Ice Kacang/ABC (Malaysian Shaved Ice)

Other than BBQ, my summer favorite has got to be shaved ice—a thirst quencher and lovely dessert for the hot summer days. Shaved ice is very popular in Malaysia; called Ice Kacang (in Penang) or simply ABC elsewhere in Malaysia, it’s a popular dessert commonly sold by street vendors. In a hot and humid country like Malaysia, nothing beats the icy cold and pleasant dessert that soothes the throat and cools down the body. Plus, everyone loves the sweet-tasting shaved ice, with numerous toppings such as red beans, creamy sweet corn, grass jelly, attap chee (palm nuts), etc. You can also add ice cream, fruits, peanuts, and/or raisins…


The version I made this afternoon is the most common ones found in Penang. I would have used some palm sugar or gula melaka to flavor the ice kacang but I ran out of it. As a result, I used dark brown sugar instead, and added a little red coloring as ice kacang is always red in color.
Shaved ice has certainly become more popular in the United States now, with Chinese (Taiwanese) dessert shops sprouting all over Chinatown or Asian suburbs. It’s a great alternative to the likes of frozen yogurt, ice cream, or sorbet. Try it out!

Ice Kacang (ABC) / Malaysian Shaved Ice Recipe
2 cups ice cubes or crushed ice
Syrup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup water
3 drops red coloring, optional
Toppings:
2 tablespoons condensed milk or evaporated milk
2 tablespoons canned red beans, in kernels
2 tablespoons canned sweet corn, cream-style
2 tablespoons grass jelly pieces
Attap chee (palm nuts), optional

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients in the Syrup in a small sauce pan. Heat it up over medium heat. As soon as the sugar melts and the syrup starts to bubble, turn off the heat. Set aside and let cool.
2. Prepare the shaved ice by using a blender. Make sure the ice is completely shaved.
3. Transfer the shaved ice to a bowl and add 2 tablespoons syrup, follow by all the ingredients in the toppings. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Note:

1. The syrup is enough for two servings of ice kacang.
2. Every country in Asia seems to have their own version of shaved ice. This is the version I grew up eating in Penang, Malay

Roti Canai

Roti canai (pronounced "chanai," not "kanai") is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia, often sold in Mamak stalls. It is known as roti prata in Singapore, and is a close descendant of Kerala porotta.

Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay. The term "canai" derives either from.:

1. Chennai, a city in India which is formerly known as Madras. Roti canai is presumed to have been introduced by immigrant labour from the Madras region where a similar combination of parotta and dalcha - the accompanying lentil curry - is served. 

2. "Channa", a mixture of boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which was traditionally served with this dish. The roti in Northern India is different from that served in Malaysia. It is more similar to the South Indian parotta, a later variant of the Singaporean roti paratha. In addition, roti canai is served with dhal or lentils curry rather than chickpeas. Hence this is also moot. 

3. 'canai' the Malay word for 'spreading out', which refers to the act of preparing the dough.
Roti canai is circular and flat. To make the proper flattened circle, the dough can be twirled into a very thin sheet and then folded into a circular shape or spread as thinly as possible before being folded. Then the folded dough is grilled with oil. The first method is more popular and faster than the second. The term 'roti paratha' in Malay mean 'plate bread'.

In English, roti canai is sometimes referred to as "flying bread," a term that evokes the process of tossing and spinning by which it is made.

'Chopsticks' for Chinese food

The name “Chopsticks” really covers a lot of ground as there are many countries that use them. It should be made clear from the beginning of this article that Chopsticks is a Chinese restaurant. And while chopsticks are part of the table setting, so are normal utensils.

The décor of Chopsticks is not really what one would expect when entering a typical Chinese restaurant. Chopsticks is a bit more elegant and subdued. What attracts the eye most are large stone columns that start from the ground and lead up to the second floor singles section. Assuming they don’t serve a load-bearing function, it was an interesting choice considering the potential table space that they must take up. At the same time, they do lend the place a certain subconscious appeal of grandeur.

