I whipped these dishes up on the day when our dear part-time helper called me on the dot at the time she was supposed to turn up to say that she's not turning up. All because of the rain, DUH! I could not believe she did this to me again!
If only she could just give me ample time, I could have easily completed all the chores at my own pace from the morning, all spaced out and carried out leisurely, instead of cramping up all the chores to be done only at 6pm. That's the time when my batteries are already three quarter emptied ok, having had started my day at 4:45am. Really pissed off with her as this is not the first time she did this to me, despite many reminders from me to never give me short notice for not turning up for work.
Anyway, I told myself to remain cool and calm. I spewed out orders to my girls to START WORK RIGHT AWAY. Anyone who dares defy the orders will have to bear the brunt of the tiger's wrath, which is all iGadgets to be confiscated, TV remote control confiscated and don't they dare ask me for money!
So boom bang bang, they hurriedly helped to sweep the floor, mop the floor, keep the laundry and fold the laundry whilst I cooked.
I dished up a grilled boneless sesame chicken thigh.
Sauteed organic baby 'lai park' veggie with minced tau cheong, minced garlic, onions and fresh button mushrooms.
I grilled enough chicken for the girls' lunch the next day.
Ingredients for grilled sesame chicken thighs:
Marinate chicken thighs with:
Soy sauce
Minced ginger (I used freshly grated ginger and ginger sauce from our regular chicken rice stall)
A dash of Chinese cooking wine
Sesame seed oil
Pepper
Instead of hoisin sauce, which is used in most recipes, I replaced it with liquid palm sugar, which is a healthier alternative. Do note that hoisin sauce contains flavor enhancer and a string of unhealthy ingredients in it.
Sesame seeds
Chopped scallions
Preparation
1. In a medium bowl, combine all the above ingredients and mix well.
2. Wash chicken thighs and place into bowl of sauces for marinate. You can also use chicken wings, drummets or drumsticks.
3. Instead of grilling the chicken on a charcoal grill, I grilled it in the oven, on an oven tray lined with aluminum foil I always choose the fastest and easiest alternative :D
4. Grill chicken for 15 minutes and baste with remaining marinate sauce and more liquid palm sugar / honey. Turn chicken thighs over and baste again and grill for another 15-20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and scallions.
This is another recipe which everyone in the family will love. Grill extra for the next day lunch or dinner. Happy trying! :)
I have lost count on the number of times I had attempted to dish out the 'silky smooth steamed egg' dish but each time I did, I failed! Sometime I failed so miserably that I vowed not to try it again, only to try it yet again when the littlest one kept bugging me to order steamed egg each time we have dinner outside. Yes, steamed egg is Cass' number 1 favorite dish. In fact, this girl just loves eggs cooked in any style but her top favorite has got to be steamed egg Chinese style and Chawan Mushi (Japanese style).
I have Googled for steamed egg recipes several times in the past but the recipes that I followed did not reveal the ultimate tricks to silky smooth steamed egg with texture like custard.
Yesterday, I did a Google search to look for the perfect steamed egg recipe again. I randomly picked one of the recipes in the search results and tried this blogger's recipe, which came with really handy tips and tricks and yes, I finally succeeded!!
Finally I can show off my silky smooth steamed egg custard!
Now I know why I failed miserably in the past! I missed out on a few very important tricks, i.e. --
1) covering the plate while steaming. How could I have missed this step?! This is the no.1 most important step
2) stir the egg mixture in a circular motion in ONE DIRECTION ONLY (clockwise or counter clockwise) until the egg white and egg yolk are totally combined.
RATIO : Add 3 oz water for one egg. I used 5 eggs, so I added 15 oz of filtered water.
Trick #1. The Stirring Motion : Stir in a circular motion instead of back and forth motion. A back and forth motion creates lots of air bubbles which will prevent the surface of the egg custard from being smooth. If it does end up with having a lot of bubbles, use a small spoon to scoop out the bubbles, or set aside and wait for a few minutes for the bubbles to go away.
NOTE: I noticed in most recipes they required using a fine mesh strainer to filter out the membrane of egg yolk in the egg-water mixture. I found this is totally unnecessary if you stir the eggs well. Well, yesterday I did not strain the egg mixture and the end product turned out super smooth!
