Gräciõ's LäveñderBliss Café: August 2006

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

炸醬麵 (Zha Jiang Mian) & A Wonderful Bowl Of Dessert

Tonight was noodles night. Tired of eating rice for now... Hubby & I love 炸醬麵 (Zha Jiang Mian a.k.a Char Cheong Meen). We'll always eat this whenever we visit an authentic chinese restaurant. But I must say that so far, we've never really tasted one good bowl of it. All of them we tried were quite disappointing. Hence, I am always doubtful & fearful to order this, for the fear of having no satisfaction eating something which I'm gonna pay at a high price.

Saw this recipe at KC posted by a member, so was keen to try out. Originally, the recipe calls for raw vegetables, but both of us don't really like raw veges, therefore, I modified the way of cooking & seasonings too.

It was good, thumbs up! Now I need not order at a chinese restaurant whereby I'm not confident how it will turn out, rather, I could cook it at home myself. I'm glad & overjoyed! :)

Was feeling dizzy the whole day, think my blood pressure is super low, and due to our woman's monthly thingy, I realised I've lost quite abit of weight too. Sigh, have been feeling as if the whole world is spinning all day today. :(

For supper, I made Sterculia Seeds with Dried Longan & Red Dates Tong Shui for both myself & hubby to nourish our bodies for health's sake. :)


King Fish Steaks & Shui Gow Soup

Better pen down my recipes b4 it's long forgotten by myself:

King Fish Steak Stir Fry

Stuffs U need:
1pc king fish steak, sliced out the meat
1stalk spring onions, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
1pc red chilli, diced
1/2 tbsp fish sauce


Marinade for Fish:
sesame oil
a pinch of sugar & pepper
a dash of hua tiao wine
1tsp ginger powder
1tsp cornflour

How U Cook It:
1) Heat oil in wok, stir fry onions till translucent, add in spring onions & red chillis.
2) Add in marinated fish steaks, stir fry till almost done.

3) Pour in fish sauce, coat well & serve.

Shui Gow Soup

Stuffs U Need:
shui gow wrappers
prawns, devein & deshell

minced pork
water chestnuts, diced
500ml homemade chicken broth
ur choice of vegetable

Marinade for Pork with Water Chestnuts:
1tbsp sesame oil
a pinch of salt & pepper
2tsp soy sauce
a dash of hua tiao wine

1tsp cornflour

Marinade for prawns:
a pinch of sugar
a dash of sesame oil

How U Cook It:
1) Mix pork & water chestnuts 2gather in a big bowl. Marinade with above seasonings for 1/2 hr.
2) Scoop 1tbsp of the mixed pork with chestnuts onto a piece of shui gow wrapper, top it with a piece of prawn. Seal the shui gow.
3) Boil the chicken broth, add in shui gow & ur choice of vegetable till cooked. Serve when hot with rice.

MeMe: 5 Things 2 Eat B4 U Die

Have been tagged by Angie, my friend & blog pal for the above meme.

Mmm, as u scroll down my blog, u can see I hardly prepare western food, cuz I don't really fancy eating them. Strangely, when I think of this 'MeMe', nothing except western sweet stuffs & fast food (except for 1 dish) came to my mind. So here's the list:


A) Plain Cheesecakes! I would love to have one which has an awfully, sinful rich cream cheese filling with a super duper crispy crust base.

B) Banana & Chocolate Crepes with a hot cup of Cafe Au Lait.



C) Mixed Fruit Tartlets. This is simply so indulging for me. I can eat many at one go!

D) Indonesia Bakmi (Mie) Keriting with heavily marinated Jamur. My all time favourite, wonder who's going to bring all the way from Indo to me? haha!

& finally,

E) A Platter of Double Cripsy-ness Onion Rings, dipped with BBQ Sauce plus a Glass of Diet Coke to end off with... :)



Do they sound very sinful? High sugar content hor? heez, that's me! Im a sweet tooth person! :P

Alrighty, now I would like to pass this 'baton' to Ching, Edith & Jo... Catch!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Promotion! I Luv This Word!

Yippee yaya yipee yipee ya! Congrats to my hubby for his promotion! I am glad to say that all his hardworks has been recognised by his company. To me, I think just to be promoted within a short period of time since he joined this organization a year ago, is really God's blessings. Without Him, we wouldn't be where we are today. :)

So in order to celebrate for him on the day that he broke the good news to me, which is today, I decided to make something nutritious for him. Not an expensive dinner for celebration but rather, a simple home cooked meal instead.

