Gong Xi Fa Chai!!

It's the new year again - the Year of the Horse!


This year's Chinese New Year celebration is very different for me. Without my family and friends by my side, it was up to me to make it happen. And I'm glad I did :')


For the first time, I didn't have Dad with me doing all the marketing and cooking in the kitchen. It was very emotional for me in the past few days. But I choose to look at the brighter side of life. I had the bf with me the whole time, my new-found friends and whole lot of things to look forward to! Life is picking up!! :D


For the reunion dinner, I thought it was going to be a breeze with only 3 dishes - Steamed Chicken with dipping sauce, Braised Mushroom & Tofu accompanied by my favorite Broccoli and Crispy Cereal Prawns. Sounds easy but oh gosh, I was in the kitchen for more than 2 hours!! Lol. I have no idea what went wrong but there were more work than I thought. Lucky I have the bf to helped me out in the kitchen and he did a great job with the Cereal Prawns, it was very yum!!


Anyways, I'm so glad it went well, the boys enjoyed themselves and we had a really good reunion dinner :')

Reunion Dinner 2014

Hope everyone had a great reunion dinner with your family and friends, wherever you may be!

Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Chai!
May the Horse brings us all Happiness & Prosperity!
It's going to be an exciting year ahead, let's gallop away!!! Woo :D

Simple Dinner Recipe: Homemade Satay Chicken

This is my first attempt at making my own Satay Chicken at home. Marinated lean chicken, on a grill and we ran out of bamboo skewers. Truly home style. Haha.

Homemade Satay Chicken

The verdict? So gooooood.

Well, don't compare to the bought ones especially those laden with artery-clogging fats and charred taste of potentially-cancerous carbon bits ;) This is truly homemade and healthier version. And by homemade standard, I have to say it's pretty darn good!

I'm quite impressed with the marinate which I bought from Tesco, Malaysia. I like the fact that I can still taste the lemongrass and it wasn't salty enough! You see, I'm always very skeptical to try packet mix because it's always too salty for my taste but this was different. It still has room for me to adjust the saltiness to my taste - so I added a bit of sugar, salt, pepper and oyster sauce. I'm happy :)

Next, it's the Satay Sauce. Honestly I've tasted better but you really can't complain for something as easy as throwing the whole packet into a hot water bath, cut open and serve!

Here's my happy Satay Sauce enjoying his hot spring, totally ignorant and unsuspicious of the fate that awaits him...

To make your own homemade Satay Chicken (for 4 person):

Ingredients
1kg of chicken thigh (skin removed;cleaned and chopped into small pieces)
1 packet of Satay Marinade
Packet of Satay Sauce (1 packet = a small bowl shown on the packaging = only enough for 1 person. So do the math yourself!)
Chopped Onions
Chopped Cucumbers

Optional: Salt, Pepper, Oyster Sauce, Sugar


Step 1: Marinate the chicken with the Satay Marinade and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. (Add water and seasonings to taste. Give it a good stir to ensure all the chicken pieces are well marinated.)

Step 2: Using a grill pan, cook the chicken until slightly charred. Just slightly!

Step 3: Put the whole packet of Satay Sauce (unopened) into a hot water bath for 15mins, cut open and Serve!

Step 4: Serve satay with some chopped onions and cucumbers. We had it with rice too and all we have to say is....YUM! :D

Dinner's ready! I love this one! :D

Oh by the way, my first job interview is happening next week!! Weeee~ I'm so excited. It only means I can cook and bake more yummy goodies without feeling the guilt of being jobless! Wish me luck!!

Be back soon! Muax!

Lazy Dinner Recipe: Mentaiko & Seaweed Pasta

Japanese + Italian.

Who would've thought it would be a happy marriage? Well, certainly not me!

The first time I heard of Pasta Zanmai, I thought it was ridiculous! I'm a huge fan of Sushi Zanmai but it never crossed my mind to give their fusion sister a try.

Not until one day when I had to meet some friends there for lunch.


"....Imagine Carbonara with its usual creaminess topped with raw salmon sashimi slices, ikura and shimeji mushrooms..."


I fell in love!! OMG. Who is this genius?? I mean seriously...Carbonara plus Sashimi? I love it!

