Baby Spinach with Century Egg

Baby spinach... a staple in my family's fiber diet. The easiest to dish out. Is perfect as a soup or as a vegetable dish. And thankfully, is my Boys' favorite.

I am not talking about those Chinese Spinach, or those Rounded and Sharp Leaf Spinach (ya! there are many types of spinach... wonder which is Popeye's version...). I'm referring to Baby Spinach here. Its leaves are rounder and tinier.... hmmm... exactly like its baby.

This time, I tried it differently with a century egg. Exactly the way they do it in Zi Char store. Except I skipped the salted egg, which incidentally is a lot unhealthier than century egg. The lesser of the two evils, if you must have.

Needless to say, it is a lot better on its own. We should not compromise the spinach's goodness. If you absolutely must do something, like my itchy hands, throw in some wolfberry for color interest, also to enhance the dish's nutritional value.

Occasionally, I will deep fry some small bait fish to sprinkle on it. Else, baby spinach is good on its own.

Beef Brisket & Tendons Stew

Heavenly. Pure heavenly.

I a d o r e beef! Ever told you that? Sometimes I feel as though I can eat a cow all by myself. Carnivore, I am truly!

Beef brisket and tendons... oh man! Not the most tender of all meat but once well cooked, it is amazing! So I jumped into the wagon when I saw them at the supermarket. Beef brisket is relatively easy to find. But tendons!? No no... I only found it at Huber at Dempsey. And a pack of barely 4 stripes is S$8.00. Guess not too expensive I hope (didn't do a price comparison as yet... I came I saw and I bought.)

I slow cooked them to PERFECTION!... Serve them with rice, or if you wish, over a bowl of noodles.

Thought this dish will help to boost immunity a bit. Build up some bull's strength with a strong dose of minerals and iron! Coz you know, my kids have been unwell for this month. You know how these 'little' people get sick as though they are playing relay!

Man loved it. I thought the tendons were too... mmm... well done. I would prefer it a little harder and chewy, but he likes it this way, soft, tender and really jelly-like. Oh well, whatever that makes him happy.

As the Chinese would love it, cook this stew with daikon (else know as "white carrot" / radish), and carrot. I used really minimal seasoning. After taking his first bite, Man proclaimed, "... Wow! Nice!! But you missed out two spices."... Gasp! Indeed I intentionally left out two spices here. How did he know! (and I cooked this while he was at work!)

Five spice powder and star anise. I am not a fan. I didn't think any dish will taste any better or different with them. I would much prefer the Italian herbs. And ahem, this is where Man and I are different. Mars and Venus. Having said that, feel free to add them if you wish.

Anyhow, this stew scores my 9/10, only coz I don't think anything can be a perfect 10.

Here's what you'd need

* Beef Brisket (about 500gm)
* Beef Tendon (about 300gm)
* Daikon (cut to chunks)
* Carrot (cut to chunks)
* Onion (cut to chunks)
* Garlic (4 pcs, whole)
* Bay leaves (3-4 stalks)
* 5 teaspoons soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons sesame oil
* 5 teaspoons water
* 1 small pc of rock sugar

This is what I did:

1. In a pot of hot boiling water, blanch beef tendon for 5-10 minutes to remove all scums and grease. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

2. Prepare another pot of hot boiling water, blanch beef brisket for 5-10 minutes too. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

3. In a pan/wok, heat up some oil. Fry the bay leaves, and onion slightly. Add in carrots and continue to stir lightly.

4. Add in brisket and tendon and brown them slightly (try to line them on one single layer, do not overcrowd the pan.)

5. In the meantime, prepare the bowl of seasoning mixture by mixing soy sauce, sesame oil, and water together.

6. Pour into the browning beef and carrots, and add more water (enough to cover the beef). Let it simmer.

(At this point, I have to separate the beef and carrots. The beef will go into the slow cooker for more intensive cookout; while the carrots may luxuriate patiently in my magic pot cooker and wait for mr cow's return.)

7. Beef. Take them out piece by piece into the slow cooker. Remove the liquid from the pan and pour into the beef. Just enough to cover beef will do (be sure to keep some for the carrots. If there's not enough, don't fret, just add more water to make up). Add in the rock sugar into the slow cooker. Set it on High for at least 3 hours.

8. Carrots and all the other cast, go to the magic pot cooker, with some liquid. Heat up the pot and keep it to magic pot and let it self cook till cow is ready (if you do not have one of these magic pots, which you should, any pot will do. You just have to simmer the carrots slightly longer here to cook them well).

9. Check intermittently to make sure that the water in the slow cooker does not dry out. If it does, again, don't fret. Simply replenish.

