Spaghetti ei Gamberi

You do know that a name for a pasta dish in Italian always sounds better right? Doesn't Pasta Gamberi sound so much better than Prawn Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Sauce? I think it does!

So anyway, you'd have figured out that I made a Prawn Pasta in a Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Sauce. The Lovely Wife had bought some prawns from the market and had planned to fry them up as the kids just love fried prawns.

Since I haven't made any new pasta for a while, I decided to make a meal out of the prawns and came up with the quick yet very tasty dish. I had originally planned to just make my aglio olio and then stir fry the prawns and add it in. However, seeing that there were mushrooms available as well, I decided to use mushrooms together with the prawns for a nice mix of earthiness and sea produce!

Prawn & Taufoo Curry - and a little joke about Half Past Six!

There's nothing quite like a good Prawn Curry. A favourite way of making prawn curry is to make a dryish curry with lots of potatoes. My mother-in-law makes a great prawn curry this way and it's no surprise that The Lovely Wife does just as great a job with her own version of Prawn Curry. Actually, I think her version is better!

Prawns are kind of expensive but they are so, so delicious. It doesn't help that prawns are high in cholesterol either as I'm supposed to be watching mine. It doesn't help that I love prawns - in any form or fashion - but there's nothing quite like a good prawn curry eaten with rice.


This is what The Lovely Wife did:

Ingredients
1 kg prawns - shelled and deveined
4 firm taufoo - cubed
2 Potatoes - cubed
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 inches ginger - minced
2 large onions - sliced
2 Tbsp Fish Curry Powder
1 Tbsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp turmeric
5 stalks curry leaves
1 to 2 medium tomatos
1 cinnamon stick

Method
Marinate the prawns and taufoo with the ginger, garlic, curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric for about 1/2 hour
Fry the cinammon stick in a little oil till fragrant. Add in the onions and fry till soft. Add in the curry leaves and fry till fragrant and then add in the tomato. Cook until a nice paste is formed and add in the potatoes. Cook till just tender before adding in the prawns and taufoo and cook well till the prawns turn pink. Add salt to taste. Keep cooking over a simmering flame till you achieve the dryness you want.
You can use more curry powder or chilli powder depending how hot and spicy you want it!

The Lovely Wife and I both have different ways of making our curries. Usually, I will fry the chilli powder and curry powder to bring out the flavours but The Lovely Wife has her own method of doing things.

Regardless, The Lovely Wife's prawn curry was really delicious. I'd have preferred it withouth the taufoo but I have to admit it was different and it also added more quantity to the dish. Prawns are expensive and anything more you can add to the dish is always good!

The Lovely Wife made this dish some time ago and so I had to get the recipe from her to update my blog. As she was explaining how she made this dish, and as I was busy scribbling it down, I remarked that I would fry the spices first. I also mentioned how I would do things differently. She scoffed at me and said that her way was better.

As a joke, I drew a circle on her shoulder - as a clock face - and then marked out the time as six Thirty. I then called my son over and showed him the 'clock'. I told him that since I thought Mummy's recipe wasn't quite so good, that it was a 'Half Past Six Recipe' and that's why she had a clock on her shoulder that showed Half Past Six.

The laugh from my son was priceless, and The Lovely Wife, who had no idea what I had drawn on her shoulder, couldn't help laughing out too. I'm still surprised that she let me draw on her shoulder but I suppose she knew I was setting her up for a joke. She's a fun lady too that Lovely Wife of mine!

Now to explain: Half-past-six” is a Malaysian slang for 'inferior' or 'lousy' or 'poor quality' - you get the drift. It was probably more in use when I was younger but it's still used a fair bit these days.



I really don't know if this term is used in the rest of the world nor do I know it's origin. The only guess I have is that since both hands of the clock point downwards at half-past six, it's as if it were a 'thumbs down’.

Any one of you have any other takes on this? Any one else around the world familiar with this? Let me know!

