Stir-fry chicken with capsicum

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredient:
2 chicken drumsticks (skin and bones removed)
1 green capsicum
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum

Sauce:
2 tablespoon tau cheong (taucu) or bean paste
1/2 teaspoon corn starch (for thickening)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 bowl of water

1) Cut the chicken into cubes.

2) Stir-fry the chicken until it is almost done.

3) Stir-fry capsicums for a while (around 30 seconds) before adding the sauce.

4) Let the sauce simmer for while. Dish up when the sauce has thicken and almost dry up.

NOTE: I didn't buy the yellow capsicum because it is not fresh. When you're choosing capsicum, press slightly on the flesh. If it is hard, then it is fresh.

Banana sponge cake (without baking soda)

Thanks to Hooi Thiam for this recipe. Now, I don't need to use any self-rising flour or baking soda in baking my cake. But it took me quite some time practising until I get my cake to rise.

Pictures show process (top left to right)




Ingredient A:
3 egg yolk
9 tablespoon of flour
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
3 small bananas
55ml water
35ml vegetable oil

Ingredient B:
3 egg white
3 tablespoon sugar

1) Put bananas to blend with the water.

2) Beat the egg yolk with the sugar till they blended well.

3) Add in the rest of the ingredients in A and mix well.

4) Pic. 3 shows egg white with sugar.

5) Beat the egg white with sugar till it turns fluffy and foamy as shown in pic. 4. When you lift up the whisk, the mixture will drool down slowly and form a circle.

6) Pour mixture B into mixture A. Blend well.

7) Pour into the sponge cake baking pan.

8) Put to bake in preheated oven at 150 Celsius for 35 minutes.

9) When cake is done, turn it up side down as shown in pic. 8.

Note: A successful sponge cake is, of course, SPONGY! Wow! I'm so proud of myself. =)
To be frank, even breaking the eggs are tough for me because I just can't get it right separating the whites from the yolks!

Tung Kwa (Winter melon)

My mom heard that this drink can help reduce bodily heat caused by sleeping late at nights.

Pictures show ingredients (clockwise)
1 pack of Pao Sam Sou
1/4 Tung Kwa (winter melon)
1 Matt Chou (honey date)
1 Lo Hon Ko (Luo Han Guo in Mandarin)


1) Cut Tung Kwa (winter melon) into cubes.

2) Crack open Lo Hon Ko.

3) Put all the ingredients to boil for 2 hours.

If you want it to be sweeter, you can add more Matt Chou (honey date).

Steamed egg cake

This is another recipe from my sis-in-Christ, Hooi Thiam.

Pictures show process (clockwise).

Ingredients:
2 eggs
4 tablespoon of sugar
9 tablespoon of plain flour
1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1) Beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy. It's gonna take some time and it really ache the arms (for me).

2) See pic. 2. When you bring up the whisk, the mixture is slightly 'foamy' and not watery. Then, it's considered done.

3) Add in flour and oil and mix well.

4) Pour mixture into a pan and steam over boiling water for 20 minutes.

The outcome should be a spongy egg cake. The texture of the cake is not too hard or dry. My mom said that using machine to beat the eggs will cause the cake to be hard and dry. =(
So, have to do it by hands and don't rely on the machine. (Psst! That's the secret to strong arms - lots of practice on beating the eggs, carrying the baby and heavy groceries).

NOTE: I used organic unbleached bread flour to make mine cos I'm giving it to my son as finger food.

Detoxification

Will you drink something like this?

When all else fail, you might want to try this...

Yes, I'm taking this every morning for about a week already. I've seen 5 Chinese doctors, went for blood test, seen chiropractor, did acupuncture, fasting, etc....I believe I've spent a few thousands just to make myself better.

The problem with me is first, my back. I'm having those excruciating pain that I need to use my hands to push  myself up from the bed every morning. So, waking up in the morning is one tough task.

My second problem is exhaustion and lack of breath. Now, I can't even sing one whole song (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) to my son without gasping for air.

