Min's food journal

Sambal Grilled Fish

2006-03-14T13:08:00.000+08:00

I stir-fried some onions, tamarind and sambal till fragrant then added to the fish and grilled in the conventional oven.

Good Idea?

2006-02-26T20:08:00.000+08:00

I am making this into my personal blog so watch this space.

Coffee Presspot

2005-10-13T13:16:00.000+08:00

This simple device makes the richest and most fragrant coffee!

hurricane katrina

2005-09-10T02:32:00.000+08:00

more at http://www.foxnews.com/

america had been great during my stay there so i am feeling a lot for the people...

Some food pics..

2005-08-26T19:59:00.000+08:00

Liang Cha(cooling tea) in the making.Chrysanthemum flowers, honey, red dates and dried logan are pictured here.

All in the pot

Finished product

Soy sauce wings with hinode mirin and sake

I love Starbucks!

2005-08-17T02:47:00.000+08:00

I used to have one venti Mocha Frappuccino almost daily because I lived near a starbucks store.Having cold coffee while chatting on MSN and watching Real World on MTV was heavenly=) I miss MTV U.S =( The MTV S.E.A on local cable doesn't even come close.

Anyway, I invented a recipe for making Mocha Fraps for cheap(nothing better to do) and it tasted really similar(approved by husband).

Starbucks Mocha Frap for cheap

Ingredients:-

one mug of cold milk
2 tsp instant coffee
2 tsp honey
2 tsp hot chocolate mix
whipped cream
ice

Method:-

Heat one quarter mug of milk in microwave and mix instant coffee, honey and chocolate mix thoroughly.Add the rest of cold milk then ice and finally top it up with lotsa whipped cream.

Szechuan...

2005-06-17T15:50:00.000+08:00

I have been eating this dish as long as I can remember..

Szechuan pork rib soup

Method:-

In this recipe I boiled 10 pork ribs(husband really likes pork ribs) and one sliced szechuan veggie with enough water to cover them.From the time you place the pot over the flame till it ends should take 60 to 90 minutes, that way you have "fall off the bone" kind of ribs..

My comfort food

2005-06-04T01:46:00.000+08:00

Home is still incomplete..pictures will take a while..

Pork Porridge

Salted Duck Eggs

I actually made better food in the last 2 weeks but after all that cooking and cleaning, I'm simply too tired to reach out for the camera..

Moving into my new home by this week

2005-05-16T16:55:00.000+08:00

A couple of kitchen pictures

Don't think I will post pictures on the rest of the ~~house~~home here.Leave a message if you want to see them..it will take a couple of days though=)

Edit* Yay I should be moving tomorrow!Great I can now catch up on reading the foodblogs!

Nigella's kitchen line is simple yet beautiful

2005-04-27T18:54:00.000+08:00

Wow if I have loads of cash to spare, I'll probably get everything from her line.

Calendar

Tea Towel

Mixing Bowl

Utensils Pot

Egg Cup

Cappuccino Cup and Saucer

Still here

2005-04-20T14:47:00.000+08:00

My Momo Bear fresh from Tokyo given by a friend

*Sometimes, I miss the bookstores in States.I can stay there for hours with my grande mocha frappucino and no one bothers.Here, I get elbowed by anxious moms buying stacks of assessment books and writing materials for their children..I am thin so it hurts more ok anndd you can be sure they won't apologise.Just be thankful they don't give you a TSK!What's with our country these days?

* I worked on my layout a little last night.Still kinda suck but better than my previous one.

*This looks cute and traditional for zen-inspired homes.

Major blog resurrection in a month or so

2005-04-03T04:04:00.000+08:00

*Chicken herbal soup recipe has been sent to all who requested for it.Let me know if you haven't received.

*Plenty of renovation stuff to think about these days.Hopefully by the end of the month everything will be done.I bought a nice dresser from Scanteak and am looking for a nice mirror to go with.Anyone knows where I can get sequinned and/or beaded mirrors like the ones below or prettier in Singapore, please let me know okay?

*Very pleased that The O.C. season 2 is showing in Singapore.Albeit 4 months late still it's better than nothing.I watch the show solely for Adam Brody and Rachael Bilson.They look super cute together!I like Summer's bedroom in the episode 2..something i wish my future daughter to have.

Hot damn they're smoking!

2005-03-18T05:48:00.000+08:00

I was reading Terry Tan's and Mrs Lee's nonya cookbooks reviews at Amazon and was ~~very~~ supremely happy to discover my 2 favourite Foodnetwork celebs came out with new cookbooks.

Giada De Laurentiis

*heart beats faster*

Tyler Florence!!

go Tyler go Tyler

Must visit Borders soon!

Some kitchen purchases for our new home

2005-03-12T15:02:00.000+08:00

Samsung Fridge( i love the layout inside..you can see your foods in a glance without constant digging)

Electrolux Oven

Brandt Washer and Dryer and Fujioh Hood and Hob.

Update

2005-03-11T04:16:00.000+08:00

My 28th birthday was nice and simple, the way i like it.I had a delicious asian dinner with my mother and husband.Mom gave me a kitty Tshirt(i was hoping for another girly cat:p), a nice chocolate cake from Four Leaves and a red packet containing money while husband the pink mini Ipod

Hub and I are still doing up our new home which will completed next month or latest by May.Don't feel like typing much as usual.Bye!

Herbal Chicken Soup

2005-03-05T23:12:00.000+08:00

Husband said I could open a herbal soup store:)

Did a fair amount of research on this recipe.~~Email me~~ Leave your email address behind if you are interested.

Husband dread this time of the year

2005-03-03T19:19:00.000+08:00

I will be 28 years in 6 days!

I am toying between...

