Steamed Scallops with Garlic

It had been an extremely busy month for me.

My son fractured his arm end last month and needed help on almost everything. Then my daughter fell sick. All happened while my husband was on his business trip.

We sold our place and was busy hunting for a new place this month too. We almost gave up and wanted to rent a place instead. Thank goodness everything went well in the end; well almost everything. Now we are busy packing, while planning the interior design of our new place on our own.

I will be back to my normal schedule next week when school reopens and hopefully I'll have a breather then before the renovation work starts.

Before my life becomes chaotic again, here's a quick post on what I did today. A very quick and easy dish that I bet you will enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 6 - 8 Scallops (I use frozen ones)
• 1-2 tablespoon Roasted or Fried Garlic
• 30g Vermicelli, soaked to soften
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• A pinch of Sugar
• A dash of Ground Black Pepper
• A drizzle of Sesame Seed Oil

How to do it:

1. Dab scallops dry with kitchen paper.
2. Marinade scallops with salt, black pepper and sugar.
3. Place soften vermicelli in a dish.
4. Scatter 1/3 of the garlic on the vermicelli.
5. Place marinated scallops on the vermicelli.
6. Top the scallops with the remaining garlic.
7. Steam for 7 minutes or till done.
8. Drizzle sesame seed oil and serve.

Note:

• The vermicelli is not garnish. It will absorb all the sauce that comes from the steaming. So don't waste it, have it together with the scallops.
• If you don't have time to make the roasted garlic, you can use raw garlic. However, you might want to cut down the amount by half.

Cheesy Mushroom Baked Rice 芝士蘑菇烤饭

I had a sudden craving for baked rice and since I had all the ingredients needed, I decided to make it for my dinner.

I don't usually have left over rice but I had a bowl of it as my husband decided to have instant noodle instead of home cooked dinner the night before. Grrrr .... Anyway, I didn't turn off my rice cooker hence my bowl of rice was still rather 'fresh'. I don't really like over night rice as it's a bit on the dry side and not as fluffy.

You can use freshly cooked rice or over night rice, which ever you prefer. Here's my recipe for the baked rice. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 bowl Cooked Rice
• 2 strip Streaky Bacon, cut into bits
• 6 Fresh Button Mushroom, sliced
• 2/3 can Campbell's Prego Carbonara Mushroom Pasta Sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon each Romano, Mozzarella & Parmesan Cheese
• Extra Romano & Parmesan Cheese for toppings
• 1/4 Red Capsicum, diced
• 1 clove Garlic, minced (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil

How to do it:

1. Place cooked rice in oven proof dish.
2. Heat oil and saute garlic till fragrant.
3. Add bacon bits and sliced mushrooms.
4. Stir fry till bacon are brown, mushrooms are cooked and the sauce are almost dry.
5. Meanwhile, mix rice with pasta sauce.
6. Add the cheese on the rice.
7. Pour the cooked mushroom and bacon and diced red capsicum over the rice.
8. Quickly stir to mix well.
9. Top with additional Romano & Parmesan Cheese.
10. Bake at 250C for 20 minutes or till the cheese on top is golden brown.
11. Serve immediately.

Note:
If you are using overnight rice kept in the fridge, bring it out earlier so it won't be too cold. You will need a longer baking time. You might want to reduce the temperature to 220C and bake it longer.