Anyways, when a friend told me to try Mentaiko (Cod Roe) with Pasta, I jumped onto it immediately!

This is the Easiest...Laziest... Yummiest dinner up to date! :D

Mentaiko & Seaweed Pasta

For those of you who don't know how Mentaiko looks like, this is how it looks and you can get it at the Japanese grocer in their freezer section:

Ingredients
Mentaiko (remove the membrane and scoop out the roes)
Japanese Seaweed Powder
Pasta of any kind (I love Penne!)
Salt & Pepper

Optional: Hard-boiled eggs for extra protein


Step 1: Cook pasta as per packaging instructions. Drain, add salt & pepper and put aside. (Do not drain your pasta in cold water)


Step 2: While pasta is still hot, add Mentaiko, Japanese Seaweed Powder and hard-boiled eggs.


Step 3: Serve!


Superrrr easy and sooo yummm. Perfect dinner on a super lazy day. Dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes!


Hope you like this one! Enjoy! :D

Simple Dinner Recipe: The Best Homemade Bak Kut Teh Recipe (肉骨茶)

I'm not kidding - I'm a huge Bak Kut Teh fan and this is by far one of the best I've tasted. Dad would be so proud of me :')

Yup! Self-proclaimed "The Best Bak Kut Teh" with nods and thumbs up signs from my guinea pigs :D

Bak Kut Teh or 肉骨茶 literally translates as "meat bone tea", which is basically pork simmered in a broth of herbs and spices for hours until the meat is soft, tender and easily fall of the bone. Additional ingredients like mushrooms, fried tofu puffs, vegetables and offal can be added to the dish to make it a complete meal. I love my Bak Kut Teh soupy instead of the dry version, with significant taste and smell of herbs but not too over-powering. In summary, "light but flavourful", is to me what makes a good Bak Kut Teh. A good Bak Kut Teh does not have the oily aftertaste that makes you laden with guilt nor does it have the bitter aftertaste that makes you want to scrap your whole tongue off. It has to be light with a good balance of flavour to make you smile the entire day :)

Additional Ingredients I added in my Bak Kut Teh :D

How to make a good Bak Kut Teh experience better? For me, I love it simple with normal white rice soaked in the soup. No thanks to yam rice, oily rice or whatever fancy rice you have to offer me. Just plain white rice would do so I can taste the original flavour of my precious Bak Kut Teh soup. And if you have fresh youtiao (Chinese deep fried dough fritters) which are still nice and crispy, I would take a double serving anytime and give you additional 3 stars! Heh! Oh, and don't you forget the important condiments which are crucial to enhance the flavour of a good Bak Kut Teh - chopped garlic or chilli padi (bird's eye chilli) in soy sauce. Now, put all that combination in your mouth and just wait for the awesomeness to kick in!! YUMMMM! :D

Important condiments to go with your Bak Kut Teh :)

If your love for Bak Kut Teh is the same as mine, then this recipe is a must-try! :D Absolutely easy to prepare at home and to impress your guinea pigs.


Here is the recipe to cook for 4 people:


Main Ingredients:
1 packet of Bak Kut Teh Herb Mix (Recommended Brand: A1)
Pork Ribs, chopped to pieces and cleaned
1 packet of Enoki Mushrooms
1 can of Whole Button Mushrooms
Iceberg Lettuce
A few cloves of garlic
Optional: A handful of red dates and ginger

Seasoning:
4 tablespoon of Light Soy Sauce
2 tablespoon of Dark Soy Sauce
2 table spoon of Oyster Sauce
Salt & White Pepper

Condiments:
Chopped garlic
Chopped chilli padi
Light Soy Sauce


Step 1: Following the package instruction for the amount of water needed, bring the pot of water to boil. Once boil, throw in the herb mix, red dates, ginger and garlic. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: (Optional) To remove the "porky" smell of the ribs, I blanched it in a pot of water with ginger before I rinse it slightly with cold water.

Step 3: Add the pork ribs into the pot of herb soup and allow it to simmer for at least another 30 minutes before adding the seasonings -  light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes (the bf likes the soup peppery, so I added more pepper. You can adjust the seasonings to your own preference).

Step 4: Add in the Enoki mushrooms, button mushrooms and iceberg lettuce. Stir well and cooked until the lettuce are soft (but still crispy) and serve with a bowl of hot white rice :) Don't forget your condiments too! >_<


And that's it, another easy recipe for you to try (takes longer to cook but shorter preparation time)!

Dinner's Ready!! :D

It's really really yummy and I highly recommend the A1 Brand, for only $4.50 a packet I bought from Boxhill Centro - inside the packet, there were fresh herbs which I rinse slightly with cold water before cooking it and also a small tea-bag of grounded herbs which you can just throw into the water. Overall, it was very flavourful but not bitter. The ribs, red dates and lettuce definitely helped to sweeten the broth :)

Recommended Brand: A1 Herbal Soup

Hope you like this one!

Enjoy! :D

Salad Recipe - Olives, Feta Cheese, Lettuce and Red Capsicum

I haven't mentioned to you yet but there's another Masterchef at home, aside from my boyfriend. Heh!

Imagine how stressful it is to cook for these guys! >_< But, luckily they are kind enough to enjoy my cooking too. Hehehe.

Anyways, I would love to share his salad recipe because it was very refreshing to me and I really really love it. Mainly because there were olives in it (my absolute favourite)! And it's also because it was my first time having red capsicum in my salad. Very sweet and crunchy! I love it! :D

Ingredients:
Chopped lettuce
Chopped red capsicum
Crushed Feta Cheese
Olives
Olive Oil

Step 1: Add all the ingredients in a huge salad bowl. Toss and serve. Done. Lol. I love salad! :D

Crispy red capsicum hiding underneath :P

I have to give credit to the olives because it was really good.

Yummy Olives

Hope you like this one!

Enjoy! :D

How to make Tamago or Japanese Omelette

Wiki always explains it best. Tamago or Japanese omelette are basically grilled egg, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg.


If you read my post on Teriyaki Chicken (Read the post here: Teriyaki Chicken), you may notice I made Tamago or Japanese omelette as one of the side dishes.
 
Here it is if you can't recall:

I love my Tamago salty so I usually avoid the Tamago sushi which is usually sweet. >_<

The bestest tamago I've tasted so far was in a famous shabu shabu restaurant called Restaurant Junidanya at Kyoto, Japan.

We were actually walking around Gion trying to spot a geisha when we saw a long queue outside the restaurant. We thought since there was a long queue, it must be good! So being kiasu, we happily joined the queue. :P

Restaurant Junidanya @ Hanamikoji, Kyoto, Japan

The food is pretty pricey but definitely worth the splurge. The shabu shabu was really good but what really impressed us so much was the tamago. It was really the best I've tasted so far - the layers of egg was so soft and delicate. It's really hard to describe but all I can say is it was amazing!

Unfortunately, I don't know why I didn't take a close up photo of the tamago but this was my awesome beef shabu shabu I had that night:

 

Ever since then, I've been wanting to make my own tamago at home and this was actually my first attempt:

Not too bad huh?

Well, of course it can't beat the bestest tamago I had in japan but I was surprised at how easy it was to make and succeed at first attempt! I need to practice more to make the egg layers thinner and softer. Yosh!


Anyways, if you are interested to make your own tamago, I learned it from Cooking with Dog at Youtube:

Have fun while you are at it!

Enjoy! :D

Simple Dinner Idea: Sushi (Tuna, Cucumber, Avocado and Tamago/Egg)

It's too simple, I wouldn't even call it a "recipe". It's an idea! :D


It was one of those days when I'm feeling all lazy and all I really want for dinner was something "light and simple". And sushi came to mind! Nothing fancy - just some tuna, cucumber, avocado and egg.


One thing I like about this dinner idea is that I have the choice to allow my guinea pigs to assemble their own temaki or hand roll which makes my job easier and makes dinner so much more fun right? But unfortunately, we had to rush to go out that night, so I made norimaki or nori roll instead.

