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
-
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…
-
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…
-
Char Kway Teow
CONTINUE READING: Char Kway TeowOne of my mom’s favorite dishes is char kway teow, specifically the one from Madam Kwan’s. Their char kway teow is indeed very good – a very savory, flavorful sauce, generous amounts of chicken and shrimp, and wonderful wok hei. The problem is, ordering Madam Kwan’s too often can make a visible dent on our…
Most Viewed
ALWAYS
FRESH
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.
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
One of my mom`s favorite dishes is char kway teow, specifically the one from Madam Kwan`s. Their char kway teow is indeed very good – a very savory, flavorful sauce, generous amounts of chicken and shrimp, and wonderful wok hei. The problem is, ordering Madam Kwan`s too often can make a visible dent on our wallets, so I decided to try making it myself.
In my research, there are several ways to make char kway teow. Arguably the most iconic version is Penang-style, which is seasoned with sambal (chili paste) and a soy sauce mixture. Most of the best Penang-style char kway teow is also most definitely non-halal, using ingredients like lard and chinese sausages. I am still quite keen to attempt a halal-ified version of Penang-style char kway teow at some point, but that`s for another post. The other version I is seasoned with just a soy sauce mixture. This seems to be the version we get from Madam Kwan`s, and was what I attempted in this recipe.
I used multiple sources for inspiration to come up with this finalized recipe. In my experiments, I incorporated shrimp oil and played around with the ratios for the seasoning sauce, but the end result just wasn`t quite there. Finally a friend suggested I add some chicken fat, and that was what finally perfected this dish. Similar to Madam Kwan`s version I used chicken and shrimp, but substituted fishcakes for the squid. I needed to go easier on the high-cholestrol stuff.
You may notice that the measurements for the sauce mixture in the recipe is very specific. I`ve tested this recipe a few times using rough measurements (agak-agak), but felt that the sauce always didn`t turn out quite right. This specific measurement really hit the sweet spot. Kudos to RecipeTin for coming up with the magic formula. Most importantly, my mom gave her seal of approval and said this was just how she likes it. Success!
For the recipe, search "char kway teow" in my blog, linked in my bio.
Growing up in the East Coast of Malaysia, I remember the seemingly endless, gentle rain during monsoon season. Most of the time the rain wasn’t too heavy, but it could go on for weeks. You could literally see damp patches form on the brick walls as they get saturated with rainwater. However, the monsoon season was not without its charms. In an area of my hometown called Manir, there`s a stretch of road where you`d see small stalls crop up during the rainy season, selling all sorts of root vegetables like cassava, taro, and sweet potatoes. We’d drive over to this area to grab what we liked – cassava being one of our top choices – and make all sorts of snacks and desserts with them. One of the things we made often was boiled cassava with shredded coconut.
If you happen to get your hands on some good, fresh cassava, do give this simple recipe a try!
For the recipe, search "boiled cassava" in my blog, linked in my profile.
#boiledcassava #ubikayurebus
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.
