Savoury Lotus Leaf Steamed Rice

You may probably be more familiar with the version of this dish made with glutinuous rice in dim sum restaurants. It is presented in small little packets wrapped in lotus leaf and served pipping hot at your table. Well this particularly recipe is not that far off. I was not too keen on using glutinuous rice as it was way too filing (heavy to the stomach) so I opted on using jasmine white rice instead.



Lotus leaf used in steaming food gives out a fantastic dark tea-alike aroma and colour to the grains. In the old days, people would stuff all sorts of ingredients into the lotus steam rice as this dish would constitute an entire meal by itself. The dish is now much simple in comparison, with fewer ingredients and the recipe being less complicated. You can of course use the same recipe and substitute it with glutinuous rice instead.





Savoury Lotus Leaf Steamed Rice
Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried shrimp
5 dried black chinese mushrooms (soak in warm water until soften)
2 large dried lotus leaves
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
2 Chinese sausages, cut diagonally into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 small can of braised peanuts, drained
1/2 cup of diced chinese roast pork or char siew
1/4 cup diced chinese celery
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro (Chinese parsley)
2 Tbsp light soy sauce (add more if required)
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white pepper
4 cups cooked medium-grain rice (cooled)

For Garnishing: Sliced fresh red chillies, fried shallots and chopped cilantro

Method:

1) Cut the stems off the mushrooms and thinly slice caps. Set aside.

2) Bring some water to a boil in a large pan. Then plunge the lotus leaves into boiling water and cook for 2 minutes or until softenen. Drain well and set aside.

3) Place a wok or large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add the vegetable oil, swirling to coat sides. Then add the shallots, garlic, ginger, sausage, roast pork and shrimp and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

4) Then add the celery, cilantro, peanuts and mushrooms and stir-fry for another 1 minute.

5) Add in all the seasonsing and then stir in the cooked rice. Separate the grains with the back of a spoon and mix well. Remove from heat.

6) Spread one lotus leaf on work surface. Cover with second leaf. Then place the rice mixture in center of lotus leaves. Fold edges of leaves over rice so rice is completely covered.

7) Place steaming rack in a wok or a steamer pot. Pour water to just below level of rack and bring to a boil.

8) Once the water is boiling, place lotus leaf packet on a heatproof dish and set dish on rack. Cover and steam, adding additional water if neccessary, for 30 minutes. Garnish and serve immediately.

Note: If you are using glutinuous rice, soak the glutinous rice in water overnight. Drain away the water. Then fry it with the ingredients and seasoning. Steam for 45 minutes or longer until cook.

Laksa Fried Rice With Shrimps

I must confess that I am really a simple person at heart. Simple, home-cooked meals brings such pleasure as it brings back childhood memories. Fried rice and fried rice noodles were staple weekend meals when I was growing up in Malaysia. My siblings and I would look forward to such weekends whenever we knew our mum was going to prepare this. Even though the ingredients used in the dish were simple, I guess to us kids at that time it was as good as eating abalone or lobster. I would usually eat more than a plateful. In fact I think everyone else had more than one serving as well! Even now cooking these two dishes bring back such memories and also that they happened to be my dear LT's favourite meals as well.

I decided to make fried rice this particular weekend. It wasn't because I wanted to evoke childhood memories but simply because I didn't know what to cook. I deviated from the usual chinese fried rice style of cooking and made a spicy flavoured one instead. I must say that it turned out pretty well. Now who says that you can't "cook on the fly" and come up with a tasty meal.



Before I jump into the recipe I had a nice surprise this week - in fact two nice surprises to be exact. I received 2 blog awards. It is really nice to receive such awards as it means that my blogging efforts are being recognized by other bloggers. To this I would like to thank Edith of Precious Moments and Vivian of Vivian Pang Kitchen



Laksa Fried Rice With Shrimps
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 - 4 Tbsp laksa paste (recipe below)
300g medium prawns, shelled and deveined
1 small onion, finely chopped
300g (2 cups) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
3 eggs, lightly whisked
600g (4 cups) pre-cooked long-grain white rice, cold from the fridge
white rice, cooled (see tip)
Salt, light soy sauce and white pepper for seasoning

For Garnishing:

Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
Sliced fresh chillies

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a large wok or deep frying pan over high heat. Saute the onions for about a minutes. Then add the laksa paste and fry until fragrant.

