Lunch Box #11

Yet another rice lunch box. My son just don't want noodles or bread. Haiz. I'm waiting for the day he says, "Yes, I want noodles for my lunch box." :P For this simple lunch box, I used a little Sakura Denbu for the rice to lightly tint it in pink, so it's not too sweet. And I rolled the rice, maki style, with scrambled eggs as the fillings. I also dusted it with seaweed flakes so it's not sticky on the outside and easier for my son to handle. Together in the lunch box, as sides, are apples and chopped spinach, lightly seasoned with light soy sauce and sesame seed oil.

Lunch Box #10

This is not a very healthy lunch box for my son's recess today. He wanted luncheon meat and rice. So I did a simple Spam Musubi and included some star-shaped hash brown. I was kind of in a rush 'cause I made a mistake with the time today. You can't imagine how blur I was today. Every thing didn't seem to go right. At least, I managed to make his lunch box, although it was not originally what I had in mind.

Lunch Box #9

My son has been buying his own food in school since he started school. I thought it's a good practice for him to be independent and for him to learn how to handle money. However, I noticed that for the last couple of days, he did not eat during recess because he came back with all money I gave him for recess. I told him I had to let him bring food to school and the first thing he ask for is rice. :P That's because his school does not have rice other than nasi lemak. This is the simple fried rice I prepared for him today. It's with shredded carrot, baby corn, prawns and star-shaped fish cake. If you wondering why the rice seems yellow, there's nothing wrong with the photo. I fried the rice coated with egg, hence the yellow hue. ;)

Mango Sago with Pomelo 楊枝甘露

One of the family's favourite dessert is mango anything. Mango sago, Mango Shaved Ice, Mango Pudding, etc. This is one of the dessert (楊枝甘露 in Chinese) we always order when we dine out.

So when I buy mango, it doesn't stay in the fridge very long. Like wise for this case. I bought a 5 mangoes and had stoned 3 to be pureed and the other 2 cut into cubes. I was cooking the sago while the mango cubes and puree chilled in the fridge.

When the sago was done and cooled and I was ready to make the dessert, I realised most of the mango cubes were gone! What's left isn't enough for me to make 1 serving. This last 1/2 serving is mine!

Next time, I won't agree to have anyone to have "some" mangoes. Their idea of "some" is countable numbers of leftover cubed mangoes for me. :X

Lucky for me, they didn't drink my puree!

For this dessert, I added (Fruit Tree) mango juice to the puree to make thickness we like. Stir in some cooked sago and top it with mango cubes and pomelo sags for bites. I didn't add to much pomelo as the one I had was a bit bitter.

If you can't get pomelo, try using mandarin orange, which is in season now.

Lotus & Cranberry Bean Soup 莲藕珍珠豆汤

It has been a super hectic week for me since school reopens and my gastric problem came back after almost 10 years. Doctor said it was probably due to irregular meals and stress. And I'm on 2 weeks medication. Haiz!

The schedule will get worst in February with Tuition and spelling from school. :P But one thing for sure, I will have stronger and toner legs 'cause I'll be walking even more. Not too bad either. ;)

Now that my son stays in school longer, he can't snack and also has dinner much later, he wants rice everyday. Soup is a must have too. He current favourite soup is a combo of Cranberry Bean Soup and Lotus Roots Soup. He thinks Cranberry Bean Soup taste more like Lotus Roots Soup minus the powdery texture. And the combo taste the best.

Ingredients:

• 350g Pork Ribs
• 100g Lotus Roots
• 200g Cranberry Beans
• 6 Red Dates
• 1 piece Dried Octopus
• 2 Litre Water

How to do it:

1. Blanch the pork ribs.
2. In a new pot of water, add in the pork ribs, lotus roots, red dates and dried octopus.
3. Bring it to boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Continue to simmer for 2 hours.
5. Add in the cranberries and continue to simmer for another hour
   
6. Add salt to taste.

Note:
I love the beans really soft and the soup more powdery, hence I added the beans after 1 hour of simmering.

Steam Chinese Marrow with Clawfish

Happy New Year to you!

It's going to be a exciting year for me, taxing year too. Both my kids will be going to new school tomorrow. My son in Primary 1 and my daughter in Nursery.

My daughter will be going to her brother's old school and she is very familiar with the school environment and teachers there. So I'm not as worried. It's my son whom I'm worried about. Primary school life is so different, more disciple needed, much longer school hours, etc.

I'm praying that he can cope and adapt to the new environment and new school rules fast. As both my kids will be in different session, I might not be able to blog as much. So pardon me if I go missing for a while. I'll still blog as much as I could.

I know it might be a bit early for Chinese New Year. It's still 26 days away. But if you are thinking of what to cook for your CNY dinner, here's a suggestion.

Before you go to the recipe, my best wishes to you for a great year ahead and may you always stay in the pink of health!

Ingredients:

• 2 Crayfish, meat removed from shells
• 1 Chinese Marrow or Hairy Gourd (节瓜）
• 20 Wolfberries (枸杞子), soaked to soften
• 150g Stock
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• Cornflour mixture (thickener)
• Cooking Oil

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon Cooking Wine
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Egg White
• 1 teaspoon Corn Flour

How to do it:

1. Cut crayfish into smaller pieces.
2. Marinate the crayfish meat for 20 minutes.
3. Skin the Chinese Marrow and cut into equal thickness.
4. Remove the center seeds by using a circle cookie cutter or just a spoon.
5. Blanch Chinese Marrow rings in hot oil for 1 minute. It helps keep the rings in shape and seal in the sweetness. Skip this step is you like.
6. Add in the wolfberries to the stock.
7. Add salt to taste.
8. Drain the rings and add into the stock
9. Simmer for 3 minutes or till soft, depending on your taste.
10. Retain the stock.
11. Drain crayfish meat from marinade and stuff in the rings in a deep dish.
12. Steam for 12 minutes or till crayfish is thoroughly cooked.
13. When steaming the rings, prepare the sauce.
14. Add sugar to taste to the previously used stock for simmering the rings.
15. When the sauce starts to bubbles, gradually stir in the thickener to thicken the sauce.
16. Pour sauce over the steam rings with crayfish and serve.

Note:

• You can replace the crayfish with prawns.
• Remove heads and shells of prawns. Slit the back of prawns, devien and clean them before use.
• You can curl your prawns like what I did for this dish or simply use it as it is.
• Just place the back in the ring, that is, tail pointing up.
• DO NOT add egg white and corn flour in the marinade if using whole prawn.
• If using smaller prawns, you might want to consider either getting smaller/thinner Chinese Marrow so there the prawn can fill up the hole or shell the prawns and cut into smaller pieces like what I did with the crayfish.
• Adjust the steaming time accordingly as prawns takes a shorten time to cook. Over cooking will make the prawn tough.