#FrannyCooks : Laksa Fried Rice with Prawns
What's your favorite meal in the day? For me, it just got to be dinner. Wanna know why? It's because dinner is the only meal wherein I consistently get to have with Paul. Breakfast is definitely out of the question as we're always rushing and busy in the morning as we get ready for work. Lunch, I only get to eat lunch with him during the weekends so... dinner is really when I look forward to enjoying a nice home-cooked meal (+dessert/fruits/after dinner snack) as we update one another about our busy work day.
So, often times, I would have to make a mad dash home in order to prepare dinner since Paul normally ends work late. My goal is always to make sure that the food has to be on the table by the time he walks in the door. So given that I get off work 2 hours before he does but it takes me a couple of minutes to get home, this means I have more or less an hour to prep, chop, clean, cook and plate everything. Not to mention, I make it a point to clean as I go too. We're talking Masterchef speed skills here, guys. Haha!
A few nights ago, I was doing a mini inventory of our fridge and since we're traveling very very soon, I want to make sure that all our leftovers and half-opened food items are gone by then. Somehow, I find so much happiness and satisfaction in being able to clean out our fridge. Do you guys feel the same way too? So I spotted a half-empty laksa paste that I got from The Table media launch which was given by Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway. I really loved their laksa paste and I surely do not want this to go to waste. Then luckily, we had quite a lot of leftover rice which we cooked the night before and some kani sticks too.
PERFECT! I decided to make Laksa Fried Rice with Kani and Prawns! I did a quick research online and spotted this very helpful blog with a very similar recipe. She even shared how to make your own laksa paste! It's easy but since I'm lucky to have it already, I'll probably try this kitchen experiment some other time.
Here's my own version in 8 easy steps which is good for 2 pax:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups day old rice (trust me, fried rice tastes so much better if you keep the rice for at least 24 hours in the fridge).
- 8 pcs. fresh prawns, shelled but leave the head and tail intact, deveined. Season with salt.
- 4 pcs. kani sticks, chopped into small pieces
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp cooking oil (I used olive oil for this recipe)
- 1-2 tbsp laksa paste
Here are the steps:
1) Add 0.5 tbsp oil and cook the shrimps (lightly seasoned with salt) until it turns orange. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2) In the same pan, add 1.5 oil and saute your garlic. Don't let it burn! At this point, you'll smell the sweet prawn aroma brought about by the liquid that came out when you were cooking the prawns. Savor it!
3) Add in your kani sticks and stir-fry quickly.
4) Add in the laksa paste and make sure to evenly coat the kani with it.
5) Sprinkle some black pepper and a bit of salt. I really like adding my seasoning in between steps instead of having it all at the end.
6) Add in your rice slowly, mixing the kani and laksa paste as you go.
7) Add back the prawns and pour in any liquid/sauce it may have. Mix very well.
8) Taste and season with more pepper and/or salt if necessary. Enjoy!
There you have it. You can opt to add in 1 egg to give it a richer flavor or some corn for a more interesting bite. However since I was out of eggs and I'm allergic to corn, I opted to just keep this very simple.
The verdict? Paul loved it! Indeed, hearing him say "ang sarap (it's delicious), thank you dear!" to whatever I've prepared makes all the adrenaline rush (and buckets of sweat) so worth it. ♥
PERFECT! I decided to make Laksa Fried Rice with Kani and Prawns! I did a quick research online and spotted this very helpful blog with a very similar recipe. She even shared how to make your own laksa paste! It's easy but since I'm lucky to have it already, I'll probably try this kitchen experiment some other time.
Here's my own version in 8 easy steps which is good for 2 pax:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups day old rice (trust me, fried rice tastes so much better if you keep the rice for at least 24 hours in the fridge).
- 8 pcs. fresh prawns, shelled but leave the head and tail intact, deveined. Season with salt.
- 4 pcs. kani sticks, chopped into small pieces
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp cooking oil (I used olive oil for this recipe)
- 1-2 tbsp laksa paste
Here are the steps:
1) Add 0.5 tbsp oil and cook the shrimps (lightly seasoned with salt) until it turns orange. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2) In the same pan, add 1.5 oil and saute your garlic. Don't let it burn! At this point, you'll smell the sweet prawn aroma brought about by the liquid that came out when you were cooking the prawns. Savor it!
3) Add in your kani sticks and stir-fry quickly.
4) Add in the laksa paste and make sure to evenly coat the kani with it.
5) Sprinkle some black pepper and a bit of salt. I really like adding my seasoning in between steps instead of having it all at the end.
6) Add in your rice slowly, mixing the kani and laksa paste as you go.
7) Add back the prawns and pour in any liquid/sauce it may have. Mix very well.
8) Taste and season with more pepper and/or salt if necessary. Enjoy!
There you have it. You can opt to add in 1 egg to give it a richer flavor or some corn for a more interesting bite. However since I was out of eggs and I'm allergic to corn, I opted to just keep this very simple.
The verdict? Paul loved it! Indeed, hearing him say "ang sarap (it's delicious), thank you dear!" to whatever I've prepared makes all the adrenaline rush (and buckets of sweat) so worth it. ♥