Third, I've cracked lips which has a cycle. My lips become very hard, swollen and cracked. Then, the upper layer will peel off and the lips become smooth again. Then, all of a sudden, they started to crack again.

When no doctors can  help, I just gotta take whatever the market offers. I'm not sure about you but detoxing is one of the ways I'm trying. OK. The drink is not as bad as it looks. I can 'feel' some differences in me eg. my lips do not hurt that much and I poo a little more than usual.

How to make a multi-compartment stationery box

What do you do with chicken essence boxes? Throw them into the rubbish bins? Now, you can turn them into something useful.

Material:
1 BIG chicken essence box
6 SMALL chicken essence box

Pictures show process (from top left to right; top to bottom)

1) Pic. 1 shows the material that you need.

2) Fold the sides of the SMALL boxes. You can use stapler or glue. The boxes will become more sturdy with the sides intact. Join three boxes together with stapler or glue as shown in Pic. 2.

3) Fit the boxes into the BIG box.

4) Now, you have two rows of SMALL boxes in a BIG box.

5) Cut a small piece of hard cardboard and stick to the back of the BIG box.

6) You can wrap up the BIG box with glossy magazine paper or present paper.

7) Now, the box is ready! You can stick messages at the top part.

8) You can chuck in all the small items eg. clips, pens, glue, staplers, etc. into the small compartments.

Note: If you like bigger compartments, then you can use reduce the amount of SMALL boxes.

Cordyceps to heal cough

My son is having his once-a-month cough and it always worries me. He has to be on nebuliser for once a month since last November. And it has gotten serious in March and he was on nebuliser twice. Doctor said he might be asthmatic. 

This month, when he started to cough, I wasted no time. I quickly gave him Chinese medicine (Hou Chou San). Thank God, it helps to dissolve his phlegm. Although he has not been cured totally, he could avoid the nebuliser. And to make him better, I bought the so-so-so expensive cordyceps.

To be frank, RM300 just for 14 small bundles of it is extremely expensive to me. Nevertheless, for the sake of my son, I trust the money is well spent.

As advised by the Chinese doctor:
1 to 2 small bundles of Cordyceps
1/2 bowl of water

Put to slow cooker to double boil for 4 hours.

NOTE: Cordyceps improve breathing functions and strengthen immune system. It also helps to cure chronic cough. Ask any Chinese doctor and I believe they will tell you the same. And actually, RM300 is the cheapest Cordyceps I could get. The doc even asked whether I want the RM600 one. HUH? What do you think?

Herbal chicken soup

You can easily get a pre-packed herbs for chicken soup. But I prefer to go to the store I know to get the things.

Herbs (from top left; then clockwise)
1) Pak Kei (Bei Qi in Mandarin)
2) Yuk Chuk (Solomonseal Rhizome) 
3) Tong Sum (Codnopsis Pilosulae Radix)
4) Wyai San (Chinese yam)
5) Hong Chou (Red dates)
6) Kei Chee (Wolfberry)
7) Longan (dried Longan)

2 chicken drumsticks (skin removed)

1) Put all the herbs to boil under HIGH heat for at least 15 minutes.
2) Turn to LOW heat and simmer for at least 1 and a 1/2 hour
3) Add in the chicken to boil for 30 minutes under HIGH heat before turning off the heat.

This soup has natural sweetness. There is no need for sugar or salt. It is good for pregnant ladies as well as exhausted working adults.

Pak Kei (Bei Qi in Mandarin) helps delay aging and enhance immune system while Tong Sum is good for treating fatigue and pale complexion.

When explanation won't work...

I was like a little girl, twisting my fingers under the table and swallowing hard at each words...

I went to see my supervisor this Tuesday. Before I go, I was determined to change my field of analysis. But I was wrong. I was so wrong...

My supervisor was angered by something my coursemates told her. I did not know what. The only thing I told my coursemate was, "Please do inform Dr. X that I really need to see her. I want to finish my research as soon as possible. I don't want to wait till something happen. You know what I mean." I was referring to my son's case as I did not know whether he needs surgery or not and if he does, I would have to put everything aside to take care of him. 

