Weird Meals

Short blog.

Quick Meals.

1. Tomato rice (mini portion version) + boiled potatoes and carrot

2. Instant kua chap with enoki mushrooms

Food Review #8 - Instant Curry

I found this instant curry at a local grocery store

And I have been dying to try one

Coz my sis keeps on telling me how tasty it is

So finally, it is time for the taste test!

So according to the instructions,

I'm supposed to boil this packet

So here I am, boiling it

PS: I pushed the contents down so it can be fully submerged in water when boiling

After it is done boiling,

I simply dump some boiled potatoes into the curry and mix them together

And voila

My dinner: Curry + rice

Japanese curry has this.... texture 

That makes you very, very full after the meal

I don't know why

But nevertheless

It is not as spicy as Indian curry

So it is one of the reason I prefer Japanese curry.

Also, it taste good without the rice. 

I like it,

I would give it a 9/10

and i will get another one next time I go grocery shopping

Soup Week

Ok, it's been a long last week

The good kind of long week

So, I've been spending my time cooking soup

If you have experience in cooking soup,

You'll know how much time you need to spend to cook a pot

To actually let the flavors come through

So, you can say that I'm pretty free to have cooked so much soup in a week

1. 雪耳润肺汤

It's a nourishing herbal soup

For cooling down the heat in your body and (for ladies) good for your skin

This soup is found at Chinese herbal shop near my uni

This is how it looks like after cooked:

It's enough for 2 but there's only me

So, I split it into 2 portions and ate the rest with plain rice

2. Red Bean soup

Pretty simple red bean soup

Ingredients: red bean. sugar and water

Boil them together until the beans are soft.

And it's ready to be eaten.

This is a dessert for typical Chinese meal

So, it's not my lunch or dinner

Just dessert.

3. ABC Soup

It's a typical Chinese soup

I don't know why is it called ABC soup

The ingredients used are: tomatoes, carrot, corn, potatoes 

(sorry, the potatoes' not visible >.<)

This soup actually tasted sweet

Thanks to the sweetness of the corn

The tomatoes also help with the flavoring

It's a pretty wholesome meal I guess

Eating the whole pot makes me pretty full

4. 六味汤

This is also a herbal soup with the similar function as (1) above.

This is found at a different Chinese herbal shop near my uni

5. Knor's Tiger Lily and Mushroom Soup

Now this is just an instant soup

It doesn't require much time to cook

But.....

 I screwed up when putting in the beaten egg in the soup

So it looks like shit

However, it is still edible

6. Random Herbal Soup

(Similar to 1. I guess)

This is also found at a different Chinese herbal shop near my uni

I put way too less water in it

So the barley soaked up most of the water

Lesson learned, I'll improve next time....

Food Review #5 - Cheesy Yoppokki, Anyone?

Lately I have been craving for some toppokki and enoki mushrooms

Then I remembered, I have bought some during the food expo

>> http://blackcatning.blogspot.my/2016/03/expo-sayangi-food-beverage-malaysia-haul.html

So, today, I'm gonna make this:

again, with my trusty electric lunch box

>> http://blackcatning.blogspot.my/2016/03/item-review-1-electric-lunch-box.html

here's where I bought mine if you are interested

>> http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1363016.html

So, in that package

there are 2 sets (1 set = a pack of toppokki and a pack of sauce)

So, I boiled some enoki and the toppokki together

and the cheese sauce seperately

because I am anxious about how it would taste

After they are cooked, 

I ate them in a sauce dip way

Like so:

So, the taste is not bad

it definitely soothed my cravings

So because I cooked the sauce and the toppokki separately

the taste isn't very strong

I mean, it doesn't really fully absorbed into the rice cake when I dipped it in

But the sauce tasted like melted cheese with some herbs in it

It smells nice, and tasted good too

Even though I made the sauce too liquidy....

But it is a little bit spicy

No matter, I like my cheese a little savory

Otherwise it would be too.... plain and my taste buds will get tired of it fast

Hence, I give this a 9.5/10

It would be better if my sauce is more sauce-y

Nevermind, I can try it again next time

I still have another pack afterall....

Food Review #4 - Korean Instant Noodles

Lately, I have went to local grocery stores and found these:

Korean Instant Noodles

Since I bought an electric lunch box 

btw, this is where I bought mine: >>> http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1363016.html

So I thought: "hmmm..... why don't I try to cook these? It'll be fun to do taste tests."

and so, I bought 2 of them:

1. Udon Noodle with Soup Base (Kimchi Flavor)

So, inside the package there are:

 udon noodles, kimchi sachet and the powdered udon soup flavoring

This is how the included kimchi block looks like:

And this is how it looks like after it is cooked:

A bowl of kimchi flavored udon

Since the kimchi block already has its on flavor, 

so I only put about half a packet of the udon soup flavoring inside

Mainly is because I wanted to taste the Kimchi more than the udon soup

Actually I have never tasted udon before

I have to say, the noodles are a bit chewy, 

but it is not starchy, thank God

The kimchi smell is really fragrant by the way

And the stock tastes like.... discount Kimchi soup

it tasted like kimchi, but not as strong as real kimchi

So, for this instant noodle,

I'll give it a 8/10.

