Cereal Butter Prawns (I)

Melt some butter and, when it's bubbling nicely, grab a few sprigs of curry leaves and rip off the leaves (with style, of course). Toss 'em in the wok, together with a roughly chopped up cili padi. Stir vigorously, knocking the spatula against the wok now and then. (Not sure what the knocking is for but that's what chefs do. Maybe it's a man thing?)

Butter, curry leaves and cili padi are all ingredients with pretty strong flavours but they complement rather than overwhelm each other. Each stands its ground, yet works with the other two to create a killer combination loved by young and old alike.

The party of three is excellent as it is but why stop there? When the aroma of the curry leaves starts drifting round the kitchen, tip a good half cup of cereal into the sizzling butter (with a flourish please). A few more vigorous stirs and – voila! – there's a pile of golden sand in the wok. I know many people would happily eat this crunchy sandy mixture with a shovel! It's so good it makes even cardboard taste good. (Not that I've tried, of course. I'll stick to prawns fried in the shell, thank you very much.)

I'd always thought cereal prawns were made with oatmeal, so my first stab at the recipe was with some Quaker instant oats that had been sitting on the kitchen counter, unloved and untouched. When the oats were mixed with melted butter, all I got was a disgusting, soggy lump that tasted downright nasty. Into the bin it went, no hesitation at all, and the prawns were eaten sans cereal.

Note to self: (1) '麦片' means cereal flakes; that's why '麦片虾', in English, is cereal prawns; (2) oatmeal is commonly referred to as '麦片' (which isn't wrong since oat is a cereal) but, strictly speaking, it should be '燕麦片'; and (3) I need to improve my Chinese!

The second time round, after a bit of research, I bought a pack of Nestum All Family Cereal. This one, recommended by many cooks, worked like a charm. It was super fragrant and super crispy – a total success! There were smiling faces, finger licking, and nods of approval all round.
Yay!

Did you know that Nestum cereal, made by Nestlé, is 67% wheat flour? The rest of the ingredients are rice flour, sugar, corn and various vitamins. So everyone who eats Nestum cereal, thinking it's good for his health because that's what the ads say, is actually eating enriched, baked flour. Except it's sold at almost four times the price of regular raw flour. Nestlé is really smart, eh? No wonder it's the biggest food company in the world.

Would you like some Flour Butter Prawns? Nah, I think I'd go along with Nestlé. Cereal Butter Prawns sounds so much better!

13 August 2012 Update

CEREAL BUTTER PRAWNS (麦片虾) (Recipe for 2-4 persons) Cereal mix ¾ cup Nestum cereal (original flavour) ½ tsp salt 1½ tsp sugar 1½ tbsp milk powder 300 g medium size prawns (8 pieces) trim, devein, wash, and dry thoroughly 1 tsp salt ½ egg, beaten 1½ tbsp plain flour vegetable oil for deep-frying 30 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp) 1 bird's eye chilli, thinly sliced 6-10 sprigs curry leaves rinse and dry with paper towels; discard stalks to yield about 1/8 cup Thoroughly stir ingredients for cereal mix. Set aside. Sprinkle prawns with salt. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with flour and mix till coated. Deep-fry in just smoking oil over maximum heat possible till just cooked. Drain. Heat butter till bubbling and lightly brown. Add curry leaves and chilli. Fry over medium heat till fragrant. Reduce heat to low. Add cereal mix. Stir till lightly golden. Curry leaves should crisp up as excess moisture is absorbed by cereal. Add prawns and toss till well mixed, turning off heat as cereal turns fully golden brown. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Plate and serve.

Har Lok (干煎虾碌, Dry-Fried Prawns)

Remember har lok? It was the prawn dish that ruled the scene before (relative) newbies like cereal prawns and butter prawns usurped its throne.

Back when every household cooked practically everyday and eating out was a rare occasion, har lok was the centrepiece for festive occasions. It's fallen by the wayside a bit, which is not necessarily a bad thing because that makes room for new dishes. But let's not totally forget the Cantonese classic, shall we?


