Gong Bao Ji: The verdict. (plus wild card entries)

I didn’t think I’m that good… but I guess I’m not too bad. Followed the planned recipe below but without the scallops, as I was finally convinced that the sauce will just be too overpowering for scallops. It was kinda fun… I nearly cried while chopping onions, and almost choked to death while frying the dried chillies. As usual, aromatic smoke engulfed my entire kitchen. Apparently I seem to be really hardcore, but really I’m not… I just believe that cooking is good for the soul. And although KM was sick, RN had a stomachache at the last minute, M nearly forgot but already made plans, and L couldn’t make it… my bro was around with his friend to enjoy the humble homecooked fare.

I realized that my mum had kept this extremely good chinese rice vinegar, and it seemed to have the x factor that created that depth of flavour. On the the other hand, I realize that I can’t dice chicken meat for nuts… its either my knife was too blunt, or I was just doing it wrong.

Aside from stupidly forgetting the chilli sauce, I thought this was really good for a first timer. The spiciness mainly came from the szechuan pepper and the dried chillies. The sauce was just the way I wanted it to be, thick and full of flavor… In fact I think its probably better to leave out the chilli sauce, unless you really like spicyness. And I thank God that I have a lid for the wok, otherwise I might’ve fainted from the choking aroma of the dried chillies. My bro and his friend fueled my ego by rating this dish 8/10. Its a simple joy eating this with rice. Also thanks to RN for suggesting salt-free cashew nuts!

This one’s a no brainer. It will always taste the same, and its always good. Its not so nice with asparagus so I realized, but consistently delightful with the “golden” mushrooms.

All that wasn’t really enough for 3 people, at least not for me and my bro’s friend. While shopping for these ingredients at Giant (IMM) with RN, the tank of live glass prawns drew me to buy about half a kg which I so happily did. So since the food wasn’t enough, surely I oughta pull out the big guns. I added huadiao, some light soy sauce and sesame oil to marinate the prawns just a little over 8 minutes, pulled them out and put them on a plate and steamed it. After playing 6 mins of Pro Evo Soccer ‘08 on the PS2, prawns were done.

They really tasted like what you get from a chinese restaurant. Peel and dip them in light soy with a few drops of sesame oil… felt like I was in heaven for a moment. Not expensive, plus I still have somemore prawns left. Too bad my original invites didn’t show… missed a real treat here. Parents touching down at 12.20 am later. Maybe cook these for them tomorrow to try.

Sweeeet day today.

Will this really work?

A few days ago, I ordered Kung Pao chicken for lunch at the food court.. and it really wasn’t that good because the chicken was dry and overcooked. I remember saying to my colleagues, that I can probably do a better job… so did a little research online for recipes for kung pao chicken… and noticed the word “scallops” in one of the recipes, thus decided to include that into the dish.

Here’s a draft of what I’m probably going to do for the dish, plan to execute it next Sat at home while my parents are away.

Kung Pao chicken with scallops

2-3 boneless chicken thigh/drumstick
200 gm scallops
Salt and pepper
Oyster sauce
Chinese vinegar
Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing/hua diao)
Sugar
Szechuan pepper
Dark and Light soy sauce
Cornstarch
Dried Chillies
Spring onions
Shallots/Onions
Red bell pepper
Cashew nuts
Corn and sesame oil
Garlic and ginger
Garlic chilli sauce (can use leftover ones from Mcdonalds)

First and foremost, cut chicken into bite size chunks. Rub a little salt and white pepper in there, then a little oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Dash of the hot Szechuan pepper. Splash some shaoxing/huadiao. A little sesame oil in there for added fragrance as well. Add some sugar. A little garlic will be nice too. Leave it to marinade for about 25-30 mins.

After 20 mins, rub salt and pepper onto the scallops. Won’t be doing too much so as to retain the scallops’ original flavor. Add the cornstarch to both the marinated chicken and scallops. Done in seperate bowls.

Chop up the dried chillies, spring onion, shallots/onion and red bell pepper. Chop garlic and slice some ginger as well.

Heat the wok till very hot at high heat. Add some oil, and throw it 2-3 slices of ginger. Once aromatic, throw in chopped garlic… once aromatic, throw in the dried chillies, shallots/onions, red bell pepper and stir fry. Once the fragrance exudes, add some shaoxing/huadiao followed by some dark/light soy sauce. Once the wine shows signs of reducing, add in the chicken and stir fry at high heat till the chicken is 60-70% cooked. Put in as much Szechuan pepper as you want here, determines how spicy the dish will be. The chicken should absorb the aroma of the fragrant ingredients. Lastly add in the cashew nuts, chopped spring onions, followed by the scallops. Scallops are put in last because putting it earlier will overpower the scallops’ original taste. While cooking, quickly prepare a small bowl and mix dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce, chinese vinegar, sugar, garlic chili sauce, add a quarter cup of water, and add cornstarch. Mix it up and pour the sauce into the wok. Stir fry till the sauce reduces, then put in a few more splashes of huadiao/shaoxing wine and fry till everything is super hot. Sauce should be dark and thick to go with rice.

