I have an entire sack of glutinous rice and less than 10 days to finish….

End result, make it and give it to friends ! Lol.

I’m in a hurry so I’ll update how I made it later.

But here’s the basics

1) Wash till the water is clear than soak the glutinous rice for about half an hour.

2) Shed Some tears while chopping a ton of shallots

3)Boil a bag of some call it anchovies, I call it Ikan billis. About 2 cups worth? and top up a large pot of water to get the stock.

3b)You can (and should) also boil some chinese mushrooms (or shitake and don’t throw away the water) and marinade them in oyster sauce for a couple of hours.

4) The stock now is mostly a fish stock. I added a teaspoon of chicken knoll, (or u can use chicken broth and boil it down again… But it takes too long) and I added the mushroom stock/sauce? from the boiling of the mushrooms (it’s about 1/4 of the total stock or it’ll be too mushroomy)

5) Fry the shallots till crispy brown! in about half a cup of oil. DOn’t burn em!

6) Strain out the shallots and dab them dry so they’ll be crispy for garnishing later and keep the oil to fry the rest of the stuff.

7) Fry the marinated mushrooms in the onion oil for just a bit to get out the fragrance.

Add the rice with 3 Tbs of dark soy sauce and 3 Tbs of light soy sauce and stir fry till even.

9)Remove and loosely pack into a steming dish/bowl/whatever you can find…Take the stock and fill the steaming dish till the water level is flushed with the surface goes just above the rice.

And steam it for 40 mins.

10)Remove and let it cool

11)Scoop a portion, garnish with roasted salted peanuts, your favourite chilli sauces and spring onions!

YUM

Well I really should be purchasing a domain for my reel and all but I’ll be needing to go back to Singapore to do that.

I AM… however shifting a majority of the prev blog here. Slowly but surly. haha… I cooked Veal today. It’s 530 am so I’ll update tomorrow when i’m more awake!

Oh Yeah and my showreel and CV is done at last!

Jloves : Updates

So I’ve been neglecting this blog for quite sometime… Last post was my birthday! lol.

In anycase I’ve pretty much settled into my new home for the past 4 months in Vancouver B.C and this time I’m forced to cook daily so there’s loads to add… hur hur..

Well I don’t have any more process pics to add But i’ve got a ton of finished products.

Here’s what we had for today’s dinner.

There was a good deal on striploin steaks so I bought a couple.

Threw in a stick of butter, tossed in about a flat tablespoon of mixed italian herbs and fried the steak for about 4-5 mins on each side (depends on thickness)

In the meantime put in 2 potatoes (washed, wrap them with a paper towel (dry or it’ll stick to the skin) and microwave… yes microwave it for 5 mins on high.

I also microwaved 4 slices of turkey bacon for about 2.5 mins on high and since it had alot less fat, it turned cripsy in no time.

Once the steaks are slightly charred on both sides, put em on a plate,cover the top with mozerella cheese and toss it in the microwave for another minute.

Results!

Mozerella Striploin steak medium-well, with (fake)baked potat topped with spring onions, miracle whip and turkey bacon.

All done in less than 15 mins with practically no preperation time. =)

Night searching for West Coast?

jloves Photography

Well first I’d apologise for the crap photos… was in a big hurry but i’ve checked the amounts and balanced the tastes so yeap enjoy =)

“You eat with your eyes” – Shyam

Well many people have been asking about how i prep my salad so yeap here it is!

JeRmS Caesar Salad

p.s. Once again everything depends on the amount you want to make and differences should be catered to tastes. The sauce is relatively thick so a small amount can go a long way!

Bug’s Recipe

Salad Dressing (Serves 6)

4-5 Cloves Garlic (Trust me… it’s not too much)

4 Tbs Mayonnaise (should amount to roughly 2/5 of the mixture. Alternatively you can make your own mayo with egg yolks and olive oil by beating…. but Best Foods works for me.)

1 Tbs Dijon Mustard

1 Little Fishie! Anchovies (can be excluded for pure vegetarians but salt needs to be compensated)

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce (adds a sourish vinegar aspect)

4 Tbs Parmesan Cheese

Freshly Cracked Black Peppercorns (to taste)

Lemon Zest or Juice (to taste)

1 1/2 Tbs Olive oil (Note: You’ll want the sauce to be nice and thick so too much oil will cause the sauce to become runny.. but some like it thinner so add oil accordingly)

Put EVERYTHING in a Blender/Food processor and woala!