So, Dr. X was very angry and blasted at me. "You are a housewife, you know? You have so much of time. You are only taking care of one baby. I've four children..." That went on and on and I turned to put my notebook into the bag. Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I did not know why, for once, I could not hold on my tears when she was scolding me. 

The last time that she scolded me in front of my other coursemates, I pursed my lips and swallowed my tears. But this time, my tears flowed freely and they were out of control! When she said, "You are ungrateful.You're wasting my time here and you've never given me any chapters...", I wanted so much to object to that. I wanted to say, "Hey, I sent my chapters to you months ago through email and you replied that you'll check.  And you're never free to meet me. But now you've totally forgotten about it." But I kept my mouth shut. I knew it too well that there was no need to explain. 

Dr.X reminded me of my Dad, a dictator. When he said something, he wanted you to listen and ACCEPT it and keep your mouth shut. There could not be objection or argument. Case was settled. If you object, you're going to make things worse. So, I was a good and obedient girl, who always keep the mouth shut and never answer back. 

Last time, I thought answering back was a taboo because I would get beating from Dad. Now, I think answering back is a waste of time...Dr. X required people to acknowledge her. She wants people to admit she is right and so, explanation is not required. All I have to do is to keep my mouth shut. 

And I think the tears worked very well. She mellowed down after seeing me sobbing and later handed me a tissue paper. Frankly, I did not cry to get her pity. I cried because I had to "sek sei mao" (in Cantonese = admitting to something I've not done). No doubt she was wrong and she did not understand me a bit but one thing she reminded me was: NEVER INDULGE IN SELF-PITY. We are our own stumbling blocks.

And about explanation...When explanation won't work, do leave everything to God. He will be our judge...

Pandan cheese balls

You are going to like the food and the process of baking itself. It is so easy, you wanna try it NOW! Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left).













Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tablespoon of corn oil
4 tablespoon of thick pandan juice
4 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon of tapioca flour (150g)


1) Put everything into the blender and blend till smooth.
2) Grease the muffin tins.
3) Fill up the muffin tins with the mixture.
4) Bake at 200 degree Celcius for 15 minutes or when bread turn slightly brown.

Onde-onde kuih

This is going to be exhausting but trust me, you're going to enjoy the process. It's best if you have a partner to do it together. Otherwise, get a chair and start rolling the balls!

Pictures show process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredients (makes 30):



For Onde-onde skin:
240g glutinous rice flour
8 tablespoon of thick pandan juice
120ml hot water
1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Filling:
1/2 piece of gula melaka (grated)

Coating:
1 grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon of salt

1) Put all the ingredients together and mix well. It will form a soft dough. If it is too dry, add drops of pandan juice and knead again until you get a soft dough without any cracks.
2) Cut the gula melaka into small pieces. (I tried cutting it but it is too hard for me. So, I chose to grate it).
3) Pinch a small dough and flatten it (around 2 x 2 inches). Put a little of gula melaka and seal up. Roll up as a small ball.
4) Put all the balls into a pot of boiling water. Wait till the balls float up. Drain the balls and roll them over with the grated coconut.

Enjoy!

Note: To know how to get pandan juice, read the post dated 18 April 2011.

How to get pandan juice

Buy at least 10 pandan leaves.

1) Wash and cut the leaves into 2 inches in length.
2) Put everything to the blender. Add in 1/2 glass of water and blend well.
3) Strain the juices after blending.
4) Get a clean cloth and put the remaining pandan pulp into it and squeeze till it dries up.

NOTE: You will have roughly around 3 to 4 tablespoon of thick pandan juice.

You should not quit!

I've been quite rebellious of late. I've been doing what my mom forbade - baking those EXTREMELY difficult stuffs. 

I wondered why my mom is like this - she will go all out to stop me from doing this and that. Probably she knows it is too difficult for me. But she does not know that her daughter needs to try before giving up. Anyway, don't get me wrong. I love my mom very much. I believe she is uniquely created, just like you and I.

