0 Doughy, carby, chocolatey

Things have been busy lately, but it's the repetitive-kind-of-busy, which means not much progress made on the lab front. At least I've managed to clear 90% of confocal imaging, which was my target set for 31-12-12. I'm really quite sick of lab now; what's keeping me sane is knowing that it'll all be over in a matter of months time. It's so near yet so far. I know all this will pass in a whiz, yet during this period of time there's still the data to process, thesis to write, poster presentation. These very thoughts scare me.

On the food front, things could not have been better. I take every meal, especially breakfasts and Sunday dinners, as an opportunity to exercise creativity. From Christmassy oatmeal themes featuring s'nog (soy nogs) and homemade cranberry sauce (above) to pools of hot mole chocolate made with good quality dark chocolate like Godiva and Fauchon (below).

Today's breakfast theme - triple chocolate & banana (from bottom up): seared 'nana coins; Rude Health The Oatmeal cooked in water with a nugget of Justin's chocolate almond butter stuck in the core; topped with hot chocolate mole sauce made with soy milk, protein powder, square of Fauchon 65% coffee chocolate noir, chocolate mole powder and extra coffee granules.

This week I also bought Rudi's cinnamon raisin bagels which I had for a quick lunch today before going off to Middle Earth. Mouthfuls of doughy carbs paired with mushy avocado and flakey salmon = pure satisfaction.

Dinner was aloo matar gajar, basic indian curry with potatoes, peas and carrots (translated in that order). I added carrots for extra bulk. Alongside I had a hunk of Curry Times' curry bun, which was filled with even more potatoey goodness, and I must admit, their filling was much tastier than mine. I loved the soft sweet white bread bun. Doughy carbs again!

It's yet another eventful year gone by. I'll be ruminating on the changes and challenges I'll like to take on for 2013 as I reflect on events of 2012. Maybe a dedicated post tomorrow, if I can fit the time in.

0 Into the festive mood

I got this cute quiz from Jenny over at pbandjenny. Although it's the 10th already and just 15 days to christmas (so quick!), it's not to late to start right? Here's the challenge:

To play catch up, I shall ponder upon two questions a day. For today, it's Q1 and Q10.

1. Your favorite Christmas movie
Although the number of Christmas movies that I've watched probably numbers more than my ten fingers, only a few stands out from my memory: A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express.

There's so much to love about the heartwarming tale of A Christmas Carol, based on the book by Charles Dickens. From the transformation of miserly Scrooge to a generous man, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, the white Christmasssy scenes (unlike sunny Singapore), and the music. Watching the film surely would inspire you to spread the love, kindness, and good tidings to everyone. It makes me want to watch the film all over again! In fact I just went to Youtube to listen to the theme song!

As for The Polar Express, I only vaguely remember the storyline since it was so long ago. The most impressionable part was again the music. Sometimes I watch films more for the music than for the storyline!

10. Favourite holiday scent
First thing that springs to mind is cinnamon, vanilla, and ginger(bread man). Roasted pecans, nuts, and the aroma of cookies freshly out of the oven! These scents are not just my favorite holiday scents, but they apply all year round too. I want to capture all these as a perfume for 365 days of use!

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On a side note, I had the leftover amok trei for dinner, with brown rice dunked in to soak up all that gravy. The curry was so satisfying on this cold rainy day! I can't believe I'd actually whipped up something so delicious!

0 Amok over amok

Curiosity and craving duly satisfied. Amok trei (steamed fish in a curry coconut custard) can be considered as the Cambodian sibling of Singapore's otah, except the fish is left whole instead of pureed to a paste. In fact, the spices are pretty similar - garlic, shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime, shrimp paste and coconut. I compared various recipes online and here's my version.

Amok trei

Yield: 5 small servings

Ingredients
Curry paste (kroeung)

• 1 red chili, deseeded (ideally should use dried red chilis)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 sticks lemon grass, trimmed and chopped
• 2" galangal, peeled and chopped
• 2" ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely minced
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Curry (amok)

• 400g fish, skin removed and diced into chunks(I used toman, also called snakehead)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (ideally should use palm sugar)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 egg
• banana leaves

Directions

1. Blend curry paste (except oil) using food processor, or more traditionally - and tedious - a mortar and pestle.
2. In a medium/large pot, fry curry paste in oil until fragrant, about 1-2 min.
3. Add coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 mins. Allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, fold the banana leaves into cups. For a 7 cm cup, cut out a 20 cm diameter circle. Use two circles for each cup with the leaf grains crossing for added strength. Fold in the corners and secure using toothpick or staples (initially I tried using toothpicks but the leaves kept tearing; staples were much better although less presentable).
5. Beat eggs gently into cooled coconut milk mixture. Add fish chunks.
6. Divide the entire mixture among the banana cups.
7. Steam for 20-25 minutes until the custard is set.

Typing this, I realized I haven't posted a recipe in quite awhile. I'm glad I'm back at tring out new recipes! The final result was a non-spicy coconutty gravy. It did not quite reach the thickness of custard. That might be due to the coconut milk (homemade, thus probably more liquid) or insufficient eggs; some recipes call for coconut cream and 2 eggs, which I don't think my heart will be thankful for. Nevertheless, the spices compensated for all that. Full of lemongrass and lime! I would prefer a more spicy kick to it though. Maybe it was because I did not use dried chilis. I would add some crushed red pepper flakes next time (although it's not authentic to do so).

The gravy (not quite custard as I mentioned above) was perfect for dunking rice into. I slurped up every bit of gravy with Pappy's lup cheong rice sans lup cheong. I haven't enjoyed coconut-based curries since... I can't even remember. I'm thankful for having gotten over the irrational fear of coconut milk and coconut-based dishes. MCFAs, bring it on!

0 Fancy some curry?

I can add another dish to my growing repertoire - curry! This is a very basic recipe using a mix of vegetables - cabbage (supposedly an anti-type O veg but whatever), okra, carrots, tomatoes and red chili. I'm not a believer in pre-made curry paste; instead I bought a small bottle of McCormick's curry powder and a packet of lemongrass and hoped for the best as I set to prepare the curry from scratch.

Simple Curry Vegetables

Yield: 1 large bowl (8 servings)

Ingredients

1 large red onion, chopped coarsely

2 tbsp vegetable oil
Spices

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

2 red chili, ribs removed and sliced

2 stalks lemongrass, pounded to release aroma

1 cinnamon quill

2 star anise, crushed
Vegetables

1 small head cabbage, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1 carrot, chopped

4-5 okra (lady's fingers), ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped coarsely

1/2 cup soy milk

Directions
1. Heat oil in frying pan and cook onion till softened.
2. Add in spice mix and fry for 2-3 mins or until seeds start to pop.
3. Add in vegetables (I added according to the hardness of the vegs, in the order of carrots, then okra, then cabbage and finally tomatoes). Stir well to coat with spice mix.
4. Add sufficient water to cover and let simmer for 15-20 min or until vegetables are tender.
5. Just before serving, add in soy milk (or coconut milk/yogurt) and simmer another 3-5 mins. Salt to taste.

The addition of soy milk may seem out-of-place, and that's because we didn't want coconut milk, but also didn't have yogurt on hand. As a result, the curry turned out on the soupy side (think sayur lodeh) unlike the Malaysian style curries, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was still pretty tasty and very very fragrant from the lemongrass. :D It surely could do with a bit more spice (will add chili powder/chili flakes next time). Needs more capcaisin!