chinese glutinous rice

why?

I had half a pack of glutinous rice left in my cupboard after my udang rempah experiment and some lap cheong bought over Chinese New Year that is crying to me to use them! I researched for recipes and came up with my own concoction mixing two recipes together (Lo Mai Kai and Lotus Leaf Rice).

success?

Yummmmy, I love glutinous rice and it is definitely comfort food for me.

Here's the recipe.

Chinese Glutinous Rice

INGREDIENTS

200g of chicken fillet, cut into bite sizes

250g of pork belly, thinly sliced

100g of dried shrimp, soaked till soften and drained

600g of glutinous rice, soaked for 3 hours and drained

10 dried mushrooms, soaked in hot water and keep the water

1 lap cheong

20 small shallots, thinly sliced

corriander and spring onions

dark soya sauce

light soya sauce

oyster sauce

sake (can also use chinese wine)

pepper

corn flour

sesame oil

vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Marinate the chicken and pork belly in 2 tbs of dark soya sauce, 1 tbs of light soya sauce, a dash of pepper, 1 tsp of corn flour, a dash of sesame oil and 1 tbs of sake. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Fry the shallots in 2 tbs of vegetable oil till brown.
3. Add in the lap cheong, dried shrimps and mushrooms. Fry till fragrant.
4. Add in the meat with 2 tbs of light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and oyster sauce, a dash of pepper and sesame oil. Fry for about 10min.
5. Add in the rice and fry till evenly coloured and add 200ml of mushroom water. Fry till rice slightly expanded.
6. Scoop into a pan/bowl and prepare steamer.
7. Steam for 45min.
8. Serve with corriander and spring onions.

failure?

I wished I hope peanuts!!! That would complete the whole experience, I might even try this recipe again with peanuts and also steaming the rice wrapped in lotus leaves!

tang yuan

yam kueh

why?

LR's mom bought ALL the ingredients and if that isn't a hint that she wanted me to make it then I don't know what would :)

success?

Sigh...... continue reading!

failure?

It was rock hard!! The reason... I was multi-multi- MULTI tasking :( I was trying to marinate my meat for dinner, talking to my friend and assuring LR that I would be done soon so that the game sessions would began AND prepare this kueh at the same time, and I left out a transparent, odourless and costing next to nothing ingredient - water!! Almost a whole litre of it! What a disaster. The taste was ok, I guess how wrong can you go with mushrooms, lap cheong, yam and shallots. Two lessons I learnt today. Firstly, FOCUS and secondly, HUMILITY!

braised chicken

dutifully cooking...

yam rice

why?

Just last week, I was hit with this unexplainable push of wanting to be more intentional in juggling work and home responsibilities has somehow inspired me to want to start preparing cheap, quick and of course delicious meals at home. I don't know, perhaps this could be a sign of my biological clock ticking? Somehow I always liken mothers to being SUPERwomen. How they need to juggle work, family and kitchen still boggles me. Can I ever be a SUPERwomen? Everyday when I get home from work, I simply can't see myself doing any housework or cooking after a long tiring day even though I really enjoy being in the kitchen! So perhaps this concern has prompted me to start with small? I don't have kids right now... so maybe I need to start with managing work and kitchen and somehow slowly I can see myself progressing to managing children as well. Sounds so tough! No wonder in Singapore, it's so easy for families to succumb to employing help. Wow... What a rant! Haha... ok, so back to yam rice. Totally fits the criteria of cheap, quick and delicious!

success?

This took about half an hour to prepare and cook, although I had to soak some of the ingredients in the morning before I left the house. So quick it is! Cheap? I probably spent about $8 to prepare a 4 person portion. So yeah it's cheap too! Delicious? Good enough for me and LR!

failure?

Nothing to complain about! So here's the recipe...

Yam Rice (serves 4 person)

Ingredients

500g yam, diced in 2 inch cubes

100g dried shrimp, soaked in warm water and drained

100g dried scallops, soaked in warm water and drained

8 dried mushrooms, soaked in warm water, sliced and drained

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 small shallots, finely sliced

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp sesame oil

2 cups of rice, washed and drained

4 cups of chicken stock

2 tbsp dark soya sauce

Serve with

small bunch of corriander

sweet dark sauce

Method

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil

2. Fry the garlic and shallots till fragrant

3. Add the yam and fry till slightly browned

4. Add in the shrimps, scallops and mushroom and fry till fragrant

5. Add sesame oil and pepper

6. Add in the rice and fry for 10min

7. Dish everything into a rice cooker

8. Add in 4 cups of chicken stock and cook accordingly to the rice cooker

9. When cooked, season with dark soy sauce and serve with corriander and sweet dark sauce

teochew mui

stewed mushrooms with oysters

hakka pig trotters

why?

My grandma cooked it every year for Chinese New Year, and then my mom took over the reigns to produce this so yummy dish and now that my mom is with the Lord, I have either the option of missing and hoping or I attempt to re-produce the dish!

success?

YUMMY!!!!!!! Of course as the saying goes, nothing beats mom's cooking, but I think my mom would be proud of me! The taste of sourness with sweet pork flavour is like the combination of bak kwa with kecap manis and drinking a cup of lemon juice! Haha... I tried to explain the taste but truly, if you are a huge fan of the confinement pig trotters dish, you would love this!

Ingredients

2 kg of pig trotters chopped into pieces (get the butcher to do this)

1 kg of white radish, peeled and chopped into big pieces (see the picture)

5 hard boiled eggs, deshelled

20 dried chillies, soaked for 1hr and drained

10 cloves of garlic, minced

3tbs of chinese cooking wine

5 tbs of light soya sauce

5 tbs of dark soya sauce

200g gula melaka

1 big bottle of white rice vinegar (add depending on ur preference of sourness)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Blanch the pig trotters in boiling water for 5 min

2. Dish up and rinse well

3. Heat up 1 tbs of cooking oil

4. Saute the garlic and dried chillies till fragrant

5. Add the pig trotters and fry till slightly brown

6. Add the light and dark soya sauce and wine and fry

7. Add in 2litres of water and bring to a boil

8. Add the gula melaka to dissolve

9. Pour in 300ml of white vinegar and add seasoning

10. Add in the radish and stir

11. Simmer for 1 hour

12. Put in the hard boil eggs and let the dish cool completely over the stove

13. Refrigerate for at least 2 days but make sure that all the radish, trotters and eggs are submerged in the sauce

14. When ready to eat, bring to boil and add more seasoning or vinegar till desired taste. I actually use up an entire bottle!

failure?

Mommy, you are not here to give me your comments :)