PRAWN WONTON AND BEEF NOODLE SOUP on Apr 14, 2013 in Seafood vegetables Soup Noodles Asian Chinese Beef Wanting to eat noodles is a basic and natural yearning for Asian people. The first mouthful makes the first and lasting impression. The soup, the noodles and the toppings all have to taste good. It is quite a tall order but is not that difficult to f...
SQUID PUFFS on Apr 10, 2013 in Seafood Entertaining Appetizers Asian The smell of seafood is the aroma of umami. It is a bit off putting for some but an allure for others. Growing up in Asia, the smell is very familiar, interesting and appetizing. It is the smell of home that I miss as I can't cook fried seafood as o...
LUMPIANG SARIWA (FRESH SPRING ROLLS) on Apr 7, 2013Of all the Filipino vegetable dishes, lumpia is probably the most popular one. The word lumpia simply means spring rolls. This particular one is called lumpiang sariwa which literally means fresh spring roll but refers to unfried...
SRIRACHA CHICKEN WITH PINEAPPLE AND CUCUMBER SALSA on Apr 3, 2013 in Spicy Fruit dinner Asian Chicken Sriracha has become a condiment embraced by everyone and sits at the table top aside ketchup and mustard. Do you remember your first encounter with sriracha? Sriracha is known as the Thai chilli sauce that comes in a squeezy bottle with a green...
CLASSIC TIRAMISU on Mar 31, 2013 in Spicy Chocolate Italian Entertaining Quick and easy Dessert Tiramisu is an Italian dessert which simply means "pick me up" or metaphorically "make me happy". This name cannot be more very apt because the creamy trifle is perked up with strong espresso and Marsala wine. I love tiramisu and have plowed through...
ASIAN SCOTCH EGGS on Mar 27, 2013 in Pork Snack Appetizers Asian Eggs Eggs are synonymous to Easter. The mere mention of Easter would bring to mind eggs, chocolate eggs in particular. Easter bunnies and eggs are surely the product of a commercial ploy, much like Christmas and Valentine's Day. I must admit that it won't...
POT ROAST BEEF IN CREAMY MUSHROOM GRAVY on Mar 23, 2013 in vegetables Entertaining dinner Beef I like the tradition of having roasts for Sunday lunch. It gives me a reason to look forward to the weekend. Sometimes though, I prefer having a lie in rather than rushing to get lunch ready. Pot roast gives me the best of both worlds. I can b...
PAN FRIED SEA BASS WITH PUTTANESCA SAUCE on Mar 17, 2013 in Seafood Italian Fish Quick and easy We abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent. Abstinence, like fasting is supposed to be an act of sacrifice. Not meaning to defeat the purpose, I always line up a few meatless dishes to cook in the holy week. Read more »...
HOMEMADE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE on Mar 14, 2013 in sauce Quick and easy Chinese vegetarian The mere mention of sweet and sour sauce would bring to mind Chinese food. Although a combination of sweetness and tang features in Chinese cuisine, it is not as we know it. Traditional dishes uses vinegar as the usual souring agent and brown sugar b...
BAKED SESAME PRAWNS ON TOAST on Mar 14, 2013 in Seafood Entertaining Quick and easy Appetizers Asian Chinese Chinese New Year Do you ever wonder what's in the prawns on toasts in restaurants? It is not a case of 'duh'. There must be something there that made the sesame seeds stick to the bread but I'm not quite sure that it's prawns. One time my son act...
