Mee goreng and banana roti

Tonight, a group of us attended the Asiana Cooking School. Two of this group went to a session last year and learned how to make musaman curry with chili and coconut rice. On the menu tonight was mee goreng with banana roti. The roti dough was pre-prepared as it needed to rest for at least two hours before cooking, but everything else was made from scratch.

The recipe below makes one very large single serving. (I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow.) The chefs recommend making quantities of no more than 3-4 servings at a time; it's not something which can be made in a big pot for large groups. The result was absolutely delicious. The great thing about going with a group of friends is being able to learn alongside each other and then enjoy your meal together once you've finished. Oh, and they take away all your dishes and clean up after you!

Mee goreng

Ingredients

• 200 g fresh noodles
• 130 g chicken cut into bite sizes
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 slice of ginger
• handful of beansprouts and cabbage
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon Lee Kum Kee chicken stock powder
• 1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Malaysian curry powder (for medium to hot)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Method

1. Finely slice the onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok (or pan) at a medium to low heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Fry until the mixture has caramelised. Add chicken and fry until chicken has changed over, then turn and fry other side.
3. Add oyster sauce, curry powder, chili powder and chicken stock. Mix well.
4. Pour in the water and noodles and let simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.
5. Toss in the beansprouts and cabbage. Toss quickly in wok to mix. Finally, add one teaspoon of soy sauce to taste and mix well.
6. Serve immediately. Garnish with fried onion flakes or dried shallots.

Mee goreng

Roti

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water (approx)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method

1. Sift flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
2. Rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add water and knead into a soft dough. Gently knead for a few minutes until smooth. (Don't over work the dough.)
3. Divide the dough into small balls and cover in oil. Place in a flat dish and leave to rest for at least two hours or more.
4. Flatten each ball onto a flat surface. Lift one end up and in a stretching motion spread the dough as far as you can so that it is very thin. Repeat the same process with the other end of the dough. Fold into four.
   Variations: smear with garlic butter or add twelve banana slices before wrapping into four.
5. Heat a little oil in a flat pan over medium heat. Cook roti on one side until crispy and then flip it over and cook the other side. Move the roti around the pan to avoid burning.

Garlic roti (left) and banana roti with icing sugar