Ah Lim Chicken Rice

This is what I cook when craving for food that has a taste of home.
Thanks to the discovery of Chng Kee's Chicken Rice Mix!

Do onions make you cry?

Yes, food prices are on the rise. It is the same every year and fingers are always pointed to the weather as the culprit. Too bad the sky does not have fingers to point back to merchants who are taking the chance to jump onto the bandwagon.

For this matter, one vegetable has been hogging the news here in India recently and it is none other than the crying onion.

By the end of Dec 2010, onion prices have increased to 40 percent higher than from a year ago and it is the hot topic of discussion amongst people of all levels from the government to the domestic helpers.

Newspaper reports that similar onion crisis has brought down Indian administrations twice before in the 80s and 90s. In response, the government stopped all exports of onions and started importing from China as an interim solution.

On the home front, I suspect that my cleaning lady took onions from my kitchen on Monday. I say 'suspect' because I do not count the number of onions that I buy! But surely, I would have bought more than five to use over the week.

Sigh. It actually troubled me for a day about how to broach the topic with her since firstly, I cannot be 100% sure and secondly, I do want to continue using her. She definitely didn't help herself by complaining to me last week that onions are getting very expensive.

What did I get myself into? It is easier to manage employee's issues at work than to confront someone about missing onions! >_<

People have warned me to watch over domestic help at home because they can hide anything in those layers of saris when they leave. I already take care to put away valuable things but onions?? I mean, really???

In the end, I asked her if she had thrown away any onions while cleaning the kitchen that day because I think my onions are missing. How stupid does that sound? Gr...

Of course I was not expecting a confession but hopefully, I sent across a message strong enough to tell her that I am aware of things and do not try to be funny!

Well, so onions do make me cry in more than one way other when dicing it. Hope it is only happening to me.

Practice makes almost perfect!

This phrase is true for most things and I have to say especially in the area of cooking.

After cooking almost on a daily basis for like three to four months now, I have to say that most of my dished have improved since the first time I tried cooking it. I remember the sense of satisfaction that I got especially from the Sweet and Sour Chicken that I made for the second time.

The improvement to the dishes comes through the form of feedback from the very picky eater I have at home and reading of different recipie versions.

A homemaker friend once told me that she makes 3 different version of the same dish in order to please her husband, son and herself. When I asked why she bothered, her answer was: "Well, you want them to be happy eating what you have cooked, so it is their preference that matters over mine." Words of wisdom for me.

Recently, I got bored and tried to make the Chinese style carrot cake but it was a disaster. Thanks to me trusting a website which told me that rice flour is the same as plain flour, my carrot cake never set even after steaming for a long time. It was such a setback to me and my morale. More than that, I had wasted precious stock of my chinese mushrooms and dried shrimps. Thank goodness I was smart enough not to add in the chinese sausage.

It took me two weeks before I attempted again and this time was a mini success! I followed another recipe and made sure that I bought rice flour. It was not a huge success as I think the texture can still be a bit firmer and more chewy. 

Here are the pictures of my 2nd attempt:

The mixture before steaming

Steamed Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake Pan Fried

Comfort Food

It has been at least 3 months since I ate instant noodles. Not that I am a instant noodle addict but this is something that both hubby and myself had been craving for. Of all the brands here, only maggi mee is familiar to us but sadly, the taste is far far from same. No springy chew at all. :( 

Even though the hubby has been bugging me to cook instant noodles, I refused because it is already not healthy stuff and if we were to eat the noodles, it had better taste good! Which the instant noodle here does not qualify.

So, when my friend gave me 2 packets of Myojo Mee Goreng and some Sri Lankan chili (similar to our sambal type), without doubt I knew that was going to be dinner last night! Knowing that the portion will not be enough,the noodles was topped up with fried egg and mutton kebab.

I could not stop thinking of dinner yesterday and kept willing in my mind for the hubby to come back earlier! Finally when it was dinner time, instant noodles had never tasted this good as I sank my teeth into it.

A taste of home.

