Homestyle Maggi Goreng

This is a very much missed dish for those living overseas who originates from/have lived in/been to Kuala Lumpur (KL). It is amazing how the mamak stalls that are a familiar sight at every corner of KL have come up with the creation of the infamous MAGGI GORENG. Maggi is simply a very popular brand of instant noodles in Malaysia, and “goreng” means fried in Malay/Indonesian. By the way, there is not a time of the day whereby Maggi Goreng is inappropriate to be eaten. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea time, or late night supper, and I am not exaggerating.

Maggi noodles were originally a soupy noodle dish that is ready in about 2 mins (as advertised) but by cooking the noodles until al dente in a pot of water and then frying them up in the wok with the accompanying seasoning, an egg and a few shreds of vegetables, you will have a plate of spicy, mouthwatering plate of MAGGI GORENG. Just like pad thai in Thailand, no two mamak stalls make the same Maggi Goreng. They always taste different even though it all starts with a pack of dried noodles and a pack of seasoning.

For my version of Maggi Goreng this time, I sliced some snow peas for the added crunch (you can use beansprouts also), sliced some fried tofu balls (tau foo pok), some sambal belacan paste, and chopped Thai hot chillis (cili padi). In the chaos of things, I had forgotten to add eggs before turning off the stove and Andy was not very happy about that. To him and my little sister Chermaine, Maggi Goreng without eggs is outright blasphemy, LOL!. Anyway, I also added some soy sauce and a sprinkle of sugar to improve the taste of the dish.

Well, it turned out very well, I must say. Again, Andy downed 3 glasses of milk while polishing up his plate and accusing me of murdering him with my cooking.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Aside from a few Chinese New Year baked goods, I’ve not made a lot of cookies in my life. Since Andy and I had been living on a shoestring budget, I have deprived him from buying things like cookies. I thought that I should make this phase of our lives a bit more enjoyable, so I had decided to whip up a batch of oatmeal cookies.

I found an easy recipe online from Joy of Baking, and after making sure that I have all the ingredients stocked up in the kitchen, I jumped right into making these yummy chewy cookies. These cookies can easily pass as breakfast if you ask me, LOL!

A few notes about the ingredients that I’ve used:

• I always and only buy pure cane sugar. Dominos brand is cheap and easily available in the US. They make both white and brown sugar.
• I always and only use unbleached flour. King Arthur is sold at Meijer in Michigan and they are not expensive.
• I am an advocate of using organic products whenever feasible. Even though we are tightening our belts, we still buy organic milk and butter.
• Get to know your oven. Every oven is different and it might take more or less time to bake your creations. If you can afford an oven thermometer, check to see if your oven temperature is accurate. It took me more like 25 mins to bake these cookies but I think that is also because I did not flatten them enough prior to putting them in the oven.
• I used Quaker brand oats.
• I used my hands to shape the dough into balls and then flatten them prior to baking. Wet hands first. Besides, when you are done shaping them, the mixture of oats, sugar and butter makes for great hand exfoliant!

And now it’s time for me to make vegetarian reubens (will post that later) and bring them to the riverside for a picnic on an exceptional beautiful day. Seriously, it is like 10C degrees above average and the sun seems to refuse to set.