All posts by chinesetuition88

Prawn

Butter Garlic Giant Prawn

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The other day, my husband and I found this giant prawn in the supermarket. So we bought some.

Butter and garlic are actually good choice to cook giant prawn.

  1. Cut the prawn open at the belly. Scissors can do a better job to cut open the belly shell. Then use a knife to cut the prawn meat open.

https://flic.kr/p/2eaPUFY

2. In a small bowl, cut in 2 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle a little salt, pepper and 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic. Mix a bit.

3. Preheat oven to 200 Degree C.

4. Spread butter over prawn.

5. Into the oven and bake for 15 – 20 mins.

Hubby loves them very much.

egg, Soup, tomato

Tomato & Egg Soup

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I’ve been having this soup since I was very little. There is a little difference between the soup in the southern and northern China. Usually, southerners like soup and they like the soup that cooked for hours. I know many northerners like my family don’t consume too much time cooking soup. So fast soup like this tomato & egg tofu is popular in north.

Ingredients:

tomatoes 2

egg 1

1 pack tofu (optional)

salt

water

chopped spring onion

sesame oil

  1. Cut a cross at the bottom of tomatoes. Soak them in hot water for a little while. Then it can be peeled easily. Chop tomatoes into small cubes.
  2. Cut tofu into small pieces. Tofu is not a must-have ingredient in this soup. You can skip this step if you don’t have.
  3. Beat 1 egg into a bowl.
  4. Heat a pan. Drizzle in a little oil. Add in tomato pieces. Turn to low heat. Stir fry tomatoes till it turns very softened and mashed.
  5. Pour in 1/2 1 cup water. Also add in tofu if you have. Simmer for 5-8 mins.
  6. Dissolve 2 tsp starch in 1 tbsp water, and add into the soup. Stir well.
  7. Stir soup with a spoon and pour in beaten egg at the same time. cook for another 1 min to get egg done.
  8. Season with salt.

Garnish with spring onion and drizzle in sesame oil before serving.

Very simple and super fast.

Chicken

Soy Sauce Chicken (By Rice Cooker)

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Recently, I was very stressful. When I feel stressful, I usually use food to reduce my pressure. And also I will feel like having meat, no matter chicken, pork or beef. It will be helpful as long as I eat meat.

This time, I want to cook a whole chicken for lunch. But I’ve done roasted chicken for numerous times. I need to cook chicken in a new way. Then the soy sauce chicken came to my mind.

  1. Prepare 1 whole chicken. Mine is about 800g. Put it in a big bowl. Drizzle in a little oil and light soy sauce. Rub the chicken with sauce both inside and outside. Then let it marinate for 20 mins.
  2. Prepare 3 stalks of spring onion and several ginger slices.
  3. Brush rice cooker’s bottom with oil. Then spread spring onion and ginger at the bottom.
  4. Lie the chicken over spring onion and ginger.
  5. Pour in 1/2 cup light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce and 3/4 cup water. Also add in 2-3 tbsp sugar.
  6. Lid on and press the button. When cooking is done, Don’t open the lid immediately. Let it stay for another 10 mins.
  7. Flip the chicken over and repeat the step 6.

https://flic.kr/p/25h2cmX

I must say that chicken is very tender and juicy .

https://flic.kr/p/S871ev

I accidentally broke the chicken skin. Because it’s so tender that the chicken leg can fall off easily.

Perfect to go with rice. And of course, My husband loved it very much.

food hunting

Shashlik Restaurant – A Russian Restaurant in Singapore

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My husband and I both rest on Wednesday. And we made Wednesday our food hunting day. We would go around in the city and try to find good food on this day.  My husband wanted to try Russian food for a long time, because he used to have a colleague from Russia. And that colleague mentioned that he couldn’t find authentic Russian food in Singapore. And that brought up my husband’s curiosity. What Russian food tastes like?

He found this Russian restaurant online: Shashlik Restaurant. Located at 545 Orchard Road, #06-19 Far East Shopping Centre, 238882

We went there today for lunch.

The environment is very quiet and cozy.

Staff there are very friendly and nice.

They have set lunch with very fair price: S$ 16.8. Which includes 1 main course, 1 soup and 1 drink (coffee or tea). 

They only have oxtail stew on Wed’s set lunch. So lucky us!

We ordered borsch soup and oxtail stew. My husband chose coffee, and I chose tea.

After ordering, staff put fresh, fragrant and warm bread into our plate and also with butter.

The bread is super yummy, very soft and I can smell its fragrance from a far distance.

