Invite a rainbow or two in your backyard...

It is not unusual in Sydney to have a rainbow or two to brighten your day at this time of the year. A pair of rainbow lorikeets has been visiting in my backward every morning, since last week. It is a delight to watch them weaving,ducking and hanging upside down like acrobats through the bottlebrush trees and grevilleas srubs in my backyard. I am pleased that I did the right thing by planting native trees and scrubs, like banksias, bottlebrushes and grevilleas, in my garden to attract these bright multicoloured feathered parrots, as these native plants provide their favourite foods of nectar and pollen from their flowers.
















I have stopped the practice to provide food such as store-bought nectar, sunflower seeds, and fruits such as apples, grapes and pears in a bird feeder for the birds, ever since I have learned the wrong food - grinding seeds and grain can cause damage to their beak and tongue, so it's important to let them eat food from the wild. Furthermore, feeding lorikeets and other birds, particularly processed foods such as biscuits or bread, as their digestive system does not cope with too much artificially refined sugar. In many places, including campsites and suburban gardens, wild lorikeets are so used to humans that they can be hand-fed. But beware! Dont't provide freebies to the birds. Please do not give rainbow lorikeets other kinds of food, such as biscuits, bread or seeds. They may become dependent upon these sources of food and become less inclined to forage in the wild. Eating seeds can actually cause damage to their tongue and beak. Let them feed on native plants!

To Kill a Mockingbird in a Chinese Vegetarian Restaurant...

It never ceased to amaze me why a menu in most Chinese vegetarian restaurants has to be identical to it's non vegetarian counterparts. It always put me in a paradoxical situation to order mock fish, mock duck, mock char siew (Chinese BBQ pork), even mock shark fin soup. As if that is not a mockery in itself, I am expected to say " hmm, it does taste chicken" between the mouthful of morsels of imitation food in my mouth. Even as a omnivore, I do find it offensive to tell my vegetarian friends they are eating 'chicken or fish" especially if they are vegetarians because of their religious beliefs. Like the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird " by Harper Lee, which emphasize on tolerance and decry prejudice, I won't be calling my vegetarian dish "mock chicken in soya sauce " but simply Bean Curd Loaf in Soya Sauce.

Vegetarian Bean Curb Loaves Recipe (commonly known as Vegetarian Chicken)

1pc bean curb skin (Tau Pei)
8 pcs bean curb sheets (Tau Kee)
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 Tbsp sugar.
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water.

Mix soya sauce, sugar sesame oil, salt and water in a bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved. Place the bean curb skin on a square tray and brush 1 tbsp of sauce mixture across the surface of the bean curb. Place the bean curb sheet on top of the bean curb skin and brush the sauce mixture across the surface of the sheet. Repeat until all the sheets are brushed with the sauce mixture and place neatly on top each other, Fold bean curb sheets into a oblong loaf and wrap in a cheesecloth. Pour any remaining sauce mixture over loaf so that it is completely saturated. Place loaf in a bamboo steamer and steam for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cheesecloth and allow the loaf to cool.
Heat oil in a pan and fry loaf for 30 seconds over very low heat until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a serving plate and garnish with coriander.

Learn to invest in good stock...

I am not talking about acquiring shares in the stock market at this volatile and uncertain period of our present economy situation. Unlike the tips from your stockbroker, who is only interested in making a quid( or sotong)from commissions with your transactions, I am giving away commission free Chicken stock and Bull stock. The stock I am referring to is the basic ingredients and secrets of the professional chefs, in which the liquid is created by boiling bones, water and seasonings. Like investing in a good stock, you have to investigate what is available in the market and put in the time and effort in order to acquire a good return.
Firstly, let me start with the basic in stock making, a good stock should be allow to cook slowly so that the fat can rise to the top (just like the market - what goes down must come up but it can also evaporate into the thin air!) and skim off (profit taking and taking stock): allow it to simmer for a long time, in order to extract all the taste and nutrients form the bones, it should strained through a fine sieve to remove any impurities. (get rid of all your bad investments). The stained stock should be reduced until it reaches the proper flavour and consistency. Flexibility and tenacity are keys in the current economy crisis, so please rely on your taste; sometime the stock will have to be reduced more, sometime less. If possible, the stock should be kept in the refrigerator overnight before using, so that remaining fat will harden on the top and can be removed. Meanwhile, as the market may have taken a battering and plummeted in the recent time, I would like to share some reliable Bull and Chicken stocks tips with you.

