Penang Asam Laksa

Day 53 Circuit Breaker: I've eaten enough bowls of Penang Laksa, to be able to cook without a recipe! 😂

Penang Asam Laksa ("laksa"). This is my ultimate favourite food and I've been very blessed to have enjoyed this throughout my life. Mom knows I love laksa and she'd cook for me whenever possible. It is her expression of love for me 😍, from Penang, Johor, Singapore, and even London! Disclaimer: laksa in London wasn't my request, but Alex's. 😇

When in Singapore, I usually satisfy my laksa cravings at Jason's Penang Cuisine (stall #01-12 at ABC Food Center). Jason's is my absolute favourite and trust me, they are the BEST in Singapore! In fact, whenever my date asks me where I'd like to eat, I won't hesitate dragging him here. Yup, the dating litmus test. To see if we're two peas in a pod when it comes to food.😁

I have been craving for laksa of late. But due to circuit breaker, it didn't make sense for me cab all the way to ABC Food Center (that would have cost me $50 to and fro). So I woke up today and decided to cook laksa. I realized I've not cooked laksa before. 😬 I was a little nervous, but that didn't stop me from trying.

The results? I was blown away! My laksa was close to mom's. I'm so pleased with myself. I realized it ain't rocket science and I could easily cook this again. I'm also starting to believe I can bedazzle any red-blooded man with my culinary skills. Game on! 😉

Tastes so good. This photo does not do justice at all. 

Ingredients 

Laksa mix

• Galangal (a few slices)
• Asam jawa 
• Asam keping (a few slices)
• Laksa leaves 
• Chilli paste 
• Belacan (pounded) 
• 10 shallots (pounded) 
• 3 lemon grass (pounded)
• 4 fresh mackerel  
• Salt  

Others 

• Laksa noodle 
• Lettuce 
• Cucumber 
• Mint leaves 
• Pineapple 
• Onion 
• Prawn paste 
• Torch ginger  
• Bird's eye chilli

Preparation 

1. Clean the fish with salt and running water. 
2. Boil the fish and remove the bones. Keep as soup stock.
3. Boil fresh pot of soup. Add soup stock and remaining soup ingredients. 
4. Boil the laksa noodle. 
5. Place the laksa noodle in a bowl and stack it up with vegetables, pineapple and onion. 
6. Once the soup is boiling hot, scoop the soup into the bowl of noodle. 
7. Add prawn paste, torch ginger, and bird's eye chilli. 

The foodgasm verdict: 9/10

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

Day 44 Circuit Breaker: Thai Basil Chicken with vermicelli 

The Thai basil paste my mom gave me came in handy. Made this simple chicken dish for lunch within 10 minutes. It is best served with steam rice. I like mine with vermicelli though. 😄

A simple balance meal

Ingredients: 

• A packet of Thai basil paste
• Fresh Thai basil leaves 
• Chicken breast 
• Wood ear mushrooms
• Bittergourd
• Garlic

Preparation: 

1. Heat up the pan with oil.
2. Stir fry the garlic.
3. Add chicken breast and stir fry until it is no longer raw.
4. Add the Thai basil paste. 
5. Add mushroom and bittergourd.
6. Serve with steam rice of vermicelli. 

My foodgasm verdict: 7/10 

Penang Char Koay Kak

Day 41-43 Circuit Breaker: Making it from scratch! 

One by one of my friends talked about Char Koay Kak (fried steam rice cake). It started with Shu-Yin, then Eleen and Hooi Ling, the hits and misses, and apparently it is not easy to make the rice cakes at all. I took it as a synchronicity sign from the universe inspiring me to master this Penang hawkers dish. Challenge accepted!

I knew I wanted to make the rice cakes from scratch. That's the fun part of it. But oh my, I had no idea what I signed up for. The technique and effort required was enormous and it stretched my culinary skills.

• Day 1: Steam rice cake 
• Day 2: Fry the rice cake 

Thankfully, I had my mom to guide me over the phone. I admire my mom. She is a walking recipe book.

Steaming the rice cake

Making crispy pork lard

Frying in process

It was so yummy! I had 3 plates.

