A Simple Dinner @ Kok Thai Restaurant

A simple dinner at Kok Thai Restaurant..the 1st dish - Pork Ribs In Sweet Sauce , 2nd dish - Egg Omelette With Prawns & Shredded Carrots , 3rd dish- Stir Fry Mixed Veggies - made up of lotus root, broccoli, water chestnut, gingko nuts, carrots and lots of macadamia nuts and the 4th dish - Braised Tofu With Petola and Button Mushrooms and the 5th dish -Steamed Chicken In Wine ( sorry no picture coz I was so engrossed chomping down these deliciousness I forgot to snap that dish :p ) and dessert was sweet soup of Longan and Coconut. Total cost of the dinner is RM150 for ten person. Mmmmm quite cheap considering 5 dishes and 1 dessert. It was not so much about the quality of food but the fellowship we had together with my church friends that matter. We had a wonderful time together and that is most important :)) I look forward to all this gatherings where we can have fun and a lot laughter together. :))

Pork Ribs In Sweet Sauce

Egg Omelette With Prawns , Onion Rings & Shredded Carrots

Stir-Fry Mixed Veggies

Braised Tofu With Petola & Button Mushrooms

Dessert

Enjoy!

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Braised Chinese Cabbage With Dried Scallops II

This is another dish that we looooove ! Braised Chinese Cabbage With Dried Scallops....a dish I would normally cook for Chinese New Year for our reunion dinner but I can't wait till CNY :p When the Piggies were back for the year end holidays I took the opportunity to cook it :))) braised with lots of dried scallops and dried chinese mushrooms. It is even more tasty when a piece of dried cuttle fish is added to the pot while braising the chinese cabbage. Mmmm the aroma wafting out from the pot will make you think you are at the back portion of a chinese restaurant :)) This is one dish that you may want to add to your CNY reunion dinner menu ; )))

pan sear the chinese cabbage till soft with some oil and garlic

dried scallops and dried chinese mushrooms

are the best ingredients for braising

together with the cabbage

great combo that will have

you craving for more (",)

when serving this dish, arrange the cabbage at the

bottom and the mushrooms and scallops on top

Aad in the hot gravy soup when ready to serve

this a very tasty and flavorful dish

served with a bowl of hot white rice

Braised Chinese Cabbage With Dried Scallops

Ingredients:

1 large chinese cabbage - washed, drained and cut into halves

some olive oil

1/2 piece of dried cuttle fish

12 pieces of dried chinese mushrooms - soaked & cut into halves

100 gm of dried scallops ( small type )

6 pips garlic - lightly crushed

oyster sauce

1 tbsp of chinese cooking wine

1/2 litre of water - for braising

thickening

corn four

water

salt to taste

Method:

Pan sear the chinese cabbage in a non- stick pan till soft. Take out and leave aside.

In a wok, saute garlic till fragrant , add in cuttle fish, mushrooms and dried scallops and stir fry for 10 minutes. Add in 1/2 litre of water and simmer till mushrooms are soft . Add in oyster sauce., chinese wine , the pan seared cabbage and braise till the flavorful gravy has infused into the cabbage. Add thickening last and salt to taste. Serve hot.

* When serving this dish, arrange the cabbage at the bottom and the mushrooms and scallops on top. Pour the gravy last.

Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend :))

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Steamed Red Tilapia With Hot And Sour Plum Sauce

I love fish either steamed or baked. The ladies in the family love fish and veggies whereas the guys are carnivores oooopppps I mean meat eaters :p I bought a red tilapia from Tesco the other day... 1 kilo costs RM12.90 The fishes were swimming happily in the glass tank until this Momsie sealed their fate :p haha needless to say I chose the best out of the whole lot. The happiest ' Nemo ' in there caught my attention. Her fate was sealed and out of her cozy water world into my hot steamer ;p God created them as food so I am not going to feel guilty about it :pp

Piggy gal loves it steamed with hot and sour plum sauce so be it coz she seldom gets to eat it in college. Her wishes are my command as usual but no worry, next time my wishes will be her command * wink wink ( read this Piggy gal ! )

sweet Nemo waiting to be dressed :))

dressed in hot and sour plum sauce paste

steam for 10-12 minutes...under high heat

garnish with italian parsley ( from the garden )

or spring onions

this piece of meat near the head is the best part

the smoothest part of the fish...I could not resist taking

a picture of it...mmmmm delicious !

So we had this sweet tasty steamed fish all to ourselves while the guys had their favourite dishes served to them like warlords......will post up the other dishes in the coming posts :) Try guessing what the dishes are by looking at the 1st picture of this post . For your information, I slogged the whole day in my office kitchen preparing these dishes for them. Supermom or not ?:))))

Steamed Red Tilapia With Hot & Sour Plum Sauce

Ingredients:

1 red tilapia - abt 750 gm

sauce:

1.5 tbsp fermented soy bean

3 pips garlic - chopped

2 tbsp sour plum sauce

4 bird's eye chillies - chopped

2 slices of ginger - julienne

1 tbsp of olive oil

Method:

Heat up the steamer under high heat till the water boils before putting in the fish.

Mix the above sauce ingredients together into a paste. Place fish on a steaming dish and pour the sauce over the fish. Steam the fish under high heat for 10-12 minutes till fish is just cooked. Over steaming will cause the fish to be tough. Garnish with italian parsley or spring onions.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

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Spicy Chickpeas

I love to snack....and my Piggies takes after me. Snacking is good provided the food is healthy :p and this spicy chickpeas is one healthy snack for old and the young. Normally , we eat them plain without any spices added but since I spotted this recipe in Zurin's blog I knew I have to try it out one day. And it has been in my To Do List for some time and finally today I got it done. It is spicy hot and I love the subtle aroma of mustard seeds and dried chillies and the curry powder infused into the chickpeas makes it more flavorful. A delectable snack for Daddy and myself....watching drama and munching away...this is what life is all about. Work hard and play hard and eat heartily ....LOL!

