Belacan Fried Rice with Sunny Side up Eggs

 

       When the fun on the weekend is over, Monday is the “in denial” day for most of us. This translates to brain function=still stuck on the weekend mode, while in reality a lot needs to be done. I tried to make peace with my Monday blues by not trying too hard doing the house chores, so I tend to avoid anything too complicated. For example: laundry (not a Monday case), major cleaning (definitely not a Monday case). Well cooking is (just like every other day) but I tend to do a simple and quick dinner. Just because 

1.       Normally we have leftovers
2.       We are too tired of eating rich and fancy dishes from the weekend.
3.       I am still recovering from the shock that its not weekend!

       So today I tried to whip out something very simple for dinner. Just a good old Fried Rice. Just like Ice cream they never go wrong. There is a gazillion ingredient you could mix match to make your own fried rice yours. Mine: I like to use what is available, including leftovers and a little shrimp paste, chilli, and the best of all two sunny side up eggs to complete the show.

In fact it is really easy to make.

All you need is some cooked long grain rice (preferably left over rice because of their harder texture). I have always mixed my rice (jasmine and black glutinous rice) that is why the rice in the picture has funky color, but they are healthier, and yummy.

Possible ingredients that you need:

Cooked rice for 2 people portion

100 grams of sliced chicken ( I used chicken breast)

100 grams of shrimp ( or any other seafood

1 tsp of belacan powder/ belacan sauce ( you can add according to preference)

4 cloves of garlic ( minced)

2 tbsp of minced red onions

 1 red chilli, seeded and sliced

¼ tsp Chicken bouillon powder

2tbsp of Soy sauce/ Fish sauce (adjust to your taste)

Pepper to taste

Oil ( I used 3 tbsp of olive oil)

You can add other ingredients as mushrooms, snow peas; whatever you think will work with the theme of your fried rice.

The cooking is quite simple as well.

• First you heat up the oil and sauté the shrimp paste, red chilli, minced onions and garlic
• Once they give a flavourful aroma, you could throw in your meat and vegetables
• Add in the soy/fish sauce, pepper, salt
• Stir in the rice ,cook untill the rice and the sauce is mixed well.
• Finish with a fried sunny side up eggs and sliced tomatoes.
  
• Easy come easy go! enjoy:

Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

My Grown Up Vanilla Ice Cream ( with honey balsamic vinegar and candied nuts)

        TGIF! Weekend is coming, are you as excited as I am? Time to mingle with friends and have a good time. Yes!!! but at what cost? I’m not a cheapskate but yes, the habit of eating out; splurging money on the tab can put your future into jeopardy!  Especially for young couple like us or (you too) who does not have the luxury of the parent’s basement room, combined with mortgages, bills, etc,etc, and gazillion other things on the list, weekend could be an evil evil thing! How are we going to buy a piece of land for nesting, how are we going to survive the weekdays before the next pay check?

image from google

          Well you are entitled to have fun: maybe you should just let go of the old way of unconscious money splurging while sitting down chatting with your pal and move the chat somewhere nicer where you don’t have to pay the bucks. Really! I am talking about the afternoon picnic at the park ( if you insist you need to get out from the house) or if you love your house that much, invite your friend for a classic movie night with a bowl of ice cream  and pop corn and what not! Depending on your willingness to entertain and experiment, you could actually go very elaborate and crazy, however you want it! I am having so much fun thinking about it already!

        So today I thought I would share with you a very easy dessert recipe that you could put together in minutes while hanging out at home or in the park.

My Grown Up Vanilla Ice Cream with Honey Balsamic Vinegar

        I call it My Grown Up Vanilla Ice Cream a! Ice cream never goes wrong: my husband approved this dessert although he was reluctant at first because of the grown up ingredients in the ice cream.

 

       The secret ingredient is Balsamic Vinegar with Honey! By now you should understand how much i love this two; they make the best pairing taste!

So what you need:

A tub of vanilla ice cream, honey, balsamic vinegar, strawberries, and some caramelized almonds/nuts. You could stop at the third ingredients but strawberries and caramelized almond just make it perfect ( see recipe for caramelized almond here) or you could use any candied nuts to substitute.