10. At the end of the 3 hours and if you are satisfied with the tenderness of the beef, pour all beef and liquid into the pot of carrot and marry them!

11. Heat up slightly to fuse them together. Taste and add more seasoning at this point if you'd like (I didn't need to). Serve with rice.

Psst psst... 
* Rock sugar is said to soften and tenderize the beef.

Simple Meatballs

My mom's dish. My favourite since a little girl. Simple, fuss free, tasty, any child's favorite.

The best about this, you can liberally add in any other vegetables that your (fussy) eaters will not usually eat. Be it diced french beans or sniped spinach. Just make sure you chop it up real mad till it's minced and completely tiny.

Here's what you'd need:

* Pack of minced pork
* Carrot (diced)
* Onion (diced)
* 1 egg
* Soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper
* Corn starch

This is what I did:

1. Season minced pork liberally with soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper

2. Add in diced carrots and onions. Stir to mix.

3. Beat in an egg. Mix to incorporate.

4. Add in one spoon of corn starch. Mix till incorporated. End mixture should be rather thick and somewhat sticky (resembling fish paste; if the end mixture is too dry, meatballs will end up being too tough).

5. In a shallow pot with oil (enough to cover at least half the ball's height), heat up oil on medium fire.

6. With a small teaspoon, scoop minced mixture and shape roughly into a ball, and fry on small fire, till light golden brown.

7. Dish up and drain of oil on kitchen towel. Serve on a dish of lettuce to absorb excess oil.

8. Enjoy! (Realised that the meatballs taste quite good with lingonberry sauce!)

Psst psst... you know you can...
1. add this into simmering baked beans...
2. convert this dish to a Meatball Spaghetti... 

Sky's the limit!

Mozzarella Spinach Omelette

I am infatuated.

Pan fried cheese is just sooooooo great! It has this very subtle burnt taste and smell to it. Just that little burn-y taste goes a long way to an otherwise plain omelette.

Boys dislike egg yolk actually. They won't touch the yolk if you serve them hard-boiled eggs. Annoying coz I'd be the one to finish up the remains of the white-less egg. Not that wise for a middle aged lady, ya?

So the only way to make them finish their eggs is to fry it omelette-style. And the better way to make them ask for more is to serve it warm with melted cheese. Mozzarella to be exact.

This time, I diced fresh baby spinach to shreds and bits and mix it generously with grated mozzarella cheese and fry them in the egg. A little bit of skill is required to get the perfect flip of the omelette without breaking it to million pieces. Other than that, this is fanta-bulous!

Here's what you'd need:

* 2 eggs
* 1 cup of diced baby spinach
* 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
* Salt and Pepper to taste

This is what I did:

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, mix spinach and mozzarella together.

2. In a pan of heated oil over small fire, fry the egg. Swirl the pan to make a big round circled egg.

3. When the egg is almost set, add in the spinach-mozzarella mix on one half of the round egg.

4. With a stick-proof spatula, flip the other half of the egg over the spinach-mozzarella half and press gently to 'seal', especially round the corners and edge. Let it stand over the fire for a minute or two.

5. Gently flip the semi-circle egg over. Fry till both sides are golden brown.

6. Dish up and serve warm.

NB... I find small and low fire works best. You get the best flip with such heat. Flip the egg only when it has set and looks slightly hardened and cooked. Any earlier, you may risk tearing the omelette apart. To flip the semi-circle egg that has been filled with the vegetable and cheese, you may need the help of another spatula / chopsticks. Coz of the low fire, chances of a burnt omelette -- zilch.

Braised Pork Ribs Bittergourd

First, we all know how bitter bittergourd can be. It is hardly known as a nice-tasting dish. Not everyone appreciates it, not to mention children. But it is really one of the better vegetables around. Not only is it low in calories (ahem! very important), it is rich in phytonutrients like dietary fiber, mineral, vitamins and anti-oxidants. 

An excellent source of folate, vitamin A and vitamin-C, it helps body scavenge deleterious free radicals - one of the reasons for cancers development. Blar blar blar...

I never like bittergourd much, but I believe it is really an acquired taste. So start cooking and eating it. And as you get more adventurous, try juicing and drinking it f-r-e-s-h.

(In fact, some years ago, my Mom was diagnosed with 'mild' diabetes... sugar level was just hovering over the Above Average mark. Some neighbour taught her Juiced Bittergourd. In less than 3 months, her sugar level was back to normal. She has been well since then. Praise the Lord, and God bless the neighbour! Amen!)

You will be amazed.

