Roti Canai/Paratha Bread - Step by Step

One of the things I miss most here in the USA is the Mamak stalls. We like to go there for breakfast or for teh tarik (pull tea) in the evening. My friends and I can just sit there and talk till the wee hours in the morning. Sometimes I do miss that simplicity in life. Roti canai or roti paratha is a flat bread that is flip over and over until they become transparently thin before they fold them with lots of air bubble and ghee inside that when they pan fry it, it becomes light and crispy on the outside and slightly chewy and springy on the inside.

I might look easy to make but they are not. Each time I try to flip it, the dough will stick together and I get the oil all over the kitchen. I gave up and end up stretching the dough will my fingers. The roti canai came out ok. Not as thin and crispy as I wanted it to. I hope I will do a better job the next time I make this again. From now on please don’t take the Mamak roti canai for granted. It involves more hard work than you think ;)

Salted Egg Yolk Chicken

I’ve got winter blues. The weather is dreary and COLD. We have so much snow until I am so fed-up of shoveling it. We are expecting more snow next week. At this time of the year I wish I am in Malaysia celebrating CNY with my family. I need something to perk me up. What can be better than this sinful chicken dish? When I saw the recipe over at Wendy’s not too long ago, it spoke to me. Actually it yelled at me “Make me right away” ha ha... I did slight changes to Wendy’s recipe. Instead of tapioca starch I used cornstarch and add some garlic to it. This is a wonderful dish and I think it will be nice to serve it for CNY reunion dinner.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Table for 2

2 pieces chicken breast – remove skin and fat and cut into 1” chunks
½ tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 egg white
½ cup cornstarch

Assortment of Pineapple Tarts

Chinese New Year won’t be complete without these little morsels. Pineapple tarts are usually available during CNY. So, what makes a good pineapple tart? For me it have to be bite size so that you won’t feel too guilty eating too many of it. The pastry has to be buttery, sturdy enough to hold the jam but soft enough to melt in your mouth. The jam is flavored with cinnamon and I like the jam to have a hint of sourness in it. I like my tarts to have plenty of jam on it so I do not skims on the pineapple jam. When the flavor of the buttery tart and the jam comes together, it should strike a blissful balance. I don’t think anyone can stop at just eating one or two. Forget about your diet. Start your diet only after CNY ha ha...

Bak Kua/Chinese Pork Jerky

This is another must have snack for Chinese New Year. Who doesn’t like Bak Kua? Maybe if you are a health nut than you might stay away from it. For me Chinese New Year is the time to indulge into all the sinful food, cookies and other luxury snacks that we don’t eat often. Bak Kua variously translated as dried meat, grilled Chinese Pork Jerky or BBQ meat slices.

Back in Malaysia you can get this jerky all year round but strangely, most people will eat this only during CNY. Many people are willing to queue for hours during this time of the year just to get their hands on the BBQ meat from their favorite store. My family is very picky over our bak kua. We only eat the bak kua from a certain store and it has to be lean and doesn’t have the rancid porky smell.

Living here I don’t have the luxury of eating Malaysia Bak Kua. I am able to buy them in New York but they do not taste good at all. They claimed to be made by Malaysian but it just doesn’t have the taste of the one from home. I tried making this once but it didn’t turn out too well either. It was too oily (because of the fatty ground pork) and the taste was out. I didn’t like it at all. So I stay away from making this for a few years.

I tried making it again this year by tweaking the recipe and lo and behold, it turns out really good. The meat was well marinate, a great balance of sweet and savory with a hint of fruity orange. I used mostly lean meat and I made everything in the oven. No more grilling it outside in the super cold winter. You should see me when I first made this. I was standing at the grill in my heavy winter clothing. My neighbors must be thinking this woman was MAD ha ha… If you want a healthier bak kua with no chemicals and preservatives why not try to make it at home. Since this bak Kua has no preservatives, try to consume it within a few days. I don’t recommend you make too much of it at one time unless you want to give it away to family and friends. These keeps well in the fridge and just reheat it in the toaster oven before consuming.