I have 2 confessions to make.
1st confession – I’m not a morning person and I become grouchy bear if I’m on empty stomach. So stay away from me in the morning, especially if I didn’t get my breakfast. I will try to get as much sleep as I possibly can before waking up, I’d rather get an extra 15 minutes sleep than using them to do my hair or make-up.
2nd confession – I l used to eat in the car while driving to work, and I still do now when I’m running around in the morning.
Egg “Muffins” are great breakfast ideas for anyone who’s busy in the morning and wants something that can be made ahead and eaten on-the-go. These Egg Muffins, or more like mini-quiches baked in muffin cups to create a grab-and-go breakfast that you can make on the weekends and then quickly reheat in the oven for a hot breakfast on the go. Continue Reading →
I know there’s a lot of hype about going raw, paleo or whole30. Let’s not start with the labeling. As long as it is whole food & real food, you can’t go wrong there. As I’m wheat intolerant, grating zucchini into noodles (so it’s zoodles?) is a great noodle substitute for me. Yes it’s zucchini noodles, it can be eaten raw or if you don’t like the raw veggie taste, blanch it with hot water. Oh but that’s extra work.. so why don’t you try eating zucchini raw for a change? Continue Reading →
Grandpa loves to give away his papayas (pardon the pun) everything I visit. and I’ve made many visit since last year, hence papaya overload. He has 3 papaya trees in his backyard which he is extremely proud of. I do not understand why he loves planting just papaya and sugar apple trees in his huge backyard, I love other fruits too like mango, rambutan and passion fruits. Maybe I’ll sneak in a mango tree next time I’m back.
Last weekend, I took back an unripe (green) papaya to make Som Tam (Thai Green Papaya Salad). Continue Reading →
Growing up, my two other sisters & I hated vegetables. Like all Asian mothers who meant well, mama would force us to eat vegetables because it’s for our own good. All of us still laugh at the memories of the clogged kitchen sink in our family home .. to reveal the pipe fully trapped with vegetables. Oops the culprit was my elder sis. What would young children know what’s good for them? All we knew it was yucky, bitter and doesn’t taste as good as meat. Continue Reading →
I get asked this question a lot: Where do you find time to make the made-from-scratch recipes? Who has the time to make everything from scratch? Everyone has different priority in life. Whatever you place your priority, you will find time for it, no matter how busy life gets. My health is my top priority at this moment in time, and so is eating real, unprocessed food. I get extreme high when I discover a made from scratch recipe (things that we think can only comes from the store) that I can conjure up in my own kitchen. Like walnut butter, yogurt, almond milk.. These recipes only takes 15 minutes out of my 1,440 minutes in a day. Besides, who eat sweetened condensed milk by the cans? If you do, please start praying. I’ve not made the condensed milk from scratch twice in the last 2 years. Continue Reading →
I’m no fan of fish head, except the silky smooth cheeks. Mama would “devour” the whole fish (the head, fins, tail) until the fish is irrecognisable. Many times she have failed to convince me to try the fish head. No way I will touch it, not even scrumptious curry fish head. Yes I know some of you reading this will go “Eww, how can you eat the fish head”. Mama will tell you it’s very delicious, the cooked fish meat between the bones is super tasty and firm, break the bones with your fingers, and suck out the meat. There’s no way avoiding getting your fingers dirty to truly enjoy fish head. Continue Reading →
Really traditional chinese chicken stock is essential in making excellent Chinese noodle soups, and adds a rich flavoured base to any savoury dishes. For busy parents, store-bought liquid chicken stock might be the easiest, just remember to read the ingredient list on the packet that it’s made of real ingredients and not flavourings. Continue Reading →
Penang Acar (also spelled as Achar) is a very special pickled vegetable dish. I think every Penangite loves it because of the appetizing, sour and spicy great taste. Who wouldn’t? There’s this lady at the pasar (wet morning market) near my Penang childhood home that sells mouth watering acar. Besides buying from the pasar, many economy rice vendors also include acar into their dishes. Maybe that’s the reason why my Mama never made acar before. Continue Reading →
Everytime I were to step into Tuck Heng Ginseng Hall, I have to spare 2-3 hours. Time just flies when I’m tasting and learning new produce with the herbalist Ah Wai. There’s more than herbs in that shop. Each visit always end up with new discoveries, I feel like a kid unwrapping presents, except I have to pay for them..
One of the things Ah Wai was very adamant on me to try is the Sea bird nest or San Hu Cao (珊瑚草) in chinese. Eucheuma Seaweed is nicknamed sea bird nest because it supposedly have the same collagen benefits of birds nest, with a whole list of health benefits. Always willing to try anything for beautiful skin and it’s a cheap alternative, boiling the seaweed as suggested by Ah Wai ended up with a pot of gooey slimy goo.. which wasn’t appetising at all. Continue Reading →
Eggplant (or aubergine) is one of my favourite vegetable. Whenever I come across an eggplant recipe, my heart gives me a tug..
I have not heard of Nasu Dengaku (Grilled Miso Glazed Eggplant) until I saw the recipe topping up in a number of blogs recently. No wonder I’ve not tasted this dish as it’s a fairly typical Japanese dish you’d get at an Izakaya (Japanese tapas bar). I don’t think I’ve been to an Izakaya.. Continue Reading →
