Vegetables in oyster sauce and garlic oil

As garlic is enthusiastically welcomed in the house, I decided on this vegetable recipe by noobcook.

As I am only serving for 1.025 persons (I'm the 0.025 person because while I don't eat vegetables, The Failed Chef will still want to taste how the dish turned out!), I cut the serving size accordingly.

Vegetables in oyster sauce and garlic oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
9 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp hot water
1/4 tsp sugar
150g vegetables

1. Fry the chopped garlic in heated vegetable oil.
2. When garlic turns light brown, turn off the flame.
3. Pour the garlic and oil in ramekin. The garlic will continue to cook until it turns golden brown. Set aside.
4. In the other ramekin, combine and mix oyster sauce, hot water and sugar with a spoon. Set aside.
5. Boil water. Blanch vegetables for approximately 30 seconds and transfer on a serving plate. Drizzle garlic oil (in the first ramekin) and oyster sauce mixture (in the second ramekin) over the vegetables.
6. Serve.
7. Taste, and grudgingly admit that vegetables don't taste too bad after all!

Potatoes with Rosemary

I got a little ambitious and wanted to serve three sides dishes with brown rice for dinner one day.

One of them absolutely had to be potatoes something or other because otherwise I was in danger of becoming a potato farmer presiding over budding potatoes.

I was delighted to see this potato with rosemary recipe from The Little Teochew.

I wondered though how the potatoes could be cooked if stir-fried, because I would rather not deep fry it. So I decided to steam it in the rice cooker, before stir frying it with the rosemary.

Pan-fried Potatoes with Rosemary

 
1 Potato, peeled and cut into cubes or cut length-wise into ovals
2 tbs Olive oil
1/2 tsp Rosemary (no fresh ones? oh, alright, dried then!)
A pinch of Salt

1. Steam potatoes in a steamer compartment of the rice cooker.
2. In a skillet, fry the potatoes. Fry over a low flame until the potatoes turn slightly crisp and golden around the edges. Make sure each side gets a good amount of rosemary sprinkled on it. Flip and brown the other edges of potatoes.
3. When all sides of potato pieces are brown, turn off flame.
4. Sprinkle with salt before serving.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• For the small amount of effort it took, the results are...phenomenal! As a beginner in the kitchen, I hardly crow about the food I make, so I'll make this the same way, which is by steaming it first.
• Have a talk with myself about how silly it was to be afraid of little 'ol rosemary. It's okay to sprinkle generously because it tastes good when pan-fried with the potatoes!

Aspirational recipe:

• I was bowled over by the pan-fried rosemary potatoes with garlic at the Prime Society recently so might try this pan fried potatoes with rosemary and garlic next time.

Butterscotch sauce

One of my favourite flavours for bread is butterscotch.

Why?

Maybe because it was first introduced to me by my beloved aunts?

Or maybe because of the word association, since Scotland, UK, was the first Western country (?) I ever visited? (The fact that butterscotch has nothing to do with the Scots notwithstanding.)

Or maybe because through baking, I have been introduced to the wonders and magic that butter can do? (The fact that butter does further damage to my already thunderous thighs notwithstanding.)

Whatever it is, butterscotch is so, so, good.

I was aghast to find that butterscotch chips were so pricey at the Hershey’s store and had to ruefully put the bag down. I didn't know that 'artificially flavoured' and 'pricey' goes together.

So I did a happy dance when I saw that Shuna is advocating that people make their own butterscotch and shared her butterscotch sauce recipe. So did Smitten Kitchen. Particularly because I happen to have all the ingredients needed.

Butterscotch Sauce

4 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

1. Melt butter in a saucepan (medium heavy-bottomed recommended) over medium heat.
2. Stir the sugar in to the pan. Stir infrequently and watch as the mixture turns from looking grainy into a smoother texture.
3. After about 5 minutes, add in all the cream.
4. Lower the heat, and whisk the cream into the mixture.
5. When well-mixed, turn the heat back to medium and whisk every few minutes for about 10 minutes.
6. When the liquid has been boiling for 10 minutes, turn the heat off and let the sauce sit.
7. After the sauce had 1-2 minutes to cool down, transfer it to a heat-proof bowl and let it rest until it reaches room temperature.
8. Supposedly you are to add in salt and vanilla extract to taste in increments, whisking well after each addition but I poured in all at the same time. Why? Because I don't trust myself to taste when to stop, because life is easier like that and because I'm a rebel that way.

