Lazy!!!

Its been sometim since my last post... Have not been cooking much due to work and health and home... Only does some simple cooking or sometimes even forgets to take pictures...

Work have not been too smooth... But still have to manage it well... Losing my momentum to work... I am like losing my usual fighting spirit...

Health oso not too good... Though am not sick but had been weak i felt... Tired easily... But had cut down my alcohol intake though... Hence now even worst to get to sleep... Maybe thats the reason i feel tired daily...

Home... Thats something which only my family and hubby noes... Haiz...

Such low morale and spirit... How to brighten up myself...

Lost...

Been some time I havent post anything... Had been sick... Feeling very bad after taking medicines... Thus not able to update all my foods...

Anyway... I will try to post soon as I can... And I will be starting work on Monday which means time is running less to prepare any food these days... I probably need more sleep to get my body well to work than cooking now...

But I promise I will try my best to capture any food I cook and post... Cheers!!!

p/s: tuna sushi in tomato...

Tofu Salad

Wah... Had been weeks since I last posted... Had been cooking but didnt manage to take nice pictures...

Since its so hot these 2 days... I decided to do a cool and refreshing tofu salad...

Tofu Salad

Ingredients
1 box of Pressed Tofu
1 Jap Cucumber - in strips
1 Onion - in slices
3 Chilli Padi - own preference
Some Honey Tomato
Some Chinese Coriander

Sauce
1 tsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper
Some Pickled Ginger - in strips


Method:
1) Place the tofu in boiling water to cook it - this is to prevent tofu turns bad
2) Mix all the sauce together and mix
3) Place all the ingredients together with the sauce
4) Place in the fridge to chill
5) Serve cold

I love the refreshing citrus from the lemon juice... Combining with sweetness from the fish sauce... With the aroma from the sesame oil... The tangy taste from pickled ginger... A twist of spiciness from the chilli padi... Not forgetting a dash of pepper and salt to bring the taste to the max... Lastly garnish with chinese coriander for the wonderful unique aroma...

Loving it!!!

Breakfast

Prince Javier had been asking mi to do bread for his breakfast. Instead of again boring egg mayo or tuna sandwich, I did something special today.

Since I have bacon, and sausage in my fridge, so might as well use them all.

I actually use my bread to wrap around my sausage and use bacons to bind them all together. Then I dip them in egg and pan-fry them. Though it looks not as pretty, but it taste fantastic.

Pasta Salad

Very long never do pasta salad. Done my all-time favourite and also pesto bow-tie.

Refreshing Bow-Tie Pasta

Ingredients:
1 cup of Bow-Tie Pasta
1 cup of Basil Leaves
1 clove of Garlic
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Sunflower Seeds
1 Lemon - Juice
Lemon Zest
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:
1) Place all except bow tie pasta in blender and blend
2) Cook bow tie pasta for 10mins and drained off
3) Mix all together
4) Serve cold or warm

Sunny Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Spiral Pasta or Penne
1 Red Pepper - cut in cubes
1 Yellow Pepper - cut in cubes
1 Onion - cut in cubes
1 Canned Tuna / 1 Hard Boiled Egg
1 Carrot - cut in cubes
1 Potato - cut in cubes
1 Tomato - cut in cubes and remove seeds
1 Japanese Cucumber
1 Tbsp Mayo
Salt and Pepper to Taste
A Pinch of Oregano Powder
A Pinch of Dried Basil Flakes

Methods:
1) Steam the carrots, potatoes, bell peppers till soft
2) Cook pasta for 10mins and drained
3) Mix all the ingredients together
4) Serve cold or warm

My First Ugly Donuts - Cinnamon Flavour

Supposed to go for picnic so thought doing some donuts for kids. But Hubby was too busy that we did not manage to go.

This is my first time doing donuts though. I had a hard time doing them in balls, thus all turns out either oval or weird shapes. But still was awesome.

Mom's Fish Soup

I remembered having chicken pox when I was in Pri 4 or 6. I was restricted to lots of food. Mom heard that white promfret is good for me and came out with this nice sweet tasty soup for me.

Its a easy n quick recipe. I love the sweetness of the fish in the soup. Mom had only added ginger and light soy sauce cos I cannot take dark soy sauce. People says it will leave marks.

But I added more dark soy sauce to her recipe to make it darker and more fragrant. My 2 boys love it and finish their rice very fast.

