rice congee

I'm feeling under the weather today
and I need something smooth to ease down the sore throat :(

rice porridge is all I've been thinking off to ease down my temperature
an easy fix where I could put all ingredients in the pot and leave it on the stove..
to whip up a miracle!



choosing the right rice is important in savoring a delicious congee
broken rice is the best and so is any full grain Thai-imported rice
but not Basmathi rice as it lacks the starch required


the beauty of porridge is that there is no hard and fast rule in its making

whatever I have in the fridge is fine

and as always..I picked it up from my mom :)




so here goes the recipe:



place 100 ml rice in a medium pot and wash it thoroughly until the water becomes clear

then pour 3 cups of water into the pot

toss in these must-haves into the pot: 3 crushed garlic + 1/2" thinly sliced ginger

then put the pot on the stove over medium fire

for the stock toss in 10 dried cleaned anchovies + 5 fresh prawns and let it boil

meanwhile for vegetables slice 1 tomato + 3 shiitake mushrooms + 5 okras

allow all ingredients to boil until the rice is cooked

add 1 tsp salt + 2 cups of water for the gravy to simmer gently

until it reaches a thick consistency

off the fire and serve hot

garnish with spring onions

best taken with condiment of soy sauce and green chillies!

voila :)

pan-seared calamari in tomato

This is probably the simplest meal I've cooked

seriously a last minute thought which turns out to be delicious beyond expectation :)

What I didn't know was that the tomato which was sour adds so much flavor to this

a very easy and quick preparation you'll see..

wash and clean 1 large squid then slice it into smaller pieces

on the stove heat a medium sized pot over medium fire and pour in 1 Tbsp cooking oil

meanwhile crush 1 garlic and cut into small pieces and toss into the heated oil to cook for 1 min

cut 1 tomato into small wedges and cut 1 stalk cilantro into small strips

stir fry the garlic then toss in tomato + cilantro + squid and mix all ingredients well

keep stirring for a couple of minutes until the squid turns opaque or solid white

toss in 1/2 tsp salt and give the ingredients one last stir and off the fire

serve hot

voila!



easy peasy and so delicious!

flourless banana pancake

If you are stuck with extremely ripen bananas at home

don't throw it away ...

turn it into this wholesome goodness instead

so smooth and fluffy and good to the last bite!

And what's more.. it is so easy to make :)

place 2 peeled bananas in a bowl and mash with a fork into chunky pieces

in a small bowl beat 2 eggs then pour this into the banana and whisk together

add in 1/8 tsp of baking powder + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and mix all ingredients well

 on the stove heat a non-stick pan over small fire and brush lightly with cooking oil

then scoop 1 Tbsp of banana mixture onto the pan and let it cook

depending on the size of the pan you could cook 3 to 4 pancakes at a time

wait for small bubbles to appear on the surface of the pancake before flipping

cook for another 2 mins after flipping or until the pancake can be lifted off the pan easily

repeat for the rest of the mixture and stack them up

serve hot with maple syrup and butter

or just eat it on its own!




Pancakes are no longer eaten for breakfast only
with this light taste it makes an excellent snack any time of the day
with no sugar or additional salt added you could always dunk this without guilt! 

shiitake mushroom and choy sum in oyster sauce

This is by far the simplest yet most delicious vegetable dish I've ever eaten

the silkiness and luxury taste of the shiitake mushroom is truly exquisite!!

you simply got to try this!

and it is so easy to make

 so... lets get down to it shall we :)

wash 6 fresh shiitake mushroom then slice them up into 1/4" thickness

wash 100g of fresh choy sum and cut it up into 3 ie 1 part stem and 2 parts leaves

crush 2 garlic and chop it into small pieces and set aside 

on the stove heat a non-stick pan over medium fire and pour in 1 Tbsp cooking oil

saute the garlic for 1 min and toss in the shiitake mushroom

stir fry for 2 mins or until the shiitake mushroom changes its texture to soft

add in 1 Tbsp oyster sauce + 1 tsp soy sauce + 1/2 tsp salt and mix thoroughly

the add in the choy sum and stir fry all ingredients until the choy sum is cooked

or turns to a brilliant bright green color

then toss in a dash of white pepper powder and mix thoroughly

off the fire and serve immediately

what can I tell you..

the taste is totally out of this world!

hhmmm.. :)