Day 162 : Braised Ma Yau in Brandy

BRAISED MA YAU in BRANDY

(TREADFIN)

This evening, we are braising fish for dinner. 

We are gonna sear the fish first and then braise it. Searing the fish will help it to stay whole better, we think. :D

3 Simple Steps:

1. Fry the Ginger.

2. Sear the Fish.

3. Make the Sauce.

The Ingredients.

Ma yau fish (treadfin), garlic, ginger, chillies and tomato.

1. Fry the Ginger. 

Scatter the ginger evenly on the pan. 

Place the fish on top of the ginger.

This will enable the flavor of the ginger to be infused into 

the fish as well as take away any fishy smell.

2. Sear the Fish. 

Be sure that the fish is dry before searing.

The oil must be hot and fuming, 

otherwise the fish might stick on to the pan.

Very quickly, brown the fish, 

and remove it from the pan to a serving dish.

3. Make the Sauce.

Filtered water, thick shoyu, light shoyu, 

a teaspoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of X.O. brandy. :D

Saute garlic and fresh ginger until fragrant. 

Toss in chopped chillies.

Use the same pan.

Add tomatoes.

Pour the sauce in. Bring to boil.

Then lower the flame to a simmer.

Arrange the tomatoes like a bed and

gently place the fish above them.

Close lid and allow it to braise in the broth 

for a minute or two.

Garnish with a bunch of coriander leaves 

and chilly strips.

A close up of our delicious ma yau! :D

Bon Appetite!!! :D

Dinner is super-delicious. The fish is awesome and fresh. 

The skin especially, is all crispy and chewy at the same time.

Ooooh, Yummy!!!

The brandy just gives it an awesome - kick. :D
The flavour is totally unbelievable!

Day 161 : Rice Noodle Soup

 RICE NOODLE SOUP

We made noodles for lunch today. 

This noodle soup is quite similar to Ipoh Hor Fun, except that we do not have flattened spring onions (kau-choy or ku-chai). 

The soup is really easy to prepare. We're using the Pressure Cooker for that.

The 3 Simple Steps:

1. Boil the Stock.

2. Debone the Chicken.

3. Rinse the Noodles.

1. Boil the Stock.

Fill Pressure Cooker Pot with filtered water.

Add chicken thigh-drumstick. Add prawn shells.

Add one sweet plum. Add seasalt and shoyu.

Add half a chicken stock (no msg).

Add one bulk of garlic and one whole onion.

Close lid and allow the Pressure Cooker 

to do the magical transformation. :D

 When the soup is ready, remove the chicken.

Strain the stock - resulting in pure, heavenly, 

aromatic and clear soup. :D

2. De-bone the chicken.

At the same time, toss the prawns in the hot soup, 

and allow to cook for a brief few minutes.

Remove and set aside.

 Ready Ingredients.

Prawns (de-veined and de-shelled), 

chicken slices, coriander leaves and chillies.

 3. Rinse the Noodles.

Rinse the rice noodles (kuey teow) 

by dipping in boiling water, 

in a separate small pot.

Loosen the noodles as you rinse.

Transfer to a bowl.  

 Scoop soup over and serve 

with the chicken and prawns. 

 Garnish with chopped chillies 

and a sprig of coriander leaves.

 Don't forget the must-have fried garlic and oil. :D

Oooh, the soup is really tasty and out of this world!

Seriously delicious ... :D

Bon Appetite!!!

We have some prawns that escaped the de-veining, de-shelling and the be-heading. :D

Day 160 : Linguine in Olive Oil and Egg

 LINGUINE IN OLIVE OIL & EGG

This is a simple pasta dish that Bryan is preparing for dinner tonight. With whatever that he could find in the fridge (time for grocery shopping), he is whipping up a pretty delicious pasta meal.

3 Simple Steps :

1. Boil Pasta.

2. Saute & Add In.

3. Blanch Vegetables.

  

1. Boil Pasta.

Boil linguine until al dente in salted water.

2. Saute  & Add In.

Saute garlic in olive oil.

 Add potatoes cubes.

 Add a shake of thyme herbs.

Add filtered water. Add seasalt. Add black pepper.

Cover lid to cook the potatoes.

 When the potatoes are cooked, add linguine.

Beat an egg and pour over the pasta. 

Toss to mix well.

 

3. Blanch Vegetables.

Serve with blanched cauliflower and carrots. :D
 

I had my one shake of The Green Drink in the morning, 

noodle soup for lunch and pasta for dinner.

