Cooking Tips & Recipe

LittleCat,
The brand of the La Dou Ban Jiang is AAA.Found in NTUC and provision shop.

Little Cat,Annelise,
I love smelt fish too.Deep fried till very crispy...very yummy.

My aunt used the poking with chopstick method to kill crasb,but I just use a heavy chopper and chop it into half.

Another method is to put the crabs in fridge, but the legs will fall off,so it's not so good.

Elderly said pregg cannot eat crabs and octopus, becos they have many legs, the baby will "Shou Jiao hen Duo". It's supertitious thing. But TCM thinks Crabs are too cooling for pregg.

lyn,
Thanks.DD didn't go to school today, but seems much better,hope it's really recovering and not just the effect of the medicine controlling the symptoms.
 


Thanks LittleCat,
I only have slow cooker, so will use this. Just 2 questions:
1) Some ppl say add the bird nest last, if not the bird nest will melt away? Izzit true?
2) Can I add "dang gui" for the bird nest soup?
 
Hello ladies,
Just came back from gynae, everything ok, 3 more months to go, hair dropping very frequently now.. think must take more bu stuff like... hum

Thanks amelia, for the pork chop tip.

van, when you cooking the apple pork chop ?Thanks for the fried prawn recipe, didn't know custard can be used for this !

Talking about crabs, is it in season now? Dunno how to choose crabs, is it true that when there's bubbles in their mouth, that means they r not fresh ?

Ang zou is nice, yah.. good for steaming with the ang zou(red dates) .. another kind boneless kind is the leather jacket fish. Thick skin kind, cantonese is called "mock pei yu",can use dou jiang, garlic and ginger to steam.

cat, I also like you , I like bony ikans ikan kuning too, I think most men don't like bony ikans ..
eh , you got sore throat is it ? Hadsore throat and cough during my 1st tri, Is strepsils effective for you ? I will sometimes make yong sum sou also, easy one, just pour boiling water and add salt, good to relieve heatiness..

Yo prisc, free drop by, will miss you ..thanks for your many many cooking tips and recipes.. can make international buffet liao..

Anyone knows how to make durian cream (dunno what name) ? Tried the one at Merchant court donkey years ago.

lyn, your lunch so healthy , think you must be very slim, your ang eats lots of veg like you ?
My ang is a carnivore !!

Anne, will meet up with you when I shift ! So, you still planning to do the wedding project ? My bro will say that I'm xiao and ask me "ho jia boh?" I should say this wedding cupcake is one of its kind, haven't seen this before
 
Just curious ...

normally when do you drink the bird nest soup? Immediately after cooked or before sleep or ... ?

Have anyone heard the old saying of
" ... must drink in the middle of the night ... that means wake up middle of the night, drink and go back to sleep ..."

was said this will be the best way to eat bird nest, which my mom wanted me to do during my pregy days.
 
aa,
only heard of bird nest soup is best eaten in the morning,but don't know how true.

But wake up in the middle of the night,drink and go back to sleep? I think a good nice,undisturbed sleep through the night sounds better then that.

Your digestive system is supposed to be resting when you sleep as well, so this method doesn't sound logical leh.
 
Wow, lyn, your lunch sounds good! I shall try it one of these days... interesting to put cranberries in it! I was quite tired today after only walking to the wet market to buy my kampung chicken to steam, so only had my kampung chicken/essence for lunch.

For the preggie ladies here, here's a website to tell you what is warming & cooling foods. Scroll down to the para on Pregnancy and then click on "energies" or the warming/cooling foods, and you'll see the list.
LittleCat, Van is right - crabs generates "Cold" energy!
http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/lifestyles/food_nutritional_needs.html
 
van , sorry didn't even read that your dd is sick while replying to your prawns fritter recipe earlier on. hope that she will fully recover soon. poor little girl, she must be in great pain.
 
choc06, agreed !!! more hum pls!!! haha our hb can not tahan us liao !
but the leather jacket have to cook with dou-jiang kind of thing then got taste leh..
eh the fish in the nasi lemak type i can eat the head as well if is fried till crispy! meow yummy!

aiyah van so 'violent' one use chopper, i scare!

cat_tail, no leh, u suppose to double boil the bird nest u should put in early what? but it won't melt so easily one... this bird sliva damn solid one ...
never heard of to put dong-gui lei, cos dong-gui is heaty and bird nest is 'zhi-reng' (not cool not heaty).
U can use the dong-gui on the double boil/steaming chicken like Sophie suggest the other day.

aa, haha i heard that b4, wake up middle of the nite, can not talk somemore and drink it.
I kind of agreen with Van, morning empty stomach absorb better.

choc06, so when u shifting?
wow 3 more months to go! hooray! so take this opportunity to eat more hum, if not one month cannot touch hor!

yeah my hb likes meat and seafood! cooked vege ok, salad he is like 'yiaack'!
 
