Outlook for year 2012

I know it's a little late to write this post since it's already the second month of 2012 now, this is really just for the records. 2011 didn't seem that exciting to us, it was an extremely quiet year in our household. Ironically, I thank God for a quiet year, now as I look in retrospect. It wasn't that quiet around the world afterall.  I am often amazed by God's grace towards me looking at the way things have panned out in my life.

There are just too many distractions around me that He will usually be placed at the back burner. That's the danger of a wandering heart which I am so guilty of. That's precisely why we are going through this arduous period. But I have learned to count my blessings!

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

Nevertheless, I still thank Him for I know it is His way of drawing me back because of His great love towards me, He didn't want me to be left behind especially when the time is at hand.

Photo Credit: 123newyear.com

So what's in store for us this new year 2012? Honestly, I don't really know nor want to make "great" resolutions, just take it one day at a time because I know for sure we won't be staying here for too long now, it's but a temporary place and I shouldn't live as if I am rooted for this world.

"So do not worry, saying, 'what shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'what shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~ Matthew 6:31-34

He knows best how my path will paved out to be and I have learned to just wait upon Him and not try to take things into my own hands. More of Him and less of me. All to Him I surrender and freely give. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

In Love with Soba

When I first come across cold noodles in sesame sauce at Baumkuchen, I took a special liking for it. It has a unique and very yummy taste which I later found out it was actually sesame sauce. Being a foodie, I took it upon myself to try to find out how to make this noodle myself so that I could enjoy it anytime my whims came along.

While shopping at the supermart one day, I discovered this Mizkan Sesame sauce and decided to give it a try (even though I have no clue if this was going to taste as good as what I have tasted at Baumkuchen.

And so the sesame sauce was put on a test!

This was how my version of Soba in sesame sauce looks like. I'll give it a 2 thumbs up, the sesame sauce was really tasty and now I have a new idea of making soba!

You can make it too if you like, it's ultra simple :)

Ingredients

Dried Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)
2 large chicken drumbsticks (or you may use chicken breast meat)

2 Eggs (whisked)
2-3 tbsp Mizkan Sesame Sauce
Spring Onion (chopped)

Red Chilli (seeded, thinly sliced; optional)

Nori topping (optional; you may substitute it with just toasted sesame seeds)

Method
1) Boil the Soba noodles till cooked; discard the water in the pot and rinse soba noodles in cold water.

2) Boil chicken meat till cooked; shred the meat and set it aside

3) Fry the eggs into omelette and slice it thinly

4) Place cooked Soba noodles onto a plate and toss it with the sesame sauce till well combined

5) Top with chicken meat, spring onion, sliced chilli and Nori topping

This is great for lunch as it's so simple yet super yummy! Bon Appetit!

The passion of cooking with the HappyCall Pan has driven two of my friends and I to form a website dedicated to sharing with one and all about anything and everything about using the HappyCall Pan :)

Come join us and participate in the fun we are all having at our website and Facebook!!! 

Click the following links 

Munch Ministry (website)

Munch Ministry - Happy Call Chefs (Facebook Like Page)

Favourite Dessert Tiramisu

Tiramisu is by far one of my FAVOURITE dessert. When I learned that it is a non-baked cake, you can imagine how thrilled I was!

Tiramisu simply appeals to me perhaps it's the perfect combination of cocoa powder and coffee, I can't really describe it explicitly enough. It's just heavenly!

I love it that this particular recipe is so simple and the steps are so minimal yet the dessert was so addictive that didn't last more than 24hours before it was completely gone! Hubs and I just ate up the entire 10"x10" size tiramisu in less than a day! Gosh imagine the calories we've piled up into our system... I really don't want to think about it, seriously!

Here's the recipe -

Ingredients:
1 pack Ladies Fingers (click on the words 'ladies finger' to see how it looks like)
250ml Mascaporne cheese (click on the words 'Mascaporne cheese' to see how it looks like)
3-4 tbsp cocoa powder
300ml of instant coffee (ready made and let it cool)
1 tsp of essence of rum (if you prefer it with liquor you may add it otherwise you may follow my recipe)
4 eggs (separate the white from the yolks)
150ml sugar (you may adjust the amount to your preference)
crushed almond (optional)

