Chili Crab (Crab in Sour and Spicy Sauce)

January 30th, 2011 | Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Malaysian recipes, Singaporean Recipes | 6 Comments

We will be leaving for Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow morning. Before I leave, I feel obliged to share a very delicious Recipe with you, so here is my crab in sour and spicy sauce (酸辣蟹), or known as “chili crab” in Singapore. The timing couldn’t be better as Chinese (Lunar) New Year is just a few days away and I am sure many of you are scouring the web for a great recipe to share with the family.

I have an equally tasty home-style chili crab recipe (my late mother’s recipe) but this rendition with the eggy, sweet, sour, and spicy sauce is perfect for entertaining guests or simply when you want to have a crab feast. The sauce pairs beautifully with Chinese mantou—steamed or fried—as the bun sops up the scrumptious and addictive spicy and sour sauce. I prefer the soft and puffy steamed buns…

I made this for my good friends E and N last weekend and they practically begged me to share the recipe. I took them to the Asian market and got them the “starter kit” or ingredients to prepare this dish. For the crab, we are lucky as Dungeness crab is in season and the market will clean and cut it up for you. Save the shell and pick out the tamale or mustard inside the shell. Add them in the sauce and you will be rewarded with a richly flavorful sauce that you just can’t stop eating. You can also prepare this dish with mud crab, blue swimmer crab, or stone crab but I just love the fleshy Dungeness crab.

Enjoy!

January 9th, 2011 | Singaporean Recipes | 2 Comments

Køkken69 is a Singaporean food blog. Authored by Shirley, a chemist by day, Køkken69 is a gorgeous blog chocked full of delicious Asian dishes, pastry recipes, and travel tales as Shirley travels around the world. While Shirley says that she approaches every recipe on her site like an experiment, I personally think that she is a talented  home cook, and a fantastic food photographer. Please welcome Køkken69 to Rasa Malaysia and learn more about the Singaporean version of Hokkien Mee!

It is too old fashioned to proclaim that I am honoured to be invited by super star food blogger, Bee to do a guest post for her immensely successful blog, Rasa Malaysia. Unfortunately, for my lack of eloquence, that is probably the best way to sum up my thrill and appreciation for this opportunity.

Excited as I might be, I was also plagued with a bugging concern over what else I can bring to a blog that is already so rich in content. I doubt that there is any Malaysian/ Singaporean dish that has not been featured on Rasa Malaysia already…

I was literally at the cusp of exasperation when I recall a dish which I have been told is not available in Malaysia. Fried Hokkien Mee, literally translates to mean noodles,fried Fujian style. Fujian (Hokkien) is a province in Southern China. Most of the Chinese residing in Malaysia and Singapore have roots originating from the Fujian province. Hence, Fujian/Hokkien cuisine and way of cooking tend to feature prominently in the local chinese food here.

Despite being close neighbours, Singapore and Malaysia frequently have their competitive moments. Some trivial, some not so… Both nations are fierce food lovers and there have been countless debates on who has better food and who should lay claim to ownership of a particular dish… There are, as far as I can recall 2 versions of Hokkien Mee in Malaysia. Hokkien Char mee from Kuala Lumpur is a fried yellow noodle dish braised in dark soya sauce. Penang Hokkien Prawn noodles is another yellow noodle dish served in a rich spicy and flavourful prawn broth. The Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee featured here, is a variant of the Penang Prawn Noodles.

A mixture of yellow noodles and thick rice vermicelli ,first fried with eggs until fragrant and braised in rich, flavourful prawn broth, the Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is served semi-dry and garnished with prawns, squid, sliced pork belly, chives and eaten with Sambal chilli and a squirt of lime juice.Traditionally, for take out, the Hokkien Mee would be wrapped in Opeh leaf. The Opeh leaf comes from the inner sheath of the bark of a Betel Nut tree. It could be nostalgia but I  have always felt that food wrapped in an Opeh leaf smells better.

This is not a very difficult dish to cook, however it is pertinent that you work with a good prawn stock. The prawn stock imparts the essence to the noodle and is the key ingredient that makes the bland-looking dish flavourful. The sambal and lime juice cuts through the richness of the dish to balance an otherwise heavy starchy dish.

I hope you enjoy this local Singaporean local dish as much as I have enjoyed cooking it for this guest post.

