Tuesday 8 December 2009

What the Princess Planned for Sunday Lunch

Upon learning that her big brother, the houseman Amin, was coming home for a short inter-rotation break, our teen princess, Syira, lost no time texting him for the usual.

Indeed for herself, it was something SO worth taking a rest for from her SPM revision. Incidentally today's her last  paper, Physics Chemistry.

So it was a full complement for lunch last Sunday (minus MacAzeim in Glasgow of course), Amin back from KK, Syira "flew" from the hostel, Muni, Adeen, hubby and I.

And the "special" that Syira had always been dreaming of since Amin's last break was -


BUTTER PRAWNS!

Apparently a Malaysian style fusion dish.


Here's how I rustled it up with the frozen tiger prawns Amin bought from the Kota Kinabalu LCCT.




Chop head the eyes off prawns, wash, pat dry, deep fry in oil for a bit, and drain on kitchen towel.
Melt some butter and fry about 20 curry leaves, chilli padi to required pedas and a couple of cloves of sliced garlic




Add in the prawns, a little soya sauce, some coconut milk, Syira says she wants more butter and in goes another big pat of it
The recipe calls for sherry or rice wine; I used some fresh lemon juice. Oh and about a teaspoon of sugar.
Voila!
The sun shines on an appreciative client
Finiiito!!!  The princess helping with the cleaning up operations.
And then she went back to school fully satisfied to face Physics Chemistry today.

And Amin goes back to KK today, this rotation will be to the Surgery Dept. Have to do at least three appendectomies on his own this time.

Previously was at Orthopaedics, then Medical and then Emergency/Trauma.

Am not sure whether to post the picture of a severed arm that he had to deal with once. A man riding pillion on a motorbike had his arm sliced clean through flesh and bone by our immensely sharp Malaysian roadside railing/divider in an accident.

Anyway, still to come are Ob-Gyn and Paediatrics, before he can become a full-fledged medical officer.

We pray for your success Amin, and Syira, and Azeim and Muni and Adeen, and for everyone facing challenges, be they big or small.



28 comments:

Kak Teh said...

I think this deserves an attempt, and will despatch one not fifty miles away from me, to go to the oriental supermarket to get a packet of prawns.

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,try putting some kunyit hidup tembok when you 1st fry them..yoo !! and follow-up with the rest (i would rather tumbok the chilli/garlic/kunyit together yaa and fry them 1st with olive oil b4 the udang-udang come coconut milk sugar and butter/lime/soya sauce last)..served with fresh cut daun bawang toppings,,,,walla !!
,,,the udang to be belah belakang too hehehe !! rasa nya lagi best cos masuk semua the spices mah. In fact, i normally marinate them together for awhile to zap in the spices plus flavor-lah.
.....BUT I like your deep frying style too....O.K. jgn merajuk like we know who. hahaha.

Chef Uban.

Kak Teh said...

Tumpang lalu zendra,
Capt, your knowledge of butter prawns is astounding. Does this mean a visit to your longhouse will not be a disappointing experience?

I had butter prawns at this place called Hokaido during my last visit back...and rght now, I can still taste it.

Zendra-Maria said...

Kak Teh, this dish is ever so simple to make but if you are fastidious about it's completeness, you can also make some egg floss and throw it onto the prawns when serving. But my clients were not fussy. We mopped up the sauce with crisp lettuce leaves - mmmm so heavenly!

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hmmmm very nice! I wud have prefer u kept the head part, ooooh the taste sensation when u suck into those head, yummy! Alas I cannot eat too much shell food else I go gatal....muahaha (scary tots).

Tommy.

P/S - Still not happy, Capt Shariff!!

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, next time I'll leave the prawns to thaw overnight, then I'll have time to belah belakang and remove the veins and let the prawns sit in the marinade hehe. Luckily my customers were not fussy.

Not sure about kunyit though, cos don't want it to taste too much like masak lemak in the end.

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, gosh I meant the eyes lah with the antennae hahah. I should correct that. And much of the flavour that goes into the sauce comes from the heads of the prawns.

Do you have your own version of this recipe just to compare2?

PS Waah now you so formal with that lou sang!

mamasita said...

