Teriyaki Salmon

I had the best Bento in my life that day and it's because of the succulent teriyaki salmon (generous portion). It was so yummy! Therefore, I took the liberty of learning how to make the sauce and sharing it here.

Basically the salmon is pan grilled but in my case; oven grilled. I like it juicy and succulent.

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty level: 20%
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of salmon
• salt
• olive oil
  
• soy sauce
• mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
• sugar

Steps:

1. For the sauce, pour olive oil (or any oil) into the sauce pan at medium heat.
2. Add in quarter cup of soy sauce and quarter cup of mirin.
3. Then, add three tablespoons of sugar into the mixture and stir until the sauce thickens.
4. That is basically your teriyaki sauce. You use part of them to marinade the salmon.
   
5. Rub the salmon with some salt and bake them in the oven for 30 minutes
6. Finish the dish by pouring the remaining sauce over the salmon. You can even try basting with this recipe... basically you just pour the sauce but repeatedly coat the fish with the sauce in slow heat.

There you go! Try out your own teriyaki salmon!

Baked Salmon

Bagel with cheese and baked salmon. Once my perfect Sunday morning breakfast in Leeds. I especially adore toasted bagel with cheese. They're so delicious. However, my post today is focused on the strips of salmon as you can see in the picture below. They're one of the simplest and delicious dish that you can make. For those of you who hated the smell of cooking fish, those worries are gone with this dish.



MY RECIPE:

Difficulty level: 10%
Preparation time: 1 hour (including 30 minutes of seasoning the salmon)
Ingredients:

• Salmon
  
• Salt
• Black pepper (white pepper inapplicable)
  
• Olive oil

Steps:

1. Clean the salmon, dry off excess water off the meat.
2. Place them on a plate covered with aluminum foil.
   
3. Rub salt on all surfaces, then grind black pepper on them.
4. Let the marinade stay for 3o minutes.
5. Now pre-heat the oven at 180°C or set it to grill for convenience.
6. Pour in three tablespoons of olive oil to the salmon, make sure it gets on the bottom of the fish to prevent sticking.
7. Pop the salmon into the oven and bake them at the same temperature for 30 minutes.

There you go! It's that easy and your kitchen wouldn't have a stench at all! What's best about baked salmon is that the middle part stays moist and unlike grilled ones, they don't get too dry or burnt! Most importantly, the salmon will not stink!

Lasagna

Lasagna. Not my favorite dish per se but I definitely enjoy making it. It's such a good time-wasting recipe. So much preparation to do for a small dish. Sounds good for wasting time right? Mind you, my recipe is for single person lasagna.


WARNING: This recipe contains beef. However, you can always substitute minced beef with minced pork and chicken OR even making your own seafood lasagna. It's your choice, after all, you're the one who's going to gobble it down your stomach =P

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty level: 20%
Preparation time: 2 hours (plus soaking time)
Ingredients:

• 3-5 strips of lasagna noodles
• 20ml of oil
  
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 onion, minced
• 100g minced beef
• 50g grated cheese (preferably ricotta)
• 30g shredded mozzarella cheese
• 400ml pasta bake sauce
• 200ml tomato paste
• 1 egg
• mixed herbs
• salt
• any more meat: sliced sausages, diced luncheon meat etc.

Steps:

1. Soak the lasagna noodles in warm water for 30-45 minutes. Basically till it's soft but don't let them stick together.
2. Prepare the sauce and meat. Heat the oil and throw in the garlic and onions.
3. Then, put in the meat selections that you have. Do not put in the seafood if you're going for seafood lasagna.
4. Once the meat are cooked, pour the pasta bake sauce and the tomato paste.
5. Wait till it boils, then taste the sauce and add salt if you need to.
6. If you're doing the seafood lasagna, repeat the steps except adding in the seafood once it goes to boil. You don't want your seafood to get overcooked.
7. Now done with the sauce, you can prepare the cheese.
   
