Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce

I have been away for far too long and honestly speaking, I miss cooking in the kitchen a great deal. But what comforts me is that I still get to bake Dessert By Quintessa’s orders during the weekend. With the lack of time on my hands, I opt for easier and faster recipes nowadays.

This recipe, however, requires plenty of ingredients but oh so simple to cook. And you guys know how much I love my pasta. I’ve seen Giada De Laurentiis cooked this dish before and I just knew I had to give it a shot. But of course, I modified it accordingly to substitute the non-halal ingredients.

Without further ado, I present to you Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce 🙂

Ingredients

• 450 gm penne pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 450 gm medium grey prawns, deshelled and leave the tail intact
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 400 gm canned tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 275 ml fish stock
• 300 ml heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the package, for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the prawns, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the prawns are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove the prawns and set aside.

Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the fish stock and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the cooked prawns, pasta and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated. Season to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.

Mee Maggi Goreng

During the last leg of our Europe trip, Siti and I were really craving for something hot and spicy when we were in Paris. It didn’t help that the weather was cold and rainy. You can imagine how delighted we were when we bumped into Chef Razif, a Malay chef at the hotel we were staying in.

Chef Razif, bless his kind soul, thought that we were Malaysians until I explained that we are Singaporeans, just us two girls on a shopping trip. He was so helpful and even recommended shopping places and halal restaurants that serve briyani and naan.

We started talking about how he was relocated from Kuala Lumpur to open a new Baba Restaurant in Paris. And naturally, I thought of Mee Maggi Goreng and how nice to have it there and then. Guess what? Chef Razif offered to cook for us (pedas gilerrr version some more!) just that for our dinner that night! Isn’t he awesome?

Mee Maggi Goreng with Telur Pindang

We cannot express our gratitude enough to Chef Razif and we donated whatever Asian food that we had in our luggages and as a token of appreciation, we gave him a box of M&S shortbread cookies.

This recipe is nowhere near his and I can never recreate the taste. But I’d like to associate my very own version with the wonderful time that I had in Paris; the beautiful and kind people that we met along the way 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 packet Maggi instant noodles (Curry Flavour; keep the seasoning)
• 3 chilli padi, chopped finely
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
• 3 medium grey prawns, deshelled and leave the tail intact
• 3 crab sticks, sliced in 3 pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon water (or more)

Directions

Boil the Maggi instant noodles just like how you would with pasta. When ready, blanch in cold water and set aside.

In a hot wok, stir-fry the onion, garlic and chilli padi with a tablespoon of oil. Add the prawns and crab sticks and allow to cook thoroughly. Feel free to add vegetables of your choice and cook till soft. Add the boiled noodles and give it a good stir.

Finally add seasoning, curry powder and water. Stir thoroughly and serve it hot with fried shallots.

Jemput-jemput Pisang

For the past two mornings, I have been making these sinful dollops of banana for breakfast. It’s so convenient how you can make the batter the night before, store it in the fridge and fry them in the morning. This is something that I came up with since no one can give me the exact measurements or ingredients. I only know for sure that an aunt uses palm sugar (gula melaka) and baking soda when she makes them. I kinda figured the rest on my own after much research.

So, here’s my rendition of jemput-jemput pisang that will go perfectly well with a cup of hot tea 🙂

Ingredients

• A bunch of ripe bananas (I use pisang emas)
• 1 1/2 cup plain flour
• 150 gm palm sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Lightly mash the bananas in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the mixing bowl.

Heat the palm sugar with water in a small pot over medium heat. Once the palm sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and strain the liquid into the bowl. Mix well. If the batter tastes a bit too sweet, then add another 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Heat oil in a frying pan and drop a tablespoonful of batter into the hot oil and deep-fry in medium heat until golden brown.

Macaroni Soup

As you can see, I do love my PASTA! I can eat it in so many ways but having it with soup takes it to another level altogether. A great comfort food when one is feeling under the weather.

Dig in, folks 😉

Ingredients

• 2 cups elbow macaroni
• 100 – 200 gm minced beef
• 10 medium grey prawns, deshelled and leave the tail intact
• 5 crab sticks, sliced in 3 pieces
• 3 celery sticks, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 carrot, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 big red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 litre water
• Spring onion, finely chopped

Directions

Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the package, for 10 minutes. Drain well.

Blend the onion, garlic and ginger with 100 ml water. In a pot, add three tablespoons of oil and saute the blended ingredients until fragrant. Add the chicken stock and minced beef. Once the meat is cooked, add the water.

Season the broth with salt, sugar and white pepper. Add the carrot and celery and let it simmer over medium heat for about 5 – 10 minutes. Finally add the prawns and crab sticks and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Just scoop a handful of macaroni into a bowl and pour the soup over it. Serve the bowl of Macaroni Soup with chopped spring onion.

Seafood Spaghetti

Since I’m at home on a Monday afternoon (and resting), I might as well take this opportunity to update this food blog. First up, this is a series of the birthday menu that I came up with this year. The theme was all things Italian and of course, I did some minor alterations to the recipes.

