Huay Ping's Sharing Corner

We all know well that having pork belly is sinful, but somehow it is simple irresistible. I got the recipe of this dish from Wendy.

As preparing braised pork belly takes up longer cooking time, I usually cook a little more.

I cut the pork belly into big cubes like the one shown below. I used 3 strips of pork belly which is around 800gm. The pork appears to be little whitish after blanching with boiling water.

Other than the pork belly, below are the aromatics you need. Spring onion, dried chilies, garlic, ginger, szechuan peppercorn.

On a working weekday, there is no ground for us with toy the idea of having those soup that take more then one hour to prepare (老火汤). Nonetheless, you do deserve a bowl of hot soup after a long day of work. If you have never fail to prepare instant mee, trust me you can’t go wrong with this simple tomato soup.

The ingredients you need are rather simple. I have added a little bit of ground pork here. Take note that it is absolutely optional. The main ingredients are merely dried scallops, tomato and 1 egg.  Sound ridiculous?  Dear, it is easy as pie and really effortless to make.

Take note that this soup is best taken instantly after you add the egg.

~Happy Cooking~

I first came to know about the place Venice from my boyfriend-now-hubby. He to me it is his wish to bring his future wife for honeymoon to this romantic place before I become his girlfriend and eventually wife. When we were planning for wedding, all our financial budget went to the renovation cost pool for our new home, and we didn’t go to Venice.

Five years later, with the blessing of my youngest sister, I was fortunate to visit this scenic place. My youngest sister was having her convocation in Edinburgh (UK) and I was chosen as the family representative her graduation. We scheduled an Europe tour, and the first stop was Venice.

I flew there alone from Penang, to meet up with her the water city, Venice.

This is the view captured before landing in Venice. Isn’t it breathtaking?

The Calatrava bridge.

The continental breakfast served in our room by the hotel.

A view from the window. I have never seen so many chimneys.

~To Be Continued~

The idea of driving out for the sole purpose of lunch during weekend has always turn me off, especially when the weather is hot, and most of the time, it is hot. Unless I have errands to run, I would usually prefer to settle our lunch with something simple at home. My definition of something simple means  ”simple ingredients, straight forward cooking method, settled within +- 20 min”.

I once tried Hakka Mee in Ying Ker Lou in Pavilion KL, a fine dining restaurant which serves authentic Hakka cuisine. This little soupy noodles served is so simple and yet yummy. As usual, I hunt for the recipe in the WWW after trying, and my search was fruitful with the finding of Lily’s sharing. I have adapted her recipe to the version below.

I use the noodles as as pictured below.  A big pack like this only costs me a humble RM4.

As I promised, other than the noodles, below are all the ingredients you need. Ground pork, chopped garlic, spring onion, fish sauce and a teaspoon of pepper. No, I didn’t miss up the oil, it is not  even required dear. If you find this complicated, I would suggest you to give up the idea of home cooking. Be reminded that having instant noodles is not a solution.

If you are familiar with Asian cooking, you know it well that spring onion is one of the most common ingredients used. It is low in cost, and never fail to spice up the aroma of the dishes prepared. The only nuisance linked to this is the duration it can be stored in fridge. Unlike cabbage or other more durable vegetables, it is not easy to maintain its freshness. Thanks to Wendy’s sharing,  by just trimming it and storing it in covered tupperware in fridge, you can store it up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Please do not grumble as you have one less excuse for home cooking.

~Happy Cooking and I wish you a beautiful Saturday~

The cooking style with egg gravy (滑蛋) is always a favourite among Chinese, especially the Cantonese. I was always wondering how is the smooth gravy is prepared. My midst are cleared upon watching a cooking video by a famous Taiwanese Chef 阿基师 on youtube. The quick and sharp chopping skill of this chef is really admirable. Master Qi (阿基哥) is always known for his professional ethics, friendly image and sincerity. He is very articulate in his speech and often share secret cooking skills in his shows.