Will this really work? We’ll find out soon next week…

Time to start afresh…

Parents flying off in an hour’s time to Shanghai… will be gone for 8 days leaving bro and I to the family car. And yes its finally my turn to wash the car.

The past week of work had revolved around my company’s inventory, in which has turned rather chaotic since I’ve not been able to keep track of 100% of the stock movements in and out. Luckily after the stock take and some tracing work, there weren’t too many problems to resolve and the boss was happy that it wasn’t as bad as they thought it was (still bad though). Since then I’ve made a promise to myself, to take analism to the next level…. with regards to stock going in and out of the inventory… (is that even a word?)

Took a few days leave in Nov, planning to go on a short getaway on my own. Partly because no one else is free to come along, and it was a last minute decision since I have leave to clear. I need to go on more holidays… in the space of perhaps 3 years I’ve only gone to Genting for 3 days… which I think is quite pathetic, if it weren’t for the purpose of saving more leave for my exam period. Since I’m converted to permanent staff, I’ve got extra 5 days of personal leave which I’m able to use for exams, and also 2 extra days of annual leave.

The year has passed by in a flash, and its less than 3 months till the end of the year… when I was sending my parents to the airport, my brain was suddenly filled with memories of S… a year ago, those days when I specially took time to go all the way to the airport to fetch her… I just couldn’t stop thinking about her on the way to the airport… she would’ve arrived, and be smiling ear to ear, and my favorite part of a relationship is that happy and loving look from my partner. Its always something special, and I realize that’s one memory that I can never get rid of. The look of pure love…

Also, my posts are getting more and more boring… don’t I have anything more interesting to write other than about me?

Some reality checks…

We live in a place called Earth. Not a place called Heaven. Yet… I sometimes confuse both of them, thinking that its possible for the planet to turn into heaven. I’ve come to believe that will never happen in this lifetime, because I’ve lost quite a bit of faith. However… I do believe in good and bad. I do realize that good is hard to come by, and bad just comes in a millisecond.

I’ve not blogged for awhile… mainly because I was afraid of channelling unnecessary energy to confuse myself. I basically tried to heed W’s advice, and just chill. And yes life did become a little more easier and enjoyable. Once in awhile I’ll read Paulo Coelho’s Warrior of Light, which helped to set my blurrs into perspective. I think the most enjoyable day this week was having a dinner with M, and having her join RN, LP, Princess, KM and r3gular for mahjong and insane ranting, which sort of resembled like an episode from Friends. Sent M back at around 4+ in the morning… drove back to RN’s place… and simply crashed. I was awoken by my phone at 8am, my dad asked where the car was… and found Kiwi (RN’s cat) sleeping on top of my buttocks.

RN had also gotten me the latest iPod classic at a very good price, only to find out that M could’ve gotten it for me even cheaper… arrggh… will be paying RN back later in the month… nevertheless, the new iPod Classic is simply stunning, and the sexiest thing I’ve ever held in my hand (how sad is that).

Met up with my financial advisor, and “confessed” as to very poor personal financial management… but hoping to change all that by saving at least 10% every month for a start. Apparently, I didn’t really change for myself when I was with S… I was merely changing for the better of her… and perhaps both of us. As RN would put it, I’ve been overcompensating for the past year.

But I don’t feel that all that was a waste, looking at the percentage of where the money went to. Most of it went for a good cause… and I feel that I’ve done my part. Eventually, I will need cash to get my own place… and also for my retirement. At the moment… I think I’ve gotten the material stuff that I’ve wanted/needed. I am nevertheless thankful…

Also caught up with H, my msian colleague who sometimes drops by in SG for extra technical support. He’s married with 2 kids… and we caught up a little as to how our walk with God has been. Recently he felt that some of his beliefs being challenged, or rather, that the pastor that he follows was heavily criticised by many other christian leaders… I too shared with him my utter confusion of doctrines and beliefs in christianity… that so many more conflicts occur inside as compared to the outside… that I’ve gotten very tired of too many principles and notions that’s being hammered across time and time again… that its got me to a point where I’m just lost. But he shared with me that doesn’t mean I should completely give up on God (which I never really did), and told me that its normal at times to feel disappointment doubt when the time comes, and to keep trusting that God’s love is real and His will happens for a purpose. Well… I just wanna stop being confused.

I think… that I’ve been on a bit of the dark side lately… been a little more sarcastic I think… with the intention of dark humor in mind. Must be too much Boston Legal… “Denny Crane”…

Protected: Did I spend too much this year?

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