Quay Po Cooks: frozen wings

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Monday, June 11, 2012

Pasta Kerabu by Frozen Wings

The first friend that I approach to do a guest post for me was Lena of Frozen Wings. I am very grateful that she agreed to do this for me while I take a vacation back in USA to visit with our family there. For those who has not visited Lena's blog yet, you don't know what you have missed. There are so many yummy food photos and wonderful recipes, some are original and only Lena can come up with. For those who are a regular readers of her blog, I don't think I need to do much introduction, do I? Like me, you would have subscribed to her posts so that you will not even miss one.

Here is a guest post from Lena of Frozen Wings and after reading it, see if you can resist to not check her out.

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Hi, a happy day to all! I guess most of you are already aware that quay po is away on vacation and yet you guys are dropping by to read, so many thanks! I'm Lena and I blog at frozen wings. Just like many of you here, I'm also a keen reader of quay po cooks but she knows that i'm always late to her blog and will try to catch up with her posts whenever i can. I enjoy reading her stories, see what she has been cooking and always feasting my eyes looking at all the beautiful food photos and of course it brings nourishment to my eyes too looking at those so called 'eye candies'! Arhahahaha! Quay po, thanks very much for inviting me to do a guest post for you.

When i first received the invitation from quay po , i was excited but on the other hand, i was feeling a little nervous too cos then i had to figure out what to cook..well, i think it's pretty normal to be at that state when you're cooking for someone's blog and not our own. At that time, i was actually had in mind of making Bee Hoon Kerabu ( Rice Vermicelli Salad) at my own blog so i thought maybe i can save that for later and make a Pasta Kerabu for the guest post. Kerabu is a mixture of vegetables in Malay language, i myself would also consider it as a salad and the use of ingredients in kerabu dishes are mainly favoured by the malays and also chinese such as lemongrass, shallots, torch gingerbud, lime juice to name a few. There is no heavy cooking required in this dish. After cooking the pasta, the rest is just mixing it in into the pasta..err..unless you think cooking the pasta is heavy job, then you can forget about making this dish. haha! No doubt the bee hoon kerabu is more popular and common compared to a pasta kerabu, i thought i just want to make a little twist to the traditional ones just like some may like a fried spaghetti or a tom yum pasta. You can always use bee hoon if you do not prefer pasta.

By the way, i just received a text message from Quay Po saying that she may need to extend her vacation in the states, she's having a wonderful time in her cowgirl outfit riding horses and catching butterflies in the park with her quay lo and may need me to blogsit here for a little while..believe me? no? Have a good week, everyone!

This one is with sambal, the one at the back is without.

Recipe

Ingredients

150gms angel hair pasta

chicken breast meat 180gm or more, steamed and shredded ( reserve the stock)

2 torchginger bud, sliced thinly

4 pieces kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced

7 onions, sliced

1 stem lemongrass, white parts only

1 small bunch of mint leaves

8-9 tbsp calamansi lime juice

1.5 tbsp fish sauce

hot chilli paste /sambal belachan/ chilli flakes - optional

Method:

1. Cook the angel pasta according to the packet instructions, drain and set aside. I cooked mine for about 3-4 minutes.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pasta with the rest of the ingredients and taste. You may want to add in more lime juice

if you prefer it to a little more sour and or additional fish sauce. If it's a little dry, you can add in the stock from the steamed chicken.

You can also save some sliced torch gingerbud, lemongrass and some onione for top garnishing.

A LITTLE ABOUT THIS QUAY PO

Before I was married to my "Quay Lo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Cantonese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.