#onthetable

Ola!

I like taking pictures of my home cooked dishes, simply because i wanted to record down what have already cooked, what i have been cooking everyday for my family and also my cooking experiments on certain dish. Picture will help me recall those precious cooking process or moments even it's just a simple dish like onion omelette :D

Here's what we had for dinner the last few days. Chinese stir fried vegetables is a must on our menu almost everyday!

Garlic & oyster sauce stir-fried brussels sprout, our favorite vegetable lately. It taste so sweet & so crunchy!

 Light stir fried french beans with shrimps, you might already know that i'm a shrimp lover! >_<

Stir-fried iceberg lettuce with fried fish maw.

Spicy napa cabbage kimchi stir-fried with pork slices.

Stir-fried bitter melon with pork slices in black bean sauce, fermented black beans has a pungent flavor and taste very salty ~ so we usually will soak the beans prior to cooking.

  Chinese poached chicken (white cut chicken), a very easy and healthy steamed chicken recipe paired with a savory dipping sauce or ginger scallion oil.

 

Gong bao style squid (stir-fried squid with dried hot red pepper)

Since i have a new bottle of fermented black beans, so i will have to make full use of it in the cooking! Hehe, and this is stir-fried stingray with fermented Black bean sauce!

#onthetable

If you can't find me anywhere, try look for me in the kitchen! You can see quite a few of prawn dishes here, my parents bought and brought it up from my hometown from a recent visit. I love prawns!!!

 Grilled sambal stingray (p.s. with my homemade sambal chili paste)! 

I never thought I could make THIS at home, was proud for my first try.

 Indonesian style curry prawns cooked in a thick sweet and spicy coconut milk gravy.
Love coconut milk curry-based sauce in anything and this looks so warm and cozy to you? no?

Sambal udang (chilli prawn) goes really well with nasi lemak (fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk)

 Braised fish with fermented black beans & bittergourd - i can't stop eating and keep on adding some more rice on my plate!

 Braised napa cabbage, love those soft napa cabbage leaves that soaks up all the juices and

absorbs the every bit of flavors from the foods around it! Yum~

Stir friend soy sauce-caramelized prawns - its a very homely dish, the easiest recipe ever, and yummiest!

homemade shrimp cakes

Shrimp or prawn has always been one of my favorite seafood! I pretty much love everything cooked & made with shrimp. For example, dim sum made with shrimp, chinese-style steamed shrimp (especially steamed drunken shrimps / 醉虾), stir fried shrimp and veggies, spicy shrimp pasta, garlic baked shrimp, bla bla bla...many more!

Pan-fried shrimp cakes is of course in my favourite list! Here i share the simple recipe with you.

Ingredients:
• 300 g medium shrimps (i took about 8 shrimps out then coarsely chop, the other are finely chopped)
• few slice of ginger (scrape away the skin, finely chopped)
• 1 spring onion (finely chopped)
• 3-4 shallots (I love the sweetness of shallot, finely chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 5tbsp vegetable oil (i'm using sunflower with canola oil)

*(for another great option - we love adding in chopped carrots, water chestnuts; to give a bit more texture & crunchiness to the shrimp patties!)

Seasoning:
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a pinch of pepper
• 1 tsp shao xing wine  

*(you can substitute with rice wine, i just simply love shaoxing wine, its more fragrant!)

Method:
1. First, remove and discard the vein; wash and drain the shrimps and pat them dry with paper towels. 
2. Then lay the shrimp on a flat surface or chopping board, by using a slightly heavy knife, hit the shrimp's flesh until it lies flat and finely chopped it. (remember to take out 8 shrimps to coarsely chopped)

3. In a large bowl, mix together coarsely & finely chopped shrimp, minced ginger, spring onion, shallots, garlic and all the seasonings.
4. Combine all the ingredients well by stirring clockwise or anti clockwise, then marinate & chill until firm in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

5. Here comes my favorite part! Heat up 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan (best to use non-stick pan) over medium-high heat.
6. Working in batches, fry the patties until cooked through and golden brown on both sides, adding more oil to the pan if needed, 3 to 4 minutes each side, total about 6 minutes.

* I forgot to take pictures for the frying process/stage, as i was too excited to see & taste the final outcome, very sorry ~ will try to take all the process picture next time. Hehe...

et voilà, ready to eat! Have a great start of the week, happy monday friends!

mid-week healthy meal

I love simple mid week dinner, especially in one-dish / one-pot meal! We had thai style steamed fish in garlic lime sauce / 泰式青柠蒸鱼 for our dinner last night! I brought up many fresh ingredients from hometown last weekend, mom gave me a lot of seafood, few container of fresh shrimps, various type of fish, homemade meatballs for soup! We couldn't finish all at one time, therefore we have to freeze them to keep it longer.
The recipe are absolutely easy, and best paired with jasmine rice! I can eat up 2 bowls of rice just with this dish.

Ingredients:
• whole fish (here i used 白曹鱼/ not sure if its called 'chinese herring')
• 2 tbsp fish Sauce
• 5 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 6-8 cloves / 3 tbsp of garlic (chopped)
• 1 tbsp / 5 red thai chilli peppers (chopped)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (chopped)
• 2 stalks of cilantro / spring onion (chopped, for garnish)
• 3 stalks of lemongrass (botton white part only)

* I have always loved steamed fish with soft / silken tofu, so i add in some sliced soft tofu underneath the fish, let the soft tofu soak up all the nice broth! Yummy.

Method:
*1. In a bowl mix chopped garlic, chili peppers, lime juice, fish sauce & sugar. remember always taste to adjust seasoning - the taste should be a balance of sweet, spicy, salty and sour. Set aside.
2. Put lemongrass stalks into cavity of the fish.
3. Place the clean fish in a dish, then topped with *mixture sauce. Over high heat on steam for 10-15 minutes. (depend on the size of the fish)
4. When its done, carefully remove fish from steamer; sprinkle with chopped cilantro/spring onion, then serve immediately.