Prawn Noodles Soup

Was having a hard time trying to decide what to cook for lunch. Finally decided to get a packet of prawn noodles soup premix to try it out.

If you find that the egg looks a little strange... that's because I tried to 'mould' it into a star shape :P

Verdict:
Simple enough, just add water and the soup is ready. Just add whatever ingredients you may like in your prawn noodles soup. I used bee hoon. Opps, you can't see the bee hoon as it's all covered up by all the other ingredients.

Tastewise, it was a more spicy version of the prawn soup. It tastes better than the average prawn soup noodles you can find at the hawker centre and definitely much more ingredients!

Next time, I should try to make my prawn soup from scratch...

Eu Yan Seng Bak Kut Teh

My father loves to eat Bak Kut Teh. When I was young, I remember my father bringing the family to the coffee shop at Bugis for Bak Kut Teh almost every week. But the stall had to shift as the site was redeveloped. The current site is the empty plot of land next to Bugis Junction.

My father still eat Bak Kut Teh frequently. In Singapore, he would go to Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh at Sin MingRoad. The soup is clear with a huge spare rib and lots of pepper. Not really my kind of Bak Kut Teh. I prefer the darker soup served in claypot with more herbs. In Johore Bahru, there are a lot of coffee shops just serving claypot Bak Kut Teh.

Had tried a few brands of Bak Kut Teh premixes and some of them are quite good. I like Uncle Sun but I think it's expensive at $4.90 a packet. But if you're preparing a big pot of soup for a bigger family, it's a good choice to consider. Since there are so many brands of Bak Kut Teh premixes in the market, I thought I can slowly try them all :P in search of the best Bak Kut Teh premix...

Anyway, I bought a box of Eu Yan Seng Bak Kut Teh last week and finally used it this evening...
Well, when the soup was boiling, it was fragrant, just like bak kut teh should be...

But when I finally got to taste it, I was really disappointed. It was really bland and I can't taste pepper at all. I had to add my own soy sauce and peppercorns. 

Personally, I think it's the worst Bak Kut Teh Premix that I've tried so far. But the worst is yet to come... I still have another 9 packets in the box...

Prima Taste Laksa

I had laksa again :P, this time Singapore's style- Katong style... Unlike the Penang sour version, this is sweeter with coconut milk. Yap, it's a sinful lunch. 

A packet of Prima Taste Laksa Premix, some laksa noodles, prawns, 'tao pok', fishcakes, beansprouts and water...

Katong Prima Taste Laksa

Yummy! But we had to go jogging in the evening to make ourselves feel better...

Woh Hup Nonya Chicken Curry

Tried the Woh Hup's Nonya Chicken Curry Premix (1 for for $2.20 and there was a promotion- 2 for $3.50) last week for lunch. 

It's a drier version of chicken curry, not much of curry gravy. But it was just perfect to go with plain rice for lunch :) Jerome approves of it and I've just bought another 2 packets to stock up :)

Phad Thai Again

Just prepared Phad Thai for lunch today. Think it looked and tasted better than the first time I tried them. This time round, I added a little more tamarind water to make the sauce a little more tangy.

But honestly, I've forgotten how the original Phad Thai should taste like. The last time I tried an authentic one was last Dec when we visited Bangkok. I loved it so much that I had it for almost every meal :P

Well, we'll be going to Phuket this Saturday so it's a great time to catch up on my Phad Thai again :P

Teriyaki Chicken Bento again

When I don't have much time to prepare food, this is what I prepared for lunch.
Basically, just have to marinate the chicken well and put them into the oven to bake.
A quick and tasty meal. Check recipe for the marinade here.

Woh Hup Chicken Curry Premix

Bought a packet of Woh Hup instant chicken curry mix to give it a try. So far I've always used Prima Premix, but it's actually quite expensive , over $6. This Woh Hup Instant Curry is last than $2 as there is a promotion going on. See... I'm becoming an auntie...

