A continuation to this week's focus on cooking... and no, I won't give you the boring bits of all things difficult. I shall give you my view on how cooking can be enjoyable and seriously easy.
So, I'd like to tell you that I think Tepung Cucur Adabi is a must-have in every household. I have trouble finding the English word for Cucur so I shall describe it as delicious balls made with flour and ingredients like onions or shrimp or anchovies which you need to deep fry.
And when I think of the Tepung Cucur Adabi, their very popular jingle would play at the back of my head :)
i am sure a lot of us remember this ad...
This is such a hit with my family and it definitely beats having to go out to a nearby stall to get your tea-time kuehs like banana fritters or keropok lekor because it is really tasty, and you can make it yourself. Thus, ensuring hygiene and cleanliness during preparation rather than those stalls on the roadside which is filled with debris and smoke from running vehicles.
It is really very simple, shown here is the back side of the packaging with clear instructions. And since it is a Malaysian product, the instructions are written in Malay language but I think you could still make out the step-by-step instructions from the images in each step.
I forgot to snap any photos when I poured the flour & added water to form a mix. Although initially when I first discovered this product, I had used my hands to mix the flour with water to make the dough, I have learnt later on that this mixture is easier to make (meaning, less messy) if you use a large plastic spoon (the one you get when you purchase a rice cooker) or a spatula to stir the flour and water together to get a smooth mixture.
As per the visual on step 4, I had also initially used my hands to produce them balls but it can get a little messy especially when you need one hand to hold the handle of the wok while the other hand uses a turner/skimmer/slotted spoon to scoop out the cucurs. You need both hands to work and so, after some time, I've learnt to use a tea spoon instead to scoop out the mixture and let it slip into the wok filled with hot oil.
this would be the finished product, all nice and hot, and smells wonderful...
Now, my MIL would look at me and tell me that the cucur is so easy to make that you don't need an instant pre-mix. My mom, on the other hand, well, I am not sure what she will say because I have never served this to her as she hardly dropped by during tea time. Then again, if she did drop by, she would bring plenty of food over, sometimes too much to feed our small family ;P
I always believe that cooking should be enjoyable and that a woman need not treat cooking as a chore. I have never known that I would like cooking so much as my mom had always nagged at me for never ever coming into the kitchen when I was growing up... but that was also probably because I have never discovered all these wonderful tools that can give so much convenience to womankind. Although I don't use it all the time, I would usually favour instant stuff like this that would help expedite cooking rather than having to spend hours preparing food that would be finished in just 5-10 minutes!
Do you know how much time a woman spends her one day in the kitchen? And do you know how much time you can save just so that you can focus on other kitchen chores like washing dirty dishes or filling up the flask with water, but especially to make up for what could be lost quality time spent with your lovely kids?? I mean, I can hear laughter in the living room but I am not in that picture... so, as much as you would be afraid of a family member telling you you're lazy for depending on instant stuff like stock cubes for soup or nasi goreng mixture or even that rendang you serve friends, I'd say, who cares? As long as I know I still have to do it all on my own, my family and friends are happy and most importantly, I am happy.
And as Mr Oosband would say, even if there are tonnes of instant stuff in your kitchen but they're all unopened or unused because one doesn't even bother to get their hands a little dirty, they're all blardy useless, don't you think?
So, don't be afraid to use all these tools all designed for our convenience and current demands and lifestyle. I wouldn't say they are the healthiest, but I never said that I would cook this every day, did I?
Here are other variants of the cucur pre-mix. I have them all in my pantry so that I don't run out of ideas what to prepare during a relaxing weekend while spending quality afternoon with my family members at home ;)
Have you tried them before?
