Archive for the ‘seafood’ Category

“Toss another shrimp on the barbie, will ya love?”

It’s the Australian catch-cry advertised since a time before I even came to be.

It was a rather confusing catch-cry, though, to my younger Malaysian-Chinese self as “shrimp” always meant the tiny dried prawn-like bits (often no bigger than a thumbnail) used by my mother to make soup and to be fried with leek. Prawns, on the other hand, were the bright orange creatures with black eyes that stared at you while your stubby five year old fingers wrestled with their tomato-sauce-laden shells.

…continue reading garlicky butter prawns

“You can’t make friends with salad” he said, eying my lunch critically.

“You watch the Gilmore Girls too?” I exclaimed, amazed at this unexpected revelation of his character.

“The Gilmore Girls? It’s a quote from the Simpsons…” said he, confused and doubly critical.

“I guess that’s where Lorelai got the saying from then…” murmured I, embarrassed as I scuttled away with my lunch, “I have to go study now. Bye!”

…continue reading confit tuna & bean salad

(…or how I made peace with a fish.)

I get nervous about fish.

They don’t seem to like me.

Perhaps someone told them about the time I managed to kill ten goldfish in a single year. I didn’t mean to – they’d be swimming around happily one day, and then two weeks later…

(Interestingly, when I handed over the fish-rearing-reigns to my father, the pair we had at the time lived for ten years. Until I was left to watch them for two weeks.)

And perhaps, just maybe, my fish-rearing-skills have left me slightly damaged. Unable to cook much more than a fillet of salmon (sear skin side down, wait… wait… flip, sear, serve) or instant fish fingers (roll onto oven tray, bake, eat soggy fish fingers because-I-suck-at-instant-food).

Until now.

…continue reading C4T: oven baked bonito

Ever wonder why this crazy Malaysian girl’s food blog has hardly any Malaysian food recipes on it?

It’s because I’m a terrible Malaysian cook.

Actually, let’s rephrase that. It’s because my mother is an absolutely amazing Malaysian cook – and I’m often far too terrified to cook anything that is familiar to her, because I’ll inevitably sit there at the end of it all, poking at my food and wishing I’d let her cook instead.

…continue reading baked malaysian spicy tamarind snapper

“I’m cooking lunch for five” I said to M & Zo over a food court lunch “and I don’t know what to make.” The boys looked at me quizzically. “Surely it isn’t that hard,” said M. “just go with something you’re comfortable with.” “Yes,” said Zo “but if you’ve invited them over, it has to be something a little bit special.” And so I variously groaned, threw my hands in the air and wrinkled my nose distastefully at their suggestions. Until, that is, M suggested pasta. “Pasta,” he said, with the gesture of an 80 year old Italian papa “is so simple, but the fresh stuff? Ah! You can make a person very very happy with that”.

…continue reading mussel & leek fettucine