I was brought up in the way of giving up easily. There were too many, "You can't make it." Deep inside, I feel bad...So sad that I've not been trying the things I wanted to. 

So, now whenever I get a chance, I'll try my BEST to do what I want. I want to set a good example for my son. I want my son to have something to look up to - a super duper Mommy who knows how to cook, bake, teach, write, talk, blah, blah, blah...I know I can't be perfect, but at least I'm trying hard to succeed  in doing what I LIKE.

Now, interest is very important. If there is no interest in something, one can't succeed in doing it. 

Last time, I wanted to try baking my own Ang Ku kuih. I found a good recipe and I asked around. First, my mom said it is extremely difficult (like usual). Then, my friend who is good at baking told me straightforwardly that the mixture is going to be extremely sticky and asked me don't bother to do it. So, I gave up. Yes,  giving up just like that. I hated myself for being so naive.

Lately, my mom and I went to a shopping mall and bought a pack of Onde-onde. Wow! It's superb! And I quickly searched for an Onde-onde recipe. But my mom came to stop me. No. I did not quit. I get all the ingredients readied. 

My mom came to the kitchen on and off to look at how thing was going on...and she would say, "See, took so long to do...Told you! Better buy." 

I look at her and said, "Mom, can't you be more supportive?" 

At the third hour, when I was extremely exhausted and when things are almost done, mom came in again saying, "See? The skin is too thin. The gula melaka will leak out when you start cooking them!" 

I sighed and put in more flour to cover the leak. 

When I'm almost done, mom came in. This time she helped me by rolling the Onde-onde on the grated coconut. 

And so, we have a plateful of Onde-onde. I'm happy that I've finally tried out something I wanted to...

To others, do not quit! When you're at the brink of failure, do not give up. You might not know that the next step will lead you to success. And do not be afraid to fail cos you have a friend here, Alice, who've failed too! 

Do not quit even when your mom said you can't make it (just like mine).
Do not quit even when your friend said it's not possible.

I'm able to strive even when family and friends did not support me because I know someone is with me - Jesus Christ. He made me believe in myself. He made believe that I can do it even though the people around me think I'm a loser.

Nobody is born a loser. It's the matter on whether you're willing to strive through difficulties.

NOTE: Look out for my next post on my endeavour in baking my very first Onde-onde. Till then, good day!

ABC soup

I forget when was the first time that I drank this soup but it must be when I was extremely young. And I've been wondering why people call this soup as "ABC".

Probably it's because it contains vitamins A, B and C? Or because it's like a rojak, having a little of everything in a pot?
Anyway, hope you'll enjoy it!

Ingredients:
2 large carrots
4 potatoes
4 medium size tomatoes
2 large onions
1 corn (optional)
5 Hong Chou (Red dates) - optional

1) Cut everything into cubes.
2) Put to boil for 2 hours and serve.

Note: Do you know anything about water soluble? My friend told me that carrot needs oil to release its Vitamin A. So, unless you include bones or meat into the soup, it's unlikely that you're going to get Vit.A from the carrots. I do put a few drops of oil into the soup. Don't worry, it tastes good!

Braised bittergourd with chicken

Pic clockwise show process.

Buy chicken drumsticks. Ask the seller to remove the skin and bones.

Ingredients:
2 chicken drumsticks (cut into cubes)
1/2 bittergourd






Seasoning:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 heap tablespoon of tao cheong or taucu sauce (bean paste)
200 ml water

1) Put 2 tablespoon of oil and when oil is hot, add in chicken. Stir-fry till almost done. Add in bittergourd.
2) Add in seasoning. Stir-fry for a while and cover the pan.
3) Turn off the heat when the gravy becomes thick and almost dry up.

Brazilian cheese bread

This is as easy as it looks.

Pictures showing process (left to right)
Ingredients:
30ml vegetable oil
60ml milk
150g tapioca flour
60g mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of salt

1) Put all the ingredients into the blender and blend well. You will have a creamy texture after the blend (just like what you see in pic.3)
2) Grease muffin tins.
3) Pour the ingredients into the muffin tins.
4) Bake at 200 degree Celcius for 20 minutes.

