Teriyaki Chicken Rice

I can’t believe how quickly the week is flying by! Worst-I haven’t blogged since Monday.

I hope I don’t get into the habit of having less than 3 posts a week… I wouldn’t like that.

Work is going well and I have great colleagues which makes the experience more enjoyable. Certainly work is demanding but I’m liking it. I’m finding myself feeling more tired than usual (possibly due to getting over the flu virus + starting new job + returning home late) and becoming lazier to cook! A mental note to myself is to start collecting recipes and food ideas that are freezer friendly so that I do not feel tempted to eat out often.

This is one recipe that was inspired by Mochachocorita. I didn’t realize how handy teriyaki sauce can be. It’s not for marinate but it makes a pretty good fried rice too. I wonder if this is freezer friendly though?

Teriyaki Chicken Rice (serves 4)
2 cups of rice cooked and cool overnight.
300 grams of chicken thigh/breast sliced across the grain
5 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce
pepper
3 cups of mixed chopped vegetables (I used a combination of cabbage, capsicum and beans).
sliced fresh chilli
3 eggs beaten

1) Marinate chicken with 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce and pepper for 15-20 minutes.

2) Heat wok till very hot. Cook chicken on high heat quickly. Dish it up.

3) Add rice and fry it till it’s jumping off the wok. Add vegetables and teriyaki sauce. Keep stir frying. Add chicken. Do a taste test at this point. Add seasoning if needed (I like to add more pepper). Make a well and add eggs. Cook till the eggs are nearly set. Toss egg through rice.

4) Serve rice with chilli.

Plum Sauce BBQ Pork (Char Siew) Fettuccine

My attempt in fusion =). Whenever I can, I try to buy roast pork in bulk and freeze it. It’s something that my grandmother do and I learned that from her. Good tasting roast meat is really versatile and gives a “buzz” to any dish. It comes in really handy whenever we are tight on time but needed a good meal to ease of the tension of the day.

I realized that plum sauce is a good addition to the pantry as well. It serves as a good base and provide abit of tang to pastas or even as a sauce for wraps. So one Tuesday evening (Tuesdays are pasta days!), I raided the freezer and came up with this combination.

Plum Sauce BBQ Pork Fettuccine (serves 4)
250grams of fettucine
200 grams of char siew or roast pork fillet
3-4 tablespoons of plum sauce
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 floret of broccoli chopped
1 cup of peas
1/4 cup of chicken stock
Season

1) Cook fettuccine in boiling salted water. Drain and keep warm.

2) Saute garlic in a pan. Add char siew and cook till warm through. Add broccoli, peas and chicken stock and cook till done. Add plum sauce. Season. Toss fettuccine through. Serve warm!

I’m back this week for Presto Pasta! This week is hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. Be sure to check out Ruth the founder of Presto Pasta Nights as well!

Tagged- My bag

Hey everyone!

I was tagged by Little Corner a few days ago to do this meme-which I found interesting. I loveeee bags so I can’t miss this one can I? I also realize that I have to forward some awards out so stay tune for that. =)

Here are the rules.

Find a safe quiet place free of significant others, nosey meme makers, priests, nuns, all things religious and men in general. (If you’re a guy just reverse this process to male and tell us about your wallet, tool box, briefcase or metro sexual accessory.)

1. Dump the contents of your handbag in a pile

2. Take a photo of your handbag and the contents

3. Be brave and explain to your fellow bloggers what lurks inside the handbag.

4. Tag others who might want to embarrass themselves

5. Answer these questions:

Describe the contents of your handbag.

What’s the most important thing in your handbag?

What’s the most embarrassing thing in your handbag?

What’s the smallest thing in your handbag?

Is there anything illegal in your handbag?

This meme was started by Mimi, Queen of Memes who thinks up brilliant memes. Here are the answers to the questions…..

1) Describe the contents of your handbag.
I will never leave home without my wallet, coin purse and my mobile phones. One is my personal mobile and the other is my work phone. Similarly, I like to have a few pens and a highlighter with me as I tend to bring articles and books out as well. A notebook is essential as I use that to write names or little thoughts that come my way. A little box of vitamins to ensure that I stay healthy. A packet of tissues for the unexpected. A bottle of water to keep me hydrated, especially since I drive long distances now. Two set of keys-one being my personal house + car keys and the other set belongs to work. My PDA to keep me on time and schedule. And of course, as a girly girl, I like to have my lip glosses with me!

2) What’s the most important thing in your handbag?
My mobile phones, wallet and car keys!

3) What’s the most embarrassing thing in your handbag?
Hmm.. I don’t think there is anything embarrassing in my bag.

4) What’s the smallest thing in your handbag?
That would be my lip gloss?

5) Is there anything illegal in your handbag?

Nothing in my bag is illegal.

