FOODlog #350: Nasi Lemak with Sambal Cockles
I've been hearing my Mum and brother rave about a Nasi Lemak stall nearby where we live. My Mum has been saying that the mutton curry and Nasi Lemak at this place is really good so a few Sundays ago we made it a point to have lunch there after church on Sunday.
Unfortunately when we arrived, most of their food were sold out including their fried chicken and mutton curry. I was really looking forward to try their mutton curry but just had to get what they had left.
I got a Nasi Lemak with a side of sambal cockles which came with a side of onion sambal, cucumbers, fried anchovies, and groundnuts.
The rice was fragrant and delicious and the sambal cockles were nice and flavorful. The 2 sambal weren't overly spicy and had just the right amount of spices and spiciness. Really loved the meal and hopefully my next visit I'll be able to try out their mutton curry.
Will definitely recommend this place to friends and anyone that loves Nasi Lemak.
FOODlog #349: KFC Whole Fried Chicken
The other day KFC was having a promo where they were selling a whole fried chicken. It was a really good marketing tactic they used and it was so well received that they did it for a 2nd week and this time they did a promo of 2 whole chickens for RM50 (<13 USD).
So I got hooked on the promotion too and bought my family a set of these 2 chickens. I had it taken away and ate them at home. It was still piping hot when I started to eat it.
But that's the only good thing which it was piping hot. The flavor was so plain and under seasoned you needed chili sauce and ketchup for it to even taste slightly decent.
The skin which normally is flavorful from the spices was also so bland and tasteless. The meat even worse. It was tender and juicy but tasted of nothing. It didn't even have the aroma nor flavor of an actual chicken.
Really a bad impression of an already bad impression of KFC here in Malaysia nowadays. Prices are going up but quality is going down.
I guess eating a whole chicken deep fried was an experience but that's all it was.
FOODlog #348: Delicious Lunch at Mum's
When I'm off on Saturdays, I often go over to my Mum's place to have lunch together with my sons.
So one of the Saturdays I was off, we went to her place and she made us some really delicious lunch. She cooked 3 different dishes - a pork stir fry, stir fried long beans, and stir fried bitter gourd with pork slices which is one of my favorite dishes that my Mum cooks.
The pork is sliced and cooked with chives, soy sauce, oyster sauce and minced garlic. It's super flavorful and perfect eaten with rice.
The long beans was also stir fried with the same ingredients as the pork and it was delicious too.
My fave of course was the bitter gourd and pork stir fry. The bitter gourd was prepared really well as always by my Mum and wasn't bitter at all. Even my kids love it as it was naturally sweet and so delicious eaten with rice.
I also had a box of cold soy bean milk that was so refreshing and a great way to end the meal.
Really enjoy eating food cooked by others especially since I work at a cafe and cook all day. What a delicious meal and time spent on an off day!
FOODlog #347: Cheapest Balanced Meal Ever
Another day, another staff meal to settle. We were pretty tired from service so we went to a stall above the cafe where we work at and got some of their takeaway.
I got 4 different dishes and it was for an astonishingly cheap price. I got 2 Chicken Dishes both cooked with different Sauces and 2 Vegetable dishes, a ladies fingers and a stir fried bittegourd.
The 4 dishes amounted to 1.1 kg of food and all for the price of RM22! (<5.5 USD). It was able to feed 6 of us which is like RM3.66 per person! Not to mention this is in a bustling working area of the city which is what surprised me the most.
I knew this place sells food at a cheap price but this time was the most mind-blowing time when I was given the bill.
The food was delicious and it was a quick and easy meal to prepare since we didn't actually need to cook anything besides the white rice.
Delicious, super affordable, and value for money. YUMS! ~~
FOODlog #346: Chicken Rice with Soup & Mushroom Omelet
Cooked a feast the other day and made 3 different dishes. I made a whole poached chicken and the poaching liquid I added some preserved vegetables and tofu and made a soup for the 2nd dish.
For the chicken, I salted the chicken inside the cavity and outside on the chicken skin then gently poached it in the hot stock I prepared.
This takes about 20-25 minutes of gentle poaching and it's ready. I let it cool a bit and then deboned and sliced it up before adding a mixture of garlic oil and soy sauce on the chicken and garnished with spring onions.
