Food
WHAT’S COOKING DURING LOCKDOWN? |10 MEALS I PREPARED DURING MCO
Saturday, May 09, 2020I know it’s a little late coming up with this post as the
Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) is already in effect, whereby dining
in restaurants are allowed… with conditions. Being in the healthcare industry,
CMCO did not really affect me much because I still have to go to work after
all.
However, the loosening of the movement restriction order is
not happening in Sabah, which means, more recipes to experiment on!
I have been wanting to try many new recipes even way before
the commencement of the MCO mainly because the food in Sabah sucks (#sorrynotsorry) and eating out isn’t
very budget friendly as everything here is pretty much expensive.
With the Internet, everyone definitely can cook. I am very
grateful of the presence of food blogs and their generosity of sharing their
recipes and culinary experiences in which I draw inspiration from.
Here’s a list of my top dishes I prepared, with links to
recipes attached at the end of each post!
1. CREAMY PENNE CARBONARA WITH BACON
When it comes to home cooked pasta, mom
will always whip up a dish of spaghetti using Prego’s pasta sauce. That’s
because my family is too oriental and we rarely have authentic (or close to authentic) western cuisines.
So, I always want to try making a real pasta dish without using ready-to-eat
sauce, at least. Once, I tried making Bolognese using minced beef, tomato
puree, herbs, spices, and cheese, and I don’t think I will go back to canned
sauce.
I know the authentic and traditional
carbonara only uses four main ingredients: egg, hard cheese (Pecorino Romano,
Parmigiano-Reggiano), cured pork (guanciale or pancetta), and black pepper. It’s
near to impossible to get most of the above ingredients in Malaysia. So, it’s
time to tweak the traditional recipe just a little.
I found the creamy carbonara recipe on Jo
Cooks. The traditional one does not have any cream, but I’d love to have my
pasta to be creamy and moist. I substituted pancetta with smoked pork bacon,
and I used parmesan cheese only. As for the cream, Anchor Culinary Cream works
wonders. It’s like a miracle cream for cooking rookies. Definitely stabilizes
well when heated and reheated.
Link to recipe: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/creamy-carbonara/
2. PUMPKIN PASTA
I got inspired to make pumpkin pasta after
a success on the creamy pumpkin soup dish by RecipeTin Eats and also partly
inspired by a café which I used to visit often back in the old days in Sitiawan
which serves a decent plate of pumpkin spaghetti. Growing up Asian, the only
pumpkin soup I usually had was boiled with carrots, tomatoes, and red dates. It
is truly my comfort food. But I’d really like to try the creamy type.
The recipe from RecipeTin Eats: https://www.recipetineats.com/classic-pumpkin-soup/
The recipe is super easy to follow. It will
be really great if I have a hand blender. I mashed the pumpkin into puree
instead.
To make the Pumpkin Pasta sauce, I adapted from
the soup recipe and tweaked the ratio of broth to cream. I eyeballed the ratio...applying
the concept of lesser broth, more cream. Again, the Anchor Culinary Cream did
its magic. Add the pasta cooked al dente when the sauce thickens. Don’t forget
to add a cup of pasta reserve water and toss the pasta with the sauce. Top with
Parmesan Cheese and it’s ready to serve.
3. CHICKEN FAJITAS WITH TORTILLA WRAPS AND
SALSA SAUCE
I followed the recipe from Downshiftology
here: https://downshiftology.com/recipes/chicken-fajitas/
This dish goes best with salsa
sauce or guacamole. I have some extra tomato puree from making shashuka the
night before. So I thought I’ll just whip up a salsa sauce. I added some finely
chopped tomatoes to the puree so that it’ll create some texture for the sauce.
You may use canned diced tomatoes,
as the recipe suggested. I substituted jalapenos with our local chillis. It
works well for me, because I do not prefer it to be too spicy. It’ll be perfect
to just dump everything inside the food processor, but I do not have one…so I
manually chopped everything finely. That turns out fine too!
Link to salsa sauce recipe: https://cookieandkate.com/best-red-salsa-recipe/
4. ALOO GOBI AND CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
My Indian food cravings started to kick in after the second week of MCO. It was also my first time cooking Indian cuisine! I was kinda nervous, afraid that I’ll mess it up. My first try on Aloo Gobi was at Tandoor Grill, a restaurant in Ipoh serving Northern Indian cuisine. It made me eat cauliflower in a different way!
I actually researched a few
recipes and this website provides very informative and detailed steps with pictures!
Definitely need it for an Indian cooking newbie. It also suggested to fry the
cauliflower and potatoes to avoid them from turning soggy. I decided to steam
them for a while before frying. It definitely reduces cooking time and I prefer
it to be more tender because, oh well…braces
problems.
Link to Aloo Gobi recipe: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/aloo-gobi/
TBH, I am not very sure if I have
ever tried Chicken Tikka Masala. I remember that it definitely looks red. But I
don’t remember how it tastes like. I picked Chicken Tikka Masala to pair with
my vegetable dish because the recipe suggested boneless and skinless chicken meat
cut into bite-sized, which I have plenty in my freezer (braces problems).
This tomato based curry recipe
from Cafe Delites was so much easier compared to the rest. I picked chicken
breasts instead of thighs and they work just as well. Also, I substituted heavy
cream with evaporated milk, because I was trying to cut down on creamy food for
a while.
Link to Chicken Tikka Masala
recipe: https://cafedelites.com/chicken-tikka-masala/
Overall, Indian cooking was very
tiring. The preparation work was tedious although the ingredients are very easy
to obtain. Gotta appreciate Indian restaurants more from now on.
