Char Kway Teow

A few months ago I had such a huge craving for char kway teow. I am not sure why I could not find any fresh or frozen cockles from the Asian grocery stores that I visited. Then I decided to visit this Asian grocery store which is slightly future from my house to test my luck and I was happy to find some frozen cockles! It was a little expensive because I remember paying about $3 for a packet and this time it was about $5. Anyway since I was craving for it I still bought a packet. Using my seasoned cast iron pan I made a yummylicious char kway teow. I had char kway teow all week long for breakfast!  I was I heaven! It was also very tasty since I made it several times in a row (able to perfect it) and used my season pan. When I finished my cockles and hubby happened to worked near there he even offered to buy me more cockles since I had none left!

Recipe from Lily
Ingredients:

1/2 lb kway teow
1 tsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp cooking oil
3 - 5 prawns,
3 - 5 thinly sliced Chinese sausage
150g cockles, scalded and shelled (if available fresh then this is a must)
a handful of beansprouts
3 sprigs of chives, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 egg

Seasoning:
1 tbsp Chilli paste(sambal olek)
1 tbsp light soya sauce
Pepper to taste
A little dark soya sauce for colour
A little water

Method:

1. Heat wok with 3 tbsp oil until hot and fry Chinese sausages until fragrant, then add l tsp chopped garlic . 

2. Add about prawns and fry until cooked.

3. Push all the fried ingredients to one side and add in kway teow. Stir-fry the kway teow and add seasoning and sprinkle with a little water to mix.

4. Spread all the ingredients around the kuali and create an empty space in the centre, then crack an egg into it and add a little more oil. Cover the egg with all the ingredients and stir-fry evenly.

5. Add cockles if desired and mix in a handful of beansprouts and the chives. Do not overcook.

Remove the dish to a plate and serve hot.


This is Lily's recipe and I have adapted her recipe to suit me depending what I have at home. I've even made it with glass noodles before too! I love my char kway teow with cockles so every time when I make this this the cockles is a MUST!

Last month I went to an Asian grocery store they had frozen abd fresh cockles too. I guess a few months ago it wasn't in season? It was on sale again for $3 instead of $5 a packet.  I was so excited or kiasu and stocked up 6 packets! I am afraid I will run out of it or cannot find it again. I find that the more often I cook this dish the better it taste. Not sure if is in my head! Will be making Char Kway Teow really soon again! Drool!!!

Yummy Steak Marinade

Hubby is not a huge fan of steak.  He said that he's never made a really piece of steak at home so he rather not make them at home and go out to have a yummy piece of juicy steak once in a while.  I've been wanting steak off and on here and there and I rather make it at home sometime (so much cheaper than going to a steak house). We went to costco to get some steak for $7.99/lb (don't remember what cut). We divided them into two slices and when I have craving for steak I will defrost a packet to thaw. We got 6/8 pieces in a packet hence my stash is almost gone. Only one more packet left.

Anyway I was browsing in food.com and I came across this steak marinade recipe with excellent review! I decided to give it a try when I made steaks for our Valentine's Day dinner and I never looked back! This recipe is super yummy and not only I love it so much hubby loves his steak too!

Clean your fridge soup aka "Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup"

I've heard of Weight Watcher's cabbage soup for a long time (I used to work in a weight loss place though not with weight watchers) but I've never ever thought of cooking it for the fear that it will not taste good. It's been pretty cold lately and I've been looking for some really simple and quick soup to make for dinner. My baby is not a big fan of meat at all and he much prefers vegetables and soupy food so I thought this would be the perfect dish for me to make.

I love this recipe so much because it is so versatile and you can adapt it with what ever vegetables etc you have at home.  My recipe is actually ball park on what I had at home and is not specific.

Ingredients - Original recipe from here

3 cups of broth- Chicken, beef or vegetable

2-4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 chopped onions

2 cups chopped cabbage

4 tomatoes-skinned, deseeded and diced

1/2 cup of pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce (one of the recipe asked for 1tbsp tomato paste)

2 cups chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Pour broth, garlic, onions, carrots and green pepper into your pot (I used my dutch oven pot) until it boils for about 30 minutes (My homemade broth was still slightly frozen)

2. Put the rest of the ingredients in and let it simmer for about 30-44 minutes or until desired tenderness.

This soup is so very simple yet so very sweet and yummy!!I was very surprise that it actually tasted so good. My little baby ate 3/4 bowl of it and nibble from my bowl too. He absolutely loved it. Even my hesitant hubby was surprised that it actually tasted good! His only complain was that it does not have any meat. He even requested I made more and add meat so he can take it to work next week!!

