The Borneo Culinary Journey @ Gaya Island Resort, Malaysia + Recipe for Hinava

One of our favorite activities while we were holidaying at Gaya Island Resort was The Borneo Culinary Journey, whereby we got to learn how to make traditional Borneo/Sabahan dishes with the chef's guidance. We attended this 2 hour hands-on cooking class with our kids and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The interactive cooking session takes place at Fisherman Cove restaurant's kitchen whereby we started off with introduction to ingredients for the two dishes that we were preparing that morning, with the chef explaining the spices and fresh produce to us. At these cooking sessions, guests have the opportunity to learn local family recipes from various ethnic groups and the session will end with a dining session, communal style with other participants.

Our instructor for the morning, Chef Miguel is personable, interesting and made our session very fun. He taught us two dishes, Hinava (a popular Sabah-style ceviche dish of Kadazan-dusun ethnic origin) and Piaren ah Manuk (chicken in grated coconut, a native dish of Iranun tribe in Kota Belud).

Chef Miguel shows us how to plate the dish, fine-dining style :)

With our supervision, both kids had fun mixing the ingredients for the hinava, blending the paste for the chicken dish, cooking the chicken dish and then plating the two dishes, fine-dining style with guidance from Chef Miguel.

The Borneo Culinary Journey is definitely a worthwhile experience, should you wish to learn more about the cuisine of the local ethnic groups. We certainly had a fun time - great for family bonding! :)

We get a certificate each at the end of the cooking session.. well done!

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In this post, I will be sharing the recipe for the Hinava dish that we prepared during the cooking session. Hinava is a raw fish salad, often called a Sabah-style ceviche. For this dish, we used the Sabah chilli which is more fragrant. Since there is no cooking involved, use the freshest fish you can find. The fish is marinated in lime juice which will "cook" the fish (the citric acid causes the protein in the seafood to become denatured, the same way as heat does.)

Hinava is a very appetizing, refreshing salad, which is tangy and spicy, with a distinctive ginger taste. Love it!


Hinava Recipe
Recipe courtesy of YTL Hotels
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
300g raw white fish, sliced thinly
120ml lime juice/vinegar
3-4 small red shallots, sliced or finely chopped
2 inch young ginger, julienned
5 green/red bird's eye chilli, finely chopped
Salt, to taste (1/8 tsp)
Sugar, to taste (1/8 tsp)

1. Place all ingredients in a small bowl or plastic container. Mix well and marinate for 10 mins. Season with salt and sugar. (Note: You can add the birds eye chillis in small amount at a time, adjusting the spiciness to personal preference)

Chef at work

2. Cover and place in fridge to chill for at least 10 mins before serving. Taste again before serving, and adjust seasoning as required.

Website: http://www.gayaislandresort.com/

Location: Gaya Island Resort, Malohom Bay, Pulau Gaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia.

Tel: +60 18 939 1100

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Recipe: Chicken Fricassée (Gordon Ramsay)

It definitely feels good to be back in my own kitchen and cooking for my family again. Since Gordon Ramsay month has not ended yet, I picked this chicken fricassée recipe to try. Fricassée is a French method of cooking whereby meat is cut up, sauteed and braised, then served with its sauce. 

Chicken Fricassée

Gordon Ramsay uses a whole chicken jointed into 8 pieces and cooks it with smoked bacon, garlic and mushrooms, but I decided to use 4 chicken marylands, cut up into 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs. The recipe calls for flambeing the chicken with brandy, but I skipped this step and just simmered it at high heat for a couple of minutes. Since I prefer crispy skin when I eat chicken thigh/drumsticks, I placed the cooked chicken under a hot grill for several minutes for the skin to crisp up (but this step is completely optional).

This was a huge hit with my kids - even before I finished snapping photos, they have already finished one drumstick each. Eaten with the sauce, I have to admit it's really delicious! The chicken is moist and flavorful. I would definitely make this again, seeing that it takes less than 45 minutes to prepare and results in an utterly satisfying dish.

Chicken Fricassée
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4


Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken maryland, jointed into 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs
100g bacon lardons or streaky bacon, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
150g white button mushrooms, halved
1 bay leaf
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only
50ml brandy
400ml chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish
2 sprigs of thyme or chopped parsley


1. In a large heavy-based sauté pan or casserole over medium heat, add the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan (put the thighs in skin side down) and sauté for 3-4 minutes on one side, until golden. (You may need to do it in two batches if your pan is small) Turn the chicken over, add the lardons, garlic and mushrooms and mix well.  Stir in the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.

2. Add the brandy, and increase to medium high heat and simmer for 1 minute, then lower the heat back to medium and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, over medium low heat for 10 minutes, then cover and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

4. Transfer to a baking tray, and place under hot grill for 4-5 minutes for crispy skin (this is an additional step which I did to crisp up the skin).

5. In the meantime, increase the heat under the pan to medium high to reduce and slightly thicken the sauce.

6. Discard the garlic, rosemary and bay leaf. Spoon sauce with mushroom and bacon onto plate and top with chicken. Garnish with thyme (leaves only) or chopped parsley.


Note: Original recipe uses 1 large free range chicken jointed into 8 pieces. I used thin streaky bacon cut into strips as I couldn't get bacon lardons here. I also substituted chestnut mushrooms for white button mushroom. I also did not flambé the chicken after adding the brandy.

