Crab and corn croquette

Crab and Corn Croquette



Ingredients
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp fresh cream
250 ml milk
A
3 large potatoes - cooked in boiling water till soft then mashed - cooled
200 gms crab meat - fresh or canned
1 can sweet corn )
1 onion - sliced ) can be omitted
30 gms butter
salt and pepper to taste
B
flour
1 beaten egg
panko (japanese breadcrumbs)

Method:
1. Heat butter in fry pan, then add the flour, stir until well mixed. Then slowly add the milk a little at a time and stir till lump free. Add cream.
2. Add ingredients A and mix well. Leave to cool.
3. When mixture is finally cool, shape into cutlets or balls or any shape you wish and coat in flour. Then dip into beaten egg and finally coat with panko.
4. As the ingredients are more or less cooked, you do not need to deep fry the croquettes. Just shallow fry till golden brown and dish out.

Beef Salad

Beef Salad

Quick and easy healthy weekday dinner.



Ingredients: - for 3 ppl
Sirloin or Rump Steak (400 gms)
Red Onion - sliced
Celery - sliced
Mango - seeded and sliced
cucumber - julienned
red chilli - pounded
fish sauce
a little palm sugar
coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. Season steak with salt and pepper and grill on both sides for 4 - 5 mins each depending on how you like your steak done. Rest for 5 mins. Slice.
2. Mix all salad ingredients and add seasoning to taste.
3. Place sliced beef on salad and it's ready to go!

Terong Belado

Terong Belado (Aubergines with chilli)
This is an Indonesian recipe which Pat likes and one day he turned to me and said that I had not made this for some time now and he would like to have it for dinner.

So here is my recipe for Terong Belado.

Ingredients:
1 fat purple aubergine(brinjal, eggplant)
1 clove garlic
2 chilles (or more depending on how spicy you want it)
1 big onion - quartered
1 tomato - quartered
a little piece of belachan
salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method:
1. Slice the aubergine half lengthwise, the slightly score into diamond shape on the flesh side. Use a fork to stab into the aubergine to help it cook and soften quicker.
2. Place them on an oiled baking sheet(brush top of aubergines with oil as well) in a preheated oven of about 220 deg C. Leave it to bake for about 1/2 hour or until the aubergines are quite soft.
3. Whilst the aubergines are cooking in the oven, prepare your paste. Dump all the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend it until fine.
4. Remove from blender and heat a saucepan. When it is hot, add some oil and fry the rempah (spice ingredients)for about 5 mins. Remove from pan and leave aside.
5. Once aubergines are soft, remove from oven and "butter" the spice ingredients onto the aubergines and cook for another 10 mins.

Joys of the London Underground (Part 2)

Joys of the London Underground (Part 2)

Like they say in Singapore... "Can die" .. this expression aptly captures what I felt this evening!

Left the office at 5.30 as boss was not in, so thought, alright will be home around 6.30 or 7pm but ....so, left the office at 5.30, caught the train and then driver announced that there were no trains between Aldgate and Wemberley. This was fine as the train I was on was going to Wemberley, so no problems there, right? Wrong! Halfway through, another announcement... this time that the train wasn't going to Wemberley, only stopping at Wilsden Green. So how, got off the train to wait for the next train that would go to either Wemberley or beyond. Took that, and then changed at Wemberley for the train home. That itself was another challenge as train only moved a bit because of signal failure elsewhere, someone got sick on another train, oh the excuses they made.... so finally got home 2 hours later again. Sigh... this time not my fault but courtesy of the London Underground!

The Joys of London Underground

The Joys of the London Underground - The Tube

Last Friday it took me 2 hours to get home from work. Why? Well, to start from the beginning... since I started work, I have been driving to South Ruislip station, parking there and taking the tube. Parking at the station costs me £83 a month. It's so expensive but what can I do? Then during the Xmas hols, we went into town and Pat parked at a different station. It was only £2 a day which means £40 a month, a saving of £43. Wow! So from last Monday onwards, parked at this different station taking a different route to work. Halfway through I have to change trains to get to my destination. So back to my story. Left work and where I was supposed to change trains to get home, there was a train on the other platform waiting. I just jumped in without even thinking of looking at the destination as I have always been lucky the last 4 days. Then halfway through the journey after the driver had closed the door, he said train was going to Amersham. S*** I thought... and the worst thing was that this was a semi express train, which did not stop at the next station. It only stopped like 5 stations away. Mumbling and scolding myself under my breath, made my way to the opposite platform to wait for the train to get home. Haiz... moral of the story? Look that the board before boarding. Kekeke!

