Sweet and Sour Squid for #CookForFamily Initiative

Daniel from Daniel's Food Diary started the #CookForFamily initiative with the main objective of getting more bloggers and their readers to start cooking. I'm glad to be part of it.

I don't know about you but for me, I treasure each time my family is able to eat together. My husband has long working hours and usually reached home past 8pm. So we can hardly eat as a family.

Each time, he is able to come home earlier for dinner, I will try to cook more dishes. Dinner or any meal times together is another great way for family bonding.

This is one of the dinners I have prepared for my family for the month of July. One of the 3 days in the whole of July that we were able to eat as a family. :)

 

For this dinner, we had:

• Mushroom Egg Drop (thickened) Soup
• Steamed Snapper with Cordyceps Militaris
• Blanched Kai Lan with Soy Sauce
• Sweet and Sour Squid (Please refer to the recipe at the end of this post)

The photos below are what we had for the other 2 dinner we had as a family. :) I'll be sharing the recipes in later posts.

Cooking for your family doesn't restrict to dinner. It can be breakfast, lunch or even tea or supper. Cook for that special person or persons in your life to show appreciation for what he, she or they have done for you. Hopefully they too appreciate what you have prepared for them because nothing beats home-cooked food. :)

You can set aside once a week for home cooked meals if you really can't find the time. Perhaps on a Sunday?

One of the breakfast I made for the family on a Sunday was on eggs. It was so good to be able to sit down together to enjoy the breakfast each of us liked.

Well, mine was the omelette set on the bottom right, which was done with all leftovers used for the rest of the set. :P Not a personal favourite but it's the company I enjoyed and the happy faces on my family's faces that I looked for. :)

I cook several times a day. My daughter is studying in the afternoon session. We will meet her lunch kaki for lunch every Thursday. ;)  Other than that, I will make lunch for her before she goes to school. This is one of her lunches I did for her.

My son is in the morning session. Likewise, I will make lunch for him when returns home from school. Usually, not "proper meal" as in rice or noodle. Just food he like and can fill him, like the burger below. :)

If you have been following my blog, you should know that I only pick-up cooking when my elder son was close 3 years old. :P My son is in P4 this year, you go do the calculations. :P

If you think cooking is difficult, cooking is time consuming, start with something easy. You can't go wrong with salad! That can't be difficult or time consuming, right? :)  If I can do it, you can too! :)

I do hope that this #CookForFamily initiative,will get more people to start cooking for their family. If you are reading this, why not pick a date to do it? Soon I hope! :)

Now for the recipe I'm sharing, Sweet and Sour Squid 酸甜花枝, a quick and easy dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 Squid, cleaned, scored and sliced into smaller pieces
• 2 Shallot
• 2 glove Garlic
• 2 slice Ginger
• 1 fresh Red Chilli, de-seed and diced

Seasonings:

• 1/3 tablespoon Apple Cider or White Vinegar
• 2/3 tablespoon Sugar
• Salt to taste

How to do it:

1. Blanch squid till just cooked. It should under a minute.
2. Drain squid and reserve 5 tablespoon of water used to blanch squid, more if you like more sauce.
3. Meanwhile, grind shallot, garlic and ginger together.
4. Heat wok with oil.
5. Saute chilli and the spice mixture in step 3 till fragrant.
6. Add in the reserved water and seasonings to taste.
7. Bring to a simmer.
8. Turn off the heat.
9. Return cooked squid to the wok and toss to coat well with sauce.
10. Dish and serve.

Note:

• Adjust the taste to your liking. If you like it less sweet, add less sugar.
• Do not over cook the squid as it will turn chewy. Hence, remember to turn off the heat before adding the squid to the sauce.