Clam Soup Chinese Style

Last weekend , we went to Jaya Grocer @ Ipoh Parade. It was our first time stepping into Jaya Grocer since its opening. We heard so much about it but have yet to pay a visit and last weekend, we made it. It is big and they have a wide range of imported ingredients for bakers like me :p  and what I like is they have a section where you can order your food and chill out there.  Fresco offers roast chicken, roast beef, pies set that comes with mashed potato and coleslaw and the food is really delicious. Glad that had our lunch there and WB loves their beef set :) I ordered the roast chicken for myself :p

Sorry, I have side tracked...hehehe when it comes to food, I get side tracked easily.  Okay, back to Jaya Grocer, they have a section selling seafood.  I checked out the area and gosh, I saw clams...fresh and huge. I could not resist and bought 1/2 kg back.  I came back and cooked clam soup chinese style coz I need to finish my bottle of rice wine in the fridge.

The clams were fresh and ohlala...the soup was so sweet..natural sweetness from the clams. Wild Boar bought a loaf of wholemeal baguette from Jaya Grocer and we both had baguette and clam soup for dinner. I got drunk on the sweetness of the clams and the rice wine helped the tipsy feel :p

Sorry for the bad photos...I am still learning how to use the camera to my benefits...hahaha I am slow in learning new tricks...as the saying goes..teaching old dogs to do new tricks. It sure takes some time but not to worry, I promised to keep going on...NEVER GIVE UP, one day, I will reap a harvest of blessings ! And give my readers good food photography. Hang on ya ! :) love you guys for always dropping by.

two bowls of clam soup for dinner...yummy

awesome flavor and so yummy good

homegrown dills ...add flavor to the soup

Clam Soup Chinese Style

1/2 kg clams - soak in salt water for 1 min, rinse and drip dry

4 big fresh white button mushrooms- wash and cut into quarters

1 tsp of grapeseed oil/ vegetable oil

a drop of sesame oil

5 slices of ginger

1/4 cup rice wine

600 ml water

salt to taste

a sprig of dill for soup and garnishing

Preparation:

Heat up  a tsp of grapeseed oil and sesame oil in a deep soup pot, add in slices of ginger and saute till fragrant, pour 600 ml water and close lid. Once it is boiling, add in the clams and button mushrooms. Close lid and once the clams opens up, add in the rice water and salt to taste. Add in dill, once it boils, Off heat and serve hot. Garnish with extra dill.

Enjoy!

Pan Fried Marinated Chicken Pieces

WB is a meat eater and I have to scratch my head to think what and how to cook a meat dish for him. I normally have seafood and veggies when eating in. Not that seafood is healthy but I LOVE fish and prawns, crabs and clams....wish I could add more of seafood dishes into my menu :p   When I eat out, I will indulge in meat dishes for sure :p for the restaurant prepares better meat dishes than yours truly.

I have some ready cut chicken pieces in the freezer.  Thawed it and marinade the pieces with pounded shallots and ginger.  Add in oyster sauce and cooking wine and a pinch of salt for extra taste. Marinate the pieces for at least 2 hours or overnight for better flavor and taste. I love this preparation and most important WB must love it..for he will the one eating them.  

the chicken pieces are full of flavor , for they sit marinated overnight

in the fridge. Pan fried them in oliv/grapeseed oil till golden

brown and cooked through

succulent and juicy ...nom nom

easy to prepare and flavorful chicken pieces for dinner

Pan Fried Marinated Chicken Pieces

Quarter chicken - cut into pieces

2 tbsp of olive oil/grapeseed oil for pan frying

marinade ingredients - to be pounded coarsely

(A)

4 shallots

1/2 inch ginger 

(B)

1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp thick soy sauce

a pinch of salt * optional

a tsp of sugar

1 tsp of corn flour

a dash of fresh ground white pepper

1 tsp of chinese cooking wine

Preparation:

Cut the quarter chicken into manageable pieces. Pound shallots and ginger coursely .  Marinate chicken pieces with the pounded shallots and ginger and seasoning (B). Cling wrap the marinated chicken and let it sit in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Heat up the pan, add 2 tbsp of oil and once the oil is hot, add in the marinated chicken pieces and pan fried the chicken pieces till cooked , flip chicken pieces every minute till it is golden brown and cooked.

