KEEP CALM AND READ ON

Ever since we moved to the Eastside, going to Seattle is a BIG DEAL… what i mean is.. we rarely go to Seattle because of the traffic, distance, toll or rather.. my driver’s laziness. Anyhow, Mr Brown’s talk is at downtown Seattle, so we have no choice.. haha

We went to Local360 It’s a cool place with nice atmosphere. I love the wooden interior of the restaurant as it gives a vintage feel. There are also paintings which makes the place modern.

I woke up with a very bad headache so i didn’t have much appetite. BH ordered PB & J Bons Bons for starters.. gosh.. it was poisonous!

Erm.. this is really silly but we were asking ourselves ( and looking around) – How to eat the Bons Bons? Do we dunk it in milk? I drizzle milk over my Bons Bons, so I didn’t look silly.. haha

Look at the PB inside the Bons Bons!! I only had 1 and BH ate the rest.

I ordered pancakes.. I just didn’t know what to eat..

BH ordered Pork Belly – which was soft, tender and delicious (according to him)

Overall, the food was alright. Actually, it’s not fair to judge the food as I was not in my best form. I will make a mental note to dine in this place again. Service was alright – it was really bz on a rainy Saturday afternoon! The servers took awhile to take our orders and our food also took a while to come.

Another thing to note: Prime card discount is NOT valid for brunch

Total damage: $35 w 15% tips

I was seriously thrilled when I saw this recipe!

My hubby love love love .. or should I say.. ADORES eggs! I won’t even be surprised that he will choose an egg (Eg: Humpty Dumpty) over me! Hmph! Anyhow, I decided to try this recipe.. and it was worth it!! The result?! Delicious!!! OMG! It would taste even better with Nasi Lemak! It reminds me of the eggs you see at Malay rice store…and it taste like it too! It is super easy to prepare!!!

Golden Egg Curry Recipe
(from Rasamalaysia)

Serve with rice or bread

Ingredients:

4 large eggs or extra-large eggs, preferably free-range
1/3 cup peanut oil or unroasted sesame oil ( I used vegetable oil)
1/8 teaspoon turmeric ( I don’t have this at home so I used curry powder)
2 small shallots, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon Red Chile Powder, or to taste ( I don’t have this at home so I used curry powder)
2 medium tomatoes (about ½ pound), finely chopped
2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 or 3 green cayenne chiles, seeded and sliced lengthwise into 3 or 4 strips each

Method:

Place the eggs in a saucepan, add cold water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook at a medium boil for 8 minutes. Drain the eggs and cool in cold water. When the eggs are cool enough to handle peel them.

Heat the oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tumeric and stir to dissolve it. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle when a drop of water is dropped into it, add the peeled eggs and fry until golden and a little blistered all over: cook on each side in turn, then try to balance the eggs on their ends to cook the tips. Frying the egg is a fun little task, quickly done, and it makes them very attractive. With a slotted spoon, lift the eggs out of the hot oil and onto a plate. Cut them lengthwise in half and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil (the oil can be used again for stir-frying). Heat the oil remaining in the pan over medium heat, add the shallots and garlic, and fry briefly, until translucent. Add the chile powder and tomatoes and, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, cook at a strong simmer until the tomatoes have broken down into a softened mass, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the fish sauce and salt, then taste and adjust the seasoning if you wish. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the chile strips, and stir. Place the eggs cut side down in the sauce and cook until the oil sizzles, about 3 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

haha… it also goes well with my newly painted Golden nails! 🙂

Enjoy!!!

I don’t like Pork BUT I just got to try cooking this dish since I bought some spices back from SG this time round..

This dish reminds me of home 🙂 haha.. my mum cook this often because my dad loves it! Now I am cooking for my hubby.. hopefully he loves it too!

yummy!! taste super good with rice! and the best part is.. it taste even better overnight! I like to cook such dishes because Bh can pack it for lunch the next day… oh.. the meat is tender and it does not have the ‘porky’ smell!

