Simple Fried Celery Stalks with Bacon Recipe

Celery Stalks are easily available in most hypermarket and they are normally imported from US. My daughter does not like celery. However, she likes bacon very much. Therefore, in order to get her to eat celery, I fried them with bacon. Anyway, she did took one bite at the celery and ate some of the carrots in this dish. Well, at least, I manage to get her to try out this Simple Fried Celery Stalks with Bacon dish. LOL!

Ingredients
Celery, 4 stalks, cut into bite size
Bacon, 3 slices, cut into small pieces
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Carrot, 1 pc, cut into bite size
Salt to taste (Note, bacon  and celery are already salty, so you might not need to add salt at all)

Heat up wok and add a little water. Put in the bacon pieces. This is the best way to make the bacon crispy without burning it. Adding water to bacon when cooking it would bring out the oil and when the water vapourise, the bacon would be fried till crispy in the oil. Add in the garlic and saute till golden brown. Throw in the celery and carrot. Fry for a short while. Serve with steamed rice.

Tairu from Chai Leng Park Wet Market

I bought this packet of Tairu (Thayiru in Indian Malayalam language) from an Indian shop in Chai :Leng Park wet market. Tairu is actually yogurt. This packet of Tairu is made from fresh cow milk and cost me RM1.50. The stall owner told me that it is good for clearing heatiness from our body expecially when we eat too much hot and spicy food. It can also be added to steamed rice and eaten together with Indian dishes.

Anyway, when I reached home, I added some ice to the fresh Tairu and drank it. The sourness is just right and I can savour its' natural taste. Actually natural yogurt taste so much better than flavoured ones.

Yum, yum, really good as a thirst quencher!

Healthy Healthy Steamed White Snapper Fish (Pek Chor) with Apple, Yuk Chuk and Kei Chi Recipe

This Chinese herbal recipe nourishes the stomach and is very tasty as well. I used a combination of Apple, Yuk Chuk (Polygonatum root) and Lycium Berries (Kei Chi).

Apple is added for dietary fibre, yuk chuk moisten the internal organs and Lycium Berries enriches the yin energy. I added fried ginger which is well know to repel stomach wind.

Before I cooked this Chinese herbal combination with Pek Chor (White Snapper Fish), I was wondering whether my kids would eat it. Thank god, they love it very much! LOL!

Here is my Healthy Steamed Pek Chor Fish with Apple, Yuk Chok and Lycium Berries.

Ingredients
Pek Chor Fish, 3 medium table size
Yuk Chok, 10 slices
Lycium Berries, 10 pcs
Apple, 1 pc, cut into bite sizes
Ginger, cut into strips, amount varies according to preference
Light soya sauce, 3 tablespoons
Sugar, a little or to taste
Vegetavle oil, 1 tablespoon

Arrange fish, yuk chok, lycium berries and apple in a steaming tray. Steam at high heat for 30 minutes. Mean while you can prepare the fish sauce. Heat up wok and put in the vegetable oil. Saute ginger strips until they turned golden brown. Add light soya sauce and sugar. Take out the steamed fish and pour the sauce over it while still hot.

Serve immediately with white rice.

Note : You can replace Pek Chor Fish with Haruan Fish (Snakehead, sang yee). Haruan fish is very good for stomach and wound healings. Those with stomach ulcer would benefit very much from haruan fish cooked this way.

Breakfast at Singapore Marine Parade Food Centre and Market

During our trip to Singapore, we wake up early on the third day to have breakfast at Marine Parade Market and Food Centre. This food court is located in the heart of Singapore Marine Parade Central and you can find the map of this place here.

I love to eat at this food court because there is a large variety of food to choose from. There was a good morning crowd here when we arrived, mostly office workers having their breakfast.

Each stall normally sells a few types of food. Lor Mee (Braised) noodle stall might also offer other stuff such as Hokkien Mee as well.

My son came back with this packet of Nasi Lemak which he bought from a stall in the middle section that have a long queue. The Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice) looks very delicious with the deep fried ikan (fish) selar kuning and ayam goreng rempah (deep fried chicken with spices). He ate all of it in a jiffy! Must have tasted quite good!

