Chap Goh Meh away from home..

The Chinese New Year celebration commonly goes on for 15 whole days. The 15th day is known as "Chap Goh Meh" which means in English: The 15th day of the first month.

I had to return to Sydney as classes began half way through the new year celebration. A bunch of us homesick Malaysians decided to have a pot-luck "chap goh meh" get-together for lunch last Sunday. Owen was real nice to volunteer his living room for the day. It was a small group of about 15...but it felt nice to be around friends.Prior to Sunday; I heard that there would be lots of "chicken" that afternoon. I decided fried prawns and a beef dish would be a safe idea. Pinky made her famous fish curry too!
Cooking wasn't too much of a hassle, although I must admit; it was my first go at making stir-fried beef with black bean sauce.
Our Chinese New Year buffet spread turned out a little more 'culturally diversed' than what we had expected! *laughs* We had a range of Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian, Malay cuisine on the table. Apparently; I was the only person cooking anything 'fairly' Chinese! *sigh*I guessed it didn't matter...we had more than just Chinese people with us to celebrate and the food turned out real good~
Here's the recipe for the prawns if anyone's interested.

Frozen/fresh prawns shelled (tail left on)
Marinade: chili flakes, lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste
Fresh egg noodles (available at asian grocery stores)

Marinade prawns for at least 20-30 minutes. Gently shake and pat dry gently before wrapping in strands of egg noodles.
Deep fry in hot canola/peanut oil in small batches. Scoop out when prawn tails turn pink and noodle is crisp and golden. Drain excess oil on a kitchen towelette and serve immediately with sweet chili dressing.

Try serving them right away. I had a couple piping hot and crisp before we made our way to Owen's place; and they were YUM!!! After having been left exposed for more than 30 minutes; the noodles turned a tiny bit soft, but they still turned out tasting alright I guess.

On the 15th day of the lunar calendar; the moon is said to be at its fullest.
A couple of lunatics took a walk to the beach to check it out. *grin* Being in the cold that night was probably what made me sick. *SnEEzE!!* *sniffle sniffle* *Sigh*

Tags: deep fried prawns noodles budget recipe

Japanese Chilled Udon

Hello everyone from the long breakkkk...

In the event of a 30-degree-day in Melbourne, I made myself a delicious Japanese-style dish which is super easy and cheap to make. (You can find more background story of why-so here.)

Serves one!

Ingredients:

1. 1 Pack of Udon
2. 1/2 cup of diluted Tempura sauce/Japanese chilled noodle sauce (Can be purchased at Asian Groceries, please dilute as instructed on the package. Tip: if what you are using is tempura sauce, add a little bit more water then instructed - e.g. if it is the ratio is 1:3, try 1:3.5 or 1:4 instead.)
3. Nori, thinly chopped (optional)
4. Wasabi (optional)
   

Steps:

1. Cook the Udon in water - as instructed in the package, but you can leave out all the seasonings if it is advised on the package.
2. While you are waiting for the udon to be cooked, dilute the tempura/chilled noodle sauce as instructed and then pop it into the freezer for cooling.
   
3. Drain the udon's cooking water, splash and soak it with cold water until it's cold like water temperature.
4. Put the udon into the freezer for several minute to speed up the cooling process.
5. Five minutes later, serve the udon and sauce in separated bowl/dish.
6. Dip the udon into the sauce when eating it.

Ta-da!

Tags: japanese chilled udon budget recipe

Black olives fried rice & Baked basil eggplant in less than 30 mins

**Ready to eat in less than 30 mins!**

Black olives fried brown rice

ingredients:

2 T black olives paste (bought from oriental market...usually eaten in plain jook as its salty)

OR 15 black olives (chop it and seasonings will need to be increased)

3 cloves garlic

3 cups cooked long grain brown rice*

2 eggs

1/2 large red onion

3 stems green onions, chopped.

seasonings: pepper, soy sauce, mushroom seasoning, salt

Directions:

1. Peel onions and garlic and fry in an oiled pan. Add cooked rice.* Remove from pan.

2. Beat egg and add pepper, soy sauce and mushroom seasoning.

3. When the egg is almost cooked, stir in the cooked rice. Add in preserved olives and mix well!

*Note: **If over night rice is too dry, add water while cooking.

**Overnight rice cooks better

**I allowed the rice to be a little "burnt" on the pan; just like bibimbup on stonebowl

~~~::~~:::~~~::~~~
Baked basil eggplant.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplant, bunch of FRESH basil leaves, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 2T sesame oil, 5T vegetable oil, 2t soy sauce, 3t onion powder, 2 T spicy eggplant seasoning, pepper, salt, sugar.

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant 1/4" thick. Place it into a bowl and add in all the ingredients above. Place it on a tray and bake at 500F for 20 minutes to get ~~ fragrant and tasty eggplant! *_*

~~~::~~~:::~~::~~~

Note: the seasoning noted here is the approximate amount used. Be adventurous and substituted with what you have and like when cooking!
*that's why i love chinese cooking...feel so free~ & easy~!*

Tags: olive fried rice basil eggplant budget recipe