Spicy Crabs with Pasta

This is a great one pot dish. If you love crabs, I am sure that you would love this dish. If you prefer prawns, you may also use this recipe. It doesn't take too long to cook and I hope you will enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced very small
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup salt-free fish stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 lb flaked crabmeat, with bones removed
• cooked pasta

Directions:

1. Heat up the oil in a large skillet or saucepan then stir in the garlic, bell pepper and red pepper flakes over moderate heat.
2. Then add the tomatoes and stir in the fish stock, tomato paste, parsley, sugar, lemon zest and bay leaf.
3. Continue cooking for about 7 to 10 minutes until it is thick.
4. Lastly, add in the crabmeat and continue cooking for about 3-5 minutes more.
5. Then serve it over hot cooked pasta such as spaghetti.

Hot and Spicy King Prawns

There are some fresh seafood ingredients in the market today and I've decided to cook myself some prawns. My husband enjoys hot and spicy food, so I decided to cook him some hot and spicy prawns. Like fish, prawns cooks really fast and if it is overcooked, the prawns can be very rubbery. The key to cook prawns is to ensure that the pan is hot and not to cook it for more than 4 minutes - depending of course to the size of the prawns.

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 lbs large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or 1 cup flat leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Firstly, heat up the olive oil in a very large skillet.
2. Then stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin, ginger and cayenne and cook over moderate heat until fragrant.
3. Then add the shrimp and cook it for about 2 to 4 minutes.
4. Finally, season it with salt and stir in the cilantro.
5. This dish is best serve warm with rice.

Banana Cake Recipe

Banana grows in clusters which hands from the top of the plant. Banana is rich in fiber and is very good for constipation. There are many ways of making banana interesting and one of them is to make a banana cake. Banana cake is simple and easy to do. All you need is just the following ingredients. Just follow the steps as discussed below and you will have your banana cake in no time.

Ingredients:

• 125 g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in the milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

1. Mix the butter, sugar, egg and soda thats been dissolved in the milk. Then add bananas and dry ingredients and vanilla essence and mix well.
2. Bake in 8 inch square pan in moderate oven (350F or 180C) for 30-40 minutes or until skewer comes out dry.
3. Ice with favourite icing.

Hokkien Mee Recipe

The word "Hokkien noodles" are different when it comes to the mind of the people in the north and the south of Peninsula Malaysia. The people in the north especially those in Penang, generally relate to prawn noodles as the common Hokkien noddles. Whereas, the people in the middle part, towards the southern part generally relate hokkien noodles as the "tai lok mee".

I actually didn't mind between the two as I love both hokkien nooddles. Even though both of them are very different from each other, they both tastes really good. Good food is to be shared by everyone to anyone. So here is the recipe for cooking "tai lok mee". I hope you enjoy it. P/S: This recipe is also good for making box noodles.

• 600g hokkien noodles
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 60 ml vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 small fresh red chilies, seeded,sliced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 200 g red capsicums, seeded,sliced
• 150 g green capsicum, seeded,sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 100 g shredded Chinese cabbage
• 400 g Chinese barbecue pork, sliced
• 80 ml kicap manis
• 60 ml oyster sauce

Directions:

1. Rinse noodles under hot water; drain.
2. Transfer to a large bowl, separate with a fork (being careful not to break them).
3. Heat a large oiled non-stick pan; pour in half the combined eggs and water.
4. Swirl pan to make a thin omelette; cook until just set.
5. Transfer omelette to board, roll tightly, cut into thin strips.
6. Repeat with remaining egg mixture.
7. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or large pan; stir-fry ginger, garlic, chilli and sugar until fragrant.
8. Add vegetables; stir-fry until cabbage is just wilted.
9. Remove vegetables from pan.
10. Heat remaining oil in same pan; stir-fry noodles 2 minutes.
11. Add vegetables, pork and combined sauces; stir-fry until heated through.
12. Serve sprinklered with omelette strips.

Fresh drink - Lime with Honeydew Melon

Honeydew melon goes very well with lime juice. Honeydew melon is sweet and lime is sour. The combination of both sweet and sour can be very refreshing especially if it is serve cold. Becareful not to put too much lime juice as it can make your honeydew melon taste sour. But if you like the sourness of lime, you may put more lime juice. This is good to be taken on any hot day and it is a recommended dish for barbecue parties.

• 1 honeydew melon
• 1 squeezed lime juice

Directions:

1. Cut the honeydew melon into wedges.
2. Sprinkle lime juice on each wedge and serve.

Kam Heong Lala Recipe

Clams are easy to cook and is a fast and cheap dish to be serve on any occasion. Although it is not a popular dish to be serve on a barbecue party, I would suggest you to do so. It is easy to cook and prepare and most importantly, it is delicious. While waiting for your barbecue meat to be ready, try cooking a plate of clams for your guests. I am sure they will love it. Just follow these simple steps.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg clams
• 2 tbsp dried shrimps
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 shallots finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 ginger slices minced
• 2 chilli padi
• 1/2 tbsp soy bean paste
• 4 sprigs curry leaves

Cooking Method:

1. Clean the clams and set aside.
2. Heat cooking oil in wok. Stir fry chopped dried shrimps for 1 minute. Then add the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli, taucheo and curry leaves. Stir fry until fragrant.
3. Then add the clams and curry paste to the wok. Cook the clams and when all the clams are opened, remove from heat. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch.

