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Showing posts from January, 2016

CONFINEMENT RECIPE: BRAISED CHICKEN IN GINGER GRAVY

The original recipe uses galangal ginger, but I used normal old ginger since I only had those at home. Ingredients: 1 whole chicken leg 6 fresh ginger slices 1 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp ginger wine 1 tbsp light soya sauce 1/8 tsp dark soya sauce 250ml water Heat up 1 tbsp oil to saute the sugar til dissolved and changes color to golden brown. Add in the chicken whole leg and shallow-fry til both sides are golden brown. Add in the ginger slices and stir well. Pour in water, dark soya sauce and light soya sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer over a low heat til the chicken whole leg is cooked thoroughly and the gravy is thickened. Add in the ginger wine and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve hot.

CHESTNUT SOUP WITH CORN, CHINESE MUSHROOMS & PEANUTS

Soup is well-known for its nourishing properties. You only need to boil all the ingredients in a pot for a few hours and you can enjoy delicious + healthy soup with family. :)  Here's another special soup for women. Apparently it helps to nourish kidneys, replenish blood (chestnuts), benefit qi and most of all, enhance beauty!  Say YAY to being beautiful! Haha. Ingredients: Approx 35g dried chestnuts, soaked Approx 35g of peanuts 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and soaked 1 corn 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into pieces 2 slices ginger 150-200g lean meat Scald lean meat in boiling water for 5 minutes without cutting it into pieces. Rinse corn and cut into pieces. Rinse peanuts and set aside.  Place all ingredients in a pot with 1500ml water and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn to low heat and simmer for 3 hours. Serve.

SIMPLE 3-INGREDIENT MINI CREPE

There's no sugar in this easy crepe recipe, so it is suitable for both sweet and savory toppings. Ingredients: 1/2 cup plain flour 1/2 an egg 1/2 cup milk Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Add a little water and mix to desired consistency. Heat a little oil or butter in a small non-stick pan over medium heat. Pour in roughly 1 tablespoon of the batter, tilting the pan from side to side so batter covers the base in a thin film. Cook until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, spraying the pan with cooking oil in between. Serve with whatever toppings you want. Here, I've chosen blueberries, avocado slices and a drizzle of honey :)

WHERE ELSE CAFE

Everyone knows that Santorini is among the most romantic destinations in the world and visiting it is the dream of a lifetime for many people. About 2 months ago, my friend eagerly showed me a post on this place called Where Else Cafe and we were excited to pay this supposedly very romantic Santorini-themed cafe a visit. However,  we only managed to do it last week, d ue to busy schedules.  Where Else Cafe indeed has a romantic feel to it. Inside, you'll be greeted by a series of soothing colors - white and tiffany blue. From paintings to writings on the walls, they were all about Love and Romance,  but   I'm not sure how it is 'Santorini-themed' though. Perhaps just the WHITE and tiffany BLUE color theme? Oh well. They do have some friendly staffs who greeted us warmly as we walked in and ushered us to our table. The bar area. Through an arch, into the dining area. Pretty nice decos. They serve Western food including salads, pizzas, pastas, chops a...

CHINESE WILD YAM AND CHICKEN SOUP

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese wild yam is credited with tons of health benefits since it is good at tonifying kidney and spleen. Modern pharmacology finds that it helps improve digestive system, lowers blood sugar and blood pressure, inhibits oxidation and promotes urination. Chinese yam dishes are very popular thanks to their great taste, mild tonic properties and high nutritional value. However, please pay attention when handling fresh  Chinese wild yam. It is extremely slimy and its mucilage  contains plant alkaloid, which is prone to cause allergy symptoms like itch,  upon excessive contact. The flesh will oxidize and turn brown when exposed to air, so soak them in water right after cutting. Doing this will also help get rid of some of the slimy stuff. You can choose to use black chicken or silkie as it is considered more nourishing. Ingredients: Chinese yam also contains healthy antioxidants and anti-inflammatory...

MINI 2-INGREDIENT BANANA PANCAKES

These flourless pancakes are gluten-free and dairy-free - they really are made with just bananas and eggs. No tricks and nothing can be easier. Sounds like you'll just end up with scrambled banana-eggs?! Though they are definitely not a replacement for your favorite Saturday morning recipe, the final product truly resembles a pancake - soft and golden brown, with crispy edges. Naturally sweet, they definitely taste like bananas, so if you're not a fan of that flavor, this recipe isn't for you :P You can dress them up however you want. Just add a few more ingredients :D Ingredients: 1 medium ripe banana 1 large eggs That's all you need! Peel the banana and break it up into several big chunks. Using a fork, mash until the banana has a pudding-like consistency and no large lumps remain; a few small lumps are alright. Whisk the egg. Pour it over the banana and stir til completely combined. Heat a little oil or butter in a non-stick pan over medium h...

SPAGHETTI WITH BAKED PUMPKIN AND ROSEMARY

Yet another recipe by the multi-Michelin starred chef and star of the small screen, Gordon Ramsay! There are two ways to serve this: with a smooth or a chunky sauce. It all depends both on your personal taste and on the firmness of the pumpkin flesh. :) The original recipe uses penne but we replaced it with spaghetti. Ingredients: 250g wedge of pumpkin, skin on 3 cloves of garlic, halved with skin on 200g dried spaghetti 15g freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus some to serve Leaves from a few sprigs of rosemary Few sprigs of thyme olive oil, to drizzle Salt and pepper, to season *Crispy bacon bits, optional* Heat the oven to 200°C.  Cut the pumpkin into thin wedges. Spread a little olive oil over the base of a roasting tray and sprinkle over a little salt and pepper. Arrange the pumpkin in a single layer and drizzle generously with more olive oil. Scatter over the garlic, herbs and a little more seasoning. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin is so...

SARANGHAEYO PART 2: JEJU

Jeju Island, also known as the "Island of the Gods, is well known for natural wonders, including waterfalls, white sand beaches and a dormant volcano, Hallasan (South Korea's highest mountain), at the center of the island. It is a hot tourist spot  and also  remains the top honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds.   The island offers visitors a wide range of activities: from hiking on Halla-san, catching sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, touring all the locales from your favorite television K-dramas like All in, Secret Garden & Dae Jang Geum, or keeping an eye out for 'haenyeo' - female divers gathering fresh seafood, and the iconic 'Dol Hareubang' - Old Grandfather stone statues.  The flight from Seoul to Jeju took about an hour. We booked 2 different lodgings here; a 2 bedrooms apartment at Happy House Pension for the first night ( to cover the southern part of the island) ,  and EJ Hotel for the second night, which is situated in the c...