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#malaysian cooking
waitmyturtles · 1 year
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Alright, happy Monday! As previously promised during my review of A Tale of Thousand Stars: in preparation for the eventual release of Moonlight Chicken, I would love to share in a long manifesto my love, my passion, the GOSPEL, for what I think may be the unsung hero and character of that show, without even seeing an episode -- the actual dish of Hainanese chicken rice itself, which is known as khao man gai in Thailand.
(LONG POST! TL;DR: this post is going to contain a quick explanation of why it is SO BOMB that there’s a THAI BL that focuses ON THIS DISH, a description of the dish itself, a diasporic history of Hainanese chicken rice, links to a few recipes, and a list of places where I’ve had Hainanese chicken rice in the States.)
Borrowing a photo from Mark Wiens! Let’s get started.
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Girl, why exactly are you going off on all this?
Why, oh why, you may ask -- why should Mama Turtles wax POETIC about the seemingly simple dish of chicken rice? The simple name of the dish belies a deeply cultural symbol of so much -- of the roles that particular dishes play in Southeast Asian cultures, of how such a dish can be so difficult to make AND to relate to, and at least most importantly to me, how immigration and diasporas created the complicated and diverse foodways and cultural fabrics that we see in this part of the world. 
(For the record, I’m part Malaysian, and have spent significant time of my adult life in Malaysia and Singapore. While these areas are not Thailand specifically, there’s tons of shared food preparation, culture, and appreciation from Thailand, down south to Penang and the Malay Peninsula, and down to Singapore.)
Why is khao man gai such a big deal vis à vis Moonlight Chicken?
Before I talk about the details of the dish itself, I want to set the context of why is it SO MOTHERBLEEPING LOVELY that there’s a Thai BL (with our DARLING Earth and Mix starring in it, with the DARLING First and Khao in supporting roles) that is ostensibly centered on a man making khao man gai. This is deeply heart-warming, soul-settling, feel-good shiz to me, and I think that a lot of Thai BL fujoshis who are obsessed with food, like me, would feel the same way. 
Hainanese chicken rice/khao man gai is made of the most humble of ingredients -- chicken, rice, water, salt. 
The fact that there would be a queer series centered around a queer man making khao man gai and selling it to others -- it means that a dish that is totally, utterly accessible to EVERY SINGLE PERSON in a country is being centered in a show focused on queer relationships....the kinds of relationships that should also be accessible to EVERY SINGLE PERSON who wants this kind of a relationship in an Asian country. 
This will make even more sense as I continue writing about the dish, but suffice to say, while it’s complicated to make, Hainanese chicken rice is about the most egalitarian food there is -- and the freedom to love whoever you want should also be as egalitarian as that. 
What is Hainanese chicken rice/khao man gai, and what is the big bleeping deal about it?
Before I jump to Wikipedia, maybe I should have Earth himself explain the dish.
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That last screenshot is truth.
Obviously, the easiest place to find a background on this dish is Wikipedia, and what I actually didn’t know before starting to type this up is that khao man gai literally means “chicken oily rice,” which totally sums up this dish. While it seems simple, it’s a very rich and filling dish, but also healthy-ish, because you’re still eating chicken, which is not the richest or fattiest of meats.
The dish consists of rice that’s first been sautéed with aromatics like ginger and garlic, and (in many, but not all cases) also sautéed with rendered chicken fat. (If you’re from the East Coast of the States or are part of a Jewish community, you’ll know this ingredient as schmaltz.)
That fatty sautéed rice is then steamed in chicken broth, ideally in chicken broth that you yourself made while you were boiling the chicken that you’ll use in your khao man gai. As far as that chicken goes, you’ve cleaned it, prepped it, maybe you rubbed salt on it to get rid of any impurities on the skin, and boiled it until it’s cooked, but not overcooked. If you’re in Thailand, you might just let it cool; if you’re in Malaysia or Singapore, or elsewhere in Asia, you might give that baby a dip in ice water after it’s done cooking, to tighten up the skin and give the skin a jellied texture that is beloved by many. You also might rub some sesame oil on your chicken after the boiling process, which is done in some, but not all, places.
You also might go wild and serve your rice not just with the boiled chicken, but also with roasted chicken, or fried chicken, or a combo of boiled/roasted/fried chicken. You ALSO might WILD OUT MORE and ALSO serve your chicken rice with, say, crispy siu yuk, which I’ve had, and like.... ooooommmmfffffgggg. It sends shivers down my spine, it’s so good.