Day 159 : Drunken Chicken

DRUNKEN CHICKEN

This evening, we're gonna prepare a simple one pan chicken dish. Having tasted what brandy could do for flavouring in last night's steam fish, I insisted that we added a little bit of the X.O. to this chicken dish as well. Gee, I hope I'm not turning into an alcoholic! :D 

Nah, no chance of that. Bryan did assure that the alcohol will evaporate during the simmering anyway. 

 

3 Simple Steps :

1. Saute garlic, onions and ginger.

2. Add in chicken and the rest.

3. Add broccoli.

The Ingredients.

Chicken, carrots, potatoes and broccoli.

 1. Saute garlic, onions and garlic 

in sesame seed oil.

2. Add In.

Add chicken.

Add potatoes. Add carrots. 

Add dried chillies (pre-soaked in hot water).

Add filtered water. 

Add sauce : oyster sauce and shoyu.

Add brandy (one soup-spoon).

Close lid and allow to simmer until gravy thickens

and contents are cooked.

3. Add Broccoli.

When the contents are about cooked, toss in broccoli.

Close lid for a minute or so, before transferring 

the contents to a serving dish.

Say Hello to your one pot chicken potato dish!

Hmmm, I wonder if this is how Drunken Chicken got its name. :D

Okay, I'm re-naming this dish. I had called it Braised Chicken with Brandy at first, 

but hey, Drunken Chicken sure sounds a lot more exciting ... :D

Side Condiment of chopped raw garlic, 

chopped chillies (de-seeded) with dark sauce.

Bryan's Plate.

He says, dinner is fantabulous! 

A very unique exotic flavour!

Ooh, we are really enjoying our dinner. 

The potatoes just melt in your mouth, the chicken is tender, 

and the gravy is simply drunken-delicious.

I had my one shake of The Green Drink in the morning, 

yong tau foo with noodles for lunch and the above for dinner.

Day 158 : Steamed Fish Steak With X.O.

This evening, Bryan prepared dinner. 

He's steaming fish and frying an omelet. He didn't tell us what he added into the fish before steaming, until we made a comment that the sauce is really, really good. I couldn't put a finger on it. It wasn't shoyu or oyster sauce. It was something different. 

What was it???


Bryan revealed finally, he had added one soup-spoonful of brandy (X.O. Cognac). 


Brandy ... Oh My ...


That certainly made all the difference. :D

3 Simple Steps :

1. Steam the Fish

2. Fry the Shallots

3. Fry the Omelet

The Ingredients.

Ma yau fish steak, garlic, shallots, chilly, carrots 

and oyster mushrooms.

1. Steam the Fish. 

Place the fish on to an appropriate dish for steaming.

Decorate with mushrooms, carrots, chillies and soft tofu.

Sauce : Dark shoyu, light shoyu and X.O. Brandy.

Steam for about 15 minutes on so on medium heat. 

2. Fry the Shallots.

Meanwhile, fry the shallots.

When the fish is ready, pour the fried shallots with a 

table spoonful (or two) of the oil over the fish. 

The aroma is unbelievable!

Garnish with sprigs of coriander leaves 

and chilly strips.

3. Fry the Omelet.

While the fish is being steamed, fry the omelet.

Saute garlic in sesame seed oil.

Toss in long beans (chopped thinly).

Beat 2 eggs and season with seasalt and pepper.

Pour over to cover the pan.

Make an X on the omelet, and flip each quarter over.

Ta--dah!!!

BoN aPPeTiTe!!!

Close Up.

Hmmm-mmm-mmmm ...

The fish is fresh and the gravy, totally out of this world. 

The mixed rice is certainly flavorful and very yummy!

I had my one shake of The Green Drink in the morning, 

breakfast hotel buffet for brunch and 

the above mixed rice for dinner this evening.

Day 157 : Pasta Stew

The Ingredients.

Potatoes, shitake mushrooms and stalks, 

tomatoes, onions and broccoli.

3 Simple Steps :

1. Pile up the Pressure Cooker Pot.

2. Add water & tomato puree.

3. Add broccoli & cheese.

1. Place all the above ingredients 

into the pressure cooker pot.

Add pasta noodles (break in half).

Add dried chillies (pre-soaked in hot water).

2. Add filtered water.

Add seasalt. Add basil herbs.

Add half a small can of tomato puree.

Close lid and allow the Pressure Cooker

to do its magic.

3. Add cheese & broccoli.

The red button will drop in about 20 minutes or so, 

to indicate that the contents are cooked.

Open the lid, toss in broccoli and cheese.

Close lid again for a minute or two.

Ta--dahhh!!!

This really is a lazy dish, where You throw everything into the pot, and leave it to cook.

BoN aPPeTiTe!!!

Slurppp ...

It's an extremely easy pasta dish to prepare. :D

I had my one shake of The Green Drink in the morning, 

nasi lemak for lunch and pasta for dinner.