Erratic weather.. and an even-more erratic wifi connection!

That's how life has been these past few weeks! Weird and erratic!

Since coming back from a short holiday in taiwan.. that's all we've been experiencing.. which is so not conducive for baking nor blogging! The aftermath of a certain event over here isn't exactly a mood-lifter either.. ^^|| And all the msg-laden foods that we stuffed ourselves during our holiday, took a toll on our bodies too..

But finally today, the wifi connection seems a little more stable.. and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll remain so till I finish this. ^^ Weather's still horridly hot and suffocating though!

Anyway, this is something I made more than a month back but never posted because I was hoping to perfect and compare it with the marinated pork belly in shrimp paste (still!!!) sitting in the freezer!

Since my first taste of moo tod kapi (crispy pork with shrimp paste) in a thai restaurant, I've always wanted to re-create this dish at home. I really dig the flavor of kaffir lime leaves in this dish!

Despite googling high and low for a recipe of moo tod kapi, I just couldn't find one ^^|| So I figured I'd just do my own interpretation of this dish.. without shrimp paste (since I didn't have any at home then!).. but with lots of kaffir lime leaves! ^^

Almost-crispy pork belly with kaffir lime leaves
500g pork belly, skin removed (I'm sure other parts could be used)
1 tsp sea salt (if using shrimp paste, omit salt)
2-3 cloves of garlic, grated (can omit if using shrimp paste)
a big handful of kaffir lime leaves
a handful of curry leaves
2-3 bird's eye chilles, seeds removed
2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
sea salt, to season if necessary

1. Marinade pork belly with salt (or shrimp paste) and grated garlic for at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Heat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan/wok. Place pork belly on the sides and sear till golden brown. Flip to the other side and do the same. Remove pork belly and cut into smaller slices. Looking back, I'm not sure why I did this (??!) and not cut it into smaller slices and just done step 3??? ^^||

3. Remove or wipe off remaining grease/oil from the pan/wok. Put pork belly slices, kaffir lime leaves, curry leaves, chilies and lightly smashed garlic pips in and saute till meat is golden and crispy. If necessary, season with a bit more salt. Do remove the fat/oil/grease when meat starts drowning in it ^^||. 

4. Serve immediately. Tastes even better when cooled or the day after ^^

It's amazing the amount of fat that oozed out from the pork belly! So be warned!

If you can deep fry, please do so to get a crispy texture (slice to smaller pieces after it's cooked).. since I can't, this is it.. an almost-crispy pork dish. ^^

Anyway, this is a wonderfully piquant dish with soft hints of kaffir lime leaves, garlic and curry leaves ^^. And if you can bring yourself to save some for the next day, the flavors get even better! ^^

Piggies were not exactly enthusiastic at first bite.. but by the 2nd/3rd piece, they were smitten!!  It's the kaffir lime leaves, I tell you! ^^

So, shrimp paste or not.. it's still exceptionally DELICIOUS ^^!

And here's a few pictures of the places and food I really liked in taiwan.. sans msg ^^

night harbour view of keelung ~ from our hotel window

picturesque jiufen

huge caramelized peanut slabs ~ turned into shaved peanut candy topped with 2 scoops of ice cream wrapped in popiah skin ~ deliciousssnesss!!! i love this and had two servings.. and i'm not even a fan of peanuts! ^^ i like jiufen ^^

Oops.. that's all the decent food pix I have, haha! Didn't take many food pictures because I just couldn't wait to eat.. and by which time I remembered to, I was already half way through and it looked like a hurricane had struck the dishes.. sorry ^^.

Taiwan's really nice.. cool weather, beautiful scenery, exciting, lots of food/snacks, safe ^^.. but the heavy handed use of msg is not. ^^||

Creamy pasta with bacon, ricotta and tomato

Now, doesn't that sound good ^^?

It's extremely easy too, if you cheat with bottled tomato ricotta sauce :p.. Not that you should, of course. ^^

Creamy bacon, ricotta and tomato sauce (inspired from thekitchn)
~ serves 4
4 slices of streaky bacon, sliced/diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 bottle of tomato ricotta sauce
1 tbsp of tomato puree
a dash of extra virgin olive oil
cooked pasta, of own preference

1. Saute bacon in a non-stick pan till golden and fragrant. Add diced onions and minced garlic, and stir fry till onions turned translucent or cooked. For some zing, add finely sliced sundried tomatoes.