Littlecat,
hahaha... I guess I was too hungry after reading the thread, and cooking while in hunger.. plus the aroma... kekeke...
Hashima is the cheaper version of bird's nests... My mum used to boil every week with pao sheng...


Cat,
I haven't heard of people putting dang gui in bird nests...


Choc06,
Start to countdown already ah? I am getting more nervous by the day...
Yes, my ang do take lots of vege and fruits now
happy.gif
Last time, he was also a carnivore. No meat = no energy. It took more than a year for him to where he's now - taking more vegetables and fruits automatically even when eating out. He's also more conscious about his food intake now.
I am not slim now
sad.gif
I hope I can get back to my pre-pregnancy state after my confinement. I feel so big and clumsy now... :p
 
Hi Van,
Hope your dd recovers soon... I feel upset when I see kids in pain cos they are so fragile and sometimes don't really know how to express themselves well in order to explain their pains.
 
Haha.. all the preggy tales.. my cousin( also hum lover) told me not to eat hum during pg, if not, the baby's tongue will always stick out like hum.. haha.. Today, the scan showed my bb's mouth opening , macham eating something, think it's asking for hum.

Wah.. sophie, your lunch also ho liao(good stuff) .. you tried steaming the kampung chicken with huang di ji herbs before? The seah brand is quite nice. My MIL says frog legs double boil chicken essence, wolfberries and red dates bu also..
Thanks for the website on the pengat lulian.. my ang doesn't eat lulian , sob..

Shifting in june, cat..

lyn, with your good diet, sure can go back to pre-pg very fast.. Heard that oats for breakfast can help to lose weight very fast too..

Unpolished brown rice porridge with pork ribs and peanuts can bu legs and bones, good for children..
van, you take care too, ya?

Think birds nest boil with red dates and rock sugar can liao, is it ?
 
Hi annelise,
Thanks alot. I would like to have the recipes too. pls post to my account anytime.

These few days have been busy with the ikan bilis. I bought 1/2 kg and it takes me forever to remove the head and stomach. For those experts in making ikan bilis powder, how do you do it??
I think the tedious job is not the baking and grinding but the clearing. Do you ladies get those already head and stomach cleared?

I saw somewhere mentioned about the Korean BBQ beef. I like this very much too any recipes to share?
Do anybody know how to make roast beef? is it necessary to tie up before roast?
 
LittleCat & lyn,
Thanks for the info. There's a Auntie anyhow tell me can put dang gui & I tot it was too heaty too. So now I am sure cannot mix together.
 
Thanks Jasmin,Sophie,Choc06,littlecat,lyn,annelise,sp and all the nice mummies here,especially to Priscilla who pray for me and my dd (so touched!)my dd seems much better, even saw her following TV programme to do exercise just now.

Besides Ang Zou, Ang Sai(Red Lion),Gim Zou are also having similar to Ang Zou's type of tender meat.Nice for steaming. If you are used to eating steam pomfret, these are the meat that are very different from promfret.

My favourite is Gui4 Hua1 Yu2,it's from the South China Sea(the fishmonger told me), not always available,usually I only see them on weekends in Yew Tee Market (for CCK area). If you ask the fishmonger from wet market they will know.

My friends who came to my place for dinner also agreed that the fish meat is very tender.My hb loves it too.

NTUC sometimes have something that look very similar, but may be from different places,'they called it California Bass.
 
clover, buy the one without head and stomach (already peel) type lah!
hehe i lazy mah, eh u serious sitting there to do it ? i remember last time when i was young doing till something kena the bone so pain..

Van, i think i tried the gui hua yu b4 in restaurant it is very nice.

cat_tail if u find yourself always very heaty better dun take dong gui also.
 
Wah van, you r really an expert in fish huh ? Next time, must ask you , didn't know about gim zou ..
Gui Hua yu is it yellow in colour ?Steam or fried ? How you cook it ?

