Porridge with Goji berry and dried Scallop

Ingredients (5-6 servings):

• 2 cups rice
• a handful of dried goji berries or wolfberries
• 2 pieces of dried scallops
• sufficient amount of water
• salt, seasoning & sesame oil to taste

Methods

• Wash the rice;
• put all ingredients into the soup pot;
• add sufficient water (more water is required to cook porridge and water can be added on from time to time as required);
• bring to boil and turn the fire to the lowest;
  
• continue to cook till all ingredients are soften, add in salt and seasoning to taste;
• add in some sesame oil just before serving

Tip : leave the pot uncovered while cooking using gas or electrical stove to avoid overflow when it is being boiled.

China Garden Restaurant dishes on Chloe's 1st birthday

These are the selection of dishes that my brother picked for Chloe's 1st birthday at the China Garden Restaurant at Bukit Padang last weekend.

Cucumber pickles, the appetizer

the birthday eggs wrapped with red coloured plastic paper

battered prawns

the long life noodles, there supposed to be sauces on top of it but the waiters served the noodles too fast before the kitchen add on the sauces. It a bit dry and hard as result.

the fried chicken

the tau fu

the lamb

the fish

the vegetable and dried bean curd

Sweet & spicy sambal fish with eggs

This is one of the favourite Malay dishes in Malaysia, sweet & spicy sambal fish with eggs. It is best to be served with turmeric rice. Sister in law cooked both the fish and rice and share with us last weekend. This week she is going to cook fresh crabs and fishes which my brother bought from Kudat this morning. Very look forward to..

Amaranth Greens or Chinese Spinach soup

One of my favourite soup, the Amaranth greens or Chinese Spinach or Bayam (Malay) soup. I boiled the chicken meat or bones as soup base and added on tomatoes, a slice of ginger and amaranth greens, and some salt and seasoning to taste.

Buffet at Promenade Hotel

Buffet dinner that we had on Clet's birthday, I thought I should post them here too...

Hippocrates' soup

This is the Hippocrates' soup that is recommended in the detox and rejuvenation programme that I underwent last week. It is supposed to be boiled (simmer) for few hours until all ingredients are very soft.

The ingredients are (for up to 8 servings):

• Tomato (1 cup)
• Onion ( 1 large one)
• Garlic (3 cloves)
• Celery (1 cup)
• Carrot ((1 cup)
• Potatoes (5)
• Pumpkin (1 cup)
• Leeks (1 cup)
• Distilled water

Preparing directions:

Cut all the above into cube and put them into slow cooker with distilled water just enough to cover the all the ingredients. Simmer for few hours until all the ingredients are very soft.

Do not put any salt and seasonings.

Italian Long Life Non Stick Frying Pan

After throwing away the scratched non stick pan, I was struggling to cook with the stainless steel and other frying pan, they stick and very difficult to clean up, an easy and simple cooking like making pancakes became disasters by using a stainless steel and other frying pans that I have. I was told that stainless steel pans will not stick at a certain temperature, well......I just couldn't get the right temperature.

Without doubt that stainless steel is a much healthier choice when comes to cooking utensils and cook wares but I am just not good at handling the frying pan so I bought an Italian made (it says on the label) Long Life Non Stick Frying Pan at a restaurant and kitchen utensils and cookwares specialised shop just outside my house.

With a new non stick frying pan, making pancakes and other cooking have been so much easier, besides saving on cooking oil, it also saves me time to wash it up too.