take 3 - sweet corn fish maw soup by pressure cooker

aug 29, 2023 (tue).............made a 3rd attempt

benchmark video (you tuber singsingkitchen) : 

i) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZdDmLF3zuc&t=25s

ii) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2f0VK8ZtkM&t=780s

introduction

- one of popular soup in hong kong's chinese restaurant..........kids mostly love it coz of sweet note

- style of soup is adding corn starch to thicken texture (western use cream to achieve the same)

- easy to cook but only mentally time consuming to prep the dried fish maw (soften, removal fishy taste and brine it with stock)

main ingredients

- dried fish maw

- dried scallop

- sweet corn (personal prefer fresh sweet corn............majority use canned sweet corn cream)

- egg

- ginger

- spring onion

- white vinegar

- shaohsing chinese cooking rice wine (made in taiwan)

- chicken broth/ kombu kelp stock powder/ whatever stock

- bonito dashi stock powder (optional)

- salt

- white pepper powder

- corn starch

gray's farm

aug 28, 2023 (mon)...............friend found me gray's farm to do pick your own (free entry).............should be my 1st picking fruits and veggie experience............very big and well house kept farm..............love it

yayoi kusama草間彌生@aviva studios

aug 22, 2023 (tue)..............visited an inflatable exhibition by yayoi kusama..............i always wanted to see her masterpieces in japan but no time and no chance.............now going to asia is a bit far for me 😔

uk whitby (aug 19, 2023)

aug 19, 2023 (sat)................same day travel to whitby..............it was a fab sunny day and no wonder everyone loves whitby

uk newcastle (aug 16 - 20, 2023)/ events + catering

spent few days in newcastle

uk newcastle (aug 16 - 20, 2023)/ places of attraction

spent few days in newcastle

Seeing the World with a Childlike Heart Series

coordinated group purchase in order to leverage on expensive shipping cost

1) seeing the world with a childlike heart series (net ntd 1,118)

-original price : ntd 1,720 (ie ~35% discounted)

-pack : 5 volumes (what is justice, what is a country, what is freedom, what is election, who am i)

-country of origin : taiwan

-bought from : booksunion (online)

-purchase date : jul 25, 2023 (tue)

-goods received date : aug 15, 2023 (tue) 

-apportioned shipping cost : + ntd 740.34

non stick deep pan (28 cm) with lid

current non stick pan (bought in oct 2022) already has quite a number of small scratches................therefore decided to buy a better quality one so as to last longer

1) diamond lite cast high rim pan (£79.69)

-brand : woll

-color : black

-size : 28cm

-height : 7cm

-volume : 3.5l

-weight : 1.95kg

-model : 1728dpi

-fit stove/ hobs : all types including induction

-country of manufacturing : germany

-bought from : amazon uk

-selling merchant : amazon eu

-purchase date : aug 10, 2023 (thu)

-rescheduled delivery date : aug 14, 2023 (mon) <-- original planned delivery on aug 13, 2023

take 2 - stir fried beef & bitter melon with black bean sauce

aug 7, 2023 (mon).............made a 2nd attempt

benchmark video 

i) you tuber just one cookbook : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIeK9riF6xk

ii) you tuber happy wok : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPhuRexF67w

introduction

- a very popular and controversial dish in hong kong

- bitter melon is largely hated by kid or young age coz of its bitterness

- usually old people appreciates the special bitter flavor of bitter melon

- it is a dish you either love it or hate it..............lol

main ingredients (1 serving)

- 1 pc x bitter melon/ bitter gourd

- beef (beef skirt cut, felt much better than ox cheek cut)

- black fermented bean sauce

- garlic

- soy sauce

- salt

- white pepper powder

- sugar

- sesame oil

- wine

take 2 - authentic vietnamese rice paper spring rolls (goi cuon)

aug 4, 2023 (fri).............make 2nd attempt

benchmark video

i) you tuber chubby whale : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0jfpXUU4s

ii) you tuber c.hercreations : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie-dMT2FZb8&t=357s

introduction

- rice paper spring/ summer roll is a signature appetizer in vietnam cuisine

- in order to get a much authentic way of cooking..............watched quite a number of video taken by vietnamese or vietnam heritage

- there are 2 very commonly paired dipping sauce to go with rice paper spring rolls

- ingredients used are very flexible and twist it to vegan/ vegetarian choice............what i used in this attempt reflects the most typical ingredients in a spring roll

main ingredients

- rice vermicelli

- butter/ round lettuce

- rice paper

- pork (optional, personal not my cup of tea coz flavor not so harmonize with rest of ingredient)

- shrimp (better with shell)

- cucumber

- carrot

- thai basil/ mint/ cilantro/ culantro/ other preferred fresh herbs

- chives

- garlic

- lemongrass

- salt

stir fried bitter melon (goya champuru)/ no pork version

aug 3, 2023 (thu).............made a lighter attempt without pork

benchmark video (you tuber just one cookbook) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLULg4M8iqI

introduction

- a very typical dish in okinawa prefecture 

- location of okinawa is far south from main japan continent that makes them a unique down to earth culinary culture.............though not as fancy/ delicious than cities in japan

- i kinda miss previous travels in okinawa prefecture so wanna replicate the dish

main ingredients (1 serving)

- 1 pc x bitter melon/ bitter gourd

- 1/2 pack x firm tofu

- bonito flakes

- 1 x egg

- 1/2 teaspoon bonito dashi stock powder (optional)

- soy sauce

- salt

- black pepper