Easy chicken burger
I am not in the mood to cook few dishes today so decided to just make a simple and easy chicken burger for dinner.
I removed the bones from drumsticks and marinated with garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, paprika and white pepper overnight. Then I used halogen oven (magic chef) to grill the chicken pieces (400F 20-30mins depending on the size). In the meantime, I cut a slice of unsalted butter and place on the hamburger roll and baked for awhile (till the butter melted). After that assemble the burger with tomato slices and lettuce, top with mayo and it’s done!
This is so easy to make and only a fraction of typical burger price. 
Have a bite!
Tonkotsu Ramen! :)
This is gonna be a very long post but I promise you will be hungry at the end of this post..
So sit tight and enjoy….. :p
*
Last week I saw a picture that my friend V* posted on her Facebook page – a bowl of really delicious-looking volcano ramen. I was literally drooling at that bowl of ramen – I miss having volcano ramen at Singapore! *slurps* So I asked her for the recipe and just nice it’s the recipe I found at Yahoo! *cos I Yahoo! first after seeing the picture, whilst waiting for her to reply my comment* (will share all recipes used).
I read through the recipe couple time to familiarize with the steps and also write down a list of ingredients that I need to buy from oriental market.
So here I am to present to you my very first attempt of Tonkotsu Ramen -absolutely deliciously sinful!
So I am going to tell you all the things I did just to cook the above mentioned. Plus also the things you need to take note of if you want to try this dish as well. Hence this post will address 3 different parts – 1st: the soup, 2nd: chashu & 3rd: ajitsuke tamago -Japanese flavored soft boiled eggs.
Are you ready to join me in a cooking adventure? Haha!
1st: The Soup
The main highlight is the soup. You can either make it or break this dish. So, make sure you follow the recipe carefully.
I don’t know if there is a different between pig trotters and pig feets. Hopefully that doesn’t affect the consistency or flavor for my soup. Anyway, I know the recipe asked for pig trotters but the guys at the oriental market don’t understand what I am saying and my friend found pig feets and she said its the same so I bought it. Plus it comes in a pack of 2 and has been cut lengthwise. Great!
Then I also bought 1.5lbs of pork leg bones and chicken bones. All have been cut into smaller pieces.
Now here is the messy and tricky part.
I boiled a pot of water and put the pig feets in -I cooked it for 15 mins (set with a timer) and flash out as much dirts and blood as possible. Then I soaked them into iced water. Then wash the pig feets clean. Set aside.
Then I used the same pot of water to do the same for the pork leg bones and chicken bones. (cook for 15 mins) After that I washed all the bones clean.
Pour away the dirty water. Wash the pot clean and add in the pig feets, pork legs and chicken bones. Add water and fill all the way (1 inch) above the bones. Boil and get rid of the scums. I let it boiled for about 30 mins until its scum-free before continue with the next step.
So now you can start frying the garlic, ginger and onions – until deep browned. *you probably need a lot of oil to do this because for mine, I didn’t get to fry them until deep brown as I put little bit of oil only*
Once the pot of bones are scum-free, you can then add in the garlic, ginger and onions.
Let the 5 hours cooking progress starts now…..
I took pictures of the soup at every hour. This is to show how the soup progressed as time passed and also to show you if the soup is at the right consistency and color.
* I read it from here that if you did not wash the bones clean, your soup will be brown instead of the creamy color. I was a little paranoid and do not want to waste time doing this so very starting I make sure the bones are cleaned before brewing the soup. I strongly suggest you don’t skip any of the preparation steps so that you will not waste your efforts at the end of the day.*
I guess I am on the right track given that my soup is not browned at the end of 5 hours of cooking. And my hubby said it smells good! Haha! Though it’s time-consuming, but I think it’s worth it.
However, I am not going to lie. I was shocked to see the amount of soup left after filtering. It didn’t make the number of cups of soup said in the recipe. This amount is definitely less than 10 cups. **** I think it’s because my pot is too small ******
So morale of story: use a BIG and TALL pot!
So now we move on to part 2: chashu!
I used pork belly to make the chashu. The seasonings stated in the recipe is not enough to coat the pork belly…so halfway through cooking, I added 1 more part of the seasonings. Depending what you gonna use, adjust the portions for the seasonings accordingly.
This part is pretty easy and it’s done in an hour. After which, let it cool down and then put the pork belly in a ziplock bag and chill it. Easier to cut, indeed!
Now I finally understand why the cook suggests that I/You should get equal portion of fats and meat for pork belly. See! The pork belly I bought have more fats than meat. What a bummer! Hahahhaha! No wonder it makes this bowl of ramen noodles so sinful. Of course, I didn’t eat the fats.
Set aside that and move on to part 3: ajitsuke tamago -Japanese flavored soft boiled eggs.
This is very easy to make! I boiled the eggs at high heat for 6 mins (but u see the latter picture, it’s almost like hard-boiled eggs). I think it has to do with the boiling water, so estimate the cooking time accordingly ok?
Shocked the eggs into iced water and then once it’s cooled, peel it and marinate it in the seasonings. I marinated the eggs for 1.5 hours only.
Finally, we can now assemble everything!
For the toppings, it’s really up to your own preferences. I blanched bean sprouts, golden mushroom, spinach and sweet corns (in advance and set aside until needed).
Get all your toppings, and lay them out nicely. Heat up the soup** and pour over it….. And there you have, a bowl of delicious Tonkotsu Ramen!
