Creamy Mac and Cheese

Bahan-Bahan:
200 g Makaroni
1 tin Herb and Cheese Prego Sauce
10 Udang Saiz XL disiang butterfly shape
5 Cendawan Shitake dihiris-hiris
250 ml Low Fat Milk
5 Tomato Ceri
10 Kupang (Mussels)
3 Cheddar Cheese Slice
Limau Kasturi (untuk hilangkan hanyir kupang)
Lada Sulah
Garam
Mixed Herbs
Daun Parsley
Cajun seasoning
Minyak Zaitun

bahan shortcut, hahaha

Cara-Cara:
1. Rebus Makaroni dengan sedikit garam dan sesudu minyak zaitun. bila masak, toskan.
2. Rebus kupang yang telah dicuci dengan limau kasturi untuk hilangkan hanyir. Air sekadar tenggelam kupang tu. Tambah sedikit garam. padamkan api bila kupang semua terbuka. Asingkan isi dari kulit.
3. Tumis udang, cendawan shitake dan isi kupang dengan minyak zaitun.
4. Bila udang dah perang, masukkan sos Prego. Kalau nak berkuah lebih, tambahkan sedikit air dalam tin Prego tu dan tuang.
5. Masukkan susu, lada sulah, garam dan mixed herbs. Masukkan Makaroni dan kacau.
6. Bila menggelegak, masukkan cheddar cheese slice. Kacau.
7. Bila cheddar cheese slice tu cair, masukkan tomato ceri yang telah dibelah dua. tutup api dan hidangkan dengan daun parsley dan cajun seasoning.

Nota:
1. Kalau guna 200g makaroni dan 1 tin Prego Sauce tu cukup untuk 4 orang makan.
2. Kupang perlu dicuci betul-betul. Untuk hilangkan rasa berpasir, rendam dalam air selama 10 minit. Untuk hilangkan hanyir, cuci dengan limau kasturi.
3. Tomato ceri ni perlu sebab nak hilangkan rasa muak makan mac n cheese yang amat berkrim ni. kalau tak nak berkrim sangat jangan masukkan susu. cukup sos prego tu je.

oh sedapnya!

Prawn Sambal Curry

sambal udang

the Ingredients:

anchovy powder, to taste

1 packet of masak merah chicken paste, campak-campak style

half clove of garlic, chopped

3 red onions, sliced

handful of chilli, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

a plate of prawns

tomato, chilli and oyster sauce

aji shio black pepper powder and salt

honey, to taste

how to Cook it:

1. deshell and devein the prawns. the shell and the head is mixed with water and blended.
2. marinate the prawns with sprinkle of black pepper and 2 spoons of honey. stir with chilli sauce and oyster sauce.
3. fry the chopped garlic and chilli. add prawns.
4. sprinkle seasoning (anchovy powder) and salt to taste. mix with 2 spoons of honey.
5. add the blended mix and stir with Maggi masak merah chicken mix.
6. add chopped tomato and tomato sauce. add sliced red onions. stir and it's done!

Note:
if you notice, i used chicken mix instead of combing the grocery shop for a prawn mix. but it does taste the same. if you are running out of time, need not deshell the prawns and blend them, instead just throw the prawns together with its heads intact, just like what i did, most of the time.

My Mom's favourite Prawn Noodle !

Mee Udang, captured straight from my pan

the Ingredients:

2 spoons of oyster sauce

3 spoons of fried sliced onions

1 packet of mee bandung paste (optional)

1 packet of Mi Udang paste

cauliflower, quartered and sliced

citrus lime (kasturi)

different type of fishballs, halved

1 packet of yellow mee

white oyster, sliced

satay paste (optional)

baby sawi (kai choy)

fried tofu puffs

prawns, a lot!

half of garlic clove, crushed

sliced carrots

bird's eye chillies, chopped

2 spoons of honey

3 chopped chilli

3 glasses of water

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

peanuts to be fried

salt, to taste

seasoning, to taste

How to Cook it:

1. clean the prawns. devein the prawns and remove its heads and shells.
2. the heads and shells are boiled for a few minutes. blend it to small pieces and put aside.
3. add 3 spoons of oil into the pan. fry the crushed garlics.
4. mix the prawns into the pan, add a dash of seasoning and salt.
5. as the prawns turn into gold, add the fishballs and fried tofu puff.
6. add cauliflower, carrots and kai choy stems.
7. add 2 spoons of honey, chopped chilli and bird's eye chilli.
8. add mi udang paste together with mee bandung paste (optional). stir evenly.
9. add the blended mixture to sweeten the deal. mix the yellow mee.
10. add satay gravy paste. stir some more.
11. add kai choy leaves and sliced oyster mushrooms with 2 spoons of oyster sauce.
12. add a handful of fried onions, squeeze some citrus lime and garnish with sliced boiled eggs. done!

