6. Split Pea Fritters

Ingredients :
225 g 3-4 2 2 3 tablespoons 1 teaspoon 1	yellow split peas, soaked overnight in cold water fresh red chilies, cored, seeded and chopped cloves garlic, chopped spring onions, sliced chopped coriander leaves ground roasted cumin seeds egg, beaten salt large pinch ground turmeric vegetable oil for deep frying (optional) banana leaves (optional) Malaysian Dipping Sauce or Spicy Sauce
Method : Drain split peas and put in a saucepan with 300 ml water. Bring to the boil. Boil, stirring, for 10 minutes. Drain. Put in a food processor with chilies, garlic and spring onions. Mix until coarsely chopped. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, egg and salt to taste and mix together. Form into about 50 small balls, pressing mixture firmly together with your hands. Refrigerate for about 1 hours. Preheat oven to 230C (450F), Gas 8. Roll patties in a little oil, put on baking sheets and bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Turn over halfway through. Alternatively, heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 180C (350F), or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Deep fry fritters in batches for 2-3 minutes until golden. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Serve fritters hot on banana leaves, if wished, accompanied by the dipping sauce of your choice. Makes about 50

5. Spicy Spare Ribs

Ingredients :
1.3 kg 4 tablespoons 2 Marinade : 2.5 cm 4 1 3 tablespoons 85 ml 2 tablespoons 1 tablespoon 1 teaspoon	spare ribs, trimmed and divided into ribs vegetable oil spring onions, thinly sliced piece fresh root ginger, grated cloves garlic, finely crushed fresh red chili, cored, seeded and finely chopped rice vinegar dark soy sauce groundnut (peanut) oil light brown sugar Chinese five spice powder
Method : Whisk marinade ingredients together. Put ribs in a dish and pour marinade over. Turn ribs to coat in marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, turning occasionally. Lift ribs from marinade. Pat dry. Reserve marinade. In wok or saut� pan, heat oil over high heat. Add 3-4 ribs and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until evenly browned. Using tongs, transfer to absorbent kitchen paper. Repeat with remaining ribs. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons oil from the pan. Return ribs to pan. Add reserved marinade and enough water to completely cover ribs. Bring to the boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer gently for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and shrinks slightly form the bone. Boil until cooking liquid is reduced to a thick sauce. Transfer ribs to warmed plates and spoon a little sauce over each serving. Sprinkle with sliced spring onions. Serves 6

4. Otak Otak

Ingredients :

500g fish fillet 3 dried red chilies, soaked and drained 5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts 1 onion, grated 1 tbsp blachan (dried shrimp paste) 1 tsp turmeric 1 egg, beaten 2 tbsp coconut milk 1 tbsp palm sugar or white sugar 1 tsp salt 4 banana leaves or 12 dried lotus leaves, soaked until pliable

Method : Using a fork, scrape the fish into fine flakes and place in a bowl, or briefly blend to a paste in a food processor. Add 4 tbsp water, a tbsp at a time, beating with a wooden spoon until it feels light and fluffy. Pound or grind the drained chilies, nuts, onion, blachan and turmeric together to make a paste. Mix the paste with the fish, then add the egg and beat well. Add the coconut milk, sugar and salt. Cut the banana leaves into 15cm squares and dip into boiling water for 2 minutes to soften them. Drain and pat dry. Place 2 tbsp of the fish mixture in the center of each square and roll up to form open-ended tubes. Fasten each end with a strong cocktail stick. Heat the grill until very hot. Brush the banana leaves lightly with oil and grill for about 5 minutes on each side, until the leaves are slightly charred and the filling is firm when pressed. Serve as an appetizer followed by a Malaysian curry, or as part of a shared meal with coconut rice, curries and sambals. Finish with thin crepes (kueh dadar) with a sweet coconut filling. Makes 12

3. Spring Rolls

Ingredients :
150 g 115 g 2 tablespoons 1 cm 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 teaspoon 2 teaspoons 12 1 115 ml	boneless, skinless chicken breast raw prawns in shell groundnut (peanut) oil piece fresh root ginger, grated clove garlic, finely crushed shallots, very finely chopped small carrot, grated stick celery, very finely chopped fresh red chili, cored, seeded and finely chopped spring onions, chopped sesame oil soy sauce spring roll wrappers egg, beaten vegetable oil Malaysian Dipping Sauce, to serve
Method : Skin and finely chop chicken. Peel and finely chop prawns. In a wok or saut� pan, heat oil. Add chicken and stir fry until beginning turn to opaque. Stir in prawns and continue to stir fry until prawns begin turn to pink. Add ginger, garlic, shallots, carrot, celery, chili, spring onions, sesame oil and soy sauce and fry for a further 1 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and leave until cold. Spread 1 wrapper on the work surface; keep remaining wrappers between 2 damp tea towels. Put 1-2 tablespoons filling on lower half of wrapper. Fold bottom corner up and over filling. Moisten side corners with beaten egg. Fold sides over to cover bottom corner and filling. Press firmly to seal. Moisten top corner with beaten egg. Roll wrapper over tightly to make a neat cylinder. Press top corner of roll to seal. Place seam side down and cover with a damp tea towel. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. In a wok or saut� pan, heat vegetable oil. Fry rolls in batches for 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Keep warm while frying remaining rolls. Serve with dipping sauce. Serves 6

2. Grilled Chicken Skewer

Ingredients :
6 2 150 ml 2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon 3 tablespoons 2 tablespoons 3 tablespoons 1/2 teaspoon	large chicken thighs, total weight about 1 kg cloves garlic, finely chopped coconut milk ground coriander each ground cumin and ground turmeric light soy sauce fish sauce light brown sugar crushed dried chilies
Method : Using a sharp knife, slit along underside of each chicken thigh and remove bone, scraping flesh from bone. Cut each boned thigh into 6 pieces. Put in a bowl. In a small bowl, mix together garlic, coconut milk, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Pour over chicken. Stir to coat then cover and refrigerate for 2-12 hours. To make sauce, in a small serving bowl, mix together lime juice, coriander, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and chilies. Set aside. Soak 8 short wooden or bamboo skewers for 30 minutes. Preheat grill. Thread chicken, skin side up, on skewers. Place on oiled grill rack and cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn over and cook for further 2-3 minutes until juices run clear. Serve with sauce. Serves 4-6