Saba Fish in Teriyaki Sauce

I have been baking and cooking, just not posting. 

Something happened at work and I was completely, utterly pissed that I was not mentally cool enough to write.  I would probably end up bitching and bitching, more bitching.

Life is unfair, so live with it ... 

A colleague said: "It's just not your time yet."  - Maybe, but it just seems too much to swallow at this point of time ...

Eversince my kids tasted the ready made Saba fish at grandma’s house, they are hooked.  Being me, who don’t like ready made food, prefer to do it myself.  Yes, you are right; I don’t trust those guys out there to prepare my meals. 

Frozen Saba fish fillets are easily available in local supermarket, or you can replace it with salmon fish. This dish is super, super easy yet super, super tasty.

Ingredients:

2 Saba fish fillets

2 teaspoons of oil

1 ½ tablespoon teriyaki sauce to marinate fish

1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1. Clean fish fillets and drip dry as much as possible.
2. Add oil to coat the fish.
3. Add 1 ½ tablespoon teriyaki sauce to the fillets, ensure all surfaces are coated. Marinate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 200C.
5. Lightly oil a baking tray, place fillets in it and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, add 1 table spoon teriyaki sauce and 1 table spoon of water; mix well.
7. When the fish is cooked, add in teriyaki sauce and water mixtue into baking tray.  Continue to bake till sauce boiled, about 1 - 2 minutes, or till you are happy with the consistency. Just don't over-cook the fish or worse, burn it.
8. Remove from oven, serve hot.

Alernatively, you can also cook the fish with a stove.  I have tried both; this time I used my precious cast iron grill pan.  It gave that very nice chared lines.  Other than that, oven bake is so much easier. 

A few notes if you chose to cook on your stove top.

1. Put in the fish when the pan and oil are hot.

2. Cook the fillets skin side facing up first, to retain mositure. 

3.  Leave the fillets alone till the surfaces are sealed.  If not you will end up with broken pieces.

So, oven or stove ??

Since I have been there and done both, I would say oven.  Definitely oven.

Lasagna

I will not use oven ready pasta sheet again.  The first time I used them, all layers were uncooked.  I gathered it was due to the moisture level; not wet enough to soften the pasta sheets.  This round, I prepared a real running meat sauce and added bechamel sauce.  The bottom layers were a little wet but acceptable, but the top layer warped like bad quality wooden flooring!

I had to remove the tray half way through and cut those top sheets into small pieces so that they stayed down.  I also had to sprinkle water on them.  You see, the bottom layers were slightly wetter than they should be, and the top layer needed more water in order to cook.  Does that gel with you??

If you know the reason where I have done wrong, don’t bother to tell me 'cos I have decided not to use oven ready sheets again.  Ha ha ha … I am just kidding; please tell me.  Maybe, just maybe, I am willing to give it another shot for the convenience.

If you like to give it a try, I think the top layer needs to be weighted down with more meat sauce and cheese and finish with cream sauce.  Hmm .... maybe I should give it one last try ...

Someone mentioned in his blog that he used normal lasagna sheets instead of the oven ready sheets.   “It’s a personal choice,” he said.  - Ya, right! 

My point is: there must be some reasons to his “personal choice”, he is just not telling us!!! Now I know why and I will not read his blog again.  In the very first place, all choices are “personal”, you mean what, I decided for him that he should not use the oven ready pasta sheets??

Yes, I am petty.

Yes, I am mean.

Yes, I am mad, 'cos I don’t see why I have to re-invent the wheel.

No, you cannot blame me for all that I have said cos’ it’s my “personal choice” to be who I am!!!!!!!!!

Hwee …. Ok, am good …

So, … I used the tomato sauce from my pizza recipe, and added minced beef.  I have also added an extra layer of spinach in the middle of the lasagna.  As for the bechamel souce, there are plenty of recipes you can find when you google.  I found this video on utube,  a pretty good one.

Other than the barely cooked top pasta sheet, the dish was well received by all at home, that we drank wine with it; of course not the kids. 

