Bone Broth

Bone Broth Recipe

Bone broth is mineral rich soup stock from boiling bones of healthy animals.
It contains high calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus content making it good for bone and teeth health. With its high collagen content, it supports joints, hair, skin, and nail growth.

A good broth can be used as a base for most of your cooking needs.  I'll use it for simple soup noodle dishes or even to stewing and stir frying of dishes giving it the flavourful taste but reducing the need for salt to minimal amount.

A good bone broth is best to be boiled for 24hours or longer,  economically I prefer using thermal pot to cook so that I can save on electrical bills and yet have a good broth without having to worry about unattended stove or drying pot in a slow cooker.

Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Large pork bones
2 Chicken carcass
20+ chicken feets
1 Large onion (roughly chopped)
2 carrots (roughly chopped)
4 celery (roughly chopped)
1 sprig of parsley
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
2.5 litre of water

Method:

1) Heat up a full wok of water and parboil the pork bones, chicken carcass and chicken feet.

2) Rinse the bones and chicken feet

3) I'm using a 7litre endo thermal pot, I'll place all the bones and ingredients except the parsley into the pot and fill up with water(estimated 2.5litre) and boil over the stove for 15mins. Usually I'll cook over the stove at night around 10pm when my girl has slept.

4) After boiling over the stove for about 15mins, sieve the scum that floats up to the top. I'll put it into the outer pot and let it continue cooking on its own till next morning around 9am and take it out to reheat on the stove for another 15mins.

5) Cooking time over the stove will usually be like this:
Day 1: 10pm
Day 2: 9am
Day 2: 6pm
Day 2: 10pm
Day 3: 9am
Day 3: 6pm

6) On the third day when I heat up after work around 6pm, I'll add in a sprig of parsley and boil for another 30mins.

7) Sieve through all the ingredients and store.  I'll usually keep some in the fridge to store if I need it the next 2days.  Balance of the broth will be frozen and can be kept for another month.

Note:
Feel free to change the vegetables to your preferred ones.
Try to keep parsley as it helps to seal the mineral in the broth
Adding apple cider vinegar or any forms of acid like lemon juice will help in extracting the minerals from the soup.

Goats' milk from Hay Diaries

My mum has always been preaching how healthy it is to take fresh goats' milk and that's why my grandma is so healthy and lived to 98years old.  Since weaning Si en off breastmilk at 18mths old, I've been hunting for the right milk.  Which brand of fm, which brand and type of fresh milk do I give her?  

I just cant wait to share my joy at discovering Hay Dairies goat milk at the Famers' market event last weekend.  I quickly bought 4bottles for my family members to try as people were snatching it up real fast and I havent tasted fresh goats' milk for so long! Grabbed the golden opportunity to let Si en try and see if she takes to goats milk.

Tasting her first goat's milk

Cheers! 

   

With the use by date

I did a quick search into the benefits of goats milk:

1) Environmental Friendly
Goats need less space and food as compared to cows.

2) Metabolic Agent

Studies show that goat's milk have the increased ability to metabolize iron and copper which aids digestion and absorption limitations.

3) Bio availability

It's chemical make up is closer to mother's milk as compared to cows milk, thus making it easier to digest and absorbed by the body. 

4) High in essential fatty acids

Cow's milk has about 17% as opposed to goat's milk of 35%.

5) Calcium rich

Goat's milk are equivalently calcium rich as cows' milk.

6) Anti-mucousal

The fat globules are one ninth the size of those found in cow's milk, thus making it possible reason why it does not produce irritation of the gut.

7) Ultra-nourishing

Goat milk has traditionally been used in medicinal cultures to nourish and regenerate an over-taxed nervous system.

8) Less Toxic

Its less toxic then cow's milk, as its not injected with growth hormones.

9) Boosts immunity

Goat milk contains trace mineral, selenium in keeping the immune system strong and functioning well.

Do hop over to Hay Dairies in Singapore for a farm visit or order some goats' milk for your kids! 

https://www.facebook.com/haydairies

Oden 关东煮

Ingredients:

- 1500ml of water
- 2 strips of konbu
- 1 pack of dashi
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon sugar

- 1 daikon, skin and cut into slices
- 4 eggs, hard boil and shell
- 1 carrot, skin and slice
- 1 packet of konnyaku, cut into chunks
- 1 packet of japanese fish cakes from supermarket

Method:

1) Put the daikon into a saucepan and cook in low heat till the center of the daikon is soft.
2) Bring the konnyaku jelly into the saucepan and bring to boil, drain after boiling for a min.
3) Bring the pot of water to boil, blanch the japanese fish cakes, to remove the oil.
4) Rinse the konbu and tie a knot.
5) Put the konbu, dashi, mirin, sugar, and water to make the stock.
6) Place the daikon, eggs, carrot, konnyaku to cook at low heat for about 2-3hours
7) Add the fish cakes and cook at low heat for another half an hr.

