Happy 2010 and knäckebröd

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I haven't been a good food blogger but now I shall endeavour to increase the frequency of my posts... I've also gotten a new digital camera, so I can take photos of my creations. :)

I just had to post about my obsession with super thin, crispy knäckebröd, or crispbread. And I don't mean the type with the air bubbles in them like the Wasa variety.

I favour, in particular, the ones produced by Vilmas.

So far, I've tried the sesame knäckebröd from Vilmas, and their rosemary and dill & onion knäckesticks. Love the sesame and rosemary varieties. I have a new box of sesame/chili ones which I can't wait to try too!

I also loved ICA Selection organic pumpkin/sesame seed knäckesticks, but they appear to be out of production or something now. :(

Another brand I've tried is Batanun, that offers a very tasty pumpkin/sunflower/flax seed knäckebröd, packaged in a charming brown paper bag printed with Egyptian hieroglyphs (the company's owner is an Egyptian immigrant). Unfortunately it's not always available in the stores that I frequent, which usually carries the "safer" (and bland) option of Batanun's oat knäckebröd.

I eat them with a smear of butter or cream cheese. Yummy. They're really satisfying when you crave something savoury and crispy, and are healthy, compared to, say, chips (my other weakness, ugh). I imagine they would be delicious dipped in hummus or guacamole as well.

These crunchy little delights are pretty expensive (around 30kr or RM15 per box of approx 175-225g), though. So I'm looking for a good recipe I can follow to make my own.

So far, I've only come across one recipe with photos and a comparison to Vilmas that assures me it's not the Wasa type of crispbread: Lyxigt knäckebröd

I'm hesitant to try it because my Swedish isn't that good yet, and we don't have a food processor (or is hushållsassistent just a mixer?)... but maybe one day soon I'll get the boyf to help me. He's a bread-making whiz.

(images are from the Vilmas website)

Pan-Fried Spicy Pangasius

Sorry for the long silence, I'm not a very good blogger I'm afraid ;( But I will try to update more often now. Here's a recipe that has become a favourite in our home. Pangasius is cheap and is very mild in flavour and texture, so it goes very well with strong-flavoured spices and sauces. Enjoy! :)

Ingredients
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons powdered paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 cup milk
4 pangasius fillets (or use 1 pound of white fish)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons chives (optional)
2 tablespoons parsley (optional)
Butter and/or olive oil for frying

Method
1) Place flour in a large flattish bowl or deep plate. Add thyme, paprika, cayenne, chili flakes, salt and pepper, and mix till evenly distributed.
2) Pour milk in a large bowl and soak all the fillets in it. Make sure all the fillets are coated with milk.
3) Place a large pan on stove over medium-high heat. Melt some butter and/or heat some olive oil.
4) Take each milk-soaked fillet and place in the flour mix. Do this one fillet at a time. Make sure each fillet is well coated with the flour. Use chopsticks or forks to turn the fillets to avoid rubbing off the coating with your fingers.
5) When the pan is hot but not smoking, fry the fillets one at a time. Cook for a few minutes per side until the coating is golden brown and fish is firm. Add more butter/oil where necessary. Handle the fish carefully as the coating is very delicate (taste won't be affected, but the fillets will look better with all the coating attached). Remove from pan and place on a plate.
6) When all the fillets are done, add lemon juice and capers (and chives/parsley if you're using them) to the pan. Reduce until slightly thickened, for about 1 minute. Pour over fish and serve immediately.

I suggest serving it with blanched vegetables like broccoli and carrots, and perhaps tumeric rice, as I usually do. To make the tumeric rice, I just add 1 tablespoon of tumeric powder into the rice cooker, and half a chicken stock cube.

Tip: I do the flour coat for each fillet just before I fry it. Doesn't take any extra time and you will have less dishes to wash.

Adapted from IDineAlone

Swe-Eng Food Dictionary

I thought of writing down the Swedish names of various ingredients as I discover them, but I figured it's a better idea to put them on this blog. Easier to keep track of and edit ;) Feel free to comment and share!

Anka - Duck (ankan, ankor)
Apelsin - Orange

Bageri - Bakery, baker's shop (bageri(e)t, bagerier)
Bakelse - Pastry, cake (bakelsen, bakelser)
Biff - Steak; also seems to refer to a large meat patty
Bitterapelsin - Bitter orange, Seville orange
Bittermandel - Bitter almond
Björnbär - Blackberry
Bladpersilja - Flat-leaf parsley
Bockhornsklöver - Fenugreek
Bröd - Bread
Bär - Berry (bäret, bär, bären)
Böna - Bean (bönan, bönor)

Cayennepeppar - Cayenne pepper
Chilipulver- Chili powder
Curryblad - Curry leaves

Dadel - Date, the fruit (dadeln, dadlar)
Dinkel - Spelt
Dragon - Tarragon (dragonen)
Druva - Grape (druvan, druvor)
Dryck - Drink
Durra - Sorghum

Emmervete - Emmer wheat, farro
Enbär - Juniper berry. Juniper berries are a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and best known for the primary flavoring in gin. Juniper berry sauce is often a popular flavoring choice for quail, pheasant, veal, rabbit, venison and other meat dishes.