Beyond that, the environment is generally cool, sleek, but slightly generic. The main color scheme is a stone gray with dark wood, hints of beige and others offering highlights to draw the eye. While the establishment does have a certain Asian cool to it, it is also slightly lacking in any sort of standout character. On one wall are two large pictures of flowers, and on the wall opposite are 12 small posters of the Chinese horoscope. While pleasant, it is not really memorable. I did find it enjoyable, however, to read the year of the dog horoscope and found it to be surprisingly accurate to myself.

As my group took to our table we were served with complimentary shots of Italian soda with some kind of green syrup; while a nice gesture they were a bit too sweet. The menu is vast in its selection. While the menu is quite elegant, the bottom of each page has four or five pictures of the various selections, which is a move I tend to associate with takeaway Chinese restaurants. Given the wide selection of items it took us a little while to finally decide what wanted. Then again, it certainly is better having too much to choose from than too little.

The service was fast and friendly and the prices are quite reasonable for what you get. While Chopsticks may not offer anything especially new, different, or memorable from other Chinese restaurants, it is pleasant enough with good company and does its food well. I would not be especially tempted to give them a second visit, but I would go there for takeaway to satisfy a craving for Chinese.

Location: On Amir Sultan St. across the roundabout from Sultan Mall — Next to Ruby Tuesdays.

The Pad Thai

Pad Thai, as served in the United States, is usually cooked in lots of oil. Marnie’s tasted like it had barely been in a wok — starting out almost souplike, until the noodles began absorbing the light but spicy sauce of chicken stock with lime juice. The vegetables crunched; the shrimp were firm.

Diners know what they are eating at Marnie’s. The ingredients in the salmon with Indian tomato curry came through with wonderful clarity: cumin, turmeric and cayenne, all mixed in a kind of tomato paste and combined with fresh fish over jasmine rice.

A Thai basil pesto special could not have been simpler, or more tasty. Made with lemon juice and peanuts, it had a brighter, subtler flavor than Italian-style pesto. And the Asian chicken wings were plump and crispy, with a black pepper kick that tickled the nose and warmed the belly.

Ms. Henricksson picks her ingredients carefully, getting many of them in Chinatown but others from select suppliers in Brooklyn and New Jersey. So her soba has a high percentage of buckwheat for flavor and just enough flour to keep it firm. Instead of turning to mush in the soba noodle soup, the pasta remained almost al dente.

Casings for her egg rolls — which are made with pork, shrimp and cabbage and served with extraordinary mustard and plum sauces — are made fresh in the city. For those used to either overfried or mushy versions, Marnie’s egg rolls will be a revelation: full of flavor, pleasingly crisp and amazingly fresh.

Marnie’s focus on simplicity permeates her menu. I so loved the house salad’s soy-and-ginger dressing that I could have sipped it by the teaspoon, but I was relieved it did not saturate the mixed greens. Instead, there was just enough to bring out the peppery goodness of the lettuce, not overpower it.

Desserts are limited to one a night, but the ones I had were winners. A plump, soft chocolate chip cookie was a terrific finish to one meal. On another, especially hot evening, the green tea ice cream was a refreshing, not-too-sweet pleasure.

Marnie’s Asian Kitchen
64 Pudding Street
Putnam Valley
(845) 603-5055
marniesasiankitchen.com

Filipino food's new wave

Tim Luym isn't quite sure why Filipino food hasn't gone mainstream the way its Asian counterparts have.
Maybe it's the mom-and-pop nature of most Filipino restaurants. Maybe it's the ingredients, which often include all parts of the animal.

"Maybe it just sounds a little more intimidating?" Luym asks.

Whatever the case, Filipino food might just be the next Asian cuisine to hit prime time, following the well-chronicled renaissance of Thai, Vietnamese and, most recently, Korean food in the Bay Area.
Restaurants like Intramuros in South San Francisco and the 2-month-old Attic in San Mateo - where Luym is the consulting chef - have opened in the last two years offering Filipino food in trendy settings.