Strictly speaking, har lok shouldn't be made with whole prawns. It should be made with chopped up pieces because 'har lok ' means just that, prawn pieces. But the chopped up pieces would be really small unless I have huge – read expensive – prawns. The scrooge in me forbids paying for big prawns, only to chop 'em up. So please excuse me for making har lok which isn't true to its name, with smaller, cheaper whole prawns.

Chopped up or not, har lok is delicious so long as the prawns are succulent and fragrant. And I always say "Hello, har lok!" to each and every prawn I eat. So childish, yah?

HAR LOK (干煎虾碌; DRY-FRIED PRAWNS) (Recipe for 4 persons) 600 g prawns, 16 pieces, trim, devein, rinse and dry with paper towels ½ tbsp dark soya sauce ½ tbsp salt 2 tbsp tomato ketchup 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp vegetable oil ⅛ tsp white sesame oil Marinate prawns with dark soya sauce and salt for 15 minutes. In a bowl, stir Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and sugar till thoroughly mixed. Set aside. In a wok or pan, fry prawns in stonking hot oil over high heat till 70-80% cooked, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Transfer to a plate. Drizzle 2 tbsp water around the pan/wok. Swirl to deglaze. Add Worcestershire sauce mixture. Reduce till sauce is slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add prawns and toss till well coated and fully cooked. Sprinkle with a few drops of white sesame oil. Plate and serve.

Pandan Leaf Chicken

Whenever I see Pandan Leaf Chicken, I'd remember the lunch I had with my Australian boss in a Thai restaurant in Melbourne. That was a long time ago, when Australians probably weren't as familiar with Thai food as they are now.

One of the dishes we had was Pandan Leaf Chicken and, as I chatted away, Boss did something that I still remember now. He picked up a piece of fried chicken, unwrapped it, and put the entire pandan leaf in his mouth – no chicken, just the stiff, wiry leaf!

My eyes widened in horror and my mind went, 'WHOA! WHOA! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!'

I guess I should have warned him immediately but I was too taken aback. I was speechless for a second and then – when I was about to yell, 'DON'T EAT THAT!!!' – I could see that the leaf was already halfway down his throat. 'Oh sh¡t! He's gonna choke, and I don't know how to do the whatever manoeuver!'

As I panicked at the thought of my boss lying on the restaurant floor, dead, he stretched his neck like a pelican or seagull swallowing a big fish. And then, lo and behold, the leaf was down! Crikey! See the photo? A fried pandan leaf is stiff enough to stand upright but he managed to swallow it.

Glad that I didn't have to phone for an ambulance and there was someone to drive me back to the office, I breathed a sigh of relief and continued eating. I didn't say anything about the pandan leaf, and my boss thankfully didn't try to eat another piece.

Some years after the pandan leaf incident, I ordered some vine leaves wrapped with rice and whatnots whilst having lunch with a friend. Being the country bumpkin that I was (and still am), I had never had dolma before. After the Greek dish arrived, I looked at the vine leaves and remembered my ex-boss' culinary faux pas. 'Hmm, am I supposed to eat these things that look like lotus leaves?' I wondered. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my new friend, so I unwrapped the leaves and gingerly pushed them aside.

'Aren't you going to eat those?' my friend asked.

Dang, those leaves were meant to be eaten! I was wrong but, hey, not as wrong as the man who ate a fried pandan leaf. 'I don't like vine leaves,' I said without batting an eyelid.

PANDAN LEAF CHICKEN (GAI HOR BAI DTOEI) Source: Thai Food, David Thompson (Recipe for 5 persons) 3 chicken legs or 4 chicken thighs, about 600 g skinned and boned Marinade 1 piece ginger, thumb size, wash, peel and chop roughly 2 coriander roots, wash and chop roughly 3 cloves garlic, peel and chop roughly 10 white peppercorns 5 tbsp palm sugar 3 tbsp red rice vinegar (or any sweet vinegar) pinch of salt ½ cup kecap manis (thick, sweet soya sauce) 2 tbsp white sesame oil 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce pinch of ground star anise, optional large pinch of white sesame seeds, toasted 24 large pandan leaves, washed and dried oil for deep-frying Wash and dry chicken. Cut into 24 bite size pieces. Blend or pound marinade ingredients till smooth. Use half to marinate chicken for at least 2 hours. There should be enough to almost cover the chicken. Chicken may be marinated overnight without being overseasoned. Remaining marinade is the dipping sauce. Taste and, if necessary, dilute with 1 tbsp water. Sprinkle with white sesame seeds. Cover and set aside. After the chicken is marinated, wrap each piece in a pandan leaf: Click here for a video on how to wrap the chicken. Don't cover the meat completely. Exposed parts will turn brown and fragrant after deep-frying. Drain wrapped chicken for a few minutes to remove excess marinade. Deep-fry in just smoking oil over high heat till leaves are brown and meat just cooked, 2-3 minutes. Drain. Serve immediately with the sauce on the side.

