Gingerbread Men (People)

As mentioned in my previous post, we started our Christmas baking on Saturday. Actually, it was a trial run to make Gingerbread men (people). Ash has this idea to make them as gifts for her friends at school. We've never made them before, and to our surprise, it was so easy. I found the recipe online here. I forgot to take photos of the gingerbread men (we also made hearts, angels, christmas trees and stars). We will be making about 60 pieces this weekend. Must remember to take pics.

It was fun to make them with my girls. They both had fun rolling out the cookie dough and using the cutters. Cait said it was like playdough. If you're looking for some fun things to do with children for Christmas, I recommend this.

Busy

A friend made a comment that I have not updated my food blog since October. It's been a busy few weeks for us with Ashleigh's activities - cricket training and matches, school band practices for end of year assembly and rehearsals for Australian Girls Choir (AGC) annual concert at the Sydney Opera House. On top of that, Caitlin has swimming lessons on Saturday afternoons.

We attended AGC's annual concert last night. It was fantastic. It was also the 25th anniversary for the choir and it was a celebration. They finished the concert with an ABBA medley - Thank You for the Music, SOS, Waterloo, Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen. BRILLANT!

That's one down. School band assembly is on this Friday. Two more cricket matches to go.

Three more weeks till end of term. Then Christmas....

I hope to start our Christmas baking this Saturday. I bought a Gingerbread House Kit last week. My plan is to decorate this with my girls closer to Christmas. I did it last year, but with my girlfriends. It's good fun. Will post photo of finished gingerbread house.

Later...

Deep-Fried Onion Chicken in Special Sauce

This dish was one of my sister's favourite dish when we were growing up in Malaysia. There was one restaurant near PJ Hilton, called "Nam Fong" where we go for dinner and this was always something we ordered. Sadly, I don't think the restaurant exists anymore. When I saw this recipe in a "Hawkers' Fare Simplified" recipe book at the Popular bookstore when I was in Malaysia, I had to buy it.

The recipe is a little fiddly because of the deep-frying, but it's tasty. I'm going to cook this for my sister when she visits during Christmas/New Year.


Along with this dish, I also tried a new dish "Steamed Silky Egg". Apologies for the photo - I forgot to take a photo before serving.


Since it's spring/summer time, we can buy 'kangkung' (Water Spinach or Water Convolvulus). So I stir-fried kangkung and leftover shimeji mushrooms with some sambal, not too spicy for hubby.

Claypot Style Chicken Rice - without the Claypot

Well, I cooked this claypot style chicken rice last Friday for dinner in the rice cooker, not a claypot. This is a quick one pot meal. I will usually just stir-fry some green vegies to accompany the meal.



Ingredients
Chicken breast fillets - cut into bite sizes
Chinese sausage (lap cheong), sliced
Shitake mushrooms (I used the dried version, so pre-soaked)
Ginger, sliced
Rice
Water
Garlic, diced
Ginger, extra - diced

1. Marinade the chicken, chinese sausage, mushrooms and ginger with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, a pinch of salt, pepper and sesame oil. Leave aside for 1 hour or longer.
2. Measure about 2 cups of rice, and wash the usual way. Measure the correct amount of water, and pour out the water into a separate bowl. Set aside.
3. Saute the diced garlic and ginger in some oil in medium heat until fragrant.
4. Add the marinated chicken, chinese sausage, mushrooms and ginger. Fry till the chicken and chinese sausage start to caramelize around the edges.
5. Add the rice, without the water. Mix well with meats and mushroom till fragrant.
6. Add in the water (that was set aside earlier). Season to taste. Reduce the heat.
7. When mixture comes to a boil, scoop it out into the rice cooker pot.
8. Cook the usual way in the rice cooker.
9. Serve with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and garnish with coriander.
   

Fresh Food at the Markets

Something I miss in Australia - wet markets or fresh food markets. The selection and freshness of the produce was amazing. There is also a stall where you can select the 'kampung' (village) chicken, and the owner will slaughter and clean the chicken for you. How fresh is that! I could not take a photo of the process because there was too much blood for me.

Food that We Sampled in Malaysia

Here's some photos of food that we ate whilst on our holidays in Malaysia. I did not take a photo of every single food item, just ones that we've never had before.

one of my fav - steamed bamboo clams

stir-fried snails (not the garden variety)

salted egg yolk crab

clams (lala) in broth

Claypot Crab Rice (in some restaurant near Nibong Tebal)

Back Home from Msia/Spore

We're back from our holidays in Msia-Spore. Will post photos of some of the food that we ate. We had a great time catching up with family and friends. Little Cait did not enjoy the heat and humidity, she did not like feeling sweaty all the time.