Portuguese Curry Devil Recipe!

Hola! and hope you’ve had a good Halloween weekend! Today is the actual day isn’t it? why don’t the offices play dress up too? Anyway, do we know the real meaning behind Halloween? How did it become something of so much fun?

Anyway, on to the real deal.. my Portuguese Curry Devil recipe!!

Adapted from http://food.insing.com/recipe/portuguese-devil-curry-recipe/id-fe7d2100

I made some tweaks to the original I found online from this website and its pretty close to the one that my Aunt/Uncle makes every Christmas/New Year. Its kinda like a festive dish for us as it was a treat from my uncle every festive season and since he passed, my aunty took over that responsibility to bring us this awesome deal. Coming from a Portuguese descent, this was one of his signature dishes that got us clamoring for more! Every year when I get to eat them during Christmas, I’d start having cravings for it month after month and after swearing to learn this recipe before its too late, after 3 years, I finally did. Its not that much hassle afterall and its a really simple yet hearty dish altogether.

Traditionally, Curry Devil is made with leftover meats such as turkey, chicken, roast pork etc (all your festive sin food!) but we’ve got accustomed to simply chicken, hot dogs n luncheon meat yet somehow its still such a yummy dish! The rumpah (traditional chilli & spices paste for most curries) wasn’t as difficult as i envisioned it to be so this is a recipe I would recommend many to try it!
*caution – SPICY SPICY SPICY!!
Serves 4-6, Prep Time: 30 Minutes, Cooking Time: 1Hr 15 Mins
(I will put the original recipe to honour the main contributor and my tweaks will be in brackets)

Ingredients
6-8 tablespoons cooking oil

Spice paste
20 stalks dried chillies, soaked and cut into 3cm lengths (I used pure chilli paste which you can get easily, make sure its not been premixed with curry powder and all. Use 1-2 Tablespoons for mild spicy eaters and 3-4 for the bold! I also added in fresh red chilli and my mum emphasized the need for it to be pointy at the end for it to be spicy!)
15 shallots peeled (I added a lil bit more as it wld really bring out more fragrance, 18-20? depending on the size of the shallots)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 candlenuts
3 stalks lemon grass (slice them up thinly and 2 would suffice)
20g galangal
2cm turmeric, skinned ( I used 1 tablespoon of tumeric powder as these babies just provide colour not taste)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ground coarsely
350g chicken, chopped into bite size (400-450g, seasoned. I prefer to use the chicken thigh, easier to work with and tender!)
350g roast pork, cut into 2cm (replaced with 1 can of luncheon meat, 1 packet of hot dogs, if that is too much meat for you, reduce the amount to comfort and cut into 2-3cm pieces)
500ml water ( 1 Litre, we love the curry to dip bread in it!)
1½ tablespoons vinegar (adjust accoridng to taste preference! I ended up using 4 Tablespoons)
2 tablespoons sugar or to taste
Salt to taste ( I added some Light Soy Sauce for that unique taste soy sauce gives)
(I also added 1/3 a cabbage and 2 medium carrots chopped into chunky pieces to meet the daily vegetable requirements!)

Method:
1. GO SHOPPING! 😀

2. Season the chicken thigh and cut out excess fats. Season with a simple mix of salt, light soy sauce and pepper with some corn flour. Poke lots of holes in the chicken using a fork to let the flavour sit. Leave it to marinate.

(Clockwise Left to Right: Chilli Paste, Shallots, Lemon Grass, Galangal, Tumeric Powder, Candlenut, Garlic)
3. Using an electric blender, finely grind spice paste ingredients, leaving out the chilli paste till this is done. Once you have ground everything to a slight wet texture, remove from the blender and mix in the chilli paste well till you get something like this:

4. Fry Chicken and luncheon meat till the outer most layer is crispy, do not worry if the insides are cooked or not. Allow it to cool and the oil to drain before chopping the chicken into 3-5 cm cubes

5. In a wok, sauté spice paste until fragrant, stirring continuously to prevent burning.

6. Add mustard seeds and sauté for another 15 seconds before adding the chicken pieces and luncheon meat cabbage and carrots. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add water and vinegar.

7. Simmer over low to medium heat or until chicken is tender and sauce thickens, add hot dog to cook and adjusting seasonings to taste.

Original Recipe Suggestion: Keep it in the refrigerator and overnight. Reheat before serving. Add a little water if gravy becomes too thick. (We couldnt wait no longer…. but it somehow does taste better overnight!)

My favourite pairing to this awesome dish is a nice bowl of Nonya Meatball and Cabbage soup as it is clear n light but wholesome n quells the heat! Of course, the curry goes best with french bread/baguette but rice is good for a meal too!

This is a good first try, not exactly like my aunt’s recipe but close enough (Something is missing but we cant put a finger to it!!!!) and it was fun and easy to make! I’d cook this anytime, no more waiting for festivities! no milk in it so its relatively healthy, just got to watch the meats I use.

Try it and tell me what you think!! Im drooling again just looking at the pictures!!!

Midweek photo treat!

Before we get started, Happy Belated Diwali to all my Indian friends! Hope the NASA picture of India is legit as it is really really a pretty sight of India! Here is a short post on what Diwali is about and the picture I was referring to.

On to the main reason for today’s post, my colleague just recently shared this website with me that has beautiful and well taken pictures along with well-written and informative texts. I almost already feel smarter with each entry and I got hooked onto 3 engaging posts during my break. I hope you will enjoy this webpage and its pictures as much as I did!

World War II in Photos – 20 Part Special

Population Seven Billion

Bangkok Underwater

Till my next post, I will be sharing an authentic Portuguese Curry Debal recipe that I cooked with over the last weekend!!

warning! pending addiction!

