wade's beef noodle bday

champion food

We participated in the iron chef competition today and came back with a whole bunch of beef, chicken, and spring onions, courtesy of the campus center. All that cooking and oranges got us pretty hungry so we decided to jump straight into dinner when we got home. Dinner turned out tasting a lot better than the stuff we cooked in the afternoon.

Our kitchen and honorary housemates.

Beef seasoned with soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, pepper (this marinade was actually from the korean cookbook we won!). Wrap around base of spring onion, for that crunch, pan fry till it smells good. This dish was very tasty, Mr. Swee will attest to that with his look of ecstasy, with a great flavor and texture combination. It will definitely be even better if cooked over a charcoal grill.

Poached chicken seasoned with a hot sesame oil, spring onion, and ginger mixture poured over. Easy and tasty!

Dried anchovies (aka ikan billis) fried with chili prawn paste (aka sambal), edamame, and peanuts. Good to eat with anything or on its own for that matter.

Mr. Swee takes a swig while he stinks up the street frying dried ikan billis, which according to firemen, smell like cat piss.

Our efforts at horticulture.

champagne high tea

With the thesis in the bag and the fear of real life setting in, a little good food and champagne is a welcome distraction.

the menu

the table

the gravlax

the heart attack sauce and asparagus

the heart attack croque madame

the panna cotta with frozen fruit and missing apple cake

After this we all took a nap and woke up to have dinner....life is good.

Easter Brunch

This meal on the patio made passers-by grin with envy as the smell of charred meat, grilled seafood and fresh spring vegetables filled the street. It was an indication that spring was here. I cannot imagine a greater way of spending Easter Sunday amongst good friends, warm company and great food. In our accompaniment were pork, lamb, chicken, shrimp and sausage which were delicately marinated in a host of various seasoning - from a rack of ribs marinated in mustard, infused with tarragon sprigs to chicken skewers peppered with cumin, fish sauce and other good spices. For greens, we had a lettuce salad tossed in olive oil and a potato salad andrew made with kewpie mayo and some dashi pellets.

It was a thrill to watch as slab after slab of pork was thrown on the grill, fired to perfection and go down our tummies. The big juicy shrimps were scorched on each side as homemade lemon butter was brushed between the crevices of these glowing orange crustaceans. The highlight was probably the pork strips which had been marinating in mirin and soy sauce over the stove, which when slapped on the barbi, formed a crispy crust with a tender interior. Simply decadent. Samantha's prized lamb chops were quite a hit to and were served rare, medium and well-done. We washed everything down with an orange cooler with lemon slices. It was a splendid day as the sun shone down on us and as we watched Drama Queen suck bone after bone of the poor pig.

plates of pizza!

We made pizza some time back, pulling out whatever was in the fridge as usual to see what manner of permutations we could come with. The pizzas concoctions are as follow:

Strawberry jam and muenster cheese in a sweet and savory marriage.

Tomato pasta sauce with shrimp and Parmesan.

Tomato pasta sauce with chicken tikka masala sausage, cheese and olives.

Homemade pesto sauce and homemade mozzarella with olives, shrimp, and tomatoes.

sunday compost dinner

a quick look at the fridge, a quick email to the house

dinner at 6pm:
risotto with crispy mushrooms
creamed chard
prawns with garlic
asparagus

luke

so,

asparagus.
lay out bacon on tray, sprinkle with sugar and paprika, bake at 450F.
cut 1.5inches off asparagus, rinse, dry then lay out on tray. splash some olive oil, sprinkle some salt, bake at 500F.
crumble bacon over nicely cooked asparagus (don't overcook them, cos they will feel like limp lobster legs in your mouth.) sprinkle lemon juice over.

swiss chard.
wilt swiss chard with white wine (pinot grigio).
meanwhile, make bastardised bechamel (BB) sauce (equal parts flour and butter, about 3-4 times more milk). cook it till it's tan in color to remove the taste of raw flour. keep whisking while adding milk bit by bit to avoid clumps. here's where i bastardised it - i added dried thyme and bits of parmaggiano. toss wilted chard with BB sauce.

risotto.
slice mushrooms thinly (this chef i used to work for replied to my question about rinsing mushrooms by saying," mushrooms are fungi. so if there's other fungi on the mushroom, it's all the same.") deep fry in a pot with 1.5inch of oil at about 375F. quickly remove mushrooms when golden brown, spread them out in a single layer over paper towels and salt.
reconsitute leftover risotto, adjust with salt pepper and water.

prawns.
heat pan with some oil and butter, let butter brown. add prawns, and slice garlic. once cooked, remove shrimp, deglaze with white wine and reduce. pour over plated prawns.

eat without linnea, then put a double portion on her plate and make all her yoga efforts go to waste. ah ah ah (sesame street's count's laughter)!

also, i made some mozzerella today, so it will be eaten tomorrow with some tomatoes, if they arrive in weshop.

Scissors Cut Rice

Yesterday for dinner, Bertram and I ambitiously tried to recreate the Hainanese-style Scissors Cut Rice, but to very limited success.

Dish 1: Pork Rib Curry
Having learnt my lesson from last time, I allowed my pork curry to simmer for a longer while, resulting in softer and juicier pork ribs. First I fried blended garlic and shallots until the nice fragrance came out, then I threw in blended ginger and onions, and fried till they became "dry and toasty", in Mr Pang's words. I next threw in the Curry Powder Cake (a la Rendang Powder Cake from the previous time), fried the mixture for a bit, before throwing the pork ribs (available, amazingly, at Weshop!) and cubed potatoes in. After stirring for a bit, I added 3 cups of hot water, and allowed the mixture to stew for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, I added one can of coconut milk, and allowed the mixture to simmer very gently for 20 more minutes. At this point I shrieked, because I'd forgotten to add lemongrass in the earlier stage of frying the spices, and I was pretty upset because we've actually got lemongrass this time.

Stewed a little bit more, added some salt to taste, copped out with a dash of fish sauce because it was somehow pretty bland, and served.

Dish 2: Soggy(?) Cabbage Stir Fry

Garlic slices, fry. Cabbage, fry. Add ikan bilis (dried anchovies) stock, allow to simmer. Add a dash of sesame oil for fragrance, some white pepper powder, throw on some scallion, and serve.

Dish 3: Special Mapo Tofu

Pseudo claypot tofu made on a pan with an assortment of leeks,red onions, celery, white mushrooms

Dish 4: Crispy Fried Eggs (special guest chef, Mr Andrew Lim)

This is essentially frying the eggs in a good unhealthy portion of hot oil such that the eggs start to bubble upon hitting the oil. After the sides start to brown, flip it over and wait a few seconds before removing from heat. Ideally the yolk should still be runny and the outsides crispy and oily. 

Conclusion: Far from any self-respecting Scissors Cut Rice -- we had no time to prepare the starchy black gravy for the eggs and veggies, nor was the curry smooth yet tasty enough. And of course, nothing was really Scissors Cut. But as my Boss likes to say, "in this world, who don't make mistake?"