Spicy Top Shell Salad

The perfect accompaniment to a glass of chilled beer, this top shell salad (I'm not even sure if this can be considered a salad, since no vegetables are being used! Haha) is always on our top list of favourites whenever we feel like drinking at home! I used two chilli padi in my recipe so it is VERY spicy. For those who can't bear with that kind of heat, please do reduce it to one instead. Enjoy! Please also feel free to invite me over for a mug of beer if you want to!  

Ingredients:

1 can                       top shell, cut into smaller bite sizes

3 tablespoons         sauce from the canned top shell

2                             chilli padi, sliced

1 medium               onion, sliced thinly

1/2 tablespoon        sugar

3 to 4                      calamansi lime, juiced

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Serve chilled. 

Salmon Fish Curry

I am not a professional cook. I'm just into quick, easy and delicious recipes. Today's recipe was taught by an Eurasian housewife years back and even after all these years, it still serves as a quick fix to my curry cravings. The salmon used in the curry are not the usual fillet but the belly strips which are sold separately. Known for its high fat content, the belly lends a creamy finish to the dish, which otherwise can only be achieved through using coconut milk. I love this dish with a bowl of rice but it actually tastes best with some prata, even if it's the frozen ready type.

Serves 2 -3

Ingredients:

3                             shallots, sliced
2 cloves                 garlic, minced
2 slices                  old ginger
2 tablespoons        cooking oil
300g                      salmon belly slices
2                            chilli padi, sliced
1/2 cube                fish bouillion cube
2 tablespoons        fish curry powder

Method:

Heat a wok with 2 tablespoons on medium heat and add in the minced garlic, sliced ginger and sliced shallots. Fry for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Mix the curry powder with some water until a thin paste is formed. Transfer the paste into the wok, and add in a few more tablespoons of water. Fry on low heat until a layer of oil forms on top of the paste, usually for about 5 minutes.

Pour in 500ml of water, mix well and bring the water to boil. Add in the salmon belly slices, bouillion cube and sliced chilli padi. Lower heat to low and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.

Kung Pao Stir Fry Chicken

The mayhem is finally over at work and I can start pushing myself to blog about the long-due recipes. Don't get me wrong, I have been religiously cooking, just not blogging about it. Today's recipe is a simple kung pao stir fry, something that I managed to create with barely any ingredients left in the fridge. The key to the dish is to use a little black vinegar, to create that hint of tanginess in the dish.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

2                         boneless chicken thigh or chicken fillet, cubed
8                         dried chilli, washed and deseed
2 stalks               scallion, cut into 2 inch length
2 slices                old ginger
1 clove                garlic, minced
2 tablespoons      cashew nuts, roasted
1 tablespoon       cooking oil

Marinade for the chicken:

1 tablespoon      cornstarch
1 tablespoon      light soy sauce
1 tablespoon      chinese wine
1 teaspoon         cooking oil

Ingredients for the sauce mixture:

1 tablespoon     light soy sauce
1 teaspoon        dark soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon  sugar
1 teaspoon        cornstarch   
1/2 teaspoon     black vinegar
3 tablespoons   water

Method:

Marinate the cubed chicken with the sauce marinade and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add in the sliced ginger, minced garlic and fry till fragrant. Add in the dried chilli and fry until it smells spicy before adding the chicken.

Stir fry the chicken till 70% cooked and add in the cashewnuts and the sauce mixture. Continue frying until the sauce reduces and thickens. Turn off the heat and mix in the scallions before dishing out.

Cereal Prawn

 





Prawns are one of the many auspicious food that are served during the Lunar New Year. Its Cantonese pronounciation - Har, sounds like laughter and it symbolises a year of happiness and joy ahead.

 

I believe that my dearest Mum would like the family to experience more happiness during the year of the snake. That's probably the reason why she bought a good 10kg worth of prawns back from the fishing port. There are only five of us at home by the way. Needless to say, I was given the task to create some different prawn dishes over the next few days. Here's one.

 

Serves 5

Ingredients:

 

10 large                   prawns, washed and trimmed slightly

2 stalk                     curry leaves, plucked from the stem and washed

4                              chill padi, sliced thinly (reduced to 2 stalks if you can't take too spicy)

2 tablespoons          butter

2 packets                 instant cereal with milk powder and sugar

                                ground white pepper

                                salt

 

Method:

Deep fry the prawn with the shell intact, till 80% cooked. Set aside.

 

Heat butter in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add in the curry leaves and chopped chilli padi. Fry till fragrant.

 

Add in the instant cereal, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

 

Add in the fried prawns and stir fry for another minute.

Serve immediately.

 

 

 

Radish Kimchi

I've recently returned from a holiday to Seoul. Expectedly I lugged back an entire treasure trove of ingredients bought from the local wet market. Amongst those were some lovely red looking dried Korean chilli powder, which I bought by the kilogram. :) I've also had the opportunity to experience making cabbage Kimchi in a traditional guesthouse. It was such a wonderful experience that I decided to experiment with some radish kimchi this evening, using some of these gorgeous looking spices of course.

Ingredients:

1 large                           radish, peeled and cut into small pieces
3 stalks                          spring onion,chopped
3 tablespoons                Korean dried chilli powder
5 cloves                         garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon                  ginger, minced
3-4 tablespoons             fish sauce
1 tablespoon                  sugar
1 tablespoon                  salt

Method:

In a bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar with the radish. Set aside for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, drain some of the liquid released by the radish and leave about 1/4 cup behind.

