Homecooked Clay Pot Crab Rice

Who doesn’t like seafood unless one has some allergies to it :) My Piggies has this allergies to crabs and shrimps when they were small. Their lips will swell and become red. But I continued to cook for them to eat :P Enjoy the seafood and suffer later….haha what a wicked Momsie ! :P They have to thank me for it , for their body system has got immune to the seafood and they suffer no more of puffy lips after years of suffering after the enjoyment of seafood.

According to Daddy, let the body system get immune to the seafood, after sometimes the allergies will go away. Medically speaking, I don’t know whether it works but my kids slowly got used to it and now they can eat any kind of seafood….it works in their case…their allergies disappeared over the years.

We had homecooked Clay Pot Crab Rice for dinner last Saturday . Piggy gal and I had all the crabs to ourselves :P Daddy didn't eat much of the crabs but enjoyed the rice though. Very aromatic and tasty…sweetness from the crab was heaven itself. The rice was garlicky buttery in taste and plus the sweetness from the crabs ..mmmm it was a satisfying dinner…we ate till our stomachs can’t take in anymore. Piggy boy was not back so he mizzed this yummilicious goodness !!! Even Daddy said it was deliciously GOOD !! Over indulgence can be bad…:( have to watch my cholesterol intake for the next two weeks…..salad for lunch and fish for dinner only and not to forget oats for breakfast :P

look at these luscious looking roe...mmmm

the garlicky buttery rice infused with the

sweetness from the crabs...mmm

heavenly delicious.....I want some more :P

this one dish meal is absolutely mouthwatering !

the burnt rice at the bottom of clay pot

Daddy loves the not so burnt one :)

Homecooked Clay Pot Crab Rice (serve 3 )

Ingredients:
1 kg live crabs with roes – cleaned and cut into halves

marinade sauce :
3 tbsp of chinese cooking wine
3 tbsp of ginger juice
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
dash of white pepper

3 cups rice grains – washed and drained dry
enough water for cooking the rice

3 pips of garlic- chopped fine
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of butter
a pinch of salt

asparagus or any veg of choice
scallions for garnishing

Method:

Clean the crabs and marinade with the marinade sauce for 1/2 hr or so and leave it aside while preparing the rice. Washed and drained the grains.

Sautee garlic with the olive oil lightly till fragrant but not brown , add in the rice grains and stir till well mixed with the sautéed garlic. Add in the butter and and stir fry till the butter has melted and incorporated with the rice grains. Add enough water to cook the rice. Cover lid and cook under low heat for 15 minutes. Add the crabs on top of the half cooked rice. Cover lid again and cooked till the rice and crabs are cooked thoroughly. Garnished with asparagus and scallions.

Asparagus : Boil asparagus in hot water till juz cook - drained .Sautee some garlic with olice oil, add 1 tsp of oyster sauce and thickening ( 1tsp of cornflour and 1 tbsp of water ) . Off the fire and pour sauce over the the cooked asparagus.

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Mango With Honey Sauce Dipping

Its mango season and you see lots of this fruit in the market, fruits stall and the supermart fruit section…different varieties but I like the local one..apple mango…shaped like an apple and you can eat it ripe or half ripe with dipping sauce. I prefer it half ripe whereby the flesh is still hard and tangy. Don't judge the color of the mango and think it is over ripe...it is not. The texture is still hard.... I love it half ripe :))) mmmmm....lots of vitamin C.

I love to make my own dipping sauce to eat with these half ripe goodness. The ingredients being honey, toasted shrimp paste/ belacan ( grind into powder ) dark shrimp paste ( hae ko in hokkien ) and some chopped bird eye chillies . Blend them together and you get a wonderful dipping sauce…..aromatic honey sauce and this snack is a favourite among the malaysian youngsters. Sprinkle some ground toasted peanuts and sesame seeds on top of the dipping sauce for extra flavor.

My Piggies always look forward to this. You can dip other fruits like apple, pineapple and veg like jicama and cucumber with this aromatic honey sauce.

mouthwatering local apple mango

with homemade aromatic honey sauce dipping

yummmyumm....