Creative Zen Micro in pink

or

Ipod mini in pink

Just some random pictures

2005-02-28T03:45:00.000+08:00

Really pretty with all the colours of this Lo Hei dish

My nephew's 1st birthday(bad pic sorry)

Super cute Cadbury van

Pretty pic of Coffee Club Shenton Way

Music In My Kitchen via Stef

2005-02-13T11:46:00.000+08:00

First off, I don't listen to a specific genre of music.I love whatever sounds good to my ear be it rap/hip-hop, rock, classical or popular.Chinese or English doesn't matter.And of course I listen music to be entertained and not to please.

What is the total number of music files on your computer?
Should be a range between 100 to 150 files downloaded from spyware free sites:p Burnt cds and deleted quite a few files sometime back.Slow computer bugs me:P

The CD you last bought?
I don't normally get cds..the last one i got was 8 years back The Best of Air Supply and Chicago.

What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
wo yao fei( i want to fly??) by chinese rock group F.I.R

Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
Definitely too difficult to answer but I'll try

emotion by Destiny's Child
love is simple by David Tao
beach by David Tao
come what may by Ewan Mcgregor and Nicole Kidman
sway by Bunga(??)

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

Radical Chef- i'm curious what this lawyer cum domestic chef listens in her kitchen

Mik of l'art De Vivre- she seems like a very intelligent woman and an excellent cook..i'd love to know more about her.

Mrs Tweety- what kind of music does this ex-singaporean nice young lady listen to?hmmmm

Steamed Fish

2005-02-12T23:42:00.000+08:00

Taking a break from sinful goodies on CNY day 2, mother and I had steamed fish and stir-fry snowpeas for lunch.

Steamed Promfret(ginger, tomatoes, sliced chilli padi, light soy sauce, white pepper and salt)

steamed pomfret

Reunion Dinner in S'pore Pt 2

2005-02-10T04:51:00.000+08:00

L to R: New Moon brand Abalone and Sharksfin and Hokkien Ngoh Hiang( maternal family's iron clad ultra secret recipe:p)

New Moon Abalone and Ngoh Hiang

Reunion Dinner in S'pore

2005-02-10T04:35:00.000+08:00

I was not home for two consecutive Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations so this year's hold extra meaning to me.Dishes were simple as only Min, the husband and Min's mother are having the dinner but we enjoyed it very much nonetheless. Oh, Min's cat(Min's sidekick) woke up from her nice nap and walloped a shelled prawn!

Steamboat(pork rib soup, napa cabbage, prawns, fishballs, lobsterballs, an egg)

Reunion Dinner at mom's place

Chinese New Year Day 1 Dinner

2005-02-10T04:04:00.000+08:00

We had Lo Hei as a side dish.Sashimi was replaced with abalone slices which i thought tasted really good too.Lo Hei had numerous shredded veggies in it with a sweetish-tangy sauce.

Lo Hei at husband's sis place

The Coffee Club at Shenton Way

2005-02-07T18:06:00.000+08:00

We went down Shenton Way after my nephew's birthday hoping to do some shopping only to find them closed:p So we had some coffee instead.

Husband's

Singa Blend coffee

The Coffee Club(continue)

2005-02-07T18:03:00.000+08:00

Min's

Ice Blend Mocha

Hokkien Style Pork Rib Tea

2005-01-19T19:05:00.000+08:00

Mum's bak kut teh(pork rib tea)

2005-01-19T19:02:00.000+08:00

Best part about going home is having your mother prepare meals for you:)

Min's mum in action making stir-fry beans

Back in Singapore with cable internet!

2005-01-16T16:12:00.000+08:00

Mildly depressed by the recent asia tsunami disaster so didn't feel like talking/posting much.

Anyway, I have been busy with job applications, interviews and looking for renovators for our new home.We got the place at a reasonable price..it has good ventilation..layout is pretty excellent too.Waiting for HDB to release the keys now.

Oh and we won the lottery (4d) 2 weeks back LOL! Second prize!

Will be posting local delights soon.

Final few(i think) purchases

2004-11-30T18:54:00.000+08:00

Our boxes(boxes not Min and the hubby) will leave for sg in 2 days so we're rushing to buy, exchange unsatisfactory(badly scratched or inoperable) merchandise and pack our items.Min's lesson of the day:- always always insist on proper footwear(pretty sequinned slippers not acceptable:P:P) when shopping else -1C(41F) is guaranteed to have all your toes fall out.Silly Min's toes are fine...just very numb and painful at the moment.

Anchor Hocking bakeware set(this colour looks really pretty in real life)

Anchor Hocking 8 of 16oz tartan glasses cept' it's in blueberry( I love blue:))

What i had for Thanksgiving dinner(Sg style)

2004-11-30T04:25:00.000+08:00

The usual turkey with stuffing on the side, mash potatoes, devils eggs, pepperoni pizza, garlic bread, Cheng Tng, home-made barley...that's all i can remember.We celebrated thanksgiving at a friend's place:)

2004-11-23T17:06:00.000+08:00

Not exactly food...

Just a little something i got for the husband when i went out shopping

Shotglasses

2004-11-22T11:06:00.000+08:00

Chinese takeout for dinner

Wet chow fun(aka hor fun) with flat rice noodles, shrimp and lotsa veggies in a sweet/salty sticky sauce 8USD

Scrambled eggs with chicken and spring onions 7USD

2004-11-21T23:34:00.000+08:00

We decided to make Chicken Tenders before we head out for my haircut

My first attempt at making chicken tenders tasted alright but it could be better.I got the recipe from the show Cooking Thin at foodnetwork.com.The original recipe calls for salt(normal table salt) and peppering the raw chicken tenders, drenching it with plain yoghurt and coating toasted breadcrumbs but i will definitely add seasoned poultry salt and liberal amounts of olive oil next time round. I like their idea of baking the tenders in place of deep-frying though so will stick to that.