NOTE: Don't worry when you see the mixture start to swell up. They will turn into brownish cheese balls!
Mine are a little too brown. I think they will look better if taken out when it is just SLIGHTLY brown.
Try this! It's for beginners.

Too many regrets to name...

My internet connection was down the whole day! Or should I say it is down so often these days that I've been calling Telekom Malaysia almost every other day to check on what is really wrong.

Today, after an outing with a friend, she mentioned about "too many regrets".

Yea, life indeed is full of regrets. Who doesn't have regrets?

I regret every little thing that I didn't do or have done.
I regret for not buying milk and so not being able to bake the Brazilian bread today! HA!
I regret for not spending enough of time with my son because I was too busy with my blog. Hmm...


Plan well, live well and pray well...Hopefully we can live our lives without any further regrets!

I'll be back!

After an exhausted day, I'm back with my pan and spatula, ready for another round of cooking simple yet delicious food!

Although I am not including any recipes today, I'll be back tomorrow!

Please be patient with me...

My son needs no surgery!

It was just about an hour ago that I wrote about my son having to go under the knife. My footsteps were heavy as I left the house to meet up with the surgeon for an appointment for my son's surgery. But now, I am so glad, smiling in front of my laptop's screen. The surgeon explained that a surgery is not necessary at the moment until my son becomes two. 

WOW! What? Am I hearing it right? The cyst might go away by itself. 

What we need to do now is to monitor the progress of the cyst. If it gets bigger or become painful or has not disappeared by the time my son celebrated his second birthday, then, it will be the time to remove it. Otherwise, we just need to let the doctor check on him every 2 months. 

Till then, I can only pray that miracle happens and let my son be freed from going under the knife totally! 

Praise the Lord!

Preserved rice wine with ginger and egg

This is one of my favourite dishes during my teen years. And most of all, it is easy to cook.

Ingredients:
1 small piece of ginger
2 eggs (beaten)
2 bowls of Wong Chao (preserved rice wine)

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

1) Scrap off the ginger skin. Then chopped into tiny pieces.
2) Stir-fry ginger till fragrant.
3) Add in the beaten eggs.
4) When the eggs are done, add in the wine and let it boil for a moment before turning off the heat.

And you have one yummy dish.

If you need the ginger to expel wind during confinement, choose OLD ginger. If you're just a fan of Wong Chao (preserved rice wine) and want to eat this dish to satisfy your taste buds, choose YOUNG ginger. Old ginger is extremely hot and heaty. So, be cautious to choose the right one.

How to make a paper bag

My utmost thanks to Hooi Thiam for teaching me a lot of things from baking and cooking to recycling!

Photos show process from left to right; top to bottom. 

1) For the purpose of teaching, I have used a present paper instead of a recycled paper to show the difference between inner and outer part.

2) Fold the upper part, around 1 inch. 

3) Fold the left side, around 1 to 2 inches. 

4) Bring the paper from right to left. Glue the side. 

5) Now, the upper part of the paper bag has been completed.

6) Fold up the lower part. The width depends on how big you want it to be.

7) Open up the wings just like what shown in Pic. no. 7

8) Bring the left wing to the centre. 

9) Bring the right wing slightly on top of the left. 

10) Glue the wings together. 

11) Now, you have one beautiful paper bag to be filled with a present!

12) I have made paper bags with recycled magazine papers, newspaper, flyers and pamphlets. 

Let us REUSE, REDUCE and RECYCLE!

Chinese Pork chop AKA meat mallet

You may need quite a lot of things to cook this. First, buy one 'hammer' or what do you refer to that instrument in pic. 2 (top from left)? My mom called it a hammer and it has sharp ends at one side and a flat surface on the other side.





Buy 4 slices of meat. Tell the vendor you are using them to cook pork chop. He will cut you the most tender part suitable for the dish.

Hammer the meat so that they become thin and spread out. Then, add in the ingredients to marinate.

