Successes and Failures

Bit Bit has been trying out many new dishes, about 70 to 80 dishes from the start of this blog. There has been both successes and failures while trying to cook out the different dishes. Some were really nice and yummy, which made Bit Bit really happy and proud. Some turned out fairly okay, which will make Bit Bit think of how to improve them. However, there were also some failures which Bit Bit did not record them down here, since they are recipes which have failed. The failures impact Bit Bit more than the successes, as cooking to Bit Bit is about making delicious food which everyone will like and feel happy, so without yummy food, Bit Bit will not be able to see the satisfied expression of the eater.

There were times when Bit Bit specially made some food for friends, some of them expressed interest and enjoyed the food, while some of them do not seem to show any appreciation or perhaps it was not to their liking or perhaps they prefer eating out at restaurants or cafes instead of eating homemade food. The unhappy incidents have made Bit Bit think of stopping cooking, but thinking of those friends who enjoyed the food, Bit Bit will not give up and continue learning the different dishes.

 

Bit Bit actually likes to cook at home a lot, as Bit Bit likes to eat but is also keeping a lookout on the amount of calories consumed everyday, so cooking at home allows Bit Bit to eat healthier with lower calories than the food outside. Bit Bit is kept full and satisfied everyday, eating all the food that Bit Bit likes, but also the calorie count is also kept within limit. Also, Bit Bit can eat all the different types of food, while saving money since it is so much cheaper than eating outside, especially food that are sold at restaurants only.

Failure is the mother of success. Every failure allows Bit Bit to learn more about cooking, and find out ways to improve them. Every success will boost Bit Bit's morale, and reconfirm the knowledge gained. No matter failure or success, Bit Bit will continue to improve and learn on the way.

Steamed Egg Cheese Cake (Kueh)

Bit Bit is thinking of making a cheese cake for Monkey, whose birthday is approaching. Since Bit Bit does not have an oven, Bit Bit went looking for steamed cheese cake recipes. After tweaking all the recipes, Bit Bit made a steamed egg cheese cake instead, as the egg flavour was quite strong that it tastes slightly like steamed egg kueh (kueh neng ko) 鸡蛋糕, but in a kueh-like texture, with a slight cheese taste. Bit Bit decided to record the recipe down, as it tastes yummy, which is worth a try.

The steamed egg cheese cake took an hour to finish.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Steamed Egg Cheese Cake:

• Cream cheese is easier to use for cakes, instead of harder cheese like mozzarella.
• Do not pour the melted cheese mixture into the flour mixture while it is still hot, as the baking powder will react, and the cake would not rise when it is being steamed. Bit Bit used the cheese mixture while it is still warm, and bubbles kept forming, so the cake did not rise while it was being steamed.
• To remove the strong egg flavour and to taste more of the cheese, use less egg yolk or add more cheese.
• Add some cream of tartar to allow the cake to fluff up.
• Corn flour is used to give a lighter texture, but it should be used together with flour as corn flour does not really have a structure.
• The egg whites should be beaten till it peaks, adding some salt, cream of tartar, lemon juice or vinegar will allow easier whisking.
• Well-beaten egg whites will help to leaven the cake.
• Use a toothpick to poke the cake, and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Steamed Egg Cheese Cake:

1. Pure Milk - 100gm
2. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese - 100gm
3. Canola Oil - 1 Tsp
4. All Purpose Flour - 50gm
5. Corn Flour - 35gm
6. Baking Powder - 1.5 Tsp
7. Egg - 3 Whole
8. Sugar - 80gm
9. Vanilla Essence - 1 Tsp

Method that Bit Bit used to make Steamed Egg Cheese Cake:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and turn heat to low.
2. Place a bowl in the pot of water, add in cheese, milk and oil.
3. Stir the cheese mixture continuously until all the cheese has melted, forming a liquid mixture.
4. Let the cheese mixture cool down.
5. In a bowl, add in the flour, corn flour and baking powder, and mix well.
6. Crack the eggs and separate the egg yolk and egg white.
7. Add the egg yolks into the flour mixture and mix well.
8. When the cheese mixture has cooled down, add the cheese mixture and vanilla essence into the flour mixture, and mix well.
9. In another bowl, whisk the egg white till it peaks.
10. Add sugar and whisk for a while more.
11. Pour the flour mixture in, and mix well gently.
12. Lightly grease a plate and pour the batter in.
13. In a pot, add water enough for steaming.
14. Steam the batter for about 15 minutes, or till it is done.
15. When it is done, turn off the heat and let it stay in the pot for 3 to 5 minutes.
16. Remove cake from the pot and overturn it to cool it down.
17. Serve and eat!

