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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Shepherd’s Pie
CONTINUE READING: Shepherd’s PieI’ve been cooking at home for many years now. Nowadays, I prepare simpler dishes for my family’s daily meals. However, when I first started cooking I was still working a full-time job, so cooking was more of a weekend affair, focusing on “fancier” dishes, or exotic dishes from other cuisines I was curious about. One…
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Simple Chicken Soup
CONTINUE READING: Simple Chicken SoupAfter a string of binge-eating sessions and potlucks and indulgence, sometimes we just want something simple for a change. One of my go-to options for a quick (and healthier) meal is this simple chicken soup. This is a Malaysian style soup, with a very hearty, herbal broth. Perfect for cold rainy days, served with a…
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Scallop and Shrimp Pasta
CONTINUE READING: Scallop and Shrimp PastaThe other day I didn’t have the right ingredients in the fridge to make my usual Malaysian dishes. No eggs, either, so I couldn’t even make a simple fried rice without leaving out what I think is a key ingredient. Digging through the freezer I found a bunch of seafood I could use, and so…
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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.
Made homemade kaya today.
Not out of curiosity, but more of necessity 😅 Late this morning, I started throwing together the dough to make roti Bengali with kaya. As the dough was mixing along in the mixer, I went through my pantry, and realized I did *not* have any more kaya on hand 😅.
I stared at my running mixer for a while, thinking about my options. Seeing that I had a healthy supply of eggs, coconut milk, gula melaka, even frozen pandan in the freezer, I decided to make my own kaya.
The process wasn’t as difficult as I thought. During the dough bulk rise, I took my time to separate the yolks from the egg whites, making sure I got rid of any egg white residue. I chopped up the gula melaka, then heated it in a saucepan with coconut milk, sugar and pandan over low heat. I then tempered the beaten egg yolks with the heated mixture, before pouring it into the saucepan. After stirring continuously for a short while, I got some decent homemade kaya. 😄
Left it to cool just in time for use in my Bengali bread. So darn good.
#homemadekaya #kayabuatsendiri #serikaya #srikaya #coconutjam
Made limeade. It’s winter but, hey, we have too many limes 😆.
Our neighbor next door has a lime tree near the fence between our houses. The tree is huge, and parts of it hang over our side of the fence. Our neighbor has kindly allowed us to help ourselves to any fruit growing on our side.
One day Faizal noticed a whole bunch of fallen yellow limes on the ground, and they were all still in excellent condition. I grabbed a basket and went to collect them. I also noticed a couple of large green ones on the branches, and picked them for use in my cooking. The yellow ones we juiced to make refreshing limeade, to enjoy after a long day working on our toolshed.
Recipe:
– Juice from 4 limes, about 2/3 cup. Note that yellow limes are less acidic, maybe try using a little less lime juice to start if using green limes.
– Dissolve 2 tbsp honey and 2 tsp sugar in about 1/4 cup hot water. (Adjust to taste)
– Add the juice and honey-sugar syrup into a measuring jug and add enough water to make 3 cups liquid
– Add ice and enjoy!
I’ve been cooking at home for many years now. Nowadays, I prepare simpler dishes for my family’s daily meals. However, when I first started cooking I was still working a full-time job, so cooking was more of a weekend affair, focusing on “fancier” dishes, or exotic dishes from other cuisines I was curious about. One of the earliest dishes I’ve ever attempted was shepherd’s pie.
Like many of the earliest dishes I’ve ever attempted, I made this shepherd’s pie based on the recipe by Emeril Lagasse, with a few tweaks here and there. It’s been over a decade since I last made this dish, but recently I made this pie again, as a potential candidate for food to bring during our camping trips. We loved the result, and will definitely pack this in our cooler on our next trip.
You can save time and use store-bought mince, but I prefer to chop the meat myself, either by hand or using a food processor. In this recent attempt the lamb shoulder chunks I used had a little bit of bone here and there. After removing the meat from the bones, I threw the bone pieces into the pot to simmer with the rest of the meat filling. This really brought a lot of flavor to the mixture. If you’re not a fan of lamb, make this with beef (your shepherd’s pie will then be called “cottage pie”) or chicken (“farmer’s pie”).
