Recipes & Cooking

Three-Cup Squid (三杯小卷)

Three-Cup Squid (三杯小卷)

I love squid but I hate cooking squid. There is just too much work when it comes to squid—peeling off the membrane, removing the ink, and so forth. I had so many “accidents” when the squid ink squirted all over my clothes and face, and it really wasn’t pleasant, and I would smell like a squid no matter how hard I…

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Squid with Black Bean Sauce

Squid with Black Bean Sauce

My cookbook manuscript is due in the next few days and I am very happy—and relieved—that I am almost done, well, at least the toughest part: cooking, shooting, writing, recipe testing, and editing. To prep me for the writing part of my cookbook, I have read and researched many Chinese cookbooks in the past few months. One of my recent…

Sambal Tumis Sotong (Squid Sambal)

Sambal Tumis Sotong (Squid Sambal)

A few weeks ago, I discovered a Malay food blog, Selera Malaysia. I love Malay food as much as I love my Penang hawker food (street food), Chinese, and Nyonya food. One of  the signature Malay recipes is sambal tumis or sauteed sambal, which is the building block for many mouthwatering and appetizing Malay and Nyonya dishes. Please welcome Selera…

Squid Curry Recipe (Indian Gulai Sotong Recipe)

Squid Curry Recipe (Indian Gulai Sotong Recipe)

My parents are huge fans of nasi kandar–a type of Mamak/Indian-Muslim food consists of steamed rice with a variety of curries and other side dishes. (Click here and here for a peek of a nasi kandar restaurant and its many colorful dishes.) When I was little, my parents would always take me to nasi kandar restaurants. I remember vividly their…