Recipe: Grilled king prawn with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh parsley (Curtis Stone)

When seafood is fresh, it will only require simple preparation and minimal cooking - this will also allow the natural sweetness of the seafood to shine through. I decided to give this Curtis Stone recipe a go for lunch, since prep and cooking time only takes around 10 mins.

Grilled king prawn with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh parsley

For this recipe, the prawns can either be cooked with its shell on or peel it before cooking (leaving tails on) for ease of eating. The prawns will take about 1 minute to cook (on the BBQ or griddle pan), then simply drizzle over with lemon juice, chopped chillies and parsley and it is ready to be served.

One thing to note about this recipe is that the original recipe suggests 3 lemons for 20 prawns (since I was cooking 10 prawns that would be 1 1/2 lemons) but I have reduced it to 1/2 lemon and I still found it way too sour for my liking and overpowers the taste of the prawns. The taste is definitely appetizing, but I would reduce it to 1/4 lemon for 10 prawns the next time. The chillies give it a nice spicy kick.

A great simple recipe for the BBQ on a hot summers day.  

Grilled king prawn with olive oil, lemon juice and fresh parsley
Recipe adapted from Curtis Stone
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 - 2 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
10 jumbo shrimp (king prawns), peeled, deveined and with tails intact
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small fresh red chilli, finely chopped
Zest & juice of 1 lemon (I would reduce to 1/4 lemon next time)
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Sea salt


1. Preheat a BBQ or griddle (grill) pan to a high heat.

2. Drizzle the shrimp (prawns) with 1 tbsp olive oil and place them flesh-side down onto the BBQ or grill for 30-60 seconds (if the shell is on). If shells have been removed, then just place on any side (doesn't matter as you're flipping it over).

3. Turn the shrimp (prawns) over, add the chilli, lemon zest and parsley, and squeeze over the lemon juice.

4. As soon as the shrimp (prawns) are cooked to a solid white colour (about another 30-60 seconds), remove from the heat, drizzle a little extra olive oil over them and serve immediately. Season with some salt if necessary.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Curtis Stone" bloghop which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Grace of Life Can Be Simple. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Curtis Stone websites or cookbooks and blog hop with us for the whole month of July 2013.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in July 2013 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Grace of Life Can Be Simple and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

You can get the HTML code here: get the InLinkz code (Click on the link, copy and paste the HTML code into your blog post where you want the blog hop list to appear. Make sure you are in HTML mode when you paste in the code)

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

Teluk Pulai Bak Kut Teh @ Klang, Selangor

Whenever The Unc is back, a visit to Klang for bak kut teh (literally translated as "meat bone tea") is a must. We set off early (before 7am!) for Mo Sang Kor at Taman Berkeley, but unfortunately for us the place was closed due to some Chinese festivities. We then decided to go to Teluk Pulai Bak Kut Teh, which was not too far away.

Teluk Pulai Bak Kut Teh

My dad has been coming here for years with my grandparents. This is where you can find both soup AND dry versions of bak kut teh. According to him, this place is always crowded, and even before 7.30am, the place was starting to fill up. We quickly placed our order, a soup one with pork knuckle, tai kuat (big bone) and tendons and a dry one with just pork knuckle for 2 pax. Here, the way they charge is RM12 per type of meat or portion. We kind of felt cheated with the soup BKT since the portion was quite small and there was very little meat.

Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Teluk Pulai (Pottery) Ba Kut Teh

They still have the old-school style kettle on a gas cylinder for refilling your tea pots

The bak kut teh here is served in claypots. The soup here is clear, light and flavorful, and not too strong in herbal flavour. You can ask for soup refills, however each time, you will find the refill portions getting smaller and smaller. In true Klang style. We really liked the tendons, this is a part which always runs out when we go to BKT shops, so if you want it go early. The pork knuckle is also good, didn't really think much of the tai kut (big bone) though the kids had fun with big drumstick!

Pork, pork and more pork!

They also top each claypot which some tofu pok, fu chuk (deep fried beancurd sheets) and lettuce. Mushrooms are optional at an additional cost. 

