Simple Cooking Ideas

Eel is considered as a delicacy and is quite expansive. Fresh water eels and marine eels are commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It is very popular in Asian countries and other countries too. Here is a dish to try.

Ingredients:

500 gm eel
8 cloves garlic
10 cloves shallot
pinch of pepper

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Method:

Blanch eel in hot water and remove slime with a knfe. Rinse and cut into 2 inch piece. Add pepper and dab with some cornflour. Add 2 tablespoon oil and fry the eel until lightly brown. Push aside and fry the garlic and onion until fragrant. Pour in the seasoning. Bring to the boil and lower heat. Simmer till done. Garnish and serve immediately.

Tiger prawns can be bought in the wet markets or hypermarkets. At this time of the Chinese New Year around the corner, big prawns are expensive. Well, for this recipe you just buy 200 gm for 4 persons. Cajun seasoning is available in supermarkets.

Ingredients:

200 tiger prawns
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoon oil

Salsa

1 green mango, peeled and diced
1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
2 shallots, peeled and diced
1 red chilli sliced
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
a pinch of salt and sugar

Garlic Mash

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 large potatoes, peeled and boiled till soft
1 cup fresh milk
2 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Seasoning prawns with Cajun seasoning for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a pan till hot and fry and pan-fry the prawns on both sides till cooked. Set aside. Combine all the salsa ingredients together and stir well. Chill in the fridge. To prepare garlic mash, fry the garlic and set aside. Mash the potatoes with milk and butter and season to taste. Mix garlic and potatoes mash. Scoop garlic mashed potatoes on a serving plate and top with prawns and salsa on the side.

This is an auspicious dish for the Chinese New Year. The word “yau yu” means Squid or cuttlefish and also means “abundance”. This cuttle fish is the dried type which have been soaked to soften. It is sold in wet markets or hypermarkets. The squids are fresh type which have to clean and discard the ink sac. Remove the skin and the heads. Criss-cross tops of cuttlefish and the squids with a sharp knife and do not cut through.

Ingredients:

250 gm squids
250 cuttle fish
3 thin slices ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 2 cm length
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon rice wine
Dash of vinegar

Method:

In a sauce pan, bring water to boil. Blanch squids and cuttlefish in hot water. Both will immediately roll and curl up and put aside. Heat a wok, fry garlic, ginger and spring onion for one minute and add in the cuttlefish and squids. Stir-fry and add wine and seasoning. Add a dash of vinegar and heat through. Remove and serve.

VideoJug: How To Make Prawn Curry

Its time for festivities again with Chinese New Year coming soon. Let’s make the occassion
simple, joyous and fun. Here is a recipe of a dish of prawns that cooks in a jiffy.

Ingredients:

12 large prawns, devein and tails left intact
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 tablespoom cornflour
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 packet Maggi Honey Chicken Paste
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion and parsley

Method:

Marinate prawns with salt and pepper and also sesame oil for 30 minutes. Dust prawns with
cornflour. Add 2 tablespoon oil in a heated pan and fry the prawns for 3 minutes on each side. Remove a put aside. Fry onions slices with the same oil and add Maggi Honey Chicken Paste and stir-fry the onions till soft and fragrant. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick. Pour sauce over prawns and garnish with spring onion and parsley.

VideoJug: How To Make Clam Chowder

Black pomfret is always available in wet markets and supermarkets. The black pomfret is cheaper than the silver pomfret as the former has a slight fishy smell when compared to the latter. So it is best to deep-fry and top with sweet and sour sauce or any sauce of your choice. It is delicious when it is cooked in curry and I have written in my previous recipes.

Ingredients:

600 gm Black pompret
Oil for deep-frying
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon garlic
1 red chilli, seeded and sliced
chopped spring onion and parsley for garnishing

Combined sauce:

3 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or orange juice
3 tblespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

Make a slant cut on both sides of fish. Rub salt evenly on both sides of it and dab cornflour all over fish. Heat enough oil until very hot.Place fish in the wok and deep-fry fish until golden brown. Remove and place fish on a serving dish. Remove excess oil and leave one tablespoon. Fry garlic until fragrant and add chilli and combined sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes and pour
sauce over fish. Garnish with chopped spring onions and parsley before serving.