Beef Rendang

"...*point point*..*gasp*... POWER. ...*gasp*....."

- the boyfriend who loves spice -

Beef Rendang
makes for 6

• 1/2 bottle Patak's Vindaloo's Curry paste
• 210ml water
• shallots chopped
• garlic chopped
• onions chopped
• ginger grated with juice
• 1 tomato diced
• 3 strands long beans chopped at 45 degree angle
  
• 2 potatoes diced
• 650-700g (1.5pounds) top loin beef
• 1tsp oil
  
• corn starch, sugar, salt & pepper for marinate
  

Marinating the Raw Beef

Rub a pinch corn starch, sugar and salt & pepper well and evenly into the meat. Place the slab of meat between plastic sheets or simply put into plastic bag, and pound hard on it, shifting it, and pounding again. Remove from plastic and use blunt face of the knife to pound the meat in a criss-cross pattern. Then turn the knife on its side and slap meat as much as you want.

Cutting the Marinated Beef

Slice the beef at 50 degrees angle to create large med-thin slices of meat. It helps to use a sharp blade.

In the Pan

Heat the pan well, add the oil, less is best. When the oil is hot, throw in the chopped onions, shallots, garlic and ginger with the juice. Everything should brown nicely. Pour a bit of water into the pan enough to cover the chopped ingredients already browned, then add the sliced beef, stirring. Pour the rest of the water in, mixing, add the paste and stir in pan till bubbling. The gravy should cover the meat evenly. Throw in all other prepared ingredients and stir occasionally for 2 hours over slow fire.

Yum yum.

Pepper Lunch Yummy Site

I've yet to try Pepper Lunch myself, but it sure looks good.

I couldn't stop chuckling as I watched the videos play. Yum yum. It's added to my list of favorite sites just because of the videos with yummy sounds and spectacular visual capture of steam...

Gold blend Chocolate Fruit Tarts

10 step super-easy

• Mixed Dried Fruit
• 15 seedless red grapes chopped
• 4 dried apricots sliced thinly
• 3 slices white bread
• 1/3 cup golden syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 (7oz) block baking chocolate
• white chocolate shavings
• pre-made tarts (6 pack)
  

1. immerse dried fruit and chopped grapes into water over low fire
2. stir in sugar and syrup
3. add apricots and stir till well combined
4. dissolve coffee powder in 1tsp boiling water and add to mixture
5. add milk and stir
6. break chocolate into bits and stir in to melt
7. tear bread into small fluffy pieces and add in
8. combine well
9. spoon out into pre-made tarts
10. chill well and serve with chocolate shavings
    

Honeyed Baked Chicken

Super simple with minimum preparation, extremely delicious and appetizingly aromatic.
Makes for 4

• 3 patties Chicken fillet with skin intact
• extra light olive oil
• salt & sugar
• honey
• 1/2 tomato

Slice tomato thinly and place aside. Thaw the chicken in the microwave. There should be some oil from the patties that gather on the bottom of the dish. Use this oil to grease a well-lined oven tray. Add more olive oil if necessary.
Wash the chicken patties, removing extra fats esp near the edges, but making sure the skin covers nicely still. Season the patties by rubbing a little pinch of salt & sugar over the skin.
Under the skin of each patty, line the sliced tomatoes over one side of the chicken and place on the lined & greased tray, with the skinless side facing up. Drizzle more olive oil over each patty.

Bake for 20 mins between 245 and 270 degrees fahrenheit, adjusting according to the thickness of the patties. Meat should be almost cooked, and starting to brown.
Monitor and flip the patties to allow even cooking.
Spread honey over the skins, and continue baking for 15-30 mins till the skin is a nice rich gold.
By then access honey on the tray should have caramelized or burnt. Remove and cool so the meat edges and skin is nice and crispy.

Cut into thick strips and serve with accompanying sauce or dressing of your choice.
My family, being cantonese is real easy about dressings. Everyone's happy with using Oyster sauce most of the time.

Using thicker patties make juicier results. Slightly thinner patties or pounding the patties after thawing make for faster and easier cooking and a crispier finish.

