XO Sauce Noodles with Fried Shrimp Wontons

Everyday Luxury

This noodle dish tastes decadent but is delightfully easy to make

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brought to you by NTUC FairPrice

ANNETTE TAN

food@mediacorp.com.sg

Anyone who has tried the FairPrice Shrimp Wontons are invariably impressed by them. Each one contains a single fresh prawn that is delightfully crunchy and perfumed with a lilt of sesame oil.

They are trans-fat free and contain no artificial colouring.

For a light bite with a kick, you could boil the wantons and dress them in chilli sauce or chilli oil.

If you are in the mood for something soupy and comforting, empty the accompanying sachet of soup powder into the boiling water with the wontons and add a few greens.

This week, feeling a little more decadent with both time and appetite, I decided to deep-fry them to a crisp and serve them with noodles tossed in XO sauce. The fried wontons provide a nice textural contrast to the slippery noodles.

Make a big batch for the whole family and feel free to toss in other ingredients of your choice, such as fresh fish slices, shiitake mushrooms, mustard greens or fishballs.

Rather than fresh mee pok, you could also use a thinner dried pasta or noodle, such as fettucine or rice sticks, instead. Just cook the noodles according to packet instructions.

The key to enjoying this dish is to waste no time in serving it as soon as it’s cooked.

FairPrice Shrimp Wonton 144g at $4.75, per packet is available at all FairPrice supermarkets.

XO Sauce Noodles with Fried Shrimp Wontons

Serves 2

• Oil for deep-frying
• 1 packet FairPrice Shrimp Wonton
• 200g fresh mee pok
• 2 tbsp FairPrice Canola Oil
• 6 scallops, halved
• 4 tbsp XO sauce
• 1 heaped tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp chilli bean sauce (dou ban jiang)
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 6 tbsp chicken stock
• 2 stalks spring onions, thinly sliced
• A few drops of sesame oil

1. Heat a pot of oil for deep-frying until the oil starts to shimmer slightly. To test if the oil is hot enough, throw in a small piece of bread. It should immediately bubble and rise to the surface.
2. Deep-fry shrimp wontons till they are crisp and golden.
3. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
4. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook mee pok in boiling water for 2 minutes, using a fork to separate the strands. Drain into a sieve. Rinse under tap water till cool, drain and set aside.
5. Heat oil in a wok till it starts to smoke slightly. Briskly fry scallops with a tablespoon of XO sauce for about 2 minutes. Remove scallops, place them on a plate and set aside. (Don’t overcook the scallops or they will become tough.)
6. In the same wok, over medium-high heat, fry mee pok with remaining XO sauce, chilli bean sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir vigorously and briskly so that everything mixes well together.
7. Add chicken stock, 2 tablespoons at a time, to help the mixing process along, about 3 minutes.
8. When the noodles are well coated in the sauces, taste and add more soy sauce or chilli bean sauce if necessary.
9. Transfer to a serving platter immediately and dot with a few drops of sesame oil. Arrange wontons and scallops on the noodles and garnish with spring onions. Serve immediately.

From TODAY, Food - Thursday, 01-April-2010
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Tempura Fish Fillets with Cha Soba

Brought to you by FairPrice

An elegant fry-up

FairPrice Tempura Fish Fillets are a wonderful element for a do-it-yourself Japanese meal

ANNETTE TAN

food@newstoday.com.sg

One of my favourite cuisines is Japanese, and I could have it almost every day if I had to.

Given that I can’t admit to being a lover of fish, it must be said that if the fish is cooked Japanese style, then I’d be happy to eat it.

That’s why FairPrice Tempura Fish Fillets are a welcome addition to its stable of frozen foods. Premium hake fish fillets are coated in authentic Japanese tempura batter that remains lightly crisp after deep-frying or oven baking.

You could serve it as fish and chips, or as part of a simple Japanese set meal, which can be easily put together.

I’ve made it here with cha soba or cold soba and a tempura dipping sauce. It’s really a matter of quick assembly once you’ve boiled the noodles and cooked the fish.

Best of all, it will impress your children, or friends when they visit for a quick and delicious dinner.

FairPrice Tempura Fish Fillet ($4.03, 220g) is available at all FairPrice supermarkets.

Tempura Fish Fillets with Cha Soba

Serves 2

1 packet FairPrice Tempura Fish Fillets

50g soba noodles

1/2 cup soba shoyu (sauce dipping sauce), cold

1/2 cup tempura shoyu (tempura dipping sauce)

1 thick slice daikon (white radish), skinned and grated

A handful of shredded nori (dried seaweed)

Wasabi paste

2 spring onions, chopped

1. To prepare the FairPrice Tempura Fish Fillets, deep-fry in oil until golden brown or place in a 180°C oven for 25 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper.

2. To prepare soba noodles, bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Add soba noodles and cook for 5 minutes or until soba is tender to the bite. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain and set aside.

3. To assemble, place soba on a plate and top with shredded seaweed.

4. Divide soba shoyu and tempura shoyu into two dipping bowls each.

5. Divide the grated daikon into each bowl of tempura shoya.

6. Divide the spring onions into each bowl of soba shoyu.

7. Place some wasabi paste on the side of the soba.

8. Arrange all the elements on a tray and serve.

From TODAY – Thursday, 11-Jun-2009

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Prawn Paste Chicken (Har Cheong Gai)

Photos: Jason Ho

PURE AND SIMPLE
FairPrice’s White Sesame Oil adds a wonderful depth of flavour to all manner of Asian dishes


ANNETTE TAN
food@newstoday.com.sg


Sesame seed oil has a long history as a condiment, remedy and beautifier. In ancient times, the Babylonians used it to make exotic perfumes, while the Arabs used it for medicinal purposes.

These days, sesame seed oil is mostly used in the Asian kitchen to add a nutty, well-rounded flavour to all manner of dishes from soups to stir-fries.

FairPrice’s White Sesame Oil is a great option for your kitchen as it is 100 per cent pure. That means no additives or artificial flavouring. It is also certified Halal and cholesterol free.

I used it to make this week’s dish of Prawn Paste Chicken, that quintessential zi char dish that is so easy to replicate at home.

As in most dishes, it only uses a tiny amount of sesame seed oil. But it makes a world of difference to the taste, adding a wonderful depth that turns this humble dish into something special.

FairPrice White Sesame Oil ($3.55 for a 360ml bottle, above) is available at all FairPrice supermarkets.

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Prawn Paste Chicken (Har Cheong Gai)
Serves 2-4

2 tbsp prawn paste
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1/2 tsp FairPrice White Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
Oil for deep-frying
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup corn flour, for coating

1. In a large bowl, mix together the prawn paste, cooking wine, sesame oil and pepper.
2. Marinate the chicken pieces in this paste for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours.
3. Before frying, heat oil in a wok till it starts to shimmer.
4. To test if the oil is hot enough, place a small piece of bread in it. If it immediately bubbles and floats to the top, the oil is at just the right temperature.
5. Place the beaten egg in a shallow bowl and the corn flour in a saucer.
6. Dip the chicken pieces, one piece at a time, in the beaten egg, then in the corn flour and into the wok.
7. Fry till golden brown and remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
8. Serve hot.

From TODAY, Voices – Thursday, 09-April-2009

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