Tandoor Fish Fillet

This is a variation of the popular tandoori chicken dish, popular all over the world. Obviously, it was not done in a tandoor oven, instead, it was fried to get the desired texture. As fish cooks quickly and a domestic oven / grill is not hot enough, frying it is the quickest was of cooking without damaging the texture. A grill or oven would overcook the fish.

I did not make the marinade myself .. just bought a packet of tandoori mix, then added natural yogurt, oil and lemon juice. In the mixture, I added white fish (pollock) fillets. It is important that the the fish used is of the firm type or it could break apart during the cooking process.





Prior to frying, I sprinkle one side with flour, then fry that side first.


While frying, I sprinkle flour on the other side. You would only fry each side once. The flour gives the surface a subtle crunch and enhances the charred effect. In this case, I had overdone it a bit!



In any case, I thought it looked alright, served with pilau rice (I used an instant mix here!)

Sirloin Steak

Once in a while, I cook some western food in the home. This is one of my favourite .. been cooking this since my student days, when I used to buy a 300g steak all for myself. Nowadays, being more health conscious, the meat portions are smaller and the veg portions are bigger.

The sirloin steak is best fried on it's own with little or no marinade, as, in order to seal the juices in, you have to fry both sides on very high heat quickly. Sometimes, this can burn whatever marinade you have on the surface, unless it's just plain salt.

After cooking the meat, I fry some sliced fresh button mushrooms in the same pan so it has the flavour of the meat. On this occassion, I have used frozen pre-cooked roast potatoes. Also included is some boiled brocolli. All this is topped with instant Bisto gravy, bring to boil in the same pan that cooked the beef and mushrooms.

Delicious and simple!

Char Siu Pau ( Roast Pork Steamed Buns )

Nothing too exceptional or unusual about this popular Chinese snack. However, it is as good as any that I have ever tasted in Malaysia. Can be easily bought from any Chinese supermarket for around £2.50 per half dozen chilled buns. All I have to do is steam them,and they become larger than the average ones you get from a market stall in KL.



Here's my son enjoying one!

Spicy Baked Tilapia

Another rather simple dish with its flavour relying on the quality of the fish and the spices used. I am not a frequent user of Tilapia as I often find freshwater fishes to be less tasty, but I thought I'd give this pink variety a try as it was qute cheap. It is sold frozen, gutted and scaled, at around £2.30 per kg. I thought we'd have a big feast with this rather big fish, but it's size turned out to be quite deceiving as there was less meat on it than I thought.

Ingredients used were curry powder (made into a paste first), coconut milk, salt, chillies, onions, curry leaves and pandan leaves.


I fry the onions, curry leaves,chillies and curry paste till fragrant ....


Then mixed it with a bit of thick coconut milk.


Then smear the mixture on both sides of the fish, with pandan leaves on top. Then wrap in foil and bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins. After that, remove from foil and grill both sides on very high heat to brown the fish.



The result did not look brilliant as I struggled to lift the fish off the foil intact as it was quite brittle. However, it tasted great. Maybe next time, I will use a firmer fish like pomfret or mackerel.

Durian!!

Dubbed the King of Fruits, this is a truly regal fruit. It has all the properties of a rich, sugary and fattenning creamy dessert, and does you no good whatsover. However, to acquire a taste for durians is similar to that of being hooked on narcotics. Once you have learnt to like it, you will love it. And once you start loving it, it becomes irresistable and eventually addictive!



To prove this was indeed Manchester England where the photo was taken, I have pictured it alongside a local paper. In fact, durians have been sold in the UK for over 20 years now. Over that time, the price has gone up by only around 10%. Even then, it is still not cheap. This little one from Thailand cost me £11! It was nowhere near the best I have ever tasted, but it's Durian! .. and that is good enough for me, for now!

A Wii bit pre-occupied at the moment ...

Hope I have not disappointed anyone by the lack of updates recently. You see, we had a new "arrival" at our home and have been busy with the waving, pointing, rumbling and listening. Lets hope normality will be resumed soon! As you can imagine, there has not been much to blog about because I have not been spending too much time in the kitchen as a result of this arrival!