This prawn curry was cooked in more or less the same way as my fish curries. Unlike chicken and fish, prawns shouldn’t be cooked too long, otherwise, they’ll taste “old”. There lies the challenge of a prawn curry. How to get enough flavour into curry without ruining the texture of the prawns? One way is to keep the shells on.

But I only had shelled, frozen prawns, so I cooked them for not more than 5 minutes. I added more yoghurt, onions and some fish stock to add to the flavour. I think some pineapple cubes would have gone well with the dish. Next time.

© Chan Joon Yee

Vietnamese spring rolls are not exactly my favourite. I guess I could modify it a bit to suit my own taste, but it seems like an easy dish to make, so I decided to give it a try.

First some minced chicken and prawns. I seasoned them with pepper, salt, sesame oil and light soy sauce. Not bad.

Next, the soaked tung hoon which I cut into small bits. Then, I tossed everything together with the meats and fried them up. I made sure there was not much liquid left as we would need to wrap this.

For the sauce or dip, I just went by feel. Fish sauce, sugar, balsamic vinegar (that’s the only vinegar I had at the moment) and some cut chillies. Turned out OK as well.

Here comes the tricky part. Do not soak the rice paper. Just dip it in a bowl of warm water for 3 seconds, then place it on a plate while it is still stiff. Otherwise, the rice paper will become too sticky and difficult to handle. Place the filling (I’ve added some parsley) and wrap it all up.

Quite a visual treat here, right? It tasted quite authentic (sans mint leaves), but I think the chicken should be left out. Pure prawns and some crunchy bean sprouts, cooked carrots and raw cucumber. Maybe leave the parsley out as well. I know it won’t be authentic then, but will suit my taste buds better.

Will do and show when I’m free.

© Chan Joon Yee

Radish kimchi is my favourite type of kimchi. I’m not crazy about the usual leafy type of kimchi, but radish kimchi is sweet and crunchy. What you see here was bought and not made. That’s because I had no idea how to make it myself … until I saw the video below.

Yes, I’ll try it soon and see how it compares with what I got from the supermarket – which is rather pricey. Something is missing from this kimchi. White sesame seeds.