Do you like the non-spicy, sweet Japanese Curry that are available in most of the Japanese Restaurants? If you do, then you do not need to spend a lot of money on queuing up at these Restaurants for a nice, decent portion of Japanese Curry anymore. I can share a simple and fast way of making your own version of Japanese Curry with everybody.
The ingredients that I need are onion cubes, potatoes cubes, carrot cubes.
Step 1: Get the HOUSE VERMONT CURRY SAUCE MIX (MILD) Japanese Curry Sauce Mix from Supermarket
Step 2: Heat up the pot with some oil and add in the curry sauce cubes
Step 3: Add in the vegetables cubes and stir fry for a few minutes
Step 4: Add enough water to cover the ingredients and simmer for another 10 minutes
Step 5: Buy cooked pork/chicken breaded cutlet or Potato Croquette from food stalls and cut into thick pieces
Step 6: Pour some of the curry sauce over the meat cutlet and serve with Japanese rice
I think this is a very easy to make and short cut way of making your own Japanese Curry Rice. Do try it and your kids will like it.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Monday, 23 July 2012
Gingko beancurd dessert
A meal would not be complete without dessert. My favourite
dessert is a very simple home-made dessert that uses common and easily
available ingredients like water, eggs, bean curd sheets, rock sugar, gingko
nuts and pandan leaves.
My partner once made this for me many years ago and he did it successfully in his first attempt. So it is really easy for everyone to try it. Some traditional dessert shops sell this as well but at inflated price so it is more economical to DIY at home.
S tep 2: Add in the bean curd sheets (for dessert kind, not
the soup kind) and gingko nuts (you can get the fresh kind or from cans)
Step 4: Add some rock sugar (according to your liking) and cook for another 5 minutes
My partner once made this for me many years ago and he did it successfully in his first attempt. So it is really easy for everyone to try it. Some traditional dessert shops sell this as well but at inflated price so it is more economical to DIY at home.
Step 1: Boil ½ pot of water with the pandan leaves for 5
minutes
Step 3: Beat 2 eggs and add to the pot slowly to get the
nice and cloud like texture
Step 4: Add some rock sugar (according to your liking) and cook for another 5 minutes
Personally, I like it to be chilled but it tastes slightly
sweeter when it is served warm.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Soymilk FINALLY!
I mentioned about this Soymilk maker that I have bought earlier in my previous blog entry. Yesterday, my partner helped me to collect the maker and brought it HOME..
It was a lot bigger in size than I expected and it was heavy like the thermal airpot. The exterior looked nice with some flowery motifs and in my favourite colour, PINK.
We had bought some soya beans from the market in the morning and began to wash and soak the beans for more than 6 hours.
We followed the instruction manual and fixed the maker. We made a blunder of leaving the plastic filter pot inside and luckily the plastic pot didn't melt. We quickly transferred the soya beans and water to the pot and pressed THE BUTTON and waited for the miracle to happen before our eyes.
In a few minutes, we heard the grinding sound and there was a tinge of soya smell from the maker. We were quite excited about the final results.
After about 10 minutes, we decided to pour out our 1st batch of soymilk and when we saw the milky, hot soymilk bubbling inside, we were overjoyed!!!! Both of us worked together to sieve out the soymilk and let it cool before bottling them into bottles and kept in the fridge.
The soya residue was massive and we had a to clear them from the maker by batches. The overall experience of using the machine was ok.
Step 1: Wash and soak the soya beans in water for at least 5 hours (for optimal results)
Step 2: Put a cup of soaked soya beans into the maker and fill it with water till the indicated marking
Step 3: Press "SOYA BEAN MILK" button
Step 4: Pour out the soymilk through a sieve and filter a few more times (for optimal results)
Step 5: Bottled the soymilk and keep in fridge for optimal taste
We hope to try other functions like making porriage or iced blended fruit juice the next time. Till the next soymilk party!
It was a lot bigger in size than I expected and it was heavy like the thermal airpot. The exterior looked nice with some flowery motifs and in my favourite colour, PINK.
We had bought some soya beans from the market in the morning and began to wash and soak the beans for more than 6 hours.
We followed the instruction manual and fixed the maker. We made a blunder of leaving the plastic filter pot inside and luckily the plastic pot didn't melt. We quickly transferred the soya beans and water to the pot and pressed THE BUTTON and waited for the miracle to happen before our eyes.
In a few minutes, we heard the grinding sound and there was a tinge of soya smell from the maker. We were quite excited about the final results.
After about 10 minutes, we decided to pour out our 1st batch of soymilk and when we saw the milky, hot soymilk bubbling inside, we were overjoyed!!!! Both of us worked together to sieve out the soymilk and let it cool before bottling them into bottles and kept in the fridge.
The soya residue was massive and we had a to clear them from the maker by batches. The overall experience of using the machine was ok.
Step 1: Wash and soak the soya beans in water for at least 5 hours (for optimal results)
Step 2: Put a cup of soaked soya beans into the maker and fill it with water till the indicated marking
Step 3: Press "SOYA BEAN MILK" button
Step 4: Pour out the soymilk through a sieve and filter a few more times (for optimal results)
Step 5: Bottled the soymilk and keep in fridge for optimal taste
We hope to try other functions like making porriage or iced blended fruit juice the next time. Till the next soymilk party!
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Thai Green Curry Chicken
I am not a fan of the usual yellow/orange curry but i do like the jade-like Thai Green Curry. I like the less spicyness and like the tinge of sweetness in the curry taste. One of my favourite Thai dish is the Thai Green Curry Chicken that I cooked.
To make things short and sweet, I bought the Thai Green Curry paste from "Dancing Chef" to help inexperienced cooks like me. The green curry paste comes with some curry leaves in the paste and it is relatively spicy for my taste. I have a few ways to help to lessen the spicyness which I would like to share with all later.
Step 1: Cut chicken pieces (preferably chicken thighs, drumsticks), potatoes, carrots, bringals, fresh, tiny sweet corns into cubes
Step 2: Coat the chicken pieces lighly in corn flour and leave it for 5 minutes (This will give a tender texture to the chicken pieces)
Step 3: Fry the Thai Green Curry paste from "Dancing Chef" with some oil till the colour of the paste changed from greenish to yellowish with nice aroma
Step 4: Add in all the ingredients (listed in Step 1) to the yellowish paste and stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes
Step 5: Add in water to fill 1/2 of the pot
Step 6: Add in coconut milk and sugar (add more coconut milk and sugar to reduce the spicyness)
Step 7: Cover the pot and cook for another 20 minutes till the ingredients are fully cooked
Step 8: Serve with white rice
To make things short and sweet, I bought the Thai Green Curry paste from "Dancing Chef" to help inexperienced cooks like me. The green curry paste comes with some curry leaves in the paste and it is relatively spicy for my taste. I have a few ways to help to lessen the spicyness which I would like to share with all later.
Step 1: Cut chicken pieces (preferably chicken thighs, drumsticks), potatoes, carrots, bringals, fresh, tiny sweet corns into cubes
Step 2: Coat the chicken pieces lighly in corn flour and leave it for 5 minutes (This will give a tender texture to the chicken pieces)
Step 3: Fry the Thai Green Curry paste from "Dancing Chef" with some oil till the colour of the paste changed from greenish to yellowish with nice aroma
Step 4: Add in all the ingredients (listed in Step 1) to the yellowish paste and stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes
Step 5: Add in water to fill 1/2 of the pot
Step 6: Add in coconut milk and sugar (add more coconut milk and sugar to reduce the spicyness)
Step 7: Cover the pot and cook for another 20 minutes till the ingredients are fully cooked
Step 8: Serve with white rice
Friday, 20 July 2012
Making Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg)
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I went for a sushi and chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg)making workshop and had learnt a few tricks in making chawanmushi.
I have always liked chawanmushi as the soft texture (softer than tofu) and light flavour is suitable for people of all ages, especially the elderly and young. This is somehow similar to the steamed egg that my mother used to make for dinner when I was young but the texture is much more softer and smooth compared to the home cooked steam egg (that has many holes on the surface after steaming).
