Spicy Crispy Fried Shrimp Salad

Servings: 4 - 5

Ingredients:

     Shrimp - Medium size, 500gm ( roughly 1 lb), shelled with tail on and deveined*
     Scallions -1 cup, chopped
     Onion - 1 lg, sliced (about .5 cm thick)
     Panko Bread crumbs - 1 cup
     Plain flour - 1/2 cup
     Oil - 1 tbsp
     Salt - 1/4 tsp
     Chili flakes - 1 tsp (or less upon your heat preference)

     Oil for deep frying

    Marinade:
    Garlic cloves - 6-7(or more if you are a garlic fanatic like me!)
    Birds eye chili - 4-5 (remove the seeds if you don't like the heat)
    Salt - to taste

Methods:

    1. In blender or mortar and pestle mash in the garlics and chili and salt to a smooth paste. Marinade the cleaned shrimps in the garlic mixture for at least half an hour.
    2. In a large bowl put the shrimps and slowly add the flour while tossing to coat evenly. If the flour coating  seems too dry then stop adding any more or just add a bit of water to make sure the shrimps are coated nicely in a creamy texture.
   3. Then add the panko crumbs to the shrimp, toss and shake off excess.
   4. Deep fry the shrimps over high heat in batches. It will take you about 2-3 min to cook each batch. Just wait to see if the shrimps have curled up and turn golden and crispy. You have to keep an eagle eye on  them otherwise they will burn really quickly as the heat is high. Drain the fried shrimps on a paper towel.
   5. Once all the shrimps have been fried up, heat a wok on high heat. Add the tbsp of oil and once hot add the chilli flakes. They will bubble up, add the sliced onions straight away.

    6. Saute until they soften a bit, then return the shrimps to the wok. Add the chopped scallions. Turn off the heat. Toss everything together, the residue heat will soften the scallions and add the sweet fragrance to the shrimps.
    7. Serve with any sides you like. They are absolutely yum just as they are.


Hints:
*Devein the shrimps by making a slit with a sharp knife along the back (or spine if only shrimps had one!) of the shrimps and remove the black sandy deposit that pretty much looks like a vein. Be careful not to break away the tails.

Hokkein Noodles with Garlic Sesame Prawns

Servings: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• Hokkein Noodles - 2 packets (450gms each)
• Prawn - 500gms, shelled and deveined
• Carrots - 1 cup, cut into strips
• Snowpeas - 2 cups, deveined
• Bean shoot - 2 cups, rinsed
• Garlic cloves - 3, minced
• Birds eye chili - 4-5, whole
• Chili flakes - 1 tsp ( or to taste)
• Salt - to taste
  
• Cooking oil
• 
  
• Sauce:
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
• Fish sauce - 1.5 tbsp
• Sesame oil - 1.5 tsp
• White vinegar - 1.5 tbsp
• Brown sugar - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl whisk in the ingredients for the sauce, set aside.
• 2. Cook the Hokkein noodles per package instructions, drain and set aside.
• 3. Heat oil in a large frying pan, add the minced garlic and the birds eye chilies, to infuse the oil with their scent and flavour.
• 4. Add the cleaned prawns and a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of the made sauce. Saute the prawns on high heat for about 3-4 min, till they curl up. Move them to the side of the pan.
• 5. Add the carrots and saute for a min or so.
• 
• 6. Add the snowpeas and stir to combine. Saute for 1-2 min.
• 7. Add the bean shoots and the drained noodles. Saute for 2-3 min on high heat. Pour the sauce over and stir to combine thoroughly. Turn the heat off and serve immediately.

Stir-fried Okra

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:

• Okra - 1 lb (500 gms), washed & cut into bite size pieces
• Onion - 1 med, thinly sliced
• Dried red chili peppers - 3- 4, torn in half
• Salt- to taste

Methods:

• 1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a non-stick wok.
  
• 2. Add the chili peppers, saute to infuse the oil. Add the onions and salt. Saute till the onions are translucent.
• 3. Add the cut okra, saute on high heat for 6-9 min stirring continuously, or till cooked through. Saute until your preference of crispness. I personally do not like the slimy texture so I fry it for extra long. Make sure not to overcook though, as then the colour will not stay as green.
  
• 4. Serve with plain white rice, or any side of your choice.
  