Just add a cup of coconut milk/ evaporated milk and a cup of water, chicken and potatoes and an instant transformation to a pot of hot & spicy chicken curry!

This version of the chicken curry is more savory than the Prima Premix. Prima is kind of sweet. Well, I think I still prefer the Prima's version. Anyway we still enjoyed the curry :)
In the morning, I pan-fried some prata to dip in the curry. In the afternoon, we had fried bee hoon that also went well with the curry.

Pineapple Fried Rice & Thai Green Curry

Just prepared pineapple fried rice & Thai Green Chicken Curry for dinner. Had wanted to take a few more better pictures of them but Jerome can't wait to start eating... It is not the first time I had cooked this combination for dinner but it was a long time ago. He said he missed my cooking...

Had wanted to sprinkle some pork floss over but Jerome likes the original flavour.

Opps! The sausages are a little charred...

Thai Green Chicken Curry. 

Should have added some green peas but realized that they have expired :P

The curry mix that I used... 

Just add evaporated milk, chicken and mushrooms...

Stir-fried Hor Fan

Just prepared Stir-fried Hor Fan (my version of 'San Lau Hor Fan') for lunch on this rainy afternoon. Really simple and most importantly, it was tasty :) And I've used my Chinese wok for the 2nd time! The first time was for Pad Thai...

Ingredients:
200g of Hor Fan/ Fresh Fat Rice Noodles ( I bought them for $1 at Cold Storage)
a handful of beansprouts
some chopped garlic
1 fishcake, sliced
1 few slices of fresh fish, seasoned with some light soy sauce and corn flour (optional)
2 eggs
some oil
1 stalk of spring onion, cut into short strips

Seasoning:
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar

Method: (Takes about 10 minutes)
Add about 1 tbsp of oil to the wok. Fry and scramble the eggs and set aside.
Add another tbsp of oil and fry the fish. Set aside.
Add  some chopped garlic, then the beansprouts. Stir fry for a while before adding in the rice noodles.
Add the seasoning (add more according to taste) and stir fry well.
Add all the other ingredients and sir fry for about another 2 minutes.
Turn off the fire and stir in the spring onion.
Serve hot and enjoy :)

Phad Thai

After the trip to Bangkok last Dec, I ate my first plate of Phai Thai and fell in love with it :)

A plate of delightful Pad Thai at a street stall in Bangkok

Another plate of Phad Thai from the food court at the Bangkok Paragon

Another plate of Phad Thai at the airport :P

Upon returning home, I went in search for a recipe to cook this Thai most popular hawker dish. My search on the net led me to Chez Pim's Pad Thai for beginners.   Her very detailed step-by-step instructions were almost over-whelming... I kept it at the back of my mind... thinking of trying it out one of these days...  Then, back to work, no time to experiment in the kitchen and I forgot about it... until...

It's the school hols and a start to a long break, I'm once again looking at food blogs, looking for experiments to conduct in the kitchen... Stumbled into The Little Teochew's blog and read her entry on Chez Pim's Pad Thai and salivated over the photographs of her sinfully good Pad Thai... I knew I had to try the recipe somehow to satisfy my craving!

After reading through Chez Pim's write-up, I've decided to keep my $200+ wok and bought a new $18 stainless steel chinese wok. I tried to season the wok as instructed. I poured in a full cup of oil into the wok and started to 'smoke' out the entire wok. There was so much smoke that Jerome had to come into the kitchen to check if I had set the kitchen on fire :P From a shiny stainless steel wok, I eventually ended up with a dirty/burnt-looking wok. I wonder if this was meant to be... Jerome said I've damaged the wok :P

According to Chez Pim, the Pad Thai will taste good in a seasoned chinese wok. If the wok is well-seasoned, the rice noodles will not stick to the wok. So I guessed my wok was seasoned alright. And the thing about using a seasoned chinese wok is this... you can't wash it with soap! Just a gentle scrub and a rinse of water before putting in back to the fire to dry it up before storing it away. I know I'll be looking for signs of mould the next time I use the wok again...

