Broccoli . . . No One?

.

Homemade Yogurt – With a Modem

I used to make yogurt in the oven by leaving the light bulb on, which provided just the right amount heat. And then, I moved and I now have a toaster oven which doesn't have a light bulb. What to do? What else can provide a low source of heat for a few hours continuously? The modem, of course, with a cardboard box to capture the heat! Gosh, we all have to multi-task nowadays, even a modem! Actually, I can also use my notebook – didn’t someone fry eggs on his computer? – but it's a bit difficult to fit yogurt making into its schedule.

I was baby sitting Nephew No. 10 at my place yesterday and decided to show him how to make yogurt with a modem. Bad idea! The little tyke was so tickled by the food-making modem, he kept lifting the box to check if the yogurt was ready. "Is it done yet?" he asked for the nth time and when I turned my back, tilted the yogurt from side to side. Oh dear! The yogurt didn't set properly and was loose and thin after it was disturbed. He probably went home thinking modems and Aunt KT make lousy yogurt! Never mind, I'll make more this weekend – without kids around – and bring him some, with his favorite clover honey. He'll like that.



Check these out:

Ginger Milk Custard (薑汁撞奶)	Gingerbread Men	Cream Scones	Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls

Broccoli Everyday

KT: Broccoli is packed with phytonutrients which help reduce cancer risks, repair sun-damaged skin, prevent cataracts, and fight birth defects. We should eat broccoli everyday . . . .

Mel: HAAHAAHA! Eat broccoli everyday! That's very funny!

Crazy for Kueh Baulu with Custard

Guess what? I gave Kueh Baulu a promotion today. Instead of being a sidekick in a Kiwifruit Trifle, I made it the star since it was so outstanding soaked in sherry. Custard, warm instead of cold, was added in generous quantities. Kiwifruit was demoted and became a garnish, along with Chopped Walnuts. Same ingredients as Kiwifruit Trifle but the proportions were rejigged to create a different look and taste. I loved it!
__________________________________________________

KB: I just got a promotion. How about a raise?
KT: We don’t have budget for a raise but you have a new French name – Kueh Baulu à la Crème Anglaise.

Check these out:

Ginger Milk Custard (薑汁撞奶)	Gingerbread Men	Cream Scones	Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls

Kiwifruit Trifle – Great Tasting, Good Looking

There are a few English desserts that I love and sherry trifle is one of them. The mix of fresh fruits, custard, sherry and ladyfingers all come together to make a very satisfying sweet ending to an evening meal. There is, however, something I dislike about trifles done the traditional way. English trifles are usually made in a large glass goblet so as to display the different layers. It’s very pretty to look at but how do you serve the trifle? Well, you dig it out with a large spoon and plonk it down on a plate. Aack! My little toes are curling just at the thought of it. Noooo! It’s such a waste of all the beautiful layers. Trifles should be made and served in individual glasses! And please, none of that instant custard thing. Aack! My little toes are curling again at the thought of Bird’s yellow, powdery stuff. If you don’t have 10 minutes to make custard from scratch, have some chocolate or ice cream or whatever. I always keep some Green & Black’s dark chocolate and Häagen-Dazs macadamia in the fridge for such moments. If you have 10 minutes, you will be rewarded with a smooth, creamy and eggy custard that is absolutely worth the effort. No powder could ever come close.

Check these out:

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies	Banana Peanut Butter Crumble	Homemade Yogurt	Triple Chocolate Cookies

Hello, Kitties!

I'd like to introduce the real tigers in the house. This is Mac, also known as Big Mac because she's F-A-T. She gets two square meals a day but every time I feed her, she eats like she's been starving for ages. She shoves her nose in the food like a pig, and I swear I can hear her grunting like one. No matter what I give her, she always licks her plate so clean it sparkles.

Mel is aka Princess Mel 'cause she's really 'princessy'. She's as fussy about food as Mac is easy. If I feed her something she hates, she'd rather starve. Even with food she fancies, she just nibbles daintily and never finishes her plate. And Mel never sleeps on the floor. Nope, the cold, hard floor's not for the princess. She sleeps in my bed and if I put a pea under the mattress, I'm sure she'd know.

