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JULY 2015 | Wai Lin Coultas

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YOU KNOW what they say about the way to a man’s heart? Particularly when frequent travel for work makes him long for regular home cooking when he returns to base in Singapore. Thus, meeting Simon, now my Australian husband, started me cooking eleven years ago.

Fortunately, his appreciation of my love for trying food from all over the world keeps me lugging home numerous cookbooks, in English, when I visit distant shores. And so, I have learnt to cook!

Luckily, he is happy that I keep trying new recipes, although I hardly ever strictly following their instructions.

I opt to use ingredients readily available on my own turf. Not buying one simply to use for just one particular dish makes my heart sing.

As business has taken Simon around the globe, the greatest compliment he pays me is to bring friends and colleagues home for dinner from near and far, after entertaining them at highly rated Singapore restaurants the night before.

I love sharing the food I cook, which will include the friends we shall make upon retiring, in a couple of years’ time, to our recently purchased home in artloving Deloraine.

Hopefully, my recipes will give you as much pleasure as they do for Simon and those who know us.

And in turn, may the experience persuade you to share your best-loved recipes with everyone who lives in the Meander Valley. Please share them with us through the ‘Meander Valley Gazette’ by emailing editor@meandervalleygazette. com

Italian garlic prawns

THIS LUSCIOUS Italian-inspired dish brings the scents and warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine into your home – a great way to greet winter as it begins its sojourn in Tasmania.

Normally served cold as part of an antipasto platter, the prawns taste even better when eaten immediately after they are cooked. Then mopping up all the warm scrumptious garlic juices with ciabatta becomes homage to Italy itself!

Ingredients:

1 kg uncooked mid-sizeprawns120 g butter2 large red chillies, deseededand finely chopped12 garlic cloves, finelyminced120 ml white wine8 tbsp finely chopped corianderleavesSaltPepper

Instructions:

Remove the shells and heads from the prawns, leaving the tails’ shells intact.

Devein the prawns.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan.

Add the chillies and garlic.

Stir them over a medium heat until they smell fragrant, making sure the garlic and butter do not burn.

Add the prawns.

When the undersides of the prawns turn pink, flip them over and add the wine.

Once the prawns turn completely pink, add the coriander and season well.

Toss everything together.

Serve immediately, with ciabatta to mop up the garlic juices. Serves 4.

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores