How to Make Cereal Butter Prawns

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 chilli 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. Or maybe it's a man thing?)

Butter, curry leaves and chilli padis are all pretty strong ingredients, but they complement rather 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 threesome 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. Yikes! In 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) 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!

Check these out:

Black Cod with Miso	Steamed Pork Ribs with Pickled Plums (梅子蒸排骨)	Saba Shioyaki	Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings	Steamed Prawns with Garlic (蒜泥蝦)

Hello, 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 into little pieces, or 'lok' in Cantonese. So please excuse me for making Har Lok which isn't true to its name, with smaller/cheaper whole prawns.

Big or small, Har Lok is good so long as the prawns are succulent and fragrant. So good that I'd say, 'Hello there, gorgeous!' And then I bite their off their gorgeous heads. Crunch!


Check these out:

Prawns with Salted Egg Yolks	Drunken Prawns	Steamed Prawns with Garlic (蒜泥蝦)	Garlic Butter Prawns

How to Make 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.

Check these out:

Pearly Meatballs (珍珠丸子)	Five-Spice Tau Kee (Beancurd Skin)	Chicken Feet in Fermented Black Bean Sauce	Spring Onion Pancakes (葱油饼)	Steamed Pork Ribs with Pickled Plums (梅子蒸排骨)

Dry-Fried Bitter Gourd – Not Stir . . . -Fried

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 think. I'd rather enjoy bitter gourd with my mouth and nose than eyes. The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

Check these out:

Bitter Melon Soup	Hakka Yong Tau Foo	Lion's Heads (清汤狮子头)	Kudzu Soup (粉葛湯)	Glass Noodle Omelette Soup

Salt-Grilled Salmon Head – Oishi!

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!

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Saba Shioyaki	'Only one can of tuna?'	Baked Fish Intestines	'WHAT is that?'

Steamed Pork Ribs with Pickled Plums – Cool!

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 public holidays. And I'm guessing they'd be clearing their old stocks till this weekend, so I'm following suit. No one's fobbing off his 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, Steamed Pork Ribs 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!

Check these out:

Tricolour Steamed Eggs (三色蒸水蛋)	Pearly Meatballs (珍珠丸子)	Drunken Chicken & Eggs	Steamed Meatballs with Shark

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 If you made yu sheng for Chinese New Year, you probably have a lot of leftover 酸梅膏. This recipe reduces your stockpile by all of one tablespoonful. So helpful, isn't it? 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 – Rippin' Good

I'm not a coffee addict. I have only seven cups a day . . . . Just kidding, folks. I have two most days; three max; one when I'm a good girl, for dunking cream crackers first thing in the morning. All without sugar, that's how good a girl I am. 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.

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!

Check these out:

Kiwifruit Trifle	Chocolate Truffles	Lemon Curd	Crispy Grilled French Toast	Chocolate Tarts