Tamarind prawn

Been cooking a lot of prawn recipes recently because we bought a kilo few weeks as a treat. Prawns usually go on sale after Christmas because it's a must eat food for Christmas lunches in Aust.

This recipe is adapted from Rasa Malaysia
http://rasamalaysia.com/tamarind-prawn-assam-prawn/ and really easy! Prawns are my new favourite protein to cook!

Ingredients

300g prawns, shelled

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

½ tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp garlic, minced

Method

1) Marinade in the sauces and sugar for 15 minutes.

2) Heat up HCP. Fry the garlic till aromatic but not brown.

3) Add prawns and fry till slightly charred.

4) Garnish with optional chilli.

Crab cakes

I saw a tin of crab meat in the supermarket and thought to myself - I had to have it! I've often seen Nigella and Jamie and other chefs using it in their cooking to make crab cakes, crab pasta, etc but was always dismayed that I didn't know where to find it in Australia or Singapore. In the UK, it's available in gourmet shops which our chefs undoubtedly would know the locations of. Me, I don't know any fancy smancy gourmet shops here, or even if I did, they usually stock the usual (boring) stuff like cheese, olives and other preserved vegs, and if lucky, more exotic things like Mediterranean sauces. After trawling the internet for ang mo and Thai versions, here's my version of an East-West crab cake.

Ingredients
1 tin (250g) crab meat, drained
1 potato, peeled and grated finely (squeeze out any juice that comes out)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp mayo (I like the Japanese version)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Method
1) Combine the crab meat, potato, egg, mayo, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well. Pour in the beaten egg and 1/2 cup of the panko bread crumbs and combine well. Set aside in the fridge for about 1/2 hour to harden up, otherwise it will break apart when handling.

2) Take tablespoons of the mixture and form into a ball. Transfer into a plate of panko breadcrumbs and press down the ball to form a patty. Coat each side of the patty carefully and transfer onto a non-stick baking sheet. At this point, if you want, you can put the whole baking sheet into a freezer and freeze the patties for later use. These can be baked or fried from frozen at a later date.

3) As soon as you have coated all the patties, heat up a pan with a little oil. The coated patties shouldn't be allowed to sit out too long, otherwise, the newly coated panko will absorb all the moisture from the mixture and get soggy. These crab cakes don't need a lot of oil (they're pan fried, not deep fried). When the oil is hot, fry each patty. Fry each side for approximately 2 minutes per side, till golden brown. Serve immediately with Thai sweet chilli sauce.

4) The patties can also be baked. Spray a little cooking oil spray onto each patty and baked them on the baking sheet in a pre-heated oven for approximately 10 minutes at 200 deg C. Remember to flip halfway and spray the top with cooking oil.

Fried bee hoon

I had a craving for this, which is the bee hoon version of fried rice, both essential parts of a Singaporean diet. It's not something I ever thought I'd miss, but here it is. In fact, it's not something we often find at even Malaysian restaurants because the zhi tsar version is never quite the same as the home made version.

Surfing around, I found a few versions but decided on to mix and match to produce my own version, and here it is.

Ingredients
1 packet bee hoon (I only had Vietnamese rice noodles in the cupboard so that will have to do)
2 tbsp dried shrimp, rehydrate in some warm water
15 dried mushrooms, rehydrated in enough warm water to cover (approx 5 Chinese rice bowls)
1/4 wombak, shredded
4 carrots, shredded into matchsticks
1 packet tau pok, sliced thinly
8 chillis, deseeded then sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 eggs, beaten (optional)

Sauces
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp Chinese wine
1 tsp chicken stock powder
Dash of white pepper

Method
1) Rehydrate noodles according to instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside.
2) After the prawns and mushrooms have rehydrated, drain and set aside. Remove the stalk of the mushroom and slice them up.
3) Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. If using egg, make the omlette now. remove.
4) Stir fry the dried shrimp until fragrant. Add the tau pok and stir fry for another minute. Add the garlic, then the mushrooms and carrots. Cover for 5 minutes.
5) Add the wombak and incorporate. Pour on the noodles and sauces and carefully stir till everything is well incorporated. Chopsticks might help so the noodles aren't broken up. Cover and simmer till the liquid has dried up.
6) Sprinkle on the chopped chilli on top and serve immediately.

Sambal balachan

I'm beginning to realise that there are different versions of this potent mixture. The ones I see online are just toasted balachan, lime juice and chilli, pounded together in pestle and mortar are that's it. Some blogger even had the cheek to call it a relish. I'm starting to think that this version is the Malaysian version, because I see it at my local Malaysian restaurant and my Malaysian neighbour really laps it up.

This version I made is what I learnt from a cooking school, and forms the basis of many recipes: laksa, curry, and of course more obvious ones like sambal kang kong and sambal fish. I decided to make it because I just had too much lemon grass and chilli, homegrown.