My son had a big portion, and he has a way of eating them - layer by layer ...

TGIF

Friday is unlike any other working day …

I would leave work one hour earlier, no detour, no errand and hopefully I can be home by six.  That will be a treat; then I will have few good hours to bake.

But we all know, having the time is not quite it.  The mood has to settle in; not just any mood but THE mood.  I came home last night with a dying mood to bake; BUT, *bake what*??

Bagel – not so popular in the house.

Doughnut – too oily.

Egg tart – too often.

Bread – didn’t feel like it.

Choc chips cookie – oh that … my quest, ah … I am not ready …

Cake – *can la*, but I didn’t have enough cake flour!

It’s not so easy to be Julie (in the movie Julie and Julia) huh … to try every dish in a book.

You need to have a lot, I mean A LOT, of faith in the author.
Let me ask you, statistically, out of ten recipes in a cookbook, how many will you try?
For me, zero happens all the time, two happens once in a blue moon and three has never happened.  I have a few cookbooks from Jamie Oliver. My husband bought them for me; I said I like his cooking a lot.  The truth is: I was more fascinated with the chef then the recipes.

So Friday evening, I ended up surfing the TV and internet, watching time flew by but no baking. I felt like I have wasted a good evening; if I did that often enough I would definitely feel I have wasted a good portion of my life!

Saturday morning … still trying to quench my baking itch.

“What about mochi?” I asked my husband.

“Em… the one you made was kind of chewy.”

“Really, like those at the Japanese restaurant?”

“No, not really; yours tasted nothing like that.”

“They looked the same to me,” I protested.

“Well, have you ever tried any one of them?”

Woh, I didn’t see that one coming; the answer is “no”, but I think I should just shut up.

** Singlish - Singapore English

Time Sense

Thank you for spending your preciously time reading my blog; there are so many out there and so little time, yet you have picked mine…. THANK YOU.

Time flies … we hear that so, so very often.  I am quite sure it feels differently to every one of us. 

I remember asking my mother (under a flowering durian tree) when I was a kid: “Ma, how long more to Chinese New Year?” 

“Not so soon, it wasn’t too long after the last one.” she laughed and said.

 –   This is normal for a kid.  I was told that a year would feel like three to a child.

When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait till Chinese New Year.

–    I had a better sense of time.

When I was in my twenties, I would go shopping to make sure I had a new dress, preferably red; it was a must.

–    I started to have some control over time, making preparation.

When I was in my thirties, I panic: “What? Chinese New Year? Again?”

–    Ha, this is bad; sign of time lag.

My sense of time has never been so retarded.  I was very in tune, weren’t we all? 

Monday was indeed Monday, no gap.  Slowly, Wednesday felt like a Tuesday. 

Then escalated to: “Thursday is today? What happened to my Wednesday?”

That is the not the worst. 

“How’s parenthood so far? Time flies, your twin are two, three months old?” I asked my colleague.

“Oh, they are well, and they are almost 5 months old now,” he replied.

It’s mid September, and I feel like June … Is this going to get worse??

I go to this food court for breakfast every morning on my way to work.  Two days ago, out of the blue, the stall uncle shook his head and said to me :   “跟时间赛跑!”   (Racing with time!)

We race hard, day in and day out, yet we don't keep track of our opponent.

A day is a day, but which day exactly?

As I grow older, I feel that my left brain and my right brain don’t talk at all, or it's just my memory going nuts?

I was rushing through the super market; then I saw it.  That familiar clear bottle with green tip.  I grabbed one without checking the price; that was very unusual of me.   I came home, happily told my husband. 

“Remember this?  My favorite Vietnamese chilly sauce in USA, I have finally found it here!” I said.

“But this is not THE one,” he said calmly.

“What do you mean not the one?"  I yelled,  "See that dragon on the bottle?”  I was so very sure it was a dragon.

“It was a rooster, mummy,”  he said.  And yes, my husband has replaced ‘Dear’ and ‘Darling’ with ‘Mummy’. 
 “…….”  I was thinking very hard now, “… how could I possibly be wrong …”

“And the logo and all were printed onto the clear bottle, not that red sticker,” he added.

