The Green lip abalone

21 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by in Australia, Gastronomy, Travel

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Whenever I return back toMelbourne, I always find it a must eat the green lip abalone.Australia(Tasmania) alone exports close to 25% of the world abalone harvest. Hence, I think it is the reason why it is cheaper to consume this delicious fresh sea-snail there.


The abalone we had is just slightly under 2 lbs with the size of 180-190mm.

InAustralia, the rule is it must be bigger than 145mm before it is allow for harvest. And if you purchase a fishing license (from any convenient store / petrol station) for about AUD 15-20, you can dive and harvest your own abalone. I think the limit is 2 per person / license.

There’s many way in preparing this meat.

My favourite is call “yao-pau” (toss with oil). The meat is sliced thinly and then rinse quickly with very hot oil. Then, vegetable are stir-fried with same sauce before the cooked meat is throw in to be tossed around. It is immediately scoop out from the wok to be served. If the meat is even slightly over-cook, it will become very tough and rubbery.

Coq-au-Vin with my Staub

21 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by in Gastronomy, Home Cook Food, Kitchen wares

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I am so excited about my first cooking post.

Please bear in mind that I have no official cooking training. Everything I learn is from my mum or my aunty. (both whom whips out amazing delicious dishes – in my opinion) Hence, everything is very flexible / mood-base. Those of you who have professional training might find my method horrifying. Hehhee.. But, I cook for me and my family to eat. So, as long as they love it.. it’s all that matters. :p

  • Warm up my pot. It is not good to fire away and heat it up fast. (unlike Chinese wok). Warning – too hot too fast might damage your cast-iron pot.
  • Updated 2012 : Pan fry bacon first to get the bacon oil. Then, scoop out the bacon bits and put aside.
  • Using the bacon fat, stir in the finely chopped garlic (about 6-7 cloves) and onion (1 whole) until brown.
  • Throw in my chopped carrots (2 stick) and cubed onions (5 whole). Stir it a bit. Throw in 4-5 pcs of Bay leaves. Close it with the lid and let it simmer for about 10 mins.

Note :

Marinated 8 pcs of chicken thigh / drumsticks with salt, pepper, oyster sauce and a dash of sesame oil (it’s the Chinese in me), 2 cup of Merlot (red wine) and ½ cup of brandy for about 30 minutes before hand. My mom loves herbs. So, I throw in some rosemary and thymes just for her. ** Taste turns out quite good actually**

  • Pan-seared the chicken (skin side up) with a pan until all sides are nicely brown.
  • Arrange chicken and bacon bits into pot. Leftover marinate pour inside also.
  • Fill up the pot with some chicken stock (I just dilute one chicken stock cube into warm water)
  • Add another 3 cups of Merlot (I love the strong alcohol taste. So, you might not want to put in as much if you don’t)
  • Allow everything to simmer for 2 hours until chicken is soft and you can tear out the meat with just a fork.

  • Eat with Rice / Bread. We love it with butter-toasted baguette.

Yumm…

Holiday with Mother-in-Law 2

20 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by in Everything else...

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For those of your who had been reading my blog, you would know that I have just recently return from my 2 weeks holiday with my MIL.

I am proud to announce I have survive the ordeal… So have my MIL (i hope). hhehehee…Unfortunately for her, I ain’t a typical daughter-in-law. And I suspect she’s starting to really see that.  I don’t believe in buttering my words / pretending to be nice and sweet.  This doesn’t mean that I go all out to be nasty. Let’s just say, I am just being my own true self – bossy. ;p

I think it is important that we don’t try to be someone who we are not. But then, a good friend of mine did point out that if the MIL is the purse holder, I might tone down and be a little more docile… True.

However, this does pose a question in my mind. How long can one hide their true nature without bursting into flames ? All the pent up energy will surely blow up, right ? Or maybe it is just me.

As for my MIL, she definitely starts showing her true nature more during this trip. So far, it is nothing over the top. Just little quirky habits here and there. I guess everyone have a little bit of those. And every family have their own quirky habits. In fact, i think i like her better this way. Previously, it was always nice and polite.. which is a little annoying to me since I am always so bossy… it makes me feel like I am the bad guy all the time. ;p

Conclusion, if she has to bear with my overbearing nature, I’ll bear with whatever quirkiness she has. it’s only fair, right? ;p

Don’t get me wrong. I do love her. 🙂