Ingredients (makes about 400g)
10 chillis, deseeded (You can add leave the seeds in, but I found that despite removing most of the seeds, the final sambal was still quite spicy!)
3 tbsp crushed ginger
3 tbsp crushed garlic
3 tbsp chopped onion
1 heaped tbsp balachan
7 lemon grass stalks
3 tsp sugar

Method
1) Except for the sugar, pound up everything in a pestle and mortar, or use a food processor. I used abt 2 tbsp of oil to help the food processor along.
2) Heat up a wok and add about 2 tbsp of oil. I know it seems a lot but the sambal will suck it up. Pour the mixture into the wok and keep stir frying. When u start to smell the balachan and when it mixture starts to darken, add the sugar. Continue to stir fry and it gets drier. Be careful to keep stirring as it can burn.
3) Serve up when it has turned a nice caramel brown and is quite dry and glossy. It may exude a bit of oil.

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Garlic Chicken Fried Rice

This has always been a nemesis of mine - I could never quite get it right. Either it comes out too soggy, or not eggy enough, or the rice comes out plain. But whatever it is, it comes out without 'wok hei'.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet however, I got some ang mo tried-and-tested recipes and voila! We have a winner. This is what I did:
Ingredients (serves 2)1 cup rice
1 chicken breast, cubed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup mixed vegetables
2 eggs
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
Oil for frying

Method
1) Marinate chicken with 1 tbsp soya sauce and pepper. Leave to marinate for at least 15 mins.
2) Usually all fried rice recipes call for cold leftover rice, but I've never got any hanging around in my fridge, thanks to the wonders of the microwave. I wondered it if would make a difference - being cold or not. Anyway I had freshly cooked rice, but left it out until it cooled down a lot, so that when you stir it, it doesn't break up so easily and become mush. The whole point of fried rice is really to have dry, separated whole grains of rice.
3) Heat up the pan or wok and fry the chicken. Once 3/4 cooked, add the mixed veg and fry for a minute. Lastly, add the eggs and scramble. Dish everything out and set aside.
4) Either wash the pan, or wipe the pan clean because you don't want any burnt bits in your rice.
5) Add oil again, and heat it up until the pan is very hot. Add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the rice and stir fry. Dash in the fish sauce, soya sauce and sesame seed oil. I find it helps to use 2 spatulas to ensure everything is stir fried evenly.
6) Once the rice is warmed thru, add back the scrambled ingredients. I find it's easy to add a bit of ingredients, mix well before adding more.
7) Serve immediately with la cheow yao, parsley or spring onion.
I still didn't achieve wok hei and its probably because I used a non-stick pan. However at least for once in my life, the rice grains were well-separated and not soggy!

Lettuce cup stirfry

I was inspired by the Korean style of wrapping cold cold fresh lettuce around hot hot meat. This dish is quite common in chinese restaurants. I'm not too sure of the origins, but I believe its probably Northern Chinese in origin. Usually served as an appetiser, you can also use man tou instead of lettuce to wrap the meat in.
Ingredients350g minced pork
1 red onion, diced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
8 dry shitake mushrooms, soaked in water to rehydrate and then finely diced. Reserve the water (approx 1/2 cup)
1 carrot, julienned
1 small iceberg lettuce
Oil for stir frying

Marinade
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 tbsp corn flour

Method1) Marinade the minced pork with the marinade ingredients. Leave to stand for a least 15 minutes.
2) To prepare the lettuce, cut into half, down the stem. Cut off the core and slowly try to open it up for the water to get in. Soak in ice water for 15 mins and then the leaves separate very easily and can be removed whole. Dry as best as possible and set aside.
3) Heat up the oil in the wok. Stir fry the onions and ginger until fragrant.
4) Pour in the minced pork and fry till 3/4 cooked.
5) Add the carrots and mushrooms and fry briefly.
6) Add the water from soaking the mushrooms. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
7) Serve immediately. Eat by wrapping the mince in the lettuce.

Sambal Kangkong

I actually did this with spinach but of course it's more well-known with kang kong. The pounding crushes the ingredients and releases fragrant oils that aren't released if they are 'cut' using a food processor or blender. This is the key to nonya cooking - the humble pestle and mortar. But of course, in this modern day and age, who has the time to pound pound pound? For me however, it is therapeutic - pounding away my anger and frustrations. But it took me a good half hour!

Ingredients

2 sticks of lemongrass, roughly chopped

Half a white onion (optimally, use 3 shallots), roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped

2 tbsp dried shrimp (hay bee)

4 dried chillies, soaked in hot water until soft and deseeded (This gives only a slight spiciness, go up to 10 chillies if you think you can take it!)

2 tsp balachan

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp cooking oil

1/4 cup water

1 big bunch of kang kong

Method

1) Pound all the ingredients, going in the order given in the ingredients above, omitting the sugar, cooking oil and water.

2) In a wok, heat up the cooking oil. This may seem like a lot but the sambal will soak it up. Fry the pounded ingredients using a medium heat until the it has a shiny and slightly oily texture. Watch the fire as it burns easily!

