Lemongrass Rice With Sotong Kapitan

Lemongrass is an amazing super-herb and has many health benefits. It contains many compounds, oils, minerals, vitamins that is known to have anti-oxidant and disease preventing properties. Lemongrass may also have effects on cancer cells.

Lemongrass is a green and white, grass like plant with razor-like blades and it is grown across the planet in warm tropical countries.

My last week dinner 

Lemongrass rice, sotong kapitan and chocolate cupcakes

Lemongrass rice

Very flavorful  lemongrass rice

Ingredients  A
2 cups rice
2 cups water  ( Estimate )
3 stalk lemongrass
3 pandan leaves (optional)
1 tsp salt

Ingredients B
1 big onion -  chopped finely
1 inch ginger - slice thinly
1 in cinnamon
2 star anise
5 cloves
2 cardamom
2 tbsp oil

Ingredients C for garnishing
Fried shallots
Coriander leaves

Cooking method for rice
1/  Wash and soak rice for one hour. After soaking drain off the water.
2/  Cut the lemongrass into 3 inch length, pound the lemongrass slightly.
3/  Heat up 2 tbsp oil, stir fry all the B ingredients until fragrant.
4/  Add in the rice, lemongrass, pandan leaves, salt and stir fry for 5 minutes.
5/  Pour the rice into the rice cooker, add enough water to cook the rice.
6/  When cook, fluff up the rice, garnished with fried shallots and coriander leaves.

Sotong Kari Kapitan aka Spicy Squid
Recipe with compliments from a friend in Canada. Thank you so much my dear friend, this is one of the best recipe I ever tested.

Nothing is as flavorful and as delicious as sotong kapitan and perfect to go with lemongrass rice.

Ingredients
1 kg small-medium squids (sotong)
3 tbsp oil
2 onions, diced
3 stalks lemon grass, smashed
1 grated coconut; squeeze out 150ml thick coconut milk, then add one cups water and squeeze out thin coconut milk.
3 kaffir lime leaves
Juice of 1 lime

Grind together:-
12 fresh red chillies (remove seeds)
12 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 cm turmeric root
5 candlenuts
1 tsp belacan granules ( Shrimp paste, you can omit this if it's not available in your country)

Seasoning:-
1  tsp salt, or to taste
2 tsp sugar, or to taste

Squid help the body absorb and utilize iron,  boost immune system and maintain healthy skin, muscles, hair & nails.

1/  Wash squids, remove entrails and black ink pouch.
2/  Cut into 1/2 inch ring.
3/  Boil 1/2  pot of water with 1 tsp salt and blanch the squid for 5 minutes. Drain the squid in a strainer.
4/  Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok, then fry ground ingredients and lemon grass till fragrant. Add onions and saute well.
5/  Add a little of the thick coconut milk to prevent ingredients from sticking to the wok.
6/  Add squids and fry for a few minutes.
7/  Pour in thin coconut milk and cook over low heat until squids are tender.
8/  Add remaining thick coconut milk and bring to a low boil.
9/  Add lime juice, seasoning and kaffir lime leaves.
10/ Dish out and serve immediately.

Sweet Indulgence

Pulut Tai Tai aka steamed glutinous rice with egg custard

Steamed Glutinous Rice
1 1/2 cups glutinous  rice
320mls coconut milk
2 tsp salt
Blue pea flowers to dye the rice

1/  Wash and soak the rice for 1 hour.
2/  Greased an 8 in tray, place the rice in the tray. Add the natural blue dye randomly into the rice and steam for 20 mins or until cooked.
3/  Fluff up the rice and press the rice with bottom of glass to compact the rice.
4/  If you want to make flower shape rice, greased a cookies tray and pour the cooked glutinous rice onto the tray and compressed it with bottom of the glass.
5/  Cut with a flower shape cookie cutter.  Make a dent in the middle of the flower shape rice.
6/  Scoop 1/2 tbsp of kaya aka egg custard in the centre disk before serving.

This blue pea flowers is the natural dye for making steamed glutinous  rice. This creeper plant is from my old house.

Kaya aka Eggs Custard
6 eggs
2 cups santan ( thick coconut milk )
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cups sugar for caramel
4 to 5 pcs Pandan leave

1. Prepare double boiler.
2. Mix egg and sugar in a stainless steel pot and stir until well blend.
3. Add coconut milk and stir until well blend, add pandan leaves.
4. Double boil the custard in simmering boil water, stir non stop for 1/2 hour.
5. Cook the 1/2 cup sugar until melt and golden brown, pour the caramel into the custard immediately and keep stirring until the caramel blend with the custard.
6. Make sure the double boiler water level must cover at least 3/4 of the pot.
7. Continue to cook for another 1 1/2 hour, stirring every 5 mins.
8. When cook remover from double boiler to cool before storing in clean container.
9. keep in fridge.
10. Note: Another way to eat this egg custard is spread on toast bread. 

Egg custard aka kaya

 Decorate the flower shape glutinous rice with pandan leaves as flower stems

Chocolate Moist Cupcakes

A) 200gm butter
170gm ( 1 cup) castor sugar

(B) 180gm (2 cups) cake flour or superfine flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp double action baking powder

(C) 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup hot water
2 tsp nescafe or cappuccino powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

(D) 3 eggs

1/  Preheat oven to 180 deg c
2/  Sift (B) together, keep aside.
3/  Mix (C) until well blended and keep aside to cool
4/  Cream butter and sugar until light & creamy. Add egg one at at time.
5/  Beat until well blend but do not over beat.
6/  Add the flour alternate with the cocoa mixture, mix well.
7/  Scoop into muffin cup and bake at 180 deg c for 20 mins or until cook.
8/  Cool on wire rack and top with chocolate fudge and decorate as desire.

Chocolate Fudge

Irresistible chocolatey cuppies.

50gm cocoa powder
125mls water
1 cup evaporated milk
200gm castor sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolk
60gm corn flour
60 gm butter

1/  Mix all ingredients except butter. Put in double boiler and keep on stirring with a whisk until the mixture thicken. Lastly add in butter.
2/  Use immediately, spread on cupcake.
3/  Chill cupcake in fridge. Decorate with butter cream.

Butter cream

250gm butter
450gm icing sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/  Sift icing sugar 3 times
2/  Beat butter until creamy, add in icing sugar in batches and beat until smooth.
3/  Add in vanilla extract and mix well.
4/  Decorate as desire.

With all the indulgence......

Have a fabulous weekend, Cheers!
Amelia