Alagappa's Curry Fish Head

It has been ages since I cooked curry fish head Indian style.  I managed to get quite a huge one from Jusco Kinta City and cheap too...this Ikan Merah fish head costs RM19.  I am not good at cooking curries so I decided to get a packet of Alagappa's Serbuk Kari Ikan and used the printed recipe at the back of the sachet :) and bluff my way from the kitchen to the dinner table LOL!  And whoa, surprisingly the recipe turned out good .  I added more tamarind juice to the curry for a more tangy flavor.   Very appetizing and I slurped down every drop of the curry hahaha so much for eating healthy * wink

WB say it tasted more like chinese Assam Fish Head Curry...hahaha

whatever ..as long as it taste GOOD and homecooked curry fish head

is cheaper and healthier too...no msg for sure !

Alagappa's Curry Fish Head  - from WB's Kitchen

600 gm Fish head
80 gm Alagappa's Fish Curry powder + 1/4 cup tamarind juice mix into a paste
2 sprigs of curry leaves
2 medium size tomatoes - halved
5 lady fingers
4 strings of long beans - cut into 1 inch length
3 green chillies

ground ingredients
1 onion chopped
5 dried chillies- cut into halves , remove seed and soak in hot water, drain off water
3 cloves garlic
5 shallots

1 tbsp mixed Halba seeds
3 cups coconut milk to taste
3/4 cup tamarind juice
3 tbsp vegetable oil
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Add oil into claypot, heat up oil under medium heat. When  oil is hot, saute ground ingredients, curry leaves till golden and fragrant.  And curry powder paste and bring to boil. Add in all the vegetables, tomatoes, green chillies and fish head , coconut milk and tamarind juice . Lower heat and simmer for 20-25 mins, constantly stirring , till the fish head is cooked. Add in salt to taste. Dish up and serve hot.

Enjoy!

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Tangy And Savory Eggplant With Bonito Flakes Topping

This is another way to cook eggplant. You can steam or blanch them in water and pour sizzled soy sauce oil over them and garnish with chopped chillies, bonito flakes and crispy fried shallot slices.  Finish touch , squeeze calamansi juice over it.  This dish will surely wow you over ! Unless you are no fan of eggplant LOL!  My Piggy Jo loves this dish.  WB and my Piggy Joshua not keen on eggplant . Joanna and myself are the only ones in the family that love eggplant no matter how it is prepared.  You can serve this as a side dish...as for me I can just slurp in down without rice :p  It is tangy and savory at the same time.  Truly appetizing and this dish is a keeper for sure.  Easy to whip up and it taste good too !

the bonito flakes gave it a savory taste...yummy !

Tangy And Savory Eggplant With Bonito Topping


Ingredients

2 eggplants-  with a peeler, peel off skin alternatively, cut dia. into 1/2 :thick slices
                     soak in salt water to avoid the eggplant from turning brown
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
2 shallots- sliced thinly
2 bird's eye chillies - sliced
1 tbsp of calamansi juice

garnishing
bonito flakes

Preparation:

Steamed the slices of eggplants for 10 mins or till just cooked. Drain off excess water from the steaming. Place the cooked eggplant on a serving plate.  Put aside. Heat up wok with vegetable oil and fried the sliced shallots till crispy and lightly golden.  Dish up and leave a tbsp of oil in the wok.  When the oil is hot, add in 1 tbsp of light soy sauce , once it sizzles remove and pour the sizzled soy sauce over the eggplant , garnish with chillies slices,  ,sprinkle the calamansi juice over the eggplant and lastly add in crispy shallots and bonito flakes as toppings.

Enjoy !

