Grilled Skate Wing/Stingray

Stingray or Skate was an inexpensive and largely ignored fish until relatively recently, when this excellent way of cooking it - slathered with Chili Sambal, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over charcoal was discovered. I found that i had better result using the griddle than grilling over fire and whatever chili sambal you have on hand will do. There are so many types of premix or assam fish available and even Tom Yam paste can be a sub. for the chili sambal. Any white fish fillets would be a good stand in for the stingray.

Ingredients:

1½-2 lb whole Stingray/skate wing, cleaned
1½ tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
salt
juice of 1 lemon /lime
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 cup warm water
a large piece of banana leaf [Substitute: aluminum foil]
2-4 toothpicks, soaked in water
3-4 fresh lime, cut into wedges

1 onion, sliced, for garnishA few sprig

s fresh coriander leaves [cilantro], for garnish

8 shallots, peeled
4 garlic, peeled
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
2 stalks lemongrass, tender ends only
4-6 dried chilies, softened in hot water
1½ tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan [dried shrimp paste]
[Items in red are to be ground/blended]

Method:

Rub stingray with lemon/lime juice and salt, set aside for 10 mins.

In a small bowl, mix tamarind paste with warm water, strain, discard seeds, set aside.

Using blender/food processor, grind shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, dried chilies , vegetable oil and belacan.

Cook the ground paste in the microwave on high until fragrant.

Add tamarind, sugar, salt to taste, cook further until sauce is slightly thickened, allow sauce to cool.

Soften banana leaf in hot water, dry well with a tea towel, lightly coat with vegetable oil .

Spoon and spread half the sauce on the banana leaf, lay the stingray fillets on top, spoon the rest of the sauce on the fish.

Fold the banana leaf into a packet, secure with toothpicks .

Grill on a hot charcoal bbq grill or indoor grill or stovetop grill pan, 10-15 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish, turn over ONCE

Garnish with sliced onions, coriander leaves and lime wedges

Serve hot with steamed rice or a fresh salad


Serves

Oyster Omelette/Or Chien

The prefect marriage of just-cooked-to-perfection oysters, eggs, a somewhat crisp finish of the flour and starch mixture is what to expect from this dish.



Ingredients:

8 - 10 large fresh oysters or 1/2 lb frozen oysters

2 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp rice flour

8 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 whole eggs, beaten

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp chinese wine

Ground white pepper

Sprigs of cilantro and chopped spring onions for garnishing

Method:

Wash the oysters and drain well.

Mix both tapioca starch and rice flour together with the water to ake a very thin batter.

Heat a large heavy frying pan until very hot and add oil.

Pour in the batter and cook for about 15 seconds until batter is half set before adding in the eggs.

When the eggs are almost set , make a hole in the center by pushing the egg and batter mixture to the side of the pan.

Pour in a little more oil and fry the garlic for a few seconds.

Mix, then season with soya sauce, chinese wine and pepper.

Add oysters and cook just long enough to heat through.

Garnish and serve immediately accompanied by Chili Sambal.

Chili Sambal

10 bird's eye chilies, chopped

20 red chillies, chopped

10 cloves garlic

1/2 cup oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and pound or blend

5 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Pound and blend the chilies and garlic to obtain a fine paste using all the oil to keep the blades turning.

Pour blended ingredients into a large microwaveable bowl and add in tomato paste & dried prawns.

Cook on high for 5 minutes and continue to cook until the chili is fragrant.

Add in lime juice and sugar, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Allow to cool.

.

Serves

Braised Chicken in Potato Mould

A typical chinese dish and it is only the final treatment of this dish that shows an innovative approach, adding potatoes and baking the chicken. The chicken can be cooked well in advance and the dish finished by preparing the potatoes and bakng the assembled dish in the oven.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken about 3 lbs, cut in pieces and deboned

Oil for deep frying

12 fresh shitake mushrooms, quartered(if using dried mushrooms - soak in warm water)

10 button mushrooms , halved

2 1/2 inches ginger, sliced

1 1/2 lb large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise

1 tbsp butter

Marinade

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

tbsp oyster sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

1 tbsp oil

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 whole star anise

1 stick cinnamon about 1 1/2 inches long

1 tsp five-spice powder

3 tbsp oyster sauce

4 tbsp chinese wine

3 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp sugar

2 cups chicken stock

2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method:

Combine the marinade ingredients, mix with the chicken and set asde to arinate for 10 minutes. Pat the chicken dry and deep fry in very hot oil until half cooked.