Trick #2. The amount of water added: For each large egg you should add 3 oz of water. This ratio is important.
Trick #3: Add salt just before cooking the eggs. There is a chemistry term called Hofmeister series. It describes certain salts will make protein more soluble in water (salting in) while some salts will tend to decrease the solubility of protein in water (salting out). Egg white consists of water (92% by weight) and protein (8% by weight). The chloride anion from the table salt will tend to make egg white protein less soluble in the water. So if I add salt to the egg long before I am going to stir and mix it, the egg white protein will not mix well with the water. So remember add salt at the very end or just right before you are ready to cook it. Trick #4: Cover the container while steaming. Condensed water vapor on the steamer lid will drip down into the bowl. If there is no cover on the bowl, the water will make the surface of the egg custard uneven and look like honeycomb.
Trick #5: The steaming time: 7-8 minutes. Yesterday, I steamed my 5 eggs mixture for 7 minutes. The 7 minutes of steaming is AFTER the water has started to bubble in the wok. Only put in the plate of egg mixture after the water has bubbled.
My daughters' former babysitter used to steam the egg mixture for only 2 minutes and she lets the plate of egg mixture sit in the wok for another few more minutes, with the flame turned off. She makes the world's smoothest and silkiest steamed egg, I kid you not. I really do miss her steamed eggs. I must visit her one of these days to get the secret recipe from her!
RECIPE:
Chinese Steamed Egg Custard (recipe courtesy of Little Orange Bean)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 serving
Tools: Steamer, a small mixing bowl, measuring cup, chopsticks for stirring, heat-proof container with cover
Ingredients
1 large egg
3 oz water (if you use more eggs, you will have to do some multiplication to get the required amount of water)
¼ tsp sesame oil
(Optional) pinch of salt
(Optional) green onion for garnishing
(Optional) Fried garlic with oil for garnishing
Instructions
In a small mixing bowl, use chopsticks to whisk the egg in a stirring motion in one direction (clockwise or counter clockwise) until the egg white and egg yolk are totally combined.
Add water and sprinkle salt; then briefly stir in one direction.
Pour the egg mixture into a heat-proof container, cover with heat-proof lid or aluminum foil.
Fill the steamer with cold water. Place the bowl in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil then turn down to medium heat with gentle boiling. Steam for 7 minutes.
Turn off the heat, the egg custard should be slightly firm and wobble in the center. Test by inserting a toothpick; it should come out clean.
Add sesame oil and garnish with green onion. Serve warm.
Notes
1. Stir in a circular motion instead of back and forth motion. A back and forth motion creates lots of air bubbles which will prevent the surface of the egg custard from being smooth. If it does end up with having a lot of bubbles, use a small spoon to scoop out the bubbles, or set aside and wait for a few minutes for the bubbles to go away.
2. Add salt just before cooking the eggs.
3. Cover the container while steaming. Condensed water vapor on the steamer lid will drip down into the bowl. If there is no cover on the bowl, the water will make the surface of the egg custard uneven and look like honeycomb.
4. Add 2 more minute for each additional egg. If you steam too long, the egg will be over cooked and tend to be tough.
My foodie and food caterer hubs spends quite a bit regularly on cook books for ideas and recipes and these books ain't cheap. I never had the time to read them until recently when I was coaxing Baby to drink her milk. While waiting for her to gulp down her milk, I sat next to her and glanced the newest Flavours mag that my hubs had bought. And that's when I got hooked on this Flavours Food Lifesytle mag. It now sits in the bathroom, where I will go through it when I am seated on the throne haha!
Here are 2 recipes which had caught my eyes and I will certainly try them when my MIL is away again...
Minced Meat with mashed potatoes...
Sesame Udon... easy and quick to whip up and my girls are big time fan-see of Udon noodles.
Many mothers whom I know of struggle everyday to whip up tasty and healthy recipes for their family. This includes me as I have 4 pernickety eaters at home – 3 young babies and 1 big baby! When my mil is around, I can leave this hair splitting chore to her but whenever she’s away on her few-times-a-year overseas stay, I have to crack my head to draw up the week’s lunch and dinner menu every week on end. When my kids were younger, they were not that picky in their choice of food. Now that they have tasted the ‘real food’ aka adult food, they no longer want their bland, healthy stuff. They want food that tastes great - salty and flavorful food. They prefer take-out food that’s often laden with sodium and MSG but I try to limit their intake of take-out food.
