t to the a to the s t-t-t y
Many many moons ago, almost 9 in fact, I was tagged by Kat on “10 Things I Miss of Mom’s Cooking”. I never got around finishing it, I’m not sure why. Now that I’ll be going abroad, I’m already thinking of what I’d like to devour before I won’t have a chance to for a very long time. Ten is one too many for my lazy brain to think of now, so I’ll stick to five.
5 delectable home-cooked dishes I’ll miss, in no particular order:
1: TungKu Kai Keok
Translated: mushroom & chicken feet. I love the way my Mom cooks this, just makes me drool for more. I always have to remind myself that I can’t eat the whole pot and I need to share it with the others. I think she’ll be cooking a pot of this tomorrow, yippee!
2: Ching Pai Kuat
Translated: steamed pork ribs. There’s garlic, a bit of bean sauce, and shuen mui added to marinate the pork ribs before it goes into the wok for a steam bath. I had this once from a fast food joint in Beijing, and it reminded me so much of Mom’s version, it almost felt like home. Almost. Just… not quite. Made me miss home at that moment.
3: Lor Mai Fan
Translated: sticky glutinous rice. She does this very well too. I’m not a fann tong (rice eater), but whenever she makes this, I’d whack in a couple of bowlfuls. Absolutely love the pieces of lap cheong (Chinese sausages) she adds into it as well, which makes the rice sweeter. Could you just taste it? Could you? Could you? Bring your bowl, the queue starts here.
4: Onion Soup
No need translation here. It’s a very basic soup dish — loads of red onions / shallots, some chicken meat (though chicken carcass is the best for flavour), bring to boil and simmer for a couple of hours until the onions turn transparent and soft and all the yumminess goes into the soup. Yum yum yum… Slurp!
5: Shuen Kai Choy
Also known as shuen choy keok. I’m not sure what kai choy translates to. Anyone know the English name of this vegetable? Typically slow cooked with leftover meat, lots and lots of dried chili, dried slices of assam, and anything else you want to throw in. I noticed that each time my Mom cooks it, it always turns out slightly different depending on what ingredients she added. The best when there are pieces of lap cheong in it, which adds a bit of sweetness to the overall dish.
Ok, I just made myself really hungry writing up this post. Almost dinnertime too, and Mom’s not cooking tonight! Sigh… Maybe just some instant noodles with an egg. And some Ritter Sport chocolate after that.
What are your 5 favourite home-cooked dishes? Remind me what other yummilicious dishes I’m missing out on…
58 Comments so far
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chuppa chup
i’m so hungry!! i want dimsum for lunch!!!
Oh my god, i am so hungry, i want to eat tongku kai keok, so nice, must eat until fai fai bak bak then only go aussie ok? u know le go aussie only can eat western food, chinese food there is suck, so better eat all your favourite food in malaysia ok? we miss you, food miss you too…
chup
Whoaaa… I’m lost!
I don’t know these food at all… except Lor Mai Fan
And I know Lor Mai Fan from reading blogs. Remember the Lor Mai Fan that I found in Jakarta was wrong, only ate the original one when I had dim sum in KL, kekeke…
So, will you share the recipes of all these food?
Oops… is Lor Mai Fan and Lor Mai Kai, the same?
uahhh….nice foods…now u make miss my mom’s cooking….*sighs*
Eeeeeee.. looking at all these mouth watering pict at this hour.
Prepare to steal some tungku kai keok from the big pot tomorrow when aunty is not watching
My 5 favourite home-cooked dishes :
1) Ang Chow Chicken(ang chow = 紅糟, made from fermentation of glutinous rice and rice wine).
2) Crispy Belachan Bilin Fern
3) Iban Brinjal with lotsa chillies & belachan
4) Coconut Chicken Soup
5) Ching Pai Kuat
See lorrr!!! Hungry like hell again, and I just woke up! No Lormaikai, no Wantan Mee, no Nasi Lemak, no Siew Ngap Fan, no Cendol, no nothing!! How leh?
