Che nep dau xanh

It's a failure this time because I didn't understand the recipe I found on the Internet.

I cook sticky rice and mung beans at the same time, and mung beans take much longer time to cook.

Lesson:
Always cook mung beans separately in any dish (che, xoi etc...)
- Wash and cook mung beans in water until soft. Drain.

Ga Ham Thuoc Bac - KA Style :)

1 baby chicken (got it from a butcher in Ashfield, 2 for $7.20)
1 pack of herbal medicine
some red dates (if you have)
some dried kasaki mushroom (the name is not right)
2 carrots
a handful of fresh peanuts
4 big leaves of black fungus


Clean Chinese herbs and put them into the pressure cooker with the whole chicken.
Soak dried mushroom, fungus, peanuts in warm water for 1-2 hours
Then put dried stuffs into the cooker and cook.

Let the cooker steam twice.

Serve with bread or vermicilli

Different Xmas recepi with cherries

http://www.allthingschristmas.com/recipes/cherryindex.html

Thai style chicken

This one I had at Bangkok restaurant in Capital Square

Chicken fillet
Shallots cut in long stem
black fungus in medium-big pieces
beans (dau que)
a bit of lemongrass
red capsicum
and some other vegies

Sweet Mung Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients : Serves 4-6
225 g 500 ml 50 g	Skinned split mung beans, soaked in water for 3 hours and drained Coconut milk Caster (superfine) sugar Toasted coconut shavings (optional), to serve
Method : Put the mung beans in a pan and pour in 500 ml water. Bring the water to the boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat and simmer until all the water has been absorbed. Press the beans through a sieve, or puree them in a blender. In a heavy pan, heat the coconut milk with the sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Gently stir in the pureed mung beans, making sure the soup is thoroughly mixed and heated through. Serve hot in warmed bowls sprinkled with toasted coconut shavings, if liked. Mung Beans Be sure to buy the bright yellow, peeled, split mung beans for this soup rather than the whole green ones. If you do buy the whole green ones, they will need to be peeled before cooking, which is a dull and time-consuming task.

Be careful in buying food

Yesterday, I went to Ashfield for grocery shopping. All the way back to the station I dropped by a Chinese shop to get some dim sims ($2.6 for 4) and a box of vegetable rolls for $6.5. I thought i'd have a nice dinner.

It turned out that all the food was old, and salty.

I also found out the red dates I bought in Marickville few weeks ago were too old to eat.

Lessons:

- Don't buy cooked food in late afternoon
- Don't buy food just to try something new, make sure that it's good first
- When buying dried food, check the expiry date and the condition of the food carefully

Sam Bo Luong

Ingredients:

2-3 oz dried longan
6 cups water
6 dried red dates
12 ginkgo nuts
5 pieces snow fungus (soaked until soft)
Sugar to taste

Method:

Bring water to boil. Add the dried longan, red dates, ginkgo nuts, and snow fungus. Boil in low heat for 30-45 minutes or until the water turns brown in color. Add sugar to taste. Serve warm or cold with ice cubes.

Copied from:
http://www.rasamalaysia.com/2007/04/recipe-longan-dessertlongan-tong-sui.html

Snow Fungus, Ginkgo and Barley - sweet or savory

Snow Fungus, Ginkgo and Barley - sweet or savory

Trying to hit the right notes here (THIS...is...American Idol, NOT). Sing "Doh Re Me...". Sing "Hot, Tart, Sweet...". Presenting Snow Fungus, Ginkgo and Barley Drink Dessert. I know lime juice is available following the Assam Prawns dish, but can I serve you this sweet dessert instead?

Dessert - Snow Fungus, Ginkgo and Barley Drink Dessert

Snow Fungus, Ginkgo and Barley Drink Dessert (serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
-About 2-3 pieces snow fungus, soaked in water before usage
-About 1 cup pearl barley, washed
-Few pieces of ginkgo nuts, fresh or canned, with inner seeds removed
-Honey dates and/or rock sugar (ratio adjusted accordingly to your ingredient availability or liking)
-Pandan leaves, knotted (option)
-Water, quantity based on ingredients

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients in slow-cooker, and pour in water till ingredients are submerged
2. On high heat ~45mins-1hr till barley and fungus are cooked, then turn to low heat 1-2hrs to allow ingredients and textures to soften and flavors to infuse. If not sweet, add in more rock sugar, to taste
3. Can be served warm or cold

More about the ingredients:
All three ingredients (snow fungus, ginkgo and barley) can be used in sweet and savory cuisines.


Snow fungus :Practically tasteless, but prized for its jelly-like and crunchy texture. You can see them in sweet soups and desserts such as doubled boiled papaya and snow fungus (木瓜炖雪耳 ); and savory dishes such as doubled-boiled chicken soups. The wood ear/black fungus is another fungus species that can be used in stir-frys.

Barley: Pearl barley(above) or pearled barley is hulled barley which has been processed further to remove the bran. It may be polished, a process known as "pearling". Barley can be used in savory stews and soups, such as chicken stew and minestrone soup. But more common is the sweet barley drink/water- a good diuretic which is known to quench the thirst and expel toxins from the body.

Ginkgo : Expensive ingredient (due to labor intensiveness to crack the hard shell of each nut, removing the thin skin, and removing the young shoot that is usually bitter. So, usually what you eat is just the sweet flesh of ginkgo nuts. There are claims that ginkgo improves memory (it remains to be proven), and there are side-effects too. Usually used in sweet desserts - a popular dessert is barley, soya beancurd sheets(a.k.a foo chuk, in Cantonese) and ginkgo nut drink (can be almond-milky-based, or clear soup-like base). Due to their hint of sweetness, it complements well in a savory dish like this too. And it can be real yummy refreshing


copied from
http://teczcape.blogspot.com/2007/03/snow-fungus-ginkgo-and-barley-sweet-or.html

Cherry desert

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pitted fresh cherries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large banana, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

Preparation:

Combine cherries and sugar; chill for 1 to 2 hours. Combine chilled cherries with banana and nuts; fold in whipped cream. Serve in dessert glasses. Serves 4.

Bondi Iceberg Club in Bondi Beach

I will post reviews, tips and discounts about restaurants and cafes here too.

Went there with Vic, Tin and Yan. All of us had fish dishes ranging from $20-$22.

Later on, I realised the mussle pot is only $15.

And then I found out the poster in the Ladies room, $10 meals for Tuesday night, Thursday and Friday nights.

Tuesday night: all pasta dishes
Thursday: steak dish
Friday: ...?

Must try the specials next time!