2. Mix in ready-made tomato ricotta sauce (add some pasta water to dilute sauce a little if preferred). Add tomato puree if you like a more tangy sauce and bring sauce to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes, add a dash (or two ^^) of evoo and remove from heat.

3. Mix pasta with the sauce till well combined, and serve immediately.

I know, I shouldn't resort to bottled sauces.. but that bottle of tomato ricotta sauce looked too enticing on the supermarket shelf! I couldn't resist! ^^||

When fatty hubby requested pasta for dinner, I knew that bottle of sauce would come in handy ^^! A cheat-cook gotta do what a cheat cook does best with the limited resources that she has! ;p

I'm really not big about pasta and all.. so I really didn't expect much of this.

But this sauce just became my favorite tomato based sauce.. ever!!! ^^ I really, really, really like this.. big time!

Yummy-licious steamed butter fish and sauteed garlic rice ^^

Life is great..

When you have friends who make your life better (and more interesting! ^^) every day. And I'm glad to count on wonderful friends like mel@melspantrykitchen and lisa@frommylemonykitchen who shared these super-duper easy recipes with me! ^^

Mel's mum's steamed butter fish (recipe from mel@melspantrykitchen)
~ serves 2
1 slice of snapper (use 2 if cuts are small)
2-3 tbsp butter, diced or break into smaller pieces
some salt and pepper, to season

1. Clean and pat-dry fish. Season with some salt and pepper.

2. Place fish on a plate/dish and top with butter.

3. Steam for 10 minutes and serve immediately. Sprinkle some chili powder over if you like a bit of kick ^^

* cheat's way: layer bottom of dish with cabbage or place brocolli florets around the fish, and steam together! great way to be lazy and to mop up the sauces ^^

Sauteed garlic in olive oil rice (recipe from lisa@frommylemonykitchen)
~ serves 2
1 cup basmati rice, washed and drained
2 cups water
2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat evoo in a pan on low heat. Saute minced/grated garlic till fragrant.

2. Place rice, water, browned garlic+oil into rice cooker. Soak for a bit if you have the time.

3. Fluff up rice before serving.

Mel, the steamed fish in butter was as yums! and as easy as you said it would be.. I drank up the sauce too! ^^

Lisa, I can't believe how well the sauteed garlic in olive oil worked in covering the "taste" of basmati rice! Fatty hubby couldn't even tell! I'm off to buy more basmati rice! ^^

I really love both these super duper easy, yummy recipes! Thanks, mel! Thanks, lisa!

Look ma, I can cook! ^^

Easy butter garlic rice

Once upon a time, a girl thought it best she consumed basmati rice instead of her usual fragrant rice, as it has far less carbohydrate content as opposed to the usual white rice. She loves rice, by the way.

After many attempts at eating basmati rice, she gave up as she did not like the queer flavor, dry and non-starchy taste of basmati. And so the basmati rice stayed in the fridge since.. The end.

And it would have stayed that way for way longer, if not for mel's recommendation that I try her butter (she knows how much I love butter! ^^) garlic rice ^^.

Butter garlic rice (recipe shared by mel@melspantrykitchen)

~ serves 2

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups water

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp of butter

1 tsp of grated carrot (I had no carrots, so I omitted this ^^)

1/2 tsp sea salt

a small pinch of turmeric powder

1. Wash the rice. Drain well.

2. Put everything together and cook in a pot/rice cooker. Soak rice for a bit if you have the time.

3. Fluff up rice before serving.

I've never thought of cooking anything but plain rice in my rice cooker. But this is so easy to jazz up plain ol' rice.. and perfect for getting rid of my basmati rice too! ^^

Anyway, I can't believe basmati rice with butter and garlic can taste SOOOO GOOOOOOD! It's miles tastier than any briyani rice!

