After 1 night of success, 1 night of failure and 1 lunch of laziness, we've hit the jackpot tonight with another night of success. ;)
Definition of success: - Food was pretty good despite this being a first attempt. - Food was cooked quickly and with minimal preparation work. - We could eat dinner long before the sun set [ie: we could eat at 7/8 rather than 8/9]!!!
The first night of success:
Featuring my kawaii donburi bowls that I bought on sale in Urban Outfitters, I present to you OYAKODON! [親子丼]
They were surprisingly easy to make [it would have been even easier if I had the right pan but o well.] and I just followed this youtube video:
It is from a series called "cooking with dog". The voiceover is hilarious! =P The recipe is pretty good and I omitted sake [which would probably give a fragrance.. Maybe I should have used shaoxing wine? Haha..] because I didn't have any. I also made more sauce because I received a request..=P
They were really fast to make although the rice presented us with some problems because erm.. I don't really know how to cook Japanese rice.^_^" There are quite a few steps to it, including soaking and draining.. O well. The rice turned out okay after a few rescue attempts.=P
The easy parts of the meal - Cooking the topping for oyakodon - Cutting up the seaweed, spring onions and onions
The hard parts of the meal - Deboning the damn chicken - Saving the rice
The second night of success:
Another simple meal that I came up with on my way home from class.
Garlic and Cherry Tomato Pasta with stir-fried xiaobaicai and Pan-seared Whitefish from Whole Foods.^_^
The pasta was pretty successful even though it was my first time tossing the pasta directly in the pan with the sauce and the fish was really successful despite this being my first time searing fish and second time working with fish in general.=P
The garlic-butter-味噌-mushroom sauce I made to go with the fish! [That's miso by the way, for those who can't read the Japanese..] It was a totally experimental sauce since I couldn't find a recipe online... I just threw stuff into the pan and hoped that my combination of stuff wouldn't turn out too badly. In the end, it was quite a success I must say! Haha.. The mushrooms overpowered the miso a bit so maybe I won't add mushrooms next time but I have to say.. I think the sauce would go great on pasta. ;)
Garlic Butter Miso Mushroom Sauce
No proportions sorry! I just poured stuff into the pan.. Ingredients Butter Minced Garlic Sliced Mushrooms Shiromiso [I guess akamiso would work too but I have no idea] Mirin Black Pepper Soy Sauce Water
Melt butter and then stir-fry the garlic a little before adding the mushrooms. Stir till the mushrooms are almost cooked before putting in the rest of the ingredients. Add water for desired thickness and simmer till your desired texture. Serve with panseared whitefish. [White fish prepared by sprinkling salt and pepper over the fish and then searing it in a pan with oil and a bit of butter.]
The easy parts of the meal - Defrosting and cutting up the fish - Cooking the pasta
The hard parts of the meal - Making the sauce because I was worried it would turn out badly
Ahh. I hope that we can continue our trend of fast and delicious meals in future. I hate wasting time in the kitchen slowly cooking when I can cook and eat quickly before I go study.-_-"
I wish I had money to buy fish more often!!! ^_^ It's a nice treat though! I love Whole Foods!
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Dreams High and Mighty Color] [mood : ^_^ success!] [food : garlic-cherry tomato pasta with xiaobaicai and seared whitefish with garlic butter miso mushroom sauce]
Since I have been so tardy at posting, I shall do all of the things I've been doing in one fell swoop! ^_^ With the help of my beloved Picasa and laziness, here's a little recap of what I've been doing...
A trip to FRANKENMUTH, Michigan!
We went to Frankenmuth for lunch while continuing to shop at Birch Run!! ^_^ The town is absolutely GORGEOUS in Spring and full of retirees, so you basically have the whole place to yourself.=)
A trip to CHICAGO, Illinois!
We went to Millennium Park, The Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, the Millennium Mile, Navy Pier, the park with Buckingham Fountain... Chicago is beautiful!!! ^_^ You can see more photos on my Facebook.=)
A trip to HOLLAND, Michigan!
Visiting Rachel and going for the annual Tulip Festival has been one of the best weekends ever!! ^_^ We went crazy over tulips, crazy over funfair food [it's so bad but SO good!] and basically had a ton of fun!
We even went to the beach by Lake Michigan.=) It was so beautiful and I was totally awe-inspired by how gorgeous it was in the sunset. [The sun sets at around 8.30-9pm?] There are some good parts about being in a more remote location like Michigan, you're near these beautiful lakes.^_^
All these are selected images. There are tons more on Facebook!
Of course, we haven't just been travelling and having fun.. We've been cooking and eating a lot too!!!
Clockwise from top left: Banana Pan Cake with homemade strawberry sauce, Orange-soy-honey pork ribs, Shrimp Dong Fen, Custard Puffs, Lemon-Garlic-Butter Shrimp, Linguini with tomato sauce, Lapcheong mushroom rice, Steamed Fish Tofu with minced pork topping, homemade wantons.
And this isn't all of it.=P You can see more photos on my Facebook! ^_^
And there's been so many beautiful spring days with gorgeous flowers and whatnot that I haven't been able to resist whipping my camera out at every opportune moment.=)
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous spring flowers!!! ^_^ The weather has been glorious as well, sunny skies and windy days.=) We've had our fair share of rain as well, and the strong winds of Michigan have made my umbrella totally useless.=( I have to comfort myself with the thought that with more rain, come more flowers and fruit! ^_^
Alright. I have an exam coming up. I must study!! *flees* We had laksa for dinner this evening.=) Yummy!
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
