Be grateful

My eldest nephew, whom we used to call him C-Boy is now a C-Man. When he was a kid, he was very cheeky and mischievous. I remember when I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He told me that he just wanted to wait for money to drop from the sky. LOL! Of course, aging has its way of erasing these childhood dreams and he now knows the truth. He has grown into a man, fully understanding that he has to work hard to be financially stable. I can see that he is an enterprising businessman and he works very hard. He is doing well and we are very proud of him. 

C-boy, me and his girlfriend, Celine

What I am most proud of is that he loves his parents and has them in his thoughts. He shows appreciation by spending time with them and taking them out to dinner during the weekends when he is not working away from Kuala Lumpur. My step brother and his wife are very successful parents. Each of their three children is grateful people. Quay Lo and I are proud to be their aunty and uncle. They are different from some young people today who often take for granted their family and that most deserve their gratitude. They seem to be caught up in their busy lives and often forget that what were given to them by their parents. They often fail to realize that what they have received come as privileges and not entitlements. I wonder how often those kids actually count their blessings.

Last Sunday, Chris treated his parents, his Ku J (me) and his Ku Jeong (Quay Lo) to a delectable seafood dinner at Coconut Flower, Teluk Gong. We loved everything he ordered. It was wonderful feeling to know our nephew has us in his thoughts. For his whole life he has been "C Boy" to all of us in the family. That was because his grandfather could not pronounce his name, which is Christopher. When we were all together for the dinner that night my Quay Lo watched quietly as "C-Boy" took charge, rejecting the first table we were led to and steering us to a table that had a nearby fan to keep us cool. He then went through the entire menu, instructing the waiter on the selections. When the food came, it was clear that "C-Boy" had ordered our favorites. We laughed and ate, and ate some more of the feast that our "C-Boy" had arranged. Later, as we rose to leave, my Quay Lo said to us that he thought we would have to switch to calling our nephew "C-Man". That probably won't happen I thought. To most of us he will always be our "C-Boy". But my husband's comment rested easily on all of us as we made our way out of the restaurant. His point was quite clear. "C-Boy" has grown into a fine young man. One that we all love and are proud of.  

Here are what he ordered.

Oh guess what we had before we left for dinner? My improved version of otak-otak. Woohoo!! Explosion of orgasmication and deliciosity! Can it get better than that? LOL! Everyone included a chef tried this and they all said they love it. So, are you sold?

Otak-Otak with senangin (threadfins fish) and scallops

This dish was featured in AFC (Official) Facebook page on 12 August 2012.

Ingredients:

(A)

400gm senangin fish fillets

6 large fresh scallops, diced

¾ cup thick coconut milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

8 pcs kaffir lime leaves, removed the spines and finely sliced

½ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp sugar

Ingredients for the paste:

(B)

10 pieces red chillies, seeds removed and sliced

(do not remove seeds if want it to be more spicy)

2 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced

4 petals of bunga kantan, finely sliced

10 pcs candlenuts, roasted (pound)

1 pc roasted shrimp paste approx. 1.5 in x 1.5 in x 3/4 in thick

4 cloves garlic sliced

5 shallots, finely sliced

1.5 inch fresh tumeric, (cut into smaller pieces)

1 inch galangal (cut into smaller pieces)

1 tbs chilli boh

1 tsp rice flour

1 tbs corn flour

(C)

13 pcs big size daun kaduk (betel leaves) or more if it is small pieces (to lay on banana leaves before putting the fish and paste mixture)

13 pcs 6 inches x 8 inches banana leaves, cleaned and soften

Method:

First soften the banana leaves. Clean fish, remove skin and, flaked and cut them accordingly. Blend all paste ingredients (B) in a blender. If you want it to taste even better, pound the spices using mortar and pestle instead.  In a large mixing bowl, add in (A) and (B) and mix them thoroughly.

Bring water in the steamer to boil to be ready for the parcel.  In each banana leaf, place 1 or 2 betel leaves. Place 2 table spoon of fish and paste mixture onto the betel leaves and make the parcel. Use staples to secure the folds and place the parcels on the rack of a steamer for approximately 10 mins or until fished is cooked and paste is set. Serve hot.

(Click here to see how to make soften the banana leaves and make the parcel.)

Note: I suggest you steam 1 parcel to garge the time. From the above ingredients, I managed to make 13 parcels. It is okay to have 20 betel leaves and banana leaves each just in case some are torn and cannot be used.

“I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest (link to here , Melaka State hosted by Cindy of yummylittlecooks)”

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