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This probably sound really annoying...considering there are places which are not literally freakin' cold...like -40C cold.
But I really can't stand both summer heat and winter cold. I am the kind of creature which survives in super pleasant temperature of 17-23C. In summer, my home is where my AC is...and in winter...my home is where my heater is. I generally start using heater when the temperature hits below 10C (boy, I am NOT good for the environment).
In teeny tiny Hong Kong flats, we don't generally have oil radiators, they are too gigantic. If I were to place one in my living room...I'll have to jump over it/the sofa to get to the other rooms. So, we normally get one of those tiny fan heaters (about 20 x 20 x 10 cm), which are not the safest of all, but at least it leaves me a bit of space to trip over its cable. Since it is tiny, it is not really strong enough. Good thing I can lug it around the flat, so it follows me wherever I move.
Recently, I learn a couple of new ways to keep me warm....
1. Eat more
2. Eat more
3. Eat more
Seriously. I get hungry every few seconds, it is getting ridiculous!
I hope this spicy and filling dish could lower the frequency of my hunger...
Spicy, Sweet and Tangy Beef Brisket Stew
Recipe
- 1 lb beef brisket, defrosted, washed, excess fat trimmed, cut into bit sized chunks
- 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, cut into chunks
- 3 cm ginger, crushed
- 4 tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 bunch of fresh corriander, chopped
- 3 red chilli, chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 piece of palm sugar
- light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, sugar, rice vinegar
- olive oil, hot water
Heat a pot, saute garlic, ginger, and onion with a bit of olive oil, add brisket, add tomatoes, add hot water just to cover the content, add soy sauce, palm sugar, pepper, sugar, rice vinegar. I used a pressure cooker, so I just put the cover on and cook for about 20 minutes. If you aren't using pressure cooker, cook for about 2-3 hours until the brisket pieces are tender, add water when necessary. At the end, add chilli, lemon juice and chopped corriander. Perfect with steamed rice...go the extra mile by adding kerupuk udang (Indonesian prawn crackers) and fried shallot ^_^
Holiday snaps of the day...
Faking it: A fake Christmas feast...at Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.
Cheers to good food, good food, and more good food!
I've never baked any Christmas cookie in my life.
Normally, my friends and I celebrate Christmas the Hong Kong style, which could be:
- Trying to get a reservation to Xmas-special-way-overpriced 5 star hotel buffet (with this economy? this option is out the door)
- Visiting your nearest hotpot joint/country side BBQ, for an all you can eat Christmas hotpot/BBQ
- Cheating your way through office Xmas party gift exchange (buy HK$5 slippers when you're supposed to buy something worth HK$100)
- Attending parties after parties fearing to get the title of "The Worst Gift of the Year"
So, these are my first Christmas cookies ever, and they gotta be low iodine, so that Sous "The Radiation" Chef will also be able to enjoy. Thus, no yolk, no milk, no butter. But they still gotta be made fantastic, no? Cos suffering from eating bad cookies isn't so Christmasy. It's just like turning up as the devil in Xmas parties...it's just wrong!
Choco Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe
- 1 cup rolled oats (raw)
- 1/3 cups sugar
- a pinch of plain salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp pure cocoa powder
- nutmeg, cinnamon
- 1 egg white
- a bit of dark chocolate chunks (or you can omit this)
Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all dry ingredients, mix all wet ingredients separately, combine them, mix well, chill mixture for a couple of hours. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with non stick paper, leaving space. Bake for about 8-10 minutes.
I'm sharing these cookies to Susan of Food Blogga's Eat Christmas Cookies event (hope it's not too late)...and to those who needs to go through radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid cancer, hope you'll enjoy these cookies. Happy holidays!
...and here's what happens in the office, when the bosses are away on Christmas holidays?
Wacky photo taking! Dear HRD, we assure you, this activity happened after 18:00 ^_^
Fool me once - shame on you, fool me twice - shame on me.
I've failed these cookies once and I told you, I'll fail again. Actually no one fooled me, I was simply foolish.
This time, I was determined not to repeat the same mistake. I should've learnt from it, and do it right this time. I was pretty confident. How hard can it be? Ohhhhh...boy...I was too cocky, and much too soon!
What could possibly happen this time? (Again?!!)
This time I was really careful, and kept reminding myself not to line the baking sheet with paper. As instructed in the recipe, I lightly greased the baking sheet. However...I walked away while the cookies were baking in the oven, I failed to supervise it (I walked away to "glance" at a TV program and my azz "accidentally" got planted on the sofa for far too long)....and when I checked the cookies...man, oh, man!....
They were burnt!!!
I, the smart azz, also added raisins and smell-good spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg...which were all supposedly good...if only they weren't burnt!...unfortunately, they ended up charcoal-esque and bitter. Opppps!!!
But I never gave up, I tried another batch, and I really stood in front of my oven watching them baking every single second possible....I believed I got a pair of bulging red eyes due to the minimised blinking.
Finally I got them right. They were chewy, sweet, they smell fantastic...and they look absolutely beautiful!