Can dinner be anymore easier than this??? :D

It's my first time making nori rolls...and without a sushi mat! Lol. But I guess it worked, as long as I stuffed everything in and it taste great. Forgive me for the horrible looking sushis, I was in a hurry so I had no time to make it pretty! >_< 

Alert! Ugly Sushi!! (Left plate) Good looking ones for the housemate (only 7pcs made it! LOL), (Middle plate) Super ugly ones for ME and (Right plate) Not too bad looking ones for the boyfriend. Hehehe. I secretly fed him some ugly ones while he was driving!! :P

As you can see closeup, the pretty ones were ugly too. LOL. I need to practice more and make sure the ingredients are in the center of the roll next time!! >_<

Anyways, so there you go! Simple dinner idea for the lazy days. Ciao! :P

Simple Dinner Recipe: Teriyaki Chicken

I love teriyaki chicken.



Alright, I love ALL japanese food!! Haha! It's really hard to choose a favourite! >_< But the other night, I had some chicken breast left in the freezer and I thought to myself, "Teriyaki it is!"


Truth is, chicken thigh (with the skin on, of course!!) is the best cut for teriyaki because of the flavor, texture and the juiciness! But because I only had chicken breast, this recipe is perhaps the "healthier" version of teriyaki chicken you can get. First of all, thank you Marc for your excellent recipe (Link)! I love the fact that he has ginger in his recipe!! I love ginger! (By the way, I can't believe my bf actually managed to taste ginger in this! Can't hide anything from this Masterchef >_<)


This is my first attempt at cooking teriyaki but the guinea pigs were really happy that night. Hehehe..well partly because of the sago pudding too! Lol. Anyways, to me, it tasted really good but I would still prefer it with chicken thigh and more teriyaki sauce. Other than that, it was perfect with rice! Thanks Marc!

My lovely stack of "healthy"teriyaki chicken :)

According to wiki, teriyaki is actually the cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or gilled while basted in marinade based on soy sauce, mirin and sugar.


In this recipe, however, there are 4 ingredients in our teriyaki sauce: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. This recipe is really easy and goes so well with hot fluffy rice. Yummmm.


This is my version:

Ingredients
- Chicken Breast (use Chicken thigh if you have!)
- Ginger (size is about half your thumb; grated, we only need the juice)
- Teriyaki Sauce (Combine 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey)
- Cooking Oil
- Pinch of salt


Step 1: Marinate chicken with a pinch of salt and ginger juice. Make sure you dry the chicken thoroughly with some kitchen towel to remove excess fluid before marinating. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or more in the fridge.

If you are using chicken breast, make sure you cut them with the same thickness so they cook at the same time.

Step 2: Heat oil in a frying pan (medium heat). Add the chicken and cook both sides. Make sure you do not overcook the chicken! 

Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of sake and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken steam for about 2-3 minutes.

1 large chicken leg skin on, deboned (about 12 ounces)

1 teaspoon ginger grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sake

- See more at: http://norecipes.com/blog/teriyaki-chicken-recipe/#sthash.UKM9V4YD.dpuf

Step 4: Prepare teriyaki sauce. Marc's recipe is 1 tablespoon of each: soy sauce, mirin, sake and honey. Combine well.

Step 5: Remove lid and any excess liquid from the pan. Turn to high heat and add in the teriyaki sauce. Let the mixture boil, while flipping the chicken to make sure every slice is coated with the yummy sauce. The chicken is done once the sauce is almost evaporated and form a thick glaze.

Note: I suspect because I'm using chicken breast instead of the thigh so there were not enough sauce to glaze the meat after it was cooked. So I made extra sauce with 6 tablespoon of each: sake, mirin and soy sauce; and 3 tablespoon of honey because I didn't want my teriyaki sauce to be too sweet. This is trial and error, so feel free to experiment! :)

Step 6: Serve your teriyaki chicken on a serving plate and drizzle some teriyaki sauce on top.

Dinner's ready!

Simple and Awesome Dinner: Teriyaki Chicken, stir-fry beans, tamago and hot fluffy white rice. I wish I made more of the teriyaki sauce so I can just eat it with the rice. Heh!

So, there you have it, super simple dinner which you can prepare for your loved ones!

My guinea pigs actually prefer the chicken breast because it's deemed "healthier". So my experiment was a success! Hehehe. :P

Hope you love this one. Enjoy! :)