CENTURY EGGS

Delicious side dish.  Century eggs with a creamy consistency is mind blowing when mix with sesame sauce, mustard sauce together with preserved mustard seeds and chillies.

TOMATO MOZARELLA CHEESE SEAWEED SALAD

Just mix the cut-up tomatoes with dried seaweed and mozarella cheese, drizzle with olive oil.  The flavor from the seaweed and cheese is the seasoning for the salad.

CHRISTMAS FOOD

Salad with feta cheese, green apples and tomatoes.  Just a dash of fruity vinegar is enough as the cheese is good at seasoning the greens

Cheese board - cumbebert cheese, truffle cheese and feta cheese to go with walnuts and dried mulberries

FUNGUS CUCUMBER SALAD

Japanese cucumber with coral fungus.  Mix all with yuzu soya sauce, sesame oil and mirin and refrigerate till ready to eat.

COUSCOUS STUFFED CAPSICUM

Cooking can also be a stress releasing tool.  My daughter cooks whenever she is under stress to release tension.

A healthy and easy dish to prepare.

Cut zucchini, onions, brinjals and tomatoes into wages.  Season vegetables with olive oil and salt, add fresh rosemary and basil.  Place in the baking tray.

Wash and boil couscous with chicken stock, seafood, onions and raisins.  Keep stirring to prevent sticky mush until liquid is absorbed.  Fluff to separate.

Stuff capsicums with couscous and roast together with vegetables in the oven

CHEF

Cooking can never go without oil, rice and salt as the Chinese phrase goes.  Cooking can be a leisure and also a burden.  If you take it as a burden it will be an uphill task.  As a leisure you will fill with inspiration to create varieties of delicious food, moreover recipes can be download from handy ipad.

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Recipe from ipad

X'MAS DINNER 2011

X'mas was celebrated with dinner cooked by my eldest girl with dessert, a pear tart baked by 2nd daughter.  All my DH and me had to do was to sit down and enjoyed the meal.

Beet root apple and spinach salad to start off the meal.

Coq au vin (chicken stew in red wine) adopted from the recipe by Nigel Slater.  The chicken meat was infused with the aroma of wine and paired beautifully with mashed potatoes.

Desserts to satisfy our sweet tooth.

A pear tart with pears stewed in sugar syrup and baked in sweet dough base of frangipani filling.

Plain glutinous balls paired with azuka red beans and matcha ice-cream.

FOOD BONDING

The weather is so hot that I do not want to cook. But it is worth the effort  and sweat when all family members are present to enjoy the food and camaraderie.  With everyone busy with work and occupy with other activities nowadays it is rare that all are hardly able to enjoy a meal together.

Simple and quality meal.  A soup, main dish, vegetables and a salad.  Boiled soup and marinate fish in the morning.  When ready to eat, grill fish in oven and prepare salad.  Last of all fry the vegetables.

Lemon juice with seasame oil, soya sauce and sugar mix together and pour over fish before serving.   Fry onions till caramelized and add in fresh mushroom till cook.  Spoon over fish.

Prepare fresh prawns and add in avocado pieces, fresh onions and tomatoes.  Toss salad in olive oil, lime juice, salt, mirin sauce and a spoonful of mustard.  Mix well and refrigerate till serve.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS SALMON SALAD

Hot weather and not in a mood to cook - something simple but filling and need not turn on the stove.

Smoked salmon, Brussels sprouts, roast pork, croutons, quail eggs and tomatoes.  Mix all up with french vinegar dressing.

A simple filling meal.

BAMBOO SHOOT PEANUT SALAD

Easy and fast dish to prepare without cooking  -  pickled bamboo shoots and can of stew peanuts.  Mix all together with addition of fried minced garlic to enhance flavor.

CENTURY EGG JELLYFISh SALAD

This salad is a good company for meat dishes.  Crunchiness of the jelly fish with gooey century egg yolk and raw carrots in sesame dressing provides a appetizing side dish for stews.

Sesame Oil Dressing : 1 teaspoon sesame oil mix with 2 tablespoons of yuzu soya sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds and fried garlic in oil.

BACON SALMON SALAD

The arugula leaves looked so fresh that I bought 2 packets to prepare salad.  Threw in a packet of smoked salmon and a packet of cubed bacon when walked past the gourmet counter.  A salad of crispy bacon together with smoked salmon and arugula leaves plus some mini tomatoes add color to the dinner table. 

Deep fry the bacon and garlic till crispy and mix together with salmon, arugula leaves and tomatoes.  Saute the mixture lightly with olive oil and a teaspoon of Japanese yuzu soya sauce.  Sprinkle a bite of sea salt over the salad.

Arugula is leafy green herb of the mustard family.  Also known as rocket leave ad its flavor is hot and peppery.  It is low in calories and is a good source of vitamins of A and C, folate, calcium and magnesium.

CARROT RADISH SALAD

A bowl of fried rice to go with a salad make the meal a lot appealing and appetizing.  

Mix of shredded carrot and radish with black pepper, lime juice, salt and sugar.  Squeeze out as much juice from the radish.  Throw in some leeks to the salad.

CNY GATHERING

Eat the most during festive seasons, be with family, friends and colleagues.  A bunch of old and close friends gathered together with potluck.

Too busy interacting to take photos but managed to snap some of the dishes.

This dish is a must during Chinese New Year as it symbolizes luck and prosperity

LOTUS ROOT MUSHROOM SALAD

The lotus root was used in a salad dish after being boiled for soup.  Fresh abalone mushroom was stir fried with garlic and mixed together with the lotus roots seasoned with mirin and soya sauce.  A sweet and light dish to go with other heavily seasoned food.

COZY MEAL

Rain pouring down, the bamboo tree and orchids swaying & dancing to the direction to the wind in the backyard make the kitchen a cozy comfortable place to cook.  Thinking of a warm meal in such cold weather after a hard day's work makes me raced against time to prepare a hot meal.  Chopping, cutting and washing, meal is ready in a short time.

Dinner is ready!

Salad of yellow bell pepper, carrots, fresh mushrooms and celery in mirin sauce, soya sauce and pepper

Fried salmon in manago chutney and salsa

POTATOE, TOMATO & EGG PLANT SALAD

Tomatoes and egg plant mix with onions, spring onions and chillies, together with mayonnaise is substantial as main dish - light and refreshing without much calories.

FRIED TAU-KAU

I hate frying food as it is very tedious cleaning up and the oil splashed everywhere, but sometimes when it is the fried food that my family enjoys eating, I will try to fry.  It is very messy to fry tau-kwa as it contains water.

Deep fry tau-kwa is one of the children's favorite food.   Moisture is removed, pat dry and coated lightly with corn flour  before deep fry.

Chopped chillies, onions, tomatoes, garlic and lemon grass are mixed together with fish sauce, plum sauce, sugar and water. Pour the sauce over the tau-kwa.