To prepare the sauce, heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and stir fry the garlic, star anise and cinnamon stick for 1 minute.

Add the deep-fried chicken, both types of mushrooms and ginger. Stir fry for 3 minutes, then add remaining sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch mixture.

Simer for about 2 minutes and season to taste, then add the blended cornstarch. When the sauce thickens a little, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Pan fry the thinly sliced potatoes with butter and oil until half cooked. Line an oven-prrof bowl with the half-cooked potatoes, making sure they overlap.

Fill with the cooked chicken mixture and cover with remaining potatoes.

Bake in a hot 400f oven for about 5 - 7 minutes.

Unmould and serve hot.

Serves

Danish Pastries

Before you begin to attempt to make danish pastry, i would suggest that you watch this video http://pbs-juliachild.onstreammedia.com/cgi-bin/visearch?user=pbs-juliachild&template=template.html&query=danish+pastries&category=0&ingredients=0&chef=0&project=0&viKeyword=danish+pastries

or vist

http://www.beatrice-ojakangas.com/2004/09/apricot-almond-danish-pastry.htm

Thank you Beatrice for sharing such a lovely pastry and Cafe of the East for a wonderful write-up on danish pastries as usual and sharing step by step pictures.

It was so rewarding to make and i had to share my experience.

Ingredients:

Danish Pastry

This refrigerator pastry needs to chill overnight

3/4 cup milk

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 sticks (1/2 pound) cold unsalted butter

egg white for brushing on pastry before sealing

1 beatened egg yolk plus 1 tbsp water for glazing before baking

Powdered sugar icing glaze :

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons hot coffee or water)

Method:

FOR THE PASTRY

In a large bowl, combine the milk, egg, sugar and yeast; stir to dissolve

Measure the flour into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place.

Add in the salt.

Slice the butter in half, then cut into 1/2 inch slices and add into the flour.

Then using pulse button of the food processor, cut the butter into the flour until it is in pea-sized pieces. This takes about 8 pulses.

Turn into a large bowl.

Pour the liquid mixture over and fold the two mixtures together just until the flour is moistened.

Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Lightly flour a work surface.

Scrape the bottom of bowl to loosen the dough from the bowl and dust lightly with flour the top of dough, then turn dough out onto floured work surface.

Dust the dough lightly with flour and shape the dough into a rough square with your hands.

Roll out to make a square about 16 inches on each side.(Roll from center of dough to the top, center to the bottom and then center to the sides - making a rectangle of 16 inches)

Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter.

Roll lightly to flatten the dough and fold it again into thirds, closing the ends (the dough will now be in a square).

Wrap the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Roll again into a 16-inch square

Fold into thirds again, business letter style.

Roll out a second time to make a long, narrow rectangle and fold up again in thirds to make a square.

Cut the dough in half and chill again (to work on it later),

or

Roll out to make a square 20 inches x 10 inch.

Cut into eight 5-inch squares from one half.

Place a pastry square on the work surface.

Spoon a tablespoon of the filling onto the center. (apricot almond recipe is at bottom of page)

Brush the uncovered edges with egg white and lift the four corners of the pastry off the counter and seal in the center of the square. Squeeze the corners together to give them a little pinch and a twist to create a small topknot.

Place on a parchment-covered or silpat lined baking sheet.

Pastry can be shaped into Pin wheels/Spandauer. Techniques for folding pastry dough and shaping - See http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/2007/09/danish-pastry.html .

Preheat the oven to 400*F. (375*F. for convection oven).

Let the pastries rise, covered with a kitchen towel for 30 minutes until they look puffy (they will not double).

Brush the pastries with beaten egg white and sprinkle with pearl sugar(if available) or sliced almonds.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Transfer onto a cooling rack and drizzle with powdered sugar icing glaze if desired.

Makes 16 pastries

Apricot-Almond Filling:

1 cup (packed) dried apricots

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 cup toasted, chopped almonds

Stir the apricots, water and sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl or a 4-quart glass measuring cup.

Put the bowl in a microwave oven and cook at full power for 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until apricots are soft and puffed and have absorbed almost all of the liquid.

Turn the mixture into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place and process until smooth.

Stir in the lemon juice, almond extract and the almonds.

Cool before using.

Can refrigerate up to 2 weeks .

Serves