Method of preparation:
1) Add the egg whites into a mixing bowl and use a mixer to whisk the egg white till foamy
2) Add half of the amount of sugar into the egg white and continue to whisk the egg white with the mixer at high speed till it forms stiff peaks. (watch how it's done here)
3) On a separate mixing bowl mix the egg yolk together with the remaining sugar till ribbon stage; you may either use the mixer or a hand whisk to do this (watch how it's done here)
4) Fold the egg white into the egg yolk (watch how it's done here); at this point you may also add the mascaporne cheese into the mixture and gently blend with the spatula till it's well mixed.
5) Add 1tsp of essence of rum into the 300ml of coffee and mix well.
6) Layer the ladies fingers one at a time at the bottom of your preferred container (I used a 10"x10" disposable square container); fill up the base then drizzle the coffee mixture spoonful by spoonful onto the ladies fingers (do not drench the ladies fingers otherwise it'll be very soggy).
7) Spoon a layer of the egg mixture and cover the entire surface of the ladies fingers
8) Sift the cocoa powder over on the surface of the egg mixture of step 7
9) Lay another layer of ladies fingers on top of the cocoa powder of step 8
10) Drizzle coffee mixture spoonful by spoonful on the ladies fingers
11) Lay another layer of egg mixture on top of the ladies fingers of step 10
12) Finally, you may add 1-2 tbsp of crushed almond into the remaining cocoa powder before sprinkling it on top of the final layer of egg mixture or you may omit the crushed almond and just sift the cocoa powder on top.
13) Chill the tiramisu for 2hours or more and serve chilled :)

Bon Appetit!

Our Quiet Sunday

I haven't been a good parent, in fact, far from it, as I busy myself with so many activities everyday, I have failed to really just being with my children... completely focused on them and give them my full attention.

Very often, I'll find myself distracted by a book, being on the internet, checking mail through my smart phone while being physically with them, I've not truly been with them, you know what I mean?!

I've decided that I want to be with them, physically, emotionally and mentally... being with them for I realized they are growing too quickly and time just flashed past so swiftly... it wouldn't be long before I will not be able to enjoy such moments (as much) with them once they start formal schooling. 

I truly want to treasure these moments I have with them hence I put away everything (all distractions), just to be with them! This was a record of our day on Sunday (27th Nov 2011).

Our day started with the kids requesting to do some painting...an activity we haven't done in months!!! (read: lazy mama doesn't want to do all the cleaning up so no painting activities was allowed)

I realized my children don't really have to be at a mall or some expensive gym or any form of paid children's activities to be happy. 

An hour of bicycle ride and fun at the playground is good enough to satisfy them :) 

Since our TV broke down some 2-3 months ago, the kids have been "trained" to live without watching TV. They have been given time on the computer only on the weekends to play educational games and watch some videos. This was their computer time after lunch today :)

On pockets of free time, we read books together (me reading aloud) and occasionally, if Little Man was in the mood he'll read aloud to me and his sister :) It's so nice to be read to (I can take the back seat and relax).

Snack today was home made pop corn made on the Happy Call Pan :)

It was home learning time after dinner and am heartened the kids were enthusiastic about home learning most of the time when I whip out the workbooks and other learning materials.

It was more play time just before bed time and look at that happy face? I am content that the time spent with them today has been fruitful and the bonding has drawn our relationship closer.

We don't need to have too much material or monetary gain to be happy and I am thankful that I've been so richly blessed!

More Happy Call Yummies on Video

Here are another few more videos I've made recently :) it is sheer fun to make these videos. Hope they will inspire you one way or another :)

Proud Moment

If ever there's a moment I am proud of being a mother besides the first time I ever carried my two babies, it'd be when I watched them on stage during their annual year end concert.

I can't remember when I was so easily moved to tears besides after being a mother... every little achievement that my kids accomplished would make me rejoice with glee. I suppose motherhood has its effects on me... as I watched those graduating kids, I'd feel emo, even though it wasn't my child who's graduating.

I love being a mother it's brought me so much joy which I cannot describe while there may be frustrating moments but the joy definitely surpasses it all! :)

Here's a little video clip of my two kiddos... it's a mark of how much my little ones have grown and definitely a moment I wish to treasure forever!

