Masala Tumeric Squid With Coconut Cream

Calamarrrrri ... I just love the way this fancy word for "squid" sounds, especially when I let the last syllable slowly roll off my tongue. With much anticipation from Rasa Malaysia, Claude and Schneier, I am more than happy to share my Masala Tumeric Squid recipe using my home made sambal paste. Yes, I'm spilling the beans. You would be surprised to discover that it is not as difficult as you think to diversify your taste buds. Something new, something old and something intoxicating.

As I have mentioned in my Shrimp Stir Fry with Curry Leaves recipe, tumeric spice is simply great. It adds much flavor to any spicy dish without the "spicy-hot"ness. When using tumeric spice in cooking, not only does it add that mild aromatic flavor to your food, it also helps in removing odors in raw seafood and meats. It is definitely the next best thing to ginger !!

In Thai and Malaysian cuisine, kaffir lime leaves is one of the few favorite herbs when cooking many hot curries, spicy dishes and chinese stir frys. This herb is not hot, but lends a light fragrant taste to any food. Unlike the tumeric spice, which require shorter cooking time, another delicate spice, garam masala, simply adds harmony to the taste of the food. One tip when using garam masala spice is to add it at the last stage of cooking. Because it is such a delicate spice, it will make your food a little bitter if added too early.

Here's my authentic Masala Tumeric Squid recipe, simmered in a light coconut cream with 1 herb, 2 aromatic spices, and a spicy touch of my sambal chili paste. Enjoy :)

Masala Tumeric Squid Recipe

Ingredients :
10 squid ( remove ink and eyes )
2-3 tbsp sambal chili paste
1/2 can coconut cream ( OR coconut milk )
10 kaffir lime leaves
2 tbsp tumeric spice ( use 1 tbsp of tumeric spice to marinate the squid )
minced ginger
minced shallots
salt and sugar to taste

Method :
1) Saute minced ginger, shallots, and kaffir lime leaves until fragrant.

2) Pan fry the marinated squid on both sides until slightly browned.

3) Add the sambal chili paste and stir fry for 2 minutes.

4) Add coconut cream, mix well, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes OR until squid is tender.

Sambal Chili Paste Recipe

Ingredients :
10 red chilis ( deseeded )
0-2 dried red chilis ( deseeded )
1 in. galangal
1 tsp dried shrimps
1/4 can coconut cream
2 tsp tumeric spice
3 shallots
1 pc. garlic ( not the whole clove )
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp lemongrass powder
salt and sugar to taste

Method :
1) Blend all ingredients until slightly fine.
2) Heat some oil on the pan and saute the blended sambal chili until fragrant.
3) Turn to medium heat and let the sambal chili thicken.
4) Turn to low heat and allow to cook until a paste-like texture forms.

Glass Noodles Stir Fry

The age-old debate on who invented the noodles was finally settled when they found a 4,000-year-old bowl of noodles in China a couple of years back. Today, owls of noodles can be found all over the world in a variety of shapes and sizes. The more popular ones are the Chinese yellow noodles and rice vermicelli, the Italian spaghetti and macaroni, and the Japanese udon and soba to name a few. Speaking of noodles, can anyone enlighten me on how the phrase "using your noodle" came about to mean "using your brain"? :P

One particular noodle I haven't had in a while is the "glass noodle", named for it's translucent appearance when cooked. It is also called "bean thread" because it is made from mung bean, not to be mistaken with the rice vermicelli, which is quite similar uncooked. I haven't tried this noodle in a while because there were rumors of lead-poisoning surrounding it a few years ago. I'm glad the whole mess is finally cleared up so I can finally get to enjoy it once again.

Two of the more popular dishes associated with glass noodles recipes are the Szechuan style "Ants Climbing A Tree" and the Thai style "Pad Woon Sen". Both are stir fried but glass noodles also go great in soups or salads. The dish I'm preparing today is a simple quick stir fry recipe similar to the "Pad Woon Sen" but I'm going to kick it up a notch by adding a little unsalted fermented soy beans, which I prefer to the salted black beans because of its rich bean-ier flavor.

