. You are expected to give Ang Pow (red packet) a monetary gift along some Kam to your parents and grandparents.

The were no moments of awkward silence. We hardly noticed mom wasn't around. I am sure she would have wanted it this way. I don't want to admit it but I got to say, my husband was right. We live for the living and today's reunion dinner was all about that. It was about fostering our relationship with them and keeping the connection going.

I am sure she would have wanted us to stay united for as long as we can.
Happy Chinese New Year to you, wherever you may be.

For more recipes head over to my Recipes Page

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Men or Women: Who makes better chef in Asia?

Do you find bliss in cooking for yourself and for others?

Are you always dreaming of fulfilling your culinary dream but are too afraid to leave the security offered by your desk job?

Can you spare eight weeks during the period between 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2015 in Singapore?

Do you think you have the skills, passion and most of all the desire to be crowned as Asia's first ever MasterChef?

If you are screaming YES! YES! YES! to all the above questions, here is your chance to prove yourself.

Lifetime Asia will be presenting MasterChef Asia (for the first time) - a 15-episode series, with three judges (unnamed thus far) and contestants from across Asia - Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos.

Casting is open from now until 5 March 2015 and all you need to do is submit a video of you in your kitchen showing off your cooking skills together with a picture of yourself to MasterChef Asia (snail mail entries are accepted too).

Bear in mind some simple requirements which you need to meet before sending in your entry:

• you must be a resident of any the above mentioned countries
• you must be 18 years and above
• you have no prior professional or formal catering or culinary school qualifications over the last 10 years
• you were not paid for your food preparation services 
• you were not involved in any casual cooking demonstrations over the last 15 years

So go grab a friend to help set up (by that I mean clean up) your kitchen and help produce a short video (no longer than five minutes and must be in English) showcasing the real you and your relationship with food. You may also want to showoff your culinary skills, like pulling the longest teh-tarik while doing the moonwalk or your chopping skills to woo the casting team. Remember, your audition video is your only medium in securing a spot for yourself on this competition so give it your 110%!

...and stay tuned to find out who will be crowned as the MasterChef of Asia? Who do you think? A man or a woman, do tell.

Why not check out my Recipes Page and get inspired
 

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Face you fears

Big words for young hearts...

Day 2, Samelan 2014

Today the Mighties (aged between 9-10) had an interesting session which focused on fear.

What is fear and how to overcome it(?) was discussed in a very hands on manner. 

The session must have been cleverly carried out by the facilitators because it had my tween running away from her siesta session and towards the dormitories, in a frenzy, searching for me. 

She explained enthusiastically how the fear of heights, fear of not fitting in, fear of insects and fear of darkness is no longer a factor to her. But then a tear escaped her glistening eyes because her biggest fear was neither crushed nor conquered, when white pieces of paper that had her's and other tween's worst fears written on it, were shredded, crushed and thrown away. 

She shared with me her fears and that's something I would have to deal with in due course but a seed has been sewn and hopefully she would be able to tackle her fears, no matter what they are. 

Kudos to the facilitators for being able to carry out this activity that has left a lasting imprint.

As for the shower, it is getting colder here, brrrrr.....

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Mighty chickpeas

We all know the benefits of chickpeas and how it is a good substitute for rice or other gluten products like noodles, pasta and bread, to mention only a few. Not only that, chickpeas are so versatile and can be used to swap for rice and pasta. 

In today's recipe, I will be doing a switcheroo with rice salad which I prepared yesterday.

Names in Malay language but worry not, there is a translation in the recipe below

The Recipe:

2-3 Limau Kasturi (Kalamansi)

Pudina (mint)

Daun Limau Purut (kafir lime leaves)

French beans

Red onions/shallots

Cili Padi (chili rice)

Kunyit (turmeric)

Daun Kesum (laksa leaf)

Serai (lemongrass stalk)

Bunga Kantan (ginger flower)

Raja Ulam (there isn't a proper translation for this leaf, sorry)

There isn't a proper measurement for the herbs in this recipe because it all depends on how much green you want in your chickpeas salad. In general, most vegetables are between half cup to a cup. Yet, there is no specific metrics system to follow here. I just eye balled the amount of greens I wanted in this dish.

