New Year, New Dish ..hmmmm

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!…Wohooo!!!…WOW..when was the last time i cook, take pic and write ah? aiyo..KNS! (stands for Ka na Sai – means like shit..i think..ehehe)..Yaya..busy with work lo (managing new club, Head teacher for BodyPump, Lose it! Team Workout Champion for Malaysia…that’s all for now..i think..heeee). Anyway, that was last year, this year with a start of a brand new me..(or old me..as age is catching up) i tell myself, i need to cook at least 2 weeks once..wakakaka..i mean for the purpose of blogging and taking pics la..Oh oh..by the way, i finally bought a new camera..WOHoo!!!..small and sophisticated one leh..just what i needed – hybrid DSLR the Sony Nex-5..yeeHAAa!!..

Ok ok..let’s talk about the dish la…new year new dish..hmm..well..the only dish that is new to me is the garlic butter prawn lo..the rest are the usual stuff lo just different presentation only..

So garlic butter prawn. I personally love this dish and i remember back in KK (where i used to work for 9 awesome months) i used to have this butter thingy as sauce but instead of prawn, its chicken (hey, u know what, i think i’ll do that 2mlo. Butter chicken..wakaka). Anyway, how i prepare it..haaa…very simple only. Just use butter and evaporated milk. But, you have to be fast when doing this and also make sure the heat is not too high as the milk will thicken very fast. The garlic is only added the last to prevent from “hangus” la. 🙂

What you can also add at the end is some chopped chilies (in this case i added green and red – for color purposes) Some of you may know that i don’t really fancy spicy food but chopped chilies like the above..boleh la..

As for the prawns, i deveined it and i shallow pan fried it instead of deep fried. Healthier ma..hehehe..(actually my i lazy to put so much oil ba cause after that waste la..use so much oil for just one dish then if recycle the oil, the taste of prawn is still there ba..)

Next is the Caramelized chicken with Asparagus. Simple and yet yummy. 🙂 For those who tried my caramelized chicken wrap with bacon..well this is the simpler version la (obviously without the bacon..wakakaka). Ok la, for those that don’t know, here’s how i prepare the chicken. I never use a single drop of oil to cook this chicken (except for sesame oil la to boost the flavor). I use “sugar” instead. Yes Sugar as is “gula” as in “thong” as in.. you know what i’m talking about. On a non-stick pan, i turn the heat up (when you put your hand on top, you will not hold more then 6 secs – yes that hot) then only you put the sugar  in. Making sure that is evenly spread on the pan (at this point, please don’t be a genius to use a spoon to make it even, you know its hot and what happen when you mess with it?? it’ll stick to your spoon lo..KNS!..) so yeah..leave it..till you see the sugar starts to Caramelize..then you put the chopped chicken in (i prefer the use of  whole of drumstick – taste sweeter, you can choose other parts but make sure to deboned it la..easier to eat ma..)

Then, the quickie part comes next – add oyster sauce (lee kum kee, if don’t have then GET ONE!), a dash of sesame oil (not too much otherwise it’ll over power the taste) then dark-soy sauce (for color – black obviously). Then you know what to do lo hor?..cook lo..don’t let it burn. At this stage, lower down the heat as the caramel from the sugar is really and i really mean HOT. it’ll take approx of 5-6 mins to cook. The asparagus, well you can either cook it with like i did (toss it in a pan with a drop of oil) or just steam it or boil it with water lo. I personally prefer tossing it cause of the crunchiness and smoky taste. Up to you la.

There you go, another simple dish brought to you by Ben Sim’s Little Kitchen. In case you’re wondering whether i do catering or not? The answer is YES!!.. hehehehe..

Anyway, i might do another one 2mlo, if you don’t see be blog or post any pic on fb then no la..wakakak..(i’ll try la..thinking about it now..hhehehe). Enjoy!

P/s: Incase your wondering how the asparagus “bengkok” like that..hehehhee…you…you.just bengkok it yourself lo..wakakka..

Rolled Seared Beef with Enoki Mushroom

Moooo….yes..its lembu time..hehe..super cow that is.  For this recipe, i use the strips of loin which is suitable for grilling and searing to wrap with enoki mushroom. No i didn’t create this recipe and yes i copy punya ba.hehe..cause i find it very interesting when i saw the pic from the website with that thingy (enoki mushroom) sticking out..hehe..Anyway, i love beef very muchie, though some chinese religion doesn’t eat beef…hmm..i wonder why..wasted kan..hehe..

