Was binging and saw that there are many hundreds of blog dedicated to food. Most are teaching you how to cook, providing recipes, providing tips on food. There are some blogs that are dedicated to reviews of food, just came acroass a blog that is dedicated to reviewing instant noodles.
So that brings me to question my own blog. What is my three year plan, five year plan? Joking! sounds so corporate, long term goals and short term goals.
As i said and remind myself again, the direction that this blog is going to take is basically, it's a blog where i can share my thoughts and experiences on my own cooking.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Cooking instant noodles 1
We are used to saying 'i want to cook maggie mee' but when we reach out to take that packet of noodles to cook, it may not be the brand maggie. It could be koka or any other brand. So why do we say 'eat maggie mee', 'the baby need to change pampers', 'it's the time of the month, i need my kotex' Interesting how brand names replace and become the nouns.
Ok, this first part focuses on the different ways of cooking instant noodles. The next part, I may have to start interviewing people for their views on how to make the most QQ instant noodles.
Do you have your preferred steps of cooking instant noodles?
I used to have to boil the noodles and then throw away the water which was used to boil the noodles, because it contained wax. Now, I do not bother.
My preferred steps:
1) Boil water in pot.
2) When water boils, pour the seasoning in. Give it a stir to make the seasoning dissolve.
3) When water is boiling vigourously, put in the instant noodles.
4) Beat an egg. This can be done while waiting for step 1.
5) Depending on how you prefer the texture of your noodles, (which will be discussed at greater length in part 2) pour in the beaten egg slowly at a time while stirring the noodles.
Alternatively, if you prefer, crack open an egg over the noodles. Turn off the fire when the egg white is cooked.
Or alternatively, crack the egg in a bowl. Turn off the fire and pour the noodles into the bowl immediately. In this way, you get a half-cooked egg.
image source: http://cookingsimplechinesefoodathome.com/2012/04/cooking-note-how-to-cook-instant-noodles.html
Basically, this is my preferred steps. I know different people have different variations.
Some like to put in the noodles before the seasoning. Once my domestic helper put the seasoning in a bowl. After the noodles is cooked, she would then pour it into the bowl. It was too salty for me, I 'corrected' her preferred way of cooking.
image source: : http://ramenrater.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/527-little-cook-instant-noodles-wheat-gluten-stewed-duck-flavored/
Are there any ways of cooking the instant noodles that I did not mention here?
I was googling, no, binging for instant noodles, and i just realised that there is a world instant noodle association (WINA). Cool.
http://instantnoodles.org/noodles/index.html
So, i tell you, instant noodle is really something. Almost all of us has cooked instant noodles once in our life.
http://instantnoodles.org/noodles/expanding-market.html
This page links you to a table that shows the trend of instant noodles consumption of different countries.
Ok, this first part focuses on the different ways of cooking instant noodles. The next part, I may have to start interviewing people for their views on how to make the most QQ instant noodles.
Do you have your preferred steps of cooking instant noodles?
I used to have to boil the noodles and then throw away the water which was used to boil the noodles, because it contained wax. Now, I do not bother.
My preferred steps:
1) Boil water in pot.
2) When water boils, pour the seasoning in. Give it a stir to make the seasoning dissolve.
3) When water is boiling vigourously, put in the instant noodles.
4) Beat an egg. This can be done while waiting for step 1.
5) Depending on how you prefer the texture of your noodles, (which will be discussed at greater length in part 2) pour in the beaten egg slowly at a time while stirring the noodles.
Alternatively, if you prefer, crack open an egg over the noodles. Turn off the fire when the egg white is cooked.
Or alternatively, crack the egg in a bowl. Turn off the fire and pour the noodles into the bowl immediately. In this way, you get a half-cooked egg.
Basically, this is my preferred steps. I know different people have different variations.
Some like to put in the noodles before the seasoning. Once my domestic helper put the seasoning in a bowl. After the noodles is cooked, she would then pour it into the bowl. It was too salty for me, I 'corrected' her preferred way of cooking.
Are there any ways of cooking the instant noodles that I did not mention here?
I was googling, no, binging for instant noodles, and i just realised that there is a world instant noodle association (WINA). Cool.
http://instantnoodles.org/noodles/index.html
So, i tell you, instant noodle is really something. Almost all of us has cooked instant noodles once in our life.
http://instantnoodles.org/noodles/expanding-market.html
This page links you to a table that shows the trend of instant noodles consumption of different countries.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Frying eggs (sunny side up)
I don't usually like to fry eggs. But I feel that frying eggs needs skills. Skills that are picked up over the years of cooking.
First, pan. I don't like to cook eggs in a wok or a big pan, because the egg tends to spread out.
Second, the cleanliness of the pan. This was shared by Kelvin. If the pan is dirty, then the chances of the eggs sticking to the pan is very high.
Next, the oil and heat. You got to spread the oil around the wok/pan, to prevent the egg from sticking to the sides. If eggs still stick to the sides even after coating oil, then look at step two. If step two is checked, the egg still sticks to the pan, time to change a new pan!
Oh yes, the amount of oil is also something that you got to learn to control. Too much oil, the egg turns out too oily. yucks. And you also can' have too little oil. Hence, the delicate balance between too little and too much.
Next, crack open the egg into the pan. Over the years, i learnt that if the oil starts splattering, then it's wet. Ha, i mean something wet has come into contact with the oil. So if I want to fry fish, i make sure i use a kitchen towel to pat dry the fish to prevent having to fight with the oil splattering.
I used to hate having to wait for the egg to cook because i was worried that the underside would be burnt or stick to the pan. That is because of point 2 and 3.
Well, I'm not that perfectionist that i must have the perfect sunny side up, as long as the yolk is still soft and you are able to slurp the yolk down the throat, that is heaven to me. When i was younger and looked after by the neighbour, a simple fried egg with rice, i feel contented. I would used to 'break' the yolk over the rice and it taste yummy.
Coating oil over the pan
The egg white is still not cooked yet.
Patiently waiting for the egg to cook
I like this because the yolk was perfectly in the centre
The eggs arranged nicely like the petals of the flower
First, pan. I don't like to cook eggs in a wok or a big pan, because the egg tends to spread out.
Second, the cleanliness of the pan. This was shared by Kelvin. If the pan is dirty, then the chances of the eggs sticking to the pan is very high.
Next, the oil and heat. You got to spread the oil around the wok/pan, to prevent the egg from sticking to the sides. If eggs still stick to the sides even after coating oil, then look at step two. If step two is checked, the egg still sticks to the pan, time to change a new pan!
Oh yes, the amount of oil is also something that you got to learn to control. Too much oil, the egg turns out too oily. yucks. And you also can' have too little oil. Hence, the delicate balance between too little and too much.
Next, crack open the egg into the pan. Over the years, i learnt that if the oil starts splattering, then it's wet. Ha, i mean something wet has come into contact with the oil. So if I want to fry fish, i make sure i use a kitchen towel to pat dry the fish to prevent having to fight with the oil splattering.
I used to hate having to wait for the egg to cook because i was worried that the underside would be burnt or stick to the pan. That is because of point 2 and 3.
Well, I'm not that perfectionist that i must have the perfect sunny side up, as long as the yolk is still soft and you are able to slurp the yolk down the throat, that is heaven to me. When i was younger and looked after by the neighbour, a simple fried egg with rice, i feel contented. I would used to 'break' the yolk over the rice and it taste yummy.
Equipments in the kitchen
Over the years, I realised that there are some equipments and utensils that is a must have in the kitchen.
Pots of varying sizes:
This comes in handy when you need a big pot for cooking soup for those family gathering occasions. However, you would also need small ones so it's easy to cook that instant noodles. Then you also need those medium ones which if you used a big pot, it's too big, a small pot is not enough. You get what i mean?
Pans/wok:
Of course, we need our most traditional wok for frying and I actually like cooking in a pan, because it's easy to pour the food onto a dish after cooking. And again, you need varying sizes.
Utensils:
Ladles, soup ladles of varying sizes. I do have some measurement spoons when i need to follow the recipes closely for more adventurous dishes. Some people even have the strainer. Do I have? I seem to have, can't remember. Oh yes, not forgetting, i do have that thing you used to pound your pork or chicken pieces.
Cutlery:
I know my category heading seems quite wrong, told you, i'm not an expert. Plates, bowls, cutlery. Serving dishes
Spices/sauces:
five spice powder, basil leaves, thyme, sauces, hua tiao, rice wine, sesame oil etc. Just naming a few here. All sorts of sauces that you buy over the years.
So come to think of it, when moving house, the hardest, troublesome, heaviest and bulky stuff comes from the kitchen.
Troublesome because you have to wrap all the breakable items with newspaper.
Heaviest because imagine putting all the plates and bowls in one box, the box is sure to be very heavy. So you need to separate the plates.
Bulky because if i were to put the rice cooker in a box, that would take up half the space.
mmmm, packing the kitchen can be challenging.
And being the woman of the house, you would definitely wants to know what goes into which box, or when unpacking, you are literally on your own because you need to know where to place the stuff.
Oh yes, talking about this positioning of stuff. Experienced chef or woman who are expert at cooking, the positions of their sauces, pans, utensils, very crucial to their cooking. A person who can cook very well may not cook as well in another person's house because you do not know where that pot is, where that sauce is, where the plates are etc.
Pots of varying sizes:
This comes in handy when you need a big pot for cooking soup for those family gathering occasions. However, you would also need small ones so it's easy to cook that instant noodles. Then you also need those medium ones which if you used a big pot, it's too big, a small pot is not enough. You get what i mean?
Pans/wok:
Of course, we need our most traditional wok for frying and I actually like cooking in a pan, because it's easy to pour the food onto a dish after cooking. And again, you need varying sizes.
Utensils:
Ladles, soup ladles of varying sizes. I do have some measurement spoons when i need to follow the recipes closely for more adventurous dishes. Some people even have the strainer. Do I have? I seem to have, can't remember. Oh yes, not forgetting, i do have that thing you used to pound your pork or chicken pieces.
Cutlery:
I know my category heading seems quite wrong, told you, i'm not an expert. Plates, bowls, cutlery. Serving dishes
Spices/sauces:
five spice powder, basil leaves, thyme, sauces, hua tiao, rice wine, sesame oil etc. Just naming a few here. All sorts of sauces that you buy over the years.
So come to think of it, when moving house, the hardest, troublesome, heaviest and bulky stuff comes from the kitchen.
Troublesome because you have to wrap all the breakable items with newspaper.
Heaviest because imagine putting all the plates and bowls in one box, the box is sure to be very heavy. So you need to separate the plates.
Bulky because if i were to put the rice cooker in a box, that would take up half the space.
mmmm, packing the kitchen can be challenging.
And being the woman of the house, you would definitely wants to know what goes into which box, or when unpacking, you are literally on your own because you need to know where to place the stuff.
Oh yes, talking about this positioning of stuff. Experienced chef or woman who are expert at cooking, the positions of their sauces, pans, utensils, very crucial to their cooking. A person who can cook very well may not cook as well in another person's house because you do not know where that pot is, where that sauce is, where the plates are etc.
When did you start to learn to cook
Ever wondered, when did we start to learn to cook? For some people, maybe when they were a child, they picked up their cooking from their mother (mostly). Otherwise, it would be in sec 1 when we all had to go for home econs lessons.
And what was the first thing you learn to cook? Interesting, maybe we should have a vote here. I bet it's instant noodles. oh yes, talking about instant noodle, i will dedicate a post to that later.
Yup, if i remember correctly, the first thing i learn to cook was instant noodles. I remember Steff and I used to go over to auntie sally's house to stay during the weekend or school holidays. We would eat instant noodles for lunch every day. We would add green vegetables, black mushroom and eggs. I also remember that at that time, we had to boil the noodles first and 'wash away' the wax that was used in the manufacturing of instant noodles, otherwise, if we eat too much instant noodles, we would have a layer of wax in our stomach and intestines. Remember this saying?
Then slowly during secondary school days, I remember my first home econs lesson was to cook french toast. Then fried rice. I don't know why i had memories of these two dishes. No, I didn't start a fire in the kitchen. I also remembered there was a test in Sec 2, the main ingredient was eggs. So I steam eggs, egg, century egg and salted eggs. It was simple and i think it was called something like 3 color eggs.
Over the years, after getting married and having children, we slowly increase our repertoire of recipes and cooking skills. I did have some mistakes like forgetting to add salt, the vegetables turned out tasteless. I did have the experience of having to fight with the splashing oil. I did have the experience of frying eggs, which i will elaborate in the next post. I only dare say that my cooking is ok, palatable to the taste buds. No expert, still learning in the process.
and so the feeling to start this blog to share my experiences.
And what was the first thing you learn to cook? Interesting, maybe we should have a vote here. I bet it's instant noodles. oh yes, talking about instant noodle, i will dedicate a post to that later.
Yup, if i remember correctly, the first thing i learn to cook was instant noodles. I remember Steff and I used to go over to auntie sally's house to stay during the weekend or school holidays. We would eat instant noodles for lunch every day. We would add green vegetables, black mushroom and eggs. I also remember that at that time, we had to boil the noodles first and 'wash away' the wax that was used in the manufacturing of instant noodles, otherwise, if we eat too much instant noodles, we would have a layer of wax in our stomach and intestines. Remember this saying?
Then slowly during secondary school days, I remember my first home econs lesson was to cook french toast. Then fried rice. I don't know why i had memories of these two dishes. No, I didn't start a fire in the kitchen. I also remembered there was a test in Sec 2, the main ingredient was eggs. So I steam eggs, egg, century egg and salted eggs. It was simple and i think it was called something like 3 color eggs.
Over the years, after getting married and having children, we slowly increase our repertoire of recipes and cooking skills. I did have some mistakes like forgetting to add salt, the vegetables turned out tasteless. I did have the experience of having to fight with the splashing oil. I did have the experience of frying eggs, which i will elaborate in the next post. I only dare say that my cooking is ok, palatable to the taste buds. No expert, still learning in the process.
and so the feeling to start this blog to share my experiences.
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