Recipe: Kung Po Prawns (with dried chillies and cashew nuts) 宫保虾

During the CNY period, we will serve prawns quite often, due to its Cantonese name 虾 "ha" sounding like laughter "ha ha ha" and thus symbolising happiness. But mainly because we are a prawn-loving family! When my kids see prawns, they get super excited and they will not be shy to ask for more ("peel more for me please mummy!").

So, we have been cooking kung po style prawns quite a lot lately. Kung po 宫保 is a type of spicy stir-fry dish. It's easy and quick to cook and super delicious! Other than prawns, this also contains other auspicious ingredients such as cashew nuts (the nut's shape symbolises gold ingot of ancient times), spring onion 葱 (symbolises spring) and onions 洋葱 symbolises intelligence 聪明.

This dish tastes super buttery (though no butter is actually used in making it), and I like the slight heat you get from the dried chillies. Pretty surprised that my kids said "not spicy also" and happily devoured 5-6 prawns each.

Kung Po Prawns
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 onions, cut into wedges
1/2 bulb garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp cooking oil
20 king prawns, trimmed and cleaned
8 dried chillies, presoaked in water for 30 minutes
1/4 cup toasted cashew nuts
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 1" lengths
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp chicken stock granules


1. In a wok, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onions, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, until the onions have softened slightly and the garlic is golden brown. Add the dried chillies and stir fry for another minute.

2. Add king prawns and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until cooked through. If using shelled prawns, it will cook faster so please adjust cooking time accordingly. Season with soy sauce and chicken stock granules, and then stir in toasted cashew nuts and spring onions.

3. Serve immediately, with some sliced cucumber and rice.

Note: I usually roast/toast raw cashew nuts in a 180C oven for 12-15 minutes. If making a small batch, it would be easier to dry-roast in a pan for 5-8 minutes.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Yee Sang @ Senjyu Japanese Restaurant, Bangsar Village II, KL

Happy Birthday everyone! 

Today, the 7th Day of Chinese New Year is known as "Renri" 人日, or everyone's birthday. Yee sang is traditionally eaten on this day for continued wealth and prosperity. 

Yesterday, Hubby and I went on for a spot of daytime dating after running some errands in Bangsar. Since we had a heavy breakfast, we wanted something light for lunch. Then we saw Senjyu was doing a yee sang with both salmon AND scallops....  WANT!

Named the "Superior Hotate Salmon Yee Sang", you can either get a small portion for RM42.80 or large for RM68.80. The small portion can serve 2 pax and was just nice for the both of us. This is the first time we're tossing yee sang with only 2 persons... ;)

I really love Japanese yee sang - it tastes very fresh and is just like eating a salad.  Consists of jellyfish (chuka karage), shredded/julienned vegetables such as radish and carrot and cucumber, tempura bits, pickled ginger, seasoned seaweed, seasoned baby octopus (chuka idako) and marinated scallop lips (chuka hotate).

Let's toss to a good year :)

Opening times: 12.00 - 9.00pm.

Location: Senjyu, 2F-27 & 28, 2nd Floor, Bangsar Village II, 2, Jalan Telawi Satu, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 - 2201 5865

Website: https://www.facebook.com/senjyu


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Recipe: Salmon Yee Sang 鱼生

Over the weekend, our relatives came over to "bai nian" 拜年 (CNY visiting) so I decided to make a salmon yee sang for us to toss together. Last year's Lucky 8 scallop yee sang was a huge hit with my family (and I got very good feedback from readers and friends who made it), so for this year's yee sang, I also used fresh fruits and vegetables.

Salmon Yee Sang

A total of eight ingredients make up our auspicious yee sang, as eight is a lucky number and symbolises fortune. Fresh fruits symbolise life and new beginnings, furthermore pineapple's homonym sounds like "ong lai" - luck come and strawberry's red colour and carrots signify good luck. I chose yellow pepper as the yellow colour signifies gold, lettuce symbolises prosperity and growing fortune. Cucumber as well as chuka wakame (Japanese seasoned seaweed) make up the rest of the ingredients. I also chose raw salmon as fish symbolises abundance.

