Baked Chicken and Carrot Porridge

Because of the opened pack of chicken stock which had to be used up within 7 days, I went through my collected stack of recipes and found one from Simply Her magazine, which will not only make use of all the stock, and is easy to cook as well. Since I didn't like to deal with chicken bits with bones still attached, I used chicken fillets instead of the stated chicken thighs.

Baked Chicken & Carrot Porridge

4 servings

Ingredients :

- 3 chicken thighs
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup white rice, washed
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 2 carrots, cubed
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- spring onions, chopped, for garnish

Directions :
1) Pre-heat oven to 175 deg C. De-bone and remove the chicken skin. Set the meat aside and wash the bones with hot water.

2) Place the chicken bones into a pot of water with the chicken stock. Add the rice and shallots and boil for 30 mins on medium heat. Turn off the heat when a porridge consistency forms.

3) While the porridge is cooking, marinate the chicken and carrots with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 mins.

4) Remove chicken from the oven and slice into pieces, then place on top of the porridge with the carrots. Garnish with spring onions.

To the cinema : Mamma Mia!

It should be about 5 to 6 years since Mamma Mia! musical came to Singapore. I could still remember how it was like in the Esplanade theatre, the atmosphere was highly charged and I could feel the pent-up energy of the people around me, trying hard to curb the urge to just jump up from the seats and dance along to the familiar and groovy ABBA songs. But being Singaporeans, we obediently stayed in our seats, not wanting to be the odd one out and risked people saying that we “action, action only” behind our backs. However, I’m sure that inside, everyone was imagining themselves up and about dancing and singing along to the songs. Well at least for me, my foot suddenly had a will of its own and started to tap along to “Dancing Queen”.

So, imagine my excitement when I realized that Hollywood had taken the musical and made it into a movie. Yun, Qing and I made a date to watch it together since the guys are totally not interested.

Honestly, the storyline for Mamma Mia! is not very strong. I believe it’s the lure of ABBA hits and how each song is cleverly injected throughout the plot that made it such a hit. It seems like each song is suited just for that moment of the story as it goes along. I wondered if the producers thought of the storyline first, then decide to use ABBA songs? Or did they thought of the story while going through the list of ABBA hits?

Anyway, if you are more of the movie fan than a musical fan, this is not the movie for you. Most of the acts are more theatrical-like, e.g. chasing one another among the trees, 3 middle-aged women jumping on the bed, and then the whole village singing and dancing together, etc.

Well, it would be quite unfair to compare with the musical as each has its own plus and minus points. It's the live performance vs actual scenery, professional musical cast vs all-star Hollywood cast. But personally, I much preferred the actual musical, even though the ticket may cost about 14 times more, and we had to squint our eyes to see how the performers look like, nothing beats hearing live singing and feeling the lively energy from the stage as well as the people around you.

- Mamma Mia! homepage

- Mamma Mia! movie official site

Chicken Stew

It wasn't every weekday that I could muster up enough strength and self-motivation to cook after working for the whole day. But somehow, I was feeling the urge to cook something tonight when the husband mentioned that he would be home for dinner. So, I quickly went through my collected recipes, those that I had marked as "must-try", and found this Chicken Stew recipe which I had torn out from a 2006 issue of Simply Her magazine.

However, when I got to the NTUC, I realised that there weren't anymore potatoes and large onions. In the end, I had to make do with just carrots in the stew. Luckily, the carrots maintained their sweetness after the simmer and the stew was delicious.

Chicken Stew
(4 servings)

Ingredients :

- 1 kg chicken, cut into bite-size pieces (for added flavour, marinate with 1 tablespoon of Hua Tiao wine)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 large onions, cut into wedges
- 3 large carrots, cut into cubes
- 4 potatoes, cut into cubes
- 500-700 ml of stock/water
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Directions :
1) Mix flour with 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and ground spices. Coat chicken pieces with the seasoned flour.

2) Heat oil and butter in a pot and fry the onions until fragrant.

3) Add chicken pieces and fry till lightly browned.

4) Add stock, carrots and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until chicken and vegetables are tender.

Some modifications I did :
- I left the chicken to marinate in Hua Tiao wine while I cut up the carrots and prepare the flour mixture. (I did a rough gauge since it was not mentioned for how long should we marinate the chicken)
- I used the chinese five-spice powder instead of the ground cinnamon and nutmeg as stated.
- Instead of just simmering for 15 minutes, I did mine for about 30 minutes and the chicken was still quite tender.