Not bad considering that I was cooking all these during the fasting month 🙂

Here’s another one for my pasta collection; Seafood Spaghetti. This has got to be one of the easiest that I have ever cooked but this might be a lil bit too dry for some folks. Just add more of the wet ingredients and you’re good to go.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 400 gm canned tomatoes
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 packet spaghetti (or any pasta of your choice)
• 1 pack of frozen seafood mix (mussels, prawns, salmon & squids), defrosted
• Parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water till al dente. Drain and then set it aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then saute the onion and garlic over a medium heat for 5 mins until soft. Add the paprika, tomatoes and stock, then bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat to a simmer, stir in the cooked spaghetti and cook for 7 mins, stirring occasionally to stop the pasta from sticking. Stir in the seafood, cook for 3 mins more until it’s all heated through and the pasta is cooked, then season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Almond Suji

Nothing is as sentimental and precious when one starts baking in the kitchen with the mother every Ramadhan. And with that, I feel so blessed that I still have this opportunity to be spending quality time with my mom. And I get to learn new things from her. Win-win situation 😉

I’ll be featuring the more traditional Raya goodies this time around. This is one of my mom’s favourite Raya goodies and she never fails to make these every Eid celebration. Something so simple but really, they do just melt in your mouth. She has modified the recipe along the years and has kept to this version for a long time now.

Ingredients

• 300 gm fine sugar
• 300 gm ghee (We use QBB Pure Ghee)
• 400 gm plain flour
• 200 gm almond powder
• 1 egg + 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence (for glazing)
• Sliced almonds

Directions

Cream ghee with sugar until light and creamy. Fold in sifted flour and almond powder and mix until it forms a soft dough.

Roll small amounts of dough in between the palms and place them in the baking cups. Glaze the almond suji with the beaten egg and vanilla essence. Top it off with a sliced almond.

Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes until lightly brown.

Roti John

I have been craving for Roti John for quite awhile now and I’m quite particular about this dish. It must have bountiful of meat and flavourful enough to keep me wanting for more. And I like mine, best eaten warm with heaps of mayonnaise and chilli sauce.

Since I had remaining minced meat from my birthday Italian feast, I decided to whip up Roti John for one of our pre-dawn meals during Ramadhan.

Ingredients

• 100 – 150 gm minced beef
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 big onion, chopped
• 1 red chilli, sliced thinly
• 2 – 3 stalks coriander, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 1 baguette (I used wholemeal), halved and cut into 6-inch portions

Directions

Marinate the minced beef with the curry powder, salt and pepper and set that aside for 30 minutes. Stir-fry the marinated meat with the chopped garlic. Once cooked, add the onion, red chilli and coriander. Once the onion has softened, you can remove the pan from the heat.

In a bowl, mix the cooked meat and eggs. Add a little bit more salt, to taste.

Heat a flat pan and drizzle some oil. Scoop the meat-omelette mixture onto the cut-side of the baguette and fry that side until it turns golden brown. Flatten it a bit with your spatula to ensure the egg is cooked thoroughly.

Flip the other side of the baguette and flatten it too with the spatula.

This recipe yields 6 very yummy Roti John and remember to enjoy it with mayonnaise and chilli sauce 😉

Egg & Tomato Salad

This is a very simple salad accompaniment to Roti Jala and Chicken Curry. And mom is the one who taught me how to make the very simple Chilli & Tomato sauce to go along with this salad. Let’s get started yo!

Ingredients

• 1 Baby head lettuce, cut into chunky pieces
• 2 tomatoes, sliced moderately
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced moderately
• 5 tablespoons chilli sauce
• 5 tablespoons tomato sauce

Directions

Mix the chilli sauce and tomato sauce together. Set that aside.

In a large salad bowl, arrange the chunky baby head lettuce. Followed by the tomatoes and egg slices.

Finally, pour the chilli and tomato sauce mixture on top of the salad. Voila! Simple right?

Now that’s done, let’s eat 😉

Coney Island Hot Dogs

Remember how A&W served the best chicken wings, curly fries, coney hot dogs, waffles and Root Beer floats? I miss those good old days and I sometimes do yearn for these sinful American food. But instead of making my way across the Causeway or even Batam, I’ve decided to make my very own chilli sauce for the hot dogs 🙂

This is pretty easy and my version is slightly different from Mom’s. But this is good enough, quick enough to be served for sahur.

Ingredients

• 4 hot dog buns
• 150 gm minced beef
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard (or yellow mustard), plus more for topping
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 chicken franks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 120 degrees Celsius. Cut the hot dog buns midway and spread some butter on the sides. Place the buns in the oven and heat through for about 5 minutes.

In a large skillet, cook the minced beef, 3/4 of the onions and garlic over medium-high heat. Break up the meat until the onions are softened and the meat is cooked through, after about 5 minutes. Stir in the chilli powder and cumin and cook. Stir occasionally for about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, tomato paste, honey mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the chicken franks with water and bring to a boil. Cook until heated through for about 8 minutes.

Place the chicken franks in the rolls and top with the chilli sauce, the remaining onions and extra honey mustard.

Corned Beef Sandwich

I learned how to make these yummy sandwiches from my mom. Just another easy peasy recipe that you can whip up anytime of the day when you’re running out of ideas on what to prepare for the family, kids, etc. I incorporated a few more ingredients to make it even more wholesome.

Ingredients

• 1/2 tin corned beef
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 eggs
• Salt & MSG, to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 Baby head lettuce, cut into chunky pieces
• Kraft Miracle Whip (enough to coat the lettuce)
• 6 baby tomatoes, halved
• 6 slices white bread

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix the corned beef with eggs, onion and minced garlic. Add salt and MSG, to taste. In a frying pan, heat the oil for a few minutes. Pour the mixture into the oil. With a spatula, gently lift the corned beef omelette from the sides and turn it over. Do it repeatedly for at least 5 minutes over low-medium heat.

In another bowl, coat the lettuce with the desired amount of Kraft Miracle Whip. Toss the halved baby tomatoes into the salad.

On a slice of white bread (or your preferred choice), arrange a layer of salad and a few slices of the corned beef omelette. Spread with your favorite butter/mayonnaise/mustard and top with another slice of bread. And you’re ready to dig in 😉