Strawberry Shortcut

 

I don't have a sweet tooth but I do like the occasional cheese cake or dark chocolate cake and I almost never turn away any dessert with fresh whipped cream.

I was just thinking the other day about how long it has been since I had a good slice of strawberry shortcake. Now, not that it's difficult to make but this particular recipe only takes minutes and the best part is, THERE IS NO BAKING involved. Simply mix, whip and assemble.

 

Strawberry and Plum Dessert (for 2 persons)
Ingredients for fruit mix:
250 grams strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 plums, discard stone and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tsps raspberry balsamic (I found this at the condiment section of Jusco-Midvalley supermarket)
2 tsps agave nectar (from the organic food section)

Ingredients for topping:
250 ml whipping cream
1 tbsp agave nectar

Ingredient for base:
8-10 savoiardi or lady fingers

Method:
In a bowl, mix the fruits and allow to sit in the raspberry balsamic and agave nectar for a couple of hours (I left mine in the refrigerator overnight, covered with cling wrap). In a separate bowl, whip the cream with the agave nectar until soft peak forms. To assemble, place 4-5 savoiardi on a plate or break them in smaller pieces into a bowl (it's easier to eat from a bowl), spoon the fruits and some of their juice onto the the savoiardi and top everything with a dollop or so of whipped cream. Dig in!

Yummmm, what more can a girl ask for ;)

 

***

Truth be told, I had a slight mishap during my 'photo shoot' on this occasion. While walking back to my makeshift studio (after topping my strawberries and cream for another round of photos) from the kitchen, my sleeve got caught in the cupboard handle and the contents of the plate I was holding (yep, the one in the photo) slid and dropped onto the floor. I could only look in utter horror and dismay, unable to move for a couple of minutes. Oh well, s*** happens!

Crab in Coconut Milk

 

If my mother-in-law knows how to use speed dial (I'm pretty sure she doesn't), I'm certain this person would be on it (apart from her one and only son of course). I'm talking about Ah Sang, the fishmonger who diligently comes by every week. He'll park his truck in front of her house and housewives for near and far will come over to buy their weekly supply of greens and seafood. He also sells the odd sundry items and takes orders via sms. How cool is that!

Well last week I put in a request for a couple of flower crabs because Ah Sang always brings meaty ones. When I received them, my mother-in-law (bless her) had the crabs cleansed and ready for cooking. She normally cooks her crabs in coconut milk, which both my husband and I love, but I tend to stick with the healthier option of just boiling them in water with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, red chilies, tumeric and salt. My husband, on the other hand, loves chili crabs (who doesn't).

This time, I've succumbed to the coconut.

Crab in Coconut Milk (Ketam Masak Lemak)
Ingredients:
8 flower crabs, shelled, cleansed and halved
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
3 tumeric leaves, torn into strips
1 inch ginger, skinned and sliced
1 red onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
3 green chilies, roughly cut
2 tsps ground tumeric
2 tsps chili powder
Cream and milk of 1 coconut
2 'asam keping' or 'asam gelugor'
800 ml water
Salt to taste

Method:
Place the lemongrass, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies, ground tumeric and chili powder in a large pot, pour the water and bring everything to the boil. Then add the crabs, coconut cream and milk, tumeric leaves, 'asam keping' and salt, gently simmer (with lid on) until the crabs are cooked (their markings should turn orange red).

Best eaten with a plate of hot, steamed rice. I added stir-fried asparagus and cherry tomatoes as a side dish. Oh, and be sure to have an empty bowl near you to discard the remaining shell :)

 

Beef Satay Wrap

 

This is my take on satay. Succulent grilled meat wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper and dipped in homemade peanut sauce. Yum!

I've never worked with Vietnamese rice papers before but I found them to be pleasantly accommodating. I even did a small victory dance after successfully rolling my beef satay in them. Heh.

I've broken down the recipe into several parts. Figured it would easier this way.

