Grilled Tuna with Freshly Grated Horseradish Sauce – Giddy Up Taste Buds Giddy Up!

Whenever I hear people say you shouldn’t ruin fresh fish at the sushi bar by dipping it in copious amounts of wasabi-spiked soy sauce, I think to myself, yeah, but thats how I like it. Sometimes I just dont care about "overpowering the natural flavors," and this grilled yellowfin tuna with freshly grated horseradish sauce recipe is one of those times.

I saw a nice piece of fresh horseradish root on a recent trip to the market, and since I love the combination of salty soy sauce and searing, nasal-clearing wasabi, I decided to try a similar preparation with a couple grilled tuna steaks.

The recipe is very straightforward, and the only piece of special equipment you will need is a microplane-style grater, so you can turn the aromatic radish into a fine, white snow. As is custom, Ive listed my best guesses on the ingredient amounts below, but consider everything in this, "to taste." I didnt use citrus, as I went with the tomato slices, but that would surely work too.

By the way, I did a little research (very little), and read that some believe the term "horseradish" comes from the fact that horses were once used to crush the spicy roots under-hoof before being grated. Unless those were some very well-trained (and regular) horses, and they were wearing some kind of sanitary horse slippers, Im not sure that was such a great method.

If you dont find fresh horseradish, give this a try with finely grated ginger. I cant believe that wouldnt work quite well. Also, as I mentioned in the video, this same condiment would be lovely with all kinds of fresh grilled seafood. Enjoy!

Ingredients (for 2):

2 (8-oz) tuna steaks, lightly oiled

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sambal chili sauce

1-2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish root, plus more as needed

4 sliced sweet cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced green onion to garnish

View the complete recipe

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Hearty Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

(updated from archives)

I grew up on spaghetti with Ragu. Not the lowercase italicized ragu, but the capital R followed by a copyright sign Ragu. And it was Hunt’s more often than not since it was cheaper. As a child, I always wanted the meat flavor thinking that it sounded better than plain tomato. Then one day, I thought it was odd that there wasn’t actually any meat in the sauce. Upon further inspection, the sauce was merely “flavored with meat.” Gross.

When Steven and I first started dating (now nearly a decade ago, crazy right?), he made some spaghetti for me with his mom’s homemade meat sauce. The sauce had actual pieces of real meat, onions, chunks of tomatoes, and oh my god are those herbs?

This is also how Steven introduced me to cheese. Like many Chinese people, my family was very suspicious of cheese. Stinky tofu? Bring it on! Fermenting milk? Nooo thank you. But Steven eventually won me over with a little freshly grated parmesan on my pasta.

When I started cooking, I first learned how to brown meat and chop and saute an onion. I doctored up jarred spaghetti sauce with ground beef and onions. Then I bought my first jar of herbs, Spice Island Italian Herb Blend, and added some of that. I eventually switched the jarred, overly salty stuff to plain tomato sauce. Over the years, I added more and more ingredients like diced tomatoes and some red wine, and finally topped it off with some fresh basil. This recipe has come a long way.

Hearty Meat Sauce
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef or mix of ground beef with Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
14 ounce can tomato puree
14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pasta of your choice
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped or chiffonade
1/2 cup grated parmesan for serving

Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven and brown the ground beef. Drain the fat through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook until softened. If the bottom of the pan is turning too brown, add a little bit of water and scrape up the bits as you go. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and cook until the wine is completely gone. Add the tomato puree, drained diced tomatoes, pepper, and oregano.

Cook the sauce at a gentle simmer over low heat, partially uncovered for 2 - 3 hours or until the sauce is thicken and ground beef is tender.

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions

Serve over pasta, topped with basil and parmesan or use in lasagna

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Pizza Sauce – Let’s Play ‘Hide the Little Fish’

I can assure you that the anchovies in this pizza sauce recipe are there for the subtle saltiness and unique savoriness they provide, and not just so you can tell your friend (the one who really hates anchovies) that they just ate some. Could it be for both? Sure.