Mango With Aromatic Honey Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

3 half-ripe apple mango – peeled and cut into long strips

Ingredients for dipping sauce
1 thumb sized shrimp paste /belacan – toasted and grind into powder
3 tbsp dark shrimp paste/ hae ko – mixed with 1 tbsp of hot water
6 bird eye chillies – chopped fine
3 tbsp of honey

ground toasted peanuts
toasted white sesame seeds

Preparation:

Mixed together all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle ground toasted peanuts and sesame seeds on top for extra flavor.

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Have a wonderful weekend with your family

Note: This morning, Piggy cousin gave me

a bottle of homemade " rojak "sauce

Will blog about it later :)))

Oriental Steamed Egg

It’s been quite a while since I last had steamed egg. It is simple and easy to prepare and yummilicious for those who love eggs. I used 3 types of eggs being duck egg , century egg and chicken egg . Though this is a high cholesterol dish , we do treat ourselves to it once in a blue moon :) In my household, the word moderation is practiced. My Piggies always make sure that the word moderation drums into my brain! And I remembered teaching them their ABC just like when ? 18 years ago ? Now, they are teaching me back… " moderation in whatever you do or eat , Mommy ! " .. * eye balls rolling back **

I steamed the eggs in this rice bowl

covered with the aluminium foil

fried garlic oil for garnishing mmmm.....

smooth egg texture

delicious century egg at the bottom

partial duck egg yolk found at the bottom..mmmm

yum yum

Oriental Steamed Egg

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 duck egg yolk – cut into 4 parts
1 century egg – cut into 4 parts
2 tbsp of minced meat * optional

300 ml chicken stock/( plain water - add a pinch of chicken granules )
½ tsp light soy sauce
dash of white pepper

4 pips of garlic- chopped finely
oil for frying

Method:

Whisked together 2 eggs with 300 ml chicken stock or plain water, ½ tsp light soy sauce and a dash of white pepper. Divide equally the minced meat , duck egg yolk and century egg into 2 rice bowls . Pour in the whisked egg mixture into the bowls. Cover with aluminium and steamed at low heat for 20 mins. While the steaming is in progress, saute the garlic till lightly brown. Take out and keep aside with 2 tbsp of the garlic oil. Garnish the steamed eggs with fried garlic and the oil . Served hot with rice.

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Minty Mango And Avocado Salad

I looked thru my fridge drawer this morning and found lying there 3 almost over ripe avocado and some tomatoes and some mangoes. So last minute, I make them into a mouthwatering salad for my lunch. I took out those almost over ripe avocados, green apples , tomatoes and mangoes. Washed and cut them into cubes. Throw everything into the salad bowl and toss them with store bought Italian dressing and added in some home grown mint leaves ( plucked them from my pot in the garden ) . Last minute , added in some walnuts ( raw ) I liked them raw :)) . Took some photos and all done in less than an hour. Fast ?? Haha, at times I am amaze how I can get things done so fast. Uploaded the photos from the cam into my thumb drive while waiting for Daddy to get ready to send me to the office. Took out the salad from the fridge, cling wrapped it and tada, everything is ready to take off :))

I have to leave the house lastest by 7.30 am to be in time for the stupid punch clock. Government department clock in time is 8.00am sharp :( no flexi hours for us yet ) Only applicable for government staffs in the capital city ! Strictly 8 – 5 and off on Saturday :) That’s why if I want to prepare something that takes more time, I have to get up lastest 5.30 am …..

Normally, I make my own salad dressing but

for today, to save time, I used the store bought italian dressing :)

the mint leaves add extra flavor to the salad ;)

love the color combo...start the day with bright colors...
so refreshing

cling wrapped and dumped it into
the office fridge in the tea room till lunch time

I love them chilled ........yummilicious
can't wait till lunch hour

^ 0 ^

Minty Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 avocado – cut into cubes
1 tomato – cut into cubes
2 green apples – cut into cubes – soaked in salt water
1 large mango – cut into cubes
mint leaves - coarsely chopped
some walnuts – raw or toasted

3 tbsp of Italian Salad dressing

Method :

Washed all the fruits and peel off rind and cut into cubes. Keep some mint leaves for garnishing, the rest chopped them up coarsely. Toss them together with Italian Salad dressing. Add in the walnuts and some mint leaves for garnishing. Serve chilled.

