Knowing the particular decor style to choose from can be a problem for many people. There’s usually no wrong or right answer, but be sure that rustic farmhouse style is a timeless one. It’s sure to stay for many seasons and the pieces are usually low-maintenance.
This is an easy rustic farmhouse porch decor idea to apply. All you need to do is get a rustic plant pot and plant your favorite outdoor flower. You can make a DIY rustic planter or take the easier route by buying one. There are several types available ranging from aged stone pots to distressed wood planters and even rustic terracotta pots.
One of the most quintessential and beloved Middle Eastern foods is the falafel sandwich, a warm pita bread stuffed with crispy hot falafel balls, surrounded by cool and crunchy diced tomatoes, and onions, and drenched with creamy Tzatziki Sauce. All ingredients for this wonderful dish are easily found in standard supermarkets, and although it has many components, its simplicity makes it a wonderful weekday lunch or dinner, or a meal-prep staple that you can cook and freeze.
Angela tried the falafel along the Haji Lane – mini Middle Eastern in Singapore and fall in love with the flavour and we decided to recreate it. Falafel is traditionally made from chickpeas. It can be fried or baked for a lighter version. Restaurants sometimes serve falafel as a platter, over a bed of rice, but stuffed into pita bread is the more popular, easy, and on-the-go version. In the Middle East, it shares popularity with the sabich sandwich, a pita stuffed with eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, Israeli salad, hummus, and amba sauce.
For our recipe, you’ll need to have ready falafel balls, from scratch or from a mix.
Choosing the Pita Bread
There are only two options for us to choose provided in the supermarket, original pita bread by mission and wholemeal pita bread by mission. As we are currently on diet, we always choose the one with lesser calories which is wholemeal pita bread. Both pita bread by the mission is a small pocket which is good for a small meal aka snack.
If you want something big and couldn’t get one in your local market like us, try making one, it is like making bread. It will require a few ingredients you may already have on hand! Mix up the very simple dough, let it rise, and experience the magic of fresh, warm, perfectly puffy homemade pita bread. Should we try next time?
SimpleTzatziki Sauce
Mediterranean dishes. You can also slather it on your sandwiches, or simply use it as a dip with a warm pita and your favourite vegetables! We also use this sauce for the Chicken Gyros Pita which taste delicious like this recipe.
We like to mix my actual tzatziki sauce by hand in a large bowl. First, combine greek yoghurt, minced garlic, chopped cucumber, chopped drill, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch more salt. Make sure to stir until everything is well combined. For best taste and texture, cover tzatziki sauce tightly and refrigerate for a couple of hours before use.
Lastly, if you are on a gluten-free diet, or just want to try something different, falafel salads are a good alternative. Use any greens and toss in any of your favourite veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, olives).
In a pre-heated oven of 180 C, bake the pita bread for 10 minutes. Or you can heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Coat with olive oil and heat a pita round for 2 minutes on each side. The pita may begin to brown a little. Repeat with the remaining pita rounds, making sure to cut the top part to reveal the pocket after heating.
Stuff each pita round with 2 falafel balls and a spoonful each of lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Top each with sliced onion, and a generous drizzle of tahini sauce.
This chipotle turkey salad is one of the most amazing salads we’ve ever made or had. It’s a pretty standard turkey (or chicken) salad recipe really takes it to a new level.We use the chipotle sauce to spicy up the simple salad that delicious smokiness. This is also a fantastic way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. But when anytime we are craving it we use turkey ham instead. It’s worth making any time.
Turkey Ham vs Ham
We have been growing up with ham in our sandwiches, nothing like turkey ham came across us at all. To us, turkey is never good as it is on the drier side. Ever since Angela try the turkey sandwich by Subway it has blown our minds away. Taking for example; three slices of ham (84 grams) have around 150 calories and 7.5 grams of fat. In comparison with a similar portion of the turkey slice without the skin, the turkey slice is significantly leaner than the ham slices. While you have more choices for the ham but we make sure swapping them with turkey ham won’t make you regret it.
Chipotle Sauce
Chipotle sauce is an easy way to add smokiness, heat, and zesty flavour to any dish. It can be drizzled over tacos or turned into a creamy dip. It is simple to get one at your local supermarket, where we got ours at this Mexican supermarket – La Mexicana in Singapore located at Chijmes.
However, to make this is simple, all you need is to gather all the ingredients and blend them well using yourfood processor until it’s smooth and creamy. All you need are mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle, lime juice and garlic and salt. While it may be hard to find the chipotle in the nearby supermarket but you surely can find it here at the La Mexicana.
Choosing Your Vegetables
You could choose any type of vegetables for this dish as not much salad vegetables will go wrong, however here is a list of our choices;
Romaine Lettuce; refreshingly crisp as a base in everyday salads and sturdy enough to hold up to heat for grilling or sautéeing—romaine is one of the most versatile types of lettuce. The long green leaves are widely desired for their ability to stay crunchy in a salad without quickly wilting.
Beetroot Leaves; the beetroot plant is delicious and completely edible – from its purple roots to the green leaves and stems. I never knew it exits until Angela manage to got them at this korean supermaket. The green tastes refreshing when you first bite, however for the non-beetroot lover like me you will tastes the raw beetroot once you reaches the stalk.
Japanese Cucumber; gaves the chuchy and jiucy for every bites you takes. You could replace them with the normal cucumber.
The recipe pop out randomly but it had become our top favourite salad at all times whenever we’re wondering what to make for my meal – it’s definitely Chipotle Turkey Salad. We fell in love with Turkey as it’s a healthier choice for everyday meals. Where we will mixed it will any green we have in our fridge and it’ll be our to-go meal.
We live in a world of diminishing natural resources and environmental issues. Meanwhile, people continue to look for inventive, unique and standout ways to make their homes even better.
Large planks of reclaimed wood are great places to start for custom furniture like a reclaimed wood table or kitchen island. If you are lucky you may find a large piece like a walnut slab that can be turned into a beautiful surface for a dining room table or even a conference table in an office space.
If you put a big platter of these baked spicy coconut chicken thighs in front of your friends or family, we guarantee no one will be able to resist. They don’t even have to like spicy food or chicken thighs, and they will be diving in. There’s just something seductive about these glazed and charred thighs.
Bon Appétit shared these a few months ago and we were there for it. We quickly gathered all the required ingredients and set to making these for myself.
They are loaded with flavour from the spicy coconut marinade, flavoured with sambal oelek, brown sugar, coconut milk, lime, garlic and ginger. I made a double batch and marinated the meat in half, then reduced the other half and glazed the thighs as they cooked to further layer on the flavour.
Baked Chicken or Grilled Chicken?
OnBon Appétit, they using a griller to grilled the chicken, which will produce a grill mark on the chicken which makes this dish appetizing. Although grilling, on the other hand, produces a bolder flavour and allows fat to drip off the meat, reducing its calorie count. However, baking can be just as healthy as long as you don’t add oil, butter and other fats. Not to mention baking tends to give food a more delicate texture and taste. Ended up we choose baking!
How to pick the right cut of chicken?
Chicken is one of the most versatile meats you can cook with. It takes on other flavours really well and is a great base for all sorts of different recipes from across the globe. But don’t fall into the trap of cooking mainly with chicken breast. As well as succulent white meat, the dark meat and different joints have masses to offer.
Thigh: Arguably the tastiest part of the chicken, thighs are little parcels of tender, juicy meat from the top of the bird’s leg. You can buy them bone-in, or bone out, and with the skin on or off, where we use boneless for this recipe and also the best part of this recipe. Bake on two sides for 10 minutes each at 180 C, end it using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.
Legs: Instead of dividing the legs into drumsticks and thighs, try leaving them whole, then roasting them in the oven or grilling them on the barbecue. They look great served whole on a platter for a party.Bake on two sides for 15 minutes each at 180 C, end it using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.
Breast: Arguably the most popular part of a chicken, you can buy breast either whole or pre-sliced and with the skin either on or off. It will be drier compare to the Thigh and Leg if we use the oven to bake it. Therefore we suggest pan-fry time on 2 sides for 15 minutes till cook.
What Is the Best Sambal Oelek Substitute?
Sambal Oelek is a spicy chilli sauce that is popular in Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. The main ingredients are hot chilli peppers and salt, although lemon, garlic or vinegar are also commonly added. It took us a while to get this Sambal Oelek, thus if you can’t get your hands on a bottle of this hot sauce then you’re going to need a sambal Oelek substitute that’s readily available on the supermarket shelf.
If you need to replace sambal Oelek in a recipe then the best options are sriracha, gochujang, or crushed red chilli flakes. They won’t perfectly mimic the original sauce but unless you’re an experienced sambal user, you’d hardly notice a change has been made
You can have it with rice, potato and all kind of staples as it just go along with anything. We served these on a bed of udon and with a side of Bai Choy, with more reserved sauce for dipping and drizzling. Because more is always more when it comes to, well, most everything that comes out of our kitchen.
1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
Lime wedges (for serving)
Methods
Preheat the oven to 180C. Finely grate ginger and garlic into a medium bowl. Add coconut milk, chilli paste, lime juice, brown sugar, salt, and 2 Tbsp. oil and whisk to combine. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Pour marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2–3 minutes.
Place the chicken thigh in the baking tray, bake for 10 minutes on each side. Using the boiler function, boil the skin for 5 minutes till crispy.
Transfer chicken to a platter. Brush with remaining marinade. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges alongside.
This Summer Fruits Drink is inspired by a traditional Chinese home remedy for cough relief. Steamed or boiled pear with rock sugar is a delightful dessert very easy to prepare. This time we adding in our favourite fruit making it more flavourful.
The weather is really bad during this time of the year. It is hot and humid andgets raining from time to time in Singapore. With lockdown 3.0 begins the end of last Thursday, we tried to stay at home as much as possible. In meantime, we try different healthy food and drink to ease the heat. We grab some fruits in the market and made this Summer Fruit Drink (in the Chinese context, most of the mother’s will said dessert soup, Tong Sui) where it consists of Pear, Apple and Lemon. This sweet soup/drink soothe the lungs & throat. Indeed for ages – kids and adults.
What are Asian Pears?
We were excited to find Asian pears in a local supermarket during this season – they are big and juicy. Delighted, we bought some and cooked them to nourish ourselves. Asian pear, also known as Nashi pear or Chinese white pear, is quite different from pears commonly found in Europe. It has smooth, pale yellow skin with some brown speckles. Its shape varies: some are like pears; others resemble apples.
What are the benefits of the Asian Pear? Asian Pear is good for moisturizing the lungs. While the other ingredient is great for health, which we mentioned before in other posts. Red dates contain loads of vitamins. By adding in apple and lemon add in natural sweet and sour flavours to quenches thirst during the humid day. It is very refreshing to serve this sweet soup chilled too!
A Traditional Remedy for Cough
When we are young our mother will steam or boiled pear with rock sugar in the cold seasons. It is believed that the combination of these two ingredients has certain medicinal benefits. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this dessert can reduce excessive phlegm to effectively ease coughs caused by the common cold.
While it may not be a full cure but it surely will make you feel smoother. We can also guarantee its wonderful taste that will please your palate on all occasions. It’s a perfect warming dessert on cold winter days, and also a refreshing treat served cold when you need something to cool down.
How do we make them?
Start by adding all of the prepared fruits (apple, pear and lemon) to the pot and the dates before adding in the water. Make sure you have enough water to cover all your ingredients. We use cool water to boil it to avoid the fruits from getting overcooked. After the water is boil, lower down the heat and simmer it for 15 minutes. The nutrients of the fruits will be lost when it was cook under high heat for too long. Add in your choices of sugar (we uses rock sugar), makes sure the sugar is dissolved before serving. You can serve them hot which is what we like or leave it in the fridge to serve it cold. DO NOT add in ice, it will dilute the flavours and nutrients of this drink.
I’m not sure if that happened to you, but both Angela and I got a little sick after our second vaccination. Our head and body have been feeling a bit warm and sore. This is a perfect drink to cool our body a little making the whole vaccination journey a little better.
Remove skin and core/seed for apple and pear. Cut into 8 wedges each. (Warning: Must remove the apple seed. Apple seed is poisonous to be consumed especially for small kids.)
Rinse red dates and slice them.
Add apple, pear, and red dates to a pot of water. Bring to a boil.
Let it simmer for 15 minutes, before adding in rock sugar for taste. Wait for the sugar to dissolve before serve.
Keeping your furniture open is the hardest choice to make. With doors, you could keep the dust and oil away if you are in the kitchen and water away from the dry floor. However, there are much more pros than cons to going doorless. With its built-in furniture and raw wood details, the cozy bedroom brings to mind the unassuming elegance of the Cyclades. The decoration is kept sweet and simple – think rustic exposed beams, natural fabrics, and a handful of refined collectibles.
While in the bathroom, you will have no step-over curb at the entrance makes the shower easily accessible to the elderly and those with mobility issues. Doorless showers are standard in age-in-place universal design. With no glass door to interrupt traffic flow, the bathroom feels more open and roomy same to other places.
Love fish tacos? Well, these are the end-all-be-all. You don’t need to deep fry to make terrific Fish Tacos. You just need a really great marinade! A seriously delicious way to serve up white fish fillets. Either way, they’re healthy, fresh and bursting with serious taco goodness!
No grill, no deep-fryer, no problem. Our summery tacos rely on our go-to fish-cooking method—slow-roast, baby!—for tender, flaky fish every time. All you need to do is cover the fish with our special jalapenos-cilantro sauce and slow baked it. Serve it with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes – it is finger-licking good.
Jalapeno & Clilanto Marination
If you love Mexican food you’re going to love this cilantro lime marinade. It’s really easy to make and can be used to marinate chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, and even vegetables.
To begin light chop the cilantro, garlic, and jalapenos and toss them in the food processor. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Process for less than one minute or until you have a nice and chunky texture. Don’t over-process because the mixture will turn into a paste rather than chunky. The jalapenos are not mandatory but they add a wonderful flavour and a kick of spice. If you don’t want the marinade spicy remove the inside of the jalapenos and wash them under cool water; be sure not to get any in your eyes.
Where to get the Jalapenos? It is not easy to find Jalapenos everywhere, all we get is capsicum and chilli in our own locate supermarket. We are glad that we have this Mexican supermarket – La Mexicana in Singapore where it has everything that we need. You can expect to find a multitude of Mexico-imported products, such as all kinds of Jalapenos and Tacos.
Slow-baked Fish
You can use all kinds of white fish from cod to tilapia and covered it in a garlicky cilantro-jalapenos sauce before cooking. You’re not going to get the same char or crunch as you would in grilled or fried fish tacos, but a cabbage slaw (and the fact that you don’t have to deal with grilling or frying) more than makes up for it.
Use any mild white fish you like, remembering that cook time varies based on the thickness of the piece. So keep an eye on the fish as it cooks and cooks to the visual indicator, not the timer. People can be intimidated by cooking fish for tacos, but don’t be! Let the fish rest a few minutes before using a fork to flake it into pieces.
*Ps: Remember to leave some jalapenos-cilantro sauce for the tomatoes slaw!
Mexican Tomatoes Slaw
We often serve fish tacos with a classic coleslaw or onion slaw but if this time we decided to have a tomatoes slaw to add in some juiciness and colour. Combine quarter tomatoes, 2 tbsp of jalapeno-cilantro sauce, chopped onion, lime juice in a bowl. Mix it lightly as we don’t want to smash the tomato. A little reminder – You only want to do the tomatoes slaw last, as you don’t want it to get soggy.
Assemble them in a platter
Presentation is what you need to make your food look even better. You can serve your fish straight from the pan, for us we serve them on a small plate.Warm 24 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas one at a time over a burner set to medium heat until blackened around the edges in some spots, about 30 seconds per side. Keep tortillas wrapped in a stack in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.Arrange avocado. cabbage, pico de gallo, and remaining cilantro and lime wedges on a platter as well. And you are ready to serve at your party!
Place a rack in the centre of the oven; preheat to 300°. Place 1 1½-lb. piece white fish in a 13×9″ baking dish. Season all over with 1½ tsp. salt.
Trim and discard stems of 2 jalapeños, cut in half lengthwise, then coarsely chop. Coarsely chop three-quarters of 1 bunch of cilantro leaves with tender stems.
Transfer jalapeños and chopped cilantro to a blender or food processor. Add ⅓ cup vegetable oil and 2 garlic cloves. Blend on high speed until a coarse purée form. Scoop out and transfer 2 Tbsp. sauce to a medium bowl (you’ll be building your pico de gallo in this.) Pour remaining sauce evenly over fish, spreading with the back of a spoon.
Bake fish until it flakes away with light pressure from the tines of a fork in the thickest part, 18–25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet and what type of fish you’re using. Start checking on the early end of things so it doesn’t overcook!
While fish bakes, work on the rest of your toppings. Quarter 1-pint cherry tomatoes and transfer to bowl with reserved cilantro sauce. Peel ¼ white onion, then finely chop. Add to sauce and toss to combine. Cut 1 lime in half and squeeze the juice of both halves into the bowl. Season with 1 tsp. salt and toss to combine.
Shave off the core of ¼ head of cabbage. Thinly slice crosswise into shreds and transfer to a medium bowl. Cut another lime in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl; season with salt. Toss with your hands to combine.
Cut remaining 2 limes into wedges for serving.
Run a knife around the pit of 1 avocado lengthwise to split in half. Open avocado. Using the bottom half of the knife, remove the pit by securing the blade in the pit, then turning it sideways to release. Using a large spoon, scoop out the flesh, then cut into thin lengthwise wedges. Transfer to a large platter or board. Season avocado with salt.
Arrange cabbage, pico de gallo, and remaining cilantro and lime wedges on a platter as well.
Warm 24 corn tortillas or 12 flour tortillas one at a time over a burner set to medium heat until blackened around the edges in some spots, about 30 seconds per side. Keep tortillas wrapped in a stack in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until serving.
Using a large spoon, gently flake apart fish into large irregular pieces and transfer to a plate. Serve fish along with all the accoutrements and your fave hot sauce for a DIY taco party.
Ever since we have this mandu in Korean 8 years ago we have been falling in love with it. It is big and juicy, seem like one is enough but it is so delicious that we just want to have more. After several tries, we have master the recipes and today you will be learning how to make delicious homemade mandu (Korean dumplings) from scratch with these step-by-step instructions. This Mandu couldn’t be more delicious, filled with pork,shitake mushroom, carrot, spinach and Korean sweet potato noodles.
When it comes to Lunar New Year traditions in Korea, you can’t skip homemade Mandu (Korean dumplings, 만두) as a part of a New Year celebration. These dumplings are filled with juicy meats and vegetables. Taking a bite is a truly satisfying and enjoyable experience. Although it is not the new year, we always made batches of them and keep them frozen and enjoy them whenever we want.
Where to get Mandu Wrappers?
Store-bought dumpling wrappers do come in handy, and they make delicious semi-homemade mandu as well. When making Koran style mandu, look for the large size wrappers, about 5 inches in diameter. We got ours at our nearby Korean mart.
You could also challenge yourself from making them if you have more time! Korean dumpling wrappers are made with flour, sweet rice flour, and a little cornstarch. The tender yet chewy texture of these dumpling wrappers makes quite a difference compared to most other Asian dumpling wrappers.
Types of Filling
There are many variations of Korean dumplings. The most popular one is Kimchi mandu is especially popular for making manduguk (dumpling soup) or tteok-manduguk (a variation of rice cake soup, tteokguk, with dumplings), which is a must-eat New Year’s dish. The kimchi version adds a nice contrast to the mildly flavoured broth and soft rice cake slices With its pungent flavour and crunchy texture.
However this time, we decided to share traditional Korean dumplings are made with minced pork. Its mild yet juicy flavour and texture mingle well with any vegetables you add. Chopped sour kimchi, mung bean sprouts, and tofu are typical filling ingredients to go with pork. We recommend using slightly fatty ground pork for the filling, about 80/20 meat to fat ratio. The fat makes the filling juicy and tender. Pork that is too lean yields a dry texture — you don’t want that.
How to make Korean Mandu from Strach?
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables To mix well with long noodles, ingredients have to be similar shapes. That way when you eat, all the ingredients will cling to the noodles and have more balanced flavours in your mouth. Prepare the vegetables, and set them aside.
Step 2: Stir fry, blanch, and cook each ingredient separately. Noodle: Cook the noodles for 7 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Do not throw this boiling water. Strain and cut with kitchen scissors so that they’re a little shorter.
Spinach: Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.
Step 3: Mix all together! Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Season with soy sauce, sweet rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper; mix well with your hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Fold it up –Half moon shaped dumplings
Half moon shaped dumplings are the most common in Korean dumplings. This shape is perfect for steaming and making soup. If you are thinking of making Korean dumpling soup, use this shape.
Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of wrapper, wet the edges of wrapper with water using your finger.
Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the edges together.
Bring the both ends toward the center.
Pinch the ends together to complete.
You can then steam it using a steamer for 5- 7 minutes.
Can I freeze the leftover?
It is always a good idea to make abundant homemade mandu because they freeze beautifully. Make sure to sprinkle flour on a large tray so that the mandu won’t stick to the tray. Place mandu pieces on the tray without touching each other. Freeze for an hour or until they are frozen solid. Transfer mandu pieces to a freezer bag. They can last up to 3 months in the freezer.
You could also try our tofu and kimchi dumplings if you want a more flavourful and crispy flavour for your meal. You could enjoy them as a side dish or themselves.
Boil Korean sweet potato noodles according to the package directions, about 6-7 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain well. Chop into small pieces.
Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.
Put pork, carrot, mushroom and noodles in a large mixing bowl. Season with soy sauce, sweet rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, and pepper; mix well with your hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, wet the edges of the wrapper with water using your finger. Fold the wrapper in half and pinch the edges together. Bring both ends toward the centre. Pinch the ends together to complete.
To steam the dumplings, bring a small amount of water to a large pot to boil. Make sure the bottom of your steamer doesn’t touch the water. Place mandu without touching each other in a bamboo steamer (or regular steamer), lined with a cheesecloth or a steam liner. When the water boils, place the steamer over or in the pot. Cover and steam for 5 – 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
Meanwhile, make a dipping sauce to go with dumplings. Combine all the sauce ingredients and drizzle it over dumplings.
Turn a small dining room into an inviting gathering space with these no-fail design tips and tricks. Whether you have a designated room, a corner nook in the kitchen, or simply a blank stretch of wall, you can create a comfortable spot to share everyday meals and entertain guests. These small dining room ideas will make your space look larger, help the flow of traffic, and increase storage in a small footprint.
If your kitchen connects to an open great room, carve out a small dining room in the area in-between with a few design tricks. In this combined space, extending the kitchen floor tile out into the living room helps separate the cooking and eating area. Choose a dining table and chairs with simple, streamlined shapes that won’t take up too much space, and hang a light fixture above to define the table area. A small cushioned bench provides extra seating and adds a sense of comfort. A large window dressed in simple window treatments brings in light to help the room feel more spacious.
Neutral colors and a mix of textures give this small dining room a cozy feel. A simple wood buffet provides plenty of drawers for out-of-sight storage and a tabletop surface to display art and accessories. Above, a round mirror reflects light to make the room appear larger.
Bossam is a crunchy cabbage wrap filled with Korean boiled pork belly. Great as a one-dish meal but also great for parties, you just can’t stop eating it, especially if you are a pork and kimchi lover. To make it flavourful we infused it with apple, making it sweet, tender and delicious! It’s very easy to make if you nail down the broth measurements. The only other tricky part is finding a (Korean) mart that sells thick cuts of pork belly. If you can get your hands on it, you’re in for a treat!
What is Bossam?
In case you’ve never heard of Bossam, the main part of Bossam is pork belly boiled in water with some spices (e.g. onion, garlic, ginger and green onion etc.) until the meat is fully cooked and tender then it’s thinly sliced. By boiling it over a long period of time, the meat is defatted. The oil and fat in the meat are melted into the broth, which we discard. And you’re left with an ultra-tender piece of pork.It’s typically served with lettuce or napa cabbage leaves along with sometraditional topping sauce – Ssamjang, kimchi and fresh crunchy vegetables.
Why Apple?
Koreans have this thing with gamy-ness or strong smelling meat. And they’ve developed all kinds of tricks to prevent meat, especially rich and fatty kind, from smelling overly strong. Many of the recipes using instant coffee to do the job, however, we still want to taste the unique pork taste thus we choose the apple over coffee. The acidy of the apple not only add a hint of apple fragrance to the meat but the acidy of the apple also work to tenderize them. We also added some soy sauce to give a brownish colour to the pork and extra flavour.
Getting the Texture of Bossam Just Right
It is best to use an instant pot for this dish, as all you need is a quarter of the time and it is more flavourful with all the juice and flavour keep it in the pot all time during cooking. However, with our trusty pot and stove, you can get a similar result as instant pot. One main tip is that DO NOT OPEN THE LID, only until it is done. The pork belly needs to be jiggly and soft enough so that every bite feels decadently fatty. And yet the meat needs to be firm enough to hold together and have some chew.
To ensure the right texture, examine your pork belly closely. If your pork belly looks on the skinny end, try cooking for 45 minutes, but do not cook it longer than 90 minutes. When it is done thinly slice the meat (about 1cm/0.4 inch thickness) with a knife. (You may want to use tongs to hold the meat if it’s still hot.)You could also reserve some of the pork broth to use for drizzling the pork if the pork gets too dry before serving.
To enjoy it, take a piece of cabbage (rip into smaller pieces if needed), put a piece of pork, then add the spicy kimchi radish salad and top it with any of the additional ingredients below such as ssamjang to taste.
While we never have leftovers and the pork tastes best when it’s freshly cooked but you can store it in the fridge and reheat it in a pan or in the microwave. Personally, we prefer reheating by frying in a pan (no oil, on medium heat). We hope you like this recipe as we do.
Homemade Korean spicy dipping sauce (Ssamjang) – Refer to this recipe or buy from a store.
Garlic, Sliced
Methods
Boil the pot with the pork and ingredients with the lid on medium-high heat until the pork is cooked. (It takes about 1 hr.) Take out the meat. Cool it down for about 5 to 10 minutes. Thinly slice the meat (about 1cm/0.4 inch thickness) with a knife. (You may want to use tongs to hold the meat if it’s still hot.) Serve the meat with the side ingredients.
Roasted Zucchini with Parmesan cheese – it’s a match made in heaven. And if all veggies can be such a match, we’d become a vegan or vegetarian tomorrow. No, but really, this is by far one of the best veggie side dishes we’ve ever made. And the best part about this is that there is absolutely no deep frying or sauteing of any kind. It helps to stop our craving for the great flavours of cheese.
All it takes all of ten minutes, start to finish — is going to save you from just giving up and composting (or tossing) all that squashy goodness. Thanks to a healthy sprinkling of parmesan, it’s one of those unicorn veggie recipes that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
What is Zucchini?
Zucchini has gained some serious popularity over the last few years. For those who are unfamiliar with, you can constantly found it in many Greek and Korean cuisine. It has become one of my favourite green squash from the summer gardens. It’s a low-carb hero — standing in for pasta in a formerly carb-heavy dish and serving as a delivery device for other favourite foods and ingredients.
Based on researches zucchini it’s a nutrient powerhouse. On top of all those awesome vitamins and minerals, zucchini also delivers über-healthy compounds called carotenoids—specifically lutein and zeaxanthin. It’s those compounds that (per the research) seem to give zucchini additional, amazing health boons.
It helps to guard our skin – that buildup a coat for the skin from UV rays and pollution. According to scientific studies — and also may slow skin ageing by helping to keep skin hydrated and elastic. Research suggests that eating foods rich in carotenoids could slow or lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The key phrase, though, is eating carotenoid-rich foods, not taking supplements. Lastly, regularly eating carotenoid-rich foods—like zucchini—could be good for our bones.
How to Roast Zucchini?
You’ll see a lot of recipes for “baked zucchini”. They might look a little bit like this recipe, however, we call our recipe “roasted zucchini” because of the high cooking temperature. High heat means that the zucchini gets a lovely, flavour-making bit of blister—and it also means that in terms of how long to roast zucchini, it’s in and out of the oven in just minutes. Here are the steps for the best way to cook zucchini, you have our word.
Boldly crank your oven to 220 C.
Dress your sliced zucchini rounds with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet, taking care not to overlap them. Grate parmesan cheese generously over the rounds.
Roast! About five minutes, and then finish the rounds off with a quick broil to ensure the cheese gets nice and crisp-bubbly.
Dive in! Enjoy these as a side dish, snack, pasta stand-in—the possibilities are endless.
Starting on a Flexitarian Diet
I have been long procrastinating with my weight, I might look slim but honestly, I haven’t been in a good shape for a very long time. I gave myself all sorts of reasons to enjoy food and neglect the risk of being obese. In April when I admitted to the hospital for my abdominal pain, I realised that my health is on the red line. So I decided to lose some weight and have a better eating lifestyle.
So it has been 6 weeks since I have been on my diet, I’m determined and set a path to stay and eat healthily. I haven’t ordered any takeaway and I’m more conscious of what I’m eating these days. Apart from exercising, I swapped 80% of my meal to plant-based. I never thought that I could do that but I never have been so happy about it as it really changes my daily life (I regret making comments about vegan, plant-based diet in past). With the experience I have, I’m more alert, less sleepy in the mid of the day and each day my body feels much lighter andhappier.
Before doing this, I picked up many of the reading materials, studied and figured what is best for my body. Of course, I have run into walls and make mistakes at the very beginning but I learned from it. I would say that I’m definitely unable to be a vegan anytime soon (or I would want to) because I have lived at least 20 years of eating steak as breakfast. But I’m more than willing to reduce the portion down to 10% – 20% of my diet. So basically, I’m eating a minimum portion of chicken, turkey and fish 2-3 times a week. Only take red meats or shellfish on special occasions of the month or my cheat day.
I didn’t know that I fall into flexitarianism till in the midst of my journey. Flexitarian is a marriage of two words: flexible and vegetarian. Through research, by eating more plants and less meat, it’s suggested that adherents to the diet will not only lose weight but can improve overall health, lowering the rate of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and for my case hugely reduce the inflammation and sensitivity attack of my gastric and stomach. The frequency of myabdominal pain has hugely reduced based on what I ate.
I want to share this because sometimes change of the eating habit not only could be beneficial to oneself but it helps to improve the environment as well. With flexitarian, you are not restricted with many rules and you are having a healthful vegetarian diet around fibre-packed veggies, fruits and whole grains, you shouldn’t feel hungry between meals at all. It’s my 6 weeks, once in a while when I sharing my favourite plant-based recipes, I will update my journey as well. Hopefully, it does bore any reader over here and it will be helpful for those who want to have a change of their eating lifestyle.
Slice your zucchini into thin slices. In a bowl add sliced zucchini, garlic powder, salt and pepper and marinate them well.
Lay them on the baking tray well, sprinkle the parmesan over the seasoned zucchini. Bake them for 3-5 mins at 200 C, and 3 mins under the boiler. Serve them while they are warm.
If you’re looking for an idea for adding some color and style to a certain room in your house then you could try creating an art gallery. It’s a great idea if you have several framed photos or artwork just lying around or if you want to display some of your creations.
You can mix and combine all sorts of artwork. For example, you can display painting along with framed photos, DIY pieces, and posters. Such as a modern wall art gallery with a casual look and a mix of colors, textures, styles, and designs.
Previously I only thought that photo frame is only for the walls and table but I am wrong, you could also put them on the floor across the hallway.
Adapted by Maangchi – Korean Gulmuchim is a simple and easy recipe. After trying this recipe it became one of our favourite side dishes to be made when we have Korean BBQ and Bossam. One of the other reasons that make us fall in love with this recipe is that the simplicity of ingredients needed and all you need is to mix all ingredients together and enjoy them. All you need is oysters and some basic ingredients like onion, garlic, spring onion, ginger and gochujang that we grab in our kitchen.
Frozen Oyster vs Fresh Oyster
The star of this dish is Oyster – if our wallet allows it, we will choose fresh oyster, as it makes this dish more finger-licking good. However, it is pricy and time-consuming in preparing it thus frozen oyster is the second-best choice we could have. We got this frozen oyster in our local wet market where it sold one whole big bag for only $10. These oysters are usually those used in the egg omelette where they also taste very good especially with this marination.
How to prepare the frozen oyster? The first thing you do is to thaw them before opening the package. In a bowl put 3 tbsp of cornflour over it and mix it well, and then rinse them off one by one to remove any sediment.Rinse it under the tap water and drain it well before they’re ready to mix with seasoning. Wash the oysters a few times and remove any remnants of shell or grainy particles from them especially the frozen oysters.
How does gochugaru differ from gochujang?
I always got confited with Gochugara and Gochujang. Gochugaru translates literally to pepper powder. Gochu means pepper and Garu mean powder. The name Gochugaru refers to the flakes of a moderately hot sun-dried red long pepper. On the opposite hand, Gochujang is a thick, sticky paste utilized in dipping sauces and marinades. Gochujang contains Gochugaru along with various other flavorful ingredients.
After practising and families ourselves with Korean food, we understand better the way to use these two types of seasoning. While you’ll be able to use gochujang in your marinade for bulgogi, other meat and also some seafood dishes (like this recipe) to urge a standard flavour profile. you’ll also add it to varied soups, stews and sauces. Moreover, use Gochugaru as an all-purpose seasoning to feature heat to almost any dish. it’s essential if you’re making kimchi.