*i know the recipe asked for tahini – which is pure sesame paste. But I didn’t use that and I believe it will affect the flavor to a certain degree but I am perfectly ok with what I have so if you are looking for “authentic” Japanese Tonkotsu Ramen then you need to follow the recipe to a T, ok?*
*i added sesame seeds, mirin, salt, soy sauce & white pepper to the soup as well. By all means, if you like it salty, add more salt/soy sauce*
Finishing touches to the ramen is to drizzle a little of the mayu (black garlic oil) and sprinkle spring onions!
So are you hungry now? Hahahhaa!
After hours of preparation and cooking, I/you deserve to sit down and enjoy this bowl of home cooked Tonkotsu Ramen!
Bon Appetit!
Piggy macarons
What do you do with egg whites?
The answer is Macarons!
I decided to give this recipe a try since I have egg whites left from the Portuguese egg tarts. It’s my first piggy macarons attempt and glad that it turned out okay.
Hmm… I would suggest you pipe as close to a circle size as possible then let it rest for awhile before pipping the ears and nose. I did all at once for some and the nose sunk in… Haha! It’s actually quite easy to make these once you get the hang of it. My piping skills still not perfect but it’s improving, I guess. Haha. Practice makes perfect, someday. Haha! And I used edible food markers from Wilton to draw the eyes and mouth, and ribbons.
I do not have ingredients at home to make the trusted chocolate ganache. So I pipe peanut butter and top with nutella. So, it’s very very sweet! Hahaha! Mind your calories intake ok. :p
So which animal or character should I try? Maybe one day I shall make mickey mouse macarons… Hahahhahahaha
Enjoy!
Portuguese egg tarts
It’s been awhile since I bake Portuguese egg tarts. So decided to make these treats for a gathering tomorrow.
I used the recipe from rasamalaysia. if you like flaky crust like I do then this is the recipe to use. I actually chill the dough for 10mins in the freezer so that I can work on the next batch of dough… This makes the dough more forgiving.. Easier to roll out. As for second batch of dough, I just put it in the fridge, not freezer.
I noticed something different from my first batch of egg tarts. From my previous attempts, they don’t puff up like this so I’m certain that I made a mistake somewhere…. Then I realized I forget to add milk to the custard filling! I overlooked it….aww… But it still tastes like egg tarts just of different texture..
Once it cooled, the custard filling will sink in. Haha! Makes it look like sunflower! So pretty…and they smell so good. I can smell the egg from far!
That’s the difference for not adding milk in the filling. 
its more dense and eggy…. I actually prefer a more melty texture… Next time I need to be more vigilant. Look at the recipe carefully before moving on to next step.
I packed these up and share with friends. Cannot waste food… Hahahhaa!
Second batch turned out ok. But I have problem estimating the time and temperature. So at first I bake these at 350F, 11mins then realize that the custard is not cooked. So I increase the temperature to 400F and baked for another 5-6 mins. You have to check on the egg tarts…. Because they are of a smaller size, the crust baked quickly.
Actually I think it’s okay to follow the initial baking temperature and time from the recipe… Just perhaps don’t bake it for more than 15 mins… Trial and error ok?
And lastly, baby egg tart said to mommy egg tart ” mommy, can you make sure they don’t eat me up?”
Hahahhahahaha!
Enjoy!
Busy bee!
I’m like so busy this week. So many things to do! But I like being busy as time passes quickly! And soon enough it’s weekends again! one week by one week pass, it means I’m closer to going home… Aww… I’m so going to miss my life here in AZ.
Anyway I went out in the morning to run errands then back to wrap spring rolls for a charity event on Friday. 2 hours are spent wrapping these appetizers. That actually excludes the time I took to make the fillings and of course fry them on Friday morning. Hope they taste good… It’s the first time making such a big batch – 75pcs. Alot of work but for good cause, worth it I guess.
I haven’t have time to sit down to do a
a short post on my first birchbox. So I shall put this on hold and do the review when I try all the samples during my trip. that’s the best part of having sample-sized items – perfect for travelling! Thank you for your understanding and patience. The post will be up end of this month. 
And I shall end this post with a note. I have the best sister in the world! She is kind enough to help me collect all 4 hello kitty plush toys – means she has to eat Mac one per week just to get these cute babies for me!
I cannot ask for more. I’m truly blessed.
I will be back tomorrow with a short baking post.
Goodnight!
Lo Mai Kai 糯米鸡 (steamed savoury glutinous rice with chicken)
Everyday I need to brainstorm what to cook. And to make 3 dishes per day really drain my brain cells and tested my cooking skills. Haha! As time passes, I ran out of ideas on what to cook for the week. Luckily, hubby has no particular preference so whatever I cook he eats which definitely makes my life better and easier. Hahahhaa!
Having said that, I decided to make Lo Mai Kai because I am crazing for one. Remember those days where I will buy one and have it as breakfast. Because its made with glutinous rice hence its filling enough for me to last till lunch time.
Eat it with dark soy sauce and chilli sauce, oh so yummy!
I bought the muffins tray and cut into individual pieces. This is so much easier to steam… Because my steamer cannot contain a rectangular sized tray. Bummer! I know!
So I used the recipe from 2 different blogs. I marinated the chicken pieces overnight with this recipe from nasilemaklover. Then followed the rest of the steps and recipe from thelittleteochew. There is no fixed way of doing this so you can improvise the fillings based on your individual preferences.
After that, I spoon a spoonful of rice into the mold and place a piece of hard boiled egg(per requested by hubby) and top it up with 2 spoonfuls of rice. Lightly pressed it and set aside. Steam over high heat for 30-35mins and enjoy!
These have been steamed…and they are piping hot so I’m like a postman, delivering food! Haha!
If time permits I will put them in the fridge overnight to let the flavors infused and then steam the very next day. We had these for dinner, and it tastes just right with dark soy sauce and garlic chili sauce. Hubby says he is very full now. Haha!