Ingredients :
2 bundles glass noodles
1 lbs sole fish fillet sliced
minced garlic
shredded ginger
5 asparagus thinly sliced
red bell pepper strips
1 tbsp fermented soy beans ( unsalted )
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
sesame oil
sugar to taste

Method :

1) Boil a pot of water, turn off the heat and soak the glass noodles for 3 minutes.
2) Rinse in cold, running tap water, and then set aside.
3) Marinade the fish fillets with some oyster sauce, fish sauce, and then set aside.
4) Saute 1/2 portion of both shredded ginger and minced garlic until fragrant, add in the pre-marinated the fish fillets and pan fry on both sides until browned, toss in the sliced asparagus, red bell pepper strips, continue stir fry for 1 minute, and then set aside.
5) Heat the wok or skillet to a smoky point, saute the fermented soy beans and the remaining shredded ginger and minced garlic until fragrant.
6) Quickly add the chilled glass noodles in and stir fry on high heat until the fermented soy beans flavors completely infused into the glass noodles.
7) Splash the soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil and sugar to taste and mix well.
8) Dish up and serve with the pan fried sole fish fillets.

Sweet Mung Bean & Taro Dessert

I think my mom, my grandma or somebody along the family tree created this sweet treat. I use to enjoy these sweet mung bean dessert soup all year round. Back then, I like it cold. With the weather blues still surfing at my end, I will eat this warm. I'll pull out an all-week treat to serve my sweet tooth. Mom would make this with red beans, green beans, walnuts, peanuts, OR black sesame seeds. Often times, she would get creative with taro, yams OR any other high fiber source of dessert soups. This mung bean dessert recipe is a pure sweet sensation. Don't worry about bloating afterwards. Unlike kidney beans or some sorts, mung beans are relatively easy to digest :)

So, after reading OC Food Blog's review on those sinful eats, those Vietnamese/ Saigon sweet desserts came knocking on my not-so-subconscious-mind. I've decided to get my brand new Rival crockpot to use, count every mung bean I can find in my refrigerator and slow cooked some sweet mung bean dessert. To start out a good mung bean dessert recipe, I did not neglect my favorite sort of yammy craving - "taro", hmmm-so-yummy ! :) My last favorite ingredient to make this complete, mini tapioca pearls. This petite little things are almost translucent and bit doughy, reminds me of those green doughy floured strips in one of the many desserts Wandering Chopsticks manage to terrorised. I like it that way. I've also substitute regular sugar with rock sugar as this would deliver a smooth, creamy appeal to the dessert. Just like how you adore the scent of vanilla bean when baking, I like the scent of the screwpine leaf & loves how a couple of leaves does wonders to the flavor of this mung bean dessert recipe.

A quick snap this Monday morning, I creamed in a bowl OR two before I head out to a cheery, winter day ?:)

Ingredients :
1/2 a taro ( cut into small cubes )
1 can coconut milk
16 oz yellow mung beans
10 oz mini tapioca pearls
2 big pc. Rock sugar ( You can use tiny crystallised sugar for easy dissolve. )
2 pc. screwpine leaf
2 Qts water ( OR any amount that will cover the beans and taro in the crockpot )

Method :
1) Place the taro cubes, washed yellow mung beans, rock sugar, and water in the crockpot. Cook on high for a minimum 4 hours.
2) Add the coconut milk, mini tapioca pearls and cook for an additional 1 hour and then switch from cook to warm.

Savory Omelette

Good morning sunshine !! This is a perfect breakfast / appetizer to get your morning in the swing. This Asian omelette recipe is easy to create, and simply scrumptious. Its a concoction of eggs, tamarind-based chili paste with whatever leftovers from my El Pollo Loco's lunch yesterday. So, with those few items to start out with, these omelette recipe became a reality in a jiff.

