Snails Delight

I have never seen this kind of snails being sold at the wet market before. I was at the seafood section last Saturday , when I spotted this beautiful snails. I asked the lady what is the name of these snails. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me in Chinese ‘ fa loh ’ . I shot a few questions at her ..she just told me this.. “ this is very delicious if you cook them with fermented soybeans and lots of chillies and garlic ” . " Cook like you cook the sea clams ‘ la la ’ " and she added " not often you get to buy this coz it is very rare…seldom you see it in the market nowadays ”…...wow , that was sales talk ???

they look beautiful... like those sea shells we used to collect

from the beach...beautiful spots on their shells :)

1000 grammes cost RM8 only..cheap rite? :))))

Whatever it is , I bought 1000 grammes back ..just to satisfy my curiousity :) No regrets , it tasted good, crunchy texture and easy to take out the meat from the shell too…just use a toothpick , easy as ABC. But you have to have a thick sauce to go with the snails. You need to coat the snail meat with the thick spicy , garlicky sauce before you eat them…..I regretted not buying more since we hardly see them in the market. Could it be they have exported it out to France ??? :P Hmmmm.. I will definitely buy them again , my next trip to the market :p I would appreciate it if someone can tell me the name of this snail…..some friends told me they are apple snails but when I searched the internet, the apple snails doesn’t look like this at all. :)))

Tasty if cooked this way, with lots of garlic, chillies
and fermented beans ' tau cheong' in Chinese

Yummmm..... I can't wait for Saturday to come by quick :p

Snails With Spicy Garlicky Fermented Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

1 kilogramme of snails- soaked and wash clean the snails, drained

ground chillies – to your taste , add more if you want it more spicy
4 tbsp of fermented soy bean
6 pips of garlic – finely chopped

3 tbsp of olive oil
½ cup water

Method:

Stir fry all the chillies, garlic and fermented bean with the olive oil in a wok till fragrant. Add in the snails and stir fry till well mixed. Add in the water and cover with a lid. The time taken to cook this is the same as the time taken to cook the sea clams ‘ la la ’. Dish up and serve with rice or eaten alone as appetizer.

Enjoy!

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Cold Jellyfish Salad

This Jellyfish is the edible type. It is usually sold in plastic packets, heavily salted, and needs to be soaked for some hours in several changes of cold water. It is also available already soaked from the wet market at RM12 per 600gm. I bought those ready soaked ones from the wet market and it save time and energy :) and I can buy them in small quantity.

Jellyfish is something to be savored in small amounts so don't buy or prepare too much. It has no flavor to speak of, but the crunchy resilience is a perfect example of the importance Chinese gourmets place on texture ingredients. Because of its texture and appearance, it is jocularly referred to as 'rubber bands'. Jellyfish is served as one of the appetisersin a cold assortment, or presented as a salad with shredded crisp vegetables

If you are buying the salted ones, here are the steps on how to clean them. Shake all the sandy salt from the jellyfish. Wash in 3 changes of water, squeezing to get rid of some of the excess saltiness. Put into a large, deep bowl and fill with cold water. Soak for 3 to 4 days, changing the water twice a day and squeezing the jellyfish each time. At the end of the soaking, it should be totally free of salt. It is now ready for use .

Pickled ginger can be added to the jellyfish

for extra flavor and they blend well :)

served as cold salad ....

yummy!

Cold Jellyfish Salad

Ingredients:

100 gms of jellyfish – ready soaked ones - cut into strips
2 tbsp of julienne pickled ginger

dressing:
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
½ tsp soysauce
½ tbsp sugar vinegar from the pickled ginger

some toasted sesame - garnish

Method:

Pour hot water onto the ready to use jellyfish for 15-20 minutes in a heat resistant bowl. Pour away the hot water and rinse in cold water 5 to 6 times. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Slice the jellyfish in strips . Julienne the pickled ginger and add to the jellyfish strips. Mix together in a bowl.

In a bowl mix together 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp fish sauce, ½ tsp soy sauce and ½ tbsp sugar vinegar from the pickled ginger. Pour the dressing onto the jellyfish and pickled ginger. Toss well and chilled in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving To serve garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serves 2 as appetizer.

Enjoy!

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Steamboat Delights

Celebrating our anniversary without the Piggies will not be enjoyable at all so we decided to have something simple, easy and no fuss type. Daddy suggested we have steamboat at home…( I was thinking, what no fuss ! steamboat at home is a lot of fuss….the preparation and all * eyes rolling ** ) He suggested we buy the ingredients that doesn’t need a lot of preparation…like some favourite Beef Meatballs from our regular stall, some Yong Tofu , some seafood and lots of veggies - edible chrysanthemum aka as tong ho in Chinese, Kikuna in Japanese and ssukgat in Korean. And he even suggested that we get the soup base ( beef brisket soup aka' ngiau lum thong ' ) from the meatballs stall….haha smart Daddy. I only need to prepare the garlic oil…that’s all :)))

For once, I don’t have to do much and can have a nice delicious dinner….steamboat at home is better than eating out coz the ambiance is quieter and with the air con on, it was comfortable and cooling and the most important factor is we don’t have to rush through our meal….and this is what we had for the steamboat at home. I don’t mind being pampered once in while though :p

left: jelly fish , oyster mushrooms right: varieties of meat balls

left: lotz of veggie ( tong ho ) right: soft tofu amd some Yong Tofu

left: fresh oysters and sea clams (la la ) right: fried garlic oil

this is what I enjoyed most....the sea clams...so fresh & sweet

soft tofu, dribble some garlic oil and fried garlic

tasted so yummilicious

and dessert was....

you are right......chilled D U R I A N S !!!

