Okra and Mushroom Tomato Sambal Curry

Tomato paste, sambal belacan, coconut milk, brown/palm sugar, salt & pepper.

Authentic Peanut Sauce (Thai) / Low Fat Satay Sauce (Malaysian)

I’ve always bought my peanut Sauce from the store, so I thought I’d try this one eventually. Most Western versions of peanut sauce are made with peanut butter, this Thai peanut sauce recipe starts with real peanuts.

This peanut sauce can be used for a variety of purposes, from a dip for veggies to a sauce for chicken, beef or tofu satay or kebabs. I’m saving this sauce for my Thai Summer Noodle Roll that I am planning on making when I have the time

Source: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/thaipeanutsauce.htm

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 clove garlic, minced — I might ommit this
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (If vegetarian, use vegetarian fish sauce or regular soy sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. tamarind paste
• 1 tsp. red chilli sauce (more or less to taste)
• squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 1 tsp.)

Preparation

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until sauce is smooth. If you prefer a runnier peanut sauce, add a little more water.

Do a taste test for salt and spice, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, and more chilli sauce if not spicy enough.

If too salty, add another squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Serve as a dip with fresh veggies, chicken or beef sate, fresh spring rolls, or mix with noodles to create a Thai-style noodle dish or cold noodle salad. Enjoy!!!

If anyone gets to try this before me, do leave me comments about it

Vegetarian Restaurants in KL

I miss home a lot, and I know that my family is always looking for new places to go makan, so I’m compiling this list for them. Thanks to masak-masak blog for the excellent reviews on all kinds of yummy food available in Malaysia Looking at that blog really makes me home sick and hungry!… They also provide me with inspiration to go home and cook up a storm…LOL!

Lui Cha a.k.a. Thunder Tea Rice
@ Ecogreen, Bukit Kiara (read reviews of this place here).
@ Restoran OK, Jalan SS2/10, Petaling Jaya (read reviews opf this place here).

(pictures courtesy of boo_licious of Masak-masak blog)

Vegetarian Food Court @ Blue Boy Mansion, Kuala Lumpur
No.6001 Blue Boy Mansion,
Jalan Tong Shin (Jalan Pudu Lama),
Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Daily 7.30am to 9.30pm
We eat here very often… don’t need me to elaborate further. My favourites here (if I absolutely have to pick) are Char Kway Teow, and Popiah… We always get these 2 dishes first, before ordering anything else.
Check out boo’s review here and Babe-in-the-city review here and here.

(pictures courtesy of boo_licious of Masak-masak blog)

This is the yummyyyy popiah

Saravana Bhavan @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
52 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar
03-2287-1228
(At the shophouses facing the main road and same row as Degem Jewellers.)
Apparently this restaurant is part of a big chain of vegetarian restaurants that can be found all over the world. Check out http://www.saravanabhavan.com/ Too bad they are not in Michigan, just in California, Georgia, New Jersey and New York. But they are in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) i.e. Mississauga, Richmond Hill and Scarborough. I must give them a try when I go to Toronto to visit my in-laws in a few weeks for Labour Day weekend (Sept 3).

(pictures courtesy of boo_licious of Masak-masak blog)

Indian Vegetarian Food @ Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur
No. 59, Jalan Thambipillai, Brickfields
03-2274-1969
Apparently this place serves Indian food that does not use garlic nor onions (Hare Krishna’s principals) which will be perfect for my parents because they are not good for those who are meditating.

You can also get mock-meat satays, bittergourd curries, char kway teow and ais kacang here as well. They say that the satay is so good to even convert a meat-eater and that it’s better than the real thing from Kajang @ RM5 for 5 sticks. Check out the reviews here .

(pictures courtesy of boo_licious of Masak-masak blog and Babe-in-the-city)

Indian Vegetarian @ Hare Krsna, Brickfields, KL
No 16. Lorong Chan Ah Tong, Off Jln Tun Sambanthan
(Right next to New Lay Sin Restaurant along Jln Tun Sambanthan)
Opens from 1030am to 230pm

Setup is just like economy rice, you pick 3 dishes and costs RM3.50 and comes with rice and pappadums.

(pictures courtesy of boo_licious of Masak-masak blog)

Vegetable Beehoon Soup

Served with vegetarian minced meat (Morningstar beef crumbles) stirfried with vegetarian oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, sugar and white pepper.

The sour chilli sauce is from Sabah, Andy’s cousin gave us a few bottles just before we left for KL but I’m not quite sure what’s in it but it’s dang good! Goes very well with the noodles as dipping sauce. Oo-la-la!!

Sambal Tomyum Okra / Ladies Fingers

A sweet and sour, Thai influenced Malaysian dish. I used a special marinade made from diced serai / lemongrass that I bought in Sabah, Malaysia but I don’t recall the name of it. The marinade gives the regular tomyum paste a special mellow kick to the dish.

Sautee the serai marinade or fresh serai (lemongrass) in some oil and then add in tomyum paste into the oil. Ginger and garlic may be used if desired. Fry until fragrant before adding in the okra / ladies finger.

Mix a few teaspoons of tomyum paste with hot water in a bowl and add them into the wok to help with the okra’s cooking process. Lemon juice can be used if the tomyum paste is not sour enough, or simply squeeze fresh lemons on the okra just prior to serving.

Season with sugar and salt.

Dinner as usual

Here’s what we had for dinner lately…

Arugula Spring Mix and Sauteed Baby Bella Salad

Okra and Sambal Belacan Stirfry

Beansprouts (Taugeh) and Dried Chilli Flakes

Spinach Eggdrop Soup