You’ve also made the broth perfectly with aromatics, and possibly simmered either daikon or winter melon in the broth to serve alongside the composed dish of chicken and rice.
AND, you definitely best have made some side sauces. Garlic-ginger-vinegar sauce, maybe, or ginger-scallion oil, or red chili sauce, or all of them. In Thailand, a sauce that features taucu, or fermented yellow soybeans, seems to be an absolute must -- and it is goddamn pure heaven to put on your khao man gai. If you’re in Malaysia, a small dish of vinegared chili, known as chili padi, is a must must. Depending on where you’re eating this in Asia, you’ll put a bottle of dark soy sauce on the table for drizzling over all your rice, but -- you might not always see that at every place where you’re eating chicken rice.
In OTHER WORDS: this dish is a bit of a beast to make. The simple LOOK of the dish -- white chicken on top of white rice, with some sliced cucumbers to the side, and a bowl of broth next to it -- is totally disingenuous to the work you need to put in to make it taste great. Your broth, for instance, might be made by boiling chicken after chicken after chicken in it. That broth gets more concentrated and powerful over time as you’re putting in more and more aromatics in it. Your store is defined by your broth; by how perfectly each grain of rice is individually coated in a sheen of chicken fat, salt, and other seasonings; by your one-of-a-kind sauces that hit and accompany the chicken and the rice perfectly, and most importantly, by how all these components come together. If your soup, chicken, rice, and sauces are ALL PERFECTLY MADE, then you’ve hit paydirt, my friends. 
It’s VERY RARE to find a shop that does all these components perfectly, or at least at the same level of tastiness. 
Alright, so I get that this dish can be a motherfucker to make. But why is it such a big deal, culturally? Why would a Thai BL be focused on a guy making this dish?
So for this part, I first want to say that I think it’s very important for a Western audience to understand that this dish is deeply loved in MANY countries in Asia and Southeast Asia. I’ve eaten this dish with groups of Westerners in SE Asia -- actually exclusively white folks, now that I think about it -- and to a tee, I’ve heard complaints by them that this dish is boring and they can’t see what the big deal is about it.
I mean, American pork chops can be fine, or they can be boring, too. 
The fact that chicken rice spans multiple countries and foodways should tell a Western audience that there are qualities about it, as I listed above, that are far beyond the sum of its parts. For instance -- the way to get each GRAIN of rice coated in fat and flavor takes years of experience. Y’all, I still can’t get perfect rice in my rice cooker, and I’ve been making rice for my family for more than 10 years. These things take time to perfect, and not everything one eats in Asia is going to be bombastic, like, say, Taiwanese stinky tofu or a gorgeous omakase at a high-end sushi bar.
Part of the reason why this dish is so beloved is because it IS very ubiquitous from the China-to-Southeast-Asia diaspora. I can mostly speak for Malaysia (I apologize for not knowing more about immigration patterns in Thailand), but MUCH of the fabric of Malaysian cuisine comes from specifically regional immigrant diasporas, namely from the area of China that is now known as Fujian, but that’s not a hard and fast historical rule. Well-known populations from this area in China that settled in Malaysia include the Hakka and Hokkien populations (you may have seen Hakka mee or Hokkien mee on Malaysian restaurant menus), and they also include the Hainanese population, which brought a style of boiling chicken in broth to the areas where the population settled -- which include Thailand and Malaysia, and eventually Singapore, as Hainanese descendants moved farther south down the Malay peninsula. 
(By the way, if you’re ever curious, you need to read up on populations that were literally created after the first waves of Chinese immigration to Southeast Asia. The well-known Peranakan population in Malaysia, for instance, was literally created through interracial marriage of Chinese immigrants to native Malay populations, and a deeply important culture, including foodways, were born out of those marriages and population growth. It’s fascinating history in a world that often seems so hyperfocused on far right movements wanting “racial purity.” What cultural beauty comes out of populations and diasporas meeting each other and creating new cultures together.)
Back to the discussion: as Malaysian cultures and populations developed over time due in part to the influence of Chinese immigration through Southeast Asia, so, we assume, the same was happening in Thailand. (We can see deeply the effect of the influence of Chinese culture in a show like Big Dragon, which was centered around the telling of Chinese Buddhist myths through a Thai lens.) And as these immigrant populations from China traversed the Thai-Malay peninsula, their food habits stuck and were adopted by the native Southeast Asian populations. It’s no wonder that chicken rice became as beloved and ubiquitous as it did -- in part because rice is a staple food across the whole region, in part because it’s such a comforting dish (like congee, like juk, like okayu porridge), and in part because the individual ingredients themselves are humble and easy to find for your everyday home cook.