8. Beat the egg in a bowl, add in the ricotta cheese and herbs. Add some salt if you want to.
9. Take out a baking dish, and pour some of the sauce as the base.
10. Then lay out the lasagna strips on top of it.
11. Pour in the cheese and egg mixture to the middle part, and top it off with another layer of lasagna strips.
12. Finish off the top with the rest of the sauce, and spread the shredded mozzarella on top of the lasagna.
13. Cover the lid with a tin foil but don't let it touch the top of your cheese because it'll stick!
14. Bake it in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes.

This is the way I cook my lasagna. But basically, it's sauce, layer of pasta, then cheese, layer of pasta and sauce with mozzarella cheese! You need them mozzarella by the way. Necessity.

CarlyZ Muffins

Once, I went into the kitchen and realized that my milk had expired. I had a taste of it and though not fresh, still not spoiled as well. I quickly prepared my crazy muffin baking session again. Only this time, I did not have all the necessary ingredients. What to do? IMPROVISE.

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty Level: 20% (12 servings)
Preparation time: 15 minutes for mixing/20 minutes for baking
Ingredients:

• 250g flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
• 4 tablespoons of chocolate Horlicks
• 150g caster sugar
• 250ml milk
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• chocolate chips
• fudge chunks

Steps:

1. Measure the flour and caster sugar. Put both of these in a mixing bowl. Then, add in the baking powder, baking soda and Horlicks.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg and add in the milk. Lastly, add in the vegetable oil.
3. Pour into the flour and stir the batter. Throw in some fudge chunks and chocolate chips.
4. The batter should be watery and runny. Pour into muffin cups or muffin tray. This recipe should have 12 serves.
   
5. Add some chocolate chips on the top of the muffins before putting them into the oven.
6. Remember to first preheat the oven. You should heat up the oven before mixing the batter. Preheat at 200°C and continue to bake at the same temperature for 20 minutes.

The muffins should rise and the inside will be spongy. Always feel free to replace the 4 tablespoons of Horlicks powder with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. That is the correct recipe while mine was... an improvisation.

Diary of A Grocery Shopper

All in a day's shopping. Let me rephrase: All in a day's GROCERY shopping. I was not a big fan of grocery shopping back in Malaysia. I had always thought the supermarket is too boring and I just go there to get junk food. Market is a definite no-no while wet market... don't even mention that place to me. I had the luxury of placing orders for my home cooked lunch/dinner. I'm also a big fan of eating out at restaurants. Got criticized a lot for doing so. However, that is DEFINITELY not the case when you study abroad (especially in UK when you tend to convert every single pence that you spend!).

Tempted by the label: Made From British Blackcurrants.

The colour is less dense than Malaysia's. Definitely lower amount of sugar too!

I set the interval for my food stock to be around 3-4 weeks because the supermarket is simply too far. My grocery shopping route:

Worsley Building in University -> Free city bus to market -> Walk to Chinese supermarket -> Walk to Morrisons (local supermarket).

Sometimes when the grocery from market are too heavy, we'd take the free city bus straight to Morrisons and then some would walk to the Chinese supermarket from there. The time spent on the whole trip is usually, 3 hours.

Call me the crazy grocery shopper. (2 persons share)

Afterward, we would call for a cab. The cab driver, 70% of the time will be awed by what we bought. Indeed.

Ayam Masak Merah

The MASSOC (Malaysia-Singaporean Society) in my University started a food selling fundraiser for the M-Night. My eyes went googly when I saw the second menu... (the first and last didn't interest me); NASI TOMATO & AYAM MASAK MERAH! My housemate and I had been talking about nasi tomato for the past week and reminiscence how much we love the Malay food in Malaysia. However, the food sold was... not exactly satisfactory. The nasi tomato did not exhibit the colour it's supposed to have and the ayam masak merah was cooked using chunks of chicken breast. The aroma was all gone!

Being a food enthusiast myself, I quickly consulted my mum and asked for the recipe. I could not care less that I don't have the necessary utensil such as the mortar and pestle. Neither did I have those red/green chillies. My fridge has only bird's eye chillies and some leftover from the CNY house party, crushed dried chillies.

