Quay Po Cooks: puff

Showing posts with label puff. Show all posts

Monday, January 28, 2013

Did I just graduate?

Did I just graduate? Recently my friend Chef Ryan asked me to assist with a promotion at Carrefour of a brand of acqua culture prawn. The plan was to demonstrate preparing the prawn near the seafood department. I agreed as it sounded like fun, and a new experience. Arriving early at Carrefour Subang Jaya last Sunday, I met up with Chef Ryan to make sure the demonstration was set up. It was then that he said I had to wear a chef’s uniform for the cooking demo. “Me? I am not a chef" I said. To which he replied “Yes you are.” Okay, if you said so. So I rise into the hallowed halls of "chefdom" and suddenly I think, "its my graduation day"! LOL! But I don't think so. To truly be a chef means considerably more, and of course, I know that. But GOSH it was fun to wear the whites, and prattle on as if I knew something. I think the next step should be a white smock with "Quay Po Cooks" embroidered on the front panel...what do you think?

The supermarket was busy with lots of passersby busily going about their shopping. But all it took was the fragrance of the first prawn dish, lemon grass prawn, cooking, and people slowed down. Many stop and tasted the dish and commented favorably on the quality of the “Pelago” prawns. Several proceeded to buy a box to take home. If you want to know more about “Pelago” prawns, hop over to there website.

I will be doing another cooking demo next Sunday, 3^rd February between 2pm to 4pm at Carrefour Subang Jaya. So if you would like to taste the “Pelago” prawns, do drop by and you will be pleased. The taste and texture comes closer to lobster but its best for you to be the judge. Oh and see me in action which is also free for now. That way you can catch me before I am hauled away by the food network in the sky to become the next Anna Olsen LOL! (Tell me, should I get one of those tall chef hats?)

Actually after tasting "Pelago" prawns last Sunday, I became convinced that fresh frozen prawns can be as tasty as fresh prawns, something my hubby and I have argued about. He says that fresh frozen processors can deliver better quality because the time between harvesting and processing is so short. So I bought a 700g packet home yesterday. It cost RM29.90. I think the price is very reasonable for premium quality prawns. I used some of them to bake a puff pastry for lunch. It was delicious and, as promised, its time to share with my friends. So here goes:

Roasted pepper, basil, ginger prawn puff round

Ingredient for sauce:

Juice of a medium orange

zest of the orange

1 medium shallot, finely minced

1 tsp finely minced ginger

12 medium basil leaves, chopped coarsely

1/4 tsp light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Method:

Whisk together all the ingredients and add prawns to marinate for 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 puff pastry block of your favorite brand

The filling:
1 cup of orange, basil, ginger sauce (see recipe above)
12 marinated "Pelago" prawns, remove shells and devein
1 large sweet pepper, roasted
1 lemon cut into 4 wedges
4 or 5 medium whole leaves basil'
4 cups mozarella cheese, shredded

Method:

Lay pepper pieces on a baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and roast for approx. 15 minutes until just tender at 200 degrees C. Let it cool and remove the skin. Cut roasted pepper into 2 inches wide strips.

Cut pastry into 4 even quarters, roll out each to a disc approx 6 inches in diameter. Lay the pastry rounds on a lined baking sheet, spread centre with sauce, leaving ¾ in border all round. Top with cheese, roasted peppers, basil leaves and raw prawns. Brush puff pastry with beaten egg. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until prawn is cooked and pastry is golden brown.

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.