Chicken Curry via SKYPE

Technology is a life-saver in many many ways. For one, it gives me direct access to a walking cookbook also known as my mum. :)

A few days ago, I had by mistake cut open a packet of coconut milk instead of tomato paste. Yes, it is possible when both packs are identical with only the printed name on the pack as differentiators. When the fire is going and there are 10 others things lined up to be done, you (or is it just me?) just don't take a second look.

The metal version of pestle and mortar

I know I am not ready to cook curry with no curry paste but I also don't want to waste the packet of coconut milk. So I decided to improvise with what I have and try. Finally, I took out the mortar and pestle that I had bought on a whim when we first got here.

My plan was to try to re-create something close to curry paste. I have helped my mum do this chili paste thingie for vegetables (think sambal kangkong) before when she cooked and thought that would be the next best substitute. I know there was chili, onion, garlic, belachan, ginger but what else? Then the other questions came up. Was there lime juice? Do I have to add water to the coconut milk? Does the paste go in first or later?

I tried looking for chicken curry recipes online without using curry paste but could not find any. So I decided to call home using Skype to ask mummy. We had paid to get Skype credits for calls to Singapore and these calls do not cost much at all. So I have the luxury of calling home when I want to. I mean, if it was 10 years ago when the call might have cost $10+ for a few minutes, would I have called for curry? I doubt it. 

So, she told me what went into the paste and of course, I didn't have all the ingredients. Though she was saying "the taste will be different without this and that", I just had to make do. I felt quite happy with the end result though I just could not get that red colour typical of our chinese curry.

This was what the end product looked like:

The weak looking curry that tasted not too bad!

Made in India

Take a closer look at things that we usually buy and chances are that it will be a "Made in China" tag.
Not surprising since everyone know that in a populous country, production costs can be kept very competitive.

Right here in Hyderabad, most things that we see are "Made in India". Refreshing change, I thought. I mean after all the news about China using inferior or unacceptable materials for toys or even milk, how worse can it get right?

When shopping here, most of the tags shows that the clothes are manufactured here. When a country is big, I can see how important it is to support your own domestic market. It creates jobs and when things are produced here, of course it is cheaper as compared to goods that have travelled on a plane/ ship.

I have not mentioned it before but if you shop here, you will see quite a few major brand's boutique. Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Esprit, Mango, Aldo, Pepe Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. I was thrilled! There is actually shopping to be done!

Well, true and not true. I can go shopping for an entire day and not buy anything. Some of the things are cheaper than back in Singapore but the quality and design is totally different. Nike shoes were heavier and most designs totally not cool. Casual bags were of cheap material and even though I really need a bag (mine is peeling after arriving here), I could not bring myself to buy one.

Brands like Mango and Aldo has got a good mix of local and important products but the imported ones are so expensive! I reluctantly stepped into Charles and Keith to look at the bags after much persuasion from the hubby (I mean, to buy Charles and Keith outside Singapore?!?!) and found that the bags are more than SGD100!

Closer on the home front, my kettle just malfunctioned on me today. The hubby had mentioned that his morning drink tasted different and I told him that we had changed from choc Horlicks to the Cadbury brand. Since it is not nice, let's not buy it again.

Later in the morning, as I was having my breakfast, I did my morning routine of drinking warm water first and nearly choked. The water had the taste of something burnt. I smelt it and confirmed the same. I went to the electric kettle and that same burnt plastic smell was overwhelming. So, it wasn't the Cadbury.


Hubby had gone to buy a new one in the afternoon and we agreed no "Made in India" kettles. The price difference was great but what to do? When I bought my pots and pans, I had insisted on getting imported ones just in case if the coating of the pans was not of accepted standards. After searching high and low, we finally found Teflon (Made in France) and bought it.

We bought honey on one of our supermarket trips for me to make honey drink or to cook with but never got the chance to use it. A few days after as I was reading the papers, it was reported that most honey made in India had a higher level of antibiotics than normal and was not allowed for import into certain countries. They did not mention anything at all about what should local consumers do (how about a product recall and get a refund?) but I reckon that the same product in the domestic market is usually the same quality or worse.

Let me show you what happened to one of my plates one fine day after microwaving food on it.