Step 1: Beat the eggs with a fork/chopsticks/spoon with some mirin in circular motion
Step 2: Add some water/chicken stock to the beaten eggs and continue to beat for 30 sec
Step 3: Use a sieve to filter the beaten eggs solution
Step 4: Brush some cooking oil on the inner surface of the cup/bowl that we are going to steam the eggs
Step 5: Add some ingredients (Sliced mushrooms, chicken cubes, ginko nuts, Japanese fish cake) at the base of the cup/bowl
Step 6: Pour the sieved egg solution into the cup/bowl to about 80% filled (Do not fill to the brim)
Step 7: Use a piece of aluminium foil to cover the cup/bowl before steaming for 5 mins (Secret step in making the smooth texture)
The teacher explained that the alumnimum foil helps to prevent the water droplets (from the steamer) from dripping onto the egg solution.
I think this is quite an easy dish to make even for inexperienced cooks like me. I am sure your parents and kids will like this. Do try it some day....
I have always liked chawanmushi as the soft texture (softer than tofu) and light flavour is suitable for people of all ages, especially the elderly and young. This is somehow similar to the steamed egg that my mother used to make for dinner when I was young but the texture is much more softer and smooth compared to the home cooked steam egg (that has many holes on the surface after steaming).
Step 1: Beat the eggs with a fork/chopsticks/spoon with some mirin in circular motion
Step 2: Add some water/chicken stock to the beaten eggs and continue to beat for 30 sec
Step 3: Use a sieve to filter the beaten eggs solution
Step 4: Brush some cooking oil on the inner surface of the cup/bowl that we are going to steam the eggs
Step 5: Add some ingredients (Sliced mushrooms, chicken cubes, ginko nuts, Japanese fish cake) at the base of the cup/bowl
Step 6: Pour the sieved egg solution into the cup/bowl to about 80% filled (Do not fill to the brim)
Step 7: Use a piece of aluminium foil to cover the cup/bowl before steaming for 5 mins (Secret step in making the smooth texture)
The teacher explained that the alumnimum foil helps to prevent the water droplets (from the steamer) from dripping onto the egg solution.
I think this is quite an easy dish to make even for inexperienced cooks like me. I am sure your parents and kids will like this. Do try it some day....
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Sushi making
I have always been a fan of Japanese food from sashimi, sushi, tempura, Udon, Japanese Curry and many others.
A few years ago, I chanced upon this opportunity to learn to make sushi and chawanmushi (to be shared at the next blog) at this Cooking School at Rochor Centre. It was a small Cooking School and most of the participants were housewives and even maids. My friend and I were the only younger ladies attending the workshop.
The teacher was a local Chinese lady who had many years of cooking Japanese food. She had prepared most of the ingredients prior to the start of the workshop and when we arrived, we were divided into small groups to work on our sushi and chawanmushi.
One of the tricks that I had learnt from her was to use a transparent plastic bag (available from supermarkets) and cut the sides to expand it to a large rectangular plastic sheet to roll the sushi. The reason why she did not use a sushi mat was because....she would not need to wash the plastic sheet after rolling and we can always use clean plastic sheet for the next time. Sounds like a good idea? Environmentalists would definitely protest!!
Anyway, we had to cut the ingredients into long stripes. As usual, the best part of making sushi is to be able to customise your own sushi. For the learning purposes, we were given cucumber, yellow radish, egg roll and crab stick. Perhaps, you can try it yourself too.
Step 1: Cut the edge of the transparent plastic bag (available from supermarkets) and make it to a large rectangular sheet
Step 2: Cook the Japanese rice and add some Mirin and Japanese Vinegar to taste
Step 3: Place the seaweed on the plastic sheet
Step 4: Scoop some rice (while warm from the cooker) and spread on the seaweed. Take note to fill the edges of the sushi as well. (My advice is to spread the rice thinly to avoid making a huge sushi full of rice)
Step 4: Spread some Mayonaise on the rice and place the ingredients on top of the Mayo
Step 5: Roll the sushi from the side and take note that you need to 'tighten' the edge of the roll
Step 6: Seal the edge with some water and let it stand for a few minutes before cutting the sushi
It is kind of fun to make your own sushi and especally if you are making it with your family, friends and even kids. Try it!
