Fish: Steam

POINT TO PONDER 


Last year, my husband told me about his sugar level and he was asked to take the medicine. I did not take it seriously until he fainted in the toilet and I was in deep sleep. When I got up, he was in daze - as if he lost his memory. In a sleep-like mode, he described his experience in the toilet. At first, I thought he was pulling my leg but after a while the truth hit me and I became scared. 

         Took him to the bank's panel clinic and the doctor warned me of his condition. Only then I realised my role - I needed to take care of him. 

         It is not easy. I have to look after not only his diet but also I need to check his sugar level every now and then. 

THE RECIPE

Need a special oblong dish for this so that you do not have to cut the fish into two. Bought one in IKEA. 

One medium-sized Siakap (Clean the fish well. It is not necessary to have it cut in the butterfly manner.)  

One mountful tablespoon of corn flour to marinate the fish
Five tablespoon of Nam Pla or fish sauce to marinate the fish
Leave the fish for about 10 minutes. 
Prepare the steam set. Make sure you put enough water into the bottom pot. 
Place the marinated fish into the special bowl. 
Cut the following thinly and then sprinkle them over the fish
Two sticks of lemon grass
One medium-sized ginger bud (also known as bunga kantan.) 
Five stalks of coriander leaves
One/two spring onions
Ten lime leaves
Five chilli padi
Sprinkle as well 
 One cube of Anchovy granules 
Squeeze out the juice of a lime  
A few more dashes of nam pla
Place the fish dish onto the steamer. Leave it for at least 30 minutes. 
Eat it while it is hot.  

MY THOUGHT 

If you steam the dish, after 30 minutes you will find gravy (not very thick) in the dish. However, if you wish to put the dish in an oven, the temperature should be 180 and leave it for at least 20 minutes. You should also add some water onto the dish as the heat in the oven will suck up the juice. 
 

JUSCO MARINATED CHICKEN

POINT TO PONDER

Found something useful when I was reading DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE. Dr Mahathir said:

...man proposes, God disposes. You make your plans and try your best. If you encounter problem you have to be flexible, analytical, and ready to try something else.

I suppose, we should not be so traditionalist or perhaps orthodox towards things that we are used to. We need to change. Change is inevitable and we cannot avoid it.

INGREDIENTS

My husband requested meals that have nothing to do with rice. It is the weekend after all. So, I scooted off to Jusco and bought a few things.

At Jusco, they have chicken marinated in Texas sauce, I think. I bought a few. At home, I arranged them nicely on the tray and placed them in the oven.

Temperature 200
Duration       45 minutes (for every 20 minutes, turn the chicken to the other side.)

MY OPINION

My husband loves it. You could have this with Roast Potatoes, Salad and soup.

ROAST POTATOES

POINT TO PONDER

Read  A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE the other day and found a very useful information. Dr Mahathir said,

...there is never a moment in a person's life when he is liked by everyone. If there is, you are probably a nonentity, a person of little consequence or character. At the height of your popularity, there will always be some who wishes you dead.

Thus, if people are nasty to you, you can be assured that they feel threaten by your presence. The power that you possess (you might not realise this) is envied. You should not succumb nor should you feel sad over the things that they do to you. Instead, you should stand strong. Definitely, you will feel sad and at times really really down as people can be very nasty when they want to. However, God is great. God will always help you. Trust God and you will be okay.

INGREDIENTS

I wanted to have baby potatoes but they were not on sale. So, I used USA potatoes.

5 large potatoes (peel off the skin and cut slightly bigger than mouth sized)
Rosemary herb (fresh one is better. Cut to small pieces but remember to throw away the stalk. One teaspoon is enough. Sprinkle onto the potatoes)
Oregano (sprinkle over the potatoes. One teaspoon is enough.)
Salt (sprinkle half a teaspoon)
One bulb of garlic (Just peel off the skin and add into the mixture)
Olive Oil (2 tablespoons would do it)

Mix everything well. Then place it in the oven.
Temperature 200 for 45minutes.