Mom's Fish Soup

Ingredients
1 White Promfret (any fish would do)
800ml water
1 Thumbsize Ginger
2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
Pepper to Taste

Method:
1) Cut the fish into pieces
2) Slice the ginger
3) Place all the ingredients in a pot with water
4) Boiled till cooked, or 20-30mins
5) Serve hot

Whenever I drink this soup, it makes me think of that time when Mom took care of me so much.

Thanks Mom!

3 Eggs Crab

Had a big feast at home on 9 August, Thursday!!! Cos its National Day therefore we did a feast at home to enjoy.

Hubby wanted to have crabs, darling Jacob loves crabs alot. We brought the boys out to do marketing. They chose their favourite ingredients and i have to plan and cook for them.

The funniest is darling Javier. He loves tomatoes, Hubby hold a plastic bag with both hands and darling Javier keep putting in tomatoes. H filled it fully with 9 large tomatoes. Hubby kept laughing and I have to stop them playing. Hahaha... Notti boys...

Was so busy preparing though. Lucky its seafood therefore alot of cooking would be steaming instead. I had whipped up 14 dishes with 1 dessert (many flavours). Hahahaha... Gosh!!!

1) Salted Egg Crab
2) Egg White Crab
3) 3 Eggs Mixed Crabs
4) Cordon Bleu Steamed Prawns
5) Fried Eggs with Long Beans
6) Spicy Steamed Squid
7) White Pepper Squid
8) Braised Mushrooms with Veges
9) Pork Balls with Cheese
10) Sweet and Sour Breaded Fish
11) Steamed Stingray with Lemon
12) Teochew Style Steam Stingray
13) Chicken Rendang
14) Herbal Fungus Chicken Soup
15) Fruity Desserts Shots - Many Flavours

Was fun but tiring. Food are all cleaned up by all of the guests. Hahaha... Exhausted but happy...

It was my first time cooking crabs and doing desserts. I am glad it turns out nice. The lousy thing about me is that I am still not good in doing nice presentation of the dishes. I will have to try harder.

3 Eggs Crab

Ingredients
1 Crab
1 Salted Egg
1 Century Egg
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Shao Xing Wine (I used Cordon Bleu)
Some Salt and Pepper
1 Bunch of Spring Onion
1 Bunch of Chinese Parsley
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic

Method:
1) Place all garlic on plate and drizzle the wine on top
2) Place the crab on top of the garlic
3) Chopped the century egg into small pieces
4) Beat the egg and mix the century egg and salted egg together
5) Pour over the crab
6) Cut spring onion and chinese parsley into inch sizes and place on the crab
7) Steam the crab for 15mins or till red
8) Serve hot

A Little Breather

Wow... Its seems so long since my last post. Been busy with work. Doing and rushing off proposals. Was so tired up with discussions among friends and proposals. Just hope and pray it will come true...

Ok... Let me breathe a bit and blog on some food I had done. Aunts came over last Wednesday, and I had done a little simple meal for them. I am glad they like my cooking even my first time Assam Curry Chicken won my aunt Indonesia maid's heart.

Its my first time to try out some dishes, Assam Curry Chicken, Herbal Pork Ribs and Sweet and Sour Macaroni. Other than these 3, I had also whipped Pork Katsu Don and Minced Pork with Sze Chuan Vegetables.

Tonight too tired to post the recipes, will post it soon on it!!! Night!!! Cheers!!!

Hiyashi Chuka

Saw one of my favourite "chef" runnyrunny999 preparing Hiyashi Chuka on YouTube, looks so tasty and attractive. Therefore I did it for my princes. I did not follow exactly as I was trying my best to do it at the easiest and fastest way. Haha...

Hiyashi Chuka

Ingredients:
150g Ham - thin strips
1 Japanese Cucumber - thin strips
1 stalk of Scallion - thin strips
3 pieces of Inari Age (Sweet Beancurd) - thin slices
2 Eggs - Omelette in thin strips
1 piece Dry Seaweed  - thin strips
510g Yakisoba (3 packets)
Yakisoba Sauce / Teriyaki Sauce
Sesame Seeds

Fried Chicken Bites
300g Chicken Meat - bite-size pieces
1 tbsp Mirin
2 tbsp Sake
1 tsp Sesame Oil
Pepper and Salt
4 tbsp Flour

Method:
1) Marinate all the chicken pieces for 20 minutes
2) Drain all the sauces from the marinate and coat them with flour and fry till golden brown
3) Cook Yakisoba in boiling water for about 15 minutes
4) Drain and soak them in ice water for 10 minutes
5) Drain and drizzle 1 tbsp sesame oil in the noodles