This pizza sauce recipe represents a new and improved version of the one we posted way back in 2007. We snuck in some of the aforementioned fish, and we’re also using both fresh and dried oregano. I love this sauce. If there’s a tastier, all-purpose pizza sauce recipe out there, I haven’t tried it.

Convention wisdom says that great pizza is all about the crust. Which is certainly a huge factor, but if you were given the choice between a great crust topped with a bad sauce, and a grocery store crust made with a delicious, world-class sauce, which would you prefer?

Texture aside, no mater how theyre combined, flour, water, and yeast can only taste so bad. But, a terrible sauce can actually make a slice of pizza inedible. I can’t remember ever not eating a piece of pizza because the crust was so awful, but Ive given up after biting into an inferior sauce before.

Of course, around these parts the argument is completely academic since we’ve not only provided you with a plan for perfect sauce, but given you several great pizza dough recipes, like our famous no-knead pizza dough, as well as the venerable Wolfgang Puck California-style dough recipe. I hope you make pizza soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients (makes about 3 cups):

3 tbsp olive oil

2 anchovy filets

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled “San Marzano” tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

very small pinch baking soda

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Beautiful Breast of Lamb with Honey Parsley Vinegar Sauce Hey My Eyes are Up Here!

You know I love lamb, as evidenced by the various chops, shanks, legs, and shoulders Ive featured in the past. These are among the most popular meat recipes on the blog, so it seems many share my love. Here we have a brand new cut to celebrate, the lamb breast.

This is not common in your regular supermarkets. Theres an inverse relationship between the size of the parking lot, and the chances youll find breast of lamb in the meat case. However, a visit to a real butcher (look for lots of tats and facial hair) should be rewarded with some slabs of this bony, fatty, but richly flavored meat.

Since I hadnt cooked this in ages, I decided to play it safe, and use a time-tested Mediterranean-inspired spice rub, and it could not have worked more perfectly. The exotic spices made the rich meat seem even more decadent, all of which was nicely balanced by the vinegar sauces astringency.

A bright green chimichurri sauce on a well-marbled piece of meat is one of the best things ever, and this dish definitely borrows from that playbook. Its not like youd want to eat a spoon of the condiment right out of the bowl, but slathered over the glistening meat, its a thing of beauty.

I hope that if you are a fan of lamb, and you havent tried lamb breast yet, that you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pieces lamb breast, about 3 1/2 pounds

For the spice rub:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs seasoning (dried rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano blend)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

For the sauce: (note - this is all "to taste")

1/2 cup packed chopped Italian parsley

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/3 cup white wine vinegar, more as needed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 or 2 teaspoon honey

juice from 1 lemon

pinch of salt

View the complete recipe

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Fried Fish in Soy Sauce

I havent buy (whole) Groupa for a long time as it too big to fit into my small pan wok for cooking. I got one anyway and told the fishmonger to get the smallest he can find. :P He even butterfly it for me.

Ill be lucky if I can get the whole fish in. Thats the problem with having a small wok.

My original plan was to try to replica the home-made fried tofu we always have at the Soup Restaurant. But Im really lousy in frying beancurd. Im still practicing though. I will share my way of doing it if I ever master it. :P

Anyway, I gathered that the sauce which was inspired by the fried tofu dish I mention should goes well with fried fish too. But be prepared to clean up the kitchen after this. Okay, okay, the oil spat is only the initial part so you probably need to only clean the wall and a small part of the floor. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 Groupa, cleaned
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Corn Flour for dusting
• Oil for frying

Garnish:

• 1 - 2 tablespoon Dried Shrimps, fried till crispy
• lots of Spring Onions and Coriander

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 5 tablespoon Water
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Cooking Wine

How to do it:

1. Rub salt over fish.
2. Give the fish a few parallel cuts on both side to help faster cooking.
3. Dust whole fish with cornflour.
4. When oil is hot (not smoking), carefully slide fish in.
5. Gently scoop oil and pour over the top of the fish, if you dare too. ;) The oil is hot but not splatting.
6. Slowing turn the fish over once the bottom is nicely brown about 4 minutes for mine.
7. Continue frying for another 3 minutes or till cooked and skin is brown.
8. Drain away oil and place on a dish.
9. Put fried dried shrimps, spring onions and coriander on fish.
10. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
11. Pour over fish.
12. Drizzle on some sesame seed oil and serve immediately.

