Western Delight

Bento #3 and #4

Here's the kids' edition of Egg Fried Rice. En's Orange Bear Bento and Wei's Green Frog Bento.

Egg Fried Rice

I put in 5 eggs for 1 cup of rice but the kids still complain 'Why no eggs?' Where has all the eggs gone? Perhaps they're all coated on the rice because I did not add any sauce or colouring but the rice turned yellowish. Anyway, verdict from hubby and the kids: Very nice:)

Butter Prawn

Stir Fry Spinach in Chicken Stock

Prawn Paste Chicken

Fried Pork Dumplings (Wanton)

Bento#2

Bento for my elder one. I got this bento box for ~$10 during a sale. It's 5x more expensive than the bento box from Daiso. But I think it's quite value-for-money because it comes with chopsticks, metal fork and spoon, and a strap. And it's Thomas and Friends! I only bought one (keeping my fingers crossed that the 2 kids can take turn to use it) and thankfully my little one is contented with the cute Froggy Bento Box:)

The sandwich is halved so you can see the ingredients in the pouch - ham, egg, lettuce.

Bento#1

Bento for my little one. He chosen this Green Froggy Bento Box from Daiso, which costs $2 only. I make the sandwich using a sandwich mold which I got from Daiso as well. It's a great tool for making sandwiches, because it keeps all your ingredients nicely wrapped in a pouch so you won't end up with dropping ingredients. Kids will be able to handle the sandwich easier too. The only disadvantage I can think of is the food wastage. But is ok for us, because poor Daddy and Mummy will end up eating the crust so there is no wastage in our household:)

Another Egg Tofu with Minced Pork and Mixed Veges

Salt Roasted Chicken

Egg Tofu with Minced Pork and Veges

My elder son's favourite dish at the moment. Not the vege, but the egg tofu. He will insist we order egg tofu whenever we eat mixed vegetable rice or zichar from coffee shop.

I had a few failed attempts on deep-frying the tofu. But after consulting people and some trial and error, frying the tofu is actually quite easy. The key thing is you need to be fast and the oil must be hot. In fact, you don't really need to 'deep-fry' which uses a lot of oil and is very messy. Can actually 'stir-fry' instead - just need enough oil to cover half of the tofu but you need to flip to fry the other side.

Here's how to do it:

1. Cut the tofu.

2. Prepare a plate of corn/tapioca starch.

3. Heat up the oil. Make sure the oil is hot. I use a smaller and deeper frying pan so that there is less oil wastage.

4. Once the oil is heated up, lower the fire slightly.

5. Use one hand to coat the tofu with the starch. Gently drop it into the pan. Repeat for a few tofu.

6. Use the other hand to turn the tofu.

7. Once the tofu is nicely browned, remove them from the pan and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

8. Repeat above steps until you're done with all the tofu.

Make sure the oil is hot so that the outside turns brown while the inside is still tender. But you must act quick if not the tofu will be burnt. It takes some practice and you'll get the hang of it after some practice. If the oil is not hot enough, you need to cook a long time to brown the outside, and by then the inside will be hardened and won't be nice and tender.

当归蒸鸡

Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, sesame oil, pepper and light soya sauce. Place some 当归片 and 枸杞子 on top. Add water and steam for 30 mins.

帝皇药材蒸鸡

I used kampong chicken and ready-packed herbs from Seah's Spices. It's very easy to prepare and tastes yummy. Just need to rub the herbs and spices on the chicken, wrap the chicken in the plastic and aluminium sheet provided, marinate over-night in the refrigerator, and steam for 2 hours.

Christmas Chicken Roast

I roasted a chicken for Christmas again. It's seasoned with Rosemary, mixed herbs and lemon zest.