Indo-China Inspired Aidil Adha

Was suppose to go back to Penang for Dad's gym anniversary but the bus tickets were all sold out due to Aidil Adha and malas nak spend so much money on air tickets since X'mas is coming. So I ended up spending the weekend with Sam - signing him up as CNI member, then make him spend money in CNI (hehehe - I like this part right here), jalan-jalan to Jusco Taman Equine, shopping at Jusco Taman Equine (huhuhu- I hate this part right here), do marketing at Pasar Borong Selangor and memborong for seafoods and fresh vegetables.

Since he was not celebrating Aidil Adha with his family at his sister's house in Kapar, I suggested we had steamboat yesterday. Since he has been boasting about his very original Thai Tom Yum eversince the day he knew how to spell it so I suggested we have his Tom Yum as the soup base for the steamboat. Mula2 tuh macam-macam lah alasan. Tak biasa masak pakai kuali lain lah, sukatan kena pakai sudu tertentu lah, sukar nak agak sukatan air lah but of course lah I nak jugak rasa his Tom Yum.

Initially I thought that he might be using the Tom Yum paste like most of us and his story of using fish sauce and chili paste was just a myth. Then I pun macam impress when he REALLY bought the fish sauce, galangal, tomato, lemon grass, coconut milk, kaffir lime and leaves at the Pasar Borong. Dia siap suggest brand chilli bean oil yang dia pakai that is Mae Pra Nom. However, recently his Thai friend suggested another brand but he doesn't know how to pronounce it. But the truth is I pun tak pernah masak Tom Yum from the scratch. So I don't know what the heck to put in the pot to make Tom Yum soup.

Haa, lupa plak nak story. While waiting for him that Sunday, I singgah sekejap lah at this one Indian shop near his apartment area. I impress giler when I found out they sell rice wrappers (Banh Thrang) that the Vietnamese use to make their famous Spring Roll (Cha Goi). Murah pulak tu, just RM 3.40. The one I bought at Midvalley's Little Vietnam cost about RM 10.00.

Yesterday, I woke up at about 11.00 am to kemas-kemas rumah a bit before Sam arrive for our cooking session. Biasalah I mesti akan ambik gambar punyer so set penggambaran kena lawa lah sikit. Haa... the tikar tuh my mum import khas dari Sarawak tau. My mum nie terer lah pasal tikar kelesah nie. The one she bought bukan setakat better quality malahan lebih murah dan lebih halus buatannya berbanding the one I bought. Untuk memujuk hati, I letak tikar yang I beli kat dapur, as it blends with the deco. Ni side track a bit lah yer, sebenarnya saja nak show off macam mana I blend my Sarawak heritage into the modern contemporary theme. .. ahakss



So masa my Take Home Chef masak dia punya renowned Tom Yum. I buat lah I punya Vietnamese Steam Spring Roll. Since Sam nie "carnivourous" I buat yang takde sayur lah menggunakan minced chicken yang digoreng dengan bawang, halia, a bit of fish sauce and hoisin sauce. BTW, these spring roll nie better buat masa hari nak makan not the day before atau simpan dalam fridge sebab this will cause the wrapper to dry. Nanti not nice lah.

Anyway back to Sam's, the moment Sam add the fish sauce, galangal and lemon grass into the boiling water, I could feel I dah berada kat Thailand. Then whwn he put in the chilli oil paste, the tomatoes and the kaffir lime and leaves I dapat rasakan nie bukan calang-calang Tom Yum nie. Bau pun dah lain. Kalau yang kita makan kat kedai tuh penuh "sampah-sarap" jer. So malas nak cakap banyak so nie lah hasil tangan kami hari tuh.

Ramuan simple jer.