Thanks Zurin for sharing this wonderful spicy chickpeas recipe. Daddy and I love it. Everything about it is perfect. Taste and flavor ! Enjoyed the snacks and the movie too :pp

a flavorful and tasty spicy chickpeas

I can't stop eating them the moment I started the first few peas

it is addictive...so make sure you make enough...

for the family :)))

Spicy Chickpeas ( adapted from Cherry On A Cake)

Ingredients

500 gm cooked chickpeas, or canned
3-5 dried chillies, snipped into rings
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
a handful of curry leaves
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tsp chillie powder (optional)
2 Tbsp cooking oil

If you have bought raw chickpeas, rinse them in cold water, let the grit run out and soak overnight. The next morning rinse off the water. The chickpeas would have swelled to twice its size. Boil them in pot of water seasoned with some salt and sugar. The water level should be well above the chickpeas. It will probably take about an hour or more. Test for tenderness.When it is tender all the way through it is done and ready to be fried. Drain the chickpeas and keep aside in a colander.

In a pan large enough, heat up the oil. Fry the dried chillies, until fragrant, drain. Then fry the curry leaves until fragrant and crisp, drain. Fry the mustard seeds until fragrant then add the fried chillies, fried curry leaves, a teaspoon of tumeric powder, the chillie powder, if using, and the chickpeas. Add salt and sugar and stir quickly until just well mixed. Do not fry too long otherwise the chickpeas will get a little tough on the outside. Adjust the salt if necessary and the sugar too. Serve.

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Cute Piggy Shaped Cutting Board - Oinky

I jumped with joy, heart beat escalated faster than ever...I hold on to it like holding my baby...yup my ' new baby'... a cute Piggy shaped cutting board given to me by Piggy Cuz who went to Singapore recently for her year end vacation. And I can guessed that the first thing on her mind when she sets her eyes on it was this " Ohhhh...nice for the Piggy clan " LOL! so we got it as a NY gift from dear Piggy Cuz. I looooove it and I am sure when the Piggies see this they will squeal with delight ! A new accessory for my kitchen....I love anything with Piggy design. 

so cute .....

a smiling one too.....

Thank you Piggy Cuz for this awesome gift. I will not use it as a cutting board but will use it as a pastry board instead. The line measurement at the side is good for measuring pastry size :p

Once again thank you and

a big hug for you and

a muax :)))

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Fruit Cake

I spent most of my time in the kitchen during my annual leave. At times like this, I would prefer to eat out all day but because Piggy boy requested for home cooked dishes so this Momsie had to oblige - I guess he miss my cooking and my bakes (",) Baking cheesecake for the Piggies took up most of my time but needless to say I was thrilled to bits and delighted coz the fact remains they still crave for my cooking :p - I can still hang on to my apron then , LOL!

Do hang around here, I will upload the dishes I cooked for drooling when time permits. At the moment, I am trying to rest my right hand as much as possible...I think I sprained my right wrist while doing some house chores a few days ago...forgotten for a moment that I am not a real ' Supermom ' but just a title bestowed on me by my readers LOL!

Took some relaxant pills, it helps a bit but I still need to rest the wrist... best time to take a rest in baking....and watch some movies :).... I can be stubborn at times especially when the desire to bake is too great. By the way , I received a great dessert book from the Piggies...so look like no retirement from cooking after all :p

Talking about movies...we watched the movie " Legend of 1900 " at home in comfort before the Piggies went back to college and it was indeed a good movie. ourfirst movie for Twenty Ten and we watched together as a family without me dozing off to slumberland so it has to be good :p

Back to this fruit cake... I made this fruit cake two weeks before Christmas, kinda late but better than not baking at all. I was too busy baking other cakes for friends :))) I soaked the fruits in rum but drizzled barandy over it every week till Twenty Ten came along and we ate this while watching the movie. Brandy flavoured fruit cake and those rum soaked fruits in the cake was indeed something to remember by. I would like to thank Gertrude of Mykitchensnippets for sharing this recipe on her blog. I love everything about the cake. The taste, texture and sweetness were perfect for my tastebuds, a neither too rich nor light fruit cake and I will definitely bake this again. For those who wrote to me asking for a rum fruit cake, this is a perfect one. I am sorry I could not share this earlier becoz I just found this beautiful one on her blog a few weeks before Christmas. Do hop over to her blog for more recipes. I go there for my daily dose of inspiration :)

the best fruit cake I have ever baked :)

Fruit Cake - adapted from My Kitchen Snippets

Ingredients :

600 gm of mixed dried fruits (currants, sultanas, pineapple, apricots, etc)
1/2 cup of dark rum.

250 grms of butter
1 cups of dark brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking powder
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

1) Soak the dry fruits with rum for a week in the refrigerator
2) Prepare a baking tin and lined with double parchment paper
3) Cream butter and sugar until creamy
4) Add in eggs one at a time till well mix before adding another egg
5) Mix in the lemon and orange zest
6) Add in soak dry fruits and then fold in sifted flour and baking powder
7) Pour batter into prepared cake tin.
8) Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree F oven for 1 1/2 hour or until centre is firm to touch.
9) Let the cake cool in the tin before removing the cake.

Note: Drizzle it with rum or brandy at least once a week. Wrap it up properly with aluminium foil. It can keep up to 3 months in the fridge.

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