Smart snacking: Ambra Pickle

Day 21 Circuit Breaker: Making ambra pickle my very first time.

It has many names. Back home in Penang, we call it "ambra." In Indonesia, it's called "kedondong" and in Singapore, the fruit juice stalls call it "balonglong."

The ambra fruit is crunchy, sour and very refreshing. I only know 2 fruit stalls in Singapore that sell this fresh juice; (i) Seah Im, and (ii) ABC Brickworks food center.

I picked up a packet of fresh ambra fruits at Fairprice. Wash the fruits, peel the skin, cut it into quarters, add sugar, dried sour plums and Voila! Ambra pickle. 😀

Mom used to make this. It brings back fond childhood memories. 

Smart snacking: Edamame

Day 20 Circuit Breaker: Edamame... my solution to guilt-free snacking. 😜

I have a confession. Since Covid-19, I have been snacking throughout the day. With easy access to the kitchen, it's so convenient to grab something and snack on autopilot mode.

I've been indulging Hershey's, Haagen Dazs, Kit Kat, Loacker wafer, figs, raisins, almond, Babybel cheese, SCS cream cheese on Carr's crackers, Japanese rice crackers and the list goes on.

Once I deplete my stocks of unhealthy snacks, I shall not be lured to the evil supermarket snacks aisle. Meanwhile, let's have some healthy edamame instead. 😉

Boil for 4-5 minutes, drain it, add ice cubes, and toss salt.

Chinese ABC Soup

Day 19 Circuit Breaker: As easy as ABC! 

If you're Malaysian/Singaporean Chinese, you probably had this during your childhood. It's easy to make, yet this is my first time making it. I don't like potatoes in general.

When I was buying the potatoes, the vegetable uncle asked me. "Only 2?" I nodded, "Yea, cooking for one person only." 😬 I admit it's inefficient to cook for 1 person.

Anyways, I usually boil ABC soup in a cast iron pot. Keeps the heat within. The soup was sweet and delicious. I had this for lunch and dinner.

Enjoying this while watching Love Never Dies live from Australia.

Ingredients 

• Potato, tomato, carrot, onions 
• Pork ribs or chicken bones
• Black pepper corns, slightly pounded  
• Salt to taste 

Preparation 

1. Cut the vegetables in big chunks. 
2. Blanch the pork ribs, rinse with cold water, remove impurities and set aside.
3. Boil water in a pot.
4. Add blanched pork, carrot, onions and pepper corns into the soup.
5. Simmer at low heat for 2-3 hours. 
6. Add potatoes and tomatoes. 
7. Simmer the soup another 30 minutes, and add salt to taste.   

Cooking tips

1. If you're not using the cut potatoes yet, soak in water to avoid from it turning black.
2. I prefer to boil soup with pots instead slow cooker. It tastes nicer. 

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10

Maggi Asam Laksa

Day 18 Circuit Breaker: Satisfying my cravings for Asam Laksa  

If you don't already know, my favourite food has always been Asam Laksa. The best version is obviously the one made by my mom. I like my Asam Laksa overloaded with vegetables and very little fish meat. Although Maggi Asam Laksa does not taste anywhere close to mom's Laksa, I was extremely satisfied. Thank you Maggi for the satisfying quick fix.

Asam laksa. The hard boiled eggs were not perfect, but yummy! 

Ingredients 

• Maggi Asam Laksa 
• Raw vegetables: lettuce, mint, cucumber, onion, torch garlic 
• Bird's eye chilli
• Fishball (optional)
• Egg (optional)
• Calamansi (optional)

Preparation 

1. Boil hard boiled egg for 7 minutes. 
2. Cook the Maggi instant noodle soup in a pot for 2 minutes. 
3. Scoop only the noodles into a bowl. Leave the soup boiling in the pot. 
4. Place vegetables on top of the noodles 
5. Once the soup is boiling hot, pour the soup into the bowl. 
6. Add the hard boiled egg (optional). 
7. Squeeze calamansi on top (optional).

