Coconut & Prawn Bisque 椰汁鲜虾浓汤

[Freshness Recognition Cooking Contest] by RedMart

As regular customer of RedMart, I'm excited to take part in this contest! This time, I wanted to try something different by breaking away from the South East Asian's tradition of cooking chicken with coconut. And neither did I want a spicy tong yum/curry dish. My efforts to create this fusion dish pays off when the last bit of this Coconut & Prawn Bisque 椰汁鲜虾浓汤 has been slurped up from the dining table. 

Fresh coconut water + fresh prawns simply spell natural FRESHNESS! The coconut water has made the broth so refreshing with a light tinge of coconut flavour (not overpowering and not rich/heavy like coconut milk/cream). Try to imagine the coconut meat turning out smooth and tender like tofu (豆腐花)! The prawn broth's also thickened naturally (without cream) by the prawn pastes that's rendered from the prawn heads and shells. Plus, the smokey grilled tiger prawns and broccoli provided the layering of flavours when dipped into the broth. All in

all....it's so easy to cook and everybody loves it! This' a keeper for my family!

#RedMart #freshnessrecognition @RedMartCom

Ingredients :

• 10 to 12 pics fresh Tiger Prawns (I used "Serve" tiger prawns by Hai Sia. Available at RedMart)
• 2 to 3 fresh coconuts (subject to sizes)(pre-cut at the top)(young coconuts preferred)
• a handful of scallops (optional)
• few florets of broccoli
• 1 brown/yellow onion (sliced)
• 5 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
• 1 stalk lemongrass (pressed and chopped to 4 sticks)
• 1 tsp ikan bilis powder (or to taste)
• 6 tbsp tomato paste (preferably with tomato chunks)(or to taste)
• salt (to taste)
• dollop of butter
• 4 to 6 tbsp cooking oil (to render prawn oil)

Method :

1. Trim whiskers and tips of tiger prawns. Devein. 
2. Remove heads and shells for half portion of tiger prawns. Keep the heads and shells aside.  
3. Marinade all tiger prawns with a little salt. Set aside.
4. Pry open top part of coconut and transfer coconut water to a different bowl. Set aside. Do not discard coconut husks.
5. Render simple prawn oil by quick stir frying prawn heads/shells and a little sliced onions in cooking oil till aromatic. 
6. Strain prawn oil into a saucepan. Quick stir fry onions, garlic and lemongrass till aromatic. 
7. Fold in tomato paste, coconut water and seasonings. 
8. Stir evenly and turn off heat once mixture starts to bubble.
9. Transfer mixture (together with aromatics) into coconut husks. Do not fill to the brim. Leave a little space allowance for prawns and scallops.
10. Double boil or steam coconut husks with mixtures for 1.5 hour.
11. Towards the last 15 minutes of double boiling/steaming, skewer the other 5 to 6 pcs of prawns (with heads and shells), broccoli florets and scallops.
12. Add dollop of butter and grill skewers on stove or in oven for that smokey touch.
13. At the end of 1.5 hours, add balance scallops and the de-shelled prawns into coconut husks. Continue double boil or steam for another 10 to 15 minutes (or till seafood are just cooked). 
14. Serve entire coconut (with broth and ingredients) hot together with skewered prawns. Drizzle a little prawn oil over the skewers. This would allow layering of flavours to our palate when dipped into bisque.
15. The bisque should be slightly thickened by the pastes rendered from the prawn heads and shells. Yet, the entire dish would taste and spell natural freshness! 

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Giam Chye Ark (Duck & Salted Vegetable Soup) 咸菜鸭汤

* in collaboration with Xndo for Zero Rice

The marriage of salty and sour flavours from the few key ingredients in Giam Chye Ark (Duck & Salted Vegetable Soup) 咸菜鸭汤 always serve to tantalize appetites.

Salted vegetables 咸菜 (aka salted mustard green) are cooling in nature. Hence, I personally prefer to neutralize with some 'heaty' ingredients such as ginger, garlic and white peppercorns. This' especially comforting during the rainy days.

This is a must-have traditional dish in many South East Asian Chinese families. There are many variations and versions. I prefer to prepare mine as a single pot dish to just go with  rice. 

