Chicken Siomai Recipe

I saw a chicken dumpling recipe on TV last week, I wanted to try!

I tweaked it a bit to my liking and added/changed some ingredients. :)

You'll need about 300g of minced chicken meat, 1/4 (about 1 1/2 cup) cabbage, 1tbsp salt, half a stick of finely chopped spring onions, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1tsp grated ginger, 2 tbsp bread crumbs or 1 tbsp cornstarch, and 1 tsp sesame oil.

:Put salt on the cabbage and knead to take away excess moisture. You might want to wash it again then microwave it a few seconds too.

Mix all the other ingredients with the cabbage and wrap with the dumpling wrapper.

Steam on boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.

Make sure to not overcook so the meat won't be dry and flaky.

I love the crunchy texture of the cabbage and not to mention it's healthier.

Must try! :D

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Sweet Pork Steak

Today I am sharing how I cook my Pork Steak. 

Yes, another easy recipe that you can do asap! Haha.

The first thing to do is sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic slices to the pork, then set aside for 30 mins.

Heat the pan and put olive oil.

Fry the pork for about 4-5 mind each side.

Now here's the unique part - Put about 1/4 cup of Mirin 

(sweet sake used for cooking instead of normal white wine)!

Simmer for about 5-10 mins.

Done! :)

I swear it tastes good! Hehee

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What I Wore Update

I haven't been blogging about my outfits lately. 

That's because most of my outfits lately are just mix and matches of my old outfit posts 

which I find too boring to blog in just one post, and I take pictures of my outfit during morning shifts when I am still alone at work, but most of my shifts this month are mid and late shifts! 

So there, the photos of my outfits these past weeks. 

The only thing new here are my 2 platform sandals! Hihi.

I also decided to go back to using the collage type photos for my outfit posts. 

I think they are much nicer than the frame type. ;P

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Rant Update

I am actually so stressed at work lately.

I have this co-worker that is so unstable. Everyone at work knows that what she says depends on her mood. At her worst, she likes to tattle stories of someone who pissed her off.
It might be biased by starting of like that, but yea, so this co-worker now is saying that some money apparently was missing from her wallet. And she's saying to almost everyone at work (except for our manager) that she thinks it is our shop manager who took the money.
What I hate about this situation is that, I think she is trying to brainwash me into being on her side. Actually, both of them is trying to talk me into taking their side. I try to be just neutral at any cases, but I actually like our manager more than my co-worker. Now I'm not very sure how to treat them both.
But what I hate more about this is that our manager is being irresponsible and weak about handling this incident. She's like talking to us asking for pity and answers that we can't give. Although I noticed she has improved a bit after me frankly saying these things to her. And well, after a thought, I actually can't blame her much. I just don't have enough room in my heart and mind to think for too since it really takes a lot of energy to be in the middle of all these.

Next to my stress addition is the new-comer who I think is a bit of a racist. I was trying to chat with her, while wondering if it's just me feeling that she answers snobbishly. Then she suddenly asked me (without answering my question) if I was from Japan or not. It irritated me so I answered her rudely. I am not sure what happened next, but she was politely nice after then. Haay.
You know these things will never go away. People discriminate people unconciously or not, whether they like it or not.

That's for my rant update. Lol. I tried to make it short so I am not sure if anyone could understand my post! But anyways, let's see how things would roll the coming days, which I am not too excited about. :p

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Oreo Bars

Another gooey treat using marshmallows and I think this one is my favorite! :)

Here's what you need:  

58g (1 bar of Meiji) milk chocolate, 2tbsp of butter, 4 cups of marshmallows, 9 pieces of crushed oreos

Steps:

1. Microwave butter and chocolate for about 30 seconds and stir. 

2. Add marshmallows and crushed oreos. 

3. Mix well and put in a container.

4. Let cool then cut into bars.

What could be easier than this?? LOL ;P

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Marshmallow Cornflakes Squares

I once tried to make rice crispies, (you all know it's just similar to this, the difference is using rice crisps rather than cornflakes) and I am not sure what I did wrong but it was a fail. 

So I was having 2nd thoughts if I should try making this too, but I was craving for something gooey! Haha.

Gooey Goodness it is!

You need 2-3 tbsp of butter, about 6 cups of marshmallows, 5 cups of cornflakes, chopped chocolates, and chocolate chips.

1. Melt marshmallows and butter on low heat.

2. Turn off the heat and add chopped chocolates.

3. Add the cornflakes and chocolate chips.

4. Put in a square container and let cool.

5. Cut into squares. 

Totally easy-peasy! 

