Sweet and sour clams (lala)

Last Saturday (24/04/2010), I went to visit my friend's new house. We all brought some food there for dinner.I guess this is a time that I can try my mom's sweet and sour clams recipe.


Main ingredient:

some clams (with shell or none)


To taste/source:

garlic
small onions
ginger
chilli padi
bean paste (mean cee)
sugar
salt
ketchup
cooking oil

The way:

Mince garlic, small onions and some ginger finely. A bit of the hot stuff (chilli padi) too. Heat up the oil in the pan.Fry the garlic, small onions, ginger, and chilli and bean paste until fragrant. Put in some sugar to balance the bean pastesstrong flavour. Dilute ketchup with water and pour into the pan, adjust the amount accordingly until the whole mix is alittle thick. Mix in the lala and stir to coat the source onto them. Leave to simmer and add salt to taste. Serve warm.

Love letters or "Kuih kapit"

Chinese New Year 2010, let me write about the type of cookies that I assist my family made.

Main ingredient:

3/4 of baking flour

6 large eggs

3 old coconut (juiced)

To taste:

Sugar

The way:

Mix all 3 main ingredients together. Make sure there are no lumps. Add sugar to taste. Add water to the batter to be sure that it is no too thick. Heat up the plates with some oil (in the picture). Once the plate is hot, scoop some batter onto the plate and clamp down the plates.Check the plates regularly making sure the batter brown nicely before removed them out and usually fold them into triangle.

Chicken Breast Tomato Stew

I read this recipe sometime ago but had to do with what I had from my cold box.

Main ingredient:
chicken breast skinned
cherry tomato
baby carrot
mushrooms (any type but i used oyster)
potato

To taste:
olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic
rosemary
capers
anchovy
red onion
red wine
chicken stock

The way:
Cut chicken breast to strips, cut potato to small cubes(cook faster)Brown chicken breast with some rosemary. Set a side afterward. Then stir fry the garlic,red onion, capers , anchovy, mushrooms and potato until fragrant.Then add the chicken breast, cherry tomato, baby carrot, red wine and chicken stock. Simmer for 15 mins add salt and papper for taste.Serve warm.

Spaghetti salad

This is my second entry for this blog after so long. This just shows thatI have not been cooking for some time now. Anyway, let me share this yummy,crunchy, fresh, easy and healthy meal.


Main ingredient:
Spaghetti
cherry tomato
leafy vege for salad

To taste:
cooking oil
garlic
salt
pepper
balsamic vinegar
thyme - optional
basil - optional







The way:
Get ready a salad bowl. Cut Cherry tomatoes into halves and put these into the bowl.Crush some of the cut tomatoes. Cut the leafy vege and put them into the same bowl.Cut garlic into small cubes and put them into the bowl. A pinch of salt and pepper for taste.Drip some balsamic vinegar and about a teaspoon of cooking oil. If you have otherherbs like thyme and basil, chuck them into the mix. Mix them well and you get this fresh and fragrant salad.Put the spaghetti into boiling salted water, all it takes is about 10-15 mins to cook.When it is cooked and while it is still hot, mix the spaghetti into the salad.
Your are ready to eat....

Steam chicken breast with crunchy veges

My first recipe - I call it "Steam chicken breast with crunchy veges".

Main ingredients:
1 skinless chicken breast
A few french beans
A few baby carrots (actually any carrots)

To taste:
garlic
lemon
pepper
salt
butter
thyme

Others:

Alumminium foil


The Way:
Cut french beans into about an inch length (easier to cook). I use baby carrots, so no cutting needed. Score lines onto the chicken breast (easier to cook). Put all three into a large bowl. Add 1 knob of butter, a good pinch of salt and pepper, 1 clove of thinly sliced garlic, some thyme leaves, 1/2 lemon juice, a bit of finely chopped lemon zest (not too much as it will over power the taste), 1/2 cup of white wine and a few drops of cooking oil. Mix them well. Create a leak proof bag using an alumminium foil. Seal the mix into the foil. Use a steel plate to hold the bag (in case there is leakage). Place it into the steamer (wok + water). Make sure it is already steaming hot when you place the alumminium bag into it. (note: it is steam not boil, so the bag + plate should be on a stand above the water NOT in the water). Steam about 10 minutes (depends on the size of the chicken breast). Serve warm.

When I first opened the cooked alumminium bag, the smell was just great. The taste mixed well and the color of orange (carrot), green(french beans), white (chicken) and some yellow (garlic slices) was very inviting.

Dig in...

Finally, I found a reason to blog. I know what I would like to write about. I like food but I would not write about food that I ate from a stall or a restaurant but I would love to write about food that I manage to cook myself. Learn the recipes from someone or somewhere and try to cook it myself with a little twist.