The Momster’s Kitchen

When I was in Penang last month, my sales colleague brought me for lunch and they asked me whether am I OK with Tamarind Prawns or they called it Assam Prawns. I told them, for me, I am quite simple, just order what they like to eat and no need to concern about me cos I just wacked anything on the table and furthermore I am there to pay money only. Hahaha… when they told me Assam Prawns, it didn’t come across my mind that it is the dry type of panfried prawns marinated with Assam paste. What that come across my mind is the type of Assam Prawns with gravies, daun kesum and bunga kantan and taste just like the Assam Laksa gravies.

When the dish came, I asked them are we ordering the right thing and why the Assam Prawns looks like that. Then only they tell me this is the way they cook the Assam Prawns in Penang. Hmmm…. I quite like it cos it is a bit sourish plus a bit of sweetness on the sauce plus it is super easy to prepare. I cooked this last week but then too bad… Dearie Suki and the kids don’t like the taste and end up I wacked the whole plate of prawns but I super like it. Lick, lick, lick…. yum … yum…

Ingredients :
500gm prawns, trimmed and cleaned
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp sugar

Method :
1. Marinate the prawns with tamarind paste and sugar for about an hour.
2. Heat some oil in a non stick pan. Then add in the marinated prawns and panfried under slow fire till cook. Served with rice.

I have a friend of mine who don’t believe in getting an insurance for herself. At times I am really surprised why she has such thinking and not protecting herself with insurance. For me and Dearie Suki, we get few types of insurance for ourself, for the kids and also for the whole family. Atleast there are protection when either one of the family members is admitted to hospital or need to do a surgery. If you are planning to get one why not check out the North Carolina health insurance. There are various kind of insurance provided by them and they can even tailor made plans based on your budget. Insurance is a must for the family.

 Dearie Suki get an enquiry from one of his customer asking whether can he help to get him a few sexy girls wearing a sexy costumes like the Sexy French Maid Costumes. His customer is giving a surprise to his friend who is having a bachelor night party this coming Saturday. This is cool man and Dearie Suki is scratching his head now, where on earth can he get the girls given the short notice by his customer.  

I have been making a few rounds of Char Siew Pau at home and the kids are getting bored with it. For a change, last week I make Vegetables Pau or in Hokkien we called it Chai Pau. My 6th Kor loves to make this Pau for us. I used another version of Pau’s recipe and this recipe is adapted from Agnes Chang’s Delighful Snacks and Dim Sum recipe book.

Ingredients :
Basic Yeast Dough For Making Pau:
500gm pau flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp instant yeast
100gm castor sugar
240ml water
3 tbsp shortening
1 tbsp double action baking powder

Filling :
1 medium sized yam bean / sengkuang
1 carrot
Some chopped garlic and onion
A handful of dried prawns
Some water
Salt, pepper and oyster sauce to taste

Method :
1. Mix all the ingredients for making pau in a bowl. Knead into a smooth and elastic dough.
2. Cover with a piece of wet cloth and leave to prove until it has doubled its bulk.
3. Divide dough into a 60gm dough and the allow dough to rest before shaping.
4. For filling : Cut the yambean and carrot into thin strips.
5. Heat oil in pan and sautee onion, garlic and dried prawns till fragrant. Add in yambean, carrot and stir fried.
6. . Then add in yambean, and carrot and stir fried.
5. Add some water and let it simmer till soft and almost dry.
6. Season with salt, pepper and oyster sauce to taste.
7. Flatten the pau dough and wrap 1 tbsp of filling into the shape of pau. Let it rest for another 15 minutes.
8. Steam over high heat for about 20 minutes or till cook. Serve hot.

Note : The pau is so soft and fluffy after steaming. I am using the pau flour bought from Bake With Yen but overall I still prefer to use the Blue Key Brand Pau Flour.

It is never easy to pack your stuffs when you plan to move. I can’t imagine if I were to move house, there are so many things to pack especially the kid’s toys. But then I discovered there is an easy way to move by getting the moving boxes. There are many types and sizes of moving boxes for you to pack you toys, books, kitchen appliances, clothes, and many more. All moving boxes are made of strong certified corrugated carton and it will be delivered to your door steps with free shipping. Phewww… I am glad there are such service now.

The kids at home loves eating pork and I think it runs in the family and I think my kids have the gene from my family side. All of us are meat eaters and I trying to cut down on meat and have more green vegs. The padeatrician advised me to give Ee-Thern more fat meat i.e : fatty pork, chicken skin, fish skin or fish oil… cos he is still underweight although he ate a lot everyday. At the age of 3 yrs old he still looks like a baby to me and he has baby face just like Dearie Suki.

I make my own version of Steamed Siew Mai for breakfast one of the weekend and my kids love it and Dearie Suki love it too. With the rise of petrol and everything, I think I must be more frugal and go out less and eat more home cooked food which I also think it is good for the kids.  Here is the recipe for Steamed Siew Mai and it is adapted from Agnes Chang’s Delighful Snacks & Dim Sum Recipe Book.

