Stir-Fried Cucumber with Oyster sauce

Something to look forward to in the summer season is when cucumbers start making an appearance in our shops. Other than having it with satays, we like it simply stir fried with oyster sauce.

Some might think it odd, cooking a marrow that is normally eaten fresh. Try it. It really does taste delicious.

Here's us Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Eat, drink and be merry !

Ingredients
500g cucumber
1-2 Tbsp dry shrimps
1-2 Tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp oyster sauce
3-5 Tbsp water

1 tsp cornflour + 1½ tsp soy sauce (mix together)

Read more »

Soy Braised Fresh Mushrooms

We went a bit overboard when fresh flat mushrooms were on special at $3/kg bag. With beef wellington in mind, we bought 3 packets.

After the high cholestrol meal, we wanted something clean and simple for dinner the next day.

I decided to braise some of the mushrooms and have plenty of sauce to go with the homemade fresh noodles. The mushrooms were braised until they were really soft and it went extremely well with the silky smooth wanton noodles. The sauce was to die for !!

Ingredients
300g fresh mushroom

1 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small slice ginger, julienne

Read more »

Curried Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Mr Redneck is quite fussy when it comes to pumpkin soup. We have tried various recipes and combinations but this is the one that have passed the test.

I was lucky that the garden managed to produce a few pumpkins last season and it stored well over the winter months. However one or two turned out to be the watery type which is good enough for soup. I usually make a whole pot to freeze for future lunches.

Nothing like a hot soup to warm up the body in the cold winter. Pumpkins are very healthy and is in the superfood category. If you don't add cream to this soup, this will turn out to be a non fattening yet delicious meal with very few calories.



Ingredients
1.5-1.8kg whole pumpkin

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp Baba curry powder
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
¼ tsp salt

Read more »

Grow your own Galangal ~ Blue Ginger

Ever wanted to have a galangal plant in your own backyard, to harvest whenever you feel like cooking a rendang, teochew braised duck, assam babi, satay sauce or even to make your own red curry paste ? Fresh galangal adds flavor and depth to many dishes.

Well ......here's your chance. I have a few excess plants for sale to NZ readers.

The highly scented white flowers appear in April.

The plant will be supplied as a cut back, bare root rhizome (underground stem) with at least one growing shoot or bud.

If you are interested, please leave your email address in the comments column and I will come back to you. I can only post to New Zealand addresses. Limited stock only.

Pickled Zucchini

I am in the pickling mode ! At the end of summer, fruits and vegetables are cheap, in abundance and this is as good a time as any to start preserving and storing it away for winter when out of season fresh produce becomes scarce and expensive.

Bottling has taken on a new popularity as people become more aware of food and health consequences of unknown food additives in store bought items.

A very easy pickle to make. It was the first time I was able to use the slicing blade that came with my food processor. Within a minute, all the zuchinnis were finely sliced and ready for action.

Redneck said the pickled zucchini reminded him of eating a MacDonald cheese burger. It has that same taste. Have the zucchinis with your cold meat sandwiches, on rolls or add to your salad.

Makes 3 jars (Craig jam jars)

Ingredients
800gm zucchini thinly sliced
¼ cup salt

Read more »

Stir Fry Gow Choy Fah ~ Garlic Chives Bud

A few weeks ago while visiting the Avondale Market for the very first time, I chanced upon these garlic chives. What a find ! I love gau choy fah which taste delish simply stir fried with some meat or prawns.

No doubt garlic chives are part of the chive family but they taste quite different to the English version which have a purple flower.


Ingredients
200g garlic chives bud (gow choy fah), cut to 2" length
10 raw prawns
1 clove garlic (mince)
½ cup water/stock

1 tsp cornflour + 1½ tsp soy sauce (mix together)

!--more-->
Method
1. Heat wok on high heat with a Tbsp of oil. Add the garlic and prawns. Saute until prawns turn a slight pink.

2. Add the garlic chives, stir fry for a few seconds.

3. Add water and cover for 30 seconds (not too long as you want the veg to stay crunchy).

4. Remove cover and stir in cornflour mix to thicken the gravy. Dash of salt and season to taste.

5. Serve hot with rice.

Yee Sang ~ Chinese New Year Raw Fish Salad

This Chinese New Year I was determined not to miss out on this 'lucky' dish. After scrutinising several recipes to work out the main criteria for the dish I went on a scouting mission in the asian vegetable shops. Being overseas means having to substitute unavailable ingredients without changing the essence of the dish too much. If you are living in Malaysia or Singapore then you will have more choice of vegetables to use.

