Restaurant Style

Last monday,went to Yio Chu Kang C C to attend a cooking class, Chef Wang Wei was the instructor, nice guy. Learn from him 3 dishes and today, I did one of his dishes, Deep Braised Pork Ribs "Jin Shao Nam Pai"

After work today, went for lunch and Sheng Siong is nearby, told hubby that I wanted to buy spare ribs to cook and I bought 2 Kg just to test it out. Ine thing about cooking, don't have to exact in the ingredients, not like baking which have to be precise.

Deliver half portion to my mom, my niece just message that she likes it.

Naughty Crabby

This morning, went to Circuit Road market to have breakfast and after that, went into the market to see what I can get to cook for lunch or dinner. I saw crabs selling on one of the stall, feel like buying but on hesitations because normally if you buy crabs from neighbourhood market, seldomly you can get good ones, unless you are very lucky. I bought 3 crabs with a total weight of 1.3kg and decide to cook Rice Vernicilli Crabs (Tang Hoon Crab)

I went to the provision stall to buy garlic, ginger and tanghoon and was talking to her and she wanted to see whether my crabs are fresh. I open my plastic bags and she put in her hand and one of the crab suddenly pinch her with the pincer and she immediately withdrew her hand together with the crab out of the plastic bag. She shook her hand and the crab wasvflung to the other corner of the market and the people, who saw. found it amusing.... We had a good laugh but luckily it was a small cut and the crab broke one of it's pincer.

Once reached home, I immediately killed the crabs and use claypoot to cook the crabs with the tanghoon. Both of us loved it and what out of my expectation, it's true, the crabs are not really good. Nevermind, the most important is taste.

Chicken Curry Laksa

I went for Chef Keong's workshop on Fook Hai Chicken Curry Laksa, and I tried the recipe yesterday despite of hubby discouraging me because I wanted to try the full recipe instead of half... he was not happy... what the heck, I don't care, it's my choice.......

I started from boiling the whole chicken to the curry gravy, boy, it's a big pot and I have to find a rescuer so that I won't waste too much food. I was lucky, my rescuer is willing to try my food. and I should say that it's was a success and it's worth it to attend the workshop, even after so much grumping from hubby, he did say "thank you" and he said that it tasted better than the day I bought home for tasting. :)

Crabs

I wanted to cook chilli crabs for dinner, and after work today, I went to Tekka market to buy some crabs. Walk around and found only one store selling, I thought there is a few store there.

I point my fingers into a basket of crabs and asked the seller where is this crab from, she refused to answer me and asked my which type of crab I want. My hubby don't really like the seller attitude... well! I have no choice, have to buy, only store there.

Back home, I made some bread to go with the chilli crabs. Four of us loved it, it was just a little bit sweet. Must reduce sugar the next time.

Hooked On....

Still in the mood of doing pasta, tell hubby, I tried to do Aglio Oglio today, he immediately agreed. Sad to say, that today's cooking is lack of taste, a bit flat and no oomph, maybe got no chilli padi and less salt or the way I do. For this small failure, I won't be given up so easily and the other consolation is that hubby say the texture of noodle very nice. 100gm flour to 1 egg, no water to make the dough.



The pasta machine has 2 cutters, one like "mee pok" and one like "mee kia". I don't know the terms for the name of pasta, looks the same, difference in length and size, different name. I think I'll stick to "mee kia" or mee pok".ha! ha! layman term.

Pasta Day

All along, I am more interested in baking but not so much in cooking but I like to eat all kinds of food. I loved pasta and my husband recently acquire the taste to eating pasta especially aglio aglio and those on creamy sauce but not so much on tomato base, he encouraged me to learn.



Last thursday, went to Sia Huat at Mosque Street to purchase a pasta machine, luckily, there's still left one for me. Can't wait to try out...

Yesterday, went to attend a demo pasta workshop at Garibaldi Restaurant at Purvis Street. They demo 4 types of pasta and a coffee biscuits. Although, I did not taste the food but the food demostrated is exact look from the restaurant.



I choose this recipe to do because of chocolate, normally we use chocolate powder for baking but on pasta??? Alot of doubts, right, I was speaking to my friend about this, she said "nice meh!". I was very curious about this too, especially the combination. Have to try.



After tasting the chocolate pasta with cream sauce, actually it's was quite nice and you can even taste the chocolate after eating the pasta, I loved it. Will do again for my nieces.