I am very satisfied with my Char Koay Kak. I have also learned to enjoy eating this. 😅😋 If not for my mom, I would not have made it successfully on my very first attempt. Thank you mom for the voice-only cooking masterclass. 😍😘

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup of rice flour 
• 3 cups of water 
• 1-2 tablespoon of tapioca flour or corn flour 
• 100% pork fat  
• Olive oil 
• Garlic
• Chai Poh, both sweet and salted (picked radish)
• Salty dark soy sauce 
• Fish sauce 
• Ku Chai (Chinese chives) 
• Beansprout 
• Egg 
• Banana leaf 

Preparation: 

Day 1: Steam plain rice cake

1. Coat a stainless steel bowl with a layer of oil. 
2. Combine rice flour, water and tapioca flour in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Stir it until the paste thickens. 
3. Transfer the paste to a greased stainless steel bowl.
4. Steam it for 1.5 hours - 2 hours. 
5. Use a satay stick to see if it's cooked. Top up water in the steamer if needed. 
6. Once cooked, let it cool down. 
7. Once cooled down, refrigerate it overnight. 
8. The next morning, take it out from the fridge and check the texture. It's supposed to bounce up when you gently press with your finger.
9. If texture looks good, cut the rice cake into small cubes. 

Day 2: Fry the rice cakes

1. Fry pork lard with oil and put aside. 
2. Add oil onto your pan.
3. Saute garlic, chai poh and pork lard.
4. Add rice cakes.
5. Add dark soy sauce and fish sauce. 
6. Add chilli paste (optional).
7. Add beansprout and kuchai. 
8. Finally, add egg. 
9. Serve on banana leaf. 

Tips:

• The pork lard will make or break the dish. This is a must have.  
• The pork lard shrink into tiny bits once fried. 
• Smash the rice cake into smaller pieces so that more surfaces are coated with sauce. 

The foodgasm verdict: 9/10 

MLXG Beef

Day 40 Circuit Breaker: Ma La Xiang Guo Beef 

After 1 month staying away from beef, I finally surrendered to my cravings for beef. Also added rainbow diet of vegetables for my chakra health. 🌈🌈🌈 Added bittergourd, brinjal, potatoes, bell peppers, carrot and garnished with coriander and additional garlic. Yes I love garlic. Apparently garlic (yellow) is good for solar plexus chakra. This chakra is closely related to personal power, self-worth and self-esteem; the ability to master thoughts and emotions. Dress sharp, stand tall and speak up. I am enough!

The Captain asked, "Why is it all your beef dishes look so good?" 😁

Rainbow MLXG for my healthy Chakras 😍

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10

Pad Thai

Day 39 Circuit Breaker: Making Pad Thai 

It's the weekend and I decided to make Pad Thai (yes, my very first time). 😇 The idea came about when my friend sent me a YouTube video of Bangkok street food. I watched the video and thought it was doable. I had no idea what sauces they used, but I decided to use fish sauce coupled with light soy sauce.

Carb loading for tomorrow's cycling 

I was happy with the end product. It was very flavourful and appetizing, just lacked the "wok hei" effect. 😬

Ingredients 

The sauce

• Fish sauce 
• Tamarind paste (I improvised with light soy sauce)
• Sugar (I didn't add)
• Water 

Main ingredients 

• Olive oil
• Garlic 
• Shallot 
• Prawns (improvised with pork)
• Tofu 
• Rice noodle 
• Beansprout 
• Chives or spring onions, and often both.
• Egg 

Garnishing 

• Roasted peanuts  
• Chilli flakes 
• Lime

Preparation 

1. Heat up oil on a pan on medium heat.
2. Fry the tofu and put it aside on a plate. 
3. Saute the garlic and shallot.
4. Add the prawns. 
5. Add rice noodle.
6. Add a dash of fish sauce and light soy sauce. 
7. Add beansprout. 
8. Add egg. 
9. Add chives or spring onion
10. Serve with roasted peanuts and chilli flakes.

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10 

Enjoying CB project thus far!

Day 36-38 Circuit Breaker: My kitchen project checkpoint... 

