Monday, October 27, 2008

Mee Kari Leftover

As you may or may not know, I have this habit of using last night's leftovers to make lunch for my kids and I. It's not only environmentally friendly (reduce waste, re-use), it is also economical and time-saving. I don't need to throw away food, I save money on groceries, and I cut my cooking time by at least half.
Every night after dinner, I would look at what i have left and plan for tomorrow's lunch. Sometimes I don't even plan, I just stuff everything into tupperwares inside the fridge, then look at what I have the next day, and try to figure out what to make for lunch. Most of the time, dishes turn into fried rice or porridges or sandwiches. Some time though, like today, I would hit the jackpot.
Yesterday I made goreng pisang (banana fritters) and had leftover batter. I fried the leftover batter into crunchy bits. I made fried chicken and vegetable soup for dinner and had some leftover. Looking at the fried chicken and crunchy fritter batter, I instantly thought of Lollies and had a craving for mee kari (curry noodles).

How to turn your leftover soup into curry gravy for noodles

1 pot of leftover soup (chicken/vegetable/fish)
5 shallots
2 pips garlic
half an inch fresh ginger
half an inch galangal (lengkuas)
2 tbsp curry powder
more water/stock if needed
coconut milk (1/2 cup, or more if you like your gravy thick)
meat/prawns/fish ball or tofu if there's not enough 'stuff' in your leftover soup.
salt to taste

Slice shallots, garlic and ginger into thin strips. In a frying pan, saute in a little bit of oil till fragrant.
Add a little liquid from soup, then add curry powder and galangal. Saute till a thin film of oil rises to the top (add more soup if it gets too dry).
Add into soup, add water/stock/liquid if necessary, bring to a boil.
Add meat and coconut milk, bring to a boil.
Taste and season as desired.
Serve with noodles (egg noodles, rice noodles or spaghetti) and garnishings (spring onions, bawang goreng (crispy fried shallots), sliced chillies, boiled eggs, fried chicken, sliced fried tofu, crispy bits) of your choice.

I had some fish cake and spring onions, and was too lazy to boil eggs and slice chillies and forgot I had bawang goreng, so here's what mine looked like:


Amacam Lolls, ada pass ka?


Happy cooking!

12 comments:

  1. Hmm they don't look like leftovers to me! Yummeh!

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  2. echoing sunflora - that looks like brandnew and at least four hours slaving over the hot stove!
    Sure ada pass.

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  3. Anonymous5:31 AM

    timely!

    ahhaha baru je commit dengan anak perempuan nak buatkan dia mee kari. Thanks!

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  4. BASS! BASS!

    Nampak sungguh lazeez sekali.

    weekend ni nak buat mee karilah. :D

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  5. hi, been a silent reader for a while now, and just have to comment on this! we just moved back on our own, and your recipes are so simple, i gotta thank you for them! so thank you!!

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  6. harus dicoba ini.. beruang suka makan mee kari klo jalan ke mall..

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  7. hello hello sila label resepi-resepi anda supaya orang2 pemalas masak macam saya ni mudah nak cari resepi-resepi anda terutama sekali resepi leftovers dan resepi-resepi 'campak-mencampak', terima kasih.

    heh heh.

    eiii tak nampak macam leftover pun! tipu, lah! ;-p

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  8. Anonymous12:13 PM

    Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim.

    Saya suka makan mi kari, kata Pak Malim sambil naik lori.

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  9. SF and Kak Teh,
    itulah dia.. that's why I said I had hit the jackpot with my leftovers.. macam janji-janji aje cukup segala perencah dia.. :)

    Nina,
    malam ni boleh buat!
    (buat mee kari)

    Lollies,
    terimakasih cikgu!
    Because of you kan, tiap kali I makan mee kari, mesti I rasa nak letak ayam goreng.

    Boon,
    Alhamdulillah....You're welcomed!! Do tell me how your dishes turn out, and whether my instructions were sufficient :)

    Diah,
    Mee Kari di food court mall memang enak ya.. kerna cukup fishball nya, kerang nya, tauhu pok nya dan sambal nya... yum yum
    *writes note to visit makcik mee kari @FAM next time balik*

    Alin,
    Sudah di label sebagai 'CulinaryJam' ya buk... silalah browse dan happy mencampak-campak.
    Tak nampak macam leftover sebab cameraman pandai ambik gambar. ahaks! (I lah cameraman.. tee hee)

    Pak Malim, Kucing Ray yang alim,
    Saya pun suka makan, sebab tu saya selalu masak, kata Elisa sambil dia masuk kotak.
    (dan angkat sendiri, sambil berdiri)

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  10. applause applause. this is the best 'leftover' recipe i have come across. sungguh genius!! :D

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  11. famy,
    I got the right leftovers by accident, but I guess you can plan it as well. Satu hari, make goreng pisang and have extra batter (or when buying goreng pisang, ask for the kruk krak banyak2), make ayam goreng and sup sayur (or sayur masak air) for dinner (and make sure ada leftover), and the next day you can have mee kari! :)

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  12. Came here fr Kak Teh's & MokcikNab. I love the idea of using leftover soup for curry noodle. Tak terfikir pulak nak buat macam tu. ;)

    Farina

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