A few years ago, I chanced upon this opportunity to learn to make sushi and chawanmushi (to be shared at the next blog) at this Cooking School at Rochor Centre. It was a small Cooking School and most of the participants were housewives and even maids. My friend and I were the only younger ladies attending the workshop.
The teacher was a local Chinese lady who had many years of cooking Japanese food. She had prepared most of the ingredients prior to the start of the workshop and when we arrived, we were divided into small groups to work on our sushi and chawanmushi.
One of the tricks that I had learnt from her was to use a transparent plastic bag (available from supermarkets) and cut the sides to expand it to a large rectangular plastic sheet to roll the sushi. The reason why she did not use a sushi mat was because....she would not need to wash the plastic sheet after rolling and we can always use clean plastic sheet for the next time. Sounds like a good idea? Environmentalists would definitely protest!!
Anyway, we had to cut the ingredients into long stripes. As usual, the best part of making sushi is to be able to customise your own sushi. For the learning purposes, we were given cucumber, yellow radish, egg roll and crab stick. Perhaps, you can try it yourself too.
Step 1: Cut the edge of the transparent plastic bag (available from supermarkets) and make it to a large rectangular sheet
Step 2: Cook the Japanese rice and add some Mirin and Japanese Vinegar to taste
Step 3: Place the seaweed on the plastic sheet
Step 4: Scoop some rice (while warm from the cooker) and spread on the seaweed. Take note to fill the edges of the sushi as well. (My advice is to spread the rice thinly to avoid making a huge sushi full of rice)
Step 4: Spread some Mayonaise on the rice and place the ingredients on top of the Mayo
Step 5: Roll the sushi from the side and take note that you need to 'tighten' the edge of the roll
Step 6: Seal the edge with some water and let it stand for a few minutes before cutting the sushi
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Cheats in making home-made pizza
I have always wanted to try out new variations of commercially made pizzas as I am a person who would like to try new flavours/food.
One fine day, I have decided to make my own pizza as my partner is a vegetarian and it is not easy to find nice and special pizzas for him.
My 1st challenge would be 'How do I make the pizza base?' I do not know how to make the pizza base from scratch so I thought of doing the short-cut way - to buy the base from supermarkets. However, I do not like the frozen kind of base thus, I have decided to try the pita bread after reading an article from a magazine on using pita bread for pizza.
The 1st attempt was relatively successful. The pita bread was easy to handle for an inexperienced cook like me. The tomato paste was able to sit nicely on the bread. After baking, the pita bread had a nice aroma but it did not have the thin-crust kind of texture that I would like it to be. After thinking about the thin-crust pizza that I have always like, I decided to try using wrap instead.
The 2nd challenge was to find the tomato based paste. I did not know how to make the paste on my own thus, I tried to cheat again. I had tried the pizza paste that was available in supermarkets but it was abit too sourish for my liking and too dried after baking. Till one fine day, I had an idea. Why don't I try the pasta sauce instead? It proved to be the right texture that I like. Not too dried after baking and it glows after baking.
Finally, I had decided to try making this special pizza for him.
Step 1: Use wraps as the base for pizza
Step 2: Spread 1 tablespoon of pasta sauce (tomato based) on the centre portion of the wrap (must not spread the sauce for about 2cm from the edge of the wrap)
Step 3: Add some Mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta sauce
Step 4: Add in the ingredients (Mushrooms, Capsicums, Cheese, Pineapples, Vegetarian Ham)
Step 5: Top up with more and more Mozzarella cheese
Step 6: Bake in oven for about 20 minutes
The final product was not too bad for an inexperienced cook like me. I will make more pizzas in the near future. :)
One fine day, I have decided to make my own pizza as my partner is a vegetarian and it is not easy to find nice and special pizzas for him.
My 1st challenge would be 'How do I make the pizza base?' I do not know how to make the pizza base from scratch so I thought of doing the short-cut way - to buy the base from supermarkets. However, I do not like the frozen kind of base thus, I have decided to try the pita bread after reading an article from a magazine on using pita bread for pizza.