2) Add the prawns and mixed vegetables, and stir-fry for 1 minute.

3) Reduce heat to medium-high and add in the cold rice. Cook for about 3 minutes. Then pour in the beaten egg and stir into the rice. Cook for another 3 - 4 minutes, until the rice dries out. Season with salt, soy and pepper to taste.

4) Divide the rice amongst serving bowls. Garnish with chopped coriander and sliced chilles and and serve immediately.

Tip 1: For best results, cook the rice the day before (this allows time for the rice to dry slightly so the grains will be less sticky). Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tip 2: Instead of making the laksa paste from scratch, you can buy pre-made paste from Asian grocery shops.



Laksa Spice Paste

Ingredients:

3 small shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp crushed blanched candle nuts (or blanched plain almonds)
2 Tbsp soaked dried shrimp
2 fresh lemongrass. white part only, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh galangal
1 tsp shrimp paste
3 fresh chillies, seeds removed and sliced
1 tsp chopped fresh tumeric
2 tsp ground coriander
3 lime leaves (center vein removed) and finely sliced. You can substitute with 1 tsp lime zest

Method:

Place all the above ingredients into a food processor or blender. Add a little bit of water and grind until smooth.

Leek, Pepper and Bacon Risotto

I'm not much into risotto but as I had some short grain rice which I didn't want to waste, I decided to cook up a small serving of it. This simple recipe cannot be any simplier. All you need is just time!

Risotto is actually an Italian dish that takes a longer time than cooking normal rice. When it is done well, this dish has a rich, creamy texture, with each individual grain of rice standing out clearly and having a hint of a bite, rather than being soft or mushy. Nowadays risotto also comes in pre-packed boxes and you can find this in most good grocers. All you need to do is just add water. But with most instant meals, the essence of preparing it and having fresh flavours is totally gone altogether.



Making risotto may sound like a complicated process to a newcomer. I personally don't think it is. It starts with frying rice with the ingredients until everything is well coated. The white wine is added and the mixture is continually stirred until the wine has evaporated. Next, broth is added in small amounts at a time, whilst continuously stirring the rice. The entire cooking time can take between 20 to 30 minutes depending on the quantity of rice being cooked.



Leek, Pepper and Bacon Risotto
Serves 4
Recipe Adapted from "Good Food" Magazine

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of canned unsalted chicken stock or home-made stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 streaky smoked bacon rashers, cut into pieces
300g arborio rice (or short grained risotto rice)
125ml white wine
1 small red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/3 cup of frozen green peas
4 large leeks, sliced diagonally (about 1/2" thick)
50g grated parmesan
1 bunch of chives, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1) Heat up your stock and keep it warm.

2) Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside.

3) Turn the flame to medium. Stir in the leeks, frozen peas and red pepper in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in all of the wine and keep stirring until all the wine has been absorbed.

4) Then add the chicken stock into the rice, one large ladle at a time. Stir and wait until all the stock has been absorbed before adding another ladle. Continue to do this for about 25 minutes until the rick is just cooked and the risotto resembles a creamy consistency.

5) Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Then stir in the bacon, parmesan and chives, saving some of each for garnishing. Serve immediately.

Thai Fried Rice with Clams and Holy Basil

When it comes to left-over white rice, it is astonishing what type of ingredients you could add to it to turn this into a simple fried rice dish. I would usually cook a Chinese fried rice version using Chinese sausages, frozen mixed vegetables and eggs. However this time round I wanted to do something different and be a bit more adventurous.

I decided on a Thai version using fresh basil as one of the key ingredients. So when I happened to be at my local supermarket buying groceries, I came across fresh white clams. I thought to myself “heh, how about some clams to go with the Thai fried rice! I could add some long beans as well.” I must confess that I had concocting this recipe as I was walking through the aisle in the supermarket. So with this in mind, I started to throw packs of ingredients into my shopping basket. If you are not into clams, you can use prawns or even chicken meat as substitute. And again if long beans are not your “thing” substitute with frozen mixed vegetables, peas, carrots, corn … or just do your own thing! The dish will still come out delicious.





