Creamy pumpkin and prawn curry

If you ask me what do I cook most, my answer will probably be Chinese and Malay food. I love the rich and aromatic Malay/Nyonya curries, salad, cakes and cookies. I can get most of the spices, herbs and other Malay ingredients over here to make almost anything I want, though many ingredients can be quite expensive over here than back home.

Today recipe is a Malay style pumpkin and prawn curry called masak lemak labu & udang, loosely translated as rich pumpkin with prawns. It is a creamy curry not too spicy hot.

Ingredients:

about 500g peeled and de-seeded pumpkin or butternut squash

200 - 250g raw king prawns/shrimps (I used frozen peeled raw prawns)

1 lemongrass

1 small sprig of curry leaves about 10 - 12 leaves, best use fresh or frozen

1  - 1.5 cup of coconut milk (I used tin, more coconut milk richer and creamier the gravy)

1 tbsp wet tamarind

sugar to taste

salt to taste

some cooking oil

Spice paste:

1 - 2 clove of garlic, peeled

3 walnut size shallots, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 - 3 large medium heat red chillies, de-seeded (as many and spicy as you like)

1 pinky finger size fresh or frozen turmeric root/ or 1 tsp of ground turmeric

1 thumbsize chunk of galangal, cut into small pieces

3 candle nuts (buah keras)

2 tsp belacan or shrimp paste

Method:

Soak wet tamarind with 1/2 cup of boiling water till softened then leave it to cool for a while then knead the pulp to release the juice. Pass this through a sieve to remove pulp and any seeds.

Blend all the paste ingredients till smooth using a mini blender. Can add a touch of water to ease blending. Or if you like you can pound the spices with a pestle and mortar.

Cut pumpkin into bitesize chunks.

Bruise the lemongrass by bashing with a cleaver or rolling pin. 

If using frozen peeled prawns, defrost before cooking. De-vein if required by lightly score the back of the prawn and rinse off dark vein. 

Heat wok or pan with about 3 - 5 tbsp of cooking oil till hot, add curry leaves and lemon grass fry till oil is fragrant. Add spice paste keep stirring for about 5 minutes till fragrant. 

Add coconut milk and pumpkin pieces, then add half the tamarind juice and enough water to almost cover the pumpkin pieces, turn up the heat and heat till liquid is boiling. 

Cover with a lid and simmer at lower heat till pumpkin is cooked through and softened, add more water during simmering if required the pumpkin will absorb the liquid quickly, keep the gravy runny. Add enough salt and sugar. Have a taste to check saltiness, sweetness and sharpness. If required add some or all the remaining tamarind juice. Everyone has their own personal taste. 

Add prawns and cook for 2 - 3 minutes till they turn pink. 

Tainan coffin board (bread)

Coffin board (棺材板 'guan chai bun') is a popular snack from Taiwan. When I first heard of this recipe, I was intrigued by its unusual name wondering how superstitious Chinese can be and how many people can get offended by its name. Coffin board resembles American's chowder filled bread bowl. Instead of crusty bread, coffin board uses fried bread similar to English fried bread but much larger chunk. The filling is also western with meat/vegetable mixed with a basic roux bechamel sauce.

Not sure how this recipe was invented, I know it is from Tainan, Taiwan. I believed this was invented by some street food vendor, the original recipe used chicken liver as filling now anything goes. This recipe is really a take on Western taste than Chinese. I reckon this probably comes from a huge Taiwanese immigrant population in USA and bringing back chowder filled bread recipe and adopted from it.

For the filling anything you like, prawns, crab meat, chicken, chicken liver and vegetables like carrot, peas, onion, sweet pepper, sweet corn, button mushrooms etc...in a white sauce. I am sure any creamy chowder is good for this.

** For vegetarian version just use any vegetables or even add tofu pieces if you like.

I am not one favour east meets west recipes much. The Taiwanese has triumphed with this recipe. It really is delicious. I am sure this will be a great hit for Halloween, especially if the bread is cut into real coffin shape.

Here is what I do, recipe for one. Enough for one full meal.



Ingredients:

1 block of stale bread, white or wholemeal, homemade or bought, cut into square, rectangular or any shape you like. I preferred a very thick slice about 7 - 8 cm thick which can hold more filling.

enough oil for shallow or deep frying or a little melted butter for brushing the bread if baking. I like the baking method better.


