~ seeking peace spice by spice by spice
The best spinach ever. And it’s so super easy to make! Such a hit. You need to use Asian spinach called Phuay Leng here. All you need is to boil it (not too long!) and then toss it in a mixture of garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Delicious! This afternoon I ate with brown rice, boiled cabbage and beans in peanut sauce, and chicken. 🤪
We googled and we discovered a great seafood haunt in Phuket. Phuket is expensive, depending on where you stay. The cost of the trip itself to Markprok is as expensive as the meal itself! Seriously staying in the northern part of Phuket is not wise if you intend to travel for food or fun.
The food itself is good authentic Thai food. We ordered quite a lot but the best is the clear and very spicy tom yum seafood soup! We got prawns and sweet sour fish. All very light on the palate and tasty. Of course, as Singaporeans we had tasted fantastic Thai food in restaurants but for the authentic experience of local dining, and the fact that in Singaporeanised versions which tend to be heavier in seasoning and oil, we enjoyed the food here tremendously. It’s also very fragrant with all the many herbs and aromatic leaves thrown in.
I am always inspired by my travels. Looks like the next weekend I’ll be whipping up some Thai recipes! 😉
So right in front of the hotel entrance by the side of the road, we chanced upon a Muslim lady selling fried chicken on Saturday. We then realised the reason we couldn’t find a single halal place in Phuket was that they close on Fridays! So yesterday we saw the couple early morning but by the time we arrived back in the evening they were no longer there.
So this morning I walked over (it took only 1 min walk!) and smelled the wonderful aroma of greasy fried chicken. And I had the pleasure to see the husband seller pour the pink liquid batter into the frying vat for that crispy crunch. I chose my parts and then she weighed and voila! Soon we were enjoying such flavourful aromatic Thai fried chicken. But i went a second time and they gave me free chicken skin! Lol. Yummey!
Ok this is a super unhealthy and very sensitive food item for the family. This is a snack that is sold quite commonly. Essentially it’s a stuffed French toast filled with spicy sardines or a hot dog. I posted a brief post about this years ago sans the backstory.
So the story goes that a few weeks before my dad passed away because of a heart attack, he would eat this snack every single day. He was a taxi driver and so there’s some Malay stall somewhere (as you can see, my mom refuses till now to share details) that he would frequent for breakfast. And, this part I knew then, he was having heart problems. The doctors have told him to go for a balloon operation but my dad refused. He used to always say he’ll die at 50. Lo and behold, he really did. And my mom would always blame this snack for pushing him to the end.
Let me share with you this controversial snack. Eat in absolute moderation.
I used canned spicy tuna instead of sardines that day. You need only use store bought sliced bread, and roll it thin. Yes, with a rolling pin.
See the difference? So there’s more space…
Add filling and then roll tight. I didn’t manage to roll as tightly as I should. Then right before frying, dip in egg and fry till golden brown.
Drain well on paper towels and dab dab dab excess oil…
I had recently purchased a griller. And am having so much fun having Saturday or Sunday dinners eating grilled food!
My latest try is Korean beef galbi because while the boy was having his taekwondo class, I was roaming in the supermarket when I spotted beautiful boneless beef short ribs.
So that morning, I put the beautiful fresh meat in a ziplock bag. And in a mixing bowl, added 3 tbsp brown sugar, light soy sauce, garlic, smashes of thinly sliced ginger and sesame oil. And then I poured the marinade in the bag and left it in the fridge.
That night, out came the portable grill and soon, the whole kitchen was smokey. I sliced the meat fairly thinly and then we ate that with lettuce wraps, Korean style. I also had some extra chicken breasts which I had marinated simply with bottled honey soy sauce marinade and grilled that too. Overall, I am happy with my weekend grilled dinners and this weekend, I’ll try grilling something else instead!
The Occasional Cook 