The soup was also really good. It was clean and refreshing. A perfect Chinese style chicken soup to accompany the chicken with rice.
We had some oyster mushrooms in the kitchen so I roughly ripped them up and added Sautéed them with eggs to make a mushroom omelet. I also added some sliced green chilies to the omelet for some color and some heat.
Was a really tasty and delicious lunch that was fairly easy to prep. Glad everyone that had the meal that day liked it.
FOODlog #345: Fried Chicken & Eggs Benedict
Another R&D item in the works is this Southern style fried chicken with eggs benedict. It's also served with a slice of shokupan bread that we cut up into 3 pieces.
The plating isn't finalise nor has this item made it onto the menu but like all good things, it takes time to perfect a recipe and how it's plated.
The chicken is Buttermilk brined overnight and it's then drenched in seasoned floor before going into the fryer at 170 degrees Celsius for 6-7 minutes.
The eggs we precook them in a sous vide bath for 1 hour at 63 degrees. It's then cooled down and put into the fridge for whenever an order comes in. When it does, the eggs are cracked into a pot of boiling water with vinegar and poached for 1 minute.
The sauce is a hollandaise but for this picture we ran out of hollandaise and used honey mustard instead. It looked so good for a picture and the consistency mimicked a hollandaise sauce. Haha.
A great tasting dish and the chicken being the star of the dish. Crispy on the outside and juicy and so flavorful on the inside because of the brine. Superb fried chicken!
FOODlog #344: Malaysian Chili Pan Mee
A couple of Sundays ago, my friends and family and I went for lunch as we always do, at a place nearby where I live. It's a hawker area where there are various stalls of food to choose from.
That place has items like chicken rice, pan mee noodles, wantan mee, char Kuey teow and also economy mix rice. If you don't know the dishes above, these are local Malaysian dishes that's a staple to many locals.
For my lunch, I ordered a bowl of 'chili pan mee'. It's a noodle dish that's topped with chili flakes, black Fungus, shiitaki mushrooms, some minced pork, and fried anchovies. The topping does vary from place to place and the unique item on this one is the black Fungus. Most places have a poached egg but this didn't have that.
It was served with a bowl of soup with pork meatballs and spinach. The broth was flavorful and the meatballs were delicious.
The noodles however were way too spicy for my liking and so overpowering you couldn't taste any other item in the bowl. The texture of the noodles were spot on but it was a shame that the chili made everything not so enjoyable.
If I ever order this again from this stall, I'll be sure to tell them to separate the chili so I can take the amount that is good for me.
FOODlog #343: Son's 8th Birthday Celebration
Last month was my nephew and my eldest son's birthday. We had a celebration with our families at my parents place and ordered some food to go along with the celebrations.
We had food from a local Chinese Muslim eatery that makes handpulled noodles.
For my meal, I had their beef stir fried with handpulled noodles. The noodles were amazing and I really liked the texture. The sauce was slightly under taste but overall a good dish.
We also had beef and chicken dumplings to share that came with their homemade chili oil. The dumplings were great and generous in its filling but the chili oil was average.
For the kids had a brownie cake where we had candles for them to blow out. We also had a lot more food and everyone had their own individual set dishes like rice and noodles.
It was a wonderful time together and celebrating their birthdays over a nice meal.
FOODlog #342: Cajun & Butter Tilapia with Buttermilk Dill Sauce
Since I've started using TikTok, I've come across some really cool recipes and superb plating. So one of the days, for the staff meal, I cooked a fancier looking dish as I wanted to try experimenting with some things I watched on TikTok.
I made a pan fried Cajun Tilapia fillet served with a Buttermilk and dill oil sauce.
For the fish filet, I simply seasoned it with a Cajun creole rub and salt, then pan fried it in a pan for about 2-3 minutes on each side and basted it with butter.
The sauce was a little more complex but not too difficult to make either. For the Buttermilk, I used milk, a juice from a Lime, and xanthan gum to give it a delicate but velvety consistency.
For the dill oil, simply blend fresh dill and a neutral oil like sunflower oil together and strain it. Mix the oil with the Buttermilk and plate it with the fish.
The sauce was so elegant and clean. Although it taste very plain on its on, paired with the fish, it really took the whole dish to another level of sophistication.