Just before tossing, salmon sashimi, crushed toasted peanuts, sesame seeds, pok chui (I used Tam Tam crackers), oil and plum sauce is poured over the salad.

A special touch for the Year of the Goat, I used the julienned carrots to create the word 羊 (goat) in the centre of the yee sang platter!

We sure had fun tossing the salad, and my relatives kept praising how good it was - the best yee sang they've ever eaten! ;) Fresh, healthy and delicious!

Will you be making yee sang 鱼生 on Renri (7th day of CNY, also known as "everyone's birthday")?



Salmon Yee Sang 鱼生
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/2 carrot, peeled and julienned/shredded
2 lettuce leaves, julienned
1/2 small yellow pepper, julienned
1/2 Japanese cucumber, julienned/shredded
5-6 strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1/4 fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks

Chuka wakame (seasoned seaweed)
Salmon sashimi 

1 calamansi lime (limau kasturi), halved
3 tbsp crushed toasted peanuts

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 packet Tam Tam crackers
Salt, to taste

3-4 tbsp oil

For the dressing
2 tbsp plum sauce
A dash of sesame oil

1. Mix plum sauce and sesame oil together.

2. Arrange the julienned vegetables and fruits on a large plate in an attractive manner. Then, using some of the julienned carrots, form the word 羊 since it is the year of the goat. 

3. Raw salmon, oil, crushed nuts, sesame seeds, crackers, and plum sauce should be served in separate bowls at the side. 

4. Squeeze lime juice over salmon. Just before tossing, add the crackers and salmon, drizzle oil in clockwise direction, crushed nuts, sesame oil and finally pour over the plum sauce. 

Note: You can get thinly sliced salmon sashimi at the Japanese section at Jusco Midvalley. 

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I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Japanese Yee Sang @ Hokkaido Ichiba, The Gardens Mall, KL

Last weekend, we met up with a good friend for lunch at Hokkaido Ichiba / Kita No Zen in The Gardens Mall. We ordered our food, chatted away, food arrived and we ate our lunch and then we got talking about CNY and yee sangs... and I said "Hey they do yee sang here too, wanna try?"

Japanese yee sang

We ordered the small yee sang (RM38) which is enough to feed 3-4 persons. They also do a larger version. It arrived looking very pretty, with a salmon rose crowned in the centre. Other ingredients in the yee sang include jellyfish (chuka karage), shredded/julienned vegetables such as radish and carrot, tempura bits, pickled ginger, seasoned seaweed, and marinated scallop lips (chuka hotate). Wow this yee sang is soooooo tasty.. I guess it's because it contains so many of my favorite ingredients!

Kids first yee sang this year :)

After lunch we headed over to Moo Cow for some froyo... and just as we sat down, we heard the sound of drums.... oh a lion dance has just started! How lucky. Kids love watching lion dance performances.

And when the crowd dispersed, kids asked if they could go downstairs to see the lion head upclose. The PIC was so nice and let the kids pose and touch the lion head. Another lucky, happy moment! :)

Opening times: 11am to 10pm daily. Hokkaido Ichiba is closed for first 3 days of CNY 2015.

Location: Kita No Zen, Hokkaido Ichiba, T-201, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2283 1060


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Recipe: Braised mushrooms with broccoli and fat choy (CNY Vegetarian)

Hello! How are your Year of the Goat Chinese New Year celebrations going so far? Goat or meh (get it?)? We had a full vegetarian day on the first day of CNY. One of the auspicious dishes that we made was braised mushrooms with broccoli and fat choy.

Cooked a vegetarian feast on 1st Day of CNY

For this dish, I used two types of mushrooms - dried Chinese mushrooms as well as enoki mushrooms - Shitake mushrooms symbolises longevity, enoki mushrooms, also known as golden needle mushroom represents "gold. I also added some carrots for color and it also symbolizes "good luck" and fat choy 发菜 (black moss) homonym is "struck it rich". Whenever we go vegetarian, mushroom sauce is our best friend for flavoring the sauces. A splash of ginger or Shaoxing wine makes the sauce super yummy.

