MCO 2.0 - Day 10

 Day 10 of Movement Control Order 2.0

18 November 2020

        Emerging from self quarantine, it was time for a small celebration. Hubby took me out for a simple meal at one of our haunts. The food at Jun Chillax is tasty and prices are reasonable, but somehow it's a quiet little cafe. That, of course, is a plus point for us in times when physical distancing is of paramount importance.

Black pepper chicken chop rice for hubby

Mushroom sauce chicken chop rice for me

        Despite being fortunate enough to be spared from the discomfort of the Covid-19 swab test, I heeded the advice to go into self isolation as soon as it was confirmed that one of my colleagues was positive. As I had not been in close contact with her, I was deemed to have a rather low risk of infection. However, the risk was still there, and in the earlier days, we had no idea of how far the infection had spread. Had other colleagues and students been infected, my risk level would have been considerably higher. Therefore, it was only prudent and responsible to have minimal, if not zero, contact with anyone else outside my house.

        Fortunately, the quarantine period has officially ended today. However, during this period, we had all been yo-yoing between anixety and calm. There were two occasions when a message and a phonecall from an unknown number threw me into near-hysteria. The fear that had gripped me literally made my blood run cold. I could only calm myself down by praying the Rosary and by turning to God. "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! – Isaiah 26:3"

        Amidst this period of gloom, I had this circle of friends and loved ones who rallied to soothe and comfort me. Even when he was busy at work, hubby regularly checked on me to make sure I was doing fine. My mother also called to check on me ever so often, and prayed hard. Friends and cousins kept me in their prayers. One of them even got her entire family to pray the Rosary for me. A dear friend sent me doggy pictures every morning to cheer me up. Others sent me words of encouragement. Another offered to help me with grocery-buying. And yet another wanted my home address so that she could buy me some seeds online and have them couriered to me to keep me tied up. I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life. Merci beaucoup! 😘😘

        The fight is far from over for us and everyone else in the world. But if we all do things right, we can win this war. My recent near-brush with Covid-19 has reinforced the realisation of how important it is to avoid crowded and confined spaces, practise social distancing, don a mask in public places and wash our hands often. There is no other way around it.

        It is also crucial to lend support and encouragement to all around us. These are trying times and we may not realise how a simple word of encouragement or gesture can bridge the gap between hope and despair. We should stay connected through the phone or social media. Keeping ourselves busy is also an excellent way to take our minds off matters.

        I'm thankful I had my online classes and preparation to contend with, this past week. And of course, cooking has been therapeutic. Speaking of that, here's what I dished up for today's lunch. I was starving after my virtual class and I wanted something quick. The answer : Braised Dried Vermicelli with Seafood.

Braised Dried Vermicelli (Tang Hoon) with Seafood (prawns and crabmeat)

MCO 2.0 - Day 9

 Day 9 of Movement Control Order 2.0

17 November 2020

        Whenever we return to Sitiawan, my father-in-law would take us to Bei King Restaurant for a meal. Besides the oyster omelette, I love their sweet and sour pork ribs or sweet and sour fish slices. I feel Bei King elevates the humble sweet and sour sauce a few notches by adding fried potato wedges in their dish. Aha! An idea formed in my mind when taking the minced pork out from its cool confines of the freezer.

        Following Bee Yinn Low's (of the blog, Rasa Malaysia) recipe for the meatballs, I marinated the minced pork with Bentong ginger powder, finely minced garlic, salt, pepper, sesame oil and a pinch of five spice powder. After the meat was well-slapped into little balls and deep fried, it was time to lightly coat the potato wedges with cornflour before lowering them into the hot oil. The meatballs and potato wedges were, of course, left to bask on paper towel to soak up the oil and to  assuage my nagging guilt of eating deep fried food, while I made the concoction of the sauce using tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, soya sauce, sugar and a dash of vinegar. In went the sauce into the awaiting wok of shallots and cherry tomatoes. As the sauce started to thicken, the meatballs and potato wedges were tossed back into the wok for some merrymaking. Voila! My Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Potato Wedges were ready. Both hubby and I loved it!

        Our other dish tonight was Stir-fried Hong Kong Baby Nai Pak with Egg Gravy...yummy!

MCO 2.0 - Day 8

 Day 8 of Movement Control Order 2.0

16 November 2020

        

Szechuan Beans

Braised Turmeric Chicken

Prawn Otak-otak

        The Internet can be truly a boon and a bane. For the former, it really is a treasure trove for recipes and ideas of what to cook. It is from the Internet (from a friend's Facebook post, to be exact) that I learned to cook this Braised Turmeric Chicken. Thank you once again, Alexandra Wong, for sharing this delightful recipe.