Here is my menu for the evening.


King Fish Steak Stir Fry


Next up is my Shui Gow Soup which we haven't been eating for a long time. The crunchiness of the water chestnut enhances our appetite & helps to cool our bodies since it's 48degrees over here now. :)

Congrats on ur promotion again, my dear hubby! Ur hardwork is being paid off & God will see U thru' every trials & tribulations. Never give up ya? :) *Hugz*

**Pls see this link
for recipe**

Monday, August 28, 2006

1st Attempt On Hainanese Kaya

Everyone put ur hands 2gather & clap for Gracio! haha, ermz, yes, I 'so called' succeeded in making Lucy's Hainanese Kaya.

Why 'so called', it's because I realised that mine is not that smooth, BUT nevertheless, it tastes & it's kaya! I have been wanting to eat this for a long long time, happen to see Lucy's recipe on her blog & decided to try.

After pouring in the coconut milk, I realised I 4got to sieve it. I used coconut milk powder instead of fresh coconut as I couldn't get them at the supermarket I frequent, hence making my kaya not smooth enough. Well, practice makes perfect, I'm gonna try it till it's smooth enough. :)

Thanks Lucy, for ur guidance. Here's her recipe if u wanna try... :)

And also, thanks to Jo, who gave me tips on kaya making too! ;)

Sunday, August 27, 2006

The Reason Why...


Gracio's Egg Fried Rice. This is indeed simple & easy to prepare but it brings back good old memories for me.

Wanna know why? Cuz this dish was my 1st dish which I made when I was only 10 yrs old. When I'm home alone on some weekends afternoon, I would whip up this one dish meal.

The reason I started learning cooking was because my mama told me that once u know how to cook, u would not starved. So being afraid of starvation as I was a greedy pig, I started to learn cooking from my grandma, and slowly, loving it. :)

Saturday, August 26, 2006

A Gift From A Friend

Karen, my Singaporean friend in Dubai went to Canada for business trip last week. Today, she came by and gave me these. I felt touched & happy indeed. Boy, heard from here that their Chinatown is so much better than ours here!

We spent alittle time chatting, it was also kind of her to teach me how to use oven for bakings & grilling. Me, being a mountain turtle, has never used an oven b4. hehe.. glad that I had 'live' demo today. Now I know what is suppose to be in & out of the oven when it's working for me. And I'll be going down to Carrefour when hubby comes back to hunt for cheap and good bakewares. :)

Gaby was happy too, to see her here, cuz for the past few days, was just me and him, guess he's a little bored by Mama already. So he kept running around, following us wherever we go, and being a Kpo everywhere, seeking attention. Hehe.. Quite funny actually, to see him suddenly so active. :)

After she left, I felt abit lonely, suddenly the house seems so quiet and I'm alone again. Then Gaby went back to his favourite area to 'hybernate'. Sigh, 4 more days & counting down...

Thanks Karen, for buying these for me. U're appreciated! :)


老婆饼 (Wife's Biscuit)


Caramel Waffers

Friday, August 25, 2006

Simply Dinner

My dinner was neither fried noodles nor a soupy one. Since I bought cabbage yesterday, so I thought, why not make Stir Fry Cabbage with Minced Pork & Dried Shrimps? It's been awhile since I ate my favourite dried shrimps. The feeling of eating something which I have not taken for a long time feels so shiok. hehe... Anyone feels the same way too? :P

Normally when hubby is on business trips, I wouldn't have the prompting to stir fry stuffs or even cook porridge. The most I would do is snacking 24hours a day. This time, don't know what came over me, hands started to itch, wanting to cook. It's just something that never happens b4. Probably my body is telling my brain to make something nutritious to gain some weight. Now, I'm back to 37kg. On the verge of being blown away by the wind someday. :P

Hopefully time will pass faster. I've got enough time on my own with my bunny. Gaby's missing the Big Guy's (hubby) hands to sayang him. My small hands just doesn't seem to be able to compete with his jaddy's hands. haha! :P

Another day just ended in a twink of an eye. I'm now counting down to Wed. :)

Black Sesame Paste (Hak Zi Ma Wu)

Made Black Sesame Paste for myself this afternoon, stomach isn't feeling so good today. Thank God this came to my rescue to ease the painfulness & sourish feeling that has been churning in my stomach since morning.