 

      Putting it all together:                        

So put enough vanilla ice cream to your bowl. If you decide to go with strawberries and caramelized almond, put them before you drizzle honey and the balsamic vinegar ((in 1:2 ratio). Easy and charming right?Your guest would be very happy, plus your wallet too:p.

Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

Beef with Turnips Soup ( Soto Bandung)

                                                                                                So go ahead and ask her

image of whatscooking america

                     For happy ever after
           Cause nobody knows what’s coming

          So why not take a chance on loving
      Come on, pour the glass and tempt me
            Either half-full or half-empty
         Cause if it all comes down to flavor
           The glass is tipping in my favor

Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending

               I’m a sucker for happy endings

Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!

I’ve got it made rest in the shade
And hold my love while God above
Stirs with a spoon we share the moon
Smile at the bees more sugar please
He really loves us after all

We’re gonna need another straw!

               I wish I could post up a lemonade recipe with this song, but I don’t think Chris Rice meant lemonade literally. But really…this song is haunting me for its beautiful lyric and meaning.

I feel that cooking for me is a lot like this song; the anticipation for happy ending, and the ability to just be honest to put my feeling and emotion into something positive, and share it with someone. Foods really have this kind of power!

Soto Bandung ( Beef with Turnip soup)

This week I miss my family back home so much that I started cooking foods from home; I guess the food that you grow up with will always comfort you, and somehow in the process of making it reminds me of a heritage and what makes me as who I am as a person. Have you ever think about that? 

The ingredients:

2 pounds of beef shank

¾ pounds of beef tripes

1 large turnips (peeled, diced to your liking size)

3 bay leaves, salt, and pepper to taste

1 lemon grass ( bruised)

Thai chilli bird and lime for  garnish

A handful of Fried Soya bean/ Peanut

Soto bandung spices mixture

Some of the ingredients for the soup

 How to make Soto bandung spices mixture:

In your food processor, mix 3tbsp of ground coriander +miced garlic from 6 cloves +minced red onions from ¼ onions + ½ tbsp of beef bouillon powder, add a little water if mixture won’t blend.

 Meanwhile, boil the beef shank with enough water to cover the entire meat for an hour until its tender

Cubed the beef and tripes to 1 ½ cmx 1 ½ cm put back into the broth along with the diced turnips, bay leaves, and bruised lemon grass.

Heat a pan and drizzle with 1 tbsp of oil to sauté the spices. Once the spice mixture is thicken up and release aromatic flavor, turn off the heat and pour into the soup mixture.

Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes so the beef and turnips absorb the flavors.

Serve it hot with a bowl of rice and drizzle of lime and fried soya bean/ peanut

 So this bowl of soup bring comforts for my family. What about you? What food brings comfort for you? I want to hear from you!

 
Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

Knowledge from the food play ground : capsaicin

       You know her voice is strong, vibrant and colourful although she stays mum. Her presence add an extra oomph in a bowl, some like it way down in the bowel ( ouch). She is literally everywhere!The heat torture vs the pleasant after taste: why do we come back after all the pain?

(Gannet News Service Photo)

1. The feeling good factor!"Once you go chilli you never chill with no chilli": 

• The consumption of chilies triggers the release of ‘feel good’ endorphins, which result the ‘good’ attitude towards general well being.

    2. Keep up your metabolism (my best friend in the winter months where we tends to hibernate 

        like bears) 

        

• Good news is they also increase break down carbohydrates during resting period which contributes in the reduction of obesity as it increases metabolism and helps to burn the calories faster,including the burning of fats

    3. Sources of antioxidant and vitamin  A,B,C also the minerals such as iron, potassium and

•  The list is long and gets more exciting toward the bottom.Read (herbal home remedies) and (benefit of chillies)

team sugar image

Intriguing enough to add a dollop of spiciness to your plate?

Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

Siomay and Baso Tahu Bandung ( Shu Mai and Stuffed Tofu)

           So, finally last week I made a page for this blog at facebook.Please check it out and “like it!” (sappy eyes). I told my friends jokingly that if this blog is successful enough, I might retire before I’m reaching my 27^th birthday. You know it’s a lie! I would never be retired from making food: I would be the food stylist and recipe maker. Well, this blog is my practice on my way there: p. so meanwhile whatever your dreams are out there... don’t throw it out of the window, just because it won’t work out now. Spend time with it , you never know when chance is knocking at your door: once you are ready. So it’s all about getting prep! Along the way pick up as many knowledge you can get! So if you have a tip or two, please let me know I would want to hear from you!

      Ever since I start writing this blog again, I have been thinking about a way that is effectively challenging me ( oh wait)  and you too, to learn a thing or two about food besides feeding you with delicious recipes :p. So you will see what I’ll come up with in the next blog!Better off if you tell me a topic of interest!

              

     This week , I am going to take you closer to my roots and hometown Bandung Indonesia, and present you a simple looking  food that is packed with flavours, memories and memories! The first memories for growing up , and  being able to buy it on the street for afternoon snacks. The second memories  is for you to savour: after you transfer this  street food patiently from this piece of paper to your plate haha.After much of mystery: here is the food that I have been talking about:

                    Siomay Bandung & Baso Tahu ( Shu Mai and Stuffed Tofu)with Peanut Sambal and Kecap Manis garnished with Lime.

        Siomay or shu mai as the Chinese called it, is in essence a steamed meat on a dumpling wrapper that is eaten with some kind of a sauce. The difference is in Indonesia we made our siomay from fish meat  rather than pork or shrimp. This street food uses a specific fish  with a  silver skinned called King fish ( Spanish Mackerel) because its chewy and meaty texture that works well with starch to make fish balls. 

 

The ingredients required :

3lbs	Spanish Mackarel  Fish Fillet
1 ½ tbsp	Minced Garlic
3 tbsp	Minced Red Onions
1tbsp	Chicken  Bouillon powder
1 ½ tsp	Salt
1tsp	White pepper powder
2	Eggs
250 g	Tapioca Starch
1 cup	water
1 pack	Large wonton wrapper and tofu

I normally find   Spanish Mackarel at my local Chinese grocery store, and chances are its already been portioned into steak or fillet since they are really big, but if you are interested in seeing the whole fish, click here.Click here for  a simpler version of filleting a fish

Now before you can mix all the ingredients you have to skin the fish. Since the Spanish Mackerel meat is easy to be separated from the skin, you can stroke the meat from the skin by laying the meat side up and stroke your spoon horizontally away from the tail.  You will generate lumps of fish meats. Do this until the skin is clean from meats.

•        In your food processor  mixed the garlic and onions  and  2 tbsp of water to make a paste
•     Put the salt, pepper, chicken bouillon and the fish fillet and egg
•    Give a few pulse until the mixture is well combined
•    At this point pour in tapioca starch little by little alternating with a small amount of water each time and give a few pulse
•  Use your discretion for the amount of water. Overall you want the final mixture to have  medium consistency ( like soft mashed potatoes)
• Prepare the won ton wrapper  
•    Put a spoonful of the mixture in the middle and start making vertical pleats on the side so the bottom of the siomay is square. 
•    Once all the siomay is done you can steam them with bamboo steamer for 20 minutes.
  Serve them with Kecap Manis ( Indonesian Sweet Soya Sauce) and Peanut's Sambal.
  
   
  
  
          
  
  
  Sambal Peanut with Squeeze of fresh lime.
  
  
  To make Sambal Peanut :
  In a pan drizzle some oil, fry ½ tbsp of red
  onion paste, add , salt,  brown sugar, dash of galangal powder, and lime  leaves depending on your tolerance to spicyness, add thai chilli sauce/ chilli flakes and 4 tbsp of crunchy peanut butter.
  Cook until mixture is well blended.
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Hope you learn something exciting today:p

Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

Stuffed Chicken with Arugula, Almond, Garlic and Butter with Pasta

 

         This week is definitely an emo one for me. Endless rounds of Simon &Garfunkel and Daniel Sahuleka songs really bring me down to memory lanes. Especially “Sounds of silence”, took me back to my childhood time where four of us (my siblings) play Lego with the Asian instrumental rendition of this Simon & Garfunkel song. Oh how I miss those times!   Hundreds “replay” later, I am still caught up in the serenity of those songs. Since I’ve been ordered to bed rest for these two days, I happily lied down on my carpet and surrender myself to the sounds as it surrounds our small apartment. It seemed the music is so right for rainy days, welcoming the not so happy jolly fall.  Oh rainy days really freezes me. I reluctantly looked at the watch and it’s almost 5. Hubby will come home in half an hour and I have not got the kitchen hot!

