Dinner on Sunday (27 Dec 2009)

We encounter the same problem with our rice cooker again - the inner pot refuse to fit into the holder. This is our 2nd set of the same rice cooker but we still encounter this problem. Sianz got to go down to the Philips Service Centre again this Saturday. I used the steamer to cook the rice instead. Takes longer but better than nothing, lol.

I set the timer to 40mins. At 20mins, I added the chicken and at the remaining 4mins, the veg.

This time I did not marinate the chicken except for rubbing it with a bit of salt. Instead, I heated some olive oil in a small pan, stir-fried some garlic, added some sesame oil and 3 Tbsp of soy sauce and poured the mixture over the chicken when it was ready. Although this is nice, but I personally prefer the taste of the chicken the previous Sunday when I used oyster sauce and had it marinated before steaming.

Shanghai green with oyster sauce



Opened a can of luncheon meat to make the meal more complete. Been ages since I had eaten it.



Dinner

Dinner on Sunday (20 Dec 2009)

Cantonese steamed chicken

I got the recipe for this dish by combining 4-5 different recipes. This dish turned out to be super nice and Kitty loves it too! Its so simple to prepare. All I did was marinate the chicken with 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce, 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce, some sesame oil, 1 Tbsp of corn starch, 1/2 Tsp of sugar and some pepper to taste, then steamed it with slices of ginger on the chicken for 20mins. Tada! Delicious! The meat was tender and the chicken essence combined with the the marinade made the gravy really tasty!

Old cucumber soup with spare ribs



Kitty's fave soup. All you need is an old cucumber, a packet of spare ribs from NTUC, 7-10 pcs of dried scallops (I put more), 5-7 pcs of red dates and 1 honey date (optional). Boil on high for 20 mins, then switch to low fire and let it simmer for the next 2.5 to 3 hours. Tada! Done!

Xiao bai cai:

This is easier. Just steam it for 3-4 mins (I steamed it for 5 mins and find it a lil too soft for my liking) and leave it on keep warm mode. Pour some oyster sauce and mix well. Done.

I finally tried out the flavour booster thingy on the steamer! Cut up 2 cloves of garlic and put them inside the flavour booster. I was hoping that it would make the chicken smell nicer, haha!

Major headache over LR light

29 Nov 2009 - Sianz, something is wrong with our living room light. By right, all we have to do is to change the tube, but turned out it was a lot more troublesome. Its the kind with the I/C. The kind which you switch on once, 2 daylight tubes light up, switch on the 2nd time, the middle warm light tube lights up and upon the 3rd time, all tubes will light up. Anyway, the old cat tried to fix it but someway somehow things went wrong. The wire broke, the nuts got lost inside and refuse to come out...etc. We had to ask The EL to come over since he is very good with electrical stuff.

Unfortunately, despite testing this and that, he still cannot diagnose the problem as to why the 3rd tube refuses to light up. In the end, he said most probably the main circuit has problem, better to get an electrician to check. So yesterday evening, Tom, our electrician came down to check. Even he cannot trace the problem. Said most probably the main I/C controller is spoilt, which is almost similar to what The EL had said. Solution? We are gonna remove the I/C and re-configure it such that all lights will light up together when switched on. As we hardly use the warm light, we will change it to daylight. He will have to dismantle the whole thing from the ceiling to do so. Haiz, got to wait a few more days before Tom has the time to come down again to proceed. In the meantime, we will just have to live with it.

6 Dec 2009 - Tom came over on yesterday morning to fix our light. $50. Heart pain manz. Unfortunately, the problem was not solved. Someway somehow, the holder and the tube connection was not good. Too loose. Tom said to get another brand of tubes. Sianz. Went back to Chealsea Lighting again (for the 4th time??) to change the tubes, but the uncle said that we ought to change to another holder instead. Sianz. Another $30 cos need to get their electrician to come down. Tom had already configured the switch to light up all 3 tubes. The I/C has been removed. So now, we need Chelsea's electrician to come to remove all the previously bought new holders and fix on the recommended holders for the tubes.

Nightmare. Chelsea's service has gone downhill! Nevermind that the uncle was loud and rude, but they messed up the timing! The electrician was supposed to come after 2pm on Sunday (6 Dec), but no one turned up. The old cat called and was told that "the guy has gone out already" aka on the way. After waiting for another 2 hours, the old cat called Chelsea again only to find out that they have made the arrangement for the electrician to come on Monday instead! Worse, the uncle kept saying its not their fault blah blah blah. The old cat got pissed and retorted, "Not your fault then whose fault? My fault ar??!" Anyway, the uncle said he will ask the guy to come between 7-8pm. MAnz!!

Anyway, the electrician FINALLY came at 8.45pm and thankfully, solved the lighting problem. He replaced all the holders, removed the single warm light tube and fixed on the new daylight tubes. Now our living room is super bright with all 3 daylight tubes switched on.

