At home – Ginataang Kalabasa at Hipon (Pumpkin & Prawns in Coconut Milk)

This is a perennial favourite in my house. There are lots of versions of this dish all over the Philippines but my recipe below is how we do it in Laguna (about 2 hours south of Manila). Coconut is plentiful in the region that is why you’ll find it is almost always present in Laguna recipes from entrées to desserts.

Although prawn is prominent in the name of the dish all you need is the flavour of prawn. This is not supposed to be a luxurious seafood dish but rather a rustic side dish usually paired with grilled or fried fish.

Snake beans (sitaw) are typically included in this dish but I didn’t find any in the shops. I also add mustard greens (mustasa). The slight bitterness of this vegetable adds more dimension to this otherwise plain dish.

Ginataang Kalabasa at Hipon (Pumpkin & Prawns in Coconut Milk)

1 medium onion chopped
6 slices of ginger
4-6 medium prawns
Pumpkin (I don’t know how to quantify this. 1 regular size wedge, I suppose)
1 bunch mustard greens
1 can coconut milk
Fish sauce or sea salt
Oil for sautéing

Heat the oil in a pan.
Sauté the ginger for about a minute then add the onion. Cook until the onion is translucent.
Add the prawns and cook for about a minute.
Add the pumpkin.
Add a bit of fish sauce or sea salt at this stage of the cooking.
Pour in the coconut milk and simmer until the pumpkin is done.
Add more fish sauce or sea salt if necessary.
Add the mustard greens and cook for another minute.
Serve with grilled or fried fish.

Not quite my birthday

It was actually Cherry’s (my wife) birthday yesterday and not mine. But along with a package she received from the UK were gifts for me from my mother-in-law (Inay Carmen).

I love coffee but I also love tea. This is evidenced by the fact that in my tiny cupboard in the office you’ll find at least half a dozen varieties of tea.

When Cherry came back from London she brought with her a couple of cans of Ceylon tea from Harrods. I’m not really that fussed with brands but I expressed how good the tea was. She must have mentioned it to my “mabait na biyenan” (*sip sip*). Inay must have thought it inappropriate not to have something for her favourite “manugang” (naks! *sip sip* na naman!). So, together with Cherry’s gift she sent over a couple of varieties of tea from Harrods, of course. There was also a very English apron that came with it.

I just would like to say Thank you Inay!

Australian Customs have got one of the strictest quarantine policies in the world. A “reality” TV series was created to show this (Border Security). Inay’s package did not escape the close scrutiny of this government department. You'd think x-ray and sniffer dogs would have been enough. Nope! One of the tea packages was actually opened to satisfy themselves that there was nothing prohibited.

The lost art...of cooking

I’ve read an interesting article (A Fat Society of Able Cooks by Jane Fynes-Clinton) in the Courier Mail a few days ago discussing the lost art (the author calls it a “skill” but I prefer “art”) of cooking. The author also highlighted Jamie Oliver’s crusade to change society’s attitude towards food. Jamie Oliver recently launched a book in conjunction with a new TV series called Ministry of Food. In the show, he laments what he calls “a new form of poverty caused by a generation that lacks the basic life skills to feed their families”.

The other remarkable point the article made (that I totally agree with) is how there are “increasing number of people who don't know how to cook at all - and many are loud and proud of it.” I’m sure all of us have met these people. Lacking the skill to cook is a disability in my book but for some it is a badge of honour.

Please follow the link and do not be shy with your comments.

At home - Beef Curry

The only reason I call my beef curry Malaysian is because I use a curry powder labelled as “Malaysian Curry Powder.” I don’t think you’ll find “my style” of cooking in any Malaysian cookbook. I should have titled this post “Kidpawan’s Beef Curry Using Malaysian Curry Powder” but that’s just a bit too indulgent.

The recipe works well with other types of meat. I know because I’ve tried. You just adjust the cooking time based on the meat of your choice (chicken, for example, cooks quicker than hippopotamus).

searing meat

There are also lots of curry powders available out there that you can substitute. I just find the Malaysian one fits my taste better than the others.

sauteing veges

Malaysian Beef Curry

Ingredients

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

6 slices of ginger

1 stalk of lemon grass sliced

1 red capsicum

4-6 teaspoon Malaysian curry powder (more if you want it spicier)

1 kilo beef (cheap cuts like brisket, chuck steak, shanks, etc.)

1 can coconut cream (substitute coconut milk if you want a less creamy sauce)

Salt to taste

Potatoes quartered and deep fried

Carrots

A bit of oil for sautéing

Tip: It’s best to use heavy based pots for cooking this.

