Oven Grilled Avocado Stuffed With Seafood

When I made this oven grilled avocado, I thought of my Piggy Jo.  She loves avocado and this is so delicious that every mouthful is sinfully decadent. Packed with seafood...and those melted cheddar cheese topping...gosh , I wish my gal was with me when I was gluttony tucking in these delectable grilled avocados. WB not keen on avocado if eating them stand alone or in salad, but when I stuffed them with pan seared seafood like baby octopus , sea prawns and garoupa fillet....he polished off his share...mmmm it was really flavorful and the cheesy topping enhanced the taste further.   A keeper for sure !

the baby octopus are the frozen ones from Jusco, Kinta City

look how delicious and how the seafood are

mingling well with the diced avocado :)

these stuffed avocadoes are ready for the oven...WAIT

the grated cheddar cheese....must not forget the cheese topping!!!!

now they are covered with grated cheddar cheese and 

they are ready for the oven !!!:)

mmmmmmm...they smell so good when I took them out of the oven !

Oven Grilled Avocado Stuffed With Seafood - WB 's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 Hass Avocados  - cut into halves and remove seeds

fillings:
2 baby octopus
half piece of garoupa fillet
small sea prawns - shelled and deveined

pinch of salt
a few shakes of paprika
a few shakes of  ground black pepper

grated cheddar cheese
a few sprigs of italian parsley- chopped

Preparation:

Pan seared the baby octopus , garoupa fillet and sea prawns on a non stick pan with a tsp of olive oil. When the seafood are cooked through, give a few shakes of paprika, black pepper and a pinch of salt over all the seafood evenly.  Take out and chop them into bits sized. Keep aside.

Cut avocados into halves, take out seed, and take a small knife gemtly cut out diagonally across and  take out the avocado meat. Be careful not to cut through the avocado skin.

Mix the avocado meat with the cooked seafood and parsley together in a mixing bowl.  When the ingredients are evenly mixed, scoop the mixture into the avocado skin case till full.  Top with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven (200deg C) for 10 -13 minutes.  Take out and serve hot as starters or appetizers.

Enjoy !

Sambal Tumis Petai - Drier Version

Petai or Stink Beans are in season now...same time as the King Fruit durians :) You can see them being sold everywhere when in season :).  You can cook them in sambal tumis style or in fried rice or in stir fry mixed veggies. I cooked them Sambal Tumis Nonya Style with a bit more gravy but this time, I cooked a drier version and added more dried shrimps ....mmmm this can keep for a week in the fridge as a side dish for dinner meals. Appetizing and so good that I will cook another time before they are out of season.  Bought them from our usual durian man.  He charged me RM6 for 12 blades :) Good bargain !  

sambal paste ingredients used are fresh turmeric, dried chillies/fresh chillies,

serai, shallots and shrimp paste (belacan ) I prefer the old fashion style of pounding

with mortar and pestle.

Sambal Petai - Drier Version - Drier Version

ingredients for pounding to make the sambal paste
(A)
1" fresh turmeric - sliced
2 serai - sliced
1" square belacan ( shrimp paste)
15 shallots
10 dried chilli + 5 fresh red chillies

Pound (A) into a paste

350-400 gms of sitnk beans ( halved)  and soak in cold water for 10 mins ( for a firm texture)
fresh sea prawns ( amount up to individual ) - devein and marinade with a pinch of salt and sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of dried shrimps ( soak in water till soft ) drained off water and give a coarse pound
2 heaped tbsp of tamarind paste + 1/2 cup water =  tamarind water
3 tbsp of vegetable oil

* salt and sugar to taste

Preparation:

Heat up oil in wok, when the oil is hot , add in the sambal paste and stir fry the paste till the oil surfaced and the sambal paste is fragrant.  Add in the soften dried shrimps and continue to stir fry till well combined and the dried shrimps are coated with the paste and cooked through.  Add in the sea prawns, stink beans and tamarind water. Cook till the gravy has thicken and stink beans are cooked  through and keep stirring while waiting for the gravy to thicken or the base will get burnt.  Before dishing up, taste the sambal and add salt and sugar if neccessary.  Off heat and serve with piping hot rice.  You can keep the balance in a air tight container and it can keep for a week.

Enjoy !

Wine Braised Clams With Crispy Garlic Topping

Wow.....last Monday was my lucky day....the reason being , I saw these big clams at the wet market selling for RM10  per kilo. Whoa , I took the last kilo...that is why I said I was lucky... LOL!  

