: : Granny’s Cooking : :

Had dinner at home today and surprise surprise! Granny has come up with some favourites. Yummy.

Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

Stir-Fried Veggies : Cauliflower and Celery

One of the many many versions of mixed vegetables, otherwise known in the western world as chop suey! This one was with cauliflower and celery. Of course, chopped garlic is added into the dish to remove any unwanted smell or taste in the vegetables.

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

Pork Stew in Soy Sauce

This is an extremely easy dish to do for beginners to Chinese cooking. You can boil it for as long as you like and nothing can go wrong. Even if the pork turns out soft, it’s okay as the taste would have gotten into it. This stew is more of a soup as it’s not thick at all. Put a slab of pork meat (500-600 g) into a pot of water with dark soy sauce and garlic. How much garlic? Well, try a few cloves first, maybe 5-6 pieces with the skin on. Can always add more in. Don’t worry about the garlic taste because it’ll all go into the soup and pork. Can’t even taste the garlic taste in the pork but somehow it brings out the taste in the pork. Boil the soup on a slow fire until the pork is cook. Remove the pork meat and wait for it to cool. Then slice it into slices and put it back into the pot. Boil again on a slow fire, adding in black mushrooms and fried tauhu cut into big cubes. Boil until the meat turns brown. Add sugar and salt to taste. MSG is up to you : usually less than 1/4 of a teaspoon is enough. Or, you can put everything into a crock pot and leave it cooking overnight. It’s real easy to do. However, remember to add more water if the pot runs dry.

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

Pork Stomach Soup with Black Peppercorn

This is seriously an adventorous dish for anyone but it is definitely tasty from the black peppercorns. Also, it’s an extremely easy dish to do just like the pork stew above. Can cook it for as long as you like and it still tastes as good. Granny added in a small slice of ginger to bring out a slight spicy, tangy taste to the meal. Yummy! Nowadays, one can find this soup in herbal hawker stalls all over Kuching. So, don’t worry about not finding it as you can do so.

: : Thompson Corner, Tabuan Jaya : :

Yes, I went back to Thompson Corner for lunch again. AH had to eat where there was halal food so okay lor. Suffice to say that I ordered pork and ate in front of him but he’s quite cool about it. BJ, SA and JJ were also having lunch together with us so I had more pictures to snap. Yes, I remembered this time!

Chinese Fried Rice

Malay Fried Mee

Bak Kut Teh


Chinese Fried Rice

Chinese Fried Rice

This is a very “white” version of fried rice. One of the whitest I’ve ever seen. It’s only so-so so be prepared. The reason why it’s not so dark is because the hawker seller used light soy sauce and not the dark type. I suppose some people like it this way. Another thing missing is the taste of deep fried shallots. Now, the shallot is the ingredient that brings out the flavour of Chinese Fried Rice. Ahem, non-halal.

Malay Fried Mee

Malay Fried Mee

There is a difference between Malay Fried Mee and the Chinese Fried Mee. Malay Fried Mee is generally very spicy AND sweet as well. A lot of dark soy sauce is used for this one but it was still tasty. Checking the picture tonight, just realised that it was a bad shot because the chicken bone is exposed but oh well. Was being chased by people to hurry up to take the pictures. Be prepare for at least a 15 minute wait for this mee but it’s worth it! Another favourite from this stall is the Malay Fried Kway Teow. That is also tasted. As the name implies, it is a halal hawker stall although it’s not always open during lunch time.

Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh

I’m giving up eating bak kut teh at hawker stalls. The Sarawak version is so totally different from the West Malaysian version. Too much sugar and too little spices and garlic. Also, too much sugar. Yuck! Bak Kut Teh actually means Spare Rib Teh but that’s the literal translation to English. What’s inside the soup? Pork meat, pork skin, pork stomach, pork intestines, tauhu and lettuce. Definitely not for one who is not used to this. Granny makes better soup out of a packet! The best Bak Kut Teh quick fix packet is the A1 brand. I heard from a friend that the family that owns the shop selling the famous Bak Kut Teh in Klang, Selangor, is manufacturing this brand. Wouldn’t be surprising as the packet version is good! This is an extremely easy dish to do and you can boil it for a long time without having to worry about it getting spoilt. Great during winter times in UK! However, for the Westerners, it’s for the adventurous as there is some…er…shit in the intestines. Not much but enough to taste. Some places have it more than others. Sort of a delicacy.

Quick directions to Thompson Corner. It is the Tabuan Jaya branch, behind Bank Utama, facing the wet market and carpark. Can’t miss the big sign. Always a popular foodspot during lunch time especially since it serves those iced drinks! Yum!