To prepare, very simple (No, seriously..very simple..no joke :))..For the enoki, you just have to cut the ends and rinse it. Then i sauté the enoki with some finely chopped garlic with butter and of course peanut oil to stop the butter from burning kan..hehe :). Season with some oyster sauce, just a little, not too much and a touch of Mirin (yes, japanese rice wine but with a lower alcohol content) .For about 3mins or until its tender. Remove the enoki from the pan and let it cool before wrapping with the beef strips. 

As for the beef strips, i pound it with a pestle to make a thinner slice. Then, take a few enoki mushrooms and roll it. Now, the best part, remember earlier that i cook the enoki? With the same pan, i seared the beef together with the sauce from the enoki. The beef is seared and cook with the sauce. Seasoning here is definitely not required at all. The natural beef flavor and the combination of the sauce from the enoki is absolutely delicious i tell you. Can be eaten as an appetizer or meal itself. Simply delicious. Enjoy 🙂

    

Almond Crusted Roast Chicken with orange sauce reduction

Right..I know..i’ve been missing in action for a while..hehe..sorry ba..busy kan..hm..konon la..anyway..here’s another creation of mine. Nothing much, nothing that i’ve not done before. Some left over de-boned chicken thigh that i marinated almost 1 day back ..hehe ..didnt cook at that time cz came back late ba..hehe. Saw this recipe that is totally different from this, but was blown away by the color of the sauce, which is the orange sauce. You know me la, when i like the color and presentation, i sure wanna try to create the same ba..which i did. The recipe uses scallop actually..hmm.next time la..i belum cuba before ba..itu scallop.mahal kan?hmm.Orange sauce..how? Well, i reduce it. I heat the juice on a medium high heat( with some sugar to help the caramalization) until the liquid thickens and reduces into half. 🙂

As for the chicken, well, its easy since it already de-boned sudah kan, so i roast it for about 20mins on 200ºC. The marinade? For this dish, its just 3. Oyster sauce, sesame oil and crushed black pepper. I didn’t use garlic or ginger like i normally do. Why? cz i malas ba..hehe..no la..kidding..i want to keep it simple since i’m using toasted almond flakes also kan and also with the orange sauce..hmm..

The taste. Hmm..toasted almond with chicken..you get the crunchiness and the aroma from the almonds goes really well with the chicken. Now you know why some salads (i.e chicken salad) uses crushed almonds ba kan?..Good combination of two different texture and flavor. You can also substitute with other types of nuts like pistachios, walnut or even peanuts. And as for the orange sauce..well, what can i say, sweet acidic cuts the richness of the chicken. Enjoy! 🙂

Grilled Eggplant roll with minced chicken

Eggplant or aubergine or brinjal ..no matter how you like to called it..to me its the same..haha..its one of my fav ingredients to use. I saw this recipe from a magazine that my sis got it for free, and its in chinese (and yes, i don’t read chinese though i’m one..hehe..sorry ba..i was from a malay school ba..hehe ). Anyway, the original recipe was to use cream cheese and some herbs. As you already know by now that i always try to mimic the preparation but make my own presentation. Clever kan?hehe.. 🙂 And in this case, i substitute the cream cheese with minced chicken. I tell you, punya panjang itu process. I think kan, by the time you finish reading this, i don’t think  you’ll even want to try making this dish.. heh 😛

So here it goes, ready? hehe..to start, i marinade the chicken with my favourite marinade, which consist of ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil and some olive oil. In addition to that, i spread some butter underneath the skin of the drumstick and i use some dry herbs too, thyme. A lot kan?haha..you wait la, belum lagi i sapu some honey after 10mins of roasting..hehe..this is to give the golden crust on the skin of the chicken (though it doesn’t really matter since i’m going to minced it anyway kan..but it does add some sweetness to the chicken).