        I should have been doing something easy and quick, but somehow I went to a different direction. Now I have been meaning to do this for days. Stuffed chicken breast. I don’t know why. I just thought it will be amazing. In fact I have contemplated what stuffing I should put in it since I only have limited ingredients (it’s the end of the week and I haven’t gone grocery shopping). So after much thinking, I decide to stuff the chicken a paste made from arugula, garlic, almond, butter and seasonings. If you yourself or your family member does not like to eat leafy veggies like my husband, changing the texture of veggie such as making it into a paste and stuffed to chicken breast will work like magic!

My husband came home earlier before I finished my cooking, and he requested pasta to go along with the meal. So here is what we ended up eating for dinner.

The execution:

• 1 cup of arugula leaf
• 1 ½ tbsp of minced garlic
• A handful of blanched almonds
• 2 tbsp of butter
• Salt and pepper to season
• Puree all of the above ingredients in food processor to make the stuffing

 

• Put them in a large plastic and form a cone.Cut the tip when you are ready to stuff.
• Take the chicken breast and a slightly wider knife.
• Make a pocket through the middle of the chicken breast by making a 2-3 cm slit but make sure it does not go all the way to either side.
• Take the stuffing cone and stuff the chicken gently.

• Once you are done, wash your hand. Prepare a double batter with 3 separate plates each containing seasoned flour ( salt & pepper), 1 beaten eggs, and bread crumbs.
• Cover the chicken breast with the flour, then eggs and bread crumbs
• Cover them with plastic wrap and leave them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to overnight.
• This will prevent the butter to leak when frying and let the chicken moisture to be absorbed by the batter.
• Once its ready to be cooked, heat some oil in the frying pan and fry them 5 min on each sides.
• Once its cooked let them rest for 5 minutes before you slice them.
• Serve with vegetables of your choice and potato or pasta!

 If you like what you see or if you have any input please leave a comment,as I am excited to hear your thoughts!

Cheers,



Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.

Pan Fried / Baked Fish with Edamame Salad and Kecap Manis ( Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce)

     The past two three months have been hectic and crazy for me. Its a lot of things going on all at once. First the training for Loblaw grad program, and then last month somehow I injured myself at work. This past week I have been on and off work depending how bad my bulging disk is treating me. Most of the time it’s pulling me down and so far it’s not looking good (boo!) I want my speedy recovery!!!

    However, on the brighter side, since I have been home a lot and bed resting in between push up reps ( it really is the only good exercise to heal and soothe the muscle spasm and pain according to the physiotherapist),I am thankful that I can day dream about cooking and fancy meal, or put a quick lunch. This is almost a good break for me although its not really in the best terms. Nevertheless, I have my hours of contemplation. Food and food it is...
    I love thinking about what to cook, how to cook it, and play around with my food. Sometimes I am too silly and excited to even think about it which in turn creating me a hard time to decide. So maybe, if you are kind enough ( I know you are a darling!)...will you give me some suggestion please, about an ingredient of interest?

    Oh and please stick with a reasonable budget...I mean someone wrote one of the ingredient as “love” . Man! That ingredient is way too priceless!( joking Redy if you read this:p, I agree tho...the labour of love will make the most meaningful food), but I need to show ma love in something something good you know! So I need your help!
   Meanwhile you are thinking hard... I will entertain you with my dinner tonite! Maybe you will be interested to come and join us for dinner sometimes?
I cooked a super delish pan fried fish with edamame symphony salad finished by drizzles of kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soya sauce). It was heavenly and easy to prepare.

