Category Archives: Home Made

Home Made

Tom Yum Goong Oats Porridge

1 Comment
Advertisements

Following up from my previous Instagram post (https://instagram.com/p/BGYJGOzJlfr/), I’m gonna try Captain Oats Rolled Oats this time. I believe I’ve used rolled oats for overnight oats as well, but they are actually nicer if you cook them.

You may have heard of what the benefits of oats are and it’s totally not food for the sick only. I definitely didn’t know that eating oats actually cheer you up! You guys can read more about it here –> http://www.mycaptainoats.com/all-about-oats/captain-oats-goodness
So I was in this adventurous mode and decided to whip up something with the prawns and mini lobsters I caught a few days ago. Tom Yum Goong Oats Porridge immediately came to my mind, and it’s my first time cooking oats in savoury porridge style.

Captain Oats Rolled Oats
Looks good right? They are actually slightly crispy cos they lightly toast it to prolong the shelf life.
What I caught!
After de-shelling them, i have like 30 prawns and 3 mini lobsters!
Add in some Tom Yum paste, about 1 tablespoon
Bring to boil
Add in the juicy prawns
Add in the glorious oats. I use half a cup of oats to 1.5 cups water.
Boil till oats are soft and water is thickening
Add an egg if you want and I would usually go with some greens. So I blanched some broccoli.
I would dress it up with some fried shallots to up the yums level
Voila! It basically taste like brown rice porridge, with all the nutrients of course. Really yummy!

So go try your own creative oat based recipes and share it with me and Captain Oats below or hashtag on Instagram #eatwithroy and #captainoatssg. Who knows your recipe might be featured!

Happy cooking!

Gastronomically yours,

Big Roy

Home Made, Singapore

My Encounter With The ‘Lap’ – Home Made, Singapore

3 Comments
Advertisements

I was given a couple of Laps (Pronounced as ‘Larb’) recently to sample and to be honest, this is my first time trying this. So what is Lap? Lap is the name for a traditional Hainanese pillow-shaped rice dumpling. It’s something like the Chinese rice dumplings (bak chang) but it is wrapped in strips of banana leaves weaved like a Malay ketupat (Malay rice dumpling). This traditional Lap is usually made during special occasions to serve to family and guests. So how come must go through so much trouble weaving the pillow shape and then finished gobbling down within one minute? It is said to train one’s patience and also the perseverance is to bring good fortune to the ones eating these dumplings! So interesting right? In my decades of living in this world, I didn’t know about this. ;P

So this is the Lap, after boiling in water for 45 minutes:

Lap

Also done in triangular shapes like these (before cooking colour):

So I was told, if this is my first time eating this, I need to strip away the leaves one by one instead of the usual way of how we cut through the ketupat, for good luck! So my ordeal began…

Found the ending of the Lap and began working my way to get all the leaves out…

Getting there…. trying not to break the shape of the dumpling as I was removing the leaves…

Ah ha! There you go… the end product. Took me about 5 minutes to remove… Looks yummy!

Filled with belly pork, Chinese mushrooms, and dried prawns. Didn’t taste any use of five spiced powder so I believe it’s the normal soy sauce braised meat. But the dumpling is so yummy! Not salty at all as compared to some bak changs.

Thanks to my friend’s aunty and her efforts that I got to try this. Now I’m challenged to make these myself during their next session… *GULP*

Halal Food, Home Made, Singapore

Hari Raya Dinner – Somewhere in Singapore

Leave a comment
Advertisements

My colleagues and myself were invited to our Board of Director’s home for Hari Raya dinner last night and boy what a feast! His wife is such a good cook, that we were stuffing our faces from the time we stepped into the house! Of course, the nicely decorated house hasn’t gone unnoticed, very nicely laid out and most of the furniture in the house were made by his own factory. Didn’t snap pics around the house ‘cos won’t be nice to post those pics here without his permission. ;P Anyways, check out the pics below and the awesome traditional Arabic food!

It all started with these gorgeous cakes… All homemade and the cakes are so nicely moist, I could’ve eaten up the whole plate especially the kueh lapis (layered cake)… But of course I had to be polite… and save some stomach space for dinner! ;P
Then I moved on to try the other cookies and tarts, except from the crackers, his wife made them all… I need to marry a wife like that man!!!
Our awesome Arabic dinner is served!
Nowadays, the camera has a go at the food first instead of humans… Tsk tsk tsk… My colleagues haha
This dish which looks like the Indian Briyani, it’s not. It’ll be an insult to the cook if you’ve guessed it out loud. This dish is known as Chicken Mandhi Rice, a traditional Arabic cuisine. The thick gravy on top is the most tedious to prepare. 5kgs of tomatoes melted down to this thick puree with loads of spices and onions. The whole process takes about 2 days to prepare. Then the sauce is then roasted with the chicken and stuffed with eggs.
Made with love. I couldn’t emphasize how much the love and patience to do this, so just whack!
Moroccan Pomegranate Salad with Tahini Sauce – Served cold and very refreshing to go with your rice. Tahini sauce is made from sesame seed and it adds a very nice fragrance to the dish.
Salsa is also a cold dish, spicy and sourish, very appetising!
Fruit Chutney also to go with the rice. Not a big fan, but tried it and it was good.