Happy Call Yummies - On Video

I have been thinking of video-ing the food preparation process using the Happy Call Pan for a while now but have been procrastinating. Recently, someone in the Happy Call Pan Facebook Group asked if anyone would share videos of food prepared on the Happy Call Pan, that kinda triggered the decision to put my idea into actions :)

So here are two short 3-mins video clip I've made, demonstrating the how to's and what to's of making Char Siew (grilled pork) and chicken capsicum dish. Hope it'll be of some help to you too :)

Happy Call Yummies - Yakitori Chicken Meat Balls

The problem with me is, I have too many interests/hobbies/activities I want to do/accomplish (if I can do them all at the same time, I would!) thereby, it's quite hard for me to be focused (that's a serious flaw, I know). I've promised to put up this recipe since weeks ago and I am only finally sitting down to type it out now.

Yakitori, one of my FAVOURITE Japanese food especially those bought from food courts where it's grilled right in front of you and ready to be consumed anytime. My only grouse with that is it's far too salty and I'd often end up very thirsty after eating it.

I saw someone shared the yakitori chicken recipe in the HappyCall Pan group in Facebook a while back and decided to make these yakitori chicken meat balls instead *smile* 

It's definitely no rocket science in making these chicken meat balls, all it takes is time and patience :)

It was tasty and the kids love it, I didn't want the teriyaki sauce to over power the natural taste of the meat and vegetable therefore I used the sauce quite sparingly. 

Here's how to prepare this:

Ingredients 

1 pack of minced chicken meat, approximately 300gms (bought from the super mart) or you may buy chicken breast and process it into minced chicken meat.

1 small green capsicum; 1 small red capsicum, sliced.

1 egg (whisked)

1/2 cup Dried bread crumbs (panko)

2tsp Corn Flour

2tsp Plain Flour

1/2 tsp salt

Dash of pepper

2 inches ginger grated

Bamboo Skewers

Yakitori Sauce -

4 Tbsp Sake

3 Tbsp Shoyu (Japanese soya sauce)

4 Tbsp Mirin

3 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Corn Starch blend in 1tsp Water

Method

1) Place the minced chicken meat into a big mixing bowl, add in whisked egg, dried bread crumbs, corn flour, plain flour, salt and pepper mix and combine well.

2) Roll the meat mixture into small balls

3) Boil a saucepan of water and squeeze the ginger juice out of the grated ginger into the boiling water

4) Place the chicken meat balls in the boiling water for approximately 7mins or cook till the meat balls change colour and float to the surface. Scoop it out and set it aside on kitchen paper towels.

5) Thread the chicken meat balls into the skewers; add capsicum slices in between the meat balls.

6) Brush the yakitori sauce onto the meat balls before placing it into the Happy Call Pan.

7) Pour about 1-2tbsp of the yakitori sauce into the pan before placing the meat balls into the pan

8) Grill the meat balls for 4-5mins, on medium low heat (with lid closed) on one side before turning the meat balls to the other side and continue to grill for another 4-5mins.

9) Serve warm and sprinkle some sesame seeds onto the yakitori; you may serve with more yakitori sauce

Oishi! :) Have fun!

For The Hungry Children

The title of this post seemed like an irony to the fact that I've been sharing so much about food lately. I've totally taken it for granted that there will always be food for our next meal or next snack, so we're covered! However, I was reminded through the news of world disasters, wars, pestilences have caused a severe lack of food in the world. Thereby, many are going hungry even as I type this post.

We know the world population have recently hit 7 billion people and my friend Rachel and I were just chatting about it yesterday. But I was thinking with all these disasters and shortage of food will this world even be able to sustain the needs of everyone? Someone in my FB contact list shared this video this morning on her wall and it really sets the stage for us to really want to get something done (in our small little way) to help these poor hungry children. In the video, it was stated that in every 2.3seconds 1 child will die of hunger, our hearts went all out to these poor deprived kids.

Rachel and I have decided upon this organization,  Children's Hunger Fund, which we wish to raise funds for.

This year, 6 million children will die from hunger related causes if we don't do anything about it. So, lets work with this organization to do something.

Just think about it, 6 million children, that's more than the whole population of Singapore! According to Children's Hunger Fund, US 5 cents is enough to provide a hungry child a meal.

So I am appealing to all friends for your participation in this little fund raising activity. All you need to do, is this:

1. Crop and paste any of this above information or pictures on your blog site, together with this logo (just right click and save image as in your hard drive)

2. Appeal for friends and readers on your site to go directly to this page to make direct contributions. All it takes is US $5.00 for 100 meals for the children. Of course, it will be great if you can contribute more. You can also go to this page to make a direct contribution to areas that is most needed; like disaster relief.

