Sponsored Post: K-Food & CN Blue Video Plus My Kimchi Ramyun Omelette

Are you a fan of Korean food? Do you remember your first Korean food experience? Mine sent me back years ago when I was studying in Sydney. I lived with Korean flatmates, and one of them is an amazing cook. She introduced me to homemade Korean food. I remember the flat always smelling of kimchi as my flatmates made a huge batch and we always had our fridges full of them. Interestingly, I was not in love with Korean food in the beginning, I was probably not as adventurous an eater as I am now. The thing that really got me hooked was… Shin Ramyun instant noodles (well, of course – isn’t it the official international student food?). We always had boxes of ramyun to survive on a student budget, and I still eat them often - up until now :)

I love Korean food a lot more now – thanks to my obsession with Kpop & Kdramas. Anyone with me on this? Tell me I am not the only mad and obsessed ahjumma here. Whenever I see my idols slurping a bowl of ramyun… (I don’t wanna finish this sentence, can you finish it for me?)

Here’s a video of one of my favorite Kpop groups, CN Blue – promoting Korean food. My bias is Jung YongHwa – liked him since You Are Beautiful (I love rooting for the underdogs), and he looks so charming in this video – especially on 00:47 mark where he’s promoting Citron tea. Cuteee! Are you a CN Blue fan? Who’s your bias?

Apart from enjoying my ramyun as per the cooking instructions with a lot of sinful toppings, I also love turning it into an omelette.

Very easy and tasty. Perfect for breakfasts or cut into smaller portion as a snack. I added kimchi, spam, and cheese too. My favorite combo!

The perfect snack for watching more Kshows and Kdramas 

A cup of citron tea would be lovely too.

Enjoy!

“This post has been sponsored by Korean Department for Agriculture and Trade, but all thoughts are my own"

Guilty pleasure.

Tom yum instant noodles, cheddar sausage, fish dumplings, fried eggs, topped with fried shallot.
Exclusively for weekends ;)

Mie Ayam Jamur with the Best Homemade Egg Noodles 自家制印尼雞麵

I have a constant craving for mie ayam (Indonesian chicken noodle), and so far, I haven't been happy with all the ready made noodles that I've tried. There's one Indonesian restaurant in Hong Kong that serves mie ayam with homemade egg noodles just like what we have in Indonesia, but I prefer a different type of chicken topping, which I can make at home, but they won't sell me their handmade noodles. This is really frustrating! I want the perfect combo! Perfect noodles and perfect topping! Is that too much to ask? (It probably is. Heheheh)
我對印尼雞麵有種情有獨中, 有份情, 食過現成個D好多都唔係咁掂. 係香港有間都係自制既雞麵, 都係用蛋做嘅, 但係我唔係咁鐘意佢個餸. 可惜佢地冇得浄買面..

Luckily, a good friend of mine, Ieie, was willing to share her uncle's homemade egg noodles recipe. He uncle was a mie ayam vendor in Indonesia. Wow! How perfect! So, one fine day, we braved ourselves and tried to make the noodles (actually Ieie made the noodles, we just "helped" i.e. annoyed her). We also prepared some backup store-bought noodles, in case we failed miserably.
好彩有個朋友開鋪, 係印尼轉整哩個麵, 就叫埋我老友去我屋企一齊整啦


That's baby Marcus, wanting to grab a strand of the homemade noodles.
傲B都話相整埋一份..XD

Here's the recipe...neatly written on Ieie's notebook :)
下面就係秘傳嘅食譜, 要問准好多人先放得上黎架, 大家整嘅時候真係要心存感激呀!!

