Har Lok

Pardon the blur picture, my hands must be so tired from making all the pineapple tarts ; p
Was so tired after the baking session that I didn't really want to make dinner tonight but when I think of all those greasy fast food and Chinese takeouts I decided to cook something simple.

Luckily I still have some Ngo Hiang in the freezer and Kailan that I can microwave with the steaming bags, so I decided to make 1 more dish....My first attempt which Hub gaves his 2 thumbs up!

What you need:
About 25 big prawns, trimmed
1 thumb size ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced or chopped
2 tbsp spring onion, sliced
4 small chilli, deseeded and sliced

Seasoning-
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt

What to do:
1. Mix all the seaoning (except salt) in a small bowl and set aside
2. Pat the prawns dry with kitchen towel and add salt
3. Deep fry prawns in oil and drain once it is cooked and looked cripsy
4. Pour away oil leaving about 1 tbsp in wok, fry garlic, ginger and chillies till light brown
5. Add in seasoning and stir till it is well coated, add in spring onion and mix well
6. Serve

Stir Fry Lobster with Creamy Cheese Sauce

The Asian grocery stores here at NC are selling live Maine lobsters at a steal...US$6.99/lb! So far this is the lowest price I have come across and of course I couldn't pass on this one ; P
Bought these 2 for about US$15, pretty cheap huh. Was cracking my head on the way home on how to cook it...bake it? steam it? Black pepper? Fermented black beans? Finally decided to create this one...Pretty good I must say...Here's the recipe:

What you need:
2 lobsters, chopped into pieces with shell on
2 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 chilli padi, deseed and thinly sliced
4 tbsp butter
2 pcs of cheese (I use Kraft)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
100ml water
cornstarch- to coat lobster

What to do:
1. Coat lobster briefly in cornstarch
2. Deep fry them till abt 85% cooked, drained
3. Melt butter in a dry wok, add garlic and shallots and fry till almost brown
4. Add chillies and mix well
5. Add in lobster, sugar, pepper, salt and water.
6. Place the cheese slices on top of the lobster and cover the wok for about 5 mins
7. Uncover and stir the lobster till well mixed with cheesy sauce.
8. Serve

I served mine in a typical "cze char" (hawker) way, with white rice and stir fry veggies as side. It was a yummy dinner... Will definitely buy those lobsters again before it gets too expensive!

Assam Sambal Stingray

Whenever I stay overseas for more than a year, I would always miss the Grilled Chilli Stingray in S'pore especially the one at West Coast Food Centre ; p' This is the other way I like to eat my stingray or skate as the Aussies call it.....Assam style!

What You Need:

1 pc of Stingray, cut into chunks
5-6 ladyfingers/okra, sliced
2.5 heap tbsp of your favourite sambal chilli
2 tbsp of assam soaked in 1 cup of water, mixed and strained
1 tsp of sugar
pinch of salt

What to Do:

1. Fry sambal chilli in pan until fragrant
2. Add fish into pan and mix well
3. Add ladyfingers when fish is almost cooked
4. Add assam water, salt and sugar
5. Stir fry until ladyfingers are soft
6. Best Serve with rice ; )

Homestyle Fish Noodle

Made this for dinner today, simple fish bee hoon ; )
Here's what you need:

Fresh fish head/ bones
4 slices of ginger
2-3 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon chicken granules
2 tbsp of Hua Diao wine
Abt 800ml water
2 tbsp evapporated milk(optional)
Your favourite choice of veggies (tomatoes, kailan are great!)
Beehoon (soaked, softened and drained)

What to do:

1. Heat some oil in a small pot, add ginger and fry till brown
2. Add fish bone and fry till slightly brown
3. Add seasoning and water
4. Bring to boil, add veggies
5. Fill up bowl with bee hoon and add soup
6. Serve with fried shallots!

Simple Teochew Porridge

Been so lazy to cook these days especially when I am staying alone now. Hub will be in States for the next 2 years...Sigh, miss cooking for him already ; (

Anyway this is what I had for dinner today, it was raining on and off and I am too lazy to go out to buy dinner.

Just simple Teochew porridge, exactly like the way my Mum prepared hers. I seasoned the fish fillet (you can use any white fish or even salmon) with sea salt and pan fry it till crispy and brown. Cook some plain porridge and my favourite condiment....Preserved Caixin!!!

Oh yes, fried fish will never be complete without my Mum's special chilli dip. You need about 5-6 chilli padi (sliced), 4 small limes (squeezed the juice) and about 1.5 tbsp of light soya sauce. I like this dip as it is very hot and sour...Try it with fried fish ; p

Salmon Bulgogi & Kai Lan with Oyster Sauce

Made these couple of weeks ago but I didn't get a chance to post this as I have just received new desk top ; ) I don't have to squint my eyes posting on a 7 inch screen anymore!!

