Dining with The Demons

beef n ribs stew

2011-04-26T19:01:00.003+08:00

We both love beef but Mr Seademon is now trying to stay away from red meat for a while. Well there's nothing wrong with him healthwise, just trying to be a tad bit healthier.

This stew uses both cubed meat and beef ribs. The latter makes the stew tastes richer and well, beefier, if you will. Omit beef ribs if you don't have any.

Ingredients:

1 kg beef ribs (ask your butcher to cut it to cube sized) boil with water (retain water for stock)
1/2 kg beef, cut into cubes
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoon flour
Olive oil
1 small can tomato puree
A bit of thick caramel (bottled)
3 tbsps sweet soy sauce
3 beef cubes
4 pieces bay leaf

Cut into chunks:
3 carrots
3 potatoes
1 green capsicum
1 red capsicum
1 punnet white button mushrooms
1 stalk leek
a bit of fresh Shiitake (optional)
Celery, and other vegetables of your preference

Directions:

Heat olive oil, then brown the beef on all sides (this is supposed to seal in the juices). Add in the onions and garlic. Add in the flour to form a roux. Add in the stock from the boiled ribs, and also the ribs. Add the beef stock cubes, tomato puree and bay leaf. Lower heat. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or so.

Add in the vegetables (I always add the mushrooms last), caramel, soy sauce and mix them all up. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 1/2 hour. Season with salt and a bit of sugar. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy!

The white button mushrooms

Voila! The Stew!

cili padi corned beef spaghettini

2011-04-24T23:00:00.003+08:00

Did I just ditch this blog for more than 2 years? I think I did.

Oh well, let's just move forward shall we. This recipe is adapted from Delicious' famous recipe of the same name. I kinda guessed the recipe for it, and then Mr Seademon made it for a dinner party last year. A couple of weeks later Delicious published the recipe for their version on their Facebook page. Please adjust the chilli according to your personal heat tolerance level. We like ours a bit Demonic!

Ingredients:

1 box Barilla spaghettini N3
2 cans corned beef (we normally use Highway and not Libby's cuz the latter is a bit plain-tasting)
1 bulb garlic, minced (bulb please, NOT CLOVE)
15 cili padis (or more)
Some cherry tomatoes, halved
Bunch of whole Thai Basil (Daun Selaseh) - do not cut
Salt and pepper to taste
A dash of Maggi seasoning

Directions:

Prepare pasta as directions on box. Heat olive oil. Saute mince garlic until they're slightly fragrant, and then add cili padi. Mix around for a couple of minutes, but not too long as the cili will become overpoweringly hot.

Add corned beef, break up to smaller bits, mix around with the garlic and cili mixture. Saute for a few minutes. Add pasta, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves. Toss until all pasta is coated with the beef mixture, and basil leaves slightly wilt. Add salt and pepper - not too much salt thought because the corned beef is salty. Sprinkle a dash of Maggi seasoning.

Your dish is ready! Garnish with a sprig of Thai Basil.

kacang pool haji demon

2008-08-17T18:24:00.003+08:00

Dedicated to my friend the Rainmaker...

Ingredients:

2 cans foul medammas / kacang parang
500 gm ground beef (jangan pakai Indian meat tau.. hehehe)
3 yellow onions
7 cloves garlic
2 tbsp coriander seeds (ketumbar)
1 tbsp jintan manis
2 tomatoes
Rempah tumis (kayu manis, bunga lawang, etc)
2 packets rempah briani (apa2 brand la.. but I think Faiza is good)
1 tbsp curry powder (bagi colour dia tak bosan)
Sugar
Salt

Garnish/Condiments:
Green chilies, sliced
Red onions, diced
Limau kasturi
Telur mata lembu with the yolk still runny a.k.a sunny side up

1. Roast the ketumbar and jintan in frying pan (no oil, ah)
2. Blend onions, garlic, ketumbar, jintan, tomatoes.
3. Tumis the blended ingredients together with rempah tumis until fragrant.
4. Add in the rempah briani and kari, and water (agak-agakla berapa banyak).
5. Add in the ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add in the kacang pooooool and let it simmer for about half an hour. Add salt and sugar to taste.
7. Serve with the garnish/condiments above.
8. Call the gang to whack la....
9. Lepas ni hang jangan nak suruh aku masak menatang ni lagi k...

