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One of the best cooking tips that I picked up from watching Take Home Chef was that when cooking salmon, you should always start with a cold pan, and never hot. That will give you perfectly crispy salmon skin. I tried this method and it totally worked! Crispy skin everytime, which is the main reason why we love to eat salmon , especially with sweet, salty and sticky teriyaki sauce. I usually make extra sauce and store it in the fridge, which comes in handy not only for grilled meats/seafood, but also for quick stir-fries, noodles or as a tasty drizzling sauce. Served with rice and some steamed vegetables, teriyaki salmon is a sure fire hit with the kids (and adults too)! We especially love the sauce on our rice! Crispy-Skin Salmon Teriyaki Ingredients 2 x 200g (7oz) salmon fillets, skin-on (preferably a thick and long rectangular piece) 1 tbsp vegetable oil Teriyaki Sauce: 5 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce 5 tbsp sake 5 tbsp mirin...

I posted a recipe for Ebi Fry  back in February last year (has it been that long??) and I mentioned something about serving the shrimp (or prawn, depending on which country you're from) with thick Japanese curry. Well, it sort of slipped my mind because I was busy trying out other recipes at the time. One year and a bit later, here's the post, and it's still one of my favourite comfort foods, especially now that we're in the middle of winter (Down Under). Crispy and golden panko-crumbed prawns, coated in a thick curry sauce and served with rice, how can anyone resist? Ebi Fry Curry Don Serves 4 You will need: 12 large Ebi Fry (fried shrimp) - click here for recipe 4 serves of cooked short-grained rice 4 serves of Japanese curry (see below for recipe) Japanese curry recipe I used S&B Golden Curry mix  and added chicken, carrots and potatoes. I also added a little honey for a hint of sweetness. Ingredients 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter 2 medium onions, finely choppe...

  I honestly think that Australia might have the highest consumption of laksa per capita compared to other countries. There's probably more laksa varieties in Sydney than there is in Singapore, and IMHO, they taste better too. But let's not go there. What fascinates me is that many Australians have come to embrace Asian food as part of their regular dining and grocery options. Take panko crumbs for example. The word panko doesn't sound the least like it's something edible, though it is an ingredient that is commonly available and used here. Why go for regular breadcrumbs when you can have super light and crunchy panko? Don't these crunchy crumbed deep-fried prawns look lovely? That's the beauty of panko crumbs. Looks good, tastes great and sounds earth-shattering (okay, maybe that's a little too much). They are quite simple and easy to prepare, though I won't lie - I took a while to peel, devein and prep the prawns. But it's all worth it in the end, ...

This is a Malaysian-Chinese style fish head curry, as opposed to the Indian-style which uses fish curry powder, curry leaves, fenugreek and mustard seeds. I think most commercial fish curry powders are meant for Indian style curries, and so I made my own from scratch using ground coriander, chilli and turmeric. After three attempts, I was happy with how this final one turned out. Cod fish head was fantastic, although snapper head works perfectly well too. Some of you may cringe at the thought of having a fish head served at the dining table. If that's the case, you can always substitute with fish tail or fish cutlets. I love having lots of okra, eggplant and tofu puffs in my curry, making it pretty much a one pot wonder. Find the recipe after the jump. Some handy tips before you start cooking this. 1. Ask your fishmonger to scale your fish head properly. Trust me, it's not pleasant having fish scales in the curry while you're eating. 2. Don't overcook ...

  I had the pleasure of dining at one of Sydney's most popular Roti Canai establishments on Friday. Mamak  specialises in Malaysian cuisine, in particular its famed roti canai , which are freshly made on the spot and served on a silver-coloured platter with two curries. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it was my "inaugural" visit to Mamak , since almost everyone I know has been there at least once. I didn't set any expectations for this place, and was pleasantly surprised by how authentic (both in flavour and heat from the chillies) the food was. One dish I just had to try was the Sambal Sotong - stir-fried brown cuttlefish in fiery (indeed!) sambal sauce. I grew up enjoying nasi lemak, lontong and roti canai served with sambal sotong and it's one of my favourite Malaysian dishes! Typically, it uses dried brown cuttlefish which is soaked in alkaline water to rehydrate, tenderise and give it a springy texture when cooked.   In Malaysia, we use the term ...

