In this morning’s Cookalong Jackie tested out a different type of fish for the paste to stuff her Yong Tau Fu. While she was frying and tasting the Yue Bang paste, I tried making Nasi Minyak — which she cooked during last week’s Cookalong. I like to try the dishes she teaches as soon as I can, while the tutorials are still fresh in my head. We ate the Nasi Minyak with the vegetable curry I made a couple of days ago. The rice paired well with the curry, but the rice itself wasn’t as flavoursome as I had hoped despite even with all the spices. I can almost hear Jackie whispering in my ear to add more chicken powder 🤭. And yes, I definitely will next time I make this rice.

In this week's Open Kitchen Hour sessions, I made Nasi Minyak (literally, "oily rice"), with some dishes to go with it - Ayam Masak Merah (red-cooked chicken), Daging Masak Hitam (black-cooked beef), Eggplant Sambal, Pajeri Nenas (pineapple curry), and a simple cucumber & carrot pickle. Will share the recipes over the course of the next week.

Jackie was incredible this morning, cooking up 4 dishes in 2 hours! Since I finally got hold of some banana leaves I decided to try making Lemang. Jeackie’s version from last week’s Cookalong gave me the push I needed. Just like what Jackie says, “no bamboo, no worries.” So rolled up my Lemang, wrapped it, tied in banana leaves and put to grill….ie gently shallow fried in a pan with little oil.

Hey all, this is the cendol from this morning's session, based on my own recipe (from my restaurant days) - and cooked on the stove top because cooking in a Thermomix didn't give me the control I needed in terms of cooking it until it was just done and not overly so. The initial failed batch in the Thermomix was overcooked after 15 mins at Speed 3/100C so that it turned into a dough rather than batter, and I couldn't push it through the mould. (15 mins is actually only half what was suggested online in Thermomix communities, where they said to cook for 30 mins.) Here's the recipe (inc. how we used to serve it at my restaurant) - https://jackiem.com.au/2014/03/18/how-to-make-cendol/

Spiral Curry Puffs A couple of years ago I attempted making Spiral Curry Puffs, but after frying them up I could barely see the spirals. I later learned I put the curry filling on the wrong side of the pastry after rolling them out. Watching Jackie making curry puffs during last month’s Cookalong sessions gave me the inspiration to revisit them. This time I paid close attention and it finally clicked. At the most recent Cookalong Sessions I gave the Spiral Curry Puffs another go. I was very happy when the spirals were actually visible this time, so I showed them to Jackie. My heart sank when she pointed out that spirals had not opened up. She explained it’s all about oil temperature control - mine was too high which stopped them from opening up. Sigh 😞! I made another attempt last night and I believe I’ve nailed it. The spirals have opened up and are more distinct. Controlling & getting the oil temperature right was a tricky task, but I finally got it. Showed my 2nd attempt to Jackie and she commended they are fantastic. Kitchen-worthy at last! All the spiral-watching, oil-temp testing and perseverance paid off. All thanks to Jackie for the guidance and honest feedback.