Archive for the ‘Fine Dine’ Category
Another ambitious first attempt from me, folks. I just came back from Sabah and I had this wonderful asam pedas at 1Borneo. I liked it so much that I decided to spice things up a bit on this gloomy Sunday afternoon. Here goes:
All in the pot. In about a litre of water, add few stalks of lemongrass, crushed and bruised, sliced salted vegetables, asam slices and most important, a good helping of laksa leaves. Heat up slowly.
For the accompanying vegetables, we have okra, eggplant and pineapple. Some people use tomatoes too. I should have had more pineapple.
It’s all in the pan. Blend onions, garlic and ginger into a paste. Fry in some oil with chilli powder, tumeric powder and a cube of toasted belacan.
This is what you’ll get after frying the mixture for about 5-10 minutes. It’s now a smooth, thick and fragrant paste.
By now, your pot of leaves and stalks should be boiling. Stir in the chilli paste you’ve just fried and put in the fish.
Add vegetables next. I added a bit more water. Next, add some salt and sugar to taste. More laksa leaves can also be added if you want a stronger aroma.
And we’re done. The gravy is very special. Many people use it as a soup base for noodles or rice. It didn’t take me too long (<30mins) to prepare this dish. Do try this at home. Your family will love it.
Greek cuisine is somewhat predictable. Variety is not its major strength, but simple taste and healthfulness are. Greek salad is one of those guiltless dishes you may try. I had it almost every day when I was in Greece.
You can probably guess the ingredients. I have some tomatoes (the expensive variety that you get from Cold Storage), cucumber (also the expensive Japanese type), onions and feta cheese. The dressing is made up of extra virgin olive oil, salt, lemon juice, dill and oregano. Toss it well. Coupled with bread, you can eat the salad as a meal. I don’t believe in low carb diets. Be sure to use the right kind of tomatoes. Unfortunately, youre kids may not like it.
Thessaloniki is often regarded as the food and fashion capital of Greece. Everything is so stylish and tasty over here. There’s fine dining with great ambience by the sea. In the morning, you can jog along the waterfront to shed those extra pounds. Make no mistake, Greek food is high in fat. The low incidence of cardiovascular disease in Greece may have more to do with their carefree lifestyles and attitudes than the much-touted Mediterranean diet. The video below shows Greek seafood rice being prepared at a restaurant (actually outside the restaurant) at Thessaloniki.
I liked it so much that I decided to DIM.
Do try this at home. I think your kids should like this.
First, prepare the squid. Remove eye, tentacles, gut, skin, spine etc. Then, season with salt, pepper and olive oil.
Load into a baking tray and bake at 240 deg. Once water begins to pool, pour it away and continue baking until it looks something like this.
Dish it out, cut the squid into rings like this:
And we’re ready to serve. Don’t be surprised if it tastes better than what you order in the restaurants. Below is my secret sauce.
Actually, what goes into the sauce depends on personal taste. You’d want it to be sour, salty, sweet and a little spicy. Start experimenting today. Your kids will love it.