Yay dats me today making Otak Otak!!! OMG can u believe I made Otak Otak without looking at a recipe book of any sort?? Yaaay!! Ahahaha!! OMG I look like a big fat dumb muffin... egadz!!
Wad u need is good ol fresh Lemongrass (I was reluctant to get it at first but then yea finally bought it) Onion, Garlic (all in the picture) Plus various herbs - Tumeric, Coriander Powder, Belachan, Kafir Lime Leaves, Chili Paste, n some other stuff (not telling) ahahaah!! Cant reveal all my stuff rite. Besides, NO MSG, NO Artificial stuff wadsoever ok.
Good ol'fashioned Pestel n Mortar. U could always use a blender of course, think it would be much better. But think of how u gonna CLEAN ur blender after using it on stuff like this!! Ahaha!! Crush all the Garlic, Shallots, Lemongrass, Kafir Lime Leaves together. Then mix with the Coriander Powder, Tumeric Powder, Chili Paste, Coconut Cream n Belachan. Up to u if u wanna add any preferred ingredients. I rarely use salt, but use Fish Sauce as a salt replacement, something I learnt from Hans Cafe long ago. Gyaah!!
While waiting for the sky to rain fire... bring the water to boiling point and blanch the banana leaves. Simply dunk it into the water until it becomes somewhat more pliable, then rinse with considerable amounts of cold running water. This makes the leaves less 'crispy' and hence easier to fold the Otak Otak in later.
Now u probably wont get this idea from recipes u find online, but it is always a great idea to Cook-Out your spices to bring out its full flavour before using it as a marinade. Bet not many ppl told u this one before? Cuz they dont wan u to know! Duhh.. ahaha!!
Lastly scoop out pieces of marinated fish pieces (of course you could blend the fish with the marinade into a paste and then it'll be REAL Otak Otak, up to your preference and how much time u have to make it) into banana leaves. And using toothpicks simply poke into the ends and seal the fish inside. You could always use a stapler or power drill but really the metal shavings dontalways go down too well when swallowing...
Finally its all prepped up and ready to be steamed to perfection. Mama mia!!
To make a Tomatoe 'Rose', this one takes a bit of practice. And after a while of not doing it I kinda stuffed up on all three occasions. Ahahaha!! Simply use a really sharp paring knife, cut skin all along the whole tomatoe and make sure u dun break the line! Must be demonstrated live to make any sense of wad I'm saying. Or perhaps a particular Xin Yi could explain better? Cuz she's probably the only one I've seen who can do it as well. Ahahah!! Jean made a different type of flower... a bit like a rafflesia. The following pic should be what it should somehow look like.
L-R Me, Jennifer, Jon Lee, Adrian, Qiao Ru. Dishes are the Otak Otak, Vietnamese Sour Spicy Soup, and my signature Tumeric Chicken Zuccini stir fry. I created that one myself ahaha.
Left Pic - dunno why this pic is taken sideways. Rockmelon + Honeydew kebabs with Coconut Mmmm cool stuff. This kind of 'dessert' is the best cuz its presentable, hence making it more appetizing when its in reality simple fruit. A better way to get your daily intake of fresh greens eh. Once again, creativity is the key.
This is me and Sherene Saw (SS??). Always good to have some humour after a day of slaving. She is also the owner of Ruskie my personal trainer. Dis one Penang mali sia. Well that concludes my post for the time being, till next time then...