Really enjoyed making this dish and will definitely be in my arsenal of cooking recipes. Also really loved this dish because I learned quite a few things like making Buttermilk from scratch as well as a dill oil. The process of learning and actually making this dish was so wonderful!
FOODlog #341: Portobello Katsu Burger
One of the new additions to the new menu at the cafe, or more like a reconstructed item, is the Portobello katsu. It used to be served along with shokupan milk loaf bread but now it's been reconstructed to be a burger.
Now it's served with a Brioche burger bun instead of the shokupan making it a burger instead of a Sando. Asides from the changes in bread, the rest of the ingredients are the same as well as the preparation and stacking of this new burger is the same as the old Sando.
It starts with toasting the buns with butter then a layer of mushroom duxelle is spread on each bun. Next some frisee lettuce goes on and then our in house made honey mustard.
After the honey mustard goes on the Portobello mushroom which we coat it with egg and panko breadcrumbs to deep fry. The top bun is topped on and the burger is done.
From start to finish this burger at the live stations is done within 3-4 minutes. The prep time for each component takes much longer though but as for the live service, this burger is a very quick item to make when ordered.
FOODlog #340: Truffle Mini Hash Brown
Another new item on the menu at the cafe is the mini truffle hash browns. This dish is replacing the truffle fries and all the fries items on the menu will be replaced with this mini hash browns.
The truffle hash browns are tossed with truffle oil and then parmagiano regiano is shaved on top of it for a rich and salty flavor.
Its garnished with some microgreens of coriander leaves and Beetroot leaves giving the dish a wonderful color. It's also served along with a side of Chipotle Mayo to dip.
1 serving comes with 7 mini hash browns and an add on side of hash to any main dish will come with 4 pieces for only an additional RM4 (<1 USD).
For us in the kitchen, it takes a little longer to cook than fries, well more precisely double the amount of time, but it's slightly easier to cook as all we need to do it take it by pieces instead of weighing the weight like when we were serving fries.
A good trade off and definitely a good addition to the new menu.
FOODlog #339: Char Kuey Teow
Nowadays whenever we have a certain craving for a particular dish, our first thoughts is to whether we can make it instead of going to buy it.
Today we had some cravings for 'char kuey teow', a classic Malaysian dish of stir fried flat rice noodles. One of the kitchen chef's made this and man was it as good as it gets.
He made a sauce mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, and blended chili together. This is the sauce mix for stir frying the noodles later.
He started with a hot pan with oil and stir fried some prawns. Next the other ingredients like fish cakes, garlic, and the noodles go in. Next, the sauce mix goes in and is stir fried vigorously.
The noodles a pushed to one side and beaten eggs are added the pan to make some scrambled eggs.
Once the eggs are cooked, it's then mixed up with the noodles and bean sprouts and garlic chives are added to the mix and stir fried for another 2 minutes.
If the noodles get a little dry, just add in some water.
The dish is done and boy was it delicious. It tasted as authentic as it gets and the blend of flavors were savory and so amazing. Simple delicious and a dish worth trying to make yourself 😊👍
👇 Here's the TikTok video I made for this recipes:
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLabEEtW/
FOODlog #338: Cumin Chili Lamb Pasta
One of my favorite dishes on the new menu at the cafe is the Cumin Lamb Pasta. It's a mainland Chinese inspired dish but the noodles are using parpadalle pasta instead of Chinese pulled noodles.
The prep for this dish takes quite a bit of effort and time to make. First the lamb shoulders need to be roasted in an oven till fall apart tender. I'll write a detailed post on that soon.
Next the chili oil is made with 2 parts to it. The first part is the chili oil base which uses sunflower oil, garlic cloves, ginger, onions, spring onions, star anise, cinnamon, and cumin seeds.
Next, part 2 is a dry base mixture of chili flakes, Korean chili flakes, cumin powder, and white sesame seeds. The oil is cooked until its boiling hot then poured onto the dry mix. This is an amazing chili oil that's easy to make and super worth it.
Another sauce mixture is needed which we call it black sauce. It's a combination of black vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, some MSG, and water.
Now for the stir frying. In a pan, garlic oil goes in together with red peppers, onions, and minced garlic. On high heat, add in the black sauce, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, the chili oil, and some water. Cook the mixture for 1 minute then add in the pulled lamb shoulder meat into the mix. Next parpadalle pasta that's been precooked is added and cooked in the pan for another 2 minutes.
