RECIPES

PAHD THAI
(Fried rice noodles)


125 gm/ 4 ozs dry sen lek (rice noodles), soaked in warm water for
15 to 20 minutes to soften
30 ml/ 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 – 6 prawns fresh, peeled and deveined
30 ml/ 2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked and pounded
1 large egg, slightly beaten
30 ml ml/ 2 tbsp lime juice
25 ml/ 1 ½ tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)
5 ml/1 tsp sugar
30 ml/2 tbsp raw peanuts, roasted & chopped
2.5 ml/ ½ tsp chilli powder
25 gm/ 1 oz bean sprouts
15 ml/ 1 tbsp preserved turnips
3 spring onions, cut in 1 inch lengths
A lime & a sprig of coriander leaves for garnish

1) Prepare all the ingredients and place them near the stove.

2) Heat 15 ml/ 1 tbsp of the oil and swirl to coat the surface. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and toss until golden . Add the fresh prawns and toss until they turn pink and opaque, remove from the wok and set aside.

3) Add the egg to the wok and tilt the wok to spread it into a thin sheet. As soon as it begins to set and is opaque, scramble and break it into small lumps. Remove from the wok and set aside.

4) Add the remaining oil, heat for about 30 seconds, and add the softened noodles. Spread and pull the noodles into a thin layer covering the surface of the wok. Add the fish sauce, ½ of the pounded shrimps, ½ of lemon juice, sugar, ½ of the peanuts, spring onions, ½ of the turnips, and chilli powder. Toss and mix after adding each ingredient. Continue to stir-fry for 15 seconds.

5) Add ½ of the bean sprouts; toss the scrambled egg and cooked prawns. Stir-fry for another 15 seconds. Season to taste.

7) Transfer the noodles to a serving plate. Sprinkle with the rest of the lemon juice. Garnish with the remaining peanuts, dried shrimps, bean sprouts, and coriander leaves, and lime wedges.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2 - 4


TAMARIND SAUCE


5 ml/ 1 tsp tapioca flour
200 g/ 7 oz palm sugar
200 ml/ 7 fl oz tamarind juice
25 gm/ 1 oz caster sugar
45 ml/ 3 tbsp light soy sauce


Dissolve the tapioca flour in 10 ml/ 2 tsp water, set aside.
Bring the tamarind juice to the boil, add the sugar and soy sauce. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Mix in the tapioca paste. Cook for a further 1 minute, before allowing to cool.

This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Teaching & Food

Time flies.
It was late september when I was introduced to 16 new students who enrolled in my Thai Cookery Classes. After a long summer break it took quite a while to adjust your frame of mind and your thoughts into teaching mood. Sometime I wonder my motivation for teaching these new students...but they want to learn how to cook and I want to teach them how to cook. So the wavelength exists. Before the students, all eager, with their apron tied neatly on their waists, start to cook, I explored this wavelengths further by asking them to work in a pair, give them list of questions...what exactly do they want to learn? what are their learning objectives? What made them attracted to Thai food etc etc.
Hence the ice-breaking has started. A tall, grey-haired 73 year old man was paired with a French mother of 37 year old; a Pilipino nanny whose command of English of good was paired with a young man from Canada; a Japanese housewife with limited English with an Indian mother of 3 teenagers; a Lebanese woman whose husband is a business with a young and handsome French man, etc, etc...Within five minutes the class atmosphere and ambience began to warm up with exchanges of questions. The class began to glow with bubbles of conversations. Meanwhile I gathered all my thoughts and teaching resources. I have my information regarding the College, the safety and health regulation, student handbooks, scheme of work, lesson plans and recipes ready. My kitchen technician was also ready with her tasks as kitchen assustant. She has to get all the tools, equipment and utensil we needed for the class ready. All the cookers and stoves are function well without any problem.

'Right!' I could hear my voice through the microphone.
'Can we all gather together in the front here and let us introduce ourselves'....

so it started.....

