Love from Mom's Kitchen.

I was sitting with my eldest daughter on my dining table last Sunday, she was enjoying my Asam Pedas Ikan Terubok with Pineapple, and she ask me for the 100times how to cook asam pedas!
We are so busy everyday with our work and own family that we seldom have time to be in my kitchen together to sharing any of my mother's recipes......so today I will share with you karen, my life in my mother's kitchen.

My mother was gone before I was 17, but by then I have learn quite a number of my family's favourite recipe.
I remember I was barely 6 when I showed much interest in cooking. I used to stand on a stool by my mom's stove [ those times charcoal stove] to watch her cook everyday without fail.
So far , I've never had the pleasure of seeing any of my three daughters showing any interest to learn to cook or in watching me cook!

I was 8 and I was helping mom to prepare ingredients for her cooking. Peeling onions,(without fail daily ,there will be tears) slicing serai and kunyit, soaking dried red chillies and pounding them to make chilli paste for asam pedas or gulai tumis. That was my normal task in her kitchen,not that I was force to but I loved to help.

Each day there will be a pot of good soup , fish dishes or curry and fried vegetables served on her dining table . I had plenty to learn and I dare say I learned well .

By 10 I learn to cooked my first vegetable dish.....fried long beans with shrimp.
By 12 I cooked my first Assam Pedas .
I remember I cooked my own lunch before going to school when I was 13 ....not many kids these days get the chance to do that!!!!
Not that I have any choice but 2 of my sisters were married then and the other 2 were attending morning classes and I was the only one in the afternoon session...( for the record , I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters) so my mom will help me cook lunch before going to school.

Because I was such a good cook I was married early...at 20 ( kakaakaka)!! And I was cooking for my own family until now..... and now I only cook dinner , and sometimes weekends IF I am home!
Ok Karen , here's my Asam Pedas recipe. The easiest of all!

Asam Pedas Fish and Pineapple.
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Ingredients A

10 big dried chillies
5 chilli melaka
6-8 shallots
3 pips garlic
3 stalk serai
1'' fresh kunyit
1 piece belachan

Ingredient B

6-8 ikan kembong or 1 ikan terubok cut into 3 pcs , season with salt.
1 pineapple peeled cut into 2" pcs
1 lump asam java or 5pcs assam keping
1 bunga kantan quartered
daun kesum or cendahom

msg,salt and a little sugar to taste.

Method:
1. Put ingredient A into blender with a little water and grind until fine and put them into a pot of water . Bring to boil .

2. Add the sliced pineapple ,bunga kantan, asam java juice or the assam keping and continue boiling for about 15 to 20 mins.

3. Add the fish and boil for another few mins. Throw in the daun kesum .

4. And finally add a dash msg, salt and sugar to taste.

5 Serve hot and spicy

Tips for delicious Asam pedas ...must be spicy and sour enough. If too sour add a little more
sugar. TRY ! TRY ! and TRY Again ! Hopefully one day your Asam Pedas will taste like mine!

Happy Cooking children!!!!

Next will be Nyonya pork belly meat cook in black sauce ( tau ewe bak). Can you fry Crispy long beans with shrimps????

Love from Mom's Kitchen.