Serve it up with some spring onions and coriander to garnish and the dish is done. It's tangy, spicy, earthy and full of umami bursting flavor. Absolutely amazing dish that you have to try!
FOODlog #337: Sausage & White Beans Stew
Another new dish on the menu after our month long R&D is a stew. It's the only one on the menu and one of the items that was mainly contributed by me. Really proud of this dish and to have it in my cooking arsenal especially since stews are one of my favorite comfort foods.
It's a white bean stew which is pretty easy to make. It starts off with dicing up a medley of carrots, onions, and celery. I use 250g for each of them and the ratio for the white beans are 1.5kg.
I sauté the mirepoix with olive oil and butter and season them with salt and pepper. After about 6-7 minutes, I add in 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika and cumin powder each and let it cool for another 1-2 minutes. I then add in roughly 10 sprigs of thyme and the white beans.
I use cannellini white beans for this but any kind of white beans would do. Next chicken stock goes in and then the stew is simmered for 10 minutes.
The stew is then served with a chipolata sausage on the top that's been grilled on the flat top and garnished with coriander and beetroot microgreens for color and a mild freshness of flavor to the dish.
It's served with a side of butter toasted shokupan bread which is amazing dipped and enjoyed with the hearty stew. Absolutely amazing on a cold and rainy day. YumS! ~~
FOODlog #336: Open-face Grilled Cheese Sandwich
One of our new items on the menu that we've been doing R&D the past 2 months is a "Croque Madame'. It's a French dish that is basically an open-face sandwich topped with ham, Dijon mustard, bechamel sauce, Gouda cheese and a sunny side-up fried egg.
We are doing a not so traditional one that we replace the Gouda with colby-jack cheese which has a mild and smooth to lightly sweet to sharp and tangy taste. A more complex range of flavor compared to Gouda which is mild.
We also don't serve pork at the cafe so we use beef pastrami instead for the meat of choice. Asides from the meat and cheese, everything is of a traditional Croque Madame and everything paired together is a wonderful medley of flavors and textures that's perfect for breakfast.
It's not a popular dish yet at the cafe but there have been a few customers that we've noticed is their go-to breakfast dish now.
A simple dish to make but has quite a bit of components to it to make it perfect.
One of the failed R&Ds turned out to looked really nice which I melted and toasted some cheddar and Gouda till it was golden brown and broke it up into shards. Topped it on the open-face sandwich which had the bechamel sauce and it looked so good.
What do you think? Failed one or successful one would be your pick for breakfast?
FOODlog #335: Moroccan Lamb Sausage
It was my colleagues turn to cook the staff meal which he cooked some beef sausages he bought the other day.
It was a Moroccan spiced beef sausage which was stuffed in a natural casing. Not sure what casing it was but it was natural. He then seared it on the flat top on both sides for about 5-6 minutes on each side and the sausages were done.
The sausages were beefy and had some nice spices. I could taste primarily cumin and fennel powder which accompanied the beef flavor nicely. It was earthy although it could've done with some spicy kick to it with maybe some chili powder.
He also bought some ladies fingers that were stir fried from a shop above our cafe. I topped my lunch bowl of rice with the sausages, the stir fried ladies fingers, and a fried egg that I mad myself laced with teriyaki sauce and freshly ground black pepper.
Simple meal that was delicious and satisfying.
FOODlog #334: Beef Shawarma
A friend of mine has been raving about this shawarma place he recently tried. It was first recommended by my brother and this is the first time my friend brought me there to try it out.
They have an option of beef or chicken for the protein. I took their beef this time for my first try and it didn't disappoint.
The filling of the beef in the wrap was generous and the sauce that accompanied it was creamy and delicious. It was slightly spicy and had raw onions in it which I didn't quite fancy but was still good. The flavor of the meat was good and was tender.
They do serve other food besides the shawarma like rice dishes and some other middle eastern cuisine side dishes. I'll definitely wanna try out their other food after a really good impression of their beef shawarma. The price isn't too steep as well at Rm12 for a portion.
Oh not to mention it was a takeaway which I bought in the afternoon and only ate it in the evening for my dinner. It was still tasty and the wrap wasn't soggy.
So overall, recommended!