Chicken Tenders(bad picture sorry)

2004-11-20T19:28:00.000+08:00

Husband decided to skip thanksgiving dinner at work and have dinner with me.It was late when he reached home so we "ate out" again.I wanted to have Red Baron's oven baked pizza but husband felt like Panda Express.I obliged.

Husband's chao mein, orange chicken and beef broccoli combo

Min's kong pao chicken breast with green beans, mixed vegetables and steamed rice combo

2004-11-18T11:07:00.000+08:00

We decided to have Hawaiian takeout food tonight!

Husband's Chicken Katsu, a light mayo lettuce salad, macaroni salad and poorly prepared japanese rice(hubby said so himself:p)

Min's Hawaiian BBQ chicken thighs, a tasty cabbage stir-fry, macaroni salad and japanese rice.

2004-11-16T08:18:00.000+08:00

Some interesting kitchenware I found on Ebay

Part of the fun in cooking and eating is being able to use cool kitchenware/tableware.
Deery Lou cereal bowl

Deery Lou bowl and mug

Hello Kitty wooden chopsticks

Hello Kitty pink translucent bowl and chopsticks

Little Twin Stars toaster oven

Winnie The Pooh teapot

and the mug(excellent for tea or hot cocoa)

Going off to make pad thai for dinner.Ciao!

2004-11-13T17:09:00.000+08:00

Absolutely nothing to do with food but i thought i would post a picture of my DIY pedicure.

Pedicure!

2004-11-10T07:24:00.000+08:00

Howdy!It has been a long time.I have been making kitchen purchases through Amazon lately because they've one of the better deals around.Below are pictures of kitchenware that we've gotten or will be getting.

Calphalon 12" everyday pan(received)

Calphalon 5 quart chilli pot( i am buying 2 sets) waiting

Calphalon 12" omelette pan(received)

Farberware pro knife block set with KitchenAid blue chop board(received)afraid of knives so didn't get anything too fancy

2004-10-06T12:08:00.000+08:00

T-FAL Jamie Oliver Professional Series.(9-Piece Stainless Steel Set with Metal Safe Non-Stick and Thermo-Spot. Retail: US149.99)
Does anyone know how much they're selling this particular set in Singapore or are T-Fal products generally cheaper there?

2004-10-05T18:44:00.000+08:00

Click for bigger pic

Thai Coconut Red Curry Chicken made from coconut milk/non-fat milk combination, onions, garlic, cilantro, baby carrots and red curry paste.

2004-10-01T17:25:00.000+08:00

I beefed up the normal spaghetti with blanched cut brocolli and baby carrots, sliced white onions, chilli peppers, spag sauce, mushrooms, light weiners and eggs.The result is a very filling, quick and tasty dish.
Click for bigger pic

Hearty Spaghetti

2004-09-30T11:04:00.000+08:00

I'll be home[Singapore if you haven't figured out by now:) or probably you have since there's so many of us singapore born foodbloggers scatter across the globe] in less than 3 months.I'm so excited to be back soon.United States has been a great experience but really there's no better place than your own home.Maybe not being with my family for extended periods of time finally got to me..I don't know.

Anyway, there're a couple of foods I've to eat when I'm back but I've further narrowed down to the number 1 must eat on my first night in S'pore.

Hainanese Chicken Rice with a cuppa Teh-Oh of course!

2004-09-30T09:51:00.000+08:00

Click on pic for full size

Before you drive down to your local diner, you should try this tasty Pork Chops Dinner which is super easy to make.

Get cuts of pork chops from the supermart and marinate it with salt, mrs dash spicy herb rub, onion powder and garlic powder.I didn't bother to trim off the fat because I felt the meat would be tough and dry if I did so.French fries is seasoned with salt, black pepper and garlic powder.Bake pork chops and fries in a preheated oven at 400F for 30 minutes.Serve with steamed cauliflower.

2004-09-05T02:23:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts...have been busy lately.

Boulderstation Cafe overview

2004-09-05T02:22:00.000+08:00

Ham Steak Skillet( eggs, hamsteak, hashbrown with some toast on the side) from Boulderstation Cafe, off las vegas boulevard strip.

2004-09-05T02:14:00.000+08:00

Su(4) Shi(2) Ji(3) or Mixed Vegetables dish consisting of broccoli, cabbage, black fungus, sweet baby corn, mushrooms, chestnuts and carrots from chinatown express restaurant las vegas.

2004-08-15T11:40:00.000+08:00

Clear baking dish consists of baked salmon(red wine, tamari, dark soy sauce, mirin, black pepper, salt) with red onions atop.Wine glasses have Arbor Mist( my fav. brand) Island Fruits Pinot Grigio in them.
Click on pic:)

Sat.Dinner

2004-08-15T06:30:00.000+08:00

A quick dinner stop at our usual taiwanese restaurant at chinatown las vegas before shopping at the cutesy fruitsy Morning Glory.Think the restaurant is called Chinatown Express thereabouts.Whole braised fish we ate is basically thick-sweetish sauce consisting of white onions, spring onions, ginger, garlic, black mushrooms etc poured over whole fried fish.Simple yet scrummy.

whole braised fish

2004-08-14T11:28:00.000+08:00

Crispy Chicken Burger top of the pic
Fish Fillet Burger at the bottom

macs brunch

2004-08-14T11:24:00.000+08:00

I was away recently and just reached phoenix about 2 hours back( i'm glad i left vegas early cos' phoenix came down with the mother of all sandstorms shortly after i touched home).Took a few pics of food on my recent road trip which will be posted here by instalments.

First stop is the good old macdonalds at Surprise City for brunch.
Our bestselling local paper(AZ Republic)

macs

2004-08-02T16:19:00.000+08:00

Garlic Black Bean Prawns + Squids

Combined garlic black bean sauce with prawns/squids for dinner today and it turned out to be pretty good.I layed spring onions(aka green onions) as well as sliced ginger at the bottom of a baking tray then stacked the seafood on top.Poured in some water, rice wine and a couple tablespoonsful of Lee Kum Kee garlic black bean sauce.Cook till done in the oven at 375F.