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10

Kimchi Jjigae

Day 17 Circuit Breaker: Spicy Kimchi Stew

Prior to circuit breaker, I decided to get a tub of Gochujang Korean chilli paste. This is one of the 2 main ingredients to make Kimchi Jjigae stew, besides the kimchi. I didn't have minced pork, so I used fishball instead. Unfortunately, the end result of my Kimchi Stew fell short. I guess meat really makes a difference in the stew stock. :D 

Improvised with fishball, carrot and broccoli 

Ingredients

• Minced pork seasoned with salt & pepper
• Kimchi
• Chinese cabbage
• Golden mushrooms
• Tofu
• Sweet potato vermicelli
• Cheese slice (optional)
• Coriander
• Spring onion 

Sauce

• Minced garlic
• Soy sauce
• Rice wine – mirin 
• Korean chili paste – Gochujang

Preparation

1. Assemble ingredients and add sauce in shallow pot of water, close the lid and boil.
2. Add sweet potato vermicelli.
3. Add cheese, simmer for the cheese to melt, and it’s ready.

The foodgasm verdict: 6/10

Grilled Prawns Salad

Day 16 Circuit Breaker: Taking baby steps towards clean eating...

This circuit breaker had made me more conscious of my diet. I'm learning to eat clean. Different people have different definition of clean eating. My definition of clean eating is mainly eating fresh food; to eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less meat, no processed or frozen food, and no salad dressing. 😄

Clean eating with no salad dressing.

I was pleasantly surprised how delicious the salad was! The prawns and vegetables were so fresh and tasty, even without any salad dressing. The trick is to add feta cheese. :)

Ingredients 

• Vegetables for grilling - broccoli, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots
• Vegetables for raw consumption - cucumber, coriander
• Feta cheese  
• Prawns seasoned with lemon pepper 
• Black pepper 

Preparation 

1. Clean the prawns and season it with lemon pepper. 
2. Chop the vegetables into edible sizes.
3. Grill the prawns and vegetables. 
4. Take the prawn shells off. 
5. Plate the salad with cucumber, grilled vegetables and prawns. 
6. Serve with coriander, feta and black pepper. 

Cooking Tips 

1. To defrost the prawns, allow cold water run prawns sealed in a ziplock bag and run water over the bag for a few minutes until the prawns have defrosted. Do not soak the prawns in water as it might make the prawns soggy. 
2. When grilling, keep the prawn shells on. It will protect the prawns from extreme heat. 

The foodgasm verdict: 7/10

IKEA's Meatballs Secret Recipe

Day 15 Circuit Breaker: IKEA has revealed their famous meatballs recipe so that we can create it at home during Covid-19. 

Thank you Anthony for sharing IKEA's meatballs recipe with me. I'll make it one day.

Meatballs Ingredients

• 500g beef mince
• 250g pork mince
• 1x finely chopped onion
• 1x crushed garlic clove
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 1x egg
• 5x tablespoons of whole milk
• a generous dash of salt and pepper

And here’s the simple method:

1. Combine the beef and pork mince and mix together in a bowl using your fingers. Break up any lumps, before adding in the onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mixing together.
2. Add in the milk, along with salt and pepper and mix in.
3. Shape into small, round balls and place on a clean plate. When all of the mix is used up, cover the plate and store in the fridge for two hours.
4. After two hours, heat some oil on medium heat in a frying pan, and once hot, chuck in the meatballs.
5. Cook until browned.
6. Once browned, pop the meatballs in an ovenproof dish and cook through for a further 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees, or 160 degrees if you have a fan oven.

Here’s everything you need for the cream sauce:

• A dash of oil
• 40g of butter
• 40g of plain flour
• 150ml of vegetable stock
• 150ml of beef stock
• 150ml of thick double cream
• 2x teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1x teaspoon of Dijon mustard

And here’s the method:

1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Once melted, whisk in 40g of plain flour and stir for two minutes.
3. Add in the 150ml of vegetable stock, along with the 150ml of beef stock.
4. Continue to stir, before adding in the thick double cream, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard.
5. Stir all the ingredients together, then bring to a simmer and allow it to simmer.
6. Once thickened, pour over your meatballs and enjoy!

Source: https://secretldn.com/ikea-meatballs-recipe

Omelette

Day 14 Circuit Breaker: Omelette with onions & cherry tomatoes 

Omelette is easy to make and full of protein. Since I have leftover onions and cherry tomatoes in the fridge, I decided to make omelette for breakfast. Instead of typical omelette where we fold the egg into half, I decided to flip the egg so that both sides are well cooked. Hehe, my very own kitchen acrobatic inspired by the free Cirque du Soleil performance on YouTube during Covid-19 lockdown. :P

Omelette breakfast to fuel my Monday! 