Baby C enjoying the tai kut (and see in the background, Dato' Lee Chong Wei has previously visited this restaurant too)

This is my first time trying the dry version of bak kut teh. We went for pork knuckles, and it was sooooooo good. For me this is way better than the soup one, though I would be more inclined to call this braised pork knuckles. Each pork knuckle is coated with dark caramel sauce and some crispy ginger. It is so flavorful, I just couldn't stop eating it. We ended up having to order another portion for 2 pax. If I remember rightly, there is some chilli for a spicy kick too.

The sauce is still bubbling away in the claypot when this was served to us

I want to eat this again!

Seriously good!

Some vege to balance out all that meat

Verdict: Seriously tasty dry bak kut teh, the soup bak kut teh is pretty good too, but it would be better to order the different types of meat separately.



Opening times: 7am to 3pm.

Service: Fast.

Price: Total bill RM90.20 for 4 adults 2 kids, RM12 per portion/type of meat.

Location: Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Teluk Pulai (Pottery) Ba Kut Teh, 32, Jalan Batai Laut 5, Kawasan 16, Taman Intan, 41300 Klang, Selangor.

Tel : 603-3344 5196

GPS Coordinates: 3.055829, 101.472461

Recipe: Stir fried chicken with dark soy sauce and crispy ginger

As a Chinese, I love stir fry dishes with lots of gravy or sauce that I can spoon over my rice and enjoy. My mum does a fantastic stir fried chicken in dark soy sauce with crispy ginger which I have been eating for umpteen years and this is a dish I will NEVER get bored of.

Stir fried chicken in dark soy sauce with crispy ginger

No doubt one of the best things about this dish is the combination of the salty and slightly sweet thick (almost syrupy) sauce coating the chicken as well as excess to douse my rice with. The ginger is julienned, and then shallow fried for a crispy texture. We also like to add a few chillies in just to give this dish a slight spicy kick, but this is completely optional.

It's nice to be able to cook my favorite childhood dishes for my kids, maybe one day Baby C and D can cook this for their kids too :) Do you like these kind of stir fry dishes too?

My kids love this too!

Simply delicious!

Stir fried chicken in dark soy sauce with crispy ginger
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 3


Ingredients
300g chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
70g old ginger, julienned
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated and stalks removed
3 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp dark (caramel) soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
100-150ml water
1/2 tbsp ginger wine
Salt, to taste
3 cili padi (white)
2 red chillies, sliced
Lettuce leaves, to garnish


For the chicken marinade
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger wine
1 tsp light soy sauce


1. Marinade the chicken with the sesame oil, ginger wine and light soy sauce for 10 minutes.

2. In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat and add the ginger. Cook until crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Remove half of the ginger and set aside.

3. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned. Then, add the chicken and mushrooms and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, then season with dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and ginger wine. Add the water, give a quick stir, cover with lid and cook for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Taste and season with more salt if required.

4. Add the cili padi and red chillies and give it a final stir. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves, and top with the crispy ginger that you have set aside earlier.

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*I am submitting this to Little Thumb's Up "Ginger" event hosted by Alvin @ Chef and Sommelier.

Recipe: Corn and bacon savoury muffins (Curtis Stone)

Have you tried a savoury muffin before? I saw this recipe for corn and bacon muffins on Curtis Stone's website which got me curious and Joyce also made this, and she said it was good, so I was even more tempted to try. I had some leftover corn and bacon, after making the corn, bacon and potato chowder so I thought "why not". There's always a first time for everything.

Corn and bacon muffins

I halved the ingredients, since I wasn't sure if the kids would accept a savoury muffin. I do like all the ingredients that went into the making of this muffin - crispy streaky bacon, chopped spring onions, sweet crunchy corn kernels and cheese.  I made a few substitutions to just use up what I have in my kitchen, such as streaky bacon instead of hardwood smoked bacon, corn oil instead of bacon drippings, Parmesan cheese instead of cheddar and spring onions instead of chives.

I will be honest here. The first bite was a little strange. My mind is telling me that muffins are supposed to be sweet and my mouth is telling me that this muffin is savoury. However after a few bites, my mind said "Hey, savoury muffins are actually pretty nice", and before I knew it, I had three of this for my lunch. I especially liked the soft texture of the muffins - very moist and fluffy. It was especially good with some extra butter spread on top.

These muffins would be nice for breakfast or brunch. They are best served warm from the oven, or reheat them a little before serving as they will keep well in the fridge for 2 days.

