Not Quite Nigella's Mother's Singapore Chilli Prawns

I was in Singapore this past week and I had so much fun... and to be honest  it was a much needed break from everything that's been going on... but let's not get into that now.  I went there to see some friends which I haven't seen for months and even years, so it was really nice to hang out and catch up with everyone's life. It's funny how I haven't met some of my friends for a long time, but when we finally reunited, it felt like we never parted.

We went to this Korean place eating many delicious chicken wings... and after we're full, then we moved on to another Korean place and spent hours talking and drinking sweet rice wine.  I never had sweet rice wine before so this was a new experience and boy, it was good.  The wine is sweet but citrus-y at the same time and they don't even taste like alcohol which sometimes is not a good thing...

If you've been to Singapore before, you know that it is a shopping paradise... walking through Orchard Road, you'll see everything from designer brands to popular high street stores. Or if you're feeling cultural, there are plenty of historical sites and neighbourhoods to visit, temples and beautiful gardens.  But I wasn't here for that... Apart from seeing friends, I was in Singapore for the food!

One thing you must know about Singaporeans, they are obsessed with food and they take their food seriously! I am almost embarrassed (but I'm not really) by the amounts of food I consumed... but it's all for research (of course...) and I am so inspired.  There are so many dishes that I want to try replicate at home, so watch this space! :)

And great thing is, you don't have to go to upscale fancy restaurants to enjoy the best food... In fact, on my last night, my best friend Daniel took me to this dim sum place at a back alley of some street and it was cheap and cheerful and delicious.  Though sadly, we ordered way too much food for the two of us and couldn't finish them all... but that's also probably because the dim sum feast was our second dinner of the evening.

During my trip (in between meals) I went to a book shop and straight to the cookery section (what else...)... and as I was wandering around I saw the book I've been hunting for weeks! Not Quite Nigella by Lorraine Elliott, the woman behind THE Not Quite Nigella blog. I was told that the book is only available in Australia at the moment, so I was just so excited to have found it in Singapore.

I have been a fan (read: stalker) of Not Quite Nigella for sometime now.  Her daily food and travel posts are witty, insightful and mouth-watering. The Not Quite Nigella book, subtitled 'my path to happiness through baking & blogging', tells her journey from ditching her day job as a highly paid media strategist to following her passion for French pastries and becoming a full-time food blogger.  It's written with her brilliant sense of humour and she shares some of her favourite recipes too...

And one of them is Lorraine's mother's Singapore chilli prawns.  When I saw this recipe, I thought it's just the perfect homage to my recent trip.  I cooked this for Sunday lunch earlier and it's utterly, utterly delicious. It takes no time to cook, so you wanna make sure you prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking because as I said it cooks so quickly.  

Serve this with plenty of rice to mop all the gorgeous spicy, gingery, garlicky sauce. Yum.

Well, enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone! *back to reading now...

Singapore Chilli Prawns

Find the list of ingredients and instructions, here.