A story of Pasta, Prawns and the holy Trinity

Just a week ago at the market, my little princess batted her eyes at me and asked me if we could get some prawns. Although a tad expensive, I acquiesced to her request as I know how much she loves prawns. I then had to figure out what I was going to make.

For the longest time, I have had the itch to make Jambalaya - not quite knowing what Jambalaya actually is. I knew the song pretty well though, you know,

jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
For tonight, I'm a-gonna see my ma-cheri a mi-o
Pick guitar, fill fruit far and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou

I knew that Jambalaya had something to do with Creole and Cajun cooking but that was about it. A quick check on google showed that Jambalaya was akin to a Paella. Not really as exotic as I thought it was. So I shelved the plans for a Jambalaya.

Reading on though, I learnt that the Holy Trinity doesn't only exist in Religion and Theology...




If you will permit me to digress a little, The Holy Trinity in Christianity is basically the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - all in unity of the Godhead. One God though manifested in three. Although born and bred a Christian, I still find this concept hard to explain - but I guess that is what faith is all about.

Hinduism has its own Trinity as well, Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver and Shiva, the Destroyer. Not terribly removed from the Christian trinity - thus emphasising my own religious belief that ALL religions are equal and there is at the end of the day, only ONE God.

That brings me to the Culinary holy Trinity. Apparently in Cajun/Creole cooking, especially in Louisianna, the combination of onions, celery, and green bell pepper is known as the holy Trinity. That was enlightening to me and seeing it a few days later on an episode of Jamie's America where he visits Louisiana and joins Leah Chase in making Gumbo, proved that it was a term in real use and not just something made up.

So now you know all about the different Trinities and I learnt about the Culinary Trinity and I was intent on making sure I used it!

I decided that I would use the holy Trinity in a Pasta dish with Prawns, Mushrooms and Spinach. I'd also use some chilli flakes to give it a bit of bite. This is what I did:

Ingredients
3 Bay Leaves
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
3 tsp chilli flakes
1 large onion - chopped
1 stalk celery - sliced thinly
1/2 capsicum - chopped (reserve the other half for garnishing)
200g button mushrooms - sliced
200g spinach leaves
400g large prawns - deveined
500g Spaghetti

Method
Fry the bay leaves and oregano till fragrant. Add in the garlic and chilli flakes, mixing well. Add the holy trinity (onions, capsicum and celery) and cook till soft adding a little water if needed. Add in the mushrooms and cook till juices come out and then add in the spinach leaves, cooking till just wilted. Add in the prawns and cook till nicely pink. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in cooked pasta, mixing well.

This dish turned out to be really tasty with the holy Trinity providing a lovely base of flavour. My parents came over for lunch and it was enjoyed by everyone. This pasta dish is a definite winner and I think the next time I might try it with chicken or even bacon. Or maybe prawns again!



I'm submitting this to my friend Ruth over at Once upon a feast for her 149th edition of Presto Pasta Nights! She's looking for guest hosts too so pop on over and see how you can help!

Steamed Prawns with Marie Rose Sauce

My Kids love prawns. Both of them do. I love prawns too but I try not to eat too many of them - cholesterol you know. Anyway, when The Lovely Wife and I were at the market the other day, I felt like pleasing the kids - so i bought prawns.

When I bought the prawns, I didnt really know what I was going to do with them. I just bought the prawns as I knew the kids would like it - and give me an excuse to east some too!



My kids are also sauce merchants - meaning they love all kids of sauces - tomato sauce, thousand island dressing, soy sauce, honey mustard sauce. You name it, they like it. Give them anything with sauce on it and they are happier than happy.



I like prawns any which way they are cooked but sometimes it is best to just enjoy their natural flavour. So I decided to steam them and serve them with a dipping sauce - a Marie Rose sauce to be precise.

Marie Rose sauce is the one that you often find served with a prawn cocktail. It goes really well with any kind of seafood too and is really easy to make. Basically its a 'guess-timate' kind of recipe where you mix mayonaisse and tomato sauce together (ratio of about 3:1) with a dash of tabasco and worcestershire sauce, adjusting it to your own taste.