Shrimp Fried Rice

As the few previous fried rice meals we had were with luncheon meat and eggs, I thought it a change of ingredients this time might be good. So I bought some shrimps and a small cabbage as an alternative to the usual luncheon meat, and they were sort of a healthier choice too.

Anyway, I didn't really follow any recipe for this dish, so the following is just a rough guideline, especially for the amount of cooking oil and salt to use, is all up to the individual.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Ingredients :

- Cooked leftover rice, for 2

- 10 medium-sized shrimps, shelled and deveined

- 2 eggs (I used 3 coz I like my fried rice to be more "eggy")

- about half of a small cabbage, cut into strips

- garlic, chopped

- black pepper (optional)

- salt to taste

- cooking oil

Directions :

1) Heat some oil in a frying pan and toss in the cabbage. Stir-fry the cabbage for about 2 minutes, add in about 2 tablespoons of water, then put on the cover for the vegetable to cook.

2) When the cabbage has softened, add in a dash of salt, stir a bit and remove from the pan. (I try not to keep too much of the liquid left behind by the cabbage.)

3) Cook the shrimps. (Optional : you can sprinkle some black pepper over them as they cook.) When the shrimps just about turn pink, remove from the pan. Do not overcook the shrimps here as they will be cooked again when added to the rice later.

4) Again, heat some oil in the frying pan and toss in the garlic. Stir-fry till fragrant and slightly browned, then add in the eggs. Stir the eggs so that they look scrambled, and when the yolk is firm but slightly runny, add in the rice. Try to ensure that the eggs are evenly spread out over the rice.

5) Leave the rice to cook for a while until you can see the some of the rice "dancing", then toss again for a few times before adding in the cabbage and the shrimps. Add salt to taste.

You can refer to here for more detailed instructions for the fried rice, as well as some tips to make your fried rice taste better.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred

This list has been going around cyberspace for quite some time. Created by the author of Very Good Taste (VGT), he believes that as an omnivore, the following are some of the things that we should not miss out.

However, due to the different cultures and/or beliefs, there may be some foods that we cannot eat, or have never heard before. But no worries, like what VGT had done, I'll be linking them through Wikipedia for further explanations.

Here's what you can do :

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at the original The VGT Omnivore's Hundred linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (no raw meat for me)
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (most likely will be too spicy for me)
27. Dulce de leche (next on my recipe-to-try list)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam Chowder in Sourdough Bowl (not in a Sourdough Bowl though)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (maybe without the fat cigar...)
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (does drinking the soup counts?)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal (another one that might be too spicy for me too)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu (I know it's most likely safe... but still, no thanks...)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain (can I take it as goreng pisang?)
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (how about just the blini without the caviar?)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill (if it's cooked and I'm unaware of its origin)
76. Baijiu (烧酒)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (strawberry-flavour... yum!)
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu (oooh... might never get a chance this lifetime)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (maybe, maybe not)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox (bagel only)
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (hmmm... where can I get to try this locally?)
100. Snake

My score : 21 / 100

I'm sure if there is a chance to travel more around the world, I would be able to eat more than these.

Linguine with Shrimp and Basil

After 2 weeks of reservist, the husband mentioned that he felt like having some shrimp pasta and salmon. I was also craving for some pasta myself. So, I decided to cook something fast and simple. The following recipe was based on a creamy sauce shrimp pasta. But the husband doesn't like cream sauce, so I modified it some.

Linguine with Shrimp and Basil

Ingredients:

- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- linguine for two
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 8 large shrimp - peeled and deveined
- 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
- salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 7 - 8 minutes. Place pasta in a colander, and give it a quick rinse with cold water.

2. Heat butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, stirring constantly, until the garlic is tender, about 1 minute. Do not let the garlic burn.

3. Stir tomatoes, wine, parsley, and basil into the skillet. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, 7 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp, and continue cooking until the shrimp turned pink, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Serve the shrimp mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Baked Salmon (II)

Baked Salmon (II) (from : allrecipes)

Ingredients:

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 6 tablespoons light olive oil

- 1 teaspoon dried basil

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon ground blackpepper

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley,chopped

- 2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

Directions:

1.In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3.Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.