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Yogurt Lemon Cake Recipe

Pound cakes are the most easiest cake to bake for me since all you have to do 

is mix all the ingredients, put it in the container, then bake. 

Aside from that, I also use hotcake mixes for baking that makes it a lot more easier! Hahaha ;P

A pound cake apparently are those made with a pound of each ingredients so that's a 1:1 ratio. 

But I am not very familiar with pounds since I use grams/ml, a tbsp or a cup for measurement.

I am no pro and I just cook the easy ones like this, 

but on this post, I am also sharing what I learned about ingredients ratio.

The basic ingredients for baking as you all know are 

eggs, hotcake mix/flour+baking powder, butter, milk/water and sugar.

For one pound cake container, like that you can see below, you'll need 1 cup of hotcake mix. 

For a cup of hm (or flour and baking powder), you'll need 80g to 20g of butter. 

Butter adds flavor. The more butter you use, the more your cake will become moist and heavy. 

You could also use oil if you prefer it light and rough. 

More eggs will give you a fluffier texture. 

I usually add milk or water depending on the thickness of the mixture I made. 

Milk gives you a rich taste and I use water if I ran out of milk. ;p 

The amount of sugar I put are equal to the amount of butter I used. 

I just adjust it when I add other flavors (like chocolate) so the cake wouldn't be too sweet. 

I should have made a basic plain cake today but there was a left over yogurt that I wanted to use so this is what I baked. ;P

Prepare: A cup of hotcake mix, 1 egg, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp of oil, about 5 tbsp of yogurt, 2tbsp of lemon juice, and 2 tbsp of honey.

Yogurt here works the same job as the butter, so there's less oil. Since lemon and honey are liquids, there's no need for milk/water. Just used 2 tbsp of sugar since honey is also sweet. So yep, you just adjust all the ingredients to make the perfect texture of the mixture and I just learned to measure somehow by my eyes as time went.  

Procedure: Beat the egg and sugar well, add the yogurt then mix. Gradually add the hotcake mix while mixing, then add the lemon juice and honey. Pour on a container and bake for about 40 minutes.

I am not sure about the oven temperature since our microwave oven has a "cake" button. Hehe. 

Oh, and another reminder is, do not over mix. 

Bow! ;)

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Chicken Potato Paella Recipe

I made a paella using the rice cooker before, and I must say it was also a success. 

Now this is my first try to make a paella using a frying pan!

I just used ingredients on our fridge so it's a less hassle recipe that everyone should try! 

Yummy success!

Sorry, I was too serious and too concentrated on cooking, I forgot to take photos! haha

What you need: chicken marinated in salt, cubed potatoes, diced onions, garlic, bacon, 2 cups of uncooked rice, broth, 3 cups of water, 2tbsp of catsup, about 1tbsp of salt, olive oil, parsley and lemon.

1. Saute chicken and potatoes till slightly brown then set aside.

2. On the same pan, saute onions, garlic and bacon.

3. Add the uncooked rice and saute till rice is clear in color.

4. Add and evenly mix broth, water, catsup and salt. 

5. Cover with foil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

6. Turn off the stove and let sit for another 10 minutes.

7. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon and garnish with parsley. 

It was a hit! 

The husband said we should also try a more authentic Seafood Paella next time! :)

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Pan-a-Pasta

How do you cook your pasta? 

Do you still cook it using a large pot with lots and lots of boiling water? 

Then make a sauce on a different pan?

If you do, then read on. Hehe.

You see, i find it a waste of time, water and also gas to cook pasta

the usual style when I am just cooking for just the two of us (my daughter and I).

So this is my way of cooking pasta using a large frying pan. 

I think you could cook enough for 3 persons.

Maybe you already have noticed, our family loves creeaaam! LOL

-Prepare a 28cm pan (or 25cm), pasta (break it if using a 25cm pan), water, salt, cream, 

broth, bacon, any other ingredient of choice (we're just using bacon today), and parmesan cheese.

1. Boil 3 cups of water (for two bundles of pasta) and add salt.

2. Put the pasta and make sure to not let them stick together

3. When the pasta becomes just a bit after al dente, throw away the water 

and leave just enough to leave the entire pasta soaked well.

4. Let it dry. (this will make your pasta cooked)

5. Add the bacon, cream, broth, a bit of water, and salt to taste.

6. Toss it together then garnish with parmesan.

Done!

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