Black Pepper Crayfish

Ingredients:

9 pieces of medium size crayfish (hey por)
Half sliced onion
1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Seasonings:

2 tablespoon of unsalted butter
2 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine (Hao Tiao Chiew)
Dash of coarse salt

Method:

Rinse crayfish, cut through the body from head towards tail, then scald in boiling water and set aside.
Heat up wok. Fry the butter and minced garlic until fragrant over low heat.
Add onion and stir fry till softened.
Then mix well with black pepper and wine.
Season with coarse salt.
Finally, add the crayfish and stir fry till cooked.
Sprinkle generous amount of chopped spring onion stalks over the crayfish.
Serve hot.

Yam Basket

Ingredients:

One medium size yam
A packet of baby corn (cut into three sections)
12 to 15 fresh prawns (de-shelled and deveined)
10 scallops
1 can of button mushrooms
1 medium size carrots (sliced)
1 piece of chicken breast (diced)

Method:

Shred yam into thin strips, dry them with paper towel and season with salt and pepper and five spice powder to taste.
Add one tablespoon of corn flour.
Toss and mix well. Place the strips in a wide ladle.
Use a smaller ladle to press them against the walls of the wide ladle to get its shape.
Dip in hot oil over high heat for 30 seconds, lower the heat to medium and fry for another 5 minutes or till golden brown.
Remove the yam basket and place in on a paper hand towel to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the yam ingredients.
Season the chicken cubes with a dash of soy sauce, pepper and cornflour.
Fry minced garlic till fragrant.
With one tablespoon of oil, fry the prawns until it turns pink. Remove and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to wok and brown the chicken .
Add the rest of other ingredients and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add corn flour mixture to thicken the fried ingredients.
Dish out and array ingredients in yam basket.
Surround the yam basket with deep fried rice noodles,

Serve hot to enjoy the crispy yam basket.

Pan Fried Scallops

Emerald Sea Scallop

Braised Sea Cucumber with Mixed Vegetables

Ingredients:

Three pieces of dried Sea Cucumber (pre-soaked in water)
A can of button mushroom
One big carrot (sliced)
One packet of baby corn (sliced)
One packet of snow peas
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of Premium Oyster Sauce
Half teaspoon of coarse sugar
Chinese cooking wine (Hua Tiao Chiew)

Method:

Remove veins and impurities from sea cucumbers, rinse and cut into large pieces.
Scald to remove the stench.
Heat up 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a wok.
Add the minced garlic and fry till fragrant.
Stir in the sliced carrots, baby corns, button mushrooms and snow peas.
Add a tablespoon of water into the wok and simmer over medium heat for about 8 minutes with the lid on.
Season with premium oyster sauce and a little coarse sugar.
Then add the sea cucumber slices and stir fry for about five more minutes.
Drizzle a few drops of Chinese cooking wine on top and turn off the heat.
Serve hot.

For tips on cleaning dried sea cucumber, click here for instructions:
https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/from-sea-slug-to-a-delicacy/

From Sea Slug To A Delicacy

The Sea Cucumber has gelatinous texture and is a delicacy in Chinese cuisines.

Similar to tofu, the sea cucumber is flavorless but soaks up the flavours of food and seasonings when cooked with sauces.

Sea Cucumber are used to cooked in soups, stir fries and braised dishes.

Served during special occasions especially during Chinese New Year.

How to prepare, soak and clean dried sea cucumber:

Soak the sea cucumbers in water for about 3 to 4 days until soften (depending on their sizes) and changes the water daily.
Make sure the sea cucumber are fully submerged in the water.
Put the sea cucumber in boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes , simmer for about 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow the water to cool down.
On the second and third day follow the same procedure.
On the fourth day, remove the sea cucumbers from the water and cut them open to remove internal organs and impurities( sand, rock etc).
Rinse them in running water and boil again for about 10 minutes then simmer for about 30 minutes.
You may need to repeat this soaking process again until the sea cucumber is soft enough to cook.

If you not use the sea cucumber immediately, stored these presoaked sea cucumber in a Lock and Lock container and keep them in the freezer.

Christmas Agar Agar(Jelly)

(“Agar Agar” comes from Malay word for “ jelly” . Agar is a flavourless gel derived from seaweed. Therefore it contain the rich array of minerals. White and semi translucent, it is available in strands and now powdered form)

Ingredients:

Half packet of Agar Agar strands
Half bowl of coconut milk
5 tablespoons of caster sugar
Half teaspoon of coarse salt
2.1/2 cups water

Method:

Soak the agar agar strands in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
Boil the water in a pot over medium heat.
Add the agar agar strands into the boiling water and stir until it is completely dissolved.
Turn off the heat.
Stir and divide the mixture into two portions.

Portion One:

Pour the portion with coconut milk into the jelly mould and let it set at room temperature about 2 hours.

Portion Two:

Add rose essence to the other half of the pot and stir well. Ensuring the colouring are mixed thoroughly.
Do this part only when the Portion One with coconut milk has set.
Pour the second portion with the rose essence colouring on top of the mould.
Leave it to set in the refrigerator until hardened.

Tips:

Since its Christmas, I have selected the Christmas Tree mould for the festive seasons.

Happy Holidays!

Dessertilicious – Sesame Seed Pumpkin Cake

Check out here for recipe:

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/dessertilicious-chewy-pumpkin-cakes/

Dessertilicious – Chewy Pumpkin Cakes

Ingredients:

Half size Japanese Pumpkin
2 bowls of Glutinous Rice Flour
¾ bowl of Wheat Starch Flour
Half bowl of sugar
Half cup of water
Packet of White Sesame Seeds for coating

Method:

Cut the pumpkin into small pieces and steamed until softened.
Mashed the pumpkin with a potato masher and set aside.
Combine all the flour ingredients thoroughly, then add sufficient water to form a pliable dough. By using the wheat flour, the dough will have a glossy sheen when cooked.
Cut the dough into small pieces and divide them into sections.
You can either shape them in round balls or rectangular.
Oil a metal tray or plate and steam the cake for about 3 to 4 minutes. Put the fork through the cake to see whether there is any stickiness. If not, its time to turn off the steamer.
By using glutinous rice flour and steaming the cake creating a chewy texture.
Pour sufficient white sesame seeds on a bowl and coat each piece of the pumpkin cake while hot. These sesame seeds stuck easily when its hot than cold.
Stored them in the refrigerator until ready to cook. This would also help to harden the cake and easily for deep frying.
Drain the pumpkin cakes on paper hand towel to drain excess oil before serving.

Know Your Prawns

Tobiko Shrimp Fried Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups white rice (overnight)
One cup of frozen green peas (defrozed)
3 eggs

2 tablespoons of Superior Light Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon of Chee Seng 100% Pure White Sesame Oil

1 packet of Tobiko

20 pieces of medium fresh prawns (deshelled, deveined)

Method:

In a small sauce pan, stir fry the green peas until cook.
Add minced garlic and fry the diced fresh prawns until cook.
Crack in the eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with the prawns and green beans.
Stir in the cooked rice.
Add soy sauce and toss rice to coat.
Drizzle with sesame oil and toss again.
You can transfer the cooked rice to the rice steamer until time to serve.
Scoop rice into a plate and sprinkle generous amount of tobiko on top of the rice and serve.