Ingredients :
300gm half lean and half fat pork
300gm prawn meat
40 pcs of wantan wrappers
Some shredded carrot for garnishing

Seasoning :
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken stock granules
1 tsp Chinese Hsiao Hsing Wine
2 tbsp tapioca flour

Method :
1. Mince the pork and set aside. Rub prawn meat with some tapioca flour and salt and rinse under water till clean. Pat dry and cut into small pieces.
2. Combined minced pork and prawn and the rest of the seasoning ingredients. Mix till the paste is sticky. Chill in the fridge before using.
3. Trim wanton wrappers into round shape and wrap some filling in it. Shape into siew mai.
4. Garnish the top with some shredded carrot and steam at high heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Serve with sweet sauce and chilli sauce.

This is for the kids. Ee-Thern and Le-Ann ate 6 pieces of it and they dipped it with tomato sauce. Oooh… I am happy to see they love it and will make more for them the next round.

Me and Dearie Suki is getting bored with the dishes I cooked over dinner at home. Not only him getting bored of it, but me are running out of idea what to cook for them. So let’s have Western food tonight. Make some very simple and easy Grilled Pork Chop for them and have some buttered vegetables at the side of the plate. Then drizzle over some McCormick Mushrooom gravy mix on top of the pork chop. Viola! Dinner is served within half an hour. But… Dearie Suki quoted “Dear, its nice though but don’t you think so the grilled pork is a bit overly done”. Yup, I agree with him the grilled pork is overly done and it became a bit hard. Blame it on my kids for disturbing me in the kitchen while I was grilling it on top of my grilling pan. Hihihi….

My good buddy Aileen, skyped me this evening and asking for the recipe cos she wanna surprised her Mr CCE this coming Father’s Day with some Western dinner. Looks like she is picking up with her cooking skill nowadays.. Hey! Aileen when I plan to resign one day maybe we could work together starting a cooking class at home. I become the instructor and you become the assistant. Hahaha… just joking! So here you go and hope you will try it out this Sunday.

Ingredients :
4 pieces of pork loin chops with the fat trimmed
2 tsp meat tenderizer
1 tbsp black pepper cracked
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcertershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
Some olive oil
1/2 cabbage, cut into small pieces
1 carrot, cut into strips
Some butter and salt
1 packet McCormick Mushroom Gravy Mix ( can be obtained at most of the hypermarkets )

Method :
1. Pound the pork chops with the back of the knife until tender.
2. Then marinate with meat tenderizer, black pepper cracked, soya sauce, oyster sauce, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic. Preferable marinate it overnight in the fridge.
3. Add olive oil when it is about to grill.
4. Grill the pork chop on a lightly oil BBQ pit or a grilling pan. Grill for about 4 -5 minutes on both side or till cook. Set aside.
5. To prepare the vegetables, bring a pot of hot water to boil. Blanched the cabbage and carrot till it is soft. Drained and sprinkle with some salt and add a some butter for flavouring.
6. To prepare the gravy, follow the instruction at the back of the McCormick Mushroom Gravy Mix packet.
7. Arrange the grilled pork chop on a plate, add some vegetables at the side and drizzle some mushroom sauce on top of the grilled pork chop.

Note : If you don’t like vegetables, you can substitute it with mashed potato or french fries.

During my younger days, I have a lot of acne around my face. I had tried many brands in the market but the results is still the same. Finally, a friend of mine recommended me the brand ACNEXUS - acne solutions and it really works one me. It helps to heal and prevent acne breakouts, get rid of blackheads once and for all, annihilate oily, red and itchy skin and the wonder is it works within 24 hours with guarantee. Thanks to ACNEXUS and my complexion is getting more radiance.

Bought 4 big cuttlefish from TESCO for just RM4.49. So cheap but end up both me and Dearie Suki has been eating cuttlefish for 3 days. Cooked Kung Poh Cuttlefish today and tomorrow going to used another half of the cuttlefish for Sotong Kangkung.

Ingredients:
15 dried chillies,cut shortly
2 tbsp oil
8 slices ginger
1 big onion, cut into wedges
500gm pre-soaked cuttlefish, cut into pieces and blanched in hot water

Seasoning :
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour for thickening

Method :
1. Stir-fry dried chillies in a clean wok at low heat until turn to dark colour and fragrant. Dish up.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil, saute sliced ginger until fragrant. Add in onion, dried chillies and stir well.
3. Add in cuttlefish, seasoning and stir-fry at high heat until well-mixed. Thicken with cornflour water and dish up.

I still left 1 bowl of mung beans from the savoury dumpling I make. What should I do with that? Throwing away is such a waste. Cook it but what to cook ? Then I came out with this great idea to make it into a dessert soup or tong sui. I never try this before and just make an attempt to do it since I don’t want to waste it.

Ingredients :
1 bowl of mung beans, soaked overnight
4 bows of water
Sugar to taste
2 pandan leaves, tie into a knot
1 egg, beaten

Method :
1. Put mung beans, water and pandan leaves into a pot and let it boil till the mung beans is soft.
2. Add in sugar to taste.
3. Lower down the fire and pour in the beaten egg slowly. Use a spoon and give it a stir.
4. Serve hot or cold and you can get some fried Yau Char Kwai ( curlers ) to complement with it.