Potato Salad

I made a modified version of the Wasabi Potato Salad based on this recipe, omitting the prawns, and adding bacon bits. It tasted not bad lah, although more wasabi can be added for a stronger taste, if preferred.

There was too much so I gave some to the "Spuddies" (Spud's family), calling it "Spud Salad", haha! They love it (more than I do) and even picky daughter was "devouring it", to quote mom, who asked for the recipe, so here's my modified version:

Potato (Spud) Salad

Ingredients:

A) 4 - 5 medium potatoes, boiled till cooked, peel & cut into chunks



B) 4 eggs, hard-boiled, peel & chopped coarsely or cut into chunks



C) 1 stalk of spring onions, chopped
D) ½ to 2/3 cup of Japanese mayonnaise
E) 1½ tsp wasabi paste
F) Bacon bits as topping (optional)



Method:

1) Add potatoes, eggs & spring onions into a mixing bowl.
2) Mix mayo & wasbi well. Add the combined Japanese mayonnaise and wasabi paste.
3) Mix thoroughly. Chill and serve slightly cold.

(Optional: Sprinkle with bacon bits before serving)



Viola!

Wasabi Potato Salad

I found this recipe on the net by Bimandruth and it sure looks lovely. With hard-boiled eggs, prawns, wasabi and mayo added, I think no one can go wrong with a combination like this......right?

Wasabi potato salad (serves 4)

(Photo by Bimandruth)















6 potatoes, average size (I didn't use any special type or anything. Just regular old potatoes)

6 eggs

400g prawns

5tb onion shoots, chopped

1 cup Japanese mayonnaise

3ts wasabi paste

1. Scrub the potatoes clean. Immerse them in pot of water and heat till water boils. Boil for 20-25 minutes, using a fork to prick for doneness. Set aside to cool. Then, remove skins with a knife and chop into chunky cubes.

2. Immerse eggs in another pot of water and heat till water boils. Then, closing the pot with the lid, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit there for 20-25 minutes. * After that, de-shell the eggs and chop into chunky cubes.

3. Blanch the prawns in boiling water, then peel and chop into chunks.

4. Put the potatoes, eggs, prawns and onion shoots into a mixing bowl. Add the Japanese mayonnaise and wasabi paste. Mix thoroughly. Chill and serve slightly cold.

* This is Australian chef Neil Perry's method for attaining perfect hard-boiled eggs. The eggs are immersed in the water before the water is heated up. After the water hits boiling point, the heat is turned off and the eggs are allowed to cook by just sitting there in the water. May sound a bit weird, but hey it worked!

Food tip: Sprouting tubers can't be eaten

From the Japanese curry & cabbage post, I realised I might have given the impression that I cooked the sprouting sweet potato in the curry. *Oops!* My apologies for the miscommunication. That sprouting "alienated" sweet potato was an old photo and I threw the tuber out afterwards.

Tubers (like potatoes and sweet potatoes) that begin to sprout conspicous eyes and shoots MUST NOT be eaten, as they can be toxic, according to traditional Chinese "general rules or principles" of food preparation and healthy eating. You know we always hear about how certain food is cooling or heaty, or that certain food should not be eaten with others or it may negate the positive qualities, etc. - these are "principles" that I'm referring to.

Another general rule that I distinctly remember is that green beans (乌龟豆 in Hokkien) and 金针(flower) (Kim Zarm in Hokkien) must be properly cooked for if uncooked, they are toxic if eaten.

Japanese curry & cabbage

I was on leave today, and decided to prepare some lunch. Since we'll be going over to a friend's place for a gathering and dinner later, there won't be a chance to cook dinner, so I thought I'll cook the Japanese curry which I'd been planning to cook, before the potatoes decide to sprout!

I've had tubers sprouting at home, right on the food shelf, until they look like alien things, like the "alienated" sweet potato.



Anyhow, I cooked the Japanese curry using S&B brand of Medium Hot curry paste, as the SO is not quite into spicy food, but it didn't taste a teeny bit hot at all - even the SO said so. I think even if they come out with a Extra Hot version, it would still barely taste a little hot for our Asian palettes.

Here's the chicken curry with the "disappearing" Hokkaido potatoes. I've added some ground coriander and chicken stock to add more flavour.




The market stall had these Hokkaido potatoes on sale, so I bought a couple of big, round tubers to try. When raw, they had the texture of crispy apples!

During the process of cooking, they've somehow disappeared, leaving me with barely half the quantity of potatoes in odd, tiny shapes. I thought I'd scoop them up into a separate bowl before there was nothing left!




The lunch, served with steamed rice.



The Beijing cabbage at this time of year tastes extremely sweet and crunchy in texture. Stir-fried simply with garlic, fresh young ginger and a bit of chicken stock, it tastes so fresh and sedap!

Sausage & vegetables

This is an easy to cook dish, and fast to cook too, if the potatoes are boiled beforehand (to 1/2 to 2/3 done-ness, to allow for further braising).

The basic ingredients are:
- sausages (any kind)
- diced onions, potatoes & carrots (optionals: celery, button mushrooms, etc.)
- chicken or vegetable stock
- herbs (thyme, oregano, and rosemary)
- salt & pepper (according to taste)

Corn starch solution may be added to achieve the desired consistency. Chopped coriander may be added before serving.

I've served this at a potluck party using jumbo sausages and it was popular with both kids and adults.

Party food repeated

Since I didn't get to eat much of the chicken stew and fried bee hoon which I'd cooked for the small party a couple of weeks back, I decided to cook them for dinner today. This time, I remembered to take photos of the results!

Chicken Stew

This time, I added garlic and a bit of oregano.


Fried Bee Hoon (vegetarian)

Dinner


Bee hoon topped with crispy sweet tau kee

Potato salad with zing

Two weekends ago, I made potato salad - my very first potato salad, in fact. It's not a difficult dish to make, yet it's not often that I come across a version that makes me want to have second helpings. Most of the potato salad (whether home-made or purchased outside) I've tasted are rather "common", or bland even.

Hence, I'd had no inclination to make it myself...until I bought this balsamic vinegar dressing from Carrefour. The bottle of dressing has a potato salad recipe at the back.

Preparation:
I saw some potatoes from New Zealand at the supermart and decided to try them, only because they were washed and looked clean and "golden". The other ingredients not commonly found in potato salad are the black olives and green beans (cooked).


This dressing which contains the flavourful balsamic vinegar gives the potato salad an interesting zing which I like (although the SO didn't quite take to its vinegar taste). I used bacon bits instead of salami which I don't have and which I don't usually eat, anyway.


The end product

Chicken Shepard's Pie

This is definitely for special occasions, but it's not difficult to make, actually. Even my first attempt was quite well-received. I used Violet Onn's receipe which I'd found on the internet!

The occasion: home pot luck party

(2003)

The smaller portion on the right was a meatless version for vegetarians, with dried mushroom added (nice, but stronger flavour) .