(we made half of the recipe, serves 4)
我地將個食譜除左半, 四人食

- 1 kg of all purpose flour (for best result, we used Indonesian flour, Cakra Kembar)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 egg white, 6 egg yolk, beat together
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp alkaline (air ki)
- water (room temperature)
- corn starch for rolling and to keep noodles from sticking
- a big pot of boiling water with a touch of oil to cook the noodles

- 1kg 麵粉 (最好可以用印尼麵粉)
- 2 湯匙 植物油
- 4 隻蛋白, 6個蛋黃, 一齊攪均
- 1 茶匙 鹽
- 1 湯匙 食用碱水
- 水 (室温)
- 生粉 (用黎整到冇咁癡)
- 一鍋熱水, 用黎"拾"麵
 
Mix eggs, oil, salt, alkaline and a bit of water in a bowl.
將蛋, 油, 鹽, 碱水同少少水係個碗度攪均


Add 1/3 of the flour, mix...
將1/3嘅麵粉加入, 攪拌


...gradually add more flour while keep mixing it into a sticky dough.
再一路攪一路落麵粉



Knead the dough while keep adding more flour, keep kneading until the dough is no longer sticky (it took quite a while, more than 20 minutes for us, beware of sore arms)
係咁打個麵糰同加麵粉, 直到唔"癡"為止, 大概20分鐘



If you have a pasta maker, this is a good time to use it. Since we don't have one, we rolled the noodles manually.
如果有麵條機以下就好用啦..唔係真係好麻煩...好似我地咁..手動..


Baby Marcus refused to sit alone, he wanted to be a part of it.
傲B又黎攪攪震..

SC helped rolling the dough really thin...
SC就幫手整左幾野, 大力真係有用架係哩度..


...it was rolled into my favorite shape...a long and large amoeba. Heheheh. Keep adding a bit of corn flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
繼續加生粉

Fold the dough...
打, 壓, 摺



...and cut into noodles.
最後, 亦都係最難嘅部分, 切麵



Perfect noodles! Add a bit of corn flour from time to time to keep the noodles from sticking.
落D生粉等佢地唔好黏埋



Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a couple tbsp of oil, dump the noodles in.
煲水, 放入去


Once it's come to a boil, drain the noodles immediately. Overcooking them would be disastrous!
一熟就倒晒D水佢

Place in a bowl, add a bit of vegetable oil, get ready to serve.
加D油食得啦


It was a huge success! No alkaline smell, just the right amount of chewiness. It stays springy even when it's cold. I need to make this again soon.
估唔到攪得掂, 有碱水味, 仲好彈口!

I served the noodles with this chicken mushroom topping.
餸就係蘑菇雞

\
- 2 chicken thigh fillet, diced
- 1 cup of straw mushrooms, cut into chunks
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 shallot, thinly sliced
- fish sauce, light soy sauce, pepper, a touch of Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), vegetable oil
- crispy shallot and scallion for garnish
Saute garlic and shallot in hot oil, add mushroom chunks, add chicken chunks, season, and ready to serve. Prepare the topping ahead of the noodles.


To assemble, add 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce into individual bowls, add noodles, mix well, add chicken and mushroom topping, serve with chicken broth on the side (I used store bought chicken stock), garnish with crispy shallot and scallion. Add boiled choy sum, dumplings or meat balls. I served mine with fried chicken and shrimp balls.

It's hard work, but it's totally worth it! I ate two bowls of this perfection! I want it again now.

一個字, 好食, 大家都試吓啦..

Udon Goreng Siram Telor - Fried Udon with Meat & Egg Topping

I miss kwetiaw goreng siram telor (fried hor fun/flat rice noodles with meat & egg topping), and there's no place in Hong Kong that serves this Chinese-Indonesian dish.

As luck would have it, the day I wanted to try making my own version of this dish...I couldn't find rice noodles anywhere near me.
Bah! As if that would stop my craving.
No rice noodles, udon it is :D

It worked well and I love the extra chewiness that udon has.

Recipe
(serves 3)
- 3 packs of udon
- seasoning for udon: dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, a touch of oyster sauce
- 1/2 lbs sliced meat for stir frying (normally, it's beef. I used pork, and you can replace with chicken or seafood)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- fish sauce, salt, a touch of sugar, white pepper, corn flour diluted in water, vegetable oil for stir frying

Marinate meat in fish sauce, white pepper, a bit of sugar, and corn flour, set aside. Prepare about 3 tsp of corn flour dilluted in a small bowl of water and beat the eggs, season with a bit of salt. Saute garlic in hot oil, add meat, stir fry until cooked and season well. Add diluted corn flour, add egg mixture, stir well, set aside.

