CSN $60 Gift Certificate - still some time left + Tip-it Singapore

CSN Giveaway
Don't forget. There is still some time left for CSN Giveaway: $60 Gift Certificate. Contest ends July 31st 2010, 23.59hrs (PST).

Tip-It !

Want to win a free iPod shuffle and other amazing prizes? Just sign up for the newsletter at Tip-It ! now!

Tip-It! will be offering discounts of up to 90% off restaurants, spas, bars, clubs, and shops in Singapore which you love! Tip-It! is a social buying site which leverages on the power of social networks to help bring you great deals.

Don't forget to join their Facebook Page to stay up to date with the latest deals and promotions too!

Details of the draw can be found at Tip-It ! Win. So go on over and sign up for their newsletter at Tip-It ! now!

Enjoy the weekend ^o^

Egg with BBQ Pork Slices - 肉干炒蛋

I traced the inspiration of this dish from an old family dish I used to have when I was a kid. We used to have Waxed Sausage (腊肠 La Chang in Mandarin;  or Lap Cheong, in Hokkien dialect) which is thinly sliced then fried with egg. So I gave a twist to it one day when there was leftover BBQ Pork Slices (肉干, Rou Gan in Mandarin; Bak Kwa in Hokkien dialect) at home.

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Savory Glutinous Rice Cake - Png Kueh, 桃粿

How about a savory Peach Rice Cake in summer? Peach is to summer. A case of trying too hard, ha! ^o^. These Peach Rice Cakes are Teochew (Chiu Chau) Rice Cakes (桃粿 Tao Guo in Mandarin or Png Kueh in Hokkien(Fujian) dialect) are pre-fried glutinous rice stuffed in rice-flour dough pastry and then steamed prior to consumption.

The Inside...

The rice is typically fried with shallots and dried prawns (hei bi) before being wrapped around by the pastry dough that is often smooth and slightly sticky. The filling is stuffed generously into the pastry as if it's bursting out of the pastry skin when you take your first bite! Today, this rice filling is revved up by pork cubes, peanuts, Chinese celery and white pepper. Finally, the entity is called a CAKE! A peachy-looking cake.

Two to three of them is breakfast...or can be lunch

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Mixed Vegetables and Pineapple Curry

This mixed vegetables and pineapple curry may seen very ordinary to you but it was the first time I ever bought a fresh whole pineapple (I usually use canned pineapples) and use it in my cooking.

I wanted color, a rainbow diet and that was obvious. Green, orange, red, yellow. I have that.  As it was vegetarian, I used fried shallots as the flavor element to tune up the entire dish, despite it being a curry (already spiced), I wanted another savory balance to it.

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CSN Giveaway $60 Gift Certificate + Chicken Macaroni

I was better in my move this time. I did not bring any small appliances as I know the voltages might not work here. And I do not fear not having any kitchenware to get me started in the kitchen since I know CSN Stores are out there online and I can absolutely shop online for Dinnerware and Small Appliances anytime to get my kitchen started. I do not have to wait 4 weeks for the mover to move my kitchenware here. I can start cooking as soon as I want to. So what can I cook?

Falling back to comfort favorites, here is my comfy and nutritious Chicken Macaroni Soup, made using some sliced ginger and onions, half a tomato sliced into smaller wedges, quite a lot of cabbage, some sliced carrots and chicken. Serve with favorite leafy greens. With record low temperatures to-date in San Francisco this summer, what is better than a light, warm and soothing chicken soup?

So here...my friends and readers at this blog. I get to share the love around once again. A $60 Gift Certificate for you, courtesy of CSN Stores.


Browse through CSN Stores and tell me which cookware, appliance, kitchen(dish)ware you would pick, and which comfort food you would cook, bake or serve with it.

How to Enter for $60 Gift Cert.(in the US and Canada only):

1. Leave your comments in this post by answering the question above (you get one entry). If you do not have a blog, do not worry. You can also take part by leaving your comments (just be sure to leave your email address).

2. Post about this giveaway (link to this post) on your blog. Then, come back here and add your post-link about this giveaway, to LinkyTools below by July 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST (you get another entry). Links not meeting requirements will NOT be counted as an entry.


Unfortunately, the giveaway is opened in the US and Canada only; and ends July 31, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. Winner will be chosen by random.org and announced in my blog. Good Luck!

Thank you CSN Stores for sponsoring this giveaway.