That sauce is awesome with the longevity noodles that we usually have during CNY

Enjoy the rest of the celebrations.

Meh the Huat be with you... cute!

Braised mushrooms with broccoli and fat choy
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets
2 packs enoki (straw) mushrooms, ends trimmed and rinsed
2 cups dried Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated in water and stalks removed
4 tbsp mushroom sauce
1- 1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp ginger wine
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 carrot, cut into matchsticks
A small handful fat choy 发菜 (black moss)



1. In a wok or saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown. Add Chinese mushrooms and stir fry for 4-5 minutes, then add 1 cup of water and bring to the boil. Season with 2 tbsp mushroom sauce and ginger wine, or to taste. Once boiling, lower to medium low heat and simmer for another 10 minutes. Arrange in a plate.

2.  Add broccoli florets and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove and arrange on plate.

3. If sauce has reduced significantly, top up with 1/2 cup water and season with more mushroom sauce, as necessary.

4. Add enoki mushrooms and carrots and cook for 2 minutes or until softened. Place enoki in centre of plate and arrange carrots in an attractive manner.

5. Soak fat choy in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain and then quickly blanch in sauce for 20 seconds. Remove and top on enoki mushrooms.

6. Reduce sauce slightly to a thick (syrupy) consistency, then pour over the mushrooms. Serve immediately.

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I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Goat Xi Fa Cai | Happy Chinese New Year 2015

Wishing all readers and friends a very Happy Chinese New Year in this Year of the Goat. May you be blessed with an abundance of wealth, fortune, longevity and good health in 2015. And not forgetting lots of good food :)

Welcome Year of the Goat!

Huat ah!

Goat Xi, Goat Xi!

Photographer: My mum
Location: The Gardens Mall | Midvalley Megamall | Home



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Recipe: Braised fish maw with mushrooms and sugar snap peas

Nowadays, you can get Chinese New Year (CNY) ingredients at the shops two months before the actual celebration. We always stock up on lots of fish maw 鱼鳔 and Chinese mushrooms as soon as we can get our hands on them.  So, we've been cooking lots of different dishes with them and our favorite combination has to be this - braised mushrooms with fish maw and sugar snap peas.

This recipe is even EASIER than my last "Easy fish maw with mushroom stew" recipe - you pre-soak them in warm water for 2 hours hence you can cut the cooking time by half. Usually we soak it before we pick the kids up from school, hence when we get back, we can quickly braise it and the dish is ready in less than 30 minutes. A complete one-pot dish with enoki mushrooms (also known as straw mushrooms), Chinese mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Super tasty!

Braised fish maw with mushrooms and sugar snap peas
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 2-3


Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 2 hours and stalk removed
1 (25g) fish maw, soaked in warm water for 2 hours
2 pack enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed
130g sugar snap peas / sweet bean, topped and tailed
250ml water
2 tbsp mushroom sauce
1 tbsp ginger wine


1.  In a saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes until golden brown.

2. Add Chinese mushrooms and fish maw and stir fry for about a minute, then add the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down to medium low heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish maw's texture is cooked to your liking. Season with mushroom sauce and ginger wine, to taste.

3. Add the enoki mushrooms and sugar snap peas and cook for a further 2 minute. Taste and season with some salt, if required. Serve immediately.

Note: Soaking the fish maw in hot/warm water will shorten its cooking time, convenient especially if you are in a rush.

****************

I am submitting this to the "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To join, simply cook or bake any Chinese New Year recipes for the whole month of February 2015.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in February 2015 - please do not link older posts.Please mention our "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Happy Valentine's Day 2015

Hubby says that I should "take a break" from blogging today since it's Valentine's Day... so instead I shall just post photos and videos to spread some love ♥♥♥

So how did you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Hubby made this "flipagram" for me :)

You can check out more "love" photos on Instagram under hashtag #babysumolove :)



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