Recipes from the Heart: A Jenny Khor & MCIE Fund Raising Cooking Event

Nothing evokes memories as much as food; eaten around the dining table with family and friends. On Saturday, 22 November, 17 guests had the opportunity to gather around the kitchen table and walk down memory lane together with the legendary Jenny Khor. Jenny’s mastery of Malaysian flavours is undisputed. Pioneer of the only Malaysian restaurant back in ‘70s Melbourne, Jenny started the Penang Coffee House in Hawthorn and introduced an entire generation of Melbournians to traditional Malaysian flavours.

Jenny, our trainer, with her daughter Christine and the wonderful student volunteers from MCIE.

Jenny arrived on the morning of the class in a wheelchair; having had a nasty fall two weeks prior. But rally on she did; with determination and willpower to spend her Saturday as planned sharing a little bit of her blessed life; and culinary magic with her guests. Jenny was also assisted ably by her daughter Christine and 3 student volunteers from the MCIE hospitality and commercial cookery program.

A full class … Guests ready to take it all in.

Jenny started her class with simple instructions on marinating spiced fried chicken wings. Guests learned by doing and got their hands dirty. Next stop was the highlight of the menu as guests learned to prepare Jennys’ famous curry puffs. The curry puffs are made from scratch. In fact, friends and customers have been known to fly interstate just to get their hands on the little tasty pastries! The interactive class saw guests mixing and kneading the dough before filling in the minced beef filling. In between all the frying and preparation work, Jenny instructed the class on the third; and final; item on the menu. Guests gathered around the wok to glimpse ways to prepare authentic Malaysian mee goreng (fried noodles) with slivers of sweet roast pork and diced fried tofu.

Marination … first step to the best spiced chicken wings this side of town!

Elbow grease required for kneading curry puff dough

Mary hard at work at the spiced chicken wing station

Throughout the morning, guests were encouraged to mingle, have a glass or two of wine and eat food hot from the pan. We cooked, traded stories, made new friends, learned new recipes and skills, laughed and shared food together. It was clear that there was certainly a whole lot of teamwork, positive energy and love in the kitchen that morning. As a fund raising labour of love, this cooking event attracted a host venue, Melbourne City Institute of Education who sponsored the venue and a cash donation; a chef who donated not only her time but also the cost of the ingredients; student volunteers who gave up their time to learn and assist and importantly, generous, great people who came together in the spirit of giving back.

L to R: Curry puff, mee goreng (fried noodles) and special spiced fried chicken wings.

Apart from the whole educational experience of learning new recipes, we were also taking a stand for a cause that was larger than ourselves. Collectively, we raised $1500 on the day; with the full proceeds going toward supporting education programs so villagers in countries like India and Bangladesh can end their own hunger. All in all, a truly meaningful, and beautiful Saturday.

Happy guests all in a row.

More about The Hunger Project

The Hunger Project is a global, non-religious, non-profit organisation working to end world hunger. Our programmes provide training and services to village partners covering: health, education and adult literacy, nutrition, improved farming techniques and food security, micro-finance loans, water and sanitation and HIV/AIDS prevention. Find out more at www.thp.org.au.

If you missed the event, Jenny Khor would love to share her recipes with you. Give it a try, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to replicate these Malaysian flavours at home!

Fried Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 2 kgs Chicken Wings
• ½ cup rice flour
• 2 teaspoons corn flour
• 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of curry powder
• 2 teaspoon salt
• Oil for frying

Preparation

1. Separate Chicken Wings
2. Discard the tip of the wings
3. Mix all the dry ingredients with water to make a smooth paste
4. Mix the chicken wings in the paste
5. Marinate in the fridge for 2 hours

Cooking Steps

1. Fry in hot oil

Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

Ingredients

• 2 packets of mee (yellow noodles)
• 1 packet of bean sprouts
• 1 onion
• 4 dessert spoon of light soya sauce
• 2 dessert spoon of black soya sauce
• 4 dessert spoon of tomato sauce
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of cumin powder
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of coriander powder
• 1 packet of fried tofu
• ½ kg roast pork
• 1 teaspoon chilli – optional
• Lettuce, coriander and shallots to garnish

Cooking Steps

1. Dice onions, lettuce, pork and tofu
2. Heat Wok
3. Fry onions
4. Wash yellow noodles
5. Place in hot wok
6. Add in all the sauces
7. Stir fry till fragrant
8. Add tofu, pork and bean shoots
9. Garnish with lettuce, coriander and shallots

Curry Puffs

Ingredients

• 1 kg plain flour
• 250g soft butter
• 1 onion
• 1kg minced beef
• 10 medium potatoes
• 2 heaped dessert spoon of curry powder

Cooking Steps for Curry Puff Filling

1. Dice onions
2. Peel and dice potatoes. Microwave cook for 10 minutes
3. Fry onions until fragrant
4. Mix curry powder in a paste and fry with onions
5. Add in beef
6. When almost cooked add in potatoes
7. Cool

Cooking Steps for Curry Puff Dough

1. Mix ¾ packet of plain flour and ½ of the butter
2. Add water and pinch of salt to make into soft dough
3. Cut up dough into 8-10 portions
4. Roll out each portion. Fold each flat pastry into three then roll flat again
5. Make each flat portion into a roll
6. Cut up into 8-10 pieces
7. Roll each portion flat
8. Spoon filling into each piece
9. Fold in half and seal with scallop pattern
10. Deep fry