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RECIPE: MY COMFORT PASTA

Posted on October 24, 2010 | 16 Comments

ive always been a tomato-based pasta typa gal. i love the clean sweet-sour sharpness of tomatoes as opposed to the “jelak”-inducing cream-based varieties. (rich foods tend to make me feel “jelak” so i stay away from those where possible) ive had a pretty full-on weekend. being up at 630am, to host events, on TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS caused my ageing body to launch itself into protest mode. the only cure was to whip up my no-fail comfort dish: rigatoni (my fav typa pasta) in tomato sauce with chunks of my fav greens aparagus + broccoli, crisp-to-perfection streaky bacon and a generous sprinkling of pine nuts, topped with thick freshly shaved slices of parmigianno. SUNDAY DINNER TREAT ♥

RIGATONI - i got this packet from jones the grocer, these get al dente in 8minutes. for single serving, only 2 fistfuls of rigatoni's needed. resist the urge to add more to what might seem like a pathetic amount in the boiling pot. PASTA EXPANDS so dont go overboard.

BABY ROMA TOMATOES - these are sooo sweet and will give this pasta a nice balance in flavour. i love my tomatoes so ive used 8 of these babies for this dish.

FRESH BASIL - why use dried when you can use fresh? and if you have these growing in a pot in your kitchen, you're daaamn lucky. cuz they're fresh, you can add loads. i used about 8 leaves.

PINENUTS - these are a lil pricey but worth every single cent imho. love the nutty buttery crunch it adds to my salads and pastas.. that is IF i dont go overboard snacking on 'em whilst prepping my dinner. absolute fav fav fav.

ASPARAGUS - i prefer medium spears; has more crunch/bite and they're less stringy. i've used 5 spears for single serving of pasta.

BROCCOLI - 6 tiny florets. i know these may seem alot in addition to the asparagus but i LOVE my greens. cant ever have too much of 'em. TOMATO SAUCE - i like Hunt's cuz its 100% natural. i HATE HATE HATE those bottled pasta sauces, vile tasting. use fresh tomato sauce and you'll taste the difference.

STREAKY BACON - used 5 strips of bacon for this dish. i prefer streaky bacon to back bacon cuz streaky has more fats which will flavour the olive oil its fried in and the overall texture of fried streakies add a comforting crispy fattiness to this pasta which i love.

prep the basil, roll 'em up into an herb joint.

slice thinly, set aside.

add the rigatoni to a boiling pan (observe the seemingly pathetic amount of pasta? well im tellin ya, thats the perfect portion), add loadsa salt - this will be your only chance to add flavour to the pasta. if you like your pasta bland, then obviously dont add any. add boiling water and cook away for 8mins or til al dente. (i pre-boil some water in a kettle and pour over the pasta. its just faster via the kettle than sitting cold tap water on the stove to boil... the latter is akin to watching paint dry. ive got no time for that. life's too short.)

cut the bacon up in coarse chunks and throw them into a pan ON HIGH HEAT, with some extra virgin olive oil. make sure they're spaced out. you want them fried to a crisp, not broiled.

almost there... still a tad too pale for my liking.. be patience, cant rush perfection.

TAH DAAAH! crispy bacon! dish out onto kitchen paper, set aside. (leaving flavoured oil in the pan)

throw in diced fresh garlic, asparagus spears and broccoli florets into the flavoured oil and stir fry for a minute.

throw in the mini roma tomatoes WHOLE. those babies will cook nicely on the inside and give a burst of liquidy sweetness like that of oven baked tomatoes. stir fry the lot quickly for a coupla minutes.

add half a can of tomato sauce..

throw in the shredded basil, stir around, mix well.

the rigatoni should be done by now. drain and add to frying pan. stir and mix well. turn heat to low.

add some fresh ground black pepper.

throw in the crispy bacon at the last minute and mix well. i wont add any salt cuz the pasta's flavoured and the bacon bits are salty. turn off heat. get ready to plate up.

add some pine nuts at the end (i add loads cuz im a nutter)

topped with some freshly shaved parmigianno-reggiano. under the italian law, only cheese produced in the parma, reggio emilia, modena, bologna and mantova provinces can be labelled "parmigianno-reggiano". the same cheese produced outside of these italian provinces are labeled as "parmesan".