*This is not a paid review*

Tag: soup, chicken macaroni, one dish

An Escape to Food on Facebook

SFChefs 2010 + Fried Shallots Choi Sum

If you love food like I (and most of us) do, there is a great opportunity for you at SFChefs 2010! SFChefs 2010 will be held at Union Square in San Francisco, August 13th-15th, 2010 and is celebrating the local flair and regional flavors of San Francisco. Interested? If you have a Visa Signature Card, you could get 20% off tickets, gain access to front-row seating, and pre-sale tickets. Exclusive huh? Of course. It could be your magical moment to attend this premier food and wine event with opportunities to interact with notable chefs including Tyler Florence and Thomas Keller, among others. To learn more about this event visit SFChefs 2010.

With the glam affair being held in San Francisco, we now return to my ultimate home-eating...straight from the dog bowl! Those stainless steel bowls and plates - these are one of the most practical dishware I have ever (cheaply) owned. They are so easy to bring when moving. I pack them in the luggage because they are not fragile and not heavy.


This Stir-Fry Baby Choi Sum is so unpretentious and simply home-cooking. Quite classically magic, the fried shallots dial up the delectable factor to the otherwise simple stir-fry.

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Vegetarian Stir-Fry Noodles with Bok Choy, Mushrooms and Bell Peppers

My family dinner for two is usually simple, not sacrificing nutrition. Dinner is usually a one-dish, plus a "bonus" soup  if possible; or congee with side-dishes and a no-fail appearance of blanched vegetables. Does it sound weird? But the other side-dish(es) usually has gravy (sometimes curry), so it is not at all bland.


These days, my stir-fry noodle dish is a marriage of different vegetables. Can be Cabbage with Mushrooms, or Bok-Choy, Bell Peppers with Mushrooms.

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Sardines and Bittermelon Quick-Curry-Stew

I did not create anything new. Basically, I just re-marry ingredients and it must be bold of me to get these two ingredients together. Bittermelon and Brisling Sardines. Cannot imagine? Ha...I find it hard to imagine too before I wanted to cook it. I was bored with Brisling Sardines Curry with Tomatoes, Onions and Celery.


The base recipe is Bitter Melon Tomato Curry, only adding Brisling Sardines towards the last 5 minutes of cooking, mash the sardines up in this quick stew and allow the flavors to infuse.

I can tell you it is not that bad at all. The bitterness is mild, really mild. The tangy tomatoes done its job well again. Then the smoky virtues of sardines to balance the savory, sweet, tangy, bitterness - you need to try this.

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Cantaloupe Roast Cornish Game Hen

I have moved! Physically. Finally. If I have been quiet at your blog, I'm so sorry. I'm trying to get back on my routine schedule while I wait for the movers to be here in 4-weeks time. So long...:(

Colors of summer...brilliant for a summer roast

Summer is a good time to move due to the longer daylight hours. We could really do more within the day. But a bad time to move as rent is relatively more expensive in summer than other seasons. Anyhow, summer means peaches, apricots, berries, melons. The colors! I was so in the hurry to cook as have been eating out most of the time the first two weeks I was here. But cooking, wherever I am, needs to be easy, simple, fuss-free, healthy and delicious. So this Summer Roast Cornish Game Hen I created when summer rubs my shoulders.

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Chayote with Fresh Lily Bulbs (清炒佛手瓜鲜百合)

Since I am already familiar with using chayote in cooking, I explored another relatively new ingredient to pair with chayote today. I know it will not turn out disastrous as I already know the taste and texture of chayote. Fresh Lily Bulbs mark a close resemblance to...errr.... "finger nails" ...?

Can you find the finger nails I am talking about?

Fresh lily bulbs have a natural hint of sweetness and according to Chinese medicinal perspective, have slightly "cold properties". When the weather is dry, lily bulbs can be used to relieve coughs, dry throats and to clear away "heat" in the body. They are also known to promote restful sleep, to treat insomnia and reduce heart palpitations.

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Mailboxes: So much more to this simple creation

I did not know there was so much knowledge into mailboxes, as I am too used to standard square/rectangular metal residential mailboxes. That looked kinda ugly (personal opinion). Now with Mailboxixchange, there are definitely better and more choices. Mailboxixchange is indeed everything about mailboxes. From Wall Mount Mailbox to Mail Slots or Drop Boxes. Being a distributor of high quality residential mailboxes and commercial mailboxes, Mailboxixchange has over 2500 mailbox and curbside decor products including High Security Locking Mailbox System, Address Plaques and Numbers, Curbside Decor and Mailbox Component.

