Gong Xi Valentine

Its the festive month indeed as both Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day are here.Malaysian Delicacies would like to wish all readers,bloggers and friends , a very Happy Chinese New Year and hope the year will bring much happiness and prosperity.As the most important Chinese festival,the Lunar New Year celebration emphasises serving the right dishes to ensure an auspicious and prosperous year ahead.Food is appreciated for its taste and texture as well as its symbolic meaning.
Prawns are a popular dish at every table during the Chinese New Year celebration,as the Chinese name for this dish signifies joy and laughter.The recipe that I have below offer a refreshing change from the usual sweet and sour style.Its actually quite easy to prepare and would be enjoyed by all.
There is nothing to beat the nostalgic sensation of a simple home cooked meal, especially when you are sharing the experience with close family and friends around the table. Of all meal the reunion meal on the eve of Chinese New Year is meant very auspicious and good for businessman. It is the day for families to reunite and feast on the most sumptuous meal of the holiday. Often the meal will continue after midnight, so that fortunes may also carry over into the new year. Many new year dishes are served 'whole' - such as whole fish, or whole chicken or duck - as the action of slicing and cutting carries bad connotations, such as severing family ties. As such, food preparation is done sometimes far in advance before the new year to avoid bad omens.Normally the meal day after will be something simple but since this year Valentine’s day also falls on the same day so another mouth watering recipe ,Honey Semi Freddo With Strawberry coulis from Nigelle Lawson. And if you want something simple after a heavy meal , then why not try something light like Nyonya Melaka Noodle . Usher in the Year Of The Tiger plus Valentine’s day with these fabulous recipes listed below and hope you enjoy them as well.



For the prawns:
1 kg large prawns
1 packet mozerella cheese
1 cup Thai Sweet Sour Chilli sauce
3 tbsp chopped parsley


For the Tomato Chutney

2 pound ripe red tomatoes,peeled,seeded and chopped
8 large garlic (minced)
1 ½ in fresh ginger (minced)
1 red bell pepper, cut into cubes
20 seedless red/purple grapes(halve)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 cup vinegar
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne powder
½ cup raisin



For the prawns:
Wash prawns ,remove head ,keep shell and tail intact.
Cut the prawns in half starting from the head slowly going towards the tail.Make sure you have a sharp knife for this.Remove the vein.Do the same with all the prawns. Pat dry with a paper towel the prawns.

Place an aluminium foil on a flat baking pan. Grease it with olive oil. Coat each prawns with thai chilli sauce on the meat and place the prawn shell facing downwards on the pan.Do the same with all the prawns. Place a bit of cheese on each prawns and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Preheat oven at 180C and bake for 10 to 14 mins depending on the size of the prawns.

For the tomato chutney:
Mix all the ingredients in a large saucepan .Bring to a boil over medium heat.Cook,stirring occasionally ,until colour darkens and mixture thickens,about 1 hour .Cool in room temperature .Cover and refrigerate.You can serve room temperature or chilled.

Serve the chutney along side with the prawns.You can serve rice cube(ketupat) also.Quarter it and put a tooth pick on each rice cubes.
Grapes can be replaced with apples.



(serves 5)
500gm yellow noodles
100gm mustard green /sawi(break into a few parts)
100gm bean sprout
1 tbsp tauchoo (fermented bean paste) or chilli bean paste
8-10 fresh prawns (discard shell leaving tails intact)
100-150gm chicken pieces

Pounded together
3 shallots
3 nips garlic

Seasoning
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light sauce
Salt and sugar to taste

Thickening(mix together)
3/4 tbsp corn flour
3 tbsp water






Saute the pounded ingredients with a bit of oil.Once fragrant add in prawns ,chicken and tauchoo.Saute further until meat cooks.Mix in seasoning and cook for a few seconds.Add in 2 cups of water and leave to simmer gently.Throw in noodles, beansprout and mustard greens and leave to cook.Adjust salt and sugar to taste.Thicken the gravy with corn flour mixture.Serve immediately.





A semifreddo is not quite an ice cream, as the name - semi-cold, in translation - suggests. There's no custard to make, and no churning required as it freezes, which makes life very much easier. What you get is a smooth, soft block of chilled, almost frozen cream, with a texture of deep, deep velvetiness.
This mellow, honey-flavoured version matches taste to texture. Either way, it works wonderfully.
Pour reddish strawberry/raspberry coulis to get the most wonderful texture in your mouth.Or pour amber-coloured honey over as you serve, and scatter with toasted peanuts, as Nigelle have served for quite the dreamiest, easiest pudding you could imagine.

Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 egg
4 egg yolks
100g best-quality honey,
300ml double cream ( I could not get double cream so used thick cream)

Strawberry Coulis
10 large strawberries
50 gm sugar
1 cup water




Line a 900g/1 litre loaf tin with clingfilm. Beat the egg and egg yolks with the honey in a bowl, over a saucepan of gently simmering water, until the mixture is pale and thick. I use a wire balloon whisk for this, it will certainly be quicker with a hand-held electric whisk too.

Whip the cream until thick, and then gently fold in the egg and honey mixture. Pour into the prepared loaf tin, and cover carefully with cling film before putting it in the freezer for about 2 days.

For the strawberry coulis: Puree the strawberries and cook it in low fire with water and sugar until thick.

When it is ready to serve, turn out the semifreddo onto a suitably sized plate and drizzle this manilla-coloured log with strawberry coulis or honey. It thaws quickly as it stands, but that is part of its heavenly-textured charm therefore serve immediately once out from fridge.


Happy Gong Xi Valentine

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