Friday, June 19, 2009

Bamboo Prawns

Ingredients:

500 gm green king prawns
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp grated ginger
1 bamboo shoot
1 stick celery
4 shallots
1/2 cup water
1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp cornflour


Directions:

Shell prawns, make shallow cut along back of prawn and remove back vein.

Cut bamboo shoot into 1 cm slices, then cut each slice into 5mm strips. Cut celery, shallots into approximately the same size.

Cut a 1 cm slit right through prawns, along the line of the vein. Push a strip of bambaoo shoot, celery and shallot through slit in prawns.

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan, saute ginger one minute, add prawns, saute until light pink.

Combine water,, crumbled stock cube, cornfour and 2 tsp of water, add to pan, stir until sauce boils and thickens, reduce heat, simmer one minute.


Serves 4

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Fried Chili Crabs

Ingredients:

2 medium size raw crabs
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
3 fresh red chilies - seeded and chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp salt


Directions:

Wash crab well, scrubbing away any mossy patches on the shell. Remove hard top shell, stomach bag and fibrous tissue and with cleaver chopped each crab into 4 pieces or 6 if they are large.

Heat a wok, add oil and when oil is very hot fry the crab pieces until they change colour, turning them so they can cook on all sides. Remove to a plate.

Turn heat to low and fry the ginger, garlic and red chilies, stirring constantly, until they are cooked but not brown.

Add the sauces, sugar, soy sauce and salt, bring to boil, then return crabs to the wok and allow to simmer in the sauce for 3 minutes, adding very little water if sauces reduce too much. Serve with white rice.


Serve 4

Fish Curry

Ingredients:

500 gm firm fish steaks
2 medium onions - roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup thin coconut milk
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 strips thinly peeled lemon rind
6 curry leaves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup thick coconut milk


Directions:

Cut fish steaks into serving pieces.

Put onions, garlic, ginger and chili powder into blender container and blend to a smooth paste, adding 1 tbsp of thin coconut milk if necessary.

Scrap the blended mixture into a saucepan, wash out blender with the thin coconut milk and add to a saucepan together with the ground spices, lemon rind and curry leaves.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes, then add the fish, lemon juice and salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Add thick coconut milk and stir until curry reaches simmering point once more.

Serve with rice.

Serves 4 - 6

Source: Complete Asian Cookbook