What's the purpose?

Saw these red acrylic plates while I was browsing in Borders. I was surprised to find these in a bookshop.  These are reminiscent of those traditional elevated plates Chinese Buddhists use to contain their fruit offerings at the altar. Not sure what is the purpose of these plates here?  If they are really for offerings, why are they selling them in a book shop among other stationery and decorative stuff? Maybe I shouldn't be that surprised, as sometimes shops like Cards N Such also carry decorative Buddha statues made of different types of materials.

First cooked-from-scratch chicken rice

I was still inspired to cook Hainanese Chicken Rice. I have sort of made it before, but it was all ready-pack mix for the rice, and fried chicken or takeaway chicken from outside. So this time, I followed Michelle's easy-to-follow recipe.

Although Michelle mentioned chicken with skin, I chose a pack from the supermarket with the chicken skin already extracted (since my father and sis are so afraid of OIL). I also made my niece helped me pound the ginger and garlic into paste, using our traditional mortar (which I think is even older than me). Niece was more than happy pounding away while I washed the rice and pandan leaves, as well as prepared the ingredients. I boiled the big chunks of chicken in a boiling pot of water for 20 minutes, adding a little salt and some pandan leaves, till they were cooked and dipped them into cold water for a minute, and then left to cool. I added a cube of chicken stock into the pot (for fuller taste) to be used for the soup later. I sieved out some chicken oil that was floating on top. 

  

Here was the crushed garlic cum ginger paste, plus one cinnamon stick, and one star aniseed. I think I was supposed to add cloves too but I did not have this ingredient. Next I added sesame oil into the pan and started to fry the above ingredients, as well as the uncooked rice. Afterwards, I pour everything into the rice cooker, added the chicken stock from the earlier pot of water and threw in fresh pandan leaves into the cooker. I actually added a few more slices of ginger and a little light soya sauce as well, and left the rice to cook. For the proportion of ingredients, you can check Michelle's recipe in her blog. I was cooking enough for 6 servings.

Tadah!!!  The final touch was chopping the chicken into smaller pieces, and sprinkling sesame oil and light soya sauce onto the chicken and garnishing the dish with chopped spring onions and chinese parsley. The soup was from the chicken stock earlier, I just garnished the soup with chopped spring onions and a little wolfberries for colour. I didn't know I could actually cook the soup that tasted like "outside chicken rice soup", if not better, haha!

This plate of chicken rice, garnished with cucumber slices, went to my niece, she knew how to choose the drumstick over breast meat. I forgot to snap a picture of the lemon chilli with a dash of dark soya sauce (to dip the chicken in).

Mom and niece said the chicken was succulent, and quite nice with the fragrant taste of sesame oil and light soya sauce. I added lots of chinese parsley because my sis likes this veg.  I would have garnish fried shallots too if I had not ran out of them.  Guess what, I did not managed to try this dish, my first time making chicken rice cooked from scratch (because I am still on vegetarian diet!). But it is ok, I can cook it again the next time, which I am sure will taste even better.  ;)

What have I inherited?

Sometimes, I wonder if I have a child next time, will he / she inherit my characteristics? Will my child be bochap and laidback? Will my child be successful or unsuccessful in life? Will my child be an overall nice grounded person? Or will he / she be unreasonable, petty and temperamental at his / her worst? The question is, if given a choice, would I want my child to possess all my characteristics?

What got me thinking was, I observed how my parents behave towards others, their method of parenting, and their strengths and weaknesses, and I asked myself if I am like them or will I behave like them when I am older at their age.

Take for example, my father is a very cautious and mostly negative person, who does not know how to give praises, and worst, tactless most of the time. When I made some new dishes for the very first time to let my family try, mostly he did not have good comments. For the Ayam Ponteh I cooked recently, he commented "wah so oily". For the Durian Grean Bean Soup, he commented "wah too sweet can cause diabetes". Or "the vegetables are too salty" and "cannot eat fried stuff too often".  To me, he just does not sound the least appreciative for everything. No wonder my mom's cooking has become so bland by normal standards, all because of his "complaints".  Yes we should advocate healthy living, but that does not mean we should eat bland stuff all the time. To me, what's the joy of living then? We only live once in  this lifetime.