I've always loved black sesame paste as compared to other pastes like almond, walnut, or whatever paste u name it, I don't take it. Don't know why, but the black colour & fragrance just draws me to it. Hehe... :)

Thinking of whipping up fried noodles tonight, but then again, lazy to fry, probably noodles soup? Mmm, stay tuned to find out my dinner tonight... :P

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Easy Dinner

Stir Fry Bok Choy with Minced Chicken
Since my hubby is away on business trip till next Wednesday, I decided to cook something simple for myself. Really simple this time. And I found Hae Bee Hiam in my fridge, hubby doesn't like this, he gets turned off by the smell n taste of it cuz of the bad experience he had when he was in the army donkey years ago. Hence, when he's not around, I get to pamper myself with this. Fried this with rice, indeed it is good! :) I like...

Hae Bee Hiam Rice

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Gracio's FIRST Successful Steamed Cake In Her Entire Life!

Hallelujah!!

NEVER would I thought that I would succeed in steaming this!! YIPEE!! Shucks, I think Im gonna be hooked on baking very soon. Haha!

This is my 1st cake that I set my hands on after I got my mixer. Indeed, that Philips mixer did help me alot, tho it's rather heavy and my right hand was aching like crazy.

I think it's time for me to get a steamer. This so called 'steamer' that Im using, is rather bad. I used a pot to steam, and this pot, is rather lousy. Time to get one real soon. heh heh.

This cake has been on my "to do list" for quite a while. I tried making this earlier on but failed. Finally, the long awaited moment of success has come. Credit goes to Jesus & my mixer. Hehe!! I was glad that it turned out well, but alittle dense in the inside, not super spongy though. But at least this looks like a cake to me. haha! the last few times was ultimately bad. Hehe..

Another thing that I was amazed & surprised was that the colour layering came out rather pretty & even.

It's amazing how a batter can be transformed into a beautiful cake after much beating. Was just wondering who ever invented this thing called cake in this world. Haha!

Ok, the top part's a little ugly cuz I went to poke 3 holes to check whether the middle part is fully steamed.




Overall, I am quite contented with my FIRST cake that I made in my entire life. haha! But Im not gonna be proud, cuz I know there's always roomSSS for improvement. I know I can do better, with much practice and patience. :)



My 1st Steamed Eggwhite Rainbow Cake, recipe by Zu. Thanks Zu! :)

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Wantons dinner

Actually I don't fancy boiled wantons, only those deep fried ones tempts me. Whenever I order wanton mee, I will tell the aunty to give me more char siew, no wantons. Haha! And the aunty will always look at me thinking that I'm some weirdo. But it's for the better so she can save it to those who loves them.

Eversince I came here, I start to miss them. Don't ask me why, the craving did came once b4 and today. So I went hunting for the skin and made my own filling. Yummy! The taste is delicious, better than the "Parklane Wanton Mee", the filling they give is always so little. Mmmm, wondering whether they are still around?


While I was deep frying these, I was so tempted that I munched 5pcs at one go. Haha! I just love the crispy outter texture and when u bite it, the feeling is so satisfying. :)

Hubby gave thumbs up for it! Yay! :)

Gracio's Deep Fried Wantons

Next up is my Wantons in Bubble Egg White Soup. Was tired of the egg flower pattern so did this instead.


Followed by a Stir Fry Bok Choy with Cocktail Sausages.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Korokke Tonight

Since I had some breadcrumbs left from making tofu the last time, I decided to make Edith's Korokke tonight. Yummylicious tho' the colour doesn't look very orangee..

Thank U Edith for this recipe on your blog. The smell of the breadcrumbs still fill my place, I just love the smell. :)


Here's her recipe if u wanna try. :)

Friday, August 18, 2006

Breaking News: Gracio's 1st Step Into Baking!!

Hohoho! Guessed what I bought today?! Those of u who know me, knows that I have no interest in baking at all. The thought of dealing with flour, just puts me off!! The last few times I tried to bake, or rather steam a cake, everything turned disastrous!! And worse, the whole kitchen table & floor was filled with flour. Arrghh, how pissed I felt that time.

