Malaysian Style Chai Buey 菜尾

I believe this is a dish you will only find it in Malaysia but not elsewhere. It's a type of Hokkien Chinese food, especially common when there are a lot of meat leftovers like roast chicken/pork/duck. That's why it's called Chai Buey [菜尾，福建音], which means 'leftover dishes' in Hokkien. The recipe is simple. You only need 3 key ingredients, which are: 1) dried chilies (to give the spiciness), 2) tamarind[亚三羔] (to give the great sourness), and 3) chinese mustard vegetable [芥菜]. Of course, you may always add some garlic and ginger to spice it up a little, and some salt and/or sugar to taste. If you do have the meat leftovers, just add them in. This dish will taste as delicious as it can be even without the meat though.

If you ever wonder what tamarind is, this is how it's look like:

You can always get tamarind paste from asian grocery stores. They're cheap.

And if Chinese Mustard Vegetable doesn't sound familar to you, no fear, this is how it's look like:

How to cook this dish? Simple. In a pot, add in some oil and lightly heat it up. Add in some sliced ginger and garlic, sauté them. Then, add in the tamarind paste and dried chilies, stir fry them a little bit. Once you get the aroma from these ingredients, you may add in your meat if you have, otherwise, just stir in your Chinese Mustard and stir fry them for a while. Later on, add in 2-3 cups of water and let the entire thing simmer until the vege are tender and soft (but not mushy). Salt and sugar to taste. Then, voilà.

The end product, spicy, sour and slight sweetness ... Always a comfort food for gals craving for sour and spicy food.