What to cook this weekend? *Thinking*……
Monk Jump Over Some Wall?
Grasshopper In Glass Noodles?
Yim Chow Kai?
Mang Kali Fan See Tong?
*thinking*….
Food is what most people miss when they are abroad. Never mind, you can come home once in a while , even if it is just to devour the delicious food you like. I don’t have any one favourite dish, I am a simple person in this aspect, I guess.
I like western food more than chinese. But then, i ll give up everything for my granny’s specialty: Ginger Chicken (Kiong Kai) and Soups.. gran is a master when comes to her soup. Able to finnish the whole pot by myself
I already miss so much of mum’s cooking even now as she does not really cook
I always like soup
Abc
Groundnut and chicken feet
moopig - 5 HUGS… dimsum! that’s always an all-time favourite of mine too. the ones in Chinatown Sydney are not too bad, I miss those big harkaus. gonna look forward to having a few of those soon!
sin ling - 3 HUGS… I’ve been stuffing myself with local yummies these past few days. I’m not too fussy, and Chinese food in Sydney isn’t too bad as far as I could remember. it’ll be the home-cooked dishes I’d miss more, just the way my Mom makes ‘em.
Selby - 1 HUG… the one you had in Jakarta, if I remember correctly, was Hor Yip Fan. and the one you had for dimsum in KL is Lor Mai Kai. they’re all made from glutinous rice, except that Hor Yip Fan is cooked in lotus leaves, and Lor Mai Kai is steamed with more sauces and chicken, usually prepared in little bowls. I’ll see if I could get some of these recipes off my Mom, it’s all in her head!
Monkticon - I’m sure I’ll be sighing and missing my Mom’s cooking like you in a few weeks’ time… *sigh*
Chen - no need to steal, come and have some lah! bring a doggie bag to tapau back for Ah Boy too. plenty to go around.
hmmm, I’ve never had Ang Chow Chicken before. never heard of it, even. or maybe I know it as a different name. how come didn’t cook this for me when I was in Penang leh? I want Crispy Belacan Bilin Fern too, and Coconut Chicken Soup! never had those. can DHL some over to Sydney for CNY ka?
L B - huarrrr, tidur until 1 p.m.? so syokkkk! there’s always BBQ Ribs, and Marmite Chicken Wings, and Lap Cheong Chau Fan, and Giant Muffins to keep your tummy happy for now, till July rolls along. then it’s back to Lormaikai, and Roti Canai, and Ngap Fan, and Nasi Goreng Kampung… look, there goes the Monk over the prison wall! and the Mang Kali jumping over the moon with the Grasshopper too…
just me - I agree! I think it’s one of those things that remind us a lot about home. it’s not the weather, and definitely not the traffic jams, haha! I don’t even mind the shops closing at 6 p.m. every day with no mamak. it’s just the home-cooked food.
Jo - Ginger Chicken! that’s something my Mom does ok on, but because I’m not a fan of it, I won’t miss it so much I suppose. soups are yum too, but I think I could manage those on my own. just need the right ingredients and a big pot of water… *grin*
zeroimpact - you’re a soup fan too, eh? ABC is an all-time favourite in this household. I just love picking out the onions and the tomato bits, all nice and mushy to eat. groundnuts and chicken feet with lotus root! absolute classic.
Wah.. you still remember??
Mmmm..kai keok done just the way I like it, skin falling off the bone!! And I love the jing pai kuat, too. Not by my mom, but by a friend’s mum in Bentong… so smooth and tender and flavourful! And because not my mum, kenot ask her to make for me!!! LOL
Your lormaifan looks yumm…. ahMay, may we have some before you go??? LOL
OMG~!~!!!!!
great minds think alike eh?
the lor mai fan looks so yummy-licious!!!!
tak boleh tahan..
my top 5 fav:
1&2) the tungku kai & steamed pai kuat also..