The butter and garlic flavor is wonderful! I swear, this flavored rice tastes almost like hainanese chicken rice ^^! And it's not greasy at all! Perfect with the very flavorful san bei ji (leftovers tastes even better! ^^)! Like mel said, this garlic butter rice goes very well with any flavorful dish like curries or stews ^^.

Thanks so, so much, mel ^^!

p.s. after learning this rice dish, i'll always keep some basmati rice at home! this recipe is a keeper!!! ^^ 

Three cup chicken?

I've heard so much about this 1 cup soy sauce: 1 cup seame oil: 1 cup rice wine dish.. googled it even.. but yet, never gotten round to trying it in a restaurant.

So I really have no idea if I have the taste right. Anyway, here goes..

Three cup chicken (recipe adapted from flavours magazine, cny edition)
~ serves 2, maybe 3 ^^
2 whole chicken legs, cut to pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp sesame oil (I used only 2 tbsp)
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine / chinese cooking wine (hua tiao wine)
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small knob of ginger
2 spring onions, white part only
a small handful of thai basil leaves, optional

1. Marinade chicken pieces with salt, sugar, pepper, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, water and dark soy sauce for at least an hour.

2. Heat some oil in a claypot/pot/wok, and saute garlic, ginger and spring onions till fragrant.

3. Add chicken together with marinade and stir fry for a bit. Cover pot/wok and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or more, or till sauce is reduced/almost dry.

4. Add basil leaves and give it a quick stir fry. Serve immediately.

Since fatty hubby enjoyed it.. I guess I must be on the right track, somehow! ^^

I must say the flavors of san bei ji are really robust and piquant! We enjoyed it with lots of rice.. and butter garlic rice! ^^

p.s. the leftovers tasted even better the next day! ^^

Japanese hamburger steak ^^

I've been meaning to make hambagu steak since I caught the recipe at nami's@justonecookbook ^^.. but never got round to it because I don't keep red wine at home ^^|| My fatty hubby's a beer guzzler!

Since nami's featured in this month's issue of food&travel magazine, I knew I had to try at least one of the recipes she shared, red wine or not!

And so I finally made the very deliciously moist and luscious japanese hamburger steak for dinner today ^^! with beef broth (thanks to google!) instead of red wine ^^

As usual, I think the combination of beef and pork is brilliant! The patties turned out really fabulously moist and tender.. just the way I like it ^^. And nami's sauce (no tonkatsu, use worcestershire sauce instead!) is perfect with the hambagu! For detailed step-by-step, beautiful pictures and recipe, check out nami's blog.

You may notice my hambagu steaks are kinda pale and could've done with a few more minutes of browning, but being the terrible cook that I am, I couldn't tell that at the time of cooking ^^||! Besides having burnt more food than you can imagine, I wasn't leaving this to chance! But I assure you, they are cooked! ^^

And they are delish.. especially served with rice ^^! 2 thumbs up from my piggies! And me! ^^ Thanks, nami!

Pad krapow moo ^^

Thai night ^^!

Pad krapow moo (recipe inspired by chez pim's description)
~ serves 3-4
500g minced pork
6-10 cloves of garlic, minced
4-5 bird's eye chilies, sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sweet dark soy sauce/kicap manis
some pepper
1 cup/ a big handful of holy basil leaves

1. Heat some oil and saute minced garlic and chillies for a few minutes.

2. Add minced pork and stir fry for a bit till almost cooked. Then add fish sauce, soy sauce and sweet dark soy sauce.

3. Toss basil leaves with the minced meat and give it a quick stir-fry before removing from heat. Serve immediately with rice.. and a runny fried egg for a simple thai meal ^^

I was planning to replicate a crispy pork dish we enjoyed at a thai restaurant some time ago.. but I forgot it was cooked with kaffir lime leaves, not basil leaves ^^|| So dinner became stir-fried minced pork with basil leaves, pad krapow moo, instead ;p

Old stuff..

My refrigerator's usually full.. but this last two weeks, it looks like it's about to burst at the seams!

 delish petit kumquat almond cakes 

Even fatty hubby who never notices such things, commented on it! ^^||

I suspect it's because I haven't been cooking/baking very much.. but sssshhh, I told fatty it's because of the "stuff(??)" we have to stock for CNY! ^^

Well, I've been trying real hard to "clean" the fridge as much as I can. While I've cleared most of the old fruits to store sweet tangerines (see it's full again!), the rest of the fridge is still a mountain of work ^^||!

