Prawnto

Utterly Butterly Delicious!


Another Chinese recipe that we all love is Sweet & Sour Prawns. Every Chinese restaurant in Bangalore has its own version and we enjoyed it whenever we dined out. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this familiar Chinese dish in Malaysia. Over the years I experimented with various recipes and came up with my own version of it. Quick and easy and absolutely a must for every milestone in this family.

The Recipe

Sauce
3 tbsp. tomato sauce; 2 tbsp. chilli sauce; 2 tbsp. white rice vinegar ( can use less); 1 tbsp. light soya sauce or ½ tsp. soy sauce; 2 tbsp. brown sugar (can use more to taste); 1 tsp. salt; 100 ml water; cornflour for thickening.Mix together and keep ready.
16 jumbo prawns,deveined and washed. Drain. Coat with cornflour pepper and salt and deep fry till colour changes. Keep aside.
1 tbsp. chopped garlic; 1 tsp. green chillies, minced; 1 tsp. chopped ginger; 1 tbsp. chopped spring onions.
Fry garlic, chillies, ginger and spring onions till fragrant in a little oil. Add the sauce ingredients. Bring to boil. Add prawns and thicken with 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup water if required. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumber and tomato wedges, corriander leaves or spring onions. I cannot make up my mind which is better. You decide.
PS: Goes well with fried rice.

BBQ Night

Whatever Next? Sally's Amazing Kababs

My oven blew up last week and I was wondering what to do as we had planned an impromptu party for Nehru’s 55th birthday. I had even decided to bake two very unusual cakes, the recipes having being sent by my lifelong friend Rosemarie Monteiro ( nee Rodrigues). Both of us do nothing but email recipes throughout the year and this has helped us to keep in touch over the years. Serita & Ranita stepped in and decided to make a cheesecake and have a BBQ. That’s the bonus of having daughters who like to cook and also daughters friends namely Sally who makes delicous kababs effortlessly. All I did was marinade the meat. The guests were invited and the menu planned and hey presto, we had an outdoor banquet fit for a king.
The Menu:
1. BBQ Chicken
2. BBQ Fish
3. Beef Kebabs
4. Tomato Pineapple Salad
5. Ghee Rice
6. Garlic Bread
7. BBQ Capsicums & Potatoes
8. Pineapple Cheesecake made by Ranita
9. Ice cream (3 Varieties, bought from the supermarket)
10. Chocolate Truffles made by Serita
11. Mango Pudding , courtesy Vicky & Joyce

The Recipe:

1 kg mince; salt and pepper to taste; 3 onions minced fine; 3 green chillies minced fine; 1tbsp ginger garlic paste; small bunch of parsley chopped fine; 1 tbsp. cooking oil. Mix all ingredients together.

12 wooden skewers or chop sticks. Soak the skewers in water the previous night to prevent them catching fire when placed on the grill.

Divide the mince into portions and press around skewers carefully. Grill 5 minutes on coals until ready to eat. Can baste with oil if required. Serve hot with wedges of lime. Makes a great starter and usually eaten in a jiffy.

Eggstasy

I was in the seventh heaven a few years ago when my recipe was added to Recipe4Living. Here is the email I received

Dear Ruth,

Congratulations! Your recipe has been added to Recipe4Living's
database of more than 10,000 recipes. Our website continues to grow
and expand thanks to involved readers like you. We encourage you to
submit more of your favorite recipes as often as you like.

You can view your recipe submission at:
http://www.recipe4living.com/content/view/11620/162/

Thanks again for your submission and Happy Cooking!

Maxine Glass
Editor
www.Recipe4Living.com

For those of you who want to try it out, here it is

The Recipe:

2 cups milk
2 eggs
Salt to taste
1 onion
1 tomato
1 boiled, mashed carrot
1 green chili
1 lb. stale bread
2 Tbs. chopped coriander leaves
3/4 tsp. baking powder
Directions
Blend all ingredients together except coriander and baking powder. Add coriander leaves and baking powder. Mixture should be like pancake batter pouring consistency. Heat a nonstick pan and grease with oil if desired. Pour spoonfuls to make fluffy tasty pancakes that children love. Serve with any dish that has gravy (like curry), stew or with grated cheese. Can substitute carrots with vegetable of choice like turnip, capsicum, peas and so on.

From: Ruth Isaac, Kuala Lumpur

Gong Xi Fa Chai

Happy New Year

Our first experience of this festival in Malaysia was an unforgettable one. For the Chinese, the most important festival is Chinese New Year, which falls in either January or February. It is ushered in with the lighting of fire crackers at midnight on the eve of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Preparations begin long before the celebration. Traditional food, new clothes, a spotless and beautiful house are a must to welcome the New Year.
Many traditional dishes include ingredients that have special meaning. The symbolic significance of foods is based on appearance and also the sounds of the food pronounced in Chinese words (Mandarin or dialect). For example fish, should be a whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance; a chicken presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completeness and prosperity; Uncut noodles represent long life.
One of the rituals I really enjoyed, was the tossing of the colourful Yee Sang before the start of the festive meal.
Yee Sang, a symbol of prosperity and abundance, originated in Chaozhou where simple ingredients were used, like fresh raw fish, strips of turnips and carrots that go well with a sauce made of oil, vinegar and sugar. The ingredients can be changed to reflect one's personal creativity and preference.

The Recipe
Vegetarian Yee Sang
50 gms white radish, shredded; 50 gms carrot, shredded;50 gms raw mango,grated;
25 gms spring onion, cut fine; 1 red chilli, minced; 25 gms raw papaya, grated; 3 leeks , sliced fine; 50 gms pomelo, peeled with pith removed; 2 kaffir lime leaves, cut very fine; 2 tbsp wonton wrappers fried crisp, crushed; 50 gms sweet potato grated and fried crisp; 25 gms sesame seeds, toasted;35gms toasted ground nut seeds, coarsely crushed.
NB: I used diamond cuts since I had just made some.
Arrange the shredded ingredients attractively on a big, round serving platter.