Leftover Oden Broth Set Meal おでんの残り汁定食 - Vegetarian

After making oden yesterday, there was some leftover oden broth, so Bit Bit was thinking of what to do with the leftover delicious oden broth. Bit Bit was thinking of making the leftover broth into a vegetarian set meal dinner for Pig, and rice or noodles would be a good idea. So, Bit Bit decided to make oden rice which will then become fried oden rice and a bowl of oden along.

This dish took about 1 hour to complete.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Leftover Oden Broth Set Meal:

• Leftover oden broth can actually be used again by adding new ingredients in, one can also add in some rice or noodles to absorb the yummy oden broth.
• There are many uses of oden broth, as it can be used as a soup stock, for example in tamagoyaki, noodles soup, nimono, etc.
• Try not to leave the radish in the oden overnight, as it may cause the soup to have a slight bitter aftertaste.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Leftover Oden Broth Set Meal:

1. Carrot - 1 Medium Whole
2. Konnyaku (Yam Block) - 1 Piece
3. Long Cabbage - 1 Small Whole (About 200gm)
4. Tau Pok - 1 Piece
5. Uncooked Rice - 1/2 Cup
6. Salt - A Pinch
7. Leftover Vegetarian Oden Broth
8. Canola Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to make Leftover Oden Broth Set Meal:

1. Wash and rinse the uncooked rice for about three times.
2. Pour in about 1.5 cups of leftover oden broth into the pot containing the washed rice.
3. Cook the rice under medium low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. When rice is soft and water has mostly dried up, turn off the heat and cover the lid of the pot for about 10 minutes. Add more oden broth if required.
5. Once rice is ready, scoop the oden rice into a bowl and let it cool.
6. Heat up the remaining leftover oden broth at low heat.
7. Cut off the bottom of the cabbage, and wash the cabbage leaves.
8. Cut off the stem of the cabbage leaves, and dice.
9. Cut the cabbage leaves into medium sizes, and set aside.
10. Wash and remove the skin of the carrot, cut 1/3 of the carrot into thin small slices, cut the remaining 2/3 carrot into small chunks, and set aside.
11. Wash the konnyaku, cut 1/3 of the konnyaku into 2 triangular pieces and the remaining 2/3 into small cubes, and set aside.
12. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
13. Add in all the konnyaku to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, and remove.
14. In the pot of leftover oden broth, add in the cabbage leaves, carrot chunks, konnyaku triangular pieces and tau pok, and bring to a boil before simmering for 15 minutes.
15. Heat up a pan and add oil.
16. Add in the carrot slices, cabbage dices and konnyaku cubes, and stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.
17. Pour in about 1/3 cup of leftover oden broth, and let the vegetables simmer till the broth has evaporated.
18. When broth has evaporated, add in the steamed oden rice and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
19. Spinkle some salt over the fried rice, and stir-fry for about 1 to 2 minutes.
20. Place the rice in a plate, and the oden in a bowl.
21. Serve and eat!

Japanese Assorted Stew (Oden) おでん

Previously, Bit Bit recorded the vegetarian oden version, and now Bit Bit will record the oden version with yummy fishcakes and bonito flakes.

