CTNF: It's a FISHY Cookout!

Baked Bacon wrapped Salmon with Red Wine Sauce

The Cookout! session is back... This time, ala 'Iron Chef' the main ingredient is fish (no rules on what type of fish). I chose a salmon dish to cook after a spontaneous inspiration watching Asian Food Channel's 'Cook Like a Chef' program. My partner in crime chose the Halibut and we were in for a cookout!

It's a very simple dish with very simple BUT not cheap ingredients. The salmon cut costed me almost RM20 and bacon streaks weren't cheap either... plus, I had to purposely open a bottle of red wine for this. But I must say, it was all worth it :-)

The salmon is wrapped with streaks of bacon and left to bake for 20 mins in 180°c, and the sauce is made up of caramelised shallots, red wine and butter. Sides can be anything but I've decided to go with baby spinach and roasted baby potatoes. You can see how flaky the salmon is and oh how well bacon goes with fish!


Seared Halibut with Lemon Cream Sauce

The Halibut was seared and accompanied with a lemon cream sauce. My partner in crime firstly seared the fish, and then used cream, lemon, butter, grounded black pepper to make a killer lemony creamy sauce. It's quite simple actually- it's all about putting everything together!

What should be the main ingredient for the next cookout?

CTNF: Cheese Baked Seafood Pasta

Cheese Baked Seafood Pasta (before going into the oven); Refreshing ice cold lemonade

It's another one of those days when I had nothing to eat at home and decided to whip something up. Took a trip to the supermarket with nothing concrete in mind what I wanted to cook.


Tadah!

Inspired by all things cheesy and baked, this is what I did. Baked the tomato based angel hair pasta with assorted accompaniments in it- salmon, shrimps, french beans, squid, potatoes and melted mozarella. It was pretty filling actually, and complimented by a glass of very refreshing lemonade......... cheers!

Another cheap thrills, no frills meal for the day :)

CTNF: Smoked Salmon & Co

Smoked Salmon & Co; Cookbook inspiration

I have recently found my motivation to cook and it was during a visit to the bookstore that I stumbled upon this enticing mouth watering recipe which was at the 'breakfast' recipe section of this cookbook. I bought it immediately seeing that it wasn't too expensive (oh yes, bought a cookbook just for one recipe) and turned the recipe to a heavier one for dinner!


Smoked Salmon & Co- not really like what's shown in the cookbook

Conveniently, I then made a trip to Cold Storage and bought what I needed. Actually I bought more than what I needed- ha haha, the potatoes, bacon, shrimps and beef sausage were not even in the recipe! Anyway it was a pretty simple but expensive meal- the smoked salmon and smoked beef are expensive.

CTNF: Mango Mojito

Mango Mojito- The Weekend Drink of Champions

I just went to The Library the other night (no, it's not the place with books) and was amazed and amused at the same time with the variety of cocktails available on the menu. While I appreciate the myriad of choices and groupings by alphabetical order in the menu, I am not exactly very adventurous when it comes to cocktails. I swear and stick by one & only one cocktail- The Mojito.


Cheers!

Inspired by Bermuda & Onion's Mango Mojito which I read/saw somewhere but hasn't the priviledge to try, I thought I'd give this a go ala home made. I googled some recipes for this and most suggested mango puree. As I was too lazy to set up the blender, I whisk this up myself (arm's abit sore now haha).

Tall clinging glass, mint leaves, lemonade, lemon peel and crushed ice- that's all you need for a refreshing after dinner drink!

* Decided to go non-alco on this, but if you decided to turn this alco, just substitute lemonade with a fruity flavoured alco (i.e. Bacardi Limon or Absolut Mango?) and sugar syrup.

Read here for Nojito.

CTNF: Istak Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage

Istak Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage- Peach, Lemon, Malt

I find products like these a little bit ambiguous. It's kinda like saying vegetarian beef or chicken. It's beef, but it's made of flour, but hey it tastes like real beef! Uh huh....


Istak Peach

So when E returned from her exhibition (MIHAS-Malaysia International Halal Showcase) earlier this year with the usual loots (can you tell I love her job?? The looting part I mean hehe), one of the bags had bottles and cans of these "non-alcoholic malt beverage" which she said it's beer, but it's non-alcoholic, and it's halal! You bet my reaction was, "Uh huh........."


All flavours in just one can

I don't know about you but this non-alcoholic malt beverage sounds just as ambiguous to me... Everyone knows the equation of Malt = Beer, Malt is what makes Beer! But if vegetarian beef can taste and look like real beef but they're not beef, so can malt drinks right??


