순두부찌게 (Soondubu Jjigae) - Spicy Soft Tofu Stew

I'm a big fan of Korean food and a bit of a 라면 (ramyeon) addict too; I always have a few packets stashed in the cupboard for the ultimate mega-quick lunch / hot snack. Of course, they are loaded with all sorts of artificial flavourings and additives (probably the cause of my addiction) and I am constantly scolded by Ma and Ba Chan to stop eating so much ramyeon! :(

With the New Year comes resolutions and one of mine in 2013 is to stop eating so much 라면! My healthy alternative (to substitute my craving for strong, gutsy Korean flavours) comes in the form of 순두부찌게 (Soondubu Jjigae). I found a pretty straightforward recipe on a blog I have been following, pottered along to a Korean supermarket in town (yes, we do have one here) to get the ingredients and hey presto, managed to create a healthy, hot and yummy lunch. Now the only thing I have to do now is control my portion sizes!! ;)

First step: make the Yangnyum(양념) which forms the flavouring of the underlying soup...

Yummers! :)

Chrimbo 2012

I have been notably slack this year during the festive period with cooking and baking. There are valid reasons for this lack of activity which I will hopefully share with you on a later post :)

Christmas was a quiet affair with just me, Ma and Ba Chan. Dinner was decidedly low-key (smoked salmon, roast rib of beef and apple pie) but for the first time, cooking (well, me helping out Ma Chan) was quite leisurely and the folks even managed to pop out to the golf course and play a few holes which made them happy!

Usually, people are too tired and still too full to think of dinner on Stephens Day, so this year we continued the low-effort formula and sat down to Chinese hotpot. Luckily, we had enough ingredients (usually the biggest problem) for a real feast - great fun, where everyone helps with the cooking and sharing of the food. I would highly recommend if you have not tried it before :)

Before.....

......and after! Bon app :)

Dinner chez nous

We have finally made use of the steak pan we bought several months back to make a yummy dinner. Ribeye comes courtesy of Wyndham House with mac and cheese and sauted spinach as sides (also roasted new spuds too but they were in a separate dish) - giving Goodman a run for their money, hehe! :)

情人節快樂! :)

Cream is optional but oh so scrummy! :)

Duck for dinner

For someone who considers herself a food enthusiast, I have to admit I am fairly unadventurous when it comes to cooking in my own kitchen sadly!! :(

Duck is usually the type of thing which I will order out at a resto simply because I do not cook it at home but I think that might be all about to change :)

We picked up some duck breasts during this week's grocery shopping for one of our weekday dinners, providing me with an opportunity to cook duck for the first time ever. Obviously, the first port of call was the net to find out instructions for pan frying duck breasts. I plumped for some advice from Jamie:

1. Score the skin of duck breasts.
2. Place breasts in cold pan, skin side down.
3. Turn on heat to high and cook until skin is crispy brown.
4. Flip duck breast to the other side and cook for another 3 minutes to seal breast.
5. Transfer to dish skin side up and place in oven at 180C for 10 minutes.
6. Result = perfectly cooked pink duck breast :)  

I did my quick Chinese marinade beforehand on the meat with an addition of zest of an orange which went very nicely with the duck. I also added a quick squidge of honey just before the breasts went into the oven for some extra sweetness. Serve with steamed rice and some blanched spring greens - delish! :)

Sunday lunch

Calorie fest for me, JD and my friend from Uni, T :)

 Truffle mac and cheese with porcini and herby crust

 Rib of beef - yum!

 The full works with some roasted carrots

Baked cheesecake, anyone?

B-day solo dinner - LA Kalbi!

Sunday Roast

After reading an article in the papers about a certain actor making a decent roast, I was inspired to push the boat out on Sunday and treat ourselves to a roast too - it was also an excuse to make use of the funky Mjölk jug which JD bought when we were in Stockholm for some tasty gravy! Bon app :)

Poulet rôti (pas agneau!!) pour nous :)

 

Accompanying veggies

 Mjölk - oops, I meant gravy! :)

Customised Kitchenaid cover - 多謝姨媽!! :)

Remedy for sick people - 瑶珠粥

Very easy to make but not when you are feeling poorly :(

Best comfort food I know of tho! :)

Homemade 干炒牛河!

homemade brekkie.....then out for lunch!

Drop scones with "fridge" jam

Chirashi sushi/udon set from Kiraku

Chipotle cheddar scones

I've been meaning to try making these scones for a while now (recipe taken from a book I got for Chrimbo called "Baked") but alas, chipotle powder is not the easiest of ingredients to come by. Luckily, I managed to get hold of some thanks to a fleeting visit to Borough Market et voilà!! They turned out OK and were happily munched on by JD - perhaps next time, I might reduce the salt levels a touch.....

Blast from the past - tarte Bourdaloue

I have no idea why but every time I feel an urge to bake something, I inevitably turn the tarts chapter in my recipe book from school. It was the first things we learnt to make and I always assume they are therefore the easiest but on reflection, they aren't really. What I do know is that they always look impressive and with the right recipe, taste pretty good too :)

The last time I attempted tarte Bourdaloue was over 2 years ago so it was really a case of dusting off the cobwebs on the ol' grey cells on how to make this one......the most challenging part being remembering how to get that fancy patisserie edge on the tart.

I also remembered at the time, I really wasn't a fan of the creme d'amande in the tart but tasting it again this time around, it really wasn't that bad......maybe chef put in too generous a slug of rum in class? ;)

Anyhoo, overall I was pretty happy with how it turned out - bon app (with a hint of nostalgia)!

Red velvet cake roses

Having fun with a new piping tip, how sad am l??!!

Note to self - natural food colouring sucks!!

Experimenting in the kitchen - porcini risotto

During my brief trip back to the Emerald Isle, Ma Chan and I popped out for a post-Chrimbo shopping trip which included a visit into our local Lidl. Lidl is generally more known for pretty average groceries at cheap prices so imagine my surprise to find bags of yummy looking Italian dried porcini going for for 99 cents a pop!!

I armed myself with a couple of bags for the trip back down to the big smoke and my first foray in cooking with them was in the form of risotto. It all worked out pretty well but I failed to realise that I was cooking a tonne of the stuff!! (mmm..... so that's why so much stock was needed!!!) After a substantial dinner, the rest of the risotto has now been shaped into cakes and stashed away in the freezer for a potential weekend lunch.....watch this space!! :)

 So many components!!

 Hmm....not bad for a first attempt! :)

Christmas feast, Chinese style :)

Duck marinated in soy sauce

 Steamed lemon sole, garnished with coriander

 Braised dry shitake mushrooms, abalone and fish stomach (fa gao) 

Mmmm.....abalone :)

Merry Christmas everybody!!

Chrimbo dinner this year was less hectic as Ma Chan decided to do the bulk of the cooking - I only managed to make the gratin dauphinoise :)

Great food and great company, just the 3 of us, Merry Chrimbo all!!