2004-07-30T16:15:00.000+08:00

Shrimp Fried Rice ( click on pic for clearer/magnified image)

2004-07-30T16:10:00.000+08:00

Guotie( click on pic for clearer/magnified image)

2004-07-29T13:02:00.000+08:00

Guo Tie

I made potstickers for dinner tonight and we dipped them in sweetened vinegar/ginger combi sauce as well as vietnamese garlic chilli sauce.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d909b3127cceb3632946d5890000001610

2004-07-19T19:35:00.000+08:00

Simple sunday dinner

Can't get picture to show ..please click on link!:)
Shrimp Fried Rice with Curried Potatoes and Lettuce by the side

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d939b3127cceb2288bdcbd970000001610

2004-07-15T04:30:00.000+08:00

Western Style Dinner i guess

Salmon steak seasoned with salt, black pepper, lemon juice and graham masala then baked in a 375F oven for 30mins.Cholestrol-free fries were lightly dusted with seasoned salt and baked as well.

2004-07-12T12:52:00.000+08:00

Simple Hainanese Chicken Rice

I added cut-up chicken, leeks, spring onions, ginger, garlic, some salt to a pot of water then used the chicken stock to make the rice.

Hainanese Style Chicken and Rice drizzled with some sesame oil, dark soy sauce and garlic chilli sauce.

2004-07-10T09:27:00.000+08:00
I Love Snacking!

Strawberry Newtons-soft pastry with sweet jam filling

Chocolate Cake-topped with chocolate fudge and chocolate chips

2004-06-30T17:05:00.000+08:00
Fat Free Icecream??

Somewhere between eating bbqed meats by the pool and crashing at a guy friend's place on saturday, E served me some Dreyers vanilla icecream which i thought tasted pretty darn good.I never liked vanilla icecream much before but having this Dreyers thing completely changed my mind.

At 10pm tonight, I had a huge Dreyers craving so I begged hubby to get me some from walmart.Being a sweet person that he is..he got me this!

Dreyers no sugar added/fat free chocolate fudge icecream(sweetened with splenda)Awww my husband pays attention to what i eat

Contents

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!:)

2004-06-27T19:17:00.000+08:00
IKEA is opening a store in my city

Fantastic news don't you think?I am eyeing on a couple of items.

Tealights

Kitty Canister

Cup n Saucer

everything here looks so good

Flatware

2004-06-23T06:15:00.000+08:00
Hub's lunch inclusive of Cream Cheese Dip

Woke up really late today so it's all I can manage:)I got this idea from Ono Hawaiian BBQ restaurant near my place.

Roast Chicken and Baby Carrots with Dip over Rice

Cream Cheese Dip
Light mayonnaise
Fat free cream cheese
Oregano leaves(a few dashes)
Black pepper

2004-06-16T12:04:00.000+08:00
Kimchi Soup

I was inspired by Stef's post on kimchi soup and decided to try it out myself.

Kimchi Soup Recipe
1 small jar of cosmo brand kimchi(pickled napa cabbage) plus the juice
Vegetable broth
Mushrooms
Tofu
Ground beef
Chicken breast strips
Some salt

2004-06-16T03:11:00.000+08:00
I got crafty!!(not a food entry but what the heck)

I had always wanted to get a Sanrio Chococat Caddy to organise my kitty's things but it's pretty ridiculously priced over here so i decided to make the toy box myself.

I purchased the Tigger stickers from Dollar Tree last night and just did some arranging on an empty clear box i had laying around.Brushed on clear top coat to waterproof it...VOILA!!Rather decent looking i must say!:D I may jazz it up with some glitter glue but this is it for now.

2004-06-14T14:38:00.000+08:00
BBQ on saturday

We had a bbq gathering on saturday at our place but i only managed to take a picture of one of the dishes we made.Sidetrack: booze and grilled food don't really go together;p

BBQ chicken thighs

Easy Marinade:-
Garlic salt
Black pepper
Sesame oil
Honey
Tamari(sweeter than regular soy sauce)

2004-06-07T12:34:00.000+08:00
Homemade Hotpot

Soup base is made from vegetarian pho cubes together with some cilantro and spring onions for better taste.Ingredients are cooked using heated charcoal.

2004-06-02T22:55:00.000+08:00
My dinner for last night was Beef Wonton Soup..

Cept' i didn't wrap it with wonton skins but left it as beef meatballs instead.So intrigued i was by the vietnamese take on the chinese wonton soup i decided to purchase their stock cubes and tried making it for dinner.

Dissolve 2 stock cubes in 1.5 litres of water and add any kinds of meats or veggies you like.Bad pic sorry

My finished product with cabbage, silken tofu, eggs, beef meatballs(exact seasonings as wonton without skin)

2004-06-01T13:21:00.000+08:00
Satay Part 2 and Veggies Tofu Stir-Fry

I used the Spicy Satay recipe posted by avid cook Stef which includes chicken breasts strips(variation),cumin, corriander,red pepper flakes,lemon juice(variation),low-fat milk(variation),grated garlic and ginger.I have covered peanut sauce in previous entry so i won't go into that today:)

Normal Cauliflower and Tofu Stir-Fry

2004-05-27T15:29:00.000+08:00
Bak Kut Teh(Pork Rib Tea)

I can't remember if i had posted here before.

Chicken Bak Kut Teh made in my trusty USD15 4-quart crockpot.Add a little salt and ground black pepper just before serving.Slightly spicy, very fragrant and delicious yummy~

Below is the picture of the brand of Bak Kut Teh Sachets that I love.If you're travelling to Singapore or have family and friends visiting from Singapore, this is a must get item.It's made in Singapore(of course) and the company is Song Fa Trading.Mandarin words literally means Teochew Pork Rib Tea Spices.