After staying home for 4+ weeks, I discovered new dishes and flavours. First time making sushi and pizzas. First time using avocados and truffles. This lockdown truly brought out the chef in me! 😄

CB: Circuit breaker (in case you dirty fellas have something else in mind, hahaha)

My top 3 kitchen fun:

1. Rolling sushi! 
2. Making avocado toast or milkshakes
3. Baking pizza with wraps

My top 3 most repeated meals (mostly carbs 😂):

1. Miso udon  
2. Tomyam noodles
3. Koay teow soup 

My top 3 snacks:

1. Baked almond (from Melbourne OMG tastes so good!), figs, raisins 
2. Edamame 
3. Milk & good ol' Marie biscuits 

Coming up next:

1. Pad Thai noodles
2. Carrot cake
3. Shakshuka 

Cooking is so fun. Gonna keep cooking till I'm old. It's my expression of love.😍 

Sauerkraut

Day 35 Circuit Breaker: Sauerkraut, my lifesaver this lockdown

I bought a bottle of sauerkraut late last year. Scoop a generous portion of sauerkraut from the bottle, toss coriander sprinkle black pepper, and it's ready to be served as a vegetable side. I love how appetizing it is!

Soy sauce roasted chicken from Cold Storage

The foodgasm verdict: 6/10

The Pizza Craze continues.

Day 34 Circuit Breaker: A friend calls me "pizza" and I'm living up to my nickname!

It looks like pizza has become my staple diet during this circuit breaker period. I had pizza for 3 consecutive days and I'm not bored of it just yet. 😜

Here are the toppings I made:

• Pizza with bell peppers and truffles 
• Pizza with minced pork (also the Captain's favourite)
• Pizza with aubergine

I like adding salad leaves on top of the pizza. It adds texture. 

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10

Salad with Hard Boiled Egg

Day 33 Circuit Breaker: Delicious Salad with Hard Boiled Egg

If you have noticed, I've recently reduced my meat intake. Replaced my protein dietary needs with eggs and tofu. It's supposedly healthy but it feels like something is missing in my diet. Oh well, will let my body guide me what nutrients I need. Might go back to meat and seafood next week!

Meanwhile, here's my salad ingredients for today:

• Bell peppers - green, yellow, red
• Cucumber
• Lettuce 
• Spinach
• Sauerkraut 
• Kimchi 
• Garlic
• Feta cheese 

The salad was delicious, but I got hungry a few hours later.

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10

MAMA Tom Yam Noodle

Day 32 Circuit Breaker: Yes I'm official instant noodle queen! 

Besides Indomie, I also enjoy Thai MAMA Tom Yam instant noodle and I have no shame to admit it. 😆 Yes I know it is unhealthy and it's a cardinal sin to some people. But then again, it's just so convenient and satisfying. As long as I don't take it all too often, it should be fine. What's life if we cannot indulge occasionally?

My toppings today:

• Mint leaves 
• Ginger flower 
• Mushroom
• Coriander 
• Egg 
• Chinese wolfberries (for sweetness and eye health)

Toppings overloaded 

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10 

Thin Crust Pizza with Rocket

Day 31 Circuit Breaker: Making pizza using wrap. It works! 

Happy Vesak Day! Today is a holy day for Buddhists to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. I decided to go vegetarian.

Since I was not happy with the pizza crust I previously made, I decided to try again. Apparently, I heard that Mission pizza crust will do the job. I searched high and low, typically at the fresh bread section, but it's out of stock. Looks like everyone else is also making pizza. I didn't want to wait until it comes back in stock, so I decided to use Gardenia wrap instead. I am pleased with my pizza. Please allow the Italian chef in me present you with "thin crust pizza topped with rocket." 😊

Superbly satisfying thin crust pizza! 

Ingredients 

• Wrap 
• Tomato ketchup (lazy me!)  
• Toppings: Tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, onions 
• Mixed Italian herbs, dried chilli flakes.
• Cheese: Mozzarella + Cheddar + Parmesan  
• Rocket leaves 

Preparation 

1. Preheat oven at 250 degrees Celsius. 
2. Chop the vegetables.
3. Lay a fresh wrap on a baking sheet. 
4. Then, spread tomato ketchup, toppings, cheese and herbs.  
5. Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes. 

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10

Truffle on fromage bread

Day 30 Circuit Breaker: Finally using the truffle spread 

If you've been to my kitchen, you won't find any jam, peanut butter or kaya. Why? Firstly, too much sugar. Secondly, I don't usually eat bread (again the sugar) unless it's a baguette (cos no sugar). And since I cannot finish a baguette all myself, I've stopped buying.

When circuit breaker began, I started buying bread again. Bread is versatile when hunger strikes. Simply spread a thin layer of truffle and I was in heaven. It's funny how our taste buds can change. I didn't like it previously, but now I've learned to enjoy it so much! Thank you Alex for the bottle of truffles from Italy.

