I may or may not have readers but I just figured I should revive my almost dead blog...more like resuscitating my blog.
It's been years...I mean seriously years and a lot has happened in these years...from a recruitment consultant to a recruitment company owner of 5 years to a catering biz...to a stall owner and now to a head chef in a reputable lounge bar in town.
Yep that much has happened...just couldn't continue with my blog when my mom had brain aneurysm...and as she was recovering then my dad was diagnosed with Gullain Barre Syndrome all in the same year. Too many things to focus on and I had to let go some things and blogging was one of it.
Now I'm back I hope I'm here to stay :)
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Monday, August 1, 2011
Grilled Stingray - My Style :)
The first time I tried Grilled Fish was at Midvalley food court The Portugese Grilled Fish and it's something I got hooked on it. Every time I visit KL and if I'm brought to Midvalley that's the meal I always have. Though it's something I love to have but one ingredient that I disliked most was the amount of sugar in the sambal. Yeah I know no sugar no nice...with history of diabetes in my genes all my cookings are without sugar and santan and anything that could contribute in that direction.
I started improvising recipes that I find or given or even create my own recipes to cater for my kinda cooking style.
This is one of the improvised recipe that I got from someone. I am not sure if it's completely healthy but it's something someone with diabetes or high cholesterol level able to enjoy without feeling guilty or afraid if it'll damage their system.
This is what I did to get it my style..
I first washed the fish and then coated it with salt and lemon juice and let it sit for about 10 mins before rinsing off and let it drain.
I didn't strictly follow the original recipe, obviously otherwise it wouldn't be me...hehe...I added 1 big red onions, about 4 - 5 shallots, maybe an inch ginger, 4 - 5 cloves of garlic and hmm..about 6 dried chillies (soaked in hot water to soften it), oh also some serai 2 stalks just nice. All my signatures dishes don't carry the exact measurement of ingredients I use. They vary and I can't cook the same dish tasting the same again, not sure if it's an advantage or disadvantage...whatever it is at the end of the day it's edible :)
The original recipe calls for belacan paste and sugar...I omitted these two and though me being a penangite belacan should be the key ingredient but making the chilli paste my style I didn't miss it much. Maybe perhaps I'm cooking it...hehe...
I threw them all in the food processor and process it...a blender can be used but in a food processor I get to blend the ingredients without adding any amount of water and that's the key to the grilled fish sambal. Otherwise, it'll be too watery and the taste will be off. With the chilli paste done...I moved on to the next ingredient.
I use adabi asam jawa as its already in a paste and I just need to dilute it in some hot water and it's good to go. Unlike the conventional type that needs to be seeded and sifted, this doesn't need all that. And if you are doing fast cooking this is the best solution.
In my first try a tablespoon of asam was a bit too much since I didn't add any sugar and belacan the sour taste kinda overwhelmed the spicy taste. So, this time I only used 1 tsp of asam in 3/4 cup of water. Yes, for this I did have a standard measurement coz I didn't want it too sour or too watery hence I kept to the measurement. Well I had to since my first try was too sour.
I heated the pan with some olive oil and added the chilli paste to simmer...after a while I added the asam jawa and let it simmer for a few minutes. I cook on low heat to avoid burning it and I didn't added any extra water other then the asam jawa mixture. Therefore, cooking the sambal in high heat would burnt the dish. Add salt...stir here and there and it's done.
Now it's the fish's turn...nice stingray I got there maybe it's not the biggest but it's just nice for the 2 of us minus the dogs. I drained and pat the fish dry with tea towel. I placed it on the aluminium foil.
I coated the fish with the sambal, it's a bit dry that's because when the fish is grilled, it will produce some juice and that'll make the sauce a little more wet later. So, I didn't wanna ruin that by adding too much water in the beginning itself, then it might get a lot wetter later.
Yes, I added four angled bean, okras will go great with grilled fish too. I coated the beans with some of the sambal before burrying the fish with it. This is to ensure the beans are evenly coated with the sambal.
I should have gotten some banana leaves it'll make the fish taste even better when wrapped with it oh well...aluminium foil will do. Nicely wrapped and ready to grill.
I preheat the oven for about 5 minutes prior with a temperature of 250 degrees set to grill mode. The grilling only takes about 20 minutes in that high heat.