2004-05-25T16:27:00.000+08:00
Is My Blog Burning?Around The World In A Bowl Of Rice hosted by Chez Pim

My modest contribution will be simple chicken rice prepared under the watchful eyes of Sally my cat.

*Japanese Rice(washed)
*Some napa cabbage
*Small Onion
*Mixed Veggies
*Chicken Strips
*Chicken stock
*Garlic salt
*Black pepper
*5 spice powder
*Rice wine
Mixed everything together and pop it into the rice cooker and cook till done.

yellowish cast is caused by the camera

Garnish by sprinkling some oregano leaves.

2004-05-24T08:54:00.000+08:00
Mee Sua Soup( birthday food)

It was my hubby's birthday on thursday so i made this for him.Mee sua soup has somen=P(but it tastes like mee sua i swear), 2 eggs, chicken strips, napa cabbage and crabsticks.

2004-05-20T06:59:00.000+08:00
Sir Fry Gailan with Prawns

I have switched my oyster sauce to a thailand made one and my stir-fry veggies is looking slightly more appealing.

2004-05-13T14:55:00.000+08:00
Stewed Chicken and Eggs(something i made way back)

2004-05-13T14:48:00.000+08:00
Hey guys I'll be busy with moving to a new place and everything.This is what i ate last night...

Jack in the box fastfood!Complete with fries and iced tea of course.

2004-05-10T14:14:00.000+08:00
Japanese Style Baked Fish

Here is the picture of the baked fish(fillets were done in pre-heated oven at 350F for 20 minutes).Recipe can be found a few posts back which is here.Goodnight people=)

2004-05-08T13:26:00.000+08:00
Hey guys...no dinner pictures as I am feeling rather sick and have been napping the whole day.Hmmm my life will also get busier with courses and stuff hence i may only post pictures and how tos if i manage to whip up something excitingly different.I figure nobody wants to see the same food over and over again too=)

Have a nice weekend everyone!

2004-05-07T11:39:00.000+08:00
After Dinner Tea and Fruit

My post dinner tea and snack..

2004-05-07T11:08:00.000+08:00
Chicken Parcels

The usual suspects ie garlic salt, black pepper, rosemary herbs, good honey, chinese rice wine, dark soy sauce, 5 spice powder(not pictured here).

How to:-
Marinate chicken with the above-mentioned seasonings.Let stand at least 30 minutes.Wrap chicken pieces with parchment paper and bake in the pre-heated oven at 400F for 35 minutes.

Hubby's share of dinner:)

2004-05-06T12:26:00.000+08:00
Spicy Peking Noodles

Made with hot bean paste & imitation shrimp noodles.The rest of the recipe can be found at RecipeSource.com=)

2004-05-05T11:09:00.000+08:00
Chinese Steamed Buns

Had the urge to eat pau(s) today so i made that for dinner.I only managed a couple of pictures though as my hands were full.Sorry about that.

1 teaspoon sugar & 1 quarter ounce active dry yeast stirred into 1 cup lukewarm water.

After the yeast mixture turned foamy(10minutes), I added it to 3 cups flour and kneaded the dough until it became "elastic".

Cover it with a damp cloth and let the dough proof for about 3 hours.Afterwhich it should look like this picture.

Divide the dough into 16 equal parts.

Roast pork filling:-

ground pork
canned water chestnuts(oriental section of walmart)
light soy sauce
rice wine
scallions finely chopped
honey
salt
pepper
red colouring(i got this from walmart)

Combine ingredients together and sautee them in a hot skillet.

Flatten each piece of dough with a rolling pin and place 1 tablespoon of pork filling in the centre.Seal up the corners with fingers and steam the buns for 20 minutes.

Not really attractive....I still need a lot of practice:)

2004-05-04T12:36:00.000+08:00
Homemade dinner on a plate(thai red chicken/veggie curry & egg custard)

My dinner cramped onto a plate.It's something asians rarely do but i didn't feel like washing much tonight.I added some rice wine before steaming the eggs and it was yummy!

2004-05-03T12:38:00.000+08:00
My own variation of Mee Goreng & Japanese Grilled Fish

Ingredients and seasonings for mee goreng

Cilantro
Shallots
Garlic
Pepper
Salt
Light soy sauce
Chilli powder
Hoisin sauce
Rice wine
Dark soy sauce
Sweet soy sauce
Egg noodles
Eggs
Carrots
Prawns
Bak Choi

For how to, kindly refer to my previous mee goreng entry on march 27th=)

Japanese Grilled Fish( no picture taken becos it didn't look pretty..but it tasted good tho' so here's the recipe)

Fish dusted with salt and ground black pepper
Chinese light soy sauce(i prefer this to japanese shoyu)
Mirin
Lemon juice
Ginger
Rice wine

Grill for about 10 minutes on each side.

2004-05-02T11:35:00.000+08:00
Satay with Peanut Sauce!

Alright since i haven't had much luck in finding Lodge Logic pre-seasoned cast iron grill pan at my nearest grocery stores, I bought a hamilton beach electric grill as its replacement.At US40.00 a pop, definitely more expensive than most cast iron grills.Silver lining?Lesser smoke, easier cleanup and without having to repeatedly season the grill.See everyone is happy 'cept maybe my poor wallet:\

In the midst of cooking chicken satay.

My dinner inclusive of dipping peanut sauce.I got a new tablecloth heh!

Satay

3lbs chicken breast strips
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
A little rice wine
Minced garlic and ginger
1 tablespoon honey

Peanut Sauce

Some low fat milk
Creamy peanut butter
Thai red curry paste
Honey

2004-05-01T12:03:00.000+08:00
Friday's simple fare[Chicken&Hotdogs(!) fried rice and Cabbage/Onion Soup]

I think i may have taken over a year to get my fried rice tasting like the ones in south-east asia.Yeap i came a long way,but it's all worth it.

