thai prawn salad.

February 19th, 2012.

Hello! Just got back from a very amazing honeymoon trip to Phuket. All i can tell you is each and every Thai food i found there is super delicious. I love the tangy taste every food has, and the combination of sweet, sour, and spicy just blew me away. So when we got home, i miss eating Thai food and i want to learn how to cook Thai food. And here's my first attempt: Thai Prawn Salad.

I got the recipe from taste.com.au, here's the ingredients and how to make it:

• 1 stick lemon grass (trimmed, thinly sliced)
• 1/2 lime juice (you can use lemon juice, but it doesn't taste as good as lime juice)
• 2 tbsp peanut oil (you can use canola or sunflower oil)
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp palm or brown sugar
• 2 small red chillis (deseeded, thinly sliced)
• 1 kg green king prawns
• 2 Lebanese cucumber (peeled into long strips) - optional
• 2 green onions (thinly sliced diagonally)
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 1/3 cup mint leaves
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts (or cashew nuts, roughly chopped)

And then i added:

• 1/2 tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)

Directions:

1. Place lemon grass, lime juice, oil, sugar, fish sauce, and chillies into a large bowl. Whisk until sugar dissolves. If it's to sour, you can always add sugar. Remember, it's all about balancing the taste.
2. Place prawns into a shallow ceramic dish. Reserve 1/4 cup lemon grass mixture. Pour remaining lemon grass mixture over prawns. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. Heat barbecue plate (or simply use a pan) over high heat until hot. Lighly grease plate and cook prawns for 2 or 3 minutes until pink. Transfer to a plate, and then cover to keep warm.
4. Place cucumber, onions, coriander, and mint into a bowl. Pour over reserved lemon grass mixture, and then toss to combine. Arrange the salad on serving plate. Top with prawns and nuts. Serve.

i used the remaining onions and dressing to cook so-called Pad Thai fried rice and adding sweet sour sauce and Pad Thai sauce. Happy tummy!

green tea cheese cake.

I made this yesterday, knowing that there will be so many events held at my house and lots of people will come. I'm using the usual cheese cake recipe, and i add a couple teaspoons of green tea powder and a tiny drop of green food coloring. My advice is don't put too much food coloring if you don't want your green tea cheese cake to look cheap or not very appetizing. The cake is good, really delicious. But for me, personally i'd go for the original one or the Oreo cheese cake. Happy baking :)

5th order: Thai & elephant mini cupcakes.

I really don't have time to post anything, so here is my project which i did in November (or was it December?). It's for my friend's son's first birthday party. The theme was Thailand. So she wanted me to decorate the cupcakes with Thailand flags and elephants. She also wanted me to decorate the cupcakes with the letter "J" which stands for Jakeem, her son's name.

cinnnamon muffins.

January 21st, 2012.

What you need:

• 2 medium eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
• 5 tbsp shortening
• 3 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Topping:

• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar, blended with 1 tsp cinnamon powder

Directions:

1. Grease 12 three-inch muffin pan cups
2. Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar
3. Beat in the eggs, salt, and baking powder
4. Stir in the flour and milk alternately until mixture is combined well
5. Fill muffin cupa to the top, bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes
7. After cooled, with each muffin, dip in the melted butter
8. Roll each muffin in the cinnamon sugar blend
9. Serve. They smell really good :)

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