Food Review: Claypot Crab Noodles, Restoran Different Taste, Ipoh

Just look at that - SLURP!!!

When one talks about claypot crab and glass noodles in Ipoh, the name Restoran Rasa Lain will inevitably comes to mind. This restaurant has been going strong for years, its fame having been elevated beyond the shores of sleepy Bercham since appearing in the foodie program Taste with Jason (Ah Xian) a few years ago. 

Daytrip to Tanjung Sepat

The old jetty behind the mushroom farm.  My city-son trying to haul the dis-used fishing net to get to the fishes trapped in between the netting

We took advantage of the recent Thaipusam long weekend to make a daytrip to Tanjung Sepat for some good food, CNY shopping and a no-screen excursion for our city kids.  

Easy Butter Prawns

Who doesn't enjoy a plate of rich buttery prawns, infused with the fragrance of curry leaves?

MFF Perak: Ipoh Sar Hor Fun (with Prawn Oil)

Growing up in Ipoh, we were spoilt for good food, especially noodles. 

Vietnamese Prawn Rolls

Making your own Vietnamese Prawn Rolls is simple and easy.  There is a fair bit of preparation, but the recipe is actually very easy and fuss free.  If you are gonna be serving this for several adult size portions, then it makes sense to make your own as the ingredients are very cheap (except the prawns I suppose!) and most of the ingredients can be kept for several days and be used for other types of meals. 

Instead of just plain cooked prawns, I cooked the prawns and toss them in a chili lime dressing to them a zesty flavour that complements the rolls very well.

Curtis Stone's Chili Lime Prawns - recipe HERE

I also used some homemade pickles - comprising julienned carrots, radish and cucumber - in the rolls to give it that added tang and crunch.  You can substitute this with plain strips of the same vegetables.

Simple homemade pickle

Vietnamese Prawn Rolls

• 300g jumbo cooked prawns, sliced crosswise, recipe HERE
• 6 pieces of dried rice sheets
• 1/4 cup of homemade pickle, recipe HERE or substitute with shredded cucumber, carrot and radish
• Handful of fresh mint leaves
• Lettuce pieces

Dipping sauce

• 2 tbspn fish sauce
• 2 tbspn lime juice
• 2 tbspn of brown sugar
• Toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts

 
1.  Dip the rice sheets in a bowl of warm water until softened.

2.  Assemble two pieces of prawns, some pickle or shredded vegetables, mint leaves and lettuce and roll the sheet to wrap it tightly.  Slice each roll diagonally before serving with the dressing.

 

 

 

Love all kinds of rolls?  Here are two other recipes for you to try :-)

 

Cold Lettuce Rolls - the most popular recipe on my blog!

 

Vietnamese Chicken and Lemongrass Roll

 

 





Jumbo Prawns with Chili, Lemon and Parsley

This is such an easy peasy recipe - you can use the prawns in many ways - eat it on its own as an appetizer, use it in a salad, toss it in noodles, or use it in a wrap.  I used it to make Vietnamese Prawn Rolls - recipe coming up after this post.

My MIL (my ever faithful meat and seafood supplier :P) gave me a packet of HUGE prawns - almost the size of my palm. 

Usually I would pan fry these beauties using my mum's super easy and absolutely delicious recipe, but since I've been craving for some Vietnamese prawn rolls for the past few days, I thought I'd check out another simple prawn recipe that is suitable to make the rolls.  

This recipe from Curtis Stone is perfect as it gives the prawns a zesty and appetizing flavour that goes perfectly well with the fresh herbs and vegetables used in the Vietnamese rolls.

Jumbo Prawns with Chili, Lemon and Parsley
Adapted from Curtis Stone

• 400g jumbo prawns, shelled, deveined, sliced in halves lengthwise 
• 2 tsp of sweet chili sauce
• 1 tsp of lemon zest and juice / lime juice is fine too
• 2 tsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Don't discard these prawn shells - freeze them to make the base
for a tasty batch of stock

1.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan, and gently pan fry the prawns for 1-2 minutes on each side, until the meat turns opaque and has curled up.  Do not overcook the prawns.