Garden Baguette Sandwich

This made me feel on top of the world....so freaking healthy and delicious . Garden Baguette Sandwich was what I had for Sunday lunch.  This was how I used up the balanced of my homemade baguette.  I throw in whatever vegetables I have in the fridge as fillings for my sandwich.  Oven grilled slices of eggplant, oyster mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.  Sprinkled some oregano, chilli flakes , black pepper ,sea salt and olive oil onto the vegetables and grilled in the oven for 8 minutes till they are browned and cooked through.  Cut some garden grown calamansi and pickled some onion rings.  Assembled the sandwich with layers of these oven grilled veggies...mmmmm every mouthful was so delicious and guilt free!

you can use any veggies of your choice...for me I have 

eggplant, oyster mushrooms and lots of cherry tomatoes and romaine 

in the veggie compartment  so I used them as fillings :)

I pickled some onion rings with homegrown calamansi...

wow ...it tasted so good and the whole combination

was perfect for my baguette :)

slurp..............

I should eat my sandwiches this way...with lots of veggies

check out my homemade baguette recipe

Enjoy  !

Stuffed Baguette

Made some baguettes during the weekend and I am happy with the 4-Hour Baguette recipe from SAVEUR. Easy to make and the texture of the baguette is really good. You can have a look at the baguette recipe which I posted up in Elinluv's Sweet Delights.  WB asked how are we going to finish 3 long baguettes.  I told him not to worry, I have a few recipes lined up and today I am going to share with you guys what I do with my homemade baguette. Stuffed Baguette ....sounds good...right?  Yea, it is GOOD.  I prepared the fillings and stuffed them into the baguette.  I made the stuffing out of ripen avocados, mini cherry tomatoes, japanese cucumber, the baguette crumbs ( the dug out part of the baguette) and not to forget the grated parmesan cheese. I added in japanese mayo and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and pinch of sea salt for taste. Stuffed the mixture into the hollow of the baguette and gosh...this hearty meal is something we will not forget. We each had a 7" long stuffed baguette and it was so filling that we burped and burped the whole nite.  Mmmmm you should try this out too.  

use a long thin knife and working from both ends hollow the baguette,

leaving 1/2" thick crust all around. Chill the fillings for 1 hour

before stuffing into the baguette

fill the baguette from both ends

you can either wrap the stuffed baguette and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before

slicing or you can slice them as soon as you have it stuffed. 

this can be served as appetizer if you have guests for dinner

this is finger licking good..the creamy avocados and parmesan cheese

goes really well ...a great combination !

Stuffed Baguette

Baguette recipe

Ingredients:-

one 15" long baguette - cut into two

Fillings:

2 ripen Hass avocados - diced
1 japanese cucumber - diced
10 pieces of mini cherry tomatoes - cut into halves
the dig out baguette crumbs
4 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of japanese mayonaise
a tsp of freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of salt to taste
1 tsp of olive oil

Preparation:

Cut both end of baguette and cut into two equal halves.  Use a long thin knife and working from both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving 1/2 inch thick crust all around.

Diced the avocados, japanese cucumber and halves the mini cherry tomatoes. Put into a small mixing bowl. Add in the baguette crumbs , parmesan cheese, mayonaise, black pepper , salt and olive oil. Use a spatula, mix the ingredients together till evenly mixed.  Wrap the bowl with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour. Take it out and stuff the mixture into the hollows till it is packed on both sides.  You can either chill the stuffed baguette for 30 minutes wrapped in cling wrap or aluminium for easy slicing.

You can serve this slices of stuffed baguette as appetizer .

Enjoy!

Bacon Egg Muffin Cups

This is the kind of breakfast my Wild Boar loves...crispy bacon with the egg yolk 3/4 cooked. When I saw this recipe from Daily Dish blog, I knew I had to try the recipe and true enough, it  was so good that I can't find a word to describe it :)  It is indeed a nice way to present the bacon and egg for breakfast....a wholesome meal indeed.  It is truly a  fun and easy breakfast for the family.  Bake an egg in a bacon laced muffin cup?  Gosh ,it was fun for me and such a wonderful meal to start the day for us.  You may want to try making these delicious bacon egg muffin cups for your family  and I am sure they will love it.

the aroma of baked bacon wafting out from the oven was so good

that I was drooling all the time waiting for the eggs to be cooked

look at the texture of the eggs...you can still see the egg yolk wobbles

we were found guilty of tucking in two of these heavenly delights each !!!