Thai Fried Rice with Clams and Holy Basil
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, roughly minced
1 ½ Tbsp of Thai chillie paste (found in local Asian groceries. Vary the chilli paste according to your taste)
2 cups heaped cold cooked rice
200g - 250g white clams, shell intact and thoroughly cleaned
1 ½ Tbsp fish sauce, or more to taste
¾ cup of long beans, chopped to ¼” thick
1/2 cup loosely packed Thai holy basil (regular basil ok)
2 medium sized eggs, lightly beaten
Dash of white pepper
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro and extra sprigs for decoration

Method:

1) In a wok or large skillet over medium fire, heat up the oil. Add the garlic and fry until lightly browned

2) Then add in the chilli paste and stir fry for about a minute. Add in the clams and basil leaves, and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the long beans and fry until slightly soften (not too soft). Add the cold rice and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes.

3) Add fish sauce and pepper. Then drizzle the beaten egg onto the rice and stir to mix well. Fry for another 1 to 2 minutes.

4) Finally add in the chopped fresh cilantro. Dish out warm and serve with lime wedges, Thai chillie sauce and cilantro for decoration.

Rice Congee with Meatballs

Congee or porridge is eaten through Asian countries and can be consumed from breakfast to lunch to dinner. It is made from rice which is the staple carbohydrate in this part of the world.

When I did a search on the word "congee", Wikipedia threw up different names for "congee". In Burma it is called San Bohk which literally means "rice boiled". In Cambodia it is called Babaw. In China and Hong Kong it is called Zhōu. In India it is known as Ganji. In Indonesia it is called Bubur. In Japan it is Okayu whilst in Korea it is Juk. The Filipinos call this Lúgao and the Thai people would call it Chok (โจ๊ก) And in Vietnam it is known as Cháo. In fact the word in some languages sound pretty much alike such as in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Most Asians would have grown up eating congee in one way or another. To us it is the ultimate comfort food .. be it when you are well or when you are ill. So it is not surprising that I cook this quite often at home. My hubby loves it whenever I cook congee especially the thick plain congee and have many side dishes such as stir fried vegetables, egg omelette, cold chinese tofu, fried luncheon meat, pickled chinese cabbage and braised ground peanuts to go with it. This particular weekend which also happened to be wet and cold, was calling out for rice congee for dinner. So I made a meatball version and it was extremely, extremely comforting!



Rice Congee with Meatballs
Serves 4

Ingredients for the Congee:

200g long grain rice, washed
7 cups (around 1750 ml) water
2 teaspoons chicken stock granules or 1 chicken cube
2cm ginger, skinned and smashed lightly
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon teaspoon ground white pepper

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

200g minced pork with a bit of fat in it (you can use minced chicken as substitute)
2 Tbsp sliced green onion
2 Tbsp sliced coriander
2 Tbsp sliced chinese celery
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
6 waterchests, chopped into small pieces
2 Tbsp chinese preserved turnip, finely minced (can be found either Asian groceries either sold loosely or canned version)
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoon chinese wine
1 Tbsp corn flour

For Garnishing:

Fried shallots
Sliced green onion and chinese celery
A drizzle of sesame oil
Dash of ground white pepper

Method:

1) Place all ingredients for the congee into an electric rice cooker and cook using the congee mode. Stir occassionally.

2) Mix all ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl. Stir to combined all the seasoning. Using your hands, shape the balls into 3/4 size of ping pong balls. You can make this ahead and keep in the refrigerator in a air-tight container.

3) Once the congee starts to thicken (at this time the congee should be almonst cooked), drop in the meatballs. Cover the rice cooker and cook until meatballs are done.

4) To serve, dish hot congee into bowls and sprinkle with garnishings.

Cook's Note:

If you do not have a rice cooker, you can cook this over a stove. Just make sure you keep an eye on your congee to prevent burning and over boiling. Best to cook congee in a non-stick pot over medium fire in this case. Once the congee starts to thicken you can drop in the meatballs and cook them for about 15 minutes for doneness.

