Alka's Recipe Folder - Oriental Banquets

Malaysian Banquets! When preparing this type of cuisine, avoid using any Pork. Malaysia is predominantly Muslim. On another note, Sri Lankan cuisine, due to the similarity of flavours, blends well with Malaysian Banquets. You can also add some dishes from Indonesia and Singapore.

• Chicken and Coconut Curry
• Curried Cucumbers
• Squid Sambal
• Bulgogi (Korean Barbecued Beef)
• Sauteed Fiddleheads
• Bean Sprouts in Rice Wine Vinegar

If you would like to know more about Oriental recipes that mix well with traditional south asian dishes, please contact me at alkadidi@mybindi.com

"I love you Alka!"

Oriental Banquets Recipes by Alka Didi

Bulgogi (Korean Barbecued Beef)

Start with 2 pounds sirloin or flank steak that you can get your butcher or meat guy at your local grocery store to shave into 1/4 inch thick strips. (Length does not matter. The thickness is important as you want to throughly marinate this meat).

Marinade:
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tbsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tbsp rice wine or sherry
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 scallions minced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• freshly ground pepper

Garnishes
daikon (we call it mooli) served julienned with vinegar
carrot (julienned as well)
White rice

Marinate the meat for a full day. Overnight if you want depending on the thickness of the strips.

Grilling time: when you're ready to cook, preheat the grill. Remove meat from marinade. Over high heat, grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until meat is nicely browned but do not overcooked! Beef needs to stay tender and not the way our moms cook it!

Options: If you have one of those indoor bar-b-ques then you can cook on the counter top and eat right away, or you can fry strips in a very hot frying pan. Wrap beef in a lettuce leaf and eat at once.

Kim-chi (pickled cabbage) is a fiery hot accompaniment to Korean food. You've had achar. It's the same idea.


Sauteed Fiddleheads

Ingredients
• 1 box of frozen fiddleheads
• butter for saute
• salt and pepper

Directions
In a hot pan melt some butter and stir fry the fiddleheads until hot. Don't overcook! Salt and Pepper. This is a nice accompaniment to the beef.


Bean Sprouts in Rice wine vinegar
• 3 cups of Bean Sprouts as fresh as possible!
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Wash and dry Bean sprouts thoroughly. Put on the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. You can add more if you want it more zingy. The rice wine and sesame oil add a smokey taste to the bean sprouts. Cover and refridgerate until you're ready to serve. Before you serve add more rice wine and sesame oil. A little salt but only before serving if you need it.

A nice appetizer to serve with Korean are the Steamed dumplings that can be bought from the grocery store or M&M or even Costco. Just make sure you have a nice sauce for dipping.

Wine: A wine that is not dry but called off sweet and not sweet either. Do not serve a Reisling(too sweet) or Sauvignon blanc(too dry). Ask at the Wine store for a nice off sweet wine.

Beer: There are some good Asian Beers availible now. Tsing Tao goes well with Asian food.

Chicken and Coconut Curry

Ingredients

• ½ cup desiccated coconut 2 tsp fresh red chilies (judge by your tastebuds!)
• 2 medium onions 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh or frozen galangal or 2 teaspoon dried or ground galangal
• 5 tsp ground coriander 3tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground tumeric 1tsp dried shrimp paste (omit if allergic)
• 1 stalk lemon grass sliced or 3 strips lemond rind
• 2 tablespoon peanut oil ½ cup canned coconut milk &1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste 6 chicken drumsticks and 6 thighs

Directions

In a dry pan, toast coconut, stirring or shaking pan so coconut colours evenly. Toast until deep brown, almost coffee brown. Turn onto a plate and set it aside. When cool, put coconut into an electric mixer (not a food processor). The mixer grinds it finer. You can also use a mortar and pestle. If you are doing it in a mixer, add ½ cup water or enough to make it into a smoothe puree. Transfer the coconut into a bowl.

Without washing the blender, put chillies, onions, garlic, galangal, coriander, ground spices, shrimp paste, and lemon grass (or rind). Grind to a puree as well, adding a bit of the coconut milk if necessary.

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and fry blended spice mixture on low heat stirring frequently (in the peanut oil). Fry it for about 15 minutes until it smells fragrant and oil shines on the surface. Add coconut puree, chicken, and salt and sauté quickly. Add the coconut milk last and heat till it comes to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer, and cook, uncovered until chicken is tender and cooked through. Serve with rice, and the accompanying recipes to make a complete Malaysian Banquet!

This curry is much better the next day, so if you can prepare ahead it will be more
fragrant and tasty.

Curried Cucumbers

Ingredients

• 1 large seedless cucumber
• 1 small onion chopped
• fresh green chillies to taste
• 1tsp finely grated ginger
• 2cloves garlic, chopped
• ¼ tsp tumeric powder
• 2cups canned coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups water
• salt to taste
1 tablspoon lemon juice

Directions

Wash, peel and cube cucumbers about 1 ½ inch size. Place onion, chillies, ginger, garlic, tumeric, and 1 ½ cups of the canned coconut milk and 1 ½ cups water and salt to taste into the saucepan. Simmer gently until onion is tender. Then add the cucumber to this and remaining milk. Cook uncovered for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Add extra salt if necessary.

Squid Sambal

Ingredients

• 500 grams of cleaned squid
• 2 onions chopped roughly
• 2 cloves of garlic 1tsp dried shrimp paste (beware of allergies)
• 1 stalk lemon grass or 2strips of lemon rind
• red chillies to taste
• ¼ tsp tamarind paste dissolved in 1tbsp water
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tsp brown sugar

Directions

Wash squid well, paying particular attention to inside. Pat dry with paper towel and cut across into rings. Set aside. Put onion, garlic, shrimp paste, lemon grass or rind, and chillies in food processor or mixer. Process until smoothe, adding a little water if necessary to help blending. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan and add chilli mixture. Cook stirring over medium heat until it becomes dark in colour and a film of oil shines on surface. Add tamarind liquid, sugar and when boiling, squid. Cook uncovered, stirring until squid is cooked and mixture is thick.

You can also buy some form of fruit and vegetable pickle that will go. A nice one would have dates and sultanas in it as well. For desert, you can have fresh or canned lychees with ice cream!

If you would like to serve an alcoholic beverage with this, mix some Guava Juice, Cranberry juice, and Vodka and serve chilled in a martini glass with a wedge of lime.