Earle Swensens x Dilmah Tea Pairing Session

Earle Swensens x Dilmah Tea Pairing Session was hosted by OpenRice SG at the Vivocity outlet of Earle Swensens.

This beauty was a hot water dispenser and it always serves as a teapot warmer!

There was a wide range of tea put on display. And I wish we could've tasted some of these flavours too!

All of them were in luxury leaf bags, better known as the pyramid tea bags.

Besides looking fancypants, these pyramid tea bag shapes allow the tea leaves to completely unfurl in the process of brewing tea. Which allows for one to better taste the tea as compared to when you get the traditional tea bags which may make for a stronger brew and perhaps even a more bitter taste.

We were first brought through a presentation on the background and philosophies of Dilmah and introduced to the basics and essential of tea from growing, to manufacturing and eventually the production of the different types of tea. 

You'd be surprised to see how little most people know about tea. I was glad to learn about the different stages in the production of different teas and how teas like Oolong and Green tea essentially come from the same plant - Camillia Sinensis. How the taste and fragrance of these teas differ would then be dependent on the temperature and surroundings of where this plant is grown and processed. It would also be good to know that the cleanest ceylon teas come from Sri Lanka where the climate and soil conditions are optimal for growth.

I was also very inspired by the work of Mr Merril J Fernando, the founder of Dilmah Tea. The name Dilmah coming from the combined names of this two sons, Dilhan and Mahlik. He has dedicated all of his adult life to tea making and is still actively involved in the business, training the next generation (of his grandchildren). He has a MJF foundation which was established to fulfill his commitment to make his family business a matter of human service. The foundation renders assistance to underprivileged people of Sri Lanka and drives the ethical and sustainable efforts of Dilmah. Every purchase of Dilmah goes towards supporting this foundation so keep calm and drink Dilmah. 

Here at Earle Swensens, they have made an ethically conscious partnership with Dilmah in their tea time promotion. A choice of the Neapolitan Cake Slice or Chips 'n' slaw Sandwich with a cup of coffee or tea from the Dilmah Exceptional tea range costs just $6.90 with service charge and GST. A $3 top-up will get you a salad bowl too! 

At this Tea Pairing Session, we got to try four different varieties of Dilmah tea and both offerings of the tea time promotion.

English Breakfast (Single Origin) and Pure Peppermint (Infusions)

Who would've thought chips made for such a brilliant sandwich filling?

Parmesan topped sandwich breads and a filling of potato chips and their signature coleslaw that greatly lessened the guilt factor.

I thought this went well with the Pure Peppermint but mum thought better of the English Breakfast.

And then we were given the chance to brew our own tea.

As good students, we took out our tea bags after leaving it in the hot water for no more than 3-5 minutes.

And no refilling of hot water allowed!

Because each teabag which contains about 2g of tea should only be used to brew a 200-250ml glass once.

Elegant Earl Grey and Ceylon Green Tea (Exceptional)

The vote was unanimous for this.

Earl Grey would be the choice for ice cream pairings.

Or perhaps we were just too used to Iced Earl Grey concoction over at O Coffee Club :p

Many thanks to Dilmah, Earle Swensens and Openrice for this Tea Pairing Session.

We learnt a lot and savoured our tea time together with the other attendees.

So the next time you're wanting to have an affordable high tea option...

I'll see you over at Earle Swensens! 

*All opinions are the writer's own. :)

Sharksfin melon chicken and big bone soup | 鱼翅瓜鸡肉大骨炖汤

http://monstrousappetites.blogspot.sg/2015/08/sharksfin-melon-pork-rib-soup.html

Essentially the same except this time I had fresh dried cuttlefish airflown from Thailand that Daddy brought home. Skipped the red dates and corn. And I bought pork big bone for the first time! :)

I liked this version better. It's still sweet but more on the savoury side :)

Salted vegetable duck soup | 咸菜鸭汤. Charcoal boiled. Souper Saturdays!

Ingredients:

 1/2 a duck (1 kg), chopped

 1 head of kiam chye, about 600g (salted vegetables), cut into large pieces

 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled

 5 thick slices of ginger

 Water

 A handful of white peppercorns, washed

 3 tomatoes, chopped into 8 pieces for each tomato.

