Acar Awak - MFF Penang #2

I love acar  awak.

The one I grew up eating was similar to the one by Rasa Malaysia, that is vegetarian with no belacan and dried shrimp, and consist of only the basic 5 vegetables. I couldn't decide on an exact recipe to follow because a lot of recipes do differ from one to another, but the basic idea is the same, hot and sourish pickled vegetables with lots of peanuts and sesame.

Coral Seaweed Kerabu - MFF Sabah #6

The Semporna Islands off Tawau are flourishing with seaweed farms.
The cultivated seaweed is sold either in fresh or dried form with only the dried form out of state.

Coral seaweed is also fondly called Sea Bird's Nest as they are also rich in collagen, the protein responsible for beautiful taut skin. The seaweed has no taste on its own, but readily takes on any flavour it is being infused with.

Pickled Cabbage and Vegetables - Chinese Cabbage #3

freshly pickled, still vibrant

My MIL loves eating pickles, and so I made this jar of pickles to be served during reunion dinner as an appetizer.

Today's post is going to be short as I can't wait to be on break. LOL.

I used chinese cabbage, red radish, carrots, cucumber and chillies for this pickle. I wanted a pretty colour combination. The red radish's skin lost its pigment after pickling, sadly..but still has a pink hue

Pickled Papaya - Full Moon # 2

One of the favs of full moon!!

Some look forward to pork trotters vinegar. Some look forward to turmeric rice with curry chicken. Some look forward to pickled young ginger. But most look forward to pickled papaya.

I guess pickled papaya is a local full moon fare. I don't think in China this is served. Do papayas grow there? I don't know, but it's like anywhere and everywhere here (besides in the concrete jungle of course). Throw some seeds onto the ground and few months later, you can pick papayas off the tree. They're one of the cheapest fruits around.

Pickled Young Ginger - Full Moon # 1

One of the must haves for Full Moon. The only ginger that my hubby likes. He is a ginger hater, but he loves pickled ginger.

It sounds easy to make pickled ginger. But it's not easy to make nice tasting pickled ginger. I've tasted quite a lot of not so nice ones before. Either too salty, too fiery, or not sourish enough or not enough sugar. One must be daring enough to put in vinegar and sugar. Not enough of either and the ginger taste somewhat off balanced. And the process is important too, and if not, the ginger will be too fiery.