3. Organise your own fund raising activity. Rachel and I will be making handmades the next couple of weeks and all sales proceeds will go into Children's Hunger Fund.

There are plenty of  ideas that you can adopt to raise the funds;

• Bake sale
• Make and Sell a product
• Give up a birthday gift
• Lose weight by missing a meal and contributing what you might have spent on the meal to the Children's Hunger Fund

4. If you have a preschooler or a child who has learnt to save some money, talk to him/her to see if he can give a little of his money to help to feed hungry children.

So many of us take it for granted that we always have a hot meal ready on our dining table for ourselves and our children and always have something to snack on whenever we are hungry. But the reality is not the same for many children around the world.

So for the Hungry Children's sake all it takes to help is that little bit of money and some time and effort to be able to make a difference to the poor and needy children in our world. Help us and Children's Hunger Fund to show a child in some remote corner of our world that he / she is loved.

Do drop me a note if you are interested to participate and will be putting this fund raiser activity up on your blog or FB page. My deepest appreciation and thanks in advance for your kind and giving contribution to Children's Hunger Fund!

Happy Call Yummies - Beefy Feast

When it comes to red meat, my first choice will always be beef! Love the distinct taste of beef and it goes so well with stews and brown mushroom sauce for that wonderful steak!!!

One beef dish I especially love and simply must have is Braised Beef Brisket. Naturally, Braised Beef Brisket noodles is what I'd usually order when I go to a chinese tim sum restaurant. I made this dish over the weekend and I simply love the aroma filled the entire house!

These were the spices that are needed for this dish.

All the meat, radish and spices fit well into the deeper pan.

To add interest to the presentation of the dish, I dish the meat on top of a bed of broccoli.

Here's how you can make this dish:

Ingredients

Spices - 3" long cinnamon stick, 3 Star Anise, 4 cloves, 2-3 Bay leaves, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 1tbsp black pepper corn, 6 slices of ginger and 3 stalks of spring onions.

Meat - 500gms beef (I bought the ready packed stew beef meat from the super mart), 1 radish sliced into thick slices. Broccoli (or other green vegetables - optional).

Seasoning - 1tbsp dark soya sauce, 4-5tbsp light soya sauce, 1tbsp oyster sauce, 2tbsp sugar

Others - 4tbsp chinese cooking wine, water

Method -

1) Brown the beef in the pan (without oil); dish it out and set aside

2) Add some oil and fry all the spices for a min or two, once it's fragrant add in the beef

3) Pour in the seasoning and the rest of the ingredients

4) Bring the mixture into a boil and then close the lid and stew for 2.5hrs or until beef is tender. Be sure to check from time to time and give it a light stir.

5) If you feel the gravy is not thick enough you may add a little corn starch solution to thicken the liquid.

6) You may serve it with white rice or noodles.

**********************************************************************

Whenever I order food from the local food stall (煮炒), this is one of my favourite dish, Stir-Fry Beef in ginger and spring onion. Love that it's so simple to make it on the Happy Call Double Pan :)

Great as part of the family dinners. Here's how to make it:

Ingredients

Beef (I bought steak beef and cut it into cubes), Large onions, sliced thinly, 3-4 slices of Ginger, 3 stalks of spring onions.

Seasoning - 1 spoonful of Knorr chicken powder, 2tsp soya sauce, 1 tsp of sugar

Others - Corn Flour, 2tbsp rice wine

Method

1) Marinate the beef with Corn Flour and pepper for 30mins and above

2) Add some oil into the pan and fry the spices (onions, ginger and spring onions)

3) Once the spices is fragrant add the beef, seasoning and rice wine .

4) Close the lid for 3-4 mins (flip the pan in between the time)

5) Open the lid and see if the beef is done to your preference. Mine was medium (I didn't want it to be well done), so I ceased fire at the point when the beef has about medium done.

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Beef Stew, my family's all-time favourite and it's so simple to cook!

Ingredients

Beef (500gms, stew beef meat from the super mart), Carrots, potatoes (all cut into wedges),

1 large onion sliced. 1 can tomato sauce (or pasta sauce), 1 beef cube mixed into 1 litre of warm water.

Marinate:
Corn flour, paprika, salt & pepper

Seasoning: 
Salt & Pepper

Others:
1/2 cup red cooking wine (or any fruity red wine such as merlot)

Method:
1) Marinate the beef for 1hour
2) Brown the meat in the pan; dish it out and set it aside
3) Add some oil and fry the vegetables together with the onions
4) Once the vegetables and onions are fragrant add the beef into the pan followed by the seasoning and tomato sauce as well as water and red wine (note: the liquid level must cover the beef).
5) Bring it to a boil and close the lid and stew for 1hr+ or until beef is tender.

Have fun and enjoy your Happy Call Yummies!!!

Happy Call Yummies - Quick and Easy

Lunch time HappyCall meals are usually simple and I'd normally purchase processed food (which I know isn't too healthy to begin with). I don't really bother much about what I eat during lunch because it's normally just for one person (yours truly) and cooking a meal seems to be a chore. 

So for easy to whip up meals for just one or two people during lunch I'll go for something really fuss-free and quick. Prata Sausage wrap is one of my favourite snack that makes quite a good lunch-for-one meal. Just pop the prata (frozen) into the Happy Call Pan together with the sausage and fry under low heat for 6-8mins on each side of the prata and sausage.

Wrap it up with some salad (easiest choice is ice berg lettuce), squeeze some mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce, voila!!! It's done! Quick & Easy!

I was inspired by my friend Rachel, recently after she posted a home made mushroom beef patty burger. I recalled that I have this pack of Garlic Bread in the freezer for over a month and decided to prepare some Mushroom Bruschetta for lunch.

Ingredients: Mixed mushrooms (Portobello, brown & white button mushrooms thinly sliced), onions thinly sliced, chopped parsley (optional), 2 tbsp red cooking wine, 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1 knob butter, 1 tbsp olive oil.

Method: 

1) Melt butter in olive oil and add the sliced onion (fry till tender)

2) Add mushrooms and red wine, worcestershire sauce 

3) Close the lid of the Happy Call Pan and let it stew under low heat for approximately 8-10mins till the gravy is almost dry; meantime, pop the garlic bread into the oven on 180C for 14mins wrapped in aluminium foil (or as per the instructions on the package)

4) Once the mushrooms and the garlic bread is done top the bread with the mushroom and sprinkle some chopped parsley.

5) You may add some freshly grounded black pepper

Now lunch time meals can be so quick and easy to prepare and definitely fuss-free! ;)

Under the Weather

I have taken ill twice in two months (record breaking). I hardly fall ill (thank God) but when I do, it comes down badly on me. Last month I was down with a very bad cold and it took me nearly 2-3 weeks to recover. 

Last weekend, I was once again hit by the cold bug and have been down till today. Runny/blocked nose, phlegmy throat and all the works... it's taking a longer time to recover because of my reluctance to rest early every night. It has seriously taken a toll on my body and I really have to listen to my body and take more time to rest.

The inevitable happened. Last month, my children were spared from being "poisoned" by the cold bug, was so thankful they have been healthy all this time. However, they are not so lucky this time round partly because of the freakish weather (supremely hot one day and rain non-stop the next). Plus we are always in such close proximity somehow the "germ" found its way into their bodies. 

Ironically, we've been learning about germs at home the past few weeks and now they know how the germ really works!

It is hard being a mom especially when the little ones are sick. Because they are so young it's always so heart breaking to watch them suffer from the ill effects of bacteria or virus in their bodies and not being able to help much except to comfort them. It is my hope that Little Man and Little Missy would recover quickly and have a clean bill of health!

Note to self, better lead a healthier lifestyle so that the little ones will not be affected!

HappyCall Yummies - Lemon Chicken

I am constantly amazed by the members of the HappyCall group in Facebook! They are simply the most adventurous bunch I've encountered thus far. You'll be surprised at what great wonderful food can come out of their HappyCall Pans!!! :) They are my source of inspiration as I work on my daily dinner plans ;)

Today, I decided to prepare Lemon Chicken since I've purchased this pack of sauce for over a month now. I prefer to use ready made sauce as it helps me to save time and makes whipping up meals so much easier.

This was my first attempt at using the HappyCall pan to fry a chicken cutlet. It was wonderful that this chicken cutlet turned out crispy while my kitchen remained grease-less. Best of all, it didn't fill my kitchen and yard with the lingering greasy odour like it used to be.

