jeudi, septembre 11, 2008

Fresh Herbs and Prawns


Fresh Herbs and Prawns

I do not have a green finger. I actually manage to kill cactuses. But I can be optimistic and hopeful and I sometimes believe in miracles.

As such, I continue to try growing a few things in my garden. Not in the soil as I'm only renting the house plus nothing really grows around here. The land's not fertile. No, I grow them in pots. Some died as expected while others unexpectedly lived and bloomed. Many were on the verge of death and when they revived, they actually continue to grow and do so better than before. What does it tell you about life?


I tried growing tulips and lilies from bulbs. 1 out of 2 survived. I've killed a few pots of roses, until I realised that I should keep them in the shade half the time outside and prune them now and then. I gave the cactuses another shot. And one of them made my year by growing to 7 times its original size! What have I done (right)? I still do not know. My orchids have done well but I need to learn more about how to look after them. One of them is growing a new plant where the flower should be and I have no idea what to do with it. I'm also trying out grapes and an olive tree.

The Super-growth Cactus



Finally, my herbs are doing nicely : basilic, thym, parsley, mint, laksa leaves, red chillies...So I decided this evening to make us some Fresh Herbs and Prawns.

Basilic, Mint and Parsley

My Chilli Plant (new batch of chillies coming out)


Raw prawns peeled and slit at the back
Garlic (minced)
Red chillies (diced)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Herbs (e.g. Coriander, Basilic, Curry Leaves, Laksa Leaves, Parsley, Thym, Mint...)
Cherry Tomatoes (if you so wish. Halved)
Lemon juice

Marinate the prawns at least for an hour with the olive oil, garlic and red chillies. I was often told not to add salt to prawns before cooking as it would drain the liquid from them, but in Chinese cooking, this technique helps to make the flesh firmer when you cook it so it's up to you whether you add salt or not to your prawns at this stage.

When you're ready to cook the dish, heat up the wok or frying pan and dry roast the fresh herbs. Just as they're starting to wilt, add in the prawns followed by its marinade and stir fry for a few minutes till the prawns are cooked. If you haven't added salt and pepper, do it now. If you wish to use cherry tomatoes, add them in now. Squeeze some lemon juice over the prawns before serving.

PS : One could eventually cook herbs like curry, laksa, coriander and thym leaves first and then just before serving stir in the basilic, mint and parsley.

8 commentaires:

bellatigre a dit…

From the looks of your pics, your fingers seem pretty 'green' 'leh'. I have not seen a lily plant and flower in any one's garden here excecpt at the florist! I buy my cut lilies. So, clap clap clap! Things are blooming over there!

citygirl a dit…

1 good tip is to give your plants a weekly dose of "liquid vitamins" which could be easily available in the supermarket and of course a weekly trim and cut is compulsory.

SIG a dit…

Those are some beautiful plants, little miss non-green fingers. I'm so proud of you. :) And I love prawns anyday.

Beau Lotus 涟 a dit…

A, thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to buy a book on gardening soon. It's quite an intriguing subject.

Well ladies, I only showed you the survivors. If you see the ones who died, you'd wonder why I even bothered...

ctdweller a dit…

Love your plants, love your herbs and perhaps the interior of your house is lovely too.


It is good to be here.

Cheers!

sohcool a dit…

Salut,
Tes plantes sont jolies. I like lilies. Think I will try to plant them. When's the best time to start?
I tried to grow basil from seeds. After 4 months, just 1cm tall. Sad.

Beau Lotus 涟 a dit…

Sohcool, you have green fingers, so I'm sure you'll do great by your lilies when you have them. I grew mine from bulbs after the tulip season and out of 3 only one survived. But it was a beauty.

I've never succeeded in growing basilic from seeds (only 1cm and then they died) so I just buy a young plant and go from there.

Je suis convaincue que le jardinage c'est du boulot et surtout une science, faut que je m'y intéresse de plus près! Et surtout ne pas voyager...

Beau Lotus 涟 a dit…

Lotus Flower, hi!

Have you been to my house? LOL

Afraid that it's interior is very basic and Ikea as we move alot and could never gauge how much furniture we need.