To get rid of the bitterness, rather, to reduce the bitterness, do the following:

1. Do not wash the bittergourd as yet!
2. Slice it into half length-wise, and remove the seeds with a spoon. Scrape them all out.
3. Slice to about 1cm thick.
4. Season bittergourd with salt and leave it to stand for at least 15minutes. (yes, that's right, they have not touched water yet)
5. Prepare a pot of boiling water. 
6. Rinse off the salt thoroughly and cook the bittergourd in the boiling water.
7. You will start to smell the 'bitterness' of the bittergourd in the air! And the water will start to get foamy. That, accordingly to my mom, is the bitter 'element' being cleansed away.
8. Drain the bittergourd, rinse with tap water. Set aside till ready to use.

Here's what you'd need:

* Pork ribs (blanched; or you may use sliced pork fillet - marinate them first)
* Pre-treated Bittergourd (as above)
* Ketchup
* Sugar to taste
* Garlic
* Onion (sliced / cubed)

This is what I do:

1.  In a wok, heat up oil. Add in half of the onion slices and fry till fragrant and soft (translucent).

2. Add in half of garlic and fry.

3. Add in Bittergourd, continue to fry. Dish up and set aside briefly.

4. Heat up some more oil. Fry remaining onion and garlic.

5. Fry porky till almost cooked.

6. Pour in the bittergourd dish and fry all together to blend in the flavour

7. Prepare some water in a bowl at the side, add in ketchup (about 2tbsp), and some sugar to taste. Stir to combine.

8. Pour ketchup mixture into wok and fry all together. Let it simmer slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Dish up and serve.

NB: 
-- If you are using pork ribs, better to use Prime Pork Ribs that are slightly more tender. I find it's important to slow cook them beforehand, that ensure the ribs are soft to chew! Do not throw this pork soup you will get from the slow cooker; use it for step 7. You will need salt in step 7 too.

-- If you are using pork fillet, you must season them beforehand. Soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper.

(Again, no photos. Told you! My iPhone3 died. Apple died. Bread maker died. Haven't synced my iPhone4. No one has time to help me set up my new workstation. Sob. My sorrowful plight.)

Oven roasted Tomato & Garlic

I made these for the Bread. But this can be used for more than that!

The oven dried tomato can be pureed and be used as pizza sauce base. If you are a fan of garlic, use it for any other purpose, even if you fill it in the pizza too. Roasting it does take away its pungent taste, making it a lot more palatable.

Here's what you'd need:

Oven Dried Tomato

* 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
* 1tsp Salt
* 1tsp Sugar
* Herbs -- rosemary, thyme (I used Masterfoods Mixed Herbs)

1. Half the tomato lengthwise. Lay them on the baking tray, skin down.

2. Sprinkle some Salt and Sugar

3. Sprinkle some Herbs all over.

4. Bake for 2hrs at 100degC (I did it at 180degC, 30mins), till tomatoes are browned and dried.

5. Store up to several weeks in fridge. You may add olive oil to it, else store it in airtight container like I did.

Oven Dried Garlic

* 2 cloves of Garlic (peeled, about 20pieces)
* 25gm Butter
* 1tsp Sugar
* 3tbsp Olive oil

1. Remove garlic skin.

2. In a oven proof dish, place on stove over medium heat. Heat up the oil, melt the butter in it.

3. Toss in the garlic pieces. Add in the sugar.

4. Transfer dish into oven and roast for 20-30mins till garlic is caramelized and is soft, offering no resistance to the fork's poke.

5. Let garlic cool in the cooking oil

6. Lift garlic to drain on kitchen towels. You may store in fridge in airtight container.

Pan-fried Asparagus Roll

Why the silence? My cousin asked. She apparently, has been checking on me. Someone missed me! How sweet is that feeling.

Anyway, I am here still. The only reason why the stillness is because my Apple died on me again! Waaaaaaaa... :"( Tragic.

I have been experimenting some new dishes. Been taking photos and labeling them diligently. But they've all vanished along with my Apple. Can't imagine my heartbreak. Can't salvage. Must re-do. How helpless! I never learn, I suppose. I didn't backup since the last crash. Waaaaaaaaaaah :""(

Before I wallow any further into self pity, let me begin. This is one of those dishes I recreated. Didn't know if it will work but it turned out superb! No kidding you. Just a simple Hock Kee frozen Belly Sukiyaki, with a pack of asparagus and enoki mushroom. Roll them. Pan fry them. Make your favorite sauce and drizzle over them.

I can't wait to serve this when we next host a dinner. Yippie!!