The "trick" is cooking your fried rice with thai jasmine rice or basmati rice.Both textures are light and separated as oppose to japanese rice.Secondly, make your rice with slightly less water than usual to avoid clumps and better ease at tossing.Lastly, experiment with different seasonings each time until you find what clicks with your family.

For japanese rice, i prefer eating them in donburi style meals.The dense sweetish taste of the rice really brings out the flavour of "rice bowl dishes".

2004-04-30T10:31:00.000+08:00
Char Grill Teriyaki Chicken with Onions over Japanese Medium-Grain Rice and Tom Yum Soup

The grill.

Our dinner

I bought a cast iron grill/griddle yesterday evening for fairly cheap at US7.00 and decided to break into it today.That is after drenching the device completely in oil, blasting it atop the stove to non-stick proof it of course.The chicken had a hint of smokiness which I found rather appealing to the tastebuds.Think along the lines of bbq chicken:)

Teriyaki marinade is made from scratch:-

2 and half tablespoons of light soy sauce
2 tablespoons of rice wine
3 tablespoons of mirin
1 tablespoon of minced ginger(i used a food processor for that)
1 lb chicken strips

Grill the marinated chicken strips and onions on cast iron till done.

I didn't add any egg or garnish for dinner but you are certainly welcome to do so.

2004-04-29T11:41:00.000+08:00
Baked Sweet n Sour Fish with Silken Tofu

Sweet and sour marinade consists of one cup kikkoman sweet n sour sauce, one tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon yeo's spicy chilli sauce, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 4 tablespoons shaoxing wine.Lightly dust fish with salt and ground black pepper.Place fish in baking tray then pour marinade over the fish.Pieces of silken tofu around the fish.Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 25 minutes.Serve immediately.

I know it's pretty tasty because the husband ate 2 full bowls of rice today;)

Oh and they're selling for US11.00 per fish at a restaurant whereas i spent only US5.00 for making 2.

2004-04-28T12:11:00.000+08:00
Green Curry Fish

Mae Ploy green curry paste is da bomb!No fuss delicious green curry is just a tub away i'll say!Ok I went to walmart for some grocery shopping today and got a US1.97 oval-shaped oven baking tray for some stove-top cooking.It stood up to my green curry cooking pretty well:):)

Green Curry Process:-

The usual shallots and cilantro on a heated deep tray till fragrant.

Vegetables, fish(tilapia), low fat milk together with mae ploy green curry paste are added next(one fish is saved for hub's lunch tomorrow).

Flip the fish and place some crabsticks around the tray

Finished dish

We also had vegetable and onion soup for dinner.

2004-04-27T14:45:00.000+08:00
Asian Spicy Seafood Fried Rice

Ok i am not posting pictures of my dinner( assorted vegetable and potato soup,hot bean paste fish and japanese gohan aka rice)tonight...I assume you should all know how they look like by now=)Instead, I shall do a step by step on how to make spicy seafood fried rice since I am making it for hubby's lunch anyway=)

Fry minced garlic, chopped onions and a handful of cilantro in a heated wok.

Fry chinese sausages first, then an egg.After browning them, add in your baby octopus.

When octopus is almost done, your prawns goes in next.

Chinese cabbage.Stir fry till it's just wilted.

Toss cooked jasmine rice in together with some red chilli powder, ground black pepper and fish sauce.

In a lunch box for my husband's lunch tomorrow=)

Will touch on gohan making another time.

2004-04-26T12:48:00.000+08:00
Pork Congee

Hubby wants a light lunch for tomorrow and i am cooking pork congee over the crockpot now.

Pork slices are marinated with light soy sauce, ground black pepper and sesame oil.Congee is made with one cup(180cc) of washed raw jasmine rice, equal amounts of water and chicken broth.One part rice:8 to 9 parts liquid.Salt to taste after congee is done.

2004-04-25T11:23:00.000+08:00
Thai Red Curry Prawns/Baby Octopus/Chicken,Chai Tow Kway,Assorted Veg Soup

Hiya people!!I am glad it's saturday already...which means Min will be browsing at barnes &noble after dinner.Okay enough about me for now.I had more time to take pictures of my cooking process today...hopefully it will at the very least be fairly informative to you.Hub's also helping me wash the dishes now(yah why not just dump everything in the dishwasher right?heh heh) therefore giving me some opportunity to describe more narratively.

We got a number of good asian foodstuff(particularly pastes) at Lam's.Thailand's Mae Ploy curry pastes taste really authentic not to mention cheap!It should not cost more than US2.00 per small tub.My gosh!Please check it out on your next asian grocery store visit guys.I seriously find getting some off the shelf pre-made curry pastes way more cost-effective plus convenient than say..purchasing galangals,basils,kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and pounding it with a mortar and pestle.I checked out those individual spices today and boy were they expensive!

Thai Red Curry Prawns/Baby Octopus/Chicken
I sweated chopped shallots and a handful of cilantro in a large stockpot with some heated olive oil then added a couple of tablespoonsful of Mae Ploy red curry paste.Stir fried till fragrant.

Tossed a few pieces of cut up chicken(optional becos i had some laying in the fridge) and low fat milk.When chicken was almost done, i added some baby octopus and prawns.Allow all the ingredients to slowly simmer for a couple of minutes till fully cooked.

Chai Tow Kway

Coarsely chopped up turnip cakes and pickled radish in a bowl

I fried the minced garlic till fragrant

Added in turnip cakes and pickled radish.Broke up the cakes alittle bit.

Eggs and sambal gandaria

Red Curry, Chai Tow Kway(garnish with cilantro and sweet dark sauce) and Assorted Veg Soup(szechuan mustard, chinese cabbage,onions, gailan, eggs with canned chicken broth...made in crockpot which i found changed the colour of green leafy vegs:(..the soup tastes better than it looks)

It was a really good dinner!And we had plenty of leftovers for lunch so no lunch pics tomorrow

2004-04-24T12:57:00.000+08:00
Friday's dinner

I made less food for dinner tonight as hub's not working tomorrow.Well... actually he is but he'll be back early.

