Sambal Goreng

Sambal Goreng is a traditional Malay dish that is made out of tempeh, tofu, long beans and shrimps. Growing up in Singapore, this is one of my favorite side dish. 

I was unable to get tempeh and long beans in my area so I used tofu, green beans and shrimps. I always thought it would be too difficult  and a long time to cook this dish, but it doesn't take that long. 

Ingredients:

 ½ cup dried chilli, de-seeded

1 onion-medium size

5 cloves garlic

 3 lemongrass, stalks

1-inch square belacan (shrimp paste)

3-inch galangal

1 tbsp tamarind paste (mix with water to make ½ cup tamarind juice)

2 tbsp sugar

1 (8oz) tempe, cut to 1 by 2 inch blocks

1 (8oz) tofu, cut to 1 by 2 inch blocks

1 lb shrimps, shelled & de-veined

some long beans, sliced (like French beans)

Paste -  Blend chilli, onion, garlic, lemongrass, belacan and galangal. Grind until become paste.

Fry tempeh and tofu separately until golden brown. Fry shrimps lightly. Set them aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok. Add the mixed paste. Fry until fragrant. Add sugar and tamarind juice. Stir often. Remove cooked paste and set aside. 

In a clean wok, heat 2 tbsp oil. Fry the long beans for 2 minutes. Add cooked tofu, tempeh and shrimps. Stir-fry for a minute then add the cooked paste. Stir occasionally and season with salt. Mix well and fry for another 5 minutes. 

Serve with hot white rice.

Grilled Prawns with Kiwifruit and Pineapple

This recipe is from a Singapore magazine but I can't remember the name of the magazine. I had cut out the page, paste the recipe on another paper and filed in my recipe folder. The method is grilling but I just cooked them in the oven. Whichever method you are using, it does not take too long to cook. :)

Source: Magazine cut-out. Makes 6 skewers

Grilled Prawns with Kiwifruit and Pineapple

Ingredients:

12 medium-sized prawns (shrimps), washed & peeled, leave tails intact

1 tbsp Cajun spice

12 canned pineapple cubes

2 kiwifruit, peeled & sliced horizontally

Soak skewers in water before using. Season prawns with Cajun spice for 30 minutes. Alternate pineapple cubes and prawns on each skewer. Leave a 2 cm space near the top of the skewer for the kiwifruit.  Place the skewers on a tray and put them under the grill (medium heat) for 3 to 4 minutes. Take the skewers out from the oven and put a slice of kiwifruit on each skewer. Return the tray under the grill, and cook for another 2 minutes (check that prawns are pink and cooked).

Useful tips

Selection: When a kiwifruit yields to slight pressure, it is ready to be consumed. The softer the fruit, the sweeter it tastes, but don't allow it to get to squishy. 

If you don't want to eat it right away, ripe gold kiwifruit should be stored in the refrigerator. 

Kiwifruit that is still firm will ripen at room temperature, but you can speed up the process by placing it into a paper bag with a banana or an apple. Those fruits produce natural ethylene gas which quickens the ripening process.

Baked Scallops

I had made baked scallops and simple fried rice for dinner the other night. Yums!

Baked Scallops Recipe

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter, melted

1½ lbs bay scallops, rinsed & drained

½ cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp dried parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Pour melted butter into a 2 quart oval casserole dish. Distribute butter and scallops evenly inside the dish. Combine the bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, minced garlic and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle this mixture over the scallops. Bake for 20 minutes or until scallops are firm.

Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Rolls ~ Cha Gio

When I came back from Singapore last month, I had made a pit stop to visit my girlfriends in Anaheim and Santa Monica, CA, before flying again to TN. While I was there, we went to an Asian store close to my girlfriend's home. I bought a few items (making sure not too many because I was not willing to pay for the access baggage.. hehe) and a package of Vietnamese deep fried spring roll wrapper was one of the them. 

Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Rolls are wheat-free. Serve them as appetizers or as snacks. To eat, each person puts a spring roll on a lettuce leaf, adding some of the herbs. Roll them up and dipped in the sauce before eating. Delicious!