We wanted both flavour and heat for this recipe and thus we use both here!
Can I make this ahead?
Yes, absolutely! However, if you would like to enjoy them at their best state, only make them 4 hours to every day ahead. If you made more portions, you’ll keep them within the fridge for up to every week in an airtight container!
Looking back at the images, it makes us drool again. You can never forget the finger-licking good taste and will keep can keep looking for the freshness and heat!
Combine oysters, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, sugar, toasted sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.
In Korean food, Ssamjang Korean spicy dipping sauce is an iconic sauce that serves on the table with main dishes. It has a mildly spicy and salty flavour with a nutty fragrance. And, most importantly it compliments well Korean pork belly bbq (Samgyeopsal). While you can purchase the ready-made dipping sauce in many of the places, most commonly in your local supermarket. In our opinion, it can’t beat the taste of homemade ssamjang sauce.
What is Ssamjang Sauce?
This Ssamjang Sauce is a simple, no-cook, stir-together dipping sauce that combines the savoury funk of doenjang (fermented Korean soybean paste) with the sweet heat of gochujang. Toasted sesame oil and seeds provide subtle roasted bitter notes, while fresh garlic and scallions wake everything up with a little allium bite. Spread ssamjang on leaves and lettuces before wrapping them around bites of grilled meat, seafood, and even vegetables.
Where to buy them?
You can find ssamjang by the (green) tub in Korean grocery stores, usually next to other pastes like gochujang and doenjang, and online. If you don’t love spice, opt for a ssamjang labelled “mild”; otherwise, pick a brand that catches your eye and go for it—on the whole, store-bought options are fairly similar across the board.
Regardless of the one you choose, you can adjust it to your taste: Add sesame oil and honey to temper the saltiness, minced garlic or chopped green onions for freshness, or even canned sardines for a pleasant brininess.
How to made them at home?
Or, if you have the ingredients on hand, make ssamjang at home. Adapted from this recipe, my barebones version uses just five ingredients: 2 Tbsp. doenjang (we’ve found that white miso also works well), 1 Tbsp. gochujang, 2 ½ tsp. toasted sesame oil, half onion, chopped finely and 1 clove garlic, minced. Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl, adjust to taste, add any mix-ins (toasted sesame seeds, diced onions or chile peppers, and even diced nuts are all fair game), and transfer to an airtight container. Depending on your choice of mix-ins, your homemade ssamjang will keep in the fridge for several days and up to two-ish weeks.
Ssamjang’s savoury, bold, complex flavour profile makes it an excellent addition to your fridge’s condiment collection, not just an occasional dip to enjoy at Korean barbeque restaurants. Whether you smear it on meat, use it as a dip for your favourite veggies, or wrap it up with rice in steamed cabbage leaves (no, we won’t stop talking about this), you’ll discover that ssamjang is so versatile it just might become your new favourite condiment. (We won’t tell the others.)
In a bowl combine all the ingredients well. You can store unused portions of ssamjang in an airtight container and refrigerate them until needed. From a food safety perspective consumes within 3-5 days. That being said, I have stored my sauce for 1 – 2 weeks fine. This is not to say that you should do the same, just take the information for what it’s worth.
“Oh my god, I love their hand soap so much,” usually followed by a sheepish, “But I know it’s so expensive.” The hand soap officially called “Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash” costs $39. It smells like someone smashed an orange all over some freshly cut cedar and then sprinkled rosemary on it, but in a muted way. It is the chicest method of killing germs that you can find on the market right now.
Melbourne-based company Aesop has strived to create luxurious products for the skin, hair, and body since 1987. Founded out of a small Armadale salon Aesop has redefined the way we think about luxury skin, body, and hair-care and defied common business wisdom to become an inimitable global player.
In recent years, you can see many more used them in their home and also at cafes. The way they style Aesop, making it a centerpiece of the house. While the packaging marks the trademarks of the brand, making everyone want one. How about you?
We have been watching Korean dramas to keep us entertained during the #stayhome period, we also got our craving for Korean food set badly. All the barbeque, Korean stew and kimchi have made our stomachs groaning. We are also jealous of the whole fridge of side dishes they have in their fridge and table whenever they have a meal. Meanwhile, Japchae is one of the dishes that kept popping on the screen.
Japchae is sweet potato noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat. It’s one of Korea’s best-loved dishes and it is served at Korean parties and special occasions. The ingredients for this dish include thinly sliced carrot, onion, spinach, and mushrooms, and sometimes include thinly sliced beef. It’s always seasoned with Korean soy sauce mixed with garlic, sesame oil, and sugar.
With most traditional recipes you would stir fry vegetables, meat, and noodles in a frying pan, but we mix the stir-fried vegetables and meat with cooked noodles on a plate to avoid the noodle getting over cooked. At the same time we thought this method is brilliant because you don’t need to worry about noodles sticking to the frying pan.
Ingredients you need to Prepare
Traditional Japchae requires thin-sliced pieces of beef. At most Korean supermarkets, you can find this style of beef pre-cut in the butcher section. If you can’t find it, grab some sirloin from the store and slice it yourself. Japchae also incorporates a heft serving of veggies. We like to use carrots, onions, spinach and green onions, but feel free to add in some mushrooms if you like. If you don’t already have sesame oil and soy sauce on hand, you will need that to create the delicious sauce that brings the dish together.
What are Korea Noodles?
Korean sweet potato glass noodles have an excellent texture and offer a hint of sweetness. They are made using only sweet potato starch and water. When cooked, they turn beautiful glass noodles.
Korean style sweet potato noodles are also referred to as starch noodles or Korean vermicelli. We got ours at the nearby Korean mart, you could get them in most of the supermarkets in Singapore too.
3 Simple Steps To Make Japchae
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables and beef To mix well with long noodles, ingredients have to be similar shapes. That way when you eat, all the ingredients will cling to the noodles and have more balanced flavours in your mouth. Prepare the vegetables, and set them aside. You can also marinate the beef ahead by mixing the beef together with 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. We used the leftover meat we have from the last barbeque section and thus it is well marinated by the restaurant.
Step 2: Stir fry, blanch, and cook each ingredient separately. Noodle: Cook the noodles for 7 minutes in a large pot of boiling water.Do not throw this boiling water. Strain and cut with kitchen scissors so that they’re a little shorter. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons sugar to the noodles. Toss thoroughly.
Spinach: Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.
Carrot, Onion and Peppers: Heat up a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the onion, peppers and carrot with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until tender, but still a little crunchy. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Mix all together! Wait, but remember to mix the sauce and noodles first! The noodles must absorb all the flavours from the sauce first before mixing with veggies and meat. Top it with lots and lots of toasted sesame seed, it does make a difference! And here’s the fun part at the end (traditional Korean way); wear plastic gloves and mix with your hands!
The first time I tried the Korean Stir-Fried Glass Noodles a.k.a Japchae was when we have at a Korean bbq buffet. It was literally one of The Best things we’ve tried, made me go back for refills.
Have you tried Japchae (Korean sweet potato noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat)? This recipe will show you how easy it is to cook up this beloved Korean noodle dish at home!
Ingredients
8 oz. (226 g) sweet potato noodles
4 oz. (115 g) spinach
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, cut into thin strips
1 red peppers, thinly sliced
1 stalk scallion, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
salt to taste
1 teaspoon toasted white sesame
Methods
To mix well with long noodles, ingredients have to be similar shapes. That way when you eat, all the ingredients will cling to the noodles and have more balanced flavours in your mouth. Prepare the vegetables, and set them aside.
Marinate the beef ahead by mixing the beef together with 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
Cook the noodles for 7 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Do not throw this boiling water. Strain and cut with kitchen scissors so that they’re a little shorter. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons sugar to the noodles. Toss thoroughly.
Using the same pot of water from the noodle, add spinach, cook for about 10-15 seconds. Prepare iced water in a large bowl and move the spinach out of the pot to the iced water to stop cooking. Squeeze out water from spinach as much as you can and set aside.
Heat up a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the onion, peppers and carrot with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until tender, but still a little crunchy. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Mix the sauce and noodles first, the noodles must absorb all the flavours from the sauce first before mixing with veggies and meat. Top it with lots and lots of toasted sesame seed, it does make a difference! And here’s the fun part at the end (traditional Korean way); wear plastic gloves and mix with your hands!
There’s a trend among the uncles of adding an egg yolk in the Kopi O ( Black Coffee) in Singapore. We thought of trying it out and came across this Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Ca Phe Trung), a silky concoction comprised of a sweet eggy foam floating atop a cup of dark brew. Imagine a tiramisu in beverage form and you will likely get pretty close to the vibe of a good egg coffee.
It is similar to the Regular Vietnamese Coffee that we tried previously, which has a layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom, but instead it’s topped with a mixture of whipped egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk, which winds up tasting almost like a meringue. We fondly describe it as something close to tiramisu in a cup. The rich, soft topping creates a fascinating beverage.
Just a few minutes of work might make you a believer in egg coffee, as its delicious flavour and texture might make your morning coffee a good one.
Making the Vietnamese Coffee
The first step for this coffee is to create the Vietnamese coffee using the Vietnamese coffee filter, where it gives a stronger brew than that of an American drip machine and different than that of a French press, which has a lot of factors, but the metal coffee filter used to brew these is a large part of it. You could find a detailed explanation of how to use aVietnamese coffee filter and what coffee did we use here.
To recap start by adding 3 Tbsp. ground Vietnamese coffee into the filter and press it down with the removable tamp. Add 1 tablespoon boiling water and let the coffee grounds bloom for about 1 minute. Continue to pour boiling water into the filter about three-quarters of the way up and let it drip. You’ll use 4 to 6 Tbsp. water total, depending on how strong you like your coffee. Place the lid cover on the filter and let the coffee slowly drip for 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the lid cover and use it as a trivet for the filter. Remove the filter from the mug. (Alternatively, you can also make two shots of espresso.) While waiting for the coffee ready (as it may take some time) you can prepare your “egg meringue”.
Making the “Egg Meringue”
Meanwhile, in a small bowl/ cup, with a hand mixer, whip 3 large fresh organic egg yolks on medium speed until frothy and pale yellow, about 30 seconds. (You can also whisk by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until the eggs are a shade lighter in colour than when you started.) Add 3 tbsp of white sugar and ½ tsp. vanilla extract and mix again until just combined.
If you have a good stomach you can move on to the next step, but for those who want to be more careful, heat your “egg meringue” over a bowl of hot water for 2-3 minutes. It will slightly warm the mixture and “cook” it up!
Combine the Egg and Coffee
Many recipes make the egg meringue in a bowl and serve it over to the coffee like the Dalgona Coffee, but we want to use one less piece of equipment and did it the other way. Pour coffee over the “egg meringue” and it will float up and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. Serve it with mint, and drink immediately once it is done. Then contemplate making another.
You may have already realised we are coffee lovers with the among of coffee recipes we have. Still, there are still so much for us to try. Let us know at the comment below, what are some of the coffee recipes you would like us to try.
3 tbsp of dark-roast ground coffee (preferably Trung Nguyen Premium Blend or Café Du Monde Coffee with Chicory)
3 egg yolk
3 tbsp of white sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp of cocoa powder
mint (optional)
Methods
start by adding 3 Tbsp. ground Vietnamese coffee into the filter and press it down with the removable tamp. Add 1 tablespoon boiling water and let the coffee grounds bloom for about 1 minute. Continue to pour boiling water into the filter about three-quarters of the way up and let it drip. You’ll use 4 to 6 Tbsp. water total, depending on how strong you like your coffee. Place the lid cover on the filter and let the coffee slowly drip for 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the lid cover and use it as a trivet for the filter. Remove the filter from the mug.
In a small bowl/ cup, with a hand mixer, whip 3 large fresh organic egg yolks on medium speed until frothy and pale yellow, about 30 seconds. (You can also whisk by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until the eggs are a shade lighter in colour than when you started.) Add 3 tbsp of white sugar and ½ tsp. vanilla extract and mix again until just combined.
Heat your “egg meringue” over a bowl of hot water for 2-3 minutes.
Pour coffee over the “egg meringue” and it will float up and dust with unsweetened cocoa powder. Serve it with mint, and drink immediately once it is done.
We have been harping on about how homeowners are veering towards all things ‘eco-friendly and sustainable’ in the last few years. It is barely a surprise then that a shade of green is one of the most sought-after colors among homeowners and designers alike.
Olive green is a particularly interesting shade of green and one that is versatile, offering a wide range of hues and tints. These many shades of olive green allow you to try out different themes and styles in your home with ease. By nature, darker shades of olive green are sophisticated in visual appeal while the lighter shades feel cozy and earthen. Depending on the theme of the room, you can choose from these different hues and get started with a smart and easy home makeover.
Paint experts share their trade tricks for working this bang-on-trend shade.
This combo of green walls and rich-brown furniture looks confident yet classic. Paint the skirting in the same tone as the walls to score extra style points. Start in the bedroom, where olive green can help to create a serene environment,’ says Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball. ‘It’s also suited to rooms that overlook nature. The colors from the great outdoors will further enhance the green tones of the walls and create a relaxing outdoor feel in your home.’
When coming to dumplings, our family is most passionate about them. From mixing the fillings and wrapping them into shapes. While Angela’s new obsession with Korean food has been making her spending time practising new recipes to fulfil her cravings. We thought you might not want to miss out on thisCrispyTofu and Kimchi Mandu (Korean dumpling). A recipe that Vegan lovers would love to try as well. Let us show you how.
First of all, tofu is a must for vegetarian dumpling at all time, it just makes the texture of thedumpling so good. The cooked tofu is hardened and slightly resemble the texture of the meats. For those who don’t enjoy kimchi, you could have a look at our past recipe on Tofu Dumpling.
Making the filling
Preparing the Tofu The main ingredients here are Tofu, in our previous tofu dumpling recipes, we use the same method for this recipe. We love using tofu as a filling for my vegetarian dumplings. Crumbled tofu, as you see in the photo above, is the perfect texture for dumpling filling. The moisture from tofu helps bind the filling together. That way, you don’t have to worry about filling falling all over the place when you make dumplings. Plus, tofu is inexpensive!
Before you make the filling, you’ll need to press the tofu for about 20 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. I usually wrap it around a muslin square and press the tofu block between plates. You don’t need too many plates on top of the tofu block when pressing. Two or three plates should do the job.
Chop your Vegetables To give these dumplings flavour, we paired the tofu with kimchi. The tofu helps mellow out the flavours of the kimchi. When you are preparing the filling, make sure to chop the kimchi and all other vegetables into small pieces. To complement the kimchi and tofu we also added shallots, shredded carrots, ginger, garlic, and scallions to round out the filling. Chop the vegetables up small for easy wrapping. The filling is spicy, sweet, and savoury—it is the perfect balance of flavour!
Cook your Fillings We will cook the prepared vegetable ingredients ahead before mixing them with the tofu, as the vegetables contain lots of moisture, we don’t want wet fillings. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the garlic and ginger, and stir to combine. Next, add the carrots and scallions to the pan and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and let them cool for 10 minutes.
Mix all the Ingredients Up Transfer the pressed tofu to a mixing bowl. Break the block of tofu into several large pieces and squeeze the tofu until it crumbles. Add the stir-fried vegetables, kimchi, soy sauce, sesame oil, coriander, and salt. Stir all the ingredients to combine. And now you are all prepared for wrapping them.
Wrapping the dumpling
This time we uses the dumpling wrapper we got from korean market. It is softer and thicker than the wrapper we always used. It also gave a more chewy texture after cooking. There are many ways of wrapping them up, we love the classic dumpling folding method and uses it for this time.
Can I make the dumpling ahead?
Yes! As we previously mentioned, it’s always a good idea to make extra dumplings because they freeze extremely well and taste so much better than store-bought dumplings.
The best method is to freeze dumplings. we usually line pleated dumplings on a baking sheet that fits in my freezer (see photo above). You can also line the dumplings on large plates. Make sure that the dumplings do nottouch each other. Otherwise, the dumplings will stick together into a large clump.
Then, we stick the baking sheet straight into the freezer. After several hours, the outsides of the dumplings will harden. At this point, you can remove the dumplings from the baking sheet and store them in a freezer bag.
What do I do when I don’t have cast iron?
We like cast iron cause it gets ripping hot. That’s important so you can get a nice sear on the bottom of the dumplings, and also make the steam hot enough to cook the dumpling inside thoroughly. Just never grab the handle with your bare hand while cooking, you will cry. However, not to worry about it. We use non-stick pan for a thousand time but it will be extra crisper when you use the cast iron.
Sesame Scallion Sauce
Never underestimate the power of dipping sauce, it will elevate the flavour of this dish. This sauce really boosts the overall flavour of these individual dishes and we must say, it’s very addictive! Its slightly sweet and tangy flavour dilutes the oiliness of pancakes and dumplings.
You will need soya sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, sesame seed, ginger, garlic and scallion for this recipe. Simply mix all the ingredients well before serving.
Did you like this CrispyKimchi Tofu Mandu Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for frying dumplings
2/3 cup chopped shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 stalks of scallions, sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
40 to 45 round potsticker dumpling wrappers, see note
Sesame Scallion Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 scallion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Methods
Prepare the Filling
Drain and remove the block of tofu from the package. Wrap a muslin square, thin cloth, or paper towels around the tofu. Place the block of tofu on a plate, and then place 2 or 3 places over the tofu to press it. Set it aside for 20 minutes.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil in pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 30 seconds. Then, add the garlic and ginger, and stir to combine. Next, add the carrots and scallions to the pan and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the pressed tofu to a mixing bowl. Break the block of tofu into several large pieces and squeeze the tofu until it crumbles. Add the stir-fried vegetables, kimchi, soy sauce, sesame oil, coriander, and salt. Stir all the ingredients to combine.
Make the Dumplings
Dip the edge of the dumpling wrapper into the bowl of water. Rotate the wrapper so that the entire edge of the wrapper is wet, creating a wet border about 1/4-inch wide. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper (you may use more or less depending on the size of your dumpling wrapper).
Pinch together the wrapper on the right. Using your index fingers, create a pleat using the part of the wrapper that is away from you. Seal the pleat towards the right. Next, using your left thumb, create a pleat using the part of the wrapper that is closest to you. Seal the pleat towards the right. Continue creating pleats on both sides of the wrapper until you reach the end of the dumpling. Seal the dumpling. Refer to the step-by-step pleating photo in the post for a visual.
Continue pleating dumplings until you are out of filling or dumpling skins. If you notice that the dumplings are starting to dry out, cover them with a dry towel.
Cook the Dumplings
Heat a large nonstick pan or well seasoned cast-iron skillet with 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Arrange the dumplings over the pan. I usually cook about 15 dumplings at a time. Pan fry the dumplings for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottoms are golden.
Next, hold the pan lid with one hand and pour about 1/4 cup of water into the pan with your other hand. You want just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. When the water comes in contact with the hot oil, there will be a lot of splattering, so use the lid of the pan as a shield. Cover the pan, reduce the heat slightly to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes.
Uncover the pan and let the dumplings cook for another minute or two, until the water is evaporated. You can also turn the dumplings over on their sides to brown the other sides. You’ll need to add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Transfer the cooked dumplings to a plate.
Repeat this entire cooking process if you want to cook the remaining dumplings. If you want to cook the dumplings later, freeze them.
Red bean paste is a sweet bean paste made from azuki beans. It is used as a filling for many Japanese sweets. It requires only 2 ingredients and is easy to make. We are going to explain an easy way to make this delicious paste, including some special tips.
You are able to make many yummy desserts with this red bean paste. Although commercial ready-to-use red bean paste is available in Chinese/Asian shops, the homemade version tastes so much better (not to mention there is no additives, artificial colouring or flavouring). And it’s very easy to make! The cooked beans are mashed into either a fine, smooth or rustic, chunky texture.You can even enjoy this sweet and gooey red bean paste is so delicious that you can even eat it by itself.
Types of Red Bean Paste
There are two types of Red Bean Paste – mashed and smooth. The mashed red bean paste is the most common for home cooking and is the one we include in the recipe below. You only need to boil the azuki beans with sugar until very soft, then smash them to the texture you prefer. The finished paste will have a consistent thick texture that is easy to shape and contains some whole and broken beans. For smooth red bean paste is a bit of a hassle to make and normally can just be purchased from a Chinese or Japanese market. For the smooth paste, the azuki beans are boiled and mashed without adding sugar. You will also need to strain and remove the husk to make the paste smoother.
Soak Overnight
Before we move onto cooking, some preparation is needed. To reduce the cooking time, remember to rehydrate adzuki beans beforehand. Put the beans into a bowl then pour in water. Leave to soak overnight. Unlike many other dried ingredients, it wouldn’t be enough to just soak them for a few hours. For those that are lucky and have a pressure cooker at home, you can ignore this step.
Tip 1: Choosing the right bean Azuki beans are also known as Azuki or Aduki beans or red mung beans. They are a small bean cultivated in Asia. In Japan, there are two types of Azuki beans in terms of size; ordinary adzuki and Dainagon. Dainagon is bigger and about 5.5mm(0.2 inch) in diameter. You can get ordinary Azuki Beans from Asian grocery stores and online.
Rock Sugar and Lump Sugar VS White Sugar
To sweeten the beans, you may use any type of sugar (rock sugar, Bing Tang/冰糖, is a traditional option). In this recipe we usI like the combination of white sugar and dark brown sugar (see image above). The latter offers a nice caramel taste which I appreciate very much.
Rock Sugar Rock sugar (or rock candy) is refined, crystalized sugar in small cubes or in irregular lumps. Lightly transparent, its colour can be white or light yellow. Compare to regular sugar, it has a milder taste, that is to say, it’s less sweet. We came across the market for thisYellow Lump Sugar (which is what we used for this recipe), it looks smaller than Rock Sugar, however, don’t worry it taste the same. As the size of the is theYellow Lump Sugar is similar this allow them to dissolve at (almost) the same period of time. This Rock Sugar is harder to spot in the western supermarket, you can get them at the Asian market. However, you can always use granular sugar as a replacement if you don’t have any rock sugar.
White Sugar Although there are rumor saying there are some health benefit for Rock Sugar however it is not proven. One thing for sure the White Sugar are sweeter then the Rock Sugar, therefore if you are using the White Sugar please control the among you will be adding in.
Tip 2: Control the among of sugar you adding There isn’t a set bean sugar ratio for this paste. Although we give precise measurements in the recipe card below, you’re totally free to adjust the quantity of sugar based on your preferred sweetness (This is one of the advantages homemade red bean paste has over the shop-bought version). Since the beans are already cooked when you add the sugar, it’s perfectly safe to give it a taste.
Cook the Bean Thoroughly
After soaking, drain the beans and rinse well under running water. Put the beans into a small pot and add water enough to cover all the beans. Bring it to a boil then leave to simmer for 60-90 minutes until they become soft and easy to be crushed. Don’t forget to check the water level halfway through. Top up if necessary to avoid burning.
You can smash the red bean once it is cooked and before adding the sugar of your choice. We use a handheld blender to blend at high speed into a with still a slightly bean in it.Add in the rock sugar and cook at high. Stir it regularly to avoid getting burnt.When you draw a line in the mixture, it means it is almost don’t. Don’t worry it will thicken once it is cool down.
Alternative Method using Pressure Cooker You can save time cooking red beans by using a pressure cooker. Wash the beans and cook them for 15 minutes in simmering water. Drain the cooking water and add clean water and repeat the same to remove astringency. Then drain the water again and add just enough water to cover the beans and cook in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes. Drain the water, add sugar and the rest is the same.
Tip 3: Make sure the bean is cooked thoroughly Make sure the bean is cooked thoroughly before adding in your sugar, as the sugar will slow down the cooking time of the red bean if it is still uncooked. It will also fasten the burn process of the red bean paste, therefore will stir it more regularly compared to when the sugar is not added.
How to Store & Storage Duration?
Keep the paste in an airtight container. It will keep for a week in the fridge and for about a month in the freezer. If possible divide the paste into the amount that you would use at a time.
Please keep your eye on the pot to avoid any burnt, it is simple yet a challenging dish. We almost have a panic attack as we doesn’t know if the paste is too watery or alright for cool down. However if you have master this dish, all your other dessert will be delicious too.
Soak the azuki red bean in the water up to 4 hours or overnight.
Rinse and drain before covering it with water. Boiled the red bean for 1 hour till it is soft, run through using a fork if you are able to smash it. Add in the rock sugar and cook at high. Stir it regularly to avoid getting burnt. When you draw a line in the mixture, it means it is almost don’t. Don’t worry it will thicken once it is cool down.
You are able to store them at the fridge in an air tight container for up to a week, or zip lock them in the freezer for a month.
Textured furniture is the latest part of the ridged renaissance that surfaces have seen over the last few years. Glass panes have become fluted, tiles take a tactile twist and the smartest wallpaper ideas explore the three-dimensional. Now it’s the turn of furniture to get involved. Cabinets, wardrobes, sideboards, drawers, and desks are eschewing flat fronts, smooth doors, and level panels in favour of something a little more decorative, as thin, slat-like grooves take over storage in every room of the house.
Such as the rounded oak ridges decorate the Reed sideboard by John Lewis & Partners, echoing the pieces’ subtly curved edges and made more dramatic by the contrasting blacktop, legs and stand-alone front slats the solid oak is painted in. As well as making the most of the vertical pattern’s skill at hiding the entrance to doors, this softer take on the trend introduces a smooth, undulating finish you can’t help but touch.
In the month of May (Chinese lunar calendar), in many countries populated with Chinese, they will celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, 端午节. It is an important event to the Chinese, there will be dragon boat racing, consumption of realgar wine and zongzi, 粽子 which is known as sticky rice dumplings.
Hence Duanwu, which is on the 5th of May according to the Chinese lunar calendar. This year it falls on the 14th of June on a regular calendar. Dragon boat racing isn’t a tradition in the North-west of China where we grew up. But Zongzi is definitely an indispensable delicacy that makes this festival very attractive and special.
When we were young, our aunts and relative they will give us all kinds of fabulous homemade sticky rice dumplings. Our tastebuds were pampered by those delicious bamboos wrapped sticky rice. None of them tastes the same, each family are based on the recipes being passed on from their mothers or great grandmothers. I would say that each family have their own secret recipes that you can’t have outside. While we get older, we have little chance to eat amazing sticky rice dumpling, the commercial ones are just disappointing. It’s sad that our aunts are not making sticky rice dumplings these days anymore, so we decide are time-consuming but each of them is just too nice to
Actually, I’m intimate about making Zong Zi (粽子) but with Joe initiating of making it this year, we decide to challenge with the easier one. Sticky Rice Dumplings can come in sweet or savoury, unlike the savoury ones, the plain or sweet one is rather easy to achieve for a beginner like us. At first, I was reluctant but I’m glad she suggested it as it’s such an amazing tradition to continue and pass on.
The Tale of Dragon Boat Festival
There are so many mystic tales of the Dragon Boat Festival. The most famous one is to celebrate in memory of Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic poet. The story best known in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty. Qu Yuan became a water spirit after his death, where there are a variety of ways one might appease a ghost but the best and most enduring is to give it food.
For years after Qu Yuan’s death, his supporters threw rice in the water to feed his spirit, but the food, it was said, was always intercepted by a water dragon. After a couple of centuries of this frustration, Qu Yuan “came back” to tell the people to wrap the rice in bamboo leaves, so the dragon couldn’t eat it – and become now Sticky Rice Dumpling. Well, there are many version of the myth, but the good things that we can enjoy this food.
Sticky Rice Dumpling with Red Bean
There is a large variety of Zongzi across China. They differ in size, shape and filling. There are broken down into two types, savoury and sweet. While the sweet usually consist of lye water Zongzi with different types of fillings like red bean, chestnut and dates. While the savoury having meat as the main filling is very popular in the southern regions of China such as Shanghai, Canton, etc. You may also find them filled with salted egg yolks, chestnuts, dried shrimp, etc. Obviously sweet and savoury Zongzi are very different in taste, but as a beginner, we decided to give the sweet dumpling a try.
Bamboo Leaves
The main star of this snack, you can’t complete it with them! Many of you will be familiar with banana leaves and pandan leaves, but bamboo leaves might be new to some of you. Bamboo leaves are harvested when they are no more than thirty centimetres in length and five centimetres in width, and they have a mild, sweet taste with faint notes of green tea.
If you are using dried bamboo leaves. Soak the bamboo leaves in the water for up to 4 hours or overnight till it is soft, using a cloth clean of the dirt. You could also boil them in a pot of water for 8 minutes, till it is soft and turn green.Leave aside to cool. If you are using fresh bamboo leaves. It is easier to prepare the fresh bamboo leaves, soak them in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Leave aside to cool.
Red Bean Paste
Red beans (aka azuki beans) are widely used in Northern-style sweet Zongzi. In our recipe, we put homemade red bean paste in the middle. We also like putting a chestnut in each Zongzi to add a different sweet taste. In fact, you can be flexible and creative with the filling. For example, mung beans and dry fruits work well too. Just remember to soak hard ingredients like beans overnight beforehand.
We make our red bean paste from scratch, it is time-consuming but easy to make. If you have a pressure cooker it will make the whole process easier. However, if you don’t have one like us remember to soak the azuki red bean overnight. Boil it in the water till it is easy to mash with a fork, only add in your rock sugar only have the red bean is cooked. We use red bean is to sugar a ratio of 3:1. However, if you are one that doesn’t like sweets, you could reduce the amount of sugar.
Glutinous Rice
Glutinous rice 糯米 (also called sweet rice) is the major component of the filling. It is the only type of rice suitable for making rice dumplings. Look for a good brand of glutinous rice, there are two types of rice, long and round type. Here we are using the long glutinous rice.
Rinse and soak the rice. Rinse the glutinous rice a few times under running water until the water is clear. Soak the glutinous rice in water overnight (or at least four hours). Add lye water aka alkaline water. Drain the water away and mix with lye water. Set aside for wrapping the zongzi.
How to wrap the dumpling?
There are many ways to wrap one and the commonly seen one is in a triangle shape which is what we are going to show you. As it is the first time we made them, we tried a few times before we got this perfect ratio recipe.
Use two wide bamboo leaf to form a narrow cone.
Place some glutinous rice in, then the filling – red bean paste and chestnut. (The perfect ratio is two scoops of glutinous rice, one scoop of red bean paste and one chestnut!!)
Top with more rice (The perfect ratio we used are one and a half scoop) and make it level.
Fold the two sides of the leaf over the rice.
Then fold the top of the leaf down to cover the rice completely.
Wrap the rest of the leaf around the shape. Tie with a cooking string. (If you use the zongzi twine, soak it in a bowl of water for half an hour before using it. The twine will rehydrate and won’t break easily.)
Note that it is important to tie them tightly since we want to cook them for a few hours. As for the knots, nearly everyone will cut the twine when they want to eat. Therefore, it does not matter whether you can easily open the knot. Make sure you end it with a tight knot to avoid the dumpling breaking when cooking.
How to cook the Sticky Rice Dumplings?
Cooking zongzi is simple but lengthy. You can schedule it when you are at home, in which you can do another thing while cooking. There aren’t many things you need to do after you set the pot on the stove. Just wait and add some water occasionally if necessary.
Use a stockpot. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. The amount of water should be enough to submerge all the zongzi. Boil for three hours. Boil over low heat, i.e., reduce to a bare simmer for about six hours. Add only boiling water. Check the water level from time to time. Maintain the level of water to just enough to submerge all the zongzi. Add only boiling water when necessary.
It is advised to make in bulks, expertise level like my aunts, they make at least 100-200 pieces at one time during the festival season, our recipes are good with 15 dumplings. After boiling them in one go, you can cool and store them in the freezer.
Steam it for 10 – 15mins when you when to eat it.
Cooking points to take note
While it is still not perfect as we are still inexperienced, here are some cooking tips to we have learn during this process;
Moreover, when we unfold the leaves, the rice dumpling may crack, deformed and stick onto the leaves. It is messy, and certainly frustrated. A little bit of vegetable oil in the rice prevents the rice from sticking to the bamboo leaves.You could also brush a thin layer of oil on the leaves before wrapping.
Too much lye water will result in a bitter taste, and too little will not yield the beautiful amber colour and signature chewy texture we’re looking for. Measure carefully!
A few of our rice dumpling “leaked”. Don’t wrap the twine too tightly when securing the bamboo leaves, as the rice needs room to expand when cooking.
This is a two-day process, so I’ve broken down the recipe into three parts: the day before, the night before, and the day of assembly! There are so much to learn from this simple traditional snack, can’t wait to improve the recipe and share it with you soon.
Rinse the sweet rice a couple of times until the water runs clear rather than cloudy. Next, transfer the rice to a large bowl with enough water so that the water line is ½-inch above the rice. Stir in 1½ tablespoons of lye water and ½ tablespoon vegetable oil. Once the lye water hits the freshwater, both the rice and water will turn a light yellow colour––that’s normal. Soak the rice, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.
In a large basin (or your kitchen sink), soak the bamboo leaves overnight. Weigh the leaves down with something heavy to make sure all of the leaves are submerged.
