Post #97

i have always loved the simplicity in japanese cuisine. when it comes to late night comfort food, this one i've always wanted to give it a try - rice ball in clear soup.

my rice balls wrapped tightly in glad wrap - mixture of cooked rice, tinned smoked salmon pieces, dried seaweed, jap dried pickles and togarashi chilli powder.



here, my failed attempt to pan fry those rice balls :( i was trying to get a crispy crust by pan frying the outside of the rice ball, but it could be because i didnt use japanese rice (which should be stickier) and the ball wasn't holding tight enough, it started to fall apart v soon after i fiddled with it :(



ok, lets hope i do something right with the soup base. i mixed konbu dashi stock with hot water, and thrown in a japanese rice tea bag :)



so finally, the final product - it was yummy but i could have added more tea leaves :)


-Smoked salmon rice ball in clear tea soup-

Post #96

so, remember the masterchef ribs from a while ago?! there's some tasty sauce left from those ribs, not a lot, but i felt sinful to pour it down the drain! lots of goodness went into that thick sauce - beautiful spices like cinnamon, paprika and bay leaves were used, and almost a bottle of malt vinegar AND 125ml of whisky!!

because the sauce has a sweet and tangy flavour, i immediately thought of making a tagine out of it, with a little moroccan influence in my mind.


-Chicken tagine with red capsicum + zucchini-

so to dilute the thick concentrated sauce, i added tomato and a small dash of water. as the chicken pieces simmer in the sauce, i added some marinated red capscium pieces into the pan, then some thickly chopped zucchini and chopped mint. before dishing up, throw in a handful of saltana and some more chopped mint, and place 2 lime wedges on top.

also made a simple couscous - throwing in some chopped marinated red capsicum, saltana and chopped mint, and a mint yoghurt - simply mixing finely chopped mint into plain yoghurt and a small squeeze of lemon juice.



and an orange salad with mint infused orange honey syrup!

Post #95

tried an unusual combo - the idea came to me one day when i was waiting for the train. funny how i spend my waiting time :) not wasted tho!!

at hubby's mum's place, we often have steamed salmon and tofu, arranged in alternate slices. i've always wanted to try that!! so with a small piece of barramundi, a packet of tofu and one small bitter melon, i cut each of them into similar slices, blanched the bitter melon pieces, then arranged them into alternate patterns on a plate.

like so:


the only challenge is - how on earth can you have the same number of pieces of every ingredient?!?! i had to sneak a piece here and there, but still ended up with a lot of bitter melon leftover.


-Steamed barramundi tofu + bitter melon with garlic + black bean sauce-

with the remaining tofu, i made a tofu and century old egg cold dish. simply stack some big squares of tofu and scatter with some century old egg wedges, then pour over sauce with soy, vinegar, sugar, grated garlic, sesame oil and a few drops of chilli oil. one thing i noticed from the grated garlic. if you leave it in the sauce for a while, it will actually make the sauce sticky. a bit like the stickiness you see with japanese natto!! and make sure the tofu is COLD~!


-Cold tofu + century old egg with soy vinegar chilli sauce-

Post #94

been v slack with food posting... but i havent been slack with cooking! although i havent been cooking as frequently as i normally would.

have tried out a few recipes with mixed results. this is one of them.

it all started with some discounted fresh corn... coupled with seeing some photos of ribs that my cousin cooked for fathers day, which led to the idea of cooking pork ribs to go with the corn!! then gary's *from masterchef* sticky ribs recipe came to mind! drooling :p~~


-Sticky pork ribs-

three things went v wrong with my ribs... firstly the ribs that sis bought were extremely thick. secondly i forgot to sear the ribs before placing them in the oven for braising *bad bad of me*. thirdly i dont have a heavy duty roasting pan as recommended by gary... the combined result is that what took gary to braise in 1.5 hours took me 4 hours... =.=#

the ribs have a v nice sweet and sour taste to it, and a hint of spiciness from the chilli. as nice as it was, i cant really justify the 4-hour-non-stop-braising in the oven... so may not cook again.

preparing the corn:


-Baked butter corn-

so simple and should work with bbq too! unwrap the skin but without pulling them out, give the corn a good wash, then pat dry and brush some butter on it, and sprinkle with a bit of salt. wrap the skin back, and place in the oven! easy! the corns were soooooo sweet~~~!!!