What do you know? Rebel Butterscotch turned out fantastically!

I poured the sauce on top of my multigrain bread and I went straight to Land of Bliss. You can pour it on ice cream or cakes, if you like. And if you are me, you will also be pouring it unadulterated straight down your throat, which works just as well.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• I thought about making butterscotch chips so I can make butterscotch something-or-other so I added white chocolate to the sauce. Perhaps I didn’t add enough white chocolate, so the sauce never turned into candy that I could break into chunks.
• While I read that the sauce can be reheated in a microwave or small saucepan, when I did that, the butter separated. Perhaps because of the white chocolate?

Red pepper pasta sauce

Sometimes B buys red peppers and doesn’t consume them. I don’t normally come across red pepper in my Asian diet so I didn’t know what to do with them. But I have cream left over from making the failed white chocolate ganache, and more importantly, I have the internet.

So I went to Pioneerwoman’s website for this red pepper pasta sauce recipe.

As I don’t have a blender in the house, I ground the peppers using the mortar and pestle, and get to really feel like a pioneer woman.

Leading leftover: Red bell pepper/ capsicum, heavy cream

Red pepper pasta sauce

1 whole red bell peppers/ capsicum
1 tbs olive oil
1 small Onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
6-7 baby carrots, sliced into strips
Parmesan cheese (Grated)
Angel hair pasta (1 serving)

1. Roast red peppers until skin is charred and black. I would feel very silly roasting ONE red capsicum in the oven grill. Thankfully, since I was baking something else in the oven, I didn’t feel like I was wasting electricity.
2. Put charred red pepper into a Ziploc bag and allow it to "sweat". Set aside.
3. In the meantime, dice the onion or shallot, slice the baby carrots and chop the garlic.
4. Remove the pepper from the Ziploc bag, peel the charred skins from the peppers, and remove seeds. Set aside.
5. Pound the peppers into a puree as best as the pestle and mortar will allow me to. Feel grief that despite my best efforts, my hard work leaves me with huge chunks instead of a smooth puree. Set aside pseudo-puree.
6. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until the onions turn more translucent and carrots turn soft because I like them that way.
7. Pour in red pepper puree and stir together. Pioneerwoman says to add plenty of salt and who am I to refuse?
8. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
9. Cook angel hair pasta in boiling water, since it only take a few minutes.
10. Add cooked pasta to the red pepper pasta sauce, and then stir together.
11. Sprinkle grated parmesan.

I discovered something therapeutic while following this recipe.

I love doing anything that can be done easily, so, peeling off the charred skin is a delightful exercise for me. It is so easy that you can say I was born to peel off charred skins of red capsicums. Making puree with mortar and pestle, not so much.

Which might go some way to answer my question of what I am born on earth to do, my natural talents and my search for my life purpose.

Maybe.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• Attempt this recipe only when I have a blender!

Aglio Olio with Shrimps

Trying out Asian, especially Malay or Indian dishes leaves me quaking with fear because the list of ingredients needed tends to circle half the globe. For this reason, I find some Western dishes a lot less intimidating.

A conversation with a friend highlighted to me that aglio olio might be manageable for a failed chef like me. Something about the name noobcook resonated with me, and so I followed her prawn aglio olio recipe. Hers is a site I’ll come to again and again, both because she writes with such humility, but clarity as well, and that helps wet-behind-the-ears cooks like myself.

