Automne 2012 #4

Halloween night with A's family and Asian Cooking Lesson for A. It was loads of fun!!

I demostrated to her how Thai Pineapple Rice, Thai Green Curry with prawns and pumpkin (cos' there are loads this season and it goes well with curry), Korean Spicy Calamari, Japanese Crispy Chicken, Sweet & Sour Pork (both eaten by the kids before I can take a pic.  

A's notes in her mother tongue (while I was telling her everything in English) on the recipes tonight. LOL!  

The first time I saw a Jack O' Latern, made by the eldest kid! So cute!!  

The view I woke up to this morning, with extremely crisp and fresh air!!  

A's second daughter, making X'mas decorations.  

How I made my friend's child an Asian gay. Hahahaha!  

I really should stop telling every European I came across with these finger hand signs in photos!!

Printemps 2012 #14

One of the many good stuff I brought back I kinda stolen it from her fridge actually... hahaha!! from Singapore last year - dried scallops, from my mom.


Soaking them in water for a good few hours before use.


Anything plain can be good with XO sauce and extra dried scallops.


My lunch tomorrow - assorted veggies, custard egg (chawanmushi) and brown rice.

Hiver 2011/2012 #11

One of the toys I brought back from Singapore - a small wooden rolling pin that fits the size of my hands.

I use this primarily for making the skin of my gyozas or dumplings for now. This is an excellent purchase. It is so much easier for me now compared to the giant rolling pin I was using before that were meant for men or people who likes to roll out their dough while grabbing onto the rolling pin at both ends, it just exhaust me completely at the end. With this hand-held size, I totally feel like a Ding Tai Fung expert. LoL!!

The fillings that I'm very proud of - burst of meat juices the moment you bite into it.

Yes, you are right, I was wrapping my gyozas while watching streaming tv serials/varieties from my laptop. Haha! I do them in bulk (50 of them at the end usually), so that I don't have to go through the whole session of making the dough again for the next 2 - 3 sessions.

Pan-fried versions for W.

I like mine in soups. A very versatile dish that allows you to do it in the style you prefer.

Hiver 2011/2012 #5

My huge parcel from ♥home♥ finally arrived 1.5 weeks ago, just in time for X'mas.


Sauce packs, spices, dried seafood, etc.

Finally, I can eat my braised pork belly with beancurd skin and hard boiled eggs very soon!!

Dried scallops from mum & XO sauces!!


"Kentucky" chicken tenders tonight. It was sheer luck that I discovered (last year when I brought these 2 different types of spices to try) combining these 2 packs will render fantastic results.

Seasoned the sliced chicken breasts with "Seah's Fried Chicken Spices" for 30 mins before dipping them into whipped egg whites and "Kentucky" spice powder.

I think it is obligatory to have an electric whisker for the whipped egg whites because it took me 4-5 mins to get the right texture at the highest speed while pressing onto the "turbo" button. I don't know how long it would have taken if one is doing it manually... Also, maybe, I'm really weak, but my arm was kind of aching while holding onto the electric whisker.

The result was really crispy and light (due to the introduction of the egg whites) chicken tenders while retaining the moisture of the meat. I studied the ingredients of the packs and think it would be quite easy to replicate them myself. I will try it in future and add in more chilli powder because I don't find the "spicy powder" spicy at all. 

Personally, I don't fancy fried food a lot because it always irritate my throat after that. Smelling the oily fumes while deep frying them didn't help either. However, it is worth the effort if you have someone in the family who likes it.

Hiver 2011/2012 #1

I found this packet of "bean sprouts" in the Korean supermarket that I frequent. It seems very popular with the local Korean community and looks different from the usual bean sprouts I'm used to. I bought a packet to try.

I cook it ala Korean style (like what I did previously here) with some soya sauce, Korean chilli powder, sesame oil and sesame seeds after giving them a quick dip in the boiling water. This dish is so simple that I don't even know whether it should be defined as "cooking". LoL. I like it very much though.

Anchovies. The Korean supermarket sell it frozen here. 

This dish, from what I know, have the sweet & spicy version, as well as the sweet and salty version because honey or corn syrup are being used for both versions. This is the sweet and salty version. =)

Automne 2011 #31

With the spinach & watercress that I bought from the marché, I used 30 mins to prepare my one week supply of vegetable side dishes, because working = (1) no time (2) not much time (3) not in a mood for cooking.

I like preparing Korean-styled side dishes because they keep well.

And, I'm preparing watercress and spinach together because I'm using almost the same seasonings (less complicated when it comes to preparation and much faster when it comes to process), the only major difference would be one is spicy, the other isn't.

Coordination is the key here. I boil the vegetables in batches because of their quantity. If you boil them altogether, there will be some parts that are undercooked, and some overcooked cos you cannot turn them in time in the boiling water.

Also, get the tub of cold water right next to the stove, so that you can transfer them quickly to stop the cooking process.

After 10 mins of mixing the seasonings, store them in air-tight containers before putting them into the fridge.


Dinner - 2 servings of watercress & 1 serving of spinach, with pork slices in XO-sauce (spicy version).


I felt really full after this, it must be all that fibre.

Automne 2011 #25

I've been doing one-dish meal loads. It is easy and fast. "One dish meal" in my dictionary defines a dish that comprises of vegetables, meat and rice (or noodles, or anything carbohydrates).