This kitty would've made a great witness (if it could see, smell and taste)
Holiday snap of the day...
I wonder if anyone's as lazy as me...these are cute lil' Christmas ornaments...FROM LAST YEAR, which have been hanging on my workstation all through the year ^_*
I think I didn't do enough gushing about my love for supermarkets. Here we go again (not againnn!!!)...
I love hanging out at huge supermarkets, especially on weekends...as normally, there are counters after counters of food sampling stations...attended by nice, friendly lookin' Hong Kong aunties, all NOT begging me to sample their goodies. In fact, they ignore me most of the time!!!
What is it about me that's so appalling to them? They would smile and hand over some cute little cups of pasta, Chinese soup, juice, or tiny sticks of sausages to some ladies....and even forced them to take a sample, even if they didn't want to...but I was treated as if I was transparent, despite the fact that I stood by their station and waited patiently for them to finish cooking the pieces of foie gras (oh yeah!) with an eager look plastered all over my face (practically panting like a dog by the dinner table). *Sigh* If I had a penny for every time I needed to ask for a sample....I would be able to afford that piece of foie gras by now. Ha!
Why? Why? Why? Don't I look domestic enough? Don't I look greedy enough? Don't I look like someone who can afford to buy whatever goodies they are selling? Can't they recognise a food lover when they see one? WHYYY???!!!! I think I know why. They are pros. They can sniff a shameless food sampler from miles away. They knew I would never buy that piece of foie gras, their eyes didn't even have to leave the frying pan!
Hmfh! They should think again. I did buy something sometimes after sampling some free food...such as...a bottle of dried Italian herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano mix) HK$11.90 (I can afford this one), and had a great time enjoying the goodies I produced using it...and I will keep buying it for the rest of my life (I am suchhh loyal customer). So, foie gras, wagyu beef, and shark fin sales ladies, take that!
Herbalicious Grilled Chicken Wings
Recipe
- 10 chicken wings (mid joint)
- dried Italian herb mix (sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary)
- salt, black pepper, sugar, olive oil
I defrosted the wings by cooking them in boiling water for a few minutes (this way the meat will be cooked all the way through). Drain and let cool. Poke the wings with fork all over, sprinkle the dried herbs generously, sprinkle salt, black pepper, sugar, and olive oil. Let them marinate for minimum 1 hour (if possible, overnight in the fridge). Preheat oven to 250C, grill until golden brown. Tasty tasty tasty. Don't forget to pour the oil and juices onto your rice....so herbalicious!
Holiday snap for the day...
I went out with some friends for lunch yesterday, and on our way back, we passed a starbucks. There's a girl offering samples of gingerbread latte in adorable, cute lil' cups, plus tiny pieces of carrot cake.
All my friends passed on the offer...but guess who made a detour just to get the samples? *grin*
*The picture was taken at work, in front of borrowed Christmas ornaments hehe, somewhere in Central, Hong Kong*
What's the first thing I go for when I get tired of cooking? (apart from the obvious choice of confusing myself with an avalanche of choices from Hong Kong's gastronomic smorgasboard).
I always go for....
Indomie Goreng!
Yeah, baby. Yeah! (ala Austin Powers - can you picture me doin' it?)
It's fattening. It doesn't really do good things for my body by providing vitamin A-Z (is there a vitamin Z?). So, naturally, it taste abso-freaking-lutely delicious!!! It's the best dry instant noodles ever, and it earned a top #1 spot at Rita's list of Indonesian products to be proud of, and brag about.
It is well received by the international community (and by "the international community", I meant my foreign schoolmates, friends and coworkers from different countries)....pretty much nobody I know does not LOVE Indomie Goreng.
In Hong Kong, it's called "yan nei min" (Indonesian noodles. It's as if my whole country does not produce any other noodles but Indomie Goreng). There was a restaurant which solely serve Indomie goreng, alongside....nothing less than the highly priced Chinese delicacy, the bird nest desserts. Wow! Ain't that the highest honor? It's like pairing me with Brad Pitt...or whoever it is you consider as super highly coveted and wayyy out of your league.
It didn't stop there. Someone started a message thread in a local online forum, about how many packs of Indomie goreng is the perfect amount for consumption to reach the ultimate satisfaction (as one pack is so obviously never enough). Some said three, another said four. Personally, I think 1.5 is the perfect portion for me.
As I previously mentioned Nigella's "too much of a good thing can be wonderful" principle applies to Indomie Goreng too.
I love my Indomie Goreng...
- still gloriously curly
- with one egg, the white part crisp, the yolk runny, drizzled with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- mini cheese dogs
- cheap fish meat siu mai
- etcetera, the more the merrier
Holiday snap of the day...
Lil' frosty said hi....from Jusco $10 shop, Mongkok (one of my favorite shops)
If you're curious (or nosy?) like me, you probably wanna see how I live my life in Hong Kong, what outfit I wear every day, my beauty routine, where do I go on weekends, etc. I must warn you though...it ain't pretty, check it out at your own risk.
Now, tell me how do you like your Indomie Goreng or your other guilty pleasures (nono, not THAT one)
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