NB: The belly sukiyaki has no seasoning and neither does the vegetable nor mushroom. So use the best sauce you can find. I used my favorite Kikkoman Soy Sauce with honey and lemon juice, with slight dash of garlic pepper. With a little oil, fry garlic till fragrant, pour soy sauce in and boil slightly. Drizzle over pan fried rolls. Serve.

Maki Rice Roll

Son2: Mommy, why does the sun go down at night, and the moon comes out?

Smartie Me: Well, because the sun is up since the morning, and will go back home at night, and the moon will come out because he's been home the whole day. (Reminding myself he's only 3.)

Son2: Then why is the sun up since morning and the moon stay at home?

A little stumbled Me: Well, because the sun wants to go home already. So, it's now the moon's turn to come out.

Son2: Why is it the moon's turn now?

Gaining posture me: Well, you see, they take turn. Just like you and Kor Kor, you guys take turn to hold the ball, right? (He nods his head)... Ya, so, sun and moon take turn too.

Son2: Why are they just like Kor Kor and I?

Losing it Me, mumbling to myself: Sigh,... it's starting all over again... (laughing to myself)...

Son2: What is starting all over again? Why is it starting all over again? Mommy, who were you talking to? Why are you laughing?... ...

Surrendered Me: Oh never mind...

Son2 pressing on: Why never mind?

I reminded myself, right there right then, to cherish these Whys. They are special. And they probably happened only once in a person's lifetime, where they honestly can't stop asking WHY? No amount of explanation will make them stop. So, it really doesn't matter what you replied...

4 years ago, exasperated with Son1's Whys, I broke into the rhyme "Because the sky is so high and the bird sh*t in your eyes."

Son1: Why did the bird shit in my eyes? And why is the sky so high?

Felt like hanging myself.


Since the beginning of this year, I have been tearing my hair out because Son1's been dirtying my b-r-a-n-d n-e-w car. He has to eat his lunch in there while we make our way daily to pick Son2 from his Nursery. Couldn't think of anything that can be a breeze for him to handle in a moving, shaky car. Not to mention the smell of food in the car, is the grains of rice or strand of noodles he will leave behind!!! Yuks!

Till we went to a Jap restaurant over one weekend, and I saw the answer right in front of me! Sushi Maki!!! I stormed right into the supermarket and bought a pack of seaweed and bamboo mat, and sushi we rolled! (Smartie me. Applause.)

So what goes in there? Not Jap rice actually. Muahahahaha... I cooked my usual rice with slightly more water to make it slightly sticky, and wrap with any of the boys' favorite dish. As long as the dish is drained dry, it'll not be a problem to wrap. So far, I have done salmon, minced pork, diced carrots, french beans, asparagus, luncheon meat, ground beef. Not bad at all. Boys are always happy when they see this in their lunch boxes, and they always finish their maki rolls. Best of all, no rice grains on my car mat!

What else can I possibly ask for.

Steamed Xiao Bai Cai

Was going to host a dinner for my cousin visiting from the States. With her 3 boys and her man. Wahahahah... so just like me. Imagine the 6 boys gathering together in MY house!?

Oft times, I am glad I have (temporary) amnesia.

"Chinese food", she said. She's sick of ang moh dish. She wants local fares. So, I cooked Chicken Curry (never mind if her husband appreciates the spice), Black Sesame Oil Pork Belly, Sweet & Sour Pork, Creamy Corn Soup, and this ... for the sake of a name, I call it "Steamed Xiao Bai Cai". But really name doesn't do it justice.

Adapted from Wendy. Regrets, my photo didn't capture the green. Sigh. I should set up my DSLR next time. The thought of it... double sigh...

Here's what you'd need:

* Pack of Xiao Bai Cai
* Fish paste
* Wolfberry
* Corn starch
* Garlic
* Chicken Stock powder

This is what I did:

1. Cut xiao bai cai into half, longitudinally.

2. Boil it slightly in water (to soften the stem slightly; be careful not to overcook like me! You'll end up with mustardy veg)

3. Drain and set aside. Dust the stem area with corn starch (to hold the fish paste).

4. With a spoon, scoop fish paste on it. Dot it with wolfberry.

5. Line them up neatly in a round plate. Steam for 10-12mins till fish paste is cooked.

6. Remove from steamer to stop the heating process. Set aside.

7. In a bowl, add 1 tsp of corn starch, 1 tsp of chicken stock powder, and 1 soup spoon of water. Stir to dissolve.

8. In a wok with oil, fry garlic slightly. Add in the stock and stir quickly.

9. Drizzle onto the steamed xiao bai cai. Serve.

Chawanmushi

I SUCCEEDED!!!!!! Hooray!!!