Istak Peach

I wasn't too excited with having the malt drink (I don't like beer), so I opted to give the peach and lemon a try instead. Well they taste somewhat like shandy, looks somewhat like shandy but I'm jolly well sure it doesn't have alcohol content like shandy! So now even our Muslim brethrens can enjoy non-alcoholic shandy like how our vegetarian friends are having flour-made beef and chicken!

Istak Non-Alcoholic Beverage Malt Beverage are not avalaible in the M'sian market yet but I suppose it has already been around in the Middle Eastern countries.

Cheers!
(and not get drunk)

CTNF: Apple Chips

Sometimes having a sister who works in a junk snack food company means there'll always be plenty of snacks lying around at home. While this might seem like a fantasy home to all the kids, sometimes snacking too much on potato chips can be quite unhealthy. Hehe the above picture was taken when Eiling and I were trying to do a parody for the Chipster contest more than a year ago! Click here for a recap :-)


Green Tree Apple Chips

One of my favourite things to do would be doing grocery shopping and just walking past aisle and aisle of food stuff. My favourite would be at the confectionery and snacks sections as I like to see and know what are the latest products in the market. While I was looking for snacks in Jusco (I know why would I wanna buy snacks when I have loads at home right???) I came across this Apple Chips in a small canister. I remember coming across with apple chips while having those healthy muesli cereals with dried fruits and I always curi-curi eat all the apple chips and leaving the cereals behind heehee.


Dried apple chips

The chips retail for about RM4 plus. Not cheap for such a small canister though, even Pringles would come across as cheap compared to this. Anyway, who says healthy food are cheap anyway??! Look at those organic foodstuff for a start! The canister opens to reveal a aluminium pack and I pour the contents out into the canister for easier consumption. I had a great time munching into these chips and watching my dvd while feeling guilt free. I read the contents on the can and it says no added sugar, no artificial coloring, no fat and the only ingredients used is Fuji apples. What's further surprising is that this healthy product is from China!

Hahaha, to be scared or not to be...... but seeing that it has been some while I consumed this and still living to tell the story, the chips are cleared for consumption!

I would recommend this for people who likes to munch on snacks yet want to avoid the unhealthy effects of it :-)

CTNF: Cold Cha Soba

Cold Cha Soba- RM7.90

Cheap Thrills No Frills section is back! I'm introducing a new section for these product reviews which will also come under the CTNF label. It is actually peculiar/unique items I get off from supermarket shelves and I will attempt to do a review on it.

Today's review is on the pre-packed cook-it-yourself Cold Soba from Jusco. I have been craving for soba for the past 2 weeks and came across these convenient pre-packs in Jusco supermarket. I bought 3 packs- 1 cold Cha Soba, 1 cold Wheat Soba, 1 hot Wheat Soba. These can be found at the section that sells all things Japanese in Jusco Mid Valley.


What's in every pack

Each pack comes with 2 packs of sauce and 2 bundles of soba noodles. Cooking instruction is as simple as eating it, boil water and let noodles cook. Strain cooked noodles with cold water and put it on a bed of ice. Pour cold sauces to a bowl, add a raw quail egg and *voila*!


Instant Cold Cha Soba

The end result is a cold cha soba in front of you without the exorbitant price and hassle of dressing up and driving out to the nearest Japanese restaurant. As with most instant and pre-packed food, the taste is not as great as real authentic fresh ones but it's enough to satisfy that craving and also save on the pockets. At RM7.90 per pack of 2 bundles of noodles, it is only about RM4 for a serving VS RM15+ outside.

Penny saved, tummy filled, cravings satisfied :D

CTNF: Stir fried salted egg squid

As good as it looks...?

This recipe is fresh from the wok!

I took leave today to enquire about the new ACCA course in INTI. There IS a possibility I might go back to studying..... part time. We'll see how it goes (ie. paper exemptions, cost and timing). Another thing that bugged me today is finding out that a dear lecturer who was my Head of Program is quitting the college and relocating to India due to some family problems. I am pretty saddened by the news as 1) He is a very nice and friendly person and has been very helpful throughout my 4 yrs duration in college, and 2) Every single person I know is quitting the college, there's no more reason to go back!

Cut the long story short, I took leave and I cooked dinner.

Anyway, I digressed.

