The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:12 PM PST

BY EU HOOI KHAW
November 30, 2013

The Hot and Sour Tongsat or Catfish that sends shivers down your palate.It's so pleasant driving away from the city into a new village that still has some rural charm. We were in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh mid-week, and found the Huaw Kee Seafood Restaurant where we had planned to have lunch.

Fried octopus with dried chillies.The friendly lady boss came to help us order after seeing us struggling with her Mandarin-speaking waitress. We took her recommendations: Hot and Sour Tongsat or Catfish Stew, Siu Yoke Har Kau or Roast Pork with Prawns in XO Sauce, Fried Octopus with Dried Chillies and a Teochew yam dessert, Oh Nee.

The Hot and Sour Tongsat was absolutely marvellous. The dark stew with chunks of catfish in it was pungently sour and hot. The sourness hit me first – it was almost intolerable but it sent thrilling shivers down my palate. I tasted taucheo or fermented beanpaste and a host of other ingredients that gave the stew the different layers of flavours.

There were dried chillies, of course, cili padi, asam keping, lemongrass, Indian curry leaves, ginger, onions and whole garlic in it. The curry leaves, lemongrass and ginger laced the stew with their fragrance, the asam keping gave it a zingy tartness while the taucheo tempered it a little. The tongsat was meaty enough and was not as bony as other catfish. We liked it so much we went back for it three days later.

The Roast Pork with Prawns in XO Sauce was an unusual combination. They had an intense and rustic flavour – salty, hot and aromatic with dried shrimps, silver ikan bilis, dried chillies and lots of onions in it. It's a dish to make you eat a lot of rice. It's the Sekinchan style of cooking, said its chef/owner Chow Heng, who is from there. "We live near the sea and we like strong flavours."

A popular dish is the Roast Pork and Prawns with XO Sauce.The seafood is from Sekinchan, of course, and its freshness was evident in the Fried Octopus with Dried Chilli. It was done in the same style as that of the roast pork with prawns, but with the addition of spring onions. We liked it for the sweet and crunchy octopus.

We found a good Oh Nee here, the smooth yam paste simmered with lard and generously finished with pumpkin and ginkgo nuts. It was delicious.

The Chicken Curry in a giant bun.On our next trip there, we ordered the Bread Chicken Curry, a dish made famous in Kampar. They do this so well at Huaw Kee. The huge "bread" encasing the chicken curry was like a giant mantou and tasted like it too. Breaking open the bread, and undoing the cellophane wrap of the chicken curry, we caught the aromas of spices like cinnamon, cloves and star anise, and curry leaves. I loved this Indian-style curry chicken which I used to cook. I broke off chunks of the fluffy bread to eat with it, and kept going back for more.

For a vegetable dish, it's hard to beat the Kai Lan with Yam, which is a great combination. Chunks of soft, powdery yam cooked with garlic, ginger and dried shrimps hugged the kai lan. This time, we also tried the Pepper Soup with Pig's Stomach and La La.Yam with Kai Lan.

Chow Heng, the chef and owner of Huaw Kee, who cooks the Sekinchan style of seafood.It's cheap eating at Huaw Kee. The Hot and Sour Catfish is RM20, Roast Pork with Prawns RM25, Bread Chicken Curry RM28, Oh Nee RM9, Fried Octopus RM15, Kai Lan with Yam RM12 and Pig's Stomach Soup with La La RM15.

The soft, smooth dumplings, or Kau Chee, at a stall near Huaw Kee.We also nipped round the corner to buy some cheen loong pau or flat buns filled with coconut or red bean paste, and kau chee or dumplings at a stall in front of a shop selling Chinese prayer items. The soft, smooth dumplings filled with shredded yam bean and dried shimps are scrumptious and sell out fast.

Oh Nee, the Teochew Yam Pudding with ginkgo nuts and pumpkin.The buns with coconut are very nice too. The shop is located along Jalan Besar. Just ask for directions from the friendliest people you meet here. - November 30, 2013.

* Huaw Kee Seafood Restaurant, Lot 4129 + 4130 Jalan Perkhidmatan, Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, tel: 012-356 2600, 012 2357 2600. Call up for directions or follow GPS coordinates: 3'11'51"N. 101'34'10"E.

Explore these hot sauce alternatives to Sriracha sauce

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 05:44 PM PST

November 29, 2013

Fans of Sriracha sauce are already stockpiling supplies or looking for alternatives. - Pic by Huy Fong Food, November 29, 2013. Hot sauce lovers: don't panic. News that a court has ordered the biggest maker of Sriracha sauce in the US to halt production has sent gourmands with spicy palates into a mild, nay, heated panic.

Huy Fong Food, which produces the iconic "Rooster" red sauce — instantly recognizable by its green cap and clear plastic bottle — was ordered to stop production until able to install better odor-filtering measures after area residents complained about breathing problems and watery eyes.

While locals may be celebrating, the rest of North America is not. Reaction has been swift on the web, with hot sauce aficionados on the Twittersphere calling the event a "hot sauce apocalypse." And just a day after the judgment, two separate petitions have been launched on Change.org and Care2.com calling on the city to reverse the order.

Recently, the spicy, vinegary and garlic-infused hot sauce also known as Thai ketchup has inspired one filmmaker to produce a whole documentary around the Asian condiment which has become a staple in many North American households, squeezing itself between ketchup and mustard bottles.

But the potential shortfall also presents a good opportunity to explore other hot sauce alternatives — or even encourage serious fans to make your own.

Here are a few alternatives to try:

Sambal Olek

Sriracha sauce lovers probably already know of Sambal Olek by virtue of association as it's the chunkier version of the saucy condiment, with seeds left intact.

Garlic chili sauce

Think Sambal Olek, with the added flavor infusion of garlic.

Gochujang

A traditional Korean hot bean paste, gochujang is made with fermented soybean powder, salt, and red pepper powder, with a slightly sweet finish. Pourable, vinegary versions of gochujang also exist.

Piri piri sauce

A Portuguese hot sauce, piri piri sauce is made from bird's eye chilies and is the main ingredient in the spicy churrasqueira chicken — aside from the bird itself.

Harissa

This hot chili paste commonly found in North Africa is made with roasted red peppers, serrano peppers, coriander, caraway seeds and garlic powder. Admittedly milder than other hot sauce alternatives, harissa is a fragrant and aromatic paste.

For serious Sriracha sauce fans, however, sites like Seriouseats.com and Foodwishes offer DIY recipes that involve red Jalapeno peppers, garlic, sugar and vinegar. - AFP/Relaxnews, November 29, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sabtu, 30 November 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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