Dish up and serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Jokbal - Chicken House @ Solaris, Mont Kiara

During my week stint in Semenyih, my partner-in-crimes took me to this Korean restaurant Chicken House @Solaris, Mont Kiara, for they know that I love Korean food :) The moment they say Korean food for dinner...the first thing that flashed across my mind is JOKBAL !

I watched Nation's Big Three on Astro, whereby in one of their series, they featured Jokbal . Jokbal is a Korean dish consisting of pig's trotters cooked with soy sauce and spices. It is usually braised in a combination of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and rice wine. . WB and I can only drool while watching the that series . I was so happy when my partner JO told me that Chicken House do serve Jokbal. Hehehe , now I get to eat the real one.  I must say it is really delicious.  Flavorful and the trotters so tender and succulent.  Maybe one day, I should try to replicate and bring for our cell group pot luck dinner :) We ordered one Jokbal and one Spicy fried chicken...and a jug of Mango rice wine (korean rice wine) Makgeolli ).  By the time we finished the Jokbal and the spicy fried chicken , we can't walk properly.....hahahaha it was either the rice wine or we had too much meat that filled our small stomach *wink... it was the best dinner I had thus far.  Love the Jokbal !

one whole trotter for 3 person *wink wink

 tender and juicy...you can either eat it stand alone or

wrap in lettuce which comes bottomless.  They will replenish

for you when you have emptied the plate

the jokbal comes deboned and cut into thin slices

the Jokbal order comes with a set of banchan - 

a plate of kimchi, pickle cucumber,

spicy garlic scapes and stir fry sausages

and not to miss this...spicy fried chicken...crispy and

garnishes with ground peanuts and crispy garlic

and sesame seed

finger licking good....

Korean  (Makgeolli )  is so good that I know I will

order this again the next time I come here for Jokbal..

every sip is intoxicating

mango rice wine is a great accompaniment for Jokbal

one way to eat jokbal is wrap in lettuce, add garlic and kimchi

and sliced jalapeno ...and go nom nom

a toast to many more jokbal meals together :)

wow, these two partners-in-crime of mine...

posing for me...hehehe testing out my skill :)

in using my Nikon 

Chicken House 치킨하우스
Jalan Solaris 4,
Solaris Mont Kiara,
50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 – 6211 5928

Homecooked Rich Tomato Seafood Soup And Foccacia By The Son-In-Law :)

Rich Tomato Seafood Soup And Foccacia cooked and baked by the son-in-law.   The Foccacia he made was soft and oh so yummy good.  The rich tomato seafood soup was breathtaking delicious !  It was a blessing indeed that I get to taste the son-in-law's cooking .  My partner-in-crime used to tell me this " oh Mom, you must try his cooking, he is a talented cook ! "  My turn to tell her " you are one lucky wifey to get a hubby who can cook so well "  :)

Well, this recent trip to KL, I was blessed , it was his day off and he cooked these breathtaking delicious tomato seafood soup and foccacia. I had two helpings :)  Thank you son-in-law for the delicious homecooked meal.  Jo is right, you are indeed a talented cook !  I look forward to more of your cooking :)

the tomato and garlic foccacia is good..really delicious

there are scallops, mussels, prawns, fish fillets

squids in the tomato soup...white wine adds oomphs 

to the soup...yumm!

this rich tomato seafood soup is so tasty and 

every sip is breathtaking delicious !

Enjoy !

Chilled Tofu With Preserved Big Head Vegetable ( 'Tai Tow Choy' ) Topping

You can either steamed the soft tofu and eat it hot or after steaming , chilled the tofu and garnishes with preserved big head vegetable and spring onions and chillies :)  That was what I did with this soft tofu....for a change , I had it cold...a cold dish is great for our crazy hot weather.  You can eat stand alone or served as appetiser.  You can serve this as a cold savory dessert...hehehe it tastes wonderful anyway...try it chilled and tell me if you like chilled savory tofu :)  For me, most important my Wild Boar must loves it and he does .  Easy to prepare and you can say it is a lazy man dish :)

stir fry the preserved big head vegetable till fragrant

and mix together with crispy fried shallots and cut chillies

and serves as garnishes as topping for the chilled tofu

healthy and delicious

I will definitely add more tofu dishes to our meals

Chilled Tofu With Preserved Big Head Vegetable ( 'Tai Tow Choy') Topping

ingredients:

1 slab of soft tofu

1/4 cup of chopped preserved big head vegetable (Tai Tow Choy)

3 shallots- sliced and deep fried till crispy

1 red chilly- sliced

1 stalk of spring onions - sliced

salt to taste

Sprinkle sea salt on slab of soft tofu and steamed for 6 mins.