The Next Day
Clean each bamboo leaf, front and back, with a clean kitchen towel, shaking off any excess water and trimming off about a half inch of the bamboo leaf at the base (this part is too tough and rigid to handle). Set aside.
Take the soaked rice out of the refrigerator, and drain off all of the liquid. Set it aside.
Take out the red bean paste, and divide it into 15 equal-sized balls.
Now you’re ready to assemble the zongzi! Take two bamboo leaves and follow the steps shown in the photos, tying them off with kitchen string. Each rice dumpling takes about 3 tablespoons of soaked rice and one portion of red bean paste and one chestnut. Just remember not to tie the string too snugly, as the rice will need room to expand during the cooking process. After unwrapping a zongzi, it shouldn’t look like it has been wearing a pair of pants that’s two sizes too small. 🙂
In a large pot, arrange the zongzi neatly, and fill the pot with water–about 1-inch above the top of the zongzi. Add 1 ½ teaspoon of lye water to the pot, and place a heat-proof bowl or plate on top of everything to weigh down the zongzi. Bring the water to a boil, and then turn the heat to medium to slow cook the zongzi for 2½ hours. Check the water levels periodically, replenishing the pot with boiling water when the waterline falls below the top of zongzi.
After 3 hours, turn off the heat, and take out the zongzi to let them cool. Serve the zongzi at room temperature with sugar or the syrup of your choice!
We inspired this Thai Mango Sticky Rice Shake from the traditionalThai Mango Sticky Rice Dessert. A sweet snack that combines the richness of sticky rice, the sweetness of ripe mangoes and the creaminess of coconut milk. However, rather than eating them, we will be enjoying them as a drink. Turning the sweet dessert into a refreshing drink for the summer. It consists of mango white tea, topped with coconut cream, sticky rice ball, vanilla ice cream and mango.
Sticky Rice
Sticky rice is also known as glutinous rice because the rice is sticky and gluey in texture. It’s widely cultivated in Southeast Asia and one of the mainstays of Thai cuisine. Sticky rice is commonly served with a sweet or savoury topping of lentils or beans. However, the best sticky rice recipe comes with ripe and juicy fresh mangoes.
How to make Sticky Rice Ball?
Prepare a steamer for steaming. Drain the glutinous rice and spread it out inside the steamer.
Steam the glutinous rice for 20-25 minutes or until translucent.
Add coconut milk to the cooked glutinous rice until it becomes a thick and sticky consistency.
Shape it into a ball. Leave aside for serving.
Mango White Tea
Rather than the usual mango bland shake, we decided to incorporate our favourite tea into the shake for a refreshing taste. You can use any tea that you prefer, however, for us we choose the White Tea by TWG. White tea is known to be one of the most delicate tea varieties because it is so minimally processed.
Why we choose White Tea? White tea is harvested before the tea plant’s leaves open fully when the young buds are still covered by fine white hairs, hence the name “white” tea. The white tea has an overall flavour profile include floral, grassy, honey, fruity, melon, peach, apricot, vanilla, chocolate, citrus, herby, mild, subtle, delicate and sweet. Which is a good combination with the mango.
How do we make the Mango Tea Shake? Start with brewing your tea ahead; to brew your white tea correctly, steep your tea using 85C water, strain and let it cool to room temperature. Meantime when cooling the tea, cut your mango flesh out into a cube. In your blender, blend the tea and the mango together well.
Assembling it!
Start with adding ice to your cup, then the mango white tea shake, followed by adding in your sticky rice ball, coconut cream, topping it with ice-cream ball and mango cube. Making this a good summer drink, you might wonder that this is weird, however, we make sure that it is delicious for the hot summer!
Prepare a steamer for steaming. Drain the glutinous rice and spread it out inside the steamer. Steam the glutinous rice for 20-25 minutes or until translucent. Add 1 tbsp of coconut cream to the cooked glutinous rice until it becomes a thick and sticky consistency. Shape into a ball.
Steep your tea using 85C water, strain and let it cool to room temperature. Meantime when cooling the tea, cut your mango flesh out into a cube. In your blender, blend the tea and the mango together well.
Start with adding ice to your cup, then the mango white tea shake, followed by adding in your sticky rice ball, coconut cream, topping it with ice-cream ball and mango cube.
Mindful blue is the term to take into account when looking at the stunning interior design project below. A charming blue apartment design, misty blue comes with a haziness that adds softness and calming allure to the rooms. Gleaming in the natural golden tones of the project added stunning elements to complete the whole ordeal.
This Avocado Egg Salad will be the most delightful salad to have this hot summer. It’s light, healthy and can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner (I’m always a fan of breakfast items for dinner). But if you’d like to kick your egg salad recipe up a notch and make your stomach happy, it’s as simple as adding avocado, tomatoes, and your choice of seafood. Think of it as the California spin on the classic, and we guarantee you’re gonna love it!
Avocado, Prawns and Egg are the star ingredients in this summer salad, but just look at all the other goodness we’ve got here! Creamy avocado – umm, hello! Juicy cherry tomatoes and fresh leafy greens, all tossed through with lemon & olive oil dressing.
A superfood bowl of meal replacement
No single food — not even a superfood — can offer all the nutrition, health benefits, and energy we need to nourish ourselves. However, there are a few foods that can be singled out for special recognition. These “superfoods” offer some very important nutrients that can power-pack your meals and snacks, and further enhance a healthy eating pattern.
Couscous Couscous might not be the best option when coming to dieting. But couscous is a good source of fibre. Fibre is good for you in a lot of ways. It can stop your blood sugar from spiking and can keep you fuller longer. It also can help lower cholesterol, which can reduce your chances of heart disease. Eat it occasionally as grains/pasta replacement it will bring your meal with lots of Avocado One of my favourite food is definitely Avocado. There is no reason to fear that avocados will be fattening, as long as you eat them as part of a healthy diet based on whole foods. On the contrary, avocados have many qualities of a weight loss friendly food.
Egg The egg is the most important source of all staple food. “Eggs are little nuggets of nutrition, providing protein, choline, vitamin D, lutein and more…” – the expert said. Eggs are indeed high in cholesterol – but they are “good” cholesterol as it’s commonly known – and this is one reason why eggs have been found to have little to no effect on heart disease risk. Leafy Green Vegetables Consume leafy greens are an important part of a healthy diet. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre but low in calories. Eating a diet rich in leafy greens can offer numerous health benefits including reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and mental decline.
Lemon & Olive Oil Dressing
This lemon & olive oil dressing recipe is so easy to make! With its zingy, bright lemon flavour, it’ll blow any store-bought dressing out of the water. It’s zippy, fresh, and bright, it comes together in minutes, and it keeps well in the fridge. With its vibrant lemon flavour, it’s a dressing that you’ll use for so much more than salad.
Sure, it peps up greens, but it also makes roasted veggies more exciting, adds life to grain bowls, and more. So whisk it up, pop it in the fridge, and start drizzling it over everything. Easy, versatile, and delicious, this lemon vinaigrette recipe is one you’ll make again and again.
Prep ahead? How long can you Store?
This recipe is best made fresh, but you can store it in the fridge for up to two days. That’s less than regular egg salad because after two days the avocados in this recipe will start to oxidise and turn brown. We highly doubt that you’ll ever have any leftovers though. In fact, you can easily double or triple this recipe as well.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper, and honey, if using. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking and continue to whisk until the dressing is emulsified. Alternatively, combine everything in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine.
Salad
In a bowl, combine lettuce, couscous, prawn and tomatoes. Season with dressing, salt and pepper, mix well. Add in eggs and avocado before served.
We have been procrastinating if we should write about the estate we lived in as it’s a most comforting place we spend most of our time. So we decided to compile a post of our favourites within the Chinatown Estate. “Huh, there are flats at Chinatown?”, “You lived in Chinatown, erm”… there are so many exclaimers when we shared with our friends. This estate is unlike other neighbourhood – to others who might not know; it seems messy, old and noisy (indeed during the Chinese New Year period) but actually it’s safe and quiet during the night with lots of amazing eateries nearby.
It’s located at the very centre of Singapore, close to CBD and other friendly estates like Tanjong Pagar and Tiong Bahru. It is compact but you can reach out to all the destination within your palm. But I do hate all the walking during the hot summer because everything is so near that I can’t even take a bus.
Walk and discover the shophouses
There are many heritage shophouses along the South and North Bridge road as it located among the heritage estates. If you take time to discover, among all these shophouses there are many unique restaurants and cafes, and some old stores been there for decades; such as tea houses (south-bridge road), herb and fragrance store (north-bridge road). In recent years, there are tons of new eateries and cafes open in Chinatown, the old neighbourhood became a hipster location.
Here are some of our favourites list that including:
Tea Chapter When you want to take a pause and enjoy the slow pace of life with an appreciation of the Art of Tea. This isn’t a modern hipster place but it captures our heart without a beat! It located along a row of shophouses at Neil Road. It’s well-furnished despite the interior release vibes of a Chinese traditional courtyard (Siheyuan, 四合院). Level one is their retail shop while level 2 and 3 is the Tea House. It might look small exterior but it’s another world of the city.
It’s a great place for you the learn more about Chinese culture, you will learn about how to taste tea (品茶) instead of drinking it, as tea appreciation is an art and it is similar to the Japanese tea ceremony. There is also a wide range of snack and desserts somewhere is really interesting as they use tea in the dishes, such as the Oolong Sweet Potato and the Tea Egg that we all know. It’s a place to have a small snack after your main meal. Tasting tea is also good for digesting the heavy meal that you had.
Address: 9 Neil Rd Operating Hours: 11.00 am – 9.30 pm
Punch Are you a cafe person like us? Punch at North Canal Road (opposite Kreta Ayer Police Post) is a short walk away from Chinatown point. This courtyard offers up an al-fresco dining experience, but it’s the greenery around complimenting the wooden furniture that really sets the mood.
The food served in Punch is great for the price, what we love about them is that they serve the food warm to you. The coffee was fantastic. The mocha was beautifully presented and had the right mix of coffee, chocolate and milk— easy to do on paper but hard to do well. Even you don’t want a meal, Punch is also a good place for you to enjoy a good cup of coffee.
It is not a new estate therefore many places including the narrow streets among all the street houses, around theneighbourhood look much rundown. That is the reason, it is the best places for you to take some retro-looking street photography. Don’t forget to put on your retro clothes, you may get some Hongkong movie vibe in some of the places.
People Park’s Complex You could never miss spotting People Park’s Complex, with its, retro yet vibrant yellow and green exterior “waving” to you. The People’s Park Complex was completed in 1973, and is one of the remaining Brutalist-styled architecture in Singapore, along with the likes of the Golden Mile Complex and Shaw Towers. It lacks fancy ornamentation or embellishments, and parts of the building have exposed concrete. This is because the term Brutalist comes from the French word béton-brut or raw concrete. It is simple and rough yet bold!
It was once a place that seats a hipster bar – Lepark, where single-handedly transformed a once-abandoned car park space into vibrant grounds. However, with it moving out it is back to a quiet car park. To get there, take the lift to level 5, out of the lift turn to your right where the back stairs located. Head up to the tight, smelly stairs you can find the wide car park there.
The best timing to go there will be after 3 pm, where the sunlight is not so harsh, as it is an open space, there isn’t much shelter. if you are lucky head there after the rain, we water on the floor you could take a creative shot of the reflection.
Lovely Street Views
On your way to places above you would also discover different iconic building, such as; (东亚, Dong Ya) Singapore’s oldest Coffee Shop, where it currently holds the popular Potato Head Folks,Singapore’s oldest Coffee Shop, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, and Jinrikisha Station (where it is now been blocked by construction work). Don’t miss out on the walks and window of the streets too, every building is individually designed that it could be an Instagram wall.
There are just such many places that we want to share with you yet couldn’t cover them in just one post. While we are now in P2HA (phase 2 heightened alert) during the self-quarantine period, it is best for us to #stayhome. Can’t wait to travel out and experience the hidden part of Chinatown/Singapore when’s it got better. Stay tuned for more exploration.
Tiled floors can look cold in the interior but luckily you can choose terracotta floors. The earthy tones of terracotta tiles bring warmth to your home. If sustainability is high on your design agenda, you can look at salvaged terracotta floors, it’s not only good for the environment to chose reclaimed materials but it also adds more character to your space.
There was a time when we were saying good riddance to terracotta tile, but surprisingly, the material is back, and we’re not mad about it. One of the oldest tile materials, terracotta was a stalwart of ‘80s and ‘90s coastal and Mediterranean design, and it can be hard to imagine it used outside of that style of interior. But in its new resurgence, we see the material used in sleek modern rooms and charming farmhouse-style spaces alike. Better yet, terracotta tile is available in a variety of shapes, shades, and finishes, so you can truly customize your look. Using the warm tiles on black or whites wall tiles, in different shapes gives a different deep feel to space.
While the Summer approached us quietly with the unlimited free heatwave, salad has become our favourite breakfast and snack. Salad recipes are our favourite way to showcase vibrant, in-season produce – fruits and veggies that are so good on their own that you don’t need to do much to make them into a delicious meal. On beautiful, warm days when I’d rather be outside than in the kitchen, summer salads are the perfect solution: they’re simple to toss together, but they’re totally delicious nonetheless.
With everything from green salads to the Mediterranean, Asian, and beyond, these recipes are perfect for passing at potlucks, serving as dinner sides, and enjoying full meals on their own. Here are our Top 10 Summer Salad for you!
Summer time is the epitome of the no-recipe, recipe style cooking that we like to do. The first on our list is the Fig and Mozzarella Salad – a twist on a classic Caprese salad. The ripe fresh figs replace the tomatoes, making this a fruity yet savoury addition to your dinner table. What could be better than ripe figs, fresh mozzarella, good olive oil and fragrant basil? A perfect lunch or light dinner.
And while you can (and should), grill up some bread, this is lovely served just as is. We also like a good drizzle of balsamic vinegar over ours. You could replaced the fig with any other fruit. We especially love stone fruits in this combination, leaning on plums, apricots, peaches, pluots, you name it! So good.
This grilled chicken salad combines marinated chicken, fresh veggies, and bold Greek flavours all in one tasty and easy dinner. There is a reason this Greek chicken salad with the tastiest tzatziki sauce is one of my go-to supper salads! It starts with yoghurt-marinated chicken tenders (yup, very much what we do with our homemade gyro recipe). But instead of the usual pita wraps, the grilled chicken sits on top of a fresh salad with loads of fresh crunchy veggies and Greek favourites like tomatoes and onion.
But, one of the biggest draws to this Greek salad with chicken is the tzatziki sauce of this salad, not to mention it is delicious yet easy to make. It’s a simple cucumber sauce made with fresh dill, red wine vinegar, Greek yoghurt, and garlic. This dish is great for the day when you want something more filling.
When it is time for summer, our summers consist of two things: the beach and watermelons. While it’s easy to enjoy the watermelon with just a spoon but tastier to make it into our favourite snack. This watermelon salad is full of sliced cucumbers, crumbled feta cheese and mint, all tossed in an easy lime dressing. An easy, fresh and super light Mediterranean watermelon salad with cucumbers, creamy feta, loads of fresh herbs, and a zesty lime dressing!A simple yet unusual summer salad that’s sure to get rave reviews.
*Tip: Cut the watermelon and feta cheese into the same cube form making the dish look more well-composed.
So far you could see the trend of our favourite salad, the keywords will be Mediterranean, feta and bright. We like using bring ingredients during the summer, on the top of our list it is tomatoes. One summer we combined my love for onions with a bumper crop of tomatoes and a homemade oil dressing. The result was this salad that receives thumbs-up approval whenever it’s served.
The recipe calls for a mix of heirlooms and cherry tomatoes, but you know what? Buy the best-looking, ripest, most fragrant tomatoes wherever you happen to be shopping, be it the farmers market or grocery store. Or pick them from your own garden, if that’s your situation! Good tomatoes should smell like something when you press the skin against your nose and inhale, and they should feel heavy for their size, which means they are filled with juice and are not mealy.
A classic Asian cucumber salad you would like to serve along with your meals. Thus Easy Cucumber Salad (拍黄瓜) is a light and refreshing appetizer. The crisp cucumber is mixed with plenty of garlic, drizzled with an appetizing blend of soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, then finished with a few drops of sesame oil. The sauce is light, yet it has a distinct sour flavour with a hint of sweetness, enhanced by the strong aroma of garlic.
This cucumber salad is a dish we’ve been eating since childhood. It’s one of those easy dinner rotation dishes that we make all the time, especially when it’s hot and humid outside and we don’t want to turn on the stove to cook stir fry. This cucumber salad only takes 5 minutes to prepare. It’s refreshing and tasty. The salad goes very well with pretty much any Chinese dish. Stir-fry, braised meats, noodles, and deep-fried goodies. You name it!
This salad may look more like a winter salad in term of colour but eggplant is one of the vegetables we like to use in our dishes during the summer. For those who are not green vegetable person, this is the best salad for you. We can certainly understand why eggplant can be hard to love, it so often can be bland and spongy when not prepared correctly and quite heavy as well since it soaks up oil so readily. But just like the aforementioned kale and beets, the key to transforming eggplant haters into eggplant lovers is in the preparation. In this case, the secret is to heat.
We’ve added a harissa glaze before going into the oven to accent the mellow creaminess of the eggplant. Honey helps the cut surface of the eggplant caramelize under the heat while the harissa brings plenty of spice to offset the sweetness. There’s also garlic and cumin to round out those North African inspired flavours.
What you end up with is a dish that’s vibrant with flavour and fantastically creamy. Sprinkle it with some fresh mint to finish or serve it on a bed of lightly dressed greens with some crumbled goat cheese on top for a more substantial meal.
Yes you could never imagine having peas in your salad! However with them in this salad offers great taste with all the health benefits. Above it all, it is super easy to put together. A perfect alternative when you do not know what to cook or do not have a lot of ingredients at home. A zesty grilled shrimp salad, and green peas. The best bright, colourful, and fresh autumn salad, full of grilled shrimp, and peas. All made in under 30 minutes, and all done on the grill. This is quickly going to become your new summer staple salad recipe.
There are days that we all wondering how to have delicious meals yet also controlling our diets. Yes, surely exercising is the most amazing way as it allows you to eat all the food you want but keep you in shape! However, apart from that we also could control the way we prepare our food and the choice that we intake. A healthier choice is always the best option as it gives our skin a boost as well.
This recipe was inspired by my love of sour flavours and light, nutritious entrees. The pretty salad has an appealing variety of textures. We make it year-round because it’s fast and easy to prepare after a long day at work. Although you can use any leafy green in this spicy main-course salad, we suggest rockets because it adds another subtle, peppery layer of heat to the dish. For those who are not much of a salad eater, a little meat to that boring bowl of greens is the solution for you, at least that’s what works for me.
This is one of our favourite dressing made at home – we love to make use of the extra citrus we got and marinade into jars for serving. This is one of the non-green salad that we like to eat – it can be eaten like this (a new way of eating fruits) or you can mix them with vegetables too. Add a palate-cleansing pop of colour and refreshing flavour to your next meal with a quick and easy recipe for Citrus Salad with Honey Vinaigrette.
*Tip: Use different kind of oranges and citrus in a bowl, will gives you different level of flavours. Peeling the citrus is the most time-consuming part of this recipe, but it’s important to remove as much of the white pith as possible to steer clear of any bitterness.
This dish simply will just take 15 mins of yours and it could be easily prep ahead if you are too busy to prepare on the spot. To avoid the potato too creamy, adding chive and red onion enhances the flavour of the dish. When potato meets potato chips it is doubled the flavour of it and it tastes absolutely delicious! We love sour cream and it is so rare for me to have it without feeling guilty. To spike some of the chip on top allows me to fulfil my temptation of having chips but at the same time, we will not overdose on it as the main leading is the potato salad.
Forget the boring caesar salad, there are many more options the just vegetables and caesar sauce. We like to head to the market and get the fresher ingredients for the salad, as no much technique is used the key for a good salad is good ingredients. Be creative, not to worry about the recipes.
Lately, the rasing of the temperature make you feel flushed and burning all the time. Wondering what to drink to stop the thirst through the hot summer? Limequats Sparkling Water with Honey will be the instant cure for your dry throat and immediately reduce your body heat.
This recipe was inspired by our mom’s favourite cup of warm limequat tea. She always encourages us to have it when we have a sore throat and during the cold weather – it’s a natural version of throat lozenges. While many don’t know actuallylimequat helps toquenches our thirst when we are thirsty and hot for the summer. Unlikedrinking harmful artificial drinks to quenches our thirst, the summer drink can help you make your best choice, even though scorching temperatures.
Benefit of limequat, lemon, honey, rosemary
Buying drinks on shelves is fast but unknowing we are drinking harmful chemical mixed without knowing. Therefore, making your own drinks is far more interesting and you could understand more about the ingredients you use.
Limequat
contain a large amount of vitamin C
help lower cholesterol and absorb iron from food
have very few calories, so they are used in diets
mitigate the effects of anaemia
help treat any infection that affects the respiratory system, as well as sore throats
Lemon
like limequat it contain a large amount of vitamin C, which is very important for our immune system
it also improve digestive health, that’s if you consume the pulps of the lemon
Honey
good source of antioxidant, where it protect your body from cell damage due to aging
help to soothe a sore throat
assist in healing wounds and burns
Rosemary
rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds
help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation
Interesting Facts
Did you know that among all the citrus, limequats last the longest in your storage? We found out that limequats stop ripening once collected and can be refrigerated for a few weeks. Therefore you could buy it in bulks. Wash and dry it well, wrap it in a newspaper and store it in the fridge it will remain fresh.
No matter how hectic your day is this flavoured sparkling water is always a refreshing choice. Try adding a squeeze of lemon juice for more citrus zing. Our favourite part is that it’s a vacation in a cup – one sip you can almost feel the ocean breeze in your hair.
This trend moved so quickly it almost gave us whiplash — it was only last summer that Jacquemus’s Oursin restaurant kicked the recessed shelves revival into high gear, and it’s already been reimagined by the Urban Outfitters home design team in a vignette that hits so close it seems almost like pastiche (complete with amphora-shaped vases and footed bowls). Credit is due to the French design duo Haddou & Dufourq, however, who used this trope at Design Parade way back in the summer of 2018.
Our family lovepeanut butter sandwiches especially our dad and my sister. Angela came across this scene while she was watching a TV series, her eyes are flying with stars. It combines peanut butter, caramelised banana and bacon. Apparently, the recipes we share with you today was the late pop star Elvis Presley favouritesandwich combination. Whereby he will do anything to settle his cravings, and thus this sandwich was then named after him.
Elvis all-time favourite meal is a little different from what we are sharing with you today.The original is made with honey, peanut butter, bacon, and sliced ripe banana smack in the middle of two pieces of white bread—then “fried” on a griddle. So we won’t be making it exactly as the King ordered because let’s face it: that sandwich is one big, fat caloric bomb, even for a cheat day.
Like the King sang himself, you’ll be “all shook up” once you taste this savoury-sweet sandwich.
Quick 2: Ingredients Caramisled Banana
With just two simple ingredients, you can make soft and sweet Caramelised Bananas to go alongside pancakes, yoghurt, waffles, or toast like this. And you don’t even need any added sweetener—they’re sweet enough as it is on their own! To make this super simple recipe, all you need is a ripe banana and butter. That’s it! They tend to taste best if the banana has some brown spots since that means it will naturally be sweeter, but since they do sweeten as they cook, it can work with straight-up yellow bananas too.
Sliced banana, which is packed with the potassium you need to maintain nerve and muscle function. Warm the butter in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet, and cook the bananas briefly on both sides till browned. We like to use either a nonstick or a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet (and by well-seasoned, we mean that it has a nice coating that makes it fairly nonstick) for this recipe. This helps to keep the amount of fat you need to use to cook the fruit rather low.
The Benefit of Peanut Butter
There is the myth of Peanut Butter – it is bad for you and Angela believed that for the longest time when she was a kid and only pamper herself on a special occasion! It was so sad for her as a kid when she was young. Peanut butter is a firm favourite among adults and children alike. Several studies suggest that eating peanuts and other nuts can help people maintain their weight, or even help with weight loss.
This may be because peanuts improve satiety, which is the feeling of fullness, thanks to their protein, fat, and fibre content. In my situation, this is the best sandwich for me who want to lose some weight and keep fit, as one is full enough for me. However, peanut butter is high in calories and fat, so people should enjoy it in moderation.
Alternative for this sandwich
You could replace the white bread with 100% whole-grain wheat bread, as the whole grains help keep heart disease at bay. Use two tablespoons of nut butter, which contains about seven grams of muscle-building protein and chock-full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats instead of the usual butter. You could also do a small drizzle of raw honey if you prefer something sweeter – like the king.
We wouldn’t suggest replacing the peanut butter with the combination of peanut butter and banana, as it is the highlight of this sandwich. However, you could add in jam spread, such as strawberry or berries jam to enlighten the flavours.
Now you can enjoy this sandwich like the King.This sandwich may sound unappealing, but it’s actually very tasty, especially for a quick breakfast or snack! Legend has it that this was a favourite of The King.
In a pan, fry the bacon till slightly brown. Set the cooked bacon aside, halved it after cool. In the same pan with bacon oil add in butter, melt it before adding in the halved banana. Caramelised both side of the banana till golden brown.
Spread peanut butter over both slices of bread. Top with sliced banana, then slices of cooked bacon. Cover with the other spread slice of bread.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Fry the sandwich on each side until golden brown and peanut butter is melted, about 4 minutes total.
Osmanthus has been one of the flower tea we love to use in our food recently. We have been trying to use it in all kind of drinks such as SweetOsmanthus Soda, and IcedOsmanthus Latte using our Homemade Osmanthus Sugar. We have been wondering how to use theOsmanthus Sugar in desserts, and with the inspiration fromOsmanthus Coconut Jelly, we made this Osmanthus Pound Cake.
ThisOsmanthus Pound Cake is a moist, dense yet airy crumb, with a subtle sweetness from the addition of osmanthus syrup and vanilla. It’s the perfect dessert dressed up with whipped cream and berries (or just a scoop of ice cream), or the perfect breakfast and afternoon tea cake.
In previous recipes, we have mentioned the benefit of Osmanthus Sugar. Where, it is a well-known herb that can improve skin, detoxify the body, reduce thick saliva in the throat and boost lung health. Not to mention incorporate them in the cake give a light flora fragrant and texture. While the main ingredients is Osmanthus Sugar, the oil we used in this recipes is also the highlight.
Do you need to use coconut oil?
Coconut oil is a great substitute for shortening, butter, margarine, or vegetable oil in baking. (We generally don’t substitute butter, since butter has health benefits of its own.) Over the past few years, we have gradually moved to replace most oils with coconut oil and have found it works very well. Compare with other oil the results using coconut oil will make your bakes taste a bit lighter and with a touch of coconut.
While coconut oil does give a different flavour to this cake but it is not compulsory to use it. Change the coconut oil to any avocado oil, and vegetable oil, it will be a success.
Replacement of self-raising flour?
In most of my cake recipe, we use plain flour, as it can be used in many other places and dishes. However, to make this recipe simpler, we use self-raising flour. However, if you only have plain flour-like us or couldn’t get on hold toself-raising flour. For the 1 cup of self-rising flour in this recipe, substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour sifted together with 2 teaspoons baking powder.
This cake is easy to make even without a mixer, as it doesn’t require you to whisk. With a spatula and bowl, you can incorporate them well without using much strength too. Pulling together the batter is easy peasy. But once it gets into the pan and hits the oven, that’s where things get a little tricky. Why? This cake develops a very deep, brown crust. That crust is part of the full-bodied flavour of the resulting cake. However, it can quickly burn if you’re not watching it.
As all ovens are different! So at the halfway mark, be mindful and keep a closer eye on this cake. The goal is to get a deep brown crust while avoiding burning. You’ll need to reduce the oven temperature and tent the cake. This extra step also prevents you from prematurely poking the cake to test for doneness, which may result in it collapsing in the centre.
Making Osmanthus Glaze
To glaze or not to: The glaze in this recipe is meant to cover the entire cake, and the result is almost like a deliciously glazed cake doughnut. It adds an extra hit of sweetness, and it makes the cake prettier! That said, we’ve enjoyed this cake both glazed and unglazed in equal measure.
How to make the glaze: In a measuring jar with a mouth, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, and osmanthus syrup until you get a smooth glaze. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk and only add the last tablespoon if the glaze looks too thick. Pour over the cooled cake.
You could also enjoy this pound cake with our Longan Osmanthus Tea making a good tea time during this spring. We love to enjoy them with a view of our garden, and we hope you will like it too. xoxo, Joe
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan. You can also use an 8-inch square pan, but the pan should not have a dark non-stick coating, or it’s likely it will burn.
Add the room temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 minute. If your coconut oil is solid, add it at the same time as the butter. If it’s liquid, add it after the butter and sugar have had a chance to cream together.
The mixture may be a little separated if you are using liquid rather than solid coconut oil. That’s okay. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and then add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. It should be golden in color and thickly emulsified. Mix in the osmanthus syrup. Give the bowl another scrape to make sure everything is mixed evenly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, self-rising flour, and salt. Turn the mixer speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredients in three batches.
Pour the mixture into your prepared pan. Immediately place into your preheated oven, and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F, and tent the cake with foil. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. NOTE, poking the cake prematurely may cause it to collapse in the center. (If this happens, it’ll still taste good, so don’t worry!). Remove the cake from the oven to cool. It should be a deep brown color.
Cool for 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. A paring knife around the rim of the pan helps loosen it. Let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
If glazing the cake, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, and osmanthus syrup until you get a smooth glaze. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk and only add the last tablespoon if the glaze looks too thick. Pour over the cooled cake.
Art Deco came shortly after and introduced modernised lines and geometric forms. Its district characteristics include sharp edges, zig zags, and Aztec or Egyptian art. It is always confused with the term Art Nouveau.Both terms describe design styles. However for Art Nouveau was a movement with the intent to abandon the previous styles in order to create a new one. Its inspiration was drawn from nature and is best known for “whiplashed” curves.
In many of the art deco you are able to see stained window elements.
Let’s all be honest here. Yes. Including those of us who say we love to cook, and would ferociously defend the legitimacy of home-making Kong Bak Pau, Steamed Pork Belly with preserved Mustard Green, or even Salt-Baked Fish, once in a blue moon at least, let’s not kid ourselves. In practicality, the song and dance of traveling to exotic and exhilarating corners of the world through dialogue in our own kitchen, most of the time, only romantic in theory. Authentic, or not authentic. Good, or no good. Doesn’t matter.
That’s what normal people do.
We are always a lover of meatball, no matter it is the traditional American-style or the chicken one. This time we decided on how could we incorporate meatball with Thai curry, making a Thai – Styled Meatball.
Meatball
In our last meatball recipes, we share with you the fancier meatball recipes where bacon, sausages, roasted tomatoes have been added. However, the lead for this recipe is the sauces, making a basic meatball is good enough. All you need is ground pork, cornflour, salt and pepper. We head to the wet market for half meat and half fat ground pork, as your meatball will taste juicer. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, using chopsticks mix the ingredients well and till it is all sticky and bouncy. Set it aside for 30 minutes before making them into balls. Leave it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight before cooking them. You could make this a day ahead too.
Saucepan vs oven Saucepan: While many baked their meatball in the oven, we prefer the saucepan as we have better control of the heat and how well done we wanted for our meatball. One of the plus points was we make the meatballs and the sauce in the same pan. It adds even more flavour to the sauce and it saves me dirtying another dish.
Oven: When we are in rush for a quick meal, we will toss the meatball in the oven and drizzle over some oil to cook them as it is easy, so it’s basically a no-brainer. It is still good however some flavour will be lost in your sauce and a less crispy meatball.
Inspired Thai Green Curry
Ready-made Thai green curry paste may be widely available now but it always tastes salty for our platter. By looking at the dauntingly long and possibly exotic list of ingredients we decided to modify it making an inspired green curry yet taste awesome.
In the traditional recipe, you will need lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf and galangal for your green curry. For this inspired version, all you need are green onion, garlic, chilli and coriander. In your food processor, add in all the ingredients and mix them well. Adding in some coconut cream or water will help to ease the blending too. If you couldn’t take the heat, remember to remove the seeds of the chilli. You could also add lemongrass if you want more flavour to the paste.
What greens vegetables to use?
While the leads here are the meatball and green paste, you don’t want to forget the greens vegetables in this recipe too. We use snap peas and baby kailan for this, as we just grab whatever we see in the market. However, you could add whatever greens you prefer such as tenderstem broccoli is also a good option. Remove the hard stem before cooking them, it will allow them to cook faster and taste softer.
Combining all the elements
When you have your meatball and green paste well prepare it is time to combine time. If you are pan-frying like us, heat about 1/4-inch of oil (I use half olive oil, half vegetable oil) in a large cast-iron skillet. Working in batches, brown the meatballs by cooking 2-3 minutes per side and turning with a spatula to create a nice crust around the outside of each meatball. Cover it will a lid and steam it for 5 minutes, leave it aside for later use.
In the same pan, heat the oil and green paste for minutes before adding in the coconut cream. Add in your meatball, seat it for 5 minutes letting the meatball absorb the sauces before adding in your green vegetables. Season it will fish sauce and soy sauce to add more flavours. Keep your eye on this fire, as you don’t want your green to be overcooked.