This is a nice recipe to get your kids in the kitchen too. The tasks are simple - my daughter helped me with the mixing, filling the muffin cups and sprinkling the cheese.

Corn and bacon muffins

Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Curtis Stone

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 26-30 minutes
Makes 8

Ingredients

150g streaky bacon, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2/3 cup whole milk
2 medium eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh chives or spring onion
1/4 cup corn oil plus 1 tbsp corn oil


1. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C. In a large saute pan, heat 1 tbsp of corn oil  over medium heat and cook the bacon for about 8 minutes, or until the bacon is brown and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels.

2. Brush a 12-standard-size muffin pan generously with some of the bacon drippings from the pan.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a large bowl to blend.

4. In another bowl, whisk the milk, eggs and corn oil in another large bowl to blend, then stir in the bacon, 3/4 cup of the cheese, the corn kernels and the chives/spring onion. Then, stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until blended.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing equally and mounding generously. I managed to make 8 muffins from the above batter. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

6. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a tester inserted into the centre of the muffins comes out clean. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

7. Run a small sharp knife around the muffins to loosen them from the pan then remove the muffins. Serve warm with some butter. The muffins will keep well for 2 days in the fridge, but do reheat before eating.

*Note: This baking activity is suitable for kids (with supervision). They can help you with most of the tasks - mixing the batter, spooning into the muffin pan and sprinkling the cheese.


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! Thanks :)

*********************************

I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Curtis Stone" bloghop which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Grace of Life Can Be Simple. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Curtis Stone websites or cookbooks and blog hop with us for the whole month of July 2013.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in July 2013 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Grace of Life Can Be Simple and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

You can get the HTML code here: get the InLinkz code (Click on the link, copy and paste the HTML code into your blog post where you want the blog hop list to appear. Make sure you are in HTML mode when you paste in the code)

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

Chinese Dim Sum @ Hong Kee Restaurant, Taman Connaught, Cheras

One of our regular dim sum spots in Cheras is Hong Kee Restaurant located in Taman Connaught. The dim sum fare here is good, and the restaurant is comfortable as it is air-conditioned. Service is good most of the time, though it can be pretty slow.

Over here at Hong Kee, the dim sum are loaded into a trolley and pushed around the restaurant, for the customers to choose from. The steamed and deep fried items are placed in separate trolleys, and certain items such as pau (steamed buns) and chee cheong fun can be ordered from the waiting staff. The dim sum items are priced between RM3.50 to RM6.30. A typical dim sum breakfast here would cost us RM50 for 4 adults and 2 kids - very reasonable.

Other than dim sum, the restaurant also serves roast duck and other roast meats, as well as their a la carte menu. Been a while since we had dinner here.

Restaurant interior

Most of their steamed items are good - we usually have the har gau (prawn dumpling) which has a big juicy prawn within and the skin does not break easily nor is it too thick. Kids always need to have the juicy siew mai (pork dumpling), I also like their steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce. The scallop and prawn dumpling is alright, but a bit pricey since the scallops are a little small. Better to stick to the har gau. The chee cheong fun with prawns is nice eaten with the spicy chilli prawn paste. Another must order for the kids is the char siew pau.

Har gau

Scallop and prawn dumpling

Chee cheong fun with prawn

Eaten with lots of spicy chilli prawn paste

He loves his char siew bun

From the fried item cart, we always order the deep fried prawn wantan/dumpling (served with mayo), the deep fried yam cake, and another one which is prawn wrapped in deep fried beancurd (fu chuk) and katafi. Kids also love the egg tarts here (very crumbly pastry) and the deep fried glutinous rice ball with sesame.

Fried items 

Deep fried sesame glutinous rice ball

Prawn with deep fried beancurd and katafi

Deep fried yam cake (wu kok)

Another deep fried prawn in beancurd roll

Egg tart

Opening times: 7am to 3pm; 6pm to 10.30pm daily. Restaurant closed on Wed.

Dim sum priced between RM3.80 to RM6.30.

Price: A dim sum meal for 4 adults + 2 children usually costs around RM50 here.

Location: Hong Kee Restaurants, 106 Jalan Cerdas, Taman Connaught, 56000 Cheras, KL.

Tel: 03-9100 2639

GPS Coordinates: 3.081648, 101.735661