Tuesday 3 March 2009

Tonight's home cooked dinner

Since I got home at 2pm today, I suddenly found myself with plenty of time to laze around. In between answering emails, I managed to take a nap, potter around the garden, bring Rusty for a leisurely walk and cook a nice dinner.

When I was in the kitchen, I overheard the kids saying "Woah, just because mummy plants spring onions in her garden, she must put it in every dish!".

Yah, I like garnishing dishes with spring onion and am glad I have them growing in my own garden. I used some limes, which have become plump and juicy from all the rain, to season the grilled stingray too.

I have not made this cold tofu dish in years. The kids love this and say they can eat it everyday. It's such a cinch to make. Simply mix some oyster sauce with dark soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour over the cold tofu and sprinkle with fried anchovies and chopped spring onions.

My mum loves to make lotus root soup but I prefer to stir fry to retain its sweet and delicate flavour. The crunchy water chestnut slices add a new dimension to the dish.

I boiled herbal chicken soup in the slow cooker for several hours, adding canned button mushrooms and white fungus about an hour before mealtime. It was simply delicious!

Today I really put all my cooking gear to work. The rice cooker, slow cooker, stove and even the oven were working simultaneously. This is grilled stingray, smothered with homemade spicy and tangy chilli paste. Very yummy when eaten with plain rice.

9 comments:

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

wonder if u like Chinese parsley, yam-sui/yin-sui. i feel adding it to meat is fabulous! *WIDE GRIN*

maybe try planting them if u like it?

Blur Ting said...

Yes, I like coriander very much. I have tried planting several times but have never been successful. It's not easy. I just sowed some seeds and am crossing my fingers.

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

ahhhh.....oh yes, me dad said it's very difficult to plant coriander. he was a farm boy back those old days. hehehe.....

lets cross fingers!

Anonymous said...

Can you pls give me your recipe of stir fry lotus root?

I want to prove to my bf that i can cook instead of just eggs and instant noodles. I am 26 this yr and can't cook a decent meal... *haiz*

Blur Ting said...

Hi Shutin
Cooking skill comes with practice,the more often you cook, the easier it becomes.

Clean up lotus root and peel away the skin if it appears black and muddy. Then slice as thinly as you can manage. Chop some garlic.

This is a stir fry dish. The basics of stir fry is to heat a little oil until very hot, toss in the chopped garlic until it turns fragrant and quickly add in the lotus root (or vegetable or anything you're frying).

Heat is also important. High heat will seal in the flavour of the food and cook the stuff quickly.

After frying for a while until the lotus root changes colour, add in some water and oyster sauce.

The good thing about this dish is, it will taste good whether you fry and dish up quickly or let it simmer in the wok for a while. taste test before you dish up to see if it is ok.

Sometimes I stir fry this dish with thinly sliced carrots,minced meat or fresh prawns. You can add carrots in with the root at the same time. As for prawn and minced meat, better to add in half way cos they cook faster.

Good luck!

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

Lovely dishes :D I've been eating home cooked food everyday for quite a while now seeing as how food outside costs a bomb these days and I even managed to learn how to make slated vegetable soup by myself :D

Blur Ting said...

Nick - It's healthier too to eat at home.

Anonymous said...

thank you very very much!!

Maybe u could pass me your home recipe of veggie soup? Hmmm..... *heh* =p

Blur Ting said...

Hi Shutin
What kind of veggie soup do you like? Are you a vegetarian? Vegetable soup can be rather bland without anchovy ormeat stock but if you're vegetarian, I'll come up with a vegetarian soup recipe for you.My mum drinks vegetarian soup on some days and yah, it is not that bad.

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