Dummy's guide to a yummilicious BBQ

fSometime back, KH's parents decided to hold a BBQ party (for no particular reason). I've got to say it's one of the best BBQ I've ever attended in the whole 20 years of my life. Everything was so delicious and well cooked. The ambience was perfect. It was sort of a poolside BBQ at his house. If there is anything lacking, it's probably some good old country music. =)

I haven't had such good BBQ in a long time. Back in the secondary school and JC days, we had lotsa BBQ. But it was horrible. The food was always burnt or uncooked, and everything was oily and dirty. Sad to say, there are really very few people who can whip up a yummy BBQ feast. Therefore, I'm going to come up with some pointers to guide us to a successful BBQ. =)

1. Have chilled drinks.

It's hot and humid. We're oily, sticky and dirty. At least have some refreshing drinks available. How about some chilled beer and soft drinks, or perhaps, the very least, some decent ice lemon water? We don't want lukewarm soft drinks bought last minute from the mama store please.

2. Get organised.

Too often, I see people bringing only 1 pair of tongs, only to realise that they need two. One for the food, and one for the charcoal. So how? Use it for both purposes lor.

Nope. Plan ahead. Get what you need. Also, prepare your food beforehand. DO NOT marinate the food at the BBQ pit. Isn't it messy enough already?

What I love having BBQ with KH's family is that they are sooo organised! His grandma buys the freshest seafood and meat from the wet market. After that, it's a joint effort to clean it, cut it, marinate it, and place it in tupperwares to be kept in the fridge until you are ready to start your BBQ. No mess, no fuss! Yay!

3. Maintain an appropiate amount of fire.

Hello? This is a BBQ. Not a burn fest. Why do I always see a huge fire at the BBQ pit? One common misconception of BBQ is that you need a lot of fire to cook your food. Then, can I ask, why is it after so much fire, and chao tar food, I still get so much uncooked food? Hey, since there's such a big fire already, why not I bring my kuali here? I think it cooks better. -_-"

A good fire should be large enough to keep your charcoal red-hot, and small enough to prevent the food from getting burnt. Basically, you shouldn't see any hint of flames. The fire is there to burn your charcoal. Not to burn your food. In fact, in a BBQ, what you should be using, is really the heat from the charcoal to cook your food.

Some food cooks faster than others. And some, just gets chao tar too easily. I suggest you avoid using honey as a marinate for chicken wings. Especially if you are gonna use a huge fire. One minute is pink and the next minute is black. No one's gonna eat the skin I'm sure. Then what's the use of a marinate now?

Here's the list of food we had at that BBQ:

- sambal stingray
- sambal sotong
- jacket fish
- prawns
- chicken mid-wings (it's difficult to fully cook the whole chicken wing, so mid-wings would be a better choice)
- chicken and pork satay
- bak kwa (sponsored by me. hehe =P)
- sweet potato
- salad (sponsored by KH's aunt)
- chilled drinks

The salad is the best I've ever eaten. It looks soggy and unappetizing like any other salads. But it tastes really really good! I don't even like to eat salads but I eat this! =)

Here's the recipe for it:

Sauces:
salad cream, thousand island, mayonnaise

Ingredients:
Chopped lettuce
Fusilli Pasta
Egg Mayonnaise
Fresh cooked prawns
Mango
Cherry tomatoes
Cheese sausage
Potato

You can change the ingredients to suit your liking. =)

KH, being his usual greedy self, went to stuff a few cherry tomatoes in his mouth, only to spit it out and realise that those aren't grapes. -_-"

That's about all. Have fun BBQing! =)