Assam Rayfish Curry

I discovered that there is this stall from the wet market in Kg Simee, a neighbouring housing estate to where I lived, that sells all kinds of curry paste..you name it they have it. For instance if you want to cook chicken dry curry style, pork ribs curry, chicken curry or assam curry they will have the paste weighed out ready for per cooking. Everything is in the curry paste…lemongrass, curry leaves, onions, and their secret curry spices and they even have the tamarind paste all combined into the special curry paste…believe it a not it has made things so much easier for curry lovers and it tasted exactly like those restaurant cooked curries.

I have to thank my neighbor for sharing this wonderful secret with me :p and now for Ipohans if you want to get good curry paste.. go Kg Simee wet market and ask for the stall. It is so famous that you juz mention the famous curry paste, the people there will point out the stall to you. My neighbor was kind enough to buy the paste for me , so I am not able to tell you which stall yet…you have to do a bit of detective work on your own if you can't wait :) I will be going to get the paste this weekend so I will keep you updated where exactly the stall is situated :) Be patient……..

I used the paste ( meant for cooking Assam Fish Head Curry ) but I used Rayfish to cook this Assam Curry and it was yummilicious…rayfish being Daddy’s favourite and true to what my neighbor friend told me…the curry was delicious.

I juz have to add 1 torch ginger flower ( bunga kantan ), some laksa leaves ( daun kesom ), ½ cup coconut milk and 1.5 cups of tamarind juice to the curry paste…the pot of curry was so aromatic that we can’t wait for dinner time to come fast especially that particular person is none other than Daddy! Kept asking when is dinner time…“ I am hungry…”, so pitiful, so we had an early dinner ! :p slurping and tucking in like hungry wolves…. (“,)

this assam curry paste is so good that I know

I am going to cook this for the next pot bless dinner
for it is easy and can whip up in such a short time

so delicious...Mmmmmm yummilicious

tangy spicy hot....who wouldn't love this

I juz have to add in the lady fingers and tomatoes,

beside the rayfish....you can use fish head instead

for asians who love fish head....a delicacy no doubt

I bought a new clay pot recently :p

I must never step into a crockery shop....

for I can never leave anything alone...

I have to leave with something.....

and Daddy started his 'singing '.....

" there is no place to store all this......

thank God I don't own a crockery shop or else..... "
I played deaf for the journey home :p :)

and my new toy was on my lap and

can't wait to use it.....finally I served this

Assam Rayfish Curry

in it :)

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Soybean Milk Longan Jelly

Yesterday, we had Pot Bless in Church and since I was working on a Friday and have not the time to cook anything elaborate, I decided to make these melt in the mouth jellies the night before for the pot bless…haha smart Momsie :p …light and easy for the old and young. The kids loved them and the older ones simply slurpped them up, and went for second helpings :p but alas due to shortage and not enough for second helpings, they could only licked their lips and wished the smart Momsie had made more for them :p Next time..I promise to make more okay….:))

Of course , needless to say, this Momsie stole one and had a photoshoot session first and ate one before the rest had them..hahaha so bad this Momsie…nope , I had to test them out first before I take them to Church :p in case it turns out too watery…can? It turned out marvelous and not overly sweet to my delight or I will have to get something else for dessert :)

I used the same soybean milk jelly recipe from my previous post, added the tin longan together with the syrupy water and added 1.5 more tsp of agar agar powder. I had to make a few loads in order to make sure that each guest will have at least a cup each :) too bad no second helpings for them :p

I found my garden roses blooming again...thus

took one for deco so that my jelly looks more

photogenic...can? :p

melts in the mouth...smooth ..mmm

can you spot the longan sitting in the center?

with the rose bud sitting on it :)

even the bud could not resist and stole a lick :p

seriously speaking this is the best dessert

for me and my Piggies love them too...

Ouch...sorry babies..juz drool for the time being,

not enough to pass around nor send thru a

FedEx box

Recipe

***Remember, just add the longan syrupy water

from the tin longan and add 1.5 more teaspoon of

agar agar powder to the original recipe.