Air fried lemongrass chicken wings

Ingredients:
500gms of chicken mid wings. 
5cloves of garlic, minced. 
3 stalks of lemongrass. 
3 tablespoons of thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons of honey

Method: 
1) chop the lemon grass finely and pound it 
2) season with all the ingredients overnight
3) place in airfryer temp 160 for 10mins, flip in between
4) turn temp to 190-200 for 3mins on each side if u want a darker or charred kind of look.

Stir fried crocodile meat with black fungus

Little Si en's been down with croup for 2weeks, it's time to 补 her lungs.

Crocodile meat and black fungus has been well known to be good for the lungs, so this round instead of boiling crocodile meat soup. 

Presenting my new creation........ 

Ingredients: 

- one packet of crocodile flank meat about 250grams

- 2 tsp baking soda

- 1knob of ginger sliced

- 2/3 stalks of spring onion- cut into  long strips. Separate the white and green parts

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced

- half a carrot, cut into strips 

- a handful of black fungus about 5-6, soak to soften and slice into strips 

- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

- sesame oil 

Marinade for crocodile meat:

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp sugar

- a dash of white pepper

- 1 tablespoon of shao xing wine

- 1 tsp of light soya sauce

- 2 tsp of cornflour

- 1 tsp of light soya sauce

Method: 

1- mix the crocodile meat and baking soda. Leave for 15 mins to tenderize meat and rinse clean. Leave it to drip dry. 

2- mix the marinade together with the meat for another 15mins.

3- heat up the wok, add oil, and add the ginger, garlic and white part of the spring onion. Stir fry till aromatic.

4- add carrots and black fungus, stir fry till it's half cooked.

5- add the crocodile meat and continue to stir fry till the meat is cooked

6- add the remaining spring onion and season with oyster sauce.

7- drizzle sesame oil before dishing up.

Travel Packing list for family with kids

A travel packing list for family with kids

I've done up a very comprehensive packing list to help parents pack when traveling for the first time with babies and children.  As I've listed items which can be used for babies and young children as well, please pack the neccessary.


Travel Packing List

Braised ee-fu noodles with lobster

Ingredients:

 5 Baby Lobster
 1 Packet of ee-fu noodles
 1 Bunch of garlic cloves
 1 Can of straw mushrooms (quartered)
 10 Shitake mushrooms
 10 slices of ginger
 3 tablespoon of coconut oil/ cooking oil
 600ml of water + 2.5 tablespoon of cornstarch (mix and set aside)

 Sauce

 3 tablespoon of oyster sauce
 2 tablespoon of soy sauce
 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
 3 tablespoon of sugar
 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
 3 tablespoon of shao xing wine

Cooking Method:
 1) wash and scrub the lobster clean cut into half
 2) Heat up a pot of boiling water and boil the noodles for abt a minute. Drain and rinse with tap water and set aside
 3) Heat up a wok and put coconut oil.
4) Stir-fry the ginger till aromatic
 5) Add the shitake mushrooms and saute
 6) Add the lobster and stir fry till it turns red
 7) Add the sauce, followed by the cornstarch mixture
 8) Add the garlic chives, and straw mushroom
 9) Stir to coat evenly, cover lid and simmer till lobster is cooked.
 10) Remove lid and add in the noodles for a quick stir.
 11) Dish out and serve immediately

Ways to help relieve Bronchitis or Cough

My little girl unfortunately had Bronchitis at the age of 6mths old, from that period on it just keeps recurring and I had tried several methods to aid in the recovery which I thought might be useful to share with other parents with the same concerns.

1) Thru western medication:
   *Do note that this is preferably to be prescribed by the doctor

Usually she has to undergo through nebulization to inhale the medications, such as atrovent, ventolin and pumicort
   *Tip: For younger babies who doesnt know how to inhale properly for effective medication, you can try to make them cry as crying naturally opens their mouth and lungs to inhale properly.  As my girl started to neuberlize at 6mths old, we had to make her cry in order for the medications to be inhaled as she doesnt know how to breathe in deeply.

Medications such as singulair may also be prescribed by the doctor but do note the side effects so that you can pre-empt the school staff or caregiver.  Extract from wiki about the negative side effects: Side effects include gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches,, hypersensitivity reactions, sleep disorders, and increased bleeding tendency, in addition to other generic adverse reactions.  Its use is associated with higher incidence of Churg-Strauss syndrome.  Drowsiness is also a common side effect. 

2) Thru chinese medication
When she was first having bronchitis at 6mths old, I went to Fu Hua to buy their top grade of Chuan Bei Mu (Also known as Fritillaria) and request to have it grinded to powder.
At 6months old, her dosage was half a teaspoon, three times daily, one hour after her western medication to help dissolve the phelgm.
After she turned one year old, from then onwards we replaced chuan bei with Hou Ning (a type of Hou zao san) from Eu Yan Seng.  Its pretty expensive, so if you want to try a cheaper alternative you could pop by neighbourhood TCM shops to buy hou zao san too. 

3) Thru diet

Most FM that we give to our kids are cows milk which is known to cause more phelgm.