Grandma's Kailan

• 2 pkts Kailan
• 1/2 red chilli
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 and 1/2 tsp corn starch
• 200ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• rice wine
  
• chopped garlic
• extra light olive oil
  

Heat wok till very hot over high heat, lower the fire and pour oil in. The oil should be very hot. Add chopped garlic into the hot oil so that it burns slightly, and throw all kailan in quickly, tossing and flipping the Kailan immediately. Pour the combined water, salt, sugar, corn starch & oyster sauce over the Kailan, all the while tossing and stir-frying.

Once Kailan is cooked, add a few dashes of rice wine while still tossing. Throw in the cut chilli & blast that fire up for 2 full seconds, turn the fire off, and dish out.

If stalk of the Kailan is cut out so it is shorter in length and makes for easier consumption, blanch the stalks with the combined water and condiments after browning the garlic, till the gravy boils for 1 or 2 mins, before adding the rest of the Kailan.

A really quick and easy stir-fry, you can add prawns, mushrooms or baby corn to the dish. When stir-frying, you might want to keep everything in the wok moving at all times, ensuring a well-tossed, equally cooked result.

TomYam yum

Tom Yum Seafood Soup

Little bro finished his rice real quick with the tasty soup, downing a bottle of cold water as he went along. It's also the last dinner Jessica's having with us before she goes home in a few hours. Jermelene will be here later tonight. And I get to teach her how to cook. While I'm away, grandma'll have the honors next week. Splendid! I hope Jerm's dishes'll start tasting of granny's.

To try:

1. Peach Garden on the 33 rd storey of OCBC Centre
2. Cherry Garden at the Oriental Hotel's weekend ala-carte style buffet ($38+++ per adult)
3. Mushroom Pot on Stadium Walk's buffet lunches going at $18.80(Mon-Thurs), $20.90(Fri-Sun) for adults and $14.90(daily) for children. Dinner is $25.90(Mon-Thurs), $27.90(Fri-Sun) for adults, and $17.90(daily) for children
4. Pearl River Palace on the third level of the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre's all-you-can-eat lunch, including dim sum , seafood and desserts, available every day of the week

Ta-Bao

for Mi

Lunch before MI756

For momMi who likes her pasta with extra olive oil, carrots, no olives & less pepper.

• 1/3 chinese sausage
• 4 slices ham
• spare ribs
• cabbage
• button mushrooms
• lots of shrimp

Asian style for my family.

Ham & Shrimp Pasta

I finally tried tossing up the pasta.

On Tuesday when I awoke, it was the first thing on my mind. Dinner for Adam.
I was going to go for my flight, come back, toss the salad and pack him pasta for dinner.

So I did. I touched down back in SIN, went downstairs to the cold storage at terminal 2, saw the doctor for a horrid throat infection, and carried my black pepper ham, olive oil, pitted black olives, ground black pepper and bacon bits home. I only wished the olives came in a bottle instead of a can.

I needed to prepare something I could eat without needing to re-heat.

It made me happy, when he tucked away at dinner and wanted to continue eating even when the class break was over. "Never mind," he said, grinning, "I'm gonna just continue to eat. I'm very hungry."


Ham & Shrimp pasta
(makes enough for 3)
. I like using Fusilli (1/2 bag)

• 4 slices black pepper ham cut into strips
• boiled chicken fillet shreded
  
• 1 & 1/2 handful japanese shrimps (that are slightly translucent when cooked - uber sweet)
• bacon bits to add texture
• lettuce (vege is good, eat more) some suggestions - purple Radiccio lettuce
• ground black pepper (i heap it, my mom thinks it over-powers)
• fish sauce to taste
• 1 tsp sambal blachan
• 2 slices diced roasted tomatoes
  
• 5 pitted olives, sliced (mom: "go easy on the olives")
• smoked salmon would have been a nice addition
• generous amount of olive oil

- croutons
Croutons - Combine garlic, oil, salt, and bread cubes in a bowl. Mix until cubes are coated evenly. Spread the coated cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until the croutons are golden. This should take about 10 minutes.

Next thing I'm going to try. Clam Pasta.
On my shopping list: Food containers to "ta-bao" more dinners for Adam and beloved friends who might not have time for dinner before class.

I wanted to photograph it, but couldn't find an appropriate time to.

Great places to buy nice lunch boxes:

1. Sheng Shiong @ West Coast
2. Upp Cross St along the Food Centre L1 (I'll take note of the exact location and blk no. the next time I get a chance to go again)