Anyway, after all the trouble, here's my Pad Thai... looking kinda pale...but fortunately, it tasted good!
 Sorry, but my efforts are really far from Chez Pim's and The Little Teochew's. Look at their pictures of Pad Thai to know what I mean... Will definitely try the recipe again and make some improvements.

My 1st Pad Thai... out from my kitchen...

Pineapple Fried Rice

Just prepared Thai style Pineapple Fried Rice for dinner using a recipe from "Thai Home Cooking", a cookbook I've borrowed from NLB. Had wanted to cook Tom Yam soup but the recipe was missing from the book. Someone had apparently torn out the page with the recipe. Some people are just being so inconsiderate. Actually, I would consider a theft- taking something that does not belong to u.

Anyway, back to the pinapple fried rice, Jerome was totally impressed with it. Maybe it was because I served the fried rice in the pineapple itself. It definitely looks very appetisiing & impressive :P Tastewise, I'm glad that it taste as good as it looks. Jerome said that it was better than the last pineapple fried rice that we've had from a Thai restuarant... Yummy! I couldn't agree more. I should have cooked more rice.

To complete the Thai meal, I served Thai Green Curry & made Mango Ice-Blend. Now, it's a perfect meal!

Jerome's Bigger Half of Pineapple Fried Rice

(Jerome said that this photo didn't do justice to the pineapple fried rice...)

My smaller half of Pineapple Fried Rice

Now, u get a better view of what's in there?

Recipe for Thai Style Pineapple Fried Rice

(adapted from "Thai Home Cooking")

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup of white rice, cooked

1 pineapple

(cut half lengthwise, cut/scoop out the pineapple flesh, pineapple shells to be used to serve fried rice in,

keep about 50g for pineapple fried rice, the rest can be for other uses)

1 tbsp oil

1 chinese sausage, cut into small cubes

1 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/2 tomato, remove soft centre & cut into small cubes

1/2 red onion, chopped coarsely

2 tbsp rasins

Seasoning:

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp light soya sauce

Method:

Heat oil in wok & add in the sausages. Stir fry for a minute & dish up. Set aside.

Add the butter & curry powder to the wok and fry till fragrant.

Add the cooked rice & mix well.

Add the rest of the ingredients & stir fry for a few minutes.

Add seasoning & mix well. Dish up & serve the pineapple rice in the hollow out pineapple.

Top the pineapple fried rice with some pork floss if desired. (I did!)

Enjoy your pineapple fried rice!

Japanese Curry with Pork Cubes

After a lunch of Katsu Chicken, I followed up with a Japanese Pork Curry for dinner :P Today is Japanese food day! Personally, I would have preferred to use chicken meat. Since we had chicken for lunch already, I chose pork instead. Next time, I'll try using beef.  This is a super quick meal, ready in less than half an hour. And the best part, it's tasty!

Japanese Curry Bento

Japanese Curry with Pork & Vegetables

(I added a big onion, a potato, carrot & capsicum)

Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

Easy... Just add water.... & all the ingredients you like...

A recipe is provided at the back of the box. Just get the ingredients that you want ready and your Japanese Curry is just 20 minutes away...

Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce

Just prepared Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce for lunch :) Jerome said this is the best Bento set I've made so far... But then again, he said the same thing when I made the Teriyaki Chicken Bento Set & Tonkatsu & Japanese Curry Bento...

Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce Bento

Close-up of Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce

Recipe for Chicken Katsu

(Makes 4 pieces)

Ingredients:

2 skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp soya sauce

some pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

oil for deep frying

Method:

1) Slice the chicken breasts into halves (to make it thinner for easier cooking) so that you can 4 pieces in the end.

2) Marinade the chicken in soya sauce & pepper.

3) Coat the chicken with flour, then the beaten egg & finally the bread crumbs.

4) Heat oil for deep frying & deep fry the chicken till it's nice & golden brown.