Post #93

Bought a big big box of beef bulgogi from the butcher shop for some lazy korean "cooking" - " " because not much cooking was involved.... hehe. made a pot of rice with beef bulgogi and chinese mushrooms. too simple.

actually, feeling a bit ashamed as i write this post. ;p

process involved:
boil the rice.
cook the beef bulgogi.
slice up the chinese mushrooms *these are steamed donated by mum!*
heat up the korean pot, put some rice in.
place some beef on top.
then the mushrooms.
sprinkle some chopped shallots.
crack an egg.

and....


-Beef bulgogi and chinese mushroom rice-

Post #92

had a bunch of thyme in the fridge, so before it dies, i did a search on gourmet traveller for thyme and found a simple recipe for lamb. was going to buy the usual french cuts, but changed my mind when i saw a rack of lamb cutlets. never tried cooking the whole rack before, so was slightly excited :)

took the mortar n pestle out for some herb bashing :) first the garlic, then some thyme leaves, pinch of salt and pepper, some finely chopped chilli, mix with grated lemon zest and olive oil to form a marinade paste. slab half of the marinade on the lamb rack, then pan fry it. like so:



after both sides are seared, place the rack on a baking dish and shove it in the oven.

in the meantime, lets deal with this humongous mushroom donated by sis *she told me she couldnt resist when she saw it, she just had to buy it* so lets give it a bit more love and care ;p

relativity - so we know how big this mushroom is :)



bit of salt + pepper, garlic, thyme, and a drizzle of oil, then shove into the oven. when its hot and shrunken a little *so its pretty much cooked through*, add some crumbled feta, some more thyme leaves and finely chopped chilli, and bake for another 5 minutes or so.


-Baked mushroom with feta, thyme + chilli-

now back to the lamb!! the lamb should be nicely pink when the meat feels firm and not wobbly in the oven. whilst the meat is resting, pour the remaining marinade into a pan, add lemon juice to make a liquid sauce.


-Lamb rack with lemon + thyme-

the meat is soooo tender compared to the pan fried version *tho pan frying takes less time* and the flavours worked really well together. i wont worry about buying a big bunch of thyme next time!!! :)

Post #91

every now and then i'd come up with some strange food ideas... sometimes the combo would work surprisingly nicely, sometimes horridly badly, and other times sitting somewhere in between.

this is one of those strange combos that fits into that last category, perhaps acceptably delicious, but probably would not make again.


-Steamed egg custard with puree pumpkin & chinese mushrooms-

the elements are fine separate, but i'm not sure what it is... maybe the textures dont go v well together. hm... o well, it was kinda fun anyway :)

also pan fried some pork chop with lemongrass and garlic.  the fragrance of lemongrass is always irresistibly addictive - absolutely love it.  and the best way to get maximum flavour out of lemongrass is by bashing it in a mortar n pestle! chopping simply cannot achieve the same result and lemongrass is actually quite woody if you dont bash and bruise it.


-Pork chop with lemongrass + garlic-

Post #90

havent cooked fish for a while so i bought a piece of salmon fillet for some omega 3 and iron goodness :) was originally thinking chinese style with soy, shallot and ginger, then something else crossed my mind. why not do it thai style and finish off the mint and the lime in the fridge?


-Salmon with cherry tomato + Thai sauce-

pan fry the fish fillet first till the bottom is golden, then chuck in a handful of cherry tomatoes. for the sauce, mix fish sauce and a dash of sesame oil, some water and brown sugar, then pour the sauce into the pan. add a few sliced chilli and some chopped mint. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer until the fish is pink. Dish out and add some more chopped mint and shallot on top. Serve with a lime segment.

v tasty dish. and a nice change from the classic soy, shallot and ginger.