chicken soup in miso

I had the sudden urge to cook chicken in miso today
I've no idea how to go about making it as I've never tasted it before
but I figured it should be like cooking chicken soup with miso added towards the end

and my guess was right!

it was a sweet success :)

Here's how I did it:




wash 1 chicken thigh and cut into smaller pieces

marinate them in 2 grated garlic + 1/2" grated ginger and set aside

heat a medium pot and pour in 1 Tbsp cooking oil

while the oil is heating up toss in 1 cinnamon stick + 1 star anise + 4 cloves and let the aroma of the

 spices invade your kitchen

saute 1 diced onion until fragrant and transparent

add in the marinated chicken thigh and stir-fry it for a few minutes before adding in water just

 enough to cover/immerse the chicken in it

toss in 1 sliced celery stalk + 3 sliced mushroom + 1 sliced carrot + 1 cut green chilly

cover the pot with lid halfway open and allow all ingredients to boil

add in 1 tsp salt to bring out the ingredients' flavor

simmer gently until the gravy thickens slightly

off the fire and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and scallions

allow the bubbles of the boiling soup to subside

add in 1 small packet of Miso paste into the gravy  and mix well

taste for saltiness

serve immediately

a word on Miso paste
it must be added last and after the fire is off
this is to allow the enzymes in it to remain active
boiling temperature just kill it all
if extra salt is needed add it in the soup during eating

Thai green curry

Ever tried Thai green curry before?
apparently there are many ways of cooking this dish
I'm using this recipe as I have all the ingredients called for ready in my kitchen
and this is my first time cooking as well as eating this curry
so you can imagine what I went through
it is seriously
HOT!!!

Simply follow these 2 steps

Making the paste

      on a stove heat up a non stick saucepan over low heat and toss in 

      1 tsp coriander seeds + 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and keep stirring for 3 mins

      transfer both spices into a mortar and pound them till fine and keep aside

      using the same mortar, pound the following ingredients till fine

• 1 sliced shallot  
• 1 Tbsp sliced lemongrass 
• 1/4" galangal 
• 1 cut celery stalk
• 3 peppercorns 
• 1/2 tsp shrimp paste (belachan) 
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar 
• 9 chili padi 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp juice of kaffir lime
• 1/2 tsp zest of kaffir lime

     mix the grounded spices together with the above pounded ingredients to form into a smooth paste

Making the green curry

on a stove heat up a medium sized pot and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

saute the above paste for 4 mins until the aroma fills up your kitchen 

then add in 1/4 cup thick coconut milk (santan) and mix thoroughly with the green paste

add in 1/4 chicken which has been washed clean into the pot

add enough water just to cover the chicken and mix all ingredients well

 cover the pot with lid half open and let the chicken cook

add in 1/2 diced red bell pepper and 3 kaffir lime leaves and cook for 3 mins

then add in 3 tsp fish sauce, one spoon at a time and taste for saltiness

lastly if need be..add in 1 tsp freshly squeezed kaffir lime juice 

and off the fire

a word on the chili
If you are not a great fan of chili padi please use half the chili in this recipe
if I were to cook this dish again which I like to..I would half the amount of chili
I love chili but my tummy couldn't take it!
 Haha..


Special thanks to Mamak Haji for his recipe :)

rice vermicelli in soup

Rice vermicelli..you said? where is it?
Haha!! That's my way of having rice vermicelli in soup..
you can hardly see it
the veggies and garnishing pretty much hide it :)

Lets see the making of it, shall we..

I'm using 2 stoves at the same time in cooking this recipe

 on one stove put enough water in one pot to boil half a packet of rice vermicelli

meanwhile on the other stove heat a medium sized pot and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

saute 1 sliced shallots till crispy then add in 2 cups beef stock + 2 cut tomatoes and allow to boil

blanch 3 cut squids in the stock for 1 min and remove it immediately when it turns opaque white

place the cooked squids in a separate bowl for later garnishing

then add in 1 thinly sliced eryngii mushroom + 200g cut choy sum into the stock

and continue to boil for 2 mins just to cook the veggies

add in 2 tsp salt and taste the stock

stir all ingredients well and off the fire

by this time the rice vermicelli is already cooked

drain the hot water completely from the pot of the rice vermicelli

you may want to use a colander for this purpose

put the rice vermicelli in a serving bowl and pour enough stock over it

arrange the choy sum + eryngii mushroom + squids on top of the rice vermicelli

garnish with scallions

best eaten with chili padi in soy sauce + freshly squeezed calamansi juice

Bon appetit! 

a word on the beef stock

I keep beef stock in the freezer at all times

it comes in handy when the recipe calls for some stock as a base

whenever I brought home beef I would boil the beef in water + grated garlic + ginger 

when the soup has completely cooled down I would freeze them in containers

 separate the beef from the soup if you want to and label them

classic fried rice

Such a simple ancient recipe
my mom would cook this instantly when my brothers and I had a hunger "pang" in-between meals
those precious childhood memories I'm reliving it today
...just the food, I mean :)

Here's the making of it:

heat a wok over medium fire and pour in 2 Tbsp of cooking oil

fry 1 Tbsp of cleaned and washed anchovies till crispy and golden brown

then add in 1 diced shallot + 3 crushed garlic + 1/2" thinly sliced ginger and saute till crispy

add in 2 tsp chilli paste + 1 tsp salt and continue sauteing till the chilli is crispy and becomes dark red

add in 1 chopped Eryngii mushroom and fry for 1 min (optional)

finally add in 1 cup cooked rice and mix well all ingredients together to get an even color and taste

continue frying the rice until it becomes crispy and light

sprinkle 1 tsp of soy sauce all over the rice and mix well

off the fire and serve hot

garnish with scallion

a word on the cooked rice

it is a common practice to use leftover rice when making fried rice
however I cooked fresh rice that very morning and fried them after 30 mins they are cooked
I try not to keep rice overnight as the process of fermentation begins right after the cooked rice has cooled down
I have added Eryngii mushroom for added flavor to this classic recipe
Enjoy :)

chicken curry

Original recipe is from my mom
I've made some adjustments to it due to time constraint
one day I hope to make them just like my mom did it
all from scratch!

meanwhile enjoy this :)

Here's how you do it:


cut up a 1/4 chicken into smaller sizes and wash clean and final rinse in salt water

the salt water would remove all traces of blood and slimy stuff as well as trapped feathers

marinate the cleaned chicken in 3 grated garlic and 1" grated ginger..keep aside

on a stove heat a medium size pot and pour in 2 Tbsp cooking oil

toss in 1 stick cinnamon + 1 star anise + 4 cloves + 2 cardamom as the oil is heating up

then toss 1 diced onion and saute all spices together and let the aroma of spices invade your home!

when the onion has turned transparent toss in the marinated chicken and mix well

meanwhile in a bowl, put Baba's curry powder for chicken (small packet) and add water bit by bit to form a smooth paste

add this paste into the pot and stir it well with the chicken and spices for 2 mins

then add in water into the pot just enough to immerse the chicken in it

add in 2 cut tomatoes + 1 cut big potato + 2 cut green chillies

when the potato is cooked add in 1 Tbsp yogurt + 1 tsp salt 

continue boiling until the gravy thickens then taste the curry

add in some cilantro and off the fire

serve hot with rice or bread












a word on chicken curry
after the fire is off, NEVER cover the pot with its lid
let the curry rest in the pot without its lid for about 15 mins or so
this is to prevent the curry from turning bad and smelly
this restriction applies to chicken curry only