 1 tsp of light soy sauce

Method:

1. Wash and rinse the salted vegetables

2. Clean duck and remove any remaining feather stubs. Remove fat as necessary. 

3. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Blanch the duck to remove any crushed bones and blood trails. Take out the pieces and discard the water.

4. Fill a pot with water. I used about 5 litres of water in a large aluminium pot.

5. Place the salted vegetables, duck, garlic clove, ginger slices, white peppercorn and tomatoes.

6. Cover and boil over the charcoal stove.

7. Add 1 tsp of light soy sauce for added fragrance and a slight tinge of colour.

*I added a packet of soya beancurd after the soup was ready. :)

*Many recipes call for sour plums but it's fine to leave it out.

*I didn't soak my salted vegetables, which I bought from the wet market and the saltiness of the soup was just right for the amount of water I used.

*I had the pleasure of using a charcoal stove but this works well on the stovetops and pressure cookers. 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Jökulsárlón - Glacier Lagoon

See the sun now bursting through the clouds

Black and white turn to colour all around

Credits to a master photographer and friend : Alwyn Loh

Someday.

Soon :)

Sea(see)food Diets : Squid in dark soya sauce

Ingredients

2 large squids, clean and cut into pieces

2 medium sized red onion, chopped into pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of soya sauce

1 tbsp of shaoxing wine 

1.5 tablespoon of dark sweet soy sauce (I used Dark Soya Sauce for Chicken Rice)

2 large red chillies, seeds removed and sliced into thick slices

50 ml of water (Depending on amount of gravy preferred)

Method 

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry minced garlic and chopped red onion till fragrant. Add in red chilli slices.

Add in the squid and stir fry. Add soy sauce, shaoxing wine and dark sweet soy sauce.

Add in 50ml of water and ensure squid is well coated with the sauce. Once the sauce comes to a boil, turn off fire and serve hot.

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Eating clean: Steamed chicken with Chicken Essence

Ingredients

1.2 kg chicken, chopped into parts
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp hua tiao chiew
1 + 1 tsp of sesame oil
 A knob of ginger sliced into matchsticks

1 bottle of Chicken Essence

8 large chinese mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons of wolfberries

Handful of black fungus, sliced

Method

Put everything into a large bowl and mix well together to marinate.
Arrange chicken parts in a steaming plate. Place black fungus and chinese mushrooms on top of the chicken. 

Pour Chicken Essence over. 

Press in all ingredients to ensure that all parts are well coated with the liquid. 

Finish with a dash of sesame oil before putting it into the steamer.

Steam for 20 minutes or until cooked.

*Add red dates for added sweetness :)

I added soya sauce for added fragrance

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

咸菜番茄炒廋肉 | Salted mustard greens and tomatoes stir fried with lean pork

Ingredients

3 cloves of minced garlic

6 leaves of salted mustard green, sliced (washed but not soaked)

2 tomatoes, sliced (I sliced each half into 6 parts)

250g of lean pork loin, sliced

1/2 tsp of soy sauce

300ml of water

a dash of pepper

Method

Fry minced garlic till fragrant before adding lean pork slices. Fry till cooked before adding in a dash of pepper. Add in salted mustard green and tomatoes and stir fry it on high heat. Add 300ml of water and let it simmer over low heat.

Adjust the quantity of water if you find that it's too salty but that gravy is really addictive 

Just be careful not to add too much water till your gravy overwhelms the dish. 

My grandma used to soak the salted mustard greens before cooking but I tried it today without soaking and it was fine.

From our kitchen to yours, 

Brenda x

One pot wonders: Stewed pork & chicken rice | 红烧排骨鸡肉饭

Ingredients

1 large can of stewed pork chops, roughly shredded with bone removed (I used Gulong brand)

1 chicken breast, sliced and marinated with 1 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp of sesame oil, a dash of pepper and shaoxing wine)

1 carrot, sliced

1 packet of baby bok choy, stem removed and chopped into thirds

20g of dried shrimp (1 small handful)

1 tbsp of chilli scallop floss (Sun Kee brand)

Soy sauce mixture: 2 tbsp of dark soya sauce + 1 tbsp of soy sauce in 250ml of water

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp of oil

4 cups of rice

8 cups of water + 200ml of water 

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add minced garlic, dried shrimp and scallop floss. Stir fry till fragrant. Add chicken breast and fry till cooked before setting it aside.