Bull and Chicken Stock Recipe

1.5 kg beef bones cut into 75mm pieces (ask your butcher to do it)
1.5 kg chicken bones (necks or backbones)
3 litres cold water
6 cloves
1 large onion
2 leeks, sliced
2 carrots, peeled
1 stalk celery cut into slices
3 sprigs fresh thyme (if unavailable, 1/2 tsp of dried thyme )
3 bay leaves

Method.
In a large stock pot add the bones and water and bring to a boil. Skimming off the the bloody elements and impurities with a slotted spoon. Continue boiling the stock gently, uncovered for 1 hour and removing and discarding any scrum from time to time. While the stock is boiling, stick the cloves into the onion and set it aside. When the stock has boiled for 1 hour, add the onion and remaining ingredient to the boiling stock. Boil gently for 5 hours and continue to skim off fat and scrum from the top occasionally. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with cheesecloth and cool overnight in the refrigerator. Reserve the bones. ( a second stock can still be made from them. Believe me, I am not being frugal) The first batch is a clear and flavourful broth and is used as a delicate soup or soup base.

Don't Get Fleeced at the Flea Market...

Yesterday, we went to a weekend flea market hosted by the Rotary Club held in the grounds of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children at North Rock.We prefer going to the smaller suburban "bring and buy market" or "car booth sales market", where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered and the vendors are usually from a family that is renting a table or tent from the organiser for the first time to sell a few unwanted household items or selling homemade cakes and jams, plants and art and crafts. Of course, there are also some enterprising vendors who scout the region buying items for sale from garage sales and other flea markets, to sell them in the stalls.There are also food vendors who sell snacks and drinks, thus adding a carnival atmosphere to the market. It differs from the other bigger commercial operations like weekends markets in the city, which are similar to our pasar malam or street markets in Singapore. Like the pasar malam, these bigger weekends markets consist of rental stalls that usually sell goods such as fruit, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, movie discs and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices compared with the shops. But, be warned! you may not get what you have paid ... Some have become infamous as outlets for pirated movies and musics and cheap imitations of brand-named clothing, accessories, or fragrances. Don't get fleeced!



Within five minutes of our arrival at the market, I had bought something that I didn't know I ever used again...I spotted this aluminium vessel for cooking steam boat aka Mongolian hot. It drew to me, past stalls and tables loaded with flea market treasures and trash, to itself like a magnet. It was love at first sight. Furthermore, it has never been used and the gentleman who sold it to me didn't know what is it for and was in his garage for years. I handed over $15 dollars without haggling and couldn't be more pleased. I have been looking for this traditional charcoal fired hot pot for a long while.This cooking vessel resembles a brass incense burner on a cone shaped base with a chimney at the centre.Today in many modern households, the traditional charcoal-heated steamboat or hot pot has been replaced by a gas or electrical hot pot, and uses a disposable gas cylinder or electricity as source of heat. All this bring to prove an often repeated axiom in my family : No matter what you want , if you wait , you'll eventually find it at a garage sale or flea market for a lot less money than would otherwise pay. (But my teen son won't buy into that. :) )

Singapore Noodles Is New to Singaporean.

Singapore noodles is arguably the most popular noodles dish throughout Australia, from the small country towns to the cosmopolitan cities, you are likely to encounter this famous noodles dish on the menu of just about any kind of Asian restaurant you go to. Many of our Singaporean visitors are curiously surprised by the popularity of this noodles dish, especially when it is literally unknown back in their hometown. It is also interesting to note that the preparation varies from place to place - that's because the dish is more genetic than adhering to a strict traditional taste, with different ethnicity among the Asians and interpreting it according to their own culinary taste and style of cooking. Thereby, the Singapore noodles from a Thai / Vietnamese /Malaysian restaurant is spicier than the Chinese influenced restaurant. Shall we officially adopt this renowned noodles dish and claimed it as our own? Nevertheless. it is only fitting for this noodle dish to have the good fortune to make its way to the country with which it has so long been associated.



Singapore Noodles Recipe:

450g packet of thin rice stick noodles (rice vermicelli)
500g Chinese BBQ pork (Char Siew)
350g prawns, peeled
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp peanut oil
2-21/2 tbsp curry powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 red capsicum, finely sliced
¼ cabbage, shredded
300g mung bean sprouts
1 bunch chives (Koo Chai)
salt and pepper, to taste
3 eggs
coriander for garnish


Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 10 - 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse. Prepare the remainder of the ingredients while the noodles are soaking. Make a simple crepe by whisking the eggs with 1/4 tablespoons of salt and cooking in a small non-stick pan. When cooked, remove from pan and roll up. Slice thinly when egg roll is cooled. Add 2 tablespoon of water to the curry powder to make a paste. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the oil and when it is hot, add the curry powder paste, garlic. Stir-fry briefly until fragrant. Add the onion and capsicum and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until it begins to soften, then add the cabbage and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Stir in the bean sprouts, cook briefly, and then add the pork and the noodles. Add the sauce, tossing the ingredients carefully to mix. If too dry, add a bit more chicken stock or water as needed. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with sliced egg crepe coriander and serve

Growing Orchids In Sydney

Although spring officially begins on the 1st of September in Australia, it has started ten days earlier in our garden with the bloom of the first flower on a arching spray of unopened buds of our neglected Cymbidium orchid plant. It has rusty brown petals with a wonderfully garish and extravagantly sized purple and white lip.




