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!