Ingredients:

7 1/2 oz very thin bean thread noodles (in small skeins, also known as cellophane or mung bean noodles)

2 oz dried wood ear mushrooms

1 medium shallot

2 garlic cloves

2 cups shredded carrots (4 to 5 carrots)

1 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (preferably from Phu Quoc)

1/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 tsps black pepper

2 tsps salt

1 lb cooked crab meat, picked clean or coarsely chopped raw shrimp

25 pieces rice paper 

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

About 6 cups vegetable oil

Prepare filling:

Put noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water by several inches. Soak, pulling noodles apart and stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Drain noodles and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (you should have about 3 cups), then transfer to another large bowl.

Put mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water by several inches. Soak 15 minutes. Drain and rinse mushrooms thoroughly, then drain again. Trim off and discard any hard parts from mushrooms. Finely chop mushrooms. (You should have about 2 cups.) Add to noodles.

Pulse shallot and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, then add to noodles along with carrots, chicken, fish sauce, sugar, pepper, and salt. Pulse shrimp in processor until coarsely ground. (Do not overprocess or it will become pasty.) Add shrimp to noodle mixture. Mix with your hands until well combined. Chill filling, covered with plastic wrap, until cold.

Assemble rolls:

Line 2 trays with wax paper.

Transfer one fourth of filling to a small bowl and keep remainder chilled, covered. Wet the rice paper in a bowl of water. Allow a few seconds for it to get pliable and then put in the filling. Do only one at a time. If you try to moisten them all at once, they will get mushy by the time you get to wrapping them. (lesson learnt!! My first few was mushy.. LoL!). Put about 2 tsp of the filling across the wider part of the wedge rice paper, or across each round rice paper, placing it about 3cm from the bottom edge. Roll the edge over the filling, then fold over the sides of the rice paper and roll up tightly. Place the seam side down on the wax paper. Do not stack the rolls.

Put the heat on medium-high so that the wrappers can puff up and become flaky, then they'll turn golden. By the time wrappers are crispy golden, the filling should be cooked. Fry rolls in batches of 5 or 6, keeping rolls apart during first minute of frying to prevent sticking, until golden brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Drain on a brown paper or paper towel and drain the rolls upright 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

To eat, wrap hot or warm rolls in lettuce leaves and tuck in mint and cilantro leaves. Serve with dipping sauce.

## I made some changes from the recipe that I used. Read more from epicurious.

Garlic Shrimp with Pasta

The days are slightly warmer now. I could hear the birds chirping away in the morning. Many flowering plants are starting to bloom. But one thing I do not like about springtime is the unstable weather. Its that time of the year again, tornado season. :( 

Anyway yesterday, as I flipped through the latest issue of the Woman's Day magazine, I saw this recipe. It was quick, easy and tasted so good. I love the lemony taste. Next time, I'm gonna use the angel pasta. :)

Garlic Shrimp with Pasta (Garlic Shrimp with Angel Hair)

Ingredients:

12 oz angel hair pasta (used spaghetti)

2 1/2 Tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp, thawed if frozen (cut into smaller pieces)

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp of the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add shrimp, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes; stir in the lemon juice

Toss the pasta with the parsley, remaining 1/2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water (adding more if the pasta seems dry). Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Source: womansday.com

Thai Prawn Noodle Soup

Its nice to have some soup in this cold weather, don't you think??? I've been wanting to have some Thai-inspired soup. Then I found this recipe. It is absolutely delicious and I can't get enough of it. An easy recipe to follow. In the original recipe, red chillies was listed in the ingredients but I decided not to use it as it might get a little spicy for hubby. I think this will be in my favorite monthly-to-cook list. Yum-Yum!!!!

Ingredients:

500ml chicken stock

1 tbsp virgin oil

1 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

small bunch of spring onions, while part only, roughly chopped

1 lemongrass stalk, about 4 inches long

1 tbsp fish sauce

juice of half lime

2 dried wonton noodles (Chinese thin egg noodles) 

150g medium prawns, remove the shells and tails

Garnish:

small bunch of spring onions, green part only, cut on a slight diagonal

small bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a wok or pan over a medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and white parts of the spring onions. Cook for 2 minutes and pour in the chicken stock. Bruise the lemongrass stalk with the back of a knife and add to the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Then strain the stock, discarding the solids. 

