An easy way to get moist flavorful pork chops every time.
Steamed fish (or all seafood as a matter of fact) has always been a premium item when you order it outside, and the huge mark-up is something which I never understand because to me, steaming fish is relatively simple compared to many other dishes (such as dishes that involve deep-frying, stir frying, or a combination of different techniques) . If you do it at home, not only is it much cheaper (this particular fish cost me S$4.50 from the market, and the other ingredients only adds up an additional dollar or so), it is really easy and the clean up is minimal.
Ingredients
(Serves 2-4)- 1 medium whole fish (such as white pomfret) – I ask the fishmonger to clean it for me
- 6 slices of ginger
- 1 slice of ginger, cut to thin strips, as thinly as you can
- 1 chilli padi (aka bird’s eye chili), sliced (adjust or omit to your liking)
- 1-2 medium tomato, cut to small wedges
- 2 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced thinly
- 80g salted vegetables, sliced thinly (roughly 1 to 1.5cm lengthwise)
- 2 salted plums (see photo above)
- 1 tbsp rice wine (I use mirin) – optional
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 5 tbsp water (adjust according to your preference. For example, if you don’t want any “broth” then lessen the water. Lessen light soy sauce if you’re adding less water)
- spring onions (scallions), sliced thinly to wispy strips (to garnish, optional)Directions
1. Place 2 slices of ginger inside the fish cavity. Place 4 ginger slices, half of the shiitake mushrooms and half of the salted vegetables to line the bottom of a deep plate.
2. Make two diagonal cuts along the body of the fish (the fleshy part) on both sides. Place fish in the plate, on top of the earlier ingredients you added.
3. Drizzle light soy sauce and mirin over the fish. Keep in fridge (covered) for at least 30 minutes if you can.
4. When you are ready to steam the fish, add water and scatter the rest of the ingredients (ginger strips, salted plums, tomatoes, remaining salted vegetables & mushrooms) over the fish and around the plate.
5. Steam on high heat for roughly 15 minutes – the water in the steamer should be boiling before the fish goes in, and the duration stated for steaming should start only from that moment.* Note: The bigger the fish, the longer it takes . Do not over-steam as the meat will become tough. For the fish shown in the photo, it was cooked nicely with 15 minutes of steaming. Garnish with spring onions strips and serve with porridge or rice.* Thanks to Ju/The Little Teochew for her suggestion to make the instructions clearer :)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a pot large enough to hold the pasta, such as a 12-inch saute pan or a large, shallow pot. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden on the edges-don't overcook it! Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more. Carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic and oil and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.
Add the drained pasta to the garlic sauce and toss. Off the heat, add the parsley and Parmesan and toss well. Allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed. Taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra Parmesan on the side.
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
1 (2-pound) head napa cabbage
1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt (see Recipe Notes)
Water (see Recipe Notes)
1 tablespoon grated garlic (about 5-6 cloves)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoons seafood flavor or water (optional, see Recipe Notes)
1-5 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
8 ounces Korean radish or daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Equipment
Cutting board and knife
Large bowl
Gloves (optional but highly recommended)
Plate and something to weigh the kimchi down, like a jar or can of beans
Colander
Small bowl
Clean 1-quart jar with canning lid or plastic lid
Bowl or plate to place under jar during fermentation
In this recipe, russett potato is used as it is cheap, common, fragrant and fast cooking. If you do not take pork, feel free to substitute with chicken instead.
The potato's natural starch content thickens the sauce as the stew is cooking, but if you prefer, you can also use cornstarch solution at the end to thicken the sauce.
 Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 | |||
Slide projectors are great but outdated. And digital projectors cost a bundle. What’s a photographer to do when they’re looking for a bigger picture?
We’ll show you how to turn your phone into a photo projector for just $1.
Yep, for a buck you can have Instagram on overdrive and Flickr living large.
The project is so easy, you might even have time to sneak in a cat video or two.
Just picture laying in bed browsing your feed or watching a movie on a ginormous screen.
A projector provides a new way of looking at your shots, and for $1, who can afford not to try this project?
Optional:
If the inside walls of your box are a bright color, you may want to spray paint them black or tape up some black paper for best image quality.
Once your box is ready, trace the outer edge of your lens or magnifying glass onto one of the short sides of the box.
You don’t want light leaking around your lens so try not to cut too much.
At the back of your box, cut a small hole for your phone’s power cord.
If your magnifying glass has a handle, you may want to remove it first.
Line up your lens with the hole and apply tape around the entire edge of your lens.
Make sure your lens is held securely and there are no holes between the tape for light to escape.
Other stand ideas include this ultra-portableTiltpod, this hand dandy Gorillapod, or this super creative lego stand from this cool tutorial.
No fear though, we have a fix!
For the iPhone go to Settings > General > Accessibility and turn on AssistiveTouch.
Once activated, a little white orb will pop that you can drag around the screen.
Click on the orb and go to Device > Rotate Screen.
This will allow you to flip applications like the Photos app which would normally rotate itself right side up.
Andriod users can download the appUltimate Rotation Control.
Or if all else fails you can just stand on your head.
For a screen you could use a white bed sheet, turn a poster around, project onto a shower or window curtain, or just use the bare wall.
Without a focus ring on your magnifying glass you’re going to have to foot focus.
Position your phone in its stand near the back of the box and walk forwards or backwards until your image starts to come into focus.
Once you’ve found a good range you can fine tune focus by moving your phone forwards or backwards in the box.
If you used a camera lens for your projector, you get the bonus of a focus ring that gives you some extra flexibility in terms of screen size and focus distance.
For best viewing, turn the screen brightness of your phone all the way up and turn the room lights down.
Set your phone’s photo app to slide show mode for a hands free experience.
Your power cord can go through the hole you cut in the back of the box and a little tape will seal the deal.
Thanks to MattBothell for inspiring our project!
Ingredients:
2 cups of rice, cooked and kept cool
250 grams small shrimps, peeled (fresh or frozen will do)
200 grams chicken breast/ fillet, diced and seasoned with some oyster sauce and white pepper
6 crabsticks, diced (and/ or diced ham, if preferred)
½ portion of pineapple fruit, diced
2 tablespoons of black/ golden raisins, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 – 3 eggs
Sauce/ Condiments:
3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed pineapple juice
2 tablespoons of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
Dash of white pepper
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of butter (Optional)
Garnishing:
2 tablespoons of pork floss
1 tablespoon of cashew nuts, roasted
Some chopped corriander and red chilis
Methods
1) Break and beat 1 egg in a small bowl. Drizzle the beaten egg into cold rice and mix well. May also mix in 1 tablespoon of butter for better aromas. Set aside.
2) Heat wok with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, add the garlic and stir fry till golden brown. Add onion, and then, the diced chicken, crabsticks (or/ and ham) and shrimps.
3) Reduce heat to medium-low fire. Add in rice, raisins and pineapples. Then, add in turmeric power and pineapple juice. Stir fry to combine. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle fish sauce. Stir fry to combine all well.
4) Scrape the fried rice to a side further from you to create some space in the wok. Tilt the wok a little towards you. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, increase heat. Break 1 – 2 eggs in the heated oil and scramble with spatula. Let the eggs cook till almost set before returning the fried rice on the eggs. Reduce heat and quick stir to mix up the rice and eggs. Heat off and dish up. Garnish and serve while warm.