Serve this hearty, comforting pie with a side of coleslaw, peas and gravy. To my fellow Malaysians who feel a little nostalgic for Dave’s Deli’s delicious shepherd’s pie, give this version a try!
For the recipe, search “shepherd’s pie” on my blog, linked in my profile.
#shepherdspie
Throwback to the Million Dollar Spaghetti I made.
This was some time back. Served this at a small gathering with my girlfriends. I made a small mistake of simmering the bolognese sauce covered, and it didn’t reduce as much as I would have liked. I felt that this made the sauce less flavorful, but it wasn’t too bad thankfully. Still an excellent option for potlucks and large gatherings.
For the recipe, search “million dollar” in my blog, linked in my profile.
#milliondollarspaghetti #pasta #pastacasserole
Yesterday we made Grandma’s red bean cookies.
I made the filling the night before, to save some time. We doubled the recipe, for a total of 128 cookies. It still took us practically the whole day 😂. So so worth it though. Melt-in-your-mouth flaky pastry with tender ref bean paste. Every bite so perfect. Mmm.
For both the cookie and filling recipes, search “red bean” in my blog, linked in my profile.
Made cream of mushroom soup for a potluck with my girlfriends recently.
One of my top dishes , and it never disappoints. Used apple juice + apple cider vinegar as a non-alcoholic substitute for white wine. Search “wild mushroom” in my blog for the recipe!
#creamofwildmushroomsoup #creamofwildmushroom
After a string of binge-eating sessions and potlucks and indulgence, sometimes we just want something simple for a change. One of my go-to options for a quick (and healthier) meal is this simple chicken soup. This is a Malaysian style soup, with a very hearty, herbal broth. Perfect for cold rainy days, served with a plate of steaming hot white rice.
Initially, I started with a base recipe by Che Nom, but after making this dish several times, I’ve adjusted it to my taste and incorporated my own techniques. When making chicken dishes that require browning the chicken beforehand, I usually use the cold start method. Chicken pieces are placed skin-side down in a cold pan, and slowly heated to render the fat from the skin. I would then use the same rendered fat in the dish, and maybe even have some left over. Not only does the chicken fat reduce the need for any added oil during sauteeing, it also gives the dish such great aroma. I do this for my Palestinian chicken soup recipe, as well.
Add this to your rotation of simple dishes to make for weeknight dinners.
#simplechickensoup #chickensoup #supayam #supayamsimple #supayamringkas
The other day I didn’t have the right ingredients in the fridge to make my usual Malaysian dishes. No eggs, either, so I couldn’t even make a simple fried rice without leaving out what I think is a key ingredient. Digging through the freezer I found a bunch of seafood I could use, and so I felt inspired to make scallop and shrimp pasta.
A quick web search led me to a simple and highly rated recipe by Christina’s Cucina. Her mission apparently is to preserve authentic Italian dishes, and looking through the ingredients list for the sauce – olive oil, parsley, garlic, wine, salt and pepper – I definitely believed in her recipe’s authenticity.
Of course, I had to make some adjustments to halal-ify the dish and also work with whatever I had on hand. In place of the white wine I used water mixed with some chicken stock powder, and a splash of lime juice to mimic the acidity typically contributed by the wine. I also used cilantro instead of parsley, because that was what I had in the fridge. Being Southeast Asian, I also think cilantro goes very well with seafood anyway. The dear hubby also likes a bit of heat in his pasta, so I added chili flakes to the dish.
I loved how this pasta turned out. For all the olive oil and butter in it, the flavor is clean and refreshing and not greasy at all. The seafood flavor really shines through and is the real highlight of the dish. An easy meal to make even on busy weeknights, you’ll never get enough of it. Try it!
P/s: I’m still not as skilled at getting a good sear on the scallops, will update this post if/when I get the right technique down.
For the recipe, search “scallop shrimp pasta” in my blog, linked in my profile.
#scallopshrimppasta #seafoodpasta #pasta
