Quick and Easy Strawberry Tart

After a somewhat disastrous baking session, I decided to try preparing a quick, easy strawberry tart for those short on time.

Ingredients:
1 package ready-made pastry shells (comes in a box of 6)
I small tub chocolate ice cream with raspberry sorbet (or any flavor that you preferred)
Local strawberries (they taste better)
Mint leaves

Method:
1. Plate the tart and scoop a tablespoon on the tart.
2. Garnish with chopped strawberries and topped with mint leaves
3. Enjoy

Cooking Sabi Vegetables

Sabi vegetables is a local leafy vegetables and is a popular native dish among the natives in Sarawak.  It's almost similar to the mustard vegetables, bitter in taste with smaller leaves. The locals usually prepare it simply.

Ingredients:
A bunch of sabi vegetables
A handful of dried anchovies, soaked in lukewarm water
1-2 small shallots, chopped
2 teaspoon of shrimp paste or belachan (or according to taste)
A pinch of salt
Oil for stir-fry

1. Thoroughly clean and rinse the sabi vegetables (removed tough stems)
2. Pound anchovies and shallots in a mortar
3. Mix in the shrimp paste with pounded ingredients
4. Heat frying pan and add in cooking oil
5. Stir-fry pounded ingredients until fragrant
6. Add in sabi vegetables and stir-fry until wilted
7. Add in a bit of salt for seasoning
8. Dish out and served immediately

Cakoi - Deep fried bread sticks

These deep fried bread sticks are very popular in Chinese and Southeast Asia cuisines.  They are eaten as accompaniment for rice congee or with coffee/tea usually sold early at morning markets and sometimes night markets.

Preserved Mustard Greens

Using preserved mustard greens for cooking is very popular in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia countries. It is normally added to soup dishes, meat and fish dishes.

Malaysian Style Chili Crab

An early morning market shopping to the seafood section yields some surprising finds.  There was a stall selling all kinds of seafood in season.  Yearning for crabs, we head straight to the big buckets containing crabs tied up in bundles.  They were big crabs with fat meat.

Sarawak Laksa

Sarawak laksa  comes from the Malaysian state Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.  It is actually very different from the curry laksa as the soup contains no curry at all. It has a base of Sambal belacan, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk, topped with omelet strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and optionally lime. Ingredients such as bean sprouts, (sliced) fried tofu or other seafood are not traditional but are sometimes added.

The recipe Sarawak laksa paste is a family-guarded secret. However packaged Sarawak laksa paste is readily available in local supermarkets in Sarawak.  The shallow brand laksa paste is considered to be the closest to the original Sarawak laksa paste. 

The Versatile Coconut

The abundance of local fruits in your own backyard provides the creative cook with many ways to prepare local cuisine.  My dad has two tall coconut trees in his front yard at his home in a village in Kuching.  On really hot, humid days, there is nothing like fresh iced cold, young coconut water to quench your thirst.

Fermented Durian (Tempoyak)

Durian stall in Singapore

Fermented durian soup is an acquired taste. Either you love it or hate it.  In Sarawak traditional ethnic cuisine, fermented durian is used as a soup base, eaten on its own or fried with dried anchovies.

To make tempoyak, separate the durian flesh (usually the softer the better) from the seed and when you have enough durian flesh to ferment, mix well with salt.