Right, after roasting the chicken for about 25mins at 200ºc and let it rest for about 10mins or so, then i start de-boning the drumstick (yes, i do know how to debone a chicken, well for this case, its just a drumstick ba 🙂 not that hard anyway) I used pestle and mortar to minced the chicken meat instead of a blender to create that rustic look when i spread it on the grilled eggplant (ha!, i still haven’t explain how i prepare the eggplant..aiyo, banyak kerja kan?hehe..wait la.). Anyway, nothing were added to the minced chicken except the fats and flavors from the chicken when i roast it. Fantastic sauce i tell u, rich in flavors. :p

Well, the eggplant. Actually, its kinda simple. Cut it length ways. Not to thin though cause when you cook it kan, it’ll shrink ba. So, with one eggplant, you can only get a good 3-4 slices only ba. Before you start grilling in, sapu some olive oil on it and season it with some salt and pepper lo. To get the grill marks kan, i used my ikea grill pan, lama sudah didnt use. Lucky still usable.hehe.. 🙂 After grilling it, again, let it rest before spreading the minced chicken on it. The rolling part, i must say its the easiest ba, you’ll enjoy it so much that you wish you got lots to roll. LOL!. Anyway, to add some color to this dish, i serve with some chopped tomatoes yang ah muah bagi me, erm..few days back..ehhe.. still edible 🙂 Enjoy!

Steam Japanese Tofu with Prawn and chinese mushroom

Japanese tofu or also known as egg tofu, you either love them or hate them. Some find it too soft and eggie, some don’t. I find it very cheap.hahha..yes. I bought this japanese tofu, 3 for only Rm2 at cold storage (Summit, subang. No i didn’t go all the way there to buy the tofu la. Got replacement rpm ma in the morning..hehe). Remember the previous prawn dish? That i have some left over prawns? About only 5 la, but good enough for me and my mom (since in the afternoon its just 2 of us anyway and you must be thinking 5 enough?really?haha..iya ba, now days..don’t really eat that much..hmmm) Anyway, thanks to my mum, i thought i have to deveined the prawns again kan, tapi sudah..my mum done it for me already..hehe…thanks mum.muaks!..So for that i give her some of my prawns lo..hehehe good son kan..(cis..konon la.hehe)

Chinese mushroom? Why chinese? why not indian or malay or hindustan or keling?hehe..ops..anyway.its chinese cause i think it is la, well they look like one anyway. Before cooking them, you need to rinse them a bit and soak them in hot water until they’re soft and tender. About 30mins or so, squeeze out access water and cut the stem and cut into cubes. Don’t throw away the water, add a little oyster sauce and a dash of sesame oil and that will be your sauce for the dish.

Place the tofu on a plate, then mushroom on top of each tofu and lastly prawn on top of it. Pour the sauce into the plate and let it steam together with the tofu. For about less than 10mins (as u know, prawn cooks easily and your mushroom is already tender anyway, so not too long yeah). You’ll know when its done when the prawn starts to curl up and it’s colour changes orangie pink. With the mushroom’s sauce steam together with the tofu and the juice from the prawn from steaming, hmm…need i say more? And the best thing is that you can have this as an appetizer or a meal itself. 🙂

Prawn skewers with trio mayonnaise

Right, as promise on my prev, prev and prev blog (if u got baca properly..hehe) that i’m supposed to make prawn lollipop kan..hmm…some how tak jadi la.haha..well as you can see, its not that lolli after all..hehe..i don’t have that cornstarch to bind them (the prawn mix) together ba..ish..so i use normal flour saja..anyway..jadi jugak la, i mean the taste wise. Hemm..So, the ingredients are, prawn, water chestnut, onion, spring onion, rosemary and 1 whole egg. To marinade, i add a little sesame oil and oyster sauce lo, thats all. 🙂

First, with the prawns kan, which i bought today (after my rpm @ uptown),i think was the cheapest that icould find,in fact, thats my usual place where i get my prawns (though the lady boss never recognized me..heh) its about $9/500g of course got more bigger and expensive one la..but obviously not necessary since i’m going cincang (minced in malay)it anyway..keke..so yeah, so i peel and deveined the prawns one by one. Fyi, i just use half of what i’ve bought, saving it for another starter (coming soon..this time, its going to be Prawn with thai mango salad..hah!.)  

 

 

Done with the prawns, then i add the remaining ingredients in lo (water chestnut, onion-diced, spring onion-finely chopped and rosemary -snip snip heheh). Then i move on to the sauces, which is the mayonnaise mix in 3 different ways (sweet-orange, sour-lime and spicy-wasabi). This is very easy, simply zest the lime and orange with their juices (make sure that the juice is less than the amount of mayonnaise, otherwise it will change the consistency of the sauce) and for the wasabi, just add in the japanese horseradish lo. 🙂

For presentation, i just add some black sesame which i bought today also at cold storage (and its organic punya ba, ish you think its cheap ar..hmm..i also forgot how much sudah). As you can see, i used bamboo skewer. You can switch that with skewers made from sugar cane or even use rosemary’s stem. Hmm..will definately try again to make into a ball shape..sigh..