Motor, the purring machine, is the baby of the brood and last to be adopted. She likes to be hand-fed which I do when I'm free, with a pair of chopsticks. M thinks that's rather indulgent but I didn't pay much attention to her when she was a baby – because I had three other cats then – so I try to make it up to her now. Motor also likes a head rub for a good five minutes each day. If I stop too soon, she'd nip my fingers sharply!

__________________________________________________

M: If the cats and I were drowning, whom would you save?
KT: . . . . . . sorry, my phone's vibrating. Hello! Hello? Rebecca! I was about to call you . . . .
.

'Hearty' Bitter Melon Soup

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This couldn't be more true in Hong Kong but it's not just any food that connects a man's stomach to his heart, it's got to be soup. It’s perfectly okay if a woman can’t fry an egg to save her life but she must know how to make soup. If, say, a woman fancies some guy in the office, she could bring him some homemade soup and he would get the message. Or, if her husband were hospitalized, she would have to bring him homemade soup everyday. If she failed to do that, he might divorce her and no one would wonder why. She doesn’t have time because she has a full-time career and two screaming kids? Sorry, no excuses.

One of the prerequisites of illicit love affairs in Hong Kong is good soup. How does a woman entice a man to stray from his marriage? Soup! In fact, the mistress’ skill in making soup is so entrenched, there’s a restaurant called ‘No. 2’s Delicious Soups’ (‘Ah Yee Leng Tong’). ‘No. 2’ is a euphemism for the mistress, also known as the ‘little wife’. So, if No. 1 wants to keep No. 2 at bay, she had better have a trick or two up her sleeve, soup wise.

Tonight, I made Bitter Melon Soup for Alpha Male. Is that one of this Hong Kong man’s favorite soups? Well, no. It’s one of my favorites but he absolutely loathes it. Don’t get it? You see, every soup has a different meaning to each couple. Bitter Melon Soup might mean ‘welcome home, darling’ for some. Between AM and me, it means ‘you’ll eat it if you love me’. Did he finish the soup? Yes, he did. Mustn’t make it too often though.

Check these out:

Chicken Sweetcorn Soup	Eggplant with Nam Pla Prik	Onion Rings	Zhenjiang Spareribs

Fried Onion Rings – With Sam Leong's Batter

It was about two years ago when Sam Leong, celebrity chef and kitchen honcho of the Tung Lok group of restaurants, showed off his batter recipe on a local TV program. I got round to testing the recipe recently – better late than never, right? – and I must say it worked very well. I made a pile of Fried Onion Rings for a group of professional judges – my 11 nieces and nephews – who showed universal approval by polishing off everything in five minutes. They even ate the bits of batter that had broken off. That’s gotta mean they really liked it!

Sam Leong delivered on his promise but the batter was only half the battle story. The oil temperature was the other half. When the oil wasn't hot enough, the batter was soggy because there wasn’t enough heat to drive out the moisture in the batter. The batter was also soggy when the oil was too hot because there wasn’t enough time to drive out the moisture before it turned brown. At the right temperature, the oil bubbled rapidly on contact with raw batter but didn’t smoke. The bubbling slowed down as the onion rings turned crispy and a lovely shade of golden brown. I fished them out at the point of perfection and my nieces and nephews dug in straight away. Drain them first? Sorry, that was overruled. They couldn't wait that long. The 'D' rings were the first to be snapped up. I had to smack a lot of wrists to keep one for the camera! There were a lot of offers for the letter 'C', though, which everyone enjoyed making by biting off half of 'O'. With just three alphabets, we made quite a few words! Besides DOC, we came up with COO, ODD, DO, COCO and COD. Who would have thought Fried Onion Rings could be so much fun?



Check these out:

Orange Glazed Pork Ribs	Teriyaki Salmon	Salt-Grilled Salmon Head (Sake Kabuto Shioyaki)	Pork Maw Soup