Marinate:
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of Hsiao Xing wine
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of corn flour

Sauce:
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 tablespoon HP sauce
1 tablespoon plum sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon corn flour
1/4 bowl water

1) Spread out the marinated slices on the pan and let them sizzle. Turn the meat over a few times.
2) When the meat is almost done, add in the sauce and let it boil.
3) Turn off the heat when the sauce has thicken and almost dries up. Serve hot.

Tuna Pizza

I long to eat pizza for a long time but due to the price, I rather eat in Chinese restaurant than spending the same amount of money eating 'bread'!

Baking pizza is just like baking bread. It takes hours to finish the job.






Unlike pizza restaurant where they have the dough ready, baking at home starts from mixing the ingredients.

Pictures showing process (Clockwise from top left)

Ingredients for one personal pizza (diameter approximately 6 inches)
125gram of plain flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of yeast
1/2 tablespoon of butter
12.5ml vegetable oil
50ml chilled milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 onion (cut into small slices)
1 small piece of pineapple (cut into small cubes)
1 can of tuna
1 handful of mozarella cheese


1) Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and let dough to rise for 40 minutes.
2) Punch the dough to release gas. Knead for 5 minutes and cover the bowl again to let the dough rise for 50 minutes.
3) Punch the dough to release gas. Roll out the dough into the desired size (fit into a pan with diameter 6 inches)
4) Pierce the base with a fork and bake at 180 degree Celcius for 10 minutes.
5) Add in the filling - onions, tuna, pineapple. Finally, sprinkle mozarella cheese on top.
6) Bake at 200 degree Celcius for 15 minutes or until the sides turn golden.


Note: The base should not be too thin. Otherwise, it is not strong enough to support the filling.
My tuna doesn't taste that nice. Better to get people's opinion on which brand of tuna to buy the next time. Till then, happy pizza-ing!

Stir-fry lotus root with carrot and green peas

 My mom introduced this to me few months ago and we started cooking this for dinner quite frequently.

Choose LOCAL lotus root. Ask the vege seller to choose for you which lotus root is for stir-frying. (some lotus roots are only suitable to be boiled as soup).


Ingredients: (Serves 2 to 3)
1 lotus root (appromixately 400gram)
1 carrot
1 small pack of green peas
3 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1/2 bowl of water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce

1) Stir-fry onion and garlic till fragrant.
2) Add in lotus root, carrot and green peas.
3) Stir-fry till almost done. Then, add in water and sugar.
4) Keep frying till the water almost dries up. Add in soy sauce just before serving.

Maize meal raisin bread

Unlike cookies and scones, bread takes hours to be done. That is one of the reasons I am late to add in a post today.

Photos (left to right; top to bottom) shows process.








 Ingredients:
250gram plain flour
 50gram maize meal
130ml water
30ml vegetable oil / olive oil
2 tablespoon molasses sugar / plain sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoon raisins (chopped coarsely)

1) Put all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add salt at one corner, far from the yeast.
2) Blend with the mixer. The hook should come out clean.
3) Cover the dough and let to rise for 35 minutes.
4) Punch the dough to release the gas. Knead for 5-10minutes. Then, cover the dough again and let to rise for 45 minutes.
5) Punch the dough to release the gas. Knead for 5-10minutes. Add in chopped raisin and fold in. Then, cover the dough again and let to rise for 50 minutes.
6) Bake at 150 degree Celsius for 35 minutes.

Happy baking!

Note: My bread is slightly brown due to the Molasses sugar.

Fried rice

Something came up yesterday's evening and I am left with a pot of overnight rice this morning. Without any mood to cook for lunch and with limited resources, I ended up frying a bowl of fried rice.

I believe that you can put anything to fried rice. But I'm so lack of resources, what I have are:



1 egg
1 onion
3 mushrooms (soaked and diced)
1 tablespoon of dried shrimps
1 plate of cooked rice (mine is mixed grains)
2 tablespoon of black bean sauce (or oyster sauce)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

 1) Cook a scrambled egg. Leave aside.

2) Stir-fry onion till fragrant. Add in mushroom and dried shrimps and fry till fragrant.