So there you go. The only thing I didn’t include in would be my documents and/or books that I would sometimes bring it out with me as well. If you are game, try it! It’s a nice way to have a think about what you put inside your bag…and perhaps do some clearing too! =)

Ruth
Elin
Little Inbox
Lianne from Imbi and Itchy

Peanut Butter Ham Cheese French Toast

I had my first ever blood test yesterday. I don’t know about you but I hate needles. Needless to say, I was a teany winy bit nervous about the blood test.

Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as what I thought it would be. In that case, fear was definitely bigger than the pain. Well, action is the best cure of fear and I’m glad I experienced it. Having a friendly nurse certainly help though. As she checked my veins, she said that I should have drank more water prior to the session but she managed to find a “nice, juicy vein”-a little joke that certainly broke the tension. All I felt was a tiny prick and after what seems like ages, she said it was done. I turned around and saw FOUR vials of blood! Woah! I’m glad I didn’t see her drawing it.

On another note, I got impatient and rang up my supervisor to ask for the status of my thesis examination. It has been 4 months since I submitted it. Apparently, one examiner pulled out hence my thesis has traveled from London to Norwich to the next appointed examiner.

Isn’t it ironic that my thesis has clocked more miles than I have?

The good news is that the other examiner did finish her report and I passed!!

So I’m praying hard that the new examiner will be a nice, patient, sweet person who will pass me as well.

All these dramas make me crave for something comforting. Sinfully comforting. And it has to be different. So one lazy Sunday afternoon, I had a crazy idea of sandwiching ham and cheese between peanut butter slattered bread soaked in beaten eggs.

I felt slightly guilty and paired it with a simple baby spinach salad with a quick drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

And surprisingly, it was pretty yummy!

Peanut Butter Ham Cheese French Toast (Serves 2)
4 slices of thick white bread
3 eggs
1 tsp sugar

4 slices of ham
3 slices of sliced smoked chedder cheese
peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon of reduced fat spread

1) Slatter bread with peanut butter on both sides. Lay ham and cheese. Top it off with another piece of bread.

2) Lightly beat eggs with sugar. Soak bread in the egg mixture for around 1-2 minutes on each side.

3) Heat pan and melt butter. Fry sandwiches both side till golden brown. Serve with salad.

Blueberry Crumble Cake

What colours, when added together, turn green?

Got it?

It’s blue and yellow!!!

Or at least I think that was what happened to my blueberry crumble cake. I must have streak the blueberries into the yellow batter unknowingly, resulting in one area of the cake looking rather greenish. Too bad for the appearance though because I really like this cake! It was moist-the way a cake should be.

I saw this recipe featured on Fresh from the Oven sometime back and saved it in my recipes folder. I used frozen blueberries as the fresh ones are really expensive-but still love the bite in the blueberries in the cake. Certainly one that is a keeper….. except the green streaks!

Blueberry Crumb Cake (Fresh from the Oven)
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Via Food Network.com

For the streusel:
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1tsp of ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg
113grams of butter melted
1 1/3 cup of flour

For the cake
226 grams of butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup of sour cream (I used yogurt)
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of blueberries

1) Preheat Oven to 180C. Line 9 inch round pan.

2) To make the streusel: Comibe granulated sugar, brown sugar, spices in a bowl. Mix in melted butter and fold in flour. Set aside.

3) Cake: Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and yogurt. Fold in sifted flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Fold blueberries in.

4) Spoon batter into cake pan. With your fingers, crumbled the topping evenly over the batte.r Bake for 40-45 minutes till cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

Dried shrimps, scallops and cabbage rice

First day of work-AR asked if I was nervous or excited this morning. Funny enough, I did not feel anxious or nervous and went on to prepare for the morning as I would have normally. Probably being a trainee for the past 3 years helped-I suppose essentially, the first days are the same except this time round, I dropped the title of the trainee! Woohoo!! Oh, and get paid of course.

What I will expect the change over time though, is the energy and time require to prepare meals. I need to be more time wise now and prepare quick meals that are nutritious and freezer friendly.

Darn, I think I need a bigger fridge!!

In the mean time, I found this in my folder which I believe will come in handy for us. It’s another one pot dish that utilizes the rice cooker. Easy!! A little luxurious as well as I used dried scallops.

Dried Shrimps, Scallops and Cabbage Rice (Serves 4)
1/2 cup of dried shrimps rinsed and soaked for 15 minutes. Drain
1/2 cup of dried scallops soaked in hot water for a few minutes, drain.
1/2 a shredded cabbage
handful of dehydrated mushrooms chopped
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of rice

3 eggs lightly beaten

1) Heat a wok and add oil. Add beaten eggs and swirl-lightly roll eggs up and dish it up. Set aside.

2) Wash and cook rice in rice cooker.

3) Reheat wok and oil. Add garlic, cabbage, mushrooms, dried shrimps and scallops. Add pepper. Cook till done and dish into the rice cooker. Cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with the rolled eggs.

Durians!

