Before I was married to my "Quaylo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general.

The meal we had

   

11 Golden Girls!

   

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 11:13 AM 18 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: class 72, dinner, gathering, golden girls, Oriental Chinese Restaurant

  

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Margarita with a Singer/Songwriter cum Actor

I was introduced to local live theatre show by my son, Nicholas in 2006, when he was a performing art student. Since then, I have never missed a single theatrical piece that Nicholas was in. Now and then we will go watch other great shows especially productions by The Instant Café Theatre Company. Last Sunday, Nick and I went to see yet another great production by them called 1 SEX, 1 MONEY 1 SCANDAL.

   

This show was hilarious and I have to share with you and hope the laughter you get from the video will last you through the week.

 

Click on the link to see an interview with Jo Kukathas, the Artitstic Director of the show and some short clips:

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk03o133PI0&feature=player_em...

 

We arrived early at the complex where the theatre is situated and we had half an hour to spare so Nick took me to a Mexican restaurant in the same complex for a glass of margarita. He knew that was my favorite cocktail drink. The name of this margarita gave me a chuckle… they called their margarita Horny Margarita. It was really tasty and one that I think can come close to what my hubby makes for me. I enjoyed the drink and my chat with Nick very much. It was a lovely afternoon catching up on what is going on with my son's life and career. I think I am just a typical mum that wants to know all about their children. I am glad to know he is doing very well in his day job and still pursuing his passion in music and acting in the evening. I always tell Nick that I don't wish that he will become rich and famous, I only wish he enjoys what he does and be happy.

 

Oh, since I brag about my hubby’s margarita, it will be selfish of me not to share the recipe with you right? LOL!

 

You’ll need a cocktail shaker, 1 lime, Tequila, Cointreau, salt, ice

 

Stitch’s Margarita

     

Ingredients:

 

1 rounded tablespoon of lime-aid frozen concentrate

2 oz Cointreau

4 oz Tequila gold (we use Jose Cuervo gold)

5 large ice cubes

 

Method:

 

Place two cocktail glasses (we use a martini up glass as pictured) in the freezer for 3-4 minutes. Place a tblspn of salt on a tea cup plate and shake slightly to spread the salt evenly across. Place all remaining ingredients into the cocktail shaker.Put AC/DC’s “You shook Me All Night Long” on the stereo (set to loud). Dance while carefully cradling the shaker for at least more than half the song. Remove glasses from the freezer and invert them and dip the glass edge in the salt. (note, if you live in an arid or semi-arid place, you may have to moisten the edge of the cocktail glasses for the salt to stick). Pour shaker contents carefully into the chilled & salt rimmed glasses and place one or two of the now reduced ice cubes from the shaker into the glass as well. Replay and sip!

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 10:03 AM 6 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Monday, November 29, 2010

Kai lan with stewed mushroom and mini abalone and a conversation with a lonely old lady - Featured in Group Recipes

My Mum and I go to the market together every morning and then after marketing, we will go have our breakfast. A few mornings ago, we went to buy Hong Kong kai lan and some other vegetables. After we finished marketing, we went to our usual hawker center in the market for curry noodles. There, we met this old lady, probably in her eighties, eating her breakfast alone, the fragrant bowl of curry noodles in front of her. I noticed that she was watching me and Mum chatting while we were waiting for our order. Looking at Mum she asked, “Is this your daughter?” My mum answered “Yes, she is my daughter”. The old lady continued to ask, “How many children have you?”. Mum said, “She is my only child and I have a step son.” The old lady, with tears welling up in her eyes, answered “How lucky you are. I have nine children and none of them is with me. I am living alone and they only send me money and come see me once a year.” I could not believe what I heard! This is so sad. It breaks my heart to hear that. This is what is happening to a lot of old folks nowadays. Their children are too busy with their lives and have no time for them. Money is not what our old folks want from us, all they ask is for us to spend a little time with them and let them know we are okay. I can hardly imagine not sharing a meal with my mother. She is the inspiration for this blog, and has been a "foodie" as long as I can remember. I can still recall how, at a very young age, I would accompany her to market and subsequently watch the transformation of fresh ingredients into something irresistable. I can not know all of this lady's, or her chidren's circumstances. However, if what she told us was true, then I know that there are several people who are cheating themselves out of some of the fondest memories a person can have.

 

Perhaps you might want to try this recipe and prepare a simple meal for your old folks today? I know this will bring them much joy!