I want to just quickly touch upon the point of rice as a staple food. It seems so super obvious to us Asians, but especially for fans of QL that may not be Asian and/or may not have rice as a central and everyday food -- to make a dish like chicken rice perfectly, to have it center on the particular way in which you PREP and COOK the rice, for the rice to be all oily and salty and chicken-y -- the dichotomy of how humble rice is with how GLORIOUSLY TASTY and filling the final result of chicken rice is, can really move you. There are thousands of other rice preparations out there that are just as beloved as chicken rice -- from the Malaysian nasi lemak (literally “fat rice,” or rice cooked in coconut milk and served with delicious accompaniments) to Indian biriyani, to Japanese takikomi gohan or tamago kake gohan, to Korean bibimbap or gyeran bap -- you get the point. Dishes that center on rice are just beloved. They just are, because rice is so fundamentally egalitarian and important to our everyday way of being and eating. 
AND, the way in which you EAT chicken rice -- by mixing up the accompaniments throughout the eating process, dolling up each bite of rice with a different sauce, having a sip of soup, taking a bit of meat -- that whole process of making each bite taste different allows you to have a whirlwind experience of eating with, again, very humble ingredients that end up being far more than the sum of their rice-meat-and-veg parts.
And so. When Chinese populations were immigrating throughout Southeast Asia, they brought with them, and adapted over time, a style of making rice with chicken and fat that, again, seemed so simple, but was so full of a kind of quiet and comforting flavor, that it HAD to be adapted by every country and population in which the Chinese immigrants had settled. The love for rice in the whole region was going to lead to a guaranteed adaptation of this dish for generations to cook and enjoy. 
Finally, regarding Moonlight Chicken once more -- without having seen an episode yet, I want to offer some conjecture that I think (or hope) that the plot reflects the simple-but-complicated nature of the dish of khao man gai with whatever happens in the love triangles of Earth, Mix, First, and Khao. There might very well be love parallels that what seems to be simple is actually a beast to make, both in food and in relationships.
And regarding a cultural love for rice dishes, and the fact that this dish and a khao man gai establishment is at the heart of this show: it fills me up with so much comforting happiness that a khao man gai joint is what’s being used to center a theme of where people go to kick off the show. If you know of a great khao man gai joint -- you go to it, people flock to it. The trailer shows drunk people stumbling around. If you’re drunk and hungry, you want to go to a place that gives you comfort, right? That might be a McDonald’s, a taco truck, a diner, a 24-hour Korean restaurant (ugh, anju at 2 am while you’re nursing your eventual hangover...memories). 
Khao man gai IS COMFORT, and IS comfort food. Earth’s character providing that comfort...I’m just saying, there HAS to be parallels between khao man gai and the storyline of Moonlight Chicken. THERE MUST BE. Let a girl dream!
Damn, girl. You went OFF. Take some Altoids. Give us some recipes!
Yes, this is definitely a manifesto of manifestos of an amazing dish.
These recipes mark the cultural landscape of this dish. I’ll note where the recipe comes from. I encourage you to review these recipes and check out the small-and-large differences in how this dish is made, depending on where in Asia the recipe is centered. (For instance, many of these recipes call for that ice bath that I mentioned earlier; that’s not ubiquitous in Thailand.)
Also, I want to note that as far as the side soup goes, I’ve only seen that Thai preparations of khao man gai GUARANTEE the soup on the side. I’ve seen some places in Singapore offer the side soup, but not all. The addition of daikon or winter melon to the soup, in Thai preparations, gives me the shivers, it is so good. So if/when you’re making this at home, keep in mind that you can choose to serve the broth/soup on the side.
Two last notes -- this coming from me, a mom and busy home cook. I sometimes do a very bastardized version of this dish for my kids, where I poach chicken in aromatics, but I don’t sauté the rice beforehand -- I just chuck the rice in my rice cooker with my poaching liquid. When I do this, I always freeze a half-quart to a quart of broth. Then, when I make the dish again, I take out that frozen broth, add it to my pot with my new chicken and water, and start poaching again. Having that base of previous broth really DOES help make my future chicken and soups taste that much richer. 