It just cannot be any easier to prepare Lemon Chicken than it is on the HappyCall pan ;)

Ingredients:

1 Chicken thigh (de-boned)

Kentucky Chicken Powder

Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1 egg (whisked)

1 packet of Lemon Chicken premix (bought from FairPrice)

4-5tbsp of Oil for frying

Method:

1) Wash the chicken thigh thoroughly, pat it dry completely

2) Coat the chicken meat into the Kentucky Chicken Powder (both sides)

3) Dip the chicken meat into the whisked egg (both sides)

4) Coat the chicken meat with the Panko (both sides), set it aside for 2hrs

5) Heat oil in the frying pan on medium heat

6) Once the oil is heated up, turn down the flame to low heat

7) Place the chicken meat into the pan, close the lid and fry it for 10mins (do NOT flip the pan)

8) Open the lid and manually turn the chicken meat to the other side and cook for another 10mins 

*Note: Remember to keep the heat low because the chicken thigh is rather thick and it takes a while to be cooked thoroughly; to prevent the surface of the chicken meat from being charred before the meat is cooked, the heat has to remain low.

9) While the chicken is being cooked, prepare a separate small saucepan (or small frying pan), heat up the pan and then pour in the Lemon Chicken premix, once it bubbles turn out the flame.

10) Once the chicken is ready, lift it out of the HappyCall pan and drain the oil with a kitchen paper towel.

11) Cut the chicken meat accordingly and serve with the Lemon sauce drizzled over the meat.

Exasperate Your Children (Not)

A few days ago, I was out to clear the trash and I ran into my neighbours next door. I overheard the daughter yelling at the top of her voice at her dad. She was apparently trying to remind her dad to lock both the main door and the gate (she repeatedly yelled at him with the same instructions and ended scolding her dad). 

(Credit: Google Images)

I wasn't agreeable to the way the daughter was talking to the dad about the matter. But I would imagine that the daughter might have pent up frustrations towards the dad and she was using this occasion to vent. Which calls to mind this verse from the bible - "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." ~ Ephesians 6:4

I reflected on the incident as well as my own behaviour towards my parents during my younger years and I could certainly understand better of what's taught in the verse from Ephesians. Am definitely guilty of exasperating my kids in countless instances throughout my journey as a mom.

I am a daughter of my mom's and am now a mother of 2 children myself. I certainly want my children growing up with proper family values and respecting the elders be it at home or beyond the family. We have recently made Little Man and Little Missy memorize and practice handwriting with this verse - "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" ~ Colossians 3:20 It is our hope that our kids will put what they have learned from this verse into practice everyday.

Above which, from henceforth, I must and should value my relationship with my children for it's a privilege to be a mother, they are great gifts from the Lord to me, they belong to our Heavenly Father, they are entrusted to me for their life time here and it's only temporary.

If I want them to grow up offering me grace, love and respect when I am old, I ought to give it to them now while they are here with me.

Happy Call Yummies - Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce

I will never forget the wonderful taste of Chicken Masak Merak, because since when I was little, we have a muslim neighbour (at my mom's place) who will send us wonderful food whenever they celebrate Hari Raya. In addition, during malay weddings, I'll get to eat this tasty chicken dish as well. I've noted in my heart that one day I must learn how to make this dish and enjoy it whenever I want to :)

My version might not be as good compared to the muslim neighbour's at my mom's place. But here goes -

I love the chicken thigh's meat so my natural choice would be the chicken thighs. I bought 6 pieces of chicken thigh meat. Rubbed it with tumeric powder & salt and set it aside for 30mins. 

Fry it till it's golden brown on each side. By frying is to seal the juice into the meat as well as give the chicken a firmer texture.

Prepare the paste by blending - 4-5 small red onions, 5 cloves of garlic, 5 stalks of lemon grass, 40gm ginger, 25gm galangal, 8-9 dried chillies (soaked and seeded). Process the ingredients into a fine paste.

Fry the spices - 2-3 Star Anise, 4 Cloves, 3 inches of cinnamon, 3 cardamom (I bought a pack of these mixed spices from Fairprice that was meant for braised meat). Saute the spices with 1tbsp of oil till fragrant.

Then add the blended paste. Stir-fry a little and close the lid for 3mins on medium high heat. Flip the pan a few times in between the cooking time.

Once the blended paste is cooked, add in the chicken meat, 1 can of tomato soup (I bought the Campbell tomato soup), 1 cup of water, 200ml of coconut milk, 1 tomato sliced (optional), salt to taste. Bring up to a quick boil and then simmer under low heat for 20-25mins (or until chicken is cooked). Open the lid a few times to do some light stirring.

