Prawns Fritters

I fried some prawn fritters for my Wildboar as he can eat seafood because his cholesterol and blood pressure reading is good . So he can still enjoy some prawns ,unlike me, I have to be careful as I tend to over indulge where seafood is concerned :p His dad, my father-in-law made the most delicious prawn fritters but alas I did ask him for the recipe when he was alive.  So I have to guess how he did it.   I remembered he said something like 3 types of flour - rice flour, corn flour and all purpose flour, but the ratio of the flour I am in the dark.  I just simply add the ratio of 3 part all purpose flour, 2 parts rice flour and 1 part corn flour. I added 1 tsp of baking powder for a fluffier texture.  It turned out not bad, soft on the inside and crisps on the outside.  Nice !  I added chopped spring onions and chopped chillies for some heat and some Maggi chicken granules for taste. I did not measure the water, just add to the right consistency, not too watery neither too thick.  Added an egg too .  I guess this is an old fashion method of making the batter for the prawn fritters :) but on a healthier note as I fried them in a few tablespoons of rice bran oil in a non stick pan.  Anyway it taste good ( how I know coz I stole a piece to taste the texture of the batter ! ) and Wildboar loves it though it may differs a bit from his dad's preparation.  I kicked myself for not asking him to give me his exact recipe!!!

fresh sea prawns makes the best prawn fritters

smell good and have a firm texture

I add only just enough oil to make the prawn fritters as you can see

in the picture above.  The inside is soft and the edges are crispy

healthy way to fry prawn fritters

thai chilli sauce as dip for the prawn fritters

crisps edges, hubby loves it ! and that is all that matters :)

 Prawns Fritters

ingredients:

18 pieces of sea prawns - medium size , remove shells and deveined
marinate deveined prawns with 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt

batter:
(A)
150 gms of AP flour
100 gms  of rice flour
50 gms of corn flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of Maggi granules * to taste
2 tbsp of chopped spring onions
1 tsp of chopped 's eyes chillies
1 egg
water at room temp - add in slowly to the flour ingredients to make the right consistency

rice bran oil for frying the prawns fritter

Method:

Place ingredients (A) in a small bowl and give it a quick stir so that the ingredients are well mixed together- add in water slowly to flour mixture.  Add just enough water to get the right consistency. Leave the batter aside for 15 minutes before adding in the prawns .

Heat up just a few tablespoons of rice bran oil in a non-stick pan.  Once the oil is hot, scoop a small ladle of batter plus two prawns and gently place them on the pan, leave a space for the next scoop and repeat till the pan is filled with dollops of batter/prawns.  Once the bottom sides are crisps, turn them over and once the other side is brown, dish out and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat till all the batter and prawns are used up. Serve with chilli sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

Bittergourd Salad With Wafu Dressing

If you are a bittergourd/bittermelon lover, you will surely love this salad.  I replicated the same salad which I had eaten at a Japanese restaurant in KL with my daughter. She recommended me this salad dish and after tasted it. I was head over heel in love with this dish and I told her I will replicate it for sure.  As we were eating it, we were trying to identify the ingredients used for the salad dressing. And bingo, my daughter got it right..it is Wafu dressing ( japanese- style salad dressing ).  I came back googled for wafu dressing and Voila, she got it right.  It tasted exactly the same as the one which the one served at the Japanese restaurant. I could not contain my joy and I had to text my daughter   " Wow, its exactly the same as the one we ate at the restaurant...your wafu dressing is a spot on "  . I sensed her head swelling through the phone LOL!  My daughter JO is a great taster and she can guess the ingredients faster than me. A keeper for sure and I shall be eating this often as I have my own homegrown plant to supply me endless bittergourd.

