Headhunter's Recipe Corner - Stir-Fried Spicy Baby Shark with Salted Fish

Since I started blogging about my favorite food places, I have been busy trying out new recipes as well. And everyone has been asking me for the recipes after trying out my cooking :) Well, I'm just a Wannabe-Chef and let me share the recipes of the dishes I have tried out, starting with the Stir-Fried Spicy Baby Shark with Salted Fish. Now, the most important thing is to find fresh baby shark meat, and I really mean, FRESH! I was lucky to get 1kg last weekend from the market and tried out the recipe last night. And I must say, well, not me, the comments from those who tried - VERY TASTY & NICE. To me, I liked the taste of it. It was simply delicious. 

Now, it's your turn to try it out and indulge yourself and release the chef in you. 

Tips for this recipe: Try not to over fry the baby shark meat. It only takes less than 2 minutes to cook it. 

Stir-Fried Spicy Baby Shark with Salted Fish

Ingredients:
300g Baby Shark's Meat (Sliced Thickly)
2 tbsp Cornflour
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
50g Salted Fish (Diced)
15g Ginger (Sliced)
10 Dried Chilies(Cut into sections)
6 Bird's Eye Chilies(Smashed)
2 Stalks Curry Leaves
1 Big Onion (Cut into wedges)


Marinade:
1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp Thick Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp Meat Curry Powder


Seasoning:
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sugar or to taste
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau Wine
3 tbsp Water


Method:
Season baby shark meat with marinade and leave it aside for 10 minutes or longer. Just before deep frying, toss in cornflour. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish out and set aside.


Heat oil and sesame oil and fry salted fish until fragrant. Remove salted fish and set aside. 


To remaining oil in the wok, add ginger and dried chilies and fry until fragrant. Add bird's eye chilies ad curry leaves. Saute' well. Add Seasoning. 


Cook for a while. Add onion, baby sharks meat and pre-fried salted fish. Fry briefly then dish out to serve. 

Penang Assam Laksa - My Favorite Food Places in Auckland, New Zealand

My Favorite Food: Penang Assam Laksa

Where: Great North Express

Address: 4055 Great North Road, Kelston, Waitakere (Auckland, NZ)

How much: $15.00

Taste Rating: 10 out of 10! (Oh yes!! 100% Authentic!!)

Category: Halal

Verdict: Why the need to fly back to Penang, when you can have it here in West Auckland. I would personally say, it's the Best Penang Assam Laksa I've had in my Life! Seriously, though I have tried many assam laksa's in Penang and all around Malaysia, including the famous one in Jusco, Mid Valley, I am not really a big fan of Assam Laksa's. However, the Great North Express has certainly made me fall in love with it. At first I thought, well, it's just gonna be soupy or it wont be the same and I'm gonna end up wasting it, but the moment I sipped the 1st soup and my taste bud went nuts! It was amazingly delicious and I still cant believe it tasted 100%, just like how an authentic Penang Assam Laksa should taste like! Bravo! Bravo! I really enjoyed every bit of the assam laksa to the last drop. The only problem is, the assam laksa is a Weekend Special dish. Meaning, the weekend specials menu differs every weekend. Best is to give them a call to check what's on special or when they would be serving Assam Laksa. 

I'd say, its a good marketing strategy. Makes people wonder, hmmm, I wonder what's their Weekend Special this weekend.

Great North Express can be reached on - 09 813 5088.

What else: Being a Malaysian restaurant, they also serve a good selection of local Malaysian cuisines including authentic Nyonya Kuih's. Also, another must try from their menu would be their Nasi Lemak. (Picture attached) I would definitely be writing about the best Nasi Lemak in Auckland, however, I will need to try a few more before I can choose the best Nasi Lemak. Mind you, back home, I can have Nasi Lemak all day and night if it's yummy :)

History of Penang Assam Laksa: Penang laksa (Malay: Laksa Pulau Pinang), also known as assam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) soup and its main distinguishing feature is the assam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. This, and not 'curry mee' is the usual 'laksa' one gets in Penang.

Coming Up Next: Chicken Curry Laksa