Zen..today Chemistry Papers laah..
Cuba you tanya Syira again..

Ahh..those were the days..lepas beranak all prawns make me itchyfied!!

So you'll be having 2 docs of your own attending to you bila dah very2 tua nanti?
Alhamdullillah..

Zendra-Maria said...

Ooops mamasita that's true - chemistry (Just testing you hahaha). I'll make the correction after this. Paper I and II she said were OK-OK.

Our body chemistry pun change after beranak-beranak kan, not just physically.

DocS? Yg sorang tu pun belum sah lagi hehe

Capt's Longhouse said...

Kak Teh,

,,,our sea food at Capt's are all hidup hidup fresh from the sea, you can come along to choose what you want to eat !!..ssssh we kebas fm bubu-lah and pirate from fishermen in the high sea..my boat ex-port security patrol vessel so the thai fishermen takut takut with my crew cos we are dressed in black uniform always when out at sea...tak nampak kotor kan hehehe. Let them think whatever as long as we get fresh fish from them for BBQ. (pirates kan yoo)but in exchange we trade them with old coconuts. win/win . we rob each other hahaha.

Zendra...just a little bit of fresh kunyit will make one hell of a difference, trust me..wow factor !!.

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, Somehow you've kinda side-stepped Kak Teh's enquiry. I put it to you directly - would you cook us this astounding dish on the off chance that we drop by Longhouse?

OK OK it's not free - so how much for 20 large prawns? hehe

Capt's Longhouse said...

,,,Curry leaves lend an Indian influence to this Malaysian tamby seafood recipe.

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
•1 pound tiger prawns, fresh or frozen
•1 cup oil, for poaching prawns
•1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
•1 sprig curry leaves, or to taste (each sprig has about 16 leaves)
•1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
•1 teaspoon granulated sugar
•1/4 teaspoon chili paste with garlic, or to taste
•3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
•Black pepper, to taste
•2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Preparation:
Rinse the prawns under warm running water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the shells from the prawns but leave on the tails.

Heat 1 cup oil to 350 degrees. When the oil is hot, add the prawns. Briefly cook the prawns in the hot oil until they turn pink (about 1 minute). Remove and drain on paper towels.

Melt the butter in a wok or heavy frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add the curry leaves. Cook briefly, then stir in the oil-poached prawns, Chinese rice wine, sugar, and chile paste.

Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk. Heat through. Taste and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired. To serve, garnish the butter prawns with the chopped cilantro leaves.

Chef Uban ..the real thing hehehe !

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,If ever you fine ladies were to come, I will take a break/rest and let you guys do the cooking for a change ?.
,,,am still the chef sure, but i loves to taste other's cooking too.
,,,sure, we can all be in the kitchen together cooking one another too hehehe.
,,,in fact, we can also perform on-line cooking too nowadays yaa..livre masculine de cuisine ?!

DrSam said...

Wow...that great bowl of tiger wonder was really tempting and irresistibly mouth-watering. I used to sapu kaw-kaw if there is any chance to indulge on that crustacean delicacy, but one gout-experience has really suppressed my appetite - until now.

Fadhil said...

Zen,

Memang nampak sedap sangat. Also thanks to the Capt for his recipe. Will sure try it soon.

Pasni princess you kena tolong masak pulak la... exams dah over kan?

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, that recipe looks familiar *winks*

So no turmeric yaa? And do you use dry sherry or rice wine? hehe

BTW, the reason why we ladies should happen to be in Kapas IS TO TAKE A BREAK from la cuisine ourselves lah hahaha. So looks like Kapas is out of the itinerary :(

Zendra-Maria said...

DrSam I'm sure your beautiful other can pull this dish out of her magic kitchen anytime. As they say, buat ubat ;)

Zendra-Maria said...

Yes exams over, so after selesai qadha' tidor, it's off to the kitchen with the young lady before her PLKN stint begins!

Anonymous said...

u've made me drool lady. its so susah to get the simple food like that here. and the fresh prawn here r not as nice as the one in malaysia. udang sejuk kot. Have a good one!

Zendra-Maria said...