love the egg yolk and the crispy and crunchy aromatic bacon

Bacon Egg Muffin Cups - adapted from Daily Dish Recipes

·      

       Ingredients

 6 slices of bread

·      12 eggs

·      12 slices of bacon

·      shredded cheese
       * I added in some lettuce - wash, clean and dry

Preparation:

1.   Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

2.   Heat a skillet on medium-high heat, cook the bacon and only allow it to cook for about 4-5 minutes. You are looking for flexible but not raw. While the bacon is cooking, cut two circles out of each slice of bread. I used a circle cookie cutter to make it easier.

4.   Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Next, lay a circle of bread into the bottom of each muffin cup. Wrap the bacon around the edge of each muffin cup. Lay a layer of lettuce and  sprinkle cheese on top of the lettuce.

5.   Now carefully, crack an egg into each cup or you can crack the egg carefully into a bowl first and then sliding it into the muffin cup. 

6.  Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the whites have set and the yolk is cooked to your liking (less for a runny yolk, more for a cooked yolk)

7.   I serve these heavenly delights with bread and baked beans.


                                                                     Enjoy !

Linguine Pasta With Porcini And Crab Claw Meat

This is the most interesting and most delicious pasta meal I made for ourselves...hahaha crab claw meat and porcini...gosh I can't tell you how delicious this was !  I still drool thinking of it :p  Anyway, I have to thank my Piggy Jo for getting me these delicious porcini from Australia ,when she was there to attend a conference. I have eaten in restaurant to cook at home, this was the first time I have them from home.  This is easy to whip up and you can have a satisfying meal by just adding porcini and crab meat into your linguine. Awwwsome pasta meal and I hope to cook this more often :)  Thank you JO for getting me 3 packets of these porchini mushrooms which have a chewy texture and a strong nutty woodsy, sweet and meaty taste.....I love them to bits and she recently managed to get them from B.I.G for RM26.90 for 40gms. Kamsahamida Joanna :)

I bought crab claws from the wet market.  If you want to get the claws, you must be there

early in the morning. The couple selling crabs were unloading the crabs and 

they put aside the claws that dropped off from the poor crabs. I took the opportunity

and bought back 1 kg for RM20 :p  I can cook many dishes using the claw meat

and this pasta is one of the dishes that I used crab claw meat

aww.... love the porcini and the star of this dish is not so much the crab claw meat

but the porcini mushrooms which have a chewy texture and a strong nutty

woodsy, sweet and meaty taste.....

Linguine Pasta With Porcini And Crab Claw Meat 

Ingredients

cooked linguine for two person
10 gms of dried porchini mushrooms- soaked for 30 minutes
3 pairs of crab claw - steamed and removed shells, keep the crab stock ( from steaming)

4 cloves of garlic- chopped finely
4 sprigs of italian parsley - chopped
2 bird's eye chillies -chopped
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil
a pinch of sea salt

Preparation

Heat up olive oil in a non stick deep pan and saute the chopped garlic till fragrant, add in the porcini mushrooms and continue to stir fry till the mushrooms is cooked through, lover heat, add in the cooked linguine, black pepper, crab claw meat, crab stock from the steaming and sea salt to taste. Stir well till all ingredients are evenly mix. Off heat and add in the italian parsleyand bird's eye chillies.  Dish up and serve hot.

Enjoy!

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Oven Grilled Avocado Stuffed With Seafood

When I made this oven grilled avocado, I thought of my Piggy Jo.  She loves avocado and this is so delicious that every mouthful is sinfully decadent. Packed with seafood...and those melted cheddar cheese topping...gosh , I wish my gal was with me when I was gluttony tucking in these delectable grilled avocados. WB not keen on avocado if eating them stand alone or in salad, but when I stuffed them with pan seared seafood like baby octopus , sea prawns and garoupa fillet....he polished off his share...mmmm it was really flavorful and the cheesy topping enhanced the taste further.   A keeper for sure !

the baby octopus are the frozen ones from Jusco, Kinta City

look how delicious and how the seafood are

mingling well with the diced avocado :)

these stuffed avocadoes are ready for the oven...WAIT

the grated cheddar cheese....must not forget the cheese topping!!!!

now they are covered with grated cheddar cheese and 

they are ready for the oven !!!:)

mmmmmmm...they smell so good when I took them out of the oven !