Best! I first saw sauce leaking and I thought that the clingwrap was lousy. But when I started to take the plate, I was shocked to see that the veg remained in the microwave and I had a ring plate in my hands! But well, I honestly am not that surprised and thought it was quite funny even. And yes, these plates are sold as microwave safe.

I am sure that this will not be the end of my "Made In India" story. Ask me the next time you see me and see what else. 

Homecooking in India

Finally, no more KFCs, Macs, Pizza Hut and Chinese takeaways! Woo Hoo!
After surviving 3 full weeks here on fast food, restaurants eating and takeaways, I was so ready to cook! Can't wait for a taste of home.

On Mon when I first cooked, it took me 3 whole hours from the start of preparing the ingredients to the washing. The results: Potato, Carrot and Onion Soup + Sweet and Sour Cabbage for dinner; chicken fried rice for hubby's lunchbox tomorrow. 3 dishes and I was so knocked out.

Tues was better because I told myself that I need to plan. Even the usage of plates needs to be strategic! Here's what is on the menu: Melon soup with dates + Pepper beef with french beans for dinner; Mince chicken corn fritter + Chicken with potato in dark soy sauce for next day's lunch. 

Ok, I was very happy with the end results and the time was shaved by 30mins to 2h30mins. As a result, I could shower and then sit back to watch Masterchef Australia on StarWorld (yes, my fav show currently) and wait for the hubby to come home. :)

But... over dinner, we found out that the beef was so tough that it was inedible! Not sure if it is because I overcooked it or because they sell beef here in cubes and that the cut is meant for stews only. Anyway, I still have half of it in the freezer and I will experiment stewing with it! 

Today,I clocked in 2h30 mins too. 2 course dinner tonight of Tomato Garlic Prawns + Tofu with Mixed veg; Lunchbox tomorrow has Onion Omelette + Cabbage with Chicken in Oyster Sauce.

Tofu with Mixed veg + Tomato Garlic Prawns

Cabbage with Chicken in Oyster Sauce + Onion Omelette

As I am writing this, its 1010pm (India Standard Time) and I am waiting for hubby to come back to have dinner together. He called earlier to say that today will be a long night. So, that gives me the time to update the blog!

A few peeves about cooking so far:

1. My nails are peeling! This is the worst state I have ever seen my nails in, suffering from the food prep and washing. MUST use the gloves more diligently. Thank you Claire for your thoughtful gift of L'occitane hand cream, most useful!

2. Garlic. I love garlic and can eat lots of it but it is such a pain to include garlic in cooking here. The cloves of the garlic are so small that after all the effort of peeling it, you only get that much! Either I am going to try that garlic paste that supermarkets are selling or I will eat less of it.

3. For the last 25 days, me and the hubby had not tasted pork at all. Closest to finding pork would be the canned sausages that contains pork. This is definitely the longest time I had gone without pork for sure! This could be because 40% of people here in the state are Muslims. I heard you can get it at 5-star hotels and specific "pork shops" but I wonder what is the freshness of it.

Things to rave about:

1. Teflon pots and pans are definitely one of the best thing to have in a kitchen! I found out that because they are non-stick, I can get away with not washing the pan at all if I plan the cooking well (i.e. start from dishes with no sauce to the one with sauce/ strong flavours). Just let it cool a bit and wipe it with napkins.

2. Microwave oven is an essential item. On Mon, the gas was leaking and I couldn't start cooking. Called for a gas repair person but given their rubber band timing, was not sure if they would turn up at all. I was determined to eat home cooked food today at all costs! So, I started using the microwave to cook rice and it works. Made me realise that one can cook an entire meal using a microwave. Just make sure you have read the manual or still have it around.

Clockwise: Our Reverse Osmosis water machine, Whirlpool microwave, Teflon pot, Drinking Water

3. The satisfaction from seeing all your dishes gives me a real high! Sense of great accomplishment! :)

Anyway, one challenge is that I need more recipes so that I can do many varieties of the same ingredients. So, please do share with me recipes that works for you and is simple!

P.s: I am still keeping the fish in the freezer till when I feel more confident to handle it. Maybe tomorrow.