Durians galore!

Just the thought of durian makes my mouth waters. These thorny fruits with its creamy flesh and pungent smell is one of my favourite fruit. Because the smell is so pungent and unique it has turn off a lot of potential tasters, some has described its pungent smell as "leaked gas". If you are brave enough to overcome the smell (don't get me wrong, to durian lovers the smell is oh-so-heavenly!), the reward would be worthwhile. Many has described it as a love/hate relationship with the king of fruits - you either love it or hate it!!


Its the season now and the durian comes in various varieties - from the "D" category - D101, D24, D14 etc to the more imaginative Butter, Red Prawn, Mountain Cat, Sultan types. One of the most sought after ones are the "Mountain Cats", the English translation after the area where it originated - "Gua Musang" - somewhere in Kelantan, east coast of Malaysia. This type has a yellowish flesh, a balance of sweet and bitter taste, very creamy with a tiny seed. In Singapore, it goes for $15 p/kg (each durian can weight up to 3 kg!). Just one of it would satisfy any durian cravings, even the most fussy of eaters.

In KL recently to visit my mom, I was adamant to eat some of these before I return home. So the hunt began in Subang Jaya and finally in SS2 PJ where I found the Mountain Cat. It was only RM23 p/kg here so I ate till my heart contented :).


I just don't know how to explain why I love this fruit so much. I even like the by-products of it (cakes, puffs, rolls, puddings, etc!), I just HEART it. My brother bought me a durian cake coated with chocolate, with pulps of durian in it. So delightful and what a nice combination. Love it, love it, love it!

Japanese-inspired Seafood Pasta

Usually our weekends are really hectic. The only time where M is around, when we're brave enough to bring all the kids out. After a late lunch at our favourite Botanic Gardens and a swim later, the kids were so tired that it made putting them to bed a breeze. A little time left for us before we retire to bed too.

With the extra time in my hands and a craving for something Japanese, I made this pasta. The recipe was all from my head, inspired by En Dining & Bar "Mentaiko Pasta". Mentaiko (明太子) is the marinated roe of pollock, and is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. I didn't have Mentaiko so my best alternative was Lumpfish Caviar, beads of glistening orange roe.

So here's my recipe, adding some lovely wild prawns and coral trout fillets and a sprinkle of "nori" for the Japanese finish! You may use other types of seafood - mussels, squid, crayfish, all depends on what you like or what you can buy that day! And if you like wine in your stock, you may add 1/2 cup to the stock, reduce the prawn stock to 1 cup instead.


Creamy Seafood Pasta with Mentaiko
(serves 2)

Prawns, deshelled & deveined
Fish fillets, without skin, deboned
2 tablespoon of mentaiko or lumpfish caviar
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 cups prawns stock (made from the shells of the prawns, that's why its best to buy prawns with shells and shell it yourself!)
1/2 cup single/whipping cream
Oven roasted tomatoes (roasted in oven at 150 degrees for at least 30 minutes)
Bunch of Enoki & Shimeiji mushrooms
Nori (seaweed)
Salt & pepper to taste
Pasta - spaghetti boiled in salted water, drained

Method:
1. To roast the tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters. Tossed with some olive oil and sugar, roast in pre-heated 150 C oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Heat pan over medium fire with olive oil. Fry prawns and fish fillets until just cooked. Remove.
2. Heat pan over medium fire again. Fry garlic until light golden. Add prawn stock and bring to boil. Then add cream. When stock has come to boil, add mushroom. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Add prawns and fish to heat through, then add pasta to toss with the ingredients. Switch off fire.
4. Lastly add fish roe to pasta, stir through.
5. Serve with shredded nori.

Rucola, Grapes & Parmesan Salad

This salad is so simple to make and yet oh-so-delicious! No surprises that the 3 ingredients just go so well together, like a happy threesome with a mouthful of sensation - sweet, tangy, bitter and sharp! Tossed it with some Balsamic Mustard Honey dressing, it is a perfect accompaniment to a hot meal - seafood or meat. I served this for a friend's birthday lunch with some Smoked Salmon, Prawns & Oven roasted tomatoes Spaghetti in cream sauce.

Rucola, Grapes & Parmesan Salad

Bunch of Rucola/ Rocket
Seedless crunchy grapes (we used the Aussie SL grapes), cut into halves
Parmesan, shaved

Dressing:
1/3 balsamic
2/3 EVOL (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
Toss everything in with the dressing just before serving!

How to Creme Caramel?

Ever wondered the origin of this classic dessert? A search on the internet said it's French but the popularity of this dish has spread across Europe and since then all over the world. In Spanish-speaking countries, this custard dish is referred to as flan.

Our good friend, an Argentinean is inviting us over for dinner tomorrow and he quite like his "flan". So this was made specially for him. And as you know, creme caramels are best made in advance so that it can be served cold so here I am just taking it out from the oven at 10pm...


Here's a picture of it before it's been inverted. Not sure if I'll remember to take another picture (probably not!) when it's been inverted. But beats having no pictures at all!

Creme Caramel
(serves 4)

Caramel:
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup water
Custard:
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup single cream
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 150C. Place the sugar and water over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 10-15 minutes or until the syrup is a deep golden colour. Pour into 4 x 3/4 cup (30ml) capacity ramekins or approximately 180ml capacity dish. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow caramel to set.

To make the custard, place the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until warm. Place the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until combined. Pour this into the warm milk mixture and whisk constantly to combine. Strain and pour over caramel.

Place the ramekins in a baking tray and pour hot water to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 minutes or until custard is set. Remove from the tray and refrigerate until its cold. To serve, dip the base of each ramekin into hot water for 10 seconds then invert and serve!