Smoked House

I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, and has got 2 chicken thigh meat happily in saute. Suddenly there's a very loud beeping sound, Not one that I cld recognise.

I was then trying to programme the microwave to reheat rice and had thought the sound came from it....To my horror, it was actually the fire alarm!

We immediately turn on the box fan on full speed. It was then Bryan realised that we are surrounded by smoke in the entire apartment. Luckily the alarm stopped on its own when the smoke finally went off after some time.

Well, I've heard from Jane before that she sometimes encounter the same problem with her fire alarm when cooking. That was more than a year ago. At that time I can't really understand how cooking can trigger off fire alarm. But, now I know. For a moment I had thought miserably what if the firemen come knocking on my door... hahaha...

Well, at least for now I can proudly pronounced that our old-shabby-looking-fire alarm actually works!! So it is a piece of good news afterall. Heez...

And today it was Lemon Chicken on dinner menu. I am cooking it for the first time and also the last, I told Bryan. Sadly, he liked the dish but there is no way I'm going to risk triggering that fire alarm again.

Well, maybe. Another way to do that dish is to break down the chicken in smaller pieces so that they get cooked faster in order not to give out too much smoke.

http://whatbryaneats.blogspot.com/2006/03/lemon-chicken.html

Chicken in confinement??

Bryan suddenly has this craving for a particular steamed chicken dish. Our friend cooked it when they invite us to their home for dinner a few months back. I have to agree, it tasted real good and I really dun mind eating it again. So when our friend told us that it is actually a confinement dish, my first question was whether guys cld eat it too.

Well, with a little modification to the recipe, the whole family can enjoy it.

This especially goes to my dearest sister, Merlyn, who will be giving birth to her very first son in the 1st week of May'06... Sorry sis, big sister can't be there to welcome your baby, so this recipe is specially dedicated to you... It is so easy even Bryan knows how to make... (so, anything Bryan can make, anyone can make too!)

Simply place 2 chicken drumstick (skinless) onto a steamproof tray and arrange the following ingredients all over chicken; steam on high for one and a half hour. It is important to remove all skin because water will start collecting in the plate over the prolonged period of steaming and you don't want a layer of oil above the soup.

1. 5 to 7 red dates (hong zao)
2. 1 tbs wolf berries (gou qi zi)
3. 2 tbs of dried long gan
4. 1 flat tbs abalone sauce (oyster sauce also can)
5. 5 to 6 slices of chinese angelica root (dang gui)
6. 1 tbs of DOM wine (**to include only for woman in confinement)

Special Thanks to Leng for providing the above recipes.

So simply minus the wine if cooking for the entire family. Bryan loved it so much that he actually drank the soup to the last drop.

After that meal I was then writing down the recipe onto my notebk. It comes in handy when I'm out of food ideas. I've forgotten to ask Leng what she calls the dish so I asked Bryan to give a name. I was thinking to call it "Confinement Chicken", yah its not a fantastic name but that's how I've been remembering the recipe for months..Bryan said it sounded like its the chicken who is in confinement. So he came up with a better name. You guys decide for yourself if his version is any better than mine...

"Leng's Pregnant Chicken"!!!

Now who's pregnant, Leng or Chicken?
Leng commented something abt an egg still inside that chicken.... I just can't stop laughing.