You can add all sorts of vegetables like celery, bak choy, egg plant, zucchini, etc. I chose to use pizza sauce because I have a huge bottle at home. Hubby wanted to make some pizza and we were at Sam's club and we actually bought a huge can of it. I froze half of it and half of it actually went moldy. Since I  didn't want to open a can of tomato paste because I had a bunch of pizza sauce in my freezer I decided to use it. I also have a few container of chicken broth that I pre cook when I've accumulated a bunch of bones so I have home made broth when ever I need them. 

If you are looking for an easy soup recipe this is would be a recipe you should definitely try! Also if you are looking to lose weight and need to jump start your diet this soup would be ideal!

Char Chu Yoke or Hakka Braised Pork II

I made the same dish here many moon months ago. I made some changes to the previous recipes and made it even more tasty!! 

Some of the difference I made to my original recipe was

1) I marinate my pork with more nam yue (about 8-10 cubes with more liquid)

2) Added more garlic 

I think this dish taste better (taste more nam yue) with more nam yue. I think I used slighly too much nam yue cause it is slightly salty if eaten just by itself but when you eat it with rice or noodles it taste just perfect!! I used almost a whole bottle of nam yue! LOL. I would definitely use this recipe again because it really hit the spot. I now have a few containers of char chu yoke sitting in my freezer for when I have craving for them or when I run out of ideas too cook or when I'm too lazy to cook all I have to do is defrost one container, boil rice and stir fry some vegetables. 

Sweet soft buns

I've been using this recipe to make bun/bread for more than a year now. I first discovered this recipe last year when my mom was here and I would sometimes make raisin/cinnamon raisin bread. My mom does not eat cinnamon but she likes raisin bread and all raisin bread in the store has cinnamon so since I know how to make bread might as well I make my own bread for her. At least I know is healthy and with no preservative. I was thinking of using this method but I am not always successful with this method and I don't always get a perfect loaf hence I decided to find another method. This recipes has NOT disappointed me so far even after many attempts on making it. It is super soft and yummy!!They usually soft for days but of course is the best when is fresh out of the oven :)

Aglio Olio II

I have a very active, mischievous  and constantly needs my attention toddler so any meal hearty,  simple, fast, easy and yummy dish is my kind of meal. I've learn to look for meals that I can prepare in a jiffy but also nutritious and taste good instead of solely relying on instant noodles. Aglio Olio fits my bill and I always wonder why I've never made this more often. Since blogging about it here I've not made it again yet. The beauty about this dish is you can almost use anything or nothing (as in just olive oil, noodles and garlic) to make it. Since I'm only attempting to cook only one dish meal I need to incorporate my other food group to make my meal a nutritious, hearty and balanced meal. 

Anyway yesterday I decided to make this dish without the shrimp/prawns. Recipe can be found here. Instead I added tomatoes and some baked salmon. I could have cooked my salmon before cooking my noodles in the pan but since I'm baking the salmon for my little man I figure might as well I just do it all at once. 

This time I made a slightly bigger batch and could not finish my meal so I kept it for lunch the next day.  It was really torturous for me because I loved it so much but could not eat everything last night and was wanting to eat them soon. Today, I was desperately just waiting for lunch so I can eat the left overs. My little toddler was sleeping so I had to actually wait till he got up before I can eat so we can both have lunch together!

I finally warmed them up and dig into it! Yum it hit the spot! It even tasted good the next day just warming them up in the microwave. I am sure if I ever go back to work and make lunch for work this would totally be the dish I would make often because it is super simple and yummy. 

Homemade Kaya II (Coconut Jam)

I've made Kaya once or twice after my attempt here but did not blog about it.  Every since I saw Frozen Wing  post about Kaya and that she used duck eggs to make Kaya I was curious to see how good it will taste. I've been searching for duck eggs for quite some time now because I've been wanting to make salted eggs using duck eggs but could not find any at the grocery store. When I used to work one of my client that has a farm said that they have duck and their duck will lay eggs and they don't eat them. They offered to give me some but has never given me any. I swagbuck and actually found some online and at one point I was so desperate I almost got some online but decided that not to.