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Prego Pasta Sauce Deliciously Thick Rich

These are my 2nd batch of recipe booklets with Campbells featuring FOUR of their Prego Pasta Sauce apart from the 1st batch using Swanson Clear Chicken Broth(read more HERE). And our aim for these recipes is provide consumers with some quick and fuss free idea to whip up festive dishes for coming Christmas of New Year family meals or gatherings.

These recipe booklets consists of 4 recipes using 2 white and 2 red sauces from Prego Pasta Sauce range. You could find these recipe booklets available in major supermarkets such as FairPrice, Cold Storage island wide. And here I would like to share 2 of the complimentary recipes from the booklet with those who are interested to try it with the Prego pasta sauce.

CHEESY CHICKEN DUMPLINGS

This Cheesy Chicken Dumplings is a fusion of Asian Dumpling with Italian Alfredo sauce to cook up something similar to Ravioli. Instead of using egg pasta dough for the dumplings, I have replaced it with Chinese round dumpling wrappers filled with minced chicken meat mixtures.

As this could be a rich dish due to the cheesy Alfredo sauce I would recommend it to be served together with some fresh salad greens to balance the taste. And for some nutty flavour, you could also scatter some toasted pine nuts on top of the prepared dumplings before serving.

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Bottle 350g Prego Cheesy Alfredo
20 Round Dumpling Wrappers
150g Mince Chicken Meat
20g Carrot, finely chopped/grated
2 Shallots, finely chopped
3 Fresh Water Chestnut, finely chopped
1/2 Tablespoon Chopped Parsley

Marinade:
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Cornflour
2 Cloves Garlic, slice thinly

Garnish:
Freshly Grind Black Pepper
Dried Chili Flakes, optional

Method:-

1. Marinate mince chicken, carrot, shallot, water chestnut and parsley together with marinade for at least 10 minutes.

2. Wrap each dumpling wrapper with 1/2 tablespoon of mince meat mixture by wetting the edge of the wrapper with some water and fold it into half.

3. Cook the dumplings in a medium pot filled with boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon of oil.

4. Once the dumplings float on the surface, lower the heat and continue to simmer for another 1 minute. Remove, rinse with tap water and drain well.

5. Heat up 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a pan, sauté garlic slices until golden brown remove and set aside. Pour in Prego Cheesy Alfredo, toss in cooked dumplings and simmer for 1 minute. Top with garnish and fried garlic slices. Serve immediately.

BAKED HAINANESE CHICKEN CHOP

If you love those Hong Kong style baked rice with red sauce that comes in either chicken, pork or seafood I am sure you would like this fusion version of Baked Hainanese Chicken Chop. You could replace the chicken chop with either pork or seafood and bake it together with rice or even spaghetti to create 1 dish with different versions.

The is a simple version where I use bottled tomato pasta sauce to replace our usual "Asian" seasoning and at the same time retain some of the ingredients like onion, pineapple, green peas and etc to create a fusion dish. To shorten the process you could also used frozen pork/chicken schnitzel which is available in the supermarkets too. 

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Bottle( 680g) Prego Traditional Sauce
2 Chicken Breast Meat/ 4 Chicken Fillets
1.5 Cup Dried Bread Crumbs
Oil For Shallow Frying
2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
2 Medium Onion, cut into wedges
150g Green Peas
2 Medium Tomato, cut into wedges
2 Slices Pineapple, cut into cubes
1 Cup Shredded Tasty Cheese

Marinade:
2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil
2 Teaspoons Cooking Wine
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
½ Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Tablespoon Cornflour
1 Large Egg

Method:-

1. Tenderise the chicken by flatten it with a meat mallet or the back of the knife for easy cooking before marinate it for least 10 minutes.

2. Pour cooking oil into a frying pan till about 1cm in depth and heat it up. At the meantime roll the marinated chicken fillet in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly.