3) my mum’s pig-tummy soup..
4) chicken cooked in soy sauce
5) home made char siew..
ooohh lala….
take care yea..
Ahhh… all my favorite too! Hungry lah now…
I also opt for shuen choy keok, followed by steamed brinjal with soya sauce topped with lots of fried garlic, lin ngau soup, fried har-loke, and anything with tungku!
OMG! You’re making me miss my mom’s cooking now. She’s from Penang and half peranakan, and makes asam laksa to die for! Which I’m now going to have to wait months for, and suffer horribly in the process since you’ve gone and put that idea in my head! waahhh!
wah.. like maharaja like tat man.. nw also hungry looking at the picture alone…
nice food and blog also.. dunno the writer nice or nt.. ahahahahaahak
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! really hungry now…
wow ur mom’s a gr8 cook! i love the nice nice rice! seems so t to tha a, to the s-t-e-y; d to the e, to the l-i-c-i-o-u-s! lao hao sui ah!
*BBBB* (Brings BIG BIG Bowl)
Everything Mama cook is delicioussss!!!
good morning
TQ TQ, Thanks for sharing the yummy food.
I will bring doggy to tag alone too
He dowan to miss out the fun mah, and he wants to play with your doggies too…
And same as Angel, I will BBBB too
Kkkkkkkkkkk
Ang Chow = Foochow delicacies. Pict of ang chow chicken. The aroma……. Mmmmm.. Heavenly. So far I never see it over here cos as u know, Not many foochow around in peninsular except in Sitiawan
I haven’t eat that for quite some time liao, and… I also dunno how to cook this dish lah 
*paiseh*
I sked the delivery man might curi makan those yummy foodstuff if DHL to Sydney leh. Sei for, I’m hungry now
Wah…. I so the cheong hei
Opps, looks delicious! I wanna try it out too!
mummy and daddy’s cooking are the best, ie. if dad is ‘forced’ to cook when mom is busy. *wink*
happy gorging before sydney. *oink*
*drool drool*
:P~~~
凯西 - ordinarily I wouldn’t have remembered, but because I still had that half-done tag document in my folder, I was reminded by it. the chicken feet is best when cooked till really soft, then one slurp and suck, everything comes off the bone! almost orgasmic.
Lor Mai Fan? sure… how many bowfuls? *prepares to order some from Mom*
yenchiew - ooh yes, I think those two are favourites among quite a few of us here. Chee Tou Tong is yum too, though the peppery taste is sometimes a little too much for my liking. we tried making Char Siew at home, but somehow can’t get the marinade right. psssst… what’s your secret?
Kenny Ng - almost lunch hour, I’m hungry too. now, where’s that pot of Tungku Kai Keok? *follows nose to kitchen*
king’s wife - yay, another fan of Shuen Choy Keok! it’s like eating a pot of treasures, digging for the all the Kai Choy, pieces of Lap Cheong and meat and Tungku and anything else we throw in. I love steamed brinjal too, especially with basil leaves.
evelyn - when’s your next trip home? some time this year? ooooooh, one mention of asam laksa and my mouth is watering already! I must time my trips with yours next time, so I could have a bowl of your mom’s specialty… teehee!
raychin - the Maharaja isn’t even privilege enough to taste this, haha! am I nice? well, why don’t you take a bite and see if it’s your kind of “meat”… *offers arm and a bit of soy sauce*
My 5 favorite
1. Pork soup
2. Penang fried kueh teow ( chen where u will bring me ah ?)
3. Nasi Lemak
4. Beef Noodle
5. Satay … yummy
Great I am hungry again …. die die must go gym so that I can satisfy my cravings
kyh - the Lor Mai Fan is absolutely to die for! well, to me anyway, and to those who have tried it. I have the recipe listed out somewhere on this blog, give it a try. or just come join the queue for a bowlful… *wink*
princess a - LLLLL!! I like the BBBB!! mari mari mari! I exchange for some sausages from Jarrod & Rawlins with El Devil…
carcar - good afternoon!
Chen - ahhh, so that’s Ang Chow Chicken. thanks for the picture link! it sorta looks like the Koolou Yoke, hor? except I’m sure the taste is different. I guess I’ll have to put this on my Hit List for my next trip home. ok, I give you homework — you find the recipe, practice cooking it, and next time I come home you must cook this dish for me, mmmkay!
~TheAngel~ - come along, come along… the queue is right here. where’s your BBB?
misti - Dad’s cooking isn’t half bad, and like you said, he’s the stand-in when Mom’s not around, heheh! his specialty is half-boiled egg. and fried egg. that’s because he loves eggs, and those are what he eats almost every morning. *oink* *snort*
Will - watch that drool, it’s messing up the keyboard. here’s a bib…
sbanboy - oh yes, Satay! been a long time since I had some. I had a bit of the CKT in Penang the last time I went, so that’s ticked off my list of Must Eat Food. not the famous asam laksa though, missed that one… *sigh*
no need go gym wan! jog a few rounds around your kitchen, to the garden, and back again. that should burn about 1.5 calories, no?
The lor mai fan looks absolutely delish! *makes puppy dog pleading face* Can I have some too? No need BBBB… mine one BSSB also can… :o)
BSSB = Bring Small Small Bowl
wolf-hungry already!!
My My… Here I am sitting in office at 2.30 pm, reading this…
Now my stomach is growling non-stop! and you know la how tasty the food is here rite….
Damn!
Save some tung ku kai keok for me yeah!
Muax
everytime my mum cook the suen kai choy, not a drop will be spared.. yummy!
gosh…I definately miss my parents homecook meals…but luckily I’ve learn how to cook them myself
1. Kunta Kinte (sweet black kicap) Spare Ribs
2. Mutton curry
3. Round brinjal cutlets (this I have yet to specialized!)
4. Tripe soup
5. Laksa
and many more!
my top 5 non-homecook meals are ~
1. Hokkien Mee
2. Yong Tau Foo
3. Steamboat
4. Nasi Lemak
5. Satay with peanut sauce
6. Rojak
7. Roti canai with dhal
8. Chilli crabs
9. Char Kway Teow
10. Popiah
and more…salivates!! *sighs*
hi there. i happen to come across your blog and after reading one of your entries about blog headers i’m very impressed by your creativity! and for this entry you make me think about home-cooked food as i’m studying in a campus away from home.
anyway, this is a very nice page and i’ll definitely come by again!
Are you a Kong Tong Yan ?
good evening
kai choy is Chinese Mustard.
my dad loved eggs too. an egg a day keeps the doctor away. he might have thought that! lol
rinnah - sure, sure! big bowl, small bowl, any size. as long as it’s not bigger than the pot lah, haha! *scoops a generous portion into the SSB*
_butt - I hope you’re well-fed by this hour. ’tis past midnight… are you back to human form again?
missylane - oh no, you worked on Sunday? poor thing! I hope everything’s sorted out on that site you’re working on. good luck! hugzz…
yea, the food there sucks big time, and the saddest thing is, we have to put up with it ‘cos there’s no where else to go! unless we drive out lah. and lazy fellas like us would just stay in and keep complaining of the bad food, LOL!
sengkor - for us, there’ll still be leftover meat and bits, but the kai choy is all gone! the best part devoured… *burp*
consuela - woooo, good for you! I think I’ll have to force myself to learn a few more recipes from my Mom and get to it when I’m Down Under. your non-homecook meals are my favourites too! especially hokkien mee, roti canai (I’m still craving for one), char koay teow… aiseh, I’m salivating along with ya!