Mushroom and Shrimp Aglio Olio

I made this yesterday.. So this post is actually a new post!! Lol I am hoping if I actually hit the publish button I will be more motivated to start posting or actually finish all my other saved entries. I just don't get much opportunity to sit down in front of my Mac to write proper entry. I know I have a smart phone but blogging is just not the same when you are blogging from the phone!

Anyway back to Aglio Olio...I've been wanting to make this dish since my friend told me about it. She told me about this dish way before I was pregnant and now my baby is almost 15months so go figure..I've been craving for pasta these two days (cause my cousin mention she was going to make pasta for dinner and after that it was good etc..)I was thinking of making shrimp scampi but I decided that I needed to make something quick and simple. My toddler skipped his afternoon nap( semi cranky toddler) and I had to clean the floor before I could make this because we have an invasion on raspberry ants!!  By the time I was done prepping, cooking and eating I was behind schedule. I wanted to put him to bed earlier but that didn't happen and thankfully  after I showered him hub was able to put him to bed while I took my shower.

Anyway.. My only regret is I didn't make this earlier!!! I really like it. It actually reminds me of a quick stir fry asian noodle probably because of the chili padi! Lol

Ingredients

6-10 cleaned shelled shrimp

8-10 cloves of chopped garlic

1 cup of sliced mushroom

Salt and Pepper

2-3 chili padi ( bird's eye chili) chopped/ red pepper flakes

A few table spoon of cream or milk or water from cooking the pasta

1/3-1/4 cup Olive oil

One serving of pasta cooked in boiling salt water till al dente

Handful of fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Parsley

Method

1) Cook pasta according to direction till al dente

2) Heat pan (I used my cast iron pan) and add olive oil followed by garlic and chili padi

3) Slightly sautée the garlic and chili then add mushroom. Cook till water evaporate from the mushroom.

4) Add shrimp and give it a quick stir. Season with salt and pepper.

5) Drain cooked pasta and add it to the mixture. Drizzle a few tables spoon of cream/milk/ water from the pasta to the pasta while mixing them up with the rest.

6) Garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

I love this dish so much I already thaw out the shrimp to make another batch tonight for dinner!! I love anything spicy!! I'm sure it will taste as good if I just used crush pepper. My only problem was I added slightly more olive oil so it was slightly more oily than I would like..Oh well cooking is usually about trail and error..

FIRST

I scheduled this post a long time ago but unfortunately these two weeks I've been busy attending to my fussy baby.


For my baby's FIRST birthday I initially decided to bake him a cake. Then I thought I would just get some edible prints and stick it on the cakes or cupcakes. Then I decided to just order a cake or an ice-cream cake for him.


Well remember my wilton caddy that I bought years ago? The one that I insisted I had and will use it? Well I never did really used it before and so hubby mentioned that I've spend so much money buying wilton stuff and that I should bake our baby a cake instead of buying one!  *stress*


I decided to make my baby a grover cake because he use to like the monster at the end of this book that hubs bought the app for the iPhone and iPad. Initially I was going to make cupcakes for him hence I even went out to the store to hunt for the tip so I can pipe the fur for grover! I finally decided that cupcakes would be too time consuming to decorate that I decided I will just bake him a cake instead!

Hakka Braised Pork with Fungus or Char Chu Yoke

My late grandmother was a great cook. Our entire family loves her dishes. My uncle, her second son actually managed to learn how to cook some of her yummy dishes.


When we were over in Australia my uncle cooked this dish one night and we all devoured it. My grandma's still taste nicer but this was good too. No complains! The pork was not too skinny or fat. Lovely!! I ate so much of it!

Mantou or steamed buns or flower buns

I do apologized.. I've been away for this long. I do have a lot of recipes that I would like to share and am currently finding the time to post it. I've also been away for almost two months on vacation with my baby (DH joined us later).


We were in Malaysia and Sydney, Australia with lots of family, friends and great food. I miss having family and friends that truly care. Family and friends that is sincere and mind their own business instead of trying to butt into anything and everything they can about yours or your families' s life. Really dislike selfish and nosy people that pretends that they care!


Anyway back to my mantou, I had great mantou when we were dining in Sydney that I felt like having some. Yesterday I found a recipe and decided to attempt making them. It came out horrible and I threw every thing away. What a waste of ingredients since it was not edible at all!!