Anyway, I've made "some" inroads over the past few days, clearing what's left of the kumquat halves, syrup and puree, minced beef, sour cream, chicken breast meat, kimchi (in a jar that's taking up a lot of space!), rice, canned tuna, chopped nuts and half a block of butter amongst others.

Brown butter banana cake (adapted from christine's easy recipes, also in here, with slight changes)

3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
60g unsalted butter, melted (I used 120g and made brown butter ^^)
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh milk
100-150g sugar, depending on bananas' sweetness
245g all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda,sifted
a pinch of salt
a handful of chocolate chips or more ^^
a handful of toasted walnuts, chopped
a handful of raisins

1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Then fold in the dry ingredients till well combined. DO NOT OVERBEAT.

3. Bake in a loaf pan or 2 small tins for 1 hour, or till the skewer comes out clean.

This is not my usual banana cake, but I thought I'd give it a go since I had half a bar of butter to get rid of.. and it looks super easy and quick ^^! And since I've always wondered how chocolate chips and raisins taste in banana cake, I added some too ^^. I like this cake ^^.. it's extra loaded with flavors, moist and spongy-soft.. very nice ^^ And like most cakes, this banana cake shines when it's rested and cooled. ^^

gochujang minced beef served with rice, seaweed and a runny egg ~ yums!

baked chicken tenders with honey mustard sour cream dip ^^ 

very spicy kimchi tomyam fried rice ^^ we like!

While it seems everyone has (almost-)finished their marathon-baking and preparations for CNY, I'm making a wild, mad sprint to spring clean the kitchen/fridge and the rest of the house! At times like these, I wish I had a bigger kitchen to store a bigger fridge and a smaller living space (in an already tiny apartment) so that there's less to clean! Or maybe i should just wish for a maid??? ^^

I really don't prepare much for CNY, no cookies, no ang-ang decorations or whatsoever.. but I really like having a neat and clean house to welcome the new year ^^.

Dinner alone made special with avocado ^^

Guess what I found while browsing at tonjiro recipes last night?

An avocado chicken parmigiana recipe at the fussfreechef! ^^

I was totally craving for cheesy food after looking at squishy angie's super bowl food ideas pics! And I had an avocado to clear too. So what luck ^^ to stumble on to a recipe which combines the two!! ^^

This is an easy recipe made super-duper easy (and fuss-free, true to the blogger's name ^^!) with just boneless chicken (salt/pepper to season), egg, milk, breadcrumbs, tomato ketchup ^^, grated mozzarella and avocado ^^.

It's so easy, there's really no need to measure as per recipe, unless you really want to. Ok, lazy moi didn't.. it's a bit of this and a bit of that, and it still turned out amazing ^^! And I love how the fussfreechef omitted the use of flour and replaced tomato paste with ketchup ^^. This is so my kind of cooking! ^^

The avocado chicken parmigiana is not only gorgeous to look at, it's exceptionally delicious too! The flavors are amazing! Thanks for sharing, esther@fussfreechef and ellena@cuisineparadise ^^

p.s. since fatty hubby had dinner with clients last minute, I gave his share to piggies.. mr-difficult-to-please, papa pig, loves it! big and baby couldn't get enough of it! and mama pig barely had a bite ^^! this chicken parmigiana with avocado is definitely a winner! ^^

Hello, 2013 ^^

Happy New Year! ^^ Hope it's another blessed year for all ^^

Well, we had a simple meal to usher in the new year last night.. seafood marinara pasta ^^

Fatty hubby's all time favorite pasta ^^. He never fails to order this dish whenever we visit our favorite japanese cafe, haikara ^^ (yummy mentaiko pasta is served there too ^^).

