Metro

Sunday May 10, 2009

Treasure trove of recipes

All stories by RENITA CHE WAN


Splendid dishes seasoned with love from mummy and to be kept for posterity.

Emmy Suraya Hussein, 47, General Manager of Seri Malaysia Genting

“This recipe has been in the family for over 50 years. It was originally my grandmother’s recipe and my adopted mother, Sehat Meor Burhanuddin, 80, handed it down to me. Now I’m passing it to my youngest daughter, Azira Shafinaz Ramlan, 18. Not only is this recipe easy to cook, it is also extremely delicious.”

Three generations: (From left) Azira Shafinaz Ramlan, Sehat Meor Burhanuddin and Emmy Suraya Hussein preparing their famous recipe, Rendang Ayam Pedas Perak.

Rendang Ayam Pedas Perak

1 Whole chicken (cut into 18 pieces)
400g small onions
200g ginger
200g lemon grass
1 piece saffron leaf, sliced thinly
4 whole coconut milk
1 tablespoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoon cilli boh
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients into a big pot. Cook for about 45 minutes on slow fire until slightly dry. When it’s done, you can eat it with either nasi impit, lemang or simply white rice.

Sally Addington, 52, one of the shareholders of Finnegans Irish Pub

Good as gold: Sally Addington sharing recipes, some of which are over 40 years old, kept in the tiny box her mother gave her. Check out her luscious Lemon Meringue Pie

“My mother, Sue Russell, 74, gave me this tiny index cardbox when I was 18 years old. She told me to write down all of my favourite recipes whether it was begged, borrowed or stolen and insert them in it, making sure that I write the name of the recipe’s owner and the date. After more than 30 years, it brings back nostalgic memories when I open it and read out aloud the recipes I’ve collected over the years. I’ve already passed two of the same boxes to my sons Xander, 21 and Jason, 19 and hopefully they’ll put them into good use.”

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 pack frozen shortcrust pastry (or homemade pastry)
1 tin sweetened filled (condensed) milk
2 eggs
Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
100g caster sugar

Preheat oven to high heat at 210°C. Roll out the pastry and line a pie dish, pinching the top edge to finish it nicely. Bake 15 minutes in hot oven, remove from oven and lower heat to moderate at 180°C.

Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks and whites carefully. Mix together egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon juice and grated rind in one bowl. Beat egg whites with an electric beater (or hand whisk) in another bowl until stiff, and add sugar one spoonful at a time while still beating. Keep beating until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Pour lemon mixture into cooled pastry case. Pile thick meringue mixture on top, spreading with a fork until all the lemon mixture is covered. Bake in moderate oven until golden, about 30 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold with cream or ice cream.

Two of a kind: Cynthia De Alwis and her son Johnathan displaying their favourite dish, Aglio Olio With Grilled Jumbo Tiger Prawns.

Cynthia De Alwis, owner of Jake’s Charbroil Steak

“I usually do all my cooking with my son, Johnathan Lau Bek Beng, 15. He’s an extremely good cook. Sometimes he even refuses to eat my cooking and fixes his special concoction in the kitchen on his own. I’ve trained my boy pretty well, I must say. But none of his cooking can beat my simple pasta dish and it’s been my secret weapon at home.”

Aglio Olio With Grilled Jumbo Tiger Prawns

4 tablespoon olive oil
2 clove chopped garlic
4 servings spaghetti
Italian herbs, salt, pepper to taste
Chilli flakes (optional)
4 Jumbo Tiger Prawns

Clean and slice tiger prawns down the back, open them out but leave tails and shells intact. Season to taste with salt and Italian herbs. Glaze with olive oil. Grill 10 minutes each side on 230°C (or to your desired done).

Cook spaghetti according to instructions on the packet and drain well. Heat the olive oil and add chopped garlic salt and Italian herbs. Stir until golden brown. Put in the drained spaghetti and toss and add ground black pepper.

Tengku Muhsinah Tengku Daud, 65, granddaughter of the 1st Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Rahman

“My daughter lives in England and one of the things she just can’t get enough of is my crumb coffee cake. She would call me at odd hours to ask for the recipe, and sometimes for other recipes for local dishes, too. It’s a nice feeling when you know that no matter where or how old your children are, they’ll still come running back to you to ask for help, even if it’s simply for a recipe.”

* For a special breakfast treat, bake this rich, tasty coffee cake. It smells as good as it tastes and is easy to make.

Hot cake: Tengku Muhsinah Tengku Daud taking out the Crumb Coffee Cake from the oven.

Crumb Coffee Cake

1¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter or margerine
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup raisins (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.

Gut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Reserve ½ cup of the mixture for the topping. Next, stir the baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into the remaining mixture. In a small bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk together and add to the mixture. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the raisins if desired. Then pour the batter into a greased 8”x 8”x 2” baking pan and scatter the reserved topping mixture over the batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Serena Djatnika, 61, former managing director of an IT company and daughter of an Indonesian diplomat

Indonesian touch: Serena Djatnika pouring the soup for her daughter, Renita Che Wan. It’s the writer’s favourite dish

“As a child, I travelled a lot from Finland, France, Sweden, Russia and Germany. I often ‘steal’ recipes from the cookbooks I can get my hands on. Once I reached home, I would try out the recipe and modify it to my and my family’s likings. Although they’re all remarkably delicious, I still find my mother’s (Jenny Djatnika, 81) soto ayam recipe the best. Now my two working daughters have learnt the recipe and I hope they’ll pass it down to their children.”

Indonesian Soto Ayam

For Stock
Pound (a)
10 small onions
5 cloves garlic
6 candlenuts (buah keras)

Add (b)
3 serai with their stamps crushed
3 lime leaves
Salt and pepper

Fry (a) and (b) with a bit of oil until well done. Boil one chicken, season with salt and pepper and cut the meat into small pieces (c). Keep the stock (d). Add (a), (b) and (d). This will be your basic Soto Ayam Stock.

For Fricadelles (e)
500g minced beef
1kg potatoes (boiled or steamed)
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper

Mix the above and shape into patties. Submerge the patties in beaten eggs before frying.

Additional side trimmings
Celery or spring onion cut into small pieces
Thinly sliced raw cabbage
Cut lemon/limau nipis
Fried onions
Sambal
Cut boiled eggs
Prawn crackers/keropok udang

Related story:
Delicious legacy

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