Where cool cats linger
I’m just a cat-loving Malaysian who loves to eat, cook, and bake. I also modify recipes from various cuisines into Halal, Muslim-friendly versions, and share them here so you don’t have to figure it out all by yourself.
My Recipes
My experiments with cuisines from all over the world, using Halal ingredients.
Treats from my home state of Terengganu, Malaysia, as well as a few family recipes.
My best recipes, guaranteed to be crowd pleasers and a hit at potlucks and dinner parties.
My endless pursuit of the yummiest bread and dough recipes, either baked, fried, steamed and more.
Copycat recipes you can make at home, to satisfy your curiosity or cravings.
My collection of recipes by gadget, from air fryers to pressure cookers and other handy kitchen appliances. Anything to help speed up our prep work!
MY MOTTO
#nakmakanbuatsendiri
(Wanna eat? Make it yourself)
Latest Posts
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Non-alcoholic Substitutes for Alcohol in Cooking
CONTINUE READING: Non-alcoholic Substitutes for Alcohol in CookingAlcoholic beverages often appear on the ingredient list of various recipes. Different people will have their own reasons, but there are folks who choose to not use alcohol in their cooking, so they will have to make certain decisions if they want to attempt these recipes. Especially if the amount required is small, simply omitting…
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Brioche Burger Buns
CONTINUE READING: Brioche Burger BunsOne fine Monday we had a chicken burger party at my place with part of my foodie gang (taste buds? Haha!). We got really inspired by this lebanese chicken burger video we saw on Instagram, and decided to try making it ourselves. My friends brought the different components needed for the burgers, while I was…
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Beef Soup
CONTINUE READING: Beef SoupOne of our go-to meals to prep and bring on our camping trips is this Malay-style beef soup. The hearty, comforting combination of meat and potatoes, as well as the warmth of the peppery, gingery spiced broth, makes this soup the perfect dish to have on a cold evening by the campfire. We would portion…
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MENU IDEAS
Having a Party?
I used to organize dinner parties with my friends, dubbed The Dinner Club. I’d propose a menu along with the estimated cost, and we’d set a date. I’d do all the cooking, and my friends chip in for groceries. Here are the menus for my past Dinner Club sessions, in case you need some inspo.
MAKE YOUR OWN INGREDIENTS
To Make, or To Buy?
Sometimes I’m just lazy to run to the store to get something. Sometimes certain ingredients cost a bomb, or simply aren’t available to buy. Take a look at spice mixes and other ingredients I’ve made myself, for use in recipes in this site.
One of our go-to meals to prep and bring on our camping trips is this Malay-style beef soup. The hearty, comforting combination of meat and potatoes, as well as the warmth of the peppery, gingery spiced broth, makes this soup the perfect dish to have on a cold evening by the campfire. We would portion the soup out into ziplock bags, freeze them, then store the frozen soup in our cooler. The soup would last us multiple meals over a weeklong camping trip.
I based this soup on an excellent recipe by Che Nom, with my own modifications. I started with browning my meat first, similar to when making a Western-style stew. I also added chilies to give the soup a little extra kick, and a few dates to act as a tenderizer. This recipe makes a big batch, so you can make this over the weekend and freeze a few portions for a quick dinner on another day. Do give it a try!
For the recipe, search for ‘beef soup’ in my blog, linked in my profile.
Our freezer was getting a bit too full for comfort, so I felt pressured to clear it. I found some lamb leg meat stashed in a corner of the freezer, so I started looking around for recipe ideas for it. At first I considered making some fancy Middle Eastern or Indian rice dish, but in the end I opted to make lamb curry, a standard lauk to have together with plain white rice.
I found an interesting recipe by Kak Yan, which looks pretty straightforward and uses pretty common ingredients I already have in my fridge or pantry. Hers was with beef, but I knew it would work just fine with lamb. I prefer browning my meats first when making curries or similar dishes, so I did just that with my lamb meat. In addition to the wonderful flavor boost from the brown bits, this step also renders quite a bit of fat, which is then used for sauteeing the spices and aromatics. I used coconut milk in my curry, however this is actually an optional step, so feel free to omit if preferred.
The result was excellent. The tang of the tamarind really balances out the richness of the lamb and coconut milk, and the dish wasn’t gamey at all. Serve this lamb curry with steaming hot white rice and, if available, some crispy fried salted fish. The combination will be spectacular. Yum!
For the recipe, search for ‘lamb curry’ in my blog, linked in my profile.
Made fishball soup for lunch. I realized I had way too many bags of fishballs in the freezer, and I also had a good portion of mince chicken I should use at some point. Made the soup base by simmering a large handful of anchovies in chicken stock (I just used stock cubes). Seasoned the mince chicken and let it marinate for a bit, while waiting for the soup base to be done. After straining the stock (I discarded the anchovies, they really were completely flavorless by the end of it) and returning it to the stove, I dropped spoonfuls of the seasoned mince into it to make small meatballs. Blanched some leftover wonton noodles and greens, then served it all up. I topped it with fried onions, but didn’t make the cut chili in soy sauce. That would’ve given the dish a bit more of a kick. A decent comfort food, for times you just want something simple.