AND -- while I have daikon available in my supermarket (thank you, big cities!), I often use turnips as the veg that I serve with the broth. I LOVE turnips in soup, y’all! Turnips in chicken soup are oniony without being overwhelming, and I love how translucent and creamy they get. They totally hold the flavor of broth beautifully. Next time you’re making soup, don’t leave the turnips behind, they’re great! (Oh, and also, a tip I learned from the Kinou Nani Tabeta mangas -- I also use leeks as an aromatic in my soup, along with garlic and ginger. Leeks are AMAZING in soup! They can help take away any gaminess you might get from poaching chicken or other meat.)
Okay, recipes!
The Woks of Life (China)
Food 52 (Thailand)
Mark Wiens (Thailand)
Rasa Malaysia (Malaysia)
Adam Liaw (Singapore-ish recipe, note the use of sesame oil for rubbing on the chicken after the ice bath -- not all recipes call for this)
Kwokspots (maybe we can call this a ubiquitously Asian recipe? I actually just love this dude on IG, I’m gonna hype up his recipe)
Um, this is a lot. Where can I order this dish?
In my post about A Tale of Thousand Stars, I referenced Eim Khao Man Gai in Elmhurst, Queens, NY (see footnote below). I unfortunately only know places to eat Hainanese chicken rice/khao man gai in either NY or SoCal, but I ENCOURAGE you to please seek it out wherever you live. 
Over the years, even while I’ve lived thousands of miles away from New York, Eim Khao Man Gai is my restaurant par excellence for khao man gai. It’s all they serve, and they do it SO well. Eim Khao Man Gai also does their chicken three ways -- steamed, roasted, and/or crispy. You guys, it’s just heavenly, and their side sauces are to die for.
In SoCal, Savoy Kitchen was the first place I heard of that specialized in chicken rice, and it’s incredible here. As well, I love Side Chick at the Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia. I’ve eaten a bunch at Ipoh Kopitiam in Alhambra, but I haven’t tried their Singapore-style Hainan chicken rice yet -- it looks amazing, and many reviews say that it’s currently best version in the San Gabriel Valley. 
Back to New York for a second -- if you’re looking for a place more local to you that isn’t in Queens, just look at Yelp. If I lived in NYC now, I would be in tears with how much more available this dish has gotten over the years.
Wherever you are in the States -- the Bay Area, Texas, anywhere where there are significant Asian populations -- or wherever you are in the world, please seek out Hainanese chicken rice/khao man gai.  Again, it may not LOOK exciting on the menu. But you’ll get a taste for the kind of comfort food that really hits home for so many of us Asians.
Holy shit. You must be exhausted!
WOW WOW WOW, y’all. If you’ve gotten THIS FAR -- bless you! Thanks for going on this road with me. Please make, buy, and/or eat Hainanese chicken rice/khao man gai. Appreciate the differences of the dish from each of the cultures that you’re eating it from. Please give big hugs to GMMTV for focusing a BL on this most humble, beautiful, delicious, soul-satisfying dish. I’m hoping for all the food/love parallels. I’m dying to see Mix just snarf on a big plate of khao man gai to kick the series off.
Moonlight Chicken is gonna be SO GREAT! And chicken rice is just the best dish ever. Please enjoy it!
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If you have the energy to read a little further, one more urge from your devoted food mom here. @secretsfromwholecloth​ noted in a comment on my ATOTS review that ae and aer friend had actually hit up Eim Khao Man Gai, which was SO RAD to read. If you have never visited NYC before, and you’re plotting your itinerary of the usual tourist stops -- I beg you to please save at least an afternoon to hop on the 7 train and head out to Queens. Queens has some of THE BEST RESTAURANTS in NYC. From Indian and Tibetan in Jackson Heights, to Thai and Filipino food in Elmhurst and Woodside, to Greek in Astoria, to Korean in Bayside and Flushing, and the monolith that is Flushing’s Chinatown -- Queens is the happiest and fucking coolest diverse place in the world. Don’t be afraid to leave Manhattan for an afternoon or even a whole day. Eat everything during the day, hit up Flushing Meadows Corona Park for some exercise, check out the Queens Museum and the awesome Noguchi Museum, unwind at a cocktail bar in Long Island City or Sunnyside at night. Queens is totally the unsung best borough in NYC, one of the most diverse counties in the States, and I’ll stand up for Queens County every minute of my life over Manhattan.