I've always figured it can't be that difficult to replicate.. And it isn't ^^. Not sure why it took me so long to ever make this at home ^^??! Especially since all one needs is just a bottle of ready-made tomato sauce ^^, some mussels and a pack of seafood mix! ^^

Cheat's seafood marinara pasta
Cooked pasta, of own preference
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 yellow onion, sliced or diced (optional)
1 bottle of tomato based sauce (sorry ^^||, will cook from scratch with tomato puree next time) 
1 pack of mussels
1 pack of seafood mix
some squids (would've been nice ^^)
some water (if sauce is too thick ^^)
salt and pepper, to season (if necessary ^^)
some grated parmesan cheese, to serve
some chili flakes/powder, to serve

For an easy cheat's meal, throw everything (sauce, mussels and seafood mix) in and cook till it's cooked ^^! If adding garlic and onions, saute/browning them first would be nice. ^^

Fatty hubby really enjoyed this pasta ^^ so I'm happy ^^! Besides ^^, easy meals = happy cook! (^^)

p.s. was googling new year greetings, when this suddenly came on.. abba's happy new year.. which was released in 1980, of them looking forward to 1989/1990.. well, it's so way past that now ^^ and we still can't travel jetsons style.. so nostalgic and cute.. enjoy ^^

home alone.. and a light dinner

I was on my own last weekend..

And about to take the easy way out (take-out ^^) when I visited jasline's blog and saw the tuna and lemon spaghetti recipe she shared.. and changed my mind ^^. For the original no-cook recipe, check out martha stewart's.

I combined both jasline's version and martha's.. and found this pasta really light on taste, even with the addition of garlic (as per jasline's adaptation), grated parmesan cheese and chili flakes. There's just the slightest hint of lemon in the pasta, which goes quite well with the tuna. However, I couldn't quite taste the breadcrumbs, but it could be my fault for using ready-made ones ^^||. I also replaced the kalamata olives with sun-dried tomatoes ^^.

Well, as much as I like hearty and robust meals in general, I also enjoy an easy, light and refreshing pasta dish like this occasionally.. on my own, of course. (^^)

Quiche fried rice

i love this bowl ^^

It's big pig's party today ^^ finally! And I made him cheese twists, david lebovitz's chocolate chip cookies, blueberry cheese tarts, luscious panna cotta and onion chicken bacon ham quiche. (^^)

So, while they are having a blast upstairs and my last quiche browns in the oven, I made myself some fried rice with the leftover onions, chicken and ham, tossed with soy sauce and chili pepper flakes ^^ and ooh, it's really yummy! All protein and carbs.. how can it not be delish? ^^

Well, my last (mini ^^) quiche turned out rather erratically browned.. but I don't think this will affect the taste whatsoever ^^ Yes, it doesn't have to look perfect, to taste good (I hear you, mel ^^).. because I used good ingredients and baked with my heart ^^!

p.s. i've figure it out finally.. the uneven browning is due to the grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on the surface of the quiche! ^^ updated on 4th Februaru 2013

say hello to the dark side ^^

On a cool night, there's nothing like ~ soupy spicy instant noodles with egg *burp!* ^^

p.s. i knew i shouldn't have succumbed to buying that packet of instant noodles! but this tastes soooo goood! and in case you're wondering, it's maggi asam laksa ^^

Yummy-licious easy tuna kimchi jjigae

This is a most wonderful jjigae! Ignore the picture and believe it! ^^

The whole house smells sooo delicious! (^^) And more importantly, this is a super-easy recipe! A spur-of-the-moment kind of dish! No defrosting! Almost no planning.. provided you always have some canned tuna, kimchi, gochujang, gochugaru and onions in the kitchen ^^

Honestly, I was sceptical of this stew/soup/jjigae when I came across it on the internet. I've had kimchi jjigae with meat before, but never with tuna (??!!)! Can't say it was an appetising thought ^^|| What was convincing however, was that all the pictures were always drool-worthy spicy, fiery-red! So my kind of soup/stew! (^^)

Cheat's easy tuna/chamchi kimchi jjigae (adapted from aeri's kitchen, koreanfood and patbingsoo)

1 cup or more ^^ kimchi (chopped), with juices
1-2 pips garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp gochujang, hot chili pepper paste (optional)
1-2 tbsp gochugaru, chili pepper powder
3 cups water (more if you prefer)
1 canned tuna chunks, discard oil or water
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt, for seasoning

1. Heat up some oil and saute minced garlic and kimchi for a minute or two or three ^^.

2. Add onions, gochujang and gochugaru. Then pour in water and let it come to a boil.

4. Add tuna to boiling stew/soup. Bring to a boil again, then lower down heat and let stew/soup simmer for at least 20-25 minutes.

