Great minds think... Blueberries...

Like two cogs in the same wheel, C and I go out and buy another tub of yogurt and a box of blueberries each within a day of each other... the yoghurt of course goes quickly and that leaves us with 2 boxes of fresh blueberries in the fridge for a couple of weeks...

To inaugurate a sexy new member to the kitchen...


... together with a new cookbook, Baking - from your home to mine (or was it the other way around?) by Dorie Greenspan.... I made a cake which had two elements I've always wanted to use - blueberries and crumble.

I'm not sure if it's because I adapted the measurements from US (to metric) and got the proportions wrong, but the dough felt a little funny - a bit too thick and stiff, coming together in a ball, much like bread dough... so I added some more buttermilk than asked for to thin it out... I was all prepared for things to go awry so was pleasantly surprised when it turned out pretty moist anyway. I suppose it must be one of those cakes that is supposed to be more dry and less like sponge...


Just add ice-cream and it's even better...


Cake aside, the new toy was EXCELLENT!!!!!

Look forward to using it again soon...

Good to be back

11 months is a long time to be away. Blogging is like an addiction that you want to keep secret. At times it's hard to stop... you obsessive log in to see if any one left a comment... or blog about any old thing you make, even if it's just a good cup of Milo.

But it's something that you can set aside for a long while and while looking back at past entries, wonder how you found the time before!

The cooking has not stopped but the writing had for a while. We switched roles the last few months since our godma moved away. So went the weekly Friday family dinners at Pokfulam and good chatter way into the weekends. Now that my niece is doing a term here on an exchange program, it's family dinner at our place most of the time.

It feels like a role reversal but is suppose we should always pass on the generosity that we have enjoyed for so long from others.

Just pictures of our last family dinner...

Old School Remi-MINCE-sing

Shepherd's Pie. It's as old school as rock [hard] buns and chicken stew. Every girl I know who grew up in Asia would have some vague memory of making at least one of the 'trinity' of the home economics system.

Of course it was much simpler then. Left over mince pork with frozen carrots, peas and corn, topped with mashed potato. I remember how it was touted as a nutritious meal though the idea of eating that much potato was still a bit foreign for my fiercely Chinese stomach.

What a difference 20 years, and maybe a couple of dozen diet trends, can make! Sure shepherd's pie won't make it pass the low-carbs requirements. And frozen vegetables isn't as fashionable as they used to be in the 80s. But there's still something to be said about tucking into a hearty meal of bubbling beef stew oozing through a soft but lightly crusted layer of good old mashed potato.

The pie before baking...

I'm not a fancy cook. While I would like my food to look as nice and sound as exotic, they often are neither. But give me a messy familiar dish any day... I'm still an old fashion girl at heart.

BTW, I realise that it's cottage pie and not shepherd's pie that I made (since the former is made of beef and the latter of lamb). Cooking the way I always do, I ended up with 2 pies, with an extra tupperware portion for E to bring to school.


Recipe taken from Nigella Lawson's Feast.

Deck the halls

Seasons are a changing. When I left Hong Kong last week, it was 20 degrees and this week, coming back from Bangkok (which is cooler and wetter, but still hot) it was 10 degrees.. But I love it... If I ever leave Hong Kong, autumn and winter weather would be what I miss the most.

Light cool weather... winter coats (yes, yes.. it's not that cold but that's no excuse not to keep extra warm!), colourful scarves and sweaters.. and just the elaborate layering everytime we go out.. it's nice that we do so much to face cool weather.. and well worth it.. nothing better than cold air hitting your cheeks while you feel warm and comfy underneath your winter layers...

This year flatmate, C, got a real tree for the house since her family's coming over. Since I was in BKK, I offered to buy all the ornaments since it's probably cheaper. Going for a gold theme...

I'm usually bad at planning stuff like that.. so as usual C had to check to be doubly sure..

C: "so what did you get?"
Me: "balls"
C: "what do you mean, what colour?"
Me: "gold ones, small"
C: "how many?"
Me: "four"
C: "you mean four packs?"
Me: "no, four balls"
C: "how small is small??"
Me: "like Thai green limes"
C: "you bought four tiny balls??? what were you thinking?? the tree is 7 feet tall!!"
Me: "should I buy another pack?"

So anyway, I went back and bought four to five times the amount that I got...

We put the tree together tonight before C left for her trip... Secretly, I think it's so she can make sure that the tree looks good (I'm not good with asesthetics either!) it was great! had to break a few stems to secure the ornaments but nothing beats that piney smell of pine and the stick residue that stays on your fingers

Step 1: Get tall tree



Step 2: Put balls on tree



Step 3: More balls please



Step 4: Place star on tree



Step 5: Turn on lights



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Cooking with relative ease

My niece came to visit, with my aunts and other older niece. Since summer sales in Hong Kong started, we've seen more visitors to our house than in the last 6 months. I'll like to think they're here cos they've not seen me in ages, but who am I kidding...

Guests at our house is always a source of great joy to both C and I cos we'll have someone, besides each other, to get feedback on our pet obsessions. She'll ask if they thought our house is nice and I'll keep asking if they liked my cooking. Considering how expensive hotels are in Hong Kong, we consider it a small price to pay for a roof over their heads when they're holidaying!

Besides shopping, they've just been eating a lot. So it was quite a relief to have a home cooked meal last night. The big mess you see up there is my niece and I cooked up for dinner last night - aglio olio topped with grilled cajun turkey. It's a recipe that I got from my last guest, A, who cooked it for me while she was here.

