Memories in the Cooking

Cooking for the family comes with making tough decisions. One of such decisions is "should I cook spicy food when when my kids cannot take the fiery but I simply love the heat?". Crabs/Mussels-2-ways is an attempt to please everyone's tastebuds. So, this post is not one but two (or four) recipes. Ingredients: (Chili Crabs/ Mussels) - 1 onion, diced  - 2 tablespoons of sambal chili  - 2 cubes of fermented spicy tofu  - 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup  - 2 tablespoon of sugar  - 1-2 crabs or 15 large mussels  - 1 egg (Garlic Butter Cream Crabs/ Mussels) - 1-2 buds of garlic, crushed  - 50g butter - all-purpose cream and milk (1:1) - 1 chicken cube  - pepper - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - 1-2 crabs or 15 large mussels  Procedures: (Chili Crabs/Mussels) 1) Stir fry onions until soft.  2) Add sambal chili, fermented tofu, tomato ketchup, sugar and 1 bowl of water.  3) When the...

I love Chicken Liver Pate. It is rich and creamy. It looks so unassuming yet it is so irresistible. Case in point. Last night, I brought it as a potluck dish to a family Christmas party. As it was meant to be a starter, I did not place it at the main buffet table but rather at the side for the early-comers to enjoy with some crackers or baguette while waiting for the party to start. At some point near the end of the party, I heard a family member said "Oh my, is that pate? I love pate!". Then, he proceeded to try it even though it was way past the time for starters. But well, who cares? Chicken Liver Pate can be eaten anytime. Ingredients: - Chicken livers (1 packet, about 5-6 livers)  - 1 yellow onion - 1 bulb of garlic  - Mixed herbs  - 1 chicken cube  - 80g of butter  - cooking wine/red wine/sherry - pepper Procedures: 1) Stir fry onions and garlic until soft and fragrant 2) Add chicken livers and continue to fry.  3) Ad...

Every year, my husband will get the clan (children, nieces and nephew included) to make 汤圆 during 冬至. First, it is fun to make. Second, it symbolises reunion, which we treasure as not all of us are based in Singapore. This year, we have agreed to making 汤圆 together during our Christmas celebration. Before that, on 冬至， our small family of four decided to first experiment with 3 flavours of assorted 汤 圆- black sesame, peanut and nutella. And we woke up at 6am  to do this! To be honest, the home-made 汤圆 were far from pretty. But it was still good effort from the 3 and 8 years old. Ingredients: - 3 cups of glutinous rice flour (some extra)  - red and green food dye - 1 tablespoon dollop sweetened black sesame paste  - 1 tablespoon dollop crunchy peanut butter  - 1tablespoon dollop of nutella  - sugar  - 30g butter - 1 bunch wolfberries  - 1 bunch red dates  - 1 bunch dried longans  Procedures:  1) Mix sesam...

After a week-long overseas holiday, my grocery supply was at its all-time low. I could only find a few hardy vegetables (potatos, carrots, onions) and a pack of frozen mixed seafood. After eating out for many days, my boys were yearning for home-cooked food. My Redmart delivery was still a few days away and I didn't fèel like braving the rain to shop for grocery. What magic can I whip up from these ingredients? A hearty seafood chowder. Perfect for the rainy December day. Ingredients: 3 potatos, diced  3 carrots, diced 1 large yellow onion, diced  1 pack of frozen mixed seafood (500g), defrost 1 can of all-purposed cream 2 chicken stock cubes  2 tablespoons mixed herbs  2 tablespoon of plain flour  A kettle of boiling water Pepper  Procedures: 1) Stir fry onions in vegetable oil until translucent  2) Add potatos and carrots and stir-fry for 5-10 minutes. 3) Add plain flour and fry until it loses the white colour. 4...

After eating a Pokebowl, you will be able to catch powerful Pokemons with your Pokeball. I simply cannot resist saying this when my boys are enjoying my Salmon Pokebowl. Quiz. Where is Salmon Pokebowl invented? Japan? Nope, it is Hawaii! This dish is so fun to eat and so fun to cook, or should I say "assemble"? Ingredients: 400g sashimi grade salmon 2 cups of Japanese rice 2 avocados, cut into cubes 1 cucumber, thinly sliced 1 carrot, thinly shredded Japanese marinated ginger Edamame Seaweed 4 tablespoons of Japanese soya sauce 2 tablespoons of mirin 2 tablespoons of Japanese vinegar 2 tablespoons of sesame oil 2 tablespoons of white sesame seeds Wasabi Procedures: 1) Cook Japanese rice as per instructions in the packet 2) Add soya sauce, Mirin, vinegar, sesame oil, sesame seeds to marinate salmon. Let it sit while rice is cooking (around 20 mins) 3) Boil edamame 4) Assemble the Pokebowl with all the ingredients. Top up with a little wasabi. My 3.5 ...

Who doesn't love Chicken Rice? Chicken Rice is one of Nathan's most frequently ordered dish when we dine at a kopitiam. At home, I cook 2 versions of it. The first version involves poaching the chicken and using the chicken stock to cook the fragrant rice. This version will be attempted during celebrations such as Chinese New Year. As for the normal, day-to-day version, it will be this Easy Chicken Rice where the chicken is steamed together with the rice. It takes less than an hour to complete. Ingredients: 1 Onion (blended)  1 large piece of ginger (grated)  1 clove of Garlic (crushed using garlic crusher)  2 cups of rice  1 large cucumber  Pepper and Salt  4-5 chicken drumsticks (cut into bite-size)  Procedures: 1) In a rice cooker pot, wash 2 cups of rice and add 2 cups of water.  2) Add half the grated ginger and half the crushed garlic.  3) Add 1 tablespoon light soya sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, pepper...