Next up is the Salad!

Note: You can always add items like smoked salmon or roast chicken for a full meal. But as you can see the ingredients are pretty costly so once again it’s up to preference.

Veggies/Condiments (4-6)

Note: here’s a recommended list but everything can be added or taken out based on preference

2 Heads of Romaine Lettuce

6 Black Pitted Olives (Sliced)

2 Hard-boiled Egg (Dice)

8 Cherry tomatoes (Halved)

2 Tbs Walnuts (Chopped and spiced with fine 2tsp brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt)

Bread Croutons (I like Pepperidge Farm)

Bacon bits

The Critter of today’s recipe is non other than Jia =)

” Looks nice but tastes even better!”

A happy bug (I hope) she is. Once again I had to use a little tupper-ware so everything looks squashed but it’s actually quite pretty in a great in a big’ole salad bowl. Also you can choose to squeeze in some more lemon juice and even add some mango bits or fruits for a more dynamic salad. ( Just that it’ll deviate even more from the original Caesar. hee)

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loves: Salad

I brought the gang down halfway across the country to Blk 211 Toa Payoh Lorong 8
#01-11/15 just to taste the famed Mell Ben Seafood. This was actually my first visit to the Toa Payoh branch but my expectations were considering I’m not a crab fan but loved a previous rendition of the crab beehoon soup.

Fellow critters for the day.

CRITTERS CHOICE

• Crab Bee Hoon (price based on weight)
• Sliced Fish With Spring Onion And Ginger
• Sweet And Sour Tofu
• Stir Fired Vegetables With Abalone Slices (i think…)

Total Bill: $84.50 (Inclusive of food and drinks)

Note: I wasn’t there to do the ordering (cuz I was picking Bernard up) so I do not remember the actual pricing of each item.

Crab Bee Hoon

My Top pick and purpose of coming. The soup base is milky with a hint of butter and essence of crab. I heard that we were warned that the crabs did not look particularly good that day but they went ahead with the ordering anyway.

Taste wise, it was disappointing based on my expectations. The broth was not as thick as imagined and what should have been a buttery savory experience (closer to butter crab) was semi drenched in milk (closer to Alfredo). Also perhaps due to the lower crab quality of the day the essence of crab that adds the “kick” to the soup was somewhat lacking.

Both me and Bernard agreed that there was a drop in standards with the broth being less tasty than it should have been.

However to be fair, first time Bugs Jia Jiet and XH thought it tasted great.

Not to be biased and considering we were warned, though the crab failed to blow me away, it was still considered a tasty treat.

Taste: 3.5/5

Price: 3/5

Overall(considers service as well): 3.5/5

Sliced Fish With Spring Onion And Ginger
The fish was decent. The style was a typical manner of stir frying with what probably was garlic, white onion, spring onion and oyster sauce. Nothing to go crazy about but satisfying non-the-less.

Taste 3/5

Price: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

Sweet And Sour Tofu
The sauce was flavourful but a little to starchy for my liking. Perhaps the over adding of starch to the sauce mellowed the flavours leaving it lacking as a “power” dish.

Taste: 2.5/5

Price: 3/5

Overall: 2.75/5

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Stir Fired Vegetables
Definitely less disappointing than the previous dish. With all the items that you see on the plate, what can go wrong? Lol.

Taste: 3.2/5

Price: 3/5

Overall: 3.1/5

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Conclusion

Hitting an average score of 3 and above, Mell Ben has out lived it’s prime in hype but is still definitely a place worth returning to. A little pricey for an average meal but brilliant for a small gathering of friends.

Jloves: Food fests

Waking up wondering how on earth I am going to finish the rice that we bought from the last cook out gave me the urge to cook again so I called up Da’Jie and we had a “jogging” session down to “Giant” Super market to get our fish and eggs.

Here’s what we came up with while spending only $7.

Below is the recipe

STEAMED SEABASS WITH FERMENTED BEAN AND SOY SAUCE

“Before looking at the recipe, it’s good to note that I’m no real chef so the amounts I add are mostly based on instinct and the amounts are just a rough gauge.”

BUG's RECIPE (feeds 2-3)
10 mins prep 15 mins cooking)

200g Seabass Fillet($1.47/100g)
4 Tbs Soy sauce
4-5 Stalks Spring Onion
(leaving one for garnish)
2 Inches Ginger
6-8 sticks Chili Padi
1/4 cup Parsley or coriander(prefered)
2 Tbs Fermented Beans
5 Shallots
2 Tbs Veg Oil

Step 1

Slice ginger and spring onions and line the bottom of the steaming bowl (I do this so it doesn’t stick) and lightly coat the fish with soy sauce before placing it on top. Pour the rest of the sauce into bowl.

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Step 2

Dice up chinese parsley, spring onions and chili padi and evenly coat the surface of the fish.

Note: Don’t worry about the chili padi being over spicy because you won’t actually have to chew on it. Alternatively you can just remove the seeds before adding them in.

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Step 3

Well… basically put up a pot of boiling water and steam the fish in it for about 7-10 mins before turning off the flame leaving the cover on to allow the fish to cook in it’s own heat for about 5 mins.

Note: Timing is based on the size and thickness of fish. Cook till about 75% then allow it to sit without flame for 5 mins. Also don’t put the flame on high lest the water splashes in and turns the steamed fish into a fish broth =.=….

Step 4

While the fish is getting cooked, heat up a pan medium flame and fry the shallots till soft (NOT till brown). Add the fermented beans to the pan and continue to fry till there is an even brown colour.

Finally add the fried mixture on top of fish (just after turning off the flame) and thank anyone who helped do anything. Garnish with spring onions sliced horizontally.

BUG's Simple Omlette
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 large red onion or small white onion
2 stalks spring onion

Chop Beat and fry!

Whoala!

Okok.. I took more than 25 mins in total But that’s due to the photo taking and loss of utensils… But seriously haha it can be done from raw to plated in 25 mins flat!.

Haven’t had time to edit the photos but more to come, Mel Ben Seafood, Mogu Mogu, 126, Icekimo, Ricciotti desserts!

Jloves: Cooking

This will be a first of photo journals to come. =)

Well I’ve touched up on the 40 of my prefered pictures taken that night with my partner in crime! =)

You can view the pictures here or just click on my Flickr bar… hur hur… duh enough?

Jloves: Photography

To commemorate the beginning of my first food item, it’s no surprise I chose to visit my personal favourite Fish-head curry in Singapore!

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I Headed straight down to race course road with fellow food bug Jackie, Muthu’s is conveniently located near Farrer Park MRT (NEL). Another branch would be at Suntec City situated at the fountain terrace (basement).

BUG’s Choice

-Muthu’s Fish-head Curry ($20/25/30)

-Butter Chicken ($9)

-Garlic Naan ($3)

-Rice ($2.50) [Charges per person,freeflow. And also comes with a free flow of Papadum (spelling to be confirmed)]

Tuck in!

Fish-Head ($20 small)

Delicious as usual however it wasn’t served piping hot as I would expect it. The amount of spiciness was moderate (medium to hot for non spicy eaters) and there was a perfect blend of the sweetness coming from the fish head as well as the pineapple bits (which goes fantastic with papadum) and saltiness from the spices within the curry.

The spicy flavours were also well balanced via the use of garnishes which I believe are coriander and spring onion.

This however failed to blow away fellow makan bug Jackie who prefers the curry near her place (which I shall try soon)

Two thumbs up non the less

Taste : 5/5

Price : 4/5

Overall 4.5/5

Butter chicken ($9 standard size)
Jackie took an immediate liking to this item. Chunky diced chicken thigh marinated in traditional Indian spices and cooked till tender with butter. Size was an initial issue for me because the bowl looked tiny for the price paid. However the thick viscous sauce was bursting with tonnes flavours such that it could be eaten as a dip with Naan or act as a rich gravy for rice eaters. The best part of the chicken is that unlike typical dishes that are bold in flavours, it still manages to retain a decent enough balance to be eaten alone without overwhelming the consumer which deserves full marks on my score sheet

Taste: 5/5

Price: 3/5

Overall: 4/5

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After eating till a point whereby we could barely move, we split the bill and set off to explore little India in the next entry “Photo Journal”

Jloves: Muthu’s Curry!

Under influence form a certain someone I’ve shifted here! And like all hungry little critters, this blog will now facilitate the new weekly food bonding sessions! due to start on wed!

An art/food/lifeofabug blog… hur hur… we’ll see how it goes

Another bit of star stuff that hangs off my phone. =)

Jloves: introduction