I "separated" my udon in a big bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes, drain and discard the water. Heat up a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add udon, season with light soy, dark soy and a touch of oyster sauce.

Pour the meat and egg mixture on the fried udon, serve hot.

Ideally, add a bit of vegetables (kai lan or choy sum or others) into the egg and meat mixture, and you'll get yourself a well balance one dish meal.

Enjoy! :)

Pepperoni Instant Noodle Casserole

It was Thursday night...and I fancied a super rich and sinful breakfast to celebrate a happy Friday morning ^_^

I wanted noodles, eggs, cheese, something meaty...and of course, easy peasy. So here it is...

Recipe
- 1 pack of instant ramen noodles (you don't need the seasoning)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup of milk
- about 20 slices of pepperoni
- half cup of cheddar cheese, grated, divided
- 1/4 tsp salt, black pepper, paprika, mixed dry herbs (rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme), a dash of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp sugar, a dash of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Cook the instant ramen only to make it "moldable"/"spreadable" in the baking pan, set aside. In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs, milk, add seasonings and half of the grated cheese. Mix the noodles into the liquid, pour into a lightly greased baking dish/pan, add pepperoni pieces, add cheese on top and bake for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and slightly crispy.

Super sinful savory goodness!

The only bad thing was...SC didn't allow me to eat this sinful breakfast. Sobs.... T_T

Chong Qing Hot & Sour Noodles - In A Cup! 東門町重慶酸辣粉 - Kwai Fong

I've been seeing a lot of this noodles in paper cups lately...most of the times with super long queue. They boasted hot, spicy and sour noodles...up to the level of numbing-hot.
Do we dare to try?
Of cos we do...(but the less spicy one heheheh)


You could select some side dishes to go with your noodles...


See your noodles get made...

...and tada!

Spicy looking broth, preserved veggie, freshly chopped coriander, fried peanuts...looking really good...


We ordered pig intestines to go with the noodles...deeply flavored, absolutely delicious!


...and the rice sweet potato (thanks for pointing this out, Kevin!) noodles? Chewy, sticky, thick, transparent goodness. There's enough noodles in one bowl to fill you up, but I definitely go for more side dishes next time. The "least spicy" broth is only a little spicy (we could order a spicier version next time), and the amount of MSG? Whew! Abundant, as expected. Buy a lot of drinks to compensate :)

How do you eat it?
Standing up!

Noodles to face...


...or face to noodles...
It's up to you.
But whatever happens...


Don't spill.
...like SC ^_^'

(PS. A cup of noodles cost HK$13, side dishes around HK$6)

Chong Qing Hot & Sour Noodles

東門町重慶酸辣粉

Shop 87B, 3/F, Kwai Chung Plaza
(Right by Kwai Fong MTR Station)
Hong Kong
葵芳葵富路7號葵涌廣場3樓87號B舖

Shiok-ing Experience: Turning Char Kway Teow to Nasi Goreng Campur Campur

Still feeling a little silly from my not-too-successful attempts at Singapore Char Kway Teow and Dry Fishball Noodles, I saw something that made me feel even sillier...

There's actually a Singaporean Kitchen and Bar that serves exactly what I failed to recreate at home!
:S

Naturally, I booked a table ASAP to see if they can help me with my Singapore food cravings...

We had the Char Tow Kway (Fried Carrot Cake), the white version. I was really happy with this dish, it's very close to what I had in Singapore, tasty carrot cake chunks fried with eggs, and I especially enjoyed the delicious sambal (chilli paste) it was served with.


Their Bakuteh isn't the brown, Malaysian type I normally make at home (with ready-to-use instant spice pack, of course), it's the peppery clear broth version. The broth was not too bad, and I like the intestines, but the ribs were nowhere near tender enough. I won't order this again.