Chicken Briyani with Tumeric Basmati Rice

We do have a soft spot for Indian food. Every once in a while when the craving sinks in, we would just go around the corner to where we live and indulge in either banana leave rice or thosai. Although I love Indian food I very seldom cook it as most of the recipes I have seen are pretty intimidating. It calls for a lot of fresh spices which have to be grinded. The fact that I do not have a spice grinder would also be another deterrent. I have toyed with the idea of buying one but have asked myself to hold off as I would most likely be using it on very rare occassions only.

I guess for recipes such as this particular one, the easiest would be to buy ready bottled spices. It's so convenient and handy, half your work is already done for you. Also it's not as if I have problems finding bottled briyani paste in this part of the world. Entirely the opposite! If I was to go to an Indian supermarket (take Mustaff for instance) I would probably find more than a dozen types of bottled briyani paste.



Chicken Briyani
Serves 4 - 5

Ingredients:

1 large chicken cut into about 8 pieces (or smaller as you wish)
2 large onions cut into 1” cube
2 large tomatoes cut into 1” cube
2 green chillies + 2 red chillies, whole
1” ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup yoghurt
3 – 4 Tbsp briyani paste (I used Mum’s Kitchen label. You can use any others but read the instructions first as the amount of paste used could vary)
1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
¾ cup to 1 cup water
1/3 cup ghee or clarified butter (otherwise use vegetable oil)
Salt to taste
For garnishing: 1 loose cup of mixed coriander and mint leaves

Method:

1) Heat the ghee up in a big pot. Then add the briyani paste and chilli powder and fry until fragrant.

2) Add in the onion and fry for about 2 minutes. Add in the grated ginger and garlic.

3) Then add in the chicken pieces to the paste and stir fry for about 4 minutes. Throw in the tomatoes and stir fry for another 1 minute.

4) Add the water and cover the lid to let it boil. Once it begins to boil, add in the chillies, yoghurt, coriander and mint leaves. Turn the heat to a simmer and let it cook until chicken becomes tender.

5) Add salt to taste. (To thicken the sauce, you can add another 2 – 3 tablespoons of yoghurt towards the end of your cooking. Let the sauce simmer for another 5 minutes if you are adding this.)

6) Garnish with additional coriander and mint leaves just before serving.



Tumeric Basmati Rice
Serves 4 - 5

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice (or any long grain rice)
4 cups water
1 large onion, chopped into 1” cube
3 Tbsp ghee or clarified butter (otherwise use vegetable oil)
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamon
3 star anise
4 cloves
1" ginger, thinly sliced
2 tsp tumeric powder
½ cup loosely packed mixture of chopped coriander and mint leaves

Method:

1) Wash the rice and place in rice cooker with water.

2) Heat the ghee in a pan. Once hot, fry the spices until fragrant.

3) Then add in the onions and fry until soften. About 3 – 4 minutes.

4) Add in the sliced ginger and tumeric powder and fry another 1 minute.

5) Throw the mixture into the rice and stir so as to coat the grains. Add the coriander and mint leaves. Cook the rice accordingly to your rice cooker instructions.

6) Serve warm, dish out onto plates and garnish with mint leaves and fried shallots.

Simple Fried Beehoon (Rice Vermicelli)

My hubby commented recently that I had not made fried beehoon for a while now. So to humour him I decided to dish up some on Sunday. I usually keep my beehoon dish really simple. In fact I hardly use meat at all and you can say that's it's almost vegetarian as it has lots and lots of veggies. Just how he likes it. So like Chef Michael Smith would say it's "cooking without a recipe".

I'm quite fussy about the type of beehoon I would use and the brand that I like most is Sun Brand, it has two red chillies on it's clear packaging. I will use up the entire pack of beehoon and the extras will be packed for lunch the next day. That way I don't have to worry as to what to eat for lunch in the office. My hubby would have some of the extras for his morning breakfast as well.

