Singaporean Style Fried Rice

The best Singaporean noodles which I have had have been at a restaurant named 'Wong Ting' and I tried to recreate them at home however as of yet I am still in search of that exact recipe. I was browsing the Internet for various Singaporean noodle recipes and I stumbled upon 'BBC Good Food's' recipe and since it had good ratings I thought I would give it a shot. I didn't have enough noodles however I did have a big pot of cooked rice in the fridge so I improvised and came up with my version of Singaporean fried rice and I have to admit that it was pretty darn good; lots of flavour, colour and very satisfying. I have a thing for rice dishes, and my favourites being Indian biryani, Spanish paella, Italian risotto, Japanese sushi (well it has rice in it), and I guess I can now add Singaporean style rice to the continental list too.

Serves: 4-8 (Depending on portion size)
Time: 20mins

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Jasmin rice (better to use cold rice that is more than a day old)
1 1/2 medium onions cut into thin crescents
4 cloves garlic
1cm of ginger
1/2 grated carrot
1 pepper sliced finely
10 button mushrooms sliced finely
300g bean sprouts
handful of coriander
4 eggs beaten
20 king prawns
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp curry paste or 4 tbsp curry powder (add less and adjust according to taste)
4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 lemon or 1 lime
olive oil
sesame seed oil
salt to taste
2 tbsp water
1 chili  finely sliced for decoration

Method:
1. In a wok heat around a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of sesame seed oil and add the prawns to it. Fry till cooked and remove from the wok.

2. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of sesame seed oil to the wok and heat. Add the ginger and garlic till slightly brown and then add the onions, peppers and mushrooms. Once they start to soften add all of the dry spices including the curry paste/powder and fry for a minute or so.

3. Add the bean sprout and the grated carrot, soy sauce and water. Fry for a few minutes depending on how raw you like your vegetables.

 

4. Add the rice and mix with the vegetable mixture (add salt at this point) until well combined. Also add a handful of chopped coriander and mix well.

5. Add the beaten eggs to one side of the pan and stir till they are scrambled and cooked thoroughly.

6. Mix the scrambled egg into the rice. Season the rice with more salt if needed.

7. Add the prawns to the rice and mix.

8. Remove from the heat and garnish with a few pieces of lemon or lime wedges (or alternatively you can just mix the juice of half a lemon/lime into the rice) and coriander leaves and fresh thinly sliced chilies. 

Suggestions:
1. You can use what ever vegetables you have lying around in the fridge.
2.  You can also add chicken or pork to the dish.

A post from Fullest of Life

Pan-fried Gnocchi with Balsamic Sun-dried Tomatoes

The first time that I ever had gnocchi was in Nice, France, where I tried it with a creamy scallop sauce. It was from that moment on that I knew I would be eating a lot more of the stuff. I fell in love with the soft and slightly chewy texture of the gnocchi- a cross between pasta and a soft potato. Gnocchi is actually made from flour, eggs and mashed potato and then shaped into the authentic oval dumplings and then boiled like pasta. The process to make gnocchi would take quite a bit of time and effort so I resort to buying it in the supermarkets instead; you can get fresh gnocchi in the fridge section or a vacuum packed dryer version in the pasta section. 

I tried pan-fried gnocchi at a restaurant called 'Fellicinni' and the dish was beautifully done; with the gnocchi being accompanied by goat's cheese, cherry tomatoes, olives and salad leaves. I had a craving for weeks to have pan-fried gnocchi again after leaving the restaurant. Consequently I was inspired to make my own version with what I had in the fridge; sun-dried tomatoes. My version definitely left me satisfied and the feeling of wanting more so I guess I will have to make it again. It is something that is so very easy to make and tastes fabulous and looks quite impressive at a dinner party; there is even potential to add more glamour to the dish by simply adding things like cheese (feta or goat's cheese) and green leaves.

Serves: 2

Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

A packet of ready made gnocchi

4 large cloves of garlic finely chopped

around 8 sun-dried tomatoes chopped (I used the ones in oil)

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Pinch sugar

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Pan of boiling water

Method:

1. Boil the gnocchi reading the instructions on the packet- it should only take around 2 minutes once placed in boiling water. Drain the gnocchi.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and fry till golden, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and fry some more.

3. Add the gnocchi to the pan and fry with the tomatoes and garlic till a lightly browned. 

4. Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and fry till the gnocchi are a bit more browned- don't burn them.

