Black Pepper Beef - A Malaysian Favourite

Black Pepper Beef is a favourite dish that you find in Chinese restaurants in Malaysia. A lot of the Chinese food over here is different from what you would typically find elsewhere, primarily because it has been influence by the local spices as well as the different cultures found in Malaysia. Many restaurants serve a variant of Black Pepper Beef using Venison or even Ostrich Meat.

This dish is a perennial favourite whenever we eat out at Chinese Restuarants - especially with the kids. The only problem with eating out at these restuarants is, more often than not, a lot of MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate - a taste enhancer) is added. Although the food is delicious, it kind of leaves a dry feeling in your mouth and well, anything that acts as a food enhancer cant be very good for you can it!


I didn't buy a whole lot of beef as I actually had something else in mind to make which I just didnt have the time to do. So in order to make sure that the beef was used fresh, I decided on Black Pepper Beef. This is what I did.

250g beef sirloin or other lean cut
1 inch ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dark soy sauce
Loads of black pepper

Method
Slice the beef into thin strips.Chop the garlic and slice the ginger into thin strips. Sautee the ginger and garlic and then add in lots and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Add the beef and cook well before adding the dark soy sauce and a little bit of water. Allow to simmer till meat is nice and tender. Garnish with chopped red chillies.

I must say it turned out very well inded! I served it on a bed of lettuce, much like how they do it in the restaurants. Everyone loved it, especially the kids, so I guess this will become yet another favourite at home!

Yee Mee - Cantonese Style Noodles

One of the great things about Malaysian food is its multicultural-ity (yeah, I know there's probably no such word but who cares - you get what I mean). You get so many different kinds of food that you sometimes dont know where to start - or where to stop for that matter!
One thing that the kids love are noodles. Oodles of Noodles! And that is one thing that we have an abundance of in this country. Lots and lots and lots of different kinds of noodles. One of our favourites is the Cantonese Style Yee Mee. Mee (or Min) is the chinese word for Noodles and Yee Mee is a particular kind of noodle that is fried to make it crispy before covering or smothering it in sauce - but the noodles are still sort of crispy-ish . You can get the prepacked, prefried variety
at supermarkets.


Last Saturday, my wife made her own version of Cantonese Yee Mee. We normally just go down to the local hawker or chinese shop and order this as its cheap and yummy but we all know there is nothing better than home cooked food don't we. Especially since it wont be laden with MSG!

The version you normally get in the shops uses pork, prawns and squid but my wife uses loads and loads of fishballs, taufoo (beancurd) and chicken strips. Cantonese Yee Mee has an egg sauce as its base and is slightly soupy before the noodles soak up all the lovely sauce.

There's no real recipe to this as its all just a matter of taste really. Also you can add in as much ingredients as you like. Use Prawns, Chicken, Pork, whatever you like basically. This is the general idea

Ingredients:

1 packet Yee Mee (usually makes 5 servings)
4 cloves garlic - chopped
300g Chicken Fillet - cut into strips
200g fishballs
100g Dried Taufoo
1 bunch Mustard Leaves (Daun Sawi) - cut into large pieces
Corn Flour for thickening
Light Soya Sauce
Water
2 Eggs - beaten

Method:
Fry the garlic. Add the chicken and fry till cooked. Add in fishballs, taufoo and mix well till cooked. Add in mustard leaves and stir till wilted. Add in Soya Sauce and about 2 cups water to form a sauce to taste. Add some corn flour mixed with a little water to thicken. Ensure there is enough sauce to cover and soak the noodles. Bring to a boil.


Add in beaten eggs and stir quickly. Add in the noodles and spoon the sauce over it to cover the noodles completely and soften it.


Its delicious. Especially eaten with some Chilli Padi (Birds Eye Chillis).


This is a closeup of the birds eye chilli


My son loves his noodles as you can well see!


This is also my entry for Presto Pasta Nights hosted by my friend Ruth at Once Upon a Feast. She did say it didn't have to be Italian Pasta and any kind of Pasta/Noodles will do!! Hope you enjoy it.