Sunday, February 12, 2012

Cook with Ken: Creativity on the Clams

Date:  Feb 12, 2012

To cook a good dish, you need to be very daring.  Do things that you have never done before.  However, some motivation is needed.  So, what you do is to open your fridge and see what you got inside your fridge and use those as your ingredients regardless of whatever.

Cooking is not hard.  You just need to be daring.

Next to cook a good dish, you need to have the "heart" to cook for your love ones or good friends.  This I learn from the Korean show 大长金.  Without that, it is almost impossible to cook a good dish.

Today, me and Jay Jay dropped by Tiong Bahru market.  We bought some clams back.

IMG_4029.JPG

I look into the fridge, and the, I found some lemon grass, some lady fingers (秋葵 or 羊角豆), so I decided to be creative to cook something I had never cook before.

I am going to cook a sweet & Spicy Clams with Lady Fingers in it.

IMG_4193.jpg

Then, I am going to cook a butter wine steamy clams.  This is the refine recipe of my white wine steamy clams.

IMG_4194.jpg

Dish #1:  Sweet & Spicy Clams

Ingredients:

1.  Tomato Sauce

IMG_4198.jpg

2.  Chili Sauce

IMG_4197.jpg

3.  Some Lemon Grass

IMG_4150.jpg

Chop it.

IMG_4151.jpg

4.  Big Red Onions - Chop and dice

IMG_4147.jpg

5.  Dried Shrimps - Chop and dice

Use hot water to soak it.

IMG_4154.jpg

Dice it.

IMG_4157.jpg

6.  Lady Fingers - chop

IMG_4148.jpg

Chop it.

IMG_4149.jpg

7.  Some Curry Leaves

IMG_4152.jpg

8. Few Eggs (I used 3)

IMG_4172.jpg

9. Some Ginger

IMG_4146.jpg

10.  Of course, the clams.  Fresh clams.

IMG_4145.jpg

How to cook:

1.  Buy Fresh Clams.  (From Tiong Bahru Market).  If you don't cook it right away, then, put it in the freezer.  These are fresh clams.  So, when it is placed in the freezer, it will hibernate.  1/2 hour before cooking, take out the clams, put in the normal tap water, and then, put some pinch of salt in there (simulate sea water).  This is to WAKE the clams up.  You can see the clams slowly open and shut the clams.  :)

IMG_4144.jpg

2.  Use the tap water to wash.  So that the clams can throw out the sands.

IMG_4145.jpg

3.  Heat the wok.  Put lots of cooking oil.  (Not olive oil).

IMG_4163.jpg

4.  When the oil is heated, put in the onions.  Stir fry it for a while.

IMG_4164.jpg

5.  Put in Ginger.

IMG_4166.jpg

6.  Put in the dried diced shrimp.  Stir Fry it.

IMG_4167.jpg

7.  Place in the tomato.  Stir Fry it.

IMG_4168.jpg

8.  Add in the Chili.  Stir Fry it!

IMG_4169.jpg

9.  Put in Lemon Grass.  Stir Fry it.

IMG_4170.jpg

10.  Put in the curry leaves.  Stir fry it!

IMG_4171.jpg

11.  Put in the three eggs.  Stir it.

IMG_4172.jpg

12.  Put in the lady fingers.  Stir fry it.

IMG_4173.jpg

13.  Finally, put in the clams.  Stir fry it!

IMG_4174.jpg

14.  Keep stir fry it.

IMG_4176.jpg

15.  Add salt, add sugar.  Based on the taste you like.

IMG_4178.jpg

16.  Cover it.  Let it simmer for few minutes.

IMG_4180.jpg

17. Done!

Dish #2.  Butter Wine Steamy Clams

Ingredients:

1.  One White Onion.  One Red Onion.  Chop and dice it.

IMG_4183.jpg

2.  Chinese Parsley.  Chop and dice.

IMG_4184.jpg

3.  Unsalted French Butter.  Don't need to be French lah.

IMG_4161.jpg

4.  Half Lemon.

IMG_4160.jpg

5.  Of course.  The fresh clams.

IMG_4145.jpg

6.  Some white wines.

IMG_4181.jpg

How to Cook:

1.  Put some water in the pot.  Bring it to boil.

IMG_4162.jpg

2.  Put a few slice of butter in it.  Bring it to boil.

IMG_4182.jpg

3.  Put in the red and white onions.  Stir fry it.

IMG_4183.jpg

4.  Place the plasley in.

IMG_4184.jpg

6.  Stir fry it.

IMG_4185.jpg

7.  Put the fresh clams in.

IMG_4186.jpg

8.  Pour some white wine in.  Bring it to boil.  Cover the pot.

IMG_4187.jpg

9.  Put some juice from the half lemon in.

IMG_4188.jpg

10.  Stir fry it.

IMG_4189.jpg

11.  Cover it.  Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.  And the dish is ready.

IMG_4190.jpg

12.  Serve it.

IMG_4191.jpg

It looks very nice from the outside for the two dishes.  And it taste very good too.  I pair it with the Domaine Saint Andre de Figuire.  A very nice organic white wine which I stocked.

IMG_4195.jpg

Since it is very nice, I skiped the pizza, noodles, and rice.  I only purely eat these.  This is what I had.

IMG_4196.JPG

Comments:

1.  I used butter instead of the olive oil.  And it really taste different.

2.  I used lady fingers to provide a later of sticky sauce.  And it turns out to be nice.  It just taste like a mix of chilli pepper crabs and fish head curry.  hahaha

3.  Be very brave to cook.  And it wili turn out to be fine.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment