Chili Prawns

So C and I made dinner as usual, but we seem to be on a major prawn kick.  This may be due to the fact that prawns are on ultra sale at Countdown! Regardless of the fact, we made our own version of a yummy looking recipe, and it turned out really well! We used a variety of spices; C swears that we put in too many, but I thought it was perfect! But I do have to agree you have to be careful not to add too many overpowering flavors, so good luck and have fun with the spices!

-1 lb [.45 kilo] prawns, deveined
-5-6 slices of ginger, sliced into small pieces
-spring onions (optional, garnish)
-1 medium onion, minced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-two handfulls of mushrooms (sliced)
-vegetable oil (for frying)


Sauce/spices:
- 2 Tb ketchup
- 3 Tb crushed chili paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- tumeric powder (optional) *
-cumin powder (optional) *
-curry powder (optional) *


*As noted earlier, mix and match spices and amounts for flavoring--remember that sometimes less is more!


In a wok, heat up enough vegetable oil to cover prawns when frying. When it's warm, shallow fry prawns in batches for 5-6 minutes or until pink. 


In a separate pan, pour in 1 Tb of vegetable oil. On medium heat, put in garlic, onion and ginger. Cook until soft. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce/spices and add to the pan. Stir well.  Add in cooked prawns. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes and serve while hot! :)


Adapted from: http://thelittleteochew.blogspot.com/2010/09/prawns-in-chilli-ketchup-gravy.html

Keith's Chili

Everyone across the world in every culture has their own type of chili that they can make--Spicy chili, Texas chili, mom's chili, the list goes on forever and ever.  Recently I had a craving for chili, and threw together some stuff and it was actually really good!

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can mixed beans

1 small package of peas
1 packet of beef soup

2 Tb red chili powder

1 Tb crushed chili

1/2 Tb crushed garlic

1/2 Tb curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 lb minced beef [may add more or less]

1 onion [moderately finely chopped]

salt & pepper

Using a wok (this recipe created far more chili than I expected!), simply add the tomatos, corn, bean, peas, chili powder, beef soup, crushed chili, crushed garlic, curry powder and cumin. Heat these on medium high while you prepare the meat.

In a separate pan, put 2 Tb oil in the pan and then add the minced beef and onion, and saute until the onions are golden brown and the meat is cooked all the way through.  Optional is to add salt and pepper or even curry/chili powders to the beef itself during this stage.  Once cooked, simply add to the rest of the ingredients in the wok.

Add salt & pepper...now wasn't that easy?  Additionally you can always top with grated cheese, yum!

The heat on this chili can be altered significantly with different amounts of chili and curry...obviously the more chili and curry the spicier it is!  I'm not one for super spicy foods, but this was just downright delicious!