Filling:

1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp of butter
about 1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup of peeled prawns (raw or cooked)
2 - 3 crab sticks cut into chunks or 1/4 cup real crab meat
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup peas
1/3 cup of diced pepper (red, yellow or orange or mixed)
a little cooking oil
dash of white wine or light sherry or Chinese colourless rice wine (optional)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
a little bit more milk if required

few coriander leaves for garnish

Method:
Make the bechamel sauce. First cook the flour and butter together for about 1 minute then heat off add milk a little at a time and whisking till no lumps. Heat the sauce till thicken. Set aside.
Heat a little oil then fry the onion then add remaining vegetables till soften and heated through. Remove then stir fry the prawns till they turned milky white, add crab stick or crab meat, vegetables, wine and white sauce. If the sauce is too thick add a touch more milk. Season with pinch of salt and pepper. Keep warm
The bread is normally deep fried or shallow fried till golden. I changed this by brushing the bread with melted butter and bake at around 200 deg C for about 15 minutes, turning the bread once or twice till all sides are golden brown.
Let the bread cool a bit, then cut out one side for the lid. Scope out enough of the soft bread inside then trim the lid. Then fill with the creamy filling and garnish. Put the lid on top or on the side. One delicious filled coffin board is ready to enjoy.

* Can use the bread trimmings for bread pudding or breadcrumbs for other uses.

Steamed fish with black bean sauce and tomato

Chinese New Year is just a week away. In Chinese tradition, fish is always a must have for the festive meal. Fish is auspicious to symbolise there will always be plenty year after year. In Chinese phrase it is called 'nian nian you yu' 年年有餘 or 年年有魚. Here the word fish 魚 sounds the same as 餘 which means plenty left.

Steamed fish is very popular for any Chinese festive meals. Fish for steaming should always be fresh not frozen because frozen fish tends to be tougher, less juicy and can smell quite fishy.



Steamed fish with black beans is a common Chinese recipe. I have modified this to suit my taste. This is probably one the most repeated recipes I have done. It's quick, easy and irresistibly scrummy.

The recipe is steamed fish with a black bean sauce topped with tomato slices. The final touch or step of this recipe I find very important is to pour sizzling hot oil over the spring onion and sauce which really brings out the flavour. Adding tomato is something I learnt from mum which adds a sweet and sour taste and mellow down the strong flavour of black beans.

For the fish any fresh juicy fish is fine with or without bones/skin. I have done the same recipe with salmon, trout, whole lemonsole, skate wings and super fresh cod. If you want to do this for special occasion you can use monk fish or turbot. Mackerel is too fishy smelling for this recipe unless is it super fresh straight from the sea. If you use fresh tuna cooked it medium rare or it will be too tough cooked through. Sword fish or similar large fish is far too meaty and tough for steaming. If you are outside UK, you can use any other fresh local fish. Fish fillet, fish steak with bone or whole fish are all suitable. Fish with skin make sure you remove the scales.

Here is the recipe,

Ingredients:

300 - 400g whole fish or thick chunky fish fillet or steak, for this time I used salmon fillet
1 large tomato
some finely shredded ginger
some finely shredded spring onion

For the sauce:
2 tbsp fermented black beans or dousi (whole beans not sauce in a jar)
2 - 3 tsp light soy sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
some red chilli, chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
pinch of sugar
1 tsp cornflour mix with 1 tbsp water
few drops of sesame oil

Sizzling oil:
2 tbsp of cooking oil
1 slice of ginger
few sichuan peppercorns

Garlic fried prawns

Gon Jin Ha Look 干煎蝦碌

This is my mum's Cantonese dried fried prawns with garlic we called gon jin ha look. Simple and so tasty. We always used very large king prawns (about 5 - 6 " long) and always with the shell and head on. Shells and heads are so good licking and sucking the sweet juice from the head. The garlic cloves are fried till light brown and very sweet.

Large raw king prawns can be expensive in the west. I normally get mine frozen from the Chinese supermarket about £10 - 12 /kg.


Ingredients:
10 - 12 very large raw king prawns (shrimps) with shell and head
1 bulb of garlic or more if you like lots like me
about 4 - 5 tbsp oil
pinch of salt or light soy
some tomato ketchup
some hot chilli sauce or minced chilli (optional, leave this out if you don't want spicy)
pinch of sugar

Method:
Defrost the prawns then trim off sharp edges on the head, tail and some of the 'feet' under the tummy. If you want to remove the dark vein, cut along the 'backbone' pick and rinse off the dark vein. For this job pair of scissors is better than knife.
For the garlic, lightly bash each clove with the flat side of a cleaver, bruising without breaking into fine bits, remove the skin. Do not chop.
That is all the preparation. You can clean the prawns and peel the garlic well in advance and cook before serving.
Heat oil in wok or pan till medium hot, stir fry the garlic till light golden brown. Do not let the pan/wok gets too hot or the garlic will burn. Fry the garlic slowly till cooked through and started to caramelise. Remove the garlic.
Heat high then throw in all the prawns in the pan/wok. Add a touch of oil if the pan/wok is dry. Stir fry prawns till pink and shell a bit charred.
Add garlic, stir and add a pinch of salt or soy. Then coat the prawns with some tomato ketchup and chilli sauce or paste. If you like a sweeter taste add some sugar. Stir till sauce is thicken.

