Sambal Tofu Stir Fry

I was inspired by Noobcook's dish recently and made a similar but totally different version of it. In fact, I cheated so badly that I wonder if I should still link back to her blog! ;p But it was a very quick and easy stir fry with some sambal, tofu and veges. I used oyster mushrooms which I lurveeeeee.

I didn't use belachan and totally regret it. My sambal actually came from a jar! But hey, it works and made a good simple dinner. ;p

Sambal Tofu Stir Fry 
1/4 cup of sambal of your choice
1 tofu cut in cubes

1 red onion sliced
chinese chives a bunch sliced
1 tsp of garlic

Heat oil in pan and pan fry bean curd first. Drawn on some papertowels. In the same pan, saute onion, garlic and sambal. Add veges and tofu. Add around 1/4 of water if too dry. Serve with white rice.

Vietnamese Style Prawns-Tom Rim

One of my favourite cookbooks is "The Secrets of the Red Lantern-Stories of Vietnam from the Heart"  It consist not just Vietnamese recipes but also stories from the authors. Pauline Nguyen spoke about their journey from Vietnam to Australia, their memories of the refugee camps and the start up of their family business in Sydney. As I read the recipes and their family story, I can't help but "taste" and "feel" each dish from their hearts.

This recipe consist of King Prawns sauted with tomato, fish sauce and black pepper. It actually resembles the way my own grandmother use to cook prawns in-except she uses tobasco sauce! I changed this recipe slightly as I cooked more than 12 prawns which was what the original recipe calls for.

The chili padi adds the kick without the punch. I like the use of ripe tomatoes and tomato paste as it gives such richness to it. It is definitely a recipe that I will use over and over again.

Vietnamese Style Prawns-Tom Rim 
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
2 birds eye chili chopped
2 tsp of tomato paste
I used around 20 prawns shelled and devined
2 tsp of sugar (instead of 3)
crack black pepper
around 6 tablespoon of fish sauce
around 3/4 to 1 cup of water
2 ripe tomatoes chopped
spring onion

Saute garlic and chili. Add tomato paste, prawns and sugar. Toss to combine. Then add fish sauce, pepper, water and fresh tomatoes. Simmer for around 3-5 mins. Once prawns are cooked, remove prawns. Reduce sauce slightly. Pour sauce over prawns. Garnish with chopped spring onions.

HAPPY SINGAPORE NATIONAL DAY!!!! =) 

Ma Po Tofu

The best thing about Chinese cooking is that it can be as simple as you want it to be or as challenging as we want it to be. More often than none, I choose the simple way.

Tofu is often perceived as boring. Not so in Chinese cuisine. I love my tofu as spicy as possible and the look of ma po tofu certainly appeals to me. Served with warm rice, it is the basis for good comfort food after a hard's day of work isn't it?

Ma Po Tofu 

2 firm tofu diced
300 grams of chicken mince (pork mince will be perfect for this)
handful of dehydrated shitake mushrooms diced
1 chili diced
1 red onion diced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 big bunch of spring onions sliced
1/2 cup of Spicy bean paste
1/2 cup of Shiao Xin Wine
pepper

Fry garlic, chili and onion till nice and soft. Add in chicken mince and cook-breaking it up in pieces. Add mushrooms and tofu. Add all sauces and simmer. Adding stock or water if needed. Finally add in spring onions and toss through. Serve with hot rice.

Garlic Chili Aglio Olio Spaghetti

Sometimes the best comfort food is the simplest. Nothing fussy about this dish but just good olive oil, chili and a nice handful of Parmesan cheese! Friday lazy nights to the best! I served this with Crab and Fuji Apple Salad.

I think it was nearly a Nigella moment when my tongue and the garlic/chili flavors met each other.


Garlic Chili Aglio Olio Spaghetti
250 grams Spaghetti
2 chilli chopped (I left the seeds in)
1/4-1/2 cup of good olive oil
1 tablepoon of garlic

Cook Spaghetti as per instructions. Heat oil in pan and fry garlic and chilli. Toss spaghetti with it. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Another pasta night for friends from Presto Pasta! Hosted by psychgrad from Equal Opportunity and founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast.

Red Curry Seafood Pasta

Yikes! Time is slipping through our fingers quickly. I can't believe it has been more than a week since I left my footprint (thumbprint?) on this blog. I still have heaps of meals to show but yet not enough time to blog!

