TUMERIC 'N TAMARIND PRAWNS

The Star, a national newspaper, has in its supplement Startwo a two page spread on the first Monday of every month called 'Don't Call Me Chef'. They feature recipes based on a theme. 

Starting September they intend to feature a food blogger each month as well. I felt quite pleased and very honoured when Ivy, the column's writer and editor of Youth, asked if I would like to be the first food blogger to be featured and to contribute a recipe. Ivy also has a food blog called The Hungry Caterpillar.

My contribution to this column would give the link to my blog as well as appear on kuali.com on Star Online on the same day, that is today 6th September 2010.

We met and I was asked a few expected questions. I spent a few minutes recounting my little blog story. Then I sat back and, somewhat apprehensively (it being my first ever interview), looked forward to seeing it in print. I think. 

I saw the article this morning. Eagerly. The title made me gasp a little. And then I just had to smile. In an age of information technology, space exploration and medical advancement I was under the impression that 50 is the new young. Or so I thought. Indeed I hope I will never be too old for anything.

To view the article please click here.

This is my contribution to 'Don't Call Me Chef's' theme of Ramadan for September - Tumeric and Tamarind Prawns, a simple, quick and delicious dish. 

Who knows, You might be the next Malaysian food blogger to be featured. Sit tight, be good and you might get that email and the opportunity to tell your own little blog story.

This is a simple dish of prawns fried in tumeric with a squeeze of tamarind juice for that added dimension of  sourness, scattered with limp sauteed rings of sliced onions and chillies for some extra bite. 

This is a dish that was often prepared at home when I was a child. It is earthy, simple, light on the stomach with a slight tang from the tamarind and kept everyone busy because the shelled prawns needed to be peeled before you ate them. Unless, like me, you ate them shell and all. 

Like any respectable cook would tell you..... "Use the freshest prawns and you will get the sweetest and crunchiest dish".

The recipe ~

12-15 medium prawns, cleaned leaving shells intact

1 tsp tumeric powder

salt to taste

2 cloves garlic

1 large yellow onion, sliced in rings 

1 large chillie, sliced diagonally

1 tsp tamarind pulp mixed with 1/4 cup water and juice and strained

cooking oil

Chopped coriander leaves and stalks for garnish

Sprinkle tumeric powder and salt over prawns and using your hands rub the mixture evenly over the prawns so that they are well and evenly covered.

Heat enough oil in a shallow pan to cover the surface. When hot throw in the prawns a small batch at a time and fry the prawns until the colour changes, when they turn pink and crispy. It should not take longer than 2-3 minutes. Do the same with the rest of the prawns. Drain and leave aside.

Throw away excess oil from the pan leaving about a tablespoon in. Warm up the oil if necessary and saute the crushed garlic and onion rings until soft and fragrant. Then add the juice of the tamarind pulp. Stir until the sauce bubbles. Throw the fried prawns back in followed by the sliced red chillies. The sauce should just coat the prawns lightly. Adjust for seasoning and for the subtle balance of sourness. 

Serve with piping hot white rice.

I am submitting this recipe to ~

hosted this time around by House of Annie the idea of which was created by Sharon of Test With Skewer and 3 Hungry Tummies.

CHOCOLATE CASHEW COOKIES AND A WINNER FOR THE PRINT GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the Foodbuzz community these cookies made the Top 9 on 30th August 2010. Happy Buzz Day.

Dreams are strange creatures. You close your eyes again in the hope of dreaming on. Because you want to know how it ends. Like a good movie. But it never does does it? The quest for the complete dream with a beginning, a middle and an end always eludes us. I guess chasing the dream is very much like chasing the 'best ever' cookie recipe. It's endless.

So in my quest, this is another new cookie recipe for the festive season. I will still bake the same old good old but there is always room for the new cookie recipe.  This time it is a chocolate cashew sugar cookie. I got the idea from here at Fake Food Free but made them from an adapted sugar cookie recipe.