Oven Grilled Avocado Stuffed With Seafood - WB 's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 Hass Avocados  - cut into halves and remove seeds

fillings:
2 baby octopus
half piece of garoupa fillet
small sea prawns - shelled and deveined

pinch of salt
a few shakes of paprika
a few shakes of  ground black pepper

grated cheddar cheese
a few sprigs of italian parsley- chopped

Preparation:

Pan seared the baby octopus , garoupa fillet and sea prawns on a non stick pan with a tsp of olive oil. When the seafood are cooked through, give a few shakes of paprika, black pepper and a pinch of salt over all the seafood evenly.  Take out and chop them into bits sized. Keep aside.

Cut avocados into halves, take out seed, and take a small knife gemtly cut out diagonally across and  take out the avocado meat. Be careful not to cut through the avocado skin.

Mix the avocado meat with the cooked seafood and parsley together in a mixing bowl.  When the ingredients are evenly mixed, scoop the mixture into the avocado skin case till full.  Top with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven (200deg C) for 10 -13 minutes.  Take out and serve hot as starters or appetizers.

Enjoy !

Sambal Tumis Petai - Drier Version

Petai or Stink Beans are in season now...same time as the King Fruit durians :) You can see them being sold everywhere when in season :).  You can cook them in sambal tumis style or in fried rice or in stir fry mixed veggies. I cooked them Sambal Tumis Nonya Style with a bit more gravy but this time, I cooked a drier version and added more dried shrimps ....mmmm this can keep for a week in the fridge as a side dish for dinner meals. Appetizing and so good that I will cook another time before they are out of season.  Bought them from our usual durian man.  He charged me RM6 for 12 blades :) Good bargain !  

sambal paste ingredients used are fresh turmeric, dried chillies/fresh chillies,

serai, shallots and shrimp paste (belacan ) I prefer the old fashion style of pounding

with mortar and pestle.

Sambal Petai - Drier Version - Drier Version

ingredients for pounding to make the sambal paste
(A)
1" fresh turmeric - sliced
2 serai - sliced
1" square belacan ( shrimp paste)
15 shallots
10 dried chilli + 5 fresh red chillies

Pound (A) into a paste

350-400 gms of sitnk beans ( halved)  and soak in cold water for 10 mins ( for a firm texture)
fresh sea prawns ( amount up to individual ) - devein and marinade with a pinch of salt and sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of dried shrimps ( soak in water till soft ) drained off water and give a coarse pound
2 heaped tbsp of tamarind paste + 1/2 cup water =  tamarind water
3 tbsp of vegetable oil

* salt and sugar to taste

Preparation:

Heat up oil in wok, when the oil is hot , add in the sambal paste and stir fry the paste till the oil surfaced and the sambal paste is fragrant.  Add in the soften dried shrimps and continue to stir fry till well combined and the dried shrimps are coated with the paste and cooked through.  Add in the sea prawns, stink beans and tamarind water. Cook till the gravy has thicken and stink beans are cooked  through and keep stirring while waiting for the gravy to thicken or the base will get burnt.  Before dishing up, taste the sambal and add salt and sugar if neccessary.  Off heat and serve with piping hot rice.  You can keep the balance in a air tight container and it can keep for a week.

Enjoy !

Wine Braised Clams With Crispy Garlic Topping

Wow.....last Monday was my lucky day....the reason being , I saw these big clams at the wet market selling for RM10  per kilo. Whoa , I took the last kilo...that is why I said I was lucky... LOL!  

