By Leigh O’Connor.
Journey to the streets of Malaysia with award-winning Sydney Chef, Junda Khoo in his new cookbook, Ho Jiak.
This Malaysian Chef and owner of the highly successful Ho Jiak eatery chain draws inspiration from recipes passed down to him from his beloved Amah (grandmother) as well as the street vendors of his home country to deliver more than 100 dishes sure to tempt.
Translating to ‘good eats’, Ho Jiak is a rich collection of recipes showcasing dynamic cuisine steeped in tradition – from street food classics to true homestyle cooking.
Owning one of the best restaurants in Australia, Ho Jiak Town Hall, Khoo’s food represents a modern interpretation of Malaysian cuisine. Starting with simple, budget-friendly meals to cook in 15 minutes, home cooks are also shown how to make all the must-know hawker-style dishes like nasi lemak and poached Hainan chicken.
Alongside quick bites, Khoo also introduces nourishing homecooked meals, like crimson bowls of curry laksa as well as dishes that are not commonly served in eateries outside of Malaysia – think lotus roots steeped in pork bone broth and fried bee hoon, a smoky, umami vermicelli noodle dish.
Khoo shares his chicken satay skewers recipe with AGFG home cooks saying great satay comes from cooking the meat right (do it like yakitori, charred but still tender) and good peanuts.
"If you don’t know how to find a good peanut, look at the price. The most expensive peanut might not always be the best, but price is generally a decent indication of quality,” he explains.
Make sure to soak your bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes before threading them with the marinated chicken pieces – Khoo recommends about 8-10 slices of chicken per skewer. Cook them on low heat on a grill, barbeque or over coals for about 10 minutes, flipping every minute to give an even char and avoid overcooking.
When he found out his partner Sharon didn’t like vegetables, Khoo thought she was weird.
"I love them. As students, I would cook garlic shoots for her because it was one of the few vegetables she’d eat,” he recalls. "We also discovered them together. They are unusual in Malaysia, so we never saw them there, but we stumbled upon them at a market in Hurstville.
"I took them home and fried them with garlic, salt and sugar. We loved them. The texture is so crunchy and they’re full of flavour – a very underrated ingredient.”
His recipe for stir-fried garlic shoots with beef showcases this ingredient and is an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will enjoy.
Khoo’s kids go absolutely berserk for sweet and sour, so it is no surprise he shares this recipe for whole sweet and sour fish. In Malaysia, sweet and sour is usually a little spicy but the one he serves at home for the kids is different.
"It’s very simple and a recipe I learnt from my mother-in-law. You can use chicken, or pork instead of fish if you like, just adjust the cooking times for each.”
For travelled foodies or home cooks looking to expand their recipe repertoires with authentic dishes, Ho Jiak celebrates all that makes Malaysian food so special.