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Butternut laksa with crispy chickpeas
This is an absolutely delicious recipe and utterly seasonal – perhaps one of the best laksas ever. I used some chicken stock left over from a roast which made it especially rich. The addition of the crispy chick peas is especially good. A meal in itself. You can make it vegan by adding miso and vegetable stock instead of the fish sauce and chicken stock. Continue reading Untitled
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daily-deliciousness · 2 months
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Laksa noodle soup
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thelcsdaily · 3 months
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Beef Rendang
A delectable dish from the Minangkabau ethnic group in Indonesia, beef rendang is indigenous to the country. The dish was introduced to Malaysia during the Melaka Sultanate era, when Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra moved to the southern region of the Malay peninsula.
Rendang is a curry made using slow-simmered beef that lets the flavors seep into the flesh. A recipe that takes hours to prepare on the burner. Depending on the desired result, the dish must be cooked in coconut milk with all of the spices for a specified length of time. The original recipe needs to be cooked for two to three hours minimum until dry. To ensure you have leftovers, I suggest that you make a big portion. Over the next day, the flavors and aroma intensify. Perfect with a bowl of steam rice and your veggies of choice.
FYI: Rendang, creating it from scratch may seem difficult or time-consuming to someone who works. You can take a shortcut by using Rendang paste. This will shorten the preparation period.
"Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together." — Guy Fieri
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sillyboyyears · 1 year
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When the lemongrass hit the pan
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rukafais · 2 years
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my dad told me he was a teenager when he first went to a taco bell and he tried the mild sauce and went into a coughing fit and had to chug his drink because it was too spicy. for context, his dad didnt even put ketchup on meatloaf.
Oh..............
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selinascatnip · 2 years
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one day I'll hav money, I'll fly my fat at to Asia ans eat EVERYTHING
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e-ziara · 2 years
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I try to make a not heretical chicken rendang 🧡 🍗 🧡 As you can see, the first one is better than the other plate that’s way too runny looking. It looked like a curry lmao. I had to cook it further to be more better.
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sewgeekmama · 11 months
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Let's Get Popping with Malaysian Palm Oil
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39dreams · 2 years
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Malaysian Police Arrests Nigerian Smugglers
Nigerian smugglers nabbed for attempting to export substandard cooking oil Malaysian Police arrest Nigerians for smuggling cooking oil Police in Malaysia has arrested three Nigerian men allegedly smuggling cooking oil subsidised by the Malaysian government for its citizen, for illegal shipment to Nigeria. The commodities were concealed in kettles and rice cookers meant for export to…
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YANDERE EX-HUSBAND: INTRODUCTION
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× cw: general yandere stuff; malaysian/cantonese slang; reader is implied ethnically chinese (read her dialogue in Steven He’s accent); reader is also female; obsessive behavior; bribery; stalking; being held at gunpoint(?); threats; felony; implied murder; controlling behavior
× note: it's basically renheng/uncle roger and auntie helen
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⌗ your beloved ex-husband? Hah! He’s no better than a plate of burnt egg fried rice with no spring onions or meat from a kopitiam(coffee shop). In fact, you’d pick studying at art school over looking at his face for a single second, even if it means your mother disowning you.
⌗ Unfortunately, even after getting divorced, you still live together. That’s because the house is bought under both your names, so you can’t just kick him out. And it’s not like you’ll have enough money to buy a new house after selling your current one, because half the money goes to him. Tsk. What a nuisance…
⌗ Yala, he’s handsome and rich, but he’s such a jerk and a micromanager! He always insists on telling you how to cook your signature noodles. (Mind you, you grew up learning how to make that. Your ma made sure of that.) He didn’t go to culinary school, so who is he to tell you that, huh?
⌗ You can’t stand being married to such a pompous man like him, so you locked yourself in your room on the wedding night. No way you’re gonna do anything with that eyesore (metaphor). That’s why five months later, after countless arguments and fights, you divorced him.
“Haiya, he CEO of a company, his net worth 1 billion. But he cannot even cook rice or defrost chicken for me when I ask him to? And you ask why I divorce him ah?” *slaps table*
⌗ However, your ex-husband doesn’t really care about your rants or complaints. You’re talking for hours on end about him, so that’s already a win in his book. He’s always on your mind!
