Garlic Buttered Prawns With Cherry Tomatoes (Master Chef)

I really love this dish! Just like Joyce mentioned, the taste indeed reminded me of Thai cuisine. Just add bean vermicelli and I would get the famous Thai style bean vermicelli salad :)

One thing is, this is not a dish for my kids, so I cooked this yesterday when my kids had their pasta :)

Recipe is from HERE

What you need:
I modified a little to suit what I had in my fridge

80g butter
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g prawns, peeled and deveined
1 large red chillies, finely chopped
10 honey cherry tomatoes, quartered
juice of 1 lime
a few stalks of spring onion (my family doesn't fancy coriander leaves)

1. Melt butter in a frying pan over medium high heat til foamy
2. Add in garlic, chilli, prawns, cook tossing for 2 minutes til almost cooked through
3. Add in tomatoes, lime juice, and spring onion, cook tossing for 1 minute

Very refreshing dish, tangy and spicy, yum!

I'm submitting this post to Cook Like A Star September 2012 (Master Chef) hosted by Zoe

 



Bread & Butter Pudding (Master Chef)

I always love bread pudding
That's why I knoew I had to make this when I saw Lena posted this delicious dessert
I always have frozen bread in my freezer, so once I had some free time, I quickly made it :)
I didn't use raisins bread cos I didn't have it instock, so I used normal white bread, I buttered them and sprinkled some golden raisins and chocolate chips all over, poured the cream mixture leave it absorp for 30 minutes
Sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese on top before baking, baked au bain marie, and brushed with marmalade 5 minutes before it's done with the baking

Look at the texture! It's so moist, soft and fine texture!

Original recipe is from HERE

What you need:
(modified to my preference)

50g salt reduced canola spread
12 slices white bread
1/3 cup golden raisins
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup caster sugar
200ml cream
400ml fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
hot orange marmalade jam for brushing

Remove the crust of each bread, cut each slice in half diagonally
Butter bread at one side and arrange the bread triangles in a buttered 2 litre capacity shallow baking dish, sprinkling raisins alternating with chocolate chips between the layers
Whisk eggs, yolks and caster sugar together. Place cream and milk also vanilla in a saucepan and almost bring to the boil (only til it's smoky)
Pour cream over egg mixture and whisk to combine. Strain mixture over bread
Stand for 30 minutes
Place baking dish in a large roasting pan and pour boiling water into pan coming halfway up the sides of baking dish. Loosely cover with foil
Bake in preheated oven of 180degC for'15 minutes. Remove foil and bake a further 20 minutes or until golden
Brush pudding with hot jam and cook a further 5 minutes before serving

I submit this post to Cook Like A Star September 2012 (Master Chef) hosted by Zoe

The (Not) Perfect Poached Egg (Master Chef)

I'm not sure if it's the perfect time for me to post this
But I think I have to, not to waste my effort :)

I have tried to do this for 9 days consecutively and I was not satisfied at all with the end result, even the one I did on the last day which was the most perfect result compared with the previous 8 days
I managed to create funny (in a not so good way, I mean) shapes of poached eggs, if I can call them poached eggs
During those 9 days, I too had those weird looking poached eggs for my breakfast- some overcooked, some just nice consistency with horrid look, some undercooked I had to microwave for awhile

I submit this post to  Cook Like A Star September 2012 (Master Chef) hosted by Zoe even though I still couldn't get it right even though I did follow the instructions to the dot
I have not given up yet. I'll definitely will give it a try again

I saw Baby Sumo really perfect poached eggs and I agree, practice makes perfect
It's just that, some need more time while the rest can graduate faster LOL
This is one of my favorite breakfast menu, so I have to master this!

Let me share my experiences for the past 9 mornings :)

 

If you see the pics above, there's no consistency in terms of improvement
Sometimes one day I saw improvement, then the next day it turned out more disappointing
But of course, you compared all, the last day was the best result, even thoug still far from perfect

The guide to make this breakfast dish can be viewed HERE

What you need:

A fresh egg

White vinegar

Water

Slotted spoon

Saucepan

1. Crack the egg into a small bowl
2. Fill a small saucepan with around 10cm of water and bring to a gentle simmer (medium heat). Add 2 tbsp of vinegar (to help the egg whites set)
3. Swirl the water to make like a whirlpool with tablespoon (making circles)
4. Tip the egg into the centre of the whirlpool. The egg white will enclose around the yolk
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Gently lift out the egg using slotted spoon and wobble a little
6. Rest the spoon on a kitchen towel for awhile to absorp excess water
7. Serve immediately

I have used the freshest eggs I could get, I followed every single step to the dot
Still figuring out what I have missed out or done wrong
Or is it just a matter of the need of more practice...

 

  

Black Banana Ice Cream (Master Chef)

Who would say no to this guilt free one ingredient ice cream?
When I saw many friends made this, I knew I had to make, too. Such a great idea!
So, here it is - I made three version, plain bananas, bananas with melted chocolate, bananas with yoghurt
You asked me to choose which one I like the best? Nope, I can't answer, cos I love all three :)

Source: Matt Preston (Master Chef Australia)

What you need:

4 very ripe bananas

1. I waited for a few days for the bananas to ripen
2. When the skin started to have many black dots and soft when pressed, I put them in the freezer and freeze overnight
3. The next day, take out the bananas from the freezer, peel the skin with knife
4. Cut the frozen bananas thinly and put in food processor
5. Blend til smooth and creamy. Serve immediately
6. To make with melted chocolate, I used 50g dark chocolate for 1 banana, chop and melt in microwave. Blend together with the frozen cut bananas
7. To make with yoghurt, I used 2 tbsp of low fat plain yoghurt for 1 banana. Blend together with the frozen cut bananas

Note:
I froze the blended bananas for a few hours before serving, cos it melted really easily

This post is for Cook Like A Star September 2012 (Master Chef) hosted by Zoe