2.  Remove from pan and let it cool.

3.  Add in the dressing and toss to coat evenly.  Serve chilled or use as a base for salads, wraps etc.

 

I'm submitting this to the "Curtis Stone - Cook Like a Star" bloghop co-hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Grace of Life Can Be Simple, and Yen of Eat Your Heart Out

Back to Basics Part II - Post #2: Easy Stir Fry Tomato Prawns

This dish is kid friendly and very appetizing.  I would love to add some sweet thai chili sauce to give it a spicy kick but omitted since my son will also be eating this.

Takes no more than 10 min prep time and 5 min cooking time. 

MFF Penang - Prawn Mee

 

One of the good thing about making this dish is you can make a big pot of the stock and use it for another popular northern noodle dish - Ipoh Chicken Sar Hor Fun; I can't wait for MFF Perak :))

Fried Rice with Salted Salmon and Preserved Olive Leaves

Ever since I learned to make the ultra appetizing Japanese Salted Salmon, my family has been transformed into a salmon crazed brood.  

Japanese Salted Salmon - Shiozake

 

 

Prior to this, my family have never been big fans of cooked salmon fish (except sashimi) because we've always found the meat to be tough and very fishy.  I have always thought it was such a shame that we do not enjoy something that's so nutritious and premium.   

Creamy Pumpkin Sauce Pasta with Prawns, Bacon and Broccoli

 

 

 

When Alvin of Chef and Sommelier mentioned that he cooked pumpkin prawns for his family, many of us bloggers were ooh-ing and ahh-ing away.  Check out the delicious recipe HERE.

The Best Ever Chicken Soup

You've probably read about this line in some of my earlier posts - the best things in life are simple.

Fuss Free Recipes with AMC Cookware : Thai Style Steam Fish, Grilled Chicken and Steam Broccoli with Mushrooms and Scallops

A bumper post today - three recipes in one.   I decided to share these three recipes together as they are so easy to make, delicious and made so much easier and healthier to cook using the AMC Cookware. 


Grilled Chicken Leg

This dish was what attracted me to the AMC Cookware range in the first place. I couldn't believe how easy and fast it was, the meat was juicy and the skin crispy. There was no grease splatter, I didn't have to baste anything (I really dislike to do meat basting), and just two things to wash. 

Best of all was seeing how the oil has dripped down to the bowl.   After understanding how this works, I was totally sold!

• 500g deboned chicken legs, about 2-3 pieces (sometimes referred to as Chicken Maryland)

Marinade

• Dash of salt and pepper
• Pince of 5 spice powder
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Dash of chinese cooking wine

1.  Marinade the chicken legs overnight or at least 2 hours.

2.  Place the chicken legs, skin side down, on a steamer - positioned over a bottom bowl, and cover with the Navigenio hotplate upside down.

Place the meat in a steamer, skin side down.

Grill it with the Navigenio hotplate upside down, just like how we
cooked Char Siu and Siew Yoke/Roast Pork

3.  Switch the Navi hotplate to #4 and grill for 15minutes. 

4.  Turn the chicken pieces skin side up and grill for another 5 minutes until crispy and golden.  Switch off the Navi hotplate, remove the meat onto a plate and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into bite size pieces using a meat scissors.  Serve immediately.

Total cooking time - 20minutes.

The skin is sizzling in its own oil, crispy and golden. 
There is no basting or adding any additional oil.

The meat is perfectly cooked and juicy.  No pinkish parts.

The oil that has dripped down into the bottom bowl. 
Reduced risk of clogged arteries...unless you want to keep this
to cook chicken rice (;p)

The next two dishes can be cooked using the same 28cm roasting pan.  Steam the fish first, then use it to steam the vegetables.  After that, just serve the vegetable dish straight from the pan;  all AMC Cookware has been designed with pleasing aesthetics in mind.


