Guacamole

Guacamole is a dip made from avocados which originates from Mexico. The name is derived from two Aztec Nahauti words - ahuacati ( avocado ) and molli (sauce).   To make a simple guacamole, you can just add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to help balance the richness of the avocados. But, I love mine to have chopped tomato, cilantro, chilli and chopped red onion. These combination of ingredients really is a WOW! Can be addictive .  My daughter loves this and it is her all time favorites.  She will eat for supper too at times when she has to work late into the morning :)

I managed to get some Philippines avocados which are kind of small and have big seeds. Bland in taste but great for making Guacamole.  Great as a dip and side dish for my seafood meal.  I pan fried fish and fish roe and this flavorful guacamole was the perfect side dish for my seafood meal. 

these were on offer in Jusco

and I grabbed 6 pieces

 once the avocados has ripen, its time to make guacamole,

the combination of these ingredients turned

the guacamole into a flavorful side dish

I like my guacamole to have chunky bits of

everything...perfect as a side dish

 tip- prepare the guacamole last as the avocados will turn

slightly brown if you prepare them early

Guacamole 

ingredients

3 avocados
1 ripe tomato - remove seeds and diced
2 tbsp of chopped cilantro (stem and leaves)
2 tbsp of chopped red chillies
Some chopped garlic *optional
half red onion - diced
1 tbsp of lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cut the avocados in half, remove seed. Score the inside of the avocado with a blunt knife and  scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Place in a bowl.

2. Use a fork , roughly mash the avocado ( do not overdo it, the guacamole should be a little chunky)

3. Add in salt and pepper and mix well. Add in the rest of the ingredients except tomato and give it a quick stir. Wrap up with cling wrap and chill before serving. Chilling the tomato will hurt their flavor. Add in the chopped tomato just before serving.

Enjoy!

Sambal Prawns With Stink Beans

Stink beans or Petai as Malaysians called them petai.  I started eating stink beans when I was 7 yrs old, and that is the time when I had my first taste of chilli.  Thus anything that is cooked with chilli has become my favourite.  My grandma was the first to introduce me and my brothers to spicy food.  And needless to say stink bean is the favourite of the family.  Whenever there are petai or stink beans sold in the market, be assured that we will be served this dish for our dinner.  That was the only time when the whole family sits together to have our meal.  

My grandma cooked the stink beans in simple style.  Just with dried shrimps and the pounded rempah that consists of serai, toasted belacan, dried chillies, fresh turmeric and shallots.  Simple and yet delicious.  With no assam paste, this taste good too.  Today , I will share my grandma simple sambal prawns with stink beans that can be served as side dish to nasi lemak and fried vermicelli. This is really good and I am sure you will want to cook this simple sambal prawns with stink beans for your family.

I bought 6 papan for RM9 from Tesco

 no worms , so worth it though it could

have been cheaper if I had bought from the orang Asli :p

this is how I cut open the skin of the stink bean,

cut a slit right across vertically and push out the bean

 red onions added for extra oomph

hubby loves red onions in his sambal petai

with just this one dish, I can have second helping

of rice :p

Sambal Prawns With Stink Beans

ingredients:

6 papan / stalks of stink beans - cut open and cut the beans into halves - wash and soak in cold water for extra crunch
1 large red onion - sliced
10 pieces of med sized sea prawns - remove shell, leave the tail intact
1/4 cup of dried shrimp - soak and pound coarsely
4 tbsp of rice bran oil or any vegetable oil
a pinch of salt and sugar for taste
1/4 cup of water

rempah paste for pounding

a handful of dried chilli ( if you want more heat, add more) - soak, and remove seeds
10 shallots
3/4 inch sq toasted belacan
1/2 thumb fresh turmeric
1 stalk of serai - sliced

Method:

Heat up oil in wok,  add in rempah and stir fry till fragrant, add in the pounded dried shrimps and continue to stir fry for another 15 mins till fragrant.  Add in 1/4 cup of water and continue to cook  till the rempah has thicken, add in the, sea prawns,  petai / stink beans and sliced onions, salt and sugar to taste. Continue to stir fry till the  prawns and stink beans are cooked through .  Dish up and serve.

Note: you can keep some in air tight container and serve as side dish for your fried noodles. Can keep a week in the fridge.

