Main course of the day

Cycle down the hill this morning at 8.00a.m, to get the fresh ingredients i need for this main course. Its related to fish, because fish is good for all ages , high in protein, low in fat, tender texture, juicy and more. The fish i bought today was greenback flounder. Sg.long market seldom sell because its a hard catch. This fish always stayat the bottom of the sea, hidding itself.


(greenback flounder)

Ingredients
-One handful of baby french bean
-4 pak choy
-1/3 of a carrot
-4 cloves of garlic(chopped)
-400g of greenback flounder(fillet)
-30ml of cream
-2 tbs of butter
-salt and pepper to taste
-few slices of lotus root


Procedure
-Fillet the fish, season it with salt and pepper.
-Cooked the pak choy, carrot, and baby french bean ina pot of boiling water for about 1 min.Cooked it seperate.
-Use a pan, add in oil and pan-fried the fillet for 1-2 min high heat.
- On the other side, take a small pot and make the sauce.
-Add in butter, then garlic(1/2 of the 4 cloves above) and pour in the cream, boil it under low heat and reduce it to half.Salt to taste.
-Turn over the fish, and fry for another minute.
-Use another pot to fry the sliced lotus root.
-Remove the fillet from the pan and rest it .
-stir in baby french bean and carrot into the pan and stir fry it just a while. Add salt and pepper to taste.
-Stack up the Vegetables, then put the fish fillet on it. Pour the sauce around the plate and ready to be served.

Detail
-put a little flour on the fish skin surface before pan frying.
-Remove the head and tail of the baby french bean, taste better.
-Serve it when still hot.

Final product


(My way of presentation)



(Grandma way of presenting)


Guess how much is the total cost and how much it cost outside plz.(by looking)

Books

Almost a month nt blogging... no mood to post anything yet. But how? I still have to get something written on my blog so my html counter will go on and on and on...

 
(Ingredients)

SPM is over... Its a relief, no need to flip any of my biology, chemistry or physics books anymore.. NEVER!!!! Its time to move on, moving on to the next stage.. Its cook book time! I got a book today... I can see from Simon's eye that he feel that the book not worth buying, because its full of pictures, and some are pixelated too. This book is all about ingredient, the tittle is "Ingredients".

Its a good book actually for beginner who likes cooking so that you can know more ingredients so wider your field of cooking.For me , recipe books are nt really helpful for a  beginner, when you start reading the recipe, you will start asking your mom "mom, what is sage?" "mom, what is this, where can we get this?" all sorts of question will be throw to your mom. Recipe books provides lots of idea for preparing a dish , but ingredients are what you need for a dish. If you life western food, getting a western cooking recipe book, lots of ingredients  you cant get it in your own country. Its just like you need to learn  A-Z before you can make up a word.

So basically this "Ingredients" is to show and explain to you those ingredients around the world. They explain about the origin of the ingredient, the use of it and the taste or smell of it.You can also get a chance to know body parts of pigs(sensitive issue),lamb,hare,calf,cow,
chicken, duck and many more.Herbs and spices, vegetables, fruits, cheese, meat, dried foods are all in this ingredient bible.


(types of friuts)



(Types of cheese)

I think its time for me to know more about ingredients, so i can create something new for my farewell party and some dishes to dine with my F.U.C.K.(Friends you can keep) XD. So to my dear friends, this book is bought just for you people....

Next on, this book i bought 1 year ago, its quite a goob book for me. The name of this book is "Hamlyn complete Cook". 400 ingredients explained,100 tools and utencils, 1000 recipes and 50 basic technique, what can you expect more? this book have a weak point, not enough pictures. So whatever recipe you tried from that book, you wont be able to know how the real final result looks like.


(Hamlym Complete Cook)



To young people around who wish to start cooking, don not rely on cook books too much, because cook books are cant be perfect. Cook books can guide you throughout the cooking process, but many little technique they wont tell you. So, follow you heart, if you cant get the exact ingredients, its okay. Try it out with other alternative ingredients, the result could be better. 
Everyone have different taste buds. Its up to your own liking.

(Next post... my own recipes)

Herbs and recipes

These are some common herbs that you can get easily either fresh or dried at market or supermarkets. Herbs provides unique flavours to dishes. Culinary herbs are usually non-woody plant, typically using the leaves. By contrast, spices are the seeds, berries, bark, root, fruit, or other parts of the plant, even leaves in some cases.


(Thai basil)

BASIL
Basil is a popular ingredient in Italian cooking, its peppery flavour particularly complementing in a pot and can be preserved well in oil, making herbal oil. It can also be bought dried, but unlike many herbs,the flavour is completely altered during drying .There are few types of basil, but the taste are just slightly different.

Used in: Spaghetti Bolognese( see below), tomato soup, stew beef , stir-fried minced chicken .

Stir-fried minced chicken(homemade recipe)
- 100g of minced chicken
- Soya sauce
- 1-2 tsp Dark soya sauce(colour)
- 10+- Basil leaves
- 2 Shallot(chopped)
- Oyster sauce

Procedures
-Add oil in a wok, stir in shallot , fry till fragrant and add in minced chicken .
-Fry under medium-high temperature for 2-3 min, add in soya sauce(to taste), dark soya sauce and basil leaves.
-Fry for a little more and serve with rice.


(curly parsley)
PARSLEY
Parsley is one of the most essential herbs to have in kitchen. There are two main varieties, curly leaf or flat leaf. Parsley has high vitamin C and mineral content and considered to be one of the best natural tonics. Chopped parsley adds flavour to potatoes, steamed vegetable, garnish on top of steamed fish, steamed vegetable, scramble egg, sauces, salad and stuffing.

Used in: Spaghetti carbonara, sauces, soup, baked potatoes, scramble egg

Scramble egg
-2 eggs
-1 tsp butter
-oil
-salt and pepper
-parsley
- ham(optional)
-quarter of onion
- 1 egg shell of milk/cream

Procedures
-Beat the egg and add in butter , salt and pepper.
-Heat up the pan with oil, pour in onion, and ham .
-Fry till golden brown , turn to low temperature, add in egg.
-Add in parsley immediately ,stir around for 30-60 sec and serve when hot.
(do not overcooked the egg)



(lemon grass)

LEMON GRASS
These are stalks with an intense lemon flavour, that are normally sold trimmed in supermarkets. Lemon grass can be kept in fridge for 2-3 weeks if fresh. Its used in many Thai dishes. Very strong aroma.

Used in:Thai curry, Tom Yam, Laksa, asian cuisine.



Bay leaf

BAY LEAF
Bay leave come from sweet bay tree . Ideally the leave should be used 3-4 days after freshly picked. They can also be dried , but will not have much flavour compare to the fresh bay leaf. Bay leaf are particularly good for flavouring sauces, soup pickle, kebabs, and meat. Stong aroma.

Used in: Chicken stock, Pumpkin Soup, all sorts of sauces.

Pumpkin soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 large sprig parsley
1 bay leaf
1 lb cooked pumpkin
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Procedure
-Melt butter in large saucepan.
-Add green pepper, onion, parsley, and
bay leaf.
-Cook 5 miutes. Add pumpkin and chicken broth.
-Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Blend together flour and milk and stir into soup.
-Add slat and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil.
-Serve immediately. For 5-6 pax


pumpkin soup