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty Level: 40%
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Ingredients for the chicken marinade: Turmeric powder, salt, corn flour and 3 chicken thighs with drumsticks.
Ingredients for the sauce: 4 cloves of garlic, 50g of ginger, 2 large onions, tomato puree (preferably with small chunks of tomatoes), 2 tomatoes, 50g of crushed dried chilies, 7-8 bird's eye chilies, 1 lime, sugar and salt.

Steps:

1. Separate the chicken thighs from the drumsticks. You will get 6 pieces of chicken. Rub 3 pinches of salt and 2 tablespoons of turmeric powder on the skin of the chicken. Then, add in some corn flour and massage the chicken with the marinade. Let it stay for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mince the garlic, ginger and bird's eye chilies (since I don't have mortar and pestle to crush it). In a bowl, try to mash it using the end of the knife. Then, slice the tomatoes into small pieces (if possible, 16 small pieces out of 1 tomato).
3. Slice the onions into rings.
4. Heat up the pan/wok (I used a pot) with oil at medium heat. The chicken pieces will have to be fried till cooked. Don't deep fry the chicken pieces.
5. Once the skin turn crisp and the meat is cooked, remove the chicken and most of the oil. Leave some in the pot to cook the sauce. The oil will be yellowish due to the turmeric.
6. Add in the 'mashed' garlic, ginger and chilies. Cook at low heat. Then, add in the onion rings, tomatoes, tomato puree and 2 pinches of salt.
7. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the lime zest, two tablespoons of sugar and the crushed dried chilies. Have a taste of it and you can continue to add these 3 vital ingredients to alter the taste to your preference. The lime will make it sourish, the sugar will enhance its sweetness while the chilies of course, will make it spicy and hot.
8. It is now time to add the chicken pieces into the pot. Cook at medium heat and close the lid of the pot. Open the lid occasionally to stir. Add water if you find the sauce to be too dry.
9. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then, the dish can be served.

My recipe is of course the least desirable for authentic ayam masak merah. However, you can always improvise like I did. Some would prefer using hot chili sauce, red/green chilies or turmeric ginger for the paste. Meanwhile, if you prefer the onion rings to be crunchy, add it in after the chicken. Have fun trying this out!

Worms in Fish

Cod is especially famous in the UK. Haddock, Plaice, Whiting and Pouting to name a few. Asians will most probably know cod from the cod liver oil. Cooked cod has flaky, white flesh. As these are fish from the sea, they stink a lot once not fresh. I think that's probably why the British restaurants used these to make Fish & Chips. I know this post will make some of you rethink the option of eating Fish & Chips in restaurants.

I bought four slices of Pouting from a local supermarket. When I reached home, I put them into the freezer. I took it out 2 days later to cook. I was shocked to see worms leeched out from the flesh. Probably trying to squeeze their way out from the cold. I didn't know what to do but throwing the fish away was not an option. Therefore, I sliced the fish open and check properly for any more dead worms before tossing them with flour to fry. Even after I had cooked it, I was worried that the worms were there because the fish were spoilt already.

The solution? GOOGLE. I found these pictures:





Apparently it is very common to have LIVING parasitic worms inside the fish; as humans have in our digestive system. You just have to remove the worms from the flesh and even if you don't, they posed no harm because they're dead. If you so happen to consume the worms while they're still alive, you might suffer from stomach pain and nausea. That's all.

The worst case scenario is when you find those worms in sushi or sashimi (uncooked fish). I read about many cases of such and usually, the worms are still very much ALIVE. The victims had developed a phobia over those Japanese restaurants. For those living in the European Union, there is a law governing this. According to Regulation EC 853/2004, raw fish must be frozen before served. Therefore, the worms will also die; eventually.

In conclusion, throw away the fish only if you find it smelly or discoloured or worst, filled with MAGGOTS.

Butter Milk Granules Chicken

My late supper was Golden Milk Granules Chicken (奶油鸡); some of you may wonder what dish this is. This is extremely famous in Malaysia and commonly served with fried fish, fried prawns, fried crabs or even fried chicken. Rarely, with what I used; chicken breast slices.

Butter Milk Prawns

Butter Milk Granules Fish

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty Level: 60%
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients for the granules: Evaporated milk, egg white and butter.
Ingredients for the chicken marinade: Egg yolk, salt, corn flour and chicken breast.

Steps:

1. Melt about five scoops of butter (using tablespoon) into a pan using low heat.
   
2. Mix 100ml of evaporated milk with egg white. Whisk it then add into the melted butter.
3. Let the mixture simmer. Stir occasionally.
4. Slice the chicken breast into small pieces.
5. In a bowl, add two pinch of salt and the egg yolk.
   
6. Add two spoonful of corn flour and massage the chicken with the marinade.
7. In another pan, heat up the oil and fry the chicken. I prefer my meat to be moist so I fry at slightly lower heat.
8. In the other pan, the granules will start to turn yellow and bubbly. Remember to stir the mix so that it wouldn't overcook at the bottom.
9. Once the granules start to form and the colour has turned yellowish-brown, add the cooked meat into the pan and stir those together.
10. Cook for about 5 minutes and then the dish can be served.

I don't have the extra ingredients to garnish the dish but you can always serve it like they do in the restaurants; with fried curry leaves or even chopped bird's eye chillies. If you prefer to have sticky buttery milk granules, add the meat in once the mixture turn bubbly and lumps of granules start to form. The ideal colour of that mixture would be yellow.

Salted Egg Yolk Crabs

This came as my worst craving for Malaysian seafood. Not even cheese crabs or steamed fish can top this. When I first laid eyes on fresh crabs in the market 2 months ago, I knew that I'd get my hands on those crabs on the next trip. Of course, I did. However, the salted egg yolks that I bought were distinctly different from Malaysia's; the egg yolks are YELLOW and they tasted saltier. That would explain the colour of the dish in my picture above.

Salted Egg Yolk Crabs

MY RECIPE:

Difficulty Level: 50% (seriously)
Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 4 salted eggs (duck eggs), 2 crabs, bird's eye chillies (8-10), 3 cloves of garlic, evaporated milk, salt and sugar.

Steps:

1. First of all, kill the fresh crabs. Unless you had the fishmongers do it for you, you'll have to do it yourself!
   
2. Turn the crab over its shell, notice the middle triangular part at its lower body (between its legs) and stick the sharp end of the knife in. It should be dead by then. Clean the crabs with running water. If you must, rub salt on the shell to clean it.
   
3. Cut the body in half and by then you can easily remove the pincers together with the legs. The shell will be left at the bottom and clean only the lower part of the shell.
   
4. Chop the pincer off the legs and using the back of the knife, break the shell.
5. Toss the crab pieces with corn flour and put them aside.
   
6. Boil some water. Add the salted eggs into the boil. Take them out after 6-7 minutes.
7. Break the eggs and remove the salted egg yolks. Mash the yolks and add one tablespoon of sugar into the yolks.
8. Mince the garlic and chop the chillies.
9. Heat up the pan/wok (I used a pot) at medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and let it simmer.
10. Heat up another pan with low heat, add some oil and add in the mashed yolks. Add in about 50ml of evaporated milk into the pan and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off afterward.
    
11. Put the crabs into the pot and stir fry it. (Some people prefer to deep fry it but I don't)
12. When the crabs are cooked (notice the meat colour and texture), add some water (20ml) into the pot and also the chopped chillies. Add two pinches of salt into the pot.
    
13. Stir fry for another 3 minutes and then add the quintessential cooked egg yolks. Continue to stir fry the crabs for another 5 minutes and then the dish can be served.

This dish can be improvised and you can choose not to add the chillies. Instead, fried curry leaves are preferred to enhance the aroma. Good luck!