Waste no time in getting these Asian omelettes right to your waiting plates, they are as quick and perfect as it is - pan fried one side, steamed on the other, simply light and fluffy, moist and delicious. This may just become your new egg fix ! :)

Tags : quick and easy recipes, omelette, tamarind

Malaysian Omelette Recipe

Ingredients :
2 eggs
1 tbsp tamarind-based chili paste
( speed-blend some fresh red chilis, tamarind concentrate and a squeeze of lime juice )
chopped green onions
chopped cilantros
chopped serrano chilis

Method :
1) Quick whisk all the ingredients.
2) Heat up the pan, splash in some oil.
3) Pour the mixture in, pan fry on high heat for a minute.
4) Flip it over, cook to a medium-low heat and "cover" the pan for 2 minutes.

Otak Otak : An Asian Frittata

Frittatas : All frittatas are made of loosely beaten eggs with a little milk, cream and flour. The dairy provides a bit of extra moisture and richness and keeps it light and fluffy. The flour bolsters the eggs setting and thickening properties and helps incorporate the added milk or cream. I can relate the frittatas to the Malaysia/Singapore's Otak Otak OR the Indonesian's Otah Otah. A frittata is somewhat made of mashed ingredients with the basics, and then pan fried OR baked that resembles a thick, huge omelette. Instead of frying the whole slab of mixture into the hot pan, I like to wrap them up in banana leafs and bake them in the oven. The banana leafs lend a light perfumey flavor to the the fish.

The added ingredients : There are no hard-and-fast rules for what's to put in your creation. Simple vegetables works, and sometimes meats ie. turkey, ham, cheese of some sorts, and leftover roast beef will do. I use mashed sole fillets as the essential ingredient to make up a good otak otak frittata.

Herbs used : I used chopped kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass powder as they lend a fresh, subtle flavor note that wonderfully lights up this frittata. For the spices, I would also use a copious amount of tomyum paste and tumeric powder for seasoning.

Otak-Otak also describes "Grilled Fish Mousse wrapped OR rolled on a Banana Leaf".

Otak Otak Fish Recipe

Ingredients :
1.5 lbs sole fillet
1 tbsp rice flour
180 ml coconut milk
1 egg
1 tbsp tumeric powder
2/3 tbsp tomyum paste
1 tbsp chili paste
dash of minced dried shrimps
1 shallot minced
1 in ginger minced
1 in galangal minced
6 stems kaffir lime leafs chopped
dash of lemongrass powder
dash of fish granules
dash of belacan powder
sugar to taste

Method :
1) Blend fish fillet into a paste-like texture.
2) Mix well all ingredients with the fish paste.
3) Cut the banana leafs into 6 in. long strips, then form circles and staple the bottom.
4) Fill the fish mixture into the banana leafs circles.
5) Spray some cooking spray onto a baking tray, place 4) onto the baking tray.
6) Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes.

Have some fish frittatas and a Happy New Year !! :)

Deep Fried Belacan Chicken Wings

My second post is long overdue. Has everyone survived their Xmas and New year's bloatings from all the food, booze, or something much more interesting ? *grins* I fired up the kitchen for some fried chicken just before all that, and ended up with a whole long week of fever, flu & everything else in between. *sob*

Major seasoning : Toasted shrimp paste made of fermented krills, also known as Belacan in Malaysia and Singapore, and Terasi Bakar to the Indonesians, where krills are mashed, buried for sometime, fried, toasted and pressed into squarish shaped block of cake. They are also sold in powdered form in jars.