My slave...

cocktail sausages hors d'oeuvres

2007-11-23T00:32:00.001+08:00

Dang, the container is so messy - this was for a kids only party ok. And I have photos to prove it too..

This is easy peasy and can be done in a jiffy. That somehow rhymes.

1 packet Ayamas cocktail sausages (the big 'un)

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 shallots, minced

Hunt's hickory bbq sauce

Heinz ketchup

3 drops of Maggi seasoning (please use sparingly!)

Italian herbs

Olive oil

Heat olive oil in your pan, stir fry garlic and shallots till aromatic. Throw in the bag o' sausages. Mix it about for 3-4 minutes, add in the Italian herbs followed by the bbq sauce and ketchup. Mix well. For extra kick, add in some ground black pepper.

Which reminds me, I need a pepper mill.

banana and strawberry trifle

2007-08-05T19:51:00.002+08:00

I go nuts over anything banana-n-strawberry. My two little kitchen elves Medina and Yunus had fun helping out with this one. Ali, as usual, was completely nonchalant about the project and preferred to be with his PS2. It's a great dessert to make with the kids cuz it's not that messy and it's quite simple and they LOVE arranging the banana and strawberry slices. This one is an improv of the normal trifle that uses fruit cocktail (i don't really like canned fruit).

1 vanilla swiss roll

5 bananas

1 punnet (250gm) strawberries, halved

1 box instant jello, strawberry flavoured

Whipped cream (either the aerosol canned one or the Kool Whip tub one, whichever you prefer)

For the custard:

2 tbsp Bird's custard

1 pint milk

2 tbsp sugar

Start with:

Slice the swiss rolls and line them up in your trifle bowl / casserole / or whatever glass container that you wanna use for your trifle. Prepare the instant jello as per directions on package. Pour over the swiss roll base, refrigerate while you go to the next step which is:

Preparing the custard:

In a bowl mix the custard powder and 5 tbsp milk and the sugar. Pour the rest of the milk in a saucepan and heat up for 2 minutes. Pour in the custard mix and stir well. Let boil, while stirring like a madwoman so that it doesn't stick to your pan. Remove from heat and let it cool for a while.

Take out your trifle base from the fridge and layer banana slices on the jello layer. Pour over the custard very slowly. At this point make sure that your custard is not too hot. Let it set, and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.

When custard is set, smother with whipped cream and decorate with fresh strawberries. Put it back in the fridge for a couple of hours and enjoy!

southern potato salad

2007-07-30T16:43:00.001+08:00

I call it southern potato salad because I got the recipe from this platinum blonde classmate I had in Notre Dame. She's from Alabama hence the "southern" namesake - and I'm from the south too... Johor lah! Anyway, this potato salad will make you wanna say "Sheneneh.. git yo' big phat ass ovah heahhhhhh....."

6 Russet potatoes (even better if you can get Yukon Gold or red potatoes because they are "waxy" and will not crumble easily)
3 celery sticks, chopped
5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup sweet relish (i punya secret ingredient for that extra kick!)
1 cup mayonaise - adjust to your taste some prefer more/less
a sprinkling of Seasoned Salt (McCormick's) - if not you can use normal salt and pepper
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yellow mustard (optional, but personally i don't quite like it)

Let's Start!
Boil potatoes and be careful not to overcook them. Peel and let cool. Then chop coarsely.
Put mayo in a mixing bowl and add in the seasoned salt, pepper, sugar, yellow mustard, sweet relish. Mix them up real well. I do this first before putting in the potatoes to avoid over mixing the salad and it becomes all mushy. Then add in the potatoes, celery and eggs, mix gently. Cover your bowl with plastic cling wrap and chill in the fridge. Best kept overnight so that the flavours can mingle :)

lamb chops a la jazzmatazz

2007-07-30T12:09:00.001+08:00

By popular demand, here's the recipe for the lamb chops. These can either be barbecued/grilled or pan-fried.

