CRIZ BON APPETITE

Our daily meals would mostly contain many sinful feasts that would make us worry about the consequences of overloading. At times, I would just pep up a simple Chicken Borscht Soup to control my fat, carbohydrates and calories intakes. Not only is the antioxidant packed dish colorful, it’s also rich in vitamins and minerals. The soup can be one meal that would provide you with all the necessary nutrients without undermining your health goals. It’s a great dish that most dieters would love to have constantly. 🙂

Here’s the simple and healthy recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 large chicken breast meat (skin & bone removed, wash with salt and cut into cubes)
3 cloves garlic (smash and remove skin)
1 large onion (fine wedges)
1 stalk celery (peel off the fibrous skin, slice 5mm thickness)
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley stalk
2 large red tomatoes (seeds removed, cut into wedges)
1 big carrot (peel the skin, slice 10mm thickness)
1 small head of broccoli (cut into small petals)
1 small head of cauliflower (cut into small petals)
1 small cabbage (cut into 50mm x 50mm squares)
4 small bay leaves
1 tsp mixed dry herbs
1 can tomato puree
5 cans chicken broth/stock
1/4 cup olive oil
Black pepper
Salt
Sugar

OPTIONAL:
Potatoes (regular julienne 5mm x 5mm x 50mm)
Beetroot
Sour cream or yoghurt for some extra creaminess

MARINATES (FOR CHICKEN):
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
Some sprinkles of black pepper

GARNISHES:
Parsley leaves

PREPARATIONS:
• Marinate the chicken cuts with the sesame oil, soy sauce and some dashes of pepper for about an hour.
• Heat up the olive oil in a deep pot on MEDIUM-HIGH fire.
• Add in the garlic cloves and big onions. Saute thoroughly until caramelized.
• Add in the cubed chicken meat and bay leaves. Saute until meat cook.
• Add in the can of tomato puree, mixed herbs and chopped coriander stalks. Stir for about 5 minutes.
• Add in the red tomatoes, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower and stir for another 10 minutes.
• Pour in 5 cans of chicken broth/stock (using back the same can as the tomato puree). Add more if you prefer the soup to be a bit more diluted but not advisable as the vegetables would emit some juices. Bring to boil.
Note: If you do not have chicken broth/stock available, you can always use 5 cans of filtered water plus 4-5 tablespoon of Vegeta No MSG added, a multi-purpose seasoning.
• Cabbages to be added in last. Let it cook for another 5-10 minutes or more until the cabbages are roughly softened.
• Add in coarsely blended black pepper, salt (more Vegeta if using the seasoning) and sugar (about 1/2 – 3/4 tablespoon or minimal for a healthier lifestyle) to taste.
• Serve hot or chilled with some parsley leaves as garnishing. Serving some toasted garlic bread would be nice too.

(Serves: 6-8)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Note: Please take note that Ah Leng Char Koay Teow had relocated to another coffee shop named Restoran Tong Hooi, opposite the current place and next to the Federal Place.

Penang is ranked by CNNGo as one of Asia’s 10 Greatest Street Food Cities with a list of the Top 10 Penang Street Food ranging from the top rated Penang Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee, Wantan Mee, Nasi Kandar, Rojak, Loh Bak, Curry Mee, Char Koay Teow, Kuih Chiap and Ais Kacang. I have a lot of foreign/outstation readers asking me where would be the best place for Char Koay Teow but I would give them a blank look as I seriously don’t know even though I was born as a Penangite. Instead, I would throw them some questions, “What sort of Char Koay Teow would you be looking for? Would you be looking for one that would have all the high heat frying (wok hei) where you can taste the true flavors of the koay teow and scrambled eggs, one with nice spicy fragrance from specially selected chilies or one with all the fresh seafood added in?” Eventually as an island with fresh seafood catches daily, most would opt for the one with the added seafood. Most would end up at one of the famous ones (commercially recommended by tourists) at Ah Leng Char Koay Teow located at a corner coffee shop along Jalan Dato Keramat, Penang.

A basic plate of Char Koay Teow at Ah Leng would consist of koay teow (flat noodles), prawns, cockles, chicken egg, bean sprouts and Chinese chives. Each plate would cost RM6.00nett. If you requested for the special with added prawns (x4) and mantis prawns (x4), it would be priced at RM10.50nett. Extra noodles and/or with duck egg would cost an additional of 50sens nett per ingredient.