Sesame Coated Chicken Broccoli Stir-fry

Few months ago I had this sudden urge to make some hummus and thus had bought this huge bag of sesame seeds... Yes, you guessed right.... I never got around to making it.... Few days ago I opened my cupboard and there it is, the bag of sesame seeds... sitting bored and wanting attention. I could definitely NOT ignore it, could I?? So, here it is... I finally saved them from boredom and added to this simple and yummy dish... I love chicken, I love broccoli, and adding the Sesame ?? The result was brilliant!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast - 2, cut into thin strips
• Broccoli florets - 3 cups, steamed
• Onion - 1 lrg, sliced lengthwise
• Garlic cloves - 2-3, crushed
• Chili powder - 1.5 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Sesame Seeds - 3-4 tbsp
  
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Olive oil

Method:

• 1. Prepare the chicken by cleaning and cutting them. In a bowl mix in salt, pepper, chili powder, coriander powder and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Coat the chicken strips in the spice mixture and set aside to marinate for 1/2 hour.
• 2. Heat you wok till smoking hot, add 2 tbsp of oil. Add the crushed garlic, saute to infuse the oil with the fragrance.
  
• 3. Add the chicken strips, saute on high heat for about 4-5 min, till they are cooked through.
• 4. Add the onions and the broccoli. Since the broccoli florets are already steamed, you only need 1-2 min to saute them, just enough for the onions to soften a bit.
  
• 5. Add the sesame seeds, saute till they are a little toasted and your kitchen fills up with the nutty aroma. AND you are done. Serve with plain white rice.
  

Spinach Pumpkin Stir-fry

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Leaf Spinach (frozen*) - 1 lb (450 gm)
• Pumpkin - 2 cups, cut into cubes
• Onion - 1 med, thinly sliced
• Garlic cloves - 2 thinly sliced
• Dried Chili pepper - 2 - 3, torn into small pieces
• Salt - to taste
• Paprika powder - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a non-stick pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil. Add the dried chili peppers and the garlic, saute to infuse the oil.
  
• 2. Add the onions and salt. Saute till they are translucent.
  
• 3. Add the frozen spinach and stir to combine. The heat will defrost the spinach as well as cook it. Keep sauteing for 5-8 min on medium-high heat.
  
• 4. Meanwhile, in a microwavable bowl, place the cubed pumpkin. In half cup of water mix in the paprika powder with 1 tsp of sugar. You can skip the sugar. I, however, like extra sweet pumpkins. Pour the spiced water over the pumpkins, cover and microwave on high for 3-5 min till they are perfectly steamed.
• 5. Once the spinach has reached a dark green colour, and all the excess moisture has evaporated, add the pumpkins to the spinach. Saute for 2-3 min.
• 6. Serve with white rice.
  

Hints:
* You can use fresh ones, I like the frozen ones coz there is less work as no need to wash or chop. If you are using fresh ones, then adjust the measurements.

Stir-fry Balsamic Vegetables

Servings: 4

Ingredients*:

• Carrots - 2 med, thinly sliced in 1.5 inch long pieces
• Cauliflower florets - 1.5 cup
• Broccoli florets - 1.5 cup
• Beans - 1 cup, cut into 1.5 inch long pieces
• Green capsicum - 1 lrg, thinly sliced lengthwise
• Snow peas - 1 cup
• Chopped Italian Parsley - 1/2 cup (optional)

• For sauce:
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Balsamic Vinegar - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp (adjust depending on the saltiness of the soy sauce)
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl, mix in all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
• 2. In a microwavable bowl, put all the cleaned and cut vegetables, sprinkle 1/2 cup of water, cover and steam for 2 min on high in the microwave.
  
• 3. In a wok, heat 2 tbsp of oil till smoking hot. Add the veg and stir fry for about 4-5 min, for it to be cooked but still stay crunchy.
• 4. Pour over the sauce, stir to coat all the veg properly. Turn the heat off, and sprinkle the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
  

Hints:
*You can use any choice of vegetables you like.