Fried beehoon brings back lots of memories as my mum would cook a huge batch of this and every so often we would have it for dinner after coming back from school. My mum was a working professional so simple and quick meals such as this was most ideal. It goes the same for me too! If you are in this part of the world, having rice vermicelli is not so strange a breakfast meal. In fact it is very popular and you can have this with sliced fish cake, fried spring rolls, sunny side eggs and even fried crispy chicken wings. Sounds like a huge meal right! But oh so yummy!



Fried Beehoon (Rice Vermicelli)
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, minced
400g dried beehoon (rice vermicelli (beehoon)
250g bean sprouts
1 bunch of chye sim
8 pieces of beancurd puffs, sliced
1 medium size Beijing cabbage, sliced thinly
1 1/2 Knorr's chicken stock cube (or vegetable stock cube)
1/3 cup water
Soy sauce and white pepper to taste
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1) Soak the beehoon in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2) Heat oil in wok and fry the garlic until fragrant.

3) Add the cabbage and beancurd puffs. Add the chicken cube, sesame and water and continue stir-frying for about 3 minutes.

4) Add the beansprouts and beehoon. Cook until water is absorbed. Season with soy sauce and white pepper. Stir continuously or vermicelli will stick to wok. Use a large pair of chopsticks or tongs to toss the vermicelli.

5) Once cooked, serve immediate with garnishings such as fried shallots, chopped coriander and sliced fresh red chilli.

Pad Thai Goong

When it comes to cooking Thai food at home, I guess my repetoire is kind of limited. So far it's been tomyam and green or red curries. So it must have been coincidence when we had Thai food for dinner a couple of weeks back that I decided I would try my hand at making pad thai. I've seen on cooking programs how easy it is to make this dish and the important ingredient is the tamarind sauce. A few helpful hints I had discovered is never to cook large batches of this noodle. Also do not cook the noodles for too long otherwise it becomes soggy. And make sure that your heat is on medium high. If it's your first time making pad thai, a good source for reference would be Chez Pim's "Pad Thai for Beginners .



Phad Thai Goong
Recipe Adapted from "Lemongrass and Sweet Basil" by Khamtane Signavong
Serves 4

Ingredients:

200g medium rice stick noodles
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp dried shrimps
12 medium-sized prawns
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp cubed firm tofu (beancurd)
4 Tbsp pickled radish
80g beansprout, extra 20g for garnishing
12 chinese chives, chopped into 3" lengths
2 Tbsp ground roasted peanuts (extra for garnish)
1 large lime, quartered, for garnishing

For the Tamarind Sauce:

4 Tbsp palm sugar
4 Tbsp fish sauce
4 Tbsp tamarind juice
2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Microwave for about 1 to 2 min to dissolve the palm sugar.

Method:

1) Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 15 mins, then remove and drain.

2) Half all the ingredients to cook the noodles in 2 batches.

3) Heat the oil in a work, add the dried shrimps and cook until golden brown. Add the king prawns and stir until cooked, about 1 1/2 mins.

3) Then add the tofu, pickled radish and tamarind sauce. Push the noodles to one side and pour in the egg. Once the egg is half cooked, break it up and add it to the noodles. Add in the beansprout and stir well until the noodles are almost cooked.

4) Add in the chives and stir quickly. Dish out the noodles on a plate. Garnish with raw beansprout, ground toasted peanuts, a tsp of chilli powder, a tsp of sugar and a quarter lime.

Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice

Chinese fried rice has to be everyone's favourite and it certainly is on our menu. I made sure I cooked extra white rice the night before and kept the left over in the fridge. That's because I already had the intention of making fried rice for our Sunday dinner. I would usually cook fried rice a few hours before actual dinner time and then warm it up in the microwave. That way I'm done with most of the washing up and have a more relaxed Sunday evening.

There are so many versions of fried rice and I think every country in Asia probably has it's own local version. Thailand has it's pineapple fried rice, Hong Kong has the salted fish fried rice and of course Indonesia has it's "Indonesian nasi goreng". I'm not sure what version this particular one is but I usually add whatever I have handy into my fried rice. This time round I used some lap cheong which I had in my freezer. Gosh I do believe they have been inside there for at least 4 months now. Quick tip, it's always best to use overnight rice when making fried rice.



Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice
(Serves 3 - 4)

Ingredients:

4 cups overnight rice
1 1/2 Tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper powder
3 pieces of lap cheong, sliced thinly
10 medium size prawns, shelled, deveined and sliced in half, lengthwise
1 cup frozen peas
8 shitake mushroom, diced into cubes
4 Tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion (diced)
3 eggs, lightly beaten, season with a dash of soya sauce and white pepper
Chinese cilantro for garnish

Method:

1) Heat up a wok (or a deep frying pan) with 2 Tbsp oil. Add the egg all at once and swirl it around. Leave to set around the edges and then break it up into pieces. Cook until lightly brown and set aside.

2) Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil to the wok. Add the lap cheong and fry on medium fire until fragrant and some oil comes out from the sausages. Then add in the diced onion and fry about 2 minutes.

3) Add the prawns, peas and mushroom and fry until about 80% cooked.

4) Then add in all the rice. Add in the seasoning and fry the rice for another 2 minutes. Finally add in the cooked egg and fry for another minute. Taste and add more seasoning if required.

5) Serve the fried rice warm with some chopped chinese coriander and fried shallots.

Pineapple Fried Rice with Prawns (Khow Pad Supparod Goong)

Have you ever thought that the simplest meal is sometimes the best meal you've ever had. I've had moments like this. It's often the something that you would throw together in a pot would bring the cosiest warm feelings. Would you believe that fried rice falls into this category for me? Well it does!

When we were young kids (god knows that was donkey years ago), my mum would cook fried rice and her main ingredients were diced onions, diced char siew (chinese roast pork), frozen vegetables and eggs. These were one of the moments we enjoyed the most and I still remember the big pot of fried rice placed in the middle of the dining table. All of us would swoop down onto the pot with a spoons and heaped up huge helpings onto our dinner plate. I loved eating char siew fried rice with Maggie (that's the brand of the sauce) chillie sauce.

Would you believe when I first worked in Hong Kong many years ago, I could never find this particular brand of chillie sauce any where in town. So every time I go back to Singapore (which was about 4 times a year), I would take the opportunity to pack a few bottles back with me. Hah ... I should have recorded the customs officer's face when he opened my luggage at HK airport.



Pineapple Fried Rice with Prawns (Khow Pad Supparod Goong)
Serves 2
Print Recipe

Ingredients:

50g boiled shrimp
1/3 cup frozen mixed vegetable
1/4 cup cubed pieces of fresh pineapple
2 cups cold plain rice (break up any clumps)
3 Tbsp oil

For the Paste:

100g blended pineapple pulp
1 Tbsp tumeric powder
2 Tbsp seafood curry powder
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar (or more to taste)
Water to moisten rice
Salt and white pepper to taste

Method:

1) Heat oil in a wok or a pan and stir fry the paste until fragrant and mixture thickens.

2) Add in the rice and frozen vegetables and fry until well mixed. Adjust seasoning and then stir in the boiled shrimp and pineapple pieces.

3) Serve rice warm. Garnish with roasted cashew nuts, fresh coriander and red chillies.

Sang Har Mien (Prawns with Crispy Egg Noodles)

Especially after a day at work and a hectic one at that, I'm always for a quick tasty dinner prepared at home. We opted for noodles rather than rice. So I decided to put together a couple of plates of crispy egg noodles and used whatever I already had in the fridge. This is my quick version of a very popular noodle dish back in Malaysia!

"Sang Har Mien" literally means Fresh Water Prawns mee. Normally the flavor of the fresh water prawn is stronger than salt water ones. The succulent prawns are usually split into two and is served with the crispy noodles. A whole beaten egg is then added to the hot thick gravy and is poured over the noodles. It's simply a very delicious dish altogether.



