HOW TO MAKE POPIAH GORENG

Figure I could share recipes here, since Ramadhan is coming and I strongly recommend u girls (and guys, of course) to cook ur own meal for berbuka. Trust me, foods at the bazar Ramadhan only look scrumptious physically, u'll break ur heart once u eat them. Of course not all of them, some are as nice as it looks, but for majority of them, pffttt!!!

Besides, we can control our nafsu makan and eat in moderation. Tell me how many of u go to bazar and end up with foods more than u needed, hands up! *raising hand (yup yours truly pon sama)*. Not only you are eating extra calories (not good for the weight peeps, not good), u are also not following the sunnah by not eating in moderation (come on peeps, its Ramadhan, pahala berganda, even tiny deeds count!). Moreover, if the foods are tak sedap not as u prefer it would be, it will end up in the bin. Bukankah membazir itu sahabat syaithonnirrojim?

Ya I know been talking too much apa resepinya? Hihi it is actually a very simple dish that I love sooo damn much, its a favorite tea time kuih for our family. Drumroll please... POPIAH GORENG!! Wuhuuu kuih tersedap di dunia yang fana ini. I know I know its only popiah. But who cares, ramai je yang tak pandai buat kan? Kan?

Popiah goreng that I made during 'stock clearance' theraputic diet kitchen last month. Trust me it is as good as it looks. ;)

So siapa2 yang rasa nak mkn kuih paling sedap dan senang di dunia yang fana ini, check out the recipe:

*note the recipe is to make 40-50 pcs of popiah

Filling:
Taugeh/bean sprout -RM1 (I'm not sure of the weight, biasanya  cakap kat abang pasar nak singggit, and depends on how much popiah u are going to make. and if u dont eat taugeh, u can omit it or substitute with other sayur)
Cabbage -1/4 of the clove if its big (is it clove???hahah), or 1/2 if its small. Me prefer to cut it in long but thin shape
Carrot -1 nos, julienne
2 pcs chicken breast, cut into small pcs
3 pcs tofu (some people used egg. i love tofu more as it is soy products, could lower cholesterol level *not that I am hypercholesterolemia, but its always good to prevent than cure right?)
Garlic and Shallot
Oil to saute (best to use vege oil, its unsaturated fat aka good fat ;))
Salt for seasoning. If u like spicy filling, u can add white pepper
*some people add in udang kering. we never done that. first we dont like the taste. we prefer chicken (more yummy and healthy). second many of us are allergic to udang kering*

And of course popiah skin, never prepare it ourselves, so dont ask me how to make them. Beli je 1 paket got 50 pcs inside *evil grin*

How to make:
Haha. Easy peasy. Cut the cabbage and carrot and chicken breast. Saute the garlic and shallot under medium heat. Add in chicken, then pinch of salt. Cook the chicken until it is light brown, then add in cabbage and carrot, and taugeh (as it are more delicate, masuk last). Press and crumble the tofu (using lesung, or simply own hand -right side, and of course, clean hand) *translation: hancurkan tauhu itu sampai jadi macam scrambled egg. susah betul tulis resipi bahasa omputih ni*. Mix well. Done!

Put the filling in a strainer, strain it first because we dont want the filling to be too moist, it will ruin the popiah skin. Let is cool down before u start roll it, again, we dont want the heat to spoil the popiah skin.

When u are ready to roll, u can mix 1 tbsp of wheat flour with water to make an edible glue (make sure it is thick), to stick the popiah skin together. And remember, to roll it from the corner, not the center. It will make ur popiah looks nicer. ;)

Well while waiting for ur filling to cool down, lets make the popiah sauce shall we? Apa? Is Ija kidding? Popiah sauce? Boleh buat sos sendiri ye?? Haa dont worry adik2 sekalian. Kak Ija ni memang pemalas (kat rumah Ila yang selalu buat) tapi buat sos ni memang senang wal kacang. Ayuh kita tengok bahan2 dan caranya.

Ingredients:
1 paket seringgit dried chili (again am not sure of the weight, 100 g kot)
5 cloves garlic*
1/2 tsp tamarind paste* (some ppl used vinegar. me prefer tamarind paste. i dont like the strong pungent taste of vinegar)
3 tbsp brown sugar* (can use granulated sugar, but brown sugar will give better color to ur sauce)
A pinch of salt*

For ingredients marked *, the amount is not fix, i.e if u prefer sweeter sauce, can add more sugar, prefer more garlic-y taste, can add more garlic, and so on. First u need to blend the dried chili and garlic with water, and yes u can also use the red chili, up to u. But we prefer dried chili as it gives better taste. As for the water, if u prefer thicker sauce, just add a little water, and vice versa. Cook the blended ingredients until boiled, add in tamarind paste, brown sugar and salt to season. Done!