#fishballsoup #fishballnoodlesoup #noodlesoup
Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls: a delicious experiment.
This was something I made some time back, during my last trip back to KL. The mission was to clear the pantry of any near-expiring items, and that jar of peanut butter had been sitting there for ages. I also happened to have a sad-looking bunch of bananas. I thought about what I can make with both, some kind of bread, *not* some type of cake, sweet pie, or muffin. Only cinnamon rolls made sense to me.
I found a decent recipe to start with, one with bananas in the dough itself as well as the filling. This being my first time trying this recipe I made it as-is, and generally all went well until the time came for assembly. My kitchen was so warm and the dough was so active, by the time I placed the cut rolls in the pan they were practically overflowing from the pan 😆.
These were great. Bananas and peanut butter really go so well together. Next time I’ll use AP flour instead of bread flour (this was my mistake, cinnamon rolls typically use AP flour for a more tender crumb), just soften the butter instead of melting it (also a mistake – butter was pooling everywhere during assembly 😅) and I think I’ll cut the cinnamon sugar by half. I also think the recipe makes too much frosting, so either I’ll make less next time, or I just won’t slather all of it on the rolls. Whatever it is, I’ll definitely be making this again.
#nakmakanbuatsendiri #peanutbutterbananacinnamonrolls #cinnamonrolls #bananapeanutbutter #peanutbutterbanana
Scenes from my meal prep for our camping trip.
Late post. One of our go-to menu items when camping is Malaysian-style beef soup (more like a stew, really) with rice. Chunks of beef and piping hot broth full of gingery, black-peppery goodness, poured into bowls of steaming hot rice, makes an excellent meal on cold nights in the wilderness. I also tried a great recipe for egg salad sandwiches, this will be for breakfast. I didn’t take any photos for the fried rice I made. All of this was packed in meal-sized portions in ziplock bags then frozen (egg salad filling was refrigerated), to extend our cooler’s effectiveness. Ready for our trip!
#campingfoodprep #campingfoodprecook #foodprep
Made brioche burger buns earlier this week.
This was for a burger lunch party with my usual makan gang. I used a recipe by @theclevercarrot, and these turned out really great. The original recipe was written using volume measurements, so I’ve noted down the weight of the ingredients as well for future reference. The dough was a little sticky, but completely manageable with some light sprinkling of oil. It was a hot day and the dough doubled in a fraction of the time I expected. Definitely a keeper. Yum!
#briochebuns #briocheburgerbuns #makeyourownbread #nakmakanbuatsendiri #homemadeburgerbuns
Made garlic and olive focaccia bread yesterday.
An excellent, super low-touch recipe by @daenskitchen. I mixed the dough on Monday (no kneading), and let it sit in the fridge for almost 24 hours. Shaped it into a boule, spread it in a tray, and let it rest for 4 hours. The only change I’d make next time is to bake at a slightly higher temperature, perhaps 220c instead of 200c. I don’t think I’ll make focaccia any other way after this.
#focaccia #homemadebread #homemadefoccacia #nakmakanbuatsendiri #focacciabread #nokneadbread
I had some duck breast meat that has been sitting in my freezer for ages. I initially wanted to use them for making duck andouille sausages, but let’s just say, it has been quite a while since I made that plan. Since I was certain I won’t be putting in time and effort to make something so complicated anytime soon, I figured I’d use the duck for something else. I noticed my chicken asado pandesal recipe getting quite a few views of late, so I felt inspired to use my duck meat to make duck asado pandesal.
For my marinade I’m using light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce as well hoisin sauce for the salt, orange juice for the acid, and garlic, star anise and bay leaf for the aromatics. The duck pieces are marinated whole overnight, grilled then chopped to size before making the filling. I took inspiration from Panlasang Pinoy Meat Recipes on the method for preparing this duck asado.
For the pandesal, similar to my chicken version, I based my recipe on the one by Woman Scribbles. I’ve measured out the ingredients by weight for a bit more consistency. This dough is very easy to work with, and results in a wonderfully soft, fluffy bread rolls. Definitely a keeper, and even worth making plain without any fillings.
These duck asado pandesal were so darn good. After letting them cool for a bit on a wire rack, my mom and I shared one just to try, but ended up grabbing another. The bread was pillowy, and the filling was fragrant and flavorful. If you happen to have some duck meat lying around and need an excuse to use them up, do give this recipe a try!
For the recipe, search for ‘duck asado pandesal’ in my blog, linked in my profile.
#duckasadopandesal #asadopandesal #meatbuns #breadroll #nakmakanbuatsendiri #pandesal