In the rice cooker, rinse rice and add water. Add stewed pork chops and gravy. 

Place carrot slices into the rice. Add the cooked chicken breast, soy sauce mixture and stir thoroughly to ensure that rice is evenly coated with the sauce. Set the rice cooker to cook.

Midway in the cooking process, add baby bok choy and stir it into the half cooked rice. Add water if necessary. 

Serve topped with chopped spring onions and cut red chilli. 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

*Lean pork slices can be used instead of chicken breast with the same marinade
*Chinese cabbage can be used instead of baby bok choy
*I would add chinese mushrooms :) except that I already had a miso barramundi soup with mushrooms.
*Only when my rice was partially cooked, I added the soy sauce mixture and stirred it into the rice to ensure that the sauce is evenly distributed throughout.

Gula Melaka Steamed Cake

Ingredients 

150g gula melaka

100g milk

3 eggs

150g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

80g corn oil

Method

Melt gula melaka and milk over slow fire. The aroma will be amazing. :)

Beat 3 eggs until creamy.

Add sifted self raising flour and baking soda to the egg mixture. Making sure that there are no lumps. Add the corn oil. 

After the gula melaka mix has cooled slightly, add that into the mixture as well and stir till incorporated. The syrup is denser than the rest of the mixture so when you pour out the mixture, don't worry if you see gula melaka left over. Just stir it well into the final batter before steaming.

Steam for half an hour or until cooked. (Use a bamboo skewer. Cake is done when skewer comes out clean :))

It tastes a lot like the steamed Malay Cake. Although it's really rich in the coconut sugar taste, I think I might add a knot of pandan into the sugar to boil next time for added fragrance :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Not having a hotplate shouldn't stop you from cooking this! :)

Ingredients (Serves 8)

10 king prawns, deshelled and deveined

200g of minced pork, marinated with a dash of pepper and a dash of shaoxing wine, half a tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sesame oil

3 tubes of egg tofu, sliced into 1 inch thickness

A knob of ginger, sliced to matchsticks

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Spring onions, chopped

1 tbsp of oyster sauce

3 tbsp of spicy bean paste (available from NTUC, Triple A brand from Taiwan)

1 tsp of light soya sauce

1 tbsp of cornflour, mixed with water for thickening the sauce

5 eggs, beaten with a dash of pepper, half a teaspoon of soy sauce

Method

Pat dry the egg tofu pieces to prevent oil splatters before shallow frying. (You could deep fry it, but I'd rather the healthier and less mess alternative). :) Fry till both sides are golden brown. Set them aside on kitchen towel to drain excess oil and water.

In a heated pan, add two tbsp of oil and fry ginger, garlic and the white ends of the spring onion till fragrant. Add minced pork, oyster sauce, spicy bean paste, soy sauce. Add prawns and fry till well mixed with the seasonings. Then add about 250ml of water (depending how much gravy you'd like) and the pre-fried egg tofu pieces. Thicken with cornstarch and set it aside.

Heat up the pan again with 2 tablespoons of oil. Coat the pan well before pouring in the beaten egg and fry till brown on one side and cooked through. 

Place the egg on the bottom and spoon the tofu mixture generously over the egg base. 

Sprinkle the chopped spring onions over the top and serve with rice :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x 

Fried rice paradise using the rice cooker :)

So I've cooked a lot of extra rice to be frying rice for dinner tonight. And only half of that was going to fit into my happycall pan. But then, there's always the rice cooker. 

And after tonight's attempt at using the rice cooker, I have decided that I would forever be frying rice in the rice cooker. Until further notice. 

Ingredients

1 tbsp of oil + 1 tbsp of sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped 

Half a yellow onion, diced

Overnight rice (Filled a 1.5L ice cream tub) 

1 cube of Knorr chicken stock dissolved in about 500ml of water

Five slices of Luncheon meat, diced

Dry fried white bait, 80g to 100g

1 tube of Egg tofu, diced

1 egg, beaten

Dash of pepper

Method

Set the rice cooker to 'Cook' function and once hot, add the oil into the pot.

