Yam rice was my grandma’s staple dish on days she didn’t feel like whipping up a table-ful of dishes for lunch. It is up there with chicken rice as her favourite all-in-one-rice cooker meals. Alas it wasn’t as easy to make as I thought it was. What’s so hard about throwing all the raw […]

Christmas is usually a time for turkey, but since we’re not celebrating this year, we didn’t order any. Instead, I decided to roast a small chicken in my oven. My oven is a cheap little contraption, but has so far done a stellar job baking cakes, macaroni and cheese, and garlic bread. A chicken should […]

I know I’m a bit silly sometimes, but I never realize stores sell ingredient packs for making tea eggs at home. So imagine my surprise when the other half brought a pack of tea egg spices and excitedly showed it to me. It happens to be one of his favourite snacks, and never fails to […]

I have a very non-traditional recipe for spaghetti bolognese. My recipe uses minced pork instead of beef. This recipe feeds 4 to 5. Ingredients for sauce 1 can of sun-dried tomatoes, alternative is 3 large tomatoes 1 yellow onion 1 carrot 3-4 cloves garlic tomato ketchup Lea & Perrins worchestershire sauce herbs – oregano, basil, […]

My very unscientific recipe for pork ribs in taucu (fermented soy beans in salt) and plum sauce. I made this without taste testing, as I am still recovering from chicken pox, and cannot eat any soy-based products. Ingredients: 2-3 strips of pork ribs, cut in pieces 2 tbsp taucu 1 tbsp sugar garlic, 5-6 cloves […]

I have a big rice cooker (hand-me-down from my grandma) and I always find it a hassle to cook rice for two people  in it. Half a bowl of rice sticks to the bottom of it, or the rice dries out too quickly. Then one day I found out that I can cook rice in […]

Some time ago, I attempted to make Ondeh ondeh, a snack made from glutinous rice flour and gula melaka. Ingredients:  250 g glutinous rice flour 200 ml pandan Juice 150 g gula Melaka, chopped 100 g grated coconut A pinch of salt To make pandan juice: First, cut pandan leaves, about 10 strips into small […]

I usually prepare lean pork by slicing them to thin strips, season with a bit of salt (my MIL says it helps tenderize the meat), then sauteed with dark soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Today I cooked it differently. Marinate the pork strips with some salt and curry powder for 15 mins. Slice one yellow […]

Something monumental happened in my career as a weekend housewife yesterday: I cooked 3 meals ! Yeah, yeah, most of you will thank “Big fat deal, I do that every day, including Sundays and Public Holidays”, but for me it’s different. Until a year ago, I’ve not really cooked a meal for anyone, but recent […]

Mee Hoon Kueh is a Hokkien term for a dish of flour dough pieces cooked in soup. The most important ingredient is the ikan bilis (anchovies) – based soup, which is refreshing and tasty to boot! Cooked this one for the first time in my home, with the help of a very good friend. Ingredients […]