Ingredients
Prawns
1 part Tomato Sauce
3 parts Mayonnaise
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco Sauce
Pepper

Method
Shell and devein the prawns - leaving shell intact.
Place the prawns in a steamer and steam for a few minutes till pink.

Make the sauce by combining the tomato sauce and mayonnaise. Add in a dash of tabasco and worcestershire sauce. Adjust to your taste.

To make the dish look nice, I garnished it with with japanese cucumbers and also to give the kids something more to eat with the sauce. They loved the prawns but I'm not sure if they loved the sauce more...

Curry Leaf Chicken and more Cultural Exchange

With a name like Curry Leaf Chicken, you would automatically assume this is an Indian Dish. However, you would never, ever find this dish in an Indian shop or restaurant. You WOULD however, find it in a CHINESE Restaurant! This is how Malaysian food has evolved with Chinese Cuisine borrowing from Indian as well as Malay cuisine - giving you a dish that is authentically and uniquely Malaysian.

The Lovely Wife and I both enjoy this dish and we order it rather often whenever we go out with family and friends for Chinese Food. Regular readers of my blog would know that The Lovely Wife has caught my disease of trying to replicate food that we have eaten outside in our own kitchen. She has become very succesful in not only replicating dishes without the aid of a cookbook, but doing even better than what we eat outside.


Getting Chinese Food to taste as good as you get outside is particularly difficult du to the high heat used and the heavy wok that distributes the heat so well - thus enabling the food to be cooked so fast. Most chinese shops also love to use MSG - Monosodium Glutamate - that although makes the food taste good, leaves a drying feeling in the mouth long after the meal has been consumed. That's another reason why home cooked food is always better!

This chicken dish is spicy, with loads of chilli padi (birds eye chilli) and even dried prawns to give it an added crunch and flavour!



This is what she did:

Ingredients
1 inch ginger
6 cloves garlic
2 big onion - sliced
400g Chicken Fillet - cut into strips
5 stalks curry leaves
10 birds eye chillis (chilli padi) - chopped finely
1 tsp chilli powder
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp Dark Soya Sauce
25 g dried prawns - soaked and pounded
1 Tbsp Honey (if needed)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Marinate chicken with salt and pepper. Blend together ginger and garlic then Sautee
in a little oil. Add onions, chilli powder, curry powder and cook well till fragrant. Add in curry leaves, chillies and prawns. Cook well and then add in chicken. Add a little water if needed. Keep stirring until chicken is cooked through and liquid is reduced. When half dry, add soya sauce and continue cooking till mixture is dry and the chicken is well coated. Add the honey if too spicy!

This dish goes really well with rice. She also served it with some Yau Mak that also happens to be my son's favourite vegetable dish. The Yau Mak goes really well as the oyster sauce and crunchy greens help to tone down the spiciness, or rather piquancy (is there such a word?) from the chillis.



A highly tasty and succesful replicating endeavour from The Lovely Wife. As has become the case of late when either one of us replicates something succesfully, the kids will pipe up - "Another dish that we dont have to eat outside anymore!"

Sometimes Size Does Matter... Baked Prawn with Lemon Butter

I know I've said this before, but I love Prawns. Matter of fact, I love all kinds of shellfish. So when I saw how huge these fellows were, I just HAD to have some!



I got these huge Salt water prawns fresh from the market at Kota Kinabalu when I was there recently. I had planned on making them earlier but one thing let to another and they stayed in the freezer for a little while longer than I planned.




See how huge they are? I place a ruler next to it just to show you the size and that's more than 6 inches long! Only problem is that the head is really huge too and I'm really not into eating the head. Seems like a waste sometimes, especially when Prawns are sold by weight...

Anyway, part of the reason I kept the prawns for a while was that The Lovely Wife has a tad of an allergy when it comes to shellfish. I had wanted to keep the prawns all to myself (and maybe share it with the kids) but there were just a few too many to eat alone. Also, theres just so much more fun in sharing!



