Archive for the ‘Bonding : Food’ Category

“Happy Birthday to Papa Ed!” Although the kids are both at home to spend the birthday with Papa Ed, I had to be in office …. Papa Ed wanted a simple celebration and so the most important is to capture the cake-cutting photographs.

We imagined that we are celebrating the birthday in the jungle or zoo as the kids couldn’t stop running or messing around like two cute little monkeys…

We had Japanese meal yesterday as my treat for his birthday…Papa Ed preferred to eat sushi instead of Chinese or Western food.

Papa Ed’s wish for birthday is what huh?????

Our wish for Papa Ed’s birthday is Papa Ed to spend more time in Singapore with the family.

It never occurs to me before that I need to master my culinary skills or at least learn some basic skills for survival. My dad has been a GREAT Cook and we are so lucky to have readily cooked and delicious home cooked food. He has imparted some of his skills to my domestic helpers.

I have been pretty particular over my boys’ diet and prefer healthy home cooked food for them except to have a change of taste over the weekends to savour other delicacies.

Lately, I have been enthusiastic over trying out new cooking menu so that we could have new varieties for the family. Darren has been choosy over food and this is another reason that urges me to squeeze a little time out to explore cooking menu. Although sad to say that my domestic helper is the one wokking up all these dishes for a busy mummy who has to rush home from work everyday, I am the one who hardworkingly plan every meal for the family. It has become part of my routine in life to prepare the weekly “food to cook list” one week ahead, with cooking and ingredient instruction for my domestic helper.

This is one of the new menu that we have savoured.

chicken cubes in black bean sauce

A satay style for kids except that it is topped up with green capsicum

Ingredients

1 piece boneless chicken breast meat

1/2 tbsp sliced garlic, 5 slices ginger

2 tbsp fermented black bean, soaked, chopped

1 green capsicum, sliced

1 onion, sliced, 1 red chilli, sliced

Marinade

1 egg white, 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsb light soya sauce, 1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp water, 1 tbsp corn flour

Seasoning

1/2 tsbp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 tsp dark, soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp water

1 tsp corn flour, mixed with 2 tbsp water, for thickening

Method

1) Combine chicken breast with marinade and season for 30 minutes. Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish and drain.

2) Heat up 1 tbsp oil, saute garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in fermented black beans and stir-fry until aromatic.

3) Add in green capsicum, onion, red chilli and stir well. Addd in seasoning, chicken cubes and mix well. Thicken with corn flour water and dish up.

Source: Hawkers’ Fair Simplified

This desert means alot to me as it is an usual desert that my dad will prepare on Chinese New Year Eve.  The family was on overseas vacation during Chinese New Year this year and did not manage to taste it.

Hence, I got my domestic helper to cook it for us after giving her some simple instructions…oops… just imagine I am a mummy who can hardly find time to cook.

The result is that I am glad that the family enjoys it as much as I do and it tastes especially good when served cold (after refrigeration)!

Ingredients

1.    gingko nuts

2.    white fungus

3.    dried longan

4.    rock sugar

5.    red dates