Fast - Firm (of potatoes)
Filmjölk - Swedish fermented milk product similar to cultured buttermilk or kefir; soured milk
Fläsk - Pork
Frukt - Fruit
Fräsch - Fresh
Fänkål - Fennel
Fårkött - Mutton

Glass - Ice cream
Grädde - (Dairy) Cream (grädden)
Gräddfil - Sour cream
Gräslök - Chives
Grönsak - Vegetable (literally, green thing) (-saken, -saker)
Gurkmeja - Tumeric

Havre - Oats
Havregryn - Rolled oats, oat groats
Hirs - Millet
Honung - Honey
Humle - Hops
Hummer - Lobster

Ingefära - Ginger
Inlagd - Pickled

Jordnöt - Peanut, groundnut
Jordgubbe - Strawberry (-gubben, -gubbar)
Julmust - A soft drink (made of carbonated water, sugar, hop extract, malt extract, spices, caramel colouring, citric acid, and preservatives) that is consumed mainly in Sweden and Norway around Christmas. The hops and malt extracts give the must a somewhat beer-like taste, but much sweeter and, since it is not fermented, it contains no alcohol. In Sweden, julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season.

Kaka - Cake, biscuit, cookie (kakan, kakor)
Kanel - Cinnamon
Kardemumma - Cardamom
Kastanj - Chestnut
Kikärta - Chickpea (ärt el. ärta; ärten, ärter (el. ärtan ärtor))
Knäckebröd - Crispbread, or a flat and dry type of bread or cracker, containing mostly rye flour.
Konditori - Café, patisserie (konditori(e)t, konditorier)
Kossa - Cow (kossan, kossor)
Ko - Children's word for cow
Korn - Barley
Kornmjöl - Barley flour
Kornmalt - Barley malt
Krydda - Spice (kryddan, kryddor)
Kummin - Cumin
Kyckling - Chicken
Kök - Kitchen (köket, köken)
Körsbär - Cherry (körsbäret, körsbär, körsbären)
Körvel - Chervil is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. Sometimes called garden chervil, it is used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbes.
Kött - Meat(köttet)

Lagerblad - Bay leaves/laurel
Lakris - Licorice
Lamm - Lamb
Lax - Salmon
Limpa - Loaf (of bread)
Lukt - Smell
Lök - Onion

Makrill - Mackerel (makrillen, makrillar)
Mandel - Almond
Mannagryn - Semolina, cream of wheat
Mat - Food (maten)
Matsked - Tablespoon
Melass - Molasses
Mjöl - Flour
Mjölig(t) - Floury, mealy (of potatoes)
Mjölk - Milk
Morot - Carrot (moroten, morötter)
Munk - Doughnut (munken, munkar)
Muskot/muskotnöt - Nutmeg
Must - A freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. In Sweden, must is very popular, especially during Christmas. See Julmust. (musten, muster)

Nejlika/or - Clove
Nudlar - Noodles
Nötkött - Beef

Ost - Cheese
Oxkött /Oxfilé - Beef, steak
Ört - Herb (örten, örter)

Paprika - Capsicum, pepper, paprika
Paranöt - Brazil nut
Paron - Pear
Pepparrot - Horseradish
Persilja - Parsley (persiljan)
Physalis - Cape gooseberry
Pomerans - Bitter orange, Seville orange
Potatis - Potato

Ris - Rice
Rosmarin - Rosemary
Rotfrukt - Root vegetable
Råg - Rye (rågen)
Rågvete - Triticale
Räk - Shrimp
Rödbeta - Beetroot (-betan, -betor)
Röd vinbär - Red currant
Rökt - Smoked (meats)

Saft - Cordial, squash (drink)
Sagogryn - Sago, pearl sago
Semla - A wheat bun with the top cut off, filled with almond paste (alt. vanilla cream) and lots of whipped cream, then the top is replaced and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Traditionally eaten on Fat/Shrove Tuesday, before Lent.
Senaps - Mustard
Senapsfrö - Mustard seeds (Gult - Yellow, Brunt - Brown)
Sill - Herring (sillen, sillar)
Smak - Flavour, taste (smaken, smaker)
Socker - Sugar
Soppa - Soup, broth
Speltvete - Spelt
Spis - Stove (spisen, spisar)
Svartpeppar - Black pepper
Svart vinbär - Blackcurrant
Sås - Sauce