Here is some food porn to look at:

Now lets get down to the business:
What you need:
•    2 large fillets of haddock/ halibut, or any meaty fish. If fresh fish is an issue you can use Dory/ Basa fillets just like I did.
•    Ground cinnamon
•    Ground coriander
•    Lemon Juice
•     1 tbsp Minced Garlic
•    Olive oil
•    And kecap manis ( Indonesian sweet soya sauce): you can find this in most Chinese grocery store like T&T.
•    Edamame Salad Ingredients:
•     cooked edamame beans,diced tomatoes & Red Pepper, thinly Sliced Red onions,

How to make it good:

    Pat dry the fish and sprinkle both sides with ground cinnamon, black
        pepper, ground coriander minced garlic and salt to taste .( You don’t need
        that much ground cinnamon and coriander)t
    If you want it fried you can add sprinkle some flour to seal the juice and
        heat some oil ( and cook it for about 5-7 minutes on each side.
    But if you are time constraint and don’t want to deal with the hassle of
        frying, you could bake them
    Put the marinated fish in a baking pan and drizzle with little olive oil.
    Put it into the oven for at 350F for 13-15 minutes
    While you are waiting for the fish you can prepare and put together  the
        edamame salad ingredients
    When everything is plated, drizzle the fish and salad with kecap manis and
        squeeze of lemon juice!
    Oh and if you are up for the challenge: add some chilli kick to it:
    And everything will be great for the rest of the day!


Passion + Patience   *Gastrobutterfly*  A food to your soul.

Dark Velvet Ribs with Bacardi

There is no such a thing as too much chocolate! I love chocolate and I like them dark. Lately I have been feeding my noir chocolate obsession through almost everything: mainly mixing dark chocolate in my cooking. I find the whole process of cooking with chocolate is so therapeutic and relaxing especially knowing that I am going to eat them afterward!



Dark chocolate is special because they contain a large amount of antioxidant ( some source says its 8x higher than the amount in strawberries) and it balances the hormones in our body. No wonder it work like magic for us ladies, especially during the “ Pre Monstrous Syndrome “ period, hahaha. Well, while others might disagree with me, let’s just say chocolate melts most people’s heart ( think of how many men woo with chocolate: and it works! ).

Today I am going to attempt to melt your heart too with something devilishly good. But this is not for the faint of heart. Because it requires someone to embrace the feminine touch of the food but eat like a man. You can’t be shy eating these babies either. To be exact it’s like smothering melted chocolate rum sauce all over your finger and licking it while eating your ribs! Yes... you heard me, and even better I made them hot hot spicy and tangy!



“The Super stars”
1 ½ lbs of pork ribs
1 ½ blocks of dark unsweetened chocolate
4 tbsp of brown sugar
½ tsp of salt
Dash of dried chilli powder ( use based on your discretion)
2 tbsp of lime juice
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tbsp of minced garlic
½ tbsp of dried mustard
½ cup of hickory smoked bbq sauce
Small amount of water
2 tbsp of Bacardi rum




The execution:
•In a pan, toss in all the ingredients ( except the rum and the water) for the sauce and bring them to simmer
•Add a small amount of water if the sauce is getting to thick, you want a consistency of a normal bbq sauce.
•Once the sauce reaches the right consistency, remove it from heat and taste.
•Adjust to your liking to add more chilli powder, or lime, etc
•Pre heat an oven at 360F
•Rub the sauce all over the ribs leaving a quarter of the amount for glazing later on.
•Put in the oven with aluminum cover for an hour at 360F.
•After an hour, take out the ribs from the oven and uncover it.
•Bring the rest of the sauce to simmer and mix in the rum
•Glaze the sauce all over the ribs, and put it back in the oven on broil for app 10 minutes with no cover.
•Take it out from the oven and let the ribs stand for 5-10 minutes to reabsorb all the juice
•Serve with fries, and steamed vegetables and lime wedges ( I put extra thai chilli bird on mine)
•Get your finger dirty and dig in!


Does it look messy enough for you? Try eating them!

I almost forgot how it feels to eat like a child! Mr Knife and Miss Fork will have to stay in the drawer for a while!!! We are bringing the fingers and tongue back for real exercise!!!



Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly*A food to your soul.