My best friend Evelyn, was telling me to learn baking the other day. And I was telling her, no way am I going to start learning as I have had bad experiences last time. So she went, "okok, don't learn then."

Mmm, so after reading the above, u would wonder why I still buy this mixer ya? Reason's very simple, hubby's going away this coming tues for a week for business trip, leaving my little bunny and I at home. And this trip, he would be away during the weekend as well, that leaves me bored at home, no need to whip up nice meals, so on and so forth, and I can say that I'll be the "free-est" person in the whole wide world. Sigh...

After thinking for afew days, I decided to get this hand mixer. Learn to steam a cake or bake one just to occupy time. 24 hours a day for that week's gonna be too long for me, while I know the rest of u seems to think that time's too short. haha! :P

Oke, now I shall begin my adventure of baking & beating eggs this coming week. I must admit I'm feeling alittle fearful, expecting to fail all the time & no confidence at all. Well, at least I'm prepared to buy tons of eggs & flour.

Hopefully, my journey in baking will take off well after much practice, I know there's a whole lot of u who are good bakers are always there for me ya? Hehe... :)

Alrighty, this is my new "toy". Let's hope my 3 minute enthusiasm in baking will last. Wish me all the best ya?! :)


Hae Mee a.k.a Prawn Noodle

Prawn Noodle has always been on my "To Do List" and today, FINALLY, after much procrastinating, I did it!

Hubby did not enjoy as much as I did 'cuz he's not a prawn person. But it's oke, once a while must cook something I like.

Only that my soup's alittle bland, think I added too much water.

Overall, I enjoyed what I ate today. :)


Authentic Thai Food by "Ban Khun Mae"

We went to Mall of Emirates today to have our lunch & groceries shopping.

As the title goes, we had thai food today at the food court. "Ban Khun Mae" is the name of the stall, in english it means, "My Mother's House".

Abit costly tho', for a plate of my kway tiao costs about Sg$12.50 for a plate, hubby's curry costs the same as mine. The worse was, we ordered Poh Pia Phak, 4pcs of spring rolls cost us about SG$6. Didn't take pictures of the spring rolls as they looked pathetic. *sob sob*

Phad See-Eiw tastes abit like our char kway tiao in Sg. Stir fried large rice noodles with Thai broccoli, carrot, beef and egg.


While the Panaeng Curry Dish served with Jasmine Rice is a famous thai curry with panaeng curry paste in coconut milk with chicken.

Hubby was saying I could cook better than them. Haha! Was I feeling happy in my heart! :)

A little costly isn't it? :P


Phad See-Eiw


Panaeng Curry served with Steamed Jasmine Rice

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Fulfilling Night

Fresh egg noodles available in the supermart today!! And dinner tonight's Mee Goreng with a refreshing dessert to tone down the oily-ness.

I miss those days whereby hubby & I would sit together with David & Theresa at prata shop, enjoying teh tarik, milo cino, eating pratas & mee goreng, chatting away till wee hours in the morning. I love the indian style Mee Goreng, will never get tired of eating that.

Hubby was very encouraging, gave me a 110% marks for this & said "this is excellent!" Am glad he likes it, brings warmth, confidence and love to my heart. Thank Q... :)




Stuffs U Need:
fresh egg noodles

ur favourite vegetable
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
2pcs chicken fillet, sliced
1 potato, diced, boiled in water, set aside
50gm beansprouts
3 eggs, lightly beaten (fry & minced finely)

Seasonings for Chicken:
1tsp light soy sauce

a dash of sesame oil

Seasonings for Noodles:
2tbsp dark soya sauce
2tbsp kecap manis
2tbsp tomato ketchap

5tsp sambal
1tsp water

Directions:
1) Heat oil in wok, add in onions, fry till translucent. Add in chicken to fry till half cooked.
2) Add in beansprouts & vegetable, stir fry till vegetables half cooked.
3) Add noodles & stir, followed by diced potato & egg.
4) Pour in seasonings, make sure all ingredients are well coated. Serve hot.

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Oke, cheated on this Tofu Fa a.k.a Tau Huey. Checked out Ching's post yesterday & I screamed with excitement immediately! haha, wanna know why? 'Cuz I wanted to try making this from scratch, but I don't have a blender yet, agar agar powder that I brought along with me from Singapore are very precious, so I can't afford to fail otherwise the powder will be wasted. :P

I recalled seeing that packet of tofu mix somewhere here, and I thank God that UAE caters to that small number of japanese here. Alright, tell u the truth, may sound abit weird but I lose sleep over this packet of tofu mix last night & was so excited about it that I went down early morning just to find this, keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be on the shelf. I know I would disappointed if they run out of stocks or for whatever reasons, that is.


