MCO 4.0 - Day 24

 24 June 2021     Day 24 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        When I spotted some medium-sized prawns at the seafood shop yesterday, I immediately knew what to cook with them...something easy-peasy yet tasty, and very much enjoyed by hubby. It's from Marion's Kitchen, but to be precise, it's cooked by Mama Noi, her irrepressible mum. 

        I love to watch both Marion and Mama Noi in action; Mama Noi really makes me laugh. Before cooking tonight's dish, I re-watched the video of Mama Noi cooking it, and of course one video led to another, and more. There was one that I really burst out laughing, all stress momentarily dissipated.

        So what's tonight's dish? It's Mama Noi's Thai Sweet and Sour Prawns! And it was paired with Stir-fried Lady's Fingers with XO Sauce.

MCO 4.0 - Day 23

 23 June 2021     Day 23 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Before my birthday vouchers expire, I had to use them. Moreover, there were items that my mum required. So we went shopping! To be precise, we popped into Eu Yan Sang, grabbed the needed items and utilised my birthday vouchers. When I was using my credit card for the purchase, it struck me that it has been ages since my credit card was used in a store. Simply put, apart from procuring food, groceries, meat and vegetables from the market, certain shops and eateries, I have not gone shopping in a store for a long time! Oh, I have been shopping...but it was all through the Internet, and payment was done through ShopeePay, e-wallet and online banking. I can foresee a day in the near future when even the plastic cards are of little use!

        Tonight's dinner was another simple and homey affair. It's also something I cook quite often for a weeknight. Sesame Oil Chicken with lots of ginger, crispy fried ginger and of course, sesame oil, is a comforting and easy-to-prepare dish. With the rumbling thunder and ominous sky, I thought to myself that this Sesame Oil Chicken would be just the perfect dish to complement a thunderstorm. However, the thunderstorm did not materialise, and the ferocious rumble gradually turned into a feeble mewl. Nevertheless, the Sesame Oil Chicken was still much-enjoyed.

Sesame Oil Chicken...nothing fancy and yet, so tasty.

French Beans Omelette

Lotus Root Pork Ribs Soup (forgot to add peanuts, but fortunately, hubby didn't complain)

MCO 4.0 - Day 22

 22 June 2021     Day 22 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Oh my! I cannot stop raving about tonight's meat dish. To be fair, hubby enjoyed it too as he was jostling with me to slurp up the remaining juices. But I was the one who kept going into raptures over it. And the best part is it's another fuss-free dish that's perfect for an evening when you are already worn out.

        We find Marion's Honey Soy Garlic Marinade a tad too sweet for our liking so I've always needed to balance the flavours by making it slightly spicy. Today I marinated my chicken thighs with her Honey Soy Garlic Marinade, added finely chopped garlic and ginger, put in a dash of black pepper and a swirl of olive oil, sprinkled some potent chilli flakes made by a colleague's father...and poured in some lemon juice plus lemon zest. These were later baked for 40 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius. The last two ingredients, I believe, made all the difference! Those who know me well can testify that I have a weakness for sour food.

     Ooo..la..lla! May I present my Honey Soy Garlic Roast Chicken?

Honey Soy Garlic Roast Chicken

Steamed Brinjals with Fried Shallots

MCO 4.0 - Day 21

 21 June 2021     Day 21 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Today, the Northern Hemisphere formally welcomes Summer with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. London will be enjoying 16.5 hours of sunlight today, with sunrise at 4.43 a.m. and sunset at 9.21 p.m. And in North Cape, Norway, there will be 24 hours of daylight! This evokes memories of our June 2011 visit to North Cape, Norway, where we witnessed the spectacular Midnight Sun. We were there in early June, so it didn't coincide with the Summer Solstice. But we saw how bright it was throughout the night and day. Around midnight, the sun just dipped into the sea for a brief rest and promptly rose again. I could still remember going for an incredibly early morning stroll in the woods behind our hotel at 2 o'clock in the morning!

Cold and windy at the North Cape at around 11.00 p.m.!

Breathtaking Midnight Sun at the North Cape

        Our Summer Solstice dinner was not difficult to prepare, but required quite some time to be ready. The Pork Rib Stew with Chu How Sauce had to be braised for around an hour to produce the melt-in-the-mouth-fall-off-the-bone effect. Chu How sauce can be obtained ready-made in bottles, but I've always made my own concoction (2 parts of Hoisin sauce and 1 part of taucu plus some ginger powder). 

        To make the dish, I sauteed garlic and ginger before adding the pork ribs. As I was making a fairly huge portion today, I wished I had a bigger French oven. Without that, I had to use my stainless steel wok. After the meat had browned, I poured in the Chu How sauce, a dash of oyster sauce and some sugar. I gave everything a good mix before adding water, turning down the fire and allowing the pork ribs to stew in the lovely juices. Fifteen minutes later, I added Shaoxing wine and the white ends of spring onions. After another fifteen minutes (half way through the braising), soaked and softened beancurd sheets joined the pork ribs. When the dish was almost done, I did some tasting, decided to add a little soya sauce, swirled in some sesame oil and turned off the fire. That's the Pork Rib Stew with Chu How sauce for dinner and the next two days' brunches.

Our Summer Solstice dinner : Pork Ribs with Chu How Sauce, Stir-fried Angled Luffa with Prawns

MCO 4.0 - Day 20

20 June 2021     Day 20 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        While I was at the market, working through my selection of vegetables for the week, hubby asked, "Shall I fry beehoon for you tonight?" Who, in the right mind, would say no to that? Not only is fried beehoon my favourite, it also means that I am freed from kitchen labour. In addition, hubby always makes extra portions so that's tomorrow's brunch headache solved.

        

Chef Derrick's Fried Beehoon

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there!

        

Happy Father's Day to the first hero in my life 💕

Happy Father's Day to our two Dads! 💖💝

MCO 4.0 - Day 19

 19 June 2021     Day 19 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        When tonight's meat dish was revealed to hubby upon removal of the food mesh, his comment was, "You surprised me again!" The surprise was not intentional, I'm afraid. Apparently, he was quite disappointed when he couldn't get siew bak (roast pork) to add on to this morning's brunch. So he was mighty pleased to see a porky spread for dinner. Hahahah...I suppose tonight's Nam Yue Pork Belly did bear some remote resemblance to siew bak.

Nam Yue Pork Belly and Marion's Tomato Egg Drop Soup for dinner

MCO 4.0 - Day 18

 18 June 2021     Day 18 of Movement Control Order 4.0

        Yayyy! Made it through the week and the weekend's here for us to slow down a little, as well as make preparations for the following week's lessons.

        Had it not been for this dark, dangerous period of Covid-19, we probably would have had a dinner outside tonight. But tonight, we enjoyed a simple dinner at home.

        Despite its simplicity, dinner was, as always, prepared with much love. And hubby was very appreciative of tonight's dinner. We do not need a lavish candlelight dinner to celebrate our love. All that you are is all that I'll ever need. - Ed Sheeran

BBQ Sauce Pork Chop

Stir-fried French Beans