Tamarind Prawns

500gm medium sized prawns

100gm tamarind paste

1 tsp sugar

4 tbsp oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp chopped red chillies

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1. Marinate prawns in tamarind paste & sugar for at least 1 hour.

2. Heat oil and add prawns. Fry in batches for about 2 minutes on one side and one minute on the other side.

3. Add garlic and ginger; mix well for 2 minutes.

4. Add soy sauce and more sugar if necessary.

5. Lastly add chopped chillies and coriander leaves.

PEANUT CARAMELS

100g unsalted peanuts
400g can sweetened condensed milk
220g caster sugar
125g butter - chopped
115g (1/3 cup) golden syrup

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm pan with 2 strips of baking paper that cover the base and extend over the sides of the pan.
2. Roast the peanuts in the oven (in another pan) for about 8 minutes or until the peanuts are fragrant and browned lightly.
3. Combined condensed milk, sugar, butter and syrup in a pan. Stir over low heat for about 35 minutes or until it turns a dark caramel colour.
4. Remove from the heat, stir in the peanuts.
5. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Cool.
6. Cut into small pieces.
7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. It can be kept up to 1 week.

Another kitchen tip!

Does yor wok or frying pan tend to have a lingering smell after frying certain foods?

Try this tip:

1. Wash your wok/pan as usual.
2. Next pour some water into the wok and add used tea leaves.
3. Leave the water and tea leaves to boil for about 20 minutes.
4. Then drain the water and remove tea leaves.
5. Wash your wok/pan again.

You will find that the smell will be gone!

Tip for peeling garlic

If you find peeling garlic a tedious task, try this tip:-

1. Place the cloves of garlic in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes.
2. Remove from bowl.
3. You'll find that it will be much easier and faster to remove the "skins"!!!

HOT & SPICY SQUIDS

Ingredients:

2tbsp vegetable oil
1kg squid – cleaned and cut into rings
8-10 sweet basil leaves
2 kaffir lime leaves – roughly torn
2tsp curry powder
2tbsp coconut cream
2tbsp fish sauce
1tsp sugar
2 red capsicum – seeded and cut into thin strips

Chilli Paste Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic
2cm galangal
2 stalks lemongrass – sliced but use only lower half
1cm ginger
60gm red chillies
5 bird’s eye chillies
10 shallots

Preparations:
1. To prepare the chilli paste, blend all ingredients until smooth.
2. Heat oil in a wok over medium fire. When hot, stir fry blended paste, basil and kaffir lime
leaves for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add curry powder and coconut cream and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add fish sauce, sugar (to taste) and capsicums.
5. Continue to cook for 3 minutes before adding squid.
6. Stir fry quickly for 3-5 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

SAFE FOOD PREPARATION

Do you know that how you prepare your meals can greatly affect your family’s health?

Start by practicing these 3 basic food preparation safety tips:

*Wash the lids of canned foods before opening them. This will prevent dirt from getting into
the food.

*Wash dishcloths every week to prevent bacterial infections.

*Sanitise the kitchen sink. The easiest way to do this is to pour 5ml solution of bleach to 1 litre of water down the drain. Food particles trapped in the drain, along with moistness, create an ideal environment for bacterial growth.

CHICKEN NOODLES with THAI SEASONING

CHICKEN NOODLES with THAI SEASONING (serves 4)

Ingredients:
1tbsp oil
500g minced chicken
200g fresh egg noodles, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium red chilli, finely chopped
2tsp cornflour mixed with 60ml water
2tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp sweet dark soy sauce
80ml lime juice
2tbsp brown sugar
3 large onions, sliced
250g bean sprouts
1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander
4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly shredded

1. Heat oil over medium fire and quickly stir-fry minced chicken for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add crushed garlic and chilli. Mix well, then add cornflour mixture, fish sauce, dark soy
sauce, lime juice and a little bit of sugar. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly.
3. Add onions, bean sprouts and coriander.
4. Mix well.
5. Add fresh noodles and toss. Sprikle lime leaves and toss again.
6. Serve hot.