⌗ He fully expected you to divorce him. That’s why he insisted on buying the house under both your names - you can’t get rid of him that way. All long as he’s under the same roof as you are, he couldn’t be happier. He eats the food you cook (leftovers because you’re used to cooking for all your relatives during family dinner), rolls on your perfectly made bed while you work your accountant job (in one of his other companies that you don’t know he’s the CEO of) and plays the picture perfect husband when your mom drops by (your 28501864817 relatives marching right behind her) with mooncakes and tangyuan (because she’ll beat you up with the tea set heirloom passed down forty-five generations when she discovers that you’re divorced with no sons!!).
⌗ How did you even get married to him if you hate him that much? Well, long story short, your mother and his mother are best friends, and their husbands are brothers, which made daily reunions even longer because they had so much to talk about. When they noticed that he showed interest in you as a child (one time), they decided that you two would get married when you were of age. While you were resentful that you were essentially forced into an arranged marriage, you pushed through it for the wedding ang pao (red packets) and tax benefits (at least until you divorced, which was when you started working and putting that science stream (not art!) degree to use). 
⌗ You hate your ex-husband, but you do admit that he’s a good wallet. Besides, it’s not like he’s obsessive or possessive or a micromanager who stalks you when you go out or a genuinely bad person who commits felonies because he found out you were searching for potential bachelors because after all you’re in your prime! Right? And besides, who wouldn’t want to date and eventually marry you? But don’t worry your pretty little head because he’ll take care of them since he’s the only one you’ll ever need. Yeah, you’re divorced but who’s to say you can’t get remarried? Not the law! 
⌗ And if he has to drag you screaming and kicking and cursing him (and his ancestors) to the ancestral plane and make you stand by the altar, that’s what his strength is for! And if he has to pay hush money to all the people present that’s ok, cuz he’s not rich for nothing and the relatives aren’t greedy bloodsucking money nabbers (me) just for show.
“Once again, until death do us part, my love… You at the back - put down that phone. I’ll pretend you weren’t trying to call the police, for the sake of this auspicious occasion. What do you mean my wife is being held at gunpoint and trying to punch me no she isn’t.”
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primdaisy · 6 months
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first trip to the night market / malaysian satay & halo halo / new shirt / diah updating her whatsapp status with a selfie
fount of tomarani knowledge aspiration:
cook tomarani cuisine ✓
prepare a recipe using a pressure cooker ✓
buy a shirt from the night market ✓
buy food at the night market ✓
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thelcsdaily · 1 year
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Malaysian Style Okra and Shrimp
One of the best Malay dishes to eat with sambal sauce is okra with shrimp. There are several kinds of sambal sauce, a chile condiment consumed all over Indonesia. A delightful and more palatable Malaysian dish is made of sautéed okra with shrimp, brightened with lime zest, and served with a punchy, subtle sauce made of hot sambal oelek, aromatic ginger, and garlic. Savored with piping-hot rice or noodles.
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” ― Julia Child
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siriusly-parker · 9 days
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OKAY nanami is a foodie and knows how to cook. How would you headcanon his cooking skills? Is he a skilled amateur home cook? What type of dishes would he make?
ohhhhh these are my favourite kind of asks!! omgggg don’t get me started on cook nanami 😭😭 [kinda got carried away loll] ˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊
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nanami is most definitely a calm and collected man, in and outside the kitchen. he just dreams of a peaceful life, of maple syrup and butter-drenched pancakes in the early mornings with you. he’s a good cook, and he finds great pleasure in taking care of his loved ones through the meals he so meticulously prepares. gojo even offers one too many times to fund his restaurant if he ever decided to create a business out of his cooking skills. kento denies every time, but he knows the white haired sorcerer only means praise. he doesn’t want to lose his love for cooking by making it his day job and source of income. he’d only end up burning out from the brutal rush of the culinary industry. but he can’t deny that he’s fantasized about opening a small restaurant along the edge of a soothing malaysian beach with the love of his life. he’s be old and withered and you’d still be beautiful and immensely loved by him. he’d cook you your favourite dishes, and you’d scold him, saying there are clients waiting for their orders. he shakes his head, pushing the daydream away. the corners of his lips quirk up, remembering he is in the kitchen. cooking. for you. no clients, no stress, just his deep affection for the woman perched on the kitchen counter and the sizzling sound of the frying meat on the stove. he chuckles at your exaggerated inhale of the fatty aroma, leaning closer towards the heat. “careful, honey.” you pout as he seemingly pushes you away, but he’s quick to kiss it off. he’s rather smooch away your frowns and pouts than any burns. this was a recurrent situation一nanami happily cooking whatever complicated dish you desired, and you sitting there, watching him, and eventually, getting overly excited. he loves cooking for you, and you love to watch. you wouldn’t admit it, but you’re not often focused on the food he’s making, eyes wandering to how his back muscles twitch, his forearm flexes and the veins on his hands pop as he strongly, yet precisely, holds the expensive usuba knife you got for his birthday and swiftly chops whatever it is that he’s chopping. you can’t truthfully say you care at the moment, completely lost in thoughts. that is, until he pulls you out of your trance with a gentle peck on your warm, and now probably flushed, cheek. “you’re staring.” he teasingly coos, but how could you not stare? when he’s so… him. and you think you’re sleek and that by asking to help him every so often, you’d be off the hook. he sees right through your not-so-clever game. but he doesn’t mind, so he doesn't spoil your fun. there’s nothing he loves more than cooking for his girlfriend, so what a bonus it is to have her soothing presence and saccharine smile to keep him company?