Dry-Fried Bitter Gourd

There're two types of bitter gourd in my neck of the woods: big and small. I think some health freaks enthusiasts buy the small ones to make juice? Ewww . . . . They look really bitter – the gourds, not the fr . . . sorry, health enthusiasts.

Bitter gourds that are really bitter have hard, narrow ridges and are darker green. The less bitter ones are relatively softer, less green, more yellow, and have wide ridges. The bitter gourds I cook are the big ones that, over the years, have become less bitter. I used to sweat them before cooking but that's not necessary now.

I love frying the living daylights out of thinly sliced bitter gourd. The wok must be stonking hot and no water is added so that everything is dry and nicely charred. That includes an egg which, because there's too little oil, sticks to the wok and burns. I then scrape it up with a spatula, making sure I get everything off. These little bits of slightly burnt eggs, along with the garlic and caramelized light soya sauce, add to the fragrance from the charred bitter gourd.

Dry-fried bitter gourd may look quite unattractive compared to a green and moist stir-fry that has water added. But the strong aroma more than makes up for the lack of looks. I'd rather enjoy bitter gourd with my mouth and nose than eyes. The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

DRY-FRIED BITTER GOURD (干扁苦瓜) (Recipe for 4 persons) 250 g bitter gourd (aka bitter melon), rinsed, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 big clove garlic, thinly sliced 1 tbsp light soya sauce pinch of sugar 1 egg, beaten with ½ tsp light soya sauce Spread out bitter gourd on a plate for 10-15 minutes so that it dries out a bit. Heat wok (preferably not non-stick) till stonking hot. Add oil and heat till just smoking. Add garlic and stir to coat with oil. Do not brown. Add bitter gourd. Stir briefly, then spread out bitter gourd in the wok and let it fry, without stirring, till lightly brown. Turn over and fry till second side is also lightly brown. Drizzle with 1 tbsp light soya sauce and add pinch of sugar. Stir till soya sauce is absorbed. Drizzle with beaten egg. Wait a few seconds for the egg to turn slightly brown. Mix gently, scraping any egg that may be stuck to the wok. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Plate and serve.

Salt-Grilled Salmon Head

I have a great solution for people who don't eat fish heads because they don't like the eyes staring at them. Eat the eyes first, then there's nothing to stare with!

When I made my very helpful suggestion to an ang moh friend who didn't like ocular animal parts, he thought I was kidding. So I promptly dug out one of the eyes that was causing him distress, and popped it in my mouth. It was so smooth and soft, it just glided down my throat.

"Mmmmm . . . oishi! Delicious! Do you want the other one?"

"Er . . . no, thanks!"

So I ate the left eye as well. He had no idea what he was missing! And he still looked horrified, shrinking back in his chair, even though there were no more fish eyes staring at him. God knows why!

In case you don't know, the soft stuff much coveted by eye connoisseurs like myself are the muscles that attach the eye to the socket. I eat the entire eyeball except for the white round thingy and sac. Which are, I think, the lens and lens sac but I'm not 100% sure.

There isn't much meat on a salmon head but the little there is comprises the choicest parts of the entire fish. The 'collar' – or front part of the neck if the fish had a neck – is full of fat that melts in the mouth. The cheeks just beneath the eyes are moist and smooth as silk. Then there're the fish lips – stand aside, Angelina Jolie! – charred to perfection.