This really and I mean REALLY, satisfies my craving for tofu fa. The 3 'S' that meets the criteria of a tofu fa: Silky, Soft & Smooth. Thumbs up! This was done within minutes.

Thank U, Ching!, for posting this on ur blog, if not, I know I would never buy this. :) *Hugz*


Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Kon Loh Meen Dinner

I just love chinese food. Dunnoe why, but western dishes doesn't "spurs me up" unless I'm craving for one. hehe...

Tonight was a one dish meal again. Very satisfied with this. Me being greedy, added alot more ingredients to balance the meal. It has been ages since I ate Kon Loh Meen. And surprisingly, the dried egg noodles I used turned out very well. Thank God I didn't overcook it, if not it'll turn soggy which I dislike most. :)

So here's my version & hubby gave thumbs up for it. Do try and let me know how U feel about it.


Gracio's Kon Loh Meen
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Stuffs U Need:
egg noodles (dried/fresh)
ur favourite vegetable (blanch in boiling water & rinse under cold water to stop cooking)
chicken breasts meat, steamed & shred
crabsticks, halved
egg, pan fry & sliced into strips

Seasonings for Shredded Chicken:
2tsp sesame oil

Seasonings for Noodles:
1tsp premium oyster sauce
2tsp sesame oil
2tsp dark soy sauce
1/2tsp of black vinegar
1tsp garlic oil
a pinch of sugar & pepper

How U Cook It:
1) Boil a pot of water, when boiling, blanch fresh noodles for 8 seconds & rinse under cold water to stop cooking. If u're using dried egg noodles like me, blanch in boiling water till softens & rinse under cold water. Set aside once done.
2) Heat alittle oil in wok, pan fry crabsticks till crispy on the sides.
3) Mix noodles in seasonings till well coated & top with crabsticks, shredded chicken, vegetable & egg.

Note:
*For me, I poured hot boiling water over the noodles & drain b4 I toss them with seasonings as hubby loves hot food.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Childhood Meals

Today I whipped up dishes which reminds me of my childhood days. Since young, my beloved grandma would take care of me while my mama was teaching. Hence, dinner is always prepared by my grandma. I love this whenever she prepares it. But it's quite unhealthy cuz it's alittle salty. Usually when I make this, I would add alittle of each sauce to balance the taste.

Another dish by her which will stay dearly in my heart.

My Grandma's Cabbage Rice Bowl


Serves 3

Stuffs U Need:
1/2 chinese cabbage, shredded
1tsp minced garlic
8pcs chinese preserved mushroom, soaked & sliced thinly (leave the mushroom water 4 later)
some minced pork
2 & a half cups uncooked rice (adjustable)
water (depends on how much rice u put in)

Marinade for Pork:
a dash of sesame oil, sugar, pepper & hua tiao wine
1/2tsp chinese 5 spice powder
(Leave for 1/2 hour)

Seasonings:
2tbsp oyster sauce
2tbsp sesame oil
2tbsp dark soya sauce
2tsp chinese 5 spice powder
a dash of hua tiao wine
a pinch of sugar

Directions:
1) Heat oil in wok, add minced garlic, then mushroom, stir fry till fragrant.
2) Add in pork, fry for 2 mins, then add in cabbage & some water.
3) When cabbage softens, dish out everything & set aside.
4) Wash rice in rice cooker/pot, add in the previously fried ingredients, mix well with rice.
5) Pour in seasonings & stir well, make sure everything is well coated.
6) Add in some mushroom water & water as per how u would cook ur rice. Garnish with sliced red chillis b4 serving. Bon Apetit!
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Stir Fry Beansprouts with Onions
may be simple & easy to prepare, but yet, this is one vegetable dish that my mama would buy for me for lunch whenever she gets to knock off early from school. I love to eat this with white rice & char siew. The cook at her school always give her lots of bean sprouts as they knew this is my favourite vegetable. :)



Stuffs U Need:
bean sprouts, roots peeled away
1 red chilli, sliced thinly
3 sprigs scallions, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
2tsp minced garlic

Seasonings:
1tsp fish sauce
a pinch of sugar
2tsp hua tiao wine

Directions:
1) Heat oil in wok, add in garlic & onions, fry till fragrant/browned.
2) Add in scallions & red chilli.
3) Add in bean sprouts, fry till softens.
4) Pour in seasonings & serve hot with rice.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Good Ending Today!