I went to UTC which is just above the wet market to get my new identity card and on the way back, I passed the seafood stalls selling clams, cockles and fishes.  I stopped WB and he had to break his steps :p almost made him fell down on the wet and slippery floor. Heehee but that night I made him happy with these delicious wine braised clams...added his favorite crispy garlic bits and chopped italian parsley.  To give it a hot flavor and color, I added some chopped bird's eye chillies.  This preparation is AWESOME !  The clams were fresh and succulent and SWEET !.  Easy to prepare and some yummy that I want to make it again.  

four clams filled up my palm...that was how big the clams were :)

so succulent and tasty.. cooking wine and lemongrass

infused into the clams.....heavenly

the crispy garlic and italian parsley made it even

more delicious....love every bite of these succulent

clams

Wine Braised Clams With Crispy Garlic Topping  - WB's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 kg clams

1 lemongrass - use the white part - crushed

3 or 4 tbsp of chinese cooking wine

1 or 1.5 cup of water - enuf to cover the clams

1 tsp of sea salt

Garnishing

a few sprig Italian parsley - chopped

a few cloves of garlic - chopped

a few bird's eye chillies - sliced

Preparation

Heat up wok with a few tbsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chopped garlic and stir fry till it is light golden color, off heat and take out the crispy garlic and leave it aside for garnishing.

Boil 1.5 cup of water in a wide and deep pan , add in crushed lemongrass and sea salt and when it boils, add in the clams and wine, cover for a 5-6 minutes or until the clams opens up. Take out and open up the shells and arrange neatly on the serving plate. Add a spoonful of the clams broth onto each of the clam meat. Garnish with crispy garlic, sliced chillies and chopped parsley.  Serve while still warm.

* The balance of the clam broth can be used for other dishes .  For me I added chinese cabbage to the broth and serve as cabbage soup for dinner.  The broth is so sweet and flavorful that I can't stop slurping down the whole bowl of soup all by myself :p

Enjoy  !

Steamed Garoupa Fish Belly

You know the last few days , I had this this sudden craving for steamed fish belly. To me the belly is the best part of the fish :)  Managed to get 2 pieces of Garoupa fish bellies from Canning market .  I paid RM13 for two small pieces of bellies and just because I had this stupid cravings or else I would not even want to pay it :p  Anyway, called it menopause cravings or whatever you like, I really craved for these bellies. I steamed them plain with ginger and its juices and guess what ? I had two bowls of rice !!! Supposed to be off rice but this craving really upset everything :p  Alright...so I pampered myself and steamed this for dinner. 

love the smooth texture of the belly...

so fresh and sweet

lots of chopped ginger and juices

and sea salt truly brings out the sweetness of the

fish belly

Steamed Garoupa Fish Belly

Ingredients:

2 pieces of Garoupa fish belly

1 knob of old ginger ( chopped fine and squeeze juice )

1 tsp of sea salt,

1 tsp of olive oil

dill for garnishing

Preparation:

Wash clean the fish belly.  Place the fish belly on a steaming plate.  Rub sea salt evenly on the fish belly. Chop the ginger finely and squeeze out the juices onto the fish belly. Add a tsp of olive oil.  Heat up the steamer and when the water boils, steam the fish belly for 7 to 8 minutes.  Take out and garnish with dills. Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy !

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Family Gathering @ Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine, Kota Damansara

It is not often that we get to meet up together and this Raya was just the right time to meet up and have a great meal together :)  Our favorite haunt , Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine at Kota Damansara was the choice for our lunch.  When the kids are already working, esp some are working in neighbouring country , it is indeed hard to have everyone together for a meal . WB and myself were ecstatic over this meet up :) Like I have always mentioned, it is the fellowship and not the food that makes us happy.  This  post is to remind WB and myself how much we had grown older we have become..oops ( the heart is forever young of course )  and the kids are growing older and wiser too.

This post will prove that we still have a great appetite ( ate like a wolf instead of a piggy ) These pictures were taken to remind me that I have to sweat out all the calories taken in :p  Read on to see what a glutton I was and some family shots :)