Spicy fish (Ikan Panggang)

Had a small bbq yesterday with some spicy mackerals. They are very easy to make and tasty. To bbq best use a bbq fish holder to prevent the fish breaking into pieces. If you don't fancy a bbq, the fish can be grilled.

To make a rempah or spice paste:
3 - 4 shallots (about 100g), peeled
2 fat clove of garlic, peeled
1 small piece of galangal, peeled
1 stalk of lemongrass, use only the middle less woody part and cut into very fine slices
2 - 3 tsp of shrimp paste (belacan)
2 - 3 dried chillies (deseeded and soaked)
1 - 2 fresh red chillies (deseeded)
1 cm cube of fresh turmeric - optional
about 2 - 3 tbsp of tamarind concentrate (watery type, if it is a very thick paste then 1 heap tsp)
about 1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of sugar
2 - 3 tsp of cooking oil

fish - 3 to 4 mackerals or you can use other whole fish like sea bass or trout

Method:
Put all the spice paste ingredients into a mini blender and blend till smooth.
Score the fish diagonally, quite deep into flesh. Make 2- 3 slits on each side of the fish.
Use a serving knife and smear the spice paste inside the fish stomach and within the cuts and some on the skin.
Carefully place fish on a bbq fish holder, bbq till nice and brown.
*Or if you have banana leaf you can wrap the fish with the leaf, secured with cocktail sticks and put the whole parcel on the bbq till the leaf wilted and charred.

** Serve fish with plenty of raw red onion, pineapple, cucumber and tomatoes. You can also squeeze lime over the fish.

Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Shells Recipe

ingredients

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
I small onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
24 jumbo pasta shells
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce (I used medium spiciness)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot brand)

instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, vinegar, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined.
In a large skillet or sauté pan, bring the oil to medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook for a couple minutes until they start to soften and become fragrant. Add the chicken breasts in a single layer and cook for 3 minutes on one side, flip them over, and then continue to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Add the tomato sauce mixture to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, boil water and cook the pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
Remove the lid from the pan and transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board, leaving the sauce. Add the can of enchilada sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and recover until needed.
Shred the chicken using two forks and transfer it to a large bowl. Add ½ cup (2 ounces) of the shredded cheddar, the black beans and ½ cup of the sauce from the pan. Stir until well combined.
Spread ½ cup of the sauce from the pan across the bottom of the prepared baking dish from step one. Using the chicken filling from step 5, stuff the cooled pasta shells evenly with filling and place them on top of the sauce in the prepared baking dish. Once the shells are in place, pour the remainder of the sauce from the pan over the tops of the stuffed shells and follow with the remaining shredded cheddar cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the dish is heated through and the cheese is melted.

pan fried salmon with broccolini & seared lemon

Broccolini is like a baby version of broccoli. The stems are lovely and tender, a little like a cross between asparagus and broccoli and just bursting with green goodness. Regular broccoli or asparagus would also work well.

The secret to this dish is cooking the lemons with the fish. The heat caramelised the surface and helps to release the juices leaving you with an instant sauce to squeeze over your fish.




ingredients

3 bunches broccolini (or 2 heads broccoli)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
4 salmon fillets, (approx 200g / 7oz) each
4 lemon halves, extra

Directions:

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook broccolini for 3 - 4 minutes or until just tender. Drain and toss through lemon juice, zest and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive
oil. Season and keep warm.Preheat a large frying pan or BBQ to medium high. Rub salmon generously with extra olive oil and season well.
Cook salmon skin side down for 3 - 4 minutes. Turn and add lemon halves to the pan cut side down.Sear on the other side for another 3 - 4 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
Divide broccolini between four plates. Top each with a piece of salmon and serve with lemon halves on the side.

Lobster Egg Stuffed Recipe

Ingredients :
•    1 whole lobster, about 1 1/2 pounds
•    1 dozen eggs, hard boiled
•    4 tablespoons mayonnaise
•    2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
•    1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
•    1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chives
•    Pinch celery salt
•    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•    2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
•    1/2 red onion, finely diced
•    Finely chopped fresh dill, for garnish
•    Paprika, for sprinkling

Directions :

1. Bring 3 to 4 inches of water to a boil in a large pasta pot. Add the lobster, cover and steam until fully cooked and the shell is bright red, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the shell and dice into 1/2-inch chunks.

2. Halve the eggs and reserve the yolks. In a bowl, mash the yolks and add the mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, ground mustard, chives, celery salt, salt and pepper to taste, celery and onions. Mix all together so that the yolk mixture is creamy.
3. Fold in most of the lobster, reserving 24 small pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then stuff the egg white halves with the filling. Garnish with a touch of fresh dill and a little piece of lobster. Sprinkle with paprika.

