I live in a jungle and I love it!

I got inspired a week ago to take these pictures of my plants.

I just love the lushness and the faint fragrance of green in the air when i get home.

These plants are really easy maintenance; I water them just 2- 3 times a week.

No special foods, just tap water and sometimes, the rinse water from rice. (Just like what my Mother used to do...)

- My doorway

- I love my Dracaenas, I have two. One completely green and the other has streaks of yellow.


- My yellow Dracaena and my Japanese bamboo (i read somewhere its called Sasa palmata)


- This is my magic bean plant that I mentioned earlier. Its taken over the top of the gate. Notice the dried plam leaf? That's from my colleague Tracy. Its for Palm Sunday and as any good Catholic gurl knows, its a symbolic welcome to the Lord.


- My yellow Hellaconia. Waiting for it to bloom. And yes, its the same as the roadside plants. I got mine at IKEA. Its a very hardy plant. Always has new leaves sprouting.

I will take pictures of the smaller plants and my 30 year old curry leaf plant for another posting.

Enjoy these.

Ikan Bilis Sambal Fried Rice – Ben’s Interpretation

This is an old family favourite. Its easy to make and you can easily add any other ingredients you want like fishcake, tofu strips, french beans, peas etc.

This recipe was made with ingredients I already add in the house.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice (from the day before would be best)
100gms ikan bilis (degutted and rinsed, allow to drain till almost dry)
2 eggs
A small bunch of coriander leaves (roughly chop the leaves, set aside. Discard the stem).
A few stalks of spring onion (Chop up the green part, set aside. Chop the bulb and add to the pounded ingredients. Discard the roots!)
Salt
Pepper
Dark Soya Sauce
2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Pound to a semi smooth paste:
5 pieces dried chilli (cut into small pieces, soak in warm water for about 30 minutes, de-seed)
3 pieces fresh red chilli (de-seed)
1 onion finely chopped
1½ tablespoons of garlic/ginger mix

Directions:

a. Heat oil and stir fry the ikan bilis till semi-crisp. Leave aside. Do not discard the oil.

b. Fry the pounded ingredients till fragrant and the onions look translucent.
c. Add the ikan bilis. Stir well

d. Add the rice. Stir well.

e. Make a well in the rice and add the eggs. Stir well till eggs are nicely cooked.

f. Add the dark soya sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

g. Add the spring onion and coriander leaves. Stir well and serve hot.

Tamarind Chicken Soup with Vermicelli

I will confess. Jamie Oliver made this on TV but his was a bit too ang-mohish; so I added my own ingredients to make it more Asian.

My version turned out very well....





Ingredients:










1 Whole Chicken, about 750grams, skinned and washed clean
2 tablespoons Tamarind
2 Onions (Sliced)
4 cloves Garlic, lightly bruised
4 stalks Lemongrass, remove green part, bruised
3 Red Chilies (sliced thickly, bruised)
4 stalks Coriander (leaves and stem separated, bruise the stem)
1 piece Ginger (2 inches, sliced thickly, bruised)
1 piece Fresh Turmeric (2 inches, sliced thickly, bruised)
2 Servings Vermicelli or Instant Noodles (Boiled and ready to eat)
Salt (optional), to taste
Fish Sauce, to taste
Soya sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
150mls Coconut milk (thick)

Directions:

a. Sauté onion, garlic, lemongrass, red chili, coriander stem, ginger, fresh turmeric till fragrant in a deep pot. About 3-5 minutes.

b. Place whole chicken, breast side down in pot

c. Flatten chicken with palm, listen for bone cracking

d. Add about 3-4 cups of water or enough to cover chicken three-quarters of the way

e. Place a heavy stone mortar on chicken to keep it flat in the pot. Use a smaller pot lid as a buffer between the mortar and the chicken or wrap the mortar in aluminum foil.

f. Boil on medium flame for up to 90mins.

g. Remove chicken from pot. Be careful as at this point the chicken will literally fall apart.

h. Remove as much of the meat from the carcass and throw away the bones.

i. Shred the meat and keep aside.

j. Strain the soup through a coarse strainer or colander. Press down firmly with a spoon to extract as much of the stock as possible. Discard the residue.

k. Add the coconut milk to the stock. Check salt and flavor. Add as necessary.

l. In a deep soup bowl, place one serving of vermicelli or noodles, a handful of chicken, pour over soup to cover the noodles, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Karuvadu Urraka (Ikan Bilis Pickle) - My mum's recipe recreated

This is an old, old recipe of my mother's. Its is very hot and its best eaten with rice and sambar (dhall curry).