Yau Mei Farn II aka chicken rice and Steam Egg plant.

I love yummy yet simple meals especially when the meal is made from scratch. I had a craving for rice and chicken today but I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so I decided on Yau Mei Farn/ aka clay pot rice (since I don't have a clay pot I just use my rice cooker)

Mac N Cheese with a twist.

I've been working a lot this month and since I'm at my third trimester I get really pooped easily. I've been trying to balance working and resting hence leaving me not much time to cook. Even when I'm home I get tired and don't feel like cooking. Most of the time hubs and I will try and whip up something quick so we can eat quick and rest. I also try and whip up extras so that I can take it to work for lunch. 

One evening I had no idea what to eat and was craving for pasta. We could either dine out of try and make it at home. Making pasta from stretch will take a longer time so when I went rummaging through my pantry I found a box of Mac and Cheese.

Lasagna

• In my effort to cook more at home this year I decided to make some lasagna since I had craving for some plus it freezes well. I also had a some ground turkey in my freezer that I was going to use it up so I decided to make some turkey lasagna from scratch instead of using a can of spaghetti sauce.

Steak

Hubs is not your typical American person. He likes eating steak but just every once in a while. I've tried making steak at home a few times but hubs doesn't really care for it. Every once in a while we would have a steak when we go out and it. Until recently I found a way to make steak without needing to use the grill because it can be a pain in my you know what to start the grill just to make a piece of steak. 


One day when we ran to the store to get some milk hubs suddenly said that he wanted steak. I don't normally buy steak at home so I told him that we were going to have to get some. When you just run to the store to grab something buying steak when is not on sale can be quite expensive but since we don't normally get steak we just bought some. I don't even remember which cut we bought but I think it cost about $8/lbs or more. It might be cheap cut for those steak lover out there. 

Chocolate Cake

I was working like crazy for quite some time and have decided that it was wearing me down hence I decided that I didn't want to work so many hours anymore. Every since I've cut my hours I've had more time to spend in my kitchen to make real food for my family. I am not sure why even though I have more time to cook we still go out to eat the same amount. 

I had craving for some chocolate cake and decided I will make some since I don't fancy buying or eating cake from the store because is always too very sweet for me. 

Asian Style Spaghetti

Yesterday I was craving for some stir fry noodles but after work hubs and I decided to roam around Ikea after I got done working; so I didn't know what time we would be back and did not defrost any meat. We got back from Ikea about 4:30pm and I had no idea what to cook for dinner. 


Later in the evening I just decided to have a can of soup with some crackers. A can of soup and stir fry noodles are nothing alike! I decided that today after work I would come home and stir fry some noodles for dinner. 


I was not sure what kind of noodles I wanted to stir fry or how I was going to cook my noodles. After eating my Curry Noodles for a few meals straight I was highly heaty and my mom suggested that I stay away from fried and spicy food.  So I figured I would cook something simple. 

Caramel Rolls II

Ever since the weather turned cold I've been in the mood to bake breads again. I don't know why but I just love the process of baking bread and the outcome of the product (that's if is a success). I love the aroma when the bread is done baking and making it just helps me regroup my thoughts and myself. 


I was browsing through Florence's blog one day and I saw her wonderfully soft bread recipe and I decided that I needed to try it. I actually didn't start the kneading until about noon because I was actually contemplating on making a loaf of bread or buns. I finally decided that I will use this recipe to make some caramel rolls since it was hubby's favorite and I've not made them in a long time.

A perfect loaf

Ever since I got this  I've been trying to make a loaf of bread when ever we run out of bread. I've been really satisfied with the taste and texture of my bread but I've not had very good luck making a PERFECT square bread with this.

My first few attempts using my Pullman bread pan. I did not modify the recipes enough so that it has enough dough to rise to the top to make a PERFECT loaf. I tried using my Pullman pan every time I needed to make a loaf of bread for the last 3-4 times and every time it was a disappointment.  Hubby said that he thought when I bought this pan he would get a perfect shaped and tasty homemade bread :P.

Cesar Pork Chops

I've really been trying to cook more so that we don't have to eat out so often. We managed to stay home to eat for 10 days in a row (excepts some lunches). I managed to crack my head and whip up either simple stuff or preparing it before I go to work and having hubby reheating it or cooking it when he gets back from work if he's earlier than me or I'll do it when I get back.