Onion Paste
Ingredients:
2 red onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced
1 inch galangal, peeled and sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, outer skin removed and sliced (use only the tender part)

Beef Satay (makes 6-7 rolls)
Ingredients:
500 grams beef (1 large cut) (use any of your favourite tender cuts), butterflied and scored
1 part onion paste
2 tsps meat curry powder
3 tsps brown sugar
2 tbsps vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup raw shelled peanuts, dry roasted, skin removed and roughly ground
1 part onion paste
2 tsps chili powder
3 tsps brown sugar
1 tsp concentrated tamarind paste
2 screwpine leaves, tied in a loose knot
3 cups water
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for sauteing

For wrapping:
Vietnamese rice papers
Romaine lettuce
Fresh coriander leaves

Method - Onion Paste:
Grind the onions, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass with a little water into a paste. Divide into two parts.

Method - Beef Satay:
Mix the onion paste with curry powder, brown sugar, salt and vegetable oil and use it to marinate the beef, preferably overnight. Grill the beef (charcoal grill gives the best flavour) until tenderly cooked. Allow the meat to rest (covered with foil) before cutting it into strips.

Method - Peanut Sauce:
In a bowl, mix the ground peanut with water. Mix the chili powder into the onion paste and in a saucepan, saute the onion-chili paste and screwpine leaves in some vegetable oil until aromatic. Add the ground peanut, tamarind paste, brown sugar and salt and simmer until the mixture becomes a thick sauce (you can adjust the sugar and salt according to your preference). Leave to cool.

Assembly:
Soften a rice paper by soaking in warm water and lay it on a clean plate. Line one end of the rice paper with two Romaine lettuce leaves (overlapping one another) and some fresh coriander leaves. Then place the beef satay on top and gently (but firmly) roll the rice paper. Cut diagonally in half.

 

 

Pomegranate and Papaya Salad

 

I have the sniffles again. It's probably due to lack of rest as it's just unlike me to get the flu that frequent and easily. I'm guessing that I should also increase my vitamin C intake. And I figured what better way to start than with a bowl of fruit salad. Even if it doesn't completely rid me of my flu, it's still a keeper.

Pomegranate and Papaya Salad
Ingredients:
1 pomegranate, halved and deseeded
1 ripe papaya (about 400 gram), peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 gold king pear, cored and cubed (I left the skin intact)
50 gram Havarti cheese, cut into small pieces (or you can use Feta)
A few fresh Chinese celery leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
Some freshly cracked black pepper

Method:
First, here's how you deseed the pomegranate (a wooden ladle did it for me):



Then all you have to do is gently mix in all the other ingredients. All done.

The Havarti cheese had the right balance of saltiness and creaminess. If you're using Feta cheese, you may want to reduce the amount (Feta being more salty). The celery leaves gave the salad a peppery edge and the black pepper enhanced the sweetness of the fruits. I added the gold king pear for crunch and extra juiciness. The jewel in the crown was of course the pomegranate seed sacs. They just burst in your mouth when you bite into them.

Kuey in Chicken Broth

I came home one day and did not have a clue of what to cook. I knew I had chicken breasts and chicken balls in the freezer. A quick look into the vegetable compartment revealed that I had two aubergines and a few stalks of baby kailan. So far so good, I thought. Then I remembered the several packets of dried rice chips or kuey (similar to flat rice noodles but square, normally used in kuey chap) in my pull-out pantry. That settled it, Kuey in Chicken Broth it was to be.

These were the ingredients I worked with:
3 packets of kuey (serves 2 persons generously)
About 350 grams chicken breast, cut into thick strips
12 chicken balls
2 medium-size round aubergines, sliced and drizzled with olive oil
A few stalks of baby kailan, cut into 2-3 segments
2 cloves garlic, bruised
1 red onion, sliced into rings
About 500ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

What I did:
- Fried the aubergine slices in a non-stick pan to brown both sides (you can grill them if you like). Set aside.
- Blanched the baby kailan. Set aside.
- Boiled and drained the kuey (I followed the instructions on the packet). Set aside (a bit of oil helped prevent the kuey from sticking to one another).
- Placed the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Brought everything to a boil and continued simmering until all the flavours have amalgamated.

To serve, simply put some of the kuey into a bowl, drench the kuey with the chicken broth (be sure to be generous with the chicken strips and balls), put a few pieces of the fried (or grilled) aubergine and kailan. Sprinkle some chopped coriander and fried onions if you have any. For me, the piece de resistance was the coconut sambal topping it all off!