Have a great weekend ! :)

The Goodness of Organic Oat Groats,Brown Rice And Red Yeast Rice

Introducing these grains to the family diet is not an easy task. Imagine for years our staple food has been the white rice and now I have to wean them, so to speak, to eat these nutty and chewy texture grains as their staple food….so the first step is to tell them how wonderful these grains are for the body…..the next step is to stock them up and showing them how these grains look like and how expensive I have to pay for them…. And the final step is to cook them for dinner. Ooops I have to start weaning the old baby first – Daddy - coz he is the only one available at the moment … and you know what , it was easier than I thought! He welcomed the idea and he loves it now. Haha…wasn’t I glad that it was one easy hurdle to overcome. Now the next are the Piggies who are away at the moment. So I better introduce to them their new staple food through my blog…when they come drooling here for something sinfully decadent ! Smart Momsie …right :p

Well, these grains has lotz of goodness in them. Full of antioxidant, natural vitamins and minerals, oil from grains will lower the cholesterol and groats from oats are a good source of avenanthramide and rich in fiber which helps prevents colon cancer. Well , looking at the many goodness in them, why not try taking them as our staple food rather than those polished white rice since rice is a must for us. I really hope my Piggies will get adapted to them in due course.

top: red yeast rice
left: organic brown rice
right: organic oat groat

a close-up shot of organic brown rice
a close up shot of organic whole oat groats

a close up of the dried red yeast rice

I got lots of feedback that these grains are not nice and hard to consume and you know what, they told me that it doesn’t go well with curries…haha to me , it is just a matter of getting use to it. I love the fragrant of the oat groats when it is boiling in the cooker….it has a nice pleasant and sweet smell. And I love the moist chewy texture of it. The good news is Daddy loves it too! Thumbs up for this healthy staple food that I am going to have for the next few decades till my time expired…:p For the time being I have not added the red yeast rice to the other two grains yet coz it is going to stain the rest of the rice so I am going to steam it for just myself the next round coz the old baby doesn’t like his rice red in color :p Will post up the pic of the cooked red yeast rice later for you to drool :)

[ Edited on 9/10/09)]

And finally.....the steamed red yeast rice served on my brown rice :)) now you know why Daddy doesn't want it on his rice...well I like it though coz it is good for health...why not? Frankly speaking it is tasteless and has the texture of the black glutinous rice :)

a mixture of brown, white , oat groat and red yeast rice

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Back Bacon Sandwiches In French Toast Style

This was what we had for our brunch. I have to think of what to eat for brunch which will normally turn out to be a simple meal. Haha….it was good, full of nourishment and best , with simple task involved :) Back Bacon Sandwiches In French Toast Style ! Easy does it and the cheese just oozes out… so cheesiliciously good! Back bacon has little fat and the cheese slices ,I bought the reduced fat proceesed ones :p Fried with olive oil so we indulged in these richness once in a blue moon. Everything in moderation is the best health quote I can give here….hey , just to make myself not feel guilty in this sinful indulgence okay :p

This is good for growing young adults and it tasted so good that these old growing adults want to have it more often too! No way Daddy, I control the frying pan LOL!

Sandwiched the bread with a slice of back bacon

and a slice of cheese , cut diagonally into triangles,

soaked in beaten eggs mixture and lightly fry them

in olive oil in a non-stick grill pan.......

turn over the other side when the it is lightly browned
on one side. Take out when both sides are golden brown

drained them on paper towels before serving

gosh... look how the melted cheese oozes out,
looks good doesn't it...and of course every mouthful

is so cheesilicious yummy! :p

good brunch for us on a lazy Sunday

Back Bacon Sandwiches In French Toast Style

Serve 2

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread
4 slices of back bacon ( less fat)
2 slices of cheddar cheese (reduced fat processed ones)


Beat together

2 eggs
1 tsp of castor sugar
1 tsp of corn flour

2 tbsp of olive oil


Preparation:

Cut the bread slices diagonally into triangles and sandwiched them with slices for back bacon and cheese. Beat together eggs, sugar and corn flour in a big shallow bowl. Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture till both sides are coated with the mixture. Heat olive oil in a non stick grill pan under medium low heat and lightly fry the sandwiches till golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

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Pillow Dumplings

These are glutinous rice dumplings in the shape of pillows..kinda cute, different from the triangle shaped ones. I would like to thank my Piggy Cuz for these two ‘ pillows dumplings ’ homemade by her Aunty. * Yay, I can have these for dinner….one for myself and the other one for my other half. So happy. Thanks Piggy Cuz…it was good but not as good as grandmother’s …sshhh don’t tell the Aunty !

