Time’s up! Answer is now revealed. It’s Spicy Okra with Prawns . Typical dish that mom makes at home. This is so delicious that you can eat on its own or just with a bowl of white rice. Don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen? Let’s get this excuse off your list as it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare this simple delicious dish. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients:
125g Okra (sliced diagonally)
200g Prawns
some oil
salt to season

Chili paste:
1 clove of garlic
2cm of ginger
1 medium hot red chili
1 shallot (use 2 if they are small)
1 tsp lime juice

Method:
1. To make chili paste, put all the ingredients into a food processor or use pestel and mortar. Add the lime juice when it becomes a paste. Give it a good stir and set aside.
2. Heat up a wok or frying pan with some oil.
3. Put in the chili paste and fry until fragrant under medium heat.
4. Add the prawns. Stir.
5. When the prawns start to turn pink/orange, add the okra and give it a good stir.
6. The texture of okra is a bit slimy. In order to avoid the dish being too dry, just add a bit of water to have some sauce.
7. Season with some salt. It take around 7-8 minutes to turn the okra soft.
8. Dish up and serve with boiled rice.

…… she looked at the clock and dragged herself up immediately from the comfy sofa. She slowly picked up her speed running towards the kitchen with the thought that it was the chance not to be missed. Without much effort, she was tip-toeing into the kitchen. Instantly, a pungent smell travelled through the nostril and caused her sneezed a few times.

She walked near to her mom and asked, “What are you making tonight, mom?” She replied in a motherly voice with a grin while grinding some ingredients in a much professional way, “It’s something that you love.”

She giggled and clapped. She knew what it was going to be. A slight pause, she then continued, “Is that all?” “Of course not, there are another 2 dishes. But, I am preparing one of your favourites first.” A sudden warmth filled her heart and smile brightened up her face. She jumped, attempting to give her mom a big hug.

“Knock…knock..” It sounded like someone was knocking on the door. The fading noise became louder in seconds. “Wakey! Wakey!” Ahhh… was it a dream? No, it wasn’t. I just fell into a deep thought (again!) while thinking through what I wanted to post. It was one of the scenes back in many many years ago, but still plays vividly in my mind.

So, pungent smell, huh? Something gotta do with Chilies, no doubt about it. The title tells you a bit about it too! What is it? Tell me! Tell me!

Well, below are some of the major ingredients… 1,2,3…. have a guess?

她看了牆上挂着的老爷钟， 很快的从那舒服沙发站了起来, 往着厨房的方向跑。心想，这是一个不可錯过的机会！轻轻的脚步，带她走进了厨房。一阵的辣味刺激了鼻子使到她打喷嚏。

她走近她母亲身旁，就问，”妳今晚煮什么？”她母亲微笑着回答，”妳喜欢的。”

她嘲笑着，拍了拍手。她知道将会是什么。稍停的，她继续，”就这个？”"当然不是啦，还有两道菜。不过，我先准备妳爱吃的。”心暖了，满脸微笑的。她跳了起来，想给她母亲一抱。

好像听到敲门声。那声音越来越响亮。”醒一醒！”啊！是一场梦吗？不是啊。我又走进了深思路，想着该写些什么。那情景是很多年已前了。就还是那么清楚。

那一阵的辣味吗，应该是辣椒吧！是什么吗？告诉我啊！

照片中是一些菜料，猜一猜！

This is truly inspired by Heston Blumenthal, chef-proprietor of the Fat Duck restaurant. If you have watched ‘In Search for Perfection’ on the TV a while ago, you might have seen how this 3-star Michelin chef has found his way to make the perfect chips ever - crunchy outside and fluffy in the middle.

I tried his way of making my perfect bowl of chips. Even though I skipped a few steps, the result turned out to be miraculous! I truly enjoyed this perfect bowl of chips and it’s undoubtably a good companion for the Sunday roast. Not to mention to substitute the soggy chips that you usually get in your Fish & Chips!

If you plan to have a good Sunday roast this coming weekend, try to make your perfect bowl of chips.

Here’s the method to make the perfect bowl of chips. You need:

4 large potatoes
vegetable oil for frying

Method:
1. Cut potatoes into chunky strips.
2. Fill a saucepan with boiling water, put in the potatoes to boil for about 15 minutes or more. You want the texture when they are soft enough and about to break.
3. Put the potatoes in a colander to drain and set aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Heat a saucepan with vegetable oil for deep frying.
5. When the oil is hot enough, put in the potatoes and fry in batches.
6. When they are brown enough, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them into a large bowl lined with kitchen roll.
7. Repeat with the rest of the batches until finish.
8. Finally, serve the chips with roast chicken/beef/lamb/fish.

Following from the post last week, I made an Indian dish called Saag Aloo - Spinach and potatoes.

This is a Northern Indian vegetarian dish that tastes really good and very easy to make. Not only that, it’s healthy too. I like the combination of spinach and potatoes with the hints of spices.

Now let’s see how to make this dish. I have made this dish to suit my own taste. This recipe makes 2.

Ingredients:
2 shallots (sliced)
1 red onion (chopped)
1 chili
250-300g spinach
5 - 6 potatoes (diced or quartered)
some cumin seeds
some tumeric powder
1.5 tbsp of tomato puree (you can substitute this with fresh chopped totmatoes)
1.5 tbsp of olive oil
salt to taste

Please note: Potatoes have to be boiled before the whole cooking process. I choose to pan-fry the potatoes as I like the cripsy layer on the surface once they are pan-friend.

Method:
1. Add oil to the pan and throw in some cumin seeds.
2. Once the cumin seeds start to pop, add in the shallots, chopped onions and chili.
3. Cook them until fragrant.
4. Add in some tumeric powder. Followed by tomato puree and pinch of salt.
5. Give a good stir for about 5 minutes.
6. Then, add in spinach and stir for about 2-3 minutes.
7. Finally, add in the boiled/pan-fried potatoes. Mix well.
8. It’s now ready to be served.

Happy cooking!