Remove off water from the tofu dish and wrap with cling wrap.  Chilled in fridge till time

to serve.

Garnishings

Deep fried sliced shallots till crispy - dish up and keep aside

Deep fried chopped preserved big head vegetable till fragrant - dish up and mix together

with the fried shallots.

sliced spring onions

sliced red chilly

Take out the chilled tofu and sprinkle the garnishings on the surface and serve while it is still cold.

Enjoy !

Bali - Hog Wild In Bali "Been Naughty. Now Wild" - Non-Halal post

Josh, my son recommended that it is a must to visit Hog Wild. They have the best bbq pork rack in town and the original Wild Hog is from Bali :) So, a must it will be. We love the ribs so much that we went back for more on our last day in Bali.  It is not only finger licking good, it was cheap too after the conversion of currency :p  One whole rack costs only RM30.  Meaty and it was bbq to perfectly..the meat was tender and juicy. Gosh, writing this post and thinking of the taste makes me really craves for it again and wanting to go back to Bali again :)  

As we entered the place, there were two huge piggies figurines to welcome us..hahaha could not resist but to take a picture of them for our sweet memories that we were here for their famous bbq pork rack.  And many of you know that I love Piggies, the four legged and my own two legged ones LOL! Anyway, we dont have them back home in Malaysia.  I hope they have a franchise in KL in the near future .

their famous must order bbq pork rack

so delicious and I really love their preparation

this whole rack costs only RM30

a big portion but you will be surprised that me , yours truly

can finished the whole rack and yet desired to have another

half a rack hahaha I am a glutton when it comes

to good food :)

watch out dad, the Piggy JO is eyeing your share..

she is like me...a glutton too when it comes to

such delicious bbq pork rack

gluttony aside, they are the best of friends

and she is my best friend and partner- in- crime :)

and also my photography mentor

and this is my Piggy Josh.. our favorite ' tour guide '  for the trip

and my photography tutor during the trip

I learned so much from him where photography is concerned

my two lovely daughters

some fun photogrpahy before the food arrived

and when the food arrived, photography continues :)

nice smile :)

hahaha another fun photography :)

the inside of Hog Wild

we had so much eating at Hog Wild and hope to be able 

to go back for another round of their finger licking

bbq pork racks

Hog Wild In Bali,

Jalan Batubelig,

 41 Keborokan, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia 80361

Tel: +62)361 847 6722

website : www.hogwildinbali.com

mail@hogwildinbali.com

Stir Fry Cabbage With Australia Yellow Shell Prawns

Eating simple makes cooking simple..hahaha I have half a cabbage left and I stir fry the half cabbage with some Australia yellow shell prawns.  Saw these yellow shell prawns in Tesco selling at RM36 per kg.  It looks fresh and knowing prawns goes well with cabbage, I bought some and added them to the cabbage.  Wow, the  prawns add oomph to the dish.  Love the scent of shell of the prawns while being sauted with garlic....mmmmm a simple dish for WB and me.  No fuss and it took just half an hour to have the dish ready for dinner :)  After the stir fry, the cabbage has not lost its crunchy appeal and this further adds character to the dish.  Simple and yet delicious !

the texture of the prawn is firm and sweet

Stir Fry Cabbage With Australia Yellow Shell Prawns

1/2 a cabbage - coarsely slice the cabbage
12  pieces of large Australian yellow shell prawns - devein  and remove upper part of shell
season with white pepper , a pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar to give the prawns a stringy texture

3 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic- crushed
salt to taste
red chilli for garnishing

Method:

Heat up oil  in a non stick pan, saute garlic till fragrant, add in the prawns and stir fry till the prawns shell turns pink.  Add in the sliced cabbage, water and continue to stir fry till the cabbage is cooked.
Add in salt to taste.  Dish up and garnish with chilli.

Enjoy !