清炒豆苗

What's the secret to cooking the best dou miao? To be able to control the flame and cooking time. If dou is being cooked for the long, it will lost its crunch and become difficult to chew. On the other hand, if it is being cook too green, it will have a greeny smell and taste just like grass or uncooked vegetables.
I used to hate dou maio due to the greeny taste but ever since i master the skill of cooking it, i simply love them for the fresh and crunch.

Ingredients;
1 pack of dou miao
Some lard bits
Pinch of salt
Oyster sauce

Methods;
-Wash & soak dou miao for 5 mins, drained.
-Prepare crispy lard bits by frying lard bits in a heated wok till crispy and brown.
-Drained and pour out excess oil.
-Fry dou miao in wok for 2 mins, add seasoning and crispy lard bits.
-Serve & Enjoy!

Fresh and sweet vegetable with a crunch. Delicious!

荔枝咕噜肉

Sweet & sour pork is a common dish in Singapore where it can be easily found at hawker centers, coffee shops, restaurants and hotels.
However, adding fruit is dishes is a new thing ya, especially when it is lychee fruit. It is not easy to find restaurants or hotel which serve lychee with sweet & sour pork. Guess, the best way out is to cook them at home.

Ingredients,
Pork belly meat
Canned lychee, drained
Onion

Cherry tomatoes, halved
Red chili
Yellow bell pepper
1 bunch cilantro
Lychee sauce
Oil for frying

Marinate;
Bicarbonate soda
Salt
Light Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Cornflour
Rice flour

Lychee sauce;
1 tbsp plum sauce
5 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp lychee juice
Some sugar

Method;
-Remove skin & fats from pork belly, cut into cubes.
-Marinate with the necessary ingredients except the flour.
-When deep frying the meat, coat with the flours and deep fried in hot oil till cooked.
-Drained and set aside for later use.
-Fry the onions for a min, add bell pepper & chili.
-Add in sauce, bring to boil.
-Toss in meat, off heat.
-Add lychee, mix well & serve.
-Top with cilantro.
-Enjoy!

Combination of fruit + meat dishes = PERFECT!

Roasted Chicken Sandwich Roll

I made a roasted chicken sandwich roll with spicy sauce for Adam's lunch. He being someone who wanna have a complete meal for his lunch, definitely i will serve the bread with mushroom soup and a side salad for him.

Ingredients;
Hotdog roll bun
BBQ Chicken fillet
Spicy sauce
Roasted sesame seeds
Butter
Lettuce

Spicy sauce ingredients & method;
-Use the same pan for cooking the chicken fillet.
-Add water, chili paste, little bit of tomato ketchup, sugar and cornflour.
-Cook till gravy thicken, drizzle over chicken & serve.

Assemble;
-Cut bun into half, spread butter and place the butter side down on a hot non-stick pan.
-Light brown the butter side of bread, sandwich with chicken fillet and lettuce.
-Drizzle sauce over, sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and serve.
-Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Chestnuts

When comes to using chestnuts in dishes, it is either to be cook with duck meat or in rice dumplings. Oh well, not forgetting eating as a form of tidbits where we can easily purchase them from the supermarkets. Pasar malam used to have vendors selling charcoal roasted chestnuts which are fantastic, but now seems diificult to come acoss yummy ones.

I would prefer to steam my own chestnuts however this time round i prefer to roast them in the oven.
Ingredients;
150g chestnut
Water

Method;
-Wash and lightly scrub chestnut, cut a X on the flat surface of chestnut.
-Soak chestnuts in water for 20-25mins.
-Baked in preheated oven of 200 degree celsius for 30-40mins.
-Enjoy!

They are simply yummy~licious! , alternatively if you prefer a softer or moisturise chestnuts, you can choose to steam them in a presure cooker till done.

Club Sandwich

This after lunch was a all bread feast. I decided to make club sandwiches & spicy BBQ chicken roll and since Jesper can't stand hunger, decided to proceed with his lunch 1st. Making sandwich is quick and easy but the time for marinating the chicken takes a while.

