Thai Curry Fish Cakes

This authentic Thai fish cake is one of my favourite Thai dishes. The taste of the fish cakes were great when they came out straight from my frying pan. I cooked the Spicy Thai Eggplants to go with it. I didn’t realize the eggplants and fish cakes were very good partners until I tried the other day. The Thai sweet and chili sauce was a must to add a kick, of course. How can we make bouncy and springy fish cakes? I used to follow my mother’s secret trick to make all kinds of fish cakes.

Spicy Thai Eggplants

Have you ever tried these little cute Thai eggplants? I’m really attracted by their lovely purple colour and the round shape. They’re placed in a plastic bag and were still pale white in colour when I saw them in an Asian store. Although the price is a bit more expensive than those I get normally from supermarkets, giant in size and deep purple in colour, the little cute ones always win my heart. The Thai eggplants are commonly used in curry. But this time, I used them to cook a side dish to go with an authentic Thai dish that would follow this post later on. Thus the amount of the recipe might seem to be too small, you might like to double or even triple it as you like, and turn it as a vegan dish for a meal.

Highlights of Eating-out in Melbourne & Adelaide Trip

It’s been a long time I haven’t visited and tasted the foods in Melbourne. Believe it or not, it’s nearly 18 years until my hubby and I made a trip to Melbourne and drove to Adelaide last two weeks. My hubby's major interest was sight-seeing, mine was eating of course.

Our original plan was to walk around and explore Melbourne’s CBD for two days, then drove farer districts to try the word-of-mouth foods, that were recommended by friends, not featured in any circulated travel magazines in hands.

Here are some highlights of our tasting-around trip. It might not be doing the justice to all the cuisines in Melbourne and Adelaide, but in such a short post, I have only selected some yummy foods that I guess people might overlook.

My guest post on Lifehack – A Quick Way To cook Crème Brulee

Having come back from Melbourne and Adelaide, there are many things that I missed and have to catch up on. The first one is the guest post on Lifehack that I wrote before my trip and sent to Leon, the founder of the website. During my trip, my guest post was posted. It’s a cooking hack on the classic French dessert, Creme Brulee in a non-traditional, quick and easy way without an oven. Coincidently, MasterChef released an episode on how to cook a perfect Creme Brulee during that time. How did I know? With a love of cooking and eager-to-learn spirit, I've watched nearly all of Masterchef in my hotel every night. To me, watching how the judges put down their brutally honest remarks and how they share their precious cooking experiences and skills in a friendly way with all the contestants, was the most enjoyable time.

Why did I write the guest post on Lifehack? Lifehack is a website that share ideas and tips on how to make life easier and more productive. There are great articles contributed by many writers that I enjoy reading and get inspired by. I've subscribed to it for many years, and now feel very honoured to be one of their writers.

Hop over for the entire recipe of my first cooking hack on Lifehack. Then you’ll also know why I wrote guest post there.

Fried Wontons - International Dumpling Incident

Another International Incident comes again. In May, we’re throwing a dumplings party. I think this is my last post before I go to Melbourne and Adelaide for holidays. It’s been a long time I haven’t traveled to Melbourne and enjoyed yummy foods there. I’d catch up with all of you whenever I get access on internet.

(Photo credits to gowalkabouttravel.com)

In this International Dumplings Incident, we also celebrate the birthdays of all May babies. Congratulations on Mardi, turning 40 on this special day, Divina Pe, moving to take up a job offer as well Shirley, Pam and Evelyne. All the best wishes to all of them.

My post of this International Dumpling Incident focuses on sharing how to make a popular, famous Chinese snack, deep-fried wontons (jinlu yuntun 錦鹵雲吞), a kind of Cantonese dumplings. Originally, this snack was supposed to use any leftovers you got to cook the sweet and sour sauce. Traditionally, people would add squid/calamari and pork liver, yet I omitted them this time. This traditional snack can hardly be found in Chinese restaurants nowadays. Some old-styled Chinese restaurants might have 錦鹵雲吞 on their menu anyway.

When it comes to cooking 錦鹵雲吞, don’t twist the wonton wrappers to seal the fillings as a parcel, but keep the wonton wrappers as flat as you can. The highlight is the deep-fried, crispy wonton wrapper dipped in the well-balanced sweet and sour sauce, not the filling. So, the fillings are kept to the minimum.

This post seems to be a bit long. But don’t be threatened by its length. The wontons are easy to make and often turned to be kids’ favourite.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Button Mushrooms [Mother's Day Dinner]

I love cooking for the family, sometimes enjoy someone cooks for me in special occasions. On mother’s day, I tasted my daughter’s dish again. I was thrilled when she announced at our dinner table the day before mother’s day, that she would cook me a dinner. What a treat that I treasure the most. We, as a family, could stay comfortably at home, watching MasterChef and chatting over meals. Often times, I feel a simple dish is the best taste, and a simple lifestyle is the most enjoyable.

Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion

When it comes to cooking pork chops, I found them are the best after baking. No other cooking ways can beat it, I believe. No matter what kind of pork chops you have, the heat in the oven can do the best job for you. The heat and long cooking time in the oven will make the pork chops turn to be super tender. Let alone if you use pork loins. The tender pork meat will definitely be a winner in the family. The succulent pork chops sitting on the thick bed of caramelized onions, really attracted the eyes of my family. The taste of the dish was sophisticated as the pork absorbed all the flavours of stock and caramelized onions.

Mushroom Risotto

At my first encounter with risotto in an Italian restaurant, I just felt that the rice was more or less like the seasoned rice cooked in Chinese way. The way of cooking risotto and the Chinese seasoned rice we used to eat are totally different of course. The common ingredient of both kinds of rice is stock. What makes risotto so different is the unique, chewy texture of the rice, seasoned with cream and cheese, together with herbs.

To cook risotto is simple and easy, yet you need patience to stir and watch over while it’s cooking. When I enjoyed the chewy, creamy risotto, I felt all the efforts I put in was so worth. It’s a wonderful, comfort dish that can be eaten alone, not just a side.