I hate deep frying, but Zu's Tofu Balls tempted me.

I added red fermented beancurd, sliced red chilli (these 2 tips were given by one of the bloggers who left a comment in her post) & breadcrumbs to coat. I usually don't like red fermented beancurd, the smell of it turns me off. But curiosity arose in me and also, the little bottle has been sitting in the fridge. It was really worth the try & effort, the whole thing was marvellous. We ate this with plum sauce as a dip. The whole texture is exactly crispy on the outside, soft in the inside. Hubby loves tofu and am glad he likes this. Another keeper recipe in my book. :) Thank U Zu! :)

**"Doo Boo' means 'Tofu' in Korean.

Doo Boo Balls with Breadcrumbs


Coming up next....

Heh heh! Was thinking of ways to cook chicken today. My brain ain't working well today, abit slow also. *Sobsob* Went to browse thru' Edith's blog, saw her Lemongrass Chicken!! Cuz I just bought lemongrass & didn't know what to do with it. *Staring at the blank walls today, sigh, brain just froze... U can imagine how excited I was. I added some dark soy sauce and fresh red chilli to enhance the colour of the dish. Thanks Edith! It was great! Definitely another keeper recipe! :)

Lemongrass Chicken


At the end of the day, I was glad that everything turned out well today. Phew! I wasn't in the mood to cook (while preparing the ingredients, I was thinking I would fail in cooking today as confidence just vanish somehow), brain wasn't working well, and to make things worse, something happened in the afternoon.

I was waiting for my turn to pay the internet bills at the shopping mall. I was there queueing up for more than 15 mins. And this idiotic guy came out of nowhere and cut my queue. That's not all! The most frustrating part was he argued with me that he came 1st, dhuz... was he blind???! In the end, I "debated" loudly with him & he kept quiet. Arrghh! Moral of the story, don't see a small size lady & think she's easily bullied. She can be a chilli padi at times! :P

Saturday, August 12, 2006

A Mixture Of Taste

I was thinking of a vegetable which I haven't been cooking for a donkey years. Guess what it is? It's cabbage. This used to be my favourite vege as my grandma usually cook this with mushroom & oyster sauce. When I was young, I could eat this dish all by itself without any rice going with it. But today, I wanted to try something different instead of using just oyster sauce alone.

So here's another recipe of mine. :)


Cabbage In Hot Bean Paste & Oyster Sauce


Stuffs U Need:
1/2 a cabbage, sliced/shredded
some prawns, devein & deshell
1/2 lean pork, sliced thinly
8pcs chinese preserved mushrooms, soaked & sliced thinly
some carrots strips
1tsp minced garlic
1 small red onion, diced
1 fresh red chilli, de-seed & sliced thinly

Marinade for Pork:
1tsp sesame oil
a pinch of sugar & pepper
1/2tsp chinese 5 spice powder
a drizzle of light soy sauce & hua tiao wine

Marinade for Prawns:
a pinch of sugar
a drizzle of hua tiao wine

Sauce Mixture:
1tbsp oyster sauce
a pinch of sugar
2tbsp spicy bean sauce (dou ban jiang)
10ml water

Way To Cook This:
1) Heat oil in wok, add in garlic & onion, fry till fragrant.
2) Add in mushrooms & carrot strips.
3) Add in lean pork meat, cooked till almost done.
4) Add in cabbage, pour a dash of hua tiao wine & stir well with other ingredients. Simmer till cabbage is soft. (Add some water if it's too dry.)
5) When cabbage is soft, add in prawns & red chilli.
6) Pour in sauce mixture, coat well with other ingredients & serve hot with rice.


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Wanted to try this out but procrastinated till today. Adapted this from a magazine but good me, modified the way of cooking & ingredients again as I was too lazy to bring out my steamer. :P

It has a little sweet & sour taste as plum sauce is used to make the gravy.

Enjoy this Stir Fry Chicken with Piquant Sauce. This is good! :)




Stuffs U Need:
3pcs chicken breasts, sliced
1/2 fresh red chilli, chopped
1 stalk spring onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced finely

Marinade for Chicken:
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp hua tiao wine & 1/4tsp pepper

Sauce Mixture:
previously chopped chilli & garlic.
3tsp sesame oil
3tbsp plum sauce
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tsp white rice vinegar
4tbsp water

Way To Cook This:
1) Marinade chicken for 1/2 an hour.
2) Heat oil in wok, add in chicken to stir fry till almost done.
3) Stir sauce mixture in, mix well with chicken, bring to a boil, simmering for 2-3 mins.

4) Dish out, garnish with spring onions b4 serving.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Let's Go Light!

Singaporeans perhaps call this a wrap, but over here, it's called Shawarma! We had Chicken Shawarma tonight for dinner. :)

Hubby & I love this "HOT BURGER" shop by the road side. A very small shop but with very nice false ceiling. It's a super low cost dinner, a small shawarma cost about Dhs 3 (SG$1.50). So everytime when we feel we don't want to spend too much on a meal, we would normally go for this. :) Fulfilling & delicious everytime without fail. Always love eating this, and they do sell fresh juices too!

I'm glad that this shop is just a street across our home, & thank God that we're staying at the central area which is quite accessible to good food & places too.

How it looks like from the outside...


Fillings inside: Chicken pieces & Lettuce

ChowKing's Home Deliveries

Was too exhausted to make dinner yesterday. Thank God hubby is understanding & we decided to order from ChowKing. It's actually a fillipino chain restaurant which sells chinese food. I realised they love using purple cabbage as their main ingredient. Mmm, quite Ok for me since purple cabbage here is expensive. :)

We ordered...


Wanton Soup


Hot & Sour Soup


Chicken Hakka Noodles


& a...

Nasi Goreng Special


Their egg for nasi goreng's not always the same. Sometimes it's sunny side up, which hubby likes, at times is like the pic above. Oh well, still good afterall! :)

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Double Spicyness In A Macaroni Bowl



Usually I wouldn't take lunch but since I had afew chicken pieces left from last night's dinner, I decided to whip up this Macaroni Chicken Belachan with Tom Yam Flavouring for myself. The tom yam flavouring was taken from "Koka" instant noodle. Nice!

Wonder why I did lunch today? Cuz' I did a 5hour housework & I couldn't 'tahan' that hungriness. Boy, was I super dead beat! Am contented that this simple lunch turned out delicious! :)

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Gracio's Dinner Today!

Okie, before I start blogging, here's a big "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SINGAPORE!". Hubby & I are missing home already.. I wanted to watch the "live" broadcast of SG National Day Parade, but the stupid Mpeg kept buffering non-stop & in the end, I gave up. Arrgghhh... Tuned to Channelnewsasia and there was nothing but news. Dhuz... How disappointed I was.. :(

Bought bean sprouts yesterday, while peeling off the root part of the sprouts, I realised that I didn't buy enough. Haiyo! But found more ingredients in the fridge, so decided this would be a Minced Pork, Bean Sprouts Stir Fry instead. :)




Was at a lost of what to do with the defroze chicken suddenly. Then God gave me an idea to whip up this delicious chicken dish. So happy that it turned out really good. :)

Gracio's Chicken & Prawns In Belachan with Curry Leaves

Ingredients:
afew curry leaves

2pcs chicken breasts, sliced thinly
prawns, devein & de-shell
1pc fresh red chilli, deseeded & sliced

Marinade for Chicken:
a dash of fish sauce
a pinch of sugar, hua tiao wine
1tsp cornflour,
2tsp sesame oil
1tsp chicken marinade by LKK
1tsp garlic, minced finely

Marinade for Prawns:
a dash of hua tiao wine & sugar

Sauce Mixture:
1tsp dark soya sauce
a pinch of sugar
1tbsp water
-------------------
5tsp belachan


Method:
1) Heat oil in wok, add in garlic, fry till fragrant, add in chicken pieces, fry till 70% cooked.
2) Add in sliced red chilli, prawns followed by curry leaves.
3) Add in sambal belachan & stir fry till all is well mixed.
4) Pour in sauce mixture, mix well with other ingredients. Simmer until all is well done. Enjoy!

I really thank God that He gave me talent & passion to cook. :)