Ingredients,
3 slices of white bread
Butter
Salad dressing
Cheese
Ham
Roasted Chicken fillet
Lettuce
Egg

Method;
-Spread butter on bread and toast till lightly brown on both sides.
-Spread salad dressing on 1 slice of bread, top with ham, cheese & lettuce.
-Top with another layer of bread which was spread with salad dressing.
-Top with roasted chicken and egg, followed by the last layer of bread.
-Cut sandwich into 4 triangles, serve with crackers.
-Enjoy!

Spinach Porridge

A porridge which i've been eating since my childhood. Mum used to cook spinach porridge for us when we are kids and even whenever we are sick. How come until now i still have a good memory of the porridge is be'cos the way mum name spinach.

We used to watch popeye cartoons on tv almost everyday and whenever popeye needs energy, he would eat spinach and become strong. So mum decided to cook spinach with porridge and call spinach "popeye veggie". Hey, i find that it is a good way of getting kids to eat more vegetables. Telling a white lie that we can become strong like popeye! haha... but it is also true, at least vegetables is good to our health and prevent us from falling sick, but the super lame lie is that we can become strong immediately after eating! :-P

Ingredients;

1 cup cooked rice
Water
1 bunch spinach
Some lean meat, cut into strips
Knors chicken cube
Salt

Oil
Fried shallots
Canned braised peanuts

Marinate;
Light soy sauce
Salt
Sesame oil
Cornflour

Method;
-Marinate lean meat with the necessary seasoning except cornflour & set aside.
-Cook porridge as per normal till rice grains breaks.
-Add in oil and water, continue to boil for another 5 mins.
-Add chicken cube, salt and spinach.
-Add cornflour to the meat, mix well & add to the porridge.
-Off heat when meat cooks.
-Serve with fried shallots and braised peanuts.
-Enjoy!

My all time favorite!

Chill Out @ La Gourmet ~Part II

A last min decision to go JB last nite. Hmm.. no special intention to do anything but to sit down for a drink for a chat. Aunty Margaret drove us to JB and drop us at La Gourmet for dinner b4 she drove off to Aunty Xue-er's house.

Our drinks~Ice blended white coffee and starfruit juice.

A mixed snack platters

Creamy pasta with fried dory

The so called popular chee chong fun with sweet sauce~hmm... i find them so so only, nothing special. Available with curry sauce as well.

Chee chong fun comes with a bowl of soup as well.

2nd round of drinks~Iced honey lemon.

Carrot orange juice

姜丝蒜蓉鸡柳

Chicken breast as compare to chicken thigh or drumstick tends to contain lower calories and fats. Jesper been quite health conscious recently and he only wanna eat breast meat. Since I'm on leave today, decided to cook dinner for the family.
Our usual practice is a dish dedicated to each family member. Adam had baby kailan, dad had a promfet, mum had a long beans, last but not least, a chicken breast meat dish for Jesper.

Ingredients;
4 chicken fillet, cut into strips
Light soy sauce
Salt
Bicarbonate soda
Sesame oil
Cornflour
1 piece 3" size ginger, shred
2 clove garlic, minced
Oil for frying
A handful of cilantro

Sauce;
Oyster sauce
Light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Sugar
Salt

Method;
-Marinate chicken strips with bicarbonate soda, salt, light soy sauce and sesame oil.
-Fry ginger in oil till crispy, add garlic and fry till brown.
-Mix chicken with cornflour, add chicken to wok, fry till colour changes.
-Pour in sauce, fry till chicken cook.
-Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
-Enjoy!

Close up of the smooth tender chicken.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Eileen gave mi a wide variety of kimchi specially flew in from Korea. I have an assortment of cuttle fish, daikon and wong bok kimchi. They are simply delicious and i've already thought of wat dishes to cook with these kimchi and 1st of all, i wanna present kimchi fried rice.

