Recipe: "Lo Mai Gai"

Preparation Time: 50 minutes
Cooking + SteamTime: (10 + 40) minutes

Ingredients (top - chicken; bottom (clock-wise) - garlic, onion, chinese mushroom, dried shrimps, chili). This can be prepared within few minutes; using food processor; haha.

Taste: Dried shrimps and other ingredients add fragrance and make the dish more delicious.
Best for: dim sum.

Ingredient 1:

1. 2 cups grutinous rice (soaked overnight and drained)
   

Ingredient 2:

1. 200g chicken (sliced) + 2 Tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp dark soy sauce + 1 tsp 5-spices powder + 1 tsp sugar (soak for 15 minutes)
   

Ingredient 3:

1. 3 cloves of garlics (finely chopped)
2. 2 cloves of onions (finely chopped)
3. 2 Tbsp dried shrimps (soaked, drained and finely chopped)
4. 5 dried mushrooms (soaked, drained and finely chopped)
   

Other Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. Salt and pepper
   

Optional Ingredient:

1. Chili (finely chopped)
2. Scallions (finely chopped)
3. Coriander (finely chopped)
   

Steps:

1. Heat the pan with olive oil.
2. Add in garlic and onion. Cook till garlic and onion almost turns golden color (medium heat).
   
3. Add in dried shrimps and mushroom (cook for about 1 minute).
   
4. Add in chicken (the chicken will turn into white once it is cooked). Raise it.
   
5. In another pan/ wok (medium heat), cook glutinous rice and water. Cook till all the water dissolves into the rice. [You have to keep on turning the rice to make sure it is evenly cooked]
   
6. Mix all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the fire.
7. Steam at a high heat steamer for 40 minutes.
8. Once it is cooked, sprinkle with spring onion, chili and corriander.
   

Tips:

1. You can add more dark soy sauce if the color is not enough dark.
2. Basically 1 cup of glutinous rice requires 3/4 cups of water. Too much water will cause the rice overcooked and it tastes too smooth.
   

Recipe: Baked Omlette

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking + Baking Time: (5 + 10) minutes

Taste: Cripspy potatoes on top and moisture inside
(fill with veges, eggs & milk mixtures).
Best for: Spaghetti or potluck.

This one is with Cheddar Cheese (for those who loves cheese)

Ingredients:

1. 3 potatoes (sliced)
2. 1 clove of onion (sliced)
3. 3 large eggs (beat well)

Optional Ingredient:

1. Other vegetables (corn, celery, asparagus, chili, long bean, etc) can be added based on personal preference.

Steps:

1. Heat the pan with olive oil.
2. Cook potatoes until soft (about 2 minutes).
3. Add in onion (and optional ingredient, if there is any) and season with salt and pepper. Cook till onion turns soft. Turn off the fire.
   
4. In a baking tray, put a thin layer of olive oil to avoid stickiness.
   
5. Pour the cooked vegetables into the baking tray. (You may place the potatoes on top as to make it crispy during baking).
   
6. Add in eggs mixsture.
7. Bake in a preheat oven at 220ºc for 10 minutes.

Tips:

1. In the baking tray, all veges should be covered with eggs. If not, add egg mixsture.
2. You can substitute 3 large eggs with 2 medium eggs +180ml of milk. Mixture of eggs and milk will produce moisture and soft omlette compared to eggs mixture alone.
   

Recipe: "Boogogee" (Korean Beef Strips)

Ingredients:

1. 200g beef strips
2. 1 yellow onion (sliced)
3. 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
4. 1 can of coke
5. 2 Tbsp olive oil
6. 1 Tbsp soya sauce
7. pepper (enough for seasoning)

Optional Ingredient:

1. 1 stalk corriander (coarsely chopped)
   

Steps:

1. Soak beef strips in coke for 5 minutes and well-drained.
   
2. Heat the pan with olive oil.
3. Stir fry garlic and onion in medium heat until soft (about 2 - 3 minutes).
4. Add in beef strips and season with pepper. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes.
5. Discard the excessive sauce from the beef strips.
   
