Volume 9, Issue 85 - October 28, 2005

Hello Recipe Club,

I hope you enjoyed this week of Asian cuisine. Next week, we get serious about our turkey stock, gravies and leftovers with Jules Silver. Have a great weekend...you deserve it!

Singapore

Singapore for almost 200 years has been at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, where many cultures and nationalities live, work and more importantly, eat together. Singapore's cuisines logically reflect this cultural diversity.

The four major culinary cultures -- Malaysian/Indonesian, Chinese, Indian and Nonya -- are in fact a blend of each other, creating a new cuisine that is unique and more complex in flavors and fragrances.

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Soft Shell Crabs with Chile Sauce

Ingredients:

Chile Sauce:

1 cup of water mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons tomato catsup
1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, or according to taste
1 teaspoon pounded brown preserved soya beans or dark miso (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Recipe:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
8 fresh red chilies, roughly chopped
1 egg
2 scallions, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
1 pound cleaned soft shelled crabs
4 tablespoons flour
oil for deep frying
1 small bunch cilantro

Preparation:

Combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Keep warm.

Heat the oil in a wok or shallow saucepan over high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chilies, stir-fry until fragrant. Add sauce mixture and stir well, cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Break eggs into the wok and streak with a fork, simmer until cooked. Squeeze lime juice over and stir in scallions.

Cut each crab into four pieces, dry well and dredge in flour. Deep fry in oil that had been heated to 350 degrees F until golden brown and crispy.

Toss soft shelled crabs in sauce just before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

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Fried Flat Noodles (char kwey teow)

Especially popular in Singapore and Malaysia, char kway teow are fried flat rice noodles. The noodles are sometimes sold fresh in Asian markets and need to be cut to size. And, yes, the final result will seem a bit greasy. Think of it as Southeast Asian "fast food."

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound Kway teow (flat rice noodles)
4 ounces Chinese barbecued pork
8 ounces small raw shrimp
8 ounces raw squid
2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), sliced thin
1 cup bean sprouts, washed and drained
4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sweet black bean sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 eggs, beaten
2 spring onions (scallions), cut into 1/2-inch lengths
chili (sambal) sauce

Preparation:

Cut the kway teow into thin strips, about 1/4-inch wide. Slice the barbecued pork into thin strips. Shell and devein the small shrimp. Clean the squid thoroughly, cut into rings. Steam the lap cheong (sausage), cut diagonally into thin slices. Pinch the brown tails off bean sprouts.

Heat a large wok on high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. Fry the minced garlic until browned. Add the pork, shrimp, squid and lap cheong, stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until seafood is cooked. Add the bean sprouts to the wok; stir-fry for a minute or two. Remove wok contents and set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil in the wok. When hot, stir-fry the kway teow (noodles) until heated through. Add the seasoning sauces and mix well into the noodles. Push the noodles away from the middle of the wok, pour in the beaten eggs. Stir and cook until the eggs are set. Return the seafood/meat mixture to the wok. Add the spring onions. Toss to combine well with the noodles.

Divide into serving portions and serve hot, with chili sauce on the side.

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Coconut Rice

This dish goes well with curry dishes or Indonesian vegetable and meat dishes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves (optional)

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan, bring the ingredients to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until ready to serve.

Note: Sugar can be added to this recipe for a popular dessert dish.