 Enjoy !

Bittergourd Egg Rolled Omelette

My all time favourite melon..the bittergourd . Since I love it so much, I decided to plant my own bittergourd plant so that I can have it all round the year.  Nothing beats homegrown edibles and homecooked.  I promised myself that after retirement, I must do this and I have achieved many things thus far including planting my own edibles.  I harvested many bittergourd since planting them this year.  There are many ways to cook bittergourd ( you can check my recipe index for ideas on how to cook them and this is my lastest recipe using homegrown bittergourd.  Making them into rolled omelette is another way of cooking bittergourd. Love it and this is one way to make my 'Wildboar' eat bittergourd...just kidding, this will appeal much to kids too.  Homegrown ones are not that bitterish , or maybe it is the homemade fertiliser that made it less bitterish.  This is just my silly assumption of course.  Anyway,  it tasted so good that I have requests from the WB to make more next time. After cooking them in omelette, it still have a slight crunch to it as you bite into the omelette.  Great rolled omelette for the family, firstly it taste good, secondly it gives a great presentation when serving.  Especially if you have guests for dinner. Thirdly kids will go for it,believe me :)   Back to the recipe, I used the same recipe as Korean egg rolled omelette . Instead of using the spring onions, diced carrots, I used bittergourd . The rest of the ingredients are the same..method too :) I love this rectangular pan from Daiso so much. It really serves its purpose.

love this rectantular pan to bits, will get another spare one 

on my next trip to Daiso

it looks complicated but after a few tries, you will be a pro for sure :p

let the rolled omelette cooled down a bit before cutting them with a sharp knife

Bittergourd Rolled Omelette

ingredients:

5 eggs - whisk and sieve

 (A)

bittergourd - diced into bit sized

1 tbsp of diced red onions

a shake of white pepper

a tsp of  sea salt 

rice bran oil for greasing the pan

Method:

1. Beat up the eggs  in a bowl and  sieve it.  Add in ingredients (A) to the sieved egg . Give it a quick stir to make sure the ingredients are all well combined.

2. Heat a non-stick rectangular pan or round skillet over medium high heat; add oil and swipe with a paper towel to apply oil as thin as possible.

3.  When pan is hot, pour a ladleful of egg mixture to cover the whole pan, once the egg mixture has lightly set, gently fold over and as you keep folding, shape into square, once you finish rolling, push to one end of pan,  add 3/4 ladle of egg mixture to cover the pan and reduce heat . Make sure uncooked egg mixture’s attached to the first batch of egg roll.

4. Repeat twice more with rest of uncooked egg mixture. 

5.. Remove from heat and let the rolled omelette rest in skillet for about 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Slice into 3/4” wide bite size pieces and serve .

Enjoy!

Spicy Cucumber Side Dish - Oi-muchim 오이무침

I love banchan - korean side dishes , simply because they are appetizing, healthy and delicious.  I have been visiting Maangchi.com for some ideas how to make appetizing banchan and I am happy I found a few that really inspires me to make them.  I have tried her spicy stuffed cucumber , it turned out to be a keeper :)  Now , this is the second cucumber side dish that I had tried out and it was absolutely tasty and every mouthful you can hear the crunch sound as you bite into the cucumber.

Easy to whip out and it is a great side dish to serve your guests.  Lovely side dish  to go with the smoked chicken and BBQ meat too.  Take note that it is best to make it and mix it just before serving so that the cucumber will remains crispy and fresh and preventing it from getting watery.  

it is best to make it and mix it just before serving

refreshing and spicy enough to give you a little kick..yumm!

it is best to make it and mix it just before serving

serve as side dish for smoked chicken

a complete simple meal with smoked chicken , spicy cucumber side dish

and a soup with plain rice.

Spicy Cucumber Side Dish - Oi-muchim 오이무침 - taken from Maangchi

Ingredients: Serve 4

English cucumber (or 2 to 3 kirby cucumbers), washed
¼ cup thinly sliced onion
1 green onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cut the cucumber lengthwise in half and cut diagonally into thin slices.
2. Put the cucumber into a large bowl. Add the onion, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and sugar.
3. Mix it well with a spoon until the sugar is well dissolved.
4. Serve as a side dish for rice, noodles, or BBQ.