Procedure

1. Heat up a bit of oil in a heavy based pot. Sear the meat pieces in the pan (a few at a time) to seal in the juices. Remove from the pot and set aside.
2. Add a bit more oil if needed. Sauté the ginger first.
3. After about a minute or so add the garlic. Before it turns completely brown add the lemon grass.
4. After another minute add the onions and the capsicum (save about a quarter for garnishing later). Cook this for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the curry powder to the mix and cook for about another minute.
6. Add the meat to the mixture. Make sure the meat is coated well.
7. Add the coconut cream and simmer for about 1 hour before adding the carrots.
8. After about 10 minutes add the fried potatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Serve with roti parathas or jasmine rice.

Fusions Italian Ristorante - Singleton, NSW

Entree: Spaghetti Marinara

Home made spaghetti with prawns, calamari, fish, scallops and mussels

Main: Angus Fillet and Jumbo Gulf Prawns

250g char-grilled Angus fillet (medium rare) with giant prawns in their shell, mash, garlic butter sauce

Wine: Melville Hill Cabernet Merlot

Whenever oyster is available on the menu it would be my first choice as entrée. I still found it tempting. But after consuming more than 3 dozen of these bivalve molluscs just a few days ago I decided to go a different direction.

There was a wide selection of pastas on the menu that were also offered as entrées. And since I feel like seafood there’s no better option than the spaghetti marinara. I was quite surprised when my order arrived as the plate it came in was just as big as the “mains” plate (not that I’m complaining).

The calamari and scallops mentioned on the menu were noticeably absent from my plate. Also, it seemed the chef was a bit too generous with the salt tonight. But I overlooked all these flaws as the whole dish was actually good. The seafood tasted of the sea (and not of the fish market). Fresh tomatoes were obviously used (as opposed to bottled or canned passata di pomodoro). It tasted much better than the last time I had it in the same restaurant.

After the pasta I soldiered on with my main! The steak was done just as I ordered (medium). In fact, it was the most perfect steak I’ve had in a restaurant for a long time. The vegetables that came with it enhanced the already exceptional meal. The caramelised carrot batons that came with it were terrific!

Off to the Hunter

The stereotypical accounting job is portrayed as mind-numbing number crunching work confined to a no window hole somewhere in the dark corners of the office. If you’ve got claustrophobia then you should probably consider another career.

How un-cliché the reality is! My profession has actually enabled me to explore regions of Australia (and maybe overseas soon) most people have never been to.

JQ 0481 to Newcastle

My destination today is the Hunter Valley. The Hunter region is famous for its wines. But the reason for this visit is obviously more business orientated rather than pleasure (of wine that is!).

To make it on time for my morning meeting I had to take the 6.00am flight. That meant I was up at 4.00am. To keep me going that early in the morning I have my usual cocktail of coffee, Red Bull, water and some greasy breakfast sandwich from a fast food store (it’s Hungry Jack’s sausage brekky wrap today).

My early morning breakfast

I’ve got about a day and a half to sort out what I need to do before I fly back home tomorrow evening.

Lancer (my car for today and tomorrow)

Woe Is I

No, I am not lamenting my existence. The title of this post refers to one of the books I bought just a few minutes ago from Mary Ryan’s.

“Woe Is I” was written by Patricia T. O’Conner. It’s supposed to be the “Grammaphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English”. I am not a grammaphobe. Maybe I am. I don’t know! I don’t know what it means! I just would like to continue to improve my knowledge of the English language. Maybe I should be devoting more time to learning Mandarin but English would do for now. The happenings in Wall Street might change my opinion though…

The other book I bought was Emily Brontë’s classic “Wuthering Heights”. I’ve read this back in high school. I want to see if I have a different take on it now that I am more mature (age wise that is!).

And last, but certainly not the least, was Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Love in Time of Cholera”. Mike Newell bravely attempted to convert the book into film (after so many before him have refused). I haven’t seen the 2007 movie nor have I read the book.

I’ll write reviews in future posts!

Lunch Club – Tramy’s Fried Chicken Wings (Canh Ga Chien)

If you’re tried of the usual fried chicken Tramy’s recipe is worth giving a go. The only twist to the usual Pinoy fried chicken recipe is the addition of garlic. Garlic might not be big in size but they sure make an impact!

It’s simple! It’s quick! But very satisfying!

We served it with fresh cucumber salad and some soy/chilli sauce.

Here’s her recipe.

Canh ga chien Fried chicken wings

Ingredients

1 kg Chicken wings cut into wingettes (separate the wing by cutting the joints then get rid of the pointy bit) for easy frying

Salt & pepper to taste

3-4 cloves chopped garlic

Lots of oil for deep frying

Procedure

1. Combine ingredients and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour

2. Heat oil over medium heat

3. Put all the chicken in the hot pan and cook the chicken until golden brown.

4. Serve hot with jasmine rice and some fresh salad.