Veggie Soup and Stir Fry Pork with Green Beans

2004-04-23T12:25:00.000+08:00
Tonight's Dinner

I fiddled with my camera settings and the pictures ended up looking dark.Bleah.

Today, fresh steamed fish was lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, light soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, minced garlic and 3 pickled plums.It tasted really good.

Tom yam soup had water, kombu, small florets of cauliflower, mushrooms, black fungus, tom yum paste, hotdogs and beaten eggs simmered in a crockpot.Some cilantro was stirred in to give it extra punch.I am going to add ground beef later for hubby's lunch tomorrow.

Another photo edited for brightness

2004-04-22T11:24:00.000+08:00
Another typical dinner(Miso Soup, Mixed Veg & Tomatoes Omelette, Japanese Stew)

I tweaked the ingredients of miso soup and japanese stew a little bit for tonight's dinner.Hey my food pictures are starting to look the same lol!Posting the pic in case anyone still wants to see it=)

Miso Soup(refer to april 17th post too):-

One sheet of kombu
One litre water
One cut up small corn
Half cake of tofu
Small florets of cauliflower
Some napa cabbage
2 tablespoons soy bean paste

Japanese Stew:-

Dashi stock(miso soup prior to adding soy bean paste)
Potatoes
Ground beef
Onion
Mirin
Light soy sauce
Rice wine
Cornstarch
Salt

Serve with fluffy, high quality thai jasmine rice.

2004-04-21T11:06:00.000+08:00
Garam Masala Vegetable Stew, Braised Fish, Steamed Eggs with Mixed Veggies

Nothing creative with tonight's dinner.Garam Masala stew has hotdogs in it.I used fat-free hotdogs from Oscar Meyer which made me poorer by US4.00.Man!This thing better be fat-free or I'll be really pissed!!Braised fish recipe is the same as steamed fish just different methods of cooking.I also added a couple of tablespoons fish sauce.Steamed eggs is a common dish in chinese homes so i won't go into that.

Edited to include braised/steamed fish recipe and steamed eggs recipe:

How to for braised fish:-
Lightly marinate cleaned/gutted fish with salt and ground black pepper.Spray hot skillet with fat-free olive oil and fry the ginger slices till fragrant.Add some water, fish sauce, bean paste, dark soy sauce and shaoxing/rice wine.Place your fish in gravy and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes max.

How to for steamed fish:-
Lightly marinate cleaned/gutted fish with salt and ground black pepper.Rub liberal amounts of beanpaste(spicy or normal is fine tho' i normally use spicy), light soy sauce and shaoxing/rice wine.Put ginger and tomatoes slices on top of the fish.Steam for 20 minutes max.

How to for steamed eggs:-
Beat 3 eggs in a bowl and pour in some water/broth.Season the mixture with light soy sauce, salt, pepper.Add in whatever meats or veggies you like.Minced pork, minced beef, mixed veggies, hotdogs etc are good examples.Steam in rice cooker till done.

2004-04-20T11:59:00.000+08:00
Our Clean Simple Dinner

It's one of those days again people.I am having yet another cycle( one of my many cycles) of insomnia.Feeling exhausted and slightly cranky, i decided to throw together some ingredients and call that dinner.Why not just order takeouts you may ask?I'm not sure too...it probably has to do with a combination of my nearest chinese restaurant serving below-average food and us prefering homeprepared meals.I hope i don't come across as being picky about food or a food snob.Really I am not.My last kongpao chicken takeout dinner from the above mentioned restaurant had blood in it.Raw poultry is definitely not acceptable.

Assorted Soup has ham choy, pickled plums, tomatoes, potatoes, napa cabbage, tofu, lightly marinate beef meat balls, crabsticks, eggs, wedged onions in a thick chicken broth.

An overview Min and hubby's simple dinner tonight.I will say this is fairly typical of chinese homecooking.Please correct me if i am wrong:)Sidetrack: I always make extra food for hub's lunch the next day.Am trying to cut down burgers and fries in our diet.

2004-04-19T12:11:00.000+08:00
Thai Style Spicy & Tangy Chicken

Before I left for my road trip, I casually mentioned(well maybe not that casual..I was practically screaming on my foodblog lol) I was going to make assam(tamarind) fish.Well, I regretfully didn't have the time to gather my assam fish ingredients that week so i kinda had to abolish the idea.

Today, Hubs and I dropped by another oriental store( named Manila) downtown to purchase some ingredients for tonight's dinner.On the spur of the moment, i decided that i would cook thai style spicy & tangy chicken instead because getting a good size fish in my state is virtually impossible if not pricey as there're no nearby oceans.I know, how sad.Anyway, we scored gai choy, red onion, white onion, cilantro and 2 rice bowls there.Each rice bowl costed US0.99 tax inclusive.I wonder if i had gotten a great deal.We couldn't find fresh chillies but i stored a bottle of sambal olek( a blend of red chillies,salt,vinegar,sugar) in my fridge so it was all good=)

I sweated one diced red onion, white onion and cilantro on a heated wok with some olive oil and added a couple of tablespoonsful of the sambal olek.Stir fried until the spices were fragrant.Put in half a cut up chicken and sliced eggplant.Browned the chicken, then poured in enough lowfat milk to cover the ingredients.Allowed the chicken in spicy gravy to simmer over medium heat for a good half an hour or so.Then 3 tablespoons of fish sauce.Added in some tamarind and sugar.Served the chicken dish with white fluffy jasmine rice.[My husband enjoyed the dish a lot.]

We also had a stir fry gaichoy dish on top of that.I wanted something light and clean to balance out the chicken dish.