Ingredients
4 Salted eggs (yolk only)
150 gms Squid (calamari)
2 Tablespoons Sliced Onion
2 Garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon Shrimp Oil
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
Curry Leaves
Chilli Padi

Preparation
1. Clean and chop the squid into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat some water until boiling and briefly blanch the squid. Remove and drain.
3. Put oil into a frying pan, over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, take just the yolk of the salty eggs and fry until half cooked, break up the egg yolkd as you cook them, just like scrambled eggs.
4. Add the squid to the pan and fry it for a few seconds more until cooked. Remove from the pan and place on a serving dish, keep the pan ready to reuse to make the sauce.
5. Chop the garlic and put into the pan, fry for a few seconds to release the smell.
6. Add the fish sauce, sugar, shrimp oil, sliced onion, black pepper, curry leaves and chilli padi and fried for 1 minute.
7. Pour this sauce over the calamari and egg mix before serving.


Most definitely!

I had initially wanted to cook something similar to the salted egg squid I had in King Crab (partially due to the last post which contains salted egg squid at Ah Lim Seafood as well). I couldn't find any recipes on that and decided to settle on this recipe from Apron's Thai Food. It didn't quite disappoint and I must say it was quite yummy hehehe.

Preparation and cooking is easy peasy too. If I can cook, so can you!

CTNF: Nojito

Mojito (pronounced moh-ee-toh)

No, "Nojito" isn't a typo error. It is the name for a "Non-alcoholic Mojito".


Bowl of Nojito

Continuing my previous posts on the cookout, I still have a few dishes' recipes to post. Today's "Cheap Thrills, No Frills..." will be on make-it-yourself Non-alcoholic Mojito- or also known as 'Nojito'. I was first introduced to Mojito by Param at last year's La Bodega. Subsequently, I have tried the Mojito at Skybar which was pretty pricey.


Do-re-mi

Ingredients
Lemons
Ginger
Mint leaves
Crushed ice
Water

Instructions
1. Squeeze lemon juice out from lemon.
2. Slice ginger.
3. Bring together lemon juice, ginger, mint leaves and water together in a big bowl.
4. Sweetened abit with sugar and add crushed ice/ice cubes.
5. Serve chilled in a fancy glass!


Mi-re-do

The outcome was a delicious bowl of Nojito which received the thumbs up from everyone in the cookout group. It was so good that we had glass after glass even though there was wine available. This non-alcoholic cocktail is made by a guy in the group!

At first I was abit skeptical at the sight of ginger in the cocktail but it turned out that the ginger only added to the flavouring yet not overpowering- a delightful extra taste for the lemon & mint flavour drink.


Always thought Mojito sounds like Mosquito hehe

A Nojito is great for parties and gatherings where alcohol is an option and especially great if you want to down glass after glass without getting drunk! Also, a good choice for drinks if there is no budget for alcohol :D

Cheers!

CTNF: Hot Diva Pasta

Recipe

Continuing from where we last stop on last month's cookout session, here's a CTNF post on a pasta dish, aptly named Hot Diva Pasta... only for Divas :D

We got the recipe off the Malaysian Women's Weekly magazine and by looking at the ingredients and instructions, it didn't look too difficult- perfect for amateur cooks like me!


We use Borges Pitted Spanish Black Olives


Ingredients

Here is the recipe just in case the picture is too small:

Serves 4-5 Prep time 20 mins Cooking time 2+ hours

Ingredients
300g spaghetti
75ml olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
30g black olives, coarsely chopped
10g (1tsp) capers
50g sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
250g tomato puree
50g italian parsley, coarsely chopped
20g fresh basil
25g bird chillies
10g (1pc) anchovy fillet
salt and pepper to taste


Hot diva sauce!

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan. Saute garlic till fragrant.
2. Add anchovies, capers, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato puree and bird chillies. Simmer till sauce thickens. Add parsley and basil and take pan off the heat.
3. Bring 3 litres of water to boil in another pan. Add a splash of olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Cook spaghetti for about 7-8 minutes till al dente.
4. Drain, top with sauce and serve immediately.


Hot Diva Pasta

It was a very successful pasta dish as everyone said it was nice. The pasta didn't taste too spicy while still maintain a strong tomato flavour. The vibrant color of the pasta really teases your appetite. We used linguine instead of spaghetti but I supposed it doesn't really matter, just go along with your favourite type of pasta.

Mamma mia!

Read:
Cooking a storm!
CTNF: Roast Lamb

P/s: Will be away tomorrow till next Tuesday to KK again. The airports seem like my 3rd home now, well not that I mind, as a matter of fact I love the airports :D I wish I could make a visit to all the international airports in the world!

