Tom Yam Fish and Yu Cai

It's another quick and easy dinner tonight. After getting home from work, I get in the kitchen and made dinner for the kids and then, it's time to think about what the adults will eat for dinner. Tonight, I have decided that we will have steamed Tom Yam fish and Yu Cai for dinner. I have bought a whole bunch of green vegetables when I went shopping over the weekend, so, have to eat as much as possible before they go bad.

Ok, Tom Yam fish.....I love making it...it's so easy yet so tasty. Think of Tom Yam soup, what do you have in it? You can add these ingredients with the fish. It's usually onions for me if I don't have anything else to add. But tonight, it's onions and green beans. Would have added tomatoes too if I have them, mushrooms, and ladies fingers (think curry fish head). If you like it sour, you can add a splash of lemon juice when done.

Ingredients: Fish, Tom Yam Paste, Onion and Vegs.  

How simple is simple? Well, put your fish on an aluminium foil that is big enough to close up completely after  all the ingredients are in. You will have to fold up the corners of the foil. Surround your fish with the vegetables that you want to add, and add Tom Yam paste that has been mixed with water. Fold the aluminium foil to make a packet and steam it in the oven till fish is cook. I used the toaster oven and it worked just fine. See picture below for final product. I was so eager to take a picture and eat that I forgot to add cilantro for better taste and garnish. Sorry if the pic doesn't look too appetizing but I assure you, it tasted real good.

On the side, I made Yu Cai with oyster sauce. I made some fried garlic to go with it and for you who's interested in the short cut way of frying garlic, use the microwave. It uses less oil and done quick. Chop up your garlic, put them in a glass bowl and pour enough oil just to cover them. Put it in the microwave oven and nuke it for 60 secs....swirl the bowl a little to distribute the heat.....microwave again for 30 secs...check/swirl...and if they are still not brown, do it for another 30 secs. Took me 1.5 mins to get my 2 cloves of garlic done.

And for the Yu Cai, blanch them in a pot of boiling water for a few mins. I like my vegetables a little crunchy and not overcooked. I put the stems in first to cook as they take a little longer. After they are cooked, take them out, put some oyster sauce on it and drizzle the fried garlic and oil on top. I added fried shallots too.

A bowl of white rice was served with the fish and vegetables. Overall, a wholesome meal, all done in about 30 mins or less.

Brazilian Cheese Bread

Another quick and easy recipe using basic ingredients...well, not that basic since the local supermarkets here do not carry Tapioca flour. I saw this recipe a while ago here and have been wanting to make them but  didn't have Tapioca flour in the house. I tried ordering it online but of all the things that I ordered, they ran out of stock for the flour. Just my luck! Finally, the past weekend, I made a trip to Flushing and came home with some supply...so, here they are, the little cheese puffs. Don't they look cute?

 

This is so easy to put together and bake, no way you can mess it up. I used sharp cheddar for a cheesier taste and they are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. They are light, sugar free and since we are using Tapioca flour, they are gluten free. 

What can you eat these with? Well, they are good eaten on its own when warm and I think dunking them in a bowl of cream soup would be yummy too. 

Enjoy.

Irish Dinner - Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patrick's Day is over and neither of us are Irish but my other half likes corned beef and I have been wanting to try this recipe that I saw on Allrecipes.com. The recipe calls for Guinness Stout and brown sugar to cook the brisket. It seemed easy and based on the reviews by others, I decided to cook it in the slow cooker....nice and slow makes it tender....and the Guinness made it very flavorful. Even for somebody like me that doesn't eat much beef thought it was good. It made a complete meal since there were vegetables and potatoes in it. I love one pot meal.

It took me a while to get rid of the fats on the brisket before putting it in the slow cooker but overall it was easy and the house smelt really nice hen it was cooking away. And we ate it some German mustard. Irish meet German. The end result.....DELICIOUS! Too bad I didn't have the time to make a Soda Bread to go with it, which would have made the meal even better.

Breakfast at home

We don't usually get to have breakfast at home, needless to say, to make breakfast. This Saturday morning, I decided that quick and easy is the way to go, again, instead of going out to McDonald's or the Diner.

Crepes, I thought, would be nice since I am not a big fan of pancakes. In fact, I enjoy the Asian style breakfast so much more....noodles, roti prata etc but of course, these are not available here.

Nutella and Bananas

Blueberry Syrup and Bananas

Crepes...basically just egg, flour and milk...and a non stick pan. They are very versatile as they can be eaten sweet or savory depending on what you pair them with.

This morning's choices....Nutella + Bananas or Blueberry Syrup + Bananas.

Quick and easy but definitely satisfying.

The First and The Simplest

I never thought I would start a blog as I don't think I will have time to do it being that I have 2 little kids and working full time. But I have been doing a lot baking and cooking as I am missing the food that I grew up with, and I think that blogging would be a good way to keep track of what I have done and accomplished.
I moved to Long Island almost 5 years ago from Singapore and I never thought I would miss the food from SG and Msia so much. And I never thought I would be actually be making a lot of thing myself just to have a taste of home.

Just a few days ago, it was late, kids were in bed and I wanted something to snack on and I thought to myself, what better than making some Muah Chee (Glutinous rice balls coated with crushed peanuts) since it's quick and easy? So, I gathered the few ingredients required and in about 15 mins, I have a nice little snack. They sure hit a spot but I wished I had ground the peanuts instead of chopping.
I had this posted on my FB page and it tweaked the interest of some of my old friends, even when they are in Msia and SG where this is readily available. Amazing how something as simple and humble as Muah Chee gets such attention.
Lastly, there's really no exact measurement to the recipe...all you need is some glutinous rice flour, water, pinch of salt, oil, peanuts and sugar. Enjoy.