The Bak Chor Mee (Dry Fishball Noodle) I tried to make at home...after simply mixing the whole bowl, something still wasn't right...something's missing.


Yep! It's the thick black sauce with chilli they served on the side, after mixing everything, bingo! The flavors were exactly the ones I've been missing. In terms of flavor, I'd totally go back for this bowl of noodles, but the noodle itself lacks the chewy quality the Singapore version has. If I managed to find the correct vinegar for this dish, I'll try to recreate this again at home using fresh fettucini.


When I saw Singapore fried rice noodles with see ham (cockles) was the Tuesday Special, I ordered it immediately! When it was served, I had my doubts seeing how pale the color was compared to Singapore char kway teow. Seeing how it is served with sambal and half piece of lime, I was wondering if they made this the way they make mee goreng, instead of char kway teow? Mee goreng or char kway teow, it lacked flavors. I had to ask for another serving of sambal for more flavors, and it still ended up flavorless.

I gave up, but no way I'm gonna waste a good amount of noodles. I had most of the dish packed to be "tweaked" at home.

Since I still have some leftover rice...I turned the kway teow goreng/char kway teow leftover into a version of...
Nasi Goreng Campur Campur (Mixed Fried Rice)

I simply added 1 clove of minced garlic, sauteed in a bit of olive oil, added a bowl of leftover rice, a dash of fish sauce, light soy sauce and sweet soy sauce....and I could pack two servings of lunch.

^_^
Absolutely delicious, nothing's wasted.


The barley drink isn't sweet enough, maybe it's the healthier less-sugar Hong Kong version ^_^ but the kaya smoothie was a delight! The pandan is very fragrant, and it's mixed with sweet and rich coconut milk (it should probably be named pandan smoothie though?). Anyway, absolutely sinful and delicious!

PS. I was extremely disappointed when I was informed that they didn't have grilled stingray that day. Sad, sad, sad.

PS2. Have you ever doggie-bagged less-than-satisfying restaurant dish to tweak at home?

PS3. If you wanna try...
Shiok
G/F, 66 Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong
中環卑利街66號地下
Tel: +852 2899 2001

My Desperate Attempt at Singapore Char Kway Teow

Another dish I sorely miss from Singapore...the char kway teow (fried rice noodles). The Hong Kong version I could find in local coffee shops (char chan teng) are the yellow Char Kway Diew, spiced with curry powder, which I haven't seen in both Singapore or Malaysia ^_^'

I wish I could just book a flight for a sweet and short weekend in Singapore, enjoying all the food I've been missing and gaining instant 10-20 lbs...but due to the bun in the oven, doctor recommended me not to keep my ass in Hong Kong, just in case ^_^

If Rita can't go to Char Kway Teow, then Char Kway Teow needs to go to Rita...or at least a pirated, inauthentic-desperate version of it.

Recipe
- a heaping plate of fresh hor fun, each strand well separated (I had to wake up at 8 on a weekend to score a HK$3.50 bag of fresh hor fun)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 red chilli (or more if you can handle it)
- 1 sprig of spring onion, cut into 3-4 parts length wise
- Chinese sausages (lap cheong), half red, half black (skip the black if you don't like the taste of liver), thinly sliced, replace with meat/seafood if not available
- Fishcake (sliced), or replace with any meat/seafood
- a handful of beansprouts
- olive oil, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) or sugar, oyster sauce, pepper
- 1 egg

Saute garlic, chilli and shallot in hot olive oil until fragrant, add meat/chinese sausages and fish cake, add noodles, season with all sauces, add beansprouts and spring onion, mix well, crack an egg onto pan, let cook for a bit and mix well, adjust seasoning if necessary, serve hot.

It didn't exactly taste like my favorite char kway teow from a neighborhood hawker center in Choa Chu Kang...still yum, but I still want the real deal. A friend of mine is trying out a Singaporean eatery tonight, my fingers and toes are all crossed hoping to find a place that serves a good char kway teow in Hong Kong.