Cold Sore!!

I have heard and seen people suffer from cold sore...I thought it was something to do with hygiene. My ignorance proved me wrong. Last week for days I did not go to my health club for my regular exercises. My arms, legs and in fact, my entire body was aching. For days I felt quite unwell. I thought I was going to catch a cold. There were no symptoms of having a cold like sore throat and headache. So I ignored my body until next morning when I looked on the mirror I saw a little blister on my left lower lip.

Aaahhh..what is this? My local pharmacist asked me if I could feel a tingle. I said "No". She looked at it and said "yes, it is a cold sore"!! Cold sore I thought. Hmmnn...SO she sold me a 2g tube of Zovirax for almost 6 pounds!!..She advised me to apply the cream to the affected area 4-5 times a day. I tried to read the small prints on the tube when she loudly said...DO NOT USE IN EYES OR ON GENITAL.. Am I that stupid enough that I could not read the prints. Anyway, that is what you get.. I walked out of the pharmacy with '''aarrrhhhh'''to let out my stress.
I must stay away from cafes....restaurants....
and from all public places...
No it is the sign of winter, stupid! I said to myself....

Birthday dinner

Summer has gone...This summer was a memorable one. I was asked by an old, dear friend sometime in April if I can cook and host a dinner birthday party for his 65th birthday. He would like to invite members of family...how could I have refused?

We met twice to discuss preliminaries and accessories, menus etc at a brasserie in Sloane Square.

{S to arrange her hairdo and massage J & S to select and arrange cheeerful flowers for: living room kitchen and dining tables Crockery and cutlery, glasses for wine and soft drink.

Tea towels, loo rolls, kitchen rolls and kitchen disposables

Drinks - M to select and delicer red and white wine - 8 bottles each. (Some will be drinking in the kitchen with S from mid-afternoon onwards!

M to deliver still and sparkling mineral water. Who to buy orange juice and other soft drinks? Leave out beer and lager.

J& S to select coffee, tea or tisane.

Food - leave to S! Home-made cake for M. Baby food is also included.

Float - say 600 pounds on account of S' "preening", flowers, all miscellaneous and all food. Settle balance afterwards. }

S after approval from M presented the following menus:

Starter -

Dry-fried King Prawns with Coriander

Smoked Duck breast with victoria plum sauce dressing

Main Filo tart

Perfumed Pilau Rice

Sushi

Side dishes -

Orange, Cumin and Olive Salad

Melange of Green Salad

Desserts -

Rich Chocolate and Roasted Almond Cake (birthday)

Fruit Salad ala Oriental

Coffee & Tisane

No of guests: 15

Cost of food excluding drinks 227.43

Cost of flowers 61.96

Champagne

Red Wine

White Wine

family gathering

I wish I could share...yes..last Sunday 12th, I had the pleasure of entertaining some members of my families from Brunei to come and share my cooking and English way of eating at our Victorian home. Not using our right hand four fingers and thumb to push the food into our mouth, instead we used knives and forks. A good display of roasts from roast leg of lamb, boned and stuffed shoulder of lamb, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots and courgette, ratatouille were served.
For desserts I completely ignored the rules or boundaries of high cholesterol food..a good selection of sweet dishes from coconut milk creme caramel, layered kek lapis betawi, prune and chocolate cake, and some kuih mor (including some made by dearest coz Kak Am & Kak Pat, and some few balls left made by me. I made 2 kilos of kuih mor..Emma & I helped ourselves with 1 1/2 kg...there goes my diet) were served. Not forgetting Celebrations sweets...grapes and apples...

A layered chocolate cake with yummy filling and covered with rich glaze of chocolate and cream for Adik Adrina, Izzah and Suhaebah belated birthdays!!

My!! thanks everyone....

Prune Cake

Someone kindly sent me a recipe for prune cake with 20 eggs, 1 lb of butter, 150 g caster sugar, a tin of condensed milk...Do I get the quantity right?....