While not every home have a food processor you can bash the paste ingredients in a pestle and mortar instead; it will be a bit chunkier but have all the same flavour. Serve the meatballs as they are or with cooked rice.
large handful of coriander, stalks and leaves separated
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 x 400ml tin reduced fat coconut milk
200g tenderstem broccoli, trimmed
250g sugar snap peas
1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
Methods
Season the mince with some salt and pepper and shape into 12–16 meatballs.
Put the chilli, garlic, green parts of the spring onions, coriander stalks and a splash of water into the bowl of a mini food processor and blitz until you have a smooth paste.
Heat a little of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, and fry the meatballs until brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside, then add the rest of the oil and fry the green paste for 2–3 minutes until aromatic. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Return the meatballs to the pan and add the broccoli and sugar snap peas. Season with the soy and fish sauces and cook for 3–4 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Serve scattered with coriander leaves and the white parts of the spring onions.
Earlier the month, we discovered this lovely cafe near our estate – Champion Bolo Bun. They located in a 2.5 stories shophouse along the Tanjong Pagar Road. Unlike traditional bakery, their interior has a touch of sleek Balinese style withoriental flooring. They served mainly Bolo Bao (Pineapple buns, 菠蘿包) the most popular sweet bun in Hong Kong, with a golden cookie crust with textures that resembled a pineapple with multiple options of beverage that you can find in a Hong Kong Teahouse.
The cafe is spacious from level 1 to level 3, the attendants in the crowds ensure everyone follows the social distancing rules. Every corner of the space is set at least 1 meter apart from each group. We felt safe with the cleaner to ensure each area is sanitizer before a new group of consumer
There is two kind of cafe, those who served everything on its menu and those who specialized in one and only. And personally, I preferred the latter. There’re 4 Bolo Bun choices on their menu; Classic, Classic with butter, Curry Potato, and Mini of 4. We got both the Classic with butter and Mini of 4 (at the point of the time as I had my wisdom’s extraction, I can’t chew big and hard food yet).
We ordered their signature Champion’s Milk Tea and enjoyed the bolo bun. It is soft and churchy on the crust. The bun is unlike the traditional ones, it is much creamy and milky on its bun.
New Covid-19 Measurement
Last Friday our government have an emergency announcement, we will be back to Phase 2 on a heightened alert. The current situation in Singapore is actually worrying (as we can’t foresee the un-linked cases), we are shifting back to the previous phases. We are not allowed to dine out at all and all eateries will be open for takeaway only.
We believed that despite there no dine-in at this beautiful cafe at the moment, you can buy and takeaway for their delicious bakes.During this period, there might be a lot of inconveniences for ourselves and society. All of us do have the fear of the upcoming situations. As a citizen, the best thing is to obey the rules and regulations set by the Health Promotion Board.We hoping the state will be better soon and we all can return to our lives once more.
Champion Bolo Bun (16th May 2021 onward closed from 24th May to 15th June) From this week onwards, they will be open for takeaways only. Opening hours from 11:30–4 pm, Tuesday—Sunday. If you’re around the neighbourhood, come grab a bun! Please check their social media for updates.
Campion Bolo Bun Address: 92 Tg Pagar Rd Operating Hours: 11.30 am – 4.00 pm
The old saying “home is where the heart is” holds true. Still, it’s a good idea to invest in the creation of a home that helps you relax and take proper care of yourself.
The self-care movement will hopefully continue gaining prominence. Urban life is hectic and stressful. As a result, more and more people are considering active opportunities for unwinding and relaxation after getting home.
Meditation corners, art rooms, at-home gyms, and little spots for relaxation in the home will dominate interior design in the coming years. The good news is that homeowners (and companies) do not need a lot of space or financial resources to get self-care properly represented in the interior design. A movable partition and some comfortable furniture will often be enough to create a separate space for the purpose.
We all love that wonderful experience of going to a Korean BBQ joint with friends. There’s the camaraderie of sharing rounds of soju and beer while cooking seasoned meat over the fiery heat of a tabletop grill. Going home and smelling like barbecue and garlic. This summer might not be the best time to sit around sharing food at a smokey restaurant, but don’t fret. You can still have that happy, communal experience at home with family or just a few friends.
If you don’t have a tabletop grill, you can use a tabletop burner fueled by butane, your propane camping stove, or even a plug-in electric frying pan. It’s best to do this outdoors so that your house doesn’t smell like an all-you-can-eat BBQ joint. But if you love being the pitmaster, by all means, just fire up your barbecue and do the cooking for your guests.
Start at a good Korean market for most of your ingredients. If you have a Shine Korean nearby, you’re good. Even if you don’t have a Korean or Asian market nearby, all is not lost. You can still get all the ingredients you need at a regular supermarket, too.
Meat (Kogi) : the hero of the day
Before anyone jumps in with a well, actually, I know that you could easily put together a phenomenal pescatarian Korean-barbecue meal, and, with a few tweaks, even a vegetarian one. There are plenty of meatless options available at a Korean barbecue spot, but let’s be real—meat is the star of the show.
So, let’s talk about that meat. If you’re throwing a Korean barbecue feast at home, you have plenty of cuts of meat to choose from that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Beef and pork are the most commonly used proteins for barbecue. The common types are split into two kinds, naked and marinated meat. As marinated meat tend to burn easily when cooking, we love the naked one best, as we are able to taste the original flavour of the meat.
The sauces: Sesame-Salt Dip
No matter what meats—or seafood, or vegetables—you decide to grill for your Korean barbecue feast, we are always been serve with ssamjang and sesame-salt dip as the dipping condiment. While ssamjang is commonly used and many favourites we prefer the sesame oil with salt as it tastes simpler. Slathered the sauce on lettuces and perilla leaves, which are then wrapped around pieces of grilled meat for parcelled bites of barbecue.
The Ssam: Lettuces and Perilla Leaves
To make these wrapped meat parcels, you’ll need some greenery, in the form of lettuces and perilla leaves. Perilla leaves, often sold as “sesame leaves” at Korean markets, come from the same mint family as Japanese shiso, and they have a grassy, slightly anise-y flavour that plays an excellent foil to the richness of grilled pork and beef.
As for lettuces, leafy varieties, like red leaf or Bibb, are key here, since the leaves need to be large and sturdy enough to hold ingredients without tearing, but also flexible enough to wrap around these items. Avoid rib-heavy lettuces, like romaine, which snap too easily down the center when rolled up.
The lettuce and perilla leaves act not only as handheld wrappers for grilled meats and ssamjang but also as a refreshing vegetal and herbal contrast to those ingredients. It’s important to take good care of the leaves so that they stay bright and fresh and don’t arrive at the table limp and sad. Wash and dry the leaves thoroughly, and store them on a platter under a damp paper towel in the fridge until you’re ready to serve the meal.
Banchan: the side dishes
Korean-barbecue feast would be complete without a spread of banchan to take up any extra real estate on the table. Banchan is an umbrella term for the small side dishes that help stave off the onset of palate fatigue from all the meat consumed during a marathon barbecue meal.
These can include pickled and fermented vegetables, including kimchi in all forms; marinated greens, like watercress or spinach; white radish pickles; and more. Though you’ll win major points for preparing banchan yourself, there’s no shame in picking up prepared pickles and the like at a Korean market when you’re meat-shopping for this meal. There’s plenty to worry about already with the grilling; no need to bite off more fermented cabbage than you can chew.
Speaking of which, try throwing some large pieces of Napa kimchi on the grill while you’re cooking the meat. You can thank me later.
Last, like all barbecue, nothing mixes better with grilled meats than a cold beer. For a Korean flair, try soju, a vodka-like liquor that goes especially well with pork. Now you don’t have to rush to the Korean BBQ restaurant to experience your favourite way to enjoy the BBQ meats, you can simply prepare it at home without a fuss.
Korean white radish pickle has the perfect balance of sour, salty, and sweet. Also called chicken mu (치킨 무), this pairs great with Korean fried chicken or another heavy.
This crunchy Korean pickled radish is a quick and easy pickled radish that you can enjoy as a Korean side dish or banchan. It’s ready to eat in one day and requires only five ingredients. If you’ve ever been to a Korean fried chicken restaurant like Bonchon, this is the pickled radish side dish that’s served alongside the fried chicken.
In Korean cuisine, there are many pickled radish side dishes that all use different varieties of radish. Out of all the radish side dishes, this is one of the easiest ones you can make at home!
Basic Ingredients that you could reach out to easily
Korean radish Make sure to buy Korean radish for the best result. You can substitute with a daikon if it’s not available.
White vinegar Distilled white vinegar has the cleanest, brightest taste that lets the radish flavour shine through. You can substitute with rice wine vinegar but I wouldn’t recommend using other varieties of vinegar.
Sugar
Salt
Distilled water
Korean radish has a rounder, shorter shape compared to a daikon radish and the top third or half of the radish is a greenish yellow. Look for one that feels heavy for its size without major blemishes.
Why do we recommend using Korean radish? It has a stronger flavor and crunchier texture than daikon radish. However, if you couldn’t find one, choosing a right daikon is also a perfect replacement for this recipe.
3 steps preparation methods
Prepare the radish: Peel the skin off the radish. You can cut the radish in cube form however we like it in thin slices. We continue uses the peeler to assist us to cut it thin slice. Soak the sliced radish in ice water, and drain and dry it before use for crispiness.
Prepare the vinegar: In a pot, heat up white vinegar, water and sugar, till it boils.
Combine the ingredients: Place the radish in a sterilise jar, pour the vinegar mixture in. Cool it a little before you close the jar. Leave it in the fridge for 2 days before you enjoy them.
For those who prefer a little bit of spiciness, you can add in some chili but beware of the amount you add in as it will be damn spicy even with a little amount.
We’ve always admired mid-century modernism and even tried to achieve the look for myself many moons ago, but our problem with it was, for us, it felt a little too minimalist and not quite cozy enough. However lately, we’ve seen a modernizing trend in the mid-century genre that feels much warmer and feels a little more liveable to us.
There’s also the use of lots of vintage 1950-60’s bamboo furnishings which always give off a friendly vibe and lots of warm wood everywhere, which really creates an inviting atmosphere. the whole look seems almost influenced by the Japanese-inspired, wabi-sabi — the aesthetic sometimes described as one of appreciating the beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete” in nature. We just love the idea of that.
We all know that fruit and coffee matches well, actually flora and herb is perfect for making coffee as well. But did you know that people are using osmanthus sugar “honey” to sweeten their morning brew? Not only is addingosmanthus sugar “honey” to your coffee taste delicious, but it also has a variety of health benefits. So let’s dig a little deeper into drinking your coffee with “honey”.
Putting honey in coffee isn’t a huge shock is that my mother was a big fan of adding honey in tea. Honey is known to be a healthier alternative to sugar or other artificial sweeteners. So a lot of people are using honey to sweeten their coffee, but should you?
Is osmanthus sugar good for the body?
The fact is that honey has more calories than sugar, however, there are other more benefit to it.
First of all, due to the fact that honey contains pollen, it might help you to fight symptoms of seasonal allergies like a runny nose, sore throat or headaches. Imagine a beautiful Spring morning with less congestion and a sweeter cup of coffee! Moreover as both coffee and honey have high antioxidants – where help reduces the number of “sick” cells in the body. Too many of these sick cells can lead to negative long term effects on the body.
See the pros now?
Which kind of milk can you use?
For this recipes we use lactose-free milk by meji – if you have lactose intolerance, even a glass of milk may trigger digestive distress with symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain, this is the milk for you. In term of taste, it doesn’t have much difference therefore you could also go for the normal milk that you are able to grab. Oat Milk, Soy Milk is also a great alternative in term of health benefit or taste too.
Last week did a Sweet Osmanthus Soda, it is great for cooling yourself down from the humid weather. This Iced Osmanthus Latte is a great morning boast to start your day! Give it a try now.
We’re fairly convinced that hummus is one of the best stuff in the universe. It might look mashed-up in the dish, but this combination of chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic creates a dip that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
You can keep it classic but hummus can comes in so many awesome flavours. Skip the store-bought stuff — our obsession with hummus is never purchasing from the deli section anymore. We love to eat and making them ourselves as it will be so much tastier. Hummus can be part of your daily diet as long as it’s eaten in balance and the rest of your diet comprises a wide variety of foods.
Dried Split Peas
While split peas can be sad and forgotten foods of the legume aisle. Many recipes are using them as the side for salad, curry or bean soup. We’re going to change that—because split peas are delicious, nourishing, and easier to keep at home! If you’re out of fresh produce and have a craving for Hummus, it is great to have split peas in your cabinet. It supposed to be greener if you use a full portion of the split peas
My Obsession and it’s a life-saver for soft diet.
In April, it has been such a challenging, painful month for me. With me being hospitalised with my abdominal pain (it is blessed in disguise with endangering issue) and going through the procedure of removing my wisdom tooths. I have the hardest time eating anything good as there are so many restrictions including avoiding nuts and many more of my favourite food. I’m thankful that bean is not part of the restriction, and therefore hummus is the life-saver for the time being. Congee, mashed potato/sweet-potatoes are great but anyone could get sick of it.
The Benefits
The benefit with chickpeas can lower cholesterol, not to mention it is high in protein and make an excellent replacement for meat in vegetarian and vegan diets. In research, the protein and fiber in chickpeas may help keep your appetite under control. Isn’t that great?
Like other beans and nuts, the split peas will help to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. However, one thing that we found interesting is thatsplit peas are packed with a trace mineral called molybdenum which helps in the detoxification of sulfites. What are sulfites? Sulfites are added as preservatives in processed foods such as baked goods, jams, potato chips, etc. Eating it regularly may prone to sulfite sensitivity which can be experienced as symptoms like rapid heartbeat, headache, diarrhea, nausea, where it isn’t good for health.
KitchenAid Food Processor
Recently we have purchased a new food processor – KitchenAid 830ml Mini Food Chopper. It became our favorite food processor especially for making hummus. One of the features is that it has a drizzle basin and pour spout for us to add liquid in the mid-way of blending.
What is the trick here?
It’s simple really. It’s the order in which you add ingredients to your food processor. Seriously, it’s that easy. Add in all the ingredients. Turn on the food processor and let it run for a minute or so. Coldwater is our last trick for fluffy, creamy, whipped hummus. After all the ingredients are added and we’ve processed into a smooth paste, I love to drizzle in some cold water with the processor still running. The water (and extra process time) turns the already pretty smooth mixture into a fluffy, luxurious dip!
Cook split peas: In a pot of boiled water, cook the split peas for around 20 minutes till it is soft to mash. Once it is cooked, drain and leave it to cool.
In a blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend it till smooth, add in cold water if the mixture is still thick. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.
I love wearing pastels in spring and the most popular pastel color this year is baby blue and yellow. There’s something about pastels that just make me so happy! It’s the same as applying them to the room. Changing the bedsheets is one of the easiest ways to get into the theme.
To create a room with a soft feeling, the colors should be matched, so you should insist on using the same pastel color tone in the entire room and using a pattern to match with each other.
Adding mirror and glasses as your decoration help to put your focus on the pastel color. And brighten up the room making you feel more spring. Not to forget the flowers! We love the small flowers, look so sweet.
Sweet Osmanthus Soda will be the prettiest and simple beverage to serve during this humid weather or the hot Summer. With the Osmanthus Sugar (aka Honey Syrup)we shared earlier in the post, you can make this glass ofsweet osmanthus soda in the least than 5 minutes.
Soda is such an enjoyment— drinking soda can just integrate the acid-base balance needed in the human body. While, eating morealkaline-promoting foods (including most fruits and vegetables, soybeans and tofu, and some nuts, seeds, and legumes) will also benefit the body. Soda water is a carbonated beverage that helps to nourish the stomach and neutralize stomach acid, and also helps to alleviate indigestion. Personally, I don’t really like to drink soda directly, add some sweet-scented nectar, add some sweetness and sweet-scented osmanthus mark a perfection.
Which Tonic Water did we use?
Based on researches, in the modern-day, tonic water is a must-have mixer in everyone home bar. After all, it’s one half of a classic gin and tonic for a cosy Friday’s night! The main ingredients are simple: soda water, sugar and quinine.What’s quinine? To put it simply, it’s a bitter alkaloid that’s used to enhance flavour. With quinine added to tonic water, a distinct bitter taste is developed that the soda water doesn’t have.
The commonly brand we use is Schweppes Tonic Water and F&N Tonic Water Extra Dry. Both of them is a ubiquitous and affordable brand, and its tonic water works well in any drink or on its own. It’s sweet, with just a little bitterness from the quinine. All in all, this is a straightforward, readily available option at our nearby convenient store.
You could also use Soda Water! As there is alreadyOsmanthus Sugar (aka Honey Syrup) acted as a sweetener, you could replace the Tonic Water in recipes that contain sugar with Soda water for a healthier choice.
“Sweet osmanthus soda is a very versatile drink for its delicious fruity notes.”
The fragrance of osmanthus flowers is so fruity and delicate it is no surprise it has made its way into the perfumery industry. This time we use it in soda to quench our thirst in the hot weather. For all these reasons above, we think of osmanthus as a “saffron of China”.
With Wild Rocket’s demise and Restaurant Labyrinth’s move deep into exploring Singapore’s terroir, there aren’t that many solid options for old-school modern Asian fare. The debut of 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung (“15 Stamford”) at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore is one of our highlights during our Staycation trip in early April.
Serving breakfast buffet catered to hotel guests in the morning, 15 Stamford transforms into a modern Asian eatery by lunch and dinner, with an a la carte menu of modern Asian dishes that combine South East Asian flavours with minute elements of flavours represented in Leung’s restaurant Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. In the after-hours, you could also end your night with their signature rum collection at The Bar at 15 Stamford.
Ambience at 15 Stamford By Alvin Leung
Located at level 1 of The Capitol Kempinski Hotel, 15 Stamford By Alvin Leung is a 150-seater restaurant with a glitzy ambience. With monochromatic tiled floors and a good stream of natural lighting, it is also a backdrop for an IG-worthy meal. The luxe brown leather chairs and dim lighting also make for a romantic and private spot to celebrate anything! In the morning with a lesser crowd, their amazing server told us which are the area for good photos.
Breakfast
On the 2nd morning of our staycation, we head down to 15 Stamford for the breakfast. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth paying for breakfast, the answer is yes, yes, thousand times yes. The Capitol Kempinski Hotel, quite simply, has the best hotel breakfast services in whole Singapore yet. It is also one of the reasons we choose the hotel as our birthday staycation, as the review for the breakfast is so good and it didn’t disappoint us.
Due to safety measurement, we were told to scan the QR code to view the menu on the phone. We almost overeat as we want to fully discover the menu. After orders are taken, you’re invited to partake of a power shot. A mixture of apple and carrot, or orange and grapefruit was offered, and yes, all juices at 15 Stamford are freshly squeezed. You’d think this would be the standard at 5 Star hotels.
After orders were taken, the baker came to the table with the “pass around service”. It’s basically a selection of all the day’s bread, portioned out to your plate or toasted on request. But before you tuck into your bread, wait for the Wagon Trolley, a standard feature at Kempinski hotels. This larder on wheels features honey on the honeycomb, truffle honey, dark chocolate spread, white chocolate spread, passion fruit chocolate spread and all sorts of goodness. The truffle honey in particular is a must-try. It was cloying like regular honey, but with an unmistakable aroma of truffle. The server recommends having their truffle honey with their yoghurt and we are addicted to it.
We tried most of the selection on the menu for both western and local selection, and it is pretty much to a good standard, especially the french toast that was highly recommended by the server. Therefore, when you are unsure of what to order (as the selection is so wide), don’t be shy to ask for a recommendation from the server. They are honest and really know their food for the day. You probably might discover a secret menu (please do share with us)!
Lunch
Before we check-in, to the room, we head off to 15 Stamford for our lunch (brunch actually) as they served valuable lunch set menu prices at S$34++ for two courses and S$42++ for three courses, and for the quality of the food you get, that’s a tremendous value. As we are heading kki sweets for desserts hence we ordered the two courses meal.
For starters, we had Japanese Swordfish (Vine Tomato, Pomelo, Kyuri Cucumber, Coriander Emulsion) and Foie Gras Kaya Toast (organic egg foam, kaya gel, milk toast, +S$8 supplement). The Kaya toast was good, but theJapanese Swordfish was outstanding. Fusion cuisine can often go so wrong, and but not at 15 Stamford.
For the mains, we had the Barramundi, and Bak Kut Teh. The meat on the Bak Kut Teh was falling off the bone, and while Gordon Ramsay may chafe at the idea of grilled watermelon, what does he know? This worked out great. They are not the fancier plating on earth however the barramundi taste was so great.
“They really know how to make sauces!”, that is the only one phrase both of us agreed for lunch. We all know that a good sauce is the soul of the food.
After hours
Located at the entrance before the main dining of 15 Stamford. It’s a great way to spend your night before heading back to your room for a bath. Surprisingly it’s not too busy for a Wednesday night, we got our seat as soon as the server saw us.
At The Bar at 15 Stamford their signature is their rum collection. Angela ordered their signature PLANTATION 1840 ($24), while I order the Peranakan Old Fashion ($22). They are not stingy with their alcohol, but the percentage ofalcohol it’s too much for me. However, seem like you will have a better personal experience if you would prefer a seat at the bar, as you will have the chance to know more about the drinks with the bartender.
While we still prefer the MO Bars where they served unique cocktails for your relaxing night. But was told that every day at 8.00 pm a bell will be rung 5 times and everyone sitting at the bar will be given a small cocktail. Would really want to head back to test it if it is true.
Experiencing the different timing at the same place, offer you a different kind of experiences each time you visit them. With the services and quality of their foods, we will totally head back for second times, as the menu provide a wide range of dishes that we have yet to experience them all.
Many of us would have made a pilgrimage to Japan around this time of the year to enjoy the cherry blossom season – sitting under the canopy of blooming flowers, palest pink petals fluttering all around us as we enjoy our bento and matcha. Alas, it will take some time to be able to do the hanami that we planned to. But we can take inspiration from it for our spaces.
Pink is generally a joyful colour, and this gentle sakura shade can be incredibly calming and comforting. When applied to space, this colour will help create a very tranquil and serene atmosphere. For instance, this entryway furnished with shelves, which features a blush-toned neutral called Oat that brings out the warm pink undertone of the timber flooring.
This almost-white sakura pink is beautiful when applied as the main colour. Go tone-on-tone across different materials, like timber, textiles or even leather to create a very sophisticated, layered look. As an accent, it pairs well with neutrals and monochromatic. Pops of pale pink against white or dark grey or black make for a chic look.
Osmanthus Sugar (糖桂花, tang gui hua) is made from fresh osmanthus flowers white sugar. It’s a runny, jelly-like syrup that is sweet and infused with the flavour of the osmanthus flower. Compared to normal syrup, it’s lighter in flavour and has a refreshing flowery aroma.
It’s no chance in heck of having a garden thus we get our dried osmanthus flowers 桂花干 from the dried good store located at Albert Centre around Bugis. There’s a herb and spices lady that sells all kinds of wonderful and mysterious things there.
Benefit of Osmanthus
In the previous post of Osmanthus Longan Tea, we mentioned all the benefit of Osmanthus. During this hot and wet season, it the best natural remedy to keep it at home. It is a well-known herb that can improve skin, detoxify the body, reduce thick saliva in the throat and boost lung health. It is great for all season, Osmanthus tea is often consumed when one suffers from dry skin or hoarseness. Staying indoors with aircon room, we tend to have dry skin and throat and this will be your favourite remedy from now on!
Why make Osmanthus Sugar?
First of all, making sugar out of these flowers will increase the storability of both fresh and dried Osmanthus. Besides this, our favourite way is to make Osmanthus Sugar in advance, store them in a cool dark place.
Make a cup of sweet tea from the sugar by simply dissolving it in water. (ideally served room temperature or iced)
Make a creative beverage from the sugar by simply dissolving it in soda/coffee.
You can use it to sweeten desserts instead of using normal sugar.
A new replacement of your pure honey, it is like infused honey with make before.
Traditional Method for better flavour.
The common method you see online is to melt the sugar and Osmanthus, making it the Osmanthus syrup before adding it to the honey. This method is simple and fast, however, the fragrance of the osmanthus you will have for the honey is much lighter than using this traditional method that we found.
Starting by ‘Cleaning the Osmanthus’ in the water, pour the Osmanthus, gently rub it a few times, wash off the dirty things like dust. Spread the kitchen paper or toilet paper, dry towel, remove the washed sweet-scented Osmanthus, spread it out, dry it, don’t pile it together, don’t dry it, or else it will oxidise and discolour.
After the Osmanthus is slightly dried, put it in a bowl and add in your sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the sugar and osmanthus, letting it infuse well with the sugar. Then fridge overnight for it to infuse well before steaming it on high for 8 minutes. Cover the bowl with aluminium foil well, as we do not want a water droplet in it. Let the osmanthus sugar mixture cool well before combining it with the honey.
What kind of honey?
During the making of Osmanthus sugar, we tried both dark and light honey. With our experiment of 2 types, we found a distinct flavour for both and it is subjective to individuals. While Angela prefers the light, pure marigold, runny honey, personally I preferred the dark, amber honey, thick-textured honey.
Light – Soft and sweet flavours great for baking and desserts.
Medium – Mild and mellow bite a tasty breakfast choice.
Dark – sharp, bold flavour, warm bite, suited for health remedies. (great making tea and beverage)
Always be creative,never limit yourself with this Osmanthus sugar by just making a cup of sweet tea. Stay tuned, we will be sharing lots of Osmanthus’s recipes with this Osmanthus sugar. Let’s enjoy the season with love and this intense buttery scent.
Start by ‘Cleaning the osmanthus’ in the water, pour the osmanthus, gently rub it a few times, wash off the dirty things like dust.
Spread the kitchen paper or toilet paper, dry towel, remove the washed sweet-scented osmanthus, spread it out, dry it, don’t pile it together, don’t dry it, or else it will oxidise and discolour.
After the osmanthus is slightly dried, put it in a bowl and add in your sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the sugar and osmanthus, letting it infuse well with the sugar. Then fridge overnight for it to infuse well before steaming it on high for 8 minutes.
Cover the bowl with aluminium foil well, as we do not want a water droplet in it. Let the osmanthus sugar mixture cool well before combining it with the honey.
It was Angela’s birthday a week and a half ago – I’ve booked The Capitol Kempinski Hotel for her birthday celebration. With difficulties in decision making, it took me a while to decide which hotel to go and it is the best decision we have made this year. I’m glad that it all happened before her misfortunate incident happened on her actual birthday’s date.
TheCapitol Kempinski Hotel is located at the heart of the City Hall area, and host the once iconic landmark of Singapore – the Capitol Building and Stamford House. Once we step in we are welcomed by “The Lady in Red” (the Kempinski’s brand ambassador) and warmly assist us for the check-in and to the room. Along the way, the hotel hosts a vibe of fusion of art deco and Victorian aesthetics where we really like it. We are also offered an early check-in and an upgrade from the hotel which make the whole event started delightfully.
Starting from the Room
The first thing we noticed when we stepped into the Deluxe Room was how comforting it made us feel. The room is split into 2 parts the bathroom and bedroom areas.
We head in to have a look at the bathroom first, the wooden flooring, warm tones, and plush pillows made us want to jump onto the bed immediately! However, we did not due to the OCD of Angela. The room also comes complete with a working desk, sofa, and television that hooks up to a Sonos soundbar. One of the highlights of the room is the high ceiling and huge window – although it doesn’t have a good view due to the construction taking place near the hotel it’s still good to have some natural light in which is very important for us who want to take some pictures.
Stay hidden to keep it simple In the room, you can find that there are many doors. Such as there’s a door to hide your television when it is not in use. In front of the television is has a long vanity table, the centre portion flipped up to reveal a Hollywood -style mirror and hairdryer. Likewise, there are doors acting as a division from places to places – making things looks simple to look at.
The room adopts an “open bathroom” concept, however, you could close up the door for more privacy. All suit has her and his her sinks, where no compromising will be needed at here. The highlight of the bathroom was the free-standing deep-soaking bathtub that easily fit two people, where it is one of the reasons we choose here. It is complete with television, which will make you end your whole night there. That said, the shower was also impressive, the one and only rain shower that I’ve seen that was built that high. It is totally a perfect bath and dress room for girls.
Every corner of the place is well done which cause us non-stop praising. So far the Deluxe Room is one of the nicest hotel room we have ever seen. From the tall ceiling, spacious, fittings and finishes, it gave a premium feel of the hotel. We couldn’t believe how well made it is, let’s continue to discover if there’s any bad point to it?
Beauty both inside-out.
It is a historical hotel – where you’ll find Chengal wood flooring from the original building in some places of the hotel. The hotel’s general aesthetic pairs decidedly Victorian sensibilities with a certain fondness of geometric shapes, tessellations and grand archways. Despite the relatively small size of the property, the layout of the room floors is fairly The Shining-esque in its labyrinthine complexity, with a significant number of meandering passageways and turns.
Bathroom, Breakfast and Pool are some of the top 3 areas we also look into when visiting a hotel. While we knew the pool will be small, thus no much expectation was given. The pool is Singapore first saltwater swimming pool with jacuzzi functions. It’s great for chilling and relaxing, where it’s great for people who don’t know how to swim like us. As we stay at the Stamford building, it requires us to take a short walk to the pool where it’s located at the Capitol Building.
As we know as part of safe distancing measures and for exclusivity, you’ll need to book your pool time for all hotel now. Thus we drop an email ahead to secure a slot weeks earlier to avoid disappointment. Each booking will be for a 90-minute slot. On the first day, we head to the pool from 5 pm to 6.30 pm where it was packed with 8-10 pax (the standard amount of people based on thesafe distancing measures). However on the second day, it was empty on the 9.30 am to 11 am slot, It allowed us to be in a serene environment, surrounded by walls of green. Lovely!
Every corner is Photogenic
There’s no better feeling than slipping into something unrestricted after a long day in dressy and swimwear during the Staycation. We are, of course, talking about bathrobes, but those that are so comfortable, you wear them all day in the room, and it helps us to save someplace in our luggage. When it comes to robes, you need something that feels good and plush against your skin. Well, The Capitol Kempinski Hotel has one of the largest bathrobes we have ever seen (felt like wearing a giant outfit for our smaller Asian-body size).
It doesn’t really affect much, just you may need to drag the robe around but it’s a great prop for some photos. Some tips for those who want to take some photo in the room, you may though that there won’t be enough natural light in the room. That’s what we thought and we use the spotlight in the room and it is AWFUL! We promise that the room will provide enough light even without the full glass window. (That’s if you are so unlucky that you met the bad weather!!)
Did you notice that something is missing? Yes! The most important part of the hotel is also the dining experience. One of the trademarks of the hotel is their breakfast, stay-tuned for our story on 15 Stamford. Can’t wait to bring our parents back here for a staycation again!
With spring here, open your door and window and look out for pretty flowers. In Singapore, there is a lot of Singapore’s “sakura” aka the trumpet flower. As it is rainy weather recently, it is not only good for naps, it also brought about the blooming of Singapore’s own ‘sakura’ trees. The beautiful trees, which usually yield crowns of soft pink and white flowers, are commonly found along streets and in parks here. When in full bloom, the fallen flowers form a pretty pastel carpet on the ground.
However, if you don’t have the privilege you could always give your facade a quick and easy makeover for spring, the front door is a great place to get started: a cheerful wreath, fresh welcome mat or colorful plant can instantly make a tired entrance look more inviting. Kick-off the season with these simple door decor projects.
Previously we did a Tamago Origirazu with Cucumber and Bacon where we use the basic ingredients that you are able to find easily in your pantry. This time we decided to incorporate Angela favourite fruits – Avocado to it and create this Avocado Tofu Origizuru.
The main star here is the Crispy Sesame Tofu – a thick crust of black and white sesame seeds coats slabs of tofu, and a simple sesame sauce infuses them with sweet and tangy flavour. Adding rice, sprouts, tomato, mashed avocado and lettuce it became an Origirazu Burger. It’s just as fun and flavourful as takeout, but it’s so much healthier.
Making Soya Sesame Tofu “Katsu”
Tofu can get a bad rap as being bland, and that’s because it is! In order for tofu to transform into delicious recipes, you have to season it well. Here, a simple marinade infuses the sesame tofu with flavor. It’s savory, tangy, and easy to mix together, and it makes this recipe really tasty. Here’s what’s in it:
Soy sauce, for salty, savoury flavour
Rice vinegar, for brightness
Sesame oil, for richness and toasty, nutty flavour
Ginger and garlic, to freshen it up
Brown sugar, to add a sweet counterpoint to the other tangy, salty ingredients
Instead of reaching for a large bowl for your marinade, choose a small, shallow dish so that the sides of each tofu slab will be well-coated. Sara recommends marinating your tofu for at least an hour or overnight, but we only let ours sit for about 20 minutes, and it came out delicious. Of course, the longer you marinate it, the more flavorful it will be.
When you’re ready to cook, dip each block of tofu into an egg wash and dredge it in the sesame seeds. Then, cook it in the oven, and enjoy! Find the full recipe with oven instructions at the bottom of this post.
Adding in your Greens
After preparing your mains – Tofu “Katsu” you can also start preparing your greens. You can pick anything you have in your fridge that you think compliment well with the Tofu “Katsu”. However, below is our pick and you could refer to it as references.
Avocado, deshelled and deseed it. Mashed it and add drops of lemon juice for preventing the avocado from turning yellowish.
Lettuce and bean sprouts, wash and drain. (We doesn’t want wet vegetables.)
Cherry Tomatoes, we tend to eat the whole slide of tomatoes as it is hard to bite off. Thus using cherry tomatoes make it easier.
You can even use sweet corns, or even cucumber here. However, we encourage to use something light as we doesn’t want to overpower the Tofu “Katsu” which is the main of this dish.
Time to put together
Mentioned inTamago Origirazu with Cucumber and Bacon – it may seem like a complicated dish when you first start to wrap them up but once you get a hang of it, you can use this phrase to describe it as “a piece of cake”. To ensure the onigirazu is tightly wrapped up, make sure you start and end with rice.
This dish is best made in the morning with fresh rice and eaten the same day! As leaving it overnight in the fridge will give you dry and hard rice. After getting a hang of it, this could be your lunch staple.
Doesn’t it look simple? A vegan option for a healthier health ! If you make this Avocado Tofu Onigirazu, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on our recipes!
7 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 4 (1/2-inch thick) slices
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 garlic clove, grated
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup white and black sesame seeds
1 egg
olive oil spray
Greens
1 avocado, mashed
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Lettuce
Bean sprouts
2 cups of cooked sushi rice , room temperature
4 sheets of nori
Methods
Prepare the Rice: Place rice in a large saucepan, add water to cover, and swirl rice with your hand (water will become cloudy). Drain through a fine-mesh sieve and return the rice to the saucepan. Repeat the process until the water is clear when mixed with rice (3 or 4 times). Drain rice a final time and cover sieve with a kitchen towel; let rest 15 minutes (this will help the grains hydrate evenly).
Return rice to the same saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Partially cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until water is mostly absorbed and rice is very fragrant and tender 10–12 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a large spoon, re-cover the pot and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Cool it before use.
Prepare Crispy Tofu: Place the tofu slices on a kitchen towel or paper towels. Place another towel on top and lightly press to remove most of the water from the tofu. Transfer to a shallow dish big enough for the tofu to lie in a single layer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle half of the marinade over the tofu, then gently flip and drizzle the rest on the other side. Marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat an air fryer to 400°F or preheat a regular oven to 350°F.
Place the sesame seeds on a small plate. In a small bowl, beat the egg. Remove each tofu slice from the marinade, allowing the excess to drip off, then dip in the egg. Using a fork, dip in the sesame seeds, coating each side. Transfer to a plate. Spray one side with olive oil, then gently flip and spray the other side. (Discard the excess marinade.)
Wrapping it up: Start with the nori sheet, layer it with rice, bacon, cucumber, tamagoyaki and end it with the rice. Fold the 4 corners to the middle of the nori sheet. Only halved them up before consuming it, we don’t want the rice to dry up.
One of our must-have pieces of equipment in the kitchen is Mason Jar! You can use it for many purposes like storing dry food, a jar of pasta/salad and more important our favourite Jam. April is the month of many seasonal fruits. From January till May we have mandarin, kiwi, kumquats and from April till August, we will have cherries and strawberry. This is the month where we will see all the fruit in the market. And it is time to make our favourite fruit jam.
Before making your Jam or Honey, remember to sterilize jars for all your lovely preserves. A clean sterilized jar is essential to the success and longevity of the jams and preserves you spend a lot of time making. Click here to find out how can you do so.
On our top of the list, first came Strawberry Jam, from April till July, it is the perfect season for strawberry! While it’s easy to go buy a jar at the store – it’s just much more fun and so much tastier when you can whip up a jar for yourself in under an hour, right?
The beauty of this easy jam recipe is in the use of lemon juice and sugar instead of pectin to make the strawberry jam set. (Lemon juice is a natural pectin source that helps the jam set up and also helps prevent the growth of bacteria.)
The bright red colour of the jam simply brightens up my day every time we dig onto it!
Here come our favourite and Paddington Bear favourite – Marmalade!Every sunshiny spoonful makes your morning toast sparkle. If you love candied oranges and fruit preserves, we bet you’ll be making this regularly. Our recipe is not wildly complicated compare to what you see out there: peel this, but not too much, scoop out that, strain something else, then add it back in. Cut the citrus you have and add them to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. With the skin, you may taste a little bitter but the texture of the chewy skin is another level.
What is the difference between Orange Marmalade Jam and TraditionalMarmalade Jam? Yes, there’s a huge difference! The best marmalade is made from Seville oranges which have a very short season. The small sweet Spanish fruit is available at its best from mid-January for the next four weeks. Hence the new way of having non-traditionalMarmalade Jam, we make use of what we can get from the family tree – other oranges within the family tree.
While it is best to use fresh fruit but there are times where we love to use our leftover frozen berries for jam. It tastes almost the same as using fresh fruit, not to mention how convenient it could be. Compare to the rest of the homemade jam recipes the mixed berries are on the sour side. We like to use it on our meat like meatball and chicken, as it will balance up the oily taste and make the flavour more balance. We use cranberry and blueberry for this recipe.
While the season of peach is usually in the summer of the year (not yet there) but who doesn’t love to have some peach jam? Marmalade has complicated steps, Berries Jam is the easiest and for Peach Jam it is the tricky one. For the Peach Jam, you have to understand your fruits and choose the right one. Use ripe peaches. Not overripe, but soft and ready to eat. The skins come off a lot easier. If the skins don’t easily come off you should blanch the peaches. When you have the right fruit, the rest of the steps is just a piece of cake.
An alternative to this Peach Jam is to add some bourbon – Peach and bourbon come together in this delightfully tipsy drunken peach jam. With ripe summer peaches, a splash of lemon juice and more than a splash of bourbon, this might just be your new summer jam.
During the mid-lunar festival, we believed many families are loaded with pomelo. Most will eat the juicy flesh in throw away the skin. What most may not know is that the skin can be churned into dishes and jam, etc. In this recipes, you will learn how to skin the pomelo beautifully and how to make jam from the fruits.
There are many benefits to pomelos, such as prevent urinary tract infection, promote fast healing of wounds, prevent anaemia and even colds and flu. You can use this pomelo honey in your drinks by stirring them into tea or water, however, we love to drizzle them on our toast and pancakes too!
Which is your favourite jam from the above? Looking at them again makes us want to stock up our homemade jam too.
A few days back we headed to The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore for a staycation for Angela’s birthday celebration. We are amazed at how the interior of the hotel is, incorporating the modern element to the heritage building. One of the elements that are heavily used is the neo-classical and rattan elements.
This time we are going to touch on the neo-classical style. Bridging the gap between the traditional and contemporary, neoclassical design offers a rich method of self-expression that differs from eclectic and transitional styles in a few important ways.
Neoclassical interiors embrace luxury – far from modest, but careful to remain tasteful. It offers a playground for bold colors more than its transitional pastel-hued neighbor. It requires a more curated approach to furniture than its distant cousin the free-spirited eclectic. The interiors featured in this post range from those inspired by Hollywood Regency style all the way to a super-modern interpretation with faint neoclassical influences.
The wall edge frame and round edges are heavily spotted in the hotel. Incorporating rattan, leather, and arts, created a totally different style. Stay tuned for our post of our experiences inThe Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore.
Inspired by the cookbook Bento Power by Sara Kiyo Popowa – the Onigirazu aka ‘onigiri sandwich’, it is a new idea of sandwiching your ingredients rather than wrapping your filling in the rice. This method is so much easier than theonigiri where many skills are needed when shaping the onigiri. Still, some patience is needed when wrapping it up, as you don’t want your filling to drop when you are enjoying them.
This is also a recipe whereby there is no right or wrong. You can use any rice and filling that your like, go wild with it! However, in this recipes, we would like to share with you one of our favourite combination – Tamago Onigirazu with Bacon & Cucumber. You could also find some simple guideline to follow so that nothing goes wrong.
Prepare your Rice
Japanese Rice, brown-short grain or any mixed grain rice is welcomed for this recipes. For use, we have a combination of Japanese and bamboo rice that we got from our trip at Scoop Wholefood. The bamboo rice tastes almost the same as the Japanese Rice but it has a light fragrance to it. While the Japanese Rice is already a great choice, the bamboo helps to add a depth of colour and frangant. Follow our instruction here to make the perfect rice!
If you use warm rice, the steam will help to ‘glue’ the nori wrap together. However, make sure the rice is not hot, as we don’t want to turn the nori wrap soft. We like to use cool rice, as it is the most safer ways to ensure our nori wrap is still crunchy. However, cool nori wrap will be more sticky thus while wrapping, use a slighting wet hand to handle the rice.
Prepare your Filling
All the mains filling ingredients you need are mentioned in the title – Tamagoyaki (Egg Roll), Bacon and Cucumber. While the bacon and cucumber are easy to prepare, as you just have to pan-fry/ bake the bacon till browned and sliced the cucumber thinly.
Here comes the tricky part, making of tamagoyaki, it has been years of practising to just make a presentable one. We always thought that we need a tamagoyaki pan to perfect it but no, using our round non-stick pan you can do it so. All you need is practising and patience. When we first started making tamagoyaki we referred to just one cookbook recipe to assist us (we will soon do our own tutorial for you soon). The tamagoyaki need to be cool before cutting them up thus you could make them ahead overnight, it helps to save time if you are preparing it for a rush morning.
Assemble it Now, Eat it Later:
It may seem like a complicated dish when you first start to wrap them up but once you get a hang of it, you can use this phrase to describe it as “a piece of cake”. To ensure the onigirazu is tightly wrapped up, make sure you start and end with rice. Also makes sure the moist ingredients won’t touch the nori sheets.
We did a try out before cutting all the filling ingredients. We want to make sure it has a similar length to make the layering more consistent. This dish is best made in the morning with fresh rice and eaten the same day! As leaving it overnight in the fridge will give you dry and hard rice. After getting a hang of it, this could be your lunch staple.
Endless combination and flavour! For the non-risk taker, stay tuned to us if you don’t want to try out your own combination. There will be more other ways and combinations of onigirazu coming soon!
Prepare the Rice: Place rice in a large saucepan, add water to cover, and swirl rice with your hand (water will become cloudy). Drain through a fine-mesh sieve and return the rice to the saucepan. Repeat the process until the water is clear when mixed with rice (3 or 4 times). Drain rice a final time and cover sieve with a kitchen towel; let rest 15 minutes (this will help the grains hydrate evenly).
Return rice to the same saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Partially cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until water is mostly absorbed and rice is very fragrant and tender 10–12 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest, covered 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a large spoon, re-cover the pot and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Cool it before use.
Prepare tamagoyaki: In a pan coated with oil, pour your egg mixture layers by layers like making pancake sheets, in low heat slow roll the egg up when it is slightly cooked. Add in the egg and continue rolling them up till your finish the egg mixture. Using the pan flipper we try to shape and make the tamagoyaki rectangular. Cool it in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight for later use. Cut it into equal length, same as the other filling you have.
Prepare the filling: Slice the cucumber with the skin peeler forthin equal slices. Pan-fry or bake the bacon till it is browned. Cool it before cutting them into equal length.
Wrapping it up: Start with the nori sheet, layer it with rice, bacon, cucumber, tamagoyaki and end it with the rice. Fold the 4 corners to the middle of the nori sheet. Only halved them up before consuming it, we don’t want the rice to dry up.
Not many is a fan of all kind of fruits, for us kiwi and pineapple is a no no, as it always left a tangy feel on our tongue. However, kiwi is delicious fruit with unique taste. The green kiwi juice has tangy taste that is great for making a refreshing kiwi drink. For deeper taste experience, we pair it with lime and mint.
Green kiwi juice can be very sour and you need to balance the sour taste with some sort of sweetness. We uses soda compare to the usual sparkling water. The kiwi fruit gets sweeter as it ripens and the flesh soften. So you may use ripened kiwi for less sour taste. Another variety of kiwi is golden kiwi, it is naturally sweeter in taste. You can also use golden kiwi in this recipe.
A new kind of Kiwi?
While scrolling the grocery website, in the fruit section we discover this interesting fruits call Kiwi Berry – where it looks like grapes/ berry on the outside but when you cut open it is a mini kiwi on the inside.
The taste is slightly sweeter than that of a kiwi fruit but it is the size of a grape. It doesn’t have the fuzz that a full-size kiwidoes, so there’s no need to peel it – just pop it in your mouth like you would with a berry.
Benefit of Kiwi / Kiwi Berries
Kiwi is not a citrus fruit like orange, grapefruit and lemon. But kiwi is rich in vitamin C like other citrus fruits. Kiwi is full of nutrient , minerals, fibre. It is rich in vitamin K, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, potassium, folate and antioxidants. Futhermore, it can help improve digestion, help in treatment of asthma and improve immune system.
How to Prepare Kiwi?
There are two way to prepare kiwi fruit for any recipe. One is peeling the kiwi and slicing it as needed. You can peel kiwi skin with a peeler or knife. This method is suitable for firm less ripened kiwi.
Another method is to divide kiwi into two halves and scoop the flesh with a spoon. This scooping method should be used for softer ripened kiwi.
We love discovering and sharing simple recipes that you can make at home. They make for a healthier option than store-bought products. Not that you can save money but also the environment.
Divide kiwi into two halves and scoop the flesh with a spoon. This scooping method should be used for softer ripened kiwi. Mesh the kiwi with the back of the spoon or blend it in the machine.
In a cup, add the meshed kiwi, ice, tonic water, lime juice and top it with kiwi berry and mint.
There are many shapes, colour and type of light fixture for you to choose from in the current market. One of the very common shapes is the “cone-shaped” shade. The shades come in a variety of materials such as blown glass, metal, crystal art, and more. Cone pendant lights come in traditional and contemporary designs. The light often used to provide task or ambient lighting for the kitchen.
Choosing white pendants Keep your kitchen looking clean and orderly by choosing white or clear pendants. A soft, white pendant made of fabric or metal suspended above the kitchen table provides a simple, minimal look. Add translucent glass orb pendants above the kitchen counters to complete the open and airy feel.
Adding texture to the fixtures This will be a good idea when your light is away from your kitchen, as we don’t want the oil to stain the light as it will be hard to remove. The texture adds a deep to the plain room, giving it more dimension and depth.
Perfect for the rustic room Using it in the woody room, the “cone-shaped” shade tend to give a retro and rustic vibe. If you have a wood table this shape of lighting will be your choice.
xoxo, Joe Credit | All shots used on the mood board via our Pinterest boards.
With the most alluring flavour and ready in under 15 minutes, Garlic Butter Prawns is effortless to throw together a meal that can be served over anything!
Don’t we all agree, during the hot sticky summer, we preferred simple making meals. Without air-conditional, the kitchen is unbearable and cooking-meals can draggy. So, a huge bowl of this Garlic Butter Shrimp can be found at our dinner occasionally these days. Stir a handful of pasta or drip the freshly baked bread through the lemony, garlicky, buttery sauce for a delicious dinner you clear the bowl in no time.
How to cook Garlic Butter Prawn?
To make garlic butter shrimp, we recommend buying the medium size shrimp you can afford. Shrimp size is measured by the number of shrimp per kilogram. For this recipe, we typically use medium shrimp, which are 30 – 40 shrimp per kilogram.
The shrimp get tossed in a pan with plenty of butter, minced garlic, minced shallot and salt and pepper. Be sure to use fresh minced garlic and shallot here, not those that you purchase in a jar. Freshly chopped garlic and shallot just taste better! We also add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper for good measure.
These garlic butter shrimp cook very quickly – all you need is about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the size of your shrimp. As soon as the shrimp turn pink and opaque, they’re done. Be sure to watch carefully so that the shrimp don’t get overcooked! Turn off the heat before you add in the lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley, and you’re ready to eat! These garlic butter shrimp are great served over pasta or rice, and they even make a great appetizer.
The lemon juice is the key
The huge cube of butter must have scared off you thus by adding the fresh lemon juice and lemon zest (not the store-bought stuff, please for the love of freshness) will balance up the acidy in this dish. Add the lemon juice while the pan is still hot but yet off the heat. We want to deglaze the pan with lemon juice but yet not cook the acid, as heat will turn acid bitter. Add the fresh garlic, those two elements — although rather obvious — are the key to this recipe creating fireworks in your mouth.
Prepare the Garlic Butter ahead
While this is already a fast dish, one tip to make this dish like fast food but taste like heaven is to make the garlic butter ahead. Previously, we make our very own figs flavour butter using the same proceeded you can use this garlic butter in many of your dishes.
Start with softening your butter at room temperature. Chop the garlic and shallot ahead. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and shape using wax paper or rubber mould. You can store them like your usual butter and use them when you need them. Isn’t it easy?
Garlic Butter Prawns, this quick fixed meal will stop your’s craving or temptation in no time. It simple and fast to create, it can be your lazy dish when you want to have a quick meal. What stopping you from making it, it will be your home quick fix through out the hot summer.
With the most alluring flavour and ready in under 15 minutes, Garlic Butter Prawns is effortless to throw together a meal that can be served over anything!
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Juice of half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons — add more if desired)
Zest of half a lemon
Fresh chopped parsley, to garnish
Methods
Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallot and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Fry shrimp and add salt and pepper, to your taste. Cook 2 minutes on one side, while stirring occasionally. Flip and cook 2 minutes on the other side until JUST beginning to turn pink.
Cook, while stirring until the shrimp have cooked through (do not overcook them). Take off heat. Taste test, and add lemon juice and lemon zest, salt or pepper, if needed to suit your tastes.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve over rice or pasta.
If you’re someone who drinks coffee regularly, then you probably know exactly how you like to take it. Perhaps you’re among the people who take their coffee black. Maybe you like to add some sugar or milk to your coffee. Or, maybe you prefer to drink a latte or a cappuccino. For us, it’s was always cold brew, tonic or soda water and lately both of us in love with the combination of fruit juice. “Huh? what is that, what a weird way of drinking, don’t you know that you can’t appreciate coffee that way!” At least that is how our parent told us.
Food is like an art, there is no 100% of procedure to follow. Coffee is like a cocktail, a good mix you will get a glass of magic. While lately, we realised coffee and fruit juice share the cup in a most refreshing twist – you will be in love with this Green Citrus Coffee. Ready yet, to embrace the joy of mixology.
Substitution to expensive infused coffee
Tell a coffee enthusiast about artificially-flavoured coffee and they will insist that coffee should be enjoyed pure and black to fully savour the bean’s aroma and delicate taste – from sweet to sour, and even bitter and salty. However, for those who would like to wean themselves from the habit of something like and fruity you can try this out. Some like adding syrup to their coffee but we like to add soda and juices instead. The drink makes me remember the Seville Orange Coffee by Bacha but on the lighter side. It could be an option for you when you feel for something fancy.
The Perfect Pair
Just as wines pair well with certain cheeses, so do certain coffees with certain fruits. There are so many fruits and which is the right one to choose from? – we found some great combination that you might love it.
We love Citrus and it is always our top favourite selection when we having our new exploration. Oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits pair especially well with dark-roasted coffee. But do we have something else?
Yes, the next to go for defiantly are Berries, like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, which are rich in antioxidants.Berries are great for lowering cholesterol, fighting inflammation, improving your skin, providing the body with essential nutrients, and improving blood sugar levels. You will be found there so many berries infusion already in coffee. So mix some fresh ones and let them mix in the cup!
Lastly, we discover that Stone fruits that contain a pit are a great choice too. As plums, peaches, apricots, cherries and lychees, are some natural sweet options for people who doesn’t prefer the bitter taste.
Appreciate coffee in different ways
While I love to drink coffee but she dare not too often. Based on research, caffeine causes your brain to release adrenaline, and that speeds up your heart rate. Some people are more sensitive to it than others (which defiantly in my case). Eventually, found other ways to appreciate the coffee – having a reduced portion of caffeine and add in fruit juice, mixes your cup a new perfect way. Now, I start to enjoy coffee again with a refreshing taste.
Ya, there is a caffeine-free option but it’s just so different to taste the coffee so for those who scared of taking coffee due to the symptom you are experiencing like me. Maybe this is good for you to appreciate coffee again. Health with exiting health condition that your doctor recommends please do not put your health at risk.
We might be sharing few other options we have tried so, stay tuned for weekly new recipes on our blog, try it, tag us on Instagram @leplaincanvas and share with us your thought of it! We love to exchange and engage with you folks.
Coffee and fruit juice share the cup in a most refreshing twist – you will be in love with this Green Citrus Coffee.
Ingredients
for 2 cups
200ml of Citrus Juice
60ml of Espresso
2 Kumquat, halved
1 Lime, sliced thinly
Mint for garnish
Methods
Juice your preference of citrus juice, for us we uses orange. You could also use pre-made orange juice to save time.
In a cup, put your sliced lime then cover the cup with ice. Then filled in accordingly in this following order, juice cover 2/3 of the cup, espresso, kumquat and mint. Mixed well before enjoying it.
Who says that the tiles can be only on the flooring or walls? I personally love these square white/pink tiles, as it has a retro vibe to it. It’s normally seen in the olden day’s restroom. However, nowadays it will be a trouble to maintain it due to time concerns.
Thus here you are able to use it – don’t lose hope with old pieces of furniture, time to up-scale them! This is often a cheaper option to buying new, and a lot of fun too. With just a small box of tiles and a bit of paint, you can take matters into your own hands and revive tired, old furniture.
Wow… time really passed quickly and Le Plain Canvas is Five! While we are still figuring who we want to be. Our love for food, art and creating things never end.
This year, we are choosing between making a cake for the birthday or a mini photoshoot journey on the outside like our second and third birthday. It’s fun taking pictures outside, however, we give it a missed due to the rainy days and mask-on measurement we have now due to covid-19. We decide to challenge and make a cake and have a mini celebration at home. In the first year of our birthday, we make a simple flower cake, and while on our fourth birthday, we make a savoury pancake “cake“.
We want to have a cake that is a colourful cake where it represents each year of the milestone we came across. Tada~ here you have this Shag Cake – this ultra-moist chiffon cake and covered in the perfect Korean buttercream.
Shag Cake, Pom Pom Cake!
Honestly on this special day, we celebrate our daring, bravery, patience and our belief. There are many times we want to shut this corner down, there is so much tension with our conflicts. We are strong individuals that have a different method of working. Apart from dealing with every day works as a creative designer and a baker for Joe. Our love and preservation have pulled us through the journey. We have been struggling with our thought and works, sometimes the gadgets and also the weather. So we those the messiness we have somehow come in order.
This Shag, Pom Pom Cake make a perfect sense of celebrating our five years. There are still many things that we want to do and challenge and we guess we will be doing in our own ways and paces with all the supports we got from you folks who are reading our posts every time.Joe will definitely continue to bake a lot more for the sharing and also her small little business, @chacha.bakehouse.
Want to learn to make this cake, stay tuned for other recipes.
Looking back to the cakes we’ve made, we are proud to say we are striving to be better throughout the years. Not only that we grow as a creator, but we also become more understanding with each other as sisters. The best therapy we do is for each other.
Our recipes may not be perfect like the professional, however, we would like to invite your folks to join us together in this learning journey. We learn, and also exchange knowledge, tips and with each other. We anticipate you joining us in the exciting year ahead! Thank you!
Singapore is not huge but the end of the East, West and North are fairly far away from where we lived in the Central Area. Of course, compared to other countries for an hour trip, it must be nothing but it’s quite far from us who used to travel fast and living in the CBD area. Pre-covid time, we have lots of these fantastic light installation hosted in the hotspots. Therefore, when we discover Lite-On! @Downtown East, it has been such a long time since we head out for an installation visit.
There are millions of reason why we love the light festive, apart from supporting the local artist, we love to get down experience and practice our photography skill. It is not always having a chance to have all these amazing lights for us to practise.
At this Lite-On! installation there are a total of 4 pieces however only two of them caught our attention. First up is the rainbow bridge, where on the inside it looks like sections of the dome with different rainbow colours. The shape of the dome is like a picture frame, in this case, it is a colourful frame. We almost missed out on one of the nicer installation as it looks so plain on the outside. On the inside it a blue led light pyrmid. Using the edge of the pyramid we use the lines of the sides as a building for our images.
Sometimes, discovering the heartland is a tiring yet amazing experience. The lifestyle in the heartland is very different from what we have in the CBD area. We saw more families having fun in the heartland whereby in the CBD it is more youngster in the cafe and shopping centre. Even the housing estate looks different from what we have.
We hope you like these photo journals for part of the trip and hopeful they help those who like to take an amazing photo like us. Can’t wait for discovering other parts of Singapore again!
Black is famously versatile, eternally fashionable, and immediately makes any room feel more modern. It’s a little easier to take this bold leap in a private area like a bathroom or bedroom, but the living room requires a degree of commitment that might require some reassurance. We found some example, some feature simple black accents and others embrace it all the way. Some of the living rooms are spacious and open and others use black to cosy up in a small layout.
Use one Black Wall See, straight away you can see black living rooms don’t always have to be dark and dramatic spaces (although we do have lots of those coming up). This space is light and bright, but still has that statement black wall that works as the perfect backdrop for all the lime greens and pale yellows going on in this room.
Go out with one Hue But if you are here for the proper gothic, all black living rooms, this space will be right up your street. We love the really cohesive look here with the uninterrupted walls of black and the perfectly matching furniture.
Add Warm to the Black We all know black works with white, but a monochrome colour scheme can sometimes feel a bit cold. We personally always want our living rooms to feel warm and inviting, so to soften up a black and white theme just be sure to add in some wooden accents with your furniture and decor. The cabinet and the log pile in this living room may seem like small elements but they give this very elegant space a slight rustic edge.
Years ago the Mediterranean diet was all the rage. Everyone was tapping into their secrets for living healthy lives. Since then, Greek food has been in the spotlight for its use of fresh herbs and spices, protein-packed Greek yoghurt, and flavorful meats.
This recipes Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce has super succulent chicken breast tenders, loaded with all the bright Greek flavours we love (the secret is in the marinade we talk about later.) Warm-up some pita to carry the chicken, add in tzatziki sauce, some veggies, and tomatoes, and you’ve got your chicken gyros!
One of the things we really love about this chicken gyro recipe is that it comes together so quickly, making for a wholesome meal any night of the week. And no, you do not need to fire up the grill, although you can if you want. But you can just make the chicken in your skillet or even baked in the oven.
Gyro Chicken Marinade
The thing that starts it all for these chicken gyros is the marinade. A simple and versatile Greek chicken marinade that you can use regularly, even if you’re not making chicken gyros. This is a yoghurt marinade with a nice dose of fresh minced garlic and a few warm spices (oregano, cumin, salt and pepper, cayenne if you like heat). A little fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar add enough citrus, and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil rounds up the flavour.
What does yoghurt add to the marinade here? The lactic acid and calcium in yoghurt work to gently break down the protein in the chicken breast tenders, making them more flavorful and super tender. And you’ll notice a bit of a crust too around this chicken, the yoghurt does that too!
Cast-iron vs Oven
We use both methods for our chicken gyros, while the oven varies from time to time, there is time we overcook the chicken and it turns out dry and hard. Thus we prefer the cast-iron/ non-stick pan as we have better control over it. Moreover, it will create a nicer browned surface visually.
Using cast-iron, heat a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is just simmering (don’t let it smoke.) Add chicken (make sure you shake excess marinade off). Cook for 5 minutes on one side until nicely browned, then turn over and cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Using the oven, heat the oven to 200 C. Shake excess marinade off the chicken tenders and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the heated oven for about 20 minutes or until done.
Simple Tzatziki Sauce
This authentic Greek Tzatziki sauce recipe comes to us from the Greek island of Paros! Tzatziki is a creamy Greek yoghurt sauce with cucumbers and fresh garlic. This is a versatile sauce that is the perfect accompaniment to many Mediterranean dishes. You can also slather it on your sandwiches, or simply use it as a dip with a warm pita and your favourite vegetables!
We like to mix my actual tzatziki sauce by hand in a large bowl. First, combine greek yoghurt, minced garlic, chopped cucumber, chopped drill, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch more salt. Make sure to stir until everything is well combined. For best taste and texture, cover tzatziki sauce tightly and refrigerate for a couple of hours before use.
Summary of the important tips:
Marinate your chicken. You want it to not only be flavorful but juicy as well. By marinating it in greek yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, spices, and red wine vinegar, it gives it time for the chicken to soak in all of those traditional Greek flavours. At least 2-4 hours is a suggested amount of time but 24 hours is ideal.
Make your own Tzatziki sauce. It is so easy since it is made in one bowl and uses only the freshest of ingredients. The key is to squeeze out as much water from the grated cucumber as possible. This ensures that the tzatziki sauce stays nice and creamy. I used Fage 2% Greek yoghurt but the fat-free version works well too. Taste for seasoning and salt accordingly.
These Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki sauce can be wrapped in your favourite pita bread. You can use soft flatbread or Naan bread as well. Warm your pitas before wrapping them to make them nice and soft.
You can also serve this chicken, Greek salad, and handcrafted tzatziki sauce in a bowl. Serve alone or on top of romaine lettuce.
We hope your family loves these Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce and we can’t wait to hear all about what you are making in your kitchen!
Marinate the chicken: Place chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano in bag and let marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably 2-4 hours. The ideal time is 24 hours.
To make tzatziki sauce, stir together yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, dill, and garlic. Stir in grated cucumber and taste for seasonings. Squeeze the cucumber to remove excess water before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
Chicken can be cooked on the grill or in a skillet. To cook chicken on the skillet. Heat skillet to medium-high heat. Sprinkle with oil. Add chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked and golden brown.
Place chicken in pita bread. You can warm the pita bread to make it pliable. Top with tzatziki sauce, tomatoes and red onion. Add additional feta, if desired.
The first-ever holiday in the last 15 months, although it is just 2 days 1-night staycation. We decide to make full use of it and enjoy every moment we got away from works. After much consideration, we selected the Mandarin Oriental – Singapore. It a fabulous hotel from its facilities to services. Using the SingapoRedisovers Vouchers we use it to book two-room on the Klook website, where it’s inclusive of breakfast, semi-buffet lunch and a complimentary late check-out till 6 pm where it’s an amazing deal!
Facilities In many of the official photos, the rooms of the hotel may look outdated but once we arrived it changes our mind right away. The room is clean and spacious for an average basic room, with a hint of Japanese element. While it may not have the cool auto curtain and easy control light system, it does is a well-made room.
Due to the Covid-19 measurements, most of the hotels requires you to book your slots to enjoy the pool and gym, likewise for Mandarin Oriental. They provided us with a WhatsApp number for this service and it is easy and fast to get your slot without fuss. The Mandarin Oriental have one of our favourite pool in Singapore hotel. For non-swimmers like us, it has clean and spacious places for us to sunbathe and just soak in water.
Restaurants and Bars The hotels also consist of many delicious restaurants and good ambience bars where you could enjoy without leaving the place. We highly recommend you head to MO Bars where it served unique cocktails for your relaxing night. While it’s in the higher price range but it does worth the experience.
Photo-friendly Hotel Well, for someone who likes to take photos we always try to hunt for pretty places for our photo. We don’t expect the room to be photo-friendly. We need to say thank you for the good weather and lighting we are able to take a lot of great shot in the room. (While the light is already good enough for the ambience, natural light make it more wonderful). Using the props we have in the room – magazines and curtain, we create a chill and dreamy photo of us in pink. With the help of a tripod and remote phone, we are able to capture the moments we have with our parents without fuss too. Even some of our friends ask if we have a photographer to capture the photo for us!
A great gate away together with our parents during the holidays. We hope you like these photo journals for part of the trip and hopeful they help those who like to take an amazing photo like us. Can’t wait for our next staycation soon!
Cottagecore is something that started off as very simplistic but I think it can also be mixed with touches of glamour to create a luxe traditional style. Elegant vintage style barware, gilded cutlery, and statement gold accessories are all ways to get the look whilst staying on budget, and touches of British quirk will keep the look feeling grounded.
Making, baking, taking the scenic route. We’ve all embraced a slower pace of life recently, looking to our homes to bring us coziness and domestic bliss – featuring florals, nostalgia, and the good kind of clutter. Countryside vibes, wherever you live – that’s cottagecore.
Sage green accents paired with vintage pieces and plenty of autumnal trinkets (we’re loving those tiny pumpkins) create a calm, welcoming space made for concentration. Books, bits and bobs, a freshly brewed tea this is how to do inviting corners. The main event? That armchair. Just grab your slippers and sink in. We’ll pop another log on the fire.
This Grilled Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad recipe is as close to perfect as you can get! Full of greek flavours: tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and chicken for a complete meal in a salad bowl! The greek yoghurt chicken and tzatziki sauce could be easier to prep ahead. Are you ready to prepare this with us?
Easy Chicken!
I’d have to say I’m just like 97.99% of the rest of the home cooks out there. We’re busy. Our days are full. And that makes our nights even fuller. It’s the reason why one of my most often heard of requests is for more meals that are easy to make, don’t take a whole lot of time or a laundry list of ingredients, but still have that from-scratch, seasonal-eats quality.