Ingredients 

• 2 eggs  
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Butter
• Fillings - tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, grated cheese. 
• Dried herbs - oregano, chilli flakes. 

Preparation 

1. Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat up the non-stick pan with extra virgin olive oil and butter. 
3. Use medium heat and pour the egg into the pan.
4. For first 30 seconds, you can move the cooked egg from the edge to the center, and then tilt the pan to fill the pan with egg at the edges. 
5. After that, add filling onto the egg. 
6. Use turner to fold the egg into half, and serve it on a plate.

The foodgasm: 7/10

Miso Udon

Circuit Breaker Day 13: Miso udon, the lazy way. 

Traditionally, most Japanese would make dashi fish stock 24 hours prior to using it when cooking udon. But I like to make quick-and-easy meals. Thus, I don't bother making the dashi stock, thus I simply use miso paste to cook udon soup. :) The recipe is fail safe and always so satisfying. Yes I know the carbs will wreck your keto diet but udon is just so yummy! I'd never give that up. :D And during this circuit breaker, I realized how versatile leek is. I use it so often now.

Easy to make. I made this while video chatting with my childhood friends :)

Ingredients 

• Wakame seaweed (soaked)
• Udon
• Miso paste 
• Vegetables: Leek, carrot 
• Shitake mushrooms
• Tofu
• Garnishing: Spring onions, nori, bonito flakes, ginger paste. 

Preparation

1. Soak wakame seaweed for 10 minutes. 
2. Boil water in a pot, add in miso paste and wakame seaweed.
3. Prepare the vegetables. Cut the leek diagonally. 
4. Add the vegetables, udon and tofu into the soup. 
5. Scoop udon soup into a bowl and garnish with spring onions, nori, bonito flakes and ginger paste. 

The foodgasm verdict: 8/10

Che Pizza? No way, Jose!

Circuit Breaker Day 12: "Che Pizza!" is an Italian idiom meaning "How boring!" 

Staying home during lockdown can be boring if we work, eat, sleep, WhatsApp, and Netflix aimlessly. It takes creativity to keep ourselves challenged for self expansion, and if we want to expand, why not do it with fun and joy. Thus, my beliefs, "Che Pizza? No way, Jose!" 

The best pizza I had was in Linguaglossa on the foothills of Mount Etna, Sicily. The simple pizzeria is only for takeouts. Inspired by Sicilian pizza (I've not seen pizzas with this much of onions), I put generous amount of onions on my pizza. I did not have mozzarella cheese, so I replaced with my pasta cheese, a blend of gouda and maasdam.

The end product was not too bad. The topping flavours were good, but the crust failed miserably. Time for a next challenge: perhaps I could make pizza crust from scratch. :)

Lazy Saturday. Eat pizza and watch Phantom of the Opera live from UK.

Ingredients 

• Frozen pizza crust 
• Tomato sauce: olive oil, garlic, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves 
• Toppings: cherry tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, zucchini, sweet basil 
• Mozzarella cheese
• Olive oil 
• Herbs: oregano, dried basil, chili flakes, black pepper  

Preparation 

1. Defrost the pizza crust. 
2. Preheat the oven at 250 degrees Celsius. 
3. Cook the tomato sauce with herbs.
4. Add tomato sauce on the pizza crust, followed by toppings and cheese. 
5. Sprinkle oregano and black pepper on top (not too much!) 
6. Use a baking sheet and bake the pizza for 20-30 minutes. 

The foodgasm verdict: 6/10

Dalgona Coffee

Circuit Breaker Day 11: Dalgona coffee that went viral

Thanks to Covid-19, Dalgona coffee has taken social media by storm! I've yet making one though. The amount of sugar used looks scary. I usually have black coffee cos I don't believe impurities in my coffee. Currently, I am drinking Penang instant kopi 'o' without sugar. Yes I know, though there's no sugar, I know it's roasted with butter, hahaha! *faint*

Meanwhile, till I try making Dalgona coffee, here's a video how to make one.

Ingredients 

• 2 tbps coffee powder 
• 2 tbps sugar 
• 2 tbps of very hot water 
• Milk
• Ice 

Preparation

1. Whisk the coffee powder, sugar and hot water for 5 minutes until it's thick and foamy.
2. Place ice and pour milk into a cup 
3. Add the coffee mix on top. 
4. Sprinkle with coffee powder and enjoy!