Yee Sang is a salad of raw fish surrounded by different types of colourful vegetables with a dressing of plum sauce. It is usually eaten on the 7th day of Chinese New Year with the salad tossed high with chopsticks as a symbol to mark the start of a prosperous new year.

Yue Sang is not that difficult a dish to prepare. It just needs a small amount of different vegetables shredded into long strips. I haven't included the quantity of vegetables as this is a very versatile dish. I have only bought one of each type of vegetable and in most cases only used half of it.

Ingredients

Vegetables (long shreds):
Daikon white radish (jicama or sar kok if available is best)
Green papaya (I bought this too early and it started getting ripe)
Carrot
Red capsicum
Green chilli
2 lime leaves
2 Tbsp pickled ginger
1 pickled onions/leeks
1 sprig coriander

3 Tbsp jelly fish (cut into strips and marinate with 1 Tbsp lemon juice)

Read more »

Stir Fry Sambal Round Beans

When I bought a bunch of French round beans home, I got the "I don't like beans" look from Mr Redneck. I haven't had this dish for a while - infact I don't think I have ever cooked it here as fresh beans were expensive and not too readily available. Mr Redneck did enjoy this meal of beans.

Any beans....long, round or flat can be used. This dish is a simple yet delicious spicy stir fry using very few ingredients.

Ingredients
200-300gm french round beans, cut to 2"
1-2 Tbsp oil

Grind together
2 Tbsp dry shrimp (soak to soften)
3 clove garlic
1 small onion
½ Tbsp belacan
1-2 tsp chilli paste

Read more »

Kangkong Belacan ~ Water Convolvulus fried with Spicy Shrimp Paste

I cook this dish of kangkong sambal belacan as often as I can especially during the summer season. That's when it is really cheap and fresh. The aroma from the belacan will make your mouth water. The kangkong have to be stir fried over a very hot stove very quickly so as not to loose its crunchy texture. A simple yet very popular and uncomplicated dish.


Ingredients
250 g kangkong
½ Tbsp belacan
1-2 Tbsp dried shrimps
3 red chillies
1 small onion
4 garlic cloves
1-2 Tbsp oil
2-4 Tbsp water

Read more »

Crabstick Salad

We don't go ga ga over salad but this crabstick dish is by far our favourite summer salad. Great with a barbecue or steak and even on a filled roll. It is really cool and refreshing especially on a hot day.


Ingredients
4-5 lettuce leaves
3-4 crabsticks
3 medium size tomatoes, diced
2-3 Tbsp Best mayonnaise

Method
1. Shred lettuce leaves into narrow strips. Dice tomatoes and slice crabstick.

Read more »

Crispy Fried Potatoes

Crispy fried potatoes whether in halves or in smaller pieces is Mr Redneck's specialty. The potatoes are very crispy on the outside but very soft on the inside. If fried at the correct high temperature, it should not be oily.

We usually have these potatoes with a western style meal of steak, lamb chops or with our rolled rib roast.


Ingredient
potatoes
sprinkling of salt
oil for deep frying

Read more »

Aloo Dum (Potato in Masala Sauce)

I love eating potatoes especially those cooked in a curry sauce. This particular spicy masala sauce is healthy as no cream or coconut milk is added but the sauce is thick and rich. The recipe is from this blog .

Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish

A quick and easy stir fry with oyster sauce and a sprinkling of fried salted fish on top. Bean sprouts are full of vitamin C, B complex, protein and is low in calories.

Stir Fry Spinach with Oyster Sauce

Spinach is a vegetable with a very high nutritional value. This stir-fry is very quick and easy to whip up and takes only a few minutes. The oyster sauce gives it an added flavour. I have added prawns and garnished it with fried onions.

Fried Onions/Onion Oil

Fried onions are a garnish for stir-fried Chinese vegetables and noodle dishes (sprinkle on top just prior to serving), while the leftover oil is used as fragrant oil for frying.

Ingredients

Finely sliced onion
Good quality cooking oil

Method

Slice onions thinly across the grain (as for onion rings) and discard any thick pieces.
Heat oil in wok and fry in batches until golden to medium brown. Remove onions with a holed spatula or flat sieve.
Dry on paper towels and store in an airtight container when cold.
When the oil is cold bottle as required.

Notes

The quantities are not critical. I usually have just under a ½ wok of oil to about 6 large onions, but more can be used – the oil will just get more fragrant. It will take a while to go golden but be careful as it goes from light to dark brown very fast. Alternate tossing and pressing in plenty of paper towels to remove as much oil as possible. Store when completely cold.

More step-by-step photos here.