The Pongteh Chronicles

I recently made dinner for a group of friends. I thought I'd go back to my Nyonya roots and cook up some traditional Nyonya dishes. For those uninitiated to Nyonya cooking, it consists of a heady blend of spices and promises full flavour and satiety.


The dinner menu was to consist of five dishes, four of which were to be cooked by yours truly, and one contribution from the host of the venue. I decided to make babi pongteh, ikan chili garam, cincalok omelette and stir fried baby kailan. The other dish was belacan chicken. 


I've made pongteh off and on before for many years now, and it has become a signature dish of sorts. The recipe was obtained from my mother (of course) who taught me the art of cooking this fragrant, tasty dish. As someone with one eighth Nyonya roots, I could not not learn how to make this dish my own. So here it is, a step by step pictorial guide on how babi pongteh is made. 

Choose your ingredients with care, as any good dish starts with the freshest ingredients. 
About a kilo of pork belly.

Potatoes

Taucu (fermented soy beans)

Mushrooms

Shallots (ground to a paste)

To start, heat up a pot, add some oil and add in the ground shallots. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add in the taucu and stir fry until well mixed.

Like so.

Add in the pork belly.

And continue to stir fry until all the meat is coated with the shallot/taucu paste.

Once all the pork is nicely covered in the paste, add in water to cover the meat. Add in the pre-soaked mushrooms at this stage. 

Bring the water up to a rolling boil, then lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the potatoes, and simmer a further 20 minutes. 

Turn off the heat and let the pongteh sit in the pot until you are ready to eat. 
The result : happy guests, and a full stomach!  













Bon appetit!

Masssage therapy

My old diving injury flares up sometimes, so I decided I really needed a treat. Last minute decisions for a massage on the weekend is not a good idea as most places are full on weekends. Then I chanced upon Naerunchara, a place tucked away in Sri Hartamas.


I signed up for the 2R package, which included a salt foot scrub, body scrub and massage. The foot scrub was short and straightforward, but essential. Next was the body scrub which felt heavenly. Being wet and exposed in an airconditioned room is not typically my ideal spa experience, but the warm hands of the therapist and her gentle, fluid strokes made up for the chill.

After a 40 minutes scrub and a quick shower to rinse off, I was ready for the massage. The masseuse was small and nimble but strong. She knew the right points, and was very accurate to the point of being technical, which I like. She used strong, long strokes, and eased away the tension in my body. It was good. No frills, almost, but good. I came away after 2 hours, feeling relaxed and with my lower back pain lessened to a more bearable degree.

For a massage addict, I would definitely go there again.

Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice HD

Flashdance

My fishie friends

There is a pond I know of with about 20 fish, and I cannot help but think that these guys are looking at me while I am looking at them. They peer at me with those beady black eyes, looking as if i don't know what goes through their fish minds. Hmmm...nothing crazy like "I want to have a taste of human flesh" I hope.

They have names, these fish. Marilyn and Marlon are pink Kalois...always hovering near the pond glass peering into the living room for some form of human activity. The Patins - hmm, don't have names except for the one my friend is eyeing for the next meal, Samantha.

But the koi, they make me smile. George is naughty but nice, sometimes poking his head out of the water for fun, Nemo has a fin missing, but has perfect balance as he swims gracefully in the pond. Cow koi has grown since he joined the rest, he is bigger and his cow spot is darker than when he was little. Former Sick Guy is still eating up a storm after he was treated and Hunchback is the grand daddy of the pond, Lucifer is the big bad black fish, chasing all the others while they are eating. Dirty face aka Zorro, Jay, Whiteface, Slash, Nick, Cousin 1 and Cousin 2 make up the rest of the troupe.

You should see them. And they will see you.

And we meet again

It's been a couple of years since I ventured into writing in this blog, primarily because I forgot I set it up. So, like the flu or not, it's a calling. And write I will. Till we meet again, as my friend Peng2 says "Adios Muchacho".

Geez I got my own blog

I tell you, it's everywhere. I tried to search for a friend's blog, and next thing you know, I have one too. These things are like the flu - you try to avoud it but it just gets the better of you. So there, I have my own blog now. What to write...