Thai-style Claypot Vermicelli Prawn

After a short 3d2n trip to BKK, I am figuring my next few dishes will be quite Thai-like.  Good for the husband and myself since we both enjoy thai food.  So, first on the menu will be Thai Style Vermicelli Prawns.  Before whipping up this dish, I contemplated very hard to just make my life easier by getting the pre-mix.  But, I cant get past myself by taking this short-cut.  Its not challenging enough.  LOL!  I thought, even if its not nice, it will at least be edible.  So, challenge accepted.  :P

Ingredients:
- 5 Medium Size prawns (devein and marinate with pinch of salt)
- Vermicelli (amt up to you, but must at least cover your claypot base)
- Cloves of garlic
- Ginger (chopped to about 5 cubes)
- Galangal (chopped to about 5 cubes)
- Red Onions (abt 2 pieces)
- Spring Onions (chopped into 2 inches, separate the greens from the whites)
- Lemon grass (abt 4 inch length, chopped diagonally into 1cm length, to release the fragrance)

Sauce:
- 1 tbsp. Oyster Sauce
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine
- 1 tsp Thai Fish Sauce
- 2-3 tbsp. of water (depending on ur vermicelli)
- a dash of Black Pepper Powder (you can use peppercorns too)
- a dash of Red Chilli Powder

Steps:
1. Soak the vermicelli in tap water for 10 mins and strain off the excess water.  Using a scissors, cut the vermicelli so that its more manageable.  Add the sauce into the vermicelli and mix well.

2. Heat up the claypot with oil.  Coat the base evenly with oil to prevent sticking.

3. Toss the following, following this order: Ginger cubes, Galangal cubes, Lemon Grass, Garlic, Red Onions and green spring onions.  Stir fry each item till slightly aromatic before adding the next item.

3. Add the vermicelli into the claypot.  Spread them to cover the base.  Excess sauce to be poured into the claypot to simmer.   Cover the  claypot.

4. Abt 3 mins later, open the lid, lay the prawns nicely on top of the vermicelli.  Cover the lid.

5. Abt 2 mins later, open the lid and lay the white spring onions over the vermicelli.  Cover the lid and simmer for another 2 mins.

6.  Off fire and you are ready to serve. 

Hope you will like this simple dish. 

Happy mum

Claypot chicken rice

Yohoo! It's been a long long time since I update the blog. Have been busy with the son's CA, then snake fighting and going Penang for a short trip. 

Decided today to whip a good meal for the love ones, that is Claypot Rice.  Glad to see them cleaning up their plates! :)

Ingredients:

- rice (your normal rice washed, and water, both portions separated out)

- chicken meat chopped into small pieces (marinate for 20mins using below marinade)

- Chinese sausage sliced

- salted fish (chopped into small slices)

- bacon (optional. Used for the oil + flavor)

Marinade for Chicken

- 1 tbsp sesame oil 

- 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce

- 1 tbsp thick dark sauce 

- 1 tsp salt 

- pinch of white pepper powder

- few slices of ginger 

Sauce for cooking (separate bowl, mixed well)

- 2 tbsp thick dark sauce

- 2 tbsp light soy sauce

- 1 tbsp sesame oil 

Steps:

1. Pour a little oil into the Claypot, and using a kitchen paper towel, soak a little of the oil and coat around the wall of the Claypot. 

2. When the oil is slightly hot, throw in the salted fish and pan fry till the fish meat turns white or 80% cooked. Dish and set aside. 

3.  If you have raw bacon at home, throw in 2 slices and pan fry too. The oil released from the bacon will be smoky more flavorful. Dish up when bacon's almost cooked. 

4. Leaving the remaining oil, add in the washed rice.  Do not add in water yet. Using a spatula, give the rice a good stir to coat the grains with the oil. That will give your rice grains a nice taste. When done, add in the water. Cover the lid. 

5. Check the rice after 10 mins. The rice should be 80% cooked, water pretty dried up and you can see and hear the bubbling.  Stir in the pre-cooked salted fish. Using this chance, u can also check if the rice is about to be cooked. Put back the lid. 

6. After 5 mins, add in the marinated chicken, spread across the surface evenly to ensure even cooking. Using a spoon, drench the sauce over the chicken and the rice. Put back the lid. 

7. 2 mins later, place in the Chinese sausages and put back the lid.  

8. Remove cover. Add in the vegetables, place the bacon slice on top of the vegs and add the spring onions over the bacon. 

At this point, you may ask why can't we throw everything into the almost cooked rice and wait for it to be cooked?  

Well, this is to bring out the various taste in the different food items. For example, if u add in the chicken and vegetables together, the vegs will turn out to be overlooked as the meat needs more time for cooking. Also, placing the bacon slices over the vegetable, gives the vegetables a nice salty- baconish taste. 

9. To serve, drench the cooked rice with thick dark sauce to get that nice black cooked rice taste. 

Happy cooking!

Happy mum

Claypot Fish head

Whoa! This has been a hectic week, with almost everyone in the house under the weather.  Haven't been quite in the mood to whip up nice dishes until my extended family popped over for dinner. Decided that we shall have 2 versions of the fish head, a Claypot one and a steamed one. 

Here's the Claypot recipe. 

Ingredients:

- fish head (I used Threadfin 午鱼)

- ginger 

- garlic 

- leeks

- beancurds

- Shaoxing wine

- spring onions

- corn flour

- ikan bilis stock

- oyster sauce

As I did not have time to grab other food from the supermarket, the above was all I used. You can add in fried yam, long white cabbage, baby corns, mushrooms and meat if you want to make this dish a sumptuous one. 😃

Steps:

1. Marinate the fish head with salt, and Shaoxing wine. To avoid that fishy smell, take care to use a clean towel or kitchen napkin to wipe the internal of the fish head. Leave to marinate for 15 mins. 

2. Remove fish head from the plate, pat dry with a paper towel. Coat the fish head with corn flour. 

3. Heat oil in a saucepan for deep frying of the fish head. Add in the fishhead when oil is hot. Fry the first side for about 8 mins and flip over to continue frying for another 5 mins. 

4. While the fish is being deep fried, you can choose to do up the condiments. Alternatively, you can also prepare them in advance before commencing on the cooking. Chopped a sprig of spring onions, 4-5 slices of ginger, some garlic and blend them. Set aside for later use. 

5. Remove the fish and drain off the oil. Add in beancurds to fry. Remove when beancurds turned golden brown. Keep the excess oil aside for later use. 

6. Switch to a Claypot. Oil the Claypot base. Add the blended condiments into fry till aromatic. Add in leeks and continue frying. Add in 2 tbsp of stock and continue frying. When leeks soften, add in beancurds and some oyster sauce. 

7. Add in 1 cup of stock into the Claypot and boil. Add in cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Create a well in the Claypot, shifting the beancurds to the wall. Slowly lower the fried fish head into the Claypot. 

8. Add garnishing and you are ready to serve. :)

Have a good day!

Happy mum