sesame oil mee sua with hard boiled egg

so we just finished prayers for the jade emperor's (tian gong) birthday. my mom was the one doing the prayers, i just helped her prep some of the food and wave some joss sticks around. and after all the prayers are done -- paper house and paper gold burned, god munched down the spirit of the food offerings -- whatever was placed on the altar can now be packed up, preferably in our stomachs. so, i whipped together the mee sua and red-dyed hard boiled egg into a delightfully satisfying late night snack. (emphasis on snack. u'd want to increase the amount of mee sua if this is gonna be your main meal.)

• 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 fish balls, halved
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp shao xing rice wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 tsp salt to taste
• 2 bundles mee sua
• handful torn lettuce leaves (cos or iceberg)
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or quartered
• handful coriander leaves
• chopped spring onion
• fried garlic
• pinch ground white pepper

1. heat the oil in a saucepan. saute the garlic on medium low heat until just beginning to brown.
2. add the fish balls and fry on high heat for about 1 minute. season with white pepper, soy sauce and rice wine; cook for another minute.
3. add the chicken stock and bring to boil.
4. season to taste with salt and add the mee sua and lettuce leaves. cook for a minute on medium heat, separating the mee sua with chopsticks.
5. remove from heat. divide the mee sua, fish balls, lettuce and soup between two bowls.
6. top each bowl with an egg each, some coriander leaves, spring onion, fried garlic and white pepper.
7. serve immediately.

note: sadly, my bowl of mee sua didn't actually have spring onions in it, but it still tasted great. it'd be much better with it though.

thanks tseyein for taking the pikchar.

quick update

so as the title suggests, i'll keep this short.

firstly, apologies to my one and only follower on this pathetically miserable blog that doesn't get updated. haha, sorry. u know how i am.

anyway, i got a job as a sub-editor with Flavours magazine (owned by Star Publications), and that's taking up a huge chunk of my life. i've literally worked every damn day since i started work there on dec14, 2009. no kidding. public holidays, saturdays and sundays. the only days i've had off are dec25 for my christmas party, and yesterday and today coz i'm on MC for conjunctivitis. bleh.

so yeah, if u think that getting a job at a food magazine is gonna give me more time to cook, hells no. i get lots of inspiration for food (i spend the whole day reading recipes and articles about food and wine), but i don't get much of a chance to try them. so that sucks. it's kinda like sucking the life out of my passion for food. after a while, every recipe i read feels like a bore.

i'm digressing. my point is, i have a lot more things to say regarding food nowadays, but much less time to do it. i've also accumulated a lot of recipes but no time to publish it. i do sometimes log on to nibbledish to post my recipes coz i have more than one follower on that site. and no, i don't mean just two. i actually have a pretty decent sized following there. pro ranking okay, don't play play. so, check things out over there when things are quiet here.

i will attempt to keep this food blog more updated. (note to self: posts on christmas dinner and all the yummeh yummeh foods that night; high tide; and things-i-don't-like-abt-nibbledish-since-yongfook-sold-it.) till then, happy food hunting.

ps: this sub-ed did not proofread this post coz she needs to go rest her inflammed eyes. gotta work tmrw, good night.

Tuna & Rocket Pasta

the ingredients...

• 1 can (200g) tuna (preferably in brine)
• 200 ml whipping cream
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion (yellow or red works), roughly chopped
• handful of sweet basil
• 50g rocket leaves
• 2 tbsp butter
• 100 ml melted butter or olive oil
• 6-8 pitted black olives, sliced
• 4 servings spaghetti or fettucini
• salt, white pepper and freshly cracked black pepper.

the method...

1. Start cooking the spaghetti/fettucini as per packet instructions.
2. Get a skillet heated and melt the 2 tbsp butter. Fry the garlic and onion on medium heat until fragrant. Don't let it brown.
3. Add the whipping cream and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.
4. Place the tuna and basil leaves in a blender or food processor. Pour in the contents of the skillet and process until smooth. With the motor still running, drizzle in the melted butter/olive oil. Season with salt and white pepper.
5. Drain the spaghetti, reserving abt 1/2 cup liquid. Pour in the processed sauce and half the rocket leaves. Mix well.
6. Divvy up the pasta and sauce onto four serving dishes. Garnish with the other half of the rocket leaves and some freshly cracked black pepper. Serve with a slice of garlic bread to soak up the yummy sauce.
7. Bon appetit!

photo courtesy of tsewei...

SoCo Orange Scallops

classes started already, which means i don't have as much time to cook anymore :(
it's sunday, and after a night of drinking at my room party (roomie's bday) yesterday, i guess i can spare some time to make some yummy scallops with, wait for it... a shot of southern comfort. yes, waking up and doing more drinking. it's not my soco though, it's jerez's, but since he left it behind, i decided to steal one shot. just a shot jerez, please don't get mad. me makes u food next time ok?

ingredients:

• 7 sea scallops
• 150ml orange juice
• 1 shot Southern Comfort
• 1 tbsp butter
• sliced mushrooms
• chopped spring onions
• salt
• white pepper
• garlic powder
• chili powder

this is how we party...

1. wash scallops, pat dry with paper towel.
2. season both sides with salt, white pepper, garlic powder and chili powder.
3. heat butter in pan until it's smoking hot.
4. place seasoned scallops (wide side down) in a single layer. no sliding, no moving... no, don't you dare touch those scallops once they're down!
5. gently turn them over with thongs after 1 1/2 minutes, and sear for another minute.
6. plate the scallops.
7. now add the sliced mushrooms to the pan. stir fry on medium heat for 2 minutes, seasoning with a little salt and pepper.
8. scoop out the mushrooms and place them over the scallops.
9. turn up the heat to high, add the shot of southern comfort and orange juice to the pan. boil for 5 minutes until the soco orange is reduced to a syrup.
10. pour the SoCo orange reduction over the scallops and mushrooms.
11. garnish with the chopped spring onions and serve.

this is a great appetizer. the scallops are nice and juicy, and eaten with the sauce, there's a symphony of sweetness, salty and tangy feeling, and just a teeny weeny bit spicy.

don't overcook the scallops! it becomes tough and rubbery, and when juices starts oozing out, u know it's too far gone. keep track of the cooking time, and keep an eye on the color of the scallops. as soon as they turn from translucent to opaque, get them off the heat!

Nasi Lemak & Chicken Curry

a truly Malaysian cuisine, made using ingredients that are more readily available in America.

ingredients for making nasi lemak...

• 1 cup white rice (preferably Jasmine)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (unsweetened, first pressed)
• 4 bay leaves
• 3/4 tsp salt

directions for making the nasi lemak...

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Strain and pour into a pot. Add the salt, bay leaves and water and soak for 15 minutes.
2. Place the pot of rice on high heat and bring to a boil with the lid on. Keep a close watch on it so that it won’t leak out when it starts boiling or else you’ll have such a fun time cleaning up the stove.
3. Anyway, once it comes to a boil, add the coconut milk, stir, place the lid back on, turn the heat down to medium low and let simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring once or twice in the last 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

ingredients for making chicken curry...

• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• 1 1/2 cup water (potato)
• 4 pieces chicken thigh, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 tsp lemon grass mash
• 3 tsp garlic mash
• 2 tsp ginger mash
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• pepper (preferably white)
• 6 bay leaves
• 4 heap tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup water (curry paste)
• 3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 tbsp rice wine, or any cooking sherry
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cube chicken consomme (15g)
• salt

directions for making the chicken currt...

1. Marinate the chicken in the lemon grass, garlic and ginger mash with the soy sauce, bay leaves and pepper for about 10 minutes.
2. Fill a pot with 1 ½ cup water seasoned with salt and add the potatoes. Bring it to a rapid boil and reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the diced carrots and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Mix the curry powder with ½ cup of water to form a paste.
4. Heat the peanut oil in a large pot and fry the diced onion until translucent. Add the chicken fry for about 3 minutes, then the curry paste and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add in the rice wine and empty the potatoes, carrots and its liquids into the pot. Pour the coconut milk in and add the chicken consommé cube. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt to taste.

to assemble this dish...

1. divide the rice between the dishes and pour the chicken curry over the rice.
2. add to each serving a hard boiled egg, 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, some celery or cucumber sticks, and garnish with chopped cilantro and chili.
3. serves 3-4 people.