December 14th, 2010 | | 2 Comments

I have “met” so quite a few fantastic and talented food bloggers on Twitter and Ken of Hungry Rabbit is 1 of them. Ken is a single of the sweetest guys on Twitter; he is often so gentle and type to me. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ken is a rather talented baker. As you all know, I am a hopeless case when it comes to baking, so I invited Ken to share a vacation baking recipe with us. Check out his decadent marbled meringue recipe beneath. If you really like baking, you ought to check out his weblog Hungry Rabbit (warning: main drool alert!).  And Ken, pleased holidays and appreciate your vacation in Penang!! I can’t wait to hear all about it when you come back.

Greetings everybody, I’m Ken from Hungry Rabbit. As a person who began blogging not so long ago, I was excited when Bee asked me to write a guest post for Rasa Malaysia. She’s been most generous with her wealth of understanding and blogging knowledge. I hope this post will encourage you to bake some thing to share in the course of the holiday season.

December is a time for celebration, filled with such holidays as Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanza. Even if you don’t observe them, itâ��s nonetheless the time of year for buddies and family to collect over meals. That’s precisely what I have been doing for the last few weeks–plus non-quit baking of sweet treats that I pack up to bring to these gatherings…

Here’s 1 uncomplicated confection. It’s not exactly a vacation theme dessert but the appearance and texture of the airy meringue are excellent for celebrating. The streaks of chocolate by means of the meringue not only give it a festive
look but also a contrast in texture. Bits of chocolate deliver a soft creaminess, when the meringue shell gives the crispiness.

Marbled Meringues are uncomplicated to make and travel nicely, so you can take these cloud-like morsels to any gathering.

Pleased Holidays and could 2011 brings you beneficial well being, sweet treats and delicious dreams.

Love the recipe? Share it with your community!

Hand Roll (Temaki Recipe)

December 11th, 2010 | , , | 2 Comments

Most people like playing with their food, and hand roll sushi, or temaki sushi is one of the fun and delicious ways to enjoy sushi. Temaki sushi basically means sushi which are hand-rolled, where you assemble the sushi filling of mostly fish or shellfish, and then rolled with nori (seaweed) sheets into hand roll sushi. Hand roll is great for sushi parties, as guests (especially those who are not familiar with sushi) learn about the art of sushi making.

As with any sushi, the fundamental of a great sushi starts with sushi rice. I have shared my sushi rice recipe with you in my last post. For this hand roll or temaki Recipe, all you have to do is prepare the filling, get some greens or leaves (I used radish sprouts), nori sheets, and you will have a serving of hand roll. Plus, you don’t need a sushi mat so anyone can make hand rolls at home even though you don’t have a sushi making kit…

For the filling, I made some creamy spicy shrimp and scallop with masago (capelin roe), which is a great filling for hand roll, and convenient for those who can’t get sushi-grade fish where they are. The creamy seafood filling pairs well with the vinegared sushi rice and the fresh radish sprouts. For the popping sensation in the mouth, I topped some extra masago on top of the filling. This hand roll is delightful.

For the assembling of the hand roll, follow the step-by-step pictures below. Once you have mastered the skill, you can pretty much assemble the hand roll on your palm. Enjoy and do try out this hand roll recipe!

November 28th, 2010 | Japanese Recipes | 1 Comment

I am not sure if this is an authentic Japanese Recipe, but this is certainly one of my favorite eat-out dish when I dine at Japanese restaurants. This dish is usually called Seafood Dynamite, or Baked Seafood in Dynamite Sauce, or something along that line.

In any case, it’s basically baked assortment of seafood—usually baby shrimp, bay scallop, clam, etc.— in a creamy mayonnaise sauce, spiked with some masago (Capelin roe), and spiced with a wee bit of Sriracha. Seafood Dynamite has all the ingredients that I love, with a flavor that I rather enjoy, especially when I am in the mood for something luscious, rich, and heavy. Because it calls for seafood, it’s a pricy dish and the portion is usually small if you order at Japanese restaurants. The good news is that it’s so much cheaper making Seafood Dynamite at home, and you can have a bigger portion if you like. Plus, it’s easy to make, as you can see from my Seafood Dynamite recipe below…

I prefer buying fresh seafood to make this dish, but you can totally use a frozen mixed seafood pack that is commonly found at supermarkets. My favorite combination is bay scallop, baby shrimp, crab meat, and manila clam (shelled). Seafood Dynamite is really delicious and filling, and perfect as an appetizer or entree (bigger serving).

