Cajun Rice with Prawns

It's the last minute when I was told to prepare something for my husband's dinner which doesn't happen that often cuz normally, I'd know in advance which day of the week he would need dinner at home and I can plan ahead and get things sorted before hand.

Anyway, with a short notice given , I then chose something easy and quick to be done like this cajun rice that I've just found on the net which seemed to come at the right time!

The recipe :    

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 pound large prawn, peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 3/4 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Method : 
Heat the butter, olive oil, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for about a minute. Add the Cajun seasoning and shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and green onions to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the rice and 1/4 cup broth and continue to cook until the rice is warmed through and the prawns are opaque, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Ayam Masak Merah ( Malaysian Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce )

I firstly found this Malaysian chicken dish from one of feeds I've subscribed on google reader which somehow caught my attention and made me want to give it a try!

Typically, I googled to get more information about the dish and surprisingly found many of different versions/recipes but unfortunately, none of them could convince me to follow through the whole recipe...the best way to solve the problem is to mix & match and make my own version!

Given having no clue or idea at all about the dish..so I decided to use my cooking sense to make the dish and luckily, I got a huge compliment from my tasters!!

This is what I've done..

Ingredient :  

4 whole chicken legs ( cut each into two pieces , 4drumsticks and 4 thighs )

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp turmeric powder 

Dash of pepper

5 shallots

4 cloves of garlic

3 cm ginger
2 cm galangal
2 lemongrass , coarsely sliced

7 red chilli

3 inches cinnamon

6 cloves

6 cardamoms

1.5 red onion thinly sliced

3/4 cup tomato sauce 

3/4 cup coconut milk    

1 cup frozen green peas

Method :

1. Marinate chicken with salt, turmeric and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

2. Make a paste by blend shallots, ginger, garlic, galangal, lemongrass and chillies together to form the paste.

3. Heat wok and put in ½ cup of oil. Pan fry chicken pieces until the skin turns golden. Dish up. It’s ok if the chicken is not cooked thoroughly and still oozes some blood.

 

4. Pour away some of the oil, leaving behind about 2-3 Tbsp of oil. Saute the paste on medium heat until it looks glossy, put in dry spices and sliced onion and continue to sauté until the onions looks translucent and wilts.

 

5. Put in the rest of the ingredients, except peas. Return chicken into the wok to cook until the gravy reduces to preferred amount. Season with salt and pepper. Then add in green peas and let it cook for a while. Serve hot with rice.

Rustic Rhubarb Galettes

I've seen this rustic rhubarb tart from here a while ago..just right before my summer holiday started and there was no chance to make it until now !

The problem is I didn't have corn flour called for in the original recipe..so I looked for something similar and ended up with a galette base from the cookbook, Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan...finally all things sorted and done beautifully..:)

The recipe for rhubarb filling could be found here. ( Note : I didn't use vanilla bean but added the extract at the end of making the filling. )

The recipe for galette base could be found here. ( Note : with the whole recipe, I made 7 individual galettes )

 

Marbled Blueberry Coffee Cake

Our summer holiday is coming to the end and I've had my normal routine resumed which certainly includes baking and cooking!

I chose this marbled blueberry coffee cake to start off..and no doubt there will be more to come definitely !

The recipe could be found here.