A few weeks ago, we bought durians. Best of all, they were from MALAYSIA! Ahhh.. Nothing beats Malaysia durians I think. These came in a box and were frozen but you can smell it even before it was defrosted. Surprisingly, these little babies were better than expected. I honestly think it’s because they were not Thai but were Malaysian durians.

I savored every bit of it. I think we had less than 12 seeds for AU$10-a shocker I know but worth every penny…..

Before my mother and father send me a flurry of smses warning me about the perils of eating durians while recovering from the flu, I should clarify this: I didnt eat the durians while I am sick… I’m merely drooling over this photo and wishing I could take a bite of it nowwwww *mouth wide open drool*

Roast Duck Noodles

Thank you all for your kind wishes. =) I’m feeling alot better than 2.5 days ago. Thank God for that because there are only THAT many episodes of Dr. Phil and Oprah that I can watch…. I have also nearly completed a book that I’m required to read before starting work next week.

I know some readers might not agree with me on this one but over the past few years, Perth’s standard of roast meats improved heaps. I recalled those days when I arrive home in SG and my dad would make sure I have my “healthy” diet of roast duck-as that is my favourite roast meat ever! His understanding was that roast duck is not available in Perth. That’s not exactly true because we see alot of Hong Kong immigrants, hence their roast meats are authentic, if not better.

Stepping into a store and conversing in Cantonese always make me appreciate my roots a little more. Most people like abit of fat on their roast, which makes it more tender but I like mine lean. It’s also handy to have a stash of roast meat in the freezer as they provide a tasty touch to everything! ooo..and we can’t forget the gravy they provide can we? =)

Roast Duck Noodles (serves 2)
250 grams of fresh mee pok
300 grams of roast duck meat chopped
2 cups of spinach leaves
2 cloves of garlic minced

sesame oil
plum sauce
gravy (provided by the roast shop)

1) Boil a huge pot of water. Cook noodles for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Blanch again using the hot water.

2) Drizzle 2-3 tsp of sesame oil on 2 plates. Place 1 tablespoon of gravy and plum sauce onto the plate as well. Dish noodles and toss them with the sauce mixture.

3) Sizzle the garlic and saute spinach still soft.

4) Microwave roast duck meat for 3-4 minutes till warm.

5) Dish and serve!

To my friends at Presto Pasta Nights founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week’s host is psych grad frm Equal Opportunity Kitchen.

Pulut Hitam

I’m sick.

I admit that I’m not the best patient when I’m ill. I need my cold compresses, my porridge, hot drinks and lots of TLC. Worse, I haven’t fallen this ill since 2005-which makes it nearly 4 years ago. Now that was horrible, I couldn’t stomach anything and was on a “carrot cake diet”- meaning I could only take a few bites of a slice of carrot cake from Miss Maud’s.

This time round was no better, I have no appetite-which is rare for for me. It would be nice if I could have some soft bread buns from Breaktalk and grandma’s love brand porridge. Darn, I sound miserable!

So I’m comforting myself with this post-it’s the closest I have to an Asian dessert in my folder. It’s a dessert that mum and AR loves.

Speaking of mum, she graduated last Friday! I’m so proud of her! Working full time and studying part-time to obtain her degree was hard and she did it!

Pulut Hitam (serves 10)
1 cup of white glutinous rice
2 cups of black glutinous rice
2-3 pandan leaves tie in a knot
gula melaka or brown sugar
dried logans
water

coconut cream
gula melaka

1) Soak rice over night. Place around 4-5 bowls of water in a big pot. Boil it. Add grated gula melaka or brown sugar. Stir till the sugar melts. Add rice and cook till soft. Continue stirring and adding water if needed. This may take 3-4 hrs.

2) Meanwhile, gently heat up the coconut cream in another saucepan. Add the gula melaka. Stir till it melts. Cool.

3) Serve the rice with the coconut milk.

See little corner for her version and Under the Tamarind tree for another version of this popular dessert in Cambodian style!

Snow Skin Mooncake- 2nd Take

Are you all ready for Mid-Autumn festival?

My 2nd take of snowskin mooncakes. I decided to be slightly adventurous and mixed cocoa powder in one batch of dough. I wouldn’t say that the chocolate was distinct but it was certainly differently. I probably didn’t mix it as well or perhaps I should have dissolve the powder with some water to make a paste before adding to the dough. You can see still specks of white on it.

I brought some to a friend’s place on Friday (last night)-two of our Australian friends were game enough to try the snowskin ones. I love the look on their faces. They were a little reserved but open to the experience. Both said it wasn’t something that they will try normally but it was a different experience and taste! I had so much difficulty trying to explain what lotus seeds were!

It’s looking slightly better than my first take. =) I’m happy. Cornflour worked better for me than the fried glutinous flour though. hmm.. I wonder why.

Look! I managed to have the egg yolk as center as it can be!
And the chocolate dough with lotus paste filling. It’s alot more even than my first take.

So there you go folks! My attempts in making mooncakes. What an experience! I appreciate each bite alot more now. =)

HAPPY MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL!