porterhouse steaks

In honour of caleb's visit, we bought up some porterhouse steaks yesterday and pan-fried them for dinner. it's on occasions like this that i absolutely LOVE vicmart. 5 huge cuts for 24 bucks. just awesome! the steaks were lightly flavoured with salt and pepper... and then panfried and served with a dollop of homemade garlic-herbed butter. mmm.... meat. haha. i also whipped up some potato mash and popped some asparagus and prosciutto in the oven.

steak & mash with baby asparagus wrapped in prosciutto

marcus came over as well, and we had great dinner conversation... talking about everything from food, to the government to singaporean films. 'twas a fun night :)

in other news, the parents are in town, and i'm graduating tomorrow. taking them to a little italian restaurant in hardware lane tonight. al fresco dining and live jazz music. crossing my fingers for good weather. excited about tomorrow! can't believe i'm finally graduating!

duck and pinot noir!

a few of us were having drinks overlooking the yarra river about a week ago, and we had the fabulous idea of having a night dedicated to the classic combination of duck and pinot noir. the boys were to buy the roast duck and the wine, which left me the arduous task of coming up with a couple of sides to go with the roast duck.

after mulling over it for a few days, i came up with two side dishes. the first was a spinach and rocket salad with caramelized oranges and a miso sesame dressing. the slight bitterness and sweetness from the oranges worked wonders with the nuttiness of the rocket, and it broke the monotony of the dressing. in my opinion, the salad was a winner :) for 

carbohydrates, we had pan-fried polenta wedges topped with a five-spice honey soy sauce to complement the roast duck. this was pretty good as well, as the crispiness of the fried polenta really added texture to the entire dish.

roast duck with an orange miso salad and polenta wedges

e-hern with multiple bottles of pinot noir

e-hern serenading us

jo not-studying

in other news, a bunch of us went up to yarra valley last sunday. the weather was beautiful, and we got the chance to taste some really gorgeous wines. i promise that i will blog about it as soon as i manage to get the photos :)

pan-seared swordfish

dinner last night was bought on impulse when i went to vic mart to get some fruits. i walked past the fish section and i couldn't resist. it's not everyday that there's swordfish in the market :P

i thought i'd try something thai-inspired... hence the fish sauce, chillies, sugar and lime. i didn't have any thai basil on hand, so i had to make do with a mountain of coriander (which i incidentally LOVE). haha. unfortunately... i was a little too enthusiastic with the fish sauce... and not enthusiastic enough with the sugar. note to self the next time i attempt this.... remember to taste the marinade BEFORE i put the fish in... 

seared tofu in a miso-based sauce

i had a block of tofu sitting in my fridge, and i figured that it should be eaten soon-ish. having already put some beef bulgogi to marinate for an hour... i thought of trying something japanese inspired with the tofu. it's just something simple i managed to whip up with ingredients that were already in my kitchen :)

ingredients:

1 block soft white tofu

1 clove garlic (sliced thinly)

1 small slice of ginger

1/2 tablespoon miso paste mixed in 1/4 cup hot water

1 tablespoon sake (white wine or chinese cooking wine)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 heaped tablespoon sugar (or mirin if you have it)

1 tsp corn flour dissolved in a 1/4 cup tap water

cracked black pepper to taste

sliced scallions & cut red chilli to garnish

method:

1. pour oil into a heated saucepan, enough to cover the bottom

2. sear tofu for about a minute on each side. 

3. remove tofu from saucepan and set aside on a serving plate/bowl

4. clean saucepan and reheat, pouring just enough oil again to cover the bottom

5. brown sliced garlic and ginger

6. add in miso paste & water

7. add in soy sauce, sugar, and sake, constantly stirring to dissolve sugar

8. once sugar has dissolved, pour in corn flour/starch and continue stirring till sauce thickens

9.remove from heat and pour sauce into serving bowl with the tofu

9. crack black pepper, and garnish

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if you'll notice, i didn't put any salt in this, as the miso paste is very salty, and there is some soy sauce in there as well. zac commented that the ginger taste was a bit strong for his liking, but i like the taste of ginger and i thought it was ok. the recipe can be adjusted according to taste. it was all on the fly anyway. haha. the next time i do this, i'll probably make a batter for the tofu... might give it more of an interesting texture.

