Thursday 31 December 2009

Hainanese Chicken Rice

I was invited to have lunch in one of my friend's house last two weeks. The lunch was so nice and impressive. we had had Hainanese chicken rice with the soup, cranberry, pecan and white chocolate cheesecake as dessert, all were prepared and cooked by my friend. She is really a wonderful wife!


The Hainanese chicken rice cooked by my friend, Ling. It is nicely decorated. The chili sauce is hot and spicy, it complements the chicken perfectly.


Cranberry, pecan and white chocolate cheesecake, made by Ling.

Alright, it is my turn now! First of all, I am not a good decorator and neither in photography, I only "focus on eating", haha! It takes about 3 hours to prepare and cooking it. There are divided into three steps, first: cook the chicken and then put it into a cold water bath; secondly: use the chicken soup to cook the rice; third step: prepare the chili sauce. The recipe was taken from the Steamy Kitchen.


The Hainanese chicken.



Chong likes bean sprouts and therefore specially cook this steamed bean sprouts together with the chicken rice. This became our home-cooked "Asian" Christmas meal. He likes it very much and keep asking when will I cook again.

The snow and sub-zero temperature



It had been snowing heavily before and after Christmas. The snow on the ground and the untreated surfaces are too icy, it tends to make people fall. The temperature was just below freezing but with a brisk wind, the chill factor will probably make you feel bitterly cold more like -9oC.


The streets are so crowded during this time of the year (Before Christmas). Everyone was busy with their Christmas shopping. I had been busy shopping for food a few days before Christmas having realised that the shop will normally close earlier on Christmas eve and Boxing day. No shop will be opened on Christmas day. I remember the day when I arrived in one of the local supermarket, I was shocked as all the poultry in the display racks were sold out. I then ran to the other supermarket for poultry. The journey was prolonged as the icy roads were slippery and I nearly fall for some times. It was really tiring. I was thinking then to invest on sensible footwear to keep me balance.


The streets become quiet during Christmas day, you can hardly hear the sound of the car pass-by. All shops were closed. Everyone were at home celebrating the cold Christmas. The traditional Christmas dinner would be roasted turkey with some trimmings. Instead of sitting at home doing nothing, I cooked the Hainanese Chicken Rice for the first time. It was successful. Chong said, “Thumbs up”. I will upload the photo someday later.



Snows- The magic blankets, it hides those ugly and makes everything beautiful.


The thickness of snow on the ground impede motion, prolonged one's journey, it is at least 10cm.



We normally saw this in the freezer (the older version), but I saw this in the car park beside train station. The effect of supercooling!



I was so excited and dreaming about the white Christmas when it started to snow, however, it actually snow before and after Christmas!



Row of small Christmas trees were covered by the snow.



Wednesday 9 December 2009

Uncle Tan, You'll be fine!

昨天在Facebook 看到表哥的留言,心里忽然酸了一下。

姑丈在前天晚上的晚餐后,

突然晕倒,目前还在医院的加护病房里。

听表姐说他昨晚有醒来一下下, 但还未完全清醒。

我们都很担心,也不知所措,

医生说这可能是中风的状况,需要再详细的检查,

姑姑也担心地哭了。


表姐和我都在国外,没办法及时赶回去见家人,

这也是我们留在国外最不方便之处,

我好讨厌那种感觉,

每当家人或亲戚发生事情时的不安,

我什么都做不到,

只能默默地祷告。。。。


昨晚也发了个简讯给弟弟,

问他啊妈有没有打电话去问候姑姑,

啊妈说姑丈到现在都属于昏迷状况,

我好希望姑丈能快点醒来,

希望他平安无事。


I am praying hard for my Uncle Tan,

Wish him get well soon,

He is a tough man, everything will be fine,

He will recover soon…