Ingredients;
1 bowl cooked rice
Chicken breast, minced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Long beans, diced
Kimchi, cut into small pieces
Daikon kimchi, cubed
1 egg, beaten
Salt
Light soy sauce
Oil for frying
Korean seaweed, shredded
Roasted sesame seeds

Method,
-Scrambled egg in oil, set aside for later use.
-Fry garlic with oil till fragrant, add chicken and onion.
-Stir in kimchi fry for a min.
-Toss in rice and mix well.
-Add seasonings and egg.
-Sprinkle with seaweed and roasted sesame seeds.
-Enjoy!

I'm so surprise that mum enjoyed the kimchi fried rice. She used to hate kimchi! Wow...

Bee-Bee Snack

Look at what i found?! My childhood tidbits~Bee Bee Snack. Wow... still remembers that mi and Jesper used to drop by the provision shop after our kindergarten class to buy tidbits. Bee-Bee snack was 1 of Jesper's favourite and he would normally purchase 2 packs art a time. Last time the snack only costs 10 cents each.

Other than Bee-Bee snack, there were many other childhood tidbits macho mee, roro, kaka, coca cola candy and so on.... which we used to buy. Think it's time that i go in search of these tidbits to recall our sweet memories! :-)

Bak Kut Teh Dinner @ Home

It's been years since our family last ate bak kut teh together. When i was a child, dad will always bring Jesper and mi around Singapore to savour the best bak kut teh and since Adam was born, we lost touch with bak kut teh. Hmm... come to think of it, it has been more about 17 years.

Tonite's dinner can be considered as a reunion or a dinner to recap some sweet memories. I've decided to cook bak kut teh for dinner since today is a public holiday. YEah... a non-working day for mi, oso means a day where i will be bz in the kitchen. haha...

Chye Buay~also known as sour mustard.

Braised Assortment~consist of tau kua, peanuts and pork ribs.

Fried doughsticks~a must to have when eating bak kut teh.

Bak Kut Teh~pork rib soup with spices and herbs.

Our fantastic and wonderful dinner! Yummy~licious!

夏日鸡柳

I used to hate peppers, erm... i mean those bell shaped peppers. Oh yes, the green ones are known as capsicum. Hmm... strange enough i actually had crave for the yellow pepper this morning.
On my usual Sunday morning market trip, i managed to purchase some bell peppers and chicken. Thus, decided to come up with a new dish which consist of lovely colours veggie.

Ingredients;
2 chicken fillet, cut into strips
Bicarbonate soda
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp of knors chicken powder
1 tsp sesame oil
Carrot sticks
Celery sticks
Red & yellow pepper, cut into strips
Spring onions
1 garlic, minced
Shallot slices
Oil for frying

Sauce;
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp home-made chili paste
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp water

Method;
-Marinate with chicken with bicarbonate soda, light soy sauce, sesame oil & chicken powder for 1 hour.
-Fry garlic till fragrant, add carrots and fry for 2 mins. Toss in the remaining veggie and fry for a min.
-Push to side of wok, fry shallots slices with oil till lightly brown.
-Stir in chicken and fry till 80% cooked.
-Toss in sauce, fry till well mixed.
-Garnish & serve.
-Enjoy!

A new creation for our hearty dinner tonite.

Chill Out @ The Living Room ~Part II

Our 2nd time to chill out at The Living Room. Of all places in JB y Living room again? Well, the place is cosy, nice food & free wifi. It's totally different during weekends as compare to wat we come across during our 1st trip on a weekday.
Weekday it is normally quiet with onli a few customer. However, the place was totally packed despite being so late at nite. Probably the later the merrier :-P

Tako balls~ I simply love it & Tabby and i were spending the nite away debate on how tako balls were made.
Oh come on, they were made using special mould hotplate where the bateer were poured in, waiting till 1/2 cooked and add in ingredients. Turn & seal the balls, contine to cook till done. But Tab beg to differ, she instst those were frozen thus onli need to deep fried. Erm...so far i haven heard of frozen tako balls. Has anyone heard of it b4?