Szechuan Beef & Vegetables

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• Whole pepper corns- 1 tbsp
• Dried chili peppers - 2 tbsp
• Ginger root- 1.5 cm long, grated finely
• Garlic cloves - 3-4, crushed
• Water chestnuts - 1/2 cup, thinly sliced
• Snow peas - 1 cup, whole (or halved if too big)
• Capsicum/ bell pepper(any colour) - 1, julienned
• Carrots - 1 lrg, julienned
• Green onions/ scallions - 3, chopped into 1 inch long pieces
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Cider vinegar - 1 tbsp
• 
  
• For the Marinade:
• Beef rib-eye steak- 1 lb, cut into thin strips
• Tomato sauce/ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Cider vinegar - 1 tbsp
• Salt - adjust to taste, since the soy sauce will be salty
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients for the marinade and marinate the beef strips overnight or minimum of 2 hours, refrigerated. On the day of cooking, take them out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, for at least half hour before cooking.
  
• 2. In a wok, heat 3 tbsp of oil, till smoking hot. Add the pepper corns, saute for few min, then remove the pepper corns with a spoon. This is just to infuse the oil with the peppery taste and scent.
• 3. Add the dried chili peppers to the oil, saute for couple of min. Add the garlic, ginger and the beef strips. Saute on high heat till they are cooked. For about 3-4 min.

• 4. Add the vegetables, except the scallions and stir-fry for about 3 - 4 min on high heat.
• 5. In a bowl, mix in the vinegar, soy sauce, and the sugar. Pour this mixture on top of the beef and veg. Turn the heat off. Stir to combine everything together. Garnish with the chopped scallions. Serve with plain white rice.

Hints:
For a vegetarian version, you can skip the meat altogether. Also, use any combination of vegetables you like.

Stir Fried Spaghetti

I came up with this dish one day, when I wanted to have some Asian inspired stir-fried noodles, and had to do good with whatever ingredients I had available that will be close to it. The result was far away from any Asian noodles, but still it was sooooooooooooo yummy that I had to share.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti - 1 lb (450 gm)
• Chicken breast fillet - 1, deboned and cut into thin strips
• Baby Spinach Leaves - 2 cups
• Fresh Roma tomato - 2 large, each cut into 8 cubes
• Breakfast beef sausage patties - 4, cut into bite size cubes.
• Garlic powder - 1 tsp
• Salt & Pepper - to taste
  

Methods:

• Place the cut-up tomatoes on a baking dish, sprinkle some oilve oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper on top, and broil/grill for 5- 10 min, untill they shrivel up. You can also use roast tomatoes instead, if you like.
  
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as instructed on the package. Drain.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non stick-pan, add the chicken, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Saute till they are cooked through and browned a bit.
  
• Add the sausage pieces and saute for 3-5 more min, till they crisp up.
• Add the pasta and stir fry with the chicken and sausages for few more min (3-5).
• Just before taking it off the heat, stir in the roast tomatoes and the spinach. Turn of the heat and stir to mix everything up evenly. The residue heat will wilt the spinach down.
  
• Serve and enjoy.
  

Stir-fried Tindora with Crushed Mustard Seeds

Tindora is a vegetable which is mostly used in Indian cooking. I came up with this dish when I bought a bunch of Tindora and found out that they don't taste too good if used with too much Indian spices. So I came up with this simple but spicy concoction. However, if you cannot find Tindora, you can use green beans instead for this recipe. Of course, they do not taste the same. Nevertheless, the green beans also make a very tasty dish which can be served alongside some grilled chicken or steak.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Tindora - 1 lb/ 500gms, cut in half, lengthwise.*
• Onion- 1 large, sliced thinly.
• Green chillies- 4/5 (depending on heat preference, you can use more or less), sliced in half
• Whole mustard seeds - 1.5 tsp, coarsely crushed in mortar & pestle
• Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
  
• Salt - to taste

Methods:

• Wash the tindora, cut the tips, and slice them in half lengthwise.
• Blanch them in boiling salted water till cooked. Make sure not to overdo it, they should still be green and a slight crispy. Drain and set aside, covered.
  
• Heat 2 tblsp of olive oil in a pan. Add the onions, saute till translucent.
• Add the tindora and the chillies. Add the crushed mustard seeds and the cumin powder and a pinch of salt. Also add couple of tblsp of the blanching water to the pan to cook the spices.
• Saute for 5-7 min till the water evaporates and the tindora looks shiny and crispy.
• Serve immediately with rice.**

Hints:
* If using green beans instead of tindora, do not cut the beans in half. Just cut the tips and keep them whole. You can also use a mixture of green and yellow beans to give the dish a vibrant colour.
**This dish is very sensitive to timing, so do not cook more than required for the current meal, as the left-overs taste pretty dull.