From the moment my mom knows that I’m pregnant, she has told me to drink air kacang hijau (boiled mung bean water) because she said it’s good and beneficial for the baby. After I did some research, apparently mung bean really is nutritious. So instead of just drinking the water (from the boiled mung beans), I went a bit further and made this bubur kacang hijau (mung bean porridge).

Bubur kacang hijau is definitely one comforting dish, suitable for snacks as well as desserts. It can also be served either hot or cold. While some people like to mix the coconut milk straight away into the dish but I prefer to add the coconut milk just before I eat the meal. I treat the coconut milk like sauce and of course, everyone has different preference for his sauce.

If you’re in need for a comforting dish, this would be the one. Otherwise, you can try my bubur ketan hitam (black glutinous rice) recipe here.

Bubur Kacang Hijau

• 1 cup mung beans
• 3/4 cup palm sugar, thinly sliced
• a pinch of salt
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 pandan leaf

Instructions

1. In a pan, boil mung beans with pandan leaf and water. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Add more water if necessary, until the beans are completely soft and cooked.
3. Once cooked, add salt and palm sugar. When the sugar is completely melted, take off heat.
4. In a small pan, heat coconut milk and add a pinch of salt. Once boiled, take off heat.
5. Serve bubur kacang hijau in a bowl and drizzle with coconut milk to taste.

Kangkong or water spinach is my brother’s all time favourite and we always have it every time we eat seafood. This time however, my brother wasn’t here but I took it as a practice for when my brother come to town. We did have chilli garlic prawn (recipe here) to go with this kangkong and together they’re yum! One important note for this stir fry is to have everything ready to go in the pan to avoid overcooking the kangkong and turning it dark. Other than that, this definitely is a quick one pan dish for a busy night.

Kangkong stir fry with quail eggs

• 2 bunch kangkong, cut
• 10 quail eggs
• 3 garlic cloves, cut
• 3 shallots, minced
• 4 chillies
• 4 tablespoon fish oil
• 2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• A pinch of salt, to taste
• A pinch of black pepper, to taste
• Sugar, to taste
• Oil, to stir fry
• 50 ml water

Instructions

1. Boil quail eggs for 5 minutes for hard boiled eggs, or less if preferred
2. Heat up oil in a pan and stir fry garlic, shallot and chilli until fragrant
3. Add kangkong and the rest of the ingredients to pan, quickly mix the kangkong well.
4. Add quail eggs and take the pan off the heat as soon as the kangkong is cooked.

During our groceries errand last week, I bumped into eggplants and was stunned by their tiny shapes comparing to the eggplants I used to buy back in Melbourne. I remembered still having some chillies at home so I decided to cook terong balado (eggplant in chilli sauce). Balado is traditionally from Padang, West Sumatera and words have it that Padangnese use chilli for everything; fish, potato, chicken or basically everything that they fried. In Padang, lado means chilli and so balado means using chilli. The spiciness can be adjusted to your preference but what would a chilli sauce be if it’s not spicy? This dish is also not the healthiest dish due to the deep frying of the eggplant but if you prefer,  you could grill or stir fry the eggplant.

Terong Balado / Eggplant in Chilli Sauce

• 5 eggplants, halves and cut into 3
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cm galangal, minced
• oil, to deep fry & stir fry

For chilli sauce:

• 5 shallots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 5 chillies
• 1 tomato
• a pinch of salt, to taste
• sugar, to taste

Instructions

1. Deep fry the eggplants until cooked. To know if they’re cooked, test if the surface has turned soft and tender. Once done, lined eggplants on paper towel to reduce the oil.
2. While eggplant is fried, mixed all chilli sauce ingredients and grind them using mortar and pestle until we reach paste consistency. You could also use food processor, but don’t overdo it to avoid turning it to puree.
   
3. Stir fry chilli mix paste with bay leaves and galangal until fragrant
4. Add eggplants to the chilli paste and mix well
5. Take off the heat and it’s ready to be served with a bowl of warm rice