I have tried to make chawanmushi all my life. But always fail. Either custard turns out dome like a cake... or too hard... or watery wet... either way, it is NEVER quite what you get from the Japanese eatery. Very frustrating.

I chanced upon this at All That Matters. And decided to give it a try. Afterall, she sounded like a Japanese, though I can not be sure. Do you know?

Anyway, like she said, the ratio of Egg to Liquid should be 1:150ml. I based it on 120ml because I had some other ingredients in there which may release water during steaming.

And most importantly, is really to watch the fire! The steamer, or rather, the water cannot be bubbling boiling hot like the way it should be when you steam a fish. Instead, the flame should be gentle and the water bubbling just slightly. So I boiled water separately in my water flask, and pour it in to fill up my steamer wok and keep it boiling further with a l-o-w flame.  And it works!!!!!!

Wahahahaha... Look at the texture. So happy! The custard really is that of a real chawanmushi. However, the taste is a bit different probably because I didn't use dashi stock. And I didn't use Shimeiji Mushroom. Instead, I used chicken breast bits and dried mushroom.

Man and boys like it, except they thought it was a bit salty. I shall remember to dilute the chicken stock with water next time, and use proper ingredients now that I know how this works! Hurray!

Maybe crab sticks,.. gingko nuts, mushroom,... Japanese fish cake,... prawns,... chicken breast... Will definitely do this again... and again!

Here's what you'd need (serves 4):

* 4 eggs
* 480ml Chicken Stock (I will reduce it further to 400ml chicken stock with 80ml water next time)
* Chicken breast fillet (sliced to strips), seasoned slightly with pepper & pinch of salt
* Some dried Chinese mushrooms (soaked, softened and cut to strips)

This is what I did:

1. In a bowl, beat the eggs very lightly. Pour in 480ml of liquid (Stock + Water, in your desired proportion). Stir and mix well.

2. In the individual cups / bowls, place in the chicken fillet and mushrooms. Sieve the mixture into the cups/bowls.

3. Cover the cups / bowls with aluminum foil (to avoid water droplets from dripping onto the custard, so as to achieve perfect smooth surface).

4. Steam on low fire for about 20mins. Check doneness by tapping the custard gently with a chopstick.

5. Once done, turn off the fire. Leave the cups / bowls in the steamer to keep warm till ready to serve.

Psst psst... 
* I have no ramekin bowls, so I steamed my chawanmushi in the typical Chinese soup bowls.
* Why only 480ml? Since ratio should be 1:150ml, then I should be using 600ml for 4eggs. So why 480ml only? Coz I had some chicken bits in there, and chicken do excrete some water when steamed. So I based it on 1:120ml. Essentially, it is said that if you only have eggs in there with no other ingredients, then base it on 1:150ml.

Vegetarian Claypot

Once in a while, I will whip up this vegetarian dish, and serve it alongside a simple meat and soup. Yup!!! So that my diners will have no choice but to eat all the veg in this clay pot since there is no other available dish! Wahahahahahaaa

But, behold! This is very yummy, okay. Not totally new, nothing fanciful, just a simple claypot of fiber goodness. *smug smile*

Ingredients:

2 - 3 stalks of celery (sliced slant)
1/2 carrot (cut half length-wise, sliced thinly)
Sweet peas
Baby corn (sliced slant into 3 or 4 pieces)
Soup mushroom (cut in half)
Onion (cut chuncks)
Garlic
Salt to taste
Corn starch mixture (half tsp cornstarch, mix with water in a soup spoon)
Tofu (optional; get those for frying)
Capsicum (optional, red, yellow & green, sliced long)

Here's what I did:

1. In a heated wok with oil, fry garlic and onion till fragrant.

2. Add in capsicums, fry till fragrant.

3. Add in celery, carrot, peas and baby corn. Fry till fragrant.

4. Add in salt. Give wok a slight stir.

5. Add in 1/2 soup spoon of soya sauce. Stir fry quickly.

6. Add in soup mushroom. Continue to stir fry slightly.

7. Add in water, and a corn starch mixture. Let it simmer for a short minute.

8. Transfer into claypot and let it simmer a bit longer with the cover on.

9. Serve.

psst psst... 
* if you don't have a claypot, don't fret. It can be served in a bowl like always.
* if you like to add in tofu, then you deep-fry your tofu coated with plain flour. Set aside. Add into dish at the last stage during the simmering.
* if you like to add in a meat, you may... try prawns. Remove shells and devein prawns, add in after capsicums and when cooked, remove and set aside first. Add into dish at the last stage during simmering (this is to prevent the prawn from being overcooked).