Holiday home-cook experiment ...

Since it's a long holiday Raya weekend, I thought it would be a good time to finally try out that pork belly with salted fish recipe I saw Rose did... She made it sound so easy, so yeah, I tweaked the recipe a little to suit whatever ingredient I had at hand and our taste buds.

My Ingredients:
1 strip of 3 layer pork, sliced to bite size
1 salted fish (I used ikan kembong... is that what it's called?)
Garlic and onion
Fresh chilli
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of Tong Nam soy sauce (for the colour only) --- of course must be Tong Nam
And a teaspoon of cornstarch diluted in a cup of water
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

My method:
- I fried the salted fish first until a bit crunchy. Taking it aside and using a fork, I shredded up the salted fish.
- Next, using the oil from frying the salted fish (the oil by now would have the smell and flavor of the salted fish, just the way I like it), fry the garlic and onion until fragrant, then add in the 3 layer pork. -- Mix, fry and then cover so it will cook on its own, for at least 5 minutes. Uncover, mix and fry, cover again until the meat becomes slightly tender, for perhaps another 5 minutes.
- Then add in the shredded salted fish and fresh chilli. Mix and then add fish sauce and soy sauce. Mix and then finally add in the diluted corn starch.
- Fry and cover for another 5 - 8 minutes. Or you can take a bite to see if the meat is done.
- Transfer to a plate and garnish.
- No salt or chicken stock needed. The salted fish would be all the seasoning you need. Next time I'll try Salted Ikan Tenggiri, it's smellier and nicer :D...

VOILA! My version of 3 layer pork with salted fish!

3 layer pork with salted fish...

Served best with steamed white rice and best eaten when fresh out of the wok. And because it's for dinner, I also dish up a simple easy-to-fix vege: steamed brinjal in chilli oil paste. These days I prefer to steam my vege because it's simpler, faster and healthier (and because I'm kinda lazy sometimes).

Just mix the ingredient (garlic, sliced brinjal, chilli oil paste, Maggie chicken stock powder, mustard oil) in a bowl, and steam for 20 minutes and voila! You may also opt to use olive oil for this steaming business. :-)

Steamed brinjal in chilli oil paste...

So there you have it... a no frill easy peasy home cooking. Who says cooking is hard? Have a great weekend everyone!

Home is where the heart is...

I didn't realise how true the saying is until the little one came along.

Since becoming a mom, my life has made a 360 degree turning. My focal point has switched from career and money-making to family and home life. About now, I found that I don't really worry how much I'm making as long as I get home safe at the end of everyday. Even traveling for work seems to be off putting these days. I'm even considering changing career to a more laid back one that doesn't require me to think much or travel much, but one that keeps me constantly able to spend more quality time with my little family at home.

My constant worry now is that I don't spend enough moment with my little girl, watching her grow up, enjoying and capturing her precious milestones and achievements, and making sure she knows I'm the one who brought her into this world. I'm also worried she'll be close more to her nanny than me... :'( or to anyone else than me. I know she's always in good hands when I'm not around, it's just me being paranoid much.

But then, maybe motherhood does that to every woman. With the joy comes the concerns. Oh well... As of now, unfortunately, I cannot entertain the thoughts of becoming a full time mom because we do need the money. Cost of living these days is too high... baby products are more expensive than adult's, and there are also the bills and miscellaneous debts to pay off.

I am however, looking into having a career that allows me to work from home. Wouldn't that be fantastic? Then I could have an early retirement... This daydreaming is not bad really. Hmm...

Anyway, since I have a knack for home-cooked meal, maybe that meal business is still on the line. Home made kuetiaw soup everyone! Good for any time of the day, but most especially when you feel down or under the weather or simply craving for a hot healthy meal. =)