When my father had a little tiff with his sister, he would gossip /complain to his brother about her almost daily, that it became a pain to my ears. He becomes relentless and unforgiving with his hurtful remarks. He does not seem to forgive and forget easily. But to the outsiders, he is smiling and looks friendly. I realised, to my horror, my father and his sister have actually inherited their "gift of the gab" (for scolding people) from their mother! My late grandmother used to be very fierce and always scolding her young maids. My grandmother only mellowed down in her twilight years before she passed on.

I think some of my father's traits have rubbed off on my mom as well. When I bought pan salt, she asked why I "use it up so fast?" as pan salt is more costly. It is only $3.50, mom, and it is more healthy. When I used the "wrong" kind of pork ribs in the fridge for cooking soup (I have unknowingly taken the most expensive ones), my mom would make a big fuss "they cost me $10 you know!". With my feathers ruffled, I would retort "I pay you back lah! You didn't even say which ribs can use or cannot use what!" Yes, maybe circumstances have made my mom thrifty, and I appreciate that. But by then, both of us were already not in a good mood.

To fengshui advocates, they may deem this as a "clash" between person to person, whether "direct clash" or "indirect clash". I chose to keep quiet when there are clashes. Sometimes, when we meet a stranger, we feel the animosity towards that person, or worse, have conflicts with. So, there is a clash somewhere. Sometimes you get scolding for nothing by someone, whose harsh words hurt you deeply. I remember a few instances when I received scolding from someone who accused me of doing this and that and harshly said "you still haven't learn your lesson huh?". I thought that was uncalled for when I did not do anything to harm the person and not even close to that person in the first place. Again I kept quiet and avoid that person henceforth.  

On the other hand, some friends and loved ones may think that I am "superstitious" in terms of believing wholeheartedly in fengshui or bazi. Yes, I believe clashes do exist from the viewpoint of our birthdates and I believe the fengshui of the house or office does affect our general well-being. HOWEVER, I do NOT and will NOT blame any disagreements or quarrels or disasters purely on these "clashes". Taking the example of my parents and their hurtful comments, these may be "clashes" to me, but I do not hate them because of the clashes. Why? Because they are my parents and I love them. I believe understanding and patience towards each other, and the willingness to accept each other's weaknesses is the key to a more harmonious environment. If there are fengshui/bazi clashes, we look for cures, and not annihilation of the very objects of clashes. On top of all these metaphysical clashes, there is the higher realm of religion. Our good deeds and merits can overcome obstacles and clashes, if we try hard enough. You have a problem with me, talk to my Buddha, as I am busy creating more good deeds and merits to eradicate the negative karma.

Ok sorry, I deviated. So the bottom line is, have I unconsciously inherited some of my parents' traits, especially the bad ones? And do I want my future child to inherit these similar bad traits too? At this point of time, I do not wish my child to inherit my bad traits, whether inherited or otherwise. So I need to change and improve myself now, in order to ensure the negative points are not "passed down" to the next generation.

Just saw an appropriate quote on the right column of this blog, Quote of the Day.

"When you blame others, you give up your power to change". - Roberts Anthony

Intention is everything!

In the earlier posting yesterday, I was upset with mom for cooking pork balls without telling me (I thought she had used mushroom balls), thus making me missed my target of being a 100-day vegetarian (it was just 21 days short of completion). Further more, this 100-day thingy was advise from a lama. But I got over being upset pretty fast (after a nap). I know it was not entirely mom's fault. I wish they invent a gadget which can scan any type of food and detects if there is meat content in it. Haha, joking! The only thing was, I was deliberating and could not decide to restart another 100 days or continue till the end, 21 more days.  

My sis told me, "No lah, I believe it's excusable, don't feel sad. 无知者无罪 (the innocent is not guilty)".

An American fellow blogger, TMC, suggested: "I don't think you should give up. Maybe just add 3 days to your current total? It wasn't an intentional error on your part and we know that intention is everything!"