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୨ৎ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 hope this made your request justice!!
꩜ likes, comments + reblogs are very appreciated!! requests are open! <3
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gabessquishytum · 5 months
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Naked Chef Hob
Hob has a cooking show that started on YouTube where he cooks in the nude with just an apron on -- depending on what he was cooking the apron was either around just his waist or a full apron (splat-ery things are going to splat!).
Every time he bakes, with just his (small) apron around his modesty, and gets flour or sugar streaks on his chest he goes viral. (The gifset from the episode where he frosted a cake & pink frosting got smeared near his nipple for the last 20 minutes of the show gets reblogged constantly.)
Hob is actually a very good chef and he started the YouTube thing when he lost a bet - it's not his fault the interwebs like to catalog his tattoos and his manbun broke the internet that one time. 😎 Despite his viral fame, he still cooks at his small restaurant.
The youtube thing was never supposed to be anything other that a forfeit, a lark. Well now, HFGTV wants Hob to take his "show" to tv. Being naked on YouTube is different than being naked on a channel that used to host Alton Brown,,,,and now hosts Dream d'Endless.
Hob doesn’t know if he can be in the studio, where Dream talks very seriously about fresh ingredients and food history, with nothing more than a branded apron covering his bits.
Of course, the pilot is a hit; of course, after his 2nd taping when Dream accidentally (on purpose) swung by to watch him work,,,,he kept. stopping. by. to watch Hob cook (hopefully, sexily) covered in the sauce of the day. Only problem, Dream never stays long enough for Hob to talk to him - it was all just smolder-y eyes. Hob is really glad the aprons are thick or he would be cooking on pornhub.
NAKED CHEF!!!! This is so good.
The show is a hit, which is great! Except that people keep recognising Hob in public now. It's great for the restaurant, they're booked out every night. But not so great when Hob is just trying to go grocery shopping, and gets accosted by fans. His YouTube show was never THIS big. He actually has a small breakdown about the whole situation in the studio bathroom (dressed only in his apron and sneakers because he may cook naked but he always wears shoes, he is NOT going to drop a knife on his foot AGAIN).
Anyway. Bathroom breakdown. Naturally, Dream comes in and sees him naked AND snotty. It's a nightmare.
But Dream is... very very nice. He wipes Hob’s face for him, and wraps his arm around his shoulder. He comforts Hob with the knowledge that the novelty will soon wear off, and people will stop bothering him. Dream solemnly says that anyway, people only notice Hob because he's so sexy. He could always try being less sexy?
Hob finally laughs and leans against Dream because this is his one opportunity and he's not going to miss it. Dream starts rubbing little circles into the small of Hob’s back, and it's like the dam finally breaks.
Hob just about makes it through making his Malaysian curry (artfully splattered in his chest hair, as always) and when they wrap up for the day, Dream is still there. Waiting, this time. He diligently swipes the curry off Hob’s chest with his finger, and his eyes are even more smoldery up close.
It's probably inevitable. But Hob still can't quite believe it. Dream sucks him off in the bathroom where he was just crying!! He ducks underneath Hob’s apron and stays there until he's done, and Hob just knows that the apron will smell of sex and Dream forever now. He might have to take it home with him, actually.
Or maybe he'll just take Dream home instead. It's his night off, and he can always get a table for two at the restaurant. He won't be naked, but it only seems fair to finally give Dream something to unwrap!
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