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* I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Gordon Ramsay" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Gordon Ramsay websites or cookbooks for the whole month of August 2014. You can link your posts at one of the host's pages.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in August 2014 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:




* I am submitting this post to "Cook-Your-Books #15" hosted by Joyce.

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Soba Noodle Salad (Gordon Ramsay)

Hello everyone, I'm back! We were in Scotland for the last 3 weeks, visiting the sights, doing fun family things as well as indulging in lots of good food. Which means, now that we're back, I need to lose some of that holiday weight.

Soba Noodle Salad

While we were in the UK, I bought Gordon Ramsay's "Ultimate Home Cooking" cookbook, and this recipe caught my eye. It is very quick to make, healthy and thanks to the soba noodles, it is also wholesome and filling. The Japanese vinaigrette dressing, which includes sesame oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice and soy sauce is fragrant and tangy. Though nori seaweed is stated as optional on the original recipe, I would highly recommend that you do not omit this ingredient as it really makes this salad all the more tasty.

This salad can be served as a light lunch or a side dish to an Asian meal (Gordon Ramsay served it with teriyaki salmon).

Healthy and appetizing :)

Soba Noodle Salad
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from  Gordon Ramsay's "Ultimate Home Cooking"
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 2


Ingredients
125g soba noodles
75g sugar snap peas, topped and tailed and halved lengthways
1 1/2 carrots, peeled and sliced into ribbons (use a vegetable peeler)
1 spring onion, trimmed and finely chopped
1.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 sheet nori seaweed, thinly sliced/shredded

For the dressing
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
Juice of 1/4 lemon



1. Cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. When almost cooked, add the sugar snap peas and carrots to blanch. Drain once the noodles are cooked.

2. In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and lemon juice. Add ginger, seaweed and the dressing to the noodle mixture, season with a little salt and pepper and mix well. Serve.


Note: I omitted the kale from original recipe since I didn't have any in the fridge.

* I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Gordon Ramsay" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Gordon Ramsay websites or cookbooks for the whole month of August 2014. You can link your posts at one of the host's pages.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in August 2014 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:




* I am submitting this post to "Cook-Your-Books #15" hosted by Joyce.

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

BBQ Sensation @ Hugo's on 6, Best Western Premier Dua Sentral, KL

On the first night of our staycation at Best Western Premier Dua Sentral KL, we opted for BBQ by the pool. Dubbed "BBQ Sensation" it is available every Friday and Saturday at Hugo's on 6 from 6.30pm onwards and is priced at RM95++ per person.

We really enjoyed the experience of having a BBQ by the poolside, with a clear view of the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Towers. Fortunately for us, there was also a lovely breeze that evening and the food selection was very much to our liking. 

Nice view 

Starting the evening with a Mojito :)

For me, a good BBQ should have chicken wings and grilled meat. Tick and tick! I lost count of how many chicken wings I ate that evening. Grilled lamb, beef, fish and sausages are also available. The kids (and adults) loved the satay... tender and well flavoured, served with a thick peanut sauce. Hubby's favorite corner is the shawarma counter, which he had several helpings of. 

Other than these, there is also a small selection of other cooked food such as gnocchi, beef stew as well as salads and seafood on ice that you can help yourself to. For desserts, there are cakes, fresh fruit, puddings and ice cream. And while you dine, be serenaded by the live performance by the saxophonist - excellent entertainment. 

Grilled meats

Antipasti

Hubby's favorite counter

Grilled fish

 Satay

Huge platter of paella, cooked before your eyes!

Seafood on ice - prawns were nice and fresh

Dessert

Excellent live entertainment by Azmi, the saxophonist

Mummy and daughter :)

Son

Sunset

Read about our previous experience at Hugo's on 6 here.

BBQ Sensation is available on Fridays and Saturdays from 6.30pm onwards. Priced at RM95++.

Opening times: Sunday to Thursday (12.00 noon to 1.00 am); Friday, Saturday and eve of Public Holidays/ (12.00 noon to 2.00 am). Happy hour 6pm to 8pm, with drinks 1 for 1 on all house-pouring spirits, beers and wines by the glass daily from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm.

Location: Best Western Premier Dua Sentral, 8, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2272 8888

Join their Facebook page here.

GPS Coordinates: 3.136185,101.693356

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Recipe: Blueberries with honey, almonds and yogurt (Gordon Ramsay)

This has to be the easiest Gordon Ramsay recipe I've tried. I was flipping through his "Fast Food" cookbook and saw this and thought that I should make it as our after-dinner snack. Blueberries, yogurt and honey are three things which my kids love!

A healthy, easy recipe that kids love :)

All you have to do is wash the blueberries, mix honey and Greek yogurt, toast the almonds and you have the world's easiest dessert! It's really yummy too, not to mention healthy as well. I've made it several times now, as the kids kept requesting for it - if you dont have Greek yogurt (it's thicker), you can also substitute with regular natural yogurt. Just as good!

Not only does this make a great healthy dessert, it will also work well for breakfast.

Blueberries with honey, almonds and yogurt
Recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay's "Fast Food"
Preparation time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tbsp flaked almonds
100g Greek yogurt
1 tbsp runny honey
1 pack (125g) blueberries

1. In a dry frying pan over medium high heat, toast the almonds for 4-5 minutes, until they are fragrant and golden brown. Do keep an eye on them as they can burn rather quickly once the pan is hot. Once ready, tip in a bowl and leave to cool.

Toasting almonds

2. Mix the yogurt and honey in a bowl, then fold in the blueberries. Divide among two bowls, then scatter the toasted almonds on top.

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