FOODlog #333: Malaysian Nasi Goreng "USA"
Recently been going to this restaurant called 'Restoran Kari Kepala Ikan Taman Melawati'. It's a place that serves local 'mamak' food as well as Malay ala-Thai dishes and also a stall that serves really nice satay.
I've tried the satay there before and it's a go-to spot now whenever I'm craving satay so this time I tried something else on the menu. I ordered a plate of 'Nasi Goreng USA', which is fried rice served with a side of beef stir fry in some spicy sweet sauce and topped with a fried egg.
The rice was cooked perfectly. Wasn't soggy and also wasn't dry. The sauce was also well balanced with sweet, spicy, and savory and the portion was quite generous with beef, onions, and cauliflowers.
The egg was a small egg which seems like a grade D sized egg. Although small it was cooked well too with the egg perfectly fried having crispy edges and the yolk still runny when you cut into it.
Really good meal however the price was on the higher side at RM16. I guess the prices of all eateries are heading to the be in the RM20 zone sooner or later.
Overall, yummy and will definitely recommend people to try the food.
FOODlog #332: Sichuan Pickle Ramen
Another day another ramen dish. This time I made a super simple but extremely satisfying and flavorful broth using just 3 ingredients. It's a dish that I learned from my Mum and it's so delicious not to mention easy to make.
The ingredients for the broth is garlic, chicken stock, and sichuan preserved vegetables which is slightly spicy and salty. Just julienne it and throw all the ingredients into a boiling pot of water and let everything boil for 15-20 minutes and the broth is done! Additionally you can add some white pepper which is optional.
Since the broth was easy to make, I spent more time making a delicious roasted chicken to accompany the ramen. I used coriander leaves and blended it with oil, cumin powder, salt and pepper. Next I marinated some chicken breast with the marinade and left it to sit in room temperature for 15-20 minutes. You can prep this in advance and leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight.
Next I roasted the chicken in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 7 minutes.
I then plated the noodles and the ramen in a bowl and topped it with the chicken and also some blanched baby bok choy and a 63 degree Celsius sous vide egg.
Add those julienned strips of sichuan preserved vegetable and you have an eye-pleasing and flavorful ramen to match it. Absolutely amazing! ~~
FOODlog #331: Egg Fried Rice with Portobello Mushroom
We had some leftover rice from the previous day that was kept in the fridge. It wasn't such a huge amount to make lunch so I used it for a light breakfast instead.
I made some egg fried rice with Portobello mushroom stems that we have from our Portobello mushrooms we sell at the cafe.
I used the marinade of the mushrooms which is oil, garlic, and Korean chili flakes that's used to roast the mushrooms. I started the fried rice of with sautéing the garlic oil with the mushrooms stems then added the cold fried rice to the pan. Cold rice or leftover rice from the fridge is perfect for fried rice as it doesn't have as much moisture as freshly cooked rice. It'll fry better that way.
I added some MSG and salt to it then moved it to one side of the pan and added in some scrambled eggs. After the eggs were cooked I mixed everything together in the pan and sprinkled some freshly sliced green chilies for an added heat and freshness.
A simple and delicious dish using leftovers that you can do too.
I only have 1 picture for this dish but I made a video that you can watch on my TikTok here:
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLAtwuMn/
Appreciate the follow, likes, and shares ❤️🙌
FOODlog #330: Peri-Peri Char Roasted Chicken
We've been in an R&D phase at the cafe of concocting a new menu to cater to a different customer base. We've been experimenting on pastas and wanted try out one using yogurt but the head chef didn't wanna put it on the menu so we had lots of yogurt leftover.
One of my colleagues decided to use it for our staff meal and made a roasted chargrillrd chicken using the yogurt as one of the ingredients.
He marinated the chicken thighs and wings with yogurt, lemon juice, Korean chili flakes, salt, and pepper. He then chucked it in the oven roasted it until the chicken developed burnt ends. It was a heavy char which he wanted that made the dish have a smokey aroma and flavor which was amazing.
He then took out the tray of chicken and reduced the sauce on the hob. The sauce then thicken into a gravy and it was amazing basted on top of the chicken. The dish was tangy, slightly spicy from the chili flakes, and naturally sweet from the chicken juices.