2. Chacharoni (Chinese Soybean Paste Ramen) 

Inside it there are:

the noodles, the paste, and the flakes (beans, fried onions)

It says to cook the noodles and the flakes first:

Then after it is cooked,

I separated the water from the noodles and flakes

and added the paste

and mixed them in 

until I got this:

Well it doesn't look very appetizing....

I shouldn't put the whole packet of paste in

Because it's a little too salty for me

I figured maybe its because I cook the flakes along with the noodle

So it made the noodles smell nice

For it's taste.....

I can't say I like it, but I don't dislike it as well

it's my own fault for putting too much paste

For this one, I'll give it a.... 6.5/10

Maybe if the paste isn't so thick, I would like it better

Well, I wasn't a big fan of pastes to begin with...

Ok, that's all for today

Please leave me any suggestions on some other food that is nice

I'll try to find them and try taste testing them

Thanks again

Tomato rice

*Dun* *Dun* *Dun*
It's explore-and-get-creative day again
How? By cooking.

Today, I'll be cooking it with the electric lunch box I bought earlier
Coz it's the only cooking utensil I have at the moment
Here's where I bought mine >>> http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1363016.html

So, today's menu:
the oh-so-popular-in-Japan
--tomato rice

It's a simple dish, with only 2 ingredients: tomato and rice

So, I use "zhen zhu mi" or short grain rice to cook my version of tomato rice
Coz it's shape is similar to Japanese rice they use for sushi
and also because I like it's texture

So, basically I just follow the instructions on the packet to cook the rice, which is pretty simple:

1. wash the rice ONCE (so i did, coz it's written in caps)
2. measure 1.2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice (or accordingly to your personal preference)
3. soak the rice for a minimum of 30 mins
4. place the rice into cooker. leave to cook.
5. switch off the rice cooker and leave the rice in the cooker for 15 mins. fluff gently then it is ready to serve.

This is what it looks like before I add the water to cook it. 

And.....

The end result....

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I have a confession to make:

I din mix it well enough. so u can see there are many tomato chunks here and there.

It's because I'm very hungry already.

I just can't wait.

PS: I added some salt to mix the rice with the tomato.

I don't know why I did it. I just did.

But they mixed well together. so my tomato rice doesn't taste plain.

So.... it tasted pretty good I must say.

Since I like to eat tomatoes very much.

I like that the rice were infused with the tomato's sweet and sour flavor

The salt somehow helps bring out the flavor even more.

But it would taste better if I had the patience to mix them all thoroughly.

Nevertheless, I will learn from my mistakes.

Next time, I will show u a better version of tomato rice.

Note-to-self:

Add some sesame oil when cooking the rice next time (for more fragrance)

**as suggested by my sister

If u have any ideas on how to make a better tomato rice

Please tell me how in the comments down below

Your help is very much appreciated

紫菜蛋花番茄汤 (Seaweed + egg + tomato soup)

So, today, for lunch, I'm cooking soup
It's a simple Chinese soup
-- 紫菜蛋花番茄汤 (Seaweed + egg + tomato soup)

Typically, it's just seaweed and eggs
But i'm improvising mine
By adding tomato in it

And I'll be cooking it with the electric lunch box I bought earlier
Here's where I bought mine >>> http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1363016.html

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tomato
• Around half slice of the seaweed (I added more coz it looks little. But after it is cooked, less is more)
• Some salt for taste

How I cook:

1. Soak the seaweed for a few mins (to soften it (?))
2. Cut the tomato into 8 pieces
3. Put the into the pot
4. Boil them for around 1 hour

At this point, I opened the box to add my egg in it.

Keep stirring while the pot is still hot (to cook the egg)

Then continue to let it boil for an hour.

Lastly, add some salt for taste

The amount of salt depends on you, as some like the soup salty, while some doesn't

And voila~

U have a simple seaweed + egg + tomato soup

So, it turns out that I added too much seaweed....

Hence, this bowl is makes me very full.

It's not perfect but it's alright.

Quite mild to the taste.

Most importantly, I cooked it. Personally. XD

Item Review #1 - Electric Lunch Box

Today, I'm gonna recommend you guys a neat lunch box I came across online recently.
---The Electric Lunch Box

I bought it for RM88 (including postage fee)
I ordered mine and it was delivered to my doorstep around 3-4 days.
These are the things that came in the box:

The lunch box: Front view (I had the egg steaming rack attached when I took this photo)

Upper view

Back view

Side view

The latch

Inside of the lunch box

The other contents

And an electric plug

The grip handle is very nice to hold on

Here are the manuals: 

Here's the product demo video:



So, to test it out, I tried to cook several dishes as shown in the video above:

1. Steamed eggs

2. Instant noodles

3. ABC soup (soup with corns, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and add a pinch of salt for taste)

And honestly, those turn out pretty damn good. I'm very impressed. 

Especially the soup

Taste just like my grandma's version

For people who wants to eat healthy or have a small cooking space like me,

You should definitely try this out. 

It is easy to clean

Makes no mess (except water droplets)

Most importantly, you can save more by cooking your own meal.

Suitable for college students or people who travel a lot.

As it is quite convenient for cooking a light meal.

Here's where I ordered mine:
http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1363016.html

There is also a 3 layer version of it:
http://www.cutemonster.com.my/wwwcutemonstercommy/product-1332492.html