Smoky Wok

The weather has been very unforgiving lately - the sweltering heat in Malaysia right now is almost unbearable.  I have succumbed and I have been feeling under the weather since the past few days but I digress.  Today's feature is an exceedingly simple stir-fry seafood dish and the seafood of choice today is squid.  This dish is made easier by the use of one of my favourite sauces from Yuen Chun, their Thai stir-fry sauce which really makes life that much easier.  This is a tangy and spicy sauce that goes well with most seafood and can also be used creatively as a base for pizza or even a Thai style 'bolognese'. 



As with most stir-fries, I advocate the use of a Chinese steel wok for that increasingly recognised 'wok hei' or wok breath which totally adds another dimension to an otherwise simple dish.  All you need is some garlic, lemongrass and some bird's eye chili peppers (and well, of course the squid) and you're good to go!  A perfect dish that goes so well with hot steamed rice and which can be whipped up on lazy weeknights.



This post is a part of my Yuen Chun Recipes, an ongoing project on this blog.

It's the weekend again! Time really flies huh? Anyway, today's feature is a simply delicious dish of spicy stir-fried la la or bamboo clams - a kind of clams mainly available in South East Asia.  As you can see, the pattern on the shells of these flattish clams resemble a bamboo-like pattern but I really have no clue why these sweet-tasting shellfish are called 'la la', if you have an idea, do let me know!  For such fresh clams, preparation is very quick and rather easy - for today, I am pleased to announce that I was given a bottle of Yuen Chun's new product, spicy taucu (bean paste) which made the cooking even easier.  

I hope you are still enjoying what's left of the weekend!  No secret that noodles are popular features on this blog and for today, I decided to feature a very healthy version of ramen - made of bamboo charcoal powder.  Although it may sound a little weird - bamboo charcoal powder which is believed to have health benefits is increasingly being used in a lot of different food products (it was originally used in Japanese cuisine), in bread, cakes, noodles and more.  The texture is no different from regular ramen noodles albeit a little firmer but then I have to admit there is a slight aftertaste which is a little sweet so do be forewarned if you decide to try this :O.  I love making quick curry noodles (or otherwise known as laksa in the Malay language) at home - for today I used a quick homemade paste but it is of course perfectly alright to use store-bought curry pastes.  I mean there are times when dragging out the mortar and pestle (or even a blender) sounds too labour-intensive eh?




My quick paste consisted of curry powder, lemongrass, dried chili peppers, toasted belacan, garlic and some shallots - just something I thought of on the fly.  You can add some turmeric as well if you like.  I used vegetarian fishballs and some green beans to accompany the noodles but you can go as bare or as 'deluxe' as you like of course.  By the way, it has been awhile since I've cooked, I almost forgot how much I love it - I'm just so glad I made it a point to make something today.