I could not decide what to eat and actually walked around the food court for at least 2 times. But when I wanted to order Lor Mee, the stall proprietor told me that the soup is not ready yet.

After that I manage to locate a kuih (local cake) outlet that sells chee cheong fun. I was eager to try it out and ordered two pieces. The sauce is lighter than Penang Chee Chong fun and there was no Har Ko (shrimp paste) in it. They used sweet bean paste (tnee cheo) or more popular known in Korea as Gochujang. Yum yum, I love it!

The kuih (local cake) stall that I bought the Chee Cheong Fun from.

My brother in law came back with some light snacks of Teochew Chui (Chwee) Kueh (Watery cake) which is actually a steamed rice flour based cake topped with spicy dried shrimp sauce. Very delicious except that I don't like to use tiny toothpicks to eat them. I dunno why they always serve this soft chui kueh with toothpicks?????? It is not easy to pick up this super soft kueh using the toothpicks!

Nostalgia.........! My daughter looking at one of the exercise equipment in the playground outside the Marine Parade food centre. She played with it a few years back. She was 4 years old that time. Unfortunately the equipment leg paddle is gone now. Only left the top handle.

Hah, this stall selling Singapore Schools Examiniation papers is still around.....LOL!

How to Repair Your Whistling Kettle - Step By Step Guide

It would be a waste to throw away a good stainless steel kettle just because the whisle is not working. Actually replacement parts for the whistle are sold by some vendors but finding a matching one is a real headache.

One of the reed (tiny metal plate that vibrate creating sound, often made from brass) of my whistling kettle broke when my wife tried to clean the reed chamber. Steam would rush through this large cavity and there would not be any whistling sound when the water boils. Actually I did not know that the reed was broken before opening up the whistle assembly. After repairing it, my kettle works fine again, like when it was new!

Step One - Open the screws that hold the reed chamber and top handle of the cover. Remove reed plates from the reed chamber. This whistling kettle has two reed plates and each plate has two reeds. It is made from brass but sometime you can find stainless steel, plastics or aluminium ones. This reed works just like the reed in your good old harmonica. When air rushes through the tiny gap, the vibration would create a whistling sound.

Step Two - For my case one of the reed was broken, so all the steam would take the easy way out through this large gap. Therefore, there was no whistling sound whenever the water boils. I used a metal sticker (the ones that are used to patch pots) to cover up this cavity. Then I pushed the other reed back in place to reduce the gap to enhance the whistling sound intensity.

Step Three - Fix the reed plates back into the plastic chamber which is actually the top holder. Screw back the plastic top holder on the kettle cover. Fill the whistling kettle with water and test it out.

The video below shows my repaired whistling kettle in action! he he he, just like a new whistling kettle! LOL!

Deep Fried Pork in Tomato Sauce Recipe (Kulo Yoke, Sweet and Sour Pork)

I cooked this sweet and sour pork (kulo yoke) for my family's dinner before driving back to my hometown for Chinese New Year Celebration. This is one of my children favourite dish and I am sure your kids love this dish too.

I prepared this tomato sauce using minced pork meat. You can just coat them with corn flour or any fried chicken flour before deep frying them. If you want the meat to have more flavours, you can use this Mini Pork Balls recipe that I posted previously.

Here is my Sweet and Sour Pork  recipe (Pork in tomato sauce).

Ingredients
Pork, 300 gms, minced
Corn Flour, enough to coat the pork balls
Tomato sauce, 10 table spoons or more if you want to dish to have more gravy
Garlic, 3 cloves, chopped finely
Tomato, 1 pc, cut into 6 pcs
Onion, 1 pc, cut into 4
Cucumber, 1 small, cut into bite sizes
Bell Pepper, (optional), 1 pc, cut into bite size
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Coat minced pork with corn flour and deep fry them until golden brown. Put the deep fried pork aside. Heat up wok and pour in a little vegetable oil. Saute garlic until fragrant. Add a little water, tomato sauce, onion, bell pepper, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil.