3) Add in rice.

4) Add in the sauces and sugar. Then, add in the scrambled egg and fry till all the ingredients blend well.

Viola! You have one under-resources fried rice...I add a packet of chilli sauce to it. Hmm...Finished the rice within 5 minutes! How hungry was I?!!

How delicious it will be if only I had prawns, diced chicken meat, green peas, corns and carrots! Probably next round ya, when I'm more prepared. Anyway, just to let you know that you can always cook with whatever you have. Be creative and start early.

A good samaritan

Yesterday, like any other Sunday, we used our Kancil to go for dinner and then to window shop at Jusco Alpha Angle. We did purchase a few items and were so excited to taste the XO Durian we bought.

When we entered the car, I was so much relieved that my son could finally settle down. But something else struck us. Our car cannot be started! Darn! I knew it. It was not the first time that the car broke down somewhere. My husband suggested that we take a taxi home and call for a tow the next day. I insisted that he try to stop someone to jump-start our car. He did as I said.

He went to a few Jusco goers asking them for help but none gave a positive reply. But one particular girl agreed at once! She was so sporting. She asked her bf to drive near our car and then the rest was technical. Our car just could not be started.

We ended up in the samaritan's car and they actually sent us home, to the lobby of our condo's lift! Can you imagine that? Is there still good people out there? You bet, there is...

Have faith. You will find a good person today.

Thank you, Sze Yin. You made our day! So sorry, we forgot to give you a pack of the XO durian.

Papaya Soup

Papaya is good because it contains a lot of nutrients. And it is especially good for nursing mothers.

After I gave birth and was with little milk, my sis in church advised me to take this soup to increase the amount of breast milk.




Ingredients:
1 unripe papaya (600gram) is enough for 3 to 4 people.
1 handful of Hong Chou (Red Dates) - flattened and cores removed
1 pork rib (cut into pieces)

1) Shred off the papaya's skin. Then, cut and remove the seeds.
Cut papaya into small pieces.

2) Add in a handful of Hong Chou (Red dates) and wait till the water boils. Turn to LOW heat and simmer for 2 hours.

3) Add in pork ribs and let boil under HIGH heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve while hot.

Stewed pumpkin with dried shrimps

Honestly, I didn't know how to cook pumpkin at all before talking to the Pasar Boy.

Long story cut short, he told me to cook pumpkin with dried shrimps. And I went home and bravely tried it out.

Now, I realise how naive I was. This is a simple dish that anyone can get right the first time!

Ingredients:
1/2 pumpkin (cut off skin and remove seeds)
2 tablespoon preserved dried shrimps
1/3 teaspoon sugar
1 bowl of water

1) Cut the pumpkin into small pieces. Rinse dried shrimps.

2) Stir-fry dried shrimps till fragrant. Add in pumpkin.

3) Fry for a while. Add in 1/2 bowl of water with sugar. Wait till it boil. Then, cover the pan and turn to LOW heat.

4) Stew the dish for 10 minutes. Dish up.

NOTE: The stove I'm using is different from yours. Hence, for the first time that you cook this, it is important to check the dish constantly (every 2 minutes) to ensure that the water has not dried up completely. Otherwise, you  may get a plate of burnt pumpkin!)

Stir-fry mixed vege (petai, green peas and asparagus)

Most of the time petai has to be eaten with sambal due to its pungent smell. This recipe is for those who wanted to eat petai yet can't take chilli / sambal (just like me!)

I add in garlic and dried shrimps to blend with the taste of petai. It tastes good! You should try...

Ingredients:
200gram petai
1 small box of green peas
200gram asparagus
4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoon preserved dried shrimps
1/2 bowl of water
soy sauce to taste



 
1) Cut asparagus. Cut open petai and peel off the core. Wash all the vege and drain.

2) Flatten the garlic and peel of the skin. Chop into small pieces. Wash dried shrimps and drain.

3) Put 2 tablespoon of oil into a pan. Stir-fry garlic till fragrant. Then, add in dried shrimps and fry till fragrant.