'Meow meeoow miaaw miiaao . . . .'

See? The fish experts agree with me!

SALT-GRILLED SALMON HEAD (SAKE KABUTO SHIOYAKI) (Recipe for 1 person) ½ salmon head, cleaned and rinsed ½ tsp salt 1 wedge lemon Dry fish head thoroughly with paper towels. If possible, refrigerate for a few hours, uncovered and placed on a rack, to help the fish head dry out. Or you could use a hair dryer! Preheat grill. Line grill tray with aluminium foil. Place grill rack in the tray. Sprinkle ¼ tsp salt on cut side of fish head. Grill till slightly charred with oven door ajar, 7-8 minutes. Fish fat should start bubbling and spitting after 5 minutes. Turn fish over. Sprinkle skin side with remaining ¼ tsp salt. Again, grill till slightly charred, 7-8 minutes. Serve immediately with wedge of lemon on the side.

Steamed Pork Ribs with Pickled Plums

Ribs again, after the last post on coffee pork ribs? Well, that's all I have in the fridge.

The last time I shopped was more than a week ago, before Chinese New Year. I tried to stock up last Sunday but there wasn't anything fresh at all. The market and supermart were all clearing their leftovers from before the holidays. I'm guessing they'd be clearing their old stocks till this weekend, so I'm following suit. No one's fobbing off stale stuff on me!

After feasting on "heaty" goodies like steamboat and bak kwa, it's time to rebalance the body by eating more "cooling" stuff like fruits and vegetables. And for meat devotees who must eat an animal part or two everyday, pork ribs steamed with pickled plums is a good option. According to traditional Chinese medicine principles, frying or roasting meat makes it "heaty" but steaming doesn't. And it's even better if the steamed meat is paired with pickled plums, which is a strong "cooling agent".

Steamed pork ribs with pickled plums is good for whetting the appetite 'cause it's a bit sour. Loss of appetite is one of the signs of an overly 'heaty" body, together with bad breath and a furry tongue. If indiscriminate eating continues despite these warnings, there could be mouth ulcers, throat infections, acne and, in serious cases, nose bleeds. In other words, it's time to lay off the bak kwa and fried chicken! Have some steamed ribs instead, with a pickled plum or two thrown in. It's not necessary to abstain from all meat. Done the right way, you can have your meat and eat it too!

STEAMED PORK RIBS WITH PICKLED PLUMS (梅子蒸排骨) Source: All About Pork Ribs (Recipe for 4 persons) 400 g pork prime ribs, chopped 2½ cm (1 inch) long, washed, and dried Marinade 1 red chilli, washed and roughly chopped 1 tbsp mashed pickled plums (水梅), without seeds 1 tbsp light soya sauce 1 tbsp plum paste (酸梅膏) 1 tbsp water 1½ tsp Shaoxing wine 1 tsp oil ½ tsp sugar ¼ tsp ground white pepper ½ tbsp potato flour 1 tbsp roughly chopped spring onions . . . or Chinese parsley In a deep plate, stir marinade ingredients till well combined. Add ribs and massage till marinade is absorbed. Set aside for 30 minutes, stirring once midway. Sprinkle with potato flour. Mix thoroughly. Steam over bubbling water till tender, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with spring onions or Chinese parsley. Serve, with steamed rice generously drizzled with the savory meat juices.

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Coffee Pork Ribs

I'm not a coffee addict. I have only seven cups a day . . . .

Just kidding, folks. I have three, max; most days I have two. I always have one first thing in the morning, sometimes with a couple of cream crackers for dunking. On days when I'm a good girl, that's the only coffee I'd have.

My favourite coffees are macchiato (espresso with a dollop of steamed milk) and romano (espresso with lemon zest) when I want 'proper' coffee. I also like latte, for washing down cookies or cake, but that's more like coffee-flavoured milk rather than coffee. Whatever coffee it is, it's always without sugar.

I love food that's slightly bitter, from bitter gourd to bitter chocolate, and anything made with coffee such as coffee cheesecake and coffee candy. Pork ribs deep-fried and coated with coffee? Yeah, baby, yeah!