The dinner was really good and we tried our best to eat as much as we can but we still left almost half of the large plate behind. As much as I would like to tapao, nah, not so thick skinned. Nevertheless, I’m writing this blog entry to show my deep appreciation. Thank you Mrs Matter, you can invite me over to try your food ANYTIME OK? 😉

Home Made, Miscellaneous

Home-cooked Thai Food @ Purl’s

Leave a comment
Advertisements

I’m back in Singapore and have been busy with medical check ups and running errands. It is very important to get your body checked up annually, so that you can eat more! 😉 Met up with a few friends as well over coffee and meals ever since I came back. And last Sat, I was invited to a pal’s place for dinner and it was my first time visiting her place. The menu for that night was Thai as she is like me, a foodie as well. Check out the food below:

Special Spicy Pork – Purl’s specialty ‘cos of her homemade chilli paste. Love the taste!
This was another friend’s dish of pork seasoned and cooked one week ago. Pretty awesome as well and goes great with white rice.
Bittergourd omelette – One of my favorites.
Chilly Prawns – Took only one due to cholesterol. 🙂 Taste nice and tangy. Not very spicy.
Fried Mung Bean Vermicelli – Pretty awesome especially after squeezing lime juice over.

Dinner was simply awesome especially for someone like me who loves Thai food. But the most lovely thing that my pal Purl did for me was a trio strap leather cuffs which is specially designed by her for me. It is actually a charm bracelet, with charms that suits the personality of the person wearing it. (Yes, men look pretty good wearing these as well). Purl is actually a fashion designer and have been in this business for more than a decade. Very passionate about her work, she is always looking to design and manufacture trendy apparels and accessories for her outlets. And it’s the first time she made a trio as well cos a single or double will look too thin on my thick wrist.  Check out my custom leather cuffs below:

Trio Leather Cuffs just for me. The links are magnetic for easy putting on and taking off. Spot me wearing this when you see me outside guys! 🙂

Then I thought, wouldn’t it be great that you guys can also own one of these. So I’ve spoken to my friend about it and she is offering a 20% off all mens’ leather cuffs if you provide the promotion code ‘eatwithroy20%‘. Check out her shop over here The Trunkshop or Facebook page. For my female readers… hmmm… you can try typing in the promo code, she’s a very nice lady and she might just give you the discount too! 🙂

Happy surfing guys! 😉

Gastronomically yours,

Big Roy

Home Made

Gluten/Casein-Free Carrot Cakes

Leave a comment
Advertisements

Ok I know some of you must be thinking why would anyone wanna make those lovely carrot cake gluten and dairy free?!? Well it’s something my friend of 18 years, Nur has embarked upon. I was asked to taste test this bunch of carrot cakes made specially for autistic kids.

The gluten (wheat) free, casein (dairy) free diet is the most popular of the specialized diets, and there is evidence that the diet is often helpful in lessening autistic symptoms such as impulsive behaviors, lack of focus, and even speech problems.

So here are the pics of what I ate:

Nur uses cupcakes style so that they will appeal to kids
Cream is made from pretty expensive margarine from Australia
Look at the cake texture... this is where Nur is great in. Her cakes are never dry. Love it!

Rating: 4.5/5 (Could have been 5/5 cos the lack of cinnamon and lemon on the topping… but then again, kids might not like those taste.)

Taste: Nur’s cakes are always very nice and moist. Don’t mind the thick cream layer on top, but kids just love them isn’t it?

Portion: Substantial in portion and ingredients.

Price: Email to ask

Other Stuffs: Warm Chocolate Cake, Alcohol-free Tiramisu (Trust me, this is really good), brownies (for weddings), carrot cakes, banana cakes, etc… Customized to your taste (for the elderly you may want less sweet and vice versa for kids)

Ok Nur’s main source of stress reliever is in baking. She bakes almost ANYTHING. This is only a part time thing she does at home. She has a full time job and hence any requests will depends on whether she can cope. So please don’t pressurize her too much! 😉 You guys can reach her at wild_fl@hotmail.com. Trust me, you’ll love her cakes! 🙂