6. In a separate pan, shimmer soya sauce and 1/4 of coke.
   
7. Add back beef strips and corriander. Cook for 2 minutes.

Tips:

1. When you cook the beef strips in step 4, you will see some bloods from the beef. It is normal. Therefore, you must discard these in step 5, else, it looks unpleasant to eat.
2. If you are health conscious and dislike coke, it can be replaced with terriyaki sauce and season with substantial amount of sugar to balance the taste.
   

Recipe: Kim Chi Soup

Ingredients:

1. 1 small bowl of kim chi (with gravy)
2. 1 carrot (thick julienne cut)
3. 1 potato (thick julienne cut)
4. 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
5. 1 Tbsp olive oil
6. 2 1/2 small bowls of water

Optional ingredients (pick your own preference):

1. Veges: oyster mushroom, golden needle mushroom, califlower
2. Meat: 1/2 can of tuna in salt water (drained and flaked), sausage, beef strips, ham
   

Steps:

1. Heat the pot with olive oil.
2. Stir fry garlic, carrot and potato until mildly cooked (about 1 - 2 minutes).
3. Add in kim chi (with gravy) and water.
4. Shimmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add in optional ingredients.
   
6. Season with salt when the optional ingredients are fully cooked.

Tips:

1. You can substitute salt and tuna with 1/4 chicken cube if you don't like the fishy taste.
2. The taste of the kim chi soup might vary (depends on the kim chi used). So, better buy it from some Korean mart.
   

A Warm Birthday Dinner

Was thinking to have a dinner at my place for birthday celebration. But, I'm afraid it is too rush for preparation as I will only be back on the night before. Besides, I also worry that nobody will entertain me as that day is a week day and many of my friends are busy working. Somehow, I sent the invitation to them for a try (I think I miss out some... Sorry ya...), Surprisely, almost all of them turn up. As an appreciation, Hubby and I tried our best to prepare a healthy dinner consisiting kim chi steamboat, 'boogoogee' (cola beef), crabs and fruit juice.


My Lovely Birthday Cake


Time for a Wish


Like the Presents (pleasant smell of fragrance and lovely T)


Pretty Friends... ;)

"I had a wonderful dinner and a great time together with you all on my birthday. Thanks for coming, thanks all your greetings and presents as well... ;)"

Do I Look Like a Pregnant Lady?

Went to the super market yesterday to get some veges and other stuff. At the fruits session, the durian store had attracted me as it smells really great. I felt a strong craving for buying it. But, was thinking of eating too much will cause in weight gain. While I was standing beside the store with my hubby and was struggling to make a decision between 'yes, just buy it' and 'no, just forget it', a 'makcik' (a shopper) just said something to me. "Moi, belilah, belilah! Kalau pregnant mesti mau makan sesuatu punya." "Makcik, I tak ada pregnant lah!!!" Exclaimed me.

'Gosh! do I look like a pregnant lady???' This is the first question I thought of. I better behave and control my diet. Sob sob sob :( :(

However, we bought the durian also (he was the one to seduce me to buy... actually he wanted to eat too ler...). Hehe...

Movie: All About Women

Went for a movie on Tuesday, tittled "All About Women". Before watching the movie, I have quite a high expectation on it as it was directed by Xu Hak, a popular director in the Chinese movie industry. However, when I was in the cinema watching the movie... Question turned up: "OMG! Is this movie really by him? " "Huh? like that also can? Sigh!!!"

The movie (for me) is very bad ler... It is like a combination of several genres (kung fu? love story? animation? music? comedy?). But, it did not meet any categories (kung fu scene is not outstanding enough, love story is not touching enough, animation is not lively enough, music is not attractive enough, comedy is not humorous enough). May be you try to fit it into a category and tell me. Yeah, not to forget, the main story is about phernomone... phernomone... and phernomone... The story line is terrible too (may be I am not that "high level" enough to understand and appraise the story).

So, when I walked out from the cinema, I really have no idea about what have I watched. My mind was totally blank and confused about the story. My suggestion to those who wanted to watch the movie, please not to expect much. Or, a better suggestion, not to watch the movie if you have option.

Perhaps my comments are not too harsh... ;)