The oden took about 1.5 hours to prepare and cook.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Oden:

• Oden is a very delicious dish, and the dashi and condiments are very important to flavour all the food in the oden well.
• For the dashi, Bit Bit wanted to add both kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) right at the beginning, however since Bit Bit also had to prepare the vegetarian version, Bit Bit added the katsuobushi last, but it still tastes great and flavourful.
• From young, Bit Bit had always thought that chikuwa (fish surimi tube) is a local food product as it is commonly seen in yong tau foo, but after looking at the packaging which Pig bought from the wet market, Bit Bit realised that it had always been a japanese food product.
• Bit Bit likes to keep the leftover soup and add more ingredients in the next day, the soup will become more flavourful.
• Oden is low in calories and healthy, and also consists of both fibre and protein. Bit Bit loves it.
• In this dish, Bit Bit tries to replace as much of the ingredients that Bit Bit can find locally instead of buying the original japanese products.
• Bit Bit wanted to add a boiled egg in this dish, but forgot about the egg which was left aside.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Oden:

1. Kombu (Kelp) - 2 Rectangular Pieces (About 4 inches long when dried)
2. Bonito Flakes - 1 Handful
3. Water - About 700 to 800 ml
4. White Radish - 1/2 Medium Whole
5. Long Cabbage - 4 Leaves
6. Tau Pok (Deep-fried Tofu Puff) - 3 Pieces
7. Konnyaku (Yam Block) - 1/3 Block
8. Round Fried Fish Cake - 1 Piece
9. Chikuwa (Fish Surimi Tube) - 6 Pieces
10. Mirin - 3 to 4 Tbsp
11. Light Soy Sauce - 3 to 4 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Oden:

1. Pour the water and add in the kombu into a big pot, and bring to a boil. Afterwhich, simmer the dashi for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Wash and remove the skin of the radish, and cut into 1 inch slices, and set aside.
3. Wash and cut the konnyaku into triangular shapes, and set aside.
4. Peel out the leaves of the cabbage one by one carefully, so as not to break them. Cut off most of the stem of the leaves.
5. Wash the leaves, fold the sides of the leaf towards the centre and roll it up from the bottom to the top. Use a toothpick to prevent the cabbage roll from falling apart. Repeat for the remaining leaves. Set aside the cabbage rolls.
6. Wash the stem of the leaves and cut them into small squares. These will be used to put into the tau pok bag.
7. Cut the top of the tau pok to form an opening for stuffing. As the interior of the tau pok does not normally have a hole like the aburaage, cut the middle of the tau pok to form an opening carefully. Repeat for the rest of the tau pok.
8. For the extra tops of the tau pok which were cut off, set them aside to be placed in the oden too.
9. Once all the ingredients are prepared, bring a pot of water to boil.
10. First, boil the radish slices for about 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Remove the radish slices and add them into the dashi pot to let them simmer in the dashi.
12. Second, boil the cabbage rolls for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set aside.
13. Thirdly, boil the tau pok top and tau pok bag for about 3 to 4 minutes.
14. Remove the tau pok from the boiling water, and use a wet towel to dry the tau pok lightly.
15. For the tau pok top, set them aside. For the tau pok bag, open the bag and stuff in the cabbage stem dices. Use a toothpick to secure the opening of the bag, and set aside.
16. Lastly, boil the konnyaku for about 10 minutes to remove the fishy smell. As the boiling water was already used to boil the tau pok previously, and will be slightly oily, wash the boiled konnyaku in running water, before placing them into the dashi pot.
17. Cut the round fried fish cake into 4 pieces, and set aside.
18. Now, the ingredients - radish, konnyaku, tau pok slices, tau pok bags, cabbage rolls, chikuwa and fried fish cake are all prepared.
19. In the dashi pot that is still simmering, with radish and konnyaku in it, add mirin and light soy sauce, and mix well.
20. Taste the soup, if the flavour is not enough, add more mirin or light soy sauce accordingly.
21. Add in the cabbage rolls, tau pok slices, tau pok bags, chikuwa and fried fish cake.
22. Sprinkle the bonito flakes over the ingredients.
23. Cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the tastier the oden, Bit Bit prepared the oden 3 hours in advance before dinner, and when it is dinner time, the oden tastes very yummy.
24. Serve and eat!

Japanese Assorted Stew (Oden) おでん - Vegetarian

Bit Bit likes the fishcakes in yong tau foo a lot, and when Bit Bit came across this dish called oden, Bit Bit wanted to try it out. However, Bit Bit did not have the ingredients and after being able to find most of the ingredients, Bit Bit decided to make oden. As usual, Bit Bit needs to make a vegetarian version of Pig as well, so Bit Bit will record down the vegetarian version first.