the bulgogi actually turned out pretty well too, even though i had to substitute a few ingredients. maybe the next time i make it i'll remember to take a photo and put up the recipe :P 

people

grandma

i took this shot when i was in nepal with my family over the christmas break. was trying to get a clear shot of my grandma when my brother stepped into the frame. i almost deleted it, but somehow i'm kinda glad i didn't. i don't know why, but i like this photo. everyone is a mystery, and there is almost always a fascinating story if you're willing to listen...

nonya recipe bibles

every singaporean mother whose kitchen i have walked into seems to have this book. it's like the bible of singaporean cooking. it's particularly awesome for nonya food and kuehs. my grandmother has her own copy, and this one was passed down to me by my mother. 

there's just something about yellowed pages and second-hand books that i love... all the stories that they would tell if they could talk :) of course another nonya recipe bible is the famous Mrs. Lee's cookbook, of which i also have a copy. this was also passed to me by my mother. i guess the reason why i prefer the singapore cookbook is that it has heaps more colour photos and the directions are a lot clearer than the former. but i do sometimes refer to Mrs. Lee to compare recipes. 

i've been experimenting with quite a few of these recipes lately. in the past one week i've made babi pong tay, bak wan kepiting (minced pork with crab and bamboo shoot soup) and ayam sioh (chicken in thick spicy tamarind juice). All of which have been absolutely delicious. i wish i had taken photos. i keep on forgetting to, and only remember after we have scraped the last morsels off the bowls.

i'll try to remember next time!

perspective

"There is enough tinder in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall"

- C.H. Spurgeon

little indulgances

once in awhile i like to indulge myself in junk food. particularly if it's on special at the supermarket. 

the best potato chips on the market (imho)

a belated congratulations

i know that this is a few days late... but congrats kenneth! you're now ready to embark on a journey into the world of WORK. which reminds me of a song....

What do you do with a BA in English (or Japanese... in Ken's case)

What is my life going to be?

Four years of college and plenty of knowledge

Has earned me this useless degree

I can't pay the bills yet

Cause I have no skills yet

The world is a big scary place

But somehow I can't shake

This feeling I might make

A difference to the human race....

- 'What do you do with a BA in English?'  Avenue Q

All the best ken!

In other news... it always helps to be on your guard when you have friends prowling around with cameras. You never know what they might capture...

caught in the moment

new year, new look

it is tradition for the chinese to wear new clothes during the new year, to symbolize new beginnings and a fresh start. so i figured that my room shouldn't feel left out. i've slowly been re-decorating since i came back to melbourne - moving furniture around; taking down old posters; putting up new ones. 

i'm trying to fill up the wall next to my bed with photos. right now it's about a quarter done. i'll probably make it one of my projects... at least for the next few months or so. i wonder how long it will take...

snapshots

 

easter beckons

it seems like the signs that easter is approaching start to appear earlier and earlier each year. suddenly there are shelves and shelves of chocolate bunnies and eggs that line the aisles at supermarkets and convenience stores. there never was this much variety when i was a kid. i've never seen so many different kinds of easter eggs. it's bizzare.

my favourite easter treat has to be the hot cross bun. particularly the chocolate ones from bakers' delight. absolute heaven when toasted up. the traditional ones are delightful as well. especially when served heated up with a knob of butter oozing off the top. totally YUM!

traditional fruit hot cross buns  from bakers' delight

rainy days and thunderstorms...

...make me sleepy. i'm sure i'm not alone in this.

incomplete

And so here we  are. back in melbourne. ready for another year of adventure and surprises. the weather has been predictably unpredictable, and i've already made about three trips to ikea in the one week that i've been back... and many more planned to come. 

team HITH is mostly back together again...

zac and his trusty mac book

debs the kitchen creature

mish chiuren the techie

but with one tiny little issue... we're incomplete. and things won't be the same till may.

hurry back davis! we miss you many many!

new beginnings

This is an experiment that i hope will be successful in the course of this year. As i embark on a new chapter of my life and a journey into a new realm of the culinary world... this blog will attempt to chronicle these experiences. I probably won't be able to start proper until my apartment is all sorted and redecorated... but watch this space. i promise that things will start rolling pretty soon :)