This is one healthy and delicious salad that I would like to share with my readers .  Bittergourd has lots of health benefits and they are delicious in however you cooked them. Turning them into salad is a wonderful idea from the Japanese restaurant we went.  And thanking my daughter for introducing me this salad dish.  She is my bestie for sure.  We both love eating and replicating dishes from home :) And I don't nicknamed her Piggy JO for nothing LOL !

these are main ingredients used for making the salad

 

this is the Japanese Grain Vinegar I used in the making the

Wafu Dressing

wafu dressing ...a beautiful Japanese style salad dressing..a keeper for sure

I rested the wafu dressing for 20 mins before using them

as I feel the ingredients will have enough time to 'married to each other'

and gives the dressing a more flavorful one for this salad

after dressing the salad, garnish the top with bonito flakes and
some toasted wasabi flavored seaweed

this is a keeper for sure

Bittergourd Salad With Wafu Dressing

 Ingredients:

3 karela ( indian bittergourd )  
1 red onion- sliced thinly

topping
bonito flakes
toasted wasabi flavored seaweeds

Wafu dressing - adapted from Just One Cookbook

1 tbsp of grated onion with juice
3 tbsp of vegetable oil * I used rice bran oil
3 tbsp of Japanese Soy Sauce
3 tbsp of rice vinegar * I used Japanese grain vinegar - it taste better
1 tbsp sugar
freshly ground pepper
1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds * I omitted coz I ran out of sesame seed

Method:
Put all the dressing ingredients above in a small bowl.  Whisk the ingredients together to create a perfect blend.  Leave it to rest for 20 mins to allow  a more intense flavor.

Prepare the karela ( bittergourd )
sliced thinly and season with salt to draws out bitterness and water. wipe dry with the kitchen paper towels.  Lay them on a salad plate together with the onion slices.  Drizzle the salad dressing over the bittergourd onion slices. Topped with bonito flakes and toasted wasabi flavored seaweeds.

Note:  I like it chilled. It taste better if chilled.  Can be served at room temperature.

Oven Grilled Chicken Wings

It has been quite a while since the last time we had grilled wings.  I would normally roast half a chicken for the hubby but all of a sudden, we had a craving for wings.  BBQ wings would be great but then it involves too much work, setting up the charcoal grill would takes time  so we settled for oven grill :)   We went to collect a dozen pieces of chicken wings from our regular poultry supplier in the morning and have the wings marinated for half a day .  

I marinated the wings with the Japanese soy sauce which I bought from Daiso , this soy sauce has achocol in it and it smells good and it is not salty, just right for my taste bud.  So if you are a salty person, then you have to add a pinch of salt to the marinade. This is my first time trying out the soy sauce and I would say it is perfect as a marinade for the wings.  The marinade is made of the Japanese soy sauce, raw honey, white pepper and a tsp of local thick soy sauce.  The trick to a flavorful wings is to marinate the wings for at least half a day or best if overnight.  I am happy with the result, the wings were flavorful and the skin turned out crispy and the wings were juicy on the inside ...very well grilled. I ate two when I intended to eat only one :p   A simple and easy recipe, not much washing to do. I lined the tray with baking paper so that the drippings will drop onto the paper instead of the tray , which could make washing the tray difficult especially the burnt drippings :)

the steel skewers with rings are from Daiso too 

the remnants of the marinade sauce can be used for basting the

wings at every 15 minutes interval.

japanese soy sauce that was bought from Daiso

which contains achocol making it non-halal

we like it because it is not salty and smells good

oven grilled wings are tasty too next best to bbq wings

Hubby likes the wings to have burnt bits :)

Oven Grilled Chicken Wings 

 ingredients :-

6 pieces of chicken wings

marinade sauce - mix (A) together
(A)
2 tbsp of Japanese soy sauce
1 tsp of thick soy sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon of raw honey

1 tsp of salted butter to glaze the wings 

Method:

Mix the marinade sauce ingredients together till well combined.  Wash the chicken wings and dab dry the wings with paper towels .Rub the marinade sauce evenly on the wings.  Leave the wings to marinate for half a day or overnight in the fridge in a ziploc bag. To make sure the wings are evenly marinated, keep turning the ziploc bag  every hourly .

Preheat the oven to 200C . Skewer the wings and place them side by side on a wire tray with a lined drip pan .  Grill for 40 mins with top heat, basting and turning over the wings every 15 mins till the skin are crispy and golden brown. Brush on the wings 5 mins before taking out from the oven to give the wings a glazed look.