I began interested in growing orchids out of fascination with the delicate beauty of bloom and their native habitats from where they grow, but I think the stage was set by my experiences when I was working as a young forester in the tropical jungle of Papua New Guinea. But my interest waned when I returned to live in Sydney, as I was frustrated of not knowing how to care for them in a different environment and climate change, never knowing when to water, when to fertilize or to keep them indoor or to prevent the winter frost. Just like the orchid, I am originally from the tropics and have yet to learn how to acclimatise in colder climate :). Through the years, I have diminished the lives of many orchid plants and sent them back to their heavenly tropical paradise home in the sky. I gave up in despair, and sure that I hadn't the knack to raise these beauties until now.

Cooking Fried Rice Restaurant Style At Home.

Have you been to a Chinese restaurant and overwhelmed at the choices of dishes in the menu before giving it back to the waiter to decide the order for you. As soon as his recommendation was sought, you sat marvelled at his ability to rattle the whole menu without taking in another breath, only to be stopped when you hear something familiar such as honey prawns, Mongolian lamb or lemon chicken and signalled him to jot down the order. As if you haven't ordered enough with your three dishes with a soup, he would then asked "Would like to have plain or fried rice with your meal?" Very often, not many of us would opt for plain steamed rice over the fried rice. Mainly because the latter is a popular Chinese dish said to require plenty of wok hei ( 鑊氣), to acquire deliciousness. A cooking method, in which many of us would have some degree of difficulties in reproducing the "wok hei" (wok aroma) with the same result as the restaurant cooking in our kitchen at home. In Chinese restaurant cooking, food is cooked in extremely high heat over a wok to produce "wok hei" a Cantonese term in which you can literally taste the infusion of the hot wok and burnt element of the food. Beside the flavour, there is also the texture of the cooked items and smell involved that describes wok hei. In order, to achieve and to imbibe "wok hei" into our home cooking, it is essential to learn the basic wok cooking technique and also to invest in a gas hob, as the food must be cooked over a high flame while being stirred and tossed quickly. Although a wok is most often used in stir frying in Chinese cooking, it can also be used for various cooking methods such as deep frying, braising, stewing,smoking and boiling and steaming.
The two types of Chinese woks you find in the Asian grocery stores are the carbon steel and cast iron woks. Although the cast iron wok was the most common type used in the past, the usually inexpensive steel wok has gradually replaced it's popularity. Furthermore, the steel wok is relatively lighter in weight and has quick heat conduction and reasonable durability. However, the steel wok is more difficult to "season" (carbonising the wok to create a non stick surface through cooking) and has a high tendency to deform or misshaped when used in very high heat. On the other hand, cast iron wok is superior in heat retention and uniform in heat distribution, it also forms a better carbonised non stick layer to prevent food from sticking to the wok. But it is relatively fragile and prone to shattering if dropped or mishandled.(if you have the misfortune of breaking one, please disposed of it quietly without your mother's or mother in law's knowledge, as it is equivalent of suffering the same fate as breaking a mirror in the western superstition ). But this is nothing as compared to the hassle of re-carbonising the new wok. We will post how to season a new wok in near future soon. In the meanwhile, enjoy this "wok hei" fried rice recipe.

Fried Rice with "Wok Hei" Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked and cold rice.( cook the day before and refrigerate or use leftover cooked rice)
5 eggs
1 large onion finely chopped
6 spring onion chopped
5 cloves garlic finely minced.
250 g diced char siew (Chinese BBQ pork) or diced ham.
150 g sliced Chinese sausage (lup cheong) or diced bacon.
150 g green peas
150 g carrots cut into small cubes
150 g red capsicum cut into small cubes
4 Tbsp soya sauce
1 Tbsp chicken stock powder.
1/2 cup oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish.



Beat the eggs with salt in a bowl until frothy. Heat wok and add 1 Tbsp of oil and swirl it around to coat the side of the wok. Pour in egg mixture and spread it around the wok to form a thin crepe. Remove the crepe from the wok and set it aside.Cut the cooled crepe into thin strips. A cardinal rule in Chinese stir fry cooking to remember is "hot wok cold oil"
Heat up the wok to a high temperature. To test whether the wok has been heated to required high temperature for the "wok hei" to be created, put a droplet of water into the hot wok. If the water evapourised in an instant, it is ready. Add one Tbsp of oil and and coat it around the side of the wok, once it settled at the bottom of the wok, add garlic, onion, and cook until soft and golden; remove the garlic and onion mixture from the wok. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and again swirl it to coat the sides; add the carrot, capsicum and green peas and stir fry over high heat for a minute. Remove and set aside.
Add remaining oil and add rice and stir fry over high heat for 2 minutes. Return all the cooked ingredient back to the wok and add in soya sauce,chicken powder and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well for a minute. Garnish the fried rice with the egg crepe strips and fresh coriander.