KookyCulinary

Everytime I come back from Malaysia, there is one foodstuff that I would always bring back and that is ikan bilis (anchovies). Actually I can get ikan bilis easily here but they usually do not look fresh, so I try to avoid getting them here. I usually get mine from Pangkor Island and the anchovies are as fresh as they can be.

I use my ikan bilis for making soup and nasi lemak. Another dish that I like to make with my ikan bilis is this spicy crispy ikan bilis and peanuts. This can be cooked and kept in the fridge for those quick meals.

Sorry I do not have the exact measurement. Basically what I do is

• Fry the ikan bilis till crispy. Remove and drain
• Roast the peanuts till fragrant.
• Heat up a little oil in a pan.
• Add in some sambal (I use the bottled sambal)
• Then add in ikan bilis and peanuts and mix all together.
• Add in a little sugar and mix till well-mixed.
• Remove and keep in air-tight container in fridge.

We usually eat out on the weekends. Whenever possible, we like to try out different restaurants and this is one of them that we tried out sometime ago - Chandler’s Crabhouse. Located at South Lake Union, Chandler’s Crabhouse has an awesome view of the lake. If you are lucky, you can even get to see seaplanes take off or land while having lunch.

Foodwise, I had the crabcakes. I really like it.

Hubby had the Alaskan King Crab. He thought it was ok, nothing special. The portion was just a little too small for him.

Overall even though the food was good but it was pretty expensive. I would have to say that the view is more attractive to me than the food. I would probably go back again just for the view.

Sorry for being MIA again lately. The weather has been awesome this week and we have been taking advantage of it. We have a very short summer here and so when the sky is blue and the weather is warm, everyone is outside playing. Sometimes I feel like we are just like the bears. We hibernate in the winter and play in the summer. In the winter, the sky turns dark around 4 pm but in the summer, it does not turn dark till almost 10 pm! So we definitely want to take advantage of it while it lasts.

Meals have been very simple this week. we have been eating lots of sandwiches, take-outs or simple BBQ. This is also one of the simple meals that we had this week.

Fish with Tartar Sauce, Rice Pilaf & Corn. The fish is actually panko-crusted frozen fish from Costco. It’s actually not too bad and very handy for those days that you don’t have time to cook. I dress it up with my own homemade tartar sauce.

Recipe for tartar sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup minced onion
lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all together and refridgerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Vancouver/Richmond Trip Part 3:

Since there are so many restaurants in Richmond, we usually like to try different ones everytime we go there. This time, we headed over to Sea Harbour for dinner.

We ordered Hand Shredded Five-Spice Chicken. The chicken was good but it was not anything special. Pretty ordinary but the salt-based dipping sauce that accompanied it was good.

Minced Pork with Chayote. Very tasty and delicious.

But the best dish of the night would have to be the Dungeness Crab with Kabocha Squash Hot Pot. I’ve never had Kabocha Squash before. It turned out to be very sweet and really add depth to the black-bean based sauce. Will definitely have to come back for this again.

When I was young, there were 2 dishes that I really love in my hometown. It’s the sweet & sour pork & sweet & sour fish.  I think everytime I go to the restaurant, I would definitely order either one of them. I’m not sure how they cook it but the pork or fish is always very crunchy and coupled with the sweet & sour sauce, it was so delicious.

So the other day, I had a craving for the fish and came up with this

It turned out pretty good except that the fish didn’t stay crispy for long. I really wonder how the restaurants make it stay crispy for a long time. Anyone know the secret?

Actually I have no idea what is the proper name for this dish. It is is supposed to be “yao zham yu” which in Cantonese literally translates as oil-dipped fish. Correct me if I’m wrong please? I’m not Cantonese. Somehow oil-dipped fish doesn’t sound too appetizing, so I’m calling it Pan-Fried Tilapia!

Anyway, when I was in Malaysia, it was one of my favorite dish. The whole fish is deep-fried till very crispy. Then remove from oil, drain and a mixture of soya-sauce, a little hot oil and scallion is drizzled on it. Simple yet delicious. In this case, I modified a little. I just pan-fried tilapia filets till crispy. In the meantime, i fry some garlic strips in a small pot with some oil to make garlic oil. Then when the fish is done, I mix the fried garlic strips, garlic oil, soya sauce and scallions & drizzle over the fish. The garlic fried rice is just plain rice, garlic & egg.

It’s labor day weekend and that means a 3 day weekend for us. Usually on a long weekend, we will try to go out of town but this weekend, we decided to hang around locally, explore some local attractions and pig-out instead!!

Started off the weekend with steamboat. Clear ikan bilis (anchovies) soup on one side and spicy tomyum on the other. Loaded with lots of veg, mushroom, fishball, eggs and noodles, it was a very satisfying meal!! What do you like in your steamboat??

I made these Yong Tau Foo using ready-made fish paste. I kept it simple and just did 3 types of Yong Tau Foo. Fried taupok, red chili & fish paste roll using bean curd sheet (fu chok). They are first steamed & then pan-fried till slightly crispy. Before serving, drizzle with a simple hoisin-based sauce & chili sauce.

Recipe for sauce:
2 cups water
5 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sesame seed
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch

Method:
Just combine all ingredients & let it come to a boil.

I’m not too crazy about crabs. Not because I don’t like it but rather it’s due to the fact that I’m too lazy to eat it!! Too much peeling & cracking for a teeny weeny bit of meat….haha…. : p But sometimes I (actually more often it’s the DH) get the cravings for crab, that’s when we have a crab night and get all messy!

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are very lucky to be able to enjoy huge crabs namely the Alaskan King Crabs & Dungeness Crabs. This time we got 2 Dungeness Crabs and cooked it 2 different ways.

Kam Heong Crab

and Sweet & Sour Crab

I still prefer the sweet & sour crab. If only I have those fried Mantou (bun) to soak up all the gravy……..yum……… : p

Did you know that when salmon are ready to spawn, they go back to their birthplace to do that?? To me, that is so interesting! In their lifetime, they’ve probably travelled thousands of miles around the world. So how do they managed to find their way back? Smart fishes, eh? Anyway, I digress..back to food. : )

Using this recipe from Allrecipes.com, I pan-fried the salmon on high heat till a crispy crust forms. Then I glazed it with a little teriyaki glaze.