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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Shrimp Scampi Pasta: Tony Roma’s Copycat
CONTINUE READING: Shrimp Scampi Pasta: Tony Roma’s CopycatIf you look back far enough on this blog, you will see I’ve attempted shrimp scampi pasta twice before. The first time was a bit of a bust, because of a bad choice I made as a substitute for white wine in the recipe. The second time wasn’t bad, however, it really wasn’t exactly like…
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Super Supreme Pan Pizza: Pizza Hut Copycat
CONTINUE READING: Super Supreme Pan Pizza: Pizza Hut CopycatEvery now and then, during busier times and I just didn’t feel like cooking, we’d get pizza. In KL, junky Pizza Hut pan pizza is our guilty pleasure. Meanwhile, in the States, we’re lucky enough to have Pizza Twist nearby as a halal option. The thing is, “halal” pizzas in the States inevitably means “Indian.”…
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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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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 Shepherd’s Pie the other day.
Man, look at that nice golden crust on top. The broiler on my old oven back in KL doesn’t come anywhere close to achieving that same effect.
Tried a new method of mashing the potatoes this time. I used a fine mesh sieve, and pressed the cooked potatoes through with a spatula. Batu lesung pun I think would be quite effective. Definitely a great method for ultra smooth, creamy mash. If you like your mash a little chunky, stick to your trusty ol’ potato masher. Always mash your potatoes when warm, else they will turn out grainy. Some recipes even call for mashing your potatoes in a pot at low heat on the stove. Add butter and mix in to incorporate first before adding other ingredients (cream, seasonings). The butter also helps prevent your mash from becoming mealy. Do not use a blender or food processor, as overworking your potatoes will turn them practically into glue.
Side story: some years back, I attended a baking class. It was free for me, but it was funded by a goverment agency, so, effectively, the expectation was a proper class of a similar standard as a paid one. During lunch time, they served really nice mash, super smooth. So, being always curious about better cooking techniques, I asked, “Chef, how do you get your potatoes to be so smooth?” She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Uh, just mash lah.” A few of my other classmates laughed at me too. So, Chef, just so you know, the answer I was hoping for was a bit more like what I shared above. Just wanted to make life easier for my other fellow cooks out there. Oh yeah, overall I thought the course was such a sham and a waste of taxpayer money. They could’ve given so much more in terms of the curriculum in helping legit first-time bakers. I honestly learned more from my groupmate, who is an experienced baker. Ah well.
Happy cooking!
Seriously guys, do try making corned beef fried rice.
I only knew the existence of this fried rice fairly recently. I wanted to get mee kolok from @kafesarawakjohor_official, then noticed they also had this fried rice on their menu. Apparently this is a quintessential Sarawak dish, and it is absolutely da bomb. I used a recipe by @chefamirgani, but added carrots and cabbage similar to Kafe Sarawak Johor. My corned beef was Pawada, do share if any of the other brands are better. I also crumbled a beef stock cube and added some Cukup Rasa to the rice for extra flavor. Hubby’s only complaint was it was “too easy to eat,” so I think I might beef it up with a little more protein like chicken or something. For this batch I supplemented with some chicken nuggets.
Sila la try, guys. Simple and sedap.
#nasigorengcornedbeef #nasigorengcornedbeefsarawak #pawadacornedbeef
#nakmakanmasaksendiri
#nakmakanbuatsendiri
Tried this corn custard by @khairulaming for Eid celebrations.
Really good, not too sweet, creamy and full of yummy corn flavor. Even my little grandnephew loved it. It does, however, gets a bit too rich/jelak in bigger portions. I made this recipe twice so far, and I think the sweet spot in terms of portion size is between 15-18 portions per batch. I used rose essence in place of the sirap ros cordial called for in the recipe. Do give it a try!
#pudingkastadjagung #kastadjagung #corncustard #corncustardpudding #resepikhairulaming
@khairulaming ‘s siakap stim bersantan.
Seriously, tolongla try resepi ni. Pretty low touch and easy, but needs a few less common ingredients in my kitchen, like galangal and Thai chili sauce. Didn’t have Thai chili sauce, so had to make do with regular. Will try to get my hands on a small bottle and reattempt this recipe. I’m also thinking to season the fish a little with salt, for a bit more flavor on the meat itself.
KA wasn’t kidding when he said you’ll end up slurping the broth non stop. Yum!
#resepikhairulaming #siakapstimbersantan #steamedfish
@khairulaming ‘s tenggiri masak cuka.
Seriously, do try this recipe. I’m a fan of ikan singgang, so I found this to be quite yummy too. I adjusted the seasonings a little to balance out the flavors, otherwise this was great as written, without any modifications necessary. I air-fried the fish for an even healthier version. Yum!
#resepikhairulaming #ikanmasakcuka #tenggirimasakcuka
Made shorba (Middle Eastern oat soup) a couple of times this month.
Completely forgot about this recipe. I like to make this soup for sahur, because it’s filling, savoury and easy to eat. Like, simply shovel into mouth with your eyes closed 😆. Here, it was my first time making it in a pressure cooker. So much easier. I think it’s also becoming Mummy’s new favorite breakfast item.
#shorba #oatsoup
Made @khairulaming ‘s ayam sos plum a few days back.
Turned out, I had a bottle of plum sauce in fridge 😆 This was super quick and easy to make, and the flavor was excellent. The healthier method of air frying the chicken was a real plus, freeing you up to prep the other things while the air fryer does its thing. Will definitely make again. Yum!
#resepikhairulaming #ayamsosplum
Made @khairulaming’s Peri-peri Chicken a few days ago.
Modfied it a bit, added smoked paprika and apple cider vinegar for extra smokiness and acidity. Sedap. Plenty of extra sauce so can definitely make again.
Also made Jamaican rice and peas. Basically Jamaican nasi lemak, rice cooked in coconut milk and with red kidney beans added. Found an old can of kidney beans and seriously couldn’t remember why I bought it in the first place. Also a very good recipe, which goes really well with the chicken.
#resipikhairulaming #periperichicken #ayamperiperi #riceandpeas