The fish is done and I served with brown rice. Hubby's verdict..."Tonight's dinner is really nice but too bad too little". The two little ones did run around us begging for food as strict as we are, we never feed them from the table. No scraps but they are always ready and waiting and hoping if we will ever accidentally drop food. But not this time...lols...
Well there you have it Grilled Stingray without sugar and belacan paste done My Style...:D
I started improvising recipes that I find or given or even create my own recipes to cater for my kinda cooking style.
This is one of the improvised recipe that I got from someone. I am not sure if it's completely healthy but it's something someone with diabetes or high cholesterol level able to enjoy without feeling guilty or afraid if it'll damage their system.
This is what I did to get it my style..
I first washed the fish and then coated it with salt and lemon juice and let it sit for about 10 mins before rinsing off and let it drain.
I didn't strictly follow the original recipe, obviously otherwise it wouldn't be me...hehe...I added 1 big red onions, about 4 - 5 shallots, maybe an inch ginger, 4 - 5 cloves of garlic and hmm..about 6 dried chillies (soaked in hot water to soften it), oh also some serai 2 stalks just nice. All my signatures dishes don't carry the exact measurement of ingredients I use. They vary and I can't cook the same dish tasting the same again, not sure if it's an advantage or disadvantage...whatever it is at the end of the day it's edible :)
The original recipe calls for belacan paste and sugar...I omitted these two and though me being a penangite belacan should be the key ingredient but making the chilli paste my style I didn't miss it much. Maybe perhaps I'm cooking it...hehe...
I threw them all in the food processor and process it...a blender can be used but in a food processor I get to blend the ingredients without adding any amount of water and that's the key to the grilled fish sambal. Otherwise, it'll be too watery and the taste will be off. With the chilli paste done...I moved on to the next ingredient.
In my first try a tablespoon of asam was a bit too much since I didn't add any sugar and belacan the sour taste kinda overwhelmed the spicy taste. So, this time I only used 1 tsp of asam in 3/4 cup of water. Yes, for this I did have a standard measurement coz I didn't want it too sour or too watery hence I kept to the measurement. Well I had to since my first try was too sour.
I heated the pan with some olive oil and added the chilli paste to simmer...after a while I added the asam jawa and let it simmer for a few minutes. I cook on low heat to avoid burning it and I didn't added any extra water other then the asam jawa mixture. Therefore, cooking the sambal in high heat would burnt the dish. Add salt...stir here and there and it's done.
I coated the fish with the sambal, it's a bit dry that's because when the fish is grilled, it will produce some juice and that'll make the sauce a little more wet later. So, I didn't wanna ruin that by adding too much water in the beginning itself, then it might get a lot wetter later.
Yes, I added four angled bean, okras will go great with grilled fish too. I coated the beans with some of the sambal before burrying the fish with it. This is to ensure the beans are evenly coated with the sambal.
Well there you have it Grilled Stingray without sugar and belacan paste done My Style...:D
Sugar Free Baked Doughnuts
It's been ages since I updated my blog...yeah I do have lotsa excuses but not gonna waste my time telling you about it.:P...my long awaited kitchen was finally completed and I have already done some cooking and baking but just today I remembered hey, it's time to update my blog...lols...
I found this recipe online some time ago but been sitting on it for so long and finally I had some time to do some baking. I did improvise the recipe a little to fit my liking to make it completely healthy and edible for both my hubby and my furkids...yes I have furkids now. I have sparkle and casper but I'll tell the story of casper on another day.
In your mixer pour in the wet ingredients slowly as you beat them, the batter will come somewhat thick and sticky well that means the soda worked well with the ingredients.
The batter is just nice for my 12 hole doughnut tray, it'll be easier to use a piping bag to fill the tray and I only realized I should have used it when I was half way done. At this point I preheated the oven to 180 degrees while I finish filling the rest of the tray.
My doughnuts in the making, I can actually see my reflection on the glass...hahaha...at this point I have 3 hungry restless creatures in the house that can't wait to see what's gonna come out of the oven.
It only took about 15 to 20 minutes to finish baking or was it sooner? Hmm...I didn't time myself but I took it out when I saw it was nice golden brown...oh the smell is wonderful...I could actually smell the honey.
I glazed honey over the hot doughnuts and sprinkled some cinnamon on them...oh they look and smell yummy but I wasn't sure about the taste. This is my first time making it and all this while doughnut is made out of dough and is fried. This is our first healthy baked doughnut with pancake batter mixture style.
The texture inside is totally different well..duh...obviously. The taste is so much different it's definitely nothing like that fattening sinful doughnuts you get from dunkins or big apple or even krispy kreme. This would be an acquired taste. It's so crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Some sort like a burnt muffin.
I cut a few pieces for my dear furkids and they enjoyed it. The comment from my hubby was just "nice" with a sad face. Who likes healthy food anyways they are not as yummy as those "killing me softly" kinda food. Perhaps, I should try again this time with the usual doughnut recipe but instead of frying I should bake it.
I was thinking of adding walnuts in the batter earlier for some reason I must've forgotten oh well, there's always a next time!!
I found this recipe online some time ago but been sitting on it for so long and finally I had some time to do some baking. I did improvise the recipe a little to fit my liking to make it completely healthy and edible for both my hubby and my furkids...yes I have furkids now. I have sparkle and casper but I'll tell the story of casper on another day.
Dry ingredients :
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder / soda bicarbonate
1 tsp salt I put a little less since I was gonna share it with the furkids
1/4 sugar (optional) I didn't use any sugar
I sifted all dry ingredients together in my mixing bowl, sifting is crucial this will avoid all the tiny little lumps.
Wet ingredients :
3/4 cup milk I used Low Fat Milk
2 eggs or 1 is enough
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tbsp Honey - I used honey instead of sugar
1 tbsp of melted butter or canola oil or you can go without if u want to
Mix all the wet ingredients bowl and beat lightly
In your mixer pour in the wet ingredients slowly as you beat them, the batter will come somewhat thick and sticky well that means the soda worked well with the ingredients.
My doughnuts in the making, I can actually see my reflection on the glass...hahaha...at this point I have 3 hungry restless creatures in the house that can't wait to see what's gonna come out of the oven.
It only took about 15 to 20 minutes to finish baking or was it sooner? Hmm...I didn't time myself but I took it out when I saw it was nice golden brown...oh the smell is wonderful...I could actually smell the honey.
I glazed honey over the hot doughnuts and sprinkled some cinnamon on them...oh they look and smell yummy but I wasn't sure about the taste. This is my first time making it and all this while doughnut is made out of dough and is fried. This is our first healthy baked doughnut with pancake batter mixture style.
I cut a few pieces for my dear furkids and they enjoyed it. The comment from my hubby was just "nice" with a sad face. Who likes healthy food anyways they are not as yummy as those "killing me softly" kinda food. Perhaps, I should try again this time with the usual doughnut recipe but instead of frying I should bake it.
I was thinking of adding walnuts in the batter earlier for some reason I must've forgotten oh well, there's always a next time!!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Bamboo and Wooden Chicks?
We were at the traffic lights on Jalan Pudu and took the opportunity to check out all the dodgy looking hotels along the road. What caught our eyes was the shop (pic above). They sell Bamboo and Wooden Chicks, what on earth is that? Seriously, what do they actually sell? If anyone could read mandarin please do translate it for us.
For one moment, someone in the car suggested they are probably selling blow-up dolls made out of wood and another asked "wouldn't that cause splinters?", "Oh, no said the other. It's eco-friendly and made out of good splinter-free wood". Yeah, we had a good laugh as we drove past.
What ever Mr. Thye Fah Liki is selling surely got us interested. Unfortunately, the number on the sign board is old...hmm...perhaps I could call up TM tomorrow and get the latest number just to find out what do they sell.
Oh, could it be the bamboo mannequin chicks? You know those that tailors use to model their clothes, this is used way before plastic mannequins were invented.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
You're Leaking!!
Not too long ago, my best buddy Jason and I went to Bangsar for lunch. To solve the frantic search for a parking space we decided to park at Bangsar Village instead and since it was still 11am it wasn't a problem finding an empty lot.
We happily parked our car and was walking towards the exit. About 100 metres from where we were, I saw something that caught my attention, a couple walking in the opposite direction, very loving and clingy. Well that wasn't that interesting to watch, what actually caught my attention was the little paperback that the guy was carrying, no it wasn't unique or pretty or good to look at or anything like that but the interesting factor was.......it was leaking.
Whatever that was in there is obviously not meant to be carried the way he was carrying it, he was happily swinging the paperback as though he wasn't aware what's in it.
As we approached, I pointed to his paperback and said "Excuse me, you're leaking", he peaked into his paperback and exclaimed "Oh shit!!". It was his coffee that was spilling all the way from the entrance/exit to where we were and it's about 50 metres. Oh well, at least he only lost half a cup of coffee and he can still see his cup half full and not half empty.
I mean, really if you know you are carrying liqiud that could possibly spill why on earth are you swinging your paperback??
Jason then pointed out "Did you know, you just told him that he was leaking" hahahaha I know I realized how wrong that sounded, but that didn't seem to bother him though.
Note to self :
If you are taking your coffee/tea or whatever drinks on the go. Hold them with your hands and not in a paperback or bag or whatever that could make it spill.
We happily parked our car and was walking towards the exit. About 100 metres from where we were, I saw something that caught my attention, a couple walking in the opposite direction, very loving and clingy. Well that wasn't that interesting to watch, what actually caught my attention was the little paperback that the guy was carrying, no it wasn't unique or pretty or good to look at or anything like that but the interesting factor was.......it was leaking.
Whatever that was in there is obviously not meant to be carried the way he was carrying it, he was happily swinging the paperback as though he wasn't aware what's in it.
As we approached, I pointed to his paperback and said "Excuse me, you're leaking", he peaked into his paperback and exclaimed "Oh shit!!". It was his coffee that was spilling all the way from the entrance/exit to where we were and it's about 50 metres. Oh well, at least he only lost half a cup of coffee and he can still see his cup half full and not half empty.
I mean, really if you know you are carrying liqiud that could possibly spill why on earth are you swinging your paperback??
Jason then pointed out "Did you know, you just told him that he was leaking" hahahaha I know I realized how wrong that sounded, but that didn't seem to bother him though.
Note to self :
If you are taking your coffee/tea or whatever drinks on the go. Hold them with your hands and not in a paperback or bag or whatever that could make it spill.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The return....will it be for good??
I have been missing for almost a year now, a lot has happened in the past 11 months and now I'm finally back. Just imagine I started this blog same time last year and it went well till March and I went missing. Now I'm back!! I hope I can continue with it till end of the year hehehe....
Let me just fill in some insights of what happened in the past 11 months....I quit my job and started my own company. I work from home and I spend more time with Sparkle. If you have forgotten who Sparkle is, she is my doggie, my best friend and my daughter. Business is doing fine and I'm able to sustain. I have great clients, they are aware I'm operating from home and they are very supportive.
We visited Melbourne and Adelaide in December. It was more like our 4th wedding anniversary, my hubby's bday, our long awaited honeymoon and my sisters' graduation. It was a all-in-one trip. We had super fun, I'll leave our story about our trip for another day.
I received a good news yesterday, our house we bought in Seri Kembangan will be ready for us to move in just before CNY. Anyways, we've heard this before throughout the year last year. It's always before this and before that but it never happens. But this time, the developer is pretty sure it's ready.
When I move I'll be missing my good neighbours, my next door neighbour Jacyn that we rarely meet but always chat on msn. Ahh yes, we are neighbours and we meet on msn more often that in flesh....hehehe...I now have a new neighbour in the opposite unit. They moved in about a month ago but only saw Ric twice and last Tuesday we managed to exchange more than a Hi. Which is good and now we are chatting on msn....lol...technologies...
I got myself busy with cleaning and packing all excited to move to my new house!! Yippee!! I just hope it's not another let down.
Let me just fill in some insights of what happened in the past 11 months....I quit my job and started my own company. I work from home and I spend more time with Sparkle. If you have forgotten who Sparkle is, she is my doggie, my best friend and my daughter. Business is doing fine and I'm able to sustain. I have great clients, they are aware I'm operating from home and they are very supportive.
We visited Melbourne and Adelaide in December. It was more like our 4th wedding anniversary, my hubby's bday, our long awaited honeymoon and my sisters' graduation. It was a all-in-one trip. We had super fun, I'll leave our story about our trip for another day.
I received a good news yesterday, our house we bought in Seri Kembangan will be ready for us to move in just before CNY. Anyways, we've heard this before throughout the year last year. It's always before this and before that but it never happens. But this time, the developer is pretty sure it's ready.