3. Cooked chicken fillet for 2 - 3 minutes on each side until golden brown or cooked through on medium low heat. (do not use high heat or it will burnt the breadcrumbs)

4. Drain on absorbent paper, cut into 1cm thick slices and set aside.

5. Sauté onion till soft add in green peas and cook for 30 seconds before stirring in Prego Traditional Sauce, tomato and pineapple, simmer for 2 minutes.

6. Arrange chicken schnitzel on top of the cooked pasta or rice in a baking dish, top with pasta sauce mixture and shredded tasty cheese.

7. Bake in pre-heated 200 degree oven for 5 minutes until cheese turns golden brown. Serve.

Lastly hope you would like these 4 dishes that I have prepared using the Prego Pasta Sauce for this coming festive season. And for your information, there is also a "Holiday Giveaways With Campbells" promotion where consumers could spent S$6.00 to quality for the festive draw to win travel vouchers up to S$3,000. Details can be found HERE or at major participating supermarkets. Cheers and have a great week everyone!

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Fresh Peach Chutney – A Sunny Sauce for Summer

I cant think of many cold sauces that are as versatile as this fresh peach chutney. Whether its used to top a ham and cheese snack cracker, as seen in the video, or brushed on grilled pork chops, or used as a topping for vanilla ice cream (true story), this easy fresh peach sauce will help make your summer entertaining a little sunnier.

This recipe is part of a series of eight snack videos I did for Kelloggs Snackpicks.com. When you click on the video player below, youll be taken to their website to view the videos and get the written instructions. If you have questions or comments, please come on back and post them here. Thanks, and enjoy!

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French Beans with Sesame Seed Sauce

Urgh! For weeks, I havent been able to first access my blog and when I finally do, I cant post. It was so frustrating. The problems have been resolved, I hope. I still get error message now and then but so it looks fine to me. Im keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, my posts wont suddenly just disappear one day. Ill be posting the newer recipes one as I had forgotten the exactly measurements for the older ones :P Lazy me dont have a habit of writing them down. :P I shall not waste time ranting. If you like sesame seed, you have to try this. I know sesame seed is hard to digest. So, I have grind it into powder form. We just love the aroma and the taste of this dish.  

Ingredients:

• 100g French Beans, ends removed


• 3 tablespoon Ground Toasted Sesame Seed


• 1 teaspoon Sugar


• 1/2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce


• 3 tablespoon Water


• Salt to taste 

How to do it:

1. Heat oil in wok.


2. Stir fry french bean till 80% cooked.


3. Add in the rest of the ingredients except salt.


4. Continue stir frying till sauce is almost dry.


5. Add salt to taste, if need.


6. Give the french beans a finally toss.


7. Dish and serve.

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Mushroom Dried Scallop XO Sauce 香菇瑶柱XO酱

My husband had to go China every month for their companys new project and half a year ago, one of their partners in China gave him a big pack of Dried Scallop and Dried Shitake Mushroom each.

Dried Mushroom                             Dried Scallop   

One of the stuff I have been experimenting using them is the XO sauce. Its an great condiment to have. We love it with fried rice and I add it to some of the dishes I ate for dinner too. As much as I like ready-made XO sauce, they are either to spicy or too strong for the kids to handle. Its best if you can made your own XO sauce adjusted it to your own taste.

There isnt any hard and fast rule on my homemade XO sauce. If you prefer it more oily (ingredients will be softer soaked in oil), add more oil during cooking. If you want it hotter, add more Dried Chilli.



Im using the Happy Call Pan to do this. You can use a regular non-stick pan too. The biggest difference is that the HCP cooks faster and is more moist. I used the HCP to steam cook the dried scallops too. If you do not have the pan, you will have to soak the dried scallop and steam it for an hour before you can shred them.