“Oh goodness, you are absolutely right!!”  I said and started laughing out real loud.

Glad I could still laugh …

p/s: Other than the darker red, the chilly sauce tastes different, a little bit more vinegarish but I like it ... in case you are wondering ...

Orange Sugar Buns

My dear brother got married, finally.  He is a good man; she is a fine lady.  I am so very happy for the family.  Since it was the last wedding of my siblings, I had my first ‘cure’; pedicure and manicure. Yes, I didn’t even have them on my own wedding day.  Didn’t know that it was so popular, and expensive.  I was being turned away by three saloons until one finally willing to squeeze me in.

My job didn’t allow me to wear nail polish until recent years; it would have been washed down easily by all the chemical solvents I dealt with. Now that I bake so often, nail polish and I are just not meant to be together. Can you imagine bits of nail polish in the bread?  My son told me there are thousands of animal parts in our food, such as flour!!  Ok, I think I shall not gross you any further.

So, I had my nail polish removed and started squeezing some orange juice. I really want to find out how good is the cream cheese bread recipe as a basic dough.  I replaced the water with orange juice and added one orange zest.  Lastly, sprinkled with sugar before baking.

I simply love the orange aroma in the dough …

I was feeling kind of lazy, so I used my mixer to do the messy job for 15 mins and continued with hand kneading.  I have arrived at my best thin film stage so far, must show off right??  Having said that, I have seen many much better ones. Next time ya ...

It was a raining day, not a good weather for bread making.  But hey, ‘who scare who’? I have my dish drainer, remember?

I am always apprehensive when it comes to shaping the dough, be it as loaf or bun.  I am like: "Now what?"  I am afraid if I don't do this one well, all the effort will be wasted.

The bread turned out very light, cottony and fluffy.  

Since the dough works well with sweet bread, I am sure the same for savory bread. – Daaa …..

I am a happy woman …

一大堆蠢蛋 Bunch of idiots

我是说公司里的那一堆！！

蠢蛋A – 不关我的事！！

就连自己份内的事也不做，搞到周边的人最后一分钟手忙脚乱。
最让人气愤的是：到头来还是白忙一场，无法完成使命- 因为他们那又来了一块没做好！！！

效率就从此一去不返；再也没有人会为任何事情紧张！

蠢蛋B – 都关我的事！！

这一堆假厉害又自以为是的蠢蛋什么都要管，就连不是他们份内的事也要做!!

就是这种人养成了蠢蛋A 那种要不得的行为！！
凡事都得照他们的方式来做，其他人不用问，也不用知道，听指示照做就是了！

当下属的就惨了，蠢蛋A 没把工作做好也变成是你的错！

不是份内的工作蠢蛋上司也拿过来， 最让人受不了的是：自己不做却分配给下属！

搞到整个部门怨声栽道，纷纷逃离。。

超级大蠢蛋C – 当不成蠢蛋A 又做不了蠢蛋B

每一回还是照样积极的为蠢蛋A 清理手尾。

每一回还是照样积极的替蠢蛋B 做好不是自己份内的事。

人蠢是没有药医的。。。



~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~    ~     ~     ~     ~    ~     ~     ~     ~    ~     ~     ~     ~    ~     ~     ~    

I mean that big bunch of idiots at work.

Idiot A – non of my business

Nothing seems to be of his business, not even those within his job descriptions.

Panic colleagues will have to scramble last minute to do his job for him.  What is most frustrating is：all effort will go in vain cos’ there will always be another problem after this.

So, kiss productivity goodbye; nobody will bother anymore, about anything   …

Idiot B – all of my business

Everything must be his business.  He will meddle with everybody’s job, so full of himself; nobody knows any job better than him.  Don’t ask, you don’t need to know; just do it!

Pity those subordinates, don’t you?

Even when the problem is cause by Idiot A, it is still the subordinates’ fault.