5. SAMBAL PETAI WITH SHRIMPS
I am a petai lover. No shame in that. Petai,
notoriously known as stink beans, is my comfort food. Whenever I return to my
home in Ipoh, mom will always cook my favourite dish of Sambal Petai with
Shrimps. It’s best to make your own
sambal, but unfortunately, I do not have a food processor or even a pestle and
mortar. So I got a readymade sambal paste and it turned out to be great!
I did not follow any recipes
online as I was inspired by my mom’s cooking, so I just cooked it based on
memory. Fry the garlic, shallots, and anchovies on medium heat until they
crackle, then add the sambal paste before adding the petai and lastly, the prawns.
Best serve with a bowl of warm
rice with cucumbers on the side. Or you may add another dish of steamed
eggplant with fried garlic and shallots to neutralize the pungent odour of petai.
Link to Home Taste Nyonya Sambal
Paste : https://shopee.com.my/HOMETASTE-NYONYA-Instant-Sambal-Paste-i.60504226.1126945691
6. PORK DUMPLINGS WITH CHILLI OIL NOODLES
After cooking western for almost a week, I
decided to go back to my roots- Chinese
food. I always love dumplings because they are so fun to eat. So, I decided
to make them. But I was not very adventurous enough to make the skin as well. The
recipe from Woks of Life is really easy and helpful. The website itself is my
guide to Chinese cooking.
You may get dumpling wrappers from the store. The
ingredients are really simple to get. I used napa cabbage although I prefer
Chinese chives but it was out of stock. Dumpling wrapping is really fun though.
Reminded me of the scene in Crazy Rich Asians. You may steam, pan fry, or boil
the dumplings, depending on your preference. I like the fried version because I
like how the crispy dumpling skin meets the spicy dipping sauce
Link to dumpling recipe: https://thewoksoflife.com/dumpling-recipe-youll-ever-need/
Link to dipping sauce: https://thewoksoflife.com/dumpling-sauce-recipe/
Dumplings are actually side dishes yet they
are as laborious as making an entré. So I decided to pair it with a simple main
dish. For this dish, I was inspired with Shaanxi Biang Biang noodles. Again,
I’m not very ambitious in making noodles from scratch. I found a similar
looking flat noodles as a substitute. I only followed the preparation of the
chilli oil sauce section of the recipe only using Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli
Oil.
Link to Chilli Oil noodles: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/biang-biang-mian-biang-biang-noodles/
7. GUACAMOLE TOAST
I used to hate avocados. Avocados
are my childhood trauma. Maybe because I was fed with a slice ofn raw avocado and
I could not accept the taste. Now, I decided to give avocado another try.
I found this guacamole recipe very
helpful! It gives you many options on how would you like your
guacamole
prepared. Those ripened avos are really buttery. What I love about them is that
they can last
me till past lunch time if I had them for breakfast! Definitely
helpful whenever I am on lunch duty. I
added mashed hard boiled eggs as well
for the toast spread.
Link to recipe: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/perfect-guacamole/
8. SKILLET PEPPERONI & BACON TORTILLA
PIZZA
No oven? No problem! Who says you
can’t have pizzas without an oven. Oh well, sometimes you just
have to make do
with what we have. I have some balance of tortilla wraps from the chicken
fajitas, so
I thought of using them as the base for my pizza.
TBH, I felt
pretty skeptical the recipe and also worried of how would it turn out. Maybe
because very
little recipes use only skillet to cook the pizza. Tortilla sheets
are pretty thin and you might want to be
careful not to burn them and not to
overload them with a plethora of toppings.
As for the
toppings, I pan fried some pepperonis and pork bacons. I spread the tomato
puree on the
tortilla wrap before arranging the pepperonis and pork bacons on
it before topping with mozzarella
and some parmesan cheese.
As suggested by
the recipe, I turned off the heat after the edges begin to brown and covered
the pan to
retain the heat, so that the cheese will melt. I guess this kinda
mimicks the function of an oven. I am
so pleased and surprised at how well it
turn out to be!
9. BROCCOLI MAC N CHEESE
I made Broccoli Cheddar soup last Christmas
and they are such a great combination. This time I would like to try them as
Mac n Cheese. This dish is surprisingly easy to make! I guess maybe because there
are so many instant Mac n Cheese on the market.
I followed Damn Delicious’s recipe. I used macaroni
instead of pasta shells. As for the half and half, I used milk and added more
butter and I skipped the mustard. Instead, I used paprika to add a more edgy
and spicy flavor. It’s better to use freshly grated cheddar cheese so it melts
better.
10. SALTED EGG YOLK PASTA WITH SHRIMPS
I have some salted eggs left in my fridge
and I did not know what to do with them. Perhaps because there are so many
salted egg dishes to choose from! Salted egg yolk is an ingredient that is
rising in popularity. We can see them in chips, pastries, pizzas, and even ice
cream! I was craving for pasta and I wonder how salted eggs will get along with
them. This is definitely a fusion dish of Asian and Italian.
I followed Marigold’s, a local dairy brand,
recipe. And surprisingly, it turn out great! Because I don’t normally follow
recipe suggestions for brand products. I wish I had more salted egg yolks
because the sauce is just too delicious!
That was a wrap of the top 10 highlighted dishes I cooked
during MCO. I guess we became professional
chefs after discovering our latent culinary skills during this lockdown period.
Till then, stay safe & stay home!
1 comments
Thanks for sharing...At least I know what to cook next
ReplyDelete