Ingredients:

• 60g Dried Scallops, soaked with 4 tablespoon water


• 1 1/2 tablespoon Dried Shrimp, soaked to soften and chopped


• 3 Red Chilli (replace with Dried Chilli if you want it spicy)


• 3 tablespoon Chopped Garlic


• 3 tablespoon Chopped Shallot


• 5 Dried Shiitake Mushroom, soaked to soften and chopped


• 5 Dried Shiitake Mushroom, soaked to soften and sliced


• a dash of Pepper


• Sugar or to taste (optional)


• 4 tablespoon Oil

How to do it:

1. Pour dried scallops with water into the pan after soaking it for 15 minutes.


2. Close pan and cook it in medium low heat for 4 mins or till water is almost dry.


3. Use the back of the spoon to press the dried scallops. They should be soft enough to break into pieces. If not, add a bit more water and cook longer.


4. Remove the dried scallops, tear into smaller shreds if necessary or give it a pause in the blender and set aside.


5. Heat oil in the same pan in medium low heat but not smoking.


6. Add in the garlic and shallot and saute till fragrant.


7. Add in the rest of the ingredient except shredded dried scallops.


8. Saute till fragrant by covering and shaking for 2 minutes.


9. Add a tablespoon of mushroom water.


10. Cover and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.


11. Add in shredded dried scallop.


12. Stir-fry till mixed well.


13. Cover and continue cooking for 4 minutes, shaking the pan to prevent burning. I open the pan occasionally to give it a good stir too.


14. Add pepper and sugar to taste if necessary, stir-fry to mix well.


15. Dish and store for later use.

Note:

• The dried scallops I used are very small (pls refer to photo above). Hence, its easier and faster to steam and shred it. If you are using larger one, you might need a longer time to soak and soften it.


• The mushroom I used are slightly larger than a 50cents coin. If you are using larger one, you might want to reduce the number of mushroom.

My simple fried rice with homemade XO Sauce for extra flavours

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Angel Hair Pasta And Fried Rice Using Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce Plus Giveaways

With more than 120 years of history and relentless efforts in quality and innovation, Lee Kum Lee (李锦记) has became a well-known household brand as well as in the kitchens of many best gourmet restaurants. Today you can also find Lee Kum Kee products in most Asian or Local supermarkets worldwide with their featured range of products.

Do you know, Lee Kum Lee has over 200 sauces and condiments available worldwide with the common one such as their Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce and Convenience Sauce. Above are some of my favourite Convenience Sauce which I always keep stock in my pantry in order to whip up delicious and fast free homecook dishes.

Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce is an all purpose condiment made from finest ingredients such as dried scallop, dried shrimp, red chill pepper and spices. It can be a delicious appetizer by itself or use as an addition to dishes such as Chinese dim sum, noodles, porridge and etc. Furthermore XO Sauce is also ideal for cooking meats, vegetables, tofu, fried rice and even pasta.

Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce comes in either XO Sauce (Regular) or XO Sauce (Extra Hot) in both 80g or 200g to suit individual preference.

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH XO SAUCE AND CRISPY WHITEBAITS

A week ago, I received some complimentary Lee Kum Kee products because I could not make it for their "Fast, Fresh And Simple Contemporary Cooking with Lee Kum Kee" workshop which was held at Cookyn Inc.  To find out more about this event and some quick recipes using Lee Kum Kee, you could check Melissa (HERE) and ShiTing (HERE) posts.

And with a recipe booklet that comes together in the goodie bag, I decided to try the most simplest and foolproof  pasta dish for our lunch.

Recipe adapted and modify from Lee Kum Kee Contemporary Cooking Workshop

(Serves: 2 - 3 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 250g Dried Angel Hair Pasta
• 2 Tablespoons Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce
• 3 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Spring Onions,
• Some Chopped Coriander Leaves, optional
• Some Fried Whitebaits

Method:-
1. Follow the packaging instruction, blanch pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Remove and drain well.

2. Preheat frying pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute garlic till fragrant, stir in XO Sauce and cook for a few seconds.