To Serve:
1) Grab a handful of noodles and place it on the middle of the plate
2) Arrange ham, egg, inari age, seaweed, scallion, lettuce, chicken pieces, cucumber around the noodles
3) Drizzle some Yakisoba sauce on it and sesame seeds on it
4) Serve

Seafood Risotto

Saw mussels and clams in Cold Storage and the price is super low. Half a kg of mussels only at $1.24 and 0.700kg of clams at $2.12. Cheap right!!! I did not use everything, i only use probably only 10 pcs each. Haha...

Wanted to do Seafood Paella, but I cannot find my saffron. Therefore did Risotto. I like the sweet taste of the seafood. Usually I would add cheese to it but today I left it out instead. There is no wine too, so I substitute with mirin. Oh I use Happy Call Pan for easier and faster cooking! Yeah!

Seafood Risotto

Ingredients:
12 Mussels
12 Clams
5 Tiger Prawns
1 Squid
5 slices of Ham - cut into inch sizes
1 Japanese Cucumber - small cubes
1 Carrot - small cubes
3 cloves Garlic
2cm thick Butter
300ml Chicken Stock
100ml water
8 tbsp Mirin
3/4 cup Arborio Rice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Bay Leave - powdered in bottle kind
Some Coarse Pepper

Method:
1) Melt butter in heated pan
2) Add in garlic for 20sec and then ham for about 1min
3) Add in rice and stir fry for 1-2mins
4) Add in mirin and chicken stock and simmer
5) After 8mins, open HCP and add in cucumber and carrots then cover
6) After 8mins again, add in spices, mussels and clams then cover again
7) After 5mins, add prawns an squid, then cover
8) After 10mins, add salt and pepper
9) Serve

Note:
- In between cooking, do remember to stir them and mix well
- Cooking time varies as kitchen appliances, etc used are different. Hence test before serving
- Eat while its still hot, it does not taste good when its cool

Though the freshness in the seafood brings sweetness to the rice but to compare I would still prefer meat. Meat brings not only sweetness but the taste would definitely stronger.

My First Kimchi Fried Rice

I had always love spicy and sour food when Hubby hates sourness in food. Especially when we order fishball noodles or lor mee, Hubby is always without any vinegar but mine is full of vinegar.

Even for vinegar pig's trotters, I am that scary that I would use ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 of vinegar to water, best is that I even omit sugar. Wow... I am drooling while blogging. Haha...

Since I like kimchi and always heard others talking about how nice is kimchi fried rice, might as well I try it out.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:
3 cups of Rice - cooked, kept overnight and oiled before frying
3 cloves of Garlic - chopped finely
3 Shallots - chopped finely
1 Carrot - in finely cubes
1 Japanese Cucumber - in finely cubes
1 packet of Shabu Shabu Pork - in bite-size pieces
5 Shitake Mushroom - soaked and slice in strips
4 tbsp Gogujang (Hot Pepper Paste)
3 tbsp Kimchi (Mild taste for Hubby's first try)

Methods:
1) Heat some oil in wok and fry the kimchi till fragrant then add in gogujang, fry for 1min and dish up
2) Fry garlic, shallots and mushroom till fragrant
3) Place in pork and stir fry till half cooked
4) Add in carrots and cucumber, fry for 1min
5) Add in kimchi and half the rice, stir to colour the rice
6) Add in another half the rice and colour them totally with the kimchi, stir fry for 3mins till fragrant
7) Add salt and pepper to taste
8) Serve

I love the colour of the of the carrot and cucumber with the kimchi colour. They are just so colourful. Hubby likes it as the taste is mild for him to suit his tastebuds. I love this rice but I prefer a stronger taste.

Ugly Pancake

My 2 boys ha always like pancakes but me and hubby is not a fan for it. Wanted to do Dorayaki but in the end did pancakes.

Pancakes filling is always either strawberry or banana, boring. Since I intend to do something to fill my boys tummy fully, I thought of adding cheesy hotdogs and cabbage to the pancakes.

But I am never good in cooking pancakes, they always turn out ugly. Can anyone please teach me?

Braised Chicken

Cannot wake up in the morning. Had a late night. Felt so bad not doing lunch for Hubby. Therefore I do up a simple dinner for Hubby.