November 21st, 2010 | 30-Minute Meals Recipes, Sponsorship, Thai recipes | 2 Comments

If you follow this blog, you know that I recently discovered WorldFoods (from my mie goreng post) and am working with them on a couple of recipes. Previously, I posted a Cambodian Lemongrass Shrimp Recipe. This is another recipe that I would like to share with you using another WorldFoods ready-made sauce—Thai Coconut Galangal Stir-Fry Sauce. This sauce is a blend of coconut milk spiced with galangal, lemongrass, tamarind and chilies. It�™s mild but creamy so it’s great for any protein. I used it to make a combination seafood dish, with shrimp, scallop, and squid…

When it comes to cooking, I am not a purist, meaning, I cook with store-bought sauces and spice paste quite a bit, but I am really picky. I use products that are high quality and promise great flavor. I really like this sauce because it tastes distinctively Thai, and it’s made from 100% natural ingredients. I also like it that I can doctor up the sauce by adding extra ingredients and seasonings.

We all enjoyed this Thai Coconut Galangal Seafood very much, in fact, it tastes almost like a Thai red curry.

rice Noodle Soup (Bee Thai Bak)

November 17th, 2010 | , Malaysian Recipes, Penang Food | 2 Comments

I was reading the Flat Noodle Soup post on Eating Pleasure the other day and had a huge craving for Penang-style rice noodle soup, or Koay Teow Th’ng, which is a very common—and popularâ��Penang hawker food. I rushed to the market and got the ingredients for the dish. Instead of regular flat rice noodles, I bought a packet of Bee Thai Bak (ç±³苔目), which is pretty much rice noodle but shaped differently. In Cantonese, they are called 老鼠�²‰, probably because of the shape of the noodles, which resemble rat droppings.

Back home in Penang, a simple rice noodle soup can be served in a few variations, using different types of noodles and toppings. I personally am a big fan of Bee Thai Bak, which is QQ (springy) and easy to eat (not much chewing needed!)…

This rice noodle soup is a great Recipe as a quick lunch, especially if don’t have much time to cook. It’s hearty, filling, and tasty. For me, it fixes my craving for Penang hawker food, until I go home in a couple of months.

October 25th, 2010 | 30-Minute Meals Recipes, Sponsorship | 3 Comments

During my childbirth confinement, I missed eating seafood so much, especially my favorite shrimp. So, there was no surprise that as soon as the confinement ended, I headed straight to my favorite seafood restaurant and had a feast of seafood meal. I have also resumed cooking, albeit in a small way as I am adjusting to motherhood and my new lifestyle. Needless to say, seafood has been a big part of my diet lately. It’s great to finally return to a normal diet, but time is scarce these days as I dedicate most of my time to my baby, so cooking elaborately and everything-from-scratch will have to take a back seat for the time being…

I think you might remember my Indonesian mie goreng (fried noodles) post not too long ago. After trying out World Foods mie goreng instant paste, I like their products so much that I’ve decided to work with them on a couple of new recipes.

I made this shrimp dish with World Foods Indochina Cambodian Pineapple Lemon Grass Stir-Fry Sauce.  As it’s an instant sauce, I dressed things up a bit—some coconut milk, bird’s eye chilies, and basil leaves to complete the taste. The dish took about 30 minutes to make and fit my tight schedules perfectly, and the big plus is that the end result is quite authentic and satisfying.

Waterless Cookware may possibly be one of your best-kept secrets for cooks. It really is also known as “water-less” or “vapor” cooking. The concept is to prepare dinner meals using their own moisture and not add additional normal water or fat when cooking. Waterless cookware is specially produced with several layers of steel to evenly distribute warmth and retain a lot more moisture. Simply because there is no added normal water, food retain additional of their vitamins and minerals which are cooked out of foods during cooking with normal water. Foods also tastes and looks much better because it retains a lot more from the natural flavor and color.

