Ayam Brand, a family name that many of us have grown up with is proud to jointly present Singapore Memory Project – Memory Maker Series with the National Library Board. From Malay dishes, to traditional Teochew delicacies and even some Singapore Snacks, this meaningful project seek to capture and create precious food memories for Singaporeans. With my Ang Mo friend visiting from Scotland, I thought it would be a great opportunity to expose him to Asian cooking and try out some of our popular local dishes at Ayam Brand Culinary Lab. All recipes are created by our Culinary Instructor, Mdm Tay Tong San. You should also read about our stint with Curry Chicken Bun too!
Nasi Lemak
What is Nasi Lemak without the fragrant Coconut Rice! You will need the following ingredients:
– 600g of rice
– 425g of water
– 200ml of AyamBrand Coconut Milk
– 1 tsp of salt
– 1 bunch of pandan leaves
Our culinary instructor, Mdm Tay Tong San has kindly prepare the coconut rice for us (maybe its too simple to even teach!) using the steps below.
1. Cook rice with the water and coconut milk.
2. Once the rice is ready, mix in salt and pandan leaves.
3. Let the pandan leaves flavor seep into the rice for 10 minutes before serving.
Next, we prepare the Sambal Chilli with Tuna with these ingredients:
Group A
– 50g small onion
– 20g garlic
– 5 candlenuts
– 10g turmeric
– 10g galangal
– 1⁄2 tbsp of coriander powder
– 1 stalk lemongrass
– 1 tbsp oil
– 15g dried chilli
Group B
– 50g oil
– 2 cans of Ayam Brand Tuna in Spicy Oil
– 11⁄2 tbsp sugar
– 1 tbsp ketchup
– 1⁄2 jar of Ayam Brand Red Curry Paste
First, we blend all ingredients from Group A in a food processor. Next we add oil into wok and fry the blended ingredients till it becomes fragrant.
Finish it off with Group B – 2 cans of Ayam Brand Tuna in Spicy Oil, Curry Paste, Sugar, Ketchup and we have a looker here!
Next we move on to creating the Achar which involves a whole lot of washing, slicing and dicing. Once that is done, these poor vegetables undergo an extensive drying process before making their way to Mdm Tay’s pot.
The zesty pineapple added a happy dash of yellow to the colourful mixture.
After a good mix, sprinkle sesame and grounded roasted peanut and we are done!
With that done, we turn our attention to the Sardine Otak Otak. You will need the following ingredients:
– 100g minced fish
– 1 tsp coriander powder
– 10g galangal
– 5g turmeric
– 20g dried chilli paste
– 3 candlenuts
– 2 garlics
– 5 small onions
– 1 stalk of lemongrass
– 1 tbsp oil
– 50ml Ayam Brand coconut milk
– 1 can of Ayam Brand Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Chilli
– 1⁄2 piece of egg
– 1 tbsp of sugar
– 2 tbsp of corn flour
– 2 pieces of lime leaves
To prepare the fish paste, we have to blend the galangal, turmeric, dried chilli paste, candlenuts, garlic, small onions, lemon grass and oil. Next, we heat up the oil and fry these blended ingredients till they are fragrant. Put the blended ingredients aside till cooled before adding minced fish, sardines, coriander powder, coconut milk, sugar, corn flour, egg, kaffir leaves and mix this concoction into a paste. Place this paste onto a piece of banana leave.
Pin up the paste firmly using tooth picks and they are ready for baking!
After baking at 200ºC for 12 minutes, our Otak Otak are ready to be served!
To complete the meal, we will be making Corn Kueh! You will need the following ingredients:
Group A
– 90g of Hun flour (Mung Bean flour)
– 270ml of Ayam Brand Coconut milk
Group B
– 100g of sugar
– 360ml of water
– 4 stalks of pandan leaves
Group C:
– 1 can of Ayam Brand Cream Corn ( filter, removing the corn)
Group D:
– 50g of Ayam Brand Whole Kernel Corn
We have to first mix the ingredients in Group A thoroughly and put them aside. Boil the ingredients in Group B.
Add in the cream from Group C before adding in our pre-mixed items from Group A. Once that is done, add in the corn from Group D and stir well. Remove the pandan leaves
before you start pouring the mixture into moulds.
Just leave the mould in the fridge for an hour to solidify it!
Scotts is beaming with pride after he assembles his creations together! We will be seeing Singaporean cuisine in Scotland soon!
Cooking is hard work but the satisfaction of tasting your own creation (no matter how ugly they look) is priceless. Thank you Mdm Tay for the wonderful guidance. 🙂
Final group photo of all the participants for our own memories.
All recipes are created by our Culinary Instructor, Mdm Tay Tong San. You should also read Part 1 of our session on Curry Chicken Buntoo!