The Food Canon

Fried Batang fish, served here with kecap manis sauce, omelette and rice.

This is a simple recipe which you can use for your daily dinners.

Fried Batang or Mackerel fish, marinated in turmeric powder was a comfort food in my childhood home. I can also recall it being sold in my Mum's restaurant and canteen.

Over the years, Batang has become more expensive but it is still a relatively cheaper fish to use and is very suited for pan or deep frying as the flesh is firm.

Whether you are serving a whole family or just a dinner for two, this dish is convenient and easy to make.

Note a few tips about fish:

• As long as it is fresh, you won't need to do a lot to make it taste good.
• It keeps well frozen.
• Fish does not need to be marinated for too long. 30 minutes at most. 
• Clean your fish thoroughly to remove the blood and scum. 
• Fish bones and heads can be used to make stock.

So, when you want to introduce overseas guests to Singapore food, what do you think of?

The usual street food dishes like Chicken Rice and Bak Chor Mee perhaps. But are there restaurants selling cooked à la minute Singaporean Chinese dishes, which though Chinese, is not to be confused with Hong Kong influenced eateries like Imperial Treasure or Crystal Jade? Where will you bring them if they want to eat Chinese and local?

It is a joy to be able to get back to "community cooking" in this new church I am serving in. As I have said elsewhere, it is a familiar environment that I grew up with where I am very much at home.

We ran the Alpha Introductory Dinner recently and made a decision to offer "home-cooked" dinner. This article serves as cooking notes for  myself and the team and I am sure, you will find helpful as well.

As I have recently learned to prepare Nasi Ulam, I thought a Malay or Nonya themed dinner will be nice for the occasion.

And if you check your Nonya cookbooks, including the magisterial "Cooking for the President," (a great cookbook!) you may drop all considerations of making it because at first glance, it sure looks complicated and redoubtable.  

"Nasi" means rice and "ulam" means salad. The key is to dial it down to something you will consider making for your daily dinners. Bear in mind that for the humble Malay Kampung home, their Nasi Ulam basically uses herbs and dried seafood that are available off their larder or garden. Sometimes, it is just using leftover herbs. Eat it with some sambal belachan and it will be sedap all the way.

There are many types of Ayam Goreng and I hardly stick to a fixed recipe, apart from being consistent with a few basics behind a good fried chicken Malay style.

This latest recipe is quickly becoming one of my favourite for its simplicity and great results.

I have been making it as a side dish with Nasi Ulam, a recipe which I will be blogging soon.

I have always been curious about the "crispies" that I see on the Ayam Goreng which is served in Malay stalls in Malaysia. After some conversations with makciks (they are always friendly and willing to share their tips...some will even let me see who they cook them in their kitchens!) I finally figured out that it came from blended or pounded ginger. The blended ginger sticks to the chicken when fried and adds texture and flavour.

I have already blogged the Sambal Udang recipe.  

Many of you will know that belimbing goes very well with it. Belimbing is a sourish fruit that grows well here. Being a pastor, I have no shortage of belimbing as there will be a some members out there who have one of these trees in his/her garden.

Knowing that their pastor like to cook, I get plastic bags of them regularly. After all, belimbing goes to waste pretty quickly after they are plucked or when they ripen. And gifts from your garden to the pastor makes a lot of sense, though I have yet to declare such gifts on my annual tax returns.

Belimbing cooks very quickly and I normally add them within the last few minutes of the dish. I cook the sambal first, and then the prawns and the last thing that goes in are the slices of belimbing.

As for preparation, salt the belimbing in a colander beforehand to draw out the liquid.

This dish is appetising. Eat it with mint leaves, cucumber and steaming hot white rice.

And somehow, it always tastes nice eaten with hands.

Lemon grass and belimbing (right)