It was chocolaty but I think it needed more cashews.  

The recipe ~

6 oz plain flour
2 oz cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 0z  butter
6 oz castor sugar
About 2-3 oz cashews or however much you like, chopped quite finely (I did not measure this)
1 egg 
1 tsp vanilla essence


Sift flour, cooca and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in butter until like fine breadcrumbs. Mix in sugar and as much cashews as you like (leaving some to roll the dough logs in afterwards), add beaten egg and mix until it forms a dough. B ring the dough together with your hands pressing gently until it comes together to form a firm ball of dough.


Roll dough into cylinders or logs in the size you prefer. Roll to coat the logs in crushed or chopped cashews. Chill in the refrigerator and when firm slice into thin rounds.


Bake at 190 C on greased baking trays for 10-12 minutes.

Aaaaaaanndd.................the winner of my Print Giveaway by Brochures Printing Online (by random.org) is........number 18 (I still can't figure out a way to copy and paste the winning number).


Chisum's Crew you're the winner :-)!!!

QUICK BREAKFAST NOODLES

Hi everyone! Here's a quick post of some breakfast noodles. It is simple and uses dried prawns as the main flavour base with added bean sprouts and chives for added flavour and texture.


And crushed bird's eye chillie fo a nice kick. Yum!

I made this on the same day that I made the hot sauce.


I used skinny noodles from a packet (horrors) but it did have a few NO'S on the packet.....like NO preservatives, NO MSG, No Colouring. I suppose that's as close to homemade as I can get. 

I'm out of steam, out of energy and out of time these past few days. I need to get working on those cookies. And I think I'm in  need of a plan just so I can carry out my plans.

 The recipe ~


This noodle dish is so simple yet so full of flavour and makes a nice filling breakfast, lunch, snack or even dinner.


2 squares of skinny noodles

6-7 pieces dried prawns, soaked in water for about 10 minutes
2 pips garlic
2 bird's eye chillies or a large chillie pepper
a handful of bean sprouts
a handful of chives
dark soy sauce
salt 
cooking oil


Blanch noodles in boiling water until it softens and is cooked through.It won't take long depending on the noodles that you are using.

Pound dried prawns, garlic and chillies in a pestle and mortar until fairly fine.

Heat a wok and pour in about 2 tablespoons of oil and then saute the pounded ingredients until fragrant and the paste looks a little golden at the edges. 

Throw in the noodles, bean sprouts and the chives and some soy sauce and the salt. Give it a stir to mix them all up well and evenly. You may add some water if it too dry. Serve with garlic ginger chillie hot sauce and a wedge of lime. Enjoy!

I am submitting this to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday hosted by Shaz of Test with Skewer and 3 hungry tummies.

GARLIC GINGER CHILLIE HOT SAUCE

Nothing fancy here. It's just a garlic ginger chillie hot sauce. A chicken rice hot sauce. All you need is a blender and a swoosh and it's done.

Ju made this exact sauce a couple of days ago as well. I'm not surprised if we had made and photographed it on the very same day. We share the same vibes. I believe that this is the third time we've made similar food and posted it within a whisker's post of each other's. It's one of those strange but true occurrences. 

This hot sauce is great with steam boats, chicken rice, stir fried noodles, rice, soups, as a dipping for fritters. Anything and everything I suppose. Whatever makes you happy and whenever your palate needs a bit of a kick.

Its kind of sour and spicy with a very subtle tinge of sweetness to it. Very very very appetizing.

The recipe ~


10 chillies plus some/many bird's eye chillies if you like
6-7 pips garlic, peeled
1 inch ginger, peeled
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T sugar
salt to taste


Wash and ch0p chillies into chunks. De-seed them if you wish. Put chillies and everything else in a  blender and blitz until it becomes a thick sauce. Add salt to taste. Store in a jar and better still in the refrigerator.

I am submitting this to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday hosted by Shaz of Test with skewer and 3hungry tummies