Hail Nonya dishes!

Ok, let's talk about food. Finally more free to try some new dishes I have been waiting to cook.

All these are fast, shortcut, typical home-cooked dishes, hehe.  I cooked Aloo Mutter, a vegetarian Indian dish. I play cheat because I got the ready made sauce. I only added potatoes and green peas. It was real good.  Kailan with Mushroom sauce (instead of oyster sauce). I steamed the veggies with a pinch of salt and sieved them up. Separately I prepared the sauce with garlic, cornflour, sugar, salt, mushroom sauce, and poured the hot sauce over the Kailan and sprinkled some fried shallots on top.  Next is Ham Omelette. With the hot and spicy ham (with real chilli) my cousin brought from Bangkok, I added these and made an omelette with shallots. For Assam Pedas, I play cheat again, as I have the spicy tamarind sauce, just added fish and okra (ladies finger). Lest for the veg dishes, I did not try my "creations" but I think they were ok.

Even easier to prepare and the kids just prefer/love these  anytime. Fried Chicken Nuggets and Lotus Root Soup.  But it is unhealthy to eat fried nuggets everyday and the boiling of soup takes a long time (3-4 hours) for the essence of the soup ingredients to attain its wholesome flavour.

Must show case the next 2 Nonya dishes. I have been wanting to try cooking Ayam Ponteh, ever since watching the Little Nonya on TV cooking Babi Ponteh (Ayam is chicken, Babi is pork). Plus I was motivated and inspired by Saripartygirl  or Michelle, a fellow young blogger who is a fantastic cook. You can check the recipes over at her side. I bought a whole chicken already cut into pieces, potatoes and I added chinese mushrooms. The important ingredient I thought was the sugar or rather, I used gula melaka, so the gravy is a little sweet, along with black soya sauce and soya bean paste (tau cheo). Here they are simmering in the pot.

The end result was a darker version of Ayam Ponteh. I did not manage to try it myself but there were no complaints from the family. I fancy the gravy was a little oily, probably due to the chicken skin (even though I have had 80% extracted). Next time I will probably try Babi Ponteh!

Next is a Nonya dessert, Durian Green Bean Soup, again courtesy of Michelle's recipe.  We have tried Green Bean soup but adding durian was a first time. I bought about 1.5 durians packed into 3 boxes. Boil the green beans together with pandan leaves, and adding again gula melaka, and a pinch of salt. Halfway, I added the durian and let it simmer till the flesh of this king of fruits fell apart and melted into the green bean mix.

This is it - Durian Green Bean Soup. And adding a little coconut milk  made this a very sweet, rich and aromatic dessert. Also a sinful one too.  It was quite nice when it was piping hot. I think I added a little too much durian and lesser green beans, as the soup was very thick and milky, like eating a hot durian! Hahaha.....

I told Michelle I felt as if I am Julie (in Julie & Julia movie) and she Julia, as I wanted to try cooking all her dishes, because she made them sound so easy and simple to prepare. Maybe I should set myself a deadline to cook all her dishes aka Julie's resolution. However, note to self, I will not be making the Nonya Chang (glutonious rice dumplings) because it is simply tooooo leceh (troublesome) to make. Haha, thanks, Michelle!

The bane of my existence

I'm too sad and upset to be angry! My mom used pork balls for my soup without telling me. I had mushroom balls in the fridge all the while and yet she did not use them!!!!  She had to buy pork balls. There goes my planned 100-days vegetarian diet!!!! And I have only 2 more weeks to go to hit target, MOM!!!!!  She likes to add little pork in veggies and tofu, or little minced meat into dishes even though she knows I am on vegetarian, and knowing well I will still have difficulty sieving the pork out. All my wasted efforts.

Now shall I have to restart again? Kaput, reboot, rewind, restart, alllllll....overrrrrr...... again, 100 days.  Aaarrrrgghhhhh.....

Without which we would live in a desert...

More Polaroid adventures.....

A quickie lunch.