5. Add the salt and sugar to taste.

6. Always serve gnocchi warm and never cold as the texture is at its softest when warm.

Suggestions:

1. Serve on a bed of rocket and goats cheese or feta.

2. Add herbs such as basil to garnish

3. Make a balsamic dressing by reducing the balsamic vinegar down to a thick sauce to dress the gnocchi.

A post form Fullest of Life

A Lesson in Sushi Making

I love sushi and have eaten it is many restaurants, however I thought I would attempt to make my own; the first time I made it they were half falling apart, and this is the second time I made it with a much better result. I was first introduced to sushi 2 years ago by my best friend, Emma-Lily, at first I only ate vegetarian sushi as I couldn't get my head around eating raw fish, however eventually I braved myself to try the real thing and I  was surprised as it didn't taste as fishy as I thought it would, and this was the moment that I fell in love. The fresher the fish the better the sushi. I found that sushi is an acquired taste and the more you eat the more you like it. The addiction to sushi started when Emma-Lily made an array of beautiful sushi for my surprise birthday 2 years ago and I was blown away by how amazing they looked and how tasty they were. Ever since I have been having occasional sushi cravings.

Sushi is so versatile and you can put literally what ever you want in the middle, from normal things like fish, tempura and vegetables to more unusual things like big macs (yes it has actually been done). I think that wasabi and soy sauce are a must with any sushi, especially wasabi as it's that flavour that I associate with sushi. Not everyone likes wasabi tough as they find it too strong and hot, on the other hand that is exactly the reason why I love it- for the punch through the nose it gives you (really clears your sinuses) and the clean, refreshing taste afterwards, the good thing is that the heat is different from the spiciness of chillies and lasts only temporarily.

Well made sushi can look like a piece of art, and you can be creative as you like in decorating it, from elaborate designs to the plain and simple- they all look good as sushi is a naturally pretty food. You can use toppings such as mayonnaise, chili flakes and caviar (fish roe). Sushi is most striking when presented in straingt lines and on a plain background like white plates.

I made a video to show my attempt at sushi making in a way that anyone can have a go at it. In the video I have shown how to prepare sushi rice, maki sushi, California roll and nigiri sushi using simple techniques. You can vary the fillings to suit your own taste, ideas are: avocado, cucumber, smoked salmon, boiled king prawns, crab sticks, fresh raw fish (salmon and tuna work well), tempura, peppers, omelette, and the list can go on and on. Have fun with the sushi making and don't be afraid to experiment.

A post from Fullest of Life

Italian basil, tomato and salmon macaroni cheese

This is the first savoury recipe on this blog. I think that you may have figured out that I have a pretty sweet tooth if you had a quick browse through the blog.

Macaroni cheese is one of those dishes which reminds you of your childhood days, it is always a favourite with everyone and I guess anything with cheese is tasty; the more cheese the better. I remember asking my mum to add even more cheese than there already was, I guess I was a just cheesy person; forgive me, yes it's a bad joke so no pun intended. I have had macaroni cheese with different kinds of cheeses, but the good old English Cheddar cheese is always going to be the best. However this time I thought that I would add a twist, go for an Italian theme, and as I said before, as long as it has cheese in it, it will definitely taste good; I was right. I guess that you can even try making your own version of 'mac n cheese' by experimenting with different flavours as it's such a versatile base. Or if you are one of those people who always like the good old, you can just stick to the simple basic recipe with no added extras; classic. What ever you go for I can almost assure you that you eat your plate clean.


Serves 4
Time to prepare:30mins

Ingredients:
200g macaroni pasta
2 tbsp butter
2tbsp plain flour
450 ml milk
150g-200g Cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want it)
50g smoked salmon or normal salmon fillet
a handful of cherry tomatoes halved
a bunch of fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 180C.

2.In a saucepan boil the pasta for around 5 mins till it is around half cooked.Drain the water.

3. In another pan melt the butter and add the flour, this will make a roux to thicken the milk. Once a paste is formed add the milk slowly; make sure that you keep stirring so that there are no lumps.

4. Add the cherry tomatoes, salmon and basil (chopped). 

5.Keep on the heat and keep stirring, you should slowly see the sauce thickening. Once it is has thickened up a bit add the cheese (but not all as you want some for the topping) and mix in. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix in.

7. Now pour the pasta mixture into an oven proof dish. Add a few cherry tomatoes, basil leaves and cheese to garnish the top.

8. Bake in the oven with a lid for around 20mins. then without the lid for around 20mins.

9. Serve nice and hot.

Notes:
1. You can try using different cheeses like Red Leister instead of Cheddar.
2. You don't have to add the salmon, tomatoes and salmon if you just want plain macaroni cheese.
3. Try adding bread crumbs on top before baking for added texture.

A post from FullestofLife