The 1st attempt was relatively successful. The pita bread was easy to handle for an inexperienced cook like me. The tomato paste was able to sit nicely on the bread. After baking, the pita bread had a nice aroma but it did not have the thin-crust kind of texture that I would like it to be. After thinking about the thin-crust pizza that I have always like, I decided to try using wrap instead.
The 2nd challenge was to find the tomato based paste. I did not know how to make the paste on my own thus, I tried to cheat again. I had tried the pizza paste that was available in supermarkets but it was abit too sourish for my liking and too dried after baking. Till one fine day, I had an idea. Why don't I try the pasta sauce instead? It proved to be the right texture that I like. Not too dried after baking and it glows after baking.
Finally, I had decided to try making this special pizza for him.
Step 1: Use wraps as the base for pizza
Step 2: Spread 1 tablespoon of pasta sauce (tomato based) on the centre portion of the wrap (must not spread the sauce for about 2cm from the edge of the wrap)
Step 3: Add some Mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta sauce
Step 4: Add in the ingredients (Mushrooms, Capsicums, Cheese, Pineapples, Vegetarian Ham)
Step 5: Top up with more and more Mozzarella cheese
Step 6: Bake in oven for about 20 minutes
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Tomato Prawns made with love
My mother has been a great cook and I have always enjoyed her cooking since young. She has many specialty dishes and I have asked to learn from her a couple of years ago. In a month's time, I will be moving out of my parents' home and will be staying in a new house with my partner. Before I even move out, I have started to miss my mother's cooking.
Yesterday was a rare occasion that she cooked especially for me. I have requested for her to cook for me as I am hardly at home these days due to my busy schedule. My family members were out and my mother specially cooked my favourite 'Tomato Prawns' with rice for me.
Tomato Prawns is a simple dish that I have always enjoyed since young. The dish is really very simple even for inexperienced cook like me.
Step 1: First, heat up the wok with garlic
Step 2: Add some tomato sauce and some fresh tomatoes cut in cubes
Step 3: Add the prawns and some sugar (to taste)
Step 4: Sprinkle some spring onions before serving
The taste of the tomato sauce is sweet and sourish. The prawns are nicely cooked and soaked in the orangy sauce. The tomato cubes are not overly cooked and provided the 'vegetables' portion in the dish. The spring onions added colour and aroma to the dish before serving.
What a wonderful dish cooked with love and more love from my mother. I had tried to replicate the same dish without much success in the past. After having my favourite Tomato Prawns last night, I am determined to try to cook this dish again soon. This time round, I will do it with more love and hopefully, I will be able to master this dish before I move out of my parents' house.
Yesterday was a rare occasion that she cooked especially for me. I have requested for her to cook for me as I am hardly at home these days due to my busy schedule. My family members were out and my mother specially cooked my favourite 'Tomato Prawns' with rice for me.
Tomato Prawns is a simple dish that I have always enjoyed since young. The dish is really very simple even for inexperienced cook like me.
Step 1: First, heat up the wok with garlic
Step 2: Add some tomato sauce and some fresh tomatoes cut in cubes
Step 3: Add the prawns and some sugar (to taste)
Step 4: Sprinkle some spring onions before serving
The taste of the tomato sauce is sweet and sourish. The prawns are nicely cooked and soaked in the orangy sauce. The tomato cubes are not overly cooked and provided the 'vegetables' portion in the dish. The spring onions added colour and aroma to the dish before serving.
What a wonderful dish cooked with love and more love from my mother. I had tried to replicate the same dish without much success in the past. After having my favourite Tomato Prawns last night, I am determined to try to cook this dish again soon. This time round, I will do it with more love and hopefully, I will be able to master this dish before I move out of my parents' house.
Monday, 16 July 2012
Using soya milk to cook curry?
My partner and I came across this small vegetarian eatery at Upper Bukit Timah Road (opposite Beauty World) a few months ago. The soymilk curry vegetables was a gem in this eatery.
To start of with, I am a normal omnivore whereas my partner is a full-time vegetarian. It has been very challenging since DAY 1 of our courtship days to find some common food that both of us really enjoyed. I do try to accompany and accommodate his diet at times but I know deep down in my heart that I will always be an omnivore.