Apple Strudel Recipe

Recently I made a trip to Bakeoven at Sri Hartamas. As the restaurant was pack that morning and it was the first time I was at Bakeoven, I thought to myself that this could be a good deal restaurant. Little did I know that almost everything we ordered turns out quite badly. I ordered myself a big breakfast while my husband ordered the fried spaghetti and apple strudel. Their apple strudel's texture was very mushy and it wasn't sweet enough. So I took the trouble to look for an apple strudel recipe online and this is what I found. I did some modification here and there, but it does taste so much better than theirs. Anyway, enough of my ranting, enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups apples, tart, sliced
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 lemon, rind of, grated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup almonds, ground
• 8 ounces phyllo pastry, 1/2 box
• 1 3/4 cups butter
• 1 cup finely crushed breadcrumbs

Cooking Method:

1. Mix apples with raisins, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon, and almonds; set aside.
2. Place 1 phyllo leaf on a kitchen towel and brush with melted butter.
3. Place a second leaf on top and brush with butter again.
4. Repeat until 5 leaves have been used, using about 1/2 cup of butter.
5. Cook and stir bread crumbs with 1/4 cup of butter until lightly browned.
6. Sprinkle 3/4 cup crumbs on the layered phyllo leaves.
7. Mound 1/2 of the filling in a 3-inch strip along the narrow end of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border.
8. Lift towel, using it to roll leaves over apples, jelly roll fashion.
9. Brush top of the strudel with butter and sprinkle with 2 tbsp crumbs.
10. Repeat the entire procedure for the second strudel.
11. Bake the strudels at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned.

Unagi Kabayaki Recipe- Unagi Barbecue Style

I have posted the recipe for Unagi Teriyaki style before and I have received quite a number of response from many of you. Here, I am sharing another style of preparing unagi / eel - the Japanese style way - unagi kabayaki. The steps are quite easy. The only tricky part is to obtain all these ingredients. Eels are not sold in the Malaysian morning market as it is not popular among the locals. In Sekinchan, Selangor, you should be able to find eels at the padi farms. There are quite a number of "eel fisherman" who goes around the padi farm, fishing for eels.

However, in the town area in Malaysia, some of the places which offers eels for sale are in supermarkets and in Japanese restaurants. More often that not, these eels are already marinated and cooked. So if you know where to get good stock of eels in Malaysia, please let me know.

• 1 lb eel steak
• 3 tablespoons sake
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup fish stock

Directions:

1. Pour sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and fish stock in a pot.
2. Bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced by half.
3. Skewer eel steaks so that they will remain flat during cooking.
4. Place eel skin-side down on a preheated grill; cook 3 minutes on high. Flip eel and cook another 3 minutes.
5. Baste skin-side with sauce; flip and cook 1 minute. Baste meat side with sauce; flip and cook 1 minute.
6. Repeat previous step once more. The trick is to baste the meat a few times to ensure that the eel doesn't dry out.
7. Serve warm with rice.

French Fries Recipe - Potatoes

Pre-packed uncooked French fries are widely available in supermarkets. But if you like your potatoes fresh, why not try to make your own. I know many of you out there do not like peeling potatoes and cutting them as most of the time it will not look appetising. I have share the method on how to peel potatoes correctly here and you may refer to it if you would like to know more on how to peel potatoes correctly. Cooking yourself up a fresh batch of French fries is easy. All you need is patient. Follow the following steps, and I am sure you will love it.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Olive Oil

Steps:

1. Wash potatoes and cut them into semi-thin strips.
2. Place strips in a bowl and add cool water to cover the potatoes.
3. Wash out some of the"starch" and then drain the potatoes well.
4. Mix in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
5. Mix all of the potatoes well so that they all get coated evenly.
6. Place the potatoes on an aluminium foil and place it into the oven to bake them.

The Perfect Roast Turkey for the perfect family

It's the holiday season again. For those of you who are celebrating with family and friends, what are you going to cook for this coming Christmas? A Christmas meal wouldn't be complete without a whole flavourful and tasty turkey. Here's how you roast the perfect turkey. Please leave a comment if you like our recipe.

Nachos with Salsa and Cheese Recipe

Nachos with Salsa and Cheese

Who doesn't love nachos. I'm sure many of us does. Nachos with Salsa and Cheese is fast and easy to do recipe for party. So if you are having a party, follow these guidelines and you will find yourself a good and tasty nachos for your family and friends.