Indonesian Style Curry Prawns

I was flipping through my old handwritten recipe book last Sunday and I found an old piece of  folded newsprint. I opened it and saw this beautiful pictures of prawns cooked in 3 different style by Amy Beh. I used to keep recipes by her when she writes for The Star Nook's Corner. What caught my attention was this Indonesian Style Curry Prawns.  I knew I had to cook it.  I would have cooked it last Sunday if I had prawns in the freezer.  So when I finally bought some sea prawns , I gathered kaffir lime leaves, galanggal and curry leaves  from my lil space and cooked this beautiful dish.  The curry is so aromatic and so flavorful that hubby asked me to cook this dish again.  It is easy to prepare and I don't mind cooking this dish again.  This Indonesian style curry , you can can substitute crabs in place of prawns, it will taste good too. I am so gonna try cooking crab this style when I get some mud crabs.  This is keeper for sure.

ingredients for making this Indonesian style curry prawns

 

saute dried prawns, curry leaves and lemongrass 

with oil till fragrant

 

once the lemongrass , curry leaves

and  dried prawns are fragrant,

add in the ground spices and

stir fry till fragrant

 

add coconut milk and fresh milk to the spices,

then add in the sea prawns and cooked till the gravy thicken

 and the prawns are cooked....mmmm

it is so aromatic

Indonesian Style Curry Prawns -  Amy Beh (Cook's Nook - 30March 2010)

Ingredients:

400 gm freshwater prawns * I used med sized sea prawns - feelers trimmed
4-5 tbsp oil
1 Kafir lime leaf - shredded
100ml thick coconut milk
50 ml fresh milk

Spice Mix (A)
2 stalks lemongrass - smashed
2 tbsp dried prawns - soaked and coarsely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 stalk curry leaves

Ground spices (B)
4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 red chillies - seeded
5 dried chillies, soaked
1/2 tsp turmeric powder * I used fresh turmeric
2 slices galangal
1 tbsp meat curry powder- mixed with enough water into a paste

Seasoning
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar or to taste
1/2 anchovy stock granules

Method:
Heat oil and saute spice mix(A) until fragrant. Add ground spices (B) and fry until aromaltic and oil separates.  Pour in coconut milk and fresh milk, and add the prawns and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until prawns are cooked and the sauce thickens. Dish out and serve with a sprinkling of shredded kaffir lime leaves.

Enjoy !

Deep Fried Threadfin Fish ( Ikan Senangin ) With Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Recently I bought quite a lot of Threadfin Fish or locally known as Ikan Senangin as I have grown to love this fish.  Good in curries and savoury dishes like the one above.  I used balsamic vinegar as a sauce for this deep fried Threadfin fish instead of using rice vinegar to give this dish the sweet and sour taste. I learned to slice the fish at an angle from YouTube ,it not only helps to cook the fish faster and give extra crispness to the fish, it gives a good presentation too when you have guests to dinner.

This simple to prepare and flavor packed dish is a to keep in my kitchen menu. Even hubby Wildboar who is not a fish eater loves this dish, the sauce and especially the crispness of the fish meat.  Balsamic vinegar taste good in salad and dishes like the above.  The trick is to add a tsp of brown sugar to the balsamic vinegar and tada you got the best sauce for fish dish or dressing for salad.  Try it to believe me :)

I learned to slice the fish at an angle from youtube

it not only helps to cook the fish faster and give extra

crispness to the fish, it gives a good presentation too

season the fish with sea salt and coat with corn starch before

putting into the hot oil for deep frying

I love the extra crispness when the fish is slice

at an angle :)

once the fish is done, prepare the sauce for the

fish. Balsamic vinegar and brown sugar

and a thickening sauce is the magic ingredients

for the sauce

Deep Fried Threadfin Fish  With Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Threadfin Fish / Ikan Senangin / Ma Yau Yue from fish monger - cleaned
1 tsp of sea salt
corn starch for coating

vegetable oil for deep frying

Deep frying Fish

1. Slice the fish body at an angle , rub sea salt all over the fish , sprinkle corn starch on the body of fish. Heat oil ( enough to cover the fish ) over high heat. Once the oil is smoking, put in the fish on its belly and deep fried till crispy on the outside and cooked inside.  Lift it up and place on paper towel to remove excess oil.  Once that is done, place the deep fried fish on a serving plate, while you prepare the sauce.

