A dish with blessing in disguise...

Hi victorywp, i would not say i am a good cook as i am still at the learning stage. Well, although i poured 10 times more water, but it didn't wasted much of the spice condiment. This is because the spice was not in powder nor liquid form which would be diluted once contacted with water. The spice is quite thick and not easily diluted unless being stir to mix well. I didn't stir much yet, but rather a little until i realize something is not right that i stop stirring immediately and checked again. Fortunately i was able to save the spice and the dish turns out well. Although i am sure it was not as spicy as it should be, but my family members and husband enjoys it. My dad did comment it wasn't spicy, but he took a whole lot for that dish. LOL! My husband was praising the dish spice that it was delicious, so i suppose he enjoys it. But enjoy to what extent, i really do not know. At least, i guess he would appreciate the dish i prepared as it wasn't easy for me. =)

as a husband of a wife myself, i believe your husband will surely appreciate the dish you prepared for him, don't worry. actually, for me, i like everything that my wife cook. i will always try to finish whatever she cooked for me. it doesn't matter for me whether the meal she prepared is just some simple food with easy preparation or lots of dishes with complicated preparation. i just love all my wife's dishes and appreciate her every single effort in preparing them!

I guess your wife eould be very happy if she knows that all her effort in cooking is being appreciated by you. Yes, regardless the dishes prepared is simple for complicated, it is part of the effort put to prepare a meal for the family. I know some people has a lot of request on the wife to cook this or cook that, and their tongue are picky, so might even complain if the dishes aren't suitable to their taste. But, if she is trying to improve, encouragement should be given. This is important so that she felt being appreciated and supported. Giving thanks in all meals and to the hands who prepared the food is a blessing to the family. =) Sometimes a big hug for the meals spread on the table really warms the heart of the cook, apart from finishing it all. =)

If only that's easy, I would go there, LATER. [em]drool[/em[ I'd love to cook some mexican dish. What can you suggest?

you need to come to mexico, so many spices here. And some really hot chili peppers here.

Hi adnileb, great to hear from you! =D Thank you very much for the encouragement. At first i was so worried that my dish would spoil due to too much water mixed and would be tasteless. However, it was a blessing that it turns out fine and suits both sides’ taste buds. Hooray! \(^o^)/ Oh no, the picture is not my actual dish photo, but it does looks somewhat similar, just that i peel off all the shells of the prawns. I forgot to snap a photo of it because everyone was hungry, and waiting for food to be served. Once served, this was the first dish being grabbed. Hahaha... so no chance for me to have the idea of snapping a picture of it. Maybe next time if i cook it again, i would surely take a photo of it. =D Sure! I would love to share, it is easy cooking it. But i am not sure if you have the spice condiment as flavoring sold in your country's supermarket. It is called "sambal belacan for prawns". Having that spicy condiment, you just need about 300-400 gm of prawns (depending on how much you prefer), petai (depends how much you want to eat), onions, and garlic. The preparation would be as follow: 1) Mix the 150gm sambal with 50ml water (or you can add more water if you don't too spicy). Normally the ready made packet has instructions on it. This was the instruction shown on the packet i bought. The condiment was thick and need to stir to mix well to make the sauce. 2) Clean the prawns. You may remove the shells if you want. 3) Cut some onions into slices, and you can add tomatoes cuts if you want. 4) Then chop about 3 garlic cloves. Cooking methods as below: 1) Heat up your cooking pan, when is hot, then add in some oil. 2) Put in the garlic to stir fry. Once you smell the fragrant, put in the onion to stir fry as well. 3) Then put in the petai to stir fry for about 30seconds and pour the mix well condiment sauce into the pot, and stir well altogether. 4) When the sauce is hot, put in the prawns and cook till it change color. 5) At the same time you can monitor to put in the tomatoes because it cooks very fast. Overall, once cooked and boils, off the gas, and there your dish can be served. *Note: You can add some water during your cooking if you feel the sauce is still too thick or spicy. And in between you can add a little pinch of salt to taste if wanted too. I have here the link for you to show how "petai" or Parkia speciosa (bitter bean) actually looks like. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkia_speciosa If you could not find the ready made spicy condiment or "sambal" in your country, here are the links for you to try making the spice. =) http://rasamalaysia.com/sambal-belacan/2/ http://southeastasianfood.about.com/od/marinadesdipsandsauce1/r/SambalSauce.htm All the best and enjoy! Hope you get to cook the dish and enjoy them with your family too. =D Have a nice day!

Hi shaggin, good to hear from you. Hahaha...yeah, it was really tense that time. But now thinking back, it becomes a funny memory for us to laugh about. My husband do help me sometimes when i request to, and mostly he helps me wash and put the rice to cook. =) We did have a wonderful holiday and dinner that day. Thank you very much for the wishes. You too, hope you had a good day with family.

Hi prashu228, yup indeed is mouthwatering. Hehe, i love prawns too. I have allergies to seafood which makes my lips swollen if i ate them unclean. Sometimes restaurants cooked them without washing them clean, i guess. Well, i would surely love and definitely try cooking again. Maybe this time i would try with squids instead? What do say? =D

Hi mariaperalta, thank you for the wishes. Yup, i am glad it turns out fine. Otherwise, my effort in peeling the prawn shells would be wasted. I got pricked few times by them. LOL. =D

Hi Mavic123456, LOL! Thank you very much for sharing the joy with me. It was delicious, and plan to try again next time by cooking them with other seafood like squids. I searched the internet, and i found some explanations and pictures for your understanding. This dish is called "Sambal with prawn and petai". 1) Sambal is condiment that has a chili-based sauce. It is very famous in my country, and many who likes spicy food would definitely love this. It is a must try. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambal 2) Petai is called Parkia speciosa (bitter bean, twisted cluster bean, or stink bean). Some people eat them raw, but i prefer to cook them. I also understand that petai can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, such as depression, anemia, reduce blood pressure, boost brain power, constipation, heartburn, overweight, ulcers, quit smoking, and many more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkia_speciosa Yes, my original intention of worrying the dish would be too spicy, became medium spicy or less spicy after mixing too much water. But i managed to salvage the condiment by pouring away the additional water. Hehe.. =)

Hi BarBaraPrz, thank you and yes, everyone in the family were happy and satisfied. Haha.. =D It was a public holiday for "Awal Muharam" in my country. We are a multi-racial country consisting of Malays, Chinese and Indians, as well as the Natives. Awal Muharam is also called Islamic New Year, which marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year and is the day on which the year count is incremented. Just like the new year for 2013 will fall on 1st January 2013, which marks the new year for everyone regardless of races, colors and religions. I am not a Malay, but hopefully the short explanation above helps a little to your understanding. Have a nice day. =)

Hi Ahana123, yes it is really yummy! All my family members love it. And they are craving for more. Yup, i would try again with 50 ml water next time...just for my husband, otherwise my mum and brother would be just watching with mouthwatering, while my husband and my dad enjoy themselves. Hahaha... =D But i guess, surely the one with 50 ml water would be so much spicier. Both are delicious, but depends which level of spiciness one can take. =) Thanks for your encouragement.