5) Dish up and drain off excess oil on kitchen paper. Cut in pieces & serve hot with some Tonkatsu Sauce & rice.

Tonkatsu Sauce

2 tbsp Worschester Sauce

3 tbsp tomatoe sauce

Just mix the 2 sauces together. Then pour over Chicken Katsu.

Fried Rice 2

Fried rice, just add whatever you like...
This time I added french beans, char siew, luncheon meat, chinese sausage & chinese dried mushroom.
Jerome liked the taste of the mushroom in the fried rice & he said it's the best fried rice I've cooked so far :)

I took this close-up photo using my Sony digital camera. Will take future photos using a proper digital camera instead of using my I-phone.

2 Reasons to use digital camera:
1) Obviously, the pictures are clearer & shows the details.
2) Or else when? The camera has been sitting in the drawer since June when we last had a holiday in Perth...

A Plate of Simple Fried Rice

Bak Chor Mee (Mushroom & Minced Pork Noodles)

Hubby was having a craving for Bak Chor Mee ( a very common hawker dish in Singapore) & wanted me to try cooking it. I have never prepared any Bak Chor Mee before & this creation is based entirely on an experiment. I didn't refer to any recipe, just tried re-creating it based on how it's suppose to taste. And quite pleased with how it turned out & managed to satisfy my hubby's craving :)

Not too bad for a 1st attempt & think I'm going to keep it the way it is. A lot more ingredients in a bowl of noodles than when we can buy from the hawker :)

A bowl of Yummy Bak Chor Mee...

(Why am I feeling hungry again? )

Recipe for Bak Chor Mee ( Mushroom & Minced Pork Dry Noodles)

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

(feel free to change, subjected to individual's taste preference)

(A)

200g Minced Pork (marinade with some light soy sauce, pepper & sesame oil)

5 pcs of chinese dried mushroom, soaked & cut into slices

1 tbps oil

some chopped garlic

200ml water

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

pepper

sesame oil

(B)

200g Mee Pok Noodles

10 pcs fishball

some green leafy green vegetables

Noodle Sauce: (Mix all together in a big bowl)
1 tbsp black vinegar

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp tomatoe sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce

1 tbps sambal chilli

2 tbps water

dash of pepper

Method:

Mushroom & Minced Meat:

1) Heat up 1 tbsp oil in wok. Add mushroom & stir fry. Add water & seasoning. Bring to a boil & cover wok. Allow to simmer for 15mins or till mushrooms are soft. Add minced pork and stir fry till cooked. Add additional seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

Fishballs, Vegetables & noodles

2) Prepare all the sauces for noodles in a bowl. Set aside.

3) Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook vegetables & fishballs. Dish up & set aside.

Loosen up the noodles before dropping them into the water. Cook, dish up & mix noodles well in the prepared sauce.

4) Divide the noodles into 2 bowls & add all the other cooked ingredients. Garnish with some chopped spring onions & serve immediately.

Ban Mian

Prepared Mi Hoon Guei for lunch just so I could play with my cookie cutters :P


Roll dough as flat as possible & cut into desired shapes :)


A plate of cut dough to be cooked... Of course, there's more...


A hot bowl of Ban Mian/Mi Hoon Guei

Recipe for Mi Hoon Guei/ Ban Mian

Ingredients for Flour 'noodles':

(Serves 2)

150g all purpose flour

a pinch of salt

1 egg, beaten

some water

Method:

1. Pour flour into a mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour & pour in the beaten egg. Mix well with hands.

3. Add a little water at a time and mix well until a dough is formed. If it's too sticky, u need to add more flour. If it's too dry, add more water.