4) Add in all the vege. Stir-fry till almost done.

5) Add in 1/2 bowl of water and let boil. Dish up.

6) Add soy sauce to taste.

Premium Fruits for Sale (Delivery to your doorsteps)

Want to purchase? Kindly contact Alice at 012-2622936 for delivery around Klang Valley. 
Below are some of the popular types of fruits that we have:

Korea Strawberry (1 box with 8 packs)

Custard Apple from Australia

Dragon Fruit

Gold Kiwi (NZ)

Green table grapes

Honey Belle pear (NZ)

Italian Kiwi

Korean Honey Fuji

Laetitia Plum

NZ Beauty Apple

Pachem Pear

Pakistan Mandarin

Red Delicious Apple (Washington)

Red Globe grapes

Autumn Royal 
(black seedless grapes)

We do have other fruits such as mangoes, persimmons, cherries and more. If you are interested to purchase for yourself or your friends (wrapped up as gifts), wait no more! Call today for delivery to your doorsteps. 

Chicken Rice

This is definitely suitable for busy people.

What you have to do is to marinate the chicken the night before cooking them and cook them together with the rice the next day.







Ingredients for 2:

Marinate:
2 chicken drumsticks (remove bones and cut into cubes)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Hsiao Xing wine
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Other ingredients:
4 dried mushrooms (soaked for at least 30mins or unless fully soften and cut into slices)
1 cup of rice

1) Marinate chicken and cover it. Put into fridge.

2) Put 1 cup of rice to cook. When rice is almost done, add in the marinated chicken and mushrooms.

3) Garnish with chopped spring onions. Serve while hot.

Note: You need to know how long your rice cooker cook. Mine took 45  minutes. So, I add in the chicken and mushrooms after 30 minutes of cooking (15 minutes before the rice is fully cooked).

Simple yet delicious!

What is a blessing?

Who is considered blessed?

People have the misconception that having all we wanted is considered blessed. I might look poor but I am not poor. I don't understand why some people would like to think that being rich is considered blessed.

I don't have to drive a Benz or BMW to show that I've been blessed. I don't have to live in a bungalow with 10 rooms or wear branded clothes either. I feel blessed the way I am - for what God has given me - a beautiful son that I've been praying for.

No one will believe but I prayed for a child with two big round eyes and as cute as he could be. WHY? Because my husband and I don't have big eyes and I doubt our child will have that. And I felt I was always being neglected due to my looks when I was a child. Just because I was not beautiful, relatives chose to play with my cousins. Just because I was not beautiful, I did not have many friends.

I negotiated with Jesus, saying that He is a fair God and if He is willing, He will provide. And yes, my son has big ROUND eyes.

When people comment or ask about my son's big round eyes, I will smile and reply, "From God".

Blessing doesn't have to come in money form. It could be as simple as our health - we have it daily yet we never realised how important it is until we fell sick.

Home-made spaghetti sauce

Thanks to Hooi Thiam for this recipe. Her mother used to work with the English people during British colonial and used to cook this for them. 

When she told me the ingredients, the first thing came to my mind is ABC soup. Yes, the ingredients are what you include in the ABC soup. 

Ingredients for 2 to 3 people:

6 tomatoes (peel off skin and remove the seeds)

2 large carrots

1 big onion

1/2 teaspoon of butter

1 tablespoon of oil

1 bowl of minced meat

1 to 2 bowl of water

1) Chop the tomatoes, carrots and onion into small pieces. 

2) Put oil and butter into a pan and stir-fry onion till fragrant. 

3) Add in tomatoes and carrots. Stir-fry till they mix well.

4) Add in minced meat and fry till meat almost done. 

5) Add in the water. Cover the pan and let simmer for an hour under LOW heat. Add pinch of salt and sugar to the dish and mix well.

6) At the meantime, put a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles. 

Note: You may choose to add 1/2 can of tomato puree for a better colour on the dish. But then, you will have to add more salt and sugar to make it to taste. 

Let's try this healthy sauce with no preservatives and colouring today!