   

Ingredient:

250gm Hong Kong kai lan

1 can 140 gm canned mini abalone (optional)

6 big shitake mushroom

1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil

3 bibs garlic, sliced

2 tbsp oysters sauce

1 tsp dark black sauce

1 tsp light soya sauce (optional)

½ tsp sugar

¾ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp corn starch

1 tsp water

1 tsp salt

water to boil kai lan

Method:

Wash and soak mushroom in a bowl of warm water for 30 mins. Squeeze dry the mushroom and set aside. Retain the mushroom water. Add salt and ½ ts of vegetable oil in a pot of water and bring it to boil. Add kai lan and cook till the color is dark green. Remove from pot, drain and set aside. Heat 1 tb oil in the wok and sauté the garlic till fragrant. Add mushroom, abalone, oysters sauce, dark black sauce, light soya sauce and sugar and stir fry till mushroom and abalone are well mix with the sauce. Add the mushroom water and turn heat to low and it stew till both mushroom and abalone are soft. Mix in ground white pepper. Dissolve the corn starch in 1 ts water and add into the gravy to thicken it. Lay the kai lan on the serving plate and pour stew over the vegetable and serve.

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 11:24 AM 30 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: abalone mushroom, chinese cuisine, food, homecook food, hong kong kai lan, kai lan, Mum, quaypo, quaypocooks, recipe, stew

Friday, November 26, 2010

Clam Soup on a quiet Thanksgiving

My hubby had gone on a business trip and returned late last evening so while everyone was having a big feast for Thanksgiving, we had ham sandwich with clam soup and white wine. Although we did not celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way like all the past years, we do not feel deprived at all. In fact, it is kind of nice to spend a quiet Thanksgiving evening with simple food and watch a movie and be very thankful that we have each other.

    

Ingredients:

1 kg medium hard shell clams

1 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced

¾ cup sake

½ tsp salt

4 cups chicken stock

4 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

½ tsp chopped rosemary

½ tsp chopped thyme

20 gms young ginger julienned

 

Method:

 

Scrub the clams and rinse carefully under running water. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic and 10 gms ginger. Sauté till fragrant. Add chicken stock and wine and lower the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the clams and the salt, cover, and cook for 5 - 10 minutes over a medium-high heat. (The shells should be open after this cooking period. Do not eat any clams that have not opened.) Add parsley and balance of 10gm ginger, stir, and serve.

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 8:47 PM 55 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: clams, food, fusion food, homecook food, quaypo, quaypocooks, recipe, thanksgiving, western cuisine

Stitch's Beef "yakitori" - Why Stitch?

First of all, I know that it is something of an oxymoron to say beef yakitori. The Japanese word "Yakitori" quite literally means chicken roasted on a skewer and is quite similar to our local “satay” except that it is not served with spicy sweet peanut sauce. My hubby made up his own marinade and used beef instead of chicken. It was delicious and we will keep this in our favorite recipe folder.

 

You might be wondering why the name "Stitch". Well, Stitch was my hubby's screen name when I met him on the internet. We met at a chat room called "55plus" in 1995. My nick name was Krystle. The topic that had attracted us to the channel was the implementation of Windows 95 versus the encumbent Windows 3.2 at that time. My husband had problems getting 95 to install properly so I was assisting him. My first piece of advice was to stay with Win 3.2. Because our back and forth was dominating the channel we took the conversation into private chat to debate further on the subject. The first thing we told each other was we were not there to seek a romantic relationship. This was to make sure there wouldn't be any misunderstanding. Obviously, things didn't work out that. I can’t remember when we started to chat everyday but we did reach the point where Windows and all it's mysteries were forgotten as we became more interested in one another.

After one year of chatting and corresponding via emails, Stitch made a trip from LA to KL to meet Krystle. They were madly in love and within the same year, they got married. He will always be my Stitch and me his Krystle.

 

Our Engagement photo taken in 1996

Oh world, I cannot hold thee close enough!

 

Thy winds, thy wide gray skies!

 

thy mists that roll and rise!

 

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

 

And all but cry with color! That gaunt crag

 

To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!

 

World, world, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

 

But never knew I this;

 

Here such a passion is

 

As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear

 

Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year.

 

My soul is all but out of me–let fall

 

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

—Edna St. Vincent Millay in God’s World

Now, so much for the fairytale love story and back to the recipe:

   

Ingredients:

500 gm beef tenderloin, thinly sliced

18 to 20 bamboo sticks

(A)

½ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 green onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed.

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp ground ginger

2 tbsp sugar

1 Japanese cucumber, thick sliced

 

Method:

 

Soak bamboo sticks in water and set aside. Mix all (A) ingredients. Marinate sliced beef in (A) mixture for 3 hours. Assemble 2 pieces of per bamboo stick. Brush sauce on both sides of the beef. Spray some oil on grill and turn on high heat. Grill beef around 8 mins each side. Add sliced cumcumber to the end of each stick and place on serving plate to serve.

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 9:47 AM 17 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: beef recipe, food, fusion food, homecook food, quaypo, quaypocooks, western cuisine, yakitori

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Deep fried eggplants

I got this recipe from my hubby and he in turn, found it on the internet. The type of eggplant to use in this dish is globe eggplant. The problem with eggplant is that it's flesh is permeated with water. In order to get good flavors and texture in this preparation, salting it is very important. Salting accomplishes two goals. First, it pulls out the natural waters that carry bitter flavors and it collapses the air pockets in the eggplant's sponge-like flesh. The result prevents it from absorbing too much oil and getting greasy later when deep fried.

 

Largely adapted from Fxcuisine.com

Ingredients:

2 medium globe eggplants

1 1/2 cup flour

¼ tsp ground clove

¼ tsp ground coriander

2 cups vegetable oil

½ cup salt

2 cups shredded cheddar ( or mozarella cheese, whatever you prefer)

Method to salt the eggplant:

To salt eggplant, peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Sprinkle the pieces generously with salt and let them sit in a colander for an hour (you'll usually see a lot of liquid beading on the surface). Rinse the eggplant in running water to remove the salt, firmly squeeze a few pieces at a time in the palm of your hand to draw out almost all the moisture, and then pat the them dry with lots of absorbent paper towels. The rinsing will take longer then you think so be careful to thoroughly rinse and re-rinse until the salt is thoroughly washed away. Also, thorough drying is important. Squeezing out excess moisture will give you a less greasy result. The slices of eggplant will lose volume if you have done these steps correctly.

Method of cooking:

Mix flour, clove and coriander. Lightly coat eggplant with mixture. Heat oil till very hot. To test if the oil is hot enough, put a chopstick in the oil and if bubbles form around it, it is ready to add the eggplants in. Deep fry eggplants till golden brown and put them on absorbent paper towels to get rid of all the oil. Preheat oven at 200 degree C or 400 degree F. Lay eggplant slices flat on a baking dish. Add shredded cheese on top and bake just till cheese melts. Remove from oven and transfer to serving plate and serve immediately.

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 11:17 PM 22 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: deep fry, eggplant, food, fusion food, homecook food, quaypo, quaypocooks, recipe, western cuisine

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Chocolate Croissants Pudding with Whiskey Sauce - a nice dessert to include in Thanksgiving and X'mas menu - featured in Group Recipes

My hubby made this pudding for a dinner we hosted last week. Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching, this is a nice dessert to be included in the menu. The whiskey sauce compliments the chocolate pudding perfectly. This dessert is sinful but irresistable!

 

Largely adapted from Stonewood’s recipe

Ingredients for Whiskey Sauce:

¼ cup water

1 cup sugar

⅛ tsp. vanilla extract

1 oz. Bourbon Whiskey

1 egg

2.5 ounces butter

Ingredients for Pudding:

8 pcs frozen large croissants

 

2 c. half and half

2 c. whole low fat milk

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

4 lrg Large eggs at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method to make Whiskey Sauce:

Bring water to a boil. Add sugar and stir constantly until completely dissolved. Add vanilla and bourbon & bring back to a boil. Beat eggs in a stainless bowl, put half of the syrup into eggs and stir continuously. Pour eggs back into syrup.Cut butter into small pieces and stir until fully melted into sauce. Cool down in ice bath and store in proper container.

Method to make chocolate pudding:

Heat oven to 325F or 160C. Generously grease an 11 3/4 x 7 1/3 x 1 3/4-in. baking dish or possibly other shallow 2-qt baking dish. Slice top third off each croissant and reserve. Cut or possibly tear rest of croissants in small pcs. Heat half and half and low fat milk till steaming (take care it doesn't boil over). Remove from heat, add in 1 3/4 c. chocolate chips. Let stand till melted. Stir to mix (there will be specks of chocolate throughout). Whisk Large eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in warm chocolate mix. Add in croissant pcs, pushing them down into the custard. Pour into prepared baking dish. Arrange reserved croissant tops on top. Scatter remaining 1/4 c. chocolate chips on top. Bake 25 to 35 min till center of custard is still soft and jiggles slightly when dish is shaken. Serve hot or possibly at room temperature.

Print PDF

Posted by Quay Po Cooks at 2:20 PM 18 comments Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google Buzz Links to this post

Labels: chocolate, dessert, food, homemade, pudding, quaypo, quaypocooks, recipe, sweet, western cuisine, whiskey sauce

Older Posts Home

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Total Pageviews

21,651

 

Quay Po Cooks

  

By TwitterButtons.net

 

Subscribe To Quay Po Cooks

Posts

All Comments

 

A little about me

Before I was married to my "Quaylo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

 

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Straits Chinese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

 

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

 

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

 

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.