Well here is one recipe 97.99% of you and more are going to love. It’s simple and fast. It’s practical with just a few simple ingredients. And it’s totally flavorful thanks to its Mediterranean roots.
Tzatziki Dip
Angela used to purchase boxes of dips or sauces a couple of years ago but the habit is nowhere to be found. She made her own dips and sauces – to us, it is so much easier cheaper, fresher than those we purchase outside.
While it does take us out of the 5-ingredient category, the tzatziki sauce is another simple recipe to prepare. It’s a simple cucumber sauce made with fresh dill, red wine vinegar, Greek yoghurt, and garlic. The amount of garlic in this recipe is our family’s favourite, but vary the amount of garlic to your liking.
Doesn’t it look simple? Now, are you excited to recreate it at home with the easy-find ingredients! If you make our Grilled Chicken Salad, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on our recipes!
Marinate the chicken: Place chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano in bag and let marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably 2-4 hours. The ideal time is 24 hours.
To make tzatziki sauce, stir together yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, dill, and garlic. Stir in grated cucumber and taste for seasonings. Squeeze the cucumber to remove excess water before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
Chicken can be cooked on the grill or in a skillet. To cook chicken on the skillet. Heat skillet to medium-high heat. Sprinkle with oil. Add chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked and golden brown.
Place your greens in the bowl with the chicken on top. Top with tzatziki sauce, tomatoes and red onion. Serve!
We have been talking about Nut Milk for weeks, and since we like to explore new thing we decide to try out the different nut to see if we could achieve our favourite soy and almond milk. We decide to try with Pumpkin seeds. It never came across us that pumpkin seed can be made into pumpkin milk.
We all know that nut milk are having their time in the limelight. Almond and Soy milk is a standard on our grocery list and we love playing around with making our own! From almond to macadamia milk, nut milk is here to stay. But, well what the heck about nut milk?
Although most nut milk like almond milk is not nearly as nutritious as cow’s milk, enriched products come close. They frequently contain added vitamin D, calcium, and protein, making them more similar to regular milk in nutritional content.
Why pumpkin seed, are they healthy?
While almond and soy milk come in common. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with a great source of protein and unsaturated fats, including omega-6 fatty acids. They also contain a good range of nutrients, including iron, calcium, B2, folate and beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. It helps to balance and regulate our hormones. Pumpkin seeds in particular are high in antioxidants, high in magnesium, may help improve heart health, lower blood sugar levels, and are high in fibre!
Compare to other nut milk following is some of the reason why it’s better.
no soaking required
no straining required
you just blend and chill and sip!
Matcha
For those who follow us, you know how much we love Matcha. We’ve shared our favourite Matcha Latte recipe last year where you could check out all the interesting facts about Matcha in that post. Surprisingly pumpkin seed milk and matcha can be a good friend too. It is like making Matcha Latte but with our home-made nut milk.
*Beware* of the amount of matcha powder you put, good matcha is usually tasted naturally bitter without sweetener. Not everyone would like it as we do, therefore, measure wisely and try to adjust to the flavour you preferred. Add in honey if you think it is too bland.
Nut Milk fans, we hope that you will enjoy us like we do. Be cautious of the amount of Matcha you put, as it will affect the result of the taste, do it by portion and achieve the way you want! If you making this pumpkin milk, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on our recipes!
“We’ve always believed a statement light fixture can tie any space together, and one trend we’ve loved lately is light fixtures using braided and knotted textiles. We designed a whole space around a handblown glass light from Longhouse with knotted rope by artist Windy Chien. They are the perfect addition to a neutral space because they offer plenty of natural, organic texture and visual interest while staying within a neutral palette. They offer a hint of coastal aesthetic — which many of our clients are asking for—without feeling overly nautical.
Nian Gao 年糕, Chinese New Year’s sweet rice cake. It symbolises progress, advancement, and growth. Nián (年) means “year,” and “gāo” (糕) is a homonym for “gāo” (高), it considered good luck to eat Nian Gao because it has the symbolism of increasing prosperity every year.
Ever since we were a kid, our family inevitably buys or makes this treat for the Chinese New Year celebration, in the hopes of having a better year ahead. It’s also a popular gift to give when visiting family and friends during the festive season. Traditionally, our grandma will just dip the Nian Gao (we got from the store) with egg wash and pan-fried it. While our mom preferred to steam or pan-fried it with root vegetables like sweet potatoes or yam.
Honestly, the block of Nian Gao is not quite appetizing. We promise that it is very delicious so don’t judge the book by its cover! Just to let you know, you might fall in love with this piece of Sweet Niao Gao sandwich instantly.
Nian Gao 年糕
Making Nian Gao from starch it’s tedious but it can simply do it at home. The basic ingredient that you require is banana leaves, glutinous rice flour, water and brown sugar. These ingredients are easily found at the market or supermart.
Place the water and brown sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool. Sift the glutinous rice flour into the sugar syrup, and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter into the lined ramekins, cover them with a lid or cloth (to prevent water from dripping in), then steam on high heat for 3 hours, until the Nian Gao is a deep caramel brown and firm to the touch. When done, remove it from the steamer and let it cool down. Keep refrigerated for at least 3 days (or up to two weeks) to let it fully set and firm up.
This is the easiest step. Grab the ingredients and assemble them into sandwiches. They are slices of nian gāo sandwiched between slices of taro and sweet potatoes dipped in batter. We coated them with sesame batter to give them a crispy and crunchy texture.
Nian Gao Crispy Batter
Most batter recipes used to make this nian gao sweet potato sandwich have eggs. Not that we have anything against eggs, but we have my favourite crispy batter that stays crispy recipe that is light and crispy. So we used it as the batter for this recipe. You only need flour, rice flour, ice-cold water, salt, baking powder. You can read all the details on why this crispy batter recipe works on the link above too.
What do you need to know?
1. Don’t use fresh nian gao Freshly made nian gao is very sticky, stretchy and difficult to cut. Nian gao usually can be kept at room temperature for 3 days or sometimes up to 7 days. After that, I like to store them in the refrigerator (up to 6 months). They will get really firm after you store in the refrigerator and very easy to slice to make this recipe after that 2. Check your baking powder Baking powder is used to make the batter airy in this recipe. Make sure your baking powder is still good. You can check its freshness by taking 1/2 tsp of baking powder and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over it. If it bubbles up violently, you are good to go, if not, you need to toss it away 3. Only prepare the batter when you are ready to fry Do not prepare the batter ahead and let it sit around. Only pour the ice-cold water into the flour mixture when your oil is ready to fry and sandwiches are waiting to be dipped into the batter. This will ensure your fried products won’t end up getting soggy fast and absorbs too much oil
Nian gao and sweet potato slices are made into sandwiches and then deep-fried with an eggless crispy batter are perfect for using up the leftover nian gao. Perfect for gluten-free and vegans too. If you making this, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on our recipes!
½ taro (peeled and cut into 8 semi-circle slices of 1/8-inch thick)
1 large sweet potato (peeled and cut lengthwise into 8 slices of 1/8-inch thick)
8 slices nian gao (about ¼-inch thick)
Vegetable oil for frying
Batter
1 cup rice flour (130g)
1/2 cup of rice flour
black and white saseme
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup water (120ml)
Methods
Prepare nian gao and sweet potato:
Cut nian gao and sweet potato into about 1/4-inch slices and about the same size. We use a round chop for this step, you can cut it into square or even rectangular if you prefer.
Prepare the crispy batter:
Once you have that ready. Prepare the crispy batter by mixing the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk to mix
Preheat about 1-inch of cooking oil for deep-frying. When you are ready to fry, pour the ice-cold water into the flour mixture and whisk to mix until combined
Frying:
Once the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium, pick up the sandwich and coat it with the batter and fry until golden brown or the sweet potatoes are cooked through about 3-4 minutes. Make sure the heat is not too high or the outside will brown too quickly before the inside cooked through
Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel, repeat with frying another 3-4 at a time. Place the fried nian gao on a cooling rack in the oven to keep them warm while you are frying the rest. The nian gao sandwich will stay crispy for roughly about one hour at room temperature
While previously we’ve shared with you the step-by-step on how to make your homemade nut milk. Since we already loved making our own nut milk at home (try it… it’s amazing), we ordered some macadamia nuts and got down to business. It worked just as well as walnut milk, if not better.
This time we are back with a quick and easy 4 ingredient way to make homemade macadamia milk! Naturally creamy and sweet, and perfect for smoothies, granola, and more! Not only is macadamia milk good for you, but it also tastes the most like regular milk of all the dairy alternatives we’ve tried.
What is Macadamia Milk? (Or, How to Milk a Nut)
Grocery stores carry more non-dairy milk choices than ever it seems, so the idea of nut milk probably isn’t as strange as it once was. Macadamia milk isn’t real milk at all, but a great dairy alternative for baking, drinking, etc. To “milk” a nut, simply soak nuts for a couple of hours, drain and rinse, and blend with filtered water. Strain if you want or serve right away. The nut milk will also keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Health Benefits of Macadamias
Although 28g of macadamia nuts seem to constrain a lot of fats in these fats, it has lowered LDL cholesterol which is healthy for your body. Macadamia nuts also contain a fair amount of fibre, manganese, and thiamin.
With only 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per ounce and high amounts of healthy fat, macadamia nuts are also more keto-friendly than almonds or cashews which contain more carbohydrates. Any macadamias I don’t use for milk make a perfect mix-in for a batch of chocolate peanut butter fat bombs, or a quick snack on their own.
What are you waiting for? Try it and share with us your thought about it. If you making this orange macadamia milk, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on our recipes!
1 tbsp maple syrup (or a few drops of liquid stevia extract, optional)
Methods
Place the macadamia nuts in a large bowl.
Cover them completely with water.
Soak for at least two hours. They are considered a quick soaking nut, so 2-4 hours is plenty.
Discard the water and rinse well several times.
In a high-speed blender, place the macadamia nuts, 4 cups of water, and vanilla and maple syrup if using.
Blend for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. This is optional but ensures a smoother finished macadamia milk. If you skip this step, just make sure to shake well before using.
Forget glitz and gloss, this year is all about the calming softness of matt finishes. Warm to the touch and with a look that embraces the hand of the maker, expects to see more ceramics and plaster without heavy glazing. Embrace the look with terracotta planters or stone-effect vases, lamps, and mugs, all of which adds another layer of texture to your abode.
One of the best ways is also to have a plaster wall for your house. Plaster can go wrong with a lot of colors or too much movement. It goes from being elegant and interesting to unsophisticated in a moment. There is really no substitute for starting the mood of a room from the walls. It sets everything off in such a beautiful way. It’s a perfect jumping-off point.
Have you tried Hiyashi Chuka? Hiyashi Chuka or “chilled ramen” is a cold Japanese ramen salad that’s the perfect light meal for a hot summer day. With loads of veggies and protein over a bed of chilled ramen noodles drizzled with a tangy sesame dressing, it’s sure to wake your appetite on even the hottest of days. It’s also a great dish for gathering at the end of the Chinese New Year.
What kind of noodle to use?
Hiyashi Chuka by definition is made with ramen noodles, but in Japan, ramen noodles come in dozens of varieties. I like using thin spaghetti for this as they have a nice texture when chilled and the kinks in the noodles help them hold onto the toppings as you slurp the noodles and it is one of the noodles that is easily grab at the home pantry. However, the best option is still fresh ramen!
What kind of topping on Hiyashi Chuka?
The toppings can be subdivided into three broad categories: proteins, vegetables, and garnishes. There is a lot of room for improvisation here, and we encourage you to experiment with what’s in season around you.
Protein For this recipe, we used prawn and egg as our protein. However, chicken breast, ham, egg, or imitation crab is also commonly used. The skies the limit here, you can also make Hiyashi Chuka with everything from leftover your leftover.
Vegetables In this recipe, we use watermelon radish, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes as the vegetables that we like as we just grab whatever we have in our pantry. Corn and even broccoli make for delicious toppings for this dish, and we even venture to say the best vegetables are the ones you already have in the fridge.
Garnish Corriander is our best friend especially when it comes to salad based dishes. The freshness just matches our liking. We also added some freshly toasted sesame seed for the crunchy texture for every bite.
Making the Sauce
There are also many options you could do with the sauces. You could even grab the ready-made one from the shelves. However, this year mission for us is clear whatever bottles of sauces we have at home, we decided to use the ingredients available at home and make them.
We decided to make a Soy Sauce Vinaigrette – this style of dressing is light and tangy with a balancing sweetness and a hint of nutty sesame oil. The ingredients are usually soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, white pepper and ginger. You could also make Creamy Sesame where it will make your salad richer. Using the same ingredients you have for the soy sauce vinaigrette you will add-in tahini (sesame paste).
On hot days, a cold noodle dish like Hiyashi Chuka is a delicious nutritious meal to cool your body down, while filling up your tummy. Now go ahead, pick up some ramen and your favourite toppings, and create this cool Japanese dish!
Cool down and relax with this Japanese Cold Ramen dish called Hiyashi Chuka. It’s a bright, flavorful, fun way to experience the magic of ramen on a hot day!
1 Tbsp toasted black/ white sesame seeds (roasted)
¼ tsp grated ginger
Methods
For sauces: In the oven-roasted sesame seed till brown leaves cool the side. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the sauces, stir well.
For eggs: you make a thin egg crepe and cut it into thin strips. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt. Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook on both sides. Cool the egg and thin-sliced it.
For prawn: do not de-shell them before cook! As the prawn will curl up more and it is not presentable. Cook it in boiling water, drain it once it turns fully orange. Let it cool in ice water before de-shell it. Cut it halve.
For vegetables: Skin the carrot and julienned the carrot, cucumber and the watermelon radish. Lastly wedge your tomatoes.
For assemble: Cook your noodle base on the instruction on the package. Assemble them on the bowl. Drizzle your sauce before serve!
While Angela love the convenience of store-bought almond milk, sometimes it’s fun to make it yourself!
This recipe allows you to control the amount of sweetness and infuse flavours as well as play around with the thickness. It’s my go-to when we’re craving homemade dairy-free milk.
Plus, it’s super simple to make, requiring just 2 ingredients, 10 minutes, and a blender!
Nut Milk Basics
Here’s the short and sweet on making nut milk at home.
Buy raw nuts.
Soak the nuts overnight.
Drain and rinse the soaked nuts.
Blend the nuts with fresh water.
Strain the nut milk.
Sweeten, if desired.
Chill, drink, enjoy.
Wash, rinse, repeat once a week for nut milk happiness.
The procedure is unchanged by the nuts of your choice, but here’s some helpful information on which nuts to use.
Always choose raw nuts. Not only do they last longer, but they also take much better to soaking and grinding and impart a light, clean flavour.
Make sure the nuts are fresh and of the best quality you can afford. Rancid nuts make for rancid nut milk, and since nut milk involves very minimal processing and just two ingredients, buy the best quality you can afford.
Avoid skins where possible. I’d never suggested that you should peel almonds or pecans, but when making peanut or hazelnut milk, you can remove their skins by soaking and rubbing them gently between clean kitchen towels. This makes for a less chalky texture and more flavour in the finished milk.
Blending and Straining Nut Milk
Post-soaking, drain and rinse your soaked nuts. Then add them to a blender with fresh water for blending. The blender really is the best tool for this job, but a food processor works too. Nut milk from a blender is just a bit creamier and sweeter.
After blending, I suggest straining for the most milk-like, drinkable nut milk. Some folks prefer to leave their nut milk unstrained, especially those with high-powered blenders, but note that unstrained milk will separate more in the fridge and will need to be mixed again before serving.
Alternative for nut milk bag?
Nut milk bags are popular among nut-milk making fans, but they aren’t required for straining. You can use a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth as an easy alternative. You can also use a clean tea towel (something thin with a loose weave like linen works best). A reader even suggested that a clean pair of pantyhose works well in a pinch.
Cinnamon Walnut Milk
Plain nut milk may be boring sometimes, thus we like to add some flavours and sweetener to it to improve the flavour. In this case, we use pitted dates, cardamom and cinnamon for the walnut milk. You can also add sweeteners such as honey, sugar, agave syrup, or maple syrup. However, we prefer to extract the sweetness from natural food, in this case, dates.
1 cup raw, unsalted walnut or any raw nuts without skins
2 cups water, plus more for soaking
Sweeteners, such as honey, sugar, agave syrup, or maple syrup (optional)
Methods
Soak the nuts: Place the nuts in a medium bowl. Cover with about 1 inch of water. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let sit overnight at room temperature or for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. The nuts will plump as they absorb water and should feel a little squishy if you pinch them. The longer the nuts soak, the creamier the milk will be.
Drain and rinse the nuts: Drain the nuts through a fine-mesh strainer or colander, then rinse them thoroughly under cool running water.
Combine the cashews and water in a blender: Place the nuts in a blender (or a food processor) and add the 2 cups of water.
Blend on high speed: Pulse the blender a few times to break up the nuts, then blend continuously on high speed for 3 minutes. The nuts should be broken down into a very fine meal, and the water should be white and opaque. (If using a food processor, process for 4 minutes total, pausing to scrape down the sides halfway through.)
Strain out the nut meal: Line the fine-mesh strainer or colander with either an opened nut bag or 2 layers of cheesecloth and set over a measuring cup (or bowl if you don’t have one big enough). Pour the nut mixture through the strainer. Gather the nut bag or cheesecloth around the nut meal and twist close. Squeeze and press with clean hands to extract as much nut milk as possible. You should get about 2 cups.
Sweeten to taste: Taste the nut milk, and if a sweeter drink is desired, add sweetener to taste.
Refrigerate the nut milk: Store the nut milk in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Save the nut meal for another use.
Many know that we love to use the flower as decoration pieces for our home interior. Peony is one of our favourite flowers, however, the lifespan is also very short. Known as the “King of Flowers” in China, and the “Queen of Herbs” by the Ancient Greeks, peonies have stood the test of time. It is said that when explorer Marco Polo first saw peonies in China, he called them “Roses as big as cabbages”.
While it is always nice to have them as a fresh flower, however, flax and wallpaper is also a good idea if you really want to incorporate them into your house.
Pen Cai is a traditional Cantonese festival meal composed of many layers of different ingredients. It is served in large wooden, porcelain or metal basins called “Pen”, due to the communal style of consumption. The Chinese name, transliterated as “big bowl feast”, “basin cuisine” or “Chinese casserole”. It is a treasures pot for a good fortune year ahead.
When coming to Chinese New Year dishes, there are so many kinds of dishes out there based on their regions, culture and meaning behind it. While we are no experts, both Joe and I have always attempted to make things out of our interests. On the day of Ren Ri, 人日 (in Chinese culture, is believed to be the common birthday of humankind. It is celebrated on the seventh day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar), we decide to challenge ourselves to make a pot of sea of treasures to share with our family.
We chose Pen Cai, 盆菜 (Poon Choi Cantonese) over Buddha Jump over the Wall, 佛跳墙 for a simple reason. But many readers might ask what’s that? It a pot of nutritious Chinese delicacies simmered long and slow until fall-apart tender like Pen Cai but that usually include more expensive ingredients like the shark fin, which we don’t encourage to have it. We have compiled the easiest step for you to follow, which you could simply recreate at home in no time. Are you ready to impress your family and friends with a pot of treasures of delicious.
There is a various version of Pen Cai and there wasn’t a standard procedure to define right or wrong. After researching and interviewed our mom, the following are the ingredients you might like to consider to put in your pot. We brought lots of food during Chinese New Year, especially the dried goods, those are the ingredient we don’t often have it on the normal days, except for a special occasion.
– Cabbage, cut into 5-cm pieces – roast duck – chicken – roast pork belly (we roasted our own roast pork belly, we might share our recipe sometime soon) – yam, sliced 0.5-cm thick and pan-fried till golden brown – dried mushrooms, soaked overnight for flavour texture, keep the water for the soup – pre-soaked sea cucumbers, cut into 6 – 8 pieces – fried fish maw,soaked in hot water for 30min and cut into pieces – meatballs – Can abalone or fresh abalone – dried scallops
(Optional) While many other recipes also include prawns, scallops, black moss as they represent great things for New Year hence we have run out of those ingredients so we give it a passed but please include them as you wish! The taste will be just flavourful and remain tasty still!
Layer the Cabbage as the base. A simple tip is to gather all the ingredients above before begin the layering. We pouched the cabbage with salt water for a couple of minutes and magic happens. Cabbages consider “cold type” for the body in Chinese Medical therefore, always slice a few slices of ginger and place under the pot. *(Mom’s tip) Ginger also help to make the soup turned soup when there are leftover and seafood in the pot.
Keep the leftover and prep ahead of time…
We mentioned above, over the course of the Chinese New Year, we keep leftovers from previous meals for this dish. After we are a small family of 4, it is quite impossible for us to finish all the food. Chop both roast duck and poached chicken in smaller pieces and layer them on each side of the cabbages. For those, who don’t want to cook everything from scratch, you can always buy a small portion fresh from the store.
Following is to layer the roast pork belly and the yam. This year Lunar New Year reunion dinner, I successfully make my first crispy roasted pork belly that my family love it (hence it require 2 days to prep ahead so we might share the recipe later time the year while Joe recuperation from this busy festive season, as those who might know she started her bakery business and she really work hard during this CNY).
You need to slice both the roast pork belly and the yam, about 0.5-cm thick and pan-fried till golden brown sandwich with the yam on top of the cabbage.
Arrange the mushrooms and sea cucumber along the sides of the claypot. Always and always remember to soak the dried mushrooms overnight for flavour and soft tender texture. Many recipes suggest to soak 15 mins ahead of time but don’t believe it as a different type of mushroom take a different amount of time to soften. 15mins is never enough therefore overnight is the best option you should follow. Also, never discharge but keep the mushroom water for the soup or other cooking purpose. they smelled delicious and things taste better with them.
Add the fish maw and meatballs, top with abalone and dried scallops. Pour the mushroom water and some chicken stock into the claypot until it’s nearly full. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1⁄2 hours. Add the remaining chicken stock after an hour. Once it’s cooked, garnish with Coriander or leek.
We hope that you enjoy the Treasure Pot, Pen Cai like we do. Fear not, next week onward we are sharing some cleansing and simple meals after the joyful festive season!
1 pc white cabbage, approximately 300g cut into pieces (blanch in water and drain)
6 pcs Chinese mushrooms (soaked in water until soft and drained)
5 pcs dried scallops
1 pc fish maw (soaked in water overnight until soft and drained before cutting into pieces)
1 pc sea cucumber, cut into pieces
3 pieces fresh abalone, 1 can abalone, thinly sliced (reserve the abalone brine in the can)
12 pieces of taro, sliced and pan fry
some roast pork
some roasted duck
some steamed chicken
some meatball
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 litre chicken stock (can be store bought or home made)
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp hua diao wine
dash of pepper
Methods
Start by layering the ingredients that you have prepared. The start will nabe cabbage, ginger and garlic. Layer on the top with roasted pork and sliced taro. Slice in the taro in between the roasted pork. Add the side of the roasted pork will be your chicken and duck. Then topped it with mushroom, sea cucumber and fish maw. In the middle will be your meatball, abalone and dried scallop.
Pour the chicken stock to cover the ingredients and seasoning and cook it for 1 hours. Pour the leftover chicken stock and cook for 30 minutes more. In the meantime if you have ingredients like prawn, scallop or black moss. You can add in at this time. Serve with corriander.
Floral bouquets make the perfect gift for the special person in your life however, it can be tricky to pick a vase shape that perfectly complements your blooms. With so many shapes, styles and materials, selecting a vase that won’t distract from the arrangement can be difficult.
Whether you’re selecting flowers for your own home, an upcoming event or giving a gift to lighten someone else’s day we are here to help with our guide to choosing different vases for every arrangement. Especially during this Lunar New Year, where it is the prefect occasion to display your favourite flower.
Between the table, floor or hanging on a wall, you can show off your bouquet just about anywhere. Table vases are commonly smaller and hold a bouquet or a few flowers. Floor vases are much larger and commonly are bottom-heavy to support a larger bouquet. They tend to be located as a focal point in a spacious room and should specifically complement the decor since they are such a large presence.
The last couple of days was terribly busy with prepping for Lunar New Year. Joe asked me a question, “Do you preferred Christmas or Chinese New Year?” Despite both festive seasons has been the most important season for us, undeniable Chinese New Year is more tiring. Unlike Christmas being straightforward, returning gratefulness to our love ones and enjoying the magic of all the time, Chinese New Year is all about traditions. There are so much customs to follow and to practice. As a Cantonese and Teochew Family, we have a lot of thoughts in our meals – it’s a thought of love and respect to everyone we treasure.
Steamed Pork Belly with preserved Mustard Green is also known as Mei Cai Kou Rou, 梅菜扣肉. It’s love by Hakka, Cantonese and Teochew Family, we remember that our mom always will prepare a super huge pot of Steamed Pork Belly with preserved Mustard Green and served us hot porridge or noodle to enjoy the amazing savoury. And it can last us for at least 2 days, but usually, it is too delicious we finish instantly.
What is Meigan cai, 梅干菜 ?
Mei Gan Cai, 梅干菜 widely known as “molded dried vegetable”; or Mei Cai, Mui Choy (Cantonese dialect). It is a type of dry pickled Chinese mustard. The pickle consists of a whole head of various varieties of Chinese mustards and cabbages (芥菜 (leaf mustard), 油菜 (rape), 白菜 (Chinese cabbage) that has undergone an elaborate process consisting of drying, steaming, and salting. The vegetables are harvested, trimmed before the early April, and sun-dried until limp. It is then salted or brined, kneaded until the juices are exuded, and left to ferment in large clay urns for 15 to 20 days. The vegetable is then repeatedly steamed and dried until reddish-brown in colour and highly fragrant.
How to prepare Mei Gan Cai 梅干菜? As there is a lot sand in the 梅干菜 you need to soften it and wash thoroughly before cooking if not you will destroy the dishes. Prepare dried preserved mustard greens. Soak for 5-6 hours. Then wash them in a large basin of water 6 -7 times to get rid of all sand and dirt. Drain and set aside.
Important steps for Pork Belly
Removing the raw pork taste on the meat; Put the pork belly in a pot, and cover with cold water. Add the ginger slices and star anise. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 35 minutes. Take the pork out and set aside.
Adding colour to your pork; Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Brown the pork on the skin side first, and then the other sides.
Cool before slice; Like the beef cooling the meat allow the moisture to be absorbed well before slicing. Slicing it right away you will lose the moisture that you need.
Time to cook them; Many families will choose the method of “braising it” but we preferred steaming the meat. Unlike the meat might be overcooked, the steaming method allows the meat to remain whole but soft and tender. Cover the Pork Belly with the Mei Cai – this step is important.
It allows the sauce infused into the meat. The Mei Cai layer insulates food, slowing down cooking and allowing foods to cook evenly. Like the salt-baking method, it is ideal for foods that are easily overlooked, such as fish, or beef tenderloin. The Mei Cai traps moisture within the food so that it cooks in its own juices (similar to sous vide), retaining more flavour.
Put the bowl in a steamer and steam for 75 minutes.
Get ready your bowl of rice and enjoy this unstoppable dish! This dish will be the unbeatable dish to serve during the festive season! You do not need a lot of ingredients but you could make the most wonderful dishes for your family! Happy Lunar New Year, season greetings to you all from the Leong’s family!
Braised Pork Belly with preserved Mustard Green | 梅菜扣肉
Ingredients
400g dried preserved mustard greens (about 3 cups after they’re soaked and thoroughly washed)
600g pork belly
Water
2 slices ginger
2 star anise
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (plus 1 tablespoon, divided)
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or rock sugar)
1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Methods
Prepare preserved greens. Soak for 5-6 hours. Then wash them in a large basin of water 6-7 times to get rid of all sand and dirt. Drain and set aside.
Put the pork belly in a pot, and cover with cold water. Add the ginger slices and star anise. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 35 minutes. Take the pork out and set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Brown the pork skin side first, followed by the other sides. Once browned, add a teaspoon of dark soy sauce and a tablespoon water, and carefully coat the pork in the liquid. Turn off the heat and let the pork cool in the wok.
Carefully slice the pork into ½-inch slices, and arrange them neatly in the bottom of a shallow heat-proof bowl. In the wok, add another tablespoon of oil and the sugar. Cook the sugar until it melts and turns a caramel color. Add the minced ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the preserved vegetables, and stir for a couple of minutes. Add a tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine and 1 cup chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.
Spoon the preserved vegetable mixture over the pork belly in the bowl and spread evenly to cover all the pork. Put the bowl in a steamer and steam for 75 minutes.
Remove the bowl from the steamer and carefully pour off any excess liquid into your wok (you’ll use this liquid to make the sauce). Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, and add the cornstarch to thicken it. Cover the bowl of pork with your serving plate and flip it over onto the plate. Pour the sauce over the dish and serve. This dish is glorious with a bowl of white rice!
Do not underestimate, this little plate of mini golden mantou (bun) served with condensed milk in the middle. It is not the most healthier choice but this little golden devil with condensed milk are very addictive. The soft fried buns exude a milky fragrance, which is very sweet and delicious.
Honestly, compared to the golden fried mantou (bun), I preferred steamed mantou (bun). There are only a couple of occasions, we would come across with fried bun such as ordering Singapore chilli crab and a treat as dessert at steamboat restaurants. We decide to challenge ourselves to make it at home, while we failed to make from scratch, we try the convenient way. With this method, even you want to prepare it during the festive season, it is a hassle-proof recipe.
Usually, we will get the vegetarian mini mantou (bun), it is a vegan choice. To make the fried mantou, plain and common Chinese steamed buns are needed first. There is the store-bought frozen version available or you can make your own ones at home by following this recipe: Fried Golden Man Tou.
When choosing or buying your mantou, we would highly recommend choosing smaller ones with milk for the consideration of deep-frying process. And before adding your mantou, heat your oil until hot so the buns can be colored in relatively short time.
For a healthier choice you can op to air fry you mantou instead deep fry like what we did it this recipe. Although the crispiness for the air fry will not be equal like deep fry but it is still delicious.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok. Add the man tou and flip them constantly to ensure they are fried evenly on all sides. Remove from the wok once they turn golden-brown, drain the oil, and serve.
Lunar New Year, it’s most commonly associated with the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, typically falls sometime between January 21 and February 20 annually. Last year we had a super early CNY and we were in a rushed.
Therefore, we are grateful that it falls during February this year. Lunar New Year 2021 is on February 12, and in terms of the Chinese zodiac animal, it’s the Year of the Ox. Of all events throughout the year, we respect Chinese New Year as much as the Autumn’s festive and Winter’s Solstice. Our grandma(s) used shared with all traditions and superstitions while prepping for the occasions. In memories of both of them, we always remind ourselves to practise her ways and continue to keep it as a family’ customs.
10 Auspicious Must-Eat Dishes
Tangerines (chéng) Tangerines are the most common fruit to grace the table. An instance associated with luck: The word for tangerine is 橙 (chéng), which sounds the same as a word that means good fortune. Tangerines are served at the end of the meals, and also exchanged when you go visit relatives during Chinese New Year.
Whole Fish (Yu) Fish is one of the most symbolic dishes for Chinese New Year. Since we are little kids, we’ll always see a fish at most every meal during the festive season served in various ways. This is an instance in which two words have two different characters, but are pronounced the same way. The pronunciation for ‘fish’ in Mandarin and many other dialects is ‘yú’, which is the same pronunciation as ‘leftover’. The idea is that every year, you want an abundance of food or wealth so that you have it leftover for the next year.
Although our recipe is steam sliced fish, the sauce is the most classical way our mother steam fish in various events.
Dumpling (Jiaozi) Dumplings are supposed to look like the ingot, the gold and silver pieces used as money in ancient times. It represents being prosperous—you have all of this money you’re eating. In some families, they will stuff a coin among the Dumplings, whoever the lucky that pick it, represent one will have a flourishing year ahead!
It will be a fun activity for the family! Of course, coins are full of germs. Do remember sensitize and wrap the coin with a cling wrap before wrapping it up in the dumpling!
Sweet Rice Balls (Tangyuan) Tangyuan is commonly served on the fifteenth and final day of the Chinese New Year celebration, which is also the Autumn Festival and Winter’s Solstice.
They are made from glutinous rice flour — Kho likens the consistency to mochi, another kind of rice cake popular in Japan — tangyuan is served in a thin or thick broth like the one we shared. You might be interested to make this Goldfish Sweet Dumpling for your celebration too.
Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go) Since young, our grandma makes sure it is a must-have dish during Chinese New Year for us. “Lo Bak Gou” in Cantonese, “Luo Bo Gao”, 萝卜糕 in Mandarin. It translates to carrot cake, but it’s made with turnip.
The Chinese name for the turnip is white radish. Gou means cake 糕 and is the homophone for tall in Mandarin. It is a common phrase for older generations to wish their kids 步步高升，which means with every step to leap into high achievements and success. Growing up with my late grandma also wished us, children, to grow up healthy strong and tall every year.
Longevity Noodle Longevity noodles are traditionally prepared as one very long, thin single strand for special events and birthdays. It represents long life especially a blessing for the elderly at home.
Nyon Hiang (Five-Spiced Rolls) are often served by the Nyonyas during festivals and celebrations. At this time of the year, trays and trays of these delightful meat rolls are made and served during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
When having the Nyon Hiang we will say luck words like 黄金万两 (hwung-jin wan-lyang/): ‘A ton of gold’ (because five spiced rolls look like gold bars) — a wish for prosperity.