I get annoyed whenever my kids tell me “oh no, not again mummy. I don’t like this!” to the dishes that they see placed on the dining table. Being greeted with such remarks after sweating it out in the hot kitchen preparing their food is really discouraging. On one hand I feel really unappreciated and taken for granted. On the other hand, they are just kids and they mean what they say. In times like this, I tell myself that I have to get some great cooking tips and recipes to whip up something different to whet my fussy eaters' appetite.
I stumbled upon ivillage.com when I was searching for healthy recipe for kids. There are hundreds of great tasting recipes from recipes for kids to low sodium recipes, healthy recipes, low fat recipes, vegan recipes, low budget recipes, quick recipes, recipes for breakfast, appetizers, main course and much more. One recipe that I have to try out is the sweet and sour chicken. This recipe does not require any stir-frying and it’s mess-free, quick and easy to prepare and looks absolutely delicious too. I have already book-marked ivillage.com and will definitely refer to this website to try out the sweet and sour chicken recipe when it’s time for me to take over the wok and spatula again!
My 2 older girls absolutely adore cheese, ham and potatoes. Yesterday, Alycia chomped down a big wedge of President Petit Brie soft ripened cheese, a kiddy cheese stick and a packet of Laughing Cow Cheeze Dippers during breakfast. Since Alycia and Sherilyn love cheesy food, I found a recipe for Country Potatoes au Gratin at myrecipes.com. It’s a dish made up of all Alycia and Sherilyn’s favorite food, i.e. potatoes, butter, milk, ham and lots of cheese. I’ll try to whip up this dish one of these days when the girls are in school. I think they will love it.
What is my favourite beverage? It has got to be green tea. Not a day goes by without me drinking my cuppa decaffeinated coffee in the morning and.... green tea of course, after my lunch. After I weaned Sherilyn off breastfeeding, I drank green tea to shed some pounds. It is known to help in curbing appetite.
The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:
cancer rheumatoid arthritis high cholesterol levels cariovascular disease infection impaired immune function
So instead of heading for another cuppa cappuchino or kopi-o, why not try green tea, a much healthier altrnative.
Kids learn best when they are having fun and in a relaxed and non stressful state. Recently, SIL got the gals a pack of organic alphabet biscuits. They love it whenever I play the alphabet game with them. I will ask them to tell me the letter on each biscuit and whoever guesses it right gets to eat the biscuit. We all have so much fun playing this game and eating the biscuits at the same time. This is really another great way of feeding info to your kids, thru food of course.
Recently, I created a nutritious healthy nutty pancake recipe for my gals. How did this creation come about? Well, I had earlier bought a tin of chocolate flavoured milk formula for Sherilyn but both she and Alycia didn't like the milk, probably because of the brown color that made it not so 'milky looking'? So there I was cracking my head on how to finish off the 1.8kg tin of choco milk plus 1 600gm alu foil packet choco milk that comes with it free. Finally, I came up with this creation and here's the recipe :
3 tablespoons of chocolate milk powder
6 tablespoons of organic wholemeal high protein flour OR plain flour OR soya flour
2 eggs
Dash of salt (optional)
1-2 tablespoons of sesame (white or black)
2 tablespoons of almond nibs
1 tablespoon of wheatgerm (optional)
Add water and stir until batter becomes smooth
Olive Lite butter or ordinary butter
Heat up some olive butter in a round non-stick pan. Pour batter into pan and fry under low fire for around 3 mins, turning both sides occasionally.
I'm so happy my gals went goo gaa over the pancake. Sherilyn who is one very picky eater and a bad feeder too kept asking for more. Wah, I am so proud of my yet another novel creation of healthy food for my 2 lil' angels.
I also 'concealed' the chocolate milk powder into my homemade 'nutritious, healthy, nutty, seedy bread' baked with my breadmaker which my gals love. I either toast the bread or use the bread as the crust base to make pizza for them.
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