This small vegetarian eatery is located in the middle of shop houses and easily forgotten by passer-bys. My partner wanted to try this and we decided to go in and take a look. The place is rather small and they are only selling a few items. The lady boss recommended her specialty - Curry vegetable cooked in soymilk to us. I was abit hesitant as I had tried similar soymilk replaced dishes before and I wasn't satisfied with them.
The portion of the curry was quite small for both of us. But the curry gravy was fantastic. It was rather creamy and was not too spicy for my liking. I liked the vegetables that were well cooked and well-soaked in the curry gravy.
To be fair, I think they are trying very hard (abit too hard for my liking) to try to convince omnivores like me to convert to vegetarians. I do enjoy occasional 'detox' sessions with my partner but other than that, I think I prefer to be a happy omnivore..
To start of with, I am a normal omnivore whereas my partner is a full-time vegetarian. It has been very challenging since DAY 1 of our courtship days to find some common food that both of us really enjoyed. I do try to accompany and accommodate his diet at times but I know deep down in my heart that I will always be an omnivore.
This small vegetarian eatery is located in the middle of shop houses and easily forgotten by passer-bys. My partner wanted to try this and we decided to go in and take a look. The place is rather small and they are only selling a few items. The lady boss recommended her specialty - Curry vegetable cooked in soymilk to us. I was abit hesitant as I had tried similar soymilk replaced dishes before and I wasn't satisfied with them.
The portion of the curry was quite small for both of us. But the curry gravy was fantastic. It was rather creamy and was not too spicy for my liking. I liked the vegetables that were well cooked and well-soaked in the curry gravy.
To be fair, I think they are trying very hard (abit too hard for my liking) to try to convince omnivores like me to convert to vegetarians. I do enjoy occasional 'detox' sessions with my partner but other than that, I think I prefer to be a happy omnivore..
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Soymilk daily?
I saw this Soymilk machine from China at OG a couple of months ago and was wondering what was the attraction at the demonstration counter. When I went nearer and saw this cute, pink thermal flask like machine and heard about the price, I was shocked!
This tiny machine cost more than S$150 and was wondering who would buy this to make soymilk daily. I went home and never thought about this again.
Today, I saw this same machine selling at Groupon at a discounted price. I was very tempted to buy as I recalled I drank this cup of freshly made soymilk from a Taiwanese family when I stayed with them for a few days a decade ago. At that point of time, I was very amazed that the family would drink freshly made soymilk daily without fail. That machine was bulky and the procedure was abit complicated for me to comprehend then.
Finally, after discussing with my partner, we have decided to buy this soymilk maker as we are wanted to have freshly made soymilk daily. The cost was abit expensive as we need the money to furnish our love nest now but we really want our parents to try this freshly made soymilk when they come and visit us in future.
Hope that this is the right choice for us.
This tiny machine cost more than S$150 and was wondering who would buy this to make soymilk daily. I went home and never thought about this again.
Today, I saw this same machine selling at Groupon at a discounted price. I was very tempted to buy as I recalled I drank this cup of freshly made soymilk from a Taiwanese family when I stayed with them for a few days a decade ago. At that point of time, I was very amazed that the family would drink freshly made soymilk daily without fail. That machine was bulky and the procedure was abit complicated for me to comprehend then.
Finally, after discussing with my partner, we have decided to buy this soymilk maker as we are wanted to have freshly made soymilk daily. The cost was abit expensive as we need the money to furnish our love nest now but we really want our parents to try this freshly made soymilk when they come and visit us in future.
Hope that this is the right choice for us.
My favourite Rösti
My 1st encounter with Rosti was at Marche at Hereen. I have discovered this stall in Suntec City Basement Food Court that sells Rosti at a very affordable price and great taste. The Rosti was pan-fried till golden and with a nice aroma. To top up with sour cream and chopped spring onions was heavenly.
I went to the same food court on 14 July 2012 and to my horror, the stall had closed down and it had changed to a coffee cafe.
I will miss my favourite Rosti.....forever.
I went to the same food court on 14 July 2012 and to my horror, the stall had closed down and it had changed to a coffee cafe.
I will miss my favourite Rosti.....forever.
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