Dry Kimchi Nongshim Ramyun - Korean Dry Instant Noodles

OMG!
Remember my #1 guilty pleasure, Indomie Goreng?
Finally. Nongshim made a dry version of their kimchi instant noodles, which is my #1 favorite instant noodle soup.

PS. In case you're wondering, nobody's holding me at gun point or paying me to write this. I am really just a truly Indomie Goreng and Nongshim noodles fanatic :D

If you love Nongshim noodles and you saw this package...

...grab it.

Actually, I didn't get to try this noodle, due to my current extreme aversion to strong flavors, such as garlic. SC gave it a try, and while he was inhaling the bowl, I could smell all the things I didn't wanna smell (one of them = garlic), from a meter away.

I strongly suggest NOT to eat this before or during dates.
Unless you plan to always stand at least 3m away from your date (restraining order?), or your date has a chronic sinusitis/fully blocked nose.

I added a couple of pork dumplings and freshly chopped corriander because...when it comes to noodles, I don't do plain.

Take a look at this chewy, springy, tasty goodness...

...I can't wait to give it a go.

Meanwhile, you'd have to trust SC on this one.
His verdict?

The empty bowl says it all.

He even said that this could be a strong competition to my favorite Indomie Goreng.
Whatttt???!!! The little nationalist girl inside me screamed "Nooooo...."

Instant Korean Hot Pot & Fried Noodles - for Short Cut Freaks

I know we roll our eyes every time we overheard such a conversation:

A: What do you want for dinner?
B: Anything...(whatever/up to you/etc)
A: How about chicken?
B: No...I don't feel like chicken tonight...
A: How about fried rice?
B: Nah...I just had fried rice last night.
A: OK, steak then?
B: Hmmm...too much protein for today...

...and we're thinking, oh gosh, B is such a bitch (even if B's a he).

But sometimes, we couldn't help but having a B moment.
Happened to me last weekend.

Every suggestion sous chef threw me was answered by the word "EW!" in my brain.
Until we got to "hot pot"...and my brain went "OH YEAH~"

So, hot pot it was.
We've been talking about doing a Korean-ish hot pot for quite a while, but obviously didn't prepare enough to have it done last minute.

I needed instant gratification and got it from...

2 packs of Kimchi Shin Ramyun...(3 packs if you like it SUPER hot)


plus a pack of kimchi, plus Korean chilli paste.
Tongue-on-fire.
Prepare non carbonated sweet drinks just in case you can't handle the heat.

Heat up a pot of chicken/beef/vegetable stock, throw dried kimchi and vegetables in, then the seasoning powder...


Add more kimchi and chilli paste if you don't mind the heat (perfect for cold days)


Throw in your favorite hot pot goodies...ours?

My favorite hot pot veggie of all time, tong ho!
My super fragrant flavor absorbent, and they photograph like heaven!


SC's favorite...various balls, mini cheese dogs and dumplings.
How cute are those in the shape of lil fish?


...and fresh beef.
Not American fat cow (sorry about the name, direct translation from Chinese, courtesy of SC), not marinated beef, just good ol' plain fresh beef from our butcher downstairs. We also had some mushrooms and silky smooth tofu. Yum!

Dump stuff into boiling soup base...

Pick em up when they're cooked, and enjoy.
The above may not seem much, but get us totally stuffed and we had plenty of leftovers, including the noodles.
What to do with them?

Make...
Korean Spicy Fried Noodles

Boil noodles until half done in the hot pot soup base, drain, set aside.


Saute leftovers in a bit of hot olive oil...season with a bit of soy sauce.


Add noodles...


Add chilli paste...
...and this should've been added in the beginning to caramelise a little, but I forgot, so I added them last...

But it's ok, it's not something that concerns national security, so no biggie.

Add a bit of greens if you had some, I added spring onion...add seasoning if necessary...cook them until the noodles are a bit dry. This does need quite a bit of oil. Remember not to overcook the noodles.

...we packed this for next day's lunch.
Nothing's wasted, everybody's happy.

PS. Happy Christmas eve yo~!