Stir-fry Kampung Cucumber with Canned Mackerel

Cucumbers are scientifically known as Cucumis sativus and belong to the same family as watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin, and other types of squash.  Varieties of cucumber are grown either to be eaten fresh or to be pickled. Those that are to be eaten fresh are commonly called slicing cucumbers. Cucumbers such as gherkins that are specially cultivated to make pickles are oftentimes much smaller than slicing cucumbers. There are many nutrients found in cucumber.  Visit whfoods for more info.  

Today's recipe is about the kampung cucumber.  We have plenty of this during the hill paddy plant began to bear fruits until the end of harvest season. Planted amid the paddy plants make it more fragrant with a slight paddy aroma. It is more organic because it’s free from any pesticide and herbicide. Kampung cucumber has a higher liquid content than the ordinary cucumber. It is usually eaten fresh as a thirst killer, especially by farmers who happened to find it amid the paddy plant while they are working on their farms. Also very suitable to make pickles, stir-fry and mixed in soup dishes.

Stir-fry Kampung Cucumber with Canned Mackerel

Main Ingredients:

kampung cucumber

canned mackerel in tomato sauce

• 2 garlic (sliced)
• 2 shallots (sliced)
• 1 cup of water

Seasoning Ingredients:

1. 1tbsp light soy sauce
2. 1tsp dark soy sauce
3. 1tsp anchovies granule
4. 1tsp pepper powder

Cooking Method:

• Cut cucumber into four sections. Peel skin, remove seeds and slice thinly.
• Stir -fry garlic and shallots until fragrant.  Add in canned mackerel.
• Pour in all seasoning ingredients and stir until well combined.
• Enter the sliced cucumber followed by a cup of water.  Stir briefly.
• Cook until the cucumber become slightly transparent. Done.

Stir-fry Kampung Cucumber with Canned Mackerel

Fish Soup with Sarawak Sour Eggplant

My Sarawakian Chinese neighbor is very pleased to give me some Sarawak sour eggplant.  She told me that the eggplant is really tasty to cook as soup with fresh fish.  Excited and can't wait to try, I take the eggplant without long-winded question and cook it as recommended. But... I was a kind of shocked. For the first time my cooking is really not to be as desired. There was kind of unpleasant smell and the taste is so weird (because the sarawak eggplant is a bit hard and taste different from the regular eggplant). I feel a bit guilty to throw away a pot of fish soup. Nobody is interested to eat it...  :(

Sarawak Sour Eggplant

Still not satisfied with the incident, I decided to ask for the actual recipe from my neighbor. I was lucky that I still keep one of the eggplant.  According to her recipe, the eggplant is actually really suitable for cooking as soup.  But the eggplant should be cooked until completely tenderize and the fish should be fried first before mixed into the eggplant soup to remove it unpleasant fishy smell. By following the recipe given by my neighbors, eventually I managed to cook the delicious soup. It was very tasty with a slightly sour taste.  Here I feel glad to share this recipe, it's totally adapted from my neighbor’s recipe...

Fish Soup with Sarawak Sour Eggplant

Main ingredient:

1. 1 Sarawak sour eggplant (sliced and de-seeds)
2. 300 gm fresh fish (I use red mullet)

Pounded ingredients:

1. 1  garlic
2. 2 shallots
3. 1 Inc ginger
4. 2 red chilies
5. 2 stalks of lemongrass

Seasoning ingredients:

1. 1 tbsp salt
2. 1 tsp sugar
3. 1 tbsp tom yam paste

Cooking Method:

• Deep-fry the fresh fish in hot oil until well done.  Set aside.
• Stir fry pounded ingredients in 2 tbsp oil until fragrant.  Add about 750ml water and bring to boil.
• Enter the Sarawak sour eggplant and then cover the pot. Simmer until the eggplant is completely tenderize and skins nearly separated.
• Add in seasoning ingredients and mix well.
• Add in the fish; keep simmering for a little while.  Done
• Garnish with chopped scallions before serving.