When I move I'll be missing my good neighbours, my next door neighbour Jacyn that we rarely meet but always chat on msn. Ahh yes, we are neighbours and we meet on msn more often that in flesh....hehehe...I now have a new neighbour in the opposite unit. They moved in about a month ago but only saw Ric twice and last Tuesday we managed to exchange more than a Hi. Which is good and now we are chatting on msn....lol...technologies...
I got myself busy with cleaning and packing all excited to move to my new house!! Yippee!! I just hope it's not another let down.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Yoghurt Fish
It has been many moons since the last time I cooked fish for us. Every time, I visit the supermarket the fishes aren't fresh at all and I don't have the habit of buying from the market. One because my hubby doesn't like to accompany me there and two I don't know if I'm being cheated or not. For all I know, the supermarket could be cheating me as well...
I bought black pomphret and 2 slices of Garoupa, I actually planned to make chicken burger for dinner but changed my mind at the last minute when I saw the fishes.
It's been some time since I cooked a complete meal for dinner, I usually go for something fast and simple to save time. Yesterday, I felt I should cook something assumptious that both of us will love and so I did.
First I marinated the garoupa with chilli powder, tumeric powder and salt and set a side.
I cleaned the pomphret, I usually make sure that I clean my meat products before freezing them in the freezer as this keeps the freezer clean and the next time I decide to cook meat, I could just defrost and start cooking. It takes less time. Besides, it's really unhealthy to keep uncleaned meat in freezer. I'm keeping the pomphret for a rainy day.
Right, after cleaning the fish. I cooked rice. I heated up oil to fry the fish. In the mean time, I prepared the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce, cut onions for the vegie stir fry and cut ladies fingers.
1 Onions
Cardamoms
Star Anise
Cloves
Cinnamon Sticks
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
5 tsb or more Yoghurt, the more yoghurt the more sour it'll taste.
Heat up oil and add onions, cinnamon, cardamoms, star anise and cloves. Let it simmer and stir in cumin powder, chilli powder and tumeric powder. Tumeric powder gives the colour and you may add more chilli powder as you wish, if you like it spicy that is. Add the yoghurt once the strong smell of the spices starts tickling your nostrils. Stir well and let it boil. You may add the fried fish in the sauce just before turning of the fire but I prefer to serve it separately as we have different likings of how we eat our meals.
This dish goes well with stir fried ladies fingers. This is a simple and a common dish. I just love ladies fingers.
All done and served, the meal was too much for us though it was only 2 slices of fish but they were 2 huge slices of fish.
We were so full and we ended up comparing our bellies.
I bought black pomphret and 2 slices of Garoupa, I actually planned to make chicken burger for dinner but changed my mind at the last minute when I saw the fishes.
It's been some time since I cooked a complete meal for dinner, I usually go for something fast and simple to save time. Yesterday, I felt I should cook something assumptious that both of us will love and so I did.
First I marinated the garoupa with chilli powder, tumeric powder and salt and set a side.
I cleaned the pomphret, I usually make sure that I clean my meat products before freezing them in the freezer as this keeps the freezer clean and the next time I decide to cook meat, I could just defrost and start cooking. It takes less time. Besides, it's really unhealthy to keep uncleaned meat in freezer. I'm keeping the pomphret for a rainy day.
Right, after cleaning the fish. I cooked rice. I heated up oil to fry the fish. In the mean time, I prepared the ingredients for the yoghurt sauce, cut onions for the vegie stir fry and cut ladies fingers.
1 Onions
Cardamoms
Star Anise
Cloves
Cinnamon Sticks
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
5 tsb or more Yoghurt, the more yoghurt the more sour it'll taste.
Heat up oil and add onions, cinnamon, cardamoms, star anise and cloves. Let it simmer and stir in cumin powder, chilli powder and tumeric powder. Tumeric powder gives the colour and you may add more chilli powder as you wish, if you like it spicy that is. Add the yoghurt once the strong smell of the spices starts tickling your nostrils. Stir well and let it boil. You may add the fried fish in the sauce just before turning of the fire but I prefer to serve it separately as we have different likings of how we eat our meals.
This dish goes well with stir fried ladies fingers. This is a simple and a common dish. I just love ladies fingers.
All done and served, the meal was too much for us though it was only 2 slices of fish but they were 2 huge slices of fish.
We were so full and we ended up comparing our bellies.
There were some left overs, especially rice and some ladies fingers. That'll be kept of the next day. Perhaps, I should cook something the complements the leftovers...hehehe.
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