麻婆豆腐 is nice especially during cold weather conditions. 

麻婆豆腐, or Mapo Tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chilli- and bean-based sauce.

People don't usually drizzle beaten eggs into their Mapo Tofu but I did it for mine cos I like them. =)


Mixed vegetables, minced beef (no more minced pork in the fridge), silken tofu (yums!!), beaten eggs in chilli bean-based sauce.


Every Asian needs his/her bowl of rice to feel right at some point of the day. LOL

The French living with me tasted this and told me it is very similar to chilli corn carne. Really?

Automne 2011 #19

It is still the harvest season for mussels here. We will have this dish almost every Saturday with the mussels bought fresh from the local marketplace. With the freshest ingredients, little is needed to make it even more delectable than it is.

Washed mussels in the pan.


Mixed parsley, shallots and garlic.


A dash of black pepper.


A full glass of white wine. =D


The final step, which is also my favourite step - adding scoops of sour cream to the pan of freshly cooked mussels!! Yummy!! I love sour cream!!


Bon Appétit!!

Automne 2011 #18

I love peasant food. They are always so comforting. These were just some of what we had over the week.

W's supper - Scrambled eggs with melting butter toasts.


Chinese cabbage with shrimps, black fungus & Shiitake mushrooms.


Long beans & turkey breast with XO sauce - spicy version (This sauce is just MARVELLOUS!!).

Automne 2011 #16

W loves Japanese curry with cripsy chicken/pork cutlet. So, this dish has been a weekly occurence (JY came to our place, ate it and named it "Curry Sunday" LOL). Recently, I decided to "upgrade" the cutlet to crispy CHEESY cutlet.

Tonight's - Crispy cheesy pork cutlet. See the cheddar oozing out?


W is trying to gain weight, this is his jumbo size version with omu rice.


This is mine, I prefer plain rice with curry.


The aftermath.

最近，因为近期的天然灾害频频在各个媒体上的报道是多么地让人难过， 自己也没有心情在 blog上写什么去什么好玩的地方、买了什么让自己或周遭的人开心的东西、吃了什么美食、更别说在这里发一些无关痛痒的日常牢骚，这些只会让自己倍感惭愧。

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这是我冬天经常煮的西式杂菜汤。拥有非常丰富的纤维。

一滴油也用不着！而且非常好喝！

我用了zuchinnis, celery, carrots, turnip and leeks。

其实，自己平时吃得很清淡。好在本身很喜欢吃蔬菜。

而且，如果用料新鲜的话，不需要高消费，煮出来的东西，不用很多调味料，味道也不会差到哪里去。


成品：西式杂菜汤！！
加了一大陀即肥死人又使血管堵塞的 sour cream。 哈哈哈！！



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上个星期也把留了几十年的长发要一鼓作气地剪了。看到理发师毫不犹豫地用剪刀一唰下去就是我那30公分的头发真的不得不说自己的确不自觉地愣了几秒，过后就是有一点不舍、担心(剪短是否是正确的决定？这个理发师到底会不会剪得好？还是像成千上万的理发师一样，听完顾客的讲解只是无畏的噢噢噢噢噢噢噢噢，结果却是不知道是什么的发型)，当然也有那么一点点的心痛。


前长后短。

自己挺满意的。
起先感觉有点不适应，近几天慢慢喜欢很久没有享受到的轻便了！


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 Happy weekend, everyone! Count your blessings really.
You're truly blessed when you are living in a place free from natural disasters and having your family members and friends around you.

本小姐最新的厨房传家之宝！！煲靓汤就靠它了！！

It was Nana who told me about this thermal cooker. It is relatively simple. There are 2 parts to this pot - the removable metallic pot and the outer case which is the insulator for the "thermal slow cooking" part later.

I got this from Tangs, but Takashimaya is having a promotion for this. However, the size I wanted was out of stock. The one I have is the second smallest in capacity. I didn't get the smallest one even if I'm the only one drinking it (cos' the Ang Mohs in my house don't give 养身养颜 a shit and since they are already so "臭老", I guessed it doesn't matter. LOL!! Hahahaha!! ) as I've studied the amount of water you need to add for those ready packed soup packs are usually 2 - 2.5 litres on the average. And, if you consider the volume generated by the other ingredients like chicken/pork or some veggies, 2.5litres is actually a good size.

Beware not to be greedy and get one too much for your family's consumption as this apparatus will not be at its optimal performance if it is not at least 80% full.

Bring water to a boil over the stove with the removable pot. Put all the ingredients/herbs you've got for your soup of the day. Bring everything to boiling point again, simmer for another 15-20 mins. After that, just put it back inside the outer case. Close lid and it will cook by itself for the next few hours.

I could have nice soups everyday after work!! Yay!!

This is my first attempt using this, so I just add in the stuff I could find in my fridge for testing (just in case this apparatus is a complete useless piece of junk, I won't have to waste those few packets of precious soup packs I brought back) - Ginseng (given by dearest mummy!!) chicken soup with wolfberries & red dates. I added some carrots and turnips slices to sweeten up the whole thing. I didn't have to add in any salt at the end. Jolly goodness!!

Soup lover, me!