4 years since my last post

 I had forgotten about this space again. I checked the last time I had posted something here was back in 2018. It's already 4 years passed.  Many things happened and changed.  I have 3 children and both the older ones have grown up and are in primary school. 

I cook almost every day for dinner nowadays as it's much easier to eat at home with 3 children than picking a restaurant to cater for everyone's appetite. 

December is a busy month.  We went to legoland at the start of the month. Then it was my sister's wedding. The next weekend was a staycation with the family at Janda Baik. Everyone had a wonderful time

life since then

Can't believe it has been 3 years since I last posted in blogspot. I am almost forgetting the existence of this blog until today. Opened up and saw my final posts were all about recipes. I guess I had lost that life of sitting around and writing nonsense words since two monsters have taken over my life fully. Still cooking but to the extend of limiting my daily cooking time to 40 minutes. My goal is to have food serve on dinning table within 40 minutes I arrived home from work. Most of the time the goal is met except today. I had underestimated the time to cook Japanese curry because I didn't realize it's a type of stew. The potatoes and carrots have to be slow cooked at least half an hour to get soft texture. However there is still half a pack of roux left so I will leave it for weekend cooking next.

Time flies. Really. Grew couple of fine lines beside my eyes, tummy budging from the effect of stretching skin by carrying two offspring and few strands of grey hair found in the span of a year. The age is catching up. At this time of life, my mind is going around to how to provide the best for my kids, filling them up with survival lessons and building great characters of them. Met my buddy last weekend during a good friend's wedding reception. Still remember how she accompanied me to get soy milk during my first pregnancy every day at 3pm. I needed that walk so much to relax my muscle and got the girly talk done. 

Somehow it brought back some memories of another junior who had since left the company who loves playing with hair so much she was in my office most of the time to tie my hair into different style or bun. Felt like eternity whenever memories started flowing in. Then it went back some more to another buddy who was always with me , in my office chatting and laughing. Most of the ladies I know already have their family and be a mother. So much random thoughts tonight. 

Recently read the message posted by a 27 years old lady called Holly Butcher where she is at her final days of cancer suffering. It made me think of my friend and cousin who had passed away few years back at the age of early thirties. Life is so fragile. You never know what will come one day, in few minutes, hours, days, or years. I am learning and keep reminding myself to always be kind to everyone around me. Sometimes I forgotten and is rude to people that are close to me. I guess I need to make that sisters' trip happening soon. Yvonne is trying to bring everyone together but no one seems to giving it much thoughts as her. She even tried to figure out the itineraries and did research of places we initially wanted to go. Things are not easy to bring all sisters together as we are scattered around the globe. Everyone has own commitments either to family, work or study. 

Today I managed to catch up with an old friend who is also a close friend. I almost going to console myself of the missing things I am still wailing for then realizing I did not miss anything. It's my own fault for not following up close on each friends' update. My cashew nuts are done roasting in oven, and time for me to put my son to bed. 

Cilantro baked fish

This is another express cooking day type of dish. I normally use the oven or steam food when I need food to be cooked in parallel with rice so I can get food ready on table in less than 40 minutes.

This the baked fish which is so easy to make. I don't think I need to list the ingredients. You can see everything in the picture. Basically just lay your fillet on aluminium foil. 

Rub sea salt on both sides of the fish. Sprinkle black pepper, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Be generous with the oil. Squeeze half a lemon, or 4 small limes juice. Then cut the cilantro and just throw on top.

Pre-heat oven and bake at  200 celcius for 20 minutes

Cilantro stew pork with potato

I am trying to stew pork using western herbs and not the usual chinese stew ingredients. So here we go, I named it cilantro stew pork with potato.

It was a day which I took off to vaccinate my baby. After sending her to nanny place I returned home and did the usual house chores. Since I have longer time to cook dinner, I prepared this stew.

For the pork, I spent a little more time to brown it in oil before stewing. The result is rosemary fragrant stew which the meat is also tender because of the long slow cooking. I can settle other chores also while it cooked.

Ingredients:
300g soft bone pork , cut into 1x1 cube
2 potatoes,  cubed
1 tomato, wedged
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion, wedges
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
5 stalks fresh cilantro , break them into shorter parts
salt and black pepper
Flour
Cooking oil
1 cup water


1. First, dip the pork in flour and salt and brown in a little oil then set aside
2. Heat up 2 tablespoon oil in a stewing pot and saute garlic.
3. Brown potatoes and add in tomato and pork.
4. Add in the cilantro, dried rosemary, black pepper.
5. Add 1 cup of water and let the mixture slowly cook for about 2 hours.
6. Add salt to taste before serving hot with rice

Braised sea cucumber and pork rib

Hello all. I have been away from blogging for a very long time as my last post was 6 months ago. I am still cooking but nothing really fancy. Just the usual stuff that I had written before and the daily quick meal. Maybe one day I shall blog about how to prepare meal in 40 minutes. That's the time I have to get stuff ready and clean up before tending to my very demanding children. I love them to bits and the love me so much that they like me to be around all the times. So I need to be super efficient in everything that I do at home.