Add in the remaining ingredients and mix evenly. My suggestion is to try tasting the radish kimchi with 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. If the flavour is not strong enough for you, mix in another tablespoon of it.

Store in a air tight container and chill in the fridge.

Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cake)

I have been craving for some mean Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) for a very long time. The last time I had a really good version was in a small family-run Korean restaurant located in a small dark alley in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. I seriously doubt I will be flying HK anytime soon so I've decided to make them on my own. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get hold of some Korean fish cake so I've made a vegetarian version instead. If you are lucky enough to get some, do add them in alongside the other ingredients.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

250g                                    rice cake, rinsed
2 cups                                 dashi stock (I used water with dashi stock flavouring)
1/2                                      yellow onion, sliced
1/2                                      carrot, sliced thinly
1 clove                                garlic, minced
1 tablespoon                        soy sauce
2 tablespoons                      Gochujang (red pepper paste)
2 tablespoons                      sugar
1/4                                      leek, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon                          roasted white or black sesame

Method:

Place 2 cups of dashi stock in a saucepan and bring to boil. Mix in 2 tablespoons of Gochujang, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 clove of minced garlic. Bring to boil for 5 minutes.

Add in the sliced onion, sliced carrot and rice cake and bring the heat down to low. Stir continuously until the sauce thicken and reduced.

Mix in the sliced leek and stir another minute. Serve with a teaspoon of roasted sesame seeds.

Fried Kangkong with Shrimp Paste

Instead of frying KangKong with sambal belachan the local way (simply because I ran out of sambal belachan), I cooked a similar version using shrimp paste instead. According to a recent cooking program that I've watched on television, this is apparently the Taiwanese way of cooking this dish. For those who can't take heat, do reduce the usage of chilli padis accordingly. I don't think I'll need to emphasize on the simplicity of this dish, ever.

Ingredients:

1 bunch                    kangkong, washed and cut into 4 inches long
2 cloves                    garlic, minced
1 teaspoon               shrimp paste
6                              chilli padi, sliced
1 tablespoon            cooking oil
2 tablespoons           water

Method:

Heat a wok on high heat with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in the minced garlic and fry until fragrant.

Add in the sliced chilli padi, 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste and fry lightly for about 20 seconds. Add in the washed Kang Kong, 2 tablespoons of water and mix evenly. Cover with lid for about a minute.

Dish out and serve.

Thai Steamed Fish with Lime Garlic Chilli

This dish can easily be summed up by three words: Easy, healthy and uberlicious. All you need to do is to steam a fresh white pomfret and pour the rest of the ingredients over. Seriously. This just can't get any easier or tastier.

Ingredients:

1                      medium white pomfret, cleaned and gutted
2                      lime (1 sliced thinly and the other juiced)
4                      chilli padi, sliced
4 cloves           garlic, minced
1/2 cup            chicken stock or hot water with 1/4 bouillion cube
2 tablespoons   fish sauce
1 bunch            coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method:

Place the sliced lime in the gut and on top of the fish. Steamed on boiling water on high heat for 10 - 13 minutes or until the fish's eyes are white and fully popped out.

Mix 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, chopped chilli padi, minced garlic and juice of 1 lime together.

When the fish is ready from steaming, pour the prepared sauce mixture over and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with a bowl of steamed white rice.

Stir Fried Petai with Anchovies

A common dish found in grilled seafood or Nasi Padang stalls, petai is usually a little more expensive as compared to the other vegetable dishes. It is not an expensive ingredient to begin with but the process of cutting the beans up into half one by one (to ensure that there are no hidden pests), is pretty exhausting and hence the price tag. Often fried with sambal, I've created another version with chilli padi instead (simply because I ran out of sambal). Don't worry, I promised that the taste hasn't in anyway been compromised.

Ingredients:

1 packet                  petai, cut into halves lengthwise
1 medium                 red onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons          dried anchovies (ikan billis), washed and drained
5 stalk                     chilli padi, sliced
1 tablespoon            cooking oil
1 teaspoon               sugar
1/4 teaspoon            salt
2 tablespoons           water

Method:

Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on medium-high heat. Add in the dried anchovies and fry till the anchovies are crispy and golden brown in colour.

Add in the sliced red onion and sliced chilli padi and give it a quick stir.

Stir in the prepared petai beans, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir fry for another minute and serve with steamed rice.

Fiery Sambal Udang

Sambal Udang (Prawns with Sambal) is one of my favourite 5-minute dish when I need a quick fix or when I'm super hungry. All you need really, is a good bottle of sambal belachan. The bottled ones are a little lacking in flavour as compared to the homemade version but nonetheless still deliver the heat required. It is also a lot more convenient as its shelf life of a year ensures that you'll always have sambal belachan in the fridge whenever you need it.

One key ingredient in this dish is the usage of tamarind (also known as assam) that gives it a little tangy sour taste. This is often soaked in advance to obtain tamarind water but since we have only got 5 minutes to spare, I have opted to include the tamarind into the dish itself. A reminder though, to always remove it before serving.

Ingredients:

8             large prawns, deveined with head and tail in tact
1             garlic clove, minced
2             shallots, sliced
1 tbsp     sambal belachan
1 slice     dried tamarind (assam)
1 tbsp     vegetable oil
1/4 cup   water

Method:

Heat pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add in minced garlic and sliced shallots and fry till fragrant.

Add in 1 tablespoon of sambal belachan, fry slightly and add in the tamarind slice and water.

Add in the prawns and cook till they are pink and the sauce reduced. Remove the slice of tamarind from the pan and serve with a bowl of hot steaming rice.