This is one of my favourite working days dishes or weekend lunch. It is a one-dish meal, less demanding in term preparation time.

The ingredients used are really simple, basically the seasoning used are corn flour, chicken cube and fish sauce. Unlike oyster sauce or sesame oil, fish sauce is not quite commonly used in Chinese cooking. It is easy to have more then half of bottle of it expiring on your shelf. The small bottle by Ferry brand is a good solution to avoid food wastage. I got it from a Jusco supermart at RM1.70 only.

I have always wondering how the cooked cauliflower and broccoli served in restaurants appear to be so beautiful and sharp in colour. The recipe shared by Steamy Kitchen clear my midst. The secret to maintain the colours lies in the cooking method. There vegetables just need to be briefly boiled and not stir-fried. A colourful vegetable dish would never fail to spice up the diners.

~Happy Cooking~

Having a pork trotter (猪手) dish during CNY is one of the many traditions inherited from the past. This is the case because it symbolises great fortune to come. During CNY celebrations, I have always been prudent in my planning.

If you are not familiar with cooking pork trotter, take note that there is a difference between “Pork Hand” (猪手) and “Pork Leg” (猪脚). Pork hand refers to the fronts legs, and is more meaty and thus more suitable for this dish. Pork leg is usually used for soup.

There are many versions of cooking pork trotter. I got this recipe from a CNY cook book. It turned me down initially because of the need to pre-fry the pork trotter. I once tried skipping the deep frying step, and the texture of the pork trotter did not turn out good. It is best to follow all the procedures listed.

Yes, I heard you. There is so much to do  during CNY, and cooking this dish certainly too time-consuming during the festive season. No worries dear, you can always prepare this in advance and freeze it till the festive season. Pork dishes generally become more tasty after freezing overnight. I use to prepare it one week before CNY.

~Gong Xi Fa Cai~

My grandma has been preparing this dish for most praying occasions since ages ago, such as the decease anniversary of our ancestors, or CNY eve. There is never a change to the cooking method. Nevertheless, all of us do like it though. During the younger days, having a prawn dish is always a luxury. Kids like us would be so excited when there was a prawns dish. Complaining about the repeated cooking method never cross our mind as we could not even wait to finish the hot and spicy prawns after prayers.

Beware that the chilli sauce used is different from the ordinary chilli sauce, but something like the one shown in the photo above. You can sauce it in local hypermarket or grocery shop.

~Happy Cooking~

Japanese Tofu is always linked with the sizzling hot plate tofu, where the sliced tofu pieces are deed fried. For healthier choice and less demanding cooking, I very much prefer this version which I found from Sonia. The filling prepared for this is very much similar to steamed dumpling (siew mai). My family commented that it tastes better than siew mai, perhaps the soft texture of Japanese egg tofu taste better than the wontan skin.

This is a simple dish to prepare. The only step that requires more attention is the stuffing of the tofu as you need to make a small whole on the sliced tofu pieces gentle before you stuff the filling on it. You need not concern about the roundness of the shape, as it would all be covered up.

I came to know about this dish in my Hat Yai Trip last year. It is really tasty and goes well with rice. For someone who likes minced meat and chilli, a humble dish like this is always good enough.

I searched for the recipe from a Thai dishes blog. It is really simple to prepare. If you are not a fussy person, all you need to fry another sunny egg, and a complete meal could be served. I usually prepare this for this during working week day. It is still a good option compared to eating out.

The only trouble to prepare this dish is to source for the Basil Leaves (九层塔). This spice is not commonly available as curry leaves or lime leaves. I hardly see it in hyper market. You can find them in the local market but it certainly depends on your luck, as it may not available on daily basis.  Basil leaves are more common in Northern states like Kedah and Penang due to the Thai influence to the local cuisine.

The good news it is easy to plant. Basil leaves could be used to lots of other dishes. If you are fond of the taste, it is certainly no harm trying to plant a pot like what I have done. I tried with the basil I bought from the market, it survived and grow.

~Happy Gardening~