Thai Seafood Curry

Ingredients
6 mussels - cleaned
6 prawns - shelled and deveined
1/2 lb halibut fillet - cut into thick slices 
1 cuttlefish - cleaned, cut into halves, make diagonal slits on inner surface and cut into 1" slices
1 tbsp Thai curry paste
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 onion - diced
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 lemongrass - use white part only and lightly smashed
2 lime leaves 
1 tomato - cut into quarters
2 tbsp vegetable oil 
1 tsp fish sauce or 1/4 tsp salt to taste
finely chopped parsley for garnish

Homemade Sambal Chilli

Ingredients
85g dried chili - about 2 cups
6 fresh red chili - remove stalks and seeds
8 shallots - peeled and sliced
8 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
1 stalk lemongrass - use white part only, chopped into small pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup oil or more for frying
water for blending

Garlic Chilli

Ingredients
20 large red chili - remove stems, seeds and cut
3 chili padi - remove stems
1 knob young ginger - about 3 cm in length
10 cloves garlic - peeled
5 pieces of calamansi - cut and extract juice, seeds removed
salt - 2 tsp
sugar - 1 tbsp
white vinegar - 5 tbsp
1 tbsp sesame oil

Vegetarian Stuffed Bittergourd

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup soybeans - soaked for 2 hours

4 cups water

few slices of ginger 

2 bitter gourd - cut into 2 inches length and remove seeds

1 block firm tofu - mashed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup chopped black fungus - previously soaked and drained

1/2 cup chopped dried beancurd - previously soaked and drained

2 shitake mushrooms - soaked, drained and chopped  

salt and pepper to taste

dash of chilli powder

pinch of sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp chopped parsley 

1 tsp cornstarch

*best to use smaller bitter gourds, cut slit lengthwise in the middle, remove seeds and stuff mixture inside.

Braised Pork Ribs with Winter Melon (冬瓜烧排骨)

 

Ingredients

1lb pork ribs - washed and scalded

1/2 medium sized winter melon - peeled and cut into cubes

few pieces of ginger

2 cloves garlic - chopped

2 star anise

1 small pc cinnamon stick

pinch of sugar and salt

Lemon Stuffed Grilled Branzino (European Seabass)

Ingredients
1 lb whole branzino fish - scaled and gutted
1 lemon - cut into slices
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower - cut into florets
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
1 tsp ground turmeric
salt and pepper to taste

Baked Tapioca Cake (Kueh Bingka Ubi)

 

Ingredients

1 banana leaf (or parchment paper

1 lb tapioca (i use frozen one which is available)

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar 

tiny pinch of salt

2 pandan leaves

200ml coconut milk

50ml water 

Tamarind Fish Curry

Recipe adapted from here
Ingredients 
halibut fish fillet (or any firm fleshed sea fish) about 6 ounces each 
1 tsp turmeric powder 
salt to taste
11/2 tbsp vegetable oil 
3 medium cloves garlic - sliced fine 
6 curry leaves 
1 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder - i used 1/2 teaspoon
1 tsp coriander powder 
2 tsp cumin powder  - i used 1 tsp
1 tsp toasted and ground fennel seeds  - i omitted this
 1 tbsp tamarind soaked in 1 1/2 cup water 
2 tsp rice flour dissolved in 1/4 cup water

 

Method 

1. In a bowl, toss fish with turmeric and salt. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add curry leaves and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer.
2. Reduce heat to low. In quick succession, add red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and fennel powder, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute (take care not to burn the spices. Add a few teaspoons of water if you smell burning and stir it vigorously).
3. Add the fish to the spiced oil mixture and stir gently to coat the fish with the oil. Let this infuse for about 10 seconds.
4. Add the tamarind soaked water and gently stir the mixture to combine. Cover and bring to a boil. Once at a boil add the rice flour dissolved in water and stir. Allow to simmer uncovered for 1 minute then remove from heat.
5. Serve hot with white rice.

Grass Jelly

Ingredients

I packet grass jelly powder
water

Method

Boil according to package instructions. 
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
A cooling and refreshing drink during summer.

Fried Spaghetti Squash Batter

Ingredients
2 cups of spaghetti squash strands (refer to here)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup ice cold water
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
some chopped green onion
oil for frying

Baked Sphagetti Squash

 First things first, carry the large and heavy spaghetti squash back to my house.

 Get my strong man to cut the squash into halves.

Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and the stringy bits of flesh.  Discard the seeds or roast them if desired.  Nice and clean for baking.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place squash cut side up on a large baking tray.  Place a few tablespoons of water in a very small bowl on the tray as well. Bake for 40 minutes and check the texture.  If it is not tender enough, bake for another 15 minutes or longer depending on desired texture. A little bit of crunch is nice.

 

The squash is ready when you can use a fork to pierce through it and it separates like spaghetti like strands.

 

Piping hot from the oven! All the pretty strands nicely done for decoration.  Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and lightly toss to mix.

Work on one half of the big squash first.  Remaining squash can be kept in the fridge for other recipes.

 Load it up with ham, chicken meat, butter, cheese or any ingredients you fancy.

Lastly, sprinkle some freshly crushed black pepper and grind some sea salt into the bed of spaghetti squash.

Buon Appetito!

Braised Tofu with Korean Bean Paste

Ingredients
1 tbsp korean bean paste
1 packet soft tofu - cut into cubes
1/2 lb minced turkey meat
1/3 cup frozen corn
1 shallot - peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped
3 slices ginger - peeled and minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Curry Potato with Minced Turkey Meat

 

Ingredients

1/2 lb minced turkey meat

3 yukon potatoes - cut into small cubes

1 small onioin - diced

2 cloves garlic - chopped

2 shallots - sliced

1 stalk lemongrass - cut into pieces and bruised

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp curry paste

1 cup water

salt to taste

Fried vegetarian tofu yam balls

Ingredients
1 medium size yam - peeled and thinly sliced
1 block of firm tofu - mashed
some finely chopped carrot
salt and pepper to taste
five spice powder to taste
vegetable oil for deep frying

Chicken Rice and Soup

Ingredients
For the chicken
1 chicken (butterflied and use half)
1 stalk green onions
half stalk lemongrass  bruised
2 slices ginger
3 cloves garlic

Method   

1. Heat up water in a pressure cooker.  Put tripod stand inside the pot.  Place chicken in a metal plate and place on the trivet.  
2. Cover the pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes.
3. Turn off heat and continue to leave pot on the stove for another 5 minutes.
4. Remove from stove and leave cover on for another 15 minutes.
5. Remove cover and when slightly cooled, rub salt and sesame oil all over chicken.
6. Chopped into pieces and serve with rice and soup.

       
For the chicken stock
1 chicken bone (from the spine only)
2 pcs dang gui
1 small pc american gingseng (hua qi sheng)
1 tsp gan cao
half lemongrass - bruised