Home cook dinner

Ok, some of my friends are commenting that I eat too little for lunch...so here's the dinner portion. And you'll know I'm not the only one eating little ;p

Corn and tomatoes - my staple food here. And carrots too :)

Finally managed to clear freezer space to put my frozen prawns I bought on 'Aktion' (reduced price).

Tip:
To keep the bouncy texture of the prawns (with heads), pack them neatly (in stacks) in a box or in newspapers before storing them in the freezer. Those without the heads can just be stored in a packet.

Apparently, the prawns' heads will cause the texture of the meat to go bad if not stored properly. No wonder in the past my prawns are 'lum-beh' (soft) even though I've placed them in the freezer for only a day.

For prawns to be crunchy like those you eat from the restaurants, I was told that they soak them in alkaline solution, which isn't very good for the body thou. Not sure if this is really the case. And also, they will deep fry them in oil for a while before cooking it. Sad to say, yummy food are usually sinful food...


Fried salmon with Ah Kin's own concoction of sauce and mint leaves fresh from Ah Kin's mint garden ;p

Actually it was my first time frying fish as I'm afraid of the oil splatters. The thought of my grandma getting the oil spurts on her arms and sometimes even her legs made me decide to opt for bake and steam fish instead. For my grandma, she still fries despite me telling to steam it since it's healthier.

"Your grandpa prefers fried fish" is what she'd tell me. That's how the older generation show their love ;p

But I sort of learnt the techniques of frying fish from the uncle selling work @ Tangs basement - drain the fish before frying to reduce the splattering and lower heat when you put in the fish so it will not get burnt. It works! Alternatively, you can add corn flour on the fish before frying as it will prevent direct contact of the water from the fish with the oil.



Ferra's recipe - bacon with sausage rice mixed with XO sauce when the rice is cooked.

Hey I didn't know sausages and bacons can float ;p













Hehe, this one looks rather pathetic cos we took the picture halfway through the meal.

Managed to find these chinese type of veg in the Asian supermart.










Baked chicken cutlet and potatoes. There's cheese in this one.

They have lots of potato varieties here and each meant for different types of cooking. Some are for rosti (the national dish here), some for baking, some for fries etc.

Baby potatoes are the most versatile and offer the nicest textures I feel. Not overly starchy and don't require long cooking time.




Uncle Tan enjoying the Ah Kin's style rice noodle soup ;p












Dinner is usually 2 dishes, sometimes 3 depending on the portion since both of us aren't big eaters.

Lucky for me, otherwise I'll have to spend more time in the kitchen ;>

Looks decent lah hor hehe ;p








Ah Kin @ work. Trying out the Korean soup base with Udon. Turns out well :)

My ex-neighbour knew of a korean shop in Bahnhofstrasse through her German class' friends, so she brought me to take a look. They sell Korean food too.






I supposed my stay here has improved my culinary skills and I'm proud of myself that I can cook better decent meals now haha :) Not to mention the level of satisfaction seeing Uncle Tan slurping and nodding away and amidst the limited choice I have.

Guess I can now redeem myself from the reputation of making the 'yet to settle' agar agar hehe ;p

I can now truly understand the term 'Home Economics' cos even as a tai tai, she needs to do budgeting especially on grocery shopping. She'd have to think what to cook everyday, how to mix and maximise each ingredients (cos can't possibly finish one whole packet of vegetables at one go, yet can't be eating the same veg over the next 2-3 days). Plan for marketing trips and keep stock of the food's expiry dates and when to stock up when supplies run low...hey not easy leh.

No wonder my grandma used to keep asking me what I wana eat for lunch/dinner cos she has run out of ideas on what to cook. Imagine she cooks everyday for lunch and dinner, and each meal is like 4 dishes and above as she cooks for a big family...really admire her. So I salute to SAHM, homemakers and those who prepare meals for your family. You deserve a pat on your back :)