Fried onion rings

Choco Oreo & Ice blended mocha

My round 2 drink~Ice lemon tea

Tab had a lychee frapp but taste funny. Imagine lychee fruit blended with milk??? oh well, Tab refuse to admit that it taste funny, she put on a hard front and comment that she love to experience new funny food. haha....

Oh ya, we didn't managed to order chicken balls as another snack cuz we are too full. Oh well, KIV for next time round. We had a great chill out time and leaft the place after midnite, by time we reach Singapore was almost 2am in the morning! Cool ya!

Chill Out @ Liquid Kitchen~ Xiaoqi's 19th B'dae

I been in this company for almost a year and this is the 1st time we organize an "unofficial company event". Oh yeah, the bond among colleagues grew stronger after our incentive trip. Since Xiaoqi's b'day is round the corner, a small group of us decided to give her a surprise celebration.
Cynthia & Val were supposed to accompany Xiaoqi to the Liquid Kitchen for a drink while the rest of us bluff her that we were unable to join them. We went to buy a cake to surprise her, a group of us walked in with the cake and singing Happy Birthday song loudly, oh juz like those scenes that will happen in drama.

Birthday gal smiling sweetly with the cake. Surprise!

Cookies and Cream Cake

Erm... enough of warm up fun, time to order drink b4 we got chased out. haha...

Lychee Martini~ without lychee? where are they? oh well, in the gals's mouth. :-P

My all time favourite~Frozen Margarita

Tigers for the other ladies~so Singapore!

Say cheese! Snapping pic with Singapore's own brew tiger beer! Oh well, a tower!

Fruit punch for those who can't drink!

Crispy wedges! We ordered 3 baskets in total. So scary!

The youngest member in our chill out gang~2 years old Kristal. 1st time come across kid in a place for drinking. Lucky i called and ask b4 bring Kristal over. haha... She's so happy that nite. Reali enjoyed herself.

Oh so sweet of Kristal kissing mi goodbye. Dun worry, she's not drunk, juz feeling happy and excited. Last but not least, A Happy 19th Birthday to Xiaoqi.

Dinner @ Lerk Thai ~JB

Tabby & i "chiong" JB till late last nite. We were shopping in Tebrau City and since we have no idea what to have for dinner, decided to try out Lerk Thai. It was such a coincidence that it was both of our 1st time trying food from Lerk Thai. There are quite a few outlets in Singapore but sad to say that none of us ever tried. :-P

Lerk Thai menu

Green tea & sour plum juice

Phad thai~thai style flat rice noodles

Thai green curry~chicken & brinjal with green curry paste

Overall the food was not too bad, service is way below expectation & the price is quite costly for Malaysia price. Hmm.. dun think we will patronise that outlet again.

红油云吞

I bought the ingredients meant for preparing this dish, however mum deep fried some wantons instead! OMG, i told her i'm avoiding deep fried stuff these days! Omg omg, i'm gonna faint. Luckily mum didi set aside some uncooked wantons for me.

Yeah... i can still proceed to prepare my 红油云吞!

Ingredients;
Round wanton sheets
Boiling water
Oil

Fillings;
Minced pork
Water chestnut, chopped
Chopped corriander leaves
Chopped scallions
Sesame oil
Light soy sauce
Pinch of chicken powder
Corn flour

Hot oil;
2 tsp home-made chili paste
Oyster sauce
Sesame oil
Chopped scallions

Method;
-Prepare wanton by wrapping wanton sheets with fillings.
-Contine till mixture finishes.
-Bring water to boil, drop wanton into water.
-Remove when wanton cooked.
-Toss with hot oil, sprinkle chopped scallions and serve.
-Enjoy!
A quick & easy starter or side dish!