An amazing dish that we had with rice and some stir fried mushroom and peppers. The chicken was super delicious and flavorful, juicy and tender on the inside and crispy and just the right amount of char on the outside. A dish that we'll definitely want to cook again.
FOODlog #329: Pattaya Fried Rice
After work the other day, I went for dinner with some friends at a Malay Tom Yum and stir fry restaurant called 'Sri Niara'. Its a place that I've been going to since I was in high school and it's been awhile since I last visited.
What is a Malay Tom Yum restaurant? It's basically Thai food that's been localised and now it's synonymous as part of Malay cuisine.
I ordered for myself 'Nasi Goreng Pattaya' which is fried rice wrapped in an egg omelet and sauced up with some sweet chili sauce on top.
The fried rice has chicken pieces in it and basically that's it. Different places add a variation of vegetables but this place does just a simple egg fried rice.
Don't be fooled by its plain look. This Nasi Goreng is flavorful and aromatic. The egg is fried perfectly where its light and fluffy.
A super delicious meal shared over with friends and a good time chatting about vision and goals that we want to achieve collectively.
FOODlog #328: Taiwanese Beef Stew
It's beef day again! One of our colleagues doesn't eat beef so whenever she's not around and on her off-day, we normally cook beef.
This time it was my turn to cook and I prepped the beef the day before to marinade. I made a Taiwanese red braised beef stew which I used some Korean ingredients to make it. I used gochujang, and bean paste together with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar, to marinade the meat.
The next day, I prepped the vegetables which I used carrots and radish as my root vegetables of choice.
I simply Sautéed the marinated beef slices in oil and once they were browned, I added in water and left the pot to braise under low heat for 2 hours.
On the final 30 minutes, I add in the carrots and radish that I roughly sliced into half an inch slices or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper and the dish is ready to be served.
Served this with some simple steamed white rice and it's a meal 👍
FOODlog #327: Dry Fish Curry with Rice
One of the days last month I cooked some dried curry with fish for the staff meal. I used pangasius fish fillets which is a type of catfish that's locally farmed and also imported from Vietnam.
Apparently there is a lot of bad rep for this fish and it's unhygienic way of farming it but I've done some research and it seems to have propaganda ties to it to suppress demand for this fish. One of the reasons coz it's super cheap and easy to farm, many people of the lower income bracket can afford it.
Its a neutral tasting fish and will take on the flavor of with basically anything it's marinated with.
For my curry, I used premix curry paste, along with onions to make the curry. I then added in the fish and some imitation prawns that my colleague bought.
It turned out fairly good but not one of my better curries. Still food to eat nonetheless and having meals covered by your company definitely helps a lot with the monthly expenditures.
Always grateful.
FOODlog #326: Garlic Naan and Onion Chicken
Saturday after work, I went for dinner with a friend before going to church for music practice. We headed to one of my favorite places for a dish I was craving called - 'Ayam Bawang' which translates to Onion Chicken.
Its Chicken that's cooked with lots of different spices and loads of onions that have been cooked down, caramelised, super tender, soft, and sweet. I got this with rice and an assortment of mixed curries and dived right into it. Man it really hits the craving spot real good.
My friend ordered the same chicken dish but ate together with a garlic naan. He likes naan and since our favorite place for it closed during covid, this is another place that I found where their naan is really good as well.
It was topped with garlic, butter, and some sliced chilies for heat and color. The bread was toasted perfectly in their tandoor oven and served with various Sauces like curry, mint chutney, and a yogurt raita.
Super delicious meal that cost us about RM10 (3 USD) each. YUMS! ~~
FOODlog #325: Meatloaf
My colleague who has an interest in and likes history recently cooked another meal that was created during the depression era. The last time he cooked something related was bangers and mash and this time he made meatloaf.
Its a fairly simple dish and it turned out really good visually and also tasted really yummy.
Mince beef is mixed with onions and carrots that's been diced and shredded thinly together with breadcrumbs, milk, and a couple of eggs to bind everything together. For the seasoning he used ketchup, salt, black pepper, and some liquid smoke since we have a bottle of it lying around in the cafe kitchen.
After everything is mixed well and incorporated together, the meat mixture is transferred into a bread loaf pan but in our case we used a metal tray since we didn't have a loaf pan.