If I guessed correctly her Aunt must have learned from her grandmother ermmm also my grandmother who was one great woman. She made the most delicious dumplings ever! And every dumpling festival , every one of her children will get a few for their family and I looked forward to them. When I got married off, Mom continued to give me her share…so precious becoz each children will get a few only, becoz it was hard work for an old lady to wrap the dumplings all by herself. I should have learned from her too but too late now, she was called home many years back. This is what I regreted most!

The glutinous rice remained in its original color becoz no thick sauce was used. The fillings are just lean meat, chestnuts, some mung beans and some dried shiitake…..yummy is the word. Homemade ones are better becoz you can pick your own favourite ingredients as fillings and I love these fillings…so many chestnuts…so delicious…it brought back memories ….grandmother’s pillow dumplings, I thought I never get to taste again!

the undressed dumplings.....glorious!
Can't wait to see the inside :p

wow....the fillings revealed

a piece of well marinated lean meat,
4 pieces of dried shiitake, 5 pieces of chestnuts
and some mung beans.......

now...opened up for all to see
Mmmmm....d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.....

I loved it so did Daddy..he too miss this dumpling
he only knows how to eat this kind of dumpling
since he married me ! See the advantage of being
married to ME.....LOL ! He learns to eat all kind of food

Our desire for this dumpling had been satiated for now
Thanks Piggy Cuz for this deliciousness!

^_________^

Thanks Miranda Hagan of My Food and Life Encounters

for passing me this

"I ♥ Your Blog" award :)

and Miranda I ♥ your blog too!

Thank You also for being so supportive and

truly you have given me so much encouragement by your

kind words each time you visit my blog :)
I have done all the questions when Tracie first gave me the award...LOL

Have a nice weekend!

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Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread

I came across this recipe which I thought will complement my chicken curry . Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread ! And was I glad that I tried it out? Yup….it was good and everyone loves it . Knowing me…I will not leave it alone till I had tried it out and what more since I have some leftovers of the chicken curry in the fridge!

I know my Piggies will surely love these Potato Bread. Atta flour and mashed russet potatoes …lightly kneaded into a soft dough and rolled out into round discs, deep fried it in hot oil and tada….pieces of fluffy US potato bread ready to eat with the chicken curry! It was delicious and my kids love it to bits. The ooohs and ahhhhs from the family food critics….was proof enough! The Atta flour/potato bread does give out a nice fragrant after the deep frying. Dip the deep fried potato bread in hot spicy chicken curry….Mmmmmm the best brunch we had so far :)) This is something like the ' Puri bread " but it tasted much much better :)

You have to try it out yourselves to know what I meant by - it tasted much better than the Puri bread ! My opinion that is :p Homecooked food are somehow much better in my opinion…but of course you don’t have to take in what I wrote here….haha just that I am in the mood to crap a little bit. Ohhh.. I am beginning to mizz my Piggies…they have gone back to college today and I am feeling a little blue now. I only get to see them 3 weeks from now……. :(

Atta Flour + mashed russet potatoes= a flat round disc of dough


dust on each piece with lotz of flour when you stack them
together ,otherwise they will stick together .....
but you have to dust off the extra flour before putting them
into the wok of hot oil


pieces of fluffy delectable golden discs...mmm
the aroma was good for the hungry soul.....:p

but the puff deflated by the time I sat down to eat :))
just the same the taste was fantastic

vegetable oil is used for frying the potato bread

Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread

Ingredients:

200g USA Russet or purple potatoes ,peeled and cut into wedges

195g wholemeal flour, or atta flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp corn oil

100ml lukewarm water, or enough to form dough

extra flour for dusting

oil for deep frying

Click here for the star online cooking demo by Amy Beh

for the preparation of the above potato bread



Enjoy!




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