Xndo Zero rice is certified low GI, non-GMO, high fibre and suitable even for diabetics! Ready to eat, a healthy diet has never been easier! Promotion now on at all GNC Singapore & Xndo stores islandwide. 

#ZeroRice #XndoRecipes

Ingredients (enough for 2 to 4 pax) :

• 2 to 4 packets Xndo Zero Rice. Each box contain 4 packets. 
• Half a duck (chopped into pieces)(skin removed, washed & drained)
• 200 gm salted vegetables/giam chye/salted mustard green 咸菜 (soaked in water for 15 to 30 minutes before cook)
• 3 pcs pickled sour plums (available in supermarkets/markets)
• 1 pc dried preserved date (optional)(available in supermarkets/markets)
• 2 carrots (chopped into chunks)
• 2 to 3 tomatoes (chopped into quarters)
• 1 tray of tofu/beancurd (available in supermarkets/markets)(cut into chunks)
• 2 tbsp white peppercorns
• 15 cloves of garlic (peeled and pressed)
• 4-5 slices ginger
• 1.5 litre water

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)    

Method : 

1. Remove fats/skin from duck meat. Set duck fat aside. 
2. Blanch duck pieces in boiling water for 5 minutes to remove scum beforehand. Rinse and clean duck meat in running water after that.
3. Render a little duck fat in stock pot. Sauté ginger, garlic and peppercorns till aromatic. 
4. Add all ingredients into soup pot EXCEPT tofu and half portion of tomatoes.
5. Add 1.5 liter water into soup pot. Turn on high heat till water/soup reaches boiling point. Once the water/soup boils, turn to low heat and continue to simmer for 1.5 hours. Duck meat is tough. It takes longer to reach tenderness. 
6. Add tofu and the rest of tomatoes to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes before serve. 
7. Duck meat should be fall-off-the-bone kind of tender. Yet tasty. Salted vegetables still flavourful.
8. Serve whilst hot with Xndo Zero Rice. 

Tip : Choose the stem portion of the salted vegetables. It works better for soups. The leaf portions are more suitable for other cooking processes such as stir frying.

Creamy Tom Yum Seafood Gnocchi 冬炎海鲜马铃薯丸子

*in collaboration with Casa Rinaldi for gnocchi

Gnocchi is a type of traditional Italian pasta. Literally, they're small dumplings that's primarily made up of potatoes, semolina or flour. It's a staple for many places in Europe for the longest time. I remember watching MasterChefs series on TV and always marvel at the contestants' abilities to make their own gnocchi. I had always wanted to try it. Casa Rinaldi has made it so easy and convenient now by introducing the packet ones to Singapore. All we have to do is to boil it for short few minutes and the gnocchi could be served with any sauce and cooked ingredients. One may of course pan fry or deep fry the gnocchi for a different feel too! Do you believe that cooking gnocchi is actually easier than cooking rice? When I was given an opportunity to try out Casa Rinaldi's gnocchi, my immediate thought was to pair them with something Asian to make it uniquely ours. So, this Creamy Tom Yum Seafood Gnocchi 冬炎海鲜马铃薯丸子is really one successful cooking experiment to marry something from the East and West. And I did it without using any store bought Tom Yum paste!

My husband fell in love with this dish (and in particular the gnocchi) immediately. He told me it's a perfect combo. How can I not be happy? Seeing him finishing everything up in his bowl in content is just worth all my time and efforts.... 

Casa Rinaldi Gnocchi is available exclusively at NTUC finest under the pasta section. (Retail price at $9.50 per pack). Don't miss out Casa Rinaldi giveaway at http://bit.ly/2f9PfwJ

Ingredients (enough for 2 pax) :