This dish is out of the ordinary food that I cook everyday. I made this in the past long weekend which inclusive of weekend, Labor Day and replacement Wesak Day. Why it's out of ordinary is that I was using sea cucumber and I never cook with this sea creature before. My mother in law came 2 weeks ago and brought along some sea cucumber with her. She was an awesome lady, she cleaned them up and cooked for us and left a few more in freezer for me to use later. So I took them out and cooked for our dinner on Saturday.

I used claypot to cook this. Ingredients required:

A
300g pork ribs
3 pieces of sea cucumbers (post clean up) cut into smaller strips
4 dried shitake mushrooms soaked and cut into thick slices
2 hard boiled eggs (peeled)
2 shallots, minced
2 bowls water
3  tablespoon cooking oil

B
2 star anise
1 teaspoon of five spice powder
5 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt

First heat up 3 tablespoon of cooking oil. Saute shallots till fragrant.  Then stir in the pork and brown them a bit. Put the mushroom in and stir a while more. Before the pork burnt up, pour 1 bowl of water. Add in ingredients B and turn up the heat and let the mixture simmer.

After they simmer for about 5 minutes, add in remaining water, sea cucumber and eggs. Cover up the pot and slowly cook it for about 2 hours. Before serving taste and see if you need extra salt. Some soy sauce are salty enough that you do no need to top up.

Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!

Sour and chilli crab

The big boss always ask me why I never cook anything with lobster or crab before..so in one of the groceries pick up, I bought 2XL size "ketam bunga". It cost around rm11. Alright this was my first time handling crabs. Good thing is that they are not alive. I believe these are frozen crabs. I looked upon YouTube for the way to clean crabs and followed exactly fearing the  crabs will suddenly wake up.

I settled down with a recipe that calls for sour and spicy flavor because this is not a live crab so steam is totally not a good choice.

Sauce ingredients
Small bowl of water
5Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs oyster sauce
2tbs chilli sauce
Fresh yogurts 4Tbs
1 tbs shaoxing wine

Other ingredients
Salt
Cleaned crabs
Cooking oil
Minced garlic
Minced ginger
1 egg beaten

Steps
1. Heat up 3 tbs oil in wok.
2. Saute garlic and ginger for about 10 seconds
3. Add in crabs
4. Simply stir for about 3 minutes
5. Mix the sauce ingredients except yogurts and pour  in the mixture into wok.
6. Close the lid and simmer for about 10 minutes
7. Add in yogurts and simmer for another 5 min
8. Add some salt as needed and egg
9. Stir for another 2 minutes and serve immediately with hot steaming rice

There you go.....!!

Easy banana muffin

I have some over ripe banana at home from last week. I used up 2 to make flourless banana pancake for breakfast yesterday and there  are 4 more. So here a quick fix for tomorrow breakfast.

I found a recipe which I have all the ingredients ready. So in about 20 minutes I prepared all the ingredients and pop into the oven to bake.

Here's the recipe if you are interested

1 2/3 cup organic unbleached flour
2/3 cup sugar. I reduced this a bit
1 cup corn &canola
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 mashed bananas

Steps
Heat up 190c oven
In a bowl, beat oil, sugar and eggs using metal whisk
Stir in the vanilla extract and mashed bananas
Add in the rest of ingredients
Divide into 10 muffin cups. I used cup cakes cups
Bake in oven for 20 minutes

Hope the boys love the muffins tomorrow

Healthy chicken nuggets for toddler

I have left this blog too long unmaintained due to busy work schedule and dealing with demanding toddler while carrying our new baby.yes, we are expecting a new member of our family this year! Basically my everyday life is like rushing to everything and everywhere.I squeezed in a week of business trip in May to Ireland. It was a bonus as I got to run away from hectic home life for a week however is not a real bonus a well..this business trip was as hectic a well. I lazy to recall how our flight was canceled due to plane function error when we were already seated I'm the plane and how I  threw up in the bus that reroute to take us to our destination and everyday meeting full day and only manage to shop in airport on the last day.

Okay back to original purpose of writing this entry.I am currently in a vendor tool workshop. Since the tool that is being discussed is not of my interest,I took my phone out and start blogging again.

This is the chicken nuggets that I made for my kid.he is a typical picky kid who doesn't eat meat and there was once when we were in ikea, we gave him nuggets and he took without fuss. So I am really determined to make a healthy version for him, baked not fried.

I roughly list down the ingredients.

2 slabs of chicken breast, deboned
Garlic powder
Parsley
Black peppers
Salt
Bread ( white or wholemeal, whichever)

Steps
1.minced chicken meat, I used knife and just chopped them for 15 min
2. Mix  salt, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper, marinate for about 10 min.
3. Tear the bread into 1x1 inch pieces and toast in preheat oven for about 20 min until crunchy. I turned them around at half the time so I don't get burnt bread on a side only
4. Processed the bread in food processor or blender into fine bread crumbs and put them into a dry plate. Mix grated parmesan with breadcrumbs if you like
5. Clean your hands and wet your palm
6.Take a some minced chicken meat and roll into into a ball then press it. You can make out into any shape you like
7. Place the meat piece in the plate containing breadcrumbs and cover all sides with breadcrumbs.
8. When you are done doing this for all the minced chicken, you can either bake them directly in oven for 30 min or keep them in freezer for future use.

I made about 20 pieces from this batch and bake a few every weekend for the little toddler.its healthy and yummy!