The vegetarian oden took about 1.5 hours to prepare and cook.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Oden:

• Oden is a very delicious dish, and the dashi and condiments are very important to flavour all the food in the oden well.
• For a vegetarian version, one can use kombu (kelp) dashi or shiitake (chinese dried black mushroom) dashi. Bit Bit prefers the kombu dashi as one can also eat the kombu after cooking, and it tastes great. As there is no bonito flakes added to give the soup more flavour, add more kombu for a stronger taste.
• Since one main ingredient for oden is fish cake, which is not vegetarian, the vegetarian version will not have a sweet seafood taste, but it will have a flavourful kelp taste. Both Bit Bit and Pig likes it a lot.
• Bit Bit likes to keep the leftover soup and add more ingredients in the next day, the soup will become more flavourful.
• Oden is low in calories and healthy, and also consists of both fibre and protein. Bit Bit loves it.
• In this dish, Bit Bit tries to replace as much of the ingredients that Bit Bit can find locally instead of buying the original japanese products.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Oden:

1. Kombu (Kelp) - 2 Rectangular Pieces (About 4 inches long when dried)
2. Water - About 700 to 800 ml
3. White Radish - 1/2 Medium Whole
4. Long Cabbage - 4 Leaves
5. Tau Pok (Deep-fried Tofu Puff) - 3 Pieces
6. Konnyaku (Yam Block) - 1/3 Block
7. Mirin - 3 to 4 Tbsp
8. Light Soy Sauce - 3 to 4 Tbsp

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Oden:

1. Pour the water and add in the kombu into a big pot, and bring to a boil. Afterwhich, simmer the dashi for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Wash and remove the skin of the radish, and cut into 1 inch slices, and set aside.
3. Wash and cut the konnyaku into triangular shapes, and set aside.
4. Peel out the leaves of the cabbage one by one carefully, so as not to break them. Cut off most of the stem of the leaves.
5. Wash the leaves, fold the sides of the leaf towards the centre and roll it up from the bottom to the top. Use a toothpick to prevent the cabbage roll from falling apart. Repeat for the remaining leaves. Set aside the cabbage rolls.
6. Wash the stem of the leaves and cut them into small squares. These will be used to put into the tau pok bag.
7. Cut the top of the tau pok to form an opening for stuffing. As the interior of the tau pok does not normally have a hole like the aburaage, cut the middle of the tau pok to form an opening carefully. Repeat for the rest of the tau pok.
8. For the extra tops of the tau pok which were cut off, set them aside to be placed in the oden too.
9. Once all the ingredients are prepared, bring a pot of water to boil.
10. First, boil the radish slices for about 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Remove the radish slices and add them into the dashi pot to let them simmer in the dashi.
12. Second, boil the cabbage rolls for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and set aside.
13. Thirdly, boil the tau pok top and tau pok bag for about 3 to 4 minutes.
14. Remove the tau pok from the boiling water, and use a wet towel to dry the tau pok lightly.
15. For the tau pok top, set them aside. For the tau pok bag, open the bag and stuff in the cabbage stem dices. Use a toothpick to secure the opening of the bag, and set aside.
16. Lastly, boil the konnyaku for about 10 minutes to remove the fishy smell. As the boiling water was already used to boil the tau pok previously, and will be slightly oily, wash the boiled konnyaku in running water, before placing them into the dashi pot.
17. Now, the ingredients - radish, konnyaku, tau pok slices, tau pok bags and cabbage rolls are all prepared.
18. In the dashi pot that is still simmering, with radish and konnyaku in it, add mirin and light soy sauce, and mix well.
19. Taste the soup, if the flavour is not enough, add more mirin or light soy sauce accordingly.
20. Add in the cabbage rolls, tau pok slices and tau pok bags.
21. Cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the tastier the oden, Bit Bit prepared the oden 3 hours in advance before dinner, and when it is dinner time, the oden tastes very yummy.
22. Serve and eat!