Eat them when they are hot.

MY OPINION

I love the dish. The best thing about it, you prepare and then leave it in the oven. You do not have to keep on tossing or turning.

Together with this dish, you could have roast chicken and salad. You could also have some kind of soup. 

Chicken: Ayam Panggang

MY THOUGHTS

I sent both my daughters back to the places where they are studying today. Even though it was my husband who drove to and fro, I was exhausted. He would not let me drive as my driving license had expired. Though of renewing it before leaving but I was so busy cooking for guests until I forgot my intention.

      Anyway, having my two girls away from home, I feel a bit lonely even though the three boys are still with me. Whenever my girls are at home, we do not actually sit down and chat all night long but still I feel lonely without them.

      My advice to those who are reading this, especially to those newly weds, you must really treasure the moment when your children are still with you. You should enjoy their presence and let them enjoy your presence as well. In other words, you should make time for your children.

     When my children were small, especially the girls, I was too busy looking for money as money was not enough for us. Actually, money was okay. It was just me - wanting to live in luxury. So I had more than one job.

      Time with the children is really precious especially as time flies very fast. Be with them. REad to them. Play games with them. Have fun and so you will not miss them so much like I do.

THE INGREDIENTS

* Ketumbar (fry this without oil. One teaspoon is enough. Then, pound it or grind it.)
* galangle (If it is fresh, it should the size of a female thumb. Pound this as mine is dried, I grind mine.)
* lemon grass (two of this. Pound)
* chilli boh ( 3 - 5 tablespoon. Fry this using oil.)
* Oil (Just enough to fry the chilli boh. Once the chilli is nicely fried, add in the other pounded stuff.)
* tamarind paste (1/4 of a cereal bowl))
* lime juice (2 normal size. Squeeze out the juice.)
* cream coconut
* sugar
* salt
* quail ( I had about 10. Wash them properly. Pre heat the oven. 200. Once the gravy is boiled, dip in each bird and arrange them on the tray nicely. Remember to line the tray with aluminum foil as you need to collect the stock from the cooked chicken. Pour the oil into the gravy.  The quail should be left in the oven for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Make it a habit to turn the tray at half of the set time.)

* coriander leaves ( it is nice to eat the quail with fresh coriander leaves. If you do not have quails, you could always replace it with chicken.)

MY OPINION

This dish is very easy to make. Serve this with mashed potatoes or just plain soup. It would be especially good to serve for dinner.

Pengat Pisang

MY THOUGHTS

To win a man's heart is through his stomach. Is this true? It works for me though. He loves it when I cook and groan whenever I pass the job to my maid.

What is so difficult about cooking especially if there is a maid to assist you in the kitchen?

THE RECIPE

This is my hubby's favourite

Coconut milk (almost half of the pot. I prefer using the Vision pot. You could simply put the pot on the table.)
Gula Melaka (one whole lot. Pound it a bit so that it would melt faster.)
Sagu (this will make it slightly thicker. My hubby prefers a thick sauce.)
Daun Pandan (one piece is enough.)
A pinch of salt (people say that you need to add in a bit of salt if you are making something sweet.)
Banana (slice the banana but not to small. Slightly bigger than one's mouth. Add this in when the Gula Melaka is hundred percent melted.)

**My hubby loves to have this dessert cool rather than hot.)

POINT TO PONDER

Sometimes we are really fussy. At times, we need to let go. However, I could not stop being meticulous as I need to make sure that whatever I spend is worth it. Most people do not like it - this includes the salesman. Should I be worry about it?

Soto Ayam

MY THOUGHTS

My second daughter requested for Soto Ayam, a dish which I don't quite like. Thus, to cook it is something which is not possible as I do not know how it should be tasted like. Still, remembering an Ustaz's advice, fulfilling someone's wish especially your own child is something the parent need to do while the child is healthy. Often, the Ustaz reminds that parents only try to fulfill the child's wish is when the child is really sick and then later, when the child is no longer around, the parents start to regret.


