Fish Otak Otak (Spicy Fish Mousse)

HAPPY CHAP GOH MEH or Happy Chinese Valentine Day! Today is the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Year and also the last day to celebrate the Chinese Lunar Year

Hmmmm, Yum! Yum! I just love my grandma's homemade fish otak otak or some sort of spicy fish mousse. I have "inherited" the recipe from my mum and enjoy making it for the family. It taste great as compared to those commercial ones found in the frozen corners. The great difference between home cooked and commercial ones are the wonderful aroma of banana leaf and daun kaduk when it is cooked. It is a great appetizer.

Otak Otak is one of the Nyonya dishes served either wrapped in small package form with banana leaf or can be served in a tray with the banana leave underlining it. I am not good in wrapping, so I took the alternative choice of steaming in a tray.




Simple Ingredients :

1 big piece of fish cutlet - debone and cut into pieces
6 pieces red chilly
4 stalks lemon grass (serai)
10 shallots
2 thumbsize fresh tumeric
1 thumbsize belacan (shrimp paste)
3 eggs
1/2 cup coconut cream
10 pieces daun kaduk (wild pepper leaves)



Simple Process :

1. Line the steaming tray with a piece of banana leaf and on top of it lay the 10 pieces daun kaduk.

2. Spread the pieces of fish on top of the daun kaduk.

3. Next, blend the chilly, lemon grass, shallots, tumeric, shrimp paste with 1/2 cup water in a blender.

4. Use a big bowl to beat up the eggs, then add in the coconut cream and the blended chilly mixture. Mix well, add salt, a little sugar to taste.

5. Lastly pour the combined mixtures into the tray and cover it with a aluminium foil (to prevent dripping water when steaming). Just make sure the mixtures covers the fish.

6. Pre heat the steamer before steaming, steam the tray of otak otak for 25 minutes and it is ready to serve.

Spicy Fried Fish

Look at this delicious fried fish coated with fried chilly mixture. Yummy! Yummy! The fried chilly mixture is a "re-cycle" from the left over which we had for our nasi lemak meal few days ago. So instead of leaving it lying in the refrigerator, I decided to "recreate" by adding some tamarind juice and use as a good tasty chilly coat for the fried fish. Yeah...another good dish for a good meal for the family.



All you Need :

• some fried fish
• some cornflour to coat the fish
• 1 Tbs tamarind paste - add 3 Tbs water
  
• 1 onion - cut into wedge
  

For Fried Chilly Mixture - Grind all together the ingredients below and saute the paste with 3 Tbs oil till aromatic, add salt and sugar, ready for use.

• 6 fresh chilly or 5 Tbs chilly paste
  
• 2 onions
• 2 pc lemon grass
• salt n sugar to taste
  

Simple Process :

• Coat the fish with cornflour and fry till golden brown - set aside
• Heat a little oil and saute the cut onion till aromatic, add in the cooked chilly paste, tamarind juice, bring to boil
  
• Put the fried fish into mixture and coat well with the chilly paste
• Ready to Serve

Have a Happy Meal!

Spicy Shrimps with Tomatoes

A beautiful and delicious Spicy Shrimps with Tomatoes which I have taken the recipe from Rina's blog @ rinasrecipe.blogspot. :)) thanks Rina, it's beautiful. However, I have made a slight modification in the ingredients and cooking steps. Happy with the result, as it taste good and I like this recipe very much. It is simple and easy to prepare too.

This dish has a nice aroma coming from the good blend of curry leaves, fresh turmeric and coriander leaves and it is yummy to eat with steamed rice.

All you need :

• 600 gms medium size shrimps
  
• 2 tomatoes - cut into small cubes
• 2 onions - chopped
• 1 clove garlic - chopped
• 2 sprig coriander leaves - chopped
• 1 Tbs chilly powder
• 1thumb size fresh turmeric - pounded

Simple Process :

• Marinate the shrimps with the chilly powder and pounded fresh turmeric + salt for an hour
  
• Heat a little oil in the pan and saute the onions, garlic and curry leaves till aromatic
• Add the prawns and stir fry over medium heat for 5 minutes and add in the tomatoes and coriander leaves, stir to mix well
• Allow it to simmer over medium heat till the gravy thickens
• Ready to Serve
  

Happy Cooking and Enjoy your Meal!