First day of work and snowing

First day of work after a 2 week break

For 2 weeks, I had the luxury of waking up at 8 or 9 every morning, hmm.... then this morning and for the next how many hundred mornings, have to wake up at 6 to get ready for work. Went into the bathroom and as we have a velux window there, saw some snow. Did a double take and walked back to the bedroom to look out of the window to get a better look... yup... it snowed throughout the night. So anyway, continued getting ready and when it was time to leave, got into the car and reversed out onto the road. Oh before that, K called to say that the slope onto the main road was icy so beware of sliding around. To continue, reversed out to the road and then nothing happened, car moved a few meters and stopped... my jag simply couldn't make it up the road. Aiya, wasted my time earlier cleaning the snow off my car. So went back in and changed cars with Pat, he has got a 4 x 4 and my goodness, what a difference it made, with no effort at all, I was at the main road and continued my journey.

New Year Eve Dinner

Happy New Year 2009!

Quiet New Year Eve Dinner with family. As mum was with us, did not have any party or go to any, so had peranakan dinner of Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs/Chicken Wing, Mango Fish, Papaya masak Titek, babi assam garam (pix posted previously)and Aubergine with minced pork. Forgot to take pix of the aubergine.

Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs and Chicken Wings


Ingredients:

(A)
10 Buah Keluak (soaked in water for about 1 week - change water every 3 days)
15 raw prawns
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt

(B)
1 inch galangal
3 stalks lemongrass
4 pcs candlenut
50 gm shrimp paste
4 red chillies
2 dried chillies
1 big onion or 15 shallots
1 tsp tumeric powder

(C)
50 gm tamarind soaked in 150ml water, squeezed and strained
700 ml water

500 gm pork ribs or
10 chicken wings or half and half of both

Method:
1. Remove nuts from water and brush them to remove sandy particles.
crack nut at opening and remove meat. Pound or grind together with raw prawns to form a smooth paste. Add salt and sugar, then refill shells.
2. Grind (B) to a paste. Heat oil in sauce pan and fry pounded ingredients B till fragrant. Add (C)and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pork ribs and let it boil for 5 mins. Reduce heat and cook for about 1/2 hour. Add chicken wings and black nuts and cook for 1/2hour or till chicken is tender.

Mango Fish


Ingredients:
2 pcs fish fillet (White) - sliced
1 green mango (peeled and shredded)
1 carrot (peeled and shredded)

Sauce/Seasoning
1 - 2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp marmite
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper
3 tsp oil
2 tbsp tapioca starch/flour

Method:
1. Mix shredded mango and carrot. Add 1/2 tsp salt and set aside for 5 mins. Add 1 tsp sugar and marinate and set aside.
2. Marinate the fish fillet slices with seasoning for 10 - 15 mins.
3. Heat up enough oil to deep fry the fish fillets. Before frying the fish, coat in tapioca flour and fry until golden brown. Dish out onto kitchen paper.
4. Put remainder of seasoning/sauce mixture in small saucepan and add 1/2 cup water and boil until it thickens. Put in fried fish and coat evenly with sauce.
5. Place shredded mango and carrot onto a plate and place fish fillets onto the shredded ingredients.
6. Serve

Papaya Masak Titek


This is another peranakan dish that is seldom seen in restaurants.

Ingredients:
(A)
3 candlenuts
1 tbsp shrimp paste
1 big onion or 10 shallots
1 red chilli
1 tbsp ground black pepper

1 Fish Cube
2 green papaya
12 big raw prawns or 2 fish fillets - sliced into pieces (white fish)
700 ml water
50 gm dried prawns - ground
50 gm salted fish

Method:
1. Grind A to a fine paste
2. Skin papaya and cut into pieces
3. Fill pan with the 700 ml water, add A, ground dried prawns and fish stock. Bring to boil. Put in the papaya pieces and boil till almost tender. Add fish slices or prawns or both for 5 mins till seafood is cooked. Remove from heat and serve.