Quail eggs in 'sambal' (chilli paste)



These quail eggs are just soooo pretty don't you think? I was rinsing these cute little things when I noticed the unique pattern on each egg. You can't find 2 eggs with a similar pattern and I find it rather intriguing especially when I was cupping about 20 eggs in my two hands. It's hard to describe in words, so go get yourself some quail eggs and you will know what I mean!=)

Anyhoo, I was preparing Nasi Lemak (Rice with Coconut milk). For those who are not familiar with this dish, Nasi Lemak is traditionally served in banana leaves, with the sambal ikan bilis (anchovies in chilli paste), cucumber and a small fried fish (which I can't recall the name at this point of time) but this is my version, with whatever ingredients I have in my kitchen. Tastes good but urm, forgot to take the picture of the rice!heheheheh...

Recipe

1. 20 quail eggs

2. 10-13 pieces of dried chilli (soaked in a bowl of boiling water)

3. 10 pieces of shallots

4. 4 pieces of garlic

5. a pinch of salt to taste

6. 2 teaspoons of sugar

7. 30g of dried small prawns or dried anchovies (halved and cleaned)

8. 4 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method

Sambal

1. Boil the quail eggs and peel the shell off

2.. Blend the chillies, shallots, garlic n prawns/anchovies until it becomes a paste

3. Heat up the oil and then fry the paste continually for 5 minutes

4. Add in the eggs, sugar and salt and stir fry for another 3 minutes

5. Ready to serve

Rice (serves 1)

1. Rinse a cup of rice

2. Cook the rice in half cup coconut milk + 3/4 cup water

*** You can serve the rice with slices of cucumber, fried chicken wings and crispy, fried anchovies if you wish



Fried Rice with Enoki Mushrooms



This is a dish I often cook as it is very flexible and I can change the ingredients accordingly, depending on my mood! hehehe..This time round, I had some Enoki mushrooms in my fridge and I was feeling kinda lazy to cook anything that requires me to get my blender out. Here is a close-up shot:



The Enoki mushrooms look like beansprouts, don't they?=) But much nicer to eat! Heh! If you haven't noticed, I do not have vegetables in my dishes. So feel free to add in any vege of your choice if you are trying out these dishes! What goes well with this fried rice recipe will be green leafy vegetables or carrots.

Recipe (serves 1)

1. 1 cup of cooked rice (you can reduce or increase the amount accordingly)

2. 3 tablespoons of vegetable or Canolla oil

3. 2 red chillies (sliced)

4. 1 pack of Enoki Mushrooms (I think it's 200g)

5. 1 egg

6. 2 teaspoons of fish sauce (optional)

7. 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

Method

1. Heat up the oil

2. Stir in the chillies for 3 minutes

3. Add the mushrooms and mix well

4. Add the rice and mix again

5. Make a small well in the middle of the wok/pan and then break in the egg

6. Wait for about 3-4 minutes before mixing the egg with the rest of the ingredients

(You can add in the vegetables at this point of time before adding the sauces)

7. Add in oyster sauce and the fish sauce

8. Fry for another 4 minutes before serving

***I made the well at the centre as I do not like the egg to mix with my rice and make it yellow. You can beat the egg and stir together with the rice if you wish.=) It's just that I prefer my colours not to mix..heheheh..

***Beat the egg into a small bowl first before putting it into the wok/pan in case you get a rotten egg and you wouldn't want to spoil the dish that you have in the wok/pan

Cereal Prawns

My very first entry!!;p Have always loved the cereal prawns at restaurants and it was the one at Batam that struck that cooking chord in me. ^_^ A really simple, fuss-free and delicious dish to prepare. It took me about 15 minutes to whip up the whole thing but it would have tasted better if I had added more butter (read: oily=tasty!heehee..p) Oh well, there's always a next time!

Recipe

1. 15-20 pieces of prawns (medium sized prawns)

2. 1 cup of Nestum (250g)

3. 3 stalks of curry leaves

4. 3 tablespoons of butter

5. 3-4 sliced red chillies (more if you prefer it to be spicy)

6. 2 tablespoons of sugar

7. some oil to fry the prawns

Method

1. Fry the prawns till the prawns turn orange then take it out

2. Remove the oil and add butter

3. As soon as it melts, add in chillies and curry leaves and stir fry for 5 minutes

4. Add in the prawns and then quickly stir in the Nestum and sugar

5. Remove as soon as all ingredients have been mixed well

*** Do not fry the Nestum for too long or it will be soggy