• 300 gm Casa Rinaldi Gnocchi (available at NTUC Finest)
• 8 pcs prawns (with head and shells)
• 1 pc cuttlefish (cleaned and sliced)
• 200 gm white or brown clams (optional)
• 4 large pcs oyster mushrooms or 8 to 10 shitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 tomato (cut to wedges) or 8 cherry tomatoes
• 4 pcs baby corn
• 500 ml home brewed frozen prawn heads stock (Click here : Prawn Heads Stock Base 虾头浓汤底 for recipe ) or use store bought seafood stock.    
• 3 stalks lemon grass (pressed and chopped)
• 2 pcs thumb size galangal (peel and sliced)
• 10 pcs kaffir lime leaves 
• 1 large onion (peeled and sliced)
• 5 cloves garlic (peeled and pressed)
• 2 to 3 chili padi or bird's eye chili (sliced)
• 1 red chili (sliced and deseed; do not deseed if you prefer very hot and spicy)
• 4 to 5 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup lime juice (from about 2 Thai green limes)(or to taste)
• 2 tbsp Thai chili paste
• 1 to 2 tbsp gula melaka/palm sugar (or to taste)(it's alright to use white sugar)
• a handful of coriander (chopped for garnishing)
• +/-150 ml coconut cream (depending on your desired thickness)
• a dash of paprika
• cooking oil

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Heat a little cooking oil in pot and lightly stir fry all aromatics ingredients (i.e. galangal, onions, lemon grass, garlic) in soup pot at medium heat.
2. Toss in mushrooms and baby corns to give it a quick stir fry. 
3. Add frozen prawn heads stock into the pot. Allow frozen stock to be simmered and melted in the pot. Wait till boiled.
4. Add fish sauce into soup. 
5. Add sliced chillies and kaffir lime leaves into soup. Do note to tear the leaves, not cut. You would feel a distinctive difference in fragrance by tearing instead of cutting the leaves.
6. Add Thai chili paste and gula melaka/palm sugar.
7. Stir and taste test to your satisfaction. By now, you should be able to achieve the tom yum taste less the sourness from the lime juice.
8. Cover lid and simmer for 10 minutes at medium heat.
9. After 10 minutes, turn to low heat. Remove lid and slowly fold in prawns, squid, clams, tomatoes in sequence. Fold in each ingredient at 30 seconds interval.
10. Poach gnocchi in the tom yum soup with the assistance of a strainer till boiled (so that gnocchi will not be lost in the pot). It'll only take about 2 minutes. Gnocchi will turn mushy if over cooked.
11. Remove gnocchi and set aside when cooked.
12. Seafood will also take about 2 to 3 minutes till cooked. Do not overcook seafood.
13. Prawns may emit foam whilst boiling. Skim the foam off the top.
14. Fold in coconut cream and stir well.
15. Turn off heat.
16. Fold in lime juice. 
17. Stir and taste test to your satisfaction. Some like it more sour, some like it more spicy, some like it more salty. You may adjust lime juice, chili, fish sauce and sugar in accordance to your preference.
18. Dish out. Plate ingredients and creamy soup with cooked gnocchi.
19. Garnish with chopped coriander and a dash of paprika before serve.
20. Serve whilst hot.

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Japanese Clear Clam Soup 日式蛤蜊清汤

My husband loves and will always order the Japanese Clear Clam Soup 日式蛤蜊清汤 at Japanese restaurants whenever we visit one. I soon realised that it's easy to make on my own. It'll also allow me to give it a little of our own personal touch by adding onions to cater to our palette.

This Japanese Clear Clam Soup 日式蛤蜊清汤 is really easy to prepare and wouldn't take more than 30 minutes of your time to prepare and cook. It's surely a refreshing soup even in the hot weathers.

Ingredients (enough for 4 pax with rice and other dishes) :

• 500 gm white clams (degritted, scrubbed and cleaned)  
• 1 to 2 sachets of dashi powder (to taste)
• 1 tbsp Japanese sake
• 1 medium sized onion (peeled and julienned)
• spring onions & coriander (chopped)(for garnishing and fragrance)
• 800 ml water
• salt (to taste)
• cooking oil

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Heat a little cooking oil in pot at medium heat.
2. Lightly sautéed onions.
3. Add water into pot and bring to boil.
4. Add dashi powder and stir in the pot.
5. Turn to low-medium heat and fold in clams.
6. Cover lid and leave to simmer till clams are cooked. Do not overcook the clams. 
7. Add sake and salt to taste.
8. Skim off scums.
9. Garnish and serve whilst hot.

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