Meanwhile, cook the dry wonton noodles in a boiling salted water for 10 minutes and drained.

Return the stock to the wok or pan and add the fish sauce and lime juice. Bring to a boil then take off the heat, add the prawns leave to poach for 2-3 minutes, until the prawns turn pink. 

To serve, place the noodles into the center of a bowl and surround with cooked prawns. Pour over the stock then garnish with green parts of the green onions and coriander. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Spinach Spaghetti with Shrimps

Here is a recipe that I would like to share.. I did not have some of the ingredients, I changed to my version. They turned out to be very good! Yum-yum!!

Hope y'all have a good Halloween weekend and be safe.. :))

You can get the original recipe here.

Below is my version....

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dry spaghetti

6 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach

3/4 pound shrimps (medium to large)

4 cloves garlic, sliced, divided

1 small can sliced mushroom, drained

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 cup chicken broth

salt and black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 8 to 10 minutes, drain and reserve.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute spinach until wilted and no longer watery, about 8-10 minutes. Remove spinach from skillet and toss with pasta; transfer and keep warm.

In the same skillet, heat 2 more tablespoon of olive oil and add 2 cloves of sliced garlic and shrimps. Season with salt and black pepper, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes or longer for larger shrimps, or until they appear opaque. Remove and keep warm.  

Using the same skillet again, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the remaining sliced garlic and saute until golden. Add mushroom, soup and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir occasionally until sauce is a smooth consistency. While the sauce is simmering, place the mixed spaghetti and spinach on to plated or bowls. Top with sauce and shrimps. Serve hot with home-made garlic bread.

Indonesian Prawn Salad

I have this 200 Delicious Low Fat Dishes Cookbook given to me by my little sister last year. Wondering why low fat??? She said I will gain a lot weight when I'm away so that is why she got me this low fat cookbook.. haha..

I have not tried any of the recipes since I got this book. So tonight's dinner, I whipped up something from this cookbook. After  checking through the recipes, I decided to go for Indonesian Prawn Salad. It does not take very long; preparation and cooking time only takes 25 minutes altogether. I really like the pickled cucumber. I used the potato peeler to slice the cucumber thinly.  My omelette is a disaster. Please excuse the ugly omelette strips.. I had this salad as a main dish for my dinner but hub had this salad with his main dish. Overall, we both enjoyed this salad. :)) 

Indonesian Prawn Salad (adapted from 200 low fat dishes  ~ hamlyn all colour cookbook)

Ingredients:

4 oz (125g) rice noodles (I used cellophane noodles instead)

2-1/2 oz (65g) cucumber, thinly sliced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

oil spray

4 shallots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh root ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

8 oz (250g) cooked peeled prawns

1 tbsp soy sauce

salt

To serve:

fresh coriander leaves

prawn crakers 

chopped roasted peanuts

2 spring onions, finely sliced

my additional:

fresh lime

chilli flakes

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain, rinse well and set aside.

Pickle the cucumber in equal quantities of rice vinegar and sugar for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.

Mix egg and 3 tablespoons water. Spray a wok or large frying pan with il and, when it is quite hot, make a thin omelette with the egg mixture. Roll it up, leave to cool and cut into thin strips.

Combine the shallot, garlic, ginger and ground coriander in a large bowl. Add  some chopped coriander leaves, fish sauce, prawns and noodles and mix in, using 2 spoons to lift and stir, until they are thoroughly combines. Add the soy sauce, salt to taste. ((Squeeze 1 fresh lime.))

Transfer to a serving dish and serve with omelette strips, pickled cucumber, prawn crackers, chopped roasted peanuts, spring onions and a dash of chilli flakes. 

Notes:

• In the original recipe, they added 2 peppers (chopped) and 2 red chillies (sliced). I have to omit these because, hub do not like peppers and chillies. 
• The dish has a little fishy smell from the prawns so I squeezed 1 fresh lime and the smell went away..