Idiot boss will volunteer to take on any task from management, but he won’t do it himself; he will assign to the subordinates!  So everyone in the department complains and complains, determined to find greener patch of grass elsewhere.

Super Idiot C – Neither Idiot A nor Idiot B

Diligently cleaning behind Idiot A’s back, every time.

Diligently completing every task assigned by Idiot boss, every time.

There is absolutely no cure for idiots, you know …

香兰冰皮月饼

家里厨房被我搞到乱七八糟,惨不忍睹!
还好厨房是我的地盘, 没人会出声。

全因去年拖到最后一分钟， 已经买不到儿子爱吃的冰皮月饼, 心里好内疚。

今年想自己动手做。心想：要吗就不做， 要做就做到底！

买莲子自己做莲蓉馅， 彻彻底底的自制冰皮月饼。

一想到这里， 真的,真的开心到不得了。。。

这莲蓉馅搞了我好几个晚上，又好浸，又好煑，又好搅糊，终于可以下锅了。

我还特地向家婆借了她珍藏了二十年的宝贝模型。她一再叮咛；记得拿回来啊！

还以为她会一如往常，就这样大方的给了我。
可见她真的非常爱惜它们，那是当年托朋友从香港买回来的！

我是完全可以理解的，搞不好我走的时候也要把厨房里的宝贝一起带进棺材，不是开玩笑的！

"这莲蓉煮得不够油水"，老公说。

"这点也让你吃出来了，功力还真不赖!" 我心想。我确实是少放了(很多)点油。

老公还说糖也煮得不够焦。 唉，真叫人心灰!

想吃得健康多一点都难，唉。。。

再说这冰皮更是让我懊恼，难道又是急性子的错？？

我没有冷藏过夜啦！宝贝模型里面刷了一堆粉，还是不能脱模。

看那一堆惨不忍睹的冰皮 。。。

还引来了不速之客。。。

  

只能怪自己死心眼，用糕粉不就没事了嘛，干嘛又蒸又炒糯米粉？

就为了四个字：彻彻底底！
又是一场无谓的执著。。。

可又能怎样？就家婆老爱说的口头禅：都已经洗湿了头 – 停得了吗？ 

搞出来的冰皮月饼一塌糊涂，宝贝模型也救不了我。我自己看了都不想吃!
盖了一堆白粉，像是雪山顶嘛！

屋漏偏逢连夜雨，这天下午风很大，吹得满地都是粉。。。
。。。痛苦谁人知。。。

这样一来一回，学历害了。不但宝贝模型里面要刷粉，包好的月饼还没进模也要上粉。 

脱模后再把多余的粉刷掉。

看，这还像话一点！

有兴趣的话，食谱在这里- 糕粉法，糯米粉法。

我这月饼是东凑西拼弄出来的。。。

Egg Tarts II

I was all ready for another round of egg tarts.   Found a new recipe I would like to try and adjusted to have perfect dozen of tarts. Then, I bought a dozen of tart molds, couldn’t wait to get my dough in it.  I was thinking: just squeeze that in on Friday night. 
No, that didn’t happen.

Opened my eyes just after six on Saturday morning, needed the extra hours of sleep but my mind was full of egg tarts.  Heck, I was baking away at seven.

Things didn’t go as plan.  20g of dough for my molds is just too little, 30g is about right but that would mean I would have too much custard.  So I took a compromise, 25g.  My tarts didn’t make it in time for the kids as breakfast… ya,  after all the effort, tell me about it !!!

Finally the tarts were ready, and … picture time.  Hold it … why so dark (Singlish)?? – It has been raining since don’t-know-what time.  Picture turned out with light spots everywhere, and I looked like a crazy woman cos’ I haven’t thought about brushing my hair or anything else.

Truly, human plan and God laughs, 人算不如天算.

Instead of using the Superlite flour recommended by Prima, I used cake flour.  After all, one is ‘super soft’ and the other is ‘soft-as-silk’. Wouldn't you do the same ??

Hubby said the tart molds are too shallow, could use more custard.

