If you were to travel, what would be the best part of the experience that you enjoy the most? I bet your answer must be food hunting!
But since COVID-19 is still around, there is not much chance for families to go “jalan-jalan cari makan” and enjoy local delicacies. However, this should not ruin your love for food hunting. Why not create your own “jalan-jalan cari makan” at home with the kids?
Get them involved in the kitchen and whip up some of Malaysia’s best for breakfast, lunch, and tea time. They are seriously easy to make. Have a look at the recipes below and enjoy!
Have Nasi Kerabu For Breakfast
Nasi Kerabu is a blue-coloured rice served with vegetables, sambal nyior or coconut condiment, some tasty Kelantanese sauces, and grilled meat or fried fish. This dish is very popular during breakfast in the Northern part of Malaysia.
Drooling already, mummies? Here are the steps to make this delicious dish:
Blue rice
Ingredients:
- 1 piece of lemongrass (lightly pounded)
- 6 pieces of kaffir leaves
- Rice
- Blue pea flower (you may use food colouring)
Steps:
- Combine all ingredients and cook rice as usual.
Sambal nyior (coconut condiment)
Ingredients:
- 1 piece of grated coconut
- 6 selayang fish
- 2 pieces of lemongrass
- 7 pieces red onions
- 2 slices of ginger
- A pinch of black pepper
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of sugar
Steps:
- Fry coconut without oil until golden brown.
- Boil Selayang fish with a little bit of salt. Once cooked, separate the meat and the bones (We are going to use the meat only).
- Fry the fish meat without oil until dry. Move aside.
- Slice lemongrass finely. Then, pound with red onions, ginger and a little bit of black pepper.
- Add the fried fish meat.
- Pound the fried coconut. Then, mix all the ingredients with salt and sugar to taste.
Sambal budu
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of lemongrass (1 to be pounded, 1 to be blended)
- 5 pieces of garlic
- 3 slices of ginger
- 10 dried chillies
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons budu
- ½ cup of coconut milk
- 1 piece of tamarind slice
- A pinch of salt
Steps:
- Blend lemongrass, red onions, garlic, ginger, dried chillies, and brown sugar.
- Put 2 tablespoons of cooking oil into a wok. Then, add in all the blended ingredients with pounded lemongrass. Cook thoroughly.
- Add in coconut milk, tamarind slice, and budu. Sauté them all together.
- Add a pinch of salt to taste.
Sambal cuka
Credit: Nora Azni Facebook
Ingredients:
- Chilli padi
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 piece of lime (squeezed)
Steps:
- Blend chilli padi. Mix all ingredients.
Ulam or vegetables
Ingredients:
- Lemongrass
- Long beans
- Bunga kantan or ginger flower
- Bean sprouts
- Cabbage
- Daun kesum or laksa leaves
- Cucumber
- Lime
Steps:
- Slice all vegetables.
Grilled meat
Ingredients:
- ½kg meat
- 1 lemongrass
- 3 slices of ginger
- 3 slices of galangal
- 3 red onions
- 2 garlic
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Steps:
- Blend lemongrass, ginger, galangal, red onions, and garlic.
- Marinade the meat with the blended ingredients for one night.
- Grill until cooked.
Other than grilled meat, you can have your Nasi Kerabu with fried fish and salted eggs.
And moving on to our next recipe for lunch!
What’s For Lunch? Laksa Penang!
For lunch, let’s recreate the famous Laksa Penang! The recipe below is the easiest for busy mummies, with just mainly using canned sardines. This dish is definitely a winner to make with your kids at home. Wait no more, mummies. Let’s go straight to the recipe!
Ingredients:
- Blend 3 big red onions, 8 dried chillies, 1 ginger flower, ½ inch belacan
- 2 tins of sardines
- 1.5L to 2L water
- 1 ginger flower (cut into 4 big pieces)
- 4 daun kesum
- 8 pieces of tamarind slices
- Salt to taste
- 1 packet of dried laksa
- Vegetables: cucumber, lime, red onions
Steps:
- Pour all ingredients (except laksa and vegetables) in a big pot. And let the mixture cook thoroughly.
- In the meantime, boil a pot of water to simmer and hydrate the dried laksa.
- Thinly slice the vegetables before serving.
And there you have it… easy peasy! Now, let’s have some tea, shall we?
It’s Tea Time With Rojak Mamak
What’s for tea time, mummies? Let’s change it up a little and go for everyone’s favourite: Rojak Mamak! Try savouring every bite when it is raining – fuhhh… marvellous! I believe your kids will enjoy it, too.
So, here is how you can make this iconic dish:
Ingredients:
- Fried tofu
- Boiled potato (cut into big chunks)
- Boiled eggs
- Bean sprouts
- Cucumber (thinly sliced)
- Yellow noodles
For sauce:
- 8–10 pieces of dried chillies (blended)
- ½ cups of blended peanuts
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1–2 pieces of garlic
- 1 cup of water
- Salt to taste
Steps:
- Sauté garlic and dried chillies until cooked.
- Add peanuts and water.
- Add sugar and salt to taste.
- And lastly, add cornflour (mixed with a little bit of water) to thicken the sauce.
- It is ready to be served!
And there you go, mummies!
A complete menu for your “jalan-jalan cari makan” at home from breakfast until tea time. So, mummies, take this time to bond with your kids while enjoying the taste of Malaysia’s famous traditional dishes, homemade style!
Year-end holidays are great in so many ways, especially when you have fun family activities to fill up your time. For more fun-filled holiday ideas right within your home, visit our Cuti-Cuti Family articles here!