Saturday 19 May 2012

Siew Yoke Kerabu


Pork.   I love pork.  No one comes between me and my oinks.  Siew Yoke is, in my humble opinion, a great accompaniment to kerabu.  The salty, crispy cracklings add to the excitement of the already vibrant flavours of the kerabu.  Besides, I am always looking for healthy ways (or rather excuses) to eat my oinks, and what better way to do it than to have it in my kerabu (healthy, mah....got fresh raw vege whaaatt...).


I have always wanted to make my own siew yok and was delighted to find the recipe in Blessed Homemaker.  But that will have to wait for another day.  For now, I'll let An Xin's Healthy MEAT Shoppe do the honours (notice the word "Healthy" ?). 







Today, I paid my healthy meatshop a visit.  "You want the fats??", the young lady asked, eyes wide open in disbelief.  Not to mention the dirty looks from the ladies behind the queue. Yes, I confirmed, the fats.  I'm menopausal and I don't follow rules.  Now, whats the point in eating lean Siew Yoke?  Its the fats that lend the flavour.  Besides, ever since I followed the Atkins eating plan, I have no fear for fats.  Within reasonable limits of course.  I lost 15lbs on the diet and have not looked back since.  And I bought 2 strips of my porkie for RM23.00.



Now, when it comes to kerabu, there are three must have herbs.  Mint, laksa leaves (daun kesum) and local basil (selasih/kemangi).




Shall we proceed ?


What you need is :


1. Cucumber
2. Carrot
3. Pineapple
4. Alfalfa sprouts (I used this instead of the traditional bean sprouts, see I told you its healthy)
5. Onion slices
6. Mint/Kesum/Basil
7. Bunga Kantan


or whatever else you fancy, like young papaya, mango, etc.




For the dressing :


1. Sambal belacan (recipe to follow below)
2. Plum sauce (I come from the East Coast and we like our dressing on the sweet side)
3. Dried prawns, soaked, washed and coarsely pounded
4. Lime juice


Just mix everything together and taste.  The dressing must be sweet, sour and salty.  


Then pour your dressing into the veges and mix.  But don't forget........


                    the Star of the show


Coming from Nyonya stock, I love my sambal belacan in almost everything.  So it makes perfect sense to make a batch to last for the whole week.  I mean, who has the time to prepare sambal belacan everyday?


The ingredients are super simple - red chillies, belacan and some asam jawa juice.




Plonk everything into the blender and whizz away.




Empty contents into a clean bottle.  Always place the bottle on a plate in case you spill, like I did.






The sambal belacan will keep very well in the fridge for up to two weeks.  But mine never lasts that long.  And yes, I ate the whole bowl of kerabu all by myself.  I don't follow rules :)











17 comments:

  1. Never eaten siew Yok with kerabu, you made me salivate looking at your kerabu. Next time if I made Siew Yok again, I need to make some kerabu .

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  2. Yes, you must try. I guarantee its good!

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  3. What a great salad dish! I also like siew yok very much but there is someone in my family loves it more than I do, my son. My daughter only likes the crispy skin, hehe!

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    1. Your daughter sounds like me when I was a kid. I would only eat the skin, and that would drive my Grandma crazy. Hee...hee...hee...

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  4. Gosh! I think you and I are going to be great friends ..... I can't do without my oinks either. I can't imagine why I've never had this before ... roast pork kerabu. This is brilliant! I'm also a sucker for kerabu and adding the extra oink, maaaannn ... that's heaven!
    (Aren't you menopausing a little too early? I'm also in my forty's and I seriously don't think I'm "there" yet. I think I'm just about hitting puberty ... race you to the loony bin! :D)

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    1. Yah, I thought its a bit early too but I come from a family of early menopausers. Grandma started in her early forties and my Mum in mid forties. Stay where you are my dear, menopause is no fun. But do read up to prepare because it is important. One day, I'll do a post on that. Stay young!

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  5. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Never had siew yoke kerabu before. Sounds interesting.

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    1. Hi Cheah, thanks for coming by. Do try this recipe, I am sure you will like it.

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  6. Phong Hong...this sounds delicious...haha local salad plus the most favored meat in the world. I love siew yok too but fells so guilty after tucking them in. This kerabu will appease me...take the meat first and make myself happy tucking in the kerabu last...great dish. I shall make this my WB buys back the siew yok, shall take a few pieces off his share and make my kerabu LOL! Thanks for the recipe, I know it will be delicious and appetizing...mmmm slurrp off the screen for the time being !

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    1. Hi Elin, yes do make the kerabu. I know you will love it!

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  7. I will definitely try this one. I can for for good Siew yoke.

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  8. I mean I will die for good Siew yoke.

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    1. Quay Po, I can see that you are so excited over siew yoke that you were at a loss for words. Hee...hee....

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  9. first time seeing pork in this malay dish :) sounds very interesting and i'd love to sample some!

    -FiSh
    @ ohfishiee.blogspot.com

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  10. Hi FiSh, this is my version of fusion food. Hah! Hah!

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  11. Hi Phong Hong,

    I made this kerabu last weekend. It was lovely. The siew yoke and the kerabu is a perfect match!! :D Thanks so much for this Terengganu dish. We ate it with nasi dagang and kari assam ikan . . perfect dinner! :-))

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    1. Hi there! Glad you enjoyed the kerabu. I can't say that this is a Terengganu dish except that it was thrown together by a Terengganu auntie :)

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