Malay style cooking and measurements

I have to admit that before i moved to the US, i dont really cook that much. Why would I when delicious and cheap food is available left, right and all around me? I kid you not. We, Malaysian really eat a lot ( as mentioned in previous post) and most of the times we dont even have to cook ourselves. Besides, good and cheap, they are also a lot of 24hrs places so you dont have the excuse to be/get hungry. If you feel like spending more on food, just go to the restaurants at 5-stars hotels or in KLCC (or other shopping malls) or in Bangsar, Kiara, Damansara and Sri Hartamas areas. If somehow, you find yourself hungry in Malaysia then its definitely YOUR own fault. :P

Every year during Hari Raya (Eid Mubarak), we'l have the open house and that would be my time to cook. In fact, my mom would tell everybody (yes, she did!) that our open house would be the only few times in a year that il be in the kitchen cooking. Not that id say anything back since it is the truth. But the good thing is, my specialty dish which is soto ayam, is always a hit among our guests. There was 1 year when we were expecting only 50-60 ppl but somehow we had almost 100ppl came thruout the whole day and by 3pm, i actually had to make another batch of soto ayam. I was sweating but i survived that year and every year eversince.

The 1 thing about malay cooking is that there is no particular measurements used. Ask any makcik at your fav stalls or even your own aunties and most likely theyl just tell you what the ingredients are and how/when to put them in the cooking. This is because, each person has their own way on how they like their food to taste like. The easiest example is nasi lemak. There are thousands of places that sell this yummylicious food, from the roadside stalls to hotels (definitely not my choice to get my dose of nasi lemak!) and none of them taste the same. Then ask 10 different ppl on where is their fav nasi lemak place and you'l most likely get 10 different answers.

Thats why I find it hard to post certain dish in my blog coz that's exactly how i cook my food. The truth is I never use the same amount of stuff nor do I use all the exact stuff. Sometimes I would find that I dont have enough, for example shallots, so il use more onions and ginger. Other times, I dont have fresh beggies so il use frozen mix vegies. Now, do u know what i mean? But for the sake of my readers and friends, im gonna try and start measuring the ingredients that i use so as to make it easier for you though it means for me to take more time than im already taking when im cooking. Be patient, ok?