Portuguese Lovin'

I love him so much, which he'll never see it, but I did and still do, that I went all out in my naive novice cook-ness, to learn some Portuguese dishes which his family love and yet do not have the recipes for.


1. Feng : basically a country-style pate cooked with a lot of spices.
Comprises of all the parts of a pig: belly, leg, ear, liver, snout, intestines, even tail I wouldn't be surprised, stewed for hours until tender, then julienned thinly and then fried with sweated onions and ginger, a mixture of cumin, coriander and fennel powder, with some cinnamon sticks, salt, sugar and a dash of vinegar at the end.


Imma gonna work on this and improve it. Get in more aromatics, like use a port (tribute to Portugal) wine and black vinegar reduction, some ginger infused oils and optimum cooking times for the different parts of the piggy, so it'll be tender and creamy. Yum.


2. Pang Soo Sis: a sweet potato dough encasing minced peppery pork.
The dough uses brandy for extra flavour, and the pork is supposed to be super peppery.
The sticky dough is not easy to work with, especially after it's proved, but the end result is flavourful, aromatic and slightly sweet, which is balanced with the peppery pork.


Improvisations: Get a nice dough, which was pretty good the 1st and only time I made them, have a nice combination of minced pork and fatback, maybe use a little streaky bacon together with it, to get a nice juicy filling, and tons of pepper, black, maybe a little green and pink, to make it a little tastier.


Gotta save up, get an oven under the counter, as was always planned by us last time, so I can start making those little goodies again.


3. My favourite, Kari Koku.
Ikan parang, sweet, firm-fleshed fish with tons of bones, cooked in a creamy coconut curry, made with blended onions and dried chilli paste, with green chilli to add in some flavour. This I would drink and watch TV with that lovely Portuguese family I miss so much. Soon... I shall make this soon....


4. Shivering curry aka Sambal Nenas
Shrimps cooked in a pineapple sambal, onions and chilli paste, with pineapples to add that tangy sweet and sour balance. YUM.


5. Kari Debal aka Devil Curry
Spicy curry made with tons of onions and chilli paste, julienned ginger, tumeric-chili-shallot paste, mustard seeds, smoked ham hock and whatever yummy pieces of pork you want to throw in, with a dash of sweet soy sauce at the end. Wipe your plates clean with bread please.


6. Name eludes me now... I hope to be reminded of it soon...
But basically, pork ears and belly stewed in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and cinnamon until super tender, sliced thinly, served with curly lettuce, cucumbers, taufoo pok (deepfried beancurd balls) together with a chilli sauce made with red chillies, garlic, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt and a dash of vinegar.


Jotting all this down, so I will never forget how to make them....


Goodnight now food lovers... I'm on a journey in the valley of darkness, but these little inspirations, although much fewer now, give me that hope and light at the end of the tunnel. 


Hah. Weird thought. Maybe I could cook for him at his wedding, make little adorable pang soo sis and tiny pots of feng with toasted bread as mini starters, while I agonise in the kitchen at how happily married he is going to be, while I'm making his favourite food with all my research and development done to make it absolutely fantastic, but of course, because it's him, with all the love in my heart, wishing him and his new bride well.


Sigh..... my <3 always to the one who's moved on....

Our Idea...

Just read this...Eatertainment In KL  hmmm.... this was IanPenguin's idea, before, a love-collaboration of music, food, drink & art... ours rocks way better, but it's being done.... what a sign....


Cmon. All too many signs, but at which direction are they pointing? Sighhh.......