Merry Christmas ~~ A special one

Christmas was spent at our house this year.. First time in our new house... After some discussion with my brother, we decided to cook chicken rice.. ^o^

Hubby, mum in law and I went to the market in the morning and we bought all the ingredients. After breakfast, we headed home and prepare.

In the afternoon, it was mahjong time. Hubby and I were lucky... We won our mothers! Keke!!

We started to cook at around 6 pm. Hubby, Bro and I were the chefs for the day... :)

Bro bought a flour mix from Boon Tong Kee and hubby helped to fry the tofu and prawns. The batter was really good... We have cooked chicken rice for many occasions over the years. But this time is the perfect one. Taste and texture was right! Yippee!! 

Menu of the day:
- 鸡饭 
- 鸡汤与生菜鱼圆
- 油菜
- 毛瓜粉丝
- 炸豆腐与虾
- 蒸雪鱼
- 蒸金目卢

Dessert: Bubur Hitam with gula melaka

After dinner, we played a game - Taboo. We were divided into 3 groups - hubby and me; sis and bf and bro and gf. One is supposed to describe and the other one to guess the correct word. There are some taboo words stated in the card and are not allowed in the description. We had lots of fun and laughter! We played till 11 plus and I could not sleep till 2 am. My mind was too active! Hahaha... 

For Christmas, we didn't have turkey.. We had the chinese style - steamed chicken.... :))

Merry merry Christmas and a blessed and happy new year ahead!!

Peranakan Dinner ~ Yummy!!

Last week, Hubby had an idea that we cook Peranakan dinner on Saturday. We bought a Nyonya food receipe book recently and could try to cook the dishes......

I discussed with mum in-law and we decided on Babi Ponteh (braised pork belly), Nyonya Chap Chye, Nyonya Ngoh Hiang, Nyonya prawns with pedai and fish maw soup. All dishes would be first try for us except for the Chap Chye. Keke! On Friday evening, we discussed and I wrote down all the ingredients and spices that are needed and mum in-law and I went to the market on Saturday morning.. It was a very hot morning. It was great that we bought an umbrella along.

Initially, Hubby wanted to fetch Ah Mah to our house for dinner. But found out that she was sick. So after we were back from the market, Hubby brought the fish, pork and vegetables we had bought for Ah Mah and went over to her house. Meanwhile, mum in-law and I prepared all the necessaries..... I peeled and 'chopped' the water chestnuts. Wow! This is really hard work..... But I enjoyed it too.... Hee! There was a lot of preparation work for the Ngoh Hiang (or 'Hei Chok' - in Hokkien). I pounded the prawns till they become paste form and was very fine. Next, I had to pound the plain crackers/biscuits till they are fine too. The water chestnuts had to be very fine as well... Next, 2 eggs, salt, soya sauce, pepper, five-spice powder, sugar, flour were needed..... After that, everything had to be mixed together.....

Mum in-law realised that she has forgotten to buy dried shrimps for the chap chye. There were not enough prawns too for the pedai dish. So I went down to the market again.....

Babi ponteh was easier to cook... process was faster too. As for the prawns with pedai, mum in-law had to blend the spices to make the sauce (rempah).... Chap Chye was fast too.

After Hubby brought Ah Mah to the doctor and prepared lunch for her, he went to fetch my mum over. All was ready at about 1.30 pm.... Hubby came back with dark chocolate for me.... Yeah! :p Then he helped to wrap the Ngoh Hiang, steamed and fried them. He did a good job.....

We wanted to try the food.... I was hungry too.... One of the PMS symptons... Always hungry.... Keke! Yunmmy Yummy!! It was our late lunch.....

Ngoh Hiang ('Hei Chok') - Before they were

fried...


After they were fried..... cut into bite sizes....

~ Babi Ponteh ~

~ Prawns with Pedai ~

~ Chap Chye ~

~ Fish Maw Soup ~

~ Oishii dinner ~

Mahjong session started at about 4 pm ..... Mum, Mum-in-law, Hubby and I were the players.... I was lucky.... Won two times of three "dai" (sets) and I took the last winning tile myself..... After two rounds, I lost only $7..... But as usual, every tile I 'threw' out, the player sitting next to me always need it. So I "feed" my mum and mum-in-law in both rounds..... Most of the time, they won because of me..... Hubby lost in the end.....Caused by me too..... As a newbie, I still don't know how not to throw out the tile that the player sitting on by right do not need it. Hmph! Everytime, we chose the "North, South, East, West" to decide on the sitting arrangements. Hubby and I always chose the opposite seats. Haha..... My mum always chose the "North" seat.... I always chose the "East" seat.... Mahjong is really weird........

My sister and brother came for dinner too..... After dinner, Hubby and brother played PS2.... football.....as usual.... The 4 ladies - Mum, Mum in-law, sister and I played another round..... This time, I lost $22..... Not much luck..... Hee! But all for the fun..... In the end, no monies involved. Just for leisure....... Keke!

Hubby suggested that we could start a "Mahjong League".... The winner of the month should have a present from everyone. I commented that I will definitely not get the present..... Hee! Mum in-law said it should be the winner of the month to give a treat to the rest....Sounds better right?! ;p

We had a good weekend...... Good food and fun!! Cheers.......

First try ~ Terriyaki chicken

Wanted to cook last Saturday.... Hmm...thought of trying to cook terriyaki chicken... I found the receipe and it was actually quite simple... I discovered that terriyaki sauce is actually made from mirin, sakae, soya sauce and sugar! So I can make it myself! Yeah!!

Last Friday, after work, I went to Cold Storage to buy the ingredients - chicken thigh, mirin (sweet japanese wine) and sakae. Decided to cook stir-fried udon with lean pork and mushrooms too. So I bought udon, golden mushrooms, seaweed and chilli powder too. There was lean pork at home. Was very happy that I managed to find small bottles of mirin and sakae.... Also glad that I can read the Japanese Hiragana...Cos the words on the bottles are all in Hiragana... Keke! The udon is made in Japan and it is the first time I bought udon from cold storage. Usually I will buy from NTUC fairprice.... I also bought sharkfin melon to make soup.....

After I bought the ingredients, met up with mum in law at her work place at Centrepoint. Hubby came shortly and we had dinner at the "Yi Kou Wei" restaurant. While eating, we discussed about the dinner menu on Saturday....Haha! Hubby wanted to cook tofu...Decided on century egg and salted egg steamed tofu.... Sounds yummy!!!

I used all the ingredients to marinate the chicken.....put in the fridge overnight...really smells good....

Happy that the terriyaki chicken turns out good.... Hubby and family said nice..... The tofu was good too. He also made steamed prawns with garlic and topshells with chilli....

My mum, grandma, sister and brother came over for dinner too. We had a good one...... and mahjong session too. Hubby and brother also had a fun gaming session..... Wahahaha......