Total Time  : 40 min
Prep            : 30 min
Cook           : 10 min
Service       : 24 Halves

Tilapia Parmesan Recipe

I like seafood to an extent, but this breaded tilapia is super savory. And it's easy! My kids and husband loved it! My kids kept saying, "Mmmmmm, I love this FISH." (They're learning that all meat isn't called chicken.) Serve with rice and a veggie. Tweaked a recipe from MOMS2398. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Tilapia Parmesan

4 4-oz tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp Sazon Completa*
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp celery salt

1. Set oven rack 6-inches from heating element and preheat broiler. Line a broiler pan with aluminum and lightly grease with cooking spray.
2. Arrange fillets on broiler pan and sprinkle with Sazon Completa. Broil in preheated oven until fish is barely opaque, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
4. Mix butter, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, ground black pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Spread over fish and return to oven until topping is golden brown and fish flakes easily; 3 to 5 minutes more.

* I found Sazon Completa (Badia brand) in the international aisles of my supermarket, but you can substitute 1 tsp each of: salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, cumin, corriander.

Coconut Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients :
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup ice water
• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup Dijon-style prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce


How To Prepare :
1. Peel, devein and wash shrimp. Dry well on paper towels.
2. Mix together flour, cornstarch, salt and white pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the ice water. Stir to blend.
3. Pour the coconut into a shallow pan. Dip the shrimp one at a time into the batter, then roll the shrimp in the coconut. Once coated, place each shrimp into a frying pan of oil heated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the shrimp in the hot oil until lightly browned; about 4 minutes.
4. Bake the fried shrimp in a preheated 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) oven for 5 minutes.
5. Make the dipping sauce: combine marmalade, mustard, honey and hot sauce in a small bowl. Mix well. Serve the shrimp and dipping sauce side by side.


Servings  : 01

Red Lobster Citrus Glazed

Ingredients :
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic, chopped (1 clove)
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup orange marmalade
4 Mahi-Mahi fillets, skinless
Salt and pepper to taste
4 orange slices
2 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup finely diced cilantro



 
How To Prepare :

1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, sauté the olive oil and garlic for 3-5 minutes.
2. Mix in the sweet chili sauce and orange marmalade and stir often until a syrup is formed and all the marmalade is melted, remove from heat.

3.Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat, season the mahi fillets and sear until a nice crust is formed, flip the fish and reduce heat to medium and cook the fish until desired doneness is achieved.

4. Place rice in center of plate and top with seared mahi, glaze with citrus rum and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Service : 4

Fish Tacos Recipe

Ingredients :
1 Mahi Mahi filet
2 whole wheat wraps
1 cup of shredded lettuce
1/4 cup black beans
2 slices of tomato, diced
2 tablespoons Newman's Own organic salsa
1 tablespoon diced onion
1 tablespoons fat free sour cream
Cilantro to taste

How To Prepare :
1. We put our mahi mahi in a frying pan to cook, but you could cook it any way you like.

2. While that is cooking, dice tomato, onion and put together in a bowl and sprinkle with cilantro.

3. Microwave the wraps, wrapped in a wet paper towel to hold in moisture, for 20 seconds.

4. Put the fish and any toppings you'd like in the wrap!

Serves : 1

Bonefish Grill's Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Ingredients :

8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. plus Kosher Salt
1 tsp. oregano, dry leaves
1 tsp. black pepper, ground
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Finely grated lemon zest from 3 lemons
4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 bunch flat leaf (Italian) parsley
1 cup olive oil



How To Prepare :
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse chop until all ingredients are approximately 1/8 inch in size.

2. Add Italian parsley and pulse chop until parsley is 1/8 inch in size.

3. Add the olive oil and blend in quickly. (Do not over blend)

4. Allow the sauce to marinate for 30 minutes before serving.

Servings : Makes 10

Sweet Butter's Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

 Ingredients : 
1 pound black tiger shrimp, tail-on
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 onion
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
2 to 3 tomatoes
1/2 to 1 habanero pepper, stemmed and seeded
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt, to taste

How To Prepare : 
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook just until they turn a light pink, about 1 minute. Drain immediately and place in an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process.

2. Peel and coarsely chop the shrimp and place in a medium bowl. Toss the shrimp with the lemon juice and set aside for about 1 hour to marinate.

3. While the shrimp is marinating, chop the onion, cilantro, tomatoes and habanero pepper, and place in a large bowl.

4. After the shrimp has marinated (it should be whitish-pink and firm throughout), drain the shrimp, reserving the liquid. Add the shrimp to the large bowl. Stir in the cumin, pepper, oregano and garlic powder, and season with one-fourth teaspoon salt. Taste, and add back a little of the strained lemon juice to brighten the flavors, and season again, if desired, to taste.