Prawn Star – Prawn Stirfry with Butter and Garlic

It is a very easy meal for 1 and you will need:

10 prawns, headed and deveined (about 140 grams of prawn meat), patted dry with paper towel
3-4 big cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 spring onion, only green part, chopped finely
1-2 tablespoons of butter
A bit of canola oil for frying
Salt & Black Pepper
A splash of Thai Sri Racha Chilli Sauce

In a wok over medium high heat, add oil and a half the butter. Add prawns when the butter starts to colour. When the prawns are nearly cooked, add garlic, salt and pepper. Fry a bit further (but try not to overcook the prawns) until garlic pieces are golden, add amore butter, chilli sauce and spring onion. Remove from heat. Serve warm with rice.

This is my favourite dish. I tend to have mild allergy to undercooked prawns but overcooked prawns are not that delectable so sometimes I have to take anti-histamine after the dish.

Soy Sauce for Beginners

No, I ‘m not introducing any soy sauce into my recipe in this post. I am going to talk about the book “Soy Sauce for Beginners“ by Kirstin Chen – a piece of  life of a self-searching modern Singaporean girl and of course, artisan soy sauce that is her family business.

If you are growing up in south-east Asian countries or have intimate knowledge about the countries, from The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia to Singapore or even Hong Kong, you will understand the protagonist’s situation in this book. I, for one, feel that I could connect with this girl, growing up in one of those countries myself.

I bought this book from kindle bookstore after sampling the first chapter for free. I tend to sample the books before buying now if they are from authors I don’t know. It is Chen’s first novel released late last year. The book is not big and on an easy reading side but interesting with very smooth style of writing that is not very far from that of the more accomplished Amy Tan. I am definitely looking forward to her second book supposed to be released this year.

Note: The picture above is from Amazon.

Cinderlad (Boy version of Cinderella)

From being homeless, abandoned, frightened, starving and desperate a year ago, Spike today has somewhere he can call home with chaise lounge to recline on (plus that silk cushion from Jim Thompson’s).

Braised Beef with Dark Beer

This is super simple dish but you need about 2 hours cooking time – however, prep time is not long only about 15 minutes or so. And while it is simmering away; you can do some other things you need to do.

1 kg diced beef
1 bottle dark beer – I use Monteith's
1 large onion, sliced
½ cup all purpose flour
Salt & pepper
Canola oil to fry

Heat the oil in the casserole over medium heat. Add salt & pepper to the flour – you can do it in plastic bag or in a bowl. Dredge the beef in the flour mixture - shake off excess flour and fry until brown on all sides, drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. In the same casserole, scrape all the brown bits and set aside with the beef – add more oil and fry the onion until soft and opaque. Return the beef to the casserole - add beer and bring to the boil. Place the lid on the casserole and reduce the heat so that it simmers gently. Leave to simmer for 1 1/2 hours or more, stir from time to time so the flour does not stick to the bottom of the casserole – until the beef is tender. Add more seasoning if needed. Serve warm over creamy mashed potato and steamed carrots and beans.

On Canola Oil – I have read the newspaper the other day about how some people believe that you should not consume canola oil because it was used to make mustard gas! I have heard a lot of food myths before but this one is new to me. I use canola oil a lot – it’s bland so it’s good for variety of dishes and it’s low in saturated fat – good for me as my cholesterol is a tad on the higher side.

Panama Hat

Hats are back in fashion for men again in the past few years – thanks to stylish men like Leonard Cohen, Johnny Depp and err….Walter White (Breaking Bad). Bob has started wearing hat (apart from wool beanie!) a couple of years ago. A few years back I bought him a couple of trilbies so he can be faking bad when he goes out for his poker nights.

This summer he has fancied a straw hat for dog walking – straw trilby is fine but I think Panama is more stylish. So I bought him a straw Panama hat for his birthday this year.

I remember my grandfather (on my Dad’s side) wearing one for his outings when I was little. His Panama hat was finely woven (much better than Bob’s). When I look back I realise how neat and handsome he was, even when in his late 70s (he was over 6 foot tall). When he went out to one of his lunches with old army friends or to the temple, he would wear his Panama hat, a light coloured shirt with cotton vest underneath and his trousers were neatly pressed with sharp creases. He also carried a cane with silver handle.

Funnily, I just also learned that Panama hat originated in Ecuador but they were shipped from Panama to the rest of the world. The hats are graded by the numbers of weaves per square inch. My grandfather’s probably was one of the superfinos and made in Ecuador, I guess. 

The Power of Hypnosis

                                                          Lookatme-lookatme-lookatme
                                            Givemethefood-givemethefood-givemethefood

Buffalo Wings away from Buffalo, NY.

When we went to Las Vegas a few years back, we hopped casinos like the tourists do. We were at MGM Grand one night and ate at one of their Cafes that looked not too crowded and we could get the table right away without having to queue up for it. I think it’s called Avenue Café but I cannot be sure as it seems like ages ago.

What I do remember though is their Buffalo Wings. They were so yummy and the price was reasonable. I don’t like blue cheese but their blue cheese sauce was so lovely that I forgot about my dislike. We went back to MGM Grand a couple more times after that just for the wings. It’s quite a walk from The Bellagio where we were staying but MGM’s wings were much better that we did not mind that bit of exercise. We even think that next time we are in Las Vegas we will have to stay at MGM Grand so we can have their Buffalo wings every day.

I have cooked the wings several times at home – not as good as MGM Grand’s but not too bad either. I do my wings in the oven and sometimes on the BBQ.

Wings
1.2  kg Chicken nibbles (wings without tips – about twenty pieces)
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil spray
1 tablespoons Canola oil

Rub chicken pieces with salt and pepper and refrigerate for about an hour. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C with tray lined with foil. Add oil to the tray and let it heat up for a few minutes.

Place the wings on the hot tray in single layer. Spray the oil over them a bit for crispiness. Bake for 40 – 50  minutes (20 - 25 minutes each side).

You can also deep fry or shallow fry the chicken for this dish.

Hot Sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1-2 tablespoons butter
½ cup canned dice tomatoes in juice, blitzed
1-2 tablespoons Sri Racha Chilli Sauce
2 Table spoons Tomato Sauce

Heat butter in the wok over medium high heat, add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add pureed tomato, tomato sauce and chilli sauce. Sprinkle with salt or stock powder. Let it bubble for a bit longer – add cooked chicken wings and turn to coat. Remove from heat and serve with Blues Cheese Sauce, carrots and chips.

Blue Cheese Sauce
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayo
1-2 tablespoons blue cheese (I use Roquefort-smelly as but tastes nice)
Juice of half lemon

Crumble the cheese into little pieces and add a bit of sour cream to lose the cheese up. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. You can blitz the sauce in food processor but some people (like Bob) like morsels of blue cheese here and there so I do mine by hand. Refrigerate until before serving.