5. Add sesame oil and salt to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve hot ^^.

* The trick to bringing out the best flavors of this jjigae is seriously, in the slow and steady simmering process. 

And how would I know? Well, it's because I tasted the soup every 5 minutes!!! ^^|| I can tell you now, the initial taste to the end result of this jjigae can be measured starting at a scale of 1, to end at a perfect 10! ^^ It's piquant, spicy, homey and robust! Everything I can ever ask for in a stew/soup! (^^)

It's amazing how something so simple can be so tasty! And know this, if fatty hubby can ask if I'm cooking this again for dinner tomorrow..and he asked again today, it's gotta be par excellence!!! (^^)

p.s this jjigae reminds me a teeny weeny bit of the very popular assam laksa.. which i'm not exactly a fan of (sorry, assam laksa lovers ^^||).. so please forgive me when i say that this tuna kimchi jjigae is much, much, much, much tastier and easier! in my opinion ^^ 

Mum's turmeric squids

My late mum has only 3 "good" dishes to her name! I counted.

All who knew her knew she was an atrocious cook (sorry, mum)! But like I said before, who in their right mind can churn out inspired food for lunch+dinner at 5.30am everyday???!!! Not my mum ^^

Even on off (non-working) days, her cooking's more or less the same.. uninspired! She was also an obsessive compulsive health freak (probably due to her work environment)! Still, chubby big brother, me and papa pig, were all obese growing up! ^^|| not joking.

Anyway, next to stir-fry cabbage with eggs, turmeric squids and spicy assam prawns are the only food I remember she did well that I liked. Guess you can say these are my favorite mum-cooked foods ^^.

Well, I never did learn to cook these dishes from her ^^|| (thought she was going to live forever! and i had no interest in cooking then!). So I'm making turmeric squids (uncooked extras from the mentaiko pasta) based on memory. The good thing about her dishes, they are usually straightforward and simple. Doesn't take much to figure out what goes into making them. ^^

Turmeric squids
600g squids
2-3 tbsp turmeric powder
1-2 tbsp soy sauce (optional - I can't be sure if she added, but I did)
2 tbsp oil
1-2 tsp salt
more salt, to season (this dish should be on the slightly-so salty side) 

1. Mix squids with turmeric powder, soy sauce and salt. No need to marinade.

2. Heat up oil in a non-stick deep pan/wok. Add squids and saute till cooked. Season with a bit more salt if still not salty enough. Cook till the sauce dries up. Make sure you scrape off all the dry bits in the pan.. the dried bits are the best!

3. Best served with rice! (^^) Also very good on its own.. fatty hubby loves ^^



I did it! These turmeric squids tastes so yummy.. and exactly like mum's! So easy. A perfect cheat's lunch or dinner, or whatever! (^^)

Guess the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree ^^|| Lazy see, lazy does ^^ I'm an atrocious cook too ^^! I miss her ^^.

Baby french beans with roast pork belly ~ cheat's dinner ^^

I'm good at cheating.. dinners!

And you just can't go wrong stir-frying ANY greens or beans with roast pork belly ^^

Recipe? What recipe ^^||??? Just stir fry veg and meat together till cooked.. that's all! Too easy? Ok, maybe add a pip or two of garlic ~ smash them up with your knife/cleaver (oh, don't bother with mincing! otherwise it won't be a cheat's dinner ^^), and throw them in with the "fatty" roast pork belly.. Then add the greens ^^ And voila! a yummy dish is served ^^

A simple and balanced (?) meal fatty hubby enjoyed! Me too.. with rice, of course ^^

Awesome onigiri balls

I love, love, love rice!!! (^^) 

Especially fluffy, sticky short grain rice ie. japanese or korean (read angry post here) rice! I love, love, love them! ^^ just in case you don't already know ^^!  