MY COMFORT PASTA, enjoyed while watching The Iron Chef on the food network - BLISS.

and there you have it, my comfort pasta recipe. to round off the weekend, i’d like to share this mind-blowingly amazing video with you. a good friend, Kenny, posted this on my FB wall and i thought it to be UBER GENIUS. i think you might enjoy it as much as i did.

(if you cant see the video, click HERE)

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SINGAPORE RADIO AWARDS 2010

Posted on March 3, 2010 | 52 Comments

NOTE: if you’ve read this post already, please check out the update at the end of this post xoxo

its really just around the corner. march 17th.

whoopee.

been nominated for two categories: most popular DJ (987FM)…

honestly, i dont care about rallying for votes for the “most popular DJ” category. rallying for popular votes seems a tad contrived if you ask me… almost akin to “fake” popularity. plus i feel also that being popular SHOULD NOT merit an award. you see, its not like popularity is something that any of us can achieve through hard work. you could be the best looking, most hardworking or talented person around BUT if you people dont like you, what can you do abt it? people who are popular are often people who are likeable. likeability factor is an innate thing. i believe its something you’re either born with or you’re not. and if you belong in the lucky likeable percentage, then i say WELL DONE. you’ve already got a good thing going on: the world loves you. that should be reward enough. anyway voting for this category is over. *phew*

HOWEVER.

i do wanna draw your attention to this OTHER category that ive been nominated in..

BEST RADIO PERSONALITY BLOG.

cut to the chase: if you fancy my blog, gimme your vote.

cuz honestly, out of all the contenders in this category, i do have the highest hits (this is a no-fight stat, thanks to YOU and thanks to xiaxue for linkin me up) PLUS i do put in the most heart and effort into my entries. honestly, i dont care for bragging rights nor do i care for a trophy… cuz see what i did to the last trophy i won?

got the bronze trophy for high jump in sec 3

well i turned into an ashtray. at least its of SOME use now.

aaaaanyhoooos. as i was saying… vote for me cuz you love me LOL!

in exchange, i’ll share a lil recipe with you. YES THIS IS A BRIBE, MUAHAHAHHAHAAAA! i love love love this recipe for…

SHORTBREAD BUTTER COOKIES

its best to use LURPAK. cut up 225g of butter. make sure the butter is kinda soft-ish at room temperature.

cream the butter with an electric whisk until smooth - takes about 1 minute. (kitchenaid this is not.. but it still does the work. i still DREAM of owning a kitchenaid mixer though...)

add 60g of icing sugar into bowl and whisk into butter - about 2 minutes.

then add 1 teaspoon of high grade vanilla essence. whisk into the mixture in bowl.

add 260g of Top Flour (you may use all-purpose flour if you wish) into mixture in bowl.

fold the flour into the butter batter.

keep folding til you get this. if batter is to sticky, add more flour.

wrap the cookie dough in cling wrap and place into fridge for AT LEAST 1 hour.

while waiting for dough to set, i made myself a quick and easy supper. no-fail campbell to the rescue!

look what i found!!! :)

aight. time to shape things up. i bought a HUGE ASS bag of cookie cutters. got alphabet, numbers and all sorts of shapes and forms. 100 pieces. cost only $40 from mustafa.

take the dough out of the fridge, lightly dust the counter top with some flour and roll the dough out to 0.5cm thickness.

pop the babies into an oven that was preheated at 175deg celcius. bake for 10-15mins or until golden.

TAAA DAAAAH!!! :)

hope this recipe works out for you. its uber yums la! soft and buttery. and best part is they keep in the freezer for 2months! but serrriously, why horde it for so long when you KNOW you would finish them all in one go. :P

anyway… this blog’s been more than an online journal to me. its my therapy and my baby. it played a huge part in helping my heart heal from a horrid break (im SUPER FINE now) and thru my entries, i somehow connected with you lovely lot.

to vote, CLICK HERE.

CLOSING DATE FOR VOTES: THIS SUNDAY 7th MARCH @ 2359hrs.

(voting is free of charge so you may vote as many times as you wish to.)

xoxo ROZZIE

UPDATE: thank you all for voting! im terribly terribly sorry that the non-singaporeans and the under 18′s cant cast votes. its touching that you tried anyway xoxo voting ends at midnight tonight.

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RISING ABOVE

Posted on February 13, 2010 | 32 Comments

tragic discoveries over the past few days: barely 4 months since the breakup, the ex is now on the rebound with a plain jane school kid groupie. *rolls eyes* ive got ingrown toenails on BOTH my big toes. my silver streak will take AT LEAST another THREE WASHES before it turns platinum blonde. supermarkets will only reopen on the THIRD DAY OF CNY.

*breathe*

i hate CNY. singapore becomes a ghost town. what about the rest of us who dont give a hoot abt CNY? i used to look forward to the festivities when i was a kid but only cuz of the angpows that i will be receiving. these days, i have absolutely no care for the money nor do i care for the company of my relatives – im only close to a tiny handful but i meet up with them regularly throughout the year anyway so… yeah.

to the ones who dont matter: if i didnt bother to visit you throughout the year, CNY aint gonna make me. its just so hypocritical if i just showed up out of the blue and walk away with an angpow right? heh heh :P

so anyway ive spent an entire day moping, feeling depressed and sorry for myself. but that day is over now. ive decided to rise above. there are over 50 definations to the word “RISE” according to dictionary.com, but im only gonna pick the ones that inspired me:

RISE [rahyz] verb, rose, ris.en [riz-uhn] ris.ing noun

  • to get up after falling or being thrown down.
  • to come into action, as a wind or storm.
  • to advance to a higher level of action, thought, feeling, etc.
  • to move from a lower to a higher position; move upward; ascend: the bird rose in the air.

so as im hitting the keys on my macbook and writing this entry, the pineapple that ive spent half-a-fricken-hour grating before, is now bubbling away in a pot with half a cup of sugar becausssse…..

IVE DECIDED TO MAKE PINEAPPLE TARTS…. FROM SCRATCH!

nothing gives me more satisfaction than using the bestest freshest ingredients and then lovingly (albeit painstaking) orchestrating the marriage of all those, like gastronomical alchemy of sorts, to create a dish that’ll bring smiles to the faces of the one i love. hmm… stroke of brilliance, i like the sound of that… a food alchemist. :)

i might hate CNY but i dont have to hate the fooooood!!! :P

thanks to my lovely uber talented friend and celebrity makeup artist, VENETIA STRAVENS, who shared with me her yummilicious pineapple tart recipe. (at this point, im STILL in the midst of boiling the pineapple to create jam, havnt started on batter…..)

Venetia :)

also this recipe is dedicated to my lovely girlfriends SARA and DINA who braved the unforgiving midday sun and hunted for ingredients at this baking shop at Block 10 Haig Road.

dina + sara

note: its some ching chong name, not phoon huat, but also has ALL THE BAKING THINGS you’d ever need. block 10 is not big at all plus the shop being the ONLY air-conditioned shop in that block, sticks out like a rose amongst the thorns.

OOPS. pineapple jam nearly done. gonna break for a bit and complete the whole process.

INGREDIENTS (PINEAPPLE TOPPING):

  • 1 whole pineapple
  • 1/2 cuppa sugarrr (add more if you’ve got a sweet tooth)

INGREDIENTS (COOKIE):

  • 580g Top Flour (fine baking flour)
  • 2 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 70g Icing Sugar
  • 3 egg YOLKS only
  • 1.5 blocks of SCS unsalted butter (each block is 225g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 1 tablespoon Whole Milk Powder

i hate pineapples. no, scratch that. i FEAR pineapples. got bitten when i was a kiddo. but im okay if its in jam form.

pluck the headgear off. slice off the ends.

skin it. remove those dreaded eyes. ALL OF EM. remove. grrrrr......

cut them into easy-to-hold chunks and then grate the buggerss... (i know i can dump them into the food processor but i love a challenge)

45mins later...

after grating, it will look like this. it is highly recommended that you grate directly into the pot that you're gonna be boiling it in.

add sugar. i used half a cup. add more if you're a sugar junkie.

boil the grated pineapple in its juice and sugar over slow heat.. this whole process will take abt 1.5 hours thereabouts.

45mins later...

an hour later... still abit moist.. but turned a lovely golden brown.

TAAADAAAH! 1hr 15mins later, the jam is formed!!!

now the cookie batter...

sift the flours, sugar, salt and powdered milk into a large mixing bowl. chop up the butter into cubes for easy mixing.

gotta use your hands when it comes to this.. crumble the mix.

crumbling bit done! next step...

add the yolks in... ooh love wobbly glossy yolkies...

then add a tablespoon of vanilla essense.

knead the bugger into a dough. punch pinch hammer. get them all locked together.

then with the special cookie cutter, shape up the tarts.

like soldiers at an assembly... SO SMART LOOKIN! xoxo

pre-bake photo. at this point, the oven should have already been preheated at 180deg celcius.

i love my oven. best buy ever. bye bye babies! see u in 15mins!

15mins after, take em out. let em cool for a 10mins. then pack them into a box :) VOILA!

i felt so much better after dedicating my time to baking. it gave me some breathing space. to recollect my thoughts and regain my self-confidence.

so im still single this Valentine’s Day and im not visiting anyone this CNY. but one thing im proud of, is that im getting through the heartache in a very gracious manner. no more rebounds. no more standins. no more back to back relationships. this year, im on my way to being more fabulous than ever. happy holidays xoxo

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PHOTOLOG: JAN 2010 (WEEK 2)

Posted on January 18, 2010 | 13 Comments

omg. loading up photos onto blog is such a TEDIOUS PROCESS!! took me one whole frickin night! why isnt there an easier way to batch load and batch caption the photos like facebook? aaaaanyway. glad its done. for this batch at least. still have photos from shan’s birthday party at wavehouse to load… i dont wanna think about that for now :( i think im psychologically scarred from all the uploading… arent programmes and computers supposed to work FOR man and make life EASIER? grrrr…

okay. get prepped. onslaught of photos including jamie oliver’s recipe for kickass beef stew and anthony bourdain’s recipe for potato gratin. but first…

catch shan and i soon on a screen near you: TVC for 987FM :) boss kept stressing that she taking a huge leap of faith with us cuz DJs never get used in TVCs. *stress*

and nope, they made him change out of that horrid green pullover... THANK GOODNESS! (to give fash credits to shan, that putrid green pullover DOES NOT belong to him.)

domino's pizza popped by with FREE PIZZA!!! perks of the job. just in time too. i was having midday cravings...

in case you get confused, i actually ENJOYED the pizza :)

bak ku teh dinner on mhd sultan with jonas (left) and darren. not a fan of the dark herbal soup variety (my fav being the clear peppery soupy goodness at Founder's BKT at balestier), but it was AWESOME company at dinner. thats all that matters x

im not a fan of blood and guts but theres a coupla things i cant say no to: foie gras (so evil i know but tastes so frickin goood!) and pig's liver soup (pictured here).... OMG.comfort food.

we played treasure hunt on our facebook, posting clues on our status on where to locate the FREE PAIR of tickets to GREEN DAY. final destination: FLESH IMP @ Wisma and these two lucky imps got to the babies first! hope you girls had fun! x

GREEN DAY most definately raised the bar (too fricken high) for concerts this year. i dont know if i'd see anything that could top that. it was even better than Coldplay in my opinion (and i loved Coldplay). man.. i hope The Killers would be on par. lookin forward to that!