Sauce:
some grated carrots
1 clove of garlic - sliced
2 bird's eye chilli - sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1.5 tsp of brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of corn starch and 2 tbsp of water - to make thickening
1 tbsp of rice bran oil

Prepare the sauce:

Saute garlic slices and chilli with 1 tbsp of rice bran oil in a non stick pan till fragrant, add in balsamic vinegar, brown sugar,  and thickening . Once the sauce thickens, add in salt to taste and
grated carrots.  Dish up and pour sauce over the deep fried fish.  Serve immediately to enjoy the crispness of the fish.

Note:  If you have pickled ginger, you can add to the sauce or as a side dish for the fish.

 Enjoy !

Pan Fried Sea Prawns With Light Soy Sauce

Again it is seafood being served at the table.  This time it is prawns and not clams.  I love the smell of prawns being pan fried.  It really works up my appetite.  Prawns is best cooked in the simplest form.  A simple steam and pan fried would be best if the prawns are very fresh as one can taste the sea scent and sweetness of the prawns.  I pan fried the prawns under high heat and once the prawns turned orangey red , sizzled it for a minute or two by adding light soy sauce...gosh, the whole kitchen smells so good :p

cut spring onions and cut chillies gives this dish the extra oomphs

Pan Fried Sea Prawns With Light Soy Sauce

ingredients:

1/2 kg sea prawns - deveined , but keep head and shell  on
1 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of corn flour

1.5 tbsp of rice bran oil

2 tbsp light soy sauce
some chopped spring onions and red chilli  for garnishing


Method:

Devein prawns, leave head and shell on. Drain dry. Season the prawns with salt and coat with corn flour. Keep aside.

Heat up 1.5 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan under high heat. Once the oil is hot, put in the prawns and pan fried till they turned orangey red and the shells start to turn crispy,  pour 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce over the very hot fried prawns to give it an added sizzle, add in  spring onions and cut chilli  . Give it the prawns a quick stir fry before dishing up.

Enjoy!

Savoury Stir Fry Sea Clams Chinese Style

I have been indulging in seafood the last two months. I don't understand why I have this sudden cravings like a pregnant woman...thinking of seafood day and night.  I woke up early yesterday morning and I was still having this stupid craving for Lala ( sea clams ). I pestered Wild Boar to take me to the wet market (UTC building) and he was so kind.  We were there quite early and managed to get large sized Lala which costs us RM24 per kilogramme.  Bought half kilo back and I whipped out this delicious savoury stir fry clams.  Very chinese style and trust me, homecooked ones taste lots better than store bought ones.  My piggies and Wild Boar love my savoury stir fry. So appetizing and delicious and this really satisfied my cravings :)

simple and easy to whip out dish

the ingredients are fermented beans (tauchu), 2 pickled sour plums,

chopped garlic, bird's eye chillies and  julienned ginger

spring onions for garnishing

Savoury Stir Fry Sea Clams (Lala) Chinese Style

serves 2 persons

ingredients

1/2 kilo sea clams ( Lala) - soaked in salt water for 10 mins - rinse and drain off water

 (A)

1 tbsp of chopped garlic

3 bird's eye chillies - chopped

3 slices of ginger - julienned

2 pickled sour plums

1 tbsp of fermented beans ( tauchu)

a pinch of sugar

1/2 cup water

1.5 tbsp of rice bran oil

spring onion and coriander for garnishing

Method:

Heat up 1 1/2 tbsp rice bran oil in a wok , add in ingredients (A) and saute till fragrant.  Add in the sea clams and stir fry till it turned pinkish. Add 1/2 cup water and cover wok with lid and cook for a further 7 mins.  Open lid and when all the clams has opened up, add in a pinch of sugar. Dish up and garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.

Enjoy !