Thai Style Steamed Fish

No more boiling some water in a wok and then steaming the fish over a rack with boiling water.  No need to check the clock or look for signs that the fish is cooked (eg. the fish's eyeballs have popped out - so grose :p).

AMC's waterless cooking method simplifies the whole process by steaming the fish straight in the pan, and using the Audiotherm to control the cooking and notify you when it's done.

The AMC 28cm roasting pan is ideal for steaming and stir frying.

• 500g Red Snapper or Tilapia, gutted and rinsed clean
• 5 slices of ginger, slivered
• 3 fat pips of garlic, minced
• Juice of 5 large limes or 2 lemons
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Dash of soy sauce
• Chopped chinese parsley for garnishing

1.  Cut two slits on each side of the fish and arrange on a AMC 28cm roasting pan, pour all the seasonings onto the fish (except the chinese parsley) and cover. 

I forgot to take photos of the cooking process, this was another
steam fish using the same 28cm roasting pan, as illustration

2.  Switch on the Navigenio hotplate to #5, attach the Audiotherm to the cover knob (the Visiotherm), set the timer to 5 minutes and turn the Audiotherm to the "carrot" point.

Illustration only.  The Audiotherm should be set to 5 min (not 10min).

 

3.  Once the internal cooking heat in the roasting pan has reached "carrot" point (this will only take a few minutes), the Audiotherm will beep.  Remove the Audiotherm, switch off the Navi hotplate, and let the pan sit on the hotplate (it is still very hot and the fish inside the pan is continuing to cook) for 5 minutes.  The Audiotherm will beep again to notify you that the 5 minutes is up and it's time to serve the fish.

4.  Remove the cover and adjust the taste.  Garnish with the chopped chinese parsley and serve immediately. 

Total cooking time - between 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish and thickness.

Steam Broccoli with Mushrooms and Scallops


My mum hardly steam vegetables.  She would blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes, sift out the cooked veg and pour away the water - with all the nutrients from the veg! 

AMC's steaming method retains the nutrients from the vegetables by steaming them in the same pan.  Vegetables retain their colour, texture and nutrients. 

The natural vibrant colours of the vegetables are retained

For naturally "dry" vegetables such as ladyfingers, sprinkle some water
before steaming.  The texture and colour remains, and the ladyfingers do not turn mushy or yellow.

• 200g bunch of broccoli, trimmed into bite size florets
• 1 medium size carrot, cut into thin diagonal slices
• 3 medium size scallops, softened with hot water, separated into thin strips
• 3 large dried mushrooms, softened with hot water, sliced thinly

1.  Rinse the broccoli florets and put inside a AMC 28cm roasting pan.  Do not drain the broccoli until too dry, leave some droplets of water clinging onto the broccoli florets.  Add in the carrot, scallops and mushrooms.

Place the pan on the Navigenio hotplate and switch to #5 heat.

2.  Cover, switch on the Navigenio hotplate to #5.  When the Visiotherm (the cover knob) reaches the "carrot" point, switch off the hotplate and let it sit for another 3 minutes. 

3.  Open the cover and pour in the seasonings, stirring to coat the vegetables well.  Serve immediately.

I like to made extra batch of ginger and garlic oil for steaming dishes such as the above.  You can pre-make the oil (first 4 ingredients) and only add in the oyster sauce and stock powder during actual cooking.

Pre-cooked seasonings

• 2 fat pips of garlic, minced
• 2 slices of ginger, slivered
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp normal oil
• 2 tbspn oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder

Total cooking time - less than 10minutes.


Easy isn't it.  These are three regular dishes that I enjoy cooking with AMC Cookware.  So much easier, faster and cleaner than using the conventional gas stove. 

For more information on AMC's range of cookware, including its Premium System range and the Navigenio hotplate, please click HERE.

Stir Fry Clams with Curry Bean Paste

There are many varieties of clams out there but one of Malaysians' favourite clams is coloquially called La-la clams (cute eh!)  It is a thin shelled clam in an oblong shape, as opposed to the more commonly seen thick shelled clam in a triangular form.