So anyway, when we had a few friends over for dinner recently, I decided to serve these prawns. I considered various ways of cooking them and finally decided to bake them with Lemon Butter.

I cut the prawns in half, made up a little lemon butter and then popped them in the over for about 10 minutes.



How did I make the lemon butter? Just melted about 80g of butter, added in some lemon rind and juice of 1 lemon. Then just to add some colour, I chopped a little coriander and sprinkled it on top.

Very easy and oh so delightful!

Sarah's BBQ part One - Barbecued Prawns

I had mentioned previously that my little princess Sarah wanted a BBQ and this is the first of many posts to come concerning that BBQ!

Not only did she plan the menu, but she also decided she was going to invite her maternal grandparents as well as her uncle, aunt and cousins (on my wifes' side). Since my dad was away, I got my mom to come along too. So yes, quite a few people to cater for - and as usual, we made more than enough food for an army. Not quite, but you get the idea...

Anyway, first item on the menu was Prawns. I had brought back a load of lovely big, huge prawns from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and I marinated them as such:

2 kg large prawns
2-3 inches ginger - pounded
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
3 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp honey
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Black Pepper

Shell and devein prawns but leave tails intact. Mix all the ingredients together and allow to marinade.



Before grilling them on the BBQ, we needed to set up the BBQ and the kids were more than happy to help me out there.



Getting the fire going was quite a chore and suffice to say it involved burning a wooden stool that I had stupidly used as a base since the legs on the BBQ set were too short. One would think that I had more brains...

Nonetheless, the prawns were rather delicious. My son, who claimed that he "only likes prawns a little bit", promptly devoured more than 10 and then proceeded to proclaim that "actually I like prawns."




The Lovely Wife had a few prawns too although she has an allergy to shellfish. There's just something rather spectacular about BBQed prawns...

Leeking Garlic Prawns

I love prawns! I love the texture and I love the taste. Or is it Shrimp that I love so much?? I'm from the Commonwealth so over here it's Prawn. To paraphrase Shakespeare, That which the Americans call a shrimp by any other name, would still taste like a prawn.
I hope the old bard isn't doing cartwheels or somersaults in his grave...

Prawns have their own flavour so I dislike prawns that are soaked in too much sauce. That's not entirely true. Its almost impossible to dislike prawns. What I mean to say is that prawns should be cooked with just a tad of seasoning. Nothing overpowering to completely overwhelm the taste of this crustacean. The only exception to this 'rule' would be Sambal Prawns - but even them the taste of the prawns still come through.

I don't often make prawns for two reasons. Firstly, they are rather expensive. Secondly, the Lovely Wife is a little allergic to prawns although she does love shellfish as much as I do. It get's particularly bad if there is a full moon. Her face gets all dark and screwed up and she starts to howl quite a bit. Sometimes the facial hair gets rather thick too. Oh, but I'm mistaken. That's not the Lovely Wife but me - especially when I dont shave. Seriously though, she does have a mild reaction to shellfish and so she tries to stay away from it.

I made this dish quite some time ago for my daughter's 3rd birthday since we were having an Under The Sea Theme. I dug up these photos since I was writing an article on Themed Birthday Parties for the Daily Tiffin - scheduled to be out this Wednesday.

So anyway, it's really very simple and very delicious. Like most of what I do, I just threw a whole lot of things together and since this happened quite some time ago, I cant recall measurements. But this is how it goes"

Lots of garlic - chopped
Lots of Prawns - shelled and deveined
Some Chilli Flakes
A little Black Pepper
about two stalks of Leek - cut into 1 inch lengths

Boil some water and add in a little salt. Blanch the leek until just tender. Drain and set aside on a serving plate.
Heat some Olive Oil and fry the garlic and chilli flakes. Add in the shelled prawns and quickly stir fry until the prawns turn pink. Turn out onto the bed of leek. Garnish with some chopped coriander.

And there you have it! Garlic Prawns on a Bed of Leek otherwise known as Leeking Garlic Prawns!