"Spaghetti Aglio Olio ala Okusan" Story & Recipe

The Husband went down to KL last week for work and stayed with Younger BIL and his Okusan. He was itching to stuff his face with some of our usual KL yummies after being away for so long but she had already planned on cooking so he grumbled a bit to me, then gwai gwai stayed home to eat.  😂

And then he sent me this:

Wah. 🙅‍♀️ So naturally,

Competitive Wife Mode

automatic ON la, right?? 

But nevermind. I bo chup. Play it cool. Pretend act mature. After all, Man not here but Man still needs to eat ma. Good that he got good food lor. BUT THEN... after he came back, non-stop he raving about the pasta. Kept asking me to cook it, cook it, cook it, cos it's so good, so good, so good. 

Then when he went marketing, he bought me the biggest slab of salmon I ever saw. 🧐 So long, I can wrap it around my head like a turban 👳‍♀️ and still have spare to use as shawl. 🧣 So ma have to cook it lor. 👩‍🍳

Before – can't make Aglio Olio without parsley.

NAH.

After.

Swallowed my pride and asked Okusan for

the recipe she used and she gave me the FB link.

The Husband and Papa tucking in.

Ok, I must admit. This recipe is pretty good.

I liked it. The Husband totally raved about it – asked me to open restaurant. Papa even commended – "sophisticated," he said, then continued, "Can make for party next time." So I guess that makes this recipe a keeper lah. 👍

It's less buttery than the usual agilo olio I make so I can see why The Husband likes it. (He no likes butter, no likes cream sauce, no likes rich food. 🙄) And the overdose on mild-flavoured, water-tasting veggies makes the dish lighter and more refreshing. I didn't really follow the recipe cos I'm not that kind of cook so I won't bother dropping the FB link here. Modified recipe below.

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SALMON AGLIO OLIO ALA OKUSAN

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Ingredients:

Lots of fresh Italian Parsley (minced)

Dash of Basil (dried)

Dash of Thyme (dried)

Dash of Rosemary (dried)

Dash of Mixed Herbs (dried)

Garlic Powder (to taste)

Onion Powder (to taste)

Sea Salt (to taste)

1tbsp salted butter

Olive Oil

5 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)

1 helluva slab of Fresh Salmon (dried then marinated in salt and pepper)

1 Red Bell Pepper (sliced)

1 Yellow Bell Pepper (sliced)

Some Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1 Zucchini

Spaghetti – boiled al dente

Note: I used two frying pans for this recipe cos it was late and I didn't have time to wait or clean the pan in between.

In Frying Pan #1:

1. Pan-fry red and yellow bell peppers in mixture of olive oil and butter. Add a dash of garlic and onion powder. Sauté until cooked.
2. Add zucchini and cherry tomatoes, then pan-fry until lightly cooked. 

In Frying Pan #2:

1. Shallow-fry salmon in olive oil till fully cooked and brown on the sides. Remove from skin.
2. Shallow-fry salmon skin in same oil till crispy – should break like Lays potato chips when you stab it with a fork.
3. Remove any residue from the oil and lower heat.
4. Lightly fry garlic slices until fragrant.
5. Add minced parsley and sauté.
6. Sauté in all other dried herbs. 
7. Sauté in onion powder, garlic powder and salt to taste.
8. Sauté in veggies. 
9. Sauté in salmon pieces.
10. Stir in spaghetti then immediately plate and serve!