Glad that dd is much better now, understand how you feel, when kids are sick.. moms are most tied and worried ..

Hey clover, you can wash the ikan bilis and bake them then grind.. I will norm buy the ones without the head and stomach but my aunt said the ready cleaned ones have not much bones left in the stomach, therefore no calcium. Don't know about other methods .. You tried the silverfish ? It's smaller and minimal cleaning is required.
 
choc06, i have planned my meals for this long weekend liao.
These are the must have thing:
Friday : hum + steam live prawns
Saturday : hum + crabs
Sunday : mussles + steam live fish

Dessert : Durian

hehe! eh my ang said eat too much hum, wait the eye like hum.. then i think think...hmm just like him lor ha ha! cos he got big eyes and long eye lashes, when he blink blink just like hum opening and closing the shell...

Happy for u 3 months more to go!

wow so next month u r shifting, did u plan this after u pg or before ?
cos i want to find new places also but then now PG like nov that conv leh...
is your place really close to Annelise? walking distant?

so, what are the dishes u gals preparing tonite?
 
Choc06
Gui Hua Yu has yellow on the body. Fresh ones that cost about same price as ang zou and gim zou is best steamed. If you want to fry,here's a recipe:

Braised Fish with Hot Bean Sauce

*Approx 600g fish(Red Snapper,Gim Zou,Gui Hua Yu etc)
*oil for deep frying
*corn flour
*10 slices ginger,minced
*3 cloves garlic,minced
*2 shallots,minced
*1 desserspoon hot bean paste(La Dou Ban Jiang AAA brand)
*2 stalks spring onion,chopped

<u>Seasoning Ingredients:</u>
*2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
*1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
*1/2 tsp pepper

<u>Sauce Ingredients(Mix well):</u>
*1 cup anchovy or fresh chicken stock
*2 tbs Chinese Rice wine
*2 tsp light soya sauce
*1 tsp sugar
*1/4 tsp/dash of pepper
*1 tsp cornflour

1) Marinate the cleaned fish(score two cuts across each side of body) with seasoning ingredients and leave for 15-20min.

2)Coat the fish with cornflour and deep fry for about 3 mins on each side.Remove and set aside.

3) Reheat a clean wok with oil and lightly brown ginger,garlic,and shallots. Add the hot bean paste and stiry fry for 1 min or until aromatic.

4) Add combined sauce ingredients and when it begins to boil,put in the fish. Cover and simmer for 3-5 min until fish is cooked.

5)Sprinkle in spring onion, dish out carefully and serve hot.
 
Wah.. did you check out the website that van put up on soups ? Can't read in chinese..
Got one ter kua and carrot soup ..

aiyoh.. don't give me ideas liao leh ! I already planned to cook one pot of hum and garlic, doujiang and chilli on sat.
What style of hum you cooking ?
Eyes big big then nice mah..

Yah.. plan this one, ang wants 4 children! I peng san liao.. think this should be the last.

Tonight, I'm cooking claypot chicken rice, last night didn't do this ! What about you all?
 
van, cos choc06 said must eat lots of hum cos bu blood mah ;)
then today she convinced me again saying hair drop must eat hum leh

hehe choc06, i still find the hum with doujiang anc chilli is the best!

hehe 4 children good leh!
but i can't liao, too old.
u dun might to tell how old r u?

tonite eating out.. hmmm... let's see where got good place for hum.. haha just kidding!
 
I don't think my place near to anne, will be staying near the Tampines mall.

so where you shifting cat? What about your part time maid thing now ?

Thanks van, you are really a walking recipe book !
 
Eh.. I am going to be sa chap si liao! You leh ? I skipped all the triple tests, oscar test ..hee.. to bu my blood !
 
choc06, ok what u still i 4 years older than u leh.. got to go for aminocentesis test.
eh u know u take out some blood hor then u produce more fresh one than is better...

i am still looking, but will be still at the west lah... but this process took very long one lah.. my ang very 'patience' one.. (slow)

sigh, the part time maid,still looking for good one b4 i changed the current one lor..
eh just now u said can't read is it the encoding thing? set to Traditional Chinese then ok liao.
 
