Spicy Sweet Shrimp ~ Sambal Tumis Udang

1/2kg Large shrimp..shelled
1 large Onions..sliced
1tsp shrimp paste
2 tbsp dark brown sugar or gula melaka
2 tbsp tamarind pulp / asam jawa
10~20 pcs dried long chillies
3 pips garlic
5 shallots or 1 med onion
salt, oil

• Blend the dried chillies with garlic and onions.
• Heat up about 2tbsp oil till steamy
• Put in the blended chilli mixture ~about 5~6 tbsp.
• Fried till it is fragrant..you can see the paste separating
• Add in shrimp paste...wait a little while
• Mix the tamarind pulp with some water about 1/2 glass and pour the liquid into the frying mixture
• Let it thickens..
• Add in the brown sugar
• Add the shrimp..let the liquid thickens..
• Add in the sliced onions..
• Add in salt.
• Taste as per your liking..add sugar,salt,tamarind more if desired to taste..
• After the liquid has sufficiently thickens and shrimp has cooked..remove from pan.
• Serve with steam rice or "Nasi Lemak".

**The key to this recipe is getting the balance between sweet, sour, spicy and salty...so taste it and let the liquid thickens to stick to the shrimp..you can also cooked it with the shrimp shells not removed..the taste will be better but eating it will be tougher..

Splenda Splendid Banana Cake

400gm Banana ~ mashed
320gm Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
200gm butter
100gm Splenda or 220gm sugar
4 eggs
6 tablespoon milk
2 tsp vanilla

• Cream the butter and sugar
• Add in eggs one at a time
• Add in vanilla and milk
• Put in the mashed ripe banana
• Finally, fold in the flour.
• Put into lined cake tins.
• Bake at 375 F till done ~45mins.

This cake was made for a friend who has diabetic...the butter can be further replaced with oil. Originally..the butter was 250gm +5 eggs..the flour was adjusted with all other ingredients to get same moistness and sweetness as original ingredients.

Fried Fish with Soya Sauce..yum..yumm

• Clean the fish and rub with salt & tumeric and fry them till 3/4 crunchy..remove from pan


• Next, slice about 1 cm ginger thinly, 2 pips garlic & 2 medium size onions. In 2 tablespoon of canola or corn oil.. fry each item in pan till fragrant.


• Add in the sliced red chillies, slice tomatoes and onion..let them soften a little bit.


• Put in 1 tablespoon of tomato or chilli ketchup, 1 tbsp water, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce.


• Next, add in 2~3tablespoon dark soya sauce..Cap Kipas Udang Manis or ABC..a little bit of black pepper...


• Stir themmm....


• Put in the fish...if the sauce is thick add a little bit of water..not too much.


• Serve in a nice dish..add sliced spring onions and celery leaves....


• Serve hot with steam rice...

Simple 15 minutes dish.....

Yummy Crunchy Choc Chip Cookies

As per request for adzrul and friends who has tasted these cookies..sorry that it takes 5 weeks to reach you...since it is still Eid..enjoy them..


The ingredients:

• 2 cups All-purpose flour
• 2 cups quick cooking Oats
• 1 bag 15oz Hersheys semisweet choc chips
• 2 sticks butter + 1 tablespoon~230gm
• 2 eggs large
• 1 & 1/2 cup dark brown sugar firmly packed
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

Method :-

• Soften the butter to room temperature. Eggs also at room temperature. If they are cold than the mix might not be so good..
• Sift the flour,salt,baking powder and baking soda. Mix them with the oats.
• Heat up the oven to 375 deg F.
• Beat up the sugar, soften butter and vanilla till creamy with an electric mixer at medium speed.
• Add in the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the side of the bowl.
• Next, add in the flour & oat mixture a little at a time to get a good mix. You can use a wooden spoon or the electric mixture slowly.
• Finally, add in the choc chips and mix them well..
• Use a non-stick baking sheet...with a teaspoon or just your fingers..place a ball of dough on the cookie sheet..flatten it sligtly.**Wet your fingers so that the dough do not stick too much. If balance between oats and flour is good..it is easily and quickly done..If not a teaspoon will be ok..
• Bake it for about 10~15mins...check that it browns nicely...take them out of the oven and wait a few minutes for the cookie to cool down before removing from the baking sheet. The cookie will still be soft coming out of the oven.
• It takes about 2 hours to complete everything...but check your oven often too avoid cookie from being too brown or over bake..but it still taste good !!

The amount above is good for 8~10 people to finish at one go with coffee,tea or hot choc. You can double or triple or even halfed them to suit how much you want. This recipe is originally given by my friend Azah but has since then been modified to get it to what it is today...geographically it may need more adjustment but it gonna be ok after 2 or 3 tries... I have to do it for more tries as I have no idea how making a cookie would be like..I was shocked to see that it is still soft coming out of the oven but has brown well..I forgot that the sugar in the cookie is what makes it so...I panic also to see that the dough spread and become thin during baking..hah..you might have thought an engineering degree will teach you everything.. I always thought it will be hard as it come out of the oven..Itu kuih batu katanya my friend...So..always remember to get the measurements right and the eggs and butter out of the fridge 4~5 hours earlier..Anyway, that's what happen when my baking adventure begins after 40++ since coming to Dhahran. I am still trying in most of the culinary aspects..maybe adzrul has become better at it by now...

Anyway..the kids and hubby too.. has been great in eating up everything that is served from the kitchen...basic principle is..Eat a little if you don't like it and be hungry later on or eat more if you like it and also more later on...

Remember me in your taste if it turns out good..but sorry if you need a few tries to get it as actually..the above is my 5th. version of the recipe..not sure if it was the latest that I had made..