Like a lot of people, I've got quite a jaded palette. So I'm always on the lookout off the (culinary) beaten path, hoping to find something exciting. That's why I love the taste of coffee in a savory meat dish. It's unusual, something that makes me go, "Hmm? Hmm . . . . Mmm . . . . MMMMM . . . !"

Making coffee pork ribs isn't difficult. The only tricky part is deep-frying the ribs so that the batter is crisp but the meat is still juicy. But it's nothing that can't be nailed after practising a few times. The other crucial part is the sauce and for this, I use a recipe from All About Pork Ribs. It's made with a mix of instant coffee powder, Worcestershire sauce, maltose and sugar. I'm sure that's not how it's done by Sam Leong, the chef who reportedly invented Singapore style coffee pork ribs. But I like it 'cause it has the right hint of coffee, and it's a doddle without any unusual ingredients.

I should have copied Sam Leong's presentation though. The famous chef leaves the ribs long, and serves them in a coffee mug. Cute, isn't it? Definitely a off-the-beaten-path look that goes with the off-the-beaten-path taste.

Note to self: must remember this presentation before hacking up the ribs!

COFFEE PORK RIBS (咖啡排骨) (Recipe for 4 persons) 500 g pork prime ribs, chopped about 3 cm long Marinade 1 egg 1½ tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp white sesame oil ½ tsp salt ½ tsp sugar ¼ tsp baking soda 3½ tbsp water 3 tbsp plain flour 3 tbsp potato flour vegetable oil for deep-frying Sauce 2 tbsp maltose 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp sugar 2 tsp instant coffee powder 3 tbsp water Wash and dry ribs. Beat marinade ingredients till well combined. Massage ribs with marinade. Marinate for 2 hours, stirring once mid-way. Mix potato flour and plain flour. Give ribs and marinade a thorough stir. Transfer ribs (minus excess marinade) to flour mixture. Toss till ribs are well coated. Deep-fry in moderately hot oil over medium heat till just cooked and lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Drain. Reheat oil till just smoking. Refry ribs till golden brown. Drain again. Heat sauce ingredients till thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add ribs. Toss till well coated. Serve.

Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

I don't know if pickles are part of 'normal' eating for other people but they are for me. In these times when everyone is oh-so-busy, is it necessary to make your pickles? Oh yes it is, when I eat the amount I do! Some folks polish off ice-cream by the tub; I inhale pickles by the truckload. To each his/her own, I guess.

I love achar, my favourite amongst tart and crisp preserved veggies, but making it takes some time. When I want something easier, I go for Jacky Yu's Sichuan style cucumber pickle.

Unlike Nyonya achar, Sichuan style pickling doesn't involve grinding and frying spices or roasting peanuts. A few tablespoonfuls of hot broad bean paste, chilli oil and white sesame oil provide all the oomph needed.

Unscrew a few bottles and pour. How easy is that?

And if I want it even easier, I could opt out of cutting up the cucumbers. A few hard whacks from the cleaver would suffice, which is how it's done by the northerners. They, unlike the southerners, prefer a less fussy approach when it comes to food. Sounds like fun, doesn't it, smashing cucumbers with a big knife?

You could, of course, eat pickles as a condiment. A few slices with any meat – braised, roasted, whatever – would be quite nice. Or you could do what I do. Have a heap of pickles with a few slices of meat.

SPICY PICKLED CUCUMBERS Source: Xi Yan Cuisine II, Jacky Yu (Recipe for 12 portions as a side dish) 1.2 kg cucumbers 1 tbsp salt 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced 3 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground 4 tbsp hot broad bean paste 2-4 tbsp chilli oil, to taste 250 g sugar (1¼ cups) 300 ml vinegar (1¼ cups) 4 tbsp white sesame oil Cut about 2-3 cm from top of cucumbers. Rub cut side of each top against cut side of each cucumber till milky substance appears. Discard tops. Rinse cucumbers and dry with paper towels. Trim tails and cores. Cut into batons. Mix with salt. Leave to sweat for ½ hour. Rinse and dry with paper towels. Mix with all other ingredients and refrigerate, covered. Wait 12 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Pickle may be served after another 12 hours.