Easy Recipe - Chinese Stir-fry Pumpkin 炒南瓜

In view of the extended Movement Restriction order, I believe most of you have ran out of ideas of what to cook for your family. Hence, I would take this opportunity to introduce a series of easy-to-cook recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. Hope these recipes would be able to give you an idea in this trying time.

Four Heavenly Kings (Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables) 四大天王

It took me quite some time to find the name for this dish. This rather popular dish is no stranger in Malaysia. In fact, it is authentically Malaysian. As to why it was named Four Heavenly Kings, I believe it is the use of four types of vegetables usually brinjal, okra, long beans, and stink beans. The vegetables are interchangeable with others such as winged beans or snake beans. Plainly put, it is just stir-fried mixed vegetables. In true Malaysian style, this dish is usually served spicy with the use of chilli paste or sambal and dried shrimp. It has this unique pungent smell of the dried shrimp and the sting of the sambal. A truly flavour-filled dish indeed.

Sambal Prawns with Stink Beans/Sambal Udang Petai

Ingredients

1 cup stink beans

100 g prawns, shelled and deveined

1 onion, sliced

2-3 tbsp chilli paste/sambal tumis*

4 tbsp spicy dried shrimp paste/sambal udang kering 

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

2 tbsp cooking oil

*sambal tumis can easily be bought in local grocery stores. Alternatively, omit this and add more sambal udang kering and some water.

Cooking Instruction

1. Saute onion in preheated oil in a wok. When onion becomes limp, add in sambal tumis and sambal udang kering. Saute until fragrant. 

2. Add in prawns and quickly stir-fry until it is half cooked. 

3. Throw in bitter beans and seasoning. When bitter beans are cooked, dish up and serve with rice.

Yam Cake/Taro Cake 芋头糕

Taro cake or yam cake? Well, in this part of the world, it is called yam cake. Don't be deceived by the name. It is not a cake per se. This cake is savoury with lots of yam and other ingredients such as mushroom, dried shrimp and five-spice powder. I guess most of my Asian peers would have known that already. There is a slight difference between the Hong Kong version and our Southeast Asian version though. Ours is normally eaten steamed while the former is pan-fried after steaming. The Hong Kong version also have Chinese sausage and dried scallops added to the dish.

Chinese Clam Recipe: Kum Heong Lala/Clam 金香拉拉/金香蜆

If you are a Malaysian Chinese, the word Kum Heong 金香 needs no introduction. It is basically a type of sauce that is used in various Chinese dishes. Kum heong is Cantonese and if directly translated, means "golden fragrance". This dish is definitely full with fragrance. The aromatic curry leaves together with shrimp and curry powder makes a powerful taste. Truly an authentic Malaysian dish, this dish is hot and spicy.