CTNF: Roast Lamb

Silence of the lamb

We got the lamb from Cold Storage and it came tied up like that. Using a serial killer's knife, stab many many holes in the lamb, you'll come to see why we need to be cruel even to a dead cut-up slab of lamb.


Stuffings!

After done poking the lamb (making sure it is dead HAHA), stuff garlic, rosemary, chopped anchovy fillets and sprinkle black pepper generously. Drizzle olive oil and put the beautifully decorated lamb into oven.


A tray of flavours

On a separate tray, bake cherry tomatoes, parsnips and confit of garlic till cooked/fragrant/flavourful etctc. Combine lamb and this tray of flavours together and bake till cook! (Sorry don't know the timing)


Roast lamb and wrinkly tomatoes!

The outcome is a wonderful dish of roast lamb. Who would have known that such a fancy dish like this is actually so easy peasy? Now I know!


Slicing of the lamb

Last but not least, after all the picture taking etcetc, the lamb is put on the chopping board to be sliced! It was so good especially eaten when it is still warm. If I remember correctly, we had a brown sauce to go with the lamb but I can't remember what it is...

Another cheap thrills, no frills brought to you by Live to Eat or Eat to Live!

Cooking a storm!

Early this month, I was 'cajoled and conned' to attend a lunch which turned out to be a cookout session at Emily's bungalow in the neighbourhood. Emily is our insurance agent/mother's friend's daughter. When we arrived at her house, we were surprised that there were few other of her friends there cooking! (and we thought we could just eat, pat backside and leave hahah)

We felt abit out of place standing around doing nothing but before shame overcame us, we were roped in to help out in the cooking and soon after, we were both tasked with a recipe each! The following mouth watering dishes are what we cooked on that afternoon-night. I will post the recipes and some other pictures of the process in the following posts...

Enjoy now :D


Roast lamb by Emily


Hot diva pasta by Yours Truly :D


Nam Yu fried chicken by Emily


Russian dish of chicken and potatoes by Emily's Russian friend


Russian style soup by Russian friend


Non-alcoholic mojito by SC


Apple cinammon ricotta cheese bread by Lisa


Almond and apple cake by Agnes


Chocolate orange polenta cake by Eiling

It was such a wholesome and satisfying meal, eating what we have cooked ourselves. Mind you, all of us are amateur chefs and this is the first time we're trying out the recipes. Although the cost of this meal isn't exactly 'cheap thrills' but it certainly gave us the thrill that money can't buy. And we're planning to have a cookout session once a month! Pity the maid though, haha.

Cheers!

*Read Eiling's story here and here.

CTNF: Chilli meatballs spaghetti

Kin Kin Pan Mee- Similar, but not the same!

When I had my first taste of Kin Kin Pan Mee, I knew I am in for this whole new obsession with chilli, poached eggs and noodles. I love this style of pan mee so so much, unfortunately for me that Kin Kin is located in the heart of KL (and I am direction blind when it comes to the city), I know I cannot have this whenever I want to.

It has been awhile since my last Cheap Thrills, No Frills ('CTNF') cookout post.

Had some leftover spaghetti in the fridge and immediately the idea of cooking chilli pasta -Kin Kin style- struck me. To make things easier, because I only come home from work at about 7pm, I bought most of the ingredients outside. The pasta is boiled at home of course, the chilli flakes are sold in a bottle for RM5 at the market, the fried anchovies and meatballs were taken away from my aunt's noodle stall, and the minced meat was marinated overnight with soy sauce, corn flour, oil and salt and then stir fried.

You need some skillz to poach eggs, which I think I need to improve on. Other than that, I think the new pasta creation is not too bad! The chilli flakes is not as spicy as Kin Kin's.


Chilli meatballs spaghetti

**********

I'll be away on a working trip from 8th-10th to Kota Kinabalu. Hoping to visit One Borneo, buy my fav Les Gavottes Le Plain Crepes Dentelle and Swiss Delice Amandelle cookies, a bottle or two of Absolut to start my collection, and try some local cuisines hopefully. I'll be staying at Imperial Hotel, so hopefully there's wi-fi.

Be back on Friday :D

make your own prawn mee

does this bowl of yummylicious finger lickin' good prawn mee makes you drool and wish you have one hot piping bowl in front of you now??????

no need to get dressed up, drive car and find parking because now you can make it yourself at home!

"HOW!!!!!!!!!!", you asked.

"one pack of instant noodles (the red color 'har mee' brand??), some vege, BIG SUCCULENT JUICY prawns!!!!", i answer.

*sighs* i love BIG JUICY SUCCULENT prawns.........