I went to UTC which is just above the wet market to get my new identity card and on the way back, I passed the seafood stalls selling clams, cockles and fishes.  I stopped WB and he had to break his steps :p almost made him fell down on the wet and slippery floor. Heehee but that night I made him happy with these delicious wine braised clams...added his favorite crispy garlic bits and chopped italian parsley.  To give it a hot flavor and color, I added some chopped bird's eye chillies.  This preparation is AWESOME !  The clams were fresh and succulent and SWEET !.  Easy to prepare and some yummy that I want to make it again.  

four clams filled up my palm...that was how big the clams were :)

so succulent and tasty.. cooking wine and lemongrass

infused into the clams.....heavenly

the crispy garlic and italian parsley made it even

more delicious....love every bite of these succulent

clams

Wine Braised Clams With Crispy Garlic Topping  - WB's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 kg clams

1 lemongrass - use the white part - crushed

3 or 4 tbsp of chinese cooking wine

1 or 1.5 cup of water - enuf to cover the clams

1 tsp of sea salt

Garnishing

a few sprig Italian parsley - chopped

a few cloves of garlic - chopped

a few bird's eye chillies - sliced

Preparation

Heat up wok with a few tbsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add in the chopped garlic and stir fry till it is light golden color, off heat and take out the crispy garlic and leave it aside for garnishing.

Boil 1.5 cup of water in a wide and deep pan , add in crushed lemongrass and sea salt and when it boils, add in the clams and wine, cover for a 5-6 minutes or until the clams opens up. Take out and open up the shells and arrange neatly on the serving plate. Add a spoonful of the clams broth onto each of the clam meat. Garnish with crispy garlic, sliced chillies and chopped parsley.  Serve while still warm.

* The balance of the clam broth can be used for other dishes .  For me I added chinese cabbage to the broth and serve as cabbage soup for dinner.  The broth is so sweet and flavorful that I can't stop slurping down the whole bowl of soup all by myself :p

Enjoy  !

Steamed Garoupa Fish Belly

You know the last few days , I had this this sudden craving for steamed fish belly. To me the belly is the best part of the fish :)  Managed to get 2 pieces of Garoupa fish bellies from Canning market .  I paid RM13 for two small pieces of bellies and just because I had this stupid cravings or else I would not even want to pay it :p  Anyway, called it menopause cravings or whatever you like, I really craved for these bellies. I steamed them plain with ginger and its juices and guess what ? I had two bowls of rice !!! Supposed to be off rice but this craving really upset everything :p  Alright...so I pampered myself and steamed this for dinner. 

love the smooth texture of the belly...

so fresh and sweet

lots of chopped ginger and juices

and sea salt truly brings out the sweetness of the

fish belly

Steamed Garoupa Fish Belly

Ingredients:

2 pieces of Garoupa fish belly

1 knob of old ginger ( chopped fine and squeeze juice )

1 tsp of sea salt,

1 tsp of olive oil

dill for garnishing

Preparation:

Wash clean the fish belly.  Place the fish belly on a steaming plate.  Rub sea salt evenly on the fish belly. Chop the ginger finely and squeeze out the juices onto the fish belly. Add a tsp of olive oil.  Heat up the steamer and when the water boils, steam the fish belly for 7 to 8 minutes.  Take out and garnish with dills. Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy !

*             *            *

Family Gathering @ Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine, Kota Damansara

It is not often that we get to meet up together and this Raya was just the right time to meet up and have a great meal together :)  Our favorite haunt , Tao Authentic Asian Cuisine at Kota Damansara was the choice for our lunch.  When the kids are already working, esp some are working in neighbouring country , it is indeed hard to have everyone together for a meal . WB and myself were ecstatic over this meet up :) Like I have always mentioned, it is the fellowship and not the food that makes us happy.  This  post is to remind WB and myself how much we had grown older we have become..oops ( the heart is forever young of course )  and the kids are growing older and wiser too.

This post will prove that we still have a great appetite ( ate like a wolf instead of a piggy ) These pictures were taken to remind me that I have to sweat out all the calories taken in :p  Read on to see what a glutton I was and some family shots :)

Stir Fry Meat Slices With Cloud Ear Fungus

Simple cooking like this makes me happy.  Stir fry meat slices with cloud ear fungus ,ginger slices , garlic slices ,chillies and spring onions with a dash of chinese rice wine is enough to whet my appetite. Flavorful and the bird eye chillies added hotness to the dish.  The cloud ear fungus add a light crunch to the dish. Simple yet delicious.  The meat is tender and juicy...yummy !  I normally cook simple for the two of us.....and this is a sneak peek into what I normally cook for WB ,the carnivour in the family.  I stole all the cloud ear fungus and a few slices of meat :p

Stir Fry Meat Slices With Cloud Ear Fungus - from WB's Kitchen

Ingredients:

a small strip of tenderloin meat ( pork - you can use chicken meat ) - 

cut into slices and marinate with a tbsp of oyster sauce, 

a tsp of corn starch and a tsp of light soy sauce

2 tsp of olive oil

1 small knob of ginger- cut into slices

2 cloves of garlic - sliced

1 tbsp of dried cloud ear fungus- soak in water and cleaned

2 stalks of spring onions - cut into 1/2 inch length

a tbsp of rice wine

* optional - a pinch of salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat up wok , add in olive oil ,garlic slices, ginger slices and saute till fragrant, add in the marinated meat slices and stir fry till meat is cooked, add in cloud ear fungus, chillies and spring onions, a few tablespoon of water.  Continue to stir fry for a few minutes. Add in the rice wine before dishing up.  Add salt to taste *optional 

Enjoy !