Malaysians love their pork. Nowhere is this more true than in Sarawak, where people of all tribes and tongues use pork in a huge variety of dishes like Pork, Lotus Root and Black Bean Soup, Fried Pork with Evaporated Milk, or Grilled, 3-Layer Pork Belly.

But barbecue, that American style of cooking in the heat and smoke of a wood fire, is not easy to find. A few restaurants here in Kuching do pork ribs, but they’re usually baked, grilled, and covered in a sweet sauce. That isn’t barbecue.

So where can you find the best barbecue ribs in Kuching? At the House of Annie!

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This is the story of a food experiment gone awry.

Chicken Propped up on a Guinness Beer Can

 
It all started when I read an article in the paper about Arthur’s Day, a day to commemorate the signing of the lease on Arthur Guinness’s brewery, over 250 years ago. You know, the maker of the popular Guinness Stout beer.  The company is holding a worldwide music festival on September 22 to celebrate.

That article sparked an idea in my  head to cook something with Guinness beer in time with Arthur’s Day. But I wasn’t interested in making an Irish Stew. I wanted to revisit a cooking technique that I hadn’t done in a long time, since before we moved from San Jose to Kuching: Beer Can Chicken. In the past, I’ve gotten tasty results using Heineken beer, so I figured to try making it again, only this time using Guinness Stout instead.

That was the start of the troubles…

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Okay, so I know that bacon is *so* 2009, but seriously, these bacon-wrapped chicken lollipops are too good to ignore. And they’re so easy to make, too!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Lollipops

Living here in Malaysia, we don’t get to watch much American football anymore. Truthfully, I haven’t been that big a fan of professional football to begin with. Like Annie, the only reason to watch the SuperBowl was for the ads, and for the SuperBowl get-togethers. I mean, where else are you going to find so many great hors d’oeuvres?

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This “huli chicken” recipe was featured in our recent “Ultimate Backyard Lu’au”

“Huli” Chicken

The term “huli” means “to turn” in Hawaiian. “Huli huli chicken” is a term many locals know well. It draws up memories of school or church fundraisers where thousands of marinated chickens were being grilled over large beds of kiawe (mesquite) charcoal. These huli huli chickens were some of the most delicious, succulent birds I’ve ever tasted.

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