Similarly like the Turnip Cake the Sticky Rice represents getting higher year-on- by year”. In Chinese people’s minds, this means the higher you are the more prosperous your business is a general improvement in life. It can also imply children’s height, rise in business success, better grades in study, promotions at work, etc.
While there isn’t a meaning or representation for this dishes but it’s a important dishes to have on our table. In mandarin braised meant 卤 where it have a slight sound different as “如”意 where its meant wishful, hoping this year a good one. Hotpot(in Cantonese it also called da bin lou, 打邊爐) During the time of Covid, having hotpot might be the worst idea of all. But in our Asian culture, we wouldn’t miss this event during our gathering. We should start practising to have public tablewares (gong kuai), having two sets of tableware for meals. One set of chopstick for picking food while another set for putting in mouth. As the chopsticks, shouldn’t make contact with the saliva. This isn’t dividing our love, love is one more pair of chopsticks.
Chinese New Year Rituals and Customs
We will do a major Spring Cleaning before CNY’s eve and avoid throwing away the trash during the 15 days of CNY as we want to avoid throwing all the good luck in the house.
Having Reunion Dinners on CNY’s eve it’s just like having meals during Christmas Eve. It’s a very important meal as compared And Stay up late during Chinese New Year Eve and when asked, the common answer is that the longer you stay up, the longer your parents will live.
Wearing brand new clothes and shoes, I remembered once I wore black when I was 15, my grandma got really angry. Then my mom scolded me for wearing black or white, as they’re associated with mourning. It is disrespecting to all family members in the family. It’s auspicious to wear red and rosy colours to celebrates events.
Do not break ceramics or glass. Since young, grandma said that it’s a taboo that’s believed to bring misfortune and money loss to the person who broke the item throughout the year. Thankfully, there are ways to rectify the situation if it happens to you. My aunt taught us to wrap the broken item with a piece of red paper or cloth and murmur auspicious phrases such as “sui sui ping an”. As sui can refer to both “year” and “broken”, it’s a way to expel the bad luck and has you remain safe and sound.
Giving angbao (hongbao) Every kids favourite moment of the festive -getting angbao from the adults. Thus, with a deeper meaning, it’s a gift of blessing, they’re traditionally gifted from an elder or parent to children, or really anyone who’s unmarried.
Despite the current situation of Covid-19, let’s celebrate this Chinese New Year, by create new memories and preserve traditions in safety manners by all means. Let’s bring love, joy and laughter to people who treasure the most. Have a wonderful festive season! Happy Chinese New Year!
Chinese New Year is the time to reunite with relatives and friends. It is the season filled with food, family, fun. Nothing can bet the comfort of delicious food that pass down through traditions from many generation. Fried Prawn crackers (sometimes also referred to as “shrimp chips”, cantonese “Ha Peen”) is a colorful and signature snack for any Chinese New Year celebration. As a Cantonese family, we love to serve prawn crackers as it represent happiness and wishes individual laughter through the whole year.
Prawn crackers are deep fried and expand like a flower when dropped in hot oil. If you’re worried about being tempted by calorie-filled Chinese New Year treats, then this fried vegetable cracker might be something you want to replace with the traditional prawn crackers.
Avoid Making Mistakes
Fried crackers were a fun treat, and we never missed the opportunity to see these prepared. A small little piece of plastic-like chip, but when dropped in oil, the magic happens, and they turn into the most delicious things any ages would love to eat. Frying crackers actually is simple yet difficult, it required lots of patience and controlling the heat of the oil.
We do not recommend it to put a lot at one go as you can see that it will burn off easily, we suggest to put a few pieces at one go.
Happy New Year everyone! We all hope you have a great time celebrating with family and friends.
While Chinese New Year is around the corner, it’s always good to have something hearty and with wok-hay flavour on the table. This dish represents wok-hay in all ways. Wok hay is a Cantonese phrase used to describe a particular essence and aroma that is created in a dish when authentic stir-frying is performed. “Hay” means “energy” or “breath”; therefore, “wok hay” means “the energy or breath of a wok”.
Traditionally, it is a custom for Winter to eat glutinous rice. During the solar term, Cantonese not only dress the most but also eat some stomach-warming things to keep out the cold, such as glutinous rice. Glutinous rice warms the stomach and nourishes the stomach, replenishing qi and blood. It is most suitable for eating in the cold winter, and it will feel warm all over the body.
This Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage, commonly also known as Chinese sticky rice is loaded with dried shrimp, sausage, shiitake mushrooms, and a flavorful sauce that’s all cooked up in the rice cooker! It’s an easy way to make this deliciously popular Cantonese dish!
Preparing the Glutinous Rice
As you will need to cool the glutinous rice before frying it with the ingredients, prepare it ahead first. Our first try with the glutinous rice is a failure. We try cooking it like the usual rice and it turns out mushy. Thus on our second try, we steam the rice on a cloth instead. The grains of rice are tender with just the right amount of stickiness, no mushy rice or wet clumps!
Start by preparing it overnight, soaking the glutinous rice in water or for at least 6 hours. Next day rinse the glutinous rice, drain and leave it on the cloth on the steamer. We leave it to air dry more to get rid the excess water before bringing it to steam for 15 minutes on high temperature.
Main Ingredients
Chinese Sausage
Chinese sausage (Cantonese is known as Lap Cheong, 腊肠) is made from fatty pork. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine, and soy sauce. Depending on the brand, the sausage itself can be quite tough. But once cooked with the rice, it becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender. The fat and sweetness melt into the gooey rice and taste so good!!!
Dried Shiitake Mushroom
We highly recommend using dried shiitake mushrooms because they have an intense smoky flavour that fresh ones do not have. To prepare it, soak it in the water overnight. Use a bowl to cover your soaking mushroom, making sure it is submerged well.
Sauces
The sauces are the main lead that allows all the ingredients to combine well in the pot. Combine all the sauces well ahead before you start cooking. You will need chicken stock, oyster sauce, sesame oil, light and dark soy sauce.
Why there’s Lotus Leaf?
Many would wonder why do we serve it with lotus leaf even it wasn’t Lotus Rice. We did it for a few reasons, we love the scent of the lotus leaf and it is also pretty to serve it to the guest when coming to gatherings. However, the most important reason is that it traps heat and avoid glutinous rice to turn cold.
Undeniable, having too much of glutinous rice you will feel bloated. Therefore without a doubt, there are left-overs, the lotus leaf served an important purpose as you could wrap and restream it. When you steam it, the lotus leaf infused a great fragrance into the glutinous rice.
How to wash a lotus leaf? We got the dry lotus leaf instead of the fresh one where it’s easier to find in the market, all you need is use a wet cloth and clean it. And you are all ready to use. However, for the dry lotus leaf, you need to dip it in the hot water for 20 mins allowing the flavour of the lotus flows out. Only remove the water when you are ready to use as it dries up fast. After remove from the pot use a dry cloth dap and dry it.
Despite we living in a tropical country in Singapore, we don’t experince Winter but during the period of the solar term, we do felt colder than other days of the year. While during this period, having a little flavourful like this wasn’t a bad idea. A quick, tasty dish prepared without a hassle, Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage delivers a balanced smoky, savoury & sweet taste.
Sticky rice with Chinese sausage is a dim sum favorite, and really easy to make at home. You’ll be delighted with this authentic Chinese sticky rice recipe!
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked sticky rice (400g, also known as “Sweet Rice” or “Glutinous Rice”)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup chicken stock (60 ml)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
¼ cup dried shrimp (soaked for 15 minutes in warm water)
1 medium onion (finely diced)
5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water until softened and diced)
3 links Chinese sausage (cut into small discs)
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
white pepper (to taste)
▢ 2 scallions (chopped)
▢ Cilantro (to garnish, optional)
Methods
You can also use our method for soaking and steaming the sticky rice to pre-cook it.
Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauces, sesame oil, chicken stock, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 30 seconds to bring out the flavor. Next, add the onion, mushrooms and Chinese sausage, and stir-fry for another minute, taking care not to burn the onion. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
Add all of the cooked sticky rice to the wok and break it up as much as possible with a spatula. Spoon half of the sauce mixture over the rice (it helps to add the sauce over any clumps of rice to help break them up). Mix well, using a scooping motion to ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok. Add the rest of the sauce and stir-fry until the rice is uniform in color.
Season with white pepper to taste and mix in the scallions. You can serve it as is…or if you want to get fancy, you can pack the rice into a nice round bowl rinsed in warm water and turn it over on a plate. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
While the weather is getting warmer, we craved for something light and sweet fragrance. Therefore you might like to try this Apple Blossom Tea with Rose Petal – it has a refreshing and nice taste.
What? Apple Blossom? While many people don’t know, they are edible and it can be made into tea. This flower has a white trumpet shape and is very beautiful. It originates from China, it’s similar to the western flower. It has a beautiful texture and colour, which made us in love with Apple Blossom. It has the functions of nourishing blood or relieving neuralgia, improving eyesight, removing acne and whitening.
It best collocation will be Apple Blossom, Rose and Orange Blossom (not able to get it this time due to out-of-stock), three kinds of flowers with tea, unique taste, can nourish the blood, promote blood circulation, regulate blood qi, and relieve depression, regulate endocrine and nourish the uterus. Ladies who often experience menstrual pain may wish to drink more.
Understand their Benefits
Do you know the effect of the combination of Apple Blossoms and Roses? Long-term drinking of rose blossom apple blossom and tea brewed together can break down greasy and reduce fat accumulation in the body. At the same time, it can fully supplement plant fibre and let the body, gradually becoming thinner, can make the formerly obese body slimmer.
Apple Blossom Apple Blossom has the effects of moisturizing the lungs, delighting the heart, promoting body fluids, appetizing, and sobering wine. It can prevent high blood pressure, and apple phenol can also inhibit allergic reactions and have a certain anti-allergy effect.
We also learned that it has the effects of invigorating blood, detoxifying, treating pimples, acne and nourishing beauty. But it does not just benefit the ladies. It helping individuals to improve their digestion, strengthening the liver and promoting blood circulation, strengthening the stomach and regulating intestines.
Rose Petals Who does love rose petals, it smells amazing and the sweet fragrance helps one to relax! There are hundreds of types of rose but Drinking rose tea is a great source of vitamins and antioxidants. It is also free of caffeine, sugar, and calories. It contains Vitamins E and C, which are some of the best vitamins to promote healthy skin, especially when taken together.
While you can use fresh rose petal for this tea, but to our convenient, we got the rosebud in the herbal store. There are many kinds of rosebud, it provides different aroma and colour to the tea. For this recipe, we got the Austria Rosebud which has a bright purplish pink colour. To keep the rosebud longer keep it away from the sunlight and in a dry and cool place.
Rinse the teacup and teapot with hot water. Use about 2 teaspoons for every 500ml of water. Infuse in hot water at 90°c (194°F) to 95°c (203°F) for 2 to 4 minutes for the first and second brewing. Gradually increase steeping time and temperature for subsequent brewing.
Put an appropriate amount of dried scented tea into the teapot, add two portions of full boiled water, shake it several times and pour it out quickly.
Pour the boiling water 80% full again, cover the cup and let it stand for 10 minutes, and drink at a suitable temperature. If honey is needed, add it after the tea is cool down.
Do take note
Although Apple Blossom Tea with Rose Petal has many benefits to the human body, there are also many contraindications when it is taken orally. The most important gastrointestinal dysfunction should not have it, otherwise, it will increase the burden on the stomach. People with low blood pressure should not drink Apple Blossom Tea. Contrarily, the blood pressure will drop further, and people will have physical discomfort due to low blood pressure.
Flora and herbs tea is great but doesn’t intake just single type, try a variety for the different benefits and it will help to build one body stronger. We hope that you enjoyed the Osmanthus Longan Tea we shared previous week and rejoining us for more of our favourite flora and herbal drink.
Rinse the teacup and teapot with hot water. Use about 2 teaspoons for every 500ml of water. Infuse in hot water at 90°c (194°F) to 95°c (203°F) for 2 to 4 minutes for the first and second brewing. Gradually increase steeping time and temperature for subsequent brewing.
Put an appropriate amount of dried scented tea into the teapot, add two portions of full boiled water, shake it several times and pour it out quickly.
Pour the boiling water 80% full again, cover the cup and let it stand for 10 minutes, and drink at a suitable temperature. If honey is needed, add it after the tea is cool down.
Citrus trees are trendy. The proliferation of portable trees—grafted onto dwarf rootstock—makes it possible for almost anyone to grow a lemon, lime, mandarin orange or kumquat without having a large space.
With the rise in popularity comes the challenge of citrus care, especially in climates with hard winters, when the subtropical trees must overwinter for months indoors in conditions that can be stressful to the plants (and sometimes to their owners). Indoor winter conditions are challenging, with lower humidity, higher and drier heat, and more difficult watering protocols.
To help take some of the stressful guesswork out of watering citrus, buy a moisture meter. Insert it fully into the growing medium. In larger pots it is helpful to take two to three readings in different spots. It will prevent us to over water or under water the plant.
The reward is exquisite and engages all our senses: being able to smell citrus blossom in your home in winter, and to pick and eat fragrant leaves and ripe fruit from your very own tree. Especially during the Chinese New Year, isn’t it nice to add some colours to the house?
We are very particular about our food. No surprise there. On daily basis, we spend time to cook a table of great food for our family or friends. That goes without saying, we pay attention with two special occasions – we’ll spend a couple of months ahead to prep for Chinese New Year and Christmas. It’s our favourite time of the year to spend time with our love ones.
So, while we were planning and practising our new recipes for Chinese New Year – Joe has a sudden thought and suggested recreating our grandma favourite Chinese Tea Eggs. Our grandma love Tea Eggs so much that we often will purchsase them in the herbal store ans crack it up for her. We cann never stop eating them.
Traditional vs Modern Method
Every time we pass by the herb store, we will see a pot full of Chinese tea eggs boiling in the pot. It tastes bursting with the flavour of that smoky, spiced herbal tea all the way through however with a rubbery egg white and powdery yolk texture- they are using the traditional method. This time we decided to give the modern method a try, marinating them in the tea like the Japanese onsen egg.
How to cook using the traditional method? Traditionally, tea eggs need to be cooked twice. The eggs are cooked until hard-boiled the first time and then cooked in a savoury marinade for several hours. Start by boiling the eggs, cracked their shells, and boiled them some more in a herbal tea broth for around 6 hours.
How to cook using the modern method? For the contemporary tea eggs, we boiled the eggs for 8 minutes (a perfect hard-boil by French standards), shocked them under cold water to halt the cooking process, and then marinated the eggs whole in the exact same herbal tea broth, chilled, for a whole 24 hours or up to 4 days.
What type of tea to use?
In terms of tea, you are pretty free to choose whatever is available in your cupboard. Lots of local use loose green tea or jasmine tea since they are the most common types in Chinese households. We discovered that black tea bags are a great choice too. They are darker, stronger, and they save your time: you don’t need to deal with tea leaves which become stuck to the eggs.
Some recommendation of teas is Pu Er, Jasmine Tea and Oolong Black Tea.
Light Soy Sauces vs Dark Soy Sauces
In a Cantonese family like ours, you will find all sort of huge bottles of condiments in our kitchen. For someone who preferred neat, it’s the messiest things I hate to see. But, I couldn’t be more agree that these are the essentials we need for our daily cooking! Both Soy Sauces serve a different purpose, while the light soy sauce adds in freshness and salt to the egg, the dark soy sauce help to give colour and sweetness.
How to cook them?
Now you have all your ingredients you can start cooking them. In a pot bring 4 cups of water to boil then slowly add in the eggs. Place the saucepan over high heat and cook for 8 minutes. Now, use the back of a tablespoon to gently tap all over the eggshell. You’ll want to tap hard enough to break the outer shell slightly, but don’t tap so hard that the inner membrane tears as well.
In the meantime, we pack the herbs and tea leaves in a soup/ tea bags so that we can remove the tea and herb easily later. Add in the tea bags and cook for 30 minutes and off the heat. Then cover the pot with lid for 4 hours till it cools down before moving it to the fridge.
Tea steeped with spices such as cinnamon, cloves and star anise gives these Chinese Tea Eggs a truly unique aroma and flavor. The dark color of the tea seeps into the very lightly cracked egg shell to create a really cool marble effect. We can never stop having them.
One of my favorite dishes when we head back home; it combines hard-boiled eggs with the subtle flavor of anise and the deep brown hues of black tea and soy. The cracked patterns from the broken shells make these quite attractive!
Ingredients
Eggs
3 Star Anise
1 tsp of Sichuan Peppercorn
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
tea bags 5 – we uses black tea
1 tbsp of regular soy sauce
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
Methods
Bring the eggs to room temperature by leaving them out of refrigerator for a couple hours.
In a pot bring 4 cups of water to boil then slowly add in the eggs. Place the saucepan over high heat and cook for 8 minutes. Now, use the back of a tablespoon to gently tap all over the eggshell. You’ll want to tap hard enough to break the outer shell slightly, but don’t tap so hard that the inner membrane tears as well.
In the meantime, we pack the herbs and tea leaves in soup/ tea bags so that we can remove the tea and herb easily later. Add in the tea bags and cook for 30 minutes and off the heat. Then cover the pot with lid for 4 hours till it cools down before moving it to the fridge.
Soak the cracked eggs in your sauce base for 24 hours in the refrigerator, making sure all the eggs are completely submerged in the sauce base. After 24 hours, they’re ready! You can also soak them longer for a stronger flavor. These eggs last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
It is has been a depressing start of the year, it has been raining almost every day since the last day of 2020. To bring a new spark in our busy, dull life, we decide to visit a traditional tea house – Tea Chapter. We want to take a pause and enjoy the slow pace of life with an appreciation of the Art of Tea. This isn’t a modern hipster place but it captures our heart without a beat! It located along a row of shophouses at Neil Road. It’s well-furnished despite the interior release vibes of a Chinese traditional courtyard (Siheyuan, 四合院). Level one is their retail shop while level 2 and 3 is the Tea House. It might look small exterior but it’s another world of the city.
I love Chinese tea since I was a kid, I followed my late grandma to brew tea with her Purple Clay Teapot that I treasured it lots even till now. Chinese tea is special, they tasted differently each time when you slip it. For the Chinese culture, we taste tea (品茶) instead of drinking it, as tea appreciation is an art and it is similar to the Japanese tea ceremony. The instructor told us that, “Always smell it before drink it. The first sip is to cleanse your palette. The second sip is taken like wine, tasting it with a bit of swirling in your mouth. The third sip is taken like beer, to enjoy its aftertaste.”
Tea Chapter has an amazing atmosphere, it is a beautiful place for someone who wants to enjoy tea by themselves or to call up a group of friends to appreciate tea together. There are different rooms and seating arrangement at the 3-stories traditional tea house; Oriental Room, Korean Room and Japanese Seating. We preferred to seat on the chair therefore Joe and I decide to book the Oriental Room (with an additional charge of $5 for reserving the Oriental Room and Korean Room).
Upon reaching the reception, we were asked to remove our shoe and place in a shoe cabinet. The receptionist will give us a quick tour of the space they have. And we were lead to our Oriental room (which they only have 2 of it), the lady kindly explained that the room next to us that is occupied, used to served the Queen of England was one of Tea Chapter’s most distinguished guests. Photos we shared were the room that Queen Elizeberth was served, you can find the photo on the wall.
Unlike the experience you have in Tea Parlour, in a traditional Tea House, we make our own tea, it is a kind of self-cultivation and practising the tea of arts. We asked for a demonstration from the instructor, she patiently introduces us to all the tea wares and also the steps. We order Dong Ding Oolong (Taiwan tea is stronger, that why required a higher temperature to brewing it, at 95 degrees.)
After which the instructor leaves us alone where we spend a quality time to make the tea ourselves and enjoy our afternoon. The cutlery and tea set is well-chosen by Tea Chapter making the whole experience more authentic.
At Tea Chapter there is also a wide range of snack and desserts somewhere is really interesting as they use tea in the dishes, such as the Oolong Sweet Potato and the Tea Egg that we all know. There is so many to try for the first time, the next time we head there I’m going to give the Chapter 7 Cookies and Pu Er Tea Jelly a try too.
We encourage you to give a call and reserved in through Facebook to book their special room. As during the weekend, it is usually fully booked. We are excited to head back again for some relaxing retreating with tea!
As a Chinese, the start of a new year usually never really begin without the Chinese New Year. It is one of the biggest festivals we are celebrating. When it comes to food we treat it seriously. From auspicious dishes to the tiny details like dining ware, we carefully decide what to be served on the table. In the old days, the elderly always said, “You never want to place something that is inauspicious at the beginning of the brand new year, as bad luck might follow you throughout”. Scientifically, it is superstitious but it is also tradition we should preserve and pass on.
While we love the simplicity of our daily life however during such festive, it is an honour to bring out the most beautiful utensils and dining ware on the table. It makes the dishes look amazingly rosy on the glorious pattern. The patterns that you always spot on the Chinaware usually they are Chinese mystic creatures, an illustration of auspicious tales and homophobic, such as Dragon, Phoenix, Fish and Flowers.
Gold, Yellow, Red and China Blue(s) are the favourites during the Chinese New Year. Times we will also add in flowers such as orchids are considered to be symbolic of ‘many children’ or fertility and abundance in Chinese culture, and signify refinement, luxury and innocence.
There are so many to add to one table. Are you excited to change some of this beautiful dining ware for the reunion dinner?
Have you felt guilty of having too much delicious indulgent during the festive season? Honestly, many of us must have resumed a healthier diet by now but there times we can’t avoid having amazing food. Although fruit juice and smoothie are great hence we like to share with you more alternative after having your meal. Green tea, white tea they are great for after meal to wash away the grease but they might not be suitable for all type of body.
We have compiled a series of our favourite flora and herbal drinks to assist you in your daily health routine. You can decide which is best for your body and having them during and after meals (Speciality for those who have a weak stomach, we do not recommend you to have Coffee or Tea with an empty stomach, always good to have something light before drinking it). Many of our recipes are inspired by our mom and her collection of Chinese Medicine books on her shelves. Thanks to her interests, since young we learned and understand the benefit of the food we contact. We studied from Compendium of Materia Medica, each of the flora and herbs has a different benefit and will help us to cleanses and regain a healthier, stronger body.
This drink is great remdey for Winter. It has been pretty cold in Singapore lately, so we decided to share with you a drink that could warm your body for a
While Osmanthus Tea, a sweet-smelling flower, osmanthus is warming and nourishes the lungs hence it is tasteless without sugar. BUT we do not like to add sugar in our drinks so we have replace it with Goji Berries, Dried Longans and Chinese Red Dates (also called jujubes). There 3 herbs go very well togther, natually they are as sweet as the honey so it great for any time of the day to warm your stomach.
Understand their Benefits
Osmanthus Osmanthus is a well-known herb that can improve skin, detoxify the body, reduce thick saliva in the throat and boost lung health. In practice, osmanthus tea is often consumed when one suffers from dry skin or hoarseness. During the cold weather, we tend to have dry skin and throat and this will be your favourite remedy from now on!
Chinese Red Date (Jujubes) According to TCM, red dates help replenish and nourish your blood, thus improving blood circulation. This can lead to better liver and digestive function, the balance of inner body energy (qi) and improved immunity. This is our favourite herb to use in both tea and herbal soup. For instance, if you are making Winter Melon soup (it consider very cooling, for those with cold feet and hands usually are not recommended), you will want to add in a few Chinese Red Date (hence adding other herbs it can change the effect of the soup) as it helps to balance the effect the soup provide for our body.
Goji Berries Goji Berries are great for the eye and improving immune systemsupport. For those who work long hours in front of a desktop or look at smart gadget, you can always add a few into your tea or soup.However, we do not recommend adding too many, usually 3-5 pieces in a small cup of tea. As to your surprise, Goji Berries is slightly bitter-sweet.
Dried White Longan There are two kinds of dried longan; black and white. While black longan is suitable for boiling herbal soup, white is great for making tea and eat on its own. In Chinese medicine, dried Longan is great for blood circulation and therefore it’s great for ladies and anyone who works late night.
Importance of brew tea
To brew tea, you steep it in the right temperature of the water. Steeping is the process of extracting the flavour and health-promoting compounds from the solids used to make tea. Brewing tea with water that is too hot will damage the tea. Too cold, and the leaves won’t open to their fullest potential.
After bringing the longan and dates to boil, cool the water for a while till 85ºC before adding the goji berries and osmanthus flower.
As dried longans are pretty sweet, there is no need for additional sugar. However, you can add in some brown sugar if you like. Red dates and dried longans are the only must-haves for this recipe, we only added the goji berries because we happened to have them on hand, you could even add ginger if you like!
Besides being a delicious tea, Osmanthus Longan Tea is also good for skin complexion – so ladies (and gentlemen alike), drink up!
Slightly rinse the dates, longan and goji berries under the hot water to remove the dirts.
In a pot add red dates and longans in a pot of water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Add in the goji berries, and osmanthus leaves and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Strain the tea. Add sugar (preferably dark brown sugar) if needed. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.
Ultimate Gray and Illuminating, announced as Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2021 – a combination of dull, familiar gray and the bright yellow of lemon skin. It’s a choice for the past year of quarantine, a time in which we had to insulate ourselves from the world and curl up in monochrome blankets at home: “It’s a dependable gray,” as Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, told the New York Times.
Every year we are anticipating the release of the Pantone colours. Pantone Color Institute always deliver a powerful message and story that relateable to our everyday life. The colours of the year not just aid and shape the designers in their creativity and development. But the power of colours involves hugely in our present day.
It shapes our mood in our home and lifestyle, a little swap at home with your pillow and throws over it makes a huge different! We love the combination of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating as it established itself in both our natural and lifestyle surroundings as an embodiment of dynamic activity at home today. We are ready for a swap for this brand new year how about you?
Many of you who follow our blog must know how much we enjoy Japanese cuisine. Not only we love to eat them we learn to make it. After rounds of practice, we decide to share with you our thoughts of making Chawanmushi. We have prepared this guide for you – you can master this silky smooth Chawanmushi (savoury soft egg custard) with flavourful and delicately flavoured. this sophisticated dish can be cooked in 30 minutes.
Chawanmushi (Savory Egg Custard/茶碗蒸し) is a delicate and savoury Japanese appetizer that we are familiar with and this is one of our favourite Japanese dishes that always warmth our stomach.
There are many interesting variations and seasonal ingredients such as shrimp, fish, or veggies are often included. Because it’s highly customizable, this savoury egg custard can be homey or fancy depending what goes into it. To get you started, we’ll be sharing a basic Chawanmushi recipe with chicken today.
Importance of good dashi
A good stock is the foundation of an excellent chawanmushi. Dashi stock is the common stock for the authentic chawanmushi. However, you can use chicken stock/ powder dashi that we use for this recipe as the alternative as chawanmushi is a very flexible recipe.
However to prepare umami dashi all you need are only three ingredients required to prepare this Japanese stock- kombu(dry kelp/ 昆布), katsuobushi(dried bonito flake/柴魚片) with some water. The combination of kombu and katsuobushi is always more significant than the stand-alone individual. You will immediately notice the aroma and flavour that you are familiar with at the Japanese restaurants.
However this pack of bonito dashi that we got from mediya also contain all the flavours we needed, most importantly we can have it instantly.
Ratio of stock into egg
The egg to stock ratio is critical because it will determine the firmness of the custard. The custard will break if there is too much stock and no longer smooth and silky if it is too little. As long as you remember the 3:1 ratio of soup stock to egg, you can make chawanmushi from any combination of ingredients.
Then the mixture should be strained through a fine-mesh sieve, such as a tea strainer. This removes any remaining clumps of egg white and chalaza that can affect the texture of the steamed egg.
Once your custard is done, you can add your mix-ins to some heat-safe cups and divide the egg mixture evenly between them. Be sure to pour it into the cups slowly to avoid introducing new air bubbles. These get covered with lids, or if you don’t have any, you can use aluminium foil.
Common ingredients used in chawanmushi
The filling can be as simple as diced chicken meat and kamaboko (steamed fish cakes), or as luxurious as dried scallops, shrimps, ginkgo nuts, and shiitake mushrooms.
Mushroom It’s important to have mushroom, in the Chawanmushi for us, usually, shitake mushroom is been used but this time we got the white mushroom as you don’t have to soak it overnight like the shitake mushroom.
Chicken There’s always a protein in the chawanmushi, it can be prawn, scollop or ever oyster but this time we used chicken breast as there is too many seafoods on our table (we are having a sashimi dinner).
Carrots/ Edemame
Ginkgo Ginkgo seeds (we didn’t have it this round) are commonly added into the custard in Japan. Remove the shell by knocking it with the back of the knife. Cut the ginkgo seed into two, and remove seed coat by rubbing it lightly as well as the embryo with a toothpick.
How to steam it?
The duration and temperature of steaming as indicated in the recipe is only a guideline, as actual timing and heat depending on the size of the bowl and the stove that you use. Steam over low heat to ensure not to overcook the custard. Rapid boiling water will cause the custard puff up during steaming and collapse during cooling, leaving unsightly holes like a crater. Do not open the lid during steaming to avoid a sudden drop in temperature that may cause the custard to deflate and collapse.
Luxury of sea flavours
When the chawanmushi is done, they can be served hot or cold. I like to garnish them with additional toppings before serving, but this is totally optional. Chawanmushi might look simple but it’s required your patience as you may undercook or overcook it.
During a special occasion, we always like to eat chawanmushi with Uni (sea urchin) and Ikura (salmon roe) on top. Chawanmushi is topped with Salmon roe before serving, providing a salty pop and a nice textural contrast.
This delicate dish can be served hot, warm, or cold in a small lidded cup, and since it can’t be eaten with chopsticks, it’s one of few Japanese dishes that are traditionally consumed with a spoon. Ikura chawanmushi is traditionally served as an appetizer (but we eat it like a snack as it is so additive during the cold weather!)
Delicate and savoury, Chawanmushi is a classic Japanese steamed egg custard served in a cup. Learn how to make this appetizer for a true Japanese home cooking experience. Your guests will be impressed!
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
375 ml Dashi stock
1 shiitake mushrooms
2 pieces of Fish cake
1 chicken breast, sliced in cube
Methods
Start by preparing the filling: Cut off stem of shiitake mushrooms and cut it into thin slices. Slice fish cakes thinly and set aside. Cut the chicken breast into small chuck cube.
Prepare the egg mixture: In a large bowl egg, soy sauce and mirin together with chopsticks and try not to whisk too much to avoid aerating egg. Pour Dashi stock into the ball small amount at a time and mix with egg gradually. Use a strainer, strain the egg mixture in order to achieve silky soft texture when it is steamed.
Divide the mixture and filling into 3 teacups(or mugs or ramekins). Steam the chawanmushi in a steamer of boiled water, place teacups in the pot and turn down to low heat. Put the lid on and steam about 7 – 10 minutes.
It is a luxury for those who plant their own herbs. For those who have no time usually we purchase off shelve. Have you ever wonder what to do with the leftover herbs after prepping all the meals? Most of us might just let it rot and ended up in the trash bin! One of our new year resolutions is to reduce wastes – there are various ways to avoid wasting food. Such as make them into herb butter, homemade soaps or even just dried them up as dried herbs for meals or tea.
There is another method that you might be in interested with – making your own Infused Herb Oil. If you love to make flavourful dishes like us; you might want to pay attention to the use of oil.
Truffle Oil, Chilli Oil or even Garlic Oil, all these infused oils provide great flavour for your dishes. But these various type of infused oil on the shelve, they can burn your pocket! We decide to make ours and the result is just stunning. Now, you can make your own oil without a fuss.
Sterilize it all the time
When coming to preparing your food, remember that water is the enemy of all! It contains different germs to your imagination. So always dry your plates and cup carefully before serving your food on it.
When coming to homemade food, water is the enemy of your food. Once in sterilised jars like this your preserves should keep for about 6 months in a cool, dark place compared to those you don’t. Start by washing your jars and the lids in hot soapy water, but do not dry them. Instead, leave them to stand upside down on a roasting tray while they’re still wet. Pop the tray of clean, wet jars and lids into a preheated oven at 160-180ºC for about 15 mins.
What oil to use?
Your infused oil should be used exclusively for drizzling over soups, as a dip for good bread, and in vinaigrettes. You’re not cooking with it, so skip the neutral, high-smoke point oils, like canola, vegetable, and grapeseed. Instead, use olive oil that has a buttery, sweet flavour profile. Avoid olive oils that are grassy, herbaceous, and bitter—while those are great on their own, they don’t combine with infused flavours well. Not sure what oils are buttery and neutral-tasting? Choose blended oils, rather than single-origin oils. Not only are blends less expensive, but they are also less assertive and strongly-flavoured.
What kind of Herbs can I use?
Making your infused oils are a great way to add flavour to your cooking. An assortment of herbs and spices can be used depending on your tastes and cooking style. You can use either fresh or dried herbs. We preferred fresh herbs as it gives a stronger flavour.