I realized the biggest challenge in getting to a more likeable recipe is trying to decipher his comments.

“How’s the crust?” I asked.

“Ok la.” He said

“Ok as in can do, or not bad?”

“Hmm … Ok la.”  I was thinking, that was very helpful …

“So you like this or the first one?” I tried again.

“Er … both are ok.”

“But which one do you prefer?” I refused to give up.

“Both are fine.”

“So you don’t have a preference?” Was cornering him now, if you know what I mean.

“Ya, not really.” Finally, something conclusive.  But wait …

“Actually,” he continued, “the first one was crumpier.”

“So you like the first recipe?”

“Ya!”  Halleluiah, finally!!!

By that, you can expect to see ‘Egg Tarts III’…

Notes: Singish is Singapore English, uniquely to Singaporeans. We speak simple English, effectively omitting words, yet still clearly understood by all. The 'la' and the 'lor' give a nice ending to a bad statement, as in 'No la...' as compare to 'No!'
You see what I mean??

Egg Tarts in Muffin Tray

Not the typical wavy edge you see in egg tarts ...

This came as a surprise, to nobody else but me. 

Me ?? – Making egg tarts??

Egg tart is on my ‘No Eat” list, but that’s not important, is it?  My opinion and preference are irrelevant here. 

So, that was the plan; to make egg tarts over the weekends.  I spent days searching for the molds.  I mean not that it’s difficult to find, just that it’s difficult to find MY kind of molds.

So what is MY kind of molds?

No plastics.

No silicon.

No tin.

No (Teflon) non-stick.

Preferably not aluminum.

Can do with stainless steel.

Definitely a yes for cast iron.

Definitely a yes for Pyrex glass.

Definitely a yes for stoneware, ceramic and alike.

Ok, I can consider upgrading Teflon non-stick to ‘preferably not’.

But still, sounds like mission impossible right?

I was at Orchard Road.  You might think: Egg tart molds? - Of all places but Orchard Road??  Along side with Louis Vuitton and Prada??  Ha, I can only say desperate situation calls for desperate measure.  So, I was in Takashimaya and I saw THE bread loaf tray.  I could literately feel my eyes brightened up.  So I asked the sales assistant for the price. 

“SGD 278.” She said.

“You must be kidding!!” I broke out so fast so naturally, impossible to swallow my words before it was too late.

She walked away discreetly, in half a minute.  I am not sure if she felt insulted by my exclamation, but I surely was.  “You are such a cheapo!!” I mocked at myself.  And you think that was embarrassing enough, ha ha ... There was this much more expensive Dutch oven; a couple bought it right in front of my eyes!!!

Then I was at Tangs, found something worth going into my potential to-have list – stainless steel bread loaf pan.  It’s kind of small, biggest is about 200g or so. Can do la, buy two lor … But I was still thinking of that killer cast iron pan at Takashimaya … I should have taken a picture and post it here...

So, I came home empty handed.  The egg tarts recipe was screaming at me.

In the end, I baked my egg tarts in a 12-cup muffin tray.  This was not too much a make-do, really.  The ultimate I came across, was a blogger baking cheese cake without springform pan!!!! If you are reading this, please identify yourself … ha ha.  Can you imagine pressing the base in a round tray? – I think that’s still not so bad, but removing the cheese cake from the tray?? – Simply courageous.

I got my recipe from Christine.  As usual, I made some changes.  First, I replaced with small amount of potato flour for a lighter crust.  Then, I cut down the sugar amount in the custard, and it was still too sweet.

So here is my version:

Ingredients:
Crust:
175g plain flour
50g potato flour
125g butter
55g icing sugar
1 egg, whisked
a dash of vanilla extract

Custard:
3 eggs
100g caster sugar (can be reduced further)
225g hot water
85g evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I used up only half the custard for 12 tarts, yet the tarts turned out proportionate; crust is not noticeably thick, custard filled up to the rim; two even overflew.  So why ???

Then my husband stepped in to solve the problem: “creme brulee sounds good!” So, I baked the remaining in little bowls.  Conclusion: custard is good for egg tart, but too firm as creme brulee.

How do the egg tarts taste? - Crust is good. Custard filling is good. That, are according to my darlings.  My daughter had one for breakfast, and took one to school.  So I guess they are nice.  If you asked me; I think they taste terrible.  I had a little bite involuntarily.  But hey, don’t take my words for it.  Egg tart is on my ‘No Eat’ list; in case you have forgotten.

It's a recipe much easier than I expected. 

My better half said: “You took five minute to prepare the dough but thirty to shape it.”

And I replied: “And one minute for you to chew it down.”

I have complete trust in his taste; I think my daughter got that from him.  So I have two food critics at home.

Oh, in case you are wondering about the selection criterion of my kitchen ware.  There is only one – healthy choice.  My mother-in-law said to me: “I have been using those all my life, why are you so picky?”  Er … what am I supposed to say? – Because I don’t use the same towel to dry my clean bowl and wipe the dinning table?? ... !!

Thin Crust Pizza

I am so very happy with this recipe; it's simple, easy, and practically knead-less.  Most importantly, I don’t have to deal with the left over thick pizza edge in my kids’ plates.

If you are up for it, you can  make you own pizza sauce.  I use fresh tomatoes; usually make a bigger portion and freeze the remaining.

Depending on your preference, you can vary the  amount of seasoning to your liking.

More garlic? More herbs? More onion? More sugar? More salt? More pepper?

By all means … play with them … and have fun.

For greater ease, here is a semi-scratch method.  Pour in a can of ready made spaghatti sauce, add in the right amount of  ingredients and simmer till thicken.  There you got it. 

Pizza sauce

Ingredients:

5 large tomatoes

1 tablespoon of garlic (minced)

1 onion (minced)

50 ml water

Half teaspoon of Italian herbs

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of Salt

2 tablespoons olive oil
Sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring pot of water to boil. Drop in tomatoes and cook for 1 min. Remove from pot.  Peel and remove seeds.  Cut into small dice.
2. Heat olive oil in pot and sauté onion and garlic till golden brown.
3. Add in tomatoes and water.
4. Simmer  for about 30 -45 mins till thickened and season to taste.

I got the pizza dough recipe from here.  I am so not used to the ‘envelope of yeast’ or ‘package of yeast’ measurement. 
Envelope and package, same? No same?
Packing size in all countries, same? No same?
Since I bought my yeast by one big package, I must know the equivelence right...?? So, one envelope/package of yeast is about 7g or 2 ¼ teaspoons. 

Talking about yeast, where do you store yours?  My good friend came home from a one-month trip, and realised (the hard way) the bottle of yeast has gone to a better place; the poor dough simply did not rise!  I keep mine in the freezer.  See, it's always good to be friendly and chat with whoever in the store.

This one is an easy recipe , but the hours of waiting time can be quite constraining.  So, I usually make the dough the night before and keep in the fridge; prepare the dough, have dinner, scream at the kids, watch some TV, .... and pizzas fresh from the oven for lunch tomorrow, scream at the kids some more. I have stored my dough for 2 days in the fridge or freeze the dough for weeks.  I suggest to bake them closer to the lower rack, to get a more crusty base and also to avoid surface burnt.

Er ... I hasn't been completely honest - even though this recipe is easy and simple, I do have problem shaping the dough. Maybe I haven't relax the dough enough, cos' I am always so eager to move on ... The easiest way for me, is to  flatten the dough with rolling pin a few times and then slowly push out with fingers till I got the desired thinness.  I have to do this on the baking tray cos' the dough sticks onto the work surface.  If I shaped the dough on the kitchen top, by the time I 'un-stick' the dough, it will spring back and I have to do this all over again ... That's the reason why I have not gotten a pizza peel and baking stone!!  It is such ...a double jeopardy - no good reason to shop for a good obsession (baking)! But, ha ha, since when an obsession can be good ???   Then again, perhaps a good motivation to be patient; wait for the dough to relax the next time ??? - Tough la ... I know myself ...