Beetroot Fried Rice
Oh my, what can I say about fried rice? I can’t remember any point in my life when I was devoid of it! One of my go-to meals to whip up in the kitchen, fried rice is a fantastic way to use leftover plain rice…
Oh my, what can I say about fried rice? I can’t remember any point in my life when I was devoid of it! One of my go-to meals to whip up in the kitchen, fried rice is a fantastic way to use leftover plain rice…
A little known fact about my local tastebud inclinations is that I have always loved me a good Kam Heong dish. Like Malaysian Butter Sauce, Kam Heong is also a sauce unique to Malaysia, an explosive amalgamation of ingredients from Indian, Malay and Chinese culinary…
I’ve been a proponent of the term, “Do what you love, love what you do” for some years. I’ve been blessed with an education in Communications that was generic enough to allow me to explore so many kinds of work – in radio, writing and…
APA KHABAR!
I’m Davina Goh, a performer and plant-based lifestyle advocate.
I’m based in Malaysia, and “Apa Khabar?” means “How are you?” in Bahasa. Welcome to my page!
I had previously been using social media to post pictures of the food I was making. My friends, excited about my creations, began to bug me to get a blog going. So here it is, finally! This is my space to share recipes, green living tips, and places to find great plant-based food in the Klang Valley, where I live, and aim to expand this to other countries I get to travel to.
A little known fact about my local tastebud inclinations is that I have always loved me a good Kam Heong dish. Like Malaysian Butter Sauce, Kam Heong is also a sauce unique to Malaysia, an explosive amalgamation of ingredients from Indian, Malay and Chinese culinary styles.
Directly translated from a Cantonese as ‘Golden and Aromatic’, this sauce is a chunky, amalgamation of lemongrass, candlenuts, curry powder, curry leaves and bird’s eye chili. Seriously, whoever first came up with this combination deserves a Nobel Prize. It was a must-order whenever the family headed out for a weekend dinner ‘tai chow’ style at the neighborhood coffee shop. (This style typically has elements of red tablecloth, Chinese-style dishes cooked in a large wok with a large fire and in an excessively casual presentation served with fluffy white rice, and everyone’s cutlery being given in a large bowl filled with boiling hot water for sanitation’s sake.)
For Kam Heong, the most common meat it is cooked with is chicken and local clams. The thing that makes traditional Kam Heong not vegan is the dried shrimp that lends a chewiness and umami element to this dry-style sauce. I’ve replaced shrimp with simple textured soy protein (TSP), also known as textured vegetable protein (TSP). You can easily find this via online shopping channels. It’s better to choose a chunky variety, the one typically used to make vegan bolognese. If only have access to the smaller pebble-type of textured soy protein, this would work too, but you may have to be careful about burning it during the cooking texture because of its smaller surface area.
The one thing you may notice is that this is a dry sauce. I feel that the dryness varies from restaurant to restaurant. I’ve made it drier than what one may expect so that it keeps better in the fridge if you’re storing it. Mine has lasted close to a month! You can use it right away after cooking it, and add splashes of water or diluted cornstarch slurry as you go along if you would like to get a little bit of gravy going on. You can do the same when you take it straight out of the fridge.
All the photos here show what it looks like without including bird’s eye chili, because I personally don’t take so much spicy food. But to be honest, it is quite a standout component of this sauce, so I’d definitely encourage you to put the chili in if the both of you have a good history together.
You can cook it as a stir fry with your favourite mushroom, vegetable or beans. And if you’re up for adding this sauce to firm tofu, I’ve also added a great method of preparing tofu so that it soaks up the sauce much better than normal tofu.
Freezing it not once but TWICE before cooking results in a spongier, ‘meatier’ tofu that some people say reminds them of the mouthfeel of chicken. I personally don’t detect this chickenness at all, but I do agree that it has a LOT of bite and is a fun way to add extra texture to your meal.
I hope you enjoy this complexly tasteful sauce and tofu combo together with your loved ones. My Mum approves of it, and I hope yours does too!
With its exciting combination of textures and flavours, this uniquely Malaysian sauce will create unforgettable stir-fries.
This ingenious way of preparing tofu adds extra sponginess, texture and bite, and readily soaks up the complex flavours of Kam Heong Sauce.
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