Since, I have the mood to doing pasta, I tried to do like "mee pok", it's was not easy because of today's weather, very humid, have to use alot of flour to dust the dough or not it will stick.. Hai!! chocolate pasta is so much easier and drier.



I cook meat ragout for the pasta and I quite satisfied in what I did today.

wrap & tie

All along, I loved my mum's Bak Changs, both hokkien and nonya. I pester her to made, she said no. After a few days, she called me to collect the rice dumplings, I was so happy. After, tasting both types of dumplings, I was disappointed, because, this is not her usual style of making the rice dumplings. She has added red bean paste in both type of her dumplings, both my brothers did not like this batch also.

I have decided to give a hand in making this, I have always loved my beautician's Bak Chang , and I asked her how to do. For her, she used estimation, cook and try and not enough, add... and this is what I do...



Days before, I soaked and washed the bamboo leaves and keep in the freezer as taught by the community centre PA instructress, where I learnt how to wrap and made the dumplings, I did not follow her recipe but my friend's.



Two days before, I soaked the dry chestnuts for a while, took some toothpicks to remove the membranes that stick onto the nut, and I got blister on my thumb.. poor me.. teach me never help my mum to do housework, now have to suffer with cuts and burn..now plus blisters... :(

Total I made 84 pieces of rice dumplings, all by myself, quite tedious for my maiden try... Thank God! my efforts is not wasted, family and friends loved it, even though, it missed a little Oomph..... I have jotted down notes and for my next try, it's going to have that Oomph.. hope so....

Sio Bak

Trying on my hands on roast pork, having problem at first, tried to grill the pork with rack 3/4 down from the grill, check for half an hour, did'nt get the skin to crackle. shift the rack a level further up, crackle but not much, getting frustrated.

For me, I will try anything, just to get the things done to the way, I want, Try again, put up the rack one more layer up, yay! finally the skin started to crackle more, I was happy :)

See this link for recipe,

http://happyhomemaker88.com/2008/05/17/homemade-yummy-crispy-roast-pork-belly-siew-yoke-or-siao-bak/

The only thing that my roast pork, I did not add fermented beancurd. I gave a piece to my neighbour to try and she say it's ok and ask me how to get the skin to be crispy.

Bak Kwa

Bak Kwa is almost everybody's favourite, and that day my friend, Sharon wanted to learn Bak Kwa, and so happen JC Cooking has a class, I follow her. No regrets in following, especially when the chef teach us how to make chicken floss, we like it



Today decide to try the recipe of Bak Kwa, but I added one more ingredients after surfing internet to make the taste better. I try to pan fry, grill, half pan fry & grill just to get the texture I want. For the workshop attended is that when I sample try the bak kwa, it taste like "lap cheong", but the techniques of making is there. After adding the ingredients, I found that the taste is better and is not far from the taste that sells outside... yay... For this recipe is meant to BBQ. Think this is the last time, I do, unless there's a BBQ party...

Remember a time, few days before CNY, I went to queue at Lim Chee Guan for more than 10 hrs to buy Bak Kwa for the Company's client. Chez... should teach the Company's client to make hor... then not to queue..

Those blogger who wants to try, below are the few links, the ingredients are almost there, can do a reference .......

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/gimpmum/article?mid=339&prev=-1&next=333

http://tazzinthekitchen.blogspot.com

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/233308_how-to-make-bak-kua

http://www.soyandpepper.com/2010/02/homemade-bak-kwa-rougan.html

http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2010/02/chinese-dried-bbq-pork-bak-kwa-long-yuk.html

Decision

Next sunday, going to have a family gathering from my husband side. Normally, we would have a gathering during Christmas and Chinese New Year. Last Christmas, there's is no meet up and my sister-in-law suggested for an earlier gathering for CNY as the actual day, they are at overseas.

My husband suggested for me to cook mee siam, I don't like to do the same thing everytime. I told him, I go and do guo tie and see whether is it passable for a presentation next week. Looks like not so bad, but boring to do alone.



Earlier in the afternoon went Giant Tampines to do marketing, and bought the minced pork, I don't really like it, it's was too fine and I can't taste the texture of the meat. It's was not easy from the start when wrapping the dumplings but as I do through midway, I find it to be easier. No doubt the dough was a simple ingredients of flour and water, I like the texture, it's chewy. My hushand comment that I should put in more koo chye.