A FOODIE'S THOTGil gave me a packet of strawberry coffee to try. Even tho' I am not a coffee lover, I do enjoy the aroma of coffee. Anyway this special blend is lovely, tasted like strawberry ice-cream with lots of coffee in it.... hmm.....nice.
Have been cooking quite a bit this week. Baked this Roasted Teriyaki Drumsticks and Snowpeas with Crabsticks for dinner on Wednesday. The chicken was alright, think will have to add some honey the next time. I love the snowpeas! Sweet and crunchy..... will be even better if they were fried with prawns and mushrooms.... too bad I didn't have them in my fridge that day.
Today, I decided to try preparing "Lao Kuai" cos I missed my grandma's "Lao Bak". I used chicken instead cos we had a big bag of frozen drumsticks in the fridge. The result was great tho' not perfect. I felt that the bean curd was not "flavourful enough". But Tom seemed to like it a lot cos he kept saying "Hmm....this so nice, I like the gravy.... very good!" I did not cook it the traditional way by using herbs and all. I wanted something less complicated..... hee... I am lazy la! So this is my secret recipe.... (I am typing the recipe out so that I can remember how to prepare this dish)
LAO KUAI FOR 2
Main ingredients:
- 3 drumsticks
- Mushrooms
- Firm Bean Curd
- 2 hard boiled eggs
Gravy:
- Garlic, I used Lee Kum Kee Minced Garlic
- 2 big bowls of water
- Teriyaki sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Dark soya sauce
- Mushroom stock (optional)
(No measurement given, just taste and add to yr liking)
Procedure:
- Marinate the chicken with teriyaki sauce for at least an hour. Do not discard the sauce after marinating.
- Soak mushrooms till soft and cut up the bean curd.
- Add oil and saute the garlic till fragrant. Add in the drumsticks and stir fry them for a little while. Add in the mushrooms and continue stir-frying.
- Pour in the teriyaki sauce that was used for marinating and some oyster sauce and stir fry it again.
- Add in the water, bean curd and hard boiled eggs. Let the water boil. Add in dark sauce and simmer for an hour.
- Taste the gravy to see if it's salty enough and add some mushroom stock for more flavour.
- Serve hot with rice or noodles.
Looking at the food above made me missed my mom and granny's cooking. So I am going to list down the top 10 dishes that I missed
Mom's dishes:
1) Mui Fan - I remembered how my mom used to cook this whenever she wanted something less troublesome to prepare. Tho' it was simple, I luv it..... my comfort food. Come to think of it, the ingredients she put in were not exactly that "simple"..... there were pork/chicken, tiger prawns and kailan! Drooling now.....
2) Zup Chye (Stewed vege with fermented bean curd) - One of favourite CNY vege dish. Even Tom the hokkien guy liked this Cantonese style vege stew very much. My dad, a Cantonese was the one who taught my mom, a Teochew how to prepare this dish. My mom has been cooking this every CNY. I want to get the recipe from her so that I can try preparing this.
3) Soya Chicken - IMO, the best soya chicken in the world. Soft and tender with the right amount of sauce...... truly unbeatable! I must learn how to cook this cos my hb luv it!
4) Lup Mei Fan (Chinese sausage rice) - My dad's fave! I can easily chomped down 2 bowls of this sweet and salty rice. I luv the chicken, the liver sausages, the mushrooms, the fragrant rice, the oyster sauce....... etc...... just right for me.
5) Banana cake - Simple and heavenly. My mom knows that I like my cake soft and smooth. She blended the bananas and added her secret ingredient and viola...... a delicious banana cake!
Grandma's dishes:
1) Stewed small intestines with mei cai - I missed this a lot..... now that she is old and ill, she doesn't cook anymore. My grandma is a fantastic Teochew cook. I wish I could turn back time and learn from her. Back to the intestines.... I craved for them when I was pregnant with Joash. I luv the mei cai most - soft and not too salty.... just right!
2) Steam Pomfret - This is one of my grandma's signature dish. It is light and very appetising. I think to the Teochew, pomfret is a delicacy. I can just have this dish with rice and be very satisfied and happy.
3) Lao Bak - Ever since she stopped cooking, I can never find another comparable Lao Bak in Singapore. Yes, all pale in comparison with hers. The meat were lean enough for me and the bean curd were flavourful...... she taught us to dip he pork and bean curd in garlic chilli for more kick! Ah ma's Lao Bak is the best!
4) Stewed duck - Almost all Teochew housewife knows how to prepare this duck dish. I think my grandma could easily stew one without any difficulty. The meat were tender and flavourful. I remembered seeing her painstakingly basting the duck every 15 minutes. I understand why they say women in the past are more hardworking. My granny is one of them!
5) Fried Tang Hoon - Another one of my comfort food, very simple with eggs and shrimps. Whenever she fried this dish, she will always remind me to save some for the rest of the family members cos she knows I would just eat and eat till the plate was empty...haha... I am greedy ya! I tried several times to prepare this Tang Hoon dish but it just didn't taste like hers. Must try until I get it right.
That's my top 10 mom and Ah Ma's food that I missed most. Do you have mom or grandma's dishes that you missed?
Enough of food..... here are 2 things that I thot was meaningful from the show Kung-fu Panda....
* Our past is history, our future is a mystery but TODAY is a gift...that's why it is called "present"! Let's not take this gift lightly but learn to treasure this present that God has given us..... This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice in it!
* What is "special"? Special can just be a blank piece of paper or even yourself, it is how you view "special"..... profound huh!
These are my K2 kids performing some skit from the story I read to them. I just luv their smiles.
I will be attending 2 weddings this month...... and I was reminded of a very happy and cute song by David and Jolin..... Congrats Ben & Linda, Jeni and Hb (I forgotten his name!)..... This song is dedicated to you guys.
今天你要嫁给我 Marry Me Today-蔡依琳 陶喆