Tesked - Teaspoon
Timjan - Thyme
Torsk - Cod (torsken, torskar)

Ugn - Oven (ugnen, ugnar)

Vargbär - Wolfberry, also known as goji. Often used in Chinese cooking.
Vete - Wheat
Vinbär - Currant
Vindruva - Grape (-druvan, -druvor)
Vispgrädde - Whipped cream
Vitlök - Garlic
Vitpeppar - White pepper

Äpple - Apple (äpplet, äpplen, äpplena)

Fried Tomyam Meehoon

I love this dish--it's light, easy to make, and soooooo yummy. Also easily customisable to your taste in terms of type of meat and vegetables used. The tomyam paste most probably can be obtained from your local Asian store.

200-300g dried meehoon (rice vermicelli), soaked in water to soften, and drained
cooking oil (I used olive)
2 tbsp tomyam paste
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion or 3 shallots, chopped
approx 300g boneless meat (chicken, beef, prawns, etc), cut into bite-sized slices

optional:
3 tbsp dried shrimps, ground
2 beancurd cakes, fried and sliced
mushrooms, sliced or quartered
carrots, diced/sliced
beansprouts
capsicum, sliced
sugar snaps, halved
(basically, you can add any crisp veg you'd add into a stirfry)

Method
Heat oil in a wok, fry the onions and garlic. Add 1 tbsp of the tomyam paste and saute till fragrant. Put in the meat (and dried shrimps if included), and fry well until meat is cooked. Dish out and set aside. Pour enough fresh oil into the wok to coat the bottom, add the remaining tomyam paste and a little water to dissolve it to a more watery mixture (easier to coat all the noodles with). Add mee hoon, stir-fry until evenly mixed. Toss in the veggies and the meat again, stir till integrated with the noodles, and serve hot.

Serves 4

Pongteh Chicken

This is one of my favourite Nyonya (Straits Chinese) dishes. I think it's usually made with pork--I'm trying to find a butcher in this town to get meat for the pork version (as well as siew yoke or Chinese roast pork). I used to have pongteh with steamed rice quite often at Baba Low, a Nyonya cafe near my ex-office and have been craving it since I moved here. Happily, I think that my recipe tastes just as good as the one in Baba Low. :)

You'll need:
1 kg chicken (with bone) - cut into serving pieces
cooking oil (to cover base of pot)
a few good shakes of good sesame oil
3 large shallots (or about 6 small ones), sliced
half a bulb of garlic, minced
2in piece of ginger, cut into chunks
2 tbsp preserved bean paste
1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce
2 heaping tbsp gula Melaka (if unavailable, use dark muscovado sugar)
approx 3 cups water
3 (starchy) potatoes, peeled/quartered
salt to taste

Method:
Pound shallots, garlic and ginger into a paste. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large pot, add sesame oil, and saute the paste till fragrant. Add preserved bean paste, thick soy sauce, sugar, salt and some water, and stir till well mixed. Add chicken pieces and stir till well coated. Pour in the rest of the water and leave to simmer. When chicken appears cooked, add potatoes. Simmer till sauce is thickened and meat/potatoes are very tender. Add more salt if necessary. Serve with steamed white rice.

Serves 4

Pounding the shallots, garlic and ginger into a paste

Note: You may add Chinese mushrooms (shiitake) if you wish... soak a few dried mushrooms in water till plump and add to the pot with the chicken.

Spiced Hot Chocolate

It's autumn now and I constantly crave hot drinks to help keep me warm. There can be only so many cups of coffee or tea that one can drink... hot chocolate is my favourite non-caffeinated beverage.

You'll need:
1 mug of milk (about 500ml or so, less if you like)
1 heaping teaspoon good quality cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sugar (to taste)
pinch of salt

Optional (one or a combination):
sprinkle of powdered cayenne pepper (adds a delicious heat and zing)
hearty shake of powdered cinnamon (or about 1/8 teaspoon)
about 1/8 teaspoon of powdered cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
glug of flavoured syrup (such as hazelnut, vanilla, etc)

Method:
Gently heat milk in a saucepan. While heating, add cocoa, sugar, pinch of salt and chosen spices, and mix well. Stir constantly, do not allow milk to boil. Once the mixture is hot, pour into serving mug and topped with whipped cream, if desired.

Yield: 1 large mug of hot chocolate

Welcome to Siryn's Kitchen!

Hello there! This is intended to be a sort of bank for my tried-and-tested recipes. I'm a Malaysian who has just moved abroad; now I have the time and a very good reason to cook almost daily - cooking our own meals is a necessity as eating out here is expensive, unlike in Malaysia. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do. :)