DAY 182 : KAM HEONG CRABS

 

KAM HEONG CRABS

Thursday, 27 December 2010

Today is Diana's birthday. 

She says she wants to eat crabs. We are making her cook her crab dinner tonight. :D That's the rule in our family. The birthday person will have to cook. :D Bryan has bought 10 live crabs. He will use half to make a chilly version, while I'm gonna help the birthday girl to prepare kam heong style. 


By the way, just found out that kam heong means "Golden Fragrance" in the Cantonese dialect.


This is a very simple dish to prepare - yet can be quite impressive to serve on the dining table. Oh by the way, we are not gonna deep fry the crabs, like most kam heong recipes do. We're just gonna braise it. It's healthier, we think ... and tastes just as delicious!

3 Simple Steps :

1. Kill the Crabs

2. Fry Ingredients.

3. Add Crabs.

Ingredients : dried shrimps, shallots, garlic, 

bird's eye chillies, lemon grass and curry leaves

 

1. Kill the Crabs. 

See entry on Crabby Spaghetti on how to 

put your crabs to sleep peacefully.

Day 98 : Crabby Spaghetti

2. Fry Ingredients.

Saute shallots, garlic and ginger in sesame seed oil.

Here's Diana stir-frying the ingredients.

Toss in the dried shrimps.

Continue to stir-fry. 

These little dried shrimps are necessary for this dish as 

they are laden with highly aromatic flavor.

Add 2 table spoons of curry powder. 

Add bird's eye chillies. Add lemon grass.

Add water. Add seasalt. Add shoyu.

Checking the recipe.

Toss a bunch of fresh curry leaves.

3. Add the crabs.

Add dark sauce. Add oyster sauce. 
Add brown sugar. 
Close lid and allow to cook 

for a few minutes on medium heat.

Open lid to check. The flesh should be

white and juicy-looking.

Give it a stir around. Close lid again for a minute or two.

Diana couldn't believe it is so easy to prepare this dish.

The crabs are ready.

The aroma is divine ...

Transfer to a serving dish.

TA -- DAHHH!!! :D

What a spectacular sight!

Our mother made her famous sze chuan soup, 

at our insistence. Hmm, absolutely delicious!

 

Bryan's pilau rice is perfect.

Oh my, the crabs are simply out of this world!

The soup is amazing ... flavorful and wholesome.

Dinner tonight is simply incredible. :D

Two simple crab dishes, pilau rice and sze chuan soup.

Justine and Carol made moist chocolate cake for Diana.

Happy Birthday, Diana!

She's the one in orange.

Dessert was fantabulous and lip-smackin' delicious. 

Choc cake with cookies and cream ice-cream.

Slurrrrrrrrrrrp! :D

CHILLY CRABS

 Before fluffing up the rice.

PILAU RICE 

A Little Sharing - January 2011

 

Day 181 : Oven-Baked & Grilled Chilli-Stuffed Selar Fish

 OVEN-BAKED & GRiLLED 

CHiLLi STUFFeD SeLAR FiSH

This evening, our family members will be coming over for dinner. My mother is cooking minced meat thai-style and sze chuan soup. 

Bryan and I are preparing pilau rice (see Day 174) and chilli-stuffed fish. Very easy to do. Absolutely kindergarten.

3 Simple Steps: 

1. Blend & Fry Ingredients.

2. Stuff the Fish.

3. Bake & Grill the Fish.

Ingredients : Tomato, red chillies, lemon grass, 

curry leaves, cili padi (bird's eye chilly), garlic, 

onions and tumeric (orange).

 1. Blend the Ingredients. 

(except for the curry leaves)

 Blended chilli ingredients.

Add seasalt, shoyu and brown sugar.

Squeeze lime juice over.

 Fry the Ingredients.

Heat cooking oil in a pan.

Saute chopped shallots. Add cumin seeds.

Add the blended chilly ingredients.

Toss in a handful of curry leaves.

2. Stuff the Fish.

Slice 2 sides of the fish to make a pocket.

Stuff the pockets with the fried chilly ingredients.

Layer the oven dish with 

aluminium foil for easy cleaning later.

Arrange the fish for baking in the oven.

 3. Bake & Grill the Fish.

The oven is pre-heated at 200 degrees C.

BAKE for about 40 - 45 minutes.

Thereafter, switch to GRILL mode 

and grill for another 10 - 15 minutes.

 Decorate with lemon slices, carrot flowers, 

spring onion sticks and cherry tomatoes.

The aroma is simply amazing!

Here's my plate with the fragrant pilau rice, chilli fish 

and mum's thai-style minced meat with vegetables.

 Here's Bryan's plate ...before piling up! :D

 Sze chuan soup.

Everyone enjoyed the dinner very much.

The combination is just excellent.

Absolutely finger-lickin' delicious! :D

 Bon Appetite! :D

Day 174 : Christmas Eve Dinner (6) Vanilla Cheesecake

Vanilla Cheesecake 

with Hobnob's Cracker Crust and Blueberries

Best served after overnight refrigeration.

by Carol & Justine :D

Carol and Justine are attempting to bake 

their first cheesecake.

Ingredients

1 packet of Hobnob's Oatmeal Biscuits

1.5 tbs of butter (softened)

750 g cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tbs vanilla essence

230 g sour cream

4 eggs

1. Pre-Heat oven to 175 degrees C.

2. Crumble the oatmeal biscuits with a potato masher. 

Use your fingers to crush it further to a finer texture.

 3. Butter the cake pan. Make a flat base with the crushed crumbs.

The crumb-base should look compact and sealed-in.

 I didn't know the cream cheese comes in this form.

Did you?

4. We haven't got an electric mixer. So, let's put the hands to work. :D

Beat the cream cheese until it is smooth.

5. Add the condensed milk, eggs, sour cream and vanilla essence.

Whip and beat in the mixture until it combines well.

Taking turns to whip the cream mixture.

Almost there ...

Continue to whip it until it is very very very smooth, says Justine.

6. Pour the mixture into the cake pan.

7. Bake for 45 minutes.

Let it cool. Then refrigerate.

7. Carol ties a red ribbon at the bottom of the cake

and scatter blueberries over the top.

Yayyy ... Cake time!!! :D

The cheesecake tastes oh-so-very good. Literally melts in the mouth.

The blueberries give it a refreshing twist. The texture is cheesecake-perfect! 

Everyone is enjoying their cake. :D 

Do join us ... :D