3) Add the water. Beware as this will splatter and produce a lot of steam! Turn down the fire. Stir until the water is incorporated and it is no longer watery. Add slightly more water if it becomes too dry.

4) Add the tsp of sugar. If necessary, add salt. (usally this is not necessary as the balachan is salty enough but everyone's taste differs). Add the bunch of kang kong and stir until the vegetable is cooked.

5) Serve immediately with freshly steamed rice.

Seafood Mui Fan

I remember when I was young, we would go to this food court type restaurant in the basement of the old Orchard Point on Sundays. Now it's gone, after the reno. The food wasn't great, but it was tasty, and served old favourites like hor fun, mui fan, etc.

Mui fan is one of my favourite childhood dishes. It's actually v easy to make, once you got the sauce down pat. And from there, it's easy to move on to hor fun (altho frying the kway teow in dark sauce is a pain) and even crispy noodles. People always told me it would be easy but I still don;'t reckon so, but this is a pretty decent attempt.

Ingredients (serves 4)
150g squid, cleaned and sliced into rings
150g shelled and deveined prawns
1 pkt fishballs
half a can of canned baby corn, drained and sliced
1 baby chinese lettuce (or chinese cabbage can also be used), sliced
1 tomato, diced
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbl oyster sauce
1 tbl Maggi concentrated chicken stock
1 tbl chinese rice wine
2 cups water
2 tbl cornstarch, as thickener

Method
1) In a pot, pour in the water, fishballs, and vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
2) Add the seasoning. Add the seafood and cook for no more than 30 seconds.
3) Bring to a boil. Drizzle in the beaten egg to achieve the 'egg drop' effect.
4) Add the cornstarch to a bit of water, and when the soup is boiling, pour into the pot and stir.
5) Serve immediately on top of steamed rice. You can also serve on top of noodles.

Pineapple Fried Rice with Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 large pineapple
3 tbsp cooking oil
200g (1/2 lb) chicken leg meat, skinned, boneless, cubed
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
12 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
50g (2 oz) cashew nuts, roasted
50g (2 oz) raisins
Coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish

Method
1) Cut the pineapple into half lengthwise. Scoup out the flesh, leaving the skin intact so both havles can be used as serving dishes for the rice. Cut the flesh into medium sized cubes. Reserve 100g for the rice and keep the rest for another use.
2) Place the oil in a wok over high heat. Saute the chicken for a few minutes, until cooked. Reduce the heat and add the onion and stir fry till translucent.
3) Add the cooked rice and tumeric powder and stir well until the rice is well mixed in.
4) Add the fish sauce, soya sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
5) Stir in cashew nuts and raisins. Add 100g (1/4 lb) of diced pineapple.
6) Serve hot in the pineapple bowls, garnish with a few cashew nuts, raisins and coriander leaves.

Note
The chicken can be replaced by prawns if desired.

Salted Fish Fried Rice

Fried Rice has always been a boon and bane for me. I like eating it, it's super simple to cook (another 'throw everything in your fridge' dish), but gosh, so darn hard to get right! How do hawkers get that distinctively 'fried rice' taste? I can only describe it 'that slightly chao-da taste' that can't seem to be replicated at home. I strongly suspect it's because these guys probably never really wash their kwalis. It's the burnt on burnt taste so when u scrape the kwali - voila! Kinda like why people like claypot rice. Burnt bits! But imagine the srubbing up afterwards, not to mention burning my precious pots!

There's been a lot experimenting for me when it comes to fried rice - egg before rice or rice before egg? The former makes the fried rice drier, the latter makes the fried rice a bit wet. Personal preference I guess.

Ingredients (feeds 2)
2 bowls overnight rice - essential! Otherwise freshly cooked rice is just too soft.
1 handfull bean sprouts
Salted fish - don't quite know how to describe quantities for this, 2 pieces chopped up?
1 handful ikan billis
2 eggs, beaten
1 tomato, cubed
1 tsp XO sauce
1 tsp spicy bean sauce
1 tsp sambal (can add more to taste)
1 garlic, crushed
2 shallots, chopped
Cooking oil

Method
1) Fry the ikan billis and salted fish until crispy. Set aside.
2) Fry the garlic and shallots in the oil until fragrant.
3) The next few steps have to be done very swiftly - pour in the sauces, tomato cubes, and lastly, bean sprouts. Fry very briefly just to incoporate.
4) Add the egg. This will stick to the bottom of the pan so quickly, as soon as it solidifies, scrape it off the bottom and incorporate it with the rest of the ingredients. Remember to keep 'chopping' into tiny pieces.
5) Once all the egg is dry, pour in the rice. Really flatten it (to get it nearer the heat) and then incoporate again.
6) Lastly, return the salted fish and ikan billis and incorporate. Serve immediately. Alternatively, the ikan billis can be served separately to keep it crispy.