8 pieces lamb chops (lamb shoulder or lamb cutlets)

1 big bulb of garlic (approx 15 garlic cloves), peeled and pounded

3 tbsp dried mixed Italian herbs

2 or 3 springs fresh rosemary leaves (crushed / torn to small pieces - somehow I never cut my fresh herbs with a knife it tastes much better mutilated by your hands)

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp Kikkoman Teriyaki marinade

5 tbsp Hunt's Hickory barbecue sauce (or any other brand but Hunt's works well for me)

juice of 1 lemon (this will help tenderize the meat and lessen the baa baa black sheep smell)

Wash the lamb chops. Drain all the extra water. Marinate with the rest of the ingredients and leave for AT LEAST 3 hours. Grill over burning coals or you can pan fry in a skillet with a little olive oil.

Akak punya tips on bbqing lamb or steaks:

1. Don't flip the daging too many times, it'll get dry and toughen up

2. Towards the end of bbqing you can baste the meat with the juice from the marinade, don't baste too early it'll get burnt because of the honey

Enjoy!

seafood marinara sauce

2007-07-24T15:44:00.002+08:00

Please excuse the blurry pic

My 2nd favourite pasta sauce after the olio :)

You need:
5 cloves garlic
1 large yellow onion
1 can of tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh tomatoes, diced, if you have time)
2 cups apple juice
a bunch of fresh basil leaves, torn up
5 squids, cut into rings
10 pieces green mussels
2 salmon steaks, cut into chunks (i used dory the other day and it tastes quite good)
some shrimp
1 cup scallop meat
salt and pepper

Steps:
Saute garlic and onions until fragrant and translucent. Add in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water and apple juice. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You can add in the salt now if you wish but please be very cautious as the seafood will make the dish saltier as you cook it. Add in seafood and fresh basil leaves. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve with your favourite pasta. Mine is the Barilla spaghetti No 5 or vermicelli or angel hair.

cheese seafood dip

2007-07-24T09:39:00.002+08:00

Best eaten with Ritz crackers - although some of my friends prefer to eat it with tortilla chips. For a lighter alternative, spread over Carr's table water crackers. Tapi kalau makan satu kotak tu sorang2, it's still not healthy :P

What you need:

1 bar (250g) Philadelphia cream cheese
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 small tub plain yogurt
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 stalk spring onion, sliced fine
1 yellow (Bombay) onion, diced

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped fine (purely for aesthetics reason!)
Boiled prawns, chopped
Boiled crabsticks, chopped
White pepper
Salt & sugar to taste (optional, I don’t really put any additional salt/sugar)
Paprika

It's bloody easy to make too:

Mix them all up starting with the cream cheese! Sprinkle with paprika and garnish with extra lemon slices. By the way, tastes better if kept overnight in the fridge.

my late MIL's crab curry kedah-style

2007-07-07T12:03:00.001+08:00

My late MIL gave me this recipe, and it's so easy and tasty! The trick is the tumis darat bit, this is when the aroma of the halba campur gives you a heady, dreamy feel.... *drool* Here goes:

5 crabs, cleaned and halved (don't ask me to put this down in kgs ok)
3 shallots and 3 cloves garlic, pounded
1 small box M&S coconut milk, (if you can't get M&S u better use the real coconut milk)
1 small packet curry powder (there's a special mix for crabs / seafood / ikan kering)
some pineapple slices (nothing from the can, please!)

For the "tumis darat" (sauteed on land ;), loosely translated!)
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp halba campur (it's a mix that you can get at any local grocers)
3 dried chillies, cut into 1-inch strips
3 clove garlics, sliced
3 shallots, sliced

This is how we do it:
Pour in half the coconut milk and 1 glass of water in a pot. Let it parboil. Add in the pounded shallots and garlic and curry powder, mix it around. When it comes to a boil add in the rest of the coconut milk. At this point you can add more water if the gravy is too thick. Throw in the pineapple slices, then the crabs. Lower the heat and let it slowly simmer. Add in salt, sugar, etc.