Nyonya Curry Mee

Wow..look at this delicious yummy bowl of nyonya curry mee or simply nyonya curry noodle. I find great achievement in cooking the curry soup as I am basically using my memory and sense of taste and I believe it is close to accurate just like the ones prepared by my beloved grandma... :)) The difference between this nyonya curry mee and normal curry mee is it's sour flavour soup and the refreshing aroma of limau perut aka kaffir lime leaves and bunga kantan aka ginger bud. Smells so great, we just love it!
I have used fish for the topping as my kids loves this "boneless fish" or alternatively I do add dried curry chicken as the topping.


All you need : Serve 4

For the Stock : 2.5 lit water

• 2 pieces chicken breast meat
• Blanched the fish and use the stock
• 3 stick lemon grass (serai) - smashed
• few kaffir lime leaves (limau perut)
• 1 ginger bud (bunga kantan)
• 4 limes - extract juice
  
• 1 pkt of santan cream

Grounded Paste :

• 10 red chilly
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 big onion
• thumbsize belacan

Simple Process :

• Heat the wok and saute the grounded paste till aromatic
• Add in the chicken/fish stock, add in all together the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger bud and lime juice and allow it to simmer slowly
  
• Lastly add the coconut cream and bring to boil.
• Ready to serve. Pour soup over blanched vermicelli and fresh yellow noodle. Garnish with the toppings accordingly.
  

** Toppings : Beansprout, longbeans, fried soft beancurd, fish.

Have An Enjoyable Meal!

Tom Yam Soup

Well there are days when we just feel like going for some nice sour flavor to excite our palate and the first thing I thought of is Tom Yam.....yummy! I prefer home cook Tom Yam as I can determine the level of sour n spicy flavor to suit our family taste. The one found in the restaurants are just too sour for us and gives a bad effect for our stomach. I love the beautiful aroma of the lime peel and lemon grass in the soup, it is truly refreshing. This is a simple and easy way to prepare Tom Yam Soup at my kitchen....

Besides enjoying just the Tom Yam Soup, I have also served it with vermicelli. Just add the blanched vermicelli into the Tom Yam Soup and you have a one complete meal - Tom Yam Vermicelli Soup....

The Main Important ingredients that you MUST have is just right below. I just use 4 Tbs of the Tom Yam Paste to 2 litre of water. Add 3 sticks of Lemon grass (serai) and some Lime Peel as an alternate as I dont have the Lime leaves (daun limau perut). Add extra 1 Tbs of Tom Yam Paste if you wish to have a more sour flavor

The add on ingredients to the soup are : some Prawns, Fish Balls, Chinese Cabbage, Tomatoes, Onions, Straw Mushrooms, Abalone Mushrooms, fresh baby corns. The amount to use is up to your preference.

Simple Process : Serve 5

1. Boil 2 litre of water in a pot. Add in the lemon grass, lime peel and tom yam paste and boil over medium heat for 15 minutes.


2. Add in the cut chinese cabbage, cut onions and allow it to simmer till chinese cabbage has slightly soften


3. Add in the rest of the ingredients, salt to taste and let it simmer for the next 15 minutes


4. Here you are.........Ready to Serve
   

Enjoy an Appetizing Meal!

Aromatic Spicy Chicken

Look at this beautiful rich coloured chicken. Daddy says its super delicious and it goes very well with hot rice. I called it aromatic spicy chicken. The beautiful aroma comes from the curry leaves which is very important for this dish. The recipe is simple and so is the cooking. I love cooking at home because we can control the usage of oil thus healthy eating promotes healthy living. Care to try?


The curry leaves are obtainable from wet market or hypermarket - Tesco / Giant / Jusco.

All you Need :

1/2 chicken or 2 pieces of chicken breast meat

2 Tbs curry powder for fish

some dried shrimps (hae bee)

2 big onions - chopped

2 Tbs grounded chilly

2 sprig of curry leaves

Simple Process :

1. Chopped the chicken into pieces and drain it dry


2. Heat a little oil and stir fry chicken till slightly brown, dish out


3. Next, add in 2 Tbs of oil in the same wok, stir fry all together the mixture of chopped onions, curry powder, grounded chilly, dried shrimps and curry leaves till aromatic


4. Put in the browned chicken, add a little water and stir mix the chicken well over low heat, let it simmer till chicken is cook or till gravy has thicken.


5. Add a drop of dark soy sauce, salt to taste

** Dried Shrimps will add saltiness to the dish, if you prefer the dish to be slightly salty, add salt to taste..

Voila...a simple and easy to cook recipe is ready to serve!