ByFood: Lemongrass and Garlic Marinated Chicken Wings

Banana, my buddy, whatsapp messaged one fine day and showed me a picture of chicken wings that she cooked. I thought it was bbq grilled but she told me that it was baked so it should be healthier. I am sure that baby Chloe happily tasted some of that too.

Banana's Baked Chicken Wings that looked barbecued

For her recipe, please scroll below!

Anyway, Banana told me to try cooking it but the problem was that I didn't have an oven, and still don't. It's not easy for me to organize a bbq just to eat grilled chicken wings either. So I tried hard to think of a way. Finally did it, the marinade was good but the meat was not as charred looking as Banana's. Hereby I'm sharing it here with everyone who's reading this post, maybe some of you can come up with your own secret method too. :)

My Chicken Wings that almost looked barbecued

No recipe... :S

Banana's Baked Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb Chicken Wings

Marinade

3 tbsps Fish Sauce

1 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Lemon Grass (grate white portion, remaining smashed)

5 cloves Garlic (smashed)

1/4 tbsp Black Pepper

Method:

1. Mix the marinade ingredients and chicken wings together. Keep inside the fridge for at least 3 hours or best overnight.

2. If the drumlets are too big, pierce the meat a little with knife.

3. Drizzle the baking tray with a little olive oil and place the wings on it.

3. Bake the wings for 15 - 20 minutes at 180 degrees celsius

4. When the wings are cooked, adjust the oven to broiler settings and move the tray to the top section of oven for 2 minutes. This is to give the wings a charred look.

ByFood: Simple Dinner, Kimchi Fried Rice without Meat

Who would have expected that there would be sandflies under the tables of foodcourt? Once again, I'd been bitten by these nasty insects but much lesser than the 30 over bites during the previous sandflies attack. It is time to go on non-meat diet again... Perhaps it was because I'd been eating too much meat of late so my retribution came. =="

Today's dinner was Kimchi Fried Rice Topped with Egg, no meat added. It still tasted good, but would have been better if there was some meat in it.

I just...

• Chopped up some asparagus, one onion and 3 tbsps of kimchi 
• Threw them into the pan to stir fry with some oil
• Added cooked and cooled rice (which had been lightly coated with some sesame oil by hand)
• Added half tbsp of red pepper paste for the spice and colour
• Stir fried and mixed all the ingredients using medium high heat
• Beat an egg and drizzled all over the rice, 
• Flipped the rice over every 30 seconds to cook and distribute the egg evenly
• Sprinkled some salt (I used Pink Himalayan Salt) and pepper over the rice then mixed everything a final time
• Transferred all the contents into a rice cooker and leave it inside (do not switch on the power)
• After 10 minutes, serve the rice topped with a fried egg and some shredded spring onions

Try when you are free! ;]

ByFood: An Organic Vegan Meal at Fu Lu Shou Complex

There are times when we just want to feel slightly healthier and one good way is to choose organic vegetarian food over high-calorie eats for just one or two meals. We do not want to just go for normal vegetarian stalls because many of them serve oily, deep fried and salty dishes. It is best to try out organic cafes though a bowl of noodles may cost more than the usual coffeeshop style. That is what I do anyway, and indeed, it made me feel better especially after the guilt of eating full cream Nestle ice cream for two consecutive days. 

ByFood: Stir-fry Spicy Basil Chicken with Rice

Finally, after two weeks I managed to find the time to cook dinner tonight! I have been craving for stir-fry spicy basil chicken for months but could not slot this dish into any of the menus simply because Mum can't eat too spicy foods. Anyway, Dad's stomach hasn't been well of late either so he shouldn't be eating this. But, I really want to eat it... Just once. So I also cooked a pot of radish barley soup alongside this dish, to help ease the ill-effects of chilli on him. 

I have posted this recipe before in my previous blog, but there is a slight difference in this as I added some lemon juice, black molasse (instead of sugar), and a few slices of Japanese cucumber. The lemon juice made this dish more appetizing and reduced a little of the heat. It was a really satisfying meal. Just to share with you all my happiness on eating this spicy basil chicken dish. 

Stir-fry Spicy Basil Chicken with Rice topped with Egg

ByFood: An Idea for a Chicken Liver Dish

Two days ago, I wanted to eat some chicken liver. But it was always sold in big packets at the supermarket and there were bound to have leftovers. It was boring to cook chicken liver stir fry red / green chillies all the time, and I admitted it could look distasteful to many people. 

So I thought long and hard for something different and decided to make chicken meat and liver kebabs from the uncooked leftovers. It wasn't any extraordinary dish but definitely easier and tastier to eat. I chose red and yellow peppers because Rainy told me before that these are sweeter than the green ones.

My Chicken, Chicken Liver and Peppers Kebab

Ate these with rice and some other side dishes

ByFood: Fuss-free Lemons

Lemon is rich in Vitamin C. Yes, we all know that... 

But how many of us would actually buy a lemon frequently unless we have a lemon recipe to cook? Furthermore, there are signs at supermarkets like NTUC  that would tempt us to buy more lemons than we need for instance "1 for $0.40. 5 for $1.80". Of course the latter is a better deal, well to me. 

But what happens next after I use up 1 of the 5 lemons for a "Fried Chicken in Lemon Sauce" (FCILS) dish? Maybe make a flask of lemonade with 2 lemons (which I don't really fancy but have to finish drinking up in 2 days) and save the other 2 for later use (and nobody knows when I'll make FCILS again). 

Perhaps some of you who are reading this already know what to do with all your lemons. But there are still many others who want a good $ deal yet have no idea at all. 