I like to boil chickpeas, which would extand the preparation time up to 2 hours but don't let that discourage you. You hardly do much in that 2 hours because once you've put the soaked (overnight) beans in a pot of water, you can kick back and relax. However if you have a pressure cooker, you can reduce the cooking time to 5 whistles (for the traditional pressure cooker) or to 20 minutes in a pre-programmed pressure cooker. Or you can just opt to use chickpeas out of a jar/can.
Then all that is left to do is to combine the cooked and drained chickpeas with the chopped herbs and serve. You can serve it immediately with some fried fish or crackers. If you have time, let it sit for a bit to allow the flavours to mature.

Hope you will enjoy making this as much as I did despite all the chopping. Please do note that dealing with turmeric will turn your hands, chopping board, knife and even your clothes, if you get them stained, to a bright yellow that will not wash off easily. So practise care when dealing with it.

If you are a fan of chickpeas, you might want to check out my other post on a slightly spicy/curried chickpeas.

 

For more recipes head over to my Recipes Page

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Steamed Rice with Fresh Herbs (Nasi Ulam)

Nasi Ulam which is a mixture of boiled/steamed rice and greens consisting vegetables, herbaceous plants, wild plants, shoots, leaves and stems (aka Kampung salad) is a signature dish of the Peranakans (also known as Baba-Nyonya) and the Malays. Some say Nasi Ulam is the Queen of all rice because of the nutritional value it carries and is almost fat free. Other than the rice which is boiled or steamed, everything else is raw in this dish. It is an inexpensive local dish and if you are adventurous, you might just find some of the herbs in thick shrubs around your neighbourhood.

I got most of my supply from a local sundry store and some from my own backyard. These herbs are very hardy and can be grown easily. If you don't harvest them often, they might encroach into your other plants or vegetables patch and slowly kill more fragile plants like mint and BokChoy 

Whenever I say a dish is simple, it usually implies that it is simple in obtaining the ingredients and preparation but I had a tough time deciding for Nasi Ulam. In essence this dish truly is a simple dish because it does not require any cooking but the amount of time taken in preparing the herbs was a tad too much for a lazy cook like me.

All herbs needed thorough washing, picking leaves from its stem, removing seeds (chili & lime) and chopped fine. If you try to quicken the process by using a food processor, you will not like the end result because these herbs will turn mushy or limp. So get you chopping board and chop, chop, chop away.

I even tried storing some chopped herbs in my fridge but after a day or two, they were limp and wet, making them undesirable to be eaten raw.  

Names in Malay language but worry not, there is a translation in the recipe below

Nasi Ulam after being mixed with freshly cooked white rice

The Recipe:

2-3 Limau Kasturi (Kalamansi)

Pudina (mint)

Daun Limau Purut (kafir lime leaves)

French beans

Red onions/shallots

Cili Padi (chili rice)

Kunyit (turmeric)

Daun Kesum (laksa leaf)

Serai (lemongrass stalk)

Bunga Kantan (ginger flower)

Raja Ulam (there isn't a proper translation for this leaf, sorry)

If you noticed, there isn't a proper measurement for the herbs in the recipe. That's because the amount of herbs required, depends on how much green you want in your rice. In general, most vegetables are between half cup to a cup. Yet, there is no specific metrics system to follow here. I just eye balled the amount of greens I wanted in this dish.

You start with steaming/boiling rice as per usual and chop all ingredients. Once rice has cooked, scoop out about a cup and a cup and half into a large bowl and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then add all chopped herbs into the bowl and combine it well. Serve it with some fried fish or crackers. It is so good that you can eat it on its own, like a rice salad.

Hope you will enjoy making this as much as I did despite all the chopping. Oh yes! before I forget to mention, dealing with turmeric will turn your hands, chopping board, knife and even your clothes if you get them stained, to a bright yellow that will not wash off easily. So practise care when dealing with it.

If you liked what you saw but dislike rice for some health reasons, then you should try swapping the rice with garbanzo beans. Taste almost the same but double the benefits.

For more recipes head over to my Recipes Page

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#FF