Set where huh ? I not It savvy .. Never mind, will ask my ang to do it later.. TIA
san chap puai not old lah ! Got one friend 42 then gave birth.
Eat hum then bu blood.. heehee. I used to donate at the blood bank, years ago !
 
choc06, right click on your mouse, choose Encoding, and then select the Traditional Chinese.

i can't donate, cos nobody want my blood, i got thalasymia.

enjoy long weekend with your angs (for those sahm), and those FTWM enjoy your holiday!

hungry liao need to find food!

happy cooking!
 
Thanks cat..happy mothers day to you too !Have a good dinner and eat more hum for me !!
Go Chin Huat live seafood !!
Thal minor is it ?men tend to have maj

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL MUMMIES !!
 
Anybody tried the Sakura International Buffet at Jurong Omni Theatre? Or have tried other branches? Is it good? A lot of varieties? What specialities do they have?

Thought of celebrating a friend's birthday there.
 
Hi Van,
Glad to know your dd is feeling better. Like Choc says, you take care of yourself too, ok? You have to be in tip-top condition in order to take care of your dd.

I tried a Sakura Int'l Buffet at Toa Payoh Central before (next to K-Box), not sure if it's the same one. Here's the review:
Sashimi - salmon were very fresh, good value for money, but tuna and other fish not that fresh
Sushi - should be the same as sashimi as I didn't try it.. haha, didn't want to fill my stomach with rice!
Appetizer section - Oysters were pretty fresh; salads decent enough.
Paper steamboat - Thumbs-up for this! Prawns were of decent medium size and very fresh. Stock is very good, with wolfberries and a hint of danggui in it.
Chinese section - Nothing to shout about with the usual fried rice and some dishes like kungpao... more like chai peng stall
Western section - Beef was very good, although you cannot request for rare or medium etc cos you just take a mini clothes-peg-like clip (which has your table number) and clip them to the entrees (e.g. lamb or beef or fish) at the buffet counter. Once the food is ready, a waiter serves you the entree.
Others - Tempura was not too good as the batter was soggy and hard; satay was not bad!
Dessert - Kuehs &amp; mini cakes were decent; the New York cheesecake was not too bad; ice-cream variety was good and my niece had a good time eating the ice-cream
Coffee - there is an expresso coffee machine, the kind which grinds the beans on the spot. Coffee is pretty good, so it's quite a good place to end the meal with coffee and dessert/fruits.
Ambience - my mum says the one at Safra has got good ambience, tables and chairs not as packed as the Toa Payoh one.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!
 
Braised Fish with Black Bean Sauce

Approx 1kg whole fish (garoupa,snapper etc)
Oil for deep frying
2 shallots,sliced
2 cloves garlic,minced
5 slices ginger,minced
1 tbsp fermented black beans,soaked in water for 10 min, drained and minced.
2 red chillies,chopped(OPTIONAL)
2 tsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
2 stalks spring onion,chopped

<u>Seasoning Ingredients</u>
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 beaten egg white
1 tbsp cornflour(to be coated on fish just before frying)

<u>Sauce Ingredients</u>
1 cup fresh anchovy stock(or used stock granules added to water)
2 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp Chinese rice wine
1 tsp black vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1)Cut two deep slits 1" apart across each side of cleaned fish's body.
2)Seasone with seasoning ingredients for at least 30mins. Just before deep-frying coat the fish with corn flour.
3)Heat oil in a wok until hot.Fry the fish for 2-3 mins on each side. Remove and drain from oil.
4)Reheat a clean wok,stir fry shallots,garlic and ginger until aromatic. Put in chilies and sauce ingredients.
5) Return fish to the wok and reduce heat a little. Cover the wok and allow to simmer for 3-5 min,or until fish is cooked. Remove the fish carefully.
 
Violet,
Thanks for the detailed review of Sakura. With the good spread, there should be someting for everyone! Will go ahead to reserve a table.
 
Wow, that healthno1.com website is good! Lots of yummy recipes and step-by-step cooking guide. I like the links to the TCM &amp; foodno1.com sites too
happy.gif
 
Happy Mother's Day to all mummies!
happy.gif


van,
Glad yr dd is ok already!
happy.gif


Anyone knows any website got show pictures of ingredients? I very blur leh, spice don't know, veg don't know, fish also don't know how they look like...

littlecat,
how come yr menu got so many hum one?
lol.gif
 
sp,
Go to the NTUC or cold storage or carrefoure more often...
happy.gif
then look at the labels...


hmm... I went to the wet market near my place this morning... dun really like it. Think I prefer NTUC, Cold storage, Carrefoure much more... At least I can get peace at the supermarket to select what I want and also how much I wanna buy...
happy.gif
I went to the wet market cos I went to the hawker center to eat.. I bought a little bit of pork ribs to boil some soup for lunch, and it's more expensive than Cold Storage... and that uncle like laughing at me for not buying a lot.. I dun like that feeling...
sad.gif
Dun like being pushed to buy things I dun wan and overbuy...
 