Shrimp Wantons (deep-fried)

Tonight, we had some home cooked Chinese Food. I cooked shrimp wantons, stir-fried beef, stir-fried cabbage and some eggs. I followed the recipe by Rachel Edelman. I saw her video in About.com: Chinese Food. She uses uncooked shrimp but I used the cooked shrimps and even add some chopped spring onions. ...nice..... I miss eating the Chinese food back home.. Wanton shredded chicken wanton noodles, chicken rice, fried kuehteau, carrot cake and so much more... (oh my thinking of these food makes me hungry again..lol)

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 pound uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ginger root
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• cornstarch (for dusting baking sheet)
• 1 8-ounce package wanton wrappers, (use 2/3 package; thaw if frozen)

Unwrap the wantons and keep them covered with a moist cloth so they don't dry out.

Shrimp Wanton Dipping Sauce Ingredients
You will need:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes
• water

Pour the shrimp into a food processor, and pulse shrimp until they're finely chopped.Then transfer the cut shrimp into a large bowl, and mix in the egg white, cilantro, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Peel some ginger, and grate about 1/2 teaspoon into the mixture. Mix everything together.

Lightly dust a baking sheet with cornstarch. Take one wanton from the plate, and put it on the baking sheet. Fill wantons one at a time. Place 1 teaspoon of shrimp filling on one side of wanton wrapper. Moisten the edges with water.

Fold the wrapper diagonally over filling to form a triangle. Firmly press to seal the sides. You can make a different shape for the wanton. Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the wrapper. Pick up all the sides, and squeeze it to seal. You can even twist it a little, so it looks like a money bag or a purse.

I prefer to deep-fried my shrimp wantons instead of the boiled one. So to deep-fry the wantons:
Heat oil in a pan to about 360 degrees. Add the wantons in small batches. Fry them, turn them occasionally, and after about two minutes on each side, they'll be golden brown. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve the wantons warm or at room temperature with the dipping sauce or the sweet black sauce. (I did not make the dipping sauce because I prefer to have with the sweet black sauce.)

You can also boil the shrimp wantons by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add the wantons, about six at a time. The wantons are done when they rise to the surface. This may only take 3 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon or a stainer. Place on a tray in a single layer, cover and keep warm.

The picture below is just to show, our Chinese dinner. I will blog about the Stir-Fried Beef tomorrow. Enjoy! :)

Oatmeal Butter Prawns

Fresh live prawns!! Yummy!!!! We went to a fishing pond to catch prawns... no fish but prawns... I forgot the name of the place but I remember the place is in a golf range. There is a seafood restaurant. The owner charged for 1 hr its $15, 2 hrs $25 and 3 hrs $30 and you get 1 fishing rod. So within the period you paid, you can catch as many prawns you like.. So let say, you pay for an hour, you might get 3 or 4 prawns or even more or less... Fishing need a lot of patience. I even saw some people, after they caught some prawns, they could bbq right there and eat them there... the smell of the bbq made me hungry... yummy!!

My cousin and his gurlfren were already there and by the time when we got there they already caught some (as in the picture below)

After 4 hrs of of prawning... hehe.... I would say we caught quite a lot. So as soon as we got home, mom we cleaned the prawns with salt and water then deep-fry the live prawns.

My mom wanted to make Sambal Prawns but its too spicy so I suggest to cook Oatmeal Butter Prawns.. This is my favorite dish and everyone else in the family too...:)

Cooking with mom, well, she doesnt use the measuring cup or scale... just using estimations.. So I had to look in my recipe book for Oatmeal Butter Prawns and do some adjustments...

Recipe:

• 300g big prawns, trimmed, washed and drained
• 3 tbsp butter / margarine
• 3 egg yolks, beaten lightly
• 2 tbsp garlic and onion paste
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 5 tbsp quick-cooking oatmeal
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Oil for deep-fry
• Chinese parsley and spring onion - garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Heat up oil, add prawns and deep-fry for 1 minute Dish and drain.
2. Level 1/2 cup of oil wok, saute butter/margarine and egg yolks till fragrant.
3. Add garlic, chicken stock granules, sugar, curry leaves, chillis, salt and peppeter and continue to fry till fragrant.
4. Add prawns and fry till aromatic.
5. Lastly, add oatmeal and fry till dry. Dish up and serve hot.

Enjoy! :-)