We have a special guest with us this week- all the way from Brisbane. A friend of a friend, she is residing with us and we are having heaps of exciting fun with her. Not only that, she is vegetarian! Despite having a few vegetarian friendly recipes up my sleeves, I still felt a little "oh no, what are we going to have!?!?" She taught me a few things so I hope to be able to re-create them in the near future as well.

For today though, I want to share with you a Red Curry Seafood Pasta dish that we had for dinner some time ago. Our favorite seafood marinara (or seafood medley) is being used again. Some baby corn and peas-and it almost resemble a Thai red curry dish isn't it? Some lemongrass would have done the trick!
Red Curry Seafood Pasta (Serves 4)
2-3 tsp of red curry paste (I used thai red curry)
1tsp of garlic
1 tsp of grated ginger
200 grams of seafood marinara
100 grams of baby corn
2 cups of peas
handful of torn fresh basil leaves
250 grams of pasta

Cook pasta to your package's instructions. Drain and set aside. Saute garlic and ginger in the red curry paste till it smells oh so wonderful. Then include in seafood. Cook for around 4 minutes adding vegetables along the way. Toss pasta though with basil leaves.


ps-more wedding photos to follow in the next post!


Sharing my pasta love with friends at Presto Pasta founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week, it is hosted by Joanne from Eats Well with Others.

Chilli Seafood Pasta

While we are on the topic of being inspired by bloggers-this dish was inspired by Tigerfish. Rather, she submitted this dish for Presto Pasta Nights a loooong time ago and I have been eyeing it since. It was so long ago that I can't even find the link!!

So when I spotted a packet of Prima Deli Chili Crab Premix on the shelves of my favourite oriental store (Chan Brothers on High Road for those in Perth!), it went into my basket straight away.

Who says Chili Crab Pre mix is for chili crab? It's for pasta and seafood too!!

While the premix did not resemble the glorious chilli crabs that we enjoyed in Singapore or Malaysia, it certainly suits a pasta dish. Do not underestimate the chili powder that they provide in the packet. It hit me 3 seconds after bitting into the pasta. yum!


Chilli Seafood Pasta (serves 4)
250grams of fettucine
5 baby squids
3 fish fillets
handful of shrimps
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 cup of baby spinach leaves
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4-1/2 cup of water

1 packet of Prima Deli Chilli Crab Premix
2 eggs

1) Boil water and cook pasta. Drain and set aside.

2) Saute garlic in a pan. Add seafood and fry quickly. Remember the mushrooms and spinach leaves. Follow premix directions and add sauce sachet. Add eggs and chili powder. Quickly toss pasta with the sauce, adding some water if the mixture appear too dry. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Dishing this up for Presto Pasta Nights, hosted by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast!

ps-more mooncake posts tomorrow!!

Nasi Lemak

Back in Singapore and Malaysia, a good packet of nasi lemak always get my appetite going. The fragrant coconut rice with peanuts, fried anchovies, side dish of spicy squid/fish/chicken wing and killer hot chili sambal makes a wonderful breakfast or lunch.

Much as I enjoy this dish, I restrict myself from having this too often. The high calorie, carbo, fat and cholesterol combination makes me shudder. It doesn't stop me from eating it once in a while and savor every bite though. In fact, because it's eaten so rarely, every bite is taken seriously. The feel of the coconut flavors dancing in your mouth with the hot sambal is really too hard to resist.


Obviously my version of nasi lemak is far from the authentic one. As a kid, it was a common sight seeing freshly shredded coconut in markets. Housewives buy those freshly shredded coconut and squeeze the liquid out of it to make coconut milk/cream. This fresh coconut milk/cream is then used to cook the rice together with pandan leaves.

It's nearly impossible to buy coconuts in Australia (for shredding I mean, drinking coconuts are available in markets). Needless to say shredding them with your bare hands and then spending hours in the kitchen squeezing the life out of those coconuts is impossible (for me at least). The not-as-good but it-will-do version means using a can or packet of coconut milk instead.

Lucky me, I spotted a box of peanuts with fried anchovies in an oriental store. That saves time! Well, it isn't hard frying anchovies and peanuts but it's much easier to put your spoon into that box and plating it.

I stirfried the kangkong in garlic and soya. Usually I would fry this with sambal but since we were going to have the spicy squid and hot sambal chili, simple garlic and soya would do.


The squid was easy. A tablespoon of of hot chili and quick toss in the wok and it was done.


oh! and how can we have nasi lemak without chili? Mmmm.. a satisfying meal. =)