Vern - hello, HELLO! welcome, have a seat, put your feet up. thanks for dropping by, and really nice of you to leave a comment. I know how it is to live away from home and miss eating home-cooked food. do they allow cooking on campus? can play masak-masak?
9393 - yessir, I certainly am. well, half of me, at least! the other half is Hakka.
carcar - good night! { { { H U G S } } }
zzzzz… zzzzz… zzzzzz…
nyonyapenang - at last, someone who knows what kai choy is in English! thank you for enlightening me, I’m eternally grateful to you for saving me the hassle of asking people on the streets the answer to my question.
misti - I thought an egg a day would render a few more visits to the doctor because of the cholesterol, heheh! I so love half-boiled eggs too. with a little bit of soy sauce and pepper, and toast bread! aarrgghhhhh… my tummy is making noises…
ohmygosh!!! food ohh glorious food!!!
psst psst.. ur mom is technically my grandma rite? *wink wink*
tried most of those except the onion soup. incidentally, most of those r my favs too!!
ps. yr foodie posts r more interesting than lotsa food blogs!
#2 - No wonder my ching pai kuat missing something. Next time must add bean paste and shuen mui.
#4 - Ah… that’s my version of ABC soup. Must boil until the onion and potatoes break up.
#5 - My all time favourite too.
May, if i were you, knowing i’m gonna miss all that…. hurry up and video the entire cooking process, write down the recipe in detail. Then, no reason y u cannot do it over there mah. Mebbe u cook it so well then go setup restaurant leh, who knows, hoh.
Why are you and LB doing this to me? I’m hungry!!!
I miss the pork dish, the onion one was my favourite too! Maybe I should try to cook that
Wau!!! After reading this post I miss your mom. haha
The missus made sticky rice last weekend. (Shhh!!!! your mom’s looks yummier)
And chicken feet with mushrooms. Man where is the travel agent?
ChristinE - considering the age, errrr… she’d be a very young grandma to have a grandkid your age! hahaha! ok ok, how many tungkus you want?
wat de - ooooh, we’d be perfect dining companions, then! I should think we’d have a whale of a time filling up our tummies with these yummies. thanks for the compliment, that made me grin from ear to ear! see? *grin from ear to ear*
Hijackqueen - shuen mui adds that tangy flavour to it I so love! must try, must try. my Mom’s ABC soup also gets the same treatment, when all the potatoes and carrots are easily mashed up after all that boiling.
Samm - open a restaurant? I think it’s easier for me to fly home every couple of years and devour them to my heart’s content! hahaha! but I should learn the easier ones like the steamed ribs. something that’ll keep me warm during cold winter nights, for sure.
Emily - onion soup is easy peasy! just lots of shallots and some chicken into a big pot of water, boil and boil and boil till the onions are all soft. add salt to taste, and some pepper too, and you’re all done!
SA - hey, I’d like to try some of that rice your missus made, too! is it the same kind, with glutinous rice? there’s gonna be a travel fair coming up tomorrow, almost 90% off some tickets, or so they boast. we’ll see if there’s one just right for you… *wink*
Really? 0.0
Err.. but you cook so well, you’ll just cook them yourself.. So no need to miss.
SA - really! so have you bought your tickets yet?
zara’s mama - I try to cook, hahaha! sometimes unsuccessfully. and I do so love the way Mom does it, just not quite right when I try it out. must keep practicing, hor?
it seems this entry will tear me. mum is away with bro in china and i actually miss her & her cooking.
the low mai fan is special with peanut!
seefei - awwww… is mum back yet? quick, learn all those secret recipes she has! then next time you can cook her special dishes for me too, yes? and give your mum a big hug on my behalf!
*I miss mine too*
The first year was really difficult - miss the Malaysian food soooo much. The weekends were the worst. I am ok now - hope to visit KL next summer and eat non-stop.
The Choy Geok and the mushroom phoenix claws are my favorites. The Kwai Lors will tell you “so gross”