Fried chicken inspires some heated debates. So, you'll likely have quite a few different approaches. We got the Spicy Cajuns, the Old fashioned Colonel's Chicken and much more. Bring them on ! I'll start with a confession, this recipe was born out of ethnic preference. Yes, my recipe is seasoned with some wonderfully-stinky Belacan. This recipe has became popular over the years after I left for the States and is much talked about until recently when I called home. Almost all fried food is associated with Belacan seasonings. Although I've to admit that I still need to learn the manner of frying to 100% crispyness and juicy in perfection. I'm quite ready now, I think, to make this recipe do justice to almost perfection - easy on the flouring, crispy on the outside, tender, juicy and tasty on the inside - bye bye to Popeyes, KFC, and say hello to my Jumbo Belacan Chicken Wings, Yayy !! :)

So, how do you like yours fried ?

Deep Fried Belacan Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients :
5 jumbo chicken wings ( cut into drumettes & wings )
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp belacan powder
1 tbsp ground dried shrimps
1 tbsp black pepper
salt & sugar to taste
1 egg white

Seasoned flour ( in a Zip-lock bag ) :
Cornflour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp belacan powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt & sugar

Method :
1) Pre-marinade the wings with all the "ingredients", except the egg white. (for at least 2 hours to overnight preferably.)
2) Place the wings in egg whites, set aside.
3) Place them in the pre-seasoned flour, shake and ready to fry.
4) Heat oil, fry wings in medium heat for 10-15 minutes OR until nicely browned.

Other Belacan recipes : Vegetable stir fry with belacan and seafood of your choice, Tomyum Soup broth using belacan, and marinating chicken with belacan for BBQ, deep frying or roasting.

Shrimps Stir-fry With Curry Leaves : Spice it up !

I like stir-fries of all sorts. Chinese stir-frys have their added sauces and thickeners with some light aromatics, and on the other hand, Indian stir-fries have their garam masalas and other delicate spices. Inspired by Rasa Malaysia's Butter Prawns, Malaysia style, I've decided to give this highly aromatic curry leaves a little personality of my own - Stir fry fresh water shrimps with tumeric spice, tamarind concentrate and curry leaves.

As the name suggests, the curry leaves actually smells like curry, BUT they are not an ingredient in curry powder, which is a multi spice blend. This fresh leaves are usually sold on the stem - strip the leaves and use them sparingly as they are highly aromatic. You can store the rest in a zip-lock bag and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks OR keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months or so. I chose to use tumeric because it lends a great flavor to any shellfish, it takes a shorter cooking time, and its a great warming spice for this cold winter day. Tamarind concentrate can be found in a plastic jar at any Asian grocery market in the cans/sauces aisle. Not only I can use this for any spicy-hot-and-sour soups, mixed in any kind of chili paste to call it my own, I can also make some refreshing tamarind juice with crushed ice when summer time comes. Blend in some tamarind concentrate to this stir fry and you will develop a soury tangy flavor at its final taste.

Once again, I would like to thank Rasa Malaysia for inspiring me to use curry leaves to spice up this shrimp dish !! Do check out her Butter Prawns & my Masala Tumeric Squid With Coconut Cream featured there.

Stir Fry Shrimps With Curry Leaves Recipe

Ingredients :
6 fresh water shrimps ( OR other seafood of your choice, shell-on shrimps, peeled shrimps, etc )
3 stems curry leaves
2 tsp tamarind concentrate
tumeric powder ( use to season the shrimps, and set aside )
chopped garlic
sliced oinion
salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1) Heat 3 tbsp oil in the preheated pan, stir fry your aromatics - garlic, onions, curry leaves.
2) Add in the seasoned shrimps, pan fry on both sides until slightly browned.
3) Add the tamarind concentrate in, salt, and sugar to taste, tossing and turning, stirring constantly until all ingredients are well mixed for 1 minute.
4) Add a little water to prevent sticking onto the bottom of the pan, cover and simmer on low heat for another 2 minutes. Dish up and ready to serve.

Curry leaves other uses : Stir fry curry leaves in cooking oil, keep the fragrant oil to "spice" up your salads, sandwiches, use them to marinade meats for BBQ, OR other stir-fries.