Noodles and Rice

Shaking Beef

Read on and find out how this recipe got its name:

Ingredients:

500g fillet steak
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Cut the steak into bite-sized cubes. Place it in a bowl with the garlic, oil, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper, and mix well to combine. Cover and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
2. Heat a heavy-based wok until very hot; add the beef in 3 batches and toss, by shaking the wok and turning the meat with tongs, until brown and seared on the outside but still very pink in the centre.

Serve immediately by piling the meat into the centre of a serving plate, decorate with lettuce, cucumber and red onion.

This is like the Vietnamese version of the salpicao. Hope you like it!

Happy cooking!

By Raquel -- 0 comments

My favourite Christmas pressie

For Christmas, my sister got me this funky goggles specially designed for chopping and slicing onions. It’s very practical for someone like me who cooks a lot. I’ve been using it every time there’s too many onions that need chopping. Otherwise, I rely on my own technique.

How about you, what’s the best Christmas gift you received last year?

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Chicken Domburi recipe

I am very pleased to have found this recipe as I am reminded of my college days when I used to order this dish at the local Japanese fastfood stall inside our campus. What makes it unique is that they’d serve it up with raw egg on top, yum! I didn’t do the same though as this was my first attempt at this recipe. Maybe next time. For now, I thought I’d go strictly by the book:

Ingredients:

2 tbsps oil
200g chicken breast fillet, cut into thin strips
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsps water
4 tbsps Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsps mirin
1 tsp dashi granules
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat, and stir-fry the chicken until golden and tender; set aside.
2. Reheat the pan, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the water, soy sauce, mirin and dashi granules. Stir to dissolve the dashi and bring the stock to the boil. Cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the eggs, stirring gently to just break up the eggs. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Serve over steamed rice.

If you’re into onions and eggs, like my husband, then this is the dish for you!

Happy cooking!

By Raquel -- 2 comments

New year, new beginnings

There’s nothing like the the New Year to celebrate a new life, a new start, especially for these Korean men who “realized that cultural understanding works both ways.”

Further to the JoongAng Daily, under the marriage 101 program,

the men are introduced to the basics of family management, from legal issues about marriage brokering to facts about female sexuality and ways to communicate with their partners.

“The main priority of the program is to prevent violence and enhance better communication among couples who speak different languages and come from different ethnic backgrounds,” says Kim Seong-cheol, an official at the Ministry of Gender and Equality. “It’s designed to shift the awareness of Korean partners. To do that, they need to open up to their wives’ cultural roots.”

Isn’t it fascinating how times have changed? How I wish other countries will follow suit and embrace multicultural diversity the way Koreans do. In your opinion, how strongly or poorly do you feel about this?

By Raquel -- 0 comments

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

I know you have been asked this question way too many times the past few days or even maybe today alone. Mine is to make time to workout more, for my sake and my son’s. Now that he’s becoming more mobile, I would sometimes feel quite frustrated when my back or my knees begin to ache from cuddling or chasing him down. I never had the luxury of time this past year to give my body the exercise it so deserves because my daily routine required me to take care of my son 24/7 as he was just under a year old.

Easier said than done? Well, I hope by announcing this for all the world to read, I’ll be inspired to stick to my resolution! And to help me get started, I’m adapting a proper diet as well. Thus, I cooked up this healthy, delectable dish which I hope makes its way to your menu too:

Baked Spiced Fish Cutlets

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp ground coriander
1 stem lemon grass (white part only), finely chopped
2 tsps tamarind concentrate
2 tsps very finely grated lemon rind
4 small fish cutlets, such as blue eye cod
lime wedges, to garnish

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to warm 160 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan; add the onion, garlic, ginger, coriander and lemon grass, and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until aromatic.
3. Stir in the tamarind, lemon rind and season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool.
4. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and grease it lightly to prevent the fish from sticking. Arrange the fish in the baking dish in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the fish over gently, spread with the spice paste and bake for another 8 minutes, or until the flesh flakes when tested with a fork. Be sure not to overcook the fish or it will become dry. Garnish with lime wedges and serve with steamed rice.
Note: Adjust the cooking time if the cutlets are thick.

Happy cooking!

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Cheers to 2009!

Once again, pardon the nostalgia as I reminisce my cherished memories of New Year’s back home. Today, my mom would be at the kitchen, cooking Media Noche for tonight while my dad would be out buying firecrackers at the last minute. We would wear our polkadot outfit to evening mass and walk home before revelers start storming the streets for the fireworks. I remember how my mom would prefer banging on pots and pans as her way of driving the bad spirits away. And when we were kids, I recall my siblings and I jumping at the stroke of midnight in the hope that we would grow up tall. We’d have grapes, oranges and other round fruits in the hope that we would have infinite wealth! Crazy huh? I know!

How about you? Share me your own wacky rituals!

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Caramelised Prawns recipe

Another one of many flavorful ways to cook prawns:

Ingredients:

500g medium raw prawns
6 spring onions
1 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps caramel sauce*
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 red pepper, cut into fine strips, to garnish

Procedure:

1. Remove the prawn heads and, using a fine needle, devein prawns, leaving the tails, shells and legs intact. Rinse the prawns under running water and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Finely chop half the spring onions. Cut the rest into 4 cm long pieces and then finely shred the pieces into thin strips.

3. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan; add the garlic, chopped spring onion and prawns, and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing the prawns until they turn pink. Drizzle the caramel sauce and fish sauce over the top and cook for 1 minute. Add the lime juice, sugar, salt and remaining spring onion. Toss well and serve immediately, garnished with the red pepper.

* To make the caramel sauce, combine 4 tablespoons of sugar with 3 tablespoons of water in a small pan. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the syrup to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, until the syrup turns dark golden. Take care not to burn it. Remove the pan from the heat and add 4 tablespoons of water - it will spit and sizzle, and the caramel will form hard lumps. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, until the lumps become liquid again. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

With New Year just a couple of days away, why not cook up this uniquely sweet Vietnamese dish for Media Noche?

Happy cooking!

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Korean swimming Santas

In keeping with the holiday spirit, check out my unique, amazing find:

Clad in Santa Claus attires, synchronized swimmers perform in a big fish tank at the 63 Seaworld Aquarium in Seoul.

Cool! Isn’t it?!

Image credit: http://joongangdaily.joins.com

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Let’s go, Sago!

While browsing through my trusty cookbook, I realized, I haven’t made any dessert since last year when I painstakingly cooked up some leche flan as my Christmas gift to our friendly neighbors. I don’t think I’ll be making it again this time around. Perhaps I’ll try something new, something easier, like this Sago Pudding recipe I found:

Ingredients:

1 cup sago
3 cups water
1 cup lightly packed soft brown sugar
1 cup water, extra

Procedure:

1. Soak the sago in the water for 1 hour. Pour into a pan, add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and bring to the boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture becomes thick and the sago grains are translucent.

2. Half-fill 6 wet 1/2 cup moulds with the sago mixture. (I used a muffin tin as the mould.) Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.

3. Combine the remaining sugar with the extra water in a small pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until the syrup thickens. Remove from the heat and cool. To serve, unmould the sago and top with a little of the sugar syrup.

A simple, easy-to-prepare treat to beat the Christmas summer heat!

Happy cooking!

By Raquel -- 0 comments

Merry Christmas!

from my family to yours..

Enjoy your holidays! God bless!

By Raquel -- 2 comments