Except the oil won’t keep as long and needs to be stored in a cool dry place or in the fridge. We suggested you make your own infused oil with the staple you have at home. Here a few suggestions, don’t be afraid to mix and match:
Basil
Garlic
Chillies
Clove
Rosemary
Coriander
Oregano
Tarragon
Thyme
Peppercorn
Sage
Cumin
Here are a little recap of how to make the perfect infused oil!
Wash your herbs and dry completely**
Bruise or rub herbs, for spices toast them to bring out the flavour
Place in a clean dry glass jar.
Add oil until it completely covers the herbs/spices.
Place a lid on the jar and close
Place the jar on a dry and dark place. Swirl or shake the jar every day or so.
While it is easy to get my blend of infused oil in the supermarket, but making infused oils, from tarragon to chilli, rosemary to lemon, is an easy way to transform your cooking, and reduce food waste in the process! We have read lots of advisories that recommend you to stay away from fresh herbs since there is a rare chance of a bacterial infection. As mentioned before one of the ways to combat this is to use the warm infusion method, keep the oil refrigerated and use within a week or ten days. Wash and dry the herbs thoroughly, preferably in the hot sun for several hours or by roasting them in the oven for some time.
Start by washing your jars and the lids in hot soapy water, but do not dry them. Instead, leave them to stand upside down on a roasting tray while they’re still wet. Pop the tray of clean, wet jars and lids into a preheated oven at 160-180ºC for about 15 mins.
Slightly bruise your herbs with a wooden roller to release their oils. Add the herbs to the bottles. You don’t need a large quantity of herbs; depending on the pungency and freshness of the herbs, a sprig or two should sufficiently infuse the oil.
Heat the oil over low heat in a saucepan just until warm. Carefully pour the oil into the bottles, over the herbs. Allow the contents to cool.
If you used fresh herbs, you will need to strain them out of the oil by pouring the oil from the bottle through a strainer or coffee filter, and into a new bottle. Dried herbs can remain in the oil, but the oil will stay fresh a bit longer if they are also strained out.
Once the herbs are removed, seal the bottles with lids or corks. Allow them to sit in a cool spot out of direct sunlight for about one week before using.
Rattan has been widely used in many years ago, we have it in the house since young. There are also many handmade shops in Singapore’s Chinatown in the olden days where it is hardly able to spot it now. While bamboo is the trend now but to us, rattan is more flexible to use when it comes to furniture.
If you are thinking about getting a feature piece in your home, this is it. A piece of furniture like this could also replace your feature wall. The wooden/rattan type of material used is very oriental. Did you know that rattan weaving is linked with Chinese history dating back more than 2,000 years?
If you’d like it to assimilate it with the rest of the interior, paint the shelf with colours similar to the theme of your room. If your style is a little more eclectic, you don’t have to do anything at all; just ensure that you arrange the items such as books, photos, and ornaments attractively.
2020 has been a challenging year for all of us, it’s a year full of trials. The earth is ill from many disasters that we all didn’t anticipate. Then it followed by the century pandemic – Covid-19, we feel like it was yesterday when we celebrating the Chinese New Year and we are still planning for our holiday. But none has happened, and before we realised it, the year is going to end in two days.
It must be so depressing for many people out there including, including our friends and loved ones. During the last 10 months (since the outbreak started), we decided that we should never stop moving because we aspire to continue to send our loves through our content to our readers. Before we begin 2021 this Friday, we would like to take a chance to look back, to reflect on what happened this year!
Due to the lockdown, we spent the time to explore and expand our horizon by trying new things and habits. While we are been quarantined at home and was ask to head out for only the necessity, we learn to make use of the space we have at home and enjoy it to the fullest. First, and this is something that has taken us months to recognise – the last few months have been a surprisingly productive time. Joe has built you a better and healthier lifestyle by waking up early, to exercise or even read a book. We got to try out more interesting recipes than what we usually would.
We miss the normal. Like shaking hands with colleagues, chit-chatting with the nice people in the supermarket, hugging my friends, travel for work and pleasure. And yet, this horrible time has also shown us our remarkable ability to cope, adapt, and learn. We learn to love ourselves more and the people around us. The distance with our friends makes us realise we need to communicate with each other more especially during this tough time.
We learn to spend more quality time with family and appreciate the gift of loves. While having more time we have with the family members means that we will have more friction, however, we are able to learn to be more patient with each other. We also practice gratitude to our family and the essential worker who work hard for us during this tough time knowing it is a tough time.
Yay! So proud with Joe, she have started her online business @chacha.bakehouse. With the brunt cheesecake in trend and after sharing it with friends and family, she was like why not start her own home bakes too. It’s been a challenging and new task for her, learning to communicate with the buyers and how to cope her time.
Glad that with circuit breaker being over we are able to spend times with friends and family that we misses although we still need to practise safety distancing. The most memorable moments for this year will be spend the time with friends and family during Christmas. Seeing everyone gathered together makes us understand the importances of having each other.
Thank you 2020 taught us to be strong and brave to face the challenges ahead of us. We are unsure what is coming forward but we know that we will continue to stay vigilant to fight against the virus. Despite, Singapore is a safer country but we need to prepare for any attack that falls upon us in anytime. We are sending our prayers to all our reader out there, we hope that you will be safe and sound, to continue to support our creation. We are welcoming a new year of the decade with love, dreams, and hope.
“Oh-this’s-so-chic”, we want your guest to scream it out loud when you serve this on the table. This’s a marriage between the Black Forest Cake and Chocolate Tart. When we were young, Black Forest Cake was served during special occasion like Christmas. It wasn’t something we would get it every day. It is beautiful and coated with lots of dark chocolate and with charming cherries.
So this year we decide to fulfil our family’s favourites; we want to combine our favourite tart base and black forest cake together. We promised that this is so much easier than Black Forest Cake.
How to make a chocolate cherry tart
As long as you have a legit tart pan, you can easily make this Black Forest Tart. Here are the basics for making this chocolate cherry tart:
Make and blind bake the coconut crust — To make the crust, simply pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until a dough forms. Take the dough out and knead it slightly to ensure everything’s incorporated, then press it into the tart pan and blind bake it.
Make the chocolate cherry filling — While the crust bakes, prep the filling. You’ll need to melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, then beat the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl until they become light and fluffy. Fold in the melted chocolate and mix until combined.
Assemble and bake the tart — Pour the chocolate filling into the tart shell, then top with the pitted cherries. Push the cherries down into the filling until they’re mostly covered. Bake the chocolate cherry tart until the middle is set.
Chill and top the tart — Once the chocolate cherry tart has cooled most of the way on your countertop, pop it into the fridge to set. Once fully set, make the whipped cream and top the tart as you see fit (I topped mine with whipped cream, cherries, coconut flakes, and chocolate shavings).
Tips for making chocolate cherry tart
Use fresh cherries — For the best flavor, use fresh, in-season cherries and not frozen cherries. You can use any variety of cherry you like here!
Use bittersweet chocolate — To prevent this chocolate cherry tart from being too sweet, it’s important that you use bittersweet chocolate in the filling. Bittersweet chocolate adds richness to this tart without all the sugar.
Poke holes in the crust — To prevent the crust from puffing up while it blind bakes, prick it with a fork a few times before putting it in the oven.
We hope that this simple recipe will be a quick fix for you for your holiday meal! We’ll be taking a break for a couple or two to celebrate this favourite holiday with our family. We wished that you all will be enjoying this special holiday with your love ones! Merry Christmas and sending you our season greetings!
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
¾ cup medium or dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pitted cherries
For The Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for sprinkling
bittersweet chocolate, shaved
toasted coconut flakes
1 cup cherries
Methods
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a circular tart pan with butter and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa powder shredded coconut, and granulated sugar until they reach a powdered consistency. Pulse in salt, melted butter, and vanilla extract until everything comes together.
Remove from food processor and knead into a ball of dough. Press dough firmly onto the bottom and sides of the prepared tart pan, spreading evenly to the edges.
Prepare the crust to be blind baked. Using a fork, poke 8-10 holes into the dough, then carefully line the dough with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and turn heat down to 350°F.
While the crust is blind baking, make your filling. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter.
Using an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract on high speed until light and airy, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour the melted chocolate it into the egg mixture, beating as you pour. Beat until homogenous.
Pour batter into prepared crust and top with pitted cherries, pushing the cherries down into the batter. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge to set for 2 hours.
To make the topping, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over the pie and sprinkle with chocolate shavings, coconut flakes, cherries, and powdered sugar.
While Christmas’s eve is just tomorrow, for those who’re worried about what to prepare for the last-minute dessert that will be this recipe we are sharing – No-bake Red Cherry & Waffle Parfait. It’s easy to make and it’s a total no-brainer holiday’s menu quick-fix. Layers of quick sautéed red cherries, fresh whipped cream, and Belgian waffles make this no-bake waffle parfait a total spotlight on your Christmas party.
We gave in and purchased a few kilograms of red cherries. Besides grabbing a huge handful and devouring them all in a matter of minutes. If you are a cherry fanatic and need an excuse to eat them first thing in the morning, you’re going to love this healthy cherry waffle parfait recipe!
Red Cherry is in the Season now.
During this time of the year, we will always find red cherries in the market and usually, they are from Australia. Based on our research, their first cherry harvest starts in October/November in the eastern mainland states and extends through to late February with the majority of cherry crops harvested during December and January. Therefore we are so lucky to grab tons of our favourites during this season.
To make the sautée cherries to make it become tender, and the juices concentrate into a gorgeous light sauce simply in a pot combine cherries, lemon juice, and sugar. Smoosh cherries slightly with a fork to break them down. Cook, stirring occasionally until cherries soften and liquid thickens and evaporates almost entirely about 20 minutes. Please allow cooling to room temperature before assembling parfaits.
There’s no baking required
When coming to the holiday party we always worried that we don’t prepare enough food for our guest. And while we are busy with all the preparation for mains and sides, we want to make something that won’t fail for especially the cocktail and the dessert. Therefore, this recipe would be the saver for your holiday serving. We love this idea of no baking as usually this period the oven will be mainly taken by the roasted meat and vegetables. Thus to have dessert in the oven too, we may not able to serve the meal at all.
This recipe uses a quick sautée method to cook the cherries into the most lovely spoon fruits of sorts. You can easily double this recipe if you want to make a big batch, and save half to put over your morning yoghurt, or spread on top of a piece of toast.
3 cups black cherries, pitted (save a few whole cherries for garnishing on top)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the rest
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 Belgian waffles, broken into pieces
Methods
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine cherries, lemon juice, and sugar. Smoosh cherries slightly with a fork to break them down. Cook, stirring occasionally until cherries soften and liquid thickens and evaporates almost entirely about 20 minutes. Allow cooling to room temperature before assembling parfaits.
Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, whip heavy cream and sugar to soft peaks. Spoon layers of whipped cream, Belgian waffle pieces, and quick sautéed cherries into glasses, top with whole cherries, and serve!
For those home who are all white like us, we love to incorporate wood and green in it, where it can easier brighten up the house. Over the years, many of our Christmas ornaments have met tragic ends—that’s the price we paid when we decided to add kids and more pets to our lives. Our solution? Upcycle leftover, random-sized pieces of wood into a sturdy, but modern Christmas ornaments!
To end this wood and green is your Christmas best-friend.
Too much of the meat for this holiday season? For those who are sick of meat – we are glad to share with you this dish for your family occasion. You also might be surprised to learn how easy it is to make a salt-baked fish, it might be the most fancier dish but the taste of the fish will make your guests in love with you all over again. We promised that the results are an incredibly moist and well-seasoned fish with a gorgeous presentation! Are you ready to dive in the journey with us in making this delicious salt-baked fish!
Why Salt-Bake Fish?
Most of the dishes will lose it moist during baking and the meat of the fish will become dry and flaky. Using the salt crust keeps the fish moist and locks in the flavours of the aromatics. You can use any herbs and citrus, that you preferred, depending on your individual preferences for the serving. In order to prepare this dish – the most important of the star is the salt. You have to ensure your salt is well mixed in order to wrap the fish beautifully. In addition to the impressive presentation that uncovering a mound of salt to reveal a beautiful whole fish or chicken makes at a dinner party, salt-baking provides a few useful functions:
Insulation: The salt layer insulates food, slowing down cooking and allowing foods to cook evenly. This makes salt-baking ideal for foods that are easily overlooked, such as fish, or beef tenderloin.
Seasoning: Whole fish cooked in a salt crust will be perfectly seasoned—not too salty—once you remove the skin.
Moisture retention: The salt traps moisture within the food so that it cooks in its own juices (similar to sous vide), retaining more flavour.
How much salt do you need?
Many will be questioning, how much salt we need? Depends on how big your fish will be. We got a few boxes of salt for this medium-small fish (roughly 8 inches long ). We encourage you to purchase extra salt just incase you might estimate wrongly. Don’t worried that you using too much, do not fear of the salt!
How to make a Salt-baked Fish?
You can use any herbs you like or you already have in your kitchen for the serving. We are using garlic and spring onion for an Asian touch of taste. Thyme and English parsley are also great choices for your consideration.
You can also use any citrus you preferred. The selected choice you have in mind or a mixture of a few kinds, we used lemon, however, orange is also a good choice for a favourable festive taste. For those who like a stronger taste, onion is highly recommended.
Use two egg whites per cup of kosher salt. We got a couple of boxes for this small-ish two-pound fish.
Start by whipping the egg white in the mixer till peak. Add in the salt by portion till a sandy texture.
The Scaillions Dip you will enjoy
This Scallion Dip is a recreation from Raw Ginger Scallion Oil, it is a deceptively simple recipe that’s an absolute must when enjoying a classic Cantonese Poached Chicken. But we also find that it’s an addictive topping for almost anything and it is a perfect choice for this fish.
This version, however, is more fun. It represents the epitome of Cantonese cooking: pure flavours, simple preparation, and very little added spice or seasoning. It consists of raw garlic, raw scallion, oil, and salt. That’s it!
Don’t you think this is gorgeous? We think that it’s awesome for a party serving for this holiday season, it is a beautiful main for you to showcase your technique as host! What more, it is an easy last minute that you just need a super fresh fish, some herbs and citrus, lots of salt and stuff in the oven for 20 minutes!
We hope that you will enjoy this dish as we do, try it and share with us your version of salt-baked fish! We are excited to exchange with you of the beauty in great food! Happy holiday!
A whole salt-baked fish is an easy recipe for entertaining. It’s a showstopper that will wow your guests, but keep you stress-free. It can be made with almost any combination of aromatic herbs and citrus, perfect year-round for dinner parties or holiday meals.
Ingredients
1kg of kosher salt
3 egg white
2 sliced lemon
Spring onion
3 cloves garlic
One 2 1/2-pound whole dorade or red snapper with scales, gutted
2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt, for serving
Scallions Dip
2 scallions
(must have white parts, 50g)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vegetable oil (120 ml)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Methods
Preheat oven to 220 degrees.
Remove fins from fish. Or ask your fish monger to do so. They can be bony and difficult. Stuff the cavity of the fish with the herbs (stems and all) and sliced citrus.
Mix salt and egg whites until the mixture becomes the consistency of wet sand. Put a layer of the salt mixture onto the sheet pan. and place the stuffed fish on top. Smear the rest of the salt mixture over the body of the fish – you can leave the head and tail exposed. It doesn’t need to be too thick, but enough so that it forms a coating that isn’t see-through or cracking.
Place the fish in the oven and cook about 8 minutes per pound until the flesh is about 48 to 55 degrees. This fish took a little longer than that – I checked after 16 minutes, then gave it another 5 and checked again. It took a little over 20 minutes in all.
Gently crack open the salt crust – we used a rolling pin. Remember you are just trying to loosen the crust, you don’t want to smoosh the fish inside!
Remove crust and peel back the skin of the fish. Lift out the flesh, then carefully remove the backbone, and lift the remaining flesh. Be sure to check for small bones. Don’t forget the meat up around the collar of the fish – that’s good eatin’! Don’t leave it behind.
Scallions Dip
Wash the scallions and pat them thoroughly dry. Thinly slice them into rounds, and then use your knife to mince them further.
Next, slice garlic very thinly. Julienne them into matchsticks and mince them finely. (These steps could be done with a food processor.)
Combine the scallion, ginger, oil, and salt in a bowl. Mix thoroughly, and it’s ready to serve!
Two of the best things about this time of the year? Chai spice! And warm cosy drinks! Which is why I have combined them together for this decadent chai-spiced hot chocolate with cute marshmallow snowman.
It’s creamy, sweet, indulgent and so cozy!
We like to whip this up in the afternoon, cosy up on the sofa and wrap up under a huge fluffy blanket. All the cosy vibes! Oh, and it’s super easy too!
How to make your own snowman?
Kids and parents alike will love making and decorating these adorable marshmallow snowmen. This is the perfect impromptu project for a family since it involves very little mess or downtime. These snowmen are fast, foolproof, and fun. All you need are marshmallows, pretzel sticks, melted chocolate from chocolate chips and extra-long toothpicks (4 inches).
It’s very simple to make but here are some tips for you to make it even easier.
The pretzel sticks are a little too long for the proportion of the snowman, so I bit off the ends, leaving them about 3/4 as long as they were, to begin with. Just experiment and see what look you like. Also, I find that they go in a little easier if you twist them as you’re pushing them into the marshmallow.
Normal-sized toothpicks won’t work; you need the 4-inch variety, which is pretty easy to find at most grocery stores. Slide three marshmallows on the toothpick to create a snowman, then use scissors to clip off the pointy end of the toothpick.
Use the toothpick to poke holes for the arms, legs, and nose, and then push pretzels in the snowman.
Place some mini chocolate chips in a sandwich baggie and melt in your microwave (30 seconds at a time until melted). Snip off a tiny corner of the baggie and “pipe” the chocolate out to draw eyes and a mouth on the snowman.
Serve them on sticks at a holiday party or package them individually as gifts or stocking stuffers. You can even make your snowmen look like friends and family members—experiment with different types of candy coating. Everyone will be delighted by these creative, festive treats.
Chocolate Chai Latte
For this drink, it is a combination of our two favourite drink, Hot Chocolate and Masala Chai Tea Latte. The spices for Chai Latte vary depending on the recipe, but our favourite combination is cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove. It may be messy when you come into mixing herb, we came across this Masala Chia by Anthony the Spice Maker like what we use for our Masala Chai Tea Latte. It has the perfect blend that we like, making it way to simple to make this drink. For chocolate powder, we use Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder.
An antipasto platter is a delicious combination of cheeses, vegetables and meats, usually served with good wines. It’s a great way to start an evening with friends and is very easy to put together.
The holidays are filled with opportunities to gather with friends. What better way to start a party than with an antipasto platter?These delicious platters of food make for easy entertaining at the end of the year, but they are also versatile enough to serve at parties all year long!
What is antipasto? Antipasto, (the plural is called antipasti) when translated, means “before the meal.” Antipasti platters are meant to stimulate your guest’s appetite before they dig into the main meal of the evening. An antipasto platter could rightly be called a “starter platter.”
What goes on an antipasto platter?
This type of platter makes great party appetizers – really tempt them. knock their socks off. Assembling one of these platters can be done in 30 minutes or less, which makes it ideal for a busy schedule when you are entertaining. There is not really a set recipe for an antipasto platter. All it takes is a love of all things that taste good, a bit of creativity and a sense of style.
Choosing your Cheese
We like to choose a variety of cheeses that give me both different tastes and different textures. Use both soft cheeses and firm ones. Keep the flavor of the cheese simple, as opposed to a cheese ball which has been flavored.
Since you will be serving meats and other tastes, let the cheese just complement the other food choices rather than trying to be the star. We use two types of Cheese Pomegranate Brie and Pasteurised Milk Cheese.
Pomegranate Brie This baked brie recipe might just be the best holiday appetizer out there. Of course, it’s delicious. What could be better than rich, melty brie piled onto golden brown baguette with honey, fruit, and nuts? It’s also visually stunning, with a festive mix of red, white, and green colours.
It’s important that the brie is cold when it goes in the oven. Otherwise, it will melt, not soften, while it bakes. We love to use seasonal produce whenever we cook, and, here, fresh pomegranate seeds are the perfect addition. Not only do they look gorgeous, but they also add a sweet/tart, crisp accent for the gooey, buttery cheese. We finish it off with rose petal, honey and sea salt to make the flavours pop. Tip: make sure to get a little of everything in each bite!
Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower This simple roasted balsamic cauliflower makes a delicious, healthy and crowd-pleaser side dish. Plus, it’s inexpensive, low carb and comes loaded with a host of health benefits, from reducing cancer to boosting brain health
But first things first: it’s super easy to prepare! Quarter the cauliflower into 4 pieces and break them into florets, it can be thrown together in less than 5 minutes. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoning, toss everything together and roast. What could be easier than that?!
Roasted Parmesan Capsicum I don’t know about you folks, but it seems like there’s been a lot of comfort food on our menu lately. This Roasted Parmesan Capsicum is the newest addition to my comfort food menu. It’s zesty, cheesy and simply delicious. They are sweet and have a little heat where balance up with the cheesy flavour.
Zucchini Salad This zucchini salad recipe is a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds! We love the way the raw zucchini ribbons curl around the crunchy pumpkin nut. Parmesan cheese gives it a salty bite, and a lemon vinaigrette fills it with bright flavour. Oh, and did I mention? It calls for under 10 ingredients and comes together in minutes.
Assembling your platter
Choose a large platter, marble slab, or cake plate on which to arrange your antipasto platter. Place items in groups on the platter. For visual appeal, place a small bowl of a coloured marinated vegetable or olives in the centre and vary the colours of items next to each other.
Like the previous cheese platter that we did, start lying your centrepieces, for our, it will be the brie. Then we will head on filling in the food with a bigger portion and lastly the small one to fill up the gaps.
Place the antipasto platter in a location easily accessible for guests. Serve with breads or crackers and small plates alongside, allowing guests to create their own assortments of items on their plates.
An antipasto platter is a delicious combination of cheeses, vegetables and meats, usually served with good wines. It’s a great way to start an evening with friends and is very easy to put together.
Ingredients
Carrot
Cured Meat
Pasteurised Milk Cheese
Pomegranate Brie
1 brie wheel, chilled
¼ cup pomegranate arils
Rose Petal, for garnish
Honey, for drizzling
Flaky sea salt, optional
Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces
Roasted Parmesan Capsicum
3 assorted colour Capsicum – cut into bite-size
4 tbsp of parmesan
2 tbsp of olive oil
parsley for garnish
Zucchini Salad
2 assorted colour Zucchini – sliced to the ribbon
2 tbsp of lemon juice
pumpkin seed – roasted in the pan
Methods
Pomegranate Brie
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the brie onto the baking sheet and bake 8 minutes, or until soft in the middle.
Remove from the oven and top with pomegranate arils, rose petal, and a generous drizzle of honey. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.
Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil
Stir the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and garlic together in a bowl. Add the cauliflower and toss to coat; spread the mixture onto the lined baking sheet.
Stirring occasionally, bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 20 minutes.
Roasted Parmesan Capsicum
Cut the Capsicum into smaller pieces and place it on the baking tray.
Mix the parmesan and olive oil in a bowl well, and fill it into the “cup” of the capsicum.
Bake it for 30 minutes at 220C. Cool it and garnish it with chopped Parmesan.
For those who prefer the classic way of messing your plate in this holiday season – you won’t want to miss this creamy mashed potato. Easy, buttery, perfectly seasoned, and impossible to resist eating it straight out of the pot, homemade mashed potato was never so simple to make and totally mouthwatering!
Now of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion about exactly what constitutes the best mashed potatoes recipe. But if we’re the one put in charge potatoes for Christmas, this recipe is my idea of perfection. These mashed potatoes are indulgently buttery, creamy, tangy, and made with a very subtle hint of garlic (which you’re welcome to amp up, if you’d like). They are perfectly dense and thick (not the whipped and ultra-light variety). They feature not one, but two popular kinds of potatoes (whose skins you are welcome to leave on or peel off). They can be as smooth or as chunky as you prefer. Oh, and they’re also incredibly easy to make ahead of time and reheat in the microwave if you have a busy menu lineup and would like to prep them ahead of time.
Choosing of Potatoes – Russet Potatoes
For us, we shop at the wet market more often than the supermarket as the price is rather cheaper. However, there are times that we preferred the supermarket a lot more especially when come to purchasing a selected type of ingredients. We often have mistaken Yellow Potatoes and Russet Potatoes by their appearance in the wet market, so it’s hard to the differential without labels. They might look similar but one is waxy and another is light and creamy. Therefore when coming to mashed potatoes, we preferred the latter.
For mashed potatoes, usually, we go with Russets as they are a floury potato with a light and fluffy texture. The skin becomes chewy when cooked. These are commonly used for baked, mashed and roasted potatoes.
How to make Mashed Potatoes?
Mashed Potatoes are super simple to make with very few ingredients. You can make them in the Crock Pot or Instant Pot, but we really do think the best mashed potatoes are a simple classic.
The real key to making the best creamy mashed potatoes is to get the consistency right.
Drain Well: We usually let them sit about 5 minutes or so to completely drain or even drain well and put them back in the warm pot for a few minutes to make sure all liquid is evaporated.
Mash by Hand: Use a hand masher or a potato ricer. Using a hand mixer, stand mixer or food processor can break down the starches in the potatoes and cause a very gluey or gummy texture. You can still get buttery smooth creamy mashed potatoes mashing by hand.
Butter is Your Friend: There are places you can skimp on the butter and this is not one of them. We like to use salted butter and lots of it (but you can use unsalted season yourself). Butter helps your mashed potatoes get a creamy… well, buttery texture.
Heat Your Cream: Heat your milk/cream before adding. This keeps the potatoes hot and absorbs better. Add cream/milk a little a time to get the right consistency.
Cream cheese, garlic, and butter added to homemade mashed potatoes can add a delicious tang! You can really add whatever toppings you love the most, mashed potatoes are very forgiving!
How long to boil the potatoes for mashing? Potatoes should always be placed in cold salted water and brought to a boil, this helps them cook evenly. The length of time you need to boil the potatoes entirely depends on how big they are cut.
We quarter our potatoes and boil them about 20 minutes. To check if your potatoes are ready, use a fork and if it is easy to pierce the potato, it is done.
Can you Freeze the Mashed Potatoes?
You sure can, frozen mashed potatoes reheat pretty well in the oven with a little milk. To freeze, scoop them into a plastic freezer bag and press flat (this helps them defrost and reheat evenly)! When you reheat them, add about a tablespoon of milk per cup of potatoes and stick them in the oven to reheat.
In a blink of an eye a week of December has already passed and it’s almost time to meet up friends and family members to celebrate the occasion . For those who prefer the traditional, this creamy mashed potatoes is for you. We’re pretty sure you’re going to love them too. So if you’re looking for a solid homemade mashed potatoes recipe, bookmark this one. And when you’re ready, let’s make a batch together!
Presenting my all-time favorite mashed potatoes recipe! These homemade mashed potatoes are perfectly rich and creamy, full of great flavor, easy to make, and always a crowd fave.
Ingredients
2 kg potatoes russet or Yukon gold
1/3 cup salted butter
1 cup milk or cream
salt & pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
Spring of thyme
Methods
Peel and quarter potatoes, place in cold salted water.
Bring to a boil and cook uncovered 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well.
Heat milk, butter, thyme and bay leaves on the stove top until warm.
Begin mashing. Pour in liquid a little at a time while using a potato masher to reach desired consistency.
Friday evening is a classic movie jam session with our family during the quarantine. Having the whole bunch of chips and just chips are very guilty and fattening. So if you want something much filling and yet unhealthy, the onion potato salad with sour cream chip might solve your guilty craving
What to prep for a Friday night?
While the festive season is approaching, we have prepared some exciting posts with you all and let’s start with the staples of the table. “Potato” is one of the favourites on the festive table – is can be toasted, baked or mash. And we decided to boil this time and make it delicious with crunchy chips. I could tell you now that when potato meets potato chips it is doubled the flavour of it and it tastes absolutely delicious!
This dish simply will just take 15 mins of yours and it could be easily prep ahead if you are too busy to prepare on the spot. To avoid the potato too creamy, adding chive and red onion enhances the flavour of the dish.
Honestly, the portion supposed to be bigger but I couldn’t resist it before the photo-shoot so I have to admit that I have nibbled some of it. I love sour cream and it is so rare for me to have it without feeling guilty. To spike some of the chip on top allows me to fulfil my temptation of having chips but at the same time, I will not overdose it as the main leading is the potato salad.
If you make our Onion Potato Salad, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!
This recipe was an excuse to combine our favorite potato chip flavor with the creamy, salty “salad” of our dreams. To hammer that home, the whole dish is topped with crumbled sour cream and onion potato chips. We love to eat this warm, we love to eat this cold, we love to eat this while wearing jorts in the park, and we love to eat this while wearing pajamas on the couch. Do make sure to start your potatoes in cold water so that they’ll cook evenly through and through (if you add potatoes to hot water, the outsides will turn mushy before the insides are tender—no bueno).
Ingredients
2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup kosher salt, plus more
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove
1 bunch chives
¼ small red onion
½ cup sour cream and onion potato chips
Methods
Place 2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes in a large pot, cover with 3 qt. water, then 1 cup kosher salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. (Yes, this is a lot of salt, but it’s the right amount for the job. Potatoes are big and dense—so it takes highly concentrated water to ensure they’re seasoned through and through, Plus, think about how much of that gets left behind in the water you pour out!) Once water comes to a boil, reduce heat, adjusting as needed to maintain a simmer, and cook potatoes until fork-tender, 15–20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your dressing. Combine ¾ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, and 1 tsp. black pepper in a large bowl. Finely grate 1 garlic clove into dressing and stir to combine. Thinly slice 1 bunch chives. Transfer half of chives to dressing; set remaining aside for serving. Slice ¼ small red onion as thinly as possible through root end. (This might not be the way you usually cut an onion, but we’re going for shallow arcs rather than chunky quarter-moons.) Transfer to a fine-mesh sieve and rinse for several seconds (this eliminates some of that astringent raw onion flavor). Pat dry with paper towels. Add half of onion to bowl with dressing; reserve remaining onion for serving.
When potatoes are tender, scoop out ½ cup potato cooking liquid—we’re going to use this later to thicken the sauce, warm up the cold dairy, and flavor the potatoes. Drain potatoes in a colander and let cool 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Crush each potato slightly with your hands (it’s easiest to do this if you transfer them to a baking sheet or big plate first) and add to bowl with dressing.
Toss potatoes with dressing and ¼ cup potato cooking liquid. You want to do this while the potatoes are still warm so that they’ll better absorb all of the seasoning. Don’t worry if the dressing looks a little loose and watery at the beginning—it will all get absorbed and be nice and creamy. Taste and add more salt or, if your dressing looks too thick, a splash of potato cooking liquid.
Top potatoes with reserved chives and onion. Crumble ½ cup sour cream and onion potato chips over—in big pieces if you really just want to be eating a bag of chips or in small pieces if you’d like more of a bread crumb effect.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a delicious change from our favourite mashed potatoes! With a creamy texture and delicious buttery flavour, they are the perfect side dish for any meal! While many recipes for mashed sweet potatoes have added ingredients like marshmallows or pecans, we prefer mashed sweet potatoes to be smooth and creamy.
These mashed sweet potatoes are ready in less than 40 minutes, making them a great addition to your weeknight routine, or a last-minute party or potluck side.
How to make Mashed Sweet Potatoes?
Making mashed sweet potatoes is really easy! If we have a lot of time, we make Baked Sweet Potatoes and scoop them out to make mashed potatoes. A quicker method is to boil the sweet potatoes but we prefer the consistency of baked if possible. Once cooked (either boiled or baked) and very well-drained, the sweet potatoes can be mashed.
Start by adding the butter and mixing it in using a hand masher (per the recipe below).
Heat the cream/milk and add a bit at a time while mashing. You can use an electric mixer for a creamier texture or mash by hand.
Once mashed, season with salt and pepper and serve (with more butter of course).
How to mashed the sweet potatoes? You can mash sweet potatoes using a hand masher, this gives more of a rustic consistency (aka a bit less smooth). For a smoother consistency, you can use a hand mixer or an immersion blender.
Alternative for Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are already plenty sweet on their own! Thus, adding savoury ingredients to your mashed sweet potatoes to balance out that inherent sweetness. Finely chopped fresh parsley and green onion combined with some sour cream and butter are all you need for incredible savoury mashed sweet potatoes. another alternative is to add chopped fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.
How to Store the Leftovers?
Fridge: Mashed sweet potatoes will last about 4 days in the fridge in a container or covered with plastic wrap. Freezer: To freeze, scoop smashed sweet potatoes into a plastic freezer bag. Press them out into a flat square and freeze. This will help ensure the potatoes defrost and reheat evenly! When you reheat them, add about a tablespoon of milk per cup of sweet potatoes and place them in the oven to reheat.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a delicious change from our favourite mashed potatoes! With a creamy texture and delicious buttery flavour, they are the perfect side dish for any meal! While many recipes for mashed sweet potatoes have added ingredients like marshmallows or pecans, we prefer mashed sweet potatoes to be smooth and creamy.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/8 teaspoon black pepper
Methods
Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above potatoes. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain and return potatoes to saucepan.
Combine butter and olive oil in a small skillet over medium; cook until browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add milk, salt, and pepper to sweet potatoes; mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Drizzle with butter mixture; gently stir once or twice.