This is how a special plate of Ah Leng’s Char Koay Teow with Duck Egg (RM11.00nett) looks like. I was wondering. Am I having fried seafood with koay teow or fried koay teow with seafood? The seafood practically drowned the few mouthfuls of noodles as shown below.

Overall, I would think that the Char Koay Teow is a bit too overpriced with barely 3-4 mouthfuls of koay teow. I could easily get a decent portioned Char Koay Teow (minus the big prawns but with duck egg) for RM3.50nett and you can truly taste the “wok hei” on the koay teow distinctively. Even with the big prawns (RM1/prawn based on market rate) and mantis prawns (RM0.40/prawn based on market rate), the whole plate would cost around RM9.00nett. I’m sure through bulk purchases, the ingredients cost would even be lower. I personally feel that if I wanted to have seafood served that way, I would rather go to a seafood restaurant instead. However, the prawns served here were no doubt super fresh and firm to my liking. Unfortunately, the flavors on the koay teow were under my expectation. They were rather little and mushy from the lack of “wok hei” and were more to the sweeter side compared to other outlets. I really detested having any authentic savory street food being turned sweet.

Since there is only one way to find parking spaces along Jalan Dunlop leading to Jalan Dato Keramat where the coffee shop is, I’ll show you the easiest way. If you are coming from Jalan Macalister via Loh Guan Lye Specialists Centre, you would reach a traffic light (Ghee Hiang). Keep to your right and turn into Jalan Anson. Drive on until you reach the 5th junction on your left (Jalan Dunlop). Turn left into Jalan Dunlop. Drive on until you reach almost the end of the road and find any parking spaces available. Walk on and you will see the coffee house at the junction of Jalan Dunlop/Jalan Dato Keramat.

Name: AH LENG CHAR KOAY TEOW @ KAFE KHOON HIANG
Address: 358 Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150 Penang, Malaysia.
Contact: 012-498 3962 (Ah Leng)
Business Hours: 8.30am-2.30pm (Closed Thursday)
GPS: 5.412953, 100.319552

Branch Address: 30W Jalan Chor Sin Kheng, Air Itam, 11500 Penang, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 5.00am-11.00pm (Closed Wednesday)
GPS: 5.402892, 100.284337

RATING:
Ambience: 6/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Food Choices: 6/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Taste: 7/10 (1-4 tasteless, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
Pricing: 8/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 7/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)

Sometimes, a simple recipe would keep the appetite of any diner happy. Here’s a quick and easy recipe to storm up a beautifully tasting Sweet & Sour Sesame Chicken. I hope you all love the dish as I did~ Happy cooking~ 🙂

The recipe is so simple that you can have your meal within minutes. Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken drumsticks (remove bone, wash with salt and cut to bite sizes)
2 garlic cloves (finely chop)
1 large onion (fine brunoise: 1/16” cubes)
1 red chili (fine brunoise: 1/16” cubes, replaceable with capsicum or bird eye chilies for extra spiciness, keep some for garnishing)
1 tbsp coriander stalk (cut finely, keep leaves for garnishing)
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (keep some for garnishing)
3 tbsp plum sauce
2 tbsp Thai chili sauce (strain if you do not like the seeds)
Oil

MARINATES:
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (add more if your soy sauce is not the salty type)
1 tbsp ginger juice (grate young ginger and juice)
Pepper
Multipurpose frying flour

GARNISHES:
Red chilies, coriander leaves, toasted sesame seeds

PREPARATIONS:
• Marinate the chicken cuts with the sesame oil, ginger juice, soy sauce and some dashes of pepper for 1-2 hours.
• When you are ready to cook, coat the marinated chicken cuts with enough multi-purpose frying flour until the chicken pieces won’t stick together.
• Heat up enough oil on MEDIUM-HIGH fire and deep fry the chicken until golden brown. Scoop, drain dry and leave aside.
• Leave about 2 tbsp oil in the wok and sauté the garlic and onions until caramelized.
• Add in the red chilies and coriander and sauté for another 2 minutes.
• Add in the plum sauce and Thai chili sauce and stir well. Add a tiny bit of hot water if it’s too sticky.
• Pour in the deep fried chicken pieces and toasted sesame seeds and stir coat thoroughly.
• Scoop onto a serving plate, garnish with some red chilies, toasted sesame seed and coriander as suggested/shown above.
• Serve hot with some steamed rice.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.