Notes:
My mom really loves this recipe. and it's actually a mix edition of Mee Rebus and Mee Udang, though i think the appropriate name is mi udang. if you don't have a satay paste, you can substitute with fried peanuts to be blended together with the prawn's head and shell. or the leftover satay gravy can also be used. jimat, heh!

Milky Stuffed Squids

or Ketupat Sotong!

the Ingredients:

3 sliced red onions

10 spoon of glutinous rice for 10 squids

a pinch of salt, to taste

2 inches of sliced ginger for 10 squids

1 spoon of halba seeds (also known as fenugreek seeds)

10 fat squids, with heads removed, cleaned and deskinned to reveal white skin

1 litre of coconut milk

sharp toothpicks

2 glass of water

how to Cook it:

1. remove the squids' heads and clean it. its skin is also removed to reveal smooth white skin.
2. mix glutinous rice with coconut milk just so the milk covers the rice evenly. cook the mixture with slow fire. add a bit of salt and stir until it is cooked.
3. stuff the rice into the squids. as the squids tend to shrink when cooked, the rice is stuffed at most half of the length. secure the squids opening with sharp toothpicks.
4. heat a pan with 2 glass of water and mix with a glass of coconut milk (around 250ml). add the squids with salt, to taste.
5. as the milky water evaporated, add around 500ml of coconut milk. add sliced red onions, sliced ginger and a spoonful of halba. stir.
6. to ensure the gravy thickens, add the remaining glutinous rice from the stuffing into the pan. done!

Notes:
this is my fave ever! it is so easy to cook that i've decided to prepare it for today's iftar. bon apetit! oh ya, please make sure the skin is totally removed to avoid the gravy becomes too purplish.

Update:

I tried doing the dish solo and found out that theory is much easier than the actual works.

for instance, my pulut doesn't turn out like my mum's drier version. perhaps because i use cold coconut milk. so it doesn't gel well with the glutinous rice. i had to keep pouring water into the mix so that the pulut is almost cooked before i stuff it inside the squids.

and i now understand that pouring too much water for step 4, though it ensures the pulut to be properly cooke, still i have to wait for a long time for it to evaporate before i can mix with the thick coconut milk. i got impatient and just pour the coconut milk when the water lessened by half. it presents a problem, the gravy is not thick enough. so i add the leftover pulut into the gravy and voila! jadi la jugak macam my mom's cooking :)

my first solo attempt

Fussilini Pasta Olio Simplified

Notes:
it frustrates me when a notion  to cook something struck but i couldn't find the recipe in my (many) cook books. so i resorted to Google+ for the recipe just to know the gist and voila! the adventure for another campak-campak recipe begins. this time it's pasta olio :)

the Ingredients:

1 medium bowl of fussilini or easily known as spring pasta

other type of pasta to choose if you run out on fussilini

deshelled and deveined prawns. many of them to increase the seafood presence and taste

3 spoons of olive oil

4 garlic, smashed

i usually use chicken granules but this recipe should require anchovy granules instead as it's a seafood dish

mixed herbs to give you that Italian taste

sliced frankfurters (optional)

dash of ground black pepper, to taste

half spoon of salt

sliced black olives (optional)

many type of fish balls to choose (optional). to be sliced

sliced broccoli (optional)

sliced capsicum of different colours

handful of sliced small tomatoes, according to preference

dashes of grated parmesan to garnish. Where can i find this bottled grated parmesan ek?

chili flakes to garnish. I use DP flakes to save money, heh!

How to Cook:

1. boil the fussilini (or other pasta of your choice) in clear water with 1 spoon of olive oil and half tea spoon of salt, according to how much pasta you use. in my case, it's for a medium-sized bowl enough for 2 people. set aside the pasta once it's fully cooked. should take no more than 10 mins. strain the pasta.
2. heat the pan with 2 spoons of olive oil and mix with 4 smashed garlic. the number of garlic is up to you, i usually prefer more garlic in my cooking.
3. once the aroma wafted, mix the deshelled and deveined prawns. add like 6 prawns or more for more seafood taste. as the prawns turn yellow, add dash of black pepper powder and anchovy granules. mix with half teaspoon of salt and dash of mixed herbs.
4. add optional stuffs like sliced broccoli, black olive, fish balls, frankfurters. stir evenly.
5. mix with the strained pasta. add sliced capsicum and small tomatoes. stir till evenly cooked.
6. turn off the fire. garnish the pasta with grated parmesan and chili flakes. ready to eat!