Ayam kecap manis

I love how this dish turns out on photo. Somehow the sauce thickens so nicely and clings itself to the onions and chicken pieces. It's very easy to prepare too, and a good alternative to our usual soya sauce or oyster sauce chicken. ABC sauce is also readily available at most supermarkets.

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Thighs, cut into chunks
1 white onion, roughy cut
2-3 teaspoons of garlic
ABC brand kecap manis sauce to taste
Light soya sauce to taste
White pepper
Water for simmering
Cooking oil


Directions:
- heat up cooking oil and add garlic. When brown, add in onions and fry till the onion sweats.
- add chicken and all balance seasoning, stir fry well and add some water to simmer
- cover wok to simmer for about 15mins, stirring occasionally

Review: Best Lu Mien In Town

What a name! But it sure lives up to its name. Some people swear by the bukit purmei lor mee but I dislike the fact that there's no fish. For this stall, they have generous chunks of fish and fried fritters (well, we ordered the $3 + $0.50 fish version). Very yummy and satisfying!

Best Lu Mian In Town

91 Whampoa Drive

#01-19 Whampoa Drive Makan Place Block 91

Possibly closed on Mondays, and maybe Tuesdays

Cooking for 1

Cooking for 1 can be challenging. Pasta is always a good option but how to get it to taste good, especially for tomato based ones?

Leftovers to the rescue! I froze some lamb shank a while with the hope it can be a good rainy day reserve food. Alas! Hubby doesn't take well to leftovers so my leftover practically sat in my fridge of death for months.

Today I reheated the lamb shank to use as filling for 3 mini lamb pies, our breakfast tomorrow. The balance my maid took bulk of the meat (darn!) and left me with only scraps and sauces.

Better than nothing cos the sauce is the thing infused with stock, herbs and lamb juices. So I tossed some penne with it and wala! A simple yet elaborate looking one meal emerges!

2nd dish was potato, carrots and mushroom consommé :) balance of my girl's soup.

Nitsuke hamachi head

Lovingly cooked by our good friend!

My hangover reliever

Had quite a few glasses of sake with my girlfriend last night, and ended up with a mild hangover. Girlfriend took chrysanthemum tea and Chinese tea, not sure if that worked for her. I gulped down a can of Jia Jia herbal tea in a rush to go for story telling for my girl's class. But that only temporarily quenched my thirst and dehydration.

I needed food. Real food with a kick. We went to the Ghim Moh market and shared porridge and char kway teow. Both were nice but I didn't have enough! My appetite grows when I have hangovers.... Haha.

So I decided to cook my ultimate comfort food for lunch - Shin Ramen instant noodles with peas, corn, tomato, egg and vege. I'm halfway through the bowl now, but that should do!

the culprit :)

Strawberry Cupcakes

I'm a master at agar-ation. When it comes to stir fry or braised dishes, that skill comes in pretty handy as I'll adjust the dish to taste

Looks and tastes more like strawberry kueh :(

Undaunted, my second attempt!

Spaghetti Carbonara

On a hot Saturday during a swim, my hubby asked me to whip up a simple lunch.  He wanted to have carbonara... and I had to quickly rummage through my pantry and fridge for ingredients and had my maid prepare them while i swam.

Glad the impromptu effort turned out well and got the thumbs up!  Only thing is, I forgot to take a photo!

And in the haste, I have totally forgotten what are the quantities.... :p

Ingredients:
Spaghetti or any preferred pasta
Olive oil
Garlic
Shittake Mushrooms
Sausage or Bacon
2 eggs, well beaten
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
White wine

Directions:

• Cook pasta till al dente, drain dry and set aside
• Heat up garlic in olive oil
• Add mushrooms and bacon / sausage
• Add white wine
• Stir fry till meats cooked and wine evaporated
• While stir frying, beat the eggs and add in grated parmesan cheese.  Add salt and pepper into egg mixture
• Toss pasta into the pan with the meats, until well mixed
• Switch off stove
• Pour beaten egg mixture and toss till evenly mixed

Note:

• Local carbonara is rather smooth and milky without any "scrambled egg" clinging onto the pasta.  When we went to Italy, their carbonara is with the egg bits.  I personally prefer the local smooth carbonara, but my recipe yielded the eggy bits one.  Perhaps I left the stove on still after pouring in the mixture or perhaps there's yet another way to achieve the smoothness.  Will continue to research!

Hmmm, too little sauce! 

Mental note : penne needs a lot more sauce compared to spaghetti! 

Mac and cheese

Finally found a mac and cheese recipe that I liked and willing to try after a few years of looking around.  Turned out very yummy!

Adapted from Wokkingmum

i like the slightly burnt topping :)

Ingredients (for 1 portion only):

• 60g Macaroni

• 50g Chopped Ham
• Half cup of green peas

• 1-2 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

Sauce:

• 15g Butter

• 100ml Milk

• 50ml Water

• 1 tablespoon All Purpose Flour

• 2 slices Cheddar Cheese

• 1 slice Regular Cheese

How to do it:

• Cook macaroni in salted water according to the package or till just done.
• Pour them in a oven proof dish and set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan on low heat. Butter should not be burning.
• Gradually add in the flour and whisk till smooth.
• Turn up the heat to medium low and gradually add in the milk while whisking.
• Repeat the same for the water.
• Add in the ham and green peas.
• Melt the cheese in the sauce till all has blend in.
• Pour the sauce over the cooked macaroni. Mix them if you like.
• Top it with Parmesan Cheese.
• Baked in a preheated oven at 220c for 10 mins.
• Serve hot.

Notes:

• Do not cook the roux (butter with flour) in high heat as it will burn and the roux will turn dark.

• The amount of water add depends on how thick you want the sauce to be. Hence, add gradually and stop adding if you think the sauce is thin enough for you.

• Recipe recommends to use 2 slices of cheddar cheese with 1 slice of regular or mozzarella. You can have any combination you like.
• For kids portion, it's about 45g of macaroni, 1 sausage, 2 slices of cheese, 1 tbsp butter, less than 100g milk 

Thai Basil Pork on Rice with Sunny Side Up

The Simple quick lazy one dish meal that is so oomph and satisfying!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp chilli padi (already cut up) - add more if you like it hot!
1/2 onion, sliced
300gm minced pork meat
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
pinch of white pepper
10 leaves of basil, stems removed (1 used one box of basil for about 600gm of pork)

Method:
Heat up pan until hot.
Add the oil and garlic and stir fry until until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the onions and chillis and continue stir frying until the onions have "sweated".
Add the minced pork.
Season with the fish sauce, sugar and white pepper.
Continue cooking until the mixture is dry.
Add the basil and toss a couple of times until the leaves are wilted and bright green.

Serve the basil pork with rice and a sunny side up egg on top.

so upset that my hand shook while taking this shot