On my way to fetch Yong Shuan back from kinder, this crave of Popiah shoot my mind. While waiting in front of his kinder, I quickly grab my phone and surf for way to make a simple popiah. I look for them in Rasa Malaysia - my all time favorite cooking stop. Grabbed a pen from my driver drawer and wrote down the few main thing I have to buy from the local food and vege shop.
After YS got up in the car, fasten his belt, I told him I need to stop by a few places before we headed back to S Eleven. He promised he will behave in the car while waiting for me to do the shopping. I went to this place where they sell almost everything I needed except the popiah skin - which is frozen, meaning I need to go another place for the skin. I made a turn to Econsave and this time Yong Shuan said he wish to follow me and in fact that was what I was about to ask him to, not allowing him to wait in the car as the parking is far from the entrance. I got my skin and we went to a bread shop for bun and some tart for my boy's tea time.
Once we reached S Eleven, I told hubby, I need to cook and stay in the kitchen for quite a while, while taking care of the shop, he have to help to care for the kid in case the 2 younger ones woke up. I started my peeling, chopping, grating, and the sound has woke the 2 younger boy up at the same time. Opps ... sorry hubby.
I love fried "Mengkuang" or yambean, the hokkien style, however to those who knows how to cook this, it needs alot of preparing ahead. say yambean I need to peel the skin, slide to very thin layer then chop them with knife. If I were to use the grater and make it into small strips, it wont taste as good as the chop one. I soaked my dried prawn, chopped the garlic, and get all the ingredients ready at the side of my stove. The most tiring part I would say is to prepare the very important fried crispy shallot, peel and cut the tiny small shallot is tiring. With today weather, the back of my shop where my kitchen located was burning hot. I stood there the longest time was when peel n cut the shallot but I never regret it. I keep washing my arm with the tap water to cool myself down. I prepared the oil and start slow fire fried the shallot until it turned golden color and crispy in texture. Keep it aside. After the popiah, I still have a small bottle of fried shallot to keep for dried noodle perhaps in future. Then I start to prepare the chopped tofu.
I used the left over oil to fried the garlic, the snow peas, the dried prawn and the yambean. When the yambean is ready, I start my popiah rolling and the first serve went to hubby. He commented good. Then my son's turn. I served each of them 2 rolls.
I am happy to see my boy and husband enjoyed the popiah. I told hubby, I have make up my mind to at least cook one special dish once a week for the family. It's been too long I just prepare simple dish, talking on finding time to prepare and to cook and to clean the mess after I have 3 boys - NO. Especially when the youngest BS still on breast milk, on demand feeding most of the time. Keep it up, wish I can keep it to even 2 or more occasion of wondering cooking in a week time.
Gambateh... and to update this long quiet blog.