Its then put into a 180 degree Celsius oven for 15-20 minutes. For the final 5 minutes more ketchup is brushed on the surface to give it an even deeper browning which imparts extra umami flavor as well as a beautiful crusty top to the meatloaf.
It turned out really nice and delicious not to mention a very filling meal as well considering we didn't have any other accompanying dishes besides the meatloaf.
A delicious and simple dish to make that we'll definitely make again in the future.
FOODlog #324: Pork Trotter & Mushroom Stew at Mum's
On my off day last week, I went to my parents place for lunch with my kids. My Mum was cooking lunch and it was such a delicious meal. I always love my mum's cooking and that day she made some of my favorite dishes.
She cooked her signature pork trotter stew that has been passed down for generations. It's part of our heritage which I guess is why I'm naturally in love with it.
Its a fairly easy dish to make and you'll need pork trotter or shoulder, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, garlic, mushrooms, and dried shrimp. For this round she omitted the dried shrimp which you can too.
Stew all these together for about 2 hours and the dish is done. The fat was so soft and flavorful and the lean meat was tender and so tasty. The mushrooms were so plump and juicy with the gravy. Such a delicious stew that I love.
Another dish she made was stir fried vegetables. I don't know what the name of this vegetable is but it has a purple hew to it and it's a little slimy - very delicious.
She also steamed up some smoked duck breast that she bought at a local butcher. It's already smoked and packed into a air tight packaging and all you need to do is heat it up in a microwave of a steamer and it's done. She sliced it really nice and plated it very beautifully for a nice presentation.
Super delicious lunch especially when it's cooked by Mum 🙌
FOODlog #323: Fettuccine with Grilled Mustard Chicken
My colleague cooked some really delicious pasta the other day for our staff meal. We had leftover fettuccine from the cafe so he used it to cook our meal.
For the sauce, he made a roux and then added milk and cajun seasoning into the sauce and cooked it. He then seasoned it to taste with salt and pepper and added chili flakes and the sauce is done.
He added the fettuccine noodles into the sauce and mixed them together till they were all incorporated.
He topped the dish with a boneless chicken thigh that he marinated with cajun seasoning as well and then grilled it on the flat top. To finish it, he spread some Dijon mustard to baste the chicken with and the chicken was done.
It was such a delicious meal full of flavor. The noodles were so flavorful with the cajun sauce and the chicken was tender and juicy and packed full of those grilled charred flavor.
Such an amazing lunch that makes you crave for more. YUMS! ~~
FOODlog #322: White Bean Stew
One of the R&D dishes that I came up with for the cafe was the cannellini white bean stew. One of my all time favorite types of dishes to cook is stew. I guess it's because I like to eat stews but also that I'm good at making them.
This one is mainly a vegetable stew although I do use chicken stock which can be swapped out for vegetable stock.
Its a fairly simple stew that starts of with a base of mirepoix sautéed in butter and olive oil. The olive oil so that the butter doesn't burn as well as give it flavor. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and Sauté for about 7-8 minutes.
I diced the vegetables fairly small so that it looks more sophisticated and dainty at the final product.
Next goes in the herbs and spices which I used cumin powder, paprika, and thyme. Once they release it's aroma, add in the cannellini white beans and chicken stock to cover it and then simmer for 15 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and the dish is done. It's such a hearty dish that is creamy, velvety and full of flavor. I really love the end result of this that it'll definitely be in my arsenal of dishes to cook to impress.
FOODlog #321: Beef Chili Oil Fettuccine
2 Saturdays ago, I cooked lunch for the staff meal and made some spicy noodles. We had minced beef from our burger R&D that has been going on so I used the patties and repurpose them into making a sauce from the mince.
I started with sautéing some garlic and onions then added in the mince beef together with chili oil that we make at the cafe. Stir fry everything for a couple of minutes until the beef browns and then season it to taste with salt and pepper.
For the garnish I used spring onions for some freshness and then the noodles go in. I used fettuccine for this but you could use any of your favorite pastas and it'll work just fine.
Stir fry everything on high heat for a couple of minutes and the dish is done.
Serving it in a bowl I topped it up with a drizzle more of chili oil and the dish is ready to eat.
It was spicy, savory, and packed full of umami flavor and a wonderful chili and garlic aroma coming from the oil. Super lush dish that is a flavor explosion every slurp of the noodles. Absolutely amazing! ~~
@drumsticks