Braised Chicken Noodles

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Thighs - cut into bite-sized
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Chinese Wine
5-8 small cubes of Rock Sugar
5 slices Dang Gui
5 slices Pao Shen
2 Cinnamon Sticks
3 Star Anises
3 Cloves
5-8 cloves of Garlic - flatten n removed skin
1 tsp Sze Chuan Peppercorns
Dash of Pepper
1 Honey Date
5 Red Dates
4-6 cups of Water
4 Hard Boiled Eggs
2 balls of Egg Noodles

Method:
1) Place all ingredients in a bowl and bring it to a boil
2) Place in all chicken and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours
3) Cook the noodles and drain off water
4) Serve the chicken on the noodles with egg

Hubby came back nearby to meet his friend so i brought it to him. So still lunch for him. Hubby says good! But still needs lots of improvement for myself.

Cordon Bleu Steamed Pork

Mind somehow in a blank of what to prepare for Hubby. Tired of frying, thus thought about steaming. When I was younger, mom always love to use Black Fungus to cook Chicken or Pork for us. Came in my mind of using Cordon Bleu since I have a bottle opened already.

Other than Cordon Bleu Steamed Pork, I did Assam Seafood too. Its been sometime since I last cook this dish.

Cordon Bleu Steamed Pork

Ingredients:
300g Pork Ribs
2 tbsp thinly sliced Ginger
4-5 Black Fungus - soaked and sliced to thinly strips
2-3 Shitake (Chinese) Mushrooms - soaked and cut thinly
1 tbsp of Water

Marinate:
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Cordon Bleu
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp Corn Starch

Methods:
1) Cut pork into bite size pieces and marinate for 30mins
2) Place all ingredients in a plate and steam over high heat for 30mins
3) Serve

The fragrant reminds me of my childhood, mommy usually use just Shao Xing wine. Love it!

Assam Seafood

Ingredients:
2 pieces of Fishes
500g Prawns - de-shell and de-vein
20 Lady Fingers - cut diagonally
500g Chilli Paste
4-5 Dried Tamarind - wash and soak in water
500ml Water

Method:
1) Fry 1 tbsp of oil in wok
2) Pour in chili paste and lady finger and stir till fragrant
3) Place in fish and fry for 2mins and ad prawns for 1min
4) Pour in tamarind water and rest of the water, simmer for 8mins
5) Serve

Happy Meal

Its Saturday again! Had a late night, thus whole day was so "stoned". Did simple corn porridge for lunch and dinner did Happy Meal for the kids. They are so happy seeing it.

Earlier post I had bought some colouring for rice and today its my first time using it. They tasted so nice and sweet. To  go with it, I do a fry egg with tomato for the boys.

I did not notice that one of the teddy face is sad. Hubby was so alert to inform me. Hah! My both boys cleaned up the whole plate in their tummy. See their satisfying face.

The coloring of the rice was actually very simple. Let the rice cool down a little then add in the coloring to the separate portions of rice and mix them thoroughly. Ta Dah...

Home Traditional Delicacy

Was thinking of some nutritious food for my Hubby, something different. Then something struck me! My home traditional delicacy, Toufu in Green Chilli. This dish is passed on from my late Granny, all of us in the family loved this dish, that includes all my cousins too. This dish is so simple and tasty that we would need no more than this for our meals.

But for my Hubby today, I did more than one dish for him. I had prepared Ginger Chicken and Steamed Cod Fish in Herbs. He had been complaining no fish, and he never like fish with bones. Thus to pacify this over-age kid, I do his favourite Cod Fish for him.

Tofu in Green Chilli

Ingredients:
3 packages of Pressed Tofu (Firm Tofu) - chopped in quarters
5 Green Chilli - cut diagonally into inch size slices
2 tbsp of Silver Fish / Ikan Billies
2 tbsp Tau Cau (Fermented Bean Paste) - mine are finely minced type
1 tsp Garlic - finely chopped
Some Salt (optional)
100ml Water

Methods:
1) Saute the garlic till light brown
2) Add in the silver fish / ikan billies, tau cau and green chillies, saute till fragrant
3) Add in tofu for 30 seconds, add water and simmer for 15-20mins, add salt to taste
4) Serve

 

Chicken with Ginger and Spring Onions (Scallions)

