Craig Cooks

everyday experiments with food

Navigation
  • Asian
    • Malaysian
  • Baking
    • Bread
  • BBQ
  • Fruit
  • Meat
    • Lamb
    • Pork
  • Mexican
  • Pasta
  • Pizza
  • Poultry
  • Seafood
  • Vegetarian
    • Salads
  • Dairy
    • Cheese
  • Dessert
    • Ice Cream
You are here: Home / Archives for craig

Making Roti Jala

December 14, 2017 by craig Leave a Comment

I’ve just made Roti Jala so I thought I’d post in more detail about this. This is a Malaysian lattice pancake that is used to soak up the sauce of a meal. Tonight we ate it with a Chicken Kapitan Curry and some stir-fried vegetables.

We first ate Roti Jala when we visited Malaysia in 2013. When I returned I was desperate to get a roti jala cup, and tried in a few directions, ending up with three! The metal one was brought back from Malaysia by my friend Titus on his first home visit there in years. If you can’t get a cup, the roti gurus just use one cone with a small hole in it! Or you could make holes in a tin can.

I have two quite different recipes for the batter. The first came on the packet of one of the pouring cups.

2 eggs
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 -1 tsp turmeric powder

Sift the flour, salt and turmeric powder together. Whisk the eggs, then gradually beat them into the flour. Slowly add the coconut milk, beating to get a smooth consistency.

Strain the mixture. Test it with the cup and add more water or flour until you get a smooth flow through the nozzles.

Recipe #2 has more eggs and less coconut and it is here. It comes from Ong Jin Teong’s “Penang Heritage Food.”

You can decide whether you like your roti with more coconut or egg.

You’ll see from the video below that it is easiest to keep something under the roti cup. The mixture will settle, so keep stirring it before you fill the cup each time, otherwise you will need to thin the batter with water towards the end.

Here’s a short video of me from the other night.

 

Making Roti Jala from Craig Mitchell on Vimeo.

I will confess that on this occasion I bought a jar of curry paste. It was a good decision as the curry was excellent and transported us back to Malaysia. It gave me a better idea of what to aim for when I make the curry from scratch in future.

Good luck hunting for a roti jala cup!

Filed Under: Asian, Malaysian

Smoked Tomato Achiote Pork

December 10, 2017 by craig Leave a Comment

Tonight I put a Mexican twist on a Spanish roast pork dish.

The pork leg was studded with slices of 3 cloves of garlic. The pork was put in the following marinade for only a couple of hours and should have been longer.

Marinade
50g tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 1/2 tbsp achiote paste
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
A generous pinch of ground cloves (maybe 1/8 tsp?)

The measurements above are approximate.

Achiote paste is from the annatto plant – a peppery spice. I keep a block of it in the fridge. It has an intense red colour but is mild in terms of heat. Great with pork or fish (or chicken…)

The pork was barbecued with sprigs of fresh oregano from our garden and smoked with some hickory. The fresh herb adds a wonderful aroma to the meat.

I use a Thermoworks ChefAlarm probe to check the temperature. It is a fantastic tool. I use it every time I BBQ.

Served up with a warm salad of charred zucchini, baked cherry tomatoes, charred red onion, mango, baked carrot (really! It was OK), smoked corn and coriander. (I forgot the lettuce and other leaves that I had picked from our garden…) Plus a wedge of lime to give the salad some tang. And some home-made BBQ sauce on the side if people needed it.

I cooked the pork crackling separately in the oven.  The roast leg had plenty of time to rest (which I usually fail to allow). The pork was crisp on the outside and moist in the middle. Perfect.

I must say this tasted fantastic. This is a winner recipe that I will tweak and repeat. I will probably add some chilli to the marinade…

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Filed Under: BBQ, Pork

Orange, Beetroot and Fig Salad

December 10, 2017 by craig Leave a Comment

Here’s the first of the summer salads.

3 beetroots baked with olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar, sliced thinly
2 oranges, peeled and sliced
3 figs, each cut into 6 wedges
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 1/2 tsp sumac
1  1/2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
Pomegranate seeds
Goats chevre
Chopped parsley and coriander
Pomegranate syrup (drizzled on top after the photo was taken)

It’s colourful and tastes fantastic. You could substitute good quality dates for the figs.

Filed Under: Salads, Vegetarian

Haloumi and Goat Curd

August 19, 2017 by craig Leave a Comment

This past week I’ve made goat curd and haloumi for the first time.

The goat curd is pretty easy.

4 litres of goat milk

1 sachet of cheese culture for goat chèvre (mine came from Green Living Australia). This is who I get most of my cheese supplies from. However Udder Delights shop in Hahndorf also sell stuff from Mad Millie in New Zealand, so I can easily pop over there and pick up some culture!

The culture that I have came from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

I have a 4 litre easy that I use to keep my milk solution warm.

  • 1 pot with lid
  • 1 esky
  • 1 colander
  • 1 slotted metal spoon
  • Muslin
  • Thermometer

… 

Read More »

Filed Under: Cheese, Dairy

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 23
  • Next Page »
SEARCH FOR RECIPES

THE COOK

I cook in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The region is similar to the Mediterranean, with temperate climate, fertile hills, nearby ocean, wonderful local vegetables, fruit, wine and meat produced locally. We're gradually shaping a backyard garden with cherry, peach, almond, citrus, olive, pomegranate and fig trees, vegetables and herbs. Cooking has been a growing passion for me, about connecting culture, creativity, community and spirit.

Photos taken on iPhone 4 and 5 using Hipstamatic and a Canon 5D Mk III.

CONNECT

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

RECENT COMMENTS

  • craig on Cheese-making
  • Joan Kirk on Cheese-making
  • Making Roti Jala – Craig Cooks on Roti Jala
  • Adán Medrano on ZUCCHINI & SMOKED SALMON ‘PASTA’

COOKBOOKS

Heart and Soul

Made In Italy

Plenty

LINKS

Craig's Recipes and Food Experiments
Nibble Me This
Ottolenghi Recipes
Souvlaki for The Soul
Good Food
Adan Medrano
Plant-based Munchies
What Katie Ate
Herbie's Spices
Smitten Kitchen
David Lebovitz
She Simmers
Chocolate and Zucchini
SBS Food
Pete Evans' Recipes

Copyright © 2018 · Foodie Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress