Good News: You Can Now Order My Homecooked Meals on MyTable!

An exciting Sam Tan's Kitchen announcement: Angelenos can now order homecooked meals from me using the new MyTable app!

I will be offering three different dishes on rotation on select days: 

• The heavyweight fan favorite Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice) with some killer Malaysian Fried Chicken and Homemade Sambal (pictured above)

• My personal death row meal Hainanese Chicken Rice, with homemade chilli garlic and ginger condiments

• The light yet satisfying classic Bihun Goreng (Fried Rice Noodles), loaded with chicken and vegetables. 

Hainanese Chicken Rice, with homemade garlic chilli sauce and ginger dip. NOM.

Download the MyTable app at http://bit.ly/downloadmytable,  and get your first meal totally free with my code SAMANTHACX!

Unfortunately, only those living within 4.5 miles of me (I'm based in Koreatown) will be able to select the delivery option, but fret not further-awayers: drop me a line at samtanskitchen@gmail.com and I'll be happy to tell you how we can arrange pickup :)

Bihun Goreng- Malaysian stir fried rice vermicelli, with chicken, vegetables and egg

See you on MyTable soon, and I hope you'll enjoy eating my meals as much as I enjoy cooking them for you!:)

Happy feasting,

Sam Tan

Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Rice)

I can't believe I've had this blog for over 6 years and am only now posting this recipe (how dare I call myself a Malaysian home cook?!) Thank you Alex for asking for it today and prodding me into action!

If you don't know what Malaysia's explosively delicious default national dish of Nasi Lemak is, with its crazy good combination of spicy-salty-sweet-crunchy-aromatic flavors and textures, not to mention its burst of gorgeous colors, good old Wikipedia has a great rundown here. 

My picture above shows it not only with its traditional sides of crispy anchovies, roasted redskin peanuts, cucumber slices, egg and of course the crucial sambal by which all Nasi Lemak is judged, but also with two pieces of my Malay spiced fried chicken, which is this household's idea of the perfect protein accompaniment. You can, of course, choose instead to do a chicken curry, beef rendang, vegetable pickle or any other spicy seafood or meat you want. The links above take you to my own personal recipes, but of course you can do whatever you wish.

Nasi Lemak tastes amazing in all its variations, so don't be afraid to go all out and serve four dishes with it, or enjoy just its basic form like the little banana-leaf wrapped bundles we find on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. 

Selamat makan as we say in Malaysia!

Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Rice)

Serves 4

2 cups white rice, washed and drained

1 cup coconut milk

2 or 3 pandan leaves, knotted

A few slices of ginger

A stick of lemongrass, cut into 1-inch lengths and smashed

A tiny sprinkle of fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Some water

Combine all the ingredients above in a rice cooker. Add just enough water to the 2 cup marker, or until the water level is 1/2 inch above the rice (a helpful guide if you're making rice on the stove). Cook as usual, and fluff up with a paddle or fork before serving.

The Accompaniments

• Ikan bilis (anchovies): Deep fry some dried anchovies over medium-high heat until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels. 

• Peanuts: Toast some redskin peanuts in a sauce pan (or in the oven if you prefer) with a tiny bit of oil, until fragrant and deeper red. Sprinkle with salt and a bit of sugar.

• Cucumber slices: Self-explanatory:)

• Egg: Make perfectly hard-boiled ones, or fry one sunny side up/over easy if preferred. 

• Sambal: See my recipe here, or if you're too lazy you can order it from me here.

 Arrange prettily on a plate and enjoy!

Film Set Catering: The Odd Essay

SAM TAN'S KITCHEN HAS MOVED! Please visit the new website/online store at www.samtanskitchen.com for all catering enquiries. You can also follow Sam on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Thank you!

Sam Tan's Kitchen caters home-cooked food made from scratch for just about anything, from intimate romantic dinners to low-budget film shoots to canapé-style receptions. To enquire for your next event, drop me a line at samtanskitchen@gmail.com :)

These past two weeks, Sam Tan's Kitchen was happy to provide hot lunches and basic craft services for the USC feature-length thesis The Odd Essay. It was my first time catering on a film set for more than a few days, and it proved to be a fun challenge planning, shopping for and cooking completely different menus each day to feed an average of thirty people (including three vegetarians and two vegans with gluten and nut allergies), as well as making night-time deliveries to different locations every night for two weeks.

Below is a rundown of the entire menu, with pictures when I remembered to take them. Thank you to producer Shardul Sharma for trusting me to feed your crew, and I'm thrilled to hear you all liked the food!

The Odd Essay 12-Day Menu

(V) denotes vegetarian, (v/gf) denotes vegan and gluten-free

 The daily provision of basic craft services: an assortment of fruit, granola bars and chips (plus cookies on select days)

Day 1: Roasted peppers and zucchini (V, v/gf), creamy cheesy ziti bake with chicken, creamy cheesy ziti bake with mushroom (V), olio mushroom brown rice penne (v/gf)

Dessert: Belgian chocolate brownies

Day 2: 

Green bean salad with sesame and red onion (V, v/gf)

Chicken fried rice with shredded egg and green onions

Tofu fried rice with shredded egg and green onions (V)

Tofu fried rice with green onions (v/gf)

Day 3:

Garlic toasts (V)

Three cheese vegetable ragu lasagne (V)
Gluten-free brown rice penne with vege ragu and mushroom (v/gf)

Day 4:

Cucumber and tomato salad with green onion and olive oil dressing (V, v/gf)

Roast chicken legs with lemon, honey, mustard and sage

Steamed rice with mixed vegetables (V, v/gf)

Roast root vegetables (V, v/gf)

Day 5:

Oven roasted corn-on-the-cob (V, v/gf)

Creamy potato salad with green onions and egg (V)

Potato salad with apple cider vinaigrette (v/gf)

Chicken penne bake

Mushroom penne bake (V)

Mushroom olio brown rice penne (v/gf)

Day 6:

Red onion, tomato and cucumber salad (V, v/gf)

Penne arrabiata with chicken

Penne arrabiata with green peppers (V)

Brown rice fusili with green peppers (v/gf)

Moist carrot banana cake (V)

Day 7:

Yellow rice with mixed vegetables (V, v/gf)

Homemade chicken meatballs with lime and cilantro

Homemade vegan mushroom potato meatballs (V, v/gf)

Day 8: Asian green pepper and cucumber salad, chicken pad thai, tofu pad thai with eggs(V), tofu pad thai (v/gf)

Day 9: Ranch rolls (V), corn tortilla chips (v/gf), chicken and three-bean chili with cheese, three-bean chili with peppers and mushrooms (V)

Dessert: Crunchy top lemon cake

Day 10: Mixed leaf and tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette (V, v/gf), creamy chicken and potato bake with cheesy breadcrumb topping, creamy leek and potato bake with cheesy breadcrumb topping (V), potatoes, leeks and mixed vegetables (v/gf). 

Dessert: peanut butter chocolate cookies and oat coconut cookies

Day 11: Homemade beef and chicken burgers, turkey burgers, veggie burgers (V), vegan burgers (v/gf), oven baked fries, condiments and toppings for self-assembly (burger buns, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, pickles, cheese singles mustard and ketchup).

Dessert: Zesty bread and butter pudding

Day 12: Homemade vegetable spring rolls with Sriracha-lime-vinegar dipping sauce (V), Asian-style chicken fried rice with shredded egg, fried and green onions, mixed vegetable fried rice with egg, fried and green onions (V), mixed vegetable fried rice with green onions (v/gf)

Dessert: Moist chocolate cake with Belgian chocolate ganache

THAT'S A WRAP!:)

Hearty Three-Bean Chicken Stew

Bacon, chicken chunks and three different beans, cooked to a rich tomato stew with a ton of different spices, and made creamy by a cheeky handful of cheese stirred in at the end. What's not to like? :)

I improvised this on the fly last night with leftover ingredients, so measurements are totally approximate. Feel free to add or omit anything on the list- I think carrots, zucchini or any chunky vegetables of your choice would make a great addition too.

Hearty Three-Bean Chicken Stew

Serves 8

*If you prefer not to use canned beans, just soak 3/4 cup of dried beans for each kind listed (so 2 1/4 cups dried beans total) overnight in water. Bring to a boil the next day and simmer for about 90 mins-2 hrs until cooked. You can use the water from cooking the beans in your stew.

Snip 200g streaky bacon into bits with some kitchen shears- I like to use Trader Joe's Bacon Ends and Pieces for cooking, and I much prefer kitchen scissors to a knife so I can cut it straight into the pot without getting a chopping board greasy.

Add a touch of olive oil and saute over medium-high heat until the fat from the bacon melts.

Add in and cook for a few minutes:

1 large cooking onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

A few dried chillies, crushed

Cut 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs into small chunks ( far prefer dark meat to white, but you can use chicken breast if preferred). Add to the pot and saute briefly until seared.

Pour in:

1 can (28 oz) chopped tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) each of pinto beans, red kidney beans and white canellini beans, drained (you can use just one type or other varieties if you prefer)

About 1 cup water (or the stock from cooking your dried beans if you did that)

1 tsp each of ground cumin and ground coriander

A generous sprinkling of dried oregano, basil, thyme, smoked paprika and cayenne (or any other herbs you want)

Lots of freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

1 bay leaf

Bring to a boil, then simmer on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 30-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened.

Right at the end, stir in a tiny handful of grated cheese to make creamy (I had a Mexican blend of asadero, sharp cheddar, queso blanco and Monterey Jack lying around).

Let cool slightly before serving. Eat on its own, with rice or with bread.

Tastes even better as leftovers the next day!

Someone Has Stolen the Sam Tan's Kitchen Logo! :(

Update 12 Aug 2015: The sign has been replaced and this issue is now resolved. Thank you to everyone who helped me get in touch with the family running this business, and thank you Ollivander's Kitchen for cooperating swiftly.

Dear Ollivander, or whoever owns Ollivander's Kitchen in Singapore,

It has just been brought to my attention that you've stolen my logo and are using Mini Cartoon Me as a sign for your hawker stall in the May Hua food court in Raffles Place.  By sheer luck, a friend happened to stop there today for lunch and sent me this photo:

This is all very surreal.

I hold no ill feelings towards you, in fact I am very flattered that you like my doodle of my own likeness so much that you would co-opt it without my permission. I'm sure you are a well-meaning small business owner that simply settled on my image after innocently Googling "cute food logos", but as I announced on 29 October 2014 with this post, I created her literally from scratch with color pens and spent many hours self-teaching Adobe Illustrator before I perfected "something simple and personal to capture the essence of me".  I specifically parted the hair the way I usually wear it, put lines where my collarbones stick out, added the loop earrings I frequently wear and drew the plate to look like both my favorite dish of all time, Hainanese Chicken Rice, as well as Malaysia's national dish Nasi Lemak. In other words, my logo truly is a carefully crafted and very precious Digital Mini Me, so I hope you in turn will bear no ill feelings when I implore you to please take it down now. 

I'm sorry if printing that big sign cost you some money, and I hope it won't make too much of a dent for you to reprint a new one with my logo removed.

If you, Ollivander, are reading this, I would appreciate it very much if you would drop me a line at samtanskitchen@gmail.com so we can resolve this amicably without any legal wrangling. 

In the meantime, if any Singaporeans out there are reading this and happen to pop by May Hua food court, please mention to the stall owner that I am trying to get in touch and get me a phone number or email address if you can.

Thank you.

Regards,

Samantha Tan

Sam Tan's Kitchen  

Louiza's Bridal Shower Tea Party

SAM TAN'S KITCHEN HAS MOVED! Please visit the new website/online store at www.samtanskitchen.com for all catering enquiries. You can also follow Sam on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Thank you!

Sam Tan's Kitchen caters home-cooked food made from scratch for just about anything, from intimate romantic dinners to low-budget film shoots to canapé-style receptions. To enquire for your next event, drop me a line at samtanskitchen@gmail.com :)

A few weeks ago my actress friend Ri got in touch to ask if I would cater a bridal shower she was in charge of organizing for her friend. We traded ideas on the phone, and I scribbled down thematic keywords including "pretty", "nibbles", and "cute", which then helped me draw up a suggested menu of 26 appropriate bitesize options and a range of centerpiece cakes to choose from.

After some discussion, I'm glad to say Ri and her fellow bridesmaids settled on some excellent sweet and savory selections, as well as my signature rose buttercream cake :)

And so behold, the "cute pretty nibbles" presented today at Sam Tan's Kitchen's first bridal shower tea party! Thank you Ri for hiring me and congratulations again to the beautiful bride-to-be Louiza! 

The menu (clockwise from top right): 

Chocolate fudge cake with vanilla buttercream roses, London Almond truffles, Malaysian coconut crepes, assorted sandwiches (roast vegetable and Swiss cheese, tuna scallion, black forest ham and muenster), mini butter shortbread hearts, bitesize sausage rolls.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elotes Callejeros)

Grilled Mexican-street style corn-on-the-cob, slathered in heaps of butter, mayonnaise, lime, cojita cheese and spices, easily made in your own kitchen in less than 20 minutes. 

What else do you need to know?

Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elotes Callejeros)

Technically serves 4 (I can eat 3 in one sitting, so...) 

The stuff you need (measurements don't need to be exact): 

4 ears of corn, husks removed (keep the ends on as handles)

Bit of oil (for brushing)

Some mayonnaise, say about 1/4 cup (some people like to mix in sour cream or Mexican crema too, do it if you like)

Some butter

1/2 cup grated Cotija cheese (if you can't find Cotija, substitute with grated Parmesan or feta)

A lime, cut into wedges

Ground smoked paprika and cayenne powder, or whatever Mexican chilli powders you have on hand (ancho, guajillo or chile pequin are highly recommended)

Brush the corn with a bit of vegetable oil. Grill in a heavy pan (or you can BBQ or roast in the oven) over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, turning frequently, until charred and golden.

Brush generously with butter, then mayonnaise. A pastry brush helps, but if not the back of a spoon will do just fine.

 Sprinkle generously with cheese and smoked paprika/cayenne/ your choice of chilli powders. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze all over.

Admire the sheer beauty of what you just made. Take close-ups, put them on Instagram #nom, excitedly tease your friends.

THEN ATTACK LIKE A RAVENOUS HYENA.