Aglio Olio with Shrimps

2 servings of wholemeal pasta (about 180g spaghetti)
3 tbsp good quality olive oil
A knob of butter
10-12 prawns/ shrimps
10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced or chopped
1/2 chilli padi if eating with B, 2 otherwise
A handful of finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Fill a pot with water and about 1 tbsp sea salt. Boil pasta as per cooking instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Remove the shells and veins from the prawns. Try not to be pierced by the sharp prawn shells near the tails. The prawns are angry they were caught and can attack from the grave.
3. Add the prawns heads and shells to a small pot with just enough water to cover them (about 150ml), bring to a simmer for about 3-5 minutes to make prawn stock. Be sure to squeeze as much stock as possible from the prawn heads.
4. Strain the stock and set aside. Because I don't have a strainer, I use a coffee filter and strain overnight, or use existing stock in the freezer, thawed.
5. Heat the butter in a sauce pan. Cook the prawns on both sides and set aside.
6. Add olive oil to the sauce pan with the prawn juices and browned bits. When the oil is heated, add garlic and chilli padi. Saute till the garlic turns light brown.
7. Turn off the stove. The garlic will turn a lovely golden brown as it cooks in the still-hot oil.
8. Add cooked pasta, cooked prawns, about 2 tbsp of prawn stock, chopped parsley to the garlic & oil mixture. Stir to coat all the ingredients evenly. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• I've done it plain and with prawns, depending on whether prawns are on sale, so both works.
• Sometimes the garlic is too crunchy and I suppose I should douse them with the prawn stock next time or turn off the flame earlier.
• I’ve tried chopping the garlic as well as slicing them, and I think next time, I’ll have both in the pasta.
• I have tried using wholemeal pasta (3 times more fibre, the packaging proudly proclaims!), regular spaghetti and angel hair spaghetti but I think I like the latter the best. Unless I am having a delicate situation that calls for 3 times more fibre. Though not sure if pasta is my go-to food for fibre if I'm in that situation in any case.

Stir Fry Chicken with Buttermilk ranch dressing marinade

If I can do fish in buttermilk ranch dressing marinade, then why not chicken?

To survive in this world, one must engage in lateral thinking.

No, I am not sure who said that.

This time, instead of baking it wrapped in wax paper, I used the stir fry method. What I have learnt in my limited cooking experience is that anything fried tastes good, and happily this is no exception.

Leading leftovers: very-soon-to-be-expired-and-I-better-do-something-with-it Kraft Buttermilk ranch dressing

Stir Fry Chicken with Buttermilk ranch dressing marinade

2 chicken breasts, cubed
3/4 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
2 garlic cloves , minced
4 tbs cup olive oil, divided
A knob of butter
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tbs fresh herbs, chopped (I used parsley)

1. Wash and cube the chicken breasts.
2. Coat the chicken cubes with half the amount of olive oil.
3. Sprinkle the pepper on the coated chicken cubes.
4. Spread the minced garlic and the parsley on the chicken cubes.
5. Pour the buttermilk ranch dressing into a Ziploc bag.
6. Place the chicken cubes combo in the Ziploc bag with the marinade. Ensure that the chicken cubes are thoroughly coated.
7. Close the bag tightly and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. Next day, I heated the other half of the olive oil in a saucepan with a little butter.
9. I poured out the chicken cubes and the marinade into the pan.
10. Fry until the chicken cubes are all cooked.
11. Top with a parsley leaf before serving because green-and-white is the 'in' colour combination of the season. Okay so I made that up.

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• Now that I have finished up the very-soon-to-be-expired-and-I-better-do-something-with-it Kraft Buttermilk ranch dressing, I will need to either make a homemade buttermilk ranch dressing or something similar
• Otherwise, nothing to be changed really. Dish is fuss-free and it works!

Baked Fish en Papillote

Because I don’t eat vegetables, or salad for that matter, buying salad dressing never crossed my mind. B bought Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing but hated the taste and wanted to throw it out.

Screeechh! Throw out perfectly-good-not-yet-expired food? Halt! The failed chef and her second-chance-recipe brain cells to the rescue!

I found out that one can do buttermilk ranch dressing marinade, and so I did just that with my sutchi fish fillet.

