Green Tea Frappuccino

I am a green tea freak!
So get me Green Tea Frappuccino the next time we are in Starbucks!

Indian Achar Masala

My favorite pickle has to be the malay achar and the Indian masala mango pickle! Today, I managed to make Indian Achar!

Instead of using raw mangoes, I made like the malay use to make that is using carrots and cucumbers. Thanks to the ready made pickle masala!

All you need to do is add lime, mustard oil and pinches of salt to go with the powder. Then let it sit for a day or two inside a jar. I used a tupperware instead of a jar because I ran out of big jars. :(

Seaweed Soft Boiled Rice

The Chinese had this tradition of cooking congee or soft boiled rice when someone in the household is not feeling well/sick. This tradition was passed down from my great grandmother who then influenced my grandmother to my mother and now I caught "the flu"! Hutttchewwww! It was and is believed that congee increases the sickling's appetite and gives him/her immense energy leading to recovery. Sounds like its one of a kind in healing wonders!

So I had runny nose and wanted something tasty and soft, one else could I think of if not seaweed congee! Hubby makes bowls of tasty, delicious one. Could be that he inherited congee cooking from his father - the well-known congee master in SASS! :)

Ingredients:

A cup of white rice
400ml water
Seaweed strands in a packet
Knorr mushroom cube
Carrots (cut in small cubes)
Sesame oil
Maggie seasoning (optional)
celery strips (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil rice in a pot filled with water for about 30 minutes. Cover the pot.
2. When rice is boiling, add cube-cut carrots and stir evenly. Cover half the pot. Check and stir regularly.
3. After 20 minutes, add knorr mushroom cube. One cube should be enough since the carrots will give sweet taste to the rice. Stir regularly and evenly.
4. Reduce heat. Add seaweed strips according to your liking and stir.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, stir and congee is ready to be served.
6. Garnish with celery or add seasoning to bring out the taste.

Chokchai Steakhouse Bangkok

Chokchai farm and all the eatery outlets are no stranger to those of us that resides or once resided in Muak Lek, Saraburi. Imagine our excitement when we first discovered where the Bangkok branch steakhouse was situated at in Bangkok!

Upon deciding where to eat today, I suggested we go to Chokchai Steakhouse to give it a try! When we arrived, I was marveled by the steel mache displayed around the wall that looked like this:

Then the next thing was the natural elegant Woody feel inside the diner that looked like this:

Warm and welcoming, my not-so-hungry tummy then suddenly rung "appetite!" right after we walked in. Browsing through the menu, they had a big range of food listed on the menu. Most of it were of course steaks, then pastas, salads, several dishes, cocktails, fine wines and other beverages. As I scrolled through, my mind picked out several dishes to be ordered but sadly tummy only agreed to one. Thus I had the beef pepper steak and the rest of my companion picked honey chicken steak respectively.

The men finished their plate of honey chicken steak but for me, I could barely finish half of the steak (appetite was big but tummy can't take it anymore)and had to let Hobbit savor it all! Not enough with real food, we ordered dessert and if you have tasted Chokchai's ice-cream, you surely won't miss it out! Take a look at our orders...

Vanilla ice-cream coated with caramel and nuts


Plain vanilla


Mix fruit

Steak and ice-cream! The moment we walked out I felt 1 kg heavier! Haha! So, if you wish to visit, come with a big appetite and loads of stories because it might take sometime for the steak dishes to arrive IF you order and what more platters. :) I had a good time and surely will come back again for steak and cocktails *wink*!

Restaurant: Chokchai Steakhouse
Place: Prasarnmit PlazaNana Prompong (MRT: Sukhumvit BTS: Asok)
Price: Affordable to pricey
Hours: Recommended lunch-dinner

Chana Dhal Curry

Hobbit loves curry dishes. So today when I went to the kitchen and saw all the spices piling there, I thought okay, it's time for another Dhal take. So I dug deep into my fridge and see what combination would be wise to be cooked with the dhal or daal. Then I reached out for green chilies, onion, tomatoes, carrots, ginger and garlics. Too bad, I cannot give the exact propotion for this recipe for I let go and went for what my cooking instinct told me to do. Nevertheless, I know you home chefs, you have this instincts too right? :)

As I was halfway cutting and Hobbit heating the stoves, suddenly we smelled something rubber-like burning. I thought it must be the stoves but never in my cooking life heating stoves would release rubber-like smell. Then there was a spark! It came from the extension cord which was connected to the stove's cord. Hobbit quickly unplugged the cord and we watch the spark subsided with small puffing smoke! We could have burnt down the kitchen for all we know! Lucky enough we had an extra extension cord. Anyway, back to cooking...

To start with the cooking, I poured the soaked chana dhal and a mixture of masoor dhal into a half pot full of boiling water. I let it boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes (I don't have pressure cooker hence the time) while using the waiting time to prepare the combination and spices. Note that after 10 minutes I added the carrots into the boiling pot.

Now heat a pan and add olive oil and stir-fry the following ingredients: ginger-garlic paste, chopped onion, sliced green chilies, and tomatoes. For the spices, add sesame seeds, mustard seeds, cumin powder, tumeric powder and a pinch of garam masala. Stir fry these ingredients for a minute or two. Meanwhile, check the pot of dhal, add curry powder and salt to taste. Stir the mixture. Add a small cup of evaporated milk to make the curry thicker. The last step is to combine the ingredients in the pan into the pot and let everything simmer for a minute. Turn off heat and the food is ready to be served with rice.