The other day I took a day off from work. It's good to take a day off once in a while to rest my mind. Besides, my parents were coming for a visit and I wanted to get a head start on the weekend cooking. So what else, I went ingredient shopping. But I got distracted and detoured because something caught my eye.
Muahahahaha!!! You know, when I was in kindergarten 100 years ago, my play group was always banned from playing with Play-Doh. Why? Because my group was the noisiest and naughtiest. No, no, don't look at me! I was the timid quiet one but unfortunate to be part of that delinquent play group. So I never had the chance to play with Play-Doh until now :(
I used to gaze longingly at the colorful Play-Doh wishing that I could play with it too. Those lucky (well behaved) classmates got to make all sorts of things with Play-Doh. The only thing I got from the Play-Doh was the distinct smell. I wonder if it still smells like that.
I know I am too old to sit here and play. The staff would freak out if they see an auntie sitting down and demanding to play with Play-Doh. If they want to chase me away, I will remind them that I have the financial dough to buy the Play-Doh. Hah!
But errrr....one set costs RM99.90. So I will just look-see-look-see only.
Kids these days have it good compared to my time. They have macam-macam (all sorts) of toys to amuse them.
Then I saw something that amused me and I had a chuckle.
Geez! Cake Mountain!
They also have "cupcakes".
And even "frosting". All these for the aspiring little baker. Hmmm...
Good heavens! "Ice cream" too! What a hoot! If I were 8 years old, I would throw a tantrum and insist I want a set. But no. No chance of that happening. My mum would give me her killer stare and I would retreat quietly into a little corner. hah...hah...hah...
Sorry. This is a major digression. How did I get from cabbage to Play-Doh? OK, back to my auntie reality. Play-Doh does not feature in my world.
This cabbage stir fried with dried prawns is my favorite way, in fact only way to fry cabbage. I like cabbage and I can even eat it raw in salads or as ulam.
Well, I have already talked too much today about, of all things, Play-Doh. So here is the very simple recipe in case you have not tried this before.
Stir Fried Cabbage with Dried Prawns
Recipe source : Phong Hong
Ingredients :
- half a small cabbage, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and rinsed
- 6 cloves garlic, roughly minced
- a bit of salt
- fish sauce to taste
Method :
1. Heat oil in a wok and fry garlic.
2. Add some salt and continue to fry until garlic is slightly browned and fragrant.
3. Add dried prawns and fry until fragrant.
4. Add cabbage and stir fry until cabbage of tender but still crunchy.
5. Season with fish sauce and serve hot.
Hi Phong Hong, I cooked this dish very often in different ways. Can't remember if if shared them in my blog. The latest version I did was frying the garlic and coarsely pounded dried prawns until crispy. Dish up 1/2 portion to be added after the cabbage is cooked just before dishing up. It is good. Anyway, any cabbage dish is always good for me, crunchy or soft cos' it is always that naturally sweet.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimmy! Dried prawns add a lot of flavor. I must try your method.
DeleteI have never had Play-Doh:) It was not available when I was a kid in my country:)
ReplyDeleteprobably I will have to buy it sooner or later to my kid:)
Ola, your kid will enjoy Play-Doh :)
DeletePhong Hong, during my time we don't have Play-Doh or do we? I only know we have the simple plasticine to play with. I love cabbage because it is sweet and crunchy and I also like it soft. Sometimes I just fried it with garlic and a little bit of salt.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I remember plasticine. It's oily and smelly! hee..hee..
DeletePlay-Doh?? during my time 50 years ago, we didn't have Play-Doh also, but lower grade color clay only.. i still remember those clay were so oily and sticky, and after playing with them, there would be color stains all over the hand.. so messy that i actually didn't quite like them, but for the sake of homework, forced to do that lah.. and oh, if left exposed, the clay will dry up and crack.. i guess the Play-Doh is a lot better, non-greasy and the color stays on, won't dry up and most importantly, they are non-toxic i supposed??
ReplyDeleteso, may i know if PH secretly bought some Play-Doh home and start playing masak-masak when she does not need to masak in the kitchen?? :P
hah..hah...I think it should be good stress relief to play masak-masak using Play-Doh!
Deleteoooh, stir fried cabbage!! i used to hate green and leafy veggie when i was a kid, the only kind of veggie i will put into my mouth were beans and of course this cabbage!! i love the simple stir fried cabbage with garlic and dried shrimps, just the way you cook it, and i think also the way most people would cook it right?? nice to go with both rice and porridge.. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I also disliked vegetable, I don't think I ate cabbage then because my grandma hated cabbage hah..hah...
DeleteI like stir fry cabbage with dried prawns... and not too soft.. prefer them "crispy" and crunchy inside the mouth... actually I am very hungry now.. it is 11.29pm... cos i didnt take dinner!
ReplyDeleteClaire, I also prefer crunchy!
DeleteYes, that's how I would usually have my cabbage dish too. But, I'm surprised that you fry the garlic first and then the dried prawns. When I did that, my garlic (finely chopped) would be burnt coz the dried prawns took a longer time to crisp up. So, now I would fry the dried prawns first and take them out and return it to the pan after the cabbage has been fried with garlic. That way, my dried prawns stay crisp and fragrant....hehe! I heard there are different types of cabbage in the market (China, local?) and, if we use the right one, then it's tasty.
ReplyDeleteWell, I chopped my garlic roughly and I did not crisp up the dried prawns hah..hah... I guess I should try your method of crisping up the dried prawns. That would be a lot nicer!
DeleteDuring my time I also did not see any Play-Doh being sold here. Just Plasticine which does not smell nice at all. For this dish, I usually tear the cabbage leaves by hand into small pieces before frying so don't need to cut.
ReplyDeleteMun, I thought you don't cook hah,,hah... I also prefer to tear the cabbage by hand sometimes.
DeleteI used to cook when I was in UK more than ten years ago, hahaha!
DeleteOh, history! hah..hah...
DeleteYa, I do fry cabbage with dried prawns too, usually just with egg.
ReplyDeleteOh, I've not fried cabbage with egg. That must be very nice too.
DeleteStir-fried cabbage with dried shrimps is my favourite too. I love cooking this dish too, because it is not so challenging for me.
ReplyDeleteYannie, I also like less challenging dishes especially when I am busy.
DeleteI don't even know what Play-Doh was. Sure, I had an awesome childhood playing with.. apa nama tu... plasticine! But they were cheap brands with lousy quality ones. Still, it was fun...
ReplyDeleteI will show you a million ways on how to stir fry cabbage, lazy man style! Okay, maybe not a million ways...
I remember plasticine was oily and smelly! But still, I also had fun with it :)
DeleteI don't remember Play-Doh 100 years ago when i was young, but i remember plasticine...
ReplyDeleteI loves cabbage look this way... hehe...
Me too played with plasticine last time :)
DeletePlay doh...lastvtime we didnt have it...we onlybhave plastercine
ReplyDeletePlasticine not as nice as Play-Doh.
DeleteGoodness!
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny.
Talk cabbage and jumped to Play-Doh and back to cabbage pula.
Muahahaha
I always love to eat raw cabbages!
The main topic should be Play-Doh hah..hah...
Delete