I don't normally keep sticky rice at home unless I'm specifically planning to make sushi or something because I love them too much! And too much rice = carbohydrates = sugar = is very bad for me! ^^|| As it is, I already eat way too much rice, even the long grain variety! 

And I love! love! love onigiri! Fatty hubby and piggies too ^^! So when I read nami of justonecookbook's onigiri post, I knew I had to buy japanese rice and make yummy onigiri ^^! She made it look so easy! All these years of consuming expensive (!!) onigiri from Isetan supermarket, I've never ever thought of making it at home.. always imagining it to be difficult (?!)..Well, nami's busted my mental block! It's even easier than making sushi! (^^)

This is my version of onigiri with salted salmon marinated with spicy cod roe (there was a japan fair going on at isetan over the weekend, and I got my perfectly salted salmon.. oh, joy! ^^). Pop over to nami's blog for the perfect step by step, and recipe ^^. Making onigiri is really a breeze!  (^^)

Er.. ok, maybe shaping them into triangles, may take more practise for some (me ^^||). So I took the easy way out and made some into rounds/balls ^^. Don't worry about the not-the-usual/traditional shape onigiri balls.. they taste just as yummy-licious as the triangle shaped ones! (^^) Just squish them a little into oblong/ovals after wrapping them up with roasted seaweed.. and you're good to go!

These onigiri with salted salmon are really AWESOME, believe me!!! We so love! love! love it! Thanks a million, nami! (^^)

p.s amateur (lifetime probationary) cook at work.. not so perfect rice balls and pics.. but it's still really tasty ^^ 

A simple dinner ~ minced meat noodles

Another a "bit of this 'n that" dinner! Minced meat with noodles! Best served with poached, runny egg and some blanched greens. (^^)

Minced meat marinade (serves 2 or 3)

150g minced meat (I used pork)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp doenjang/ miso/ teocheo/ soybean paste
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (optional)
1 tbsp mirin (optional)
1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 yellow onion, diced
some grated ginger (optional)
some finely sliced red chili or 1 tsp chili pepper powder (optional)
salt and pepper for seasoning

Well, this marinade is an improvisation from what I remember of recipes read in the past.. So it is most likely to be recipe-cally incorrect ^^||! But it's still pretty tasty ^^!

And don't worry about having to marinade the minced meat either.. If you don't have the time, don't bother. It really doesn't matter. Just toss everything together and cook! (^^)

A simple, robust and tasty meal fatty hubby enjoyed! (^^)

Succulent steamed spare ribs with black beans

I'm no cook.. and it's not like I'm good at baking, either.. a "half past six" (neither here nor there!), as my elderly aunts would say in mangled english! (^^||)

Well, you may have realized by now, that one of the reasons I remain terrible at cooking, is that I'm simply lazy (^^||)! So meals at home means it's usually some super easy one-pot meal or minimal cooking/ingredients dish. Occasionally, I do get inspired to cook by other bloggers' beautiful works and put a little more effort in my cooking! But most times I cook with whatever ingredients I have in the fridge. Other times I avoid cooking ^^||. Then, there are times I cook, when an ingredient just happens to fall on my lap! As the case with the fermented black beans ^^.. (a little far fetched but almost true ^^)

sorry, I forgot to drizzle some sauce over (amateur at work).. it should look more succulent ^^

Hence the "inspiration" to make my very first steamed spare ribs with black beans.. a really popular dish at dim sum restaurants. Fatty hubby's wild about them (?!).. I'm not.. at least not crazily so (^^)

Steamed spare ribs with black beans (adapted from hungerhunger and steamykitchen)

400g pork spare ribs
1 tbsp whole fermented black beans (give it a quick rinse before use)
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp grated ginger (optional)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to season
red chillies, sliced finely (optional) 
spring onions/scallions, sliced finely (optional)

1. Mix and marinade spare ribs with black beans, garlic, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, cornstarch, soy sauce (if using), salt and pepper (and some finely sliced red chillies too) for at least 30 minutes (or longer) in the fridge. I thought the fermented black beans were salty enough, but they weren't.. so a dash of soy sauce or a pinch of salt was necessary.