4. Let rest for at least 15 mins in the fridge.

5. You can either pull the dough into small flat pieces & cook directly or roll it out and cut into desired shapes.

Stir Fry Chicken with Cashew Nuts

A tasty stir fry chicken dish. Good enough to be part of a 1-dish meal, served with white rice. Great to add on a soup too :)



Recipe for Stir Fry Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Ingredients:
250g chicken breast, cut into thin strips

Marinade:
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce

Others:
1 + 1 tbsp oil
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 glaric cloves, chopped
1 carrot, cut into slices
100g snow peas
100g roasted cashew nuts
60ml water

Method:
1) Marinade chicken for at least 30 mins.
2) Heat oil & cook chicken. Remove & set aside.
3) Heat oil. Saute onion & garlic till fragrant. Add vegetables & fry briefly.
4) Add chicken. Add water. Cook until suace thickens.
5) Add cashew nuts & serve hot.

Chicken Curry (Prima Mix)

Feeling a little lazy, it's already Friday :P Was asking my hubby this morning whether it's Wed or Thurs. Almost couldn't believe him when he said it's Friday already. So pulled out a box of "Curry Chicken" Prima Pre-Mix from a corner of the cupboard to prepare a super quick meal of curry chicken for dinner :)



Just have to marinate the chicken (with soya sauce & pepper) before hand for that extra flavour. It's really super easy. Follow instructions on the box. Just add water, potatoes & chicken. And in less than 30 mins, you'll get a delicious pot of chicken curry :)


A bowl of fragrant chicken curry, great with rice, bread, fried bee hoon, roti prata etc...

It looks spicy, but it's actually not. There's an extra packet of chilli powder to spice up the curry if you like. I'll usually prepare the curry for dinner & serve with rice. I'll keep the remaining curry in the refrigerator, heat it up in the morning & serve it with bread. My husband just love to dip soft white bread into the curry and eat it. Me too! :)

Fried Hor Fan with Gravy

Fried Hor Fan with Gravy
(acknowledgement: photo taken by hubby. He always say that he's the better photographer...)

Just prepared this for lunch :) An easy 1-dish meal to prepare at home.

Recipe for Fried Hor Fan with Gravy
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:

(A)
1 packet of fat hor fan ($1)
dark soya sauce
sesame oil

(B) For Gravy
1 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
500ml of water
6 fresh prawns
2 pieces of fish cakes, sliced
(Other ingredients u may want to add: sliced chicken/pork meat, fresh squid, crab stick,etc)
some green leafy vegetables (eg. cai xin)
1 egg, beaten
Seasoning: oystersauce, soy sauce, chicken stock grandules, sesame oil
corn starch water for thickening (cornfour mix with water)

Method:
1) Heat up wok. Fry the hor fan. Add dark soya sauce & sesame oil.
Mix well. Dish up & set aside.
(There's no need to add extra oil as there's oil on the hor fan already.)
2) Heat up 1 tbsp oil in the wok. Fry the chopped garlic till fragrant. Add water & put to boil. Add prawns, then vegetables & fishcake & cook. Add in beaten egg. Add seasoning to individual preference. Add corn starch water to thicken the gravy. Pour the hot gravy over the fried hor fan. Serve immediately. Serve with preserved green chilli.

Fried Rice

A Humble Plate of Fried Rice

A simple 1-dish meal, the fried rice is good for luch or dinner. Add whatever ingredients you can find @ home and create your plate of coulourful & flavourful fried rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup of white rice, cooked

1 clove of chopped garlic

1 tbsp of oil

1 piece of char siew, cut into small cubes

1 piece of chinese sausage cut into small cubes

some luncheon meat/ spam , cut into small cubes

a slice of fried salted fish, cut into very small pieces

1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables, defroze ( * use fresh corn & french beans & carrots for better taste)

2 eggs, beaten

Seasoning: soya sauce, sesame oil, pepper

Method:

1) Heat oil in wok. Fry chopped garlic till fragrant.

2) Add in vegetables to be cooked first. (The rest of the ingredients are pretty cooked already).

3) Add rice, then the beaten eggs.

4) Add seasoning & mix well. Taste & add additional seasoning as needed.

5) Served hot & garnish with chopped spring onion & fried crispy shallots.

* Can add a sunny side-up or serve with a bowl of soup or just simply good on its own. :)