When I was young, a long, long time ago my mother used to cook this dish for us five siblings. Sometimes she cooks with prawns and sometimes with lobsters. Growing up in Kuching, Sarawak these used to be very fresh from a friend of my father’s. We all loved this sauce a lot although our lips would be stinging right after. We still eat it with that ‘sishhhh sishhhh sisshhhh’ sound and drown our pain with cold iced drinks. Blissful days.

This is often not only from the chilli sauce but rather from the ginger as well. Mother used lots of ginger. I still remember her telling me, ‘it is only easy to cook just 3 equal types of your favourite plum, tomato and chilli sauce’. I could not recollect where and whence she told me and neither could she now but when my mother said in her ‘that’ tone starting with “It is only easy……” one had better remember and not ask again – kekekekekekeke

Today I am starting to clear my freezer. There is a special box of seafood incoming next week and I need some freezer space for some very sexy Spanish’s Iberico Pork.

I decided to cook my crab claws my mother’s way. I do not cook this often for as I aged I find this dish a tad on the sweet side even though I have lessened the use of plum sauce, which I find to be too sweet.

Anyway this is a guide and this sauce is really easy and nice to make if you have to feed a family. With the amount of ginger it goes well with any seafood, prawns, fish, squids etc.

Have a go and adjust the taste to suit you and your family’s taste.

Note – I used Lingham’s chilli sauce with garlic. The plum sauce was a generic Thai brand and Heinz tomato sauce in equal portions.

Last weekend a friend told me she has been hankering for cucuk udang. She asked me for my recipe and I realised that I have not made these for years. I am not sure if she meant just these crispy prawns ones which I love or the ones with beansprouts and kuchai. These are my first choice and those are my second loves.

However she got me thinking where did I put my recipe. One day many years ago I experimented with different combination of flours; with and without egg to find the combination I wanted. I have even fried with prawn stock, not water, the bit softer type and the crunchier types etc etc……… The MAD housewife – kekekekekeke

The final recipe I uploaded to my old blog which I have since lost. In my cooking I am often a bit like a ‘bee in the bonnet’ type of person. I will try and try and try and experiment and experiment BUT once I made it to my satisfaction I will lose all interest and only cook once in a blue moon. In this case it has been a few years. I have to dig around to find my recipe and Facebook recorded my mad moment was on 25th June 2011!!! Luckily I found it! Thus this is an old recipe revived with TIPs.

My husband do not like big prawns so I distributed to other families near me when I made yesterday for the pics taking. Luckily I have willing guinea pigs – hahahaha

IMPORTANT TO NOTE – If you want a crispier outcome then make the batter slightly thinner, ummmmm….like pouring custard consistency and if you want crispy sides and softer middle then make it thicker consistency like thick custard.

If you make very thin batter it is very good to eat with rojak sauce!

Of course if you want to add in beansprouts and beans or Chinese chives then you need the thick custard consistency.

Experiment and enjoy.

p/s I used left over batter + a bit more rice flour and batter chicken strips for my son who also like his Dad don’t eat big prawns. Sigh……… I just have to share my prawns fritters out when I make them.

A friend gave me a shark fin melon and I have been waiting to do something special with it besides just soup and tong sui.

I was chatting to a friend last week and she told me that she simply loves this melon and could I plan to plant a lot in my garden next year so she can have a few. Shockingly I have found out from her that these melons can be kept for a long long time even years!

Anyway she said some people treat them as noodles and so this light bulb moment was hatched. I want to turn this one into a nice bowl of mock glass noodles soup. I am happy it turned out quite well.

Next I would be using crab stock and even chicken with shredded chicken. The possibilities are endless.

The weather is abysmal today. Rain rain and more raindrops, not heavy rain just constant wetness.

Hubby needed lunch earlier as he has a meeting and I decided to go for tender slices of beef in bagels with onions, cheese and mushrooms. An easy half hour cook.

I bought a piece of beef skirt for £5. it weight about a kg. Beef skirt is not too expensive and when cook this way it is not bad to eat and hubby loves it as not too fatty. otherwise he is not a fan of red meat. I often use beef skirt to cook stir fry, leeks, Chinese leave cabbage etc.

My tip on making the beef really soft and tender – Hubby loves his beef this way. It’s the secret Chinese way. Often I have been asked by the Brits what is the Chinese secret to making really tender beef with our stir fries, just like the ones they get from the restaurants and this is the way.

The secret is bicarbonate of soda. The most important secret is not too much and do not marinate too long. You want to tenderizes the beef not turn them into mush. if you do it this way I guarantee you no more tough beef.

However this is unnecessary with expensive cuts of beef like chateaubriand, filet mignon etc

TIP – Do not season your beef before o when frying. Salting the beef now draws out the juice and won’t leave them tender and juicy. Season AFTER frying.

TIP – If you want to use as stir fry Asian style lose the worcestershire sauce and instead use soy sauce, touch of rice wine and a tsp of cornstarch. Loosen the marinated beef with sesame oil before hitting the pan to flash fry with garlic, ginger etc. Then use your tender beef to fry your vegetables of choice.

This white wine creamy mustard sauce was first introduced to me by my FIL. Since then I have made it at least twice a year. The family loves it.

It is not hard to make and the ingredients are simple.

Please refer to the pics for the steps too. Enjoy.

White Wine Chicken/Turkey Gravy. One the most important thing that ties a dish together is the sauce, gravy or jus. In my home there is never enough gravy.  Everyone fights for it barred me. If I turn my back my husband might drink it! 

When I am not lazy I will take the time to make a nice gravy. If I am lazy then I just use the fats from the roast protein, mix with flour and then chicken stock. That is the easiest gravy. When I am extremely hardworking I will make a fresh chicken stock by browning chopped chicken wings with onions and boiling them in water to make a nice stock. 

However if I have the time I will make a white wine gravy. Today daughter is not working and she requested for this as there’s half a bottle of white wine left so white wine gravy it is for today roast turkey lunch.

You just cannot have a roast dinner without gravy. Mixing cornflour with chicken cube and water is NOT gravy.