By now you know me; I love to cook my food in bulk. I will eat some and freeze the rest. The reasons are that I don’t have to worry about what to cook or what to get, as everything is expensive now. I only buy when food is on sale. My sister’s friend gave her 2 cartons of eggs from her chickens, and she gave me a carton of the eggs. I boiled the eggs and added them to my curry. I am having my leftover chicken potato curry, which I made 4 days ago, and yesterday, braised roast pork and salted vegetables to go with rice.
Chicken curry is very popular and comfort food in Malaysia. The most important ingredients are coconut milk, spices, and curry leaves that give this curry a flavourful aromatic and thick texture. Chicken curry usually serve with roti Canai or paratha in my home back in Penang. Most Nyonya Malaysian chicken curry can be cooked with or without Potato. It can be served also with nasi kunyit: Malaysian coconut milk and turmeric-infused sticky rice which is when a baby is one month old. Here we serve with plain rice and a vegetable dish.
Google: “Chinese preserved vegetables are a variety of pickled vegetables that are a staple in Sichuanese cooking. They are often made from mustard greens or Chinese radish and have a salty, slightly bitter flavour with a bit of chili powder. How to use it? Chop finely and use a little bit of it in soups, stir fries and stews.”
Be brave, turn leftover food into soul food, tasty budget meal, and be grateful to have food on the table. Here are the two recipes combined; do the curry first for the curry to absorb the flavour of the spices added. My meal is simple, spicy, flavourful, and delicious. Let’s cook!!!
Ingredients
Chicken potato curry
750 g breast fillet, cut to bite size
8 potatoes, peeled, cut to bite size
6 curry leaves
1 packet A1 Action One chicken curry paste, about 200 g
500 ml water
300 ml coconut milk
6 dried chilies
4 garlic, peeled
3 candle nuts
1 Tbs light soy sauce
1 Tbs garam masala
1 “ginger, peeled and sliced
1 lemongrass, white part only, pounded and sliced
oil
salt
pepper
Hard boiled eggs
6-12 eggs, straight from the fridge
1 Tsp white vinegar
1/2 Tsp salt
Braised roast pork and salted preserved vegetables
1.5 kg sliced roast pork belly
1 packet salted preserved vegetables about 450 g
2 Tbs minced garlic
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs dark soy sauce
1 Tbs light soy sauce
2 Tbs Shaoxing wine
2 Tbs sugar
5 pieces of star anise
2 cloves
6-8 c water
salt
pepper
oil
Method
Chicken potato and egg curry
Marinate cut chicken pieces with 2 Tbs of A1 Action One paste and 1 Tbs of light soy sauce for 30 minutes and put in fridge. Meantime, soak dried chilies in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Pound candle nuts, lemongrass, and sliced ginger then add to blender with soaked dry chilies, garlic, and 3 Tbs A1 Action One paste.
Heat 1 Tbs oil on high heat, add blended curry paste, garam masala and A1 Action One paste into the pot and stir until aromatic. Add chicken pieces, make sure to coat all the chicken pieces well and stir for 1 minutes. Add water and cover the pot and lower the heat to medium.
Bring the curry chicken to boil and then lower the heat, add the potatoes, curry leaves, and simmer for 20 minutes or so or until the chicken become tender. Add the coconut milk and bring it to boil for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir to mix well. Usually, I leave the curry overnight for the chicken to absorb the aromatic flavour more. Before serving the next day, bring it back to warmed up not boiling heat.
Hard boiled eggs
Fill a large pot about a quarter of the way with cold water. Add 1 Tsp vinegar and 1/2 Tsp salt. Next put 6 eggs in a single layer at the bottom of the pot. Add more water so that the eggs are covered by at least an inch or two of water. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes. Meantime, prepare an ice-water bath. Once the eggs have cooked, use a metal net to remove the eggs and immediately submerge them in the ice-water bath to stop their cooking. Peel the eggs, starting with the bottom end first as it’s easier to get under the membrane.
Note: The more eggs that are crowding the pot the more water needed to have over the eggs. 6 eggs should be covered by at least an inch, 7 to 12 eggs, 2 inches. “How to store hard boiled eggs: wait until they have cooled before storing. After cooling down, peel the eggs. store the eggs in an airtight bag or container: They need to be protected from exposure to air, odors, and any microorganisms that may be present, on the middle shelf of your refrigerator.”
“Unpeeled hard-boiled eggs should also be placed in an airtight container or resealable bag before refrigerating. Unpeeled hard-boiled eggs should also be kept on the middle shelf of your refrigerator where the temperature is most consistent.”
Braised roast pork and salted preserved vegetables
Note: Wash, rinse, then soak the salted preserved vegetables for roughly 5 hours or overnight, until the leaves start to fan out. Remember to change the water halfway through soaking if possible. Once they’ve fanned out, after soaking overnight, rinse the vegetable thoroughly under running cool water to remove the sand and impurities. Then squeeze them dry, use a knife to slice off the hard bits of the salted preserved vegetables and chop them up into small pieces. Note: You may need to wash it a few more times for a deep clean. and to remove the saltiness.
Next day, heat 2 Tbs oil in a large pot on medium heat. Cook garlic and onion until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Now add the salted preserved vegetables cook for 3 minutes. Then, add the light and dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, star anise, and cloves in a little braising pouch so, they can be easily removed after cooking and pepper. Add the sliced roast pork belly. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour water into the pot. Season with a little salt if necessary. Cover and bring to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low heat to absorb the flavour.
To assemble all the food
Make sure curry is really warmed up not boiling heat, you can add hard boiled egg into the curry to warmed up. Today I tried this method: Or place your hard boiled eggs from fridge on the bench top for 5 minutes to come to room temperature. Then in a heat proof bowl, pour boiling water until the egg is entirely submerged, then cover. Wait 10 minutes before removing, crack, peel, and eat.
You can microwave braised roast pork and salted preserved vegetables; spoon the portion you want to eat onto bowl. Cover with cling wrap leaving a bit uncover then place microwave cover over the bowl. Microwave interval of 30 seconds for 3-4 times depending on how warm you want.
Remove from microwave, add warmed up curry on the left with one warmed up egg then spoon your cooked rice onto the right. Serve with a glass of wine. Enjoy!!!
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