No picture of our entire meal today sorry.

Made a nice fulfilling salad last night and a tuna and cheese sandwich(toasted bread) for lunch today.Hubs assembled ham, tuna and cheese sandwich(?weird but i think that tasted rather good).Salad recipe can be found a few posts back.Goodnight=)

2004-04-18T07:13:00.000+08:00
Oyako Don(Chicken and Egg Donburi) for saturday lunch OIISHII!!

First off, I made dinner last night but didn't post pics of it as I had done a similar entry before(it was steamed fish and stir-fry kailan).I figured nobody wanted to see another boring post of it=)

Yesterday, hubby and myself went to an exclusively japanese oriental grocery store downtown called New Tokyo Market thereabouts.The food selection was miniscule and everything prepackaged.Not fresh ingredients we were hoping for(they had interesting magazines albeit pricey there though).Feeling rather disappointed, we drove back to our usual oriental market(Lam's) which was just a couple of minutes away and made some good japanese purchases there.

Konbu or Kelp(US2.09) for making soup stock

Fermented Soy Bean Paste(US2.99) a humongous packet for making Miso Soup

2 pieces of washed konbu placed in 1 liter water to simmer NOT BOILING.About 45 minutes or so later, mix in 2 tablespoonsful of soy bean paste for miso soup.I added small florets of cauliflower and tofu in it.

How to for the chicken:-

one chicken breast(sliced,lightly marinated with salt, black pepper, light soy sauce) and one white onion were browned in a hot skillet sprayed with PAM, before pouring in some soup stock(ie prior to adding the soy bean paste).Allow the entire contents to slowly simmer.Then 2 tablespoonsful of mirin(jap sweet cooking wine), 2 tablespoonsful of rice wine and 2 tablespoonsful of light soy sauce.Cornstarch to thicken the mixture.Serve.Slightly sweet and salty.Very delicious.

Some rice at the bottom of the donburi bowl, chicken and onion stir fry in the middle, crack an egg at the top.Garnish with parsley.I ODed on the parsley*blush*

Miso Soup middle of this picture in the white bowl.In japanese restaurants, they serve miso soup in smaller individual bowl per person but i was feeling real lazy today:p Apparently, miso has many healthy benefits like improving blood circulating, reducing high blood pressure etc.I will definitely be preparing more of this broth for my husband.

2004-04-16T15:39:00.000+08:00
More previous cooking adventures;christmas eve dinner last year

Sweet n Sour Prawns

1 pound prawns/shrimp(marinate with salt,pepper,3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbspful chinese cooking wine)
5 to 6 tbspful of sweet sour sauce(Lachoy brand from walmart)
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 egg

How to:
Lightly brown minced garlic.Cook marinated prawns for abt 3 mins.Add sweet sour sauce,ketchup,chilli sauce and 1 beaten egg.Stir fry till done.

Roast Chicken

Sprinkle salt, ground black pepper and abt 5tbsp of dark soy sauce on half a cleaned chicken.Coat chicken liberally with honey and 5 spice powder.Baked in a 375F oven for about 45 mins.

Sambal Baked Fish

Sprinkle salt, ground black pepper, juice of 3 limes, a little sugar and abt 4 tbspful of sambal on 2 catfish fillet.Add half a sliced onion on top.Baked in a 375F oven for abt 20 to 30 mins.

2004-04-16T14:20:00.000+08:00
Just reached home and am feeling pretty exhausted as we were on the road about 12hrs daily for the last couple of days(trying to see as much with the least possible time).I wouldn't recommend anyone do that at this time of the year though...it's too dangerous. I will probably take the next few days to rest, tidy up my place a bit and squeeze some home-cooking in between.Ok as for what we ate during the trip...we had a good asian dinner at las vegas taiwanese restaurant, an average japanese express lunch at denver,burger king's fire-grilled chicken whopper at santa fe(NM) tasted really good and numerous subway sandwiches.Hmmm nothing too exciting.

Final note:- Will definitely post pics if i manage to whip up an excitingly different dish.Most days i just prefer to have light dishes or meals:)

2004-04-10T01:27:00.001+08:00
A pic of last night's salad taken today.Very substantial I must say.

If you have to prepare your salad in advance let's say for a party, seasoned salt should be added shortly before serving.Salt pulls water from your lettuce and potatoes(osmosis) and makes your tossed salad soggy.

PS. This foodblog will probably not be updated with homecooked meals till April 18th.I'm going on a roadtrip.. a trip that we've not really started planning.Yeap hence we'll be drafting our route today and tomorrow..leaving on sunday hopefully.But do check back this blog after 18th.

2004-04-09T12:23:00.000+08:00
Low Fat Salad Dressing Recipe

I didn't take a pic of my salad dinner tonight but I'm certain everyone knows how a salad looks like yes?:)My hubby and myself had many servings of the tasty but healthy salad.Oh one thing to note when you're reading my foodblog, i rarely use olive oils(liquid) or vinaigrette in my dressing and try as much to make my seasonings and ingredients low fat unless i feel the sacrificial of oils or fat will compromise the taste of a dish.I've also replaced olive oil with fat-free olive oil spray for stir-frying.No decrease in yummy factor despite these minor adjustments:)

Recipe
Lettuce
Boiled potatoes
Crabsticks( a good addition)
Canned tuna( in brine)
Cherry tomatoes( so sweet and taste like a fruit..yummy)
Boiled eggs
Dressing( personal concoction)
Low fat mayonnaise
Prepared mustard
Rice wine vinegar
Ground black pepper
Seasoned salt(those used to make roast chicken and turkey types)

How to:-

Cut ingredients into bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl.Add in your dressing and toss.Having some croutons in the salad is also a tasty option.Spread low fat butter(5g fat per serving/tablespoon) on toasted bread and slice into cubes with a knife.Try it people I'm sure you'll love it:)