Truffle, fromage bread and Kiwi fruit.

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10

Udon with garlic

Day 29 Circuit Breaker: Garlic to spice up my udon!

I made miso udon again for lunch. It's quick and easy. This time round, I added wolfberry, black sesame, and topped it with garlic. I love the garlic so much!!! Thank you Sheryl for the recommendation. Next time you go to Don Don Donki, don't forget to grab this bottle of garlic. I bought 3 bottles and I'm glad I did. 😁

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10 

Sandwich: Avocado + Banana

Day 28 Circuit Breaker: I'm falling in love with avocado.    

What do you do with leftover avocado? Cut it up, spread it over bread and add sliced bananas. I swear the combo is heavenly! For someone who did not like avocado, I am now wondering why did I not incorporate avocado in my diet before. But then again, avocados is high in fat, thus high in calories. So maybe I'll go slow with it.

Photos don't lie. Tastes as good.

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10

Avocado milkshake

Day 27 Circuit Breaker: Thanks to leftover avocados, I learned to make milkshake

Happy Sunday folks! I wanted to cycle since 6:30am but it has been raining till now. While waiting for the rain to go away, I decided blend leftover avocado into milkshake. Topped it with honey and cinnamon powder. Decorated with strawberry and mint. Truly healthy yet I have not learned to enjoy avocado. But then again, the photo presentation impressed many people, so I'll be kind with the foodgasm scores. 😁

Looking so pretty! I do have a sense of food presentation.

The foodgasm verdict: 6/10

Sushi project. Finally!

Day 25 & 26 Circuit Breaker: Sushi project 

A year ago, I wanted to learn how to make sushi. I bought most of the ingredients but the project did not take off due to lack of inspiration.

Late Friday evening, the Captain sent me a photo of his dinner. California roll with fried shallot. Such interesting combination, I thought. Perhaps tabiko is rare in Amsterdam, so they replaced it with fried shallot.

Inspired, my sushi project resurrected! 😃

The next morning, I went to Don Don Donki to shop for the ingredients. I found most of it except rice vinegar. I contemplated using apple cider vinegar, but I was against it. The next day, I found rice vinegar at Cold Storage. So happy! My sushi project is back on track.

Rolling the sushi into rolls is very easy. The art of making the perfect sushi rice was the trickiest part. Thankfully there's YouTube, and just let judgement and creativity lead you to do the rest.

Sushi rice ingredients 

• 2 cups short grain rice 
• 1/2 cup white rice vinegar 
• 4" piece of konbu seaweed
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• Cold water 

How to make sushi rice? 

1. Clean the rice over cold water.
2. Soak rice for 30 minutes. 
3. Cook rice in high heat. Let it boil until there is bubbles and steam.
4. Then slow down the temperature and let it simmer for 20 minutes. 
5. Cook rice until all the water is absorbed. 
6. Let the rice sit in a flat surface (shallow wooden bucket) for 15 minutes.  
7. In a different pot, cook rice vinegar, sugar and salt until mixture dissolve.
8. Add the mixture to the rice. 

The rice turned out well cooked. So happy! Now it's time to make sushi rolls. 

Sushi ingredients

Ingredients

• Nori - sushi seaweed
• Wasabi tube 
• Garlic tube 
• Soya sauce
• Pickled ginger 
• Avocado - ripe, not too soft.
• Cucumber - as straight as possible 
• Fried shallot - Amsterdam inspired 
• Salmon 
• Tamago - egg omelette 
• Tabiko - flying fish roe 
• Crab stick 
• Inari - sweet tofu skin 
• Siracha mayo (optional)
• Black sesame (optional) 

How to make California rolls? 

1. Bring out the rolling mat and wrap it with a shrink wrap. 
2. Cut cucumber slices 
3. Cut the crab stick. 
4. Cut the avocado last.
5. Now you're ready to make California roll. Use your imagination how. 😁

California roll. Seaweed is in the inside. 

Nigiri sushi

Temaki handroll

 Maki with seaweeds on the outside.

Maki with siracha mayo

I sent the photo of California roll with fried shallots to the Captain. He said it looks like what he had the other day. 😆

I also sent the photos to once-upon-a-time sushi chef Alex. "Pretty pro! The rolls look great! And so does the nigiri! I'm impressed," says the chef.😊

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10