( EXACTLY LIKE EATING DURIAN ICE-CREAM!!! )

** Though it would be MORE fun to have our Piggies with us for this

steamboat feast......none the less we had a WONDERFUL dinner

eating in !!!

WISHING ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS AND READERS OF MY BLOG

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

4 JULY, 2009

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MY BABY GAL HAS TURNED 21 :)))

Happy 21st Birthday sweetheart ....

Today my piggy gal has turned 21 and I should be happy instead I have mixed feelings, I feel my baby has grown up too fast . I still remember her first tottering baby steps and today she walks in stilettos with firm strides…..yup yup my baby is now 21 and I am 2 decades older :P No matter how old she is, she is still my baby…a typical Asian momsie ‘s way of thinking! ^ *

left : at 1 month old right : 6 months old

today at 21 and still very much my baby... can't wait for the dim sum to arrive ;P

today at 21....momsie is no longer the hair stylist...she has her own hair stylist now:P

^________*

and

doing the Karen Cheng thing ! LOL !!!

To Piggy Gal : We hope you enjoyed your 21st birthday dinner with us and the fun and laughter we had together!! We love you lotz Piggy gal

3> 3> 3>

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Malabar Spinach Soup ( Saan Choy Tong )

This is a simple veggie soup whereby the white of salted egg is added to the soup for better taste. This Malabar Spinach or slippery veg has many goodness in it. High in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and protein!

My grandma used to tell me when I was a young lass, that it is good for our digestive system and bowel movement :P The whites of the salted egg helps remove heat from our body…old tales? Well, older people are wiser people…ahem ,ahem… young people don't take offence..okie..... ^ *

Malabar Spinach has a mild taste similar to the spinach. The leaves and stems can be purplish-red or green . The young leaves are for use in soups, stir-fries and fresh salads. The purplish-red leaved and stemmed variety is “ Basella –rubra ” and the green leaved and stemmed variety is “ Basella- alba ” . The French name is “ Brèdes ” , Japanese name is “ Tsuru Murasaki ” and the Chinese name is " Saan Choy/ Shu Chieh "

I will cook this soup at least twice a month . It is a simple and easy to prepare soup and it is tasty too. This post is dedicated to Quinn, an engineer from Down Under and also a regular reader of my blog :))

Malabar Spinach Soup / (Saan Choy Tong )( serves 2)

Ingredients:

300 gm Malabar Spinach – pick the young leaves with stem, washed and drain dry
½ cup of dried anchovies- washed and drain dry
3 pips of garlic- crushed
1 tbsp of olive oil
1200 ml of water ( more if desire )
white of 1 salted egg
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat up the olive oil in a soup pot and sauté the crushed garlic till fragrant. Add in the anchovies and stir fry till the anchovies are light brown. Pour in the 1200ml of water and boil for half hour under medium heat. When the soup is boiling, add in the Malabar spinach. The leaves and stems will turned darker color when it is cooked. Add in the white of salted egg and off the fire. Lightly stir the whites so that the soup is not cloudy . Add in salt to taste. Serve hot.

Note: You can use one whole salted egg for this soup . But for those who have used the yolks for mooncake, you can use the whites for this soup. The rest , you can store them in ice cube container and keep in the freezer for further use when cooking this soup.

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Mango And Shrimps Salad With Pineapple Vinaigrette

I have been searching around for a special salad recipe and finally I found one that is refreshing and appetizing ! I tweak it a bit to suit my taste :)). This salad will compliment the pan-seared salmon which I am going to cook for my better half , on this special Daddy’s Day :)) This mint- scented pineapple vinaigrette goes well with the mango, shrimp , Japanese cucumber and red onion rings. Thumbs up for this salad.

using a food processor, blend together the fresh pineapple, mint leaves

this is salad is refreshing...the mint goes well with

the pineapple....Mmm

mint scented pineapple vinaigrette to die for :)

this is the pan-seared salmon with fresh thyme

and olive oil which I cooked for Daddy,

the salmon was beautiful cooked....
a special treat for Daddy's Day :P

the salad goes well with salmon...

the baby pototoes was yummilicious too
a meal cooked with love always taste better...rite?

(",)

Mango, Shrimps & Salad With Pineapple Vinaigrette ( serves 2 )

Ingredients:

10 shrimps

1 Japanese cucumber- diced
1 big red onions- sliced into rings – pickled with 1 tbsp of lime juice
2 ripe mangoes – diced
a few mint leaves for garnishing

To prepare the shrimps
4 cups of water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
a few black peppercorns

Bring 6 cups water and next 4 ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add shrimp, and simmer until opaque in center, about 2 minutes.

To prepare the Mint-scented Pineapple Vinaigrette
Blend together in a food processor

1 wedge of fresh honey pineapple – diced
a few mint leaves
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of sugar

Using a food processor, blend together the fresh pineapple, mint leaves .Sieve out the excess juice and add in the olive oil and sugar to the minted pineapple mixture.

To prepare the salad
Mixed together the diced mango, Japanese cucumber, shrimps and red onion rings and the pineapple vinaigrette till well combined. Garnish with a few mint leaves. Chill in the fridge till ready to serve.

To the Piggies' Daddy

"Thanks Daddy for being there for us always :))

Our displinarian, our mentor and our friend

I hope you had a wonderful Daddy's Day and suffered enjoyed the meal I cooked (",) "

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