        Browsing through several cooking blogs, I stumbled upon the idea for my second dish. The blogger behind the blog, Roti and Rice, is a Malaysian who has made the United States her home. Her Szechuan Beans looked really delicious, and I decided to attempt that but I tweaked the recipe a little.

        Tonight's third dish was dug out from the freezer and steamed. It was a portion of prawn otak-otak bought from the market. 

MCO 2.0 - Day 7

 Day 7 of Movement Control Order 2.0

15 November 2020

        Thanks to Ah Khay, the vegetable seller, hubby came home from the market yesterday with a packet of flat and broad wan ton noodles. This variant was new to hubby as we usually order the thin variant at the coffee shops. So I set to work to dish out a plate of tasty wan ton noodles for hubby to enjoy. I got ready to marinate the pork belly to make the char siew. For maximum flavours, the meat should be left to luxuriate in its marinade overnight.

        I've made an angmoh version of char siew using red wine and marmalade. I've also made char siew over the stove top. Today, I decided to use Marion Grasby's recipe and it was a winner! Hubby loved it, especially because it's neither too sweet nor salty.

          And oh, the dumplings were bought from Ah Khay too! I only had to prepare the simple soup.

MCO 2.0 - Day 6

 Day 6 of Movement Control Order 2.0

14 November 2020

        To take my mind off some worries clouding my days, I forced myself to try a new recipe for dinner. One of Marion Grasby's recipes had caught my eye recently so I decided to give it a try. That's how her Twice-cooked Soy Sauce Chicken ended up on our dinner table tonight, together with Stir-fried Beansprouts and Fish Balls Soup.

      Don't be put off by the name "Twice-cooked". Any recipe from Marion is assured to be simple, fuss-free and scrumptious. The chicken pieces are first marinated with grated ginger, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, honey and Shaoxing cooking wine. They are then roasted in the oven for 1 hour. When they are done, they are then transferred into a pan of bubbling sauce concocted from garlic, chilli, spring onion, soya sauce, sugar and black vinegar. The aromatic roasted chicken pieces are tossed well and allowed to simmer in the sauce until the chicken pieces are sticky and glossy. Done! It was my first experience cooking with black vinegar so I did not dare to put too much. But it could still be tasted...yummylicious!

MCO 2.0 - Day 5

 Day 5 of Movement Control Order 2.0

13 November 2020

        "Ooh! This looks like restaurant-styled food. You are copying Jun Chillax?" hubby enquired as he eyed the dinner on the table. He was referring to a cafe that we frequent. But hubby was wrong; tonight's Garlic Fried Rice with Ebi Tatsutaage was inspired and adapted from two blogs, Messy Witchen and Just Bento.

   

    Ebi Tatsutaage is Japanese cripsy fried prawns. Instead of being enveloped in a batter or dusted with breadcrumbs, the method of tatsutaage frying involves lightly coating the marinated prawns with potato flour. In the two blogs that I consulted, the prawns were marinated with soya sauce, sake and grated ginger. Instead of soya sauce, I used salt and pepper. As there's no sake in the house, I substituted it with vodka. It occurred to me to add more, but I stopped myself in time. A combination of alcohol and prawns always makes me break out in rashes. I'd never tried marinating prawns with alcohol so I was not sure if this would have the same result. But I thought I'd better play it safe.

        As for the garlic fried rice, I opted to add some French beans for colour and crunch. I was a tad too liberal with the salt and soya sauce when frying the rice but when eaten together with the prawns and fried egg, it was fine. And the prawns? Oo-la-lla! They were so delicious and the tinge of ginger and vodka could still be tasted! Suffice to say, hubby was one happy man tonight!

MCO 2.0 - Day 4

 Day 4 of Movement Control Order 2.0

12 November 2020

        Bogged down by some worries these few days, I needed something to perk me up and bring a smile to my face. Hubby has been doing his best; keeps flooding my WhatsApp with adorable doggy pictures. So for dinner, I wanted something sweet, sour and spicy, which is what I enjoy. The answer was found in Marion's Kitchen : Thai 3-flavoured Chicken. Both hubby and I enjoy this so much that it's a regular feature in my kitchen. Our other dish tonight was Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs and Peanuts.

One of the many doggy pics sent by hubby to make his wifey laugh out loud