In San Francisco, Filipino food trucks are now on the prowl, with Adobo Hobo, Senor Sisig and others serving classic street food. Mercury Lounge chef/owner Dominic Ainza is also hosting a series of cooking classes later this month with lumpia and adobo in the spotlight.

"There's been this resurgence of Filipino cooks wanting to look toward their cuisine and push that forward," Luym says. "It's an exciting time."

So with this weekend marking the annual Pistahan Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens - complete with an adobo cook-off, as well as balut and longanisa eating contests - here's a little cheat sheet for Filipino cuisine.
If adobo - or meat stewed in vinegar and soy sauce - is the Philippines' national dish, then sinagang is what Luym calls its "quintessential" dish.

The sour soup gets its punch from tamarind and is chock full of meats and vegetables. While there are various seafood and meat versions, think of sinagang as the tom yum goong of the Philippines.

Sisigs, meanwhile, are diced meats, traditionally seafood like bangus, a.k.a. milkfish, that's been marinated in vinegar and calamansi, a citrus fruit. The fish or meat is then fried and served on sizzling platters. Meat dishes are also hugely popular, especially when deep-frying is involved. Crispy pata is a deep-fried pork hock, while chicharon bulaklak is like chicharonnes, but with pork ruffles instead of rinds.

Kare-kare is a complex dish of oxtail and tripe and vegetables like eggplant cooked in a rich peanut sauce, served with fermented shrimp paste - the saltiness of which helps cut through the heavy sauce. And because much of Filipino food is influenced by its Spanish colonial roots, it's common to find paellas and tapas-style dishes like gambas al ajillo, or shrimp in garlic sauce, on menus.

Full-blown Filipino fiestas, like all Asian meals, are served family-style, and will likely include all of the above and pancit, or noodle dishes. But there's also the street food scene, and Luym recommends doing a casual food hop to complement the offerings at classic restaurants like Patio Filipino in San Bruno or fusion favorite Bistro Luneta in San Mateo.

Among his favorites: the garlicky fried chicken served with banana catsup at Max's, the grilled meat skewers at Fil-Am Cuisine, the bagoong (dried shrimp paste) fried rice at Tribu Grill, and the sweets at House of Sylvanas or Valerios.

"Eating Italian food at Olive Garden will be different from Steps of Rome, which will be different from A16," Luym says. "Opinions will vary, but I think it really helps bring depth to a cuisine."

Inside: Reviews of Zazu and Garden Fresh. Plus, The Inside Scoop E2-E3
Sunday: Can this relationship stand the heat of the kitchen? Food & Wine

StirFried Boneless Chicken with Capsicums in Teriyaki Sauce

One of the earliest dishes I tried out at Japanese restaurants was the Chicken Teriyaki. Lightly grilled and basted with the mildly sweet teriyaki sauce, the tender pieces of chicken always go well with steamed rice. Though I’ve seen the teriyaki marinade being sold at the supermarket shelves, I never got around to buying them until a few months ago – now that I have an oven at home.

I never knew that it was so easy to prepare a dish of oven-roasted chicken teriyaki to perfection but that would be a recipe for another day to share with you. For today, let me share with you what I attempted for the first time which resulted in a thumbs up from my wife  

Stir-fried boneless chicken with capsicums in teriyaki sauce may be a long name to pronounce but definitely short and easy to cook. Ingredients are simple and cooking time is minimal. I do think that this dish would be better if a couple of slices of onion are included but you won’t be disappointed even if you don’t have it. The capsicums themselves will give a slight robust taste to this dish, not to mention, a crunch to the otherwise tender pieces of chicken.

For the chicken, I chose the whole leg of chicken, completely deboned with skin removed. Breast meat may not be suitable as it is less tender. The skin is removed so that the dish will turn out less oily. Moreover, it would not be suitable to stir fry the chicken with meat intact. If you prefer to have the chicken skin on, roasting would be a better option.

Articles from: www.deliciousasianfood.com