Then here comes our soup. Actually, there is another soup option, mushroom soup. But we both think we already had mushroom many times, and we would like to try borsch soup.

Sour cream is optional. Staff will ask whether you want or not.

Soup is very creamy and rich. There’s a heavy rain in the morning and weather is cool. That soup really warmed me up. And there is a big chunk of beef.

Oxtail stew is amazing. I never cooked oxtail. But I think I will give it a try.

https://flic.kr/p/TG2pFA

Beef is extremely flavorful and soft. It can fall off the bone easily. My husband was totally attracted by this dish. I spare one piece of oxtail  with him. 🙂

At last is the coffee and tea, served with very cute cookie.

According to my husband, the chef there used to work with real Russian chef. They used to have another restaurant, but that one closed. And the chef opened this one. Some people say this restaurant’s Russian food is not 100% authentic, and they may do some change on the recipe to cater to Singaporean’s taste.

Well, to us, whether it’s 100% Russian or not is not that important. What really matters is their food is good and we had a good meal and good time there. 🙂

food hunting, Uncategorized

The Best Prata Shop So Far

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I should’ve done this blog long time ago. I love roti prata. I even buy frozen prata and store in my fridge. I also tried many prata shops including hawker store or Indian restaurant. I have to say this prata shop is the best so far!

The shop is called The Roti Prata Gouse Pte, Ltd. And it’s located @  246 Upper Thomson Rd, Singapore 574370.

My husband and I have been there twice, even though it’s kind of far away from where we live. Many people came there to eat.

Here is the menu with many kinds  of prata and other dishes. And the price is quite fair.

The first time, my husband ordered bomb kaya  prata. It just blow our mind. We never know kaya can go so well with prata. I used to dislike sweet prata, but this kaya one definitely changed my mind.

I ordered roti john. It’s also very nice. But compared to the bomb kaya prata, it’s not that surprisingly good.

The second time, we went there during Chinese New Year. Because we seldom went that area, it’s a good chance for us to dine in that prata shop again.

I ordered coin prata. There were 5 of them and served with curry.

https://flic.kr/p/2dSFE6B

Prata was still hot and crispy. I could have more of them.

My husband ordered this egg prata.

https://flic.kr/p/2dSFE66

Served with this dipping sauce.

I like my coin prata more. 🙂

And don’t miss the teh tarik. My husband is a big fan. He ordered it both times.

https://flic.kr/p/2dSFE5K

And I like the honey lime.

If you are also a prata fan, you can go and try this prata shop one day.

banana

Banana Milkshake

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My husband is 2 years older than me. But most time, I feel like I am the big sister when we stay together. It’s not difficult to guess what he likes and likes not. Just imagining will a kid like this or not, I will get the correct answer. I thought he would definitely like banana milkshake. Yet he told me it’s not like that. Because he had very terrible banana milkshake once and it was a nightmare.

Maybe I can make good banana milkshake that can change his opinion.

Ingredients:

1 big ripe banana

1 cup milk

1 tbsp vanilla ice cream

1 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

2 ice cubes

Put all the ingredients above into blender. And blend till very smooth.

My husband loves it. He asks if there is anymore after he finishes 1 cup.

https://flic.kr/p/Tkqmmu

Uncategorized, Vegetables

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

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This is the first time for me to try to roast cauliflower by oven. Surprisingly it tastes very nice. And it’s very easy to cook too.

  1. Cut cauliflower (about 1/4 head of a big one) into small chunks. Or you can just tear it by hand like I do.
  2. Put cauliflower pieces into a big bowl.
  3. Drizzle in 1/2 1 tbsp olive oil. For the seasonings, I added 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, and 1/4 tsp ginger powder. If you want cauliflower to taste spicy, you can also add in chili powder.
  4. Toss and mix well.
  5. Spread cauliflower on baking tray. Preheat oven to 200 Degree C. Into the oven for 30-40 mins. Or till the edge turns a bit brown. Flip them a bit in the middle while baking.

https://flic.kr/p/2fENgWA

And it’s done.

Very simple and also yum.

I tear it into very small pieces. If yours is bigger, you can adjust the temperature higher maybe to 220 degree C, or roast a bit longer in the oven,

mushroom, Noodles, Pasta, salmon, Uncategorized

Creamy Mushroom Sauced Linguine with Salmon

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A perfect simple and quick meal for rushing hours.

1. Cook linguine according to the instruction and set aside.

2. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat a pan. Add in a little oil. Sear salmon with skin side down for 2-3 mins. Then flip over and fry for another 2-3 mins. And fry each side for another 1 min. Set salmon aside.