Deep fry the popiah 30 minutes before berbuka, baru la rangup lagi sedap bergaya.  Err u can use blended oil (healthier type of cooking oil), and can use kitchen towel to absorb the oil (cikdietitian feeling guilty for teaching friends to make deep fry kuih :(). Senang bukan? Selamat mencuba.

Tips: If u are only making it for 2-3 persons, u can make the popiah in bulk (ie 1 packet popiah skin =40/50 pcs), keep the rolled unfry popiah in ur chiller as it can be used up to 2-3 days. Just make sure u dont stack them on top of each other, or else it will easily tear apart. Besides, the humidity from ur chiller will ruin the popiah skin. How to store? Just layer the popiah with transparent plastic bag that u has cut according to the container size, before stacking the popiah, and use closed container. Buat hari Ahad, boleh makan sampai hari Selasa. Hari Rabu baru pikir nak buat foods lain muahaha.

Another pic of my popiah, just to motivate u =P

yummeyyyhhh!!!

2012: FIRST HALF

Its July the sixth today. Oh me oh my how fast time flies. Half of the year 2012 has gone. Finish. End. And I am anticipating the second half with patience, hope, doa, and tawakkaltu ‘alallah.

On Family

Abah is still working, I think his work is more demanding now that they extend the shift. People get really pissed off when there is blackout eyy. Working in bahagian kerosakan TNB (faultfinder it is), its his job to attend to any break down or shut down. Kesian abah. Mak is having difficulties to move due to OA. Knee and joint pain. And I don’t dare to do SGA to her (SGA is Subjective global assessment, to assess nutritional status). I believed she is mildly malnourished, as evidenced by the lost of wt and signs of muscle wasting, and inadequate intake due to LOA *sigh*. But that being said, they still the greatest parent in the world (So does your parent to u peeps! every child will say that about their parent right? Because they are!). Whenever we go back home mak still cook the best meal to us, and abah still got time to attend to us. Aren’t they the best? ;).  Allahummaghfirli waliwalidayya warhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira.

My beloved family during ila's convo, with nek as well, and without awi, of course.

On the other note, Syauqi and Eyin is getting cuter and smarter. Dah start cakap sikit2, dah pandai pilih makan, dah pandai merajuk, and what not. Syauqi is more manja, and Eyin is more adventurous. But both are tremendously adorable! Hehe.

Cubaan eyin tolak stroller syauqi

Ila has graduated, finished her bachelor in accounting, and happily working now, Awi has started his clinical year, and Adik pursue STPM. May Allah ease all my siblings in anything we do and murahkan rezeki kita. Amin.

Three stooges always want their pix together. oh there's extra cast there. syahida/la/za/uqi

On Work

We don’t have students tagging with us for the second semester, but that doesn’t mean we just sit back and do nothin’. Yes the workload is lighter compared to last semester, but there are still things to do. Heh. And I think I did lots of assessment this sem. Final year’s case study presentation, second year’s tutorial case study ppt, therapeutic diet viva, clinical viva, and bedside exam.

Besides the usual outpatient clinic at KK, me and Miya also went for attachment at HOSHAS, to polish up our clinical skill. Ye la, kita budak baru, tak terel, kena la belajar. And I just finished my 1 month attachment there. At first I was so reluctant to go there, supermalas! Of course Allah knows better. It has been a great one month! The best part of it is I get to live with mak abah for a month, just like the old time. I stayed at my parent’s place at Jengka, took about 45 minutes duration from rumah mak abah to hoshas. Pergi kerja breakfast kat rumah (of course prepared by mom tehee), salam mak abah, balik kerja indulged with mom’s cook. Rasa macam zaman sekolah maahad dulu. Hihi. I’m a happy kid!

On Personal Life

As the name implies, its personal.. ;). But again, I’m a happy kid. ;)

p/s ignore the vids. I memang helpless romantic ok hewhewhew!

On other trivial matter

Yesterday was the nisfu Syaaban, the mid of Syaaban. It is when our book of amal is brought up, and a new book is open. Lets pray to be a better person, a better Muslim. Semoga berbuat lebih banyak kebaikan dari keburukan. Talking about doing assessment to students earlier, dont ever forget that Allah is also assessing us. A little reminder to the little me as well. And of course when it comes to Syaaban, it means that Ramadhan is approaching. Semoga kita dipanjangkan umur untuk bertemu Ramadhan kali ini. Amin.