Pad Thai

Pad Thai anyone? =) Last night I made Pad Thai, not from scratch this time. =) I saw an almost-instant Pad Thai noodles in the supermarket. It was so easy to make, you just have to cook the noodles( set aside), cook the meat of your choice (I added tofu, bean sprouts and shrimps), add the ready-sauce mix and stir back in the noodles and you have you're almost-as-good-as-the-original Pad Thai noodles from Thailand.

Better with the spring onions and LIME!!!! I forgot the lime! ... Lime will make it taste more authentic

Chinese Part 3

This is my 3rd attempt on cooking Chinese, I have reserved the whole week for Chinese dishes that my hubby had chosen. And so far, these dishes were better tasting than my first 2 attempts.

Before trying to cook Chinese food again, I have searched all bookstores for the best Chinese cookbook... bought a few but the recipes failed. Disappointed again. Then, I found my mom's Chinese cookbook... it's been tried and tested with lot's of secrets... =) It made me realize that anyone can really cook, you just have to find that perfect recipe with the little secrets to make the perfect dish.

SPICY CHICKEN - this was crispylicious until I poured the sauce over.. but it was still good =)

STEAMED BACON IN SOY SAUCE - this was a little hassle to make but it was worth =) we ate this with rice and steamed bun... and had some leftovers for the next day =)

Stir- fried shrimp - a bit salty

BEEF STIR-FRIED NOODLES - this was surprisingly delicious =) This was my favorite of all, gonna make this again soon =)

CHICKEN CLAYPOT RICE

SHRIMP IN BEANCURD SKIN - the taste was good but we got the wrong beancurd skin... should have gotten the flat white beancurd for a better presentation. Next time =)

Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese has always been every kid's favorite.

Made one from scratch yesterday, it's just simple Mornay Sauce with elbow macaroni =)


MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ashton, my dad and ama loved it =)

* MORNAY SAUCE is Bechamel sauce with all the cheese you want=) the cheesier the better =)

Seafood Aligue Spaghetti

I finally had the time to blog and cook again and so I did last night, even if I was on a strict diet... meaning I can't eat or even taste what I was going to cook.

I've always wanted to try to make Pasta Aligue and thankfully my "Ninang" from Zamboanga gave us ALAVAR sauce, it's a sauce made from crab roe with a hint of coconut which is usually paired with ofcourse, seafoods. You have to try this amazing sauce it's really good - well at least for me and my family=)

Here's my version of the Seafood Aligue Pasta


It looked really good but when I tasted it the next day (when my diet was officially done) I realized that I served something that was tasteless.... it was really embarassing. So I recooked it and added a little more salt and it was DEADLY PERFECT!

Lesson of the story : always taste what you cook before serving =)

Spaghetti Vongole

Daddy was craving for this.... so I made him his favorite Vongole....

It took me a long time before mastering this dish. Kinda tricky but the secret is all in the pasta.

My dad enjoyed it with a glass of wine =)

Sirloin Burger

We had a half-pounder sirloin burger for dinner last night.
The burger was tasty and juicy. Filled the burger buns with some fresh lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and Monterey Jack Cheese.... Yummy!


Half pound sirloin burger


This is my half pound sirloin burger... It looks so big 'cause I added a lot of alfalfa =) I loved it.

Indian-themed New Year's Eve dinner

It has been a tradition for us to get together on a New Year's eve, and for the past 7 years I have been preparing dinner for the family and relatives. We have different themes every year. This year's theme was Indian/ Persian. It was something different for some but for me...it has always been one of my favorite cuisines.


Papadum


Vegetable Samosas - this was bought from Assad Mini Mart in Bel-Air


Lamb Kofta- was served with Cucumber Raita


Cucumber Raita - accompaniment for the Kofta and Biryani


Indian Style Beef Kebab with Naan - ( Naan was store bought)


Cucumber Sambal accompaniment for the fish


Tali Machli with saffron Curry sauce


Chicken Biryani - Chicken Biryani should always be served on top of rice (see pic below). I just served it separately so guests can have a choice of what to mix with the rice.


CHICKEN BIRYANI