Sang Har Mien (Prawns with Crispy Egg Noodles) - My Quick Version
(serve 2)

Ingredients:

6 medium size tiger prawns (remove heads, leave the shell intact)
1/3 cup sliced shitake mushroom
100g thinly sliced chicken breast
8 thin slices of fish cake
2 pieces of crispy egg noodle (the noodles usually come in a small round bundle and would be available in any Asian store)
1 small bunch of choy sum (or any other leafy green vegetable)
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 4cm lengths
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped finely
1 tbsp finely sliced young ginger
3 cups chicken stock stock (or 3 cups water + 1 cube of Knorr's chicken cube)
1½ Tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 Tbsp water
1 large egg, beaten lightly
Sesame oil, soya sauce and white pepper for seasoning

Method

1) Using a stock pot, add 3 cups of stock, garlic and ginger and bring to a boil.

2) Turn fire to medium heat, add in the chicken and bring to a boil. Then throw in the fish cake and mushrooms and bring to a boil.

3) Then add in the prawns, followed by the beaten egg. Once it starts to simmer add in the cornflour mixture until the entire stock has thicken (it should look a bit gooey). Finally add in the green vegetables and spring onion.

4) Season stock with a drizzle of sesame oil and pinch of white pepper. If required, add soya sauce to taste.

5) Put crispy noodle on a plate and then place into the microwave. Set your microwave to high grill for 30 seconds. Take noodle out to taste if it's cripsy and warm. If not, high grill it for another 15 seconds. (Your grilling time will depend on the microwave capacity). If you don't have a microwave, you would need to do quickly deep fry the noodles in a pot of very hot oil until it turns golden brown and is crispy.

6) To serve pour the gravy directly onto the crispy noodle and serve with deep fried shallots and sliced red chillies.

Loh Mai Kai (Chicken in Glutinous Rice)

Since young we have always associated eating Loh Mai Kai with a dim sum breakfast. I believe this dish first originated as part of southern Chinese cuisine. It consist of glutinous rice filled with chicken, Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausage, scallions and sometimes dried shrimp. The rice with it's flavouful content would then be wrapped in a dried lotus leaf and then steamed. Some restaurants would serve it the old fashion method with the lotus leaf. Because of difficulties in obtaining lotus leaves, some restaurants would just steam the rice in metal or procelain bowls and then serve it as it is. Sometimes Loh Mai Kai is divided into smaller wraps, which are known as chun chu gai (珍珠雞) literally meaning "pearly chicken" in Chinese.

Nowadays with modern technology you can even get ready made frozen Loh Mai Kai. You just need to take it out from the freezer, steam it according to the instrucitoions printed on the packing and in no time at all it's ready to be eaten. I've always loved ordering this dish whenever we are out for a dim sum (or yum cha as some of you may call it) meal. There is nothing better than a freshly steamed, piping hot Loh Mai Kai to fill your belly but you really have to eat this hot otherwise the glutinous rice tends to harden and dry out a bit.

This particular recipe comes from a Malaysian cookbook which has been with me for more than 15 years now. I've made this numerous times and have always gone back to using this recipe.



Loh Mai Kai (Chicken in Glutinous Rice)

Ingredients:

450g glutinous rice
6 Chinese dried mushrooms
1/2 whole chicken
2 Tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp thick soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
7 Tbsp oil
170g roast pork (if you can't find roast pork, omit it but add a bit more chicken to your dish)
3 pieces dried chinese sausage
1 Tbsp cornflour
salt to taste
1 stalk coriander leave - chopped



Method:

1) Soak the glutinous rice overnight. Rinse and drain well.

2) Soak the mushroom for about 20 minutes and then cut in half

3) Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Season with 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil and 1 tsp sugar.

4) Slice the roast pork into 1 cm cubes and season with 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp thick soy sauce, 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, the remaining sugar and pepper.

5) Slice the sausages thinly, lightly fry for about 2 minutes and set aside.

6) Heat 2 Tbsp oil and fry chicken until cook and all the gravy absorbed. Remove and set aside.

7) Heat another 2 Tbsp oil, add in roast pork and stir fry for about a minute.

8) Add mushrooms and 1/4 cup water cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend cornflour with 1/4 cup of water and thicken the gray. Set aside.

9) Mix the glutinous rice with 3 Tbsp oil, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.

10) Divide chicken, roast pork, sausages and mushrooms into 10 equal portions. Place each portion in a bowl.