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Crèpes With Mango Slices And Cream

I am a great fan of Marc Matsumoto :) I like his style of cooking…fusion of Japanese and Western. Simple and easy to prepare goodies….and I love his blog. This morning, I tried out his crèpes recipe and it turned out wonderful…considering all the tips he shared on how to make a perfect crepe, how could I go wrong ? :P

I prepared the batter the nite before. Left it to relax in the fridge. Woke up at 5.30am this morning and start making the crèpes and this is the outcome of the crepes. Very evenly browned , I used a non-stick crèpe pan which I bought sometime back. I was happy and smiling the whole morning. All it takes to make me happy was a light, airy and evenly browned crèpes…..piped in some cream and add in some mango slices - a wonderful and scrumptious breakfast which I took to the office. I shared some with my colleague and he too was delighted. See, it takes very little to make a friend happy too.

Hop over to Marc's blog for the recipe  . I love the crepe and I will definitely make this again.

before and after

you can eat it plain or dribble honey on it or
garnish with cream and fruit of your own choice
slurp slurp :))

piped some cream and add in mango

for a more scrumptious crepe

I had something different this morning for breakfast -
instead of oats and granola,
wonderful Crèpes with cream
and mango slices
^___________ ^

Claypot Tofu

Yesterday I bought a new gadget for the kitchen….guess what? Yup, a new claypot ! :)) I find the price a bit pricey and the boss doesn’t want to give me a discount, but since I wanted one so badly, I guess I have to pay like a Duchess !

And….I also can’t wait to use it ^ * . I cooked tofu with it…a dish which is a favourite of the family… tofu , tofu , tofu . I can eat tofu everyday :) Simple and easy to cook and simply delicious…yum yum yummy . Serve it hot with rice…especially when it is still bubbling. This claypot retains heat well and will keep the tofu warm thru out dinner. I love this claypot…big enough for a family of five or six. It can be used for cooking many other dishes besides tofu.

I heart this claypot....

:)) I heart the lid too !

this is truly yummy......

I can eat two bowls of rice with juz this dish....

I stole some before dinner :P

Clayot Tofu

Ingredients:

5 pieces of brown square tofu - cut into halves

1 tbsp of cornflour for coating the tofu

Oil for deep frying

8 shrimps

6 slices of lean meat
1 bundle of enoki mushrooms

8 pieces of button mushrooms- cut into thick slices

8 pieces of oyster mushrooms

1/2 a carrot - cut into slices

1/2 red capsicum - cut into strips

1/2 yellow capsicum - cut into strips

1/2 green capsicum - cut into strips

1/2 pkt of holland sweet peas
3 pips of garlic - chopped finely

1 shallots - slice thinly

1 slice of ginger

2 tbsp of olive oil

seasoning for the gravy:

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp thick soy sauce

1 tsp of chicken granules

1 cup of water

1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tbsp of cooking wine

thickening:

1 tsp of corn flour

3 tbsp of water

Method:

Cut brown tofu into halves and coat them with corn flour. Deep fried till golden brown. Drain off oil and leave aside.

Add into the claypot, 2 tbsp of olive oil, sesame oil and the chopped garlic, slice of ginger and shallots and saute over medium heat till fragrant. Add in the shrimps and lean meat, stir fry till the raw meat is cooked then add in all the mushrooms and the cut vegetables. Stir fry for another 3 minutes. Add in 1 cup of water and all the seasoning ingredients except the wine. Boil for 6 minutes, add in the fried tofu and add in the thickening and wine. Cover the claypot with lid and simmer for another 10 minutes. Off the fire and served it hot with rice.

* If you want more gravy add a bit more water.

Have a nice weekend.....

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