Flat Rice Noodle Soup (Kway Teow Soup) 粿条汤 - Vegetarian

Bit Bit was thinking of what to cook for Pig's dinner, and since there is only chee cheong fun left in the fridge, Bit Bit had to use chee cheong fun to prepare dinner. Then Bit Bit thought of kway teow soup, and since chee cheong fun is also a kind of rice noodle in the form of a roll, Bit Bit used chee cheong fun in replace of kway teow to make kway teow soup.

This dish took about 25 minutes to complete.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Kway Teow Soup:

• Chinese dried mushrooms, tomato and beansprouts gave a lot of flavour to soups, so be sure to add them in for a more flavourful soup.
• Chee cheong fun is more fragile than kway teow, so if using chee cheong fun in place of kway teow, do not cook them for too long else they will become small pieces. A good way is to cook the kway teow or chee cheong fun separately in a pot of boiling water and then put them into the soup.
• This is a light and tasty meal, which is suitable for people who do not have appetite.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Kway Teow Soup:

1. Chee Cheong Fun - 1.5 Pieces
2. Chinese Dried Black Mushrooms - 4 Pieces
3. Tomato - 1 Whole
4. Tau Kwa (Firm Beancurd) - 1 Piece
5. Beansprouts - 1 Cup
6. Light Soy Sauce - 2 Tbsp
7. Water - 2 Cups

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Kway Teow Soup:

1. Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Wash and cut the mushrooms into slices.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms into the boiling water.
4. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Wash and cut the tomato into 6 wedges, and set aside.
6. Cut the tau kwa into small rectangles and set aside.
7. Wash the beansprouts and set aside.
8. When the mushrooms have been simmered for 10 minutes, add in the tomato wedges and tau kwa into the soup, and simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Add in the beansprouts and simmer for another 5 minutes.
10. Bring another pot of water to boil and steam the chee cheong fun for 5 minutes.
11. Once chee cheong fun is ready, cut the chee cheong fun into 1 inch pieces.
12. Pour the soup into the serving bowl and add in the cut chee cheong fun.
13. Serve and eat!

Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal (Eggplant) and Long Beans 辣炒茄子长豆

Pig normally likes to stir-fry brinjal with chilli padi and Bit Bit likes it. The mixed vegetable rice stall near Bit Bit's area also sells stir-fried brinjal with long beans and Bit Bit also likes it. So today, Bit Bit decided to make stir-fried spicy brinjal and long beans.

This dish took about 20 minutes to complete.

Things that Bit Bit found out about Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

• Long beans need a longer time to be cooked, so while stir-frying vegetables, cook the long beans first.
• To check whether a brinjal is cooked, poke a chopsticks into its flesh and if it goes through easily, the brinjal is cooked.
• This dish is healthy and filled with fibre, and the chilli also stimulates one's metabolism.

Ingredients that Bit Bit used for Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

1. Brinjal (Eggplant) - 6 Small Whole
2. Long Beans - 350gm (Around 12 to 15 Pieces)
3. Red Chilli Padi - 9 Pieces
4. Canola Oil - 1 Tbsp
5. Light Soy Sauce - 1.5 Tbsp
6. Salt - A Pinch
7. Water - 1/2 Cup

Method that Bit Bit used to cook Stir-Fried Spicy Brinjal and Long Beans:

1. Wash and cut the brinjal into thick slices, and set aside.
2. Wash and remove the head and tail of the long beans, cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces and set aside.
3. Wash and remove the head of the chilli padi, cut the chilli padi into two pieces each.
4. Use a chopstick to hit the chilli padi gently to remove the seeds, and set aside.
5. Heat up a pan and add oil.
6. Add in the long beans and red chilli padi. Stir fry for about 5 minutes.
7. Add in 1/4 cup of water and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Continue to stir fry and simmer till long beans are mostly cooked (does not taste raw anymore).
9. Add in the brinjal and 1/4 cup of water.
10. Stir fry for about 5 minutes and simmer till both long beans and brinjal are cooked.
11. Add in light soy sauce and salt, and mix well.
12. Stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.
13. Serve and eat!