3. Turn Off the heat, toss in cooked pasta, chopped coriander and toss well.

4. Divide the pasta into serving plates, top with extra XO sauce, spring onion and crispy whitebaits. Serve immediately. (if the taste is a bit bland to your liking, you can season it with some Lee Kum Kee First Draw Soy Sauce to enhance the flavour)

FRIED RICE WITH XO SAUCE

Other than the pasta dish, I also used the XO Sauce to prepare a simple fried rice together with some sweetcorn kernels, green peas and egg. Honestly I am not a fan for fried rice and I usually dont order fried rice when I eat out as I find it rather "over-price" for just rice and a few little shrimps or some diced char siew (BBQ pork).

This fried rice used similar ingredients as the "pasta dish" above and with the additions of the XO sauce it actually enhance the flavour of the rice and give it a full wrap up!

(Serves: 2   | Preparation: 5 minutes  |   Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce
• 2 Servings (from 1 cup uncook rice) of Cooked Brown Rice
• 2 Tablespoons Of Cooking Oil
• 1/4 Cup Sweetcorn Kernels
• 1/4 Cup Green Peas
• 3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 1 Teaspoon Belacan Chilli, optional
• Some Fried Whitebaits

Method:-
1. Preheat oil in frying pan, saute garlic until fragrant. Add sweetcorn kernels and green peas, stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

2. Add cooked rice (room temperature or straight from the fridge), using the back of the spatula or wooden spoon flatten the rice clusters so that the grains are separated.

3. Add XO sauce and belacan chilli, keep stirring till the rice is evenly coated with the sauce.

4. Next slowly swirl in beaten egg mixture over the rice and use high heat to fry the rice until dry.

5. Season with some freshly ground black pepper and stir in handful of fried whitebaits. Give the mixture a quick toss, remove and serve with extra spoon of XO sauce for strong flavour.

LEE KUM KEE GOODIE BAGS TO BE WON

Thanks to Lee Kum Kee (李锦记), I am giving away a set of the above "Lee Kum Kee Goodie Bag" (consists of  1 bottle of First Draw Soy Sauce, Chiu Chow Chili Oil, Hoisin Sauce and  XO Sauce) to 3 lucky readers. Prizes will be delivered to you by Lee Kum Kee after the giveaway ended.

To win:

1. Like the the above Lee Kum Kee Goodie Bag photo on Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page, AND

2. Leave a comment on the facebook photo stating a creative dish that you would make using the Lee Kum Kee XO Sauce.

OR

~ DOUBLE UP your "winning" chance by uploading a photo of your homecook dish using any of the Lee Kum Kee products on Cuisine Paradise facebook wall.

Example:- Soy Sauce, Lemon Chicken Sauce, Black Bean sauce and etc.

Closing Date: 15 September 2012 (Saturday), 9.00pm.
*only for readers living in Singapore*

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Bay Scallops with Garlic Parsley Butter Sauce – I’ll Have the Nostalgia on Toast

They say smell is the sense most closely linked to memory recall, and that was certainly the case while making these garlicky, buttery bay scallops on toast. As waves of the wonderful aromas wafted up from the pan, they brought back a flood of vivid memories of my first real kitchen job.

Barely a teenager, I was hired as a dishwasher at an Italian steakhouse, called The Depot (pictured below is the train station that predated the restaurant). While it was fun being inside a bustling kitchen, washing dishes was anything but. By comparison, what I saw the line cooks doing looked like the greatest job ever, and this certainly played a role in my future career plans.

Anyway, there was a scallop dish on the menu, which consisted of 6 large scallops being placed in a small metal broiler plate, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then doused with wine, lemon, garlic, and butter. This was placed under the flame until the scallops were browned, and the sauce was bubbling below. It was finished with fresh parsley, and served with toasted Italian bread for dipping into the amazing juices.

(c) All rights reserved by John R. Stewart

The smell of that sizzling plate as it went by my station was almost too much to take, and once in a while, thanks to some kind of ordering mishap, I’d actually get to eat one. It was pure bliss, and a flavor combination I still love to this day.

By the way, unlike the large day-boat scallops you’re seen me cook before, these are way too small to worry about searing brown. In a restaurant kitchen, if we’re just cooking a couple ounces, we could get a decent sear and still finish the sauce without overcooking. But doing this many at home, all we really need to concentrate on, is not over cooking them. Besides, bay scallops are so naturally sweet, tender, and delicious, the sear is not as important as with the larger ones.

