Labour of Love ;)

Every once in a while, I'll decide that I miss Malaysian food enough to actually attempt to cook it. Cooking Malaysian is like having a baby. You forget how painful every contraction is (not that I've ever had a baby before but I can imagine!) and then when the baby is out, you swear it will be your last one and you will never have another ever again.

To be fair, Malaysian food is not difficult to cook but the ones I felt like making on Saturday were incredibly time consuming, difficult and expensive.

After 16 hours (including shopping), 2 burn marks on my arm and an oil-splattered ceiling, I served my 6 long-suffering guests:

i) Nasi Lemak (Fragrant Coconut Rice)

ii) Sambal Ikan Bilis (Anchovy Sambal)

iii) Inche Kabin (Nyonya Fried Chicken)

iv) Nyonya dip for the chicken

v) Malaccan Beef Stew

vi) Sweet & Sour Pork (in case everything else is too strange for my guests)

vii) Kangkung Belacan ( Water Spinach with a special paste)

viii) Stir-fried vegetables

x) Boiled eggs, fried anchovies and cucumbers to combat the heat

The Dutchman prepared dessert (Strawberry Mascarpone Toetje) and our guests brought Kahlua and Bon Bons for later!

What I learnt:

* Beef for stewing with extra fat (this guarantees tenderness) is called doorregan riblappen in Dutch.

* The chicken here has wayyy too much water in it (so much so that the oil splattered madly when I tried to fry it)

* When I invite Dutch guests, I should probably just make something really simple because they can't tell the difference anyway :-P