Meanwhile, heat a bit of oil in a separate pan. When oil is hot, saute the curry leaves, halba campur, dried chillies, garlic and shallots till they emanate a fragrance that will get the whole apartment block salivating. Careful not to burn the garlic and shallot slices! Turn off heat, pour all the oil & sauteed ingredients into your pot of crab curry.

Serve with rice (and sambal belacan and ulam!!!)

Red, Green and Black Pepper Stir Fried Steak

2007-06-18T17:27:00.001+08:00

I made this on Sunday and it turned out fantastic. Had rump steak in the fridge and I’m so tired of eating pan-friend western steak because I think over the past week or so I’ve had a bit of a steak overkill . This recipe is a Chinese style stir fried dish – must be eaten with chopsticks! I love stir fries – I can just get a Chinese rice bowl, fill half of it with rice and heap the dish on top, get my chopsticks and eat on the couch while watching the Entertainment Channel!

Red, Green and Black Pepper Stir Fried Steak

500 gm rump steak, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
A knob of ginger, bruised and sliced thick (more is good)
4 dried red chillies, soaked in warm water and cut into strips (not too thin)
5 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion, cut into thick rings

Seasoning
3 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp black pepper sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
A bit of sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in wok and sauté the garlic, ginger and dried chillies till smoking hot. Add meat, give it a good stir for 3 minutes. Add in all the seasonings, followed by the vegetables. Stir it up and add seasoning. Add the black pepper last for more pepper power! Mix it all up for another 3-5 minutes and you’re ready to go!

seafood spaghetti olio

2007-06-03T16:15:00.001+08:00

My olio sans parsley garnish...

250 gm barilla spaghetti no 5 or vermicelli (that's half a box)
loadsa olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 ikan bilis cube or you can use the real achovies in oil (mash it up first)
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 dried chillies, soaked then cut into strips
some shitake mushrooms, cut into strips
shrimp
calamari rings
a few snips of parsley
salt n pepper to taste

Cook pasta. In a separate pan, heat olive oil and throw in the garlic n chilli strips. Fry until fragrant. Put in butter, ikan bilis cube, shitake mushrooms, shrimp and calamari rings - mix it around for a couple of minutes. Throw in half a cup of water so that the pasta doesn't get all dry later. Add in the cooked spaghetti and salt & pepper. Toss everything around and serve garnished with parsley. Enjoy!

sambal kicap

2007-05-31T12:32:00.004+08:00

To pay homage to my late grandfather, this is my most favourite recipe in his 40 jenis sambal book. It kicks ass.

20 chilli padi
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lime
kicap manis
2 pcs wholemeal cracker (or cream crackers if you don't have any), crushed

Pound the chili padi and garlic till medium-fine. Transfer to a glass jar, squeeze the lime in and add kicap manis to taste. Mix in the wholemeal cracker. If the mixture gets a tad bit thick you can add a bit of warm water to dilute. I leave my jar in the fridge and this baby can really last for months.

What the heck do I eat this with?
Goreng pisang (it's a Johor thing), condiment for soup/mihun soup/soto, dip for fried tempe, fried tofu. For the fried tofu, you can serve together with julienned cucumbers and blanched beansprouts. Brilliant!

killer bbq chicken wings

2007-05-20T19:06:00.001+08:00

A lot of history is in this chicken wing recipe. I stumbled upon it in one of Her World Cookbooks way back in 1998 and since them I have been making this everytime there's a cookout. Me and H even used this recipe for our pasar ramadhan bbq joint in Kelana Jaya in 1999. Bottomline is, our bbq chicken always get rave reviews!!!

500 g chicken wings (or drumsticks if you prefer)
2 tbsp taucheo (fermented bean paste)
1 tbsp blended red chillies (you can cheat by using cili boh)
3 cloves garlic
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
white pepper to taste

Grind bean paste, red chillies and garlic till fine. Marinate everything else with the wings over night or min 3 hours. Grill over hot coals and baste with oil if necessary. No sauce needed!