I really love my new steamer. Really.

The steamer is such a wonderful invention. It saves me so much time and energy. Best of all, the food tastes wonderful.

I really love the steamer you know?

Wahahahhahaa I'm just so overwhelmed by the goodness of a steamer that I think I am starting to talk nonsense. Or rather, type nonsense. Pardon me.

The old cat and I went plate shopping with the outline of the food basket (of the steamer) in hand. After searching a few places, we finally managed to buy a metal tray for the 1st tier, 18cm metal plate for the 2nd tier and an oval shape metal plate for the 3rd tier (for fish). They all fit perfectly!

Although its a Sunday, I decided not to stir-fry. Save my energy for slaving in the office tmr. I decided to STEAM instead!

1st dish: Chicken with mushroom

I wanted to pack lunch for both of us tmr and the 18cm plate cannot hold all the stuff, so I used the metal tray too. Steamed for 20 mins. Keep warm mode for 8 mins. Result? Super tasty!!! This is even better than stir-frying! Even the old cat was amazed at the difference between steaming and stir-frying the same dish! The chicken was very tender and juicy. We love the mushrooms. They were fat and juicy. One bite and you can feel the "juice" oozing out! Shiok!!!

2nd dish: Broccoli

This time, instead of adding the broccoli during the last 10 mins as I did the first time, I added it in when the timer was at the remaining 5 mins. After it auto-switched to keep warm mode, I let both the chicken with mushroom and the broccoli remain in that mode for the next 8 mins. Result? The broccoli was perfect!!! Not too soft like the first time. We ate it plain without any sauce. As crunchy and sweet as expected! Really nice!

Since we are into healthy eating, I decided to cook ABC soup. A most nutritious soup full of goodness. Very nice.

It contains potatoes, big onions (when it is soft it is really nice), carrots, dried scallops and spare ribs. No soy sauce or salt added. We prefer the natural flavour from the ingredients. One of my favourite soups. I think the big fat carrot and many dried scallops contributed to the sweetness of the soup. Yummylicious!

Dinner for Sunday:



P.s. I love orange juice!

First fully steamed meal

5 Dec 2009 - I tried out the new steamer yesterday!

I realised that most of my plates cannot fit into the food baskets and that was a problem as I had to find other ways to fit the food in. I had 4 dishes (including rice) to cook, so I decided to use 2 tiers at one time instead of using all 3 tiers.

1st tier: Rice

I had to use the plastic rice/soup bowl that came together with the steamer for the egg, so I used 2 small bowls for the rice instead.

2nd tier: Broccoli

All the bigger plates cannot fit into the basket, so I just placed the broccoli in the basket itself. I set the 2nd tier on the 1st tier when the timer was at remaining 6 mins even though the cooking guide stated that the cooking time required to cook broccoli is 10-15 mins. After 6 mins, I decided to be more kiasu and set an additional 4 mins (total 10 mins). Wrong move. For this steamer, the food gets steamed pretty fast, so the broccoli was a bit softer than the way I like it at the end of 10 mins. Next time I shall stick with 6 mins!

2nd round (bottom tier with the steamed egg and 2nd tier with the salmon):

The shallow metal plate that I usually use to steam eggs is too big, so I used the rice/soup bowl to steam the egg instead. Takes a longer cooking time though cos the bowl is deeper. The salmon was perfect - 5 mins (despite the 10 mins that was stated in the guide).

Dinner:



1) Rice (haha)

2) Broccoli (wanted to pour melted cheese over it, but the cheese hardened!!! I think I may have used the wrong type of cheese)

3) Steamed egg with century egg

4) Salmon with lemon

Honestly, I have always doubted the abilities of a steamer. I mean, how good can steamed food taste especially when they are steamed together? Won't they end up tasting the same? Well surprisingly, the answer is NO! The food tasted very good, especially the broccoli and salmon! I love the taste of the broccoli! Although I did not add any sauce (it was supposed to be coated with melted cheese), the broccoli was delicious! It was fresh, "juicy" and sweet! I have cooked broccoli many times by stir frying but the taste was never the same as steaming! Its really good! I shall steam my broccoli in future!

Steaming rice takes a long time - 40 mins. I think I shall either use the rice cooker next time or ask Kitty to tabao plain porridge for me. I prefer having porridge for dinner cos it is easier to digest.

I coated the salmon with BERTOLLI spread and squeezed lemon all over it before steaming. The salmon came out to be really yummy - fat and juicy! Side track a bit: BERTOLLI spread is made from olive oil. It has only 14% saturated fat compared to butter’s 54%. Because of its composition, BERTOLLI spread can contribute positively to staying healthy by replacing saturated fats in the diet. It is a very good alternative to butter/margarine and it tastes good! P.s I switched to using BERTOLLI 2 years ago and have never regretted my choice. I buy the Extra Virgin spread. There is the Classico spread as well. Try it and you will discover the goodness of BERTOLLI!

Anna: If you happen to be reading this entry, can you please tell me if sea salt is better than normal salt? I have replaced the normal sugar with cane sugar, canola cooking oil with Bertolli olive oil and now thinking of dumping the normal salt and replacing it with sea salt.

About the HD9140 steamer:

I really like this steamer. It is really easy to use and I like the digital timer function. Timing is more accurate. I don't have to squint to see how much the timer has "turned" for those non-digital steamers. When the water has reached the minimum level, the "Refill" indicator will light up, prompting me to add in more water to the base reservoir. There is an external water inlet, so I did not have to risk lifting up the baskets and get scald by hot steam whenever I want to do a refill. The steamer will automatically switch to Keep Warm mode (you can set the duration too) after cooking. Best of all, I like it cos the aroma of the food does not mix, and the end result food is really delicious. Oh, and its very easy to clean! P.s I have not tried the flavour booster, so I cannot comment on that. You can supposedly add herbs and spices into the flavour booster and the heat from the steam will release the aroma which will infuse the food with their flavours.

I got my food steamer!

3 Dec 2009 - Wahahahahhaa I got my food steamer!

I had planned to pop by to Kong Tai after work to get the Tefal VC1016 steamer but I ended up in Bishan instead. Why? Cos by a stroke of luck, I found someone selling the Philips HD9140 steamer on eBay for only $98!!! And its brand new and unopened!! I quickly emailed the seller and he replied very quickly. Apparently, his MIL had won it in a lucky draw and as they already have a steamer, they have no use for this one. So after work, I went all the way to Bishan to collect the steamer. The peak hour traffic was TERRIBLE! I went alone, and the old cat kept telling me beforehand, "Remember to check properly huh! Don't just because you are excited want to try out the thing tmr so you anyhow see never check properly ar!" So naggy...

Anyway, I met the seller's wife, did a check and yes, its really brand new as stated! What a good bargain! I saved almost $50 by not buying it from Kong Tai!

I shall try out using the new steamer tonight!! 3 cheers to a healthier lifestyle!

Getting a Food Steamer

2 Dec 2009 - During the last Family Cottage meeting at Sis Lai Mui's house, Jeannie and Jessica were sharing with me the wonders of having a food steamer. The old cat was present as well, so I did not have to repeat what they said to him. Basically, Jeannie was saying that she cooks on a daily basis, and I was super impressed. As she has to work, she cannot afford to spend a lot of time to cook dinner, so she bought a food steamer. According to her, she steams her rice, veg, fish, meat...etc all at the same time and she is free to go do her own things until the timer goes off. Its convenient and time saving.

So the old cat and I were thinking... hmmm not bad huh??? Steaming is a not only a healthier cooking option but also helps retain nutrients and minerals from food. Well, dinner for us is usually tabao-ed from the same food stall at Jurong Point, and I can't help but notice that outside food is really a lot more oily that home cooked food. I only cook once a week, sometimes once a month. Cooking is tiring you know? So now we are thinking of getting a steamer! We intend to use it twice a week on weekdays (normal cooking can be done on weekends when there is more time). Hopefully as what Jessica and Jeannie say, the food will be ready in 20mins!

The old cat and I have been trying to find reviews of food steamers and now we have (or rather, I have) short-listed two from Tefal and one from Philips.

Tefal Vitamin Plus Steam Cuisine VC4003



Tefal VC1016



Philips HD9140


Went to Jurong Point to check out these models but sad to say, both Harvey and Courts do not carry the Tefal VC4003 steamer. In fact, the promoter at Harvey told us that this model has been discontinued. I called CK Tang and Taka to check and confirmed that his statement was true.

The old cat prefers the Tefal VC1016 cos it has a bigger basket and is cheaper ($99.90), but I prefer the Philips HD9140 cos it has a digital timer and looks sleeker and nicer. LOL. It is of course more expensive - $149. But then, I was thinking... what if we end up using it only once a week, or worse, use it for a few times then decide to chuck it aside to gather dust?? Kitty was saying get the cheaper one to "try out" first... and I hate to say this, but yes, what he said makes sense. But I really like the look of the Philips!!! But then... I think most probably we will get the Tefal VC1016.... just in case we don't use it often enough to make our money worth it, lol. If all goes well, I'll pop by to Kong Tai before church this evening to get it. Hehe, I like buying appliances from Kong Tai. The prices are cheaper. Take the Tefal VC1016 for example. It is retailing at $99.90 at Courts and Harvey, but Kong Tai is selling it for $80++ (less than $90)!

For now, I shall start planning what food to prepare using the soon-to-be-purchased food steamer!