THE RECIPE 

Pot - medium sized metal pot.
Chicken (If you do not wish to boil the whole chicken, choose the part with a lot of flesh. Boil the chicken.
              Once the chicken is cooked, take it out and tear out the cooked flesh into small strips.)
Ginger (slightly bigger than my thumb. Peel off the skin and bruise it. Put it into the chicken broth.)
Lemon grass ( I used two. Clean and then have it bruised.)
To be pounded: (to be added into the chicken broth)
- Jintan manis (1/2 tablespoon)
- Jintan putih (1/2 tablespoon)
- Ketumbar (1 tablespoon)
- galangle (slightly smaller than my thumb. Preferably, it should be getting the same treatment as the ginger but as mine has been sliced and dried, I decided to pulverize it.)
Salt
Black Pepper (1 teaspoon - pounded)
White pepper (quite a lot of dashes)

The sauce:
Chilli Padi ( about ten)
Garlic (about 6 cloves. Blend the two items but instead of adding water, replace it with soya sauce. Then
           pour the blended items into a pot and have it boil.)

Begedil (an essential item when having Soto.)
MInce meat (one cereal bowl)
Potatoes (about 6 large ones. Cut them up like oranges and then fry them. Later, you mashed them up. This
                is followed by adding in the mince meat.)
Fried Onions (Put in about 2 1/2 tablespoon of it into the mixture(
2 eggs
White pepper
salt
Flour (1 ladle scoop of it)
**mix all the ingredients well. Then make balls out of the mixture and deep fry them. Make sure the oil is hot before putting them in.)

Serving:
The soup
Garnishes (stripped chicken, sliced spring onions, blenched beansprouts, compressed rice.)

POINT TO PONDER

As a muslim, are we expected to tolerate with every rubbish that people throw upon us? Ideally, I suppose so but, at times, you just cannot take the bull-shit (excuse the language). Just to please the boss, we simply put down a figure and hoping that our boss will be impressed.

           I could still remember SIGS late headmistress used to say 'If you wish to do something, do it well or else don't do it at all.' However, this is not the case nowadays. Figure first, the action comes later. If people remember, we do it. If our boss forget, we should forget.

Bee Hoon Berkuah

MY THOUGHTS

I do appear to bold and brave. Some  say I would be able to face anything. Some of my acquaintances who are holding the same positions often believe that I could solve any kind of horrible problems that they are facing. Little do they know that I am scared most of the time.

THE RECIPE

It has been quite some time since I could post the pictures of the food that I cooked. Ever since I took over my husband's handphone, such luxury is no longer for my pleasure.

Today is the forth day of fasting month and the first day too for me to cook for my children after so many ....

Bee Hoon (My maid made a mistake by soaking the whole packet. In actual fact, just two 'plank' would be
                  enough.)
Cooking oil (about six tablespoons)
Chilli Boh (once the oil is hot, put in five tablespoons. Stir it until you see the colour change.)
Peeled prawns (3/4 cereal bowl of it.))
3 tauhu (cut them into small pieces. FRY them first. Make sure they are light brown in colour.)
**Add in the Bee Hoon after the prawns are properly cooked and the fried tauhu is well coated with the chilli.
Beansprouts (pinch off the tail before cooking.)
Soya sauce (add in just enough. )
THE SAUCE:
Cooking oil (once it is hot, you start putting in other ingredients)
Garlic (about three cloves. It would be good if you could pound them finely together with the tauchu but do make sure that the garlic changes to yellow first. )
TAuchu (two big tablespoons.)
Water (Add in four mugs full)
**let it boil.

POINT TO PONDER

When we were having our dinner, my youngest announced his dislike towards bee hoon. I was shocked as this has never came to my attention.

Well, being a mother of five, it is surely not easy to please every individual. Every one seems to have their own taste.