ByFood: Steamed Pumpkin Cake (Inspired Version)

I realized that it is not exactly a fortunate thing to have favourite food stalls, especially the traditional and authentic ones. Many of these stall owners grew old and retired, else passed away without passing on their skills.  Quite a few times when I went to buy my favourite food, only to see empty lots or new faces cooking the same thing but of sub-standard taste. I never got to eat the same thing again. 

At current, I have a favourite food stall at Clementi Ave 2 Hawker Centre which serves food only till around 10am. And it is manned by 3 very old grannies. They sell steamed yam cake, steamed pumpkin cake, peanut porridge, chee cheong fun, and vegetarian beehoon. So far, I find that their yam and pumpkin cakes are one of the best that I have eaten so far. Those tasted and looked very traditional which reminded me of my Grandma's cooking. 

Afraid that one day the same tastes would be lost forever (if you know what I mean), I decided to try my luck in making at least one item. This would not be easy, especially to be able to get the same texture and right taste as theirs. I really hope that I will lucky!

Steamed Pumpkin Cake made by the 3 very old grannies

Well... it turned out that I was not so lucky afterall. I tried making the pumpkin cake from leftover porridge, flour and water. The rest of the ingredients used were Chopped Pumpkin, Chinese Sausage, Chinese Mushroom, and Dried Shrimps. Even though Mum and I felt the pumpkin cake tasted nice, someone else in the house said that a pumpkin cake should not look like that. 

Shallots were charred due to an unexpected phonecall ;[

I will keep trying till everyone likes it! =="

ByFood: What if our Haze Level is in "Good" range?

I did not wake up of my own will this morning. I was woken up by Whatsapp beeps from my food dream. In it, SK cooked a full table of vegetables for me to eat. After replying to the messages, I badly wanted to go back to the dream but Mum came home. This was what happened next... 

Hand-drawn depiction by SK of the most accurate scenario. 

ByFood: Easy N Light Dessert for Gastric Troubles

People with gastric problems are usually very busy because they do not eat regular meals else they eat food that are often bad for the stomach to de-stress. I am plagued with gastric troubles too due to hectic schedules since schooling days like zillion years ago. 

Just two years back, I started finding various natural remedies to cure it because it did not help my bank account much by visiting the doctor way too often. There are hundreds of ways suggested by netizens to help relieve gastric problems like gastricitis and stomach ulcer. Also friends suggested that I eat this and that to help relieve the gastric pain and discomfort. My idea is, destruction caused by food can be countered the same way too. 

ByFood: Taiwanese Food vs My Taste Buds

No matter how many times I tried Taiwanese food, unless it was dessert, I could never rate them more than 7/10. Perhaps the problem lies with my taste buds and till now, I am still not able to put a finger to what went wrong. 

Many friends raved about the food they ate in Taiwan and told me that I had to try the "authentic thing". So I flew to Taiwan, only to come home in disappointment. I have had better food before in my life elsewhere and it was only natural to compare. I prefer the braised minced pork with rice cooked by Mum's Filipino maid to those that I ate in Taiwan. The desserts sold in Taiwan are simply fantastic and almost good beyond words though. One thing for sure, Taiwan really has a vast and interesting variety of dishes on their country's food menu till it is not possible for anyone to try every single dish in his/her entire life.

ByFood: O... Coconut!

This was my 1st time hacking open a coconut. Fibre husks flew everywhere. Some juice spurt onto my face. Finally, Mr Coconut looked badly injured. But thanks to him that I recovered from dehydration today. 

I need to buy more coconuts to train. If only it is as easy as cracking open a peanut. One day I'll be able to make fast and clean cuts then enjoy the sweet refreshing coconut juice...

Sorry, Mr Coconut.

ByFood: Otah Omelette... Toast

Last week, Dad brought "New Moon" brand Otah home and I was racking my brains on what to do with it. Then Sunny suggested that I try cooking Otah Omelette. I haven't eaten such a dish before and it sounded interesting so why not give it a try? At then, I had half a loaf of bread due to expire the next day so I decided to toast them and add to my omelette. It should taste OK.

ByFood: Joy of Gifting DIY items

On days when I lounged on my sofa without any care, I caught a Japanese documentary "At home with Venetia in Kyoto". The things that this lady did sparked my interests to send gifts to my friends too. Somehow it can be a joy to send gifts without expecting any in return so long as friends are happy to receive them. 

ByFood: Porridge Nuggets (from leftover porridge)

I woke up early this morning to prepare porridge and some dishes for my family. Everyone ate till burped at least 3 to 4 times so I guessed this must be what is called, a filling breakfast. There was still some porridge left in the pot and my family has a "no food wastage" policy so I thought that making Porridge Pancake (taught by Sunny) would be a good idea. I made into nuggets version

ByFood: When You Are Tipsy, 2 Remedies

One evening, a Eurasian guy and Indian lady (alias Nick and Geeta) boarded the bus I was on and they started chatting while standing beside my seat. Obviously Nick was trying his best to impress Geeta that he was a party goer and would not get drunk easily. Then Geeta was keen to know how was he able to hold his alcohol so well, and so was I.

ByFood: Our 1st Post: Life Vs Bittergourd and Pizza

Ever since I befriended Lil SK with Sunny, I've been laughing a lot lately. She's someone with a really quirky sense of humour and loves observing her surroundings with unique perspectives. Of course, she has her downtimes too but motivates herself with simple objects like...

Her Pencil Case @@!

On the badge was written (translated): Life isn't bitter, Bittergourd is.