I am amazed that this chicken dish can be so tasty even without curry powder. The spices and the onions, garlic, lemon grass etc has given this dish a wonderful aroma and make it exceptionally delish!

I've used the left over gravy for prata the next morning, I thought that's a great way to savour the gravy (every drop of it) *smile*

Here's the list of ingredients for easy reference:

6-8 pieces of chicken thigh meat.

8-9 Dried chillies, soaked
4-5 Small red onions
5 cloves of garlic
40g ginger
25g galangal (lengkuas)
5 lemongrass
2-3 star anise
4 cloves
3 inch of cinnamon
3 cardamom
1 can of tomato soup
1 pack (200ml) coconut milk (I'd recommend buying freshly squeezed coconut milk)
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 tomato, optional

HappyCall Yummies - Yummy Chicken

There are really so many ways to cook the chicken meat. Two of my favourite were prepared on the HappyCall pan this past week and it's the most delicious I've tasted thus far. Was it due to the HappyCall Pan? *smile* I wonder too.

The following chicken dish do seem somewhat suitable for mothers who are in the confinement period *smile* these weren't from the confinement food cook book that I drew inspiration from though.

Herbal Chicken was inspired by a demo video that I've watched here. I adapted the recipe and added a wider variety of chinese herbs as compared to what was shared in the video. 

Seriously, preparing this dish in the HappyCall Pan saves me loads of time and it certainly is really very easy. 

Ingredients: Chicken Thigh Meat, Chinese Herbs (当归, 党参, 枸杞子, 红枣), 1tbsp 绍兴酒 (shao xing wine), 150ml warm water, 2 spoonful of Knorr chicken powder, 1tsp soya sauce.

Method:

1) Heat up the pan on medium low heat

2) Place the herbs and chicken and the seasoning of Knorr chicken powder + soya sauce

3) Add the water and chinese wine

4) Close the lid and cook on medium low heat for 15-20mins (until chicken is cooked thoroughly). You may open the lid to give the ingredients a light stir in between the cooking time.

*Note: Do keep the heat around medium low to medium and not any higher heat otherwise the gravy might dry up too quickly before the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

This chicken dish is said to look like confinement food *smile* I remember eating something similar but was loaded with lots of sesame oil and my mom called it the Sesame oil chicken (麻油鸡).

This version of chicken stew, however, has chinese cooking wine added. It was supposed to be a claypot dish but with the Happy Call Pan I was spared from the splatter of sesame oil! :)  

If I could really share the aroma of this dish virtually, I'd definitely do so. It was supremely aromatic as it was stewing in the Happy Call Pan!!!

Here's how to prepare this dish.

Ingredients: Chicken thigh meat, Black fungus (soaked and cut), ginger (thinly sliced)

Marinate: 1tsp dark soya sauce, 2 tbsp light soya sauce, a dash of pepper

Seasoning(to be mixed into a bowl) : 2tbsp 绍兴酒 (shao xing wine), 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce 

Additional item: 150ml warm water

Method:

1) Marinate the chicken for 30mins

2) Heat up the Happy Call pan for a min, add 1tbsp sesame oil

3) Add ginger and stir fry for a few seconds before adding the black fungus and chicken meat into the pan. Close the lid on medium low heat and cook for 4 mins (flip the pan in between the cooking time)

4) Open the lid and add in the seasoning and warm water give the ingredients a light stir to blend the seasoning well

5) Stew on low heat for 25mins (open the lid 2-3x to check that the water didn't dry up too quickly; I didn't flip the pan just did some light stirring in between)

This chicken dish was so good that it was completely gone (every drop of it) by the end of dinner :) Try it, it's just so simple with the HappyCall Pan!

Happy Call Yummies - Spaghetti Vongole

It all began with my craving for clams and pasta, and the conclusion was to make Spaghetti Vongole!!! Putting the Happy Call pan to the test as it's claimed to have a scratch free surface due to its 3 layer ceramic coating. In addition, so many people have shared their wonderful clam dishes in the Happy Call Facebook group that drives my cravings for clams even stronger! :)

I was lucky that day when I was shopping at the wet market for clams. I walked past almost 4-5 stalls, and was at the verge of giving up on my search until one obscure stall caught my eye with an opaque plastic bag that contained the clams!!! It costed $5 for 1 kg of clams, that was really quite a lot of clams!