 Enjoy!

Dried Shrimps & Bacon Chips Fried Rice

Fried rice can be delicious if you add in stuff like bacon chips and dried shrimps :) My Wildboar loves dried shrimps added to his fried rice and knowing he is meat eater, I added in bacon chips for him too . I threw in some chopped bird's eye chillies for heat and you tell me whether this one dish meal is delish or not!  Sliced some homegrown spring onions and garnished the fried rice with the greens.  The red chillies and green onions gives colors to the fried rice and a feast for my camera :)

This  one dish meal  is often served on our dining table when I am busy with my gardening and baking.  When hubby sees baking in the kitchen , he knows dinner would be fried rice LOL!

fried rice can be so versatile that with just an egg added ,

 your fried rice can taste restaurant standard. I  used dried shrimps 

because hubby requested for it and bacon chips an added bonus for him :)

a one dish meal that is often served when I am busy 

with my baking and gardening :)

best to use rice that is overnight or cooked a few hours before frying

Dried Shrimps & Bacon Chips Fried Rice
( for 2 persons)

ingredients:

2 bowls of cooked rice

pound A together:
(A)
3 tbsp of dried shrimps - soak and pound coarsely
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
3 bird's eyes chillies

some bacon chips - cut to smaller pieces
2 eggs - beaten
1.5 tbsp of rice bran oil

a dash of grounded white pepper
salt to taste
sliced spring onions for garnishing

Method:

Heat oil in a non stick frying pan, add in the pounded ingredients and stir fry till fragrant. Add in the bacon chips and continue to stir fry till bacon chips are crispy and fragrant. Add in the cooked rice and stir fry till well combined.  Push rice aside  and pour in beaten eggs in the center and cook till the eggs are half cooked , push back the rice and fry till eggs are well combined into the rice.  Give it a quick stir fry till rice is dancing on the pan. Add white pepper and salt to taste.   Dish up and garnish with sliced spring onions.

Enjoy!

Simple Dry Curry Crabs

Yay! I finally managed to cook dry curry crabs. It was so good that I will definitely cook this again for my Piggies when they come back for their holidays.    I bought two sea crabs from the market and thought of cooking crab curry with pineapple but on second thought, I changed my mind and cook dry curry with the crabs. I googled for a simple one and found this recipe which I think will be great and simple enough for me. I gave it a tweak by adding, lemongrass and some freshly grounded chilli paste with turmeric which I  always keep in a jar for emergency use in the fridge. The recipe calls for curry powder only :) and as usual, I like to add fresh grounded chilli paste for color , extra heat and deeper taste.  This is the most easy to cook dry curry and the result is a satisfying one.  One whole crab for my Wildboar and the other one for myself :)   We used our fingers to de-shell the crabs and the flavorful curry paste sticks to our fingers.  Now I know what  fingerlicking good means.  We practically licked the paste off our fingers...so yummy good! A keeper for sure. A simple dry curry dish yet can taste awesomely good ! Thank you Patsy for the recipe :)

Baba's fish curry powder , freshly ground chilli paste with turmeric,

spices are pounded ginger, shallots and garlic, curry leaves is a must

and I plucked them from my lil' space

stir fry the pounded spice and curry paste and curry leaves, lemongrass with

rice bran oil till fragrant and till the oil separated from the paste

before adding in the crabs

Add in the crabs and cooked till the curry paste has thicken and reduce

it taste awesomely good, I am glad I managed to get it right

Wildboar says it is really good and that is all that matters :)

we practically licked off all the curry paste from our fingers 

mmmmm....waste not ..right?

the crabs are big and meaty, fresh and sweet...