P/S: Put just enough spices (cinnamon/star annise/cloves). when the recipe states ‘1’, just put ‘1’  as too much can be overwhelming!
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Braised Pork Belly in Soy Sauce

(from Noobcook)

Constantly check that the braising sauce is not dried out during the simmering. You will need to add water (a little at a time) when the stew is drying out. Visit Noobcook’s blog for more tips!

Ingredients

8 dried Chinese mushrooms
4 eggs
1-2 tbsp cooking oil
500 grams pork belly
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 litre water
1 cinnamon stick (桂皮)
1 star anise (八角)
4 cloves (丁香)
1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder (五香粉)
1.5 bulbs garlic separated into individual cloves (no need to peel)
dashes of white pepper powder to taste
spring onions or coriander garnishing

Instructions

1.Soak dry mushrooms in small bowl of hot water until puffy, then drain water. Squeeze out the water from mushrooms and trim away stems. Set aside the mushroom caps.
2.Prepare 80% cooked hard boiled eggs. To do that, place eggs in saucepan of cold water (enough water to cover eggs one layer). Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes, turn off the stove and cover with lid for about 7 minutes (for 100% hard boiled eggs, it’s about 10 minutes). Rinse the eggs with cold water until eggs are cooled. Peel when cool enough to handle. Set aside.
3.Heat oil in casserole (wok, claypot or deep pot). Brown pork belly on both sides on medium heat. Add 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce on both sides of browned pork belly.
4.Add the rest of the ingredients except eggs, tau kwa and spring onions/coriander. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer (with lid partially closed) for an hour, or until the meat is tender.
5.During the last 10 minutes of simmering, add eggs and tau kwa. To serve, slice pork belly to smaller, bite-sized pieces. Serve with rice or steamed buns. Garnish with spring onions or coriander.

If I need to choose a vegetable to eat everyday.. it will be Brussel Sprouts! 😀

I love brussel sprouts so much! It resembles little cabbages right? hehe.. well.. don’t be taken aback by the weird appearance of these veges, they are highly nutritious! They can lower cholesterol and is also said to prevent cancer! Brussel sprouts are so expensive in Singapore.. I am really glad that we could get these cheaper in the US. Btw, BH dislike brussel sprouts.. usually, I eat everything myself.. haha

There are many ways to cook brussel sprouts.. but this is my fave way.. it is easy, fast and flavourful 🙂

 

Brussel Sprouts* in Garlic Oil

*This recipe by Noobcook is very versatile, it’s not restricted to Brussel Sprouts, you can use it for other vegs!

(A) Garlic Oil
– 3 tbsp vegetable oil
– 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

(B) Oyster Sauce Mixture
– 1 tbsp oyster sauce
– 1 tbsp hot water
– 1/2 tsp sugar

(C) Vegetables
– 500 grams of Brussel Sprouts

Directions

(A) Garlic Oil
1. Heat up vegetable oil in a wok. When the temperature is hot enough (add a tiny piece of chopped garlic into the oil to test – if it starts to sizzle gently, the oil is ready), add the chopped garlic and using a spatula, distribute the garlic evenly so that they are fully coated in the oil.
2) Let the garlic cook in the oil, and turn off the flame once the garlic starts to turn light* golden brown.
3) Pour the garlic and oil in a small bowl. The garlic will continue to cook for a little longer in the bowl of hot oil until it turns a lovely golden brown.

* Cooking Note: You need to turn off the flame once it turns light golden brown. If you turn off the flame when the garlic turned a “just right” golden brown, they will cook further in the hot oil and become burnt/dark brown.

(B) Oyster Sauce Mixture
1. In a small bowl, stir using a spoon, all the ingredients in (B) till well mixed.

(C) Vegetables
1. Heat a large pot of water with 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil added.
2. When the water is boiling, add vegs and blanch for approximately 30 seconds (Brussel Sprouts will take longer, about 3-5 mins).
3. Drain vegetables. Assemble on a serving plate and drizzle (A) garlic oil and (B) oyster sauce mixture over the vegetables.