Chicken And Sichuan Preserved Vegetable

Chicken and mustard

I’m excited to introduce a special vegetable used often in Chinese dishes. It’s my favourite and have not eaten it for a long time. It’s Sichuan preserved vegetable. There are several types of Sichuan reserved vegetables but this particular one comes in lumps. It may look ugly to some people but it’s very delicious cooked with chicken or any other meat. It goes very well with rice, congee, or rice porridge. It tastes a little crunchy. I cooked it with chicken the other day. This is one dish that you will be very happy to have left over because it tastes even better the next day.

In Malaysia it’s sold in jars and coated with chili paste. But the ones that I bought here from the Chinese shop were sold in plastic bags and very thinly coated with the chili paste. I found the flavour is not as good but I should be very thankful to be able to get it here.
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Cajun Prawns And Rice Vermicelli Fried

Cajun prawns and vermicelli fried

I had some Cajun prawns and crab sticks stir fry left over when I cooked it the other day. I thought that would make a delicious meal with fried rice vermicelli the next day. Prawns, or shrimps, are my hot favourite. I knew I would love this dish. It was very delicious indeed.

Rice vermicelli is a great favourite in Malaysia, as in all other Oriental countries. It is commonly cooked in soup, fried with sauce or just dry fried and eaten any time of the day. I usually cook this for lunch or parties. Rice vermicelli comes in different sizes, from very fine ones to fairly thick ones. I usually use the medium ones as the fine ones are too delicate to cook and the thick ones take too long.
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Cajun Prawns And Crab Sticks Stir Fry

Cajun prawns stir fry

Prawns, or shrimps, are my top favourite, whether big or small. I cooked them very often in different ways. I have just discovered recently that Cajun food is very delicious. This is all because of Drick at http://www.dricksramblingcafe.blogspot.com. He is a real inspiration to me. I just love all the food on his blog, especially all the prawns dishes and all the other Cajun and Creole dishes. I felt so honoured when he made the Mango Brulee for me as I love mango very much, too. Thanks again very much, Drick!
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Pineapple Tofu Stir Fry In Spicy Sauce

Spicy pineapple tofu stir fry

Pineapples are very delicious on their own. I always love it as it is or cooked as a dish, especially if it is not sweet. A very common use is in sweet and sour dishes, one of the most popular Chinese dishes. My best sweet and sour dish with pineapples is Sweet And Sour Fish. Pineapples are also great for making desserts. My best is the pineapple tarts….absolutely delicious. Please check it out at Popular Pineapple Tarts.

What about making a vegetarian dish? I tried a stir fry of the pineapple with tofu in a spicy sauce and found that it was just as delicious. I love that sweet, sour and spicy taste. Besides, it looks colourful, refreshing and healthy. Just don’t over cook the pineapple. It’s added last and a quick stir would do.
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Okra (Lady’s Fingers) And Anchovies Stir Fry

Okra and anchovies stir fry

Okra is one vegetable that I eat a lot since I was young. It is a very healthy vegetable. It is long and slender and I think that’s why it’s called ‘ladies’ fingers’ in Malaysia. My parents used to plant a lot of okra plants. There’s one type which is lighter green, bigger and longer. That species is the best in terms of texture and taste. Over here, I can only get the smaller and darker green type. They are not as delicious but it’s better than nothing.
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Condensed Milk Tapioca Cake

Condensed milk tapioca cake

Tapioca cake is my favourite, whether baked or steamed. I grew up eating lots of tapioca, also called cassava. It grew wild around our house. When we were hungry, we would just go and dig out some tapioca and boil it. We loved it sprinkled with some sugar. It’s very delicious and filling. The young leaves, especially the tips, make a great dish when fried. This tapioca cake is one of the most popular Malaysian desserts. It is called ‘kuih bingka ubi kayu‘
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Salmon And Asparagus Stir Fry

Salmon and asparagus stir fry

One of my favourite fish is salmon. I love the taste and texture. On top of that it’s a very healthy fish that’s high in omega-3. If you like very high quality salmon, the best is Wild Alaskan Salmon which is much more costly. Over here in UK, there are a lot of farm reared salmon and they cost a lot cheaper. I eat both types.

Salmon is very delicious cooked in any way, whether deep fried, pan fried, stir fried, poached, smoked, baked or grilled. The most important is not to over cook it. It is very tender and delicious when just cooked but turns tough when over cooked. The time to cook depends very much on the thickness of the salmon.
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Special Fried Rice

Special fried rice

This is a special fried rice. It is special not because of any special ingredients but because it was cooked by my daughter, and the photos were also taken by her. I was very busy and she offered to cook lunch for all of us. How sweet of her! I think it’s a very good opportunity for her to learn, at least something simple. I was impressed by the presentation, too. It actually tasted very delicious, even though it looks very simple. The texture and flavour was very well balanced. She used some celery leaves for garnishing. I guess that was all that she could find in the fridge!
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