Simple Dry Curry Crabs 

Ingredients:

2 large sea crabs - clean and remove gills - leave crab as whole
2 heaped tbsp of Baba’s fish curry powder - mix with 1 tbsp of water into a paste
1 heaped tbsp of fresh ground chilli + turmeric paste

1inch ginger *

5 shallots*

4 cloves garlic*

(pound the * ingredients till fine)

1 lemongrass - use white part only  - lightly crushed
2 sprigs of curry leaves

2 tablespoons of cooking oil * I used rice bran oil

1/4 cup of water
a tsp of sugar  
salt to taste

 Method:

1. Clean the crab , remove gills,  - leave crab as whole.
2. Pound the ingredients marked * with a mortar and pestle or with a food processor. Make sure that the spice paste is finely blended or pounded.
3. Heat up wok and add cooking oil.
4. Stir fry the pounded ingredient , lemongrass, curry leaves and curry powder and fresh chilli paste till fragrant .
5. Add the crab and 1/4 cup of water and do a quick stir. Cover the wok with its cover for 5 minutes.
6. Add in sugar, a little salt to taste and continue stirring for about 2 minutes or until the crab  has turned red and is cooked and the paste dried.
7. Dish up and serve hot.

A BLESSED EASTER to all my Christian friends

 God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

Baked Stuffed BAby Zucchini With Flowers

I have read so many recipes on zucchini flowers but have yet to try it out until recently on my frequent trips up to KL that I chanced upon very big zucchini flowers sold at Sam's Groceria, Nu Sentral.  I took the opportunity to grab a packet back to Ipoh , and  found that they are very suitable for stuffing with my favourite ingredients, bacon and cheese . Baked them...oh it was heaven food alright ! I promised myself that I will get more on my next trip to KL .  My Wildboar loves them to bits...I served them as sides to go with the aglio olio that I cooked for our dinner.  The baked zucchini flowers is to die for and a keeper for sure.  I will get more on my next trip to Sam's Groceria  if they are in season. There are many recipes for zuchinni flowers and I want to try other recipes too :)

 I regretted buying just a packet...should have bought more

so that we don't have to fight over the last piece :p

I stuffed the flowers with cheddar cheese and bacon bits

 topped with mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs for extra crunch

drizzle with olive oil on top of the stuffed flowers before baking

 baked at 180C till brown and cooked

Stir Fry Kailan With Braised Yam

From the garden to the table...it has been my dream to grow my own edibles and cook them for my family.  I am one person who loves to cook and eat healthy.  Looking at how free the farmers are with the pesticides on the vegetables planted in Cameron Highlands, it is really  hazardous to our health.  Because of this reason, I started planting my own vegetables starting with simple ones like Mint , Eggplant, Okra ,Water Spinach, Brazilain Spinach, Malabar Spinach, Taiwan Yau Mak( celtuce family ) and Siew Pak Choy.  Lately , I have added  Bittergourd and Kailan to my collection of edibles. It is indeed a joy to be able to serve my family with homegrown edibles. 

Today, I will share how I cooked the homegrown Kailan from my lil' space.  A very simple to whip up and yet delicious dish. I braised the yam with dried shrimps till soft and mashed up. Stir fry kailan with garlic, once they are cooked, add them to the braised yam and give it a quick stir fry. Hubby and I love this dish to bits and what more the kailan is homegrown.  Looks like my dream has become a reality now. Truly from the garden to the table.

my homegrown Kailan

yam from the local market

Stir Fry Kailan With Braised Yam

a bunch of Kailan  - washed , drained dry and cut up
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp of  rice bran oil

Prepare Braised yam 
half of a yam - diced
2 cloves of garlic - sliced
1 shallots- sliced
2 tbsp of dried shrimps - washed, soak
2 cups water
salt to taste
1 tbsp of rice bran oil

Heat up oil in wok, add in sliced shallots and garlic and saute till crispy. Add in dried shrimps and stir fry till fragrant. Add in the diced yam and continue to stir fry for a few minutes.  Add in water , close with lid and simmer till yam is soft and liquid has thicken and yam can be mash up easily. Off heat and dish up. Keep aside.

In a clean wok, heat up 2 tsp of oil, saute the garlic till fragrant, add in the cut kailan and stir fry till cooked, add in the braised yam and give it a quick stir fry.  Dish up and serve with rice.

Enjoy !