Fish reminds me of another East-West clash. I like whole fish, because I am good at digging out all the fish meat from different crevices of the fish like the back of the eye and the sides of the bones. It’s like treasure hunting to me. My favourite part of the fish is near the tail. In the past, I tore apart the area underneath the mouth, dig the eye balls out to suck on fish eyes, savouring the juices the eyes yield and appreciating its chewy texture. Then I break the part of the fish in between the eyes, scouring for fish brain. When I can find fish eggs, oh I'm in heaven especially if it was boiled in gravy with the fish.

Everyone does that right?

Or maybe not.

But never let it be said that I allow any part of the fish go to waste and give up its life to swim zen-fully in the sea for no good cause.

But fillets? Oh, I find fillets so wasteful - think of all the fish meat that is wasted! But because I don’t yet know how to clean a fish, I only buy fillets to cook with.

Because life is full of detours, I'm going to talk about mussels which I bought and realised were bad. That's what you get for trying to save money and buy things on sale. It pains my heart and my wallet, but this, unlike the Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing is not perfectly-good-not-yet-expired food.

The internet saved my life. Who knew that you had to check that all the shells must be tightly closed, or if open, to knock it gently so that the shells close tightly? The internet also grossed me out. Because now I realise that I would have had to boil the mussels alive. I thought they were supposed to be dead when I bought them. You know, like fish, and shrimps, and other kinds of meat. Highly doubt I’d cook with mussels again, because B doesn’t take to them in any case.

But as I was researching how to cook recipes, I chanced upon this video and realise I can adapt the 'en papilotte' style of cooking fish.



So here's how I made Baked Fish, Attempt Numero Deux. This time baking it using the en papillote method.

Leading leftovers: Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing, tomatoes

Baked Fish en Papillote

2 piece of wax paper, with enough room to wrap the fish pieces in and folding of the edges
1/2 cup of Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing
1 piece fish fillet, halved
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
a handful of chopped parsley
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
a pinch of salt and freshly cracked pepper

1. Coat the fish fillet in olive oil
2. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and half the chopped parsley
3. Place the fish halves in a Ziploc bag of Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing and marinate overnight in the fridge.
4. The next day, preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius.
5. Fold the wax paper in half and open it up.
6. Place each fish fillet on one piece of the wax paper, and sprinkle the diced tomatoes, minced garlic and the rest of the parsley on the fish.
7. Fold the parchment in half, and from the edge, keep folding over the next fold. Press each fold down firmly to form a seal all around. It is actually like making the seal for curry puff pastry, or watch the video above to see how it is done.
8. Place on a baking sheet and bake it in the pre-heated oven for 14 minutes.
9. Serve the pouch on a plate and watch with pleasure when your guests tear open the wax paper and take in the aroma of the fish as it burst out.

I prefer to serve it in the paper rather than taking the fish out. One, because it looks very elegant and tres professional, and two because that's one step omitted and one less chance for me to mess something up.
Once you tear open the wax paper, throw it out, or else the wax paper gets soggy in the fish juices and makes a mess on the plate.

Yes, I say, throw it out, or else! I've been known to be stretch my dictatorial muscle inappropriately like that sometimes.

Aspirational recipes:

• thepauperedchef's cooking in a bag
• monahansseafood cod en papillote

Read below for Attempt Numero Uno

Baked Fish in buttermilk ranch dressing

1 sutchi fish fillet, cut in half (or similar fish like halibut or cod)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Kraft buttermilk ranch dressing

1. Combine olive oil and buttermilk ranch dressing in a Ziploc bag.
2. Place the fish halves in it and marinate overnight.
3. The next day, preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius.
4. Place the marinaded fish either on a gratin dish or wrapped in aluminium foil.
5. Bake the fish in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes

(A helpful resource to baking fish advises giving 10 minutes baking time per 1 inch (2.5 cm), measured at the thickest part of the fish. Thin fillets usually take 15 minutes, whilst small steaks approximately 10 - 15 minutes.)

What I would do next time:

• Lessen the amount of olive oil
• Baking it in a gratin dish dries out the fish a little, so leave it protected in aluminium foil.
• To add other ingredients like a bit of chopped garlic to the marinade perhaps?