Nothing can keep me apart from fruits and noodles!

On the road - a beautiful journey.

A matter of taste - what's your flavour?

All in a day's adventures.

..... without which we would live in a desert.

Instant aunt

When my Thai cousin was here with his family on a visit, I instantly have another niece and nephew, whom I met for the very first time. My Thai cousin is the son of my aunt who married a Thai Chinese.

Jane is 4+, friendly and sociable.

Geno is 1+, we called him Michelin Baby.

The main purpose of their trip was to visit my Grandma. It has been about 2 years since my Grandma last visited Bangkok. Also the entire family got to meet the kids - short family reunion.

Both are same as one

I got to know 2 stranger friends in Facebook many months ago. They both added me around the same time. I was told they are both acquaintances. Both are nice persons. But as time passed, as I got to chat with both of them individually and got to know them better, I began to suspect they are both the same person. I did not set out to find out, but discovered it unwittingly. The tell-tale signs were there, and/or ...... I am clever, haha!

1. Both are from the same religion.

2. Both are on the verge of breaking up with their boyfriends.

3. Both boyfriends are insanely possessive.

4. Both told me they felt "suffocating" with their boyfriends.

5. Both are pretty.

6. Both like to add tons of people in FB.

7. Both named the same hotel when I asked for buffet recommendation.

8. Both have insomnia problem, hardly sleep at night.

9. Both type the first letter in first word in Caps, when chatting.

10. Both have same expression and usage of words.

11. Both have same problem with their MSN.

12. Both have same innocent style when they ask a question.

13. Both like to use pink font.

14. Both are about the same age.

15. Both have about the same temper (I know what to say to rile them).

16. Both stay in the east.

17. Both work for the property industry.
18. Both are using Blackberry.

19. Both said the same thing when I asked one about the other, "I seldom talk to her".
20. Both can suddenly become polite and said "thanks" followed by "cheers!"
21. Both type "yup" spelt as "yap".

22. One seems to know what I was talking about a particular topic, when it was the other I told.

Lastly, only the original person has posted photos of her daily life, while her unreal persona has posted only beautiful studio-like photos of herself (wonder where she gets the photos of another beautiful person). There were many other little bits of information when we chatted that I picked up and thus I safely concluded, they are both actually..... the same as one. There were many more instances I found out through pure coincidences, but I cannot recall them now.

Anyway, I have stopped chatting with the non-existent one and talking to the original instead. I have not come to a point where I want to ask her why she is doing that.  She is a nice person, and I have spoken to her over the phone when she wanted to ask me about something. Don't think I want to let her know that I know, unless maybe if we become closer friends.

So, am I clever or am I clever?  o_O

I'll be there

I am super exhausted now even though I want to blog. Have not blogged for almost a week (the earlier posts were scheduled). Four days of non-stop entertaining made me lose appetite with a parched throat and cracked lips. But it was a fun few days with people I rarely meet and get to know better. I think I would make a terrible tour guide because I don't have enough stamina of rushing here and there, and cracking my head where to go and where to eat.  Ended the weekend having ice cream with the family as well as a Tara puja (because I felt I needed it) and it really drained me out. Hence I am stoned now. I am, however, glad I did 3 weeks of 3 Tara pujas consecutively amidst other pujas.

Also managed to catch the movie, Michael Jackson - This Is It. I really salute the king of pop, who was super talented and super detailed in his quest for the best in his music. I wish his fate was slightly better though. Here is one old song I like immensely - I'll Be There.  Love lives forever, Michael.

You and I must make a pact, we must bring salvation back
Where there is love, I'll be there
I'll reach out my hand to you, I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there
I'll be there to comfort you,
Build my world of dreams around you, I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on
Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well that's all I'm after
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be there to protect you, with an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name and I'll be there
If you should ever find someone new,
I know he'd better be good to you
'Cause if he doesn't, I'll be there
Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there, just call my name,
I'll be there
(Just look over your shoulders, honey - oo)
I'll be there, I'll be there, whenever you need me, I'll be there
Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there, just call my name,
I'll be there......