Here's the easy peasy recipe:



What you need:
A few slices of salmon
2 big tbsp of Korean BBQ Sauce-Bulgogi Marinade (you should be able to find this at any Asian grocer)
3 cloves garlic, sliced


Method:

1. Marinade salmon with the Bulgogi sauce for about 3 hours
2. Preheat oven to 400F
3. Line the salmon a a baking tray lined with baking sheet (to prevent it from sticking to the tray, you won't need to if you are using a non-stick tray)
4. Sprinkle the garlic slices on the salmon
5. Bake for 25 mins or till golden brown
   

I discovered this at Walmart and I bought it straight away : )
I love to eat kailan with oyster sauce but sometimes I find it troublesome to stir fry them or boil the veggies especially when you have 2 or 3 other dishes to prepare. This is really a saviour ; )
It's Glad Simply Cooking microwave steaming bags.

All you have to do is to wash the veggies, cut them up and put them in the bag. Microwave for 3-4 mins (follow the instructions on the box) Meanwhile, mix 2 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of sesame oil (I used this Japanese brand called Kodaya which is the most fragrant sesame oil I have ever came across! Better than...was it double pagoda we used in Singapore?) and 1 tbsp of chinese wine.

Toss the steamed veggies with the sauce and add my DIY fried shallots and there you have it ; )

Will post my shortcut way of making fried shallots next time ; P

Pork Rib Prawn Noodle

Bought some fresh prawns from the Asian supermarket yesterday and decided to make some prawn noodle ala Zion Road Market Style....with pork ribs and the thick bee hoon type ; p
I must confess that I am not a porkie person, I love poultry especially fried chicken wings but some how I do not have any cravings for chicken here. Maybe it's because the chickens are huge here....looks weird to me. I mean the chicken in Australia are bigger than the ones in Singapore but the American bred chooks are huge!

Having said that, I love the pork here. North Carolina is one of the biggest pork producing state in US. It's really good! No porkie taste at all (if you are also sensitive to porkie smell like me) and the pork are very tender here ; )
That's why you will probably see more pork recipe during my stay here....

Singapore Chilli Crab Recipe

Before I type in the recipe, I must give credit to the lady at NTUC Finest who took great pride in cleaning and chopping up my live crabs. I bought 2 Sri Lankan Crabs since it's in season and they are huge!

Went to my usual seafood wholesale shop at Clementi Rd but found that the building was demolished!! We lost our trusted seafood seller....Sob....If you happen to know where they have moved to, do let me know....Or if you know any shops that sell fresh seafood, do let me know. I heard there's a wholesaler shop in Geylang but Happy Belly doesn't have the address...

In the end Hub and I drove to Bukit Timah Plaza and bought our crabs from there. The lady helped us killed the crabs, cracked the pincers and even packed it nicely in a tray. We paid about $40 for 2 crabs...A bit costly but it will probably cost us $80 if we eat it in Chinese restaurants.
Here's the recipe:

What you need:
1.5 kg crabs, cleaned and chopped (preferably Sri Lankan crabs)
About 15 shallots
1 thumb ginger
About 3 cloves of garlic
1/2 can diced tomatoes
500ml water
1 egg, beaten

Seasoning:
10 tbs of ketchup
3 tbs chilli sauce
1 tbs black vinegar
1 tbs light soya sauce
1/4 ikan bilis cube

Method:

1. Pound ginger, garlic and shallots into smooth paste
2. Heat up 3 tbs of oil, add in the paste and chilli sauce. Fry till fragrant
3. Add in the crabs and half of the seasoning, fry for 2 mins. Add in the rest of the seasoning, diced tomatoes and water.
4. Cover the wok, do not open for 15 mins.
5. Stir and add in the egg.
6. Serve with rice or baguette.

Note:
You can use mud crabs for this dish, I have cooked this dish many times and this is the 1st time I use Sri Lankan crabs. Trust me, it's the crabs that make the difference ; p

Singapore Chilli Crab

Been busy lately and caught the lazy bug….haven’t been posting for about 2 weeks already. I been busy packing the house as Hub is going away next month and I will join him next year.

Hub has been trying to refresh my memory of driving a manual car and has been making me drive his car at quiet places in the wee hours….
Seriously, I dislike driving manual cars. Call me anything but I find it time consuming and there are easier and more comfortable way to get from point A to point B...such as a automatic car. I prefer to drive my own auto car anytime...

Anyway, I cooked this for Hub and my parents last Sunday. Dad and Mum like it very much, Hub gave his his 2 thumbs up. But thumbs down for Hub's photography skill *Grin*