2. Steam in a heat-proof dish for 20 minutes or till cooked. Serve with some garnishing of spring onions and red chillies, if you like.

I don't know why, I've always thought this dish as difficult to make.. It's not. Really. If a klutz like me can do it, anyone can! It's super easy and super delicious too! You can even steam this dish on top of your rice using the rice cooker. Just pop in the marinated meat just as the water in the rice stops bubbling. Close the lid and let it cook with the rice. Do not open lid immediately after rice is cooked.. dish up after 10 minutes or so.

Fatty hubby and piggies enjoyed the spare ribs even though they were a teeny-weeny bit chewy/tough. (^^||) I think I really should make it a point to get those soft spare ribs part after all ^^. Me, I actually like them kinda chewy (^^)

Guess who's happiest today? (^^) Ze fattest pig of all, of course!

Delish homemade IKEA swedish meatballs

Who doesn't like meatballs, hands up? A-ha! I bet no one raised their hand! ^^ Everyone loves a good meatball, right!

And one of the most popular meatballs around, would definitely have to be the swedish ones from IKEA (well, at least on this part of the world ^^||). It was love at first bite for me ^^ We sometimes visit IKEA not to shop but just to have meatballs! (^^)

But a year or more ago, I noticed that the meatballs in IKEA were getting really fake/weird.. Though beefy-ier tasting and smelling (I bet it's just beef extract and flavoring).. it is less meaty and you can tell they've been adding more starch or something.. that it feels/tastes more like beef-ball (think fish-ball)! It has also magically shrunk too! Sad, no?

Anyways, I came across a recipe for IKEA swedish meatball in iamafoodblog a few months back, and I've been meaning to make it... but somehow never got to it ^^|| But here we are at last!

IKEA swedish meatballs (adapted from iamafoodblog who adapted from ikea-friends.com)

1/2 pound (227g) minced beef
1/2 pound (227g) minced pork (I used minced pork belly ^^)
1 egg (???! I missed this totally! ^^||) 
2 small potatoes
2.5 tbsp yellow onion, diced (I used a big whole yellow onion.. yums!)
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to season
1/4 tsp allspice (I didn't have any.. so I used a pinch of mixed herbs.. otherwise just omit)

1. Peel and dice potatoes into small chunks. Put diced potaotes in a pot of boiling water and cook till soft. Drain water and mash them up while hot. Set aside.

2. Fry diced onions with some butter till brown and set aside.

3. Mix minced beef, minced pork, egg (I so totally missed this ingredient! but honestly, I felt it made no difference to the outcome ^^), mashed potatoes, onions, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste and allspice (I personally think this is optional ^^) till well combined. Shape meat mixture into rounds or balls (I had no problem shaping/"glue-ing" the meatballs despite not adding egg.. it didn't break apart at all ^^). 

4. In a non-stick frying pan, heat the rest of the butter on MEDIUM heat and fry meatballs till nicely brown and cooked. Don't leave it too long without turning! Turn, turn, turn! (You know I'm a hopeless "fry-er", right? So is it any wonder I burnt my meatballs too???! ^^||)

5. If you can't fry (like me), opt to bake your meatballs at 200C for about 15-20 minutes! You'll be happy you did that! Just don't forget to grease/line your baking dish. And if you like, spray/brush the meatballs with some butter/cooking oil. (^^)

I cannot tell a lie.. the meatballs are DELICIOUS!!! And yes! they taste just like the ones from IKEA!!! despite my forgetting to add the precious egg and omission of allspice ^^ It tastes REAL and exceptionally GOOD! (^^)

Just for the record, the pan-fried meatballs tastes slightly better (despite my burning them) due to it being browned and crispy all over compared to the baked ones. Anyways, if you prefer the baked meatballs a little bit more crisp, you could do a quick pan-fry just before serving to get them browned. But if you are planning to add the meatballs into spaghetti sauce, the baked meatballs are absolutely perfect! (^^)

Well, I never expected meatballs to be so easy to make (except the frying part ^^||) and it turned out really well too! We love it! This is an absolute keeper! (^^)