Simple, fast and delicious.



Cajun Turkey
2 turkey fillets (is that what you call them?)
chilli flakes, to taste
crushed garlic, 2cloves
salt or soya sauce, to taste
olive oil, enough to coat

Marinate the fillets in the ingredients above for at least 30 minutes.
Heat up a griddle pan till hot
Place fillets on the pan for 2 minutes on each side
Remove and cut

Aglio Olio

Ingredients:
5-6 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
7-8 shiitake mushrooms, cut into slivers
2-3 small chillis , chopped into small bits
1 packet of bacon, chopped into small chunks
Handful of cherry tomatos, cut into thin slices
Spaghetti enough for three
2-3 stalks of coriander, chopped into small bits
Olive oil

Cook the spaghetti
Heat a pan up, add the bacon in and fry it in its own fats (I use less fatty bacon so had to add some olive oil in)
Remove the bacon when slightly browned and strain on a piece of kitchen towel
Drain out excess bacon fats and add some olive oil in the pan
Fry the garlic till fragrant and add the mushroom. Fry till slightly crisp
Add the chilli and spaghetti and mix well. Add more oil if it's too dry - spaghetti should be lightly coated with oil
Toast in the tomatos and coriander last and mix well
Serve with grilled turkey and salad



It's been a long work week for me too. Ended up having to make 2 conference calls to Texas after dinner and finished work at around 10.30. It just felt like I still hadn't shaken off work and was just not ready to go to bed. So got my niece out of bed (poor thing, had to catch a flight the next day too.. but the cake had to baked!)

So I rehashed the old recipe here

Brought it to the team the next day and J declared it "chiu kap hao sek"! (super delicious in cantonese)

Guest Chef In the House

It's summer sale season in HK and my good friend, A, came to stay and of course, shop. She was nice enough to cook dinner for us on Friday and we invited J to come for a much overdue first visit.

Boy did A cook up a storm. A cooks like me.. we both use tons of plates and dishes in preparation and never clean up till the end. So by the end of cooking a four course meal, we had lots plates, woks, pans and knives to clean. But since A was head chef, I was kitchen cleaner for the day. Wasn't too bad... didn't break anything...

She made kungpao chicken which J declared to be "HK restaurant standard" and also the chap chai dish below.



My contribution for the night was simple chilli prawn.



But A topped it off with a really rich chocolate cake.. which was really heavenly...



Recipes for the dishes below:

Kungpao chicken

2-3 chicken fillets, chunks
2 tbsp vegetable oil
10 dried chilli, cut in thirds
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
handful of cashew nuts (unsalted, roasted)
6 slices ginger
3 spring onions, chopped

Marinade:
1 tbsp wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp seasame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cornflour

Sauce:
3 tbsp sweet thick soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour dissolved in 1/4 cup water

1. Place chicken in marinade for 15 mins
2. Combine sauce ingredients
3. Fry chicken with some ginger slices till browned
4. Heat oil in wok till hot, add cut chillis and allow them to scorch for 30-60 secs
5. Add onions, cashew nuts, and finally add chicken
6. Add sauce, stir to mix and serve

Chap Chai (cantonese/teochew style)

Half cabbage, cut in large sections
Fresh mushrooms, assorted, halved
Any assortment of vegetables you may like
Vermicelli, soaked in hot water
2 Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

1. Heat up oil and add garlic
2. add cabbage, followed by all other vegetables and vermicelli
3. Add salt and some water for gravy.
4. leave to simmer longer if you prefer vegetables to be softer

What to eat to beat the heat II

It's been blowing hot and cold in Hong Kong over the last few weeks. After a depressing two weeks of downpour which even caused a flood on our little road on the hill, we had a week of brilliant sunshine and now, rain again. This has really just been too confusing for my body. It's either wet or hot outside, but once indoors, it's just humid, stuffy and warm. That's summer heat for you.

C's got it way worse cos of her sinus. If it's going to be hotter the next day, she gets the sniffles; if it's going to pour the next morning, her nose just runs. She's like a walking meterology report, with high degree of accuracy too! We just always check with her before we go out to see if we need to bring an umbrella.

Anyway, it's time to beat the summer heatiness again. This time with a luohan drink.

It's really a pretty fascinating fruit. Luohan guo is so named as it grows well in Guilin where many arhats (luohans) go for their temple retreats - they were purportedly the first to use the fruit for its medicinal purposes. The fruits were reported to be frequently used as the main ingredient in cooling drinks (that is, drinks consumed to counteract hot weather, fever, or disorders described in the tradition as warm or hot in nature). It's believed to do anything from relieving sunstroke, moistening the lungs, eliminating phlegm, stopping cough, and promoting bowel movements.



It's a strange looking fruit which looks even stranger on the inside. But it's got an incredible sweetness to it that it lends to any drink made with it as an ingredient. (luohan guo is also now also used as an artificial sweetener)



Luohan Guo Drink

2 luohan guo
handful of dates*
handful of wolfsberry*
2-3 sticks of sugared winter melon
1.5 litres of water

* use red dates and wolfsberry sparingly as they are heaty in nature

1. Crack open the luohan guos and dig out the insides.
2. Boil the insides, with dates and wolfsberry for around an hour
3. Serve (the drink is naturally sweet, but you may add the winter melon sticks for extra depth if you like)

It's a lovely drink. And apparently very good for you too according to Eu Yan Sang as it "influences the lung and spleen channels. Moistens the lungs and dissolves nodules. Commonly used to treat hacking cough and phlegm nodules in the neck."