What is in a packet of Nasi Lemak?

Illustrated by waiChing

Loosely translated as Fatty Rice, this packet of joy has been an all time favorite for most Malaysian for generations. In fact, it is so popular that this dish is considered to be a national dish. That said, it is also very popular in neighboring countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. 

The basic Malaysian Nasi Lemak consist of aromatically steamed coconut rice topped with a hard boiled egg, fried anchovies, and peanuts along with slices of cucumber and a healthy serving of sambal. 

This popular dish could also be served with a variety of side dishes such as rendang, curry and fried calamari/chicken/beef or any other dish that you may fancy. 

What's a Fruit Cake!

Illustrated by waiChing

It's the time of the year again to be enjoying a good old Christmas Fruit Cake! But hold on, what's the difference between a Christmas fruit cake and a normal fruit cake, you may ask? And we shall answer. The decorations. Yes, the decorations. Put some Christmas decoration to it and it's a Christmas fruit cake. Just in case it's not finished by Chinese New Year (which happen to fall in January this year), glam it up with some red and gold decorations along with mini mandarin oranges and WHAM, a Chinese New Year Fruit Cake. Tadaa!!! Genius. We know.

Jokes aside, fruit cakes traditionally, contain a healthy dose of alcohol but one may make a non-alcoholic version by replacing the alcohol with more lemon juice or anything citrusy for a tangy taste. Perhaps even try some mix spices to add some zest to it. There are a few variety of fruitcakes in the world and the contents of fruits and nuts vary according to the country and available spices. Some are light while others are richer. Pick one that floats your boat. 

As this is the season of sharing, below are the ingredient and methods for a basic non-alcoholic fruit cake. Just so we can share our love around in this multicultural community.

Ingredients:

•      225g self-raising flour
•    110g butter
•    110g sugar
•    225g mixed fruit (almond/ raising/walnuts/cherries/etc)
•    1 egg
•    5 tablespoons milk
•    1 teaspoon mixed spice (optional)

How to:

1. Rub the butter into the flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add sugar and dried fruit as well as mixed spice.
3. Add egg and milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
4. Put into lined 2 lb loaf tin or 6" round cake tin. 
5. Sprinkle demerara sugar over the top and pat down with the back of a spoon for a nice crunchy top
6. Bake for approximately 1hour in a preheated oven at 180 C. Check by inserting in a skewer. If it comes out clean, then it is done.

Make ahead:

Mix the flour, sugar and butter in a mixer with the blade attachment until the breadcrumb stage and then freeze.Remove from the freezer add the rest of the ingredients and bake.

Credit: Ingredients and recipe are slightly altered from allrecipe.co.uk. 

Jujube Ginger Tea

Illustrated by waiChing

Jujube or simply the red dates is packed full of nutritious and benefits including the prevention of insomnia, promote blood circulation, even help reduce anxiety as well as other benefits. But above all the benefits, Jujube is also known to be Asian women's secret to beautiful, healthy skin.

Without further ado, below is a simple recipe, the Above30's version of Jujube Ginger tea. 

Ingredients:

- 6 pitted jujube

- half inch of sliced ginger

- 2 spoon of honey

- 2 glass of water

Other optional ingredients 

- cinnamon stick

- Asian Pear

Instruction:

1. Pour the water into a pot.
2. Placed the jujube and sliced ginger into the pot.
3.  Let it simmer for an hour. You may also add in the cinnamon stick and sliced Asian pear into the concoction.
4. Once done, pour it into the glass and add in the honey for taste.

Jujube tea can also be made simply by placing some sliced jujube into a glass of hot/boiling water and let it steep. The other ingredients are simply to add aroma/taste to it. Try it and indulged in its benefit.