Fry the garlic and onion till fragrant before adding in the luncheon meat, white bait and egg tofu. 

Add in the rice, breaking it up as you add it in.

Pour in the stock and a dash of pepper. Stir the rice till everything is mixed thoroughly. (Be gentle, you don't want to break up all your luncheon meat and egg tofu further)

Close the rice cooker and let it cook till it pops up to the 'Warm' function.

Add in the beaten egg and give it another stir to make sure everything's well mixed. (Use more eggs if you'd like. Daddy would've loved loads of eggs.) Wait for a bit till you get to switch it to 'Cook' function again and once it pops up to 'Warm', turn off the switch and you're all good to go :)

And there you have it. Fried rice paradise from the rice cooker, no less! 

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Sharksfin melon pork rib soup | 鱼翅瓜排骨炖汤

Ingredients

1 sharksfin melon, 1.1kg before removing skin and seeds, chopped into large pieces

2 corn cobs, chopped into thirds each

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 handful of wolfberries

6 red dates

600g pork ribs, blanched

5 small sized dried cuttlefish

1 tablespoon of salt, to taste

3L of water

Method

I bought half a sharksfin melon. Cut the half into four slices (I find that it's easier to remove the rind this way). Use a spoon to remove the seeds before cutting up the melon into big chunks. 

Boil a pot of water and when it comes to a boil, blanch the pork ribs then drain the pork ribs.

Add 3L of water into a soup pot, put in the pork ribs, melon, carrot, dried cuttlefish, handful of wolfberries and red dates. 

Bring this to a fierce boil. Then add one tablespoon of salt (or to taste). 

Let it simmer till it starts to bubble again then turn off the flame. 

Bring it to a fierce boil again before serving. (I cooked this at mid day so that there's always time for a second boil before dinner comes around :))

I'll try it again with a whole chicken the next time round just to see if there's a difference. :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Kaeng Kiaw Wan Gai x Green Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
1 packet of Lobo Green Curry Paste

300ml Kara Coconut Cream

400ml of water

1 teaspoon of fish sauce

2 carrots, peeled and cubed

2 round brinjals, cubed

1 lemongrass, pounded and chopped

1 teaspoon cooking oil

300g chicken parts

Kaffir lime leaves

Thai Basil

There are many Thai curry pastes out there in the market but the Lobo brand is very frequently purchased by Singaporeans on travels to Bangkok. And of course I contributed to the trend. I got a ten pack of this paste and gave most of it away save for this last packet. 

In the light of the recent bombing incidents and ongoing bomb threats, I decided to give this dish a go as a timely reminder to #prayforBKK.

Method:

Heat up the pan and add cooking oil. Once heated, fry the lemongrass (which I figured would be better in the whole stalk for the next attempt since all the lemongrass pieces were getting caught in every mouthful of curry). Add the curry paste and stir fry it for a little before adding in the coconut cream (It recommends for coconut milk actually but I used cream because that's what I bought without checking, oops). Depending on the consistency of the gravy that you like, I added 400ml of water (also to cut down on the spice factor a little, this paste can get pretty spicy for people who can't take heat well). Add in carrots to bring to a boil before adding in the chicken parts and lastly the brinjal. Add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and thai basil. Bring it to a boil before leaving it to simmer on low heat to ensure all the vegetables and meat have been cooked through. :)

Keep praying for Bkk even as you enjoy this simple Thai curry.

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Capturing sunsets :)

Serves 5

400g of fish fillet, sliced
2 tablespoons of shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon of sesame oil + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to finish
30g of old ginger, chopped into matchsticks
0.5 teaspoon of pepper
0.5 teaspoon of salt
0.5 teaspoon of soya sauce
8 medium sized scallops, soaked and shredded
3 cups of rice, washed
1 salted egg, hardboiled
1.5 cubes of Knorr chicken seasoning (No MSG Added)
1 stalk of spring onion

Prepare the fish by marinating the sliced fish fillet with shaoxing wine, sesame oil, ginger, pepper, salt and soya sauce. Use your hands to really work the seasoning into the fish slices but be careful not to break the fish meat with too much force. Set it aside.

