In Nyonya dishes, we often use Tamarind Paste or the local here call it Asam Jawa. All this while we have been using the Asam Jawa that comes with the seed. Recently my mom tried using the Seedless Tamarind Paste by Adabi which she claims to be cleaner and easier to use. Of course but they are slightly more expensive.

In my coming recipes, I will use this type of Tamarind Paste coz it is easier to measure; by spoonful.

This is my favorite egg. Not omelet but fried egg. The Malay calls it Telur Mata Kerbau. Direct translation to English is Buffalo’s Eye Egg.

There are many ways to fry egg. I like mine like the above. The side must be crispy and the egg yolk is slightly cooked.

When I first started frying egg, my egg tends to stick to the wok and it became over cooked and too crispy.

The tips is to make sure that the oil is really heated up then lower the fire then only you break your egg into the wok. The hot oil is to prevent the egg from sticking to the wok and the low fire is to prevent the egg to be over fried and crispy.

You must eat your egg with a dash of dark soy sauce and light soy sauce with hot steaming rice. Mmmmm…yummy.

My brother is a good cook but when he cooks, my mom has to replenish her shallots and garlic faster that usual. He uses a lot of both in his cooking and that is what made the food smell and taste nicer. I don’t really see (taste) the significant of it until recently my hubby complaints about the Chicken Pong Teh that his mother cook. “Did you prepare the ingredient for Mother?” he asked. “Today, No. Why?” I replied and asked. “It is a bit diluted, like not enough ingredients.” he explained.

Well, I know the reason. When I prepare the Pong Teh ingredient for my MIL, I will peel quite a handful of both shallots and garlic which my MIL will blend with some Soya Bean Paste. It makes the gravy thicker and sweeter (coz a lot of shallots). That day, I realized why the dishes that my brother cooks always taste good.