I've learned that to make the clams expel the sand you'd have to soak it for hours in salt water (ie. if the clams were harvested from the sea), insert a metal spoon to speed up the sand expelling process.

To prepare the clams simply scrub the shells after soaking and the sand has been expelled. Place the clams into the Happy Call pan with nothing else. Close the lid and cook it under medium low heat for approximately 5 mins (or when all the clam shells have opened up).

Dish the clams out, at this point, if you want to remove the clams from the shells you may do so, once the clams have cooled. Otherwise just set it aside.

I read somewhere on the internet that, should there be shells that didn't open up after it's being cooked, it's most likely not fresh. You may discard the clam. I found a "lone ranger" that refused to open its shell and so this little buddy was thrown into the bin (did not want to risk having a stomach upset).

Here's how to prepare this pasta.

Ingredients

Clams (I bought 1kg but you can always buy less)

Spaghetti (moderate the amount to your need)

1 knob of butter (you may use 1tbsp of olive oil)
4 cloves of garlic (sliced)
1/2 cup of white cooking wine
1 small bunch of parsley (finely chopped)
1 red chilli (finely chopped)
Crushed black pepper to taste
*Note: I didn't use any salt because the clams itself is sufficiently salty.

Method
1) Soak, clean and prepare clams as described above
2) Cook pasta until al dente (just about cooked, not soggy)
3) Heat up the Happy Call pan on medium heat and add the butter
4) Stir fry the garlic for a minute till fragrant
5) Add the clams and white wine; close the lid of the pan and let it cook for just 2mins (on medium heat)
6) Open the lid of the pan and add the chilli and parsley, turn out the flame.
7) Prepare the spaghetti on a plate and dish out the clams and white wine sauce over the pasta
8) Give the pasta a good toss, serve with crushed black pepper

Bon Appetit!

Simply Home Cooked - Osmanthus Jelly (桂花糕)

I remember the first time I've ever tasted an Osmanthus dessert was at the Crystal Jade restaurant. I was captivated immediately by the wonderful aroma of Osmanthus even before I tasted the dessert. Since then, I've been wanting to learn how to make such a wonderful dessert however, to not much avail as at that time I didn't know where to look for the flower.

Was I glad to discover that Osmanthus was sold in the chinese medical shop, Hock Hua, here in Singapore. The small bottle that I bought costed about S$6.80. The moment I lifted the tin lid, Ooooooooooooooh the aroma was simply heavenly! This bottle is sufficient for me to make more than 50 times of the Osmanthus jelly *smile* it's quite a huge bottle consider the amount that's used on the jello. I'll probably have Osmanthus tea once more regularly then ;) 

The health benefits of Osmanthus as described on the bottle (I shall attempt to translate it): reduce phlegm and ease cough; ease toothache, reduce abdominal pains due to menopause. 

Here's some other interesting health benefits that Osmanthus offers: it promotes beautiful skin, digestion, detoxification, relieve fatigue and improve appetite. (Source: Noobcook)

It'll be advisable for you to check with a doctor if you are able to consume Osmanthus when you are pregnant or have a special medical history, just to be safe. 

Here's the recipe (adapted from Noobcook). The ingredients needed for this heavenly dessert are: 

• 1 pack of Konnyaku premix jelly powder
• 1tsp of Osmanthus for every 400gms of jelly powder (I used 3 tsp)
• 3-4 tbsp Wolfberries (washed and soak in the water till it's puffed up)
• Water chestnuts cut into small cubes (optional; variation of this is aloe vera cut into small cubes) 
• Amount of water will be according to the instructions of the Konnyaku premix jelly powder. For the pack I bought I used 1250ml water. 

Method: 

1. Place about 4-5 wolfberries into each of the jelly mould. Do likewise for the cubed water chestnut.
2. Boil the water in a pot.
3. Turn down the heat after the water is boiled, add the Osmanthus and simmer under low heat for 2 mins
4. Pour the Konnyaku premix jelly powder gradually into the boiling water stirring at the same time until the powder is fully dissolved. Turn out the flame.
5. Pour the jelly solution into each of the jelly mould; let it cool before placing the jelly mould into the refrigerator to set the jelly.

It was incredibly simple to make this tasty aromatic dessert. Try making some soon!