As I mention in the video, this makes a beautiful appetizer, but will also make a killer pasta sauce with some cream added in to stretch it. I hope you can find some small, wild scallops soon (frozen are great, as long as “Scallops” is the only ingredient listed on the bag), and give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 appetizer size portions:

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 pound bay scallops

4-5 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine (NOT cooking wine)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp cold butter, cubed

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

buttered and toasted Italian bread slices

*Note for pasta sauce, add a 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with the wine, and proceed as shown. Should make enough sauce for about 4 portions of pasta)

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BBQ Chicken Salad with Homemade BBQ Sauce

   This is my favorite salad. Ever. The flavors going on in this salad were just meant to be. Chicken, Barbeque Sauce, Zesty Ranch dressing, Corn, Black Beans, Green Onions, Cilantro........ are you with me? This was my first attempt at homemade barbeque sauce and we loved it! I found the recipe from the Neelys on the Food Network. It was super simple to make. I bet you have most of the ingredients in your pantry right now. I did! I love it when I find a recipe I want to make and I already have all the ingredients. No need to go to the store!

   One thing I will note on the sauce, when its simmering on your stovetop you will have kind of a vinegary aroma floating through your house. PLEASE dont let that worry you, like it did me. I stressed I would have this really strong vinegar tasting barbeque sauce but that was not the case at all! The end result was simply amazing and now after having it, I know I will make it often  : )

BBQ Chicken Salad

Serves 4-6

3 cups cooked, cubed Chicken

2 cups Barbeque Sauce (recipe below)

3 Romaine Lettuce Hearts, cleaned and chopped

1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 small bag Frozen Corn, cooked

1 cup Colby Jack Cheese, shredded

2 Green Onions, chopped

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

Ranch Dressing

Tortilla Strips

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium bowl, add the cooked, cubed chicken and barbeque sauce. Stir to coat chicken with sauce. Set aside. 

In a large bowl add the romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, cheese, green onion and cilantro. Toss together. Divide the salad evenly among plates. Top each salad serving with desired amount of barbeque chicken. Serve with tortilla strips and dressing. Enjoy!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Yields 3 1/2 cups

2 cups Ketchup

1 cup Water

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

5 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

5 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 Tablespoon fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

1/2 Tablespoon Ground Mustard

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

DIRECTIONS:  In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook, uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring often.

Recipe Source: Food Network (Neelys BBQ Sauce)

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Icelandic cocktail sauce Kokkteilsósa

Every nation has its favourite condiment to use with French fries. The British use vinegar and the Americans ketchup, but the favoured condiment in Iceland is cocktail cauce. This versatile pink goo is also good with deep-fried or broiled chicken, hot dogs, grilled sausages and fried fish.

I have watched in amusement as Icelanders abroad tried to make cocktail sauce from salad cream and ketchup because they could not imagine eating fries without it.

The most basic recipe calls for mayonnaise and ketchup, but this one is a little more refined ;-)

Take 200 gr. sour cream or 100 gr. sour cream and 100 gr. mayonnaise and stir until smooth. If you are using both mayo and cream, stir separately and then mix. This is important and will help you avoid lumps in the sauce.
Add approx. 3 tbs ketchup.
Finally, add 1/2-1 tsp sweet mustard.

convert measures

You can make cocktail sauce in a blender, in which case you just dump everything in at once and mix on high until smooth.

Notes:
-For simple cocktail sauce, use mayonnaise and add enough ketchup to turn it pink. Add a bit of cream to make it smoother.
-Try it in seafood/shrimp cocktail in place of seafood cocktail sauce.
-When using with fish, I usually mix in a little garlic to add bite to the sauce. Use either powdered or fresh garlic (finely chopped or crushed).
-To make my special hamburger sauce, make as above, using 50/50 mayo and sour cream or just light mayo. Add some finely chopped chives or mixed herbs. If the sauce seems too thick, thin with cream or milk.

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