As I look out of my rental home right now (I just moved in!), I see a cluster of commercial-like mailboxes for this residential complex. Well, I would prefer a mailbox with High Security Locking Mailbox System. If only I owned a house....then I could really do what I want. Choose something secured and well-designed.

Whether you are an individual homeowner or represent a commercial business, Mailboxixchange can provide you with product depth, knowledge, low prices and customer service. It will definitely help you fully customize your mailbox solution.

Stir-Fry Watercress Pasta...summer pasta!

This is the first time I am using watercress for stir-fry. Yes, we are too familiar with making soup with watercress.

But as the "fatter" watercress stems tend to be fibrous, I decided to -Tip1: keep the stems for making the usual  watercress soup and Tip2: use the small tender leaves for a all-vegetables stir-fry with whole-wheat pasta (fusili). Tip3: Slice the bok choy, cabbage, carrots and mushrooms to the approximate size of the pasta (which in this case, fusili) to better the bite (chew) in each spoonful as you eat. This perfects the textures (and bite) of the final dish.

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Tomato-Beef Patty One Entity. Burger without Bun?

The idea was from a cooking show in the Chinese channel. I thought it was darn easy to make these beef patties. Idea I "stole" but not the recipe except for the two ingredients I followed exact - tomatoes and ground beef. I had my own seasoning to the beef patty.

Many of you have your own concoction when seasoning beef patties (esp for burgers) and they should all work fine. However, I do like the idea of tomato being the base for the patty. Why? If you can imagine...while pan-frying the patty (beef side down), the tomato on top trickles moisture down to the beef patty, ensuring the patty does not dry out. Moist and juicy. Even when you bite on them, it is juicy and moist due to the presence of tomatoes.

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Nagaimo (Mountain Yam) Chicken Soup - 淮山鸡汤

It is not often that I see edible tuber-llike plants with digestive enzymes such as amylase and diastase that convert starch to sugar and digest carbohydrates. Nagaimo is one of them, also know as Chinese Mountain Yam (山药 Shan Yao, or 淮山 Huai Shan. There is plenty of nutrients in Nagaimo and you should really check them out. When in season, they can be found in Asian Supermarket - Ranch 99, and Japanese Supermarkets - Nijiya and Mitsuwa, in California, USA.


I have done a stir-fry at home before and while I was staying at my friend's place, we also stir-fried these wild yams but it does not seem popular with guys (our husbands) - they do not enjoy the slimy texture! They complained it was weird.

However, when I make soup out of these yams one day ...you know what, hubby did not say anything (a good sign).  He just finished the soup. The sliminess seems to have "dissolved"(disappeared) and  became really subtle when cooked in a soup. Oh, maybe hubby thought he was drinking Chicken and Potato Soup? NO. They are not the same. The "sliminess" in potatoes is starch but the "sliminess" in these yams is definitely NOT starch but mucilaginous property of proteins.

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Fish "en papillote" with celery, carrot, ginger, mushrooms

Voting for Singapore Blog Awards 2010 has ended and this big event is taking place 10th July 2010, next Saturday, with the results announcement. But I will be traveling during this time and too bad... will be missing this event. Miss it by just a week! Anyway, good luck to all the finalists, "thank you" to the organizers and sponsors. Have a blast!

Now back to some unglam-affair here...tsk tsk...

The snakehead fish (San Yee, in Cantonese; 生鱼- Sheng Yu, in Mandarin) is good for healing wounds without much scarring from the wound. The usual practice is for Chinese to cook this fish in soups or congee (rice porridge). Sometime, San Yee Fish Soup is also consumed by patients who have just undergone operation/surgery.

However, I tried to be adventurous, fillet the fish like a butterfly, season the fish with some salt, white pepper and cooking wine; then stuff some aromatics (pre-fried thin shreds of garlic, ginger, celery, carrots, shitake mushrooms) into fish parcels,

to have them steamed...


IT DID NOT WORK!

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Steamed Ginger Egg Custard, 姜汁炖蛋

Fancy a smooth-top mirror-finished egg custard...


and knowing when the egg custard is set...


There are tips for smooth-top mirror-finished egg custard which includes:

(1) Straining the whisked egg through a sieve to remove egg-white strands and foam. It will
improve the quality and texture of the egg

(2) Covering the bowl or ramekin containing the egg with foil or plastic wrap while steaming - to prevent condensation from steam and water droplets dripping to the steaming egg

Traditionally, the "toothpick" method checks if a cake is completely baked (clean toothpick= done). However, we try not to do it for an egg custard.

Or I will be pock-faced!

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