Hello Fleece from Philly,
So sad to hear you can't get tasty prawns there, yup the best TIGER prawns ARE from Sabah. But you know what? You can really make up for it in the droolly rich creaminess of Philly butter - mmm SLURRRP! Don't do without the curry leaves though - those lend this dish its absolute gorgeousness (borrowing word from Nigella)

Thanks for dropping by Fleece

Saya... said...

Sodapnyer...i love butter!!!

aiyo...org nak pi cuti, dia nak suruh org masak pulak...

hallo, we also must request halal menu...heheh..mabuk laut tak pe, jgn mabuk sherry/air tapai Capten!

mamasita lagi gatal lepas bersalin? hahaha..must be hormones :P

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hello Zen, no I got no recipe that can match yours & Capt’s. I try to avoid fried stuff anyway.

I beg to defer; I reckon Perth WA got the best seafood produce; king prawns, (horni)tiger prawns, banana prawns, crayfish etc.

Hey TSOP Fleece, dunno kat Philly but udang sejuk memang best lah, it’s an acquired taste; fresh prawns boiled at sea, keep frozen & straight to the shops then to home. Prepared prawn cocktail style, pure & simple, nicely dangling on crystal wine glasses then dipped in thousand island sauces or the gold old Heinze Salad cream + lettuces, cucumber, celery sticks – just blardy beautiful!

Another way, is marinated shrimps/prawns/crayfish/lobster on the barbie(BBQ), skewered like a kebab. The trick to good food is to keep it simple, don’t overly musked the meat with too much spices or what not. (e.g. Chinese only cook sweet & sour when the produce is NOT fresh, otherwise it’s always steamed – healthier option too mah)

Bon appétit!
Tommy

P/S – Yo Mamasita, when I get ‘itchyfied’ as in itchy backside, I always get ‘six of the best’ up my behind from the old school master….hahaha

Capt's Longhouse said...

,,,hahaha jgn mabok dgn Sherry o.k-lah kot, my late mom call me Sherry tau!. So everytime the word Sherry comes out, it reminds me of her too.(rindu tersangat kat emak)
,,,ooh by the way, minyak gamat is good for urut tempat gatal gatal and I have many bottles of it on the pulau. From pulau langkawi, yet to master how to make them here with kapas gamat ?..any of you know how ?..nak belajar-lah !. Kita boleh jual buat duit yaa. ...business is business adoi !! jgn marah nak cari reseki halal. Bar dah kena ban,,, Yeop Oii. hehehe.

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,o.k. for the next 1-4 x weeks, would appreciate if you can blog all your extra special cooking style for the rest of us PLEASE ! hehehe..you are good at it and i can comment as and when appropriate to add/minus something else to make it more interesting or as a change to its rasa rasa. Not that yours is not good, just improvement from an old timer-lah. hehehe !!. I come from a family of Chefs, we share our talents too, so how about it ?. FOC yaa hahaha. deal ?.
,,,am dead sure others would fully support this idea yaa ??. Hey Tok Mee need yr vote here buddy and you are indeed a good cook too from your various feedback to-date. Yaa had enough of those salt water boiled prawns when i was working hard in Europe many many moons ago. But what to do, the ladies insisted for the curly chef to serve them in bed. Good young days hehehe. Oopppps. !! don't worry dah bertaubat dahhhhh..and God fearing retarded/retired old guy nowadays. Yoo.

Tok Uban

Zendra-Maria said...

Saya, sodap lagi mihun briyani kot... muahaha

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, prawn cocktail! Good one, sport. Haven't had that in yonks. Just the thing to order when RA next takes me fine-dining hehe

Zendra-Maria said...

What Capt - demo my cooking?!!! And you just comment?!!!

Let me see.... have to buy a new wok, matching kitchen utensils, new batu tumbuk, new blender, renovate my kitchen, new serving platters, new camera etc etc first lah ;)

Saya... said...

haiya..me is guilty...when are you free..me make briyani...haha

aiyo...i paling tak suka those boiled bland prawns dipped in Heinz of all things...mat salleh are very bland eaters la....and they call it fine dining...hahaha

Capt, kapas mmg banyak gamat...besar2 plak tu..same species ka as langkawi?