11) Divide the rice into 10 portions also and cover the ingredients of each bowl with 1 portion of rice. The bowls should only be half full.

12) Steam the bowls of rice in a steamer for 30 minutes or until the rice is well cooked.

13) Turn each bowl of rice onto a serving plate and serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Seafood Paella

When I first saw a photo of Paella it remindered me of a seafood claypot rice (Asian rice dish cooked over a stove). However the type of rice used in a Paella is different and has a higher starch content than claypot rice. The colours of a Paella dish is so vibrant and appealing that I had to really give this dish a try. I even went to the extent of making a trip to Ikea solely to puchase a 34cm Paella pan ... call me mad or what!



What is Paella? Paella is a traditional Spanish cuisine originating from Valencia and is specially served on Sundays and holidays (though nowadays any day is a good day to have a Paella). It resembles a rissotto, using medium short-grained rice. A traditional Paella is made in a broad, shallow dish with sloping sides called a paella or paellera in some regions of Spain. The pan is usually around 13" in diameter. An important part of the flavor comes from the addition of saffron and the sofrito, or the combination of tomatoes, and garlic. The traditional way of cooking a Paella is to sautee the vegetables, meat or seafood in olive oil in different stages. Next, water is added, followed by rice. The mixture of meat, vegetables, and rice is stirred and then simmered slowly for approximately twenty minutes on low heat before the heat is raised to high to make the soccarat, the deliciously toasted bottom which is a delicacy in Valencian cuisine. After the soccarat has formed, the Paella is removed from the heat, allowed to cool slightly, and served.

However my version of Paella is prepared differently as I cooked the rice first and then added the seafood directly on top of the rice towards the end part of cooking time. I thought this was much simplier and didn't require too many messy dishes. The Paella came out beautifully done especially as I had used the freshiest of seafood. This is great entertaining dish and you can wow your guest by presenting the whole dish in it's pan.



Seafood Paella
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
A few thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
1 tsp of Spanish paprika (sweet or smokey, your choice)
2 cups of dry white wine
A pinch of saffron threads (about 15 threads or so)
2 cups arborio or other medium short grained, rounded rice (I used Australian medium short grain as arborio was way too expensive)
3 to 4 cups chicken broth (I used canned chicken broth but you could also use fish or vegetable broth)
1 medium sized squid, cleaned and cut into rings (the tentacles can also be used)
400g clams, soaked in water to remove the grit
About 10 mussels, soaked to remove grit, beard removed
500g medium sized prawns (trimmed, but leave the shell and head)
1 chiroza sausage sliced diagonally
1 can of chopped tomatoes (about 350g can)
1/2 cup frozen peas (defrosted)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1) Add about 3 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Once heated add the onion and fry for about 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and fry until lightly brown. After that toss in the thyme and bay leaves.

2) Give it all a good stir and then add in the paprika, some sea salt and black pepper. Toss in the chiroza sausage to brown for about a minute before adding in the whole can of chopped tomatoes. Stir the mixture and let it reduce to about half.

3) Add in all the white wine and saffron. Let the sauce simmer for another 1 - 2 minutes, reducing slightly.

4) Now add in all the rice and give it a good stir. Let it come to a simmer and then add in half of the broth. Season with salt and more pepper (to taste). DO NOT STIR THE MIXTURE ANY MORE. THE WHOLE ESSENCE OF PAELLA IS TO HAVE A CRUST DEVELOP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN.

5) Continue to cook the rice for about 10 minutes, letting the rice absorb the broth and wine. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, slowly add the remaining broth a bit at a time, letting the rice absorb more the broth. This should take about 5 minutes or so.

6) By this time, the rice should be almost cooked (taste to test). Now arrange the clams, mussells, prawns and squid on top of the rice. Let it cook until done. (I lightly covered the pan with a piece of foil to let the seafood cook through) Finally scatter the peas on top of the rice and let it soften.

7) Once cooked, remove the Paella from the stove and let stand for about 5 minutes. Dish out onto individual plates and serve with lemon wedges and freshly ground black pepper for taste.