Another Quick Recipe

More time to kill!


Here's another very quick recipe of my own.
Very easy, very fast. Very short preparation time (I like). Very very cheap too! Saves money especially during these tough economic times...

Even if you're not keen on pumpkin, you'd probably like this one :)

ASIAN PUMPKIN DISH

All you need: (All very readily available from your local oriental and fruit&veg shop)

1. Dried shrimp -a handful. 10- 20cents(?)

2. Fresh chillies- one or two depending on how hot you like it. I use one whole hot chilli. (around 50c ea)

3. Pumpkin. Not butternut but this one here. I don't know what it's called! - $1.95-$2.00 depending on the weight, for a quarter or less a pumpkin ( I use half of a quarter for 2 people)

Preparation time: 10minutes

1. Pound the handful of dried shrimps in a pestle and mortar (shown below). If you're lazy like me, put the shrimps on your chopping board and lightly drop the pestle on them until they're half squashed. Please pardon the dodgy terminology, I am no expert chef :) Alternatively, put chopping board on floor and pound shrimps using pestle. Try not to pound them on your table top as it may damage the table and everything on it in the long term.

2. Cut chillies in small pieces. If you like it hot, leave the seeds. If not, before cutting slice open the whole chilli from top to bottom using the edge of your knife. De-seed them with the edge of your knife too.

3. Pumpkin time. Remove skin first by cutting off with knife, otherwise it may be impossible to cut through the pumpkin! Then cut/slice it to bite size, as thin as you would find carrot slices in a dish of mix veges.(ie. not too thin!). If you love pumpkin, cut it as thick as you like :)

To cook:

1. Heat veg oil in wok.

2. Add dried shrimps, fry for 1-2 min and then add salt. Fry till colour darkens.

3. Add half the amount of the cut chilli. Fry 1-2min.

4. Add pumpkin. Fry 2-4min, cover pot and let simmer. The water from condensation helps cook the pumpkin. If you don't have a pot/pan cover, add 10-20mL water and fry.

5. Add the rest of the cut chilli, and add a little dash of grounded white pepper to taste. Add 1-2 dashes MSG if you have to have MSG.

5. Cook till soft, if you like it slightly soggy/mushy like I do, leave covered for 5-10min more.

6. If you're a big fan of spring onion, add some to garnish and to make it look more palatable...

Enjoy with rice!

Ends up costing only $3-$4 per person!

I've included all the rough measurements so Mr Engineer Leong can cook it too :)