  My father-in-law used to tell us (over and over) that his record for eating oysters was forty in one sitting. Look out Adam Richman ! You may have a contender here. I guess if it's a buffet and oysters are the most expensive item on the table, then of course you'd want to get your money's worth. I just remembered that my father used to think along the same lines. When I was a kid, we used to make short family trips to Singapore. He said that whenever we have one of those pricey buffet lunches at the hotels, he usually tries to eat more oysters because they were the most expensive item. The thing is, he didn't even like eating raw oysters, though I think he's grown to enjoy them a bit more over time. As for me, I love oysters, whether they are crumbed and deep-fried, in an omelette, or just served natural. When we had guests over for our Wining and Thai-ning lunch party, I made a quick and simple Thai style dressing to go with the oysters. It turned out wonder...

    Have you ever tried salmon with black bean sauce before? Honestly, I never knew salmon could be prepared this way until I found out from some friends that it is a common Chinese dish. I uusally cook salmon with either miso or teriyaki sauce, but with black beans? It actually turned out really good - sweet, salty, smoky (from the beans), with a hit of chilli in there. These flavours are just perfect with a bowl of steamed white rice, and it's all you really need for a satisfying meal. Of course, to make it complete, serve it with a plate of stir-fried asian greens like bok choy or snow pea sprouts. I used fermented black beans that came in a jar, and not the dried ones that come in a packet. You should be able to find them at the Asian supermarket at the aisle where all the sauces and jars of pastes are. I've never tried the dried version before, so I'm not sure if they are any different. The flavours should be similar though. If salmon with black b...

It took me this long to finally attempt making Assam Laksa,  and if mum says it's easy to prepare, she's quite right there. Just steam (or boil) the fish , add the blended ingredients to the stock and simmer before adding the flaked fish. Then serve with noodles and garnishing. Sounds easy doesn't it? In fact, I think I took more time preparing all the ingredients then the actual process of cooking it (man, those shallots sure took forever to peel, and they brought buckets of tears to my eyes). In Sydney, mention laksa to anyone and his or her eyes will light up. But if you say  "Assam Laksa" , chances are you'll be met with a quizzical look. It's not a dish commonly found in Malaysian restaurants around Sydney, perhaps because it's an acquired taste for the local palate, with its sour and spicy tamarind-based fish gravy served with a dollop of black prawn paste (used in Chinese rojak ). There is no coconut milk in it, and the flavours in the soup ...

    Asparagus and Prawn Stir-fry   Ingredients   1 tbsp vegetable/peanut oil 2 cloves garlic, sliced/chopped 200g prawns, peeled, deveined and tails intact 2 bundles asparagus, woody ends snapped off, halved crossways 2-3 bird's eye chillies, sliced   Sauce: 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp palm sugar (or to taste) 1 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce 3 tbsp water   Method   Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Add the garlic, followed by the prawns. Let the prawns cook on one side, then flip them over to cook the other side. When the prawns are almost cooked, remove and transfer them to a plate and leave the oil in the wok. Next, add the asparagus to the wok and fry for 30 seconds, then push them aside. Add the chillies and pour the sauce ingredients down the side of the wok into the centre and bring to a boil. Toss the prawns in with the asparagus and sauce, and stir-fry briefly until everything is w...

    If you've been following my recent posts, you'll know that I've been coming up with "copycat" recipes for some of dishes served at Sailors Thai . This time, I attempted to prepare the deep-fried snapper with three flavour sauce that everyone at our table of ten was raving about. As we ordered only one of each item from the menu, by the time it was passed down to our end of the table, the fish was almost mangled beyond recognition. Okay, perhaps that's an overstatement. Fortunately though, the fish head appeared to be intact, and surprisingly, nobody took the best part - the cheek! If I was having fish with my family (or relatives), the cheek would definitely be the first thing to disappear. This is actually quite simple and easy to prepare, given that there aren't many ingredients required. The sweet, sour and spicy sauce is briefly simmered in a pan and then poured over the deep-fried fish. I've used a whole snapper here, although you could alway...