It is actually very easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 kg - Ikan Bilis - get the really small ones, rinse well and let it drain to its almost dry
2 bottles - Rice vinegar (Narcissus brand is best, get the 1 litre bottle)
500g - dried chili - chop up, de-seed and soak in the vinegar, use a big enough pot to contain it
500g - shallots (Sheng Siong sells them skinned. Wipe it clean with a dry kitchen towel)

Directions:


a. Soak the chili in the vinegar. Use a slotted spoon so that the seeds can be easily separated and removed.







b. Grind the chili into a really smooth paste. Set aside.






c. Fry the ikan bilis till golden brown. Set aside. Do not discard the oil.






d. Add the chili paste to the oil. Keep stirring till the mixture reduces. Watch out for the oil and chili splatters.






e. Add the shallots and stir for another ten minutes or so.






f. Add the fried ikan bilis.






g. Stir thoroughly.

h. Allow to cool completely before storing.

Note : I made this batch for my brothers. It was enough for about 3 500ml jars.

Spanish Tomato Rice - Ben's Interpretation

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice. Use day old cooked rice

½ cup cherry tomatoes, finely chopped (if fresh tomatoes are not available, use same amount of unflavored canned diced tomatoes)

1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped

1 chef garlic (or two normal cloves), finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

A few strands of saffron, soaked in a tablespoon of hot water, leave aside

1½ tablespoons of chicken stock concentrate

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 pieces star anise

Salt to taste

Ground pepper to taste

Fresh coriander, use the leaves, discard the stem

1 tablespoon toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts

Direction –

a. Heat oil on medium flame

b. When hot (not smoking hot), sauté the star anise till fragrant

c. Add the garlic, chili, onion and sauté till onion is translucent

d. Add tomatoes

e. Add salt, pepper, chicken stock, saffron strands and water

f. Keep stirring till the sauce has reduced by about one third

g. Add rice, toss gently.

h. Remove the star anise

i. Add the coriander leave and sunflower seeds or pine nuts

j. Serve hot with tandoori chicken and cucumber & carrot raita.

Tandoori Chicken Recipe - Ben's interpretation

Ingredients

½ Chicken, skinned, de-fat and cut into two parts. Wash thoroughly. Use a fork and prick all over. This will help with the marinating process.

Marinate 1 – Grind to a smooth paste
1½ teaspoon Garam masala
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic mixture
1 tablespoon chilli (use dried chilli soaked in water, de-seed if you don’t want too much heat)

Marinate 2 – Grind to a smooth paste
½ cup yoghurt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon chilli (use dried chilli soaked in water, de-seed if you don’t want too much heat)
1 teaspoon salt

Melted butter, ghee or oil for basting.

Directions -

a. Coat the chicken in Marinate 1 and allow to marinate for at least two hours in the refrigerator (I left my chicken overnight).

b. Remove as much of the Marinate 1 off the chicken and toss the chicken pieces in Marinate 2. Leave for another 2 hours in refrigerator.

c. Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before roasting. Leave the marinate on.

d. Place chicken pieces on a wire trivet (wire mesh).

f. Roast in a preheated oven (set at least 200 degree Celsius).

g. Baste the chicken pieces every 5-10 minutes.

h. Chicken should roast for at least 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

i. Serve with tomato rice and a side of cucumber & carrot raita.

Sunset in Serangoon North

I went out just before 7.00pm yesterday to friends' place for dinner.

I couldn't help but notice the beautiful sunset.

Its been a long, really long time since I have seen a sunset. Being stuck in the underground when it happens doesn't help.

I found this very nice poem on sunsets.



Sunset

Every night
The horizon lights up
Swirls of pink and orange
Fading to blue and purple

Few bother to look anymore
At a blessing
That only comes once a day

Each sunset is different
No two exactly alike
Difference flows throughout
While it is the only similarity

Over the ocean
Or through the sky scrapers
Out on the prairie
Or in an apartment

You can still see a piece
A piece of something
Something never to return
A sunset

For the colors are shimmering
For a moment they stay
Only to disappear into change
Change just as beautiful as the last

This is why
No matter where you go
One thing remains the same,
A difference in sunsets

In your very own sunset

By Jessica Millsaps

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