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Thighs (de-boned and cut into bite-sized pieces)
Spring Onion / Scallions - chopped into inch sizes
Chinese Parsley - chopped into inch sizes
2 Chilli
2 Chilli Padi (bird-eye chilli)
2 tbsp Garlic - finely chopped
2 tbsp Ginger - finely sliced
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Hua Diao Wine / Shao Xing Wine
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
Some Salt
100ml water
2 tbsp of Corn Starch (optional)

Methods:
1) Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil in the wok with sesame oil
2) Add in garlic, ginger and saute till lightly brown
3) Add in chilli and half the portion of spring onion / scallions and parsley, fry till fragrant
4) Add in chicken thighs and stir fry for 1min and add in the sauces, stir fry till meat cooks (about 2 mins)
5) Add in the water, salt, rest of the spring onion / scallions and parsley
6) After 2mins, add corn starch, cover and simmer for another 2mins - optional if you prefer the gravy to thicken
7) Serve

**Note: I did not have enough time to marinate the chicken as was a sudden idea to cook this dish. Alternatively, do marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp sesame oil, some corn flour, salt and pepper, 1 tbsp oyster sauce for 30mins. Then when you are cooking, need not add sesame oil to the cooking oil anymore. And even the corn starch near the end of the cooking can be skipped.
 **Note: You could replace chicken thighs with chicken breasts or pork, we prefer chicken thigh as it is more tender than breasts.

Steam Cod Fish

Ingredients:
1 piece of Cod Fish
3-4 pieces of Pao Shen
3-4 slices of Dang Gui
1 stalk of Dang Shen
1 Red Dates - my red date is huge, you may use at least 2-3 small red dates
1 tsp Gou Qi Zi
Some Salt

Methods:
1) Wash all herbs and steam them with 1 tbsp of water over high heat for about 20mins
2) Rub salt on both sides of the cod fish and place it on the same plate and steam for about 15-20mins
3) Serve

Sardine Wrap

My two princes slept over last night again. Honestly I find it so hard to sleep when they are here. My space is so tight and restricted, not even able to move my arms wide at all. The whole night I have to cross my hands to sleep.

You must be wondering why do they sleep with me. My brother-in-law, his wife and daughter is still staying with us at the moment as they house are not completed yet. Therefore my kids will have to squeeze with us in our little warmth room. Enough said. Let's see my first virgin simple sardine wrap receipe.

Sardine Wrap

Ingredients:
1 small can of Sardine
Half Lettuce - chopped into thin shreds
Half Carrot - chopped into thin shreds
Half Yellow Bell Pepper - chopped into thin shreds

2 Imitation Crab Meat
2 Taco Wrap

Methods:
1)  Divide ingredients into half
2) Wrap them in taco wrap
3) Use a toothpiece to secure the openings
4) Lightly pan fry for 1min with a little cooking oil (to prevent burnt)
5) Serve

Seafood Lunch

Prawns and Scallops for lunch and WaWa Vegetables. Learn it off YouTube and tried it out. But due to the rush of time, pictures did not turn out nice and there is no time to do presentation. Haha...

Prawns in Bacon / Scallops in Bacon

Ingredients
4 Tiger Prawns / 4 Scallops
4 slices of Bacons
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1) De-shell and de-vein the prawns
2) Rolled up the prawns in round
3) Wrap the bacon around the prawns and secured with a skewer or toothpick and season with salt and pepper
4) Pan fry the prawns on both sides till cooked
5) Serve

Had done omelette meat loaf from yesterday leftovers. I actually do sandwich with them.

Quick 20mins Dinner

Saw a clip on YouTube by a Japanese lady and got her idea of Microwave Meat Loaf. Was easy and fast.

Microwave Meat Loaf

Ingredients:
500g Minced Chicken Meat
50g Mixed Vegetables
50g Cheese
1 tbsp Milk
Dash of Salt and Pepper
3 pieces of Bacon - cut into small pieces

Method:
1) Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl
2) Use a microwavable loaf pan covered with cling wrap
3) Place the meat on a piece of cling wrap and place it into the loaf pan
4) Line it nicely and cover it with cling wrap
5) Place it in the microwave for 5mins under 500W.
6) Remove from the microwave and lightly pan fried it till golden brown
7) Serve

Cheesy Pasta

Ingredients:
200g Pasta
Tomato Puree
50g Cheese

Method:
1) Cook the pasta till soft and drained
2) Mix in the tomato puree
3) Place all into the pan loaf with cheese and microwave for 5-10mins
4) Serve

These 2 dish took me only 20mins to prepare and cook. And my kids love it.