Arrange the deep fried pork and cucumber on a serving dish. Pour the sauce over the deep fried pork and cucumber. Serve while still hot. Best eaten with steamed rice.

Chinese New Year 2011 and 2012 - Mom

It was 2 days before 2011 Chinese New Year, my mom was diagnosed with cerebral bone spur (very painful symtoms) and was temporarily bedridden. She has already bought all the ingredients to cook for our family reunion dinner. I know that this dinner is very important to her and she would very much like our family to enjoy her cooking. Although I can whip up the same dishes, my cooking is not up to her standard. The only dish that she managed to prepare was the lobak (Five spice meat roll). Anyway, I have to take over her kitchen and cooked up the festival dish below.

Clockwise from the top : Lobak, Curry Chicken, Fried Mix Vegetable, Tau Eu Bak (Dark soya sauce Pork Belly), Pork Stomach soup, lobak again, Accar (Nyonya Spicy Sweet Mix Salad) and Jiu Hu Char (Fried Turnips with Dry Squid strips, Not in photo). My mom says the dishes are ok but I think my Accar was a little lack of flavours.....got to work on the recipe! LOL!

Pre Reunion Dinner Meal - Tau Cheo Fish for mom to eat with rice......

Pre Reunion Dinner Meal - Crispy Butter Cereal chiken for the children.

Morning breakfast- My signature Fried Mee (Yellow Noodles)......

My sister has already bought all the ingredients to cook Penang Assam Laksa, so we cooked it on the 1st Day of New Year....yum yum!

Year after year, ever since my mom married my dad, she never fails to pay respect to our ancestors in the form of food offering. Last year was the only year she was not able to do so. My dad, wife, kids and me took over her role and set up this simple altar in the house. I want my kids to remember their ancestors, pay respect to them and also learn about Chinese Tradition.

You can see my youngest son doing his lion dance routine while we were busy praying. LOL! Look at all his toys that he left at my dad's house in the box next to our old fridge. My mom's wheelchair is next to the fridge.....my son would push it near to my mom's bed everynight. He will also place the walking stick next to my mom at night before going to bed. Never ask him why he did that...........

I was very busy the last six months and didn't blog much because I was getting my house ready to bring my mom and dad to stay with me, so that they can have proper home cooked meal and care. My mom has been caring and cooking for my siblings and me for far too many years. I guess it is time for us to do the reverse. In my house, most of the time my kids would be around to accompany them too.

For this year (2012) Chinese New Year Celebration, mom told me that she and my sister had bought some of the ingredients from the wet market. I was still wondering how she managed to go there, walking so slowly with her walking stick???

Anyway, I have prepared some of the dishes upfront and would be bringing them back home!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

 CHERISH EVERY MOMENT YOU SPENT WITH YOUR LOVED ONES DURING THIS FESTIVE SEASON!

Late Night Chu Char (Fried Food) Supper at a Marine Parade Promenade Coffee Shop

After a full day out around Singapore we went back to our hotel to freshen up. Then our stomach start to growl again, so we went out for supper at a Food Outlet in Marine Parade Promenade near Marine Parade Food Court. This coffee shop is open 24 hours for late night drinkers but the Chu Char (Wok Fried Food) would close around 11.30 pm. We managed to make the last order for the day and was happilly tucked in the food when we suddenly realised that we need to order more. Too bad, the chu char owner would not take anymore orders because they are preparing to close the stall.....sigh...

Although it is about 11.50pm and the next day is a working day, there is still a good crowd at this eating place. Most of them are here for a nite shot of beer! Yam Seng

The first dish that came, Fried Hor Fun (flat rice noodles) with fish slices and garnished with bean sprouts(taugeh)......very nice.

Fried Ee Mee (Fried Egg Noodles) which is known as Man Ee Mee in KL. Another tasty dish from this stall.

Ahhhh, I love this Fried Singapore Bihun........
Fried with to perfection! Yum Yum.....

Location :

This makan place (eating place) is very near to the Marine Parade road overhead bridge. If you are crossing the bridge from the opposite site, then walk towards your left. When you see the Marine Parade Promenade Arch, you will notice a corner restaurant with a large 24 Hours sign board.