Foodarrific

While everyone was out celebrating Cinco de Mayo, I was gobbling guacamole and chips. Does that count ? Well, no matter, I’m absolutely crazy about guacamole anyways.

It’s so yummy and I could eat bowls of it without needing a new diet pill to slim me down afterwards. My kids are always requesting for this as a tea time snack. We even eat it for dessert!

And you know what my kids do, they hide the whole container of it so no one can get at it. When my picky eaters are this crazy about a certain type of food, it really makes me happy ! Are you a guacamole freak like us?

Filed under: Sauces & CondimentsVegetables by Chili Queen - 1 Comment →

Nothing perks up the appetite like a totally spicy dish. Like my Thai-style crispy chicken. When I tell my teens that’s one of the dishes I’m cooking for dinner, they jump for joy. It’s one of our favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants. It’s also a dish that’s so easy to prepare at home.

You need:

• 4 chicken thighs, chopped into chunky pieces
• 1 large cucumber, thinly shredded
• 1 large carrot, thinly shredded
• 1 medium onion, thinly shredded
• 1 cup cornflour
• I cup cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons Thai chilly sauce (I usually use Kimball)
• salt and sugar to taste

First I coat the chicken with cornflour, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt, and leave aside to sit while I shred the veggies. Meantime, I heat up some oil in my wok. I’m not deepfrying the chicken here. There’s not enough oil to do that. I’m just shallow frying the chicken till it’s cooked and browned. Remove from oil and repeat with the next batch of chicken.

That done, it’s time to prepare the sauce. Drain the wok and pour in the Thai chilly sauce. I use 3 tablespoons or more. You decide how spicy you want yours to be. Add an equal amount of water, and salt and sugar to taste. Then I add the shredded veggies and stir. I add a bit of flour to thicken the sauce a little so it’ll stick to the chicken.

And that’s it. So easy. Cooked and ready to serve, faster than you can say “best prenatal multivitamins” (well, almost ). Try it this weekend.

Filed under: AsianCopycat RecipesPoultryRecipesSauces & Condiments by chili queen - 2 Comments →

One Sunday afternoon, we were in the vicinity of Sri Hartamas and ended up at Soho KL tucked away in a swanky part of town. After walking around undecided, we finally settled on Ole-Ole Bali, an Balinese (Indonesian) restaurant with both an indoor and an al fresco dining area. We chose to sit outside as only a couple of tables were occupied and there didn’t seem to be any smokers.

We ordered this Nasi Campur Ole Ole (Mixed Rice, literally) which comes with various accompaniments like shrimp, squid, chicken on a lemongrass stick, stir-fried veggie, salad and assorted sauces. Interesting and quite tasty.

The Ole-Ole Trio was also quite interesting with chicken on lemongrass sticks, crispy deep-fried shrimp, barbecued chicken wings, sliced cucumbers, tartar sauce and chilly sauces.

My son, who prefers Western food, ordered the next best thing, the BBQ Combo with chicken and lamb which turned out not to taste very Western after all. The lamb was tough and he didn’t like the taste of the sauce.

My other Western food lover decided the safest bet would be the more familiar-sounding Chicken and Chips. It tasted okay, just like any ordinary deep-fried chicken chop.

The food is interesting and presentation is great. The way we were eating, it was a good thing we decided to share our orders or we might’ve needed something akin to an rv towing service to get out of our seats. Indeed we would’ve been able to eat more if the food hadn’t been so overly greasy and salty. You know how I feel about that. I wouldn’t be in any hurry to go back again unless my bank account is overflowing .

Filed under: AsianMeatPoultryReviewsSauces & CondimentsSeafoodVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

If you’re a spice freak like me, read on, you’re going to love how inexpensive these spice blends are.

SpiceCubed Szechuan Pepper Tin – This Chinese spice has a unique light lemony aroma and flavor and is not anything like black pepper or chili peppers. You would usually add it at the last minute, or you can toast it before use to bring out the full flavor. Now on sale at only $3.45 per tin. Offer ends June 2, 2009.

SpiceCubed Four Pepper Blend Tin – This popular four peppercorn combo is a great way to spice up your dishes. Now on sale at only $3.45 per tin. Offer ends June 7, 2009.

The newest SpiceCubed package of 4 of their top selling spices – Cajun Seasoning, Montreal Steak Blend, Granulated Garlic and Smoked Spanish Paprika – in a free gift box is also on sale! These make perfect corporate or wedding party gifts! Offer ends June 23, 2009.

Filed under: $ave moneySauces & Condiments by chili queen - No Comments →

As far back as I can remember, we’ve always had a bottle of fried shallots sitting around in the fridge which we freely add to our noodles (soup or dry), fried rice, stirfried veggies, whatever we fancy actually. Its fragrance will spruce up any dish!!

I usually make a whole batch at a time and keep in an airtight bottle. Slice two cups of shallots (skin removed), not too thin if you want a bit of a bite. Heat up about two cups of cooking oil (or more if need be) and throw in the sliced shallots. You want to be careful not to burn the shallots, so turn your heat down to medium and allow the shallots to brown to a light golden color.

Drain off the oil and place fried shallots on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight container. It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of months but we usually finish ours sooner. Now wasn’t that easy? You got that done even before you could finish calculating how much you saved on your discount supplements !

Filed under: AsianRecipesSauces & Condiments by chili queen - No Comments →