Waterless cookware is made from a stainless steel outer shell. Inside this shell are numerous layers of metals bonded together with the main metal being aluminum. Stainless metal is resistant to erosion from chemicals, elements, and normal wear and tear. Even though aluminum heats rapidly, it breaks down quickly and can leach into foods. Placing the aluminum between the stainless steel layers prevents leaching although allowing the warmth to transfer for fast and even cooking. The stainless metal does not heat as rapidly, however it does retain warmth for a longer period once it does get hot. The aluminum encased inside stainless steel means the aluminum will heat easily, though the stainless steel will retain the heat. This gives you the benefits of both with out the negative aspects of either metal.

The design of waterless cookware also assists it cook dinner foods better than regular pots and pans. When the pan starts heating up, moisture rises to the lid and drips down towards the top lip in the pan. This creates a seal to keep moisture trapped within the pan. Waterless kitchenware lids are a lot heavier than traditional kitchenware lids, which offers the vital weight to develop and maintain a excellent seal. Some lids have a valve to generate a whistle when the temperature has reached a certain point. This valve isn’t on all lids, and isn’t needed to effectively cook with waterless kitchenware.

Waterless kitchenware is much more costly than classic cooking equipment, even so the top quality justifies the price. Waterless kitchenware inside United States need to adhere to strict rules and regulations for high top quality and safety. This sort of pan will allow meals to prepare dinner a lot faster at a lower temperature which reduces the quantity of power needed to prepare dinner. It cooks food in their very own juices, so foods tastes better. Since you do not add any drinking water, all vitamins and minerals are retained so meals are healthier than when making use of other cookware. The higher cost is offset by a lower quantity of power, less time to cook dinner, and healthier meals.

Not only do you not need extra drinking water to prepare dinner, but you also don’t require excess oil, fat, or butter. This helps you cook much healthier, due to the fact cooking in fats adds a lot of calories and cholesterol. Vegetables contain a lot of water, so cooking them in normal water makes the nutritional vitamins and minerals to seep out. The nutrients then stay within the h2o when you dump it in the sink. With cookware, you food is more healthy and tastes superior with out added fats.

Waterless kitchenware is an investment, but it can be an investment inside your health. You will preserve more nutrients in your foods while reducing unnecessary fats and oils. Meals will look greater and taste superior with waterless kitchenware. Stainless metal and aluminum cookware both have advantages and disadvantages, but combing them in this distinctive way provides you the benefits of both without any of the disadvantages.

Tamarind prawn or assam prawn is a Malaysian-Nyonya recipe, one that I grew up consuming as my late mother produced a killer dish of assam prawn, or “assam heh/亚参虾” (in Hokkien dialect)!

Whilst most Nyonya recipes call for lengthy list of ingredients and tedious preparations, tamarind prawn (assam prawn) is surprisingly straightforward to make and takes only several ingredients: tamarind, sugar, and salt. Despite the simple Recipe, tamarind prawns (assam prawns) are impossibly delicious as the tamarind provides the prawns the bold and tart flavors while accentuating the briny sweet taste of prawns…(get tamarind prawn or assam prawn recipe after the jump)

I extremely suggest this tamarind prawn (assam prawn) recipe in case you adore prawns/shrimps and wish to venture into Nyonya cooking. It’ll the very best prawn dish you might have yet to savor!

TAMARIND PRAWN/ASSAM PRAWN (亚参虾) RECIPE

Elements:

8 oz shell-on prawns

one 1/2 tablespoons tamarind pulp

four tablespoons drinking water

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

three tablespoons cooking oil

System:

Combine the tamarind pulp with 4 tablespoons water. Extract the juice from the tamarind by pressing the pulp.

Remove the heads of the prawns. Devein the prawns by slitting the back. Rinse prawns with h2o and pat dry with paper towers. Add the tamarind juice and pulp, salt, and sugar in to the prawns and mix well with your hand. Marinate for 15 minutes. Get rid of the tamarind pulp before cooking.

Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. As soon as it’s heated, drop the prawns in to the wok and pan fry till cooked and slightly burnt. Dish out and serve instantly.

COOK�S NOTE:

Some recipes call for darkish soy sauce but I constantly do without the dim soy sauce as it is going to make the prawns too darkish in color, and hence less appealing in presentation. It is possible to also leave the heads on, for photography purposes, I had them heads off. You can also pan-fried the prawns with the tamarind pulp in case you wish.