Boil the rice, scallops and add the chicken seasoning cubes when the porridge is almost cooked. Then top up with more water and keep stirring till the consistency of choice is achieved. I estimate myself to have used about 2.5 L of water in total.

Add the fish slices and simmer on low heat till fish slices are cooked thoroughly. Bring the porridge to a boil and add in one tablespoon of sesame oil to finish.

Serve topped with spring onion, more old ginger, pepper and with salted eggs on the side :)

Lao San Kway Chap @ Ang Mo Kio

So I asked my hand model to pick something she liked. And she went for gold! The braised meats here at Lao San are tender and the layer of fat simply melts away in one's mouth. Getting my iron fix here with the lean meat, liver and salted vegetable soup here. A life saver during my closed jaw reduction. After my accident, I had my mouth wired shut and dad bought this soup for me to drink every other day to make sure I kept my iron levels up. 

smile emotico

 I don't know about the best kway chap around in SG but this one's my family's pick!

Blk 232, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3

Lao San Kway Chap 

Tuesdays to Sundays 

6am till sold out :)

They say a person just needs three things to be truly happy in this world

Ingredients: (For 5 servings)

15 small black flower mushrooms, reserve mushroom water

150g spare ribs

100g pork ribs

2 small saito fishcakes

10 pork & mushroom balls

1 carrot peeled and sliced

5 leaves of lettuce chopped

200g of rice vermicelli presoaked

500g of prawns, deshelled and deveined, marinate with a dash of soy sauce, shaoxing wine, pepper, a dash of sesame oil. reserve head and shells.

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Oyster sauce 2 large tablespoons

0.5 teaspoon of salt to taste

1 cube of Knorr chicken stock (no MSG)

500ml of pork rib stock

2L of water

Parsley, chopped red chillies

Method:

Blanch spare ribs and pork ribs and set aside.

Once pan is heated, add sesame and vegetable oil. Fry minced garlic till fragrant and add prawn shells and head. Fry and lightly press the head while frying :) 

Add 2L of water, 500 ml of pork rib stock, flower mushrooms and reserve mushroom water. Once it comes to a boil, add sliced carrots. Let the soup continue boiling, add 1 chicken stock cube, oyster sauce and salt to taste.

Let the soup continue to simmer over low heat. Add in the pork ribs and spare ribs, fishcake and prawns.

Once ready for dinner, let soup come to a boil and add in the presoaked vermicelli to cook in the soup. Divide the vermicelli into 5 portions and the sliced lettuce before arranging ingredients and adding soup. Finish with a dash of white pepper to taste. 

Top with parsley and serve with cut red chilli padi :)

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

Sweet and sour fish :)

Ingredients:

1 Fresh gold band snapper - 1kg, descaled, degutted, sliced into half with head and tail removed. $9

2 tomatoes, sliced into eighths each $0.60

1 yellow onion, sliced into eighths $0.20

A knob of old ginger, sliced $0.20

5 tablespoons of tomato ketchup $0.20

1 teaspoon of Kikkoman soya sauce $0.20

2 teaspoons of corn flour $0.10

100 + 10 ml of corn oil $0.40

A dash of pepper + a pinch of salt $0.20

20 ml of water

Method:

A pinch of salt and a dash of pepper sprinkled on both sides of the fish.

2 teaspoons of corn flour sprinkled on skin side of fish and patted in lightly.

Heat 100ml of corn oil (reserve just one tablespoon) and place 5 slices of ginger into the oil when heated. 

Place fish skin side down to fry on high heat for a couple of minutes. 

Turn the fish over to fry on high heat till thoroughly cooked. 

Leave the fish aside to drain the oil on some kitchen towel.

Pour away the oil and clean the pan with kitchen towel before adding the 10ml of corn oil. 

Once heated, add the ginger (sliced into matchsticks), onion and fry till fragrant.

Add the 5 tablespoons of tomato ketchup (or more if more gravy is favoured) and soya sauce.

Add water when the mixture bubbles till consistency of choice.

Add the tomatoes to fry for a couple of minutes till well mixed with the sauce.

Plate the fish and spoon the sweet and sour sauce over the fish. :)

Optional : Diced pineapple slices for the sauce.

From our kitchen to yours,

Brenda x

The Nation's Golden Jubilee Celebrations @ Padang Grandstand in photos