This dish of stingray stir-fry is a Teochew dish that I love eating – a dish which I’ve seen my mum cook umpteen times in her kitchen. Last weekend, I got her to show me once again how it should be cooked, just so I could be sure that I will not miss out any vital steps in this straightforward yet tasteful fare of salty and spicy stingray stir-fry.
Pair this with a bowl of Teochew porridge for the most awesome combination. Yummy…!
I acquired the habit of munching on Scottish shortbread fingers when I was studying in Durham more than two years ago. Back then, I could buy up to two packs a week – a behaviour that is not unlike that of a smoker and his pack of cigarettes. It did not help that shortbread cookies were sold at such affordable prices in the UK – at least two to three times cheaper than those found in Singapore.
The original flavour of shortbread is still my favourite, though I hate to admit the flavoured ones – lemon, cheese, almond etc – are just as scrumptious. Since I have some chopped almonds left in my fridge, I thought I might as well add these into the shortbread. And… well, since I’m already at it, why not infuse a tad of lemon flavour too?
So, there you have it – my lemony almond shortbread.
Hainanese chicken rice is one of the favourite dishes of local Singaporeans as well as tourists, some of whom visit the little red dot with a purposeful intent to try out this dish. What makes this dish special is the simplicity in its taste – soft, tender chicken skin and meat decked out on a plate of fragrant, oily rice cooked in chicken stock. This simplicity parallels the minimal amount of effort that goes into preparing the dish. In fact, what matters most is not the amount of time spent cooking the chicken and rice, but the skills required to cook them – knowing how long to cook them (especially the chicken) and how. Once you get the chicken and its stock right, the other steps would fall into place quite naturally – the rice would smell aromatic; the garlic chilli would be tart; the soup would be savoury too.
I hope you’ll find pleasure in making (and eating) this dish, just like I did.
Pad Gao-Prao Muu, or Thai minced pork with holy basil, is a uniquely Thai roadside dish commonly served with plain white rice and a sunny-side-up. What makes this dish unique is the holy basil – a variant of basil that cannot be found in any other supermarkets than Thai specialty stores. This renders the cooking of the dish a challenge; otherwise, it makes for a really lovely dish to prepare after a busy day at work.
Two years ago, I told myself (and the rest of the world in a previous blog post) that I was going to try to make girdle bread soon. Today, I finally got down to doing it.
The tradition of making girdle bread goes all the way back to the medieval times (between the 5th to 15th century). Back then, it served as a staple food for many who lived in the old kingdoms of the British empire – Ireland, Scotland and England. ‘Girdle’, or ‘griddle‘ – as the English called it, was a rounded piece of sandstone that served as a cooking platform for the bread, hence the name ‘girdle’ or ‘griddle’ bread. This stone was placed right above a fire to cook the bread till it was crispy and airy. Today, girdle breads are not commonly served anymore, due to the existence of modern baking technologies. Making girdle bread the traditional way is therefore one pleasant peasantry way of reminiscing the past while savouring the utmost basic taste of food long gone.