3. No need to wash pan. Use the same pan. Add in a little extra oil. Fry mushroom slices.

4. Add in a little chopped garlic. Sauté a bit.

5. Pour in 1/2 cup stock or water. Simmer mushroom for a little while, like 3 mins.

6. Add in 2-3 tablespoon cream. Stir well. Put cooked linguine in. Blend well.

7. Season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs.

Serve with salmon.

https://flic.kr/p/2dv1w7F

Chicken

Easy Homemade Chicken Nuggets

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Even though I almost cook everyday at home, and my husband is satisfied with my food, he still needs to have fast food like KFC or McDonald occasionally. Part of him is really crazy about fast food. That’s also why I cook fried chicken once in a while. One day, I asked my husband if there is any food he wanted to have, he’s like “can you cook chicken nuggets for me?”  with his small eyes wide open. I’ve never disappointed him in cooking so far. So my answer is “yes”. And I am gonna cook chicken nuggets for the first time.

  1. I used chicken breast as main ingredient. Cut a whole chicken breast into small chunks (one-bite size).
  2. Prepare a bowl. Add in 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1/2 tsp ginger powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp dried oregano. Mix them well.
  3. Beat 1 egg in another bowl. Also prepare some flour.
  4. Dip chicken in flour first. Shake off the excessive. Then egg and seasoned bread crumbs at last.
  5. Deep fry chicken till golden brown and crispy.

Out layer is crispy and full of seasoning flavor.

https://flic.kr/p/TzPqyC

Meat inside is very tender and juicy.

And of course, my husband loved them.

Fish

Sweet & Sour Fish (糖醋鱼)

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Finally, I got the chance to try this sweet & sour fish (糖醋鱼，tang cu yu). Before everything, I want to give you a little warning here: this dish requires too too much oil to fry the fish. That’s also why I didn’t dare to try it.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to shopping for groceries. I was too busy recently. Some of my blogs were done maybe days ago, or even months ago. I wrote them when I got time and was not feeling lazy. Then when I was busy and had no time for blogging, I would just publish my draft done before.

But I did cook this dish today. Yesterday my husband chose sea bass at the supermarket. I’ve done steamed fish, braised fish, roasted fish, fried fish before. I also cooked sweet & sour fish fillet before. But I never did this whole sweet & sour fish. It’s a very popular fish in China. But it’s not an easy dish to make at home, since it requires cutting skills and too too much oil. So most people order it at the restaurant.  My husband had this dish when he was in Dalian, He loved it. My brother is also a big fan. I was planning to learn this dish and cook for my brother when I go back home.

  1. Prepare a sea bass, you can also choose carp. My fish was cleaned at the supermarket. So I just need to wash it again. Then  use a sharp knife to cut about 4 cm below the gill. Make several more cut every 4 cm. When cut the fish, first cut it vertical to the bone, then horizontal to make a crescent moon shape. Do the same to the other side.
  2. Marinate fish with 2 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper for 10 mins maybe.
  3.  Dust fish with potato starch and shake off the excessive.
  4. Prepare batter: 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, 3/4 cup water. Mix well. You can test batter by scooping some batter up. If it can flow like tiny stream then it’s good. Add more flour if too thin. Add more water if it’s too thick.
  5. Heat oil. To save oil, you can just add in enough oil that can cover half the fish. Dip fish in the batter. Make sure whole fish is coated with batter completely, especially the cut part.
  6. When oil is hot, grab fish by head and tail with 1 hand.  Fry the fish for a little while to let the fish get firm. Then drop whole fish gently into the pot. Use a ladle to scoop and pour hot oil over the fish. Flip fish if one side turns golden brown. Fry for about 5 mins or till whole fish turns golden color. That’s how to make fish crispy.

https://flic.kr/p/2fH4neM

This is how my fish looks after frying. Fin is really crispy.

7. To make sauce: Heat a pan. Add in 1 tbsp oil. Then add in 4 tbsp tomato sauce. Stir fry to make tomato sauce fully mixed with oil. and color will be brighter. Add in 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp water. Simmer with low heat. Dissolve 1 tsp starch in a little water and add into the sauce. Reduce sauce to condensed.

8. Pour sauce over the fried fish.

https://flic.kr/p/2fH4n7c

When I put the fried fish into a bigger plate, I accidentally broke its tail. Poor fish 😦

I have to let it lie down in the plate. I also garnish fish with green peas.

My husband gave me thumps up. The fish is really crispy outside, but tender and juicy inside.

https://flic.kr/p/2fH4n7H

Yum!