Sauce
150 gms plum sauce;1/2 tbsp. apricot jam;1 1/2 tbsp lime juice;1 1/2 tbsp. honey; 1/2 tbsp crushed sesame seeds; 1 tsp. sesame oil; salt to taste; 5gms 5 spice powder in a red packet.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a low simmering boil. Leave aside to cool completely before use.

If you don't have plum sauce, use plum jam. Be creative. You'll be surprised with the end result.

To serve, pour the sauce over the yee sang and sprinkle the with five-spice powder.
Add a sprinkling of sesame seeds and roasted peanuts.

Traditionally everyone gathers around the table to toss the salad, as high as possible, while uttering good wishes.

Char Siew/Roast Barbecued Pork


"Char siu" literally means "fork burn/roast"( after the traditional cooking method for the dish: long strips of seasoned boneless pork are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire. This is one of the most delectable creations of Chinese Cuisine and can be eaten plain, as a snack with rice or bread, the list is endless. Traditionally, it’s marinated in a mixture of honey, five spice powder, soy and/or hoisin sauce.

600 gms pork cut into thick strips
Seasoning Ingredients: 4 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. thick soya sauce, 1 tbsp. maltose mixed with 2 ½ tbsp. hot water to dissolve maltose, ¼ tsp. red colouring ( optional); salt to taste.

Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towel. Marinade with seasoning ingredients for 5 hours or overnight. Grill 15 minutes each side at 175 C or 350 F till done pouring the marinade over the meat before grilling.
Can be used for sandwiches, noodles, fried rice or as a snack.

Five Spice Powder

Five-spice powder encompasses all five flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty and a must to flavor meat and poultry dishes in Chinese cooking. It's easy to make your own.

2 tbsp black peppercorns (supposed to use Szechuan peppercorns), 3 star anise;2 tsp fennel seeds (somph); Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces; 6 whole cloves.
Toast peppercorns over medium heat in a small dry pan until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Shake pan often to prevent burning. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat toasting process separately with star anise ,fennel seeds, cinnamon, and cloves.

Blend the toasted spices to a fine powder. Allow to rest in the grinder for 1 minute, then transfer to a glass container and tighten lid. Store in a cool, dark place up to one month. Use sparingly as quite pungent.

Yield: about 1/4 cup

Let's welcome the Year of the Tiger!

All About Apricots

Apricot Nut Squares
I am a fan of any recipe with apricots and this easy to bake cake is no exception. Some years ago when a vegetarian friend invited herself over, I was wondering what to give her. Thank goodness for the internet. Within minutes I had cut and pasted a few variations of vegetarian cakes and since I love apricots replaced the dried fruits with apricots. It was a hit and still is with everyone who tastes it.

The Recipe
15 dried apricots; 3/4 cup milk;125 gms sugar; 250gms flour; 125gms butter;1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1 tbsp nuts.
Soak the apricots in warm milk overnight. Remove the seeds. Crack and reserve the kernels for decoration. Add sugar and blend to a smooth paste along with the milk in which it is soaked in. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add butter and gently stir.
Sieve together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Gently fold in the flour,one table spoon at a time. Add the nuts and mix. Scatter apricot kernels on top.
Preheat the oven at 350F. Bake in a greased, square pan( 8") for 35-40min (or till a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean). Cut into 16 squares and serve with tea or coffee.
This cake has a wonderful aroma and your mouth will water as the cake begins to bake. Mmmmm.....

Tasty Toast

Garlic Buns

The first time we ate garlic bread was a wonderful experience for all of us. Our hostess had transformed stale bread into a gourmet’s delight and we became addicted to it once I learnt how to make it. It is delicious with soup, as a snack or with a salad and roast chicken. Also great to whet your appetite. Any kind of bread is great for garlic bread and it can be whipped up in a jiffy.
The Recipe
4 buns, cut in half; 4 tbsp. butter, softened; 1 flake garlic peeled and crushed; 1/8 tsp. mixed Herbs.
Mix the garlic, butter and herbs. Spread on the cut buns. Toast or grill in oven 450C/230F /9Gas Mark for 1 minute each side or till golden brown. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Top grated cheese for a richer variation if desired. Serve hot with soup or as a snack.

Dessert To Die For

Orange Cheese Cake

Cheese cake seemed like something out of a dream. I would look at all those delectable pictures in glossy magazines and wonder how anyone could create something so perfectly beautiful. Whenever I came across a cake shop I would gaze in wonder at the various cakes and collected endless files of recipes. I decided to try my luck when I bought a spring form pan and I still remember the first cheesecake I made…chilled lemon cheesecake…It turned out fine (no body died of food poisoning) and since then I’ve experimented with different fruits. The best part about this cheesecake is that it does not need to be baked. Chill it and enjoy.
The Recipe
1 cup marie biscuit crumbs; 60 gms melted,butter. Mix together and press into base of 22 cm. spring form pan. Keep in freezer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, beat 250 gms cream cheese at room temperature; 1/2 cup curds; 1 1/2 tsp. gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water; 1/2 tbsp. orange rind; 1/8 cup orange juice; 3/4 cup caster sugar with electric beaters until well combined. Gently stir in 1/2 cup of peeled orange segments. Pour mixture onto chilled crumb base. Refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes and decorate with whole orange segments. Chill in refrigerator overnight. To unmould,gently insert a knife dipped in water all round the edge of the cheesecake. Place the base of the pan on your left hand and lift the adjustable ring of the pan up. Transfer to cake stand. Slice and serve.