the best thing about going to concerts with a good bunch of friends, is that we all would hang for drinks before the concert and supper AFTER the concert. it completes the whole concert experience. it also helps to have friends who DRIVE cuz getting out of the indoor stadium is a bitch. calling for a cab is near impossible. so we decided on dim sum at geylang. 24-hours… super nonsense dim sum.. not the delicate lei garden stuff but these at geylang tastes SO GOOOOOD! this is 126 Dim Sum on sims avenue (between geylang 15 and 17)

Vanessa and me

Nessie's new ink from the tattoo convention. NIIIIIIICE!

when shan first arrived in singapore, he'd never eat asian food. its heartening to see his progress from crap fast food to dim sum! a true blue PR he is now :)

(L-R): linda, donzy and sooooooooo! :)

soooooooo + yanie :)

obviously im not at the dim sum place no more.

i had to host an event the next day. i wasnt a happy camper. at all. to make things worse, this was my outfit……….. -.-

contrary to the smiley disposition in the photo, i was NOT PLEASED about that i was made to wear that stupid string of (fake) pearls around my neck.

ryan and steph were away in bali for the weekend so thought i invited a bunch of girlfriends out for a homecooked dinner at my place followed by comedy night at orchard towers to watch Kumar :)

beef stew and potato gratin.

its jamie oliver’s recipe and i love it cuz its a pretty straightforward stew that’s gets puts together very quickly and this is partly to do with the fact that no time is wasted browning the meat. you see, ive experimented with two batches of meat – i browned one and put the other straight into the pot. the one that skipped the browning turned out to be sweeter and cleaner tasting (which i love), so ive stopped browning the meat for stews these days. and also cuz jamie oliver says its unecessary :) you have to try this recipe. its love in the stomach.

jamie oliver's recipe for jool's favourite beef stew. jools' his wife.

BEFORE cooking, preheat oven to 160C/300F/gas2.

roughly chop up chunks of onions and carrot; you can put as much of these in. use any other root vegetables if you wish. recipe called for butternut squash and artichokes. but i cant get the first and the latter is just too troublesome.

i use shin beef when im makin stew. cut into large chunks.

1kg of beef to feed 5 people :)

in an appropriately sized (or casserole dish), fry up a huge knob of butter. throw in onions, dash of dried sage and fry for 3-4mins.

toss the beef in seasoned flour (i just threw in salt and pepper into all purpose flour)

add the flour-coated beef chunks straight into the pot.

toss in the carrots at this point. i ADORE carrots in stews... the sweet slightly mushy chunks.. LOVE. i used a full pack of carrots for this one.

recipe calls for 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato puree. but i used four HUGE dollops of tomator puree (its actually to personal taste and i love tomatoes)

i only use premium organic beef stock. this can only be found at Jones The Grocers at dempsey. i buy like a few packs to keep. recipe calls for 285ml of stock. im using 500ml cuz i love more gravy. simple rule: more stock = add more tomato puree. they are good friends.

add half a bottle of red wine. use red wine that you would drink okay. dont use the cheapo type cuz if it doesnt taste good when u drink it, it wouldnt taste good when you cook with it. i love Australia's Brown Brothers wines. its affordable at $37 a bottle. no need to use french vintage wines. that one will be a waste.

season with generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

add just a dash of salt at this point. you can add more salt after if its not to your taste. adding too much salt now will spoil your dish cuz flavours are not fully coaxed out of the ingredients yet so you wont get an accurate gauge of taste at this point.

bring to a boil. once bubbles appear, put lid on.

cook in the preheated oven until meat is tender. i took 3 hours (used shin beef and its very fresh). can sometimes take up to 4 hours depending on what cut of meat u use and how fresh it is. the only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat, if it falls apart easily then its ready. once its cooked, turn oven down to 110C/225F and just hold it there til ready to eat.

take a lil breather. have a glass of that red wine..... *bliss*

okay. next up. Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Potato Gratin (baked creamy potatoes topped with melted cheese). before cooking, preheat oven to 180C/350F. i made these AFTER my beef stew is done cuz my oven’s not big enough to accommodate 2 dishes. the gratin takes 1 hour to prep and cook and its best served hot out of oven so do this JUST BEFORE u expect your dinner guests.

i was a lil apprehensive abt making this dish cuz its my first time cooking it. but i discovered how easy it is. so idiot-proof. plus the fact that when cream, potatoes and cheese come together, nothing bad can happen. i hope u try this recipe out. its a winner :)

cut 6 large potatoes into 1/4 inch slices.

stuff that goes into the gratin (this is for 7 large potatoes): two small tubs of thick cream (one tub pictured here), a dash of dried herbs-thyme and rosemary. (recipe calls for fresh herbs but dried ones are good too, just dont add too much cuz flavours are more intense than fresh ones) recipe also called for parsley but i hate parsley in potatoes so i omitted that. no big deal. also a teeeeeny sprinkling of nutmeg - go easy on nutmeg.

place potatoes in large deep pan, add the dried rosemary and thyme, 4 lightly crushed garlic cloves, salt, pepper, a lil ground nutmeg.

add the cream (2 tubs)

stir and make sure the potatoes are evenly coated with the cream. bring this to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. add more salt at this point if you prefer.

after 10mins of simmering, remove from heat. discard the garlic cloves and herbs (only if you using FRESH ones) and transfer the potatoes into a foil baking dish (i used an 8"x8" one here). top with your fav cheese. i wanted to use Gruyere but the fricken cold storage at novena dont have. so i used a mixed sharp cheddar here. love sharp cheeses.

pop it into oven for 40mins or until its brown and bubbling. afterwhich remove from oven and let it rest for 15mins before serving.

throw in cut up baguette for 5mins to warm them up

gen: "omg smells so goooood! im hungryyyy."

sara tuckin into the gratin.

cream+potatoes+cheese=cant go wrong

dina tuckin into the stew :)

then shereen joined us and lapped up the last bits of the stew :)

dina bought me a bag of adorable old skool biscuits! love.

the girls were insistent that i took a photo of my loaded-with-calories fridge content

then we headed off to Orchard Towers to catch Kumar @ 3 Monkeys Cafe. i dont know about his showtimes on other nights but we went on a saturday and he does two 45min sets. first one at 1115pm. second one at 1215am. cover charge of $18++ includes one drink. strongly recommend you reserve table in advance (i called 4 days before) to get a good spot. cafe is really small so standing around is super uncomfortable, esp with the horde of waiters squeezing past you with their trays full of drinks.

3 Monkeys Cafe was next to this

oops. nip slip :P

we were amused by aixa's how-fast-can-you-roll-out-the-toilet-paper app.

she wasnt very good.

love your eyes la babe :)

kumar tekaning a guy who's celebrating his 21st birthday. (i know, he looks waaay older) the birthday boy also happens to be the son of the guy who owns MUSTAFA!!!! lol!

kumar... you go girlfriend! x

(L-R): aixa, shereen, gen, dina, me

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DINNER FOR ONE S’IL VOUS PLAIT

Posted on January 14, 2010 | 36 Comments

i read somewhere that “depressing things are empty beds and lonely dinners”.

its been 3 months now.

i could have been sleeping like a starfish all that while, limbs stretched out to the max on my queen-sized bed cuz i dont need to share no more. but instead, i chose to pile his side of the bed with books, my laptop, some clothes… cuz i guess in some strange way, that makes me feel like im sorta not alone. y’know what i mean? it feels nice to have my laptop next to me… all i need to do is rollover, flip open the screen and BAM!, im connected to the world. plus i love the warmth it brings… (from being charged), who says computers are cold hard machines? to me, its like the world’s best companion: uber reliable, always entertaining, never judging and uber gorgeous (macbooks are the sexiest).

but that doesnt stop me from wondering if a day would come when i’d wanna clear my inanimate objects to make space for a living, breathing soulmate.

ive got 776 contacts stored in my mobile. but i’d only wanna hang out with a tiny handful. dinner times are especially hard since i get off air at 8pm. if were to make any plans for dinner with anyone, the earliest i could get to dinner venue will be 830pm. thats usually too late for most people. so i gave up calling after a while.

i love cooking at home. but weekdays its usually just me at home. (bro and steph would have already had their meal by the time i get done. its huge hassle and not cost effective to cook for one. so i’d usually “ta-pao” from the kopitiam downstairs. its usually on the way back to my flat from the kopitiam that i’d get all emo…

u see, i live in a HDB estate thats got a strong community vibe going on. whenever i pass by the playground area to get to my lift lobby, id see families hanging out with their dogs, old ah peks sitting on their random chairs exchanging stories and news, a group of aunties practicing their chinese dance… seeing all that never fails to trigger a teardrop or two; feel like a loser with my packed food heading back to my empty flat with only AXN/Starworld as dinner company. but i suppose i’d rather be alone than just calling up a random friend to hang out and make small talk with.

anyway ive decided that im sick of the tapao-ing routine. gonna stop feeling sorry for myself and bloody pick myself up. plus the food at my coffee shop aint that good, not to mention unhealthy and oily at times. so im gonna frickin cook dinner for one. leftovers? finish up the next day lor! nevermind that cooking my meal means i’d only get to eat it at 930pm thereabouts… im gonna do it nonetheless. i decided on chinese last night. i was craving for that same herbal pork loin soup i made over the weekend. gonna fry up a pork + szechuan veg dish and a stir fried sweet pea + fish balls dish. thankfully NTUC was still stocked with the ingredients i needed by the time i got there (they usually run out of pork by 830pm!)

in a twist of events, passing by the playground area as i walked back to my flat with my groceries wasnt such a tear-jerking experience no more: i found a focus. and i was lookin forward to dinner! :)

i love sugar peas. mom used to fry these up with prawns (on special occasions) or with fish ball (which im using for this meal)

i prefer using fresh chilli fishballs (not spicy but most def more flavorful). these are from DODO and come packed in brine. i dont like to use the vacuum packed ones.. they taste plasticky.

chop up some garlic and fry til fragrant. throw in fishballs, fry til cooked. throw in peas last. stir fry around, add a tablespoon each of soya sauce + oyster sauce. a dash each of white pepper + sesame oil. add a teeny bit of water to the pan to create steam (it cooks the peas faster) fry for 2 mins and dish up.

found the mini packets of these shreded szechuan veggies at NTUC! (i used to get put off buying these cuz they come in large packs).

i used a 280g chunk of pork loin here: slice into strips. marinate with soy sauce, dash of shao tsing wine, sesame oil, LOADSA WHITE PEPPER...like LOADS (i love it peppery), 1/2 teaspoon corn flour, teaspoon of sugar. throw in one packet of szechuan veg. MIX WELL. cover and set aside for 20mins to marinate.

just throw the whole damn bowl into hot oil after 20mins of marinating. stir fry on high heat until meat browns slightly. then add 1/3 cup of water (for gravy). reduce heat and stir around gently. do a taste test at this point and season to taste (i recommend using soy/oyster sauce to season instead of salt). dish.

heheee...my herbal soup. so easy to prep. get prime pork loin ribs, parboil to remove scum. throw into claypot with packet of your fav herb combo and boil boil boil away. i keep it boiling for 45mins AT LEAST.

the saltiness of the spicy pork dish + the crunchiness and light flavour of the peas dish goes so well with the sweet-savoury herbal goodness of the soup, served with white fluffy steamed rice and AMERICAN IDOL as dinner companion. BLISS.

i read this somewhere…. A CUE FROM NATURE: Run outside during a thunderstorm. that downpour, that conquered hesitation, that exhilaration. that’s what unlonely is like. :)

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