Hi lyn,
I know what you mean. Everytime I buy a kampung chicken from the wet market, I end up paying $9 to $10 for it whereas my mum could get a smaller one from the Yishun wet market at $7 cos she is familiar with the vendor. A $9 kampung chicken is really too big for steaming to get the essence out, but once at the stall, I feel pressured to buy. And no choice, I go to the wet market cos they do the skinning and chopping of the chicken for me, whereas NTUC doesn't, and I don't have a big enough chopper, and neither do I know how to chop up a chicken. ;)
 
lyn,
I'll try to do that more often, good idea.

wet market vs supermarket
I feel the same as lyn.
sophie,
I also don't know how to chop chicken, so will pay more to buy the already chopped up parts.

How was Mother's Day yesterday? Got celebrate?
happy.gif
 
Hi everyone,
Hope you guys had a fantastic long weekend? My siblings and I have celebrated it with my mum the weekend before last as we didn't want to fight with the crowd on the actual Mother's Day weekend. Maybe this week I'll buy her an "airplant" for her as a belated present
happy.gif


Here's a recipe I tried out yesterday. For those who wants a tonic soup but are tired of the usual herbs, this is a good alternative. I make black bean soup with chicken feet quite often, but this one gives a smokey flavour, which I don't get in my regular soup. It could be because of the frying of the black beans and maybe cos I used black chicken. It taste almost like what my greataunt does - cooking her black bean soup over a charcoal stove for 5 hours!

Black chicken black bean soup
Ingredients:
1 black chicken, de-skinned &amp; chopped into quarters
1/2 cup of black beans, washed and drained
(you can put more black beans if you like)
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Boiling water

Method:
1. Heat the sesame oil &amp; fry the black beans for about 3 minutes. There will be some splatters so get ready your pan cover
happy.gif
You will see that the skin of the black beans will start to split open.
2. Arrange chicken in "dong zhong" and pour the black beans in. Then pour about 1 1/2 cups hot boiling water into dong zhong or to the brim.
3. Double boil for 3 hours.
4. Skim away the oil and serve. You will find a layer of oil cos we fried the beans in sesame oil. I don't really like overly-oily soup, so I will skim away the top layer of oil.

Nutrional Value
- Black beans is very high in iron and fibre, so this is especially good for pregnant women to "bu" blood and prevent constipation
- My greataunt claims it keeps her hair strong and dark, and yes, at 84 years old, she still has a headful of hair, although most has already gone white
- For those who are not pregnant and want a little sweetness to your soup, you can add 1 teaspoon of DOM to it. I haven't tried this but I would imagine it should be a little sweet and nice
happy.gif


421770.jpg
 
Thanks everybody and Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of you too..

It was a wonderful long weekend. We brought our little boy for a cruise ride. Quite a short trip with Cheng Ho Cruise to Kusu Island and back,but a very enjoyable experience. My boy likes it very much.
I would recommend to bring little kids for this try out if you have any plans for cruise holidays so that you know if your little ones like to be on the ship before you board for a few days and nights trip.
Dinner at Sizzler. The one we went only serve Mother's Day menu. I don't know about other branches however I still prefer their usual menu.
Hey ladies, how about a list on your prefered restaurants? and what do you like about there? paisey Littlecat, some works for you to do here.. ha ha..
 
sp,
Yeah, no choice... don't know how to chop chicken so have to pay more. I cannot imagine if one day wet markets are gone, then who is going to de-skin and chop my chicken for me if the ones at the supermarket are not properly done already? haha, I just pray hard the demise of the wet market will not happen in my lifetime!
 
hi clover,
Is Kusu island the one with a temple and lots of turtles? Where do you board the cruise from? Need to buy advance tickets? And how much are the tickets?

Sorry for so many questions, but I've never been there before and have always wanted to visit all the Kusu, St. John and Sisters islands!
 

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