Behold, one of the best brownies I’ve had so far.. P.Osh Chewy Brownie! and like the title of this post says, its gonna be addictive!
I took my first bite in 2007, when this lil shop was located along Tampines Road/Hougang Ave 3 (the row of HDB flats just opposite WingTai industrial building); their humble beginnings! Just a physical shop with a simple counter, selling these freshly bakes brownies at $2.80 a slice, satisfying many afternoon craves of ours (and of cos, help us with the waistline >.<). Not long later, to our dismay, THEY DID WELL AND MOVED AWAY! yes we had many depressed afternoons and I quit that job soon after, I wonder if there was any correlation! They moved to Dohby exchange which was far for me and i seldom do need to use that line. So when I saw these little babies at Kovan just a few days ago, I was clamouring after them and bought a whole bunch for the people I love to spread the love!

Now, these babies are packaged in such uniquely and customized wrappers instead of its previous simple clear medicine wrapper. I love the idea behind the wrapper! One is not allowed to share it, not to stop if you are choking, addiction is possible etc.. and guess what, after so many years, it’s still 2.80, its still chewy, its still mildly sweet and its still so damn good!!! My colleague even posted a picture of it immediately and some of them refused to admit it was a brownie, HOW COULD IT TASTE SO GOOD!!
I would highly suggest all of you to give it a try, they have two locations : Dohby Ghaut Mrt Station #B1-40 & The Old House, 1011 Upper Serangoon Road #01-02. Opens Monday – Saturdays 12nn – 9pm. They now have a large variety of brownies, cookies, cakes and treats but I’d say, go for the good ol plain brownie for your first time and then start going for the other flavours, if the original impresses then you’ve got yourself the real deal! Delivery is also possible!! Go drive yourself crazy over these babies!
Here’s to a sweet weekend!
for those of us health conscious, fret not! its been labelled ‘Healthier choice!’ yea that shocked me too!

When birthdays are buffets

Its been a busy week sharing my birthday with another close friend of mine and what better way to do it than the Singaporean way – BUFFETS! Breakfast/Lunch/Brunch/High Tea/Dinner/Supper (yes no joke about supper), and they come in all varieties hailing from many origins but ultimately, there is only one result; overstuffed people! Are buffets really pleasure or pain (for both the wallets and the tummy)?

Anyway, as a sucker for varieties and good food, the colleagues and I celebrated a birthday at our new found favourite Japanese Shabu-Shabu restaurant! Suki-ya located at Marina Sqaure Centre Stage. I’ve brought my family and friends there and it’s got us really happy so trust that’s good feedback 😀

Doesnt the picture already look inviting?
so you’ll be given a few choice for the soup base –
a) Shabu is a clear light soup base which they recommend to cook the meats in but it wasn’t my cup of tea as it had a slight tinge of fishiness and not that yummy to drink.
b) Sukiyaki is a sweet soup base and popularly used in most Japanese restaurants for your hotpot soups. This is my personal favourite as it envelops the food in this sweet yet light flavour and after a few rounds of meat cooking, the soup is potent and oh so yummy to have with some tang hoon soaked in it. Slurps!
C) Kimuchi isn’t as spicy and thick as I had hoped it would be but a better alternative than Shabu for me. As much as I’m a chilli lover, I still like steamboat soup base to be non-spicy and light.
And then you have the all important dipping sauces which is really up to personal preferences!

Then it comes down to serious business.. Suki-ya isn’t a place for seafood craves and must-haves because it does not have a single trace of seafood (cept in their processed food). But what that is to really savour is their thinly sliced pieces of almost fresh meat (you won’t taste the frozen meat taste because of the soup broth and the dipping sauce!) which is sweet and from the right cuts. To make the most out of your money, don’t waste time on the noodles and processed food; but eat your veggies! The meat is good to fill you for the whole meal and keep you really happy and its not cheap to get this same cuts and in shabu style in supermarkets too.

The place is not too big and over crowded which helps with the ambience, quality of the food is good although not so much on the variety. Service is adequate but its steamboat so how much service do you need! Plus point, no hot sticky steamboat experience, just a nice comfortable air-conditioned environment and I won’t come out smelling of cooked food! This is one place I’d definitely be back over and over again, 4 of 5 stars!

New York New York

I’m one click away from booking my flights to New York.

There is this certain surge of excitement mixed with a positive uncertainty; a feeling I cant quite contain in a single word. I cant bring myself to press the button!
For many reasons, one of it lies with the fact that I’m going to fly 17hrs to meet my boyf! To be able to spend the festivities with him even though he’s miles away is sheer joy. Then comes to point number 2, 17hrs (19hr for the return leg) alone on the flight. I should be thankful I’m going to be on SQ (thank god for Krisflyer miles), and this isn’t my first long haul flight…its just that something about this trip seems, different! I’m having all these anxiety even before the trip! But its all making me smile so it should not pose too big a problem.

And then I finally quelled the anxiety and clicked ‘book flights’.
AHH blasted me. I don’t have my passport number with me! -_- hurray to a renewed passport and a different passport number thus KrisFlyer doesn’t have my details. So much for trying to book a seat sooner lest I be put on a waitlist. Now I cant wait to hurry home and get this done! Now Im feeling a different anxiety altogether. I much rather the first scenario.

And for New York we will start planning! Thanks to some friends who are contributing to this process, first steps would be to find a good apartment to rent. Does anyone have suggestions? All’s welcomed! 🙂

It’s in the works…

I’m undergoing my set-up phase so please be patient with me! 🙂