If you're feeding breast milk, do continue doing so to pass them the antibodies. 

Else you can try switching to soy milk for the interim. 

There's also a list of food items which are to be avoided as it will induce phelgm or prolong the recovery. These include: Fish, chicken, cold or sweet food, citrus fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, oranges, certain fruits like grapes also induce phelgm.  

Braised Fresh Abalone & Mushrooms

Ingredients: 

6 Dried Scallops, pre-soaked

12 Dried Shitake Mushrooms, pre-soaked
1 pack of Frozen Fresh Abalone (8pcs)
1/2 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon of Dark Soya Sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
Chicken Stock
5-6 pieces of rock sugar
Cornstarch

Method: 

1. Drain the water from dried scallops, mushrooms sieve and set aside the water for later use.

2. Place the scallops, shitake mushrooms, and abalone into the thermal pot

3. Add in the water used to soak the scallops and mushrooms into the pot.

4. Add chinese cooking wine and sufficient chicken stock to cover the ingredients.

5. Bring to boil for about 10mins and keep into the outer pot.

6. 8hours later or just before serving, add the dark soya sauce and rock sugar and simmer for another 10-15mins.

7. Remove and plate the scallops, mushrooms and abalone.

8. Bring the sauce to boil, and add in the cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

9. Remove and pour the sauce over the ingredients.

Taiwanese style 卤肉

Ingredients:
500gms pork belly meat
8 Shitake mushrooms (To pre soak if its dried ones, keep the mushroom water)
2 Shallots
3 slices of ginger
3 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
2 star anise
1 tablespoon of cooking wine
1 teaspoon of five spices powder
200ml of water
5cubes of rock sugar

Method:
1- Wash and drip by the pork belly. You can paper towel dry it to save time.
2- Cut the shallots, pork belly and mushrooms into cubes.
3- Heat up the wok and add the oil
4- When the oil is hot, add the shallots to stir fry till its fragrant
5- Add in the pork belly and stir fry till it changes colour and some of the oil comes out from the meat
6- Pour in the mushroom and stir
7- Next add in 1 tablespoon of cooking wine,1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce, 3 tablespoon of soya sauce and stir.
8- Sprinkle the five spices powder evenly and stir fry
9- Add the ginger and star anise
10- Add 200ml of water or sufficient to cover the meat, stew for an hour under medium fire
11- Add the rock sugar according to taste, add hard boiled eggs if you want. Cover the lid and continues stewing for another half an hour under small fire.

Si En's Weaning Diary: Meesua Soup with wolfberries

Ingredients:
- One knot of mee sua
- Soup stock, about 50ml
- Water, 30ml
- Wolfberries, a handful.  Rinse and pre soak in water. Keep the water for later use.

Method:
- Bring the water to boil then add the soup stock.
- When its boiling, add the mee sua and stir it to disperse and cook evenly.
- When meesua is cooked, off the flame and add the wolfberries with the water.

*Depending on how heavy your child's tastebud might be, you can increase the soup stock or water. 

Note:  I'll personally like to cook it with more soup as the mee sua will absorb the soup quite quickly over time and there might not be much soup left for the child.

As this was given during her early weaning journey, I kept it very basic.  But as the child grows you can always add other ingredients like vegetables or meat to give a more well balanced diet.

Si En's Weaning Diary: Brown Rice

As I was starting her on her weaning journey, porridge would be one of the first few items that we'll offer as a Chinese thus the hunt of the most "healthy option" started. 

My mum has always been advocating eating brown rice as a healthier option as compared to white rice.  She has always stated that's the reason why my maternal grandma has lived to a ripe age of 98 despite having taken opium before in her younger days.

Here are the benefits:
1. Rich in Selenium
Brown rice is rich in selenium which reduces the risk for developing common illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and arthritis.
2. High in Manganese
One cup of brown rice provides 80% of our daily manganese requirements. Manganese helps the body synthesize fats. Manganese also benefits our nervous and reproductive systems.
3. Rich in Naturally-Occurring Oils
Naturally occurring oils are beneficial for the body as these healthful fats help normalize cholesterol levels.
4. Promotes Weight Loss
The fiber content of brown rice keeps bowel function at it’s peak since it makes digestion that much easier. Brown rice is the perfect addition to the daily diet for those seeking bowel regularity. In addition, brown rice also makes the tummy feel full which translates to smaller meal portions.
5. Considered Whole Grain
Brown rice is considered a whole grain since it hasn’t lost its “wholeness” through the refinement process. Wholes grains are proven to reduce the buildup of arterial plaque and reduce the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
6. Rich in Anti-Oxidants
This is one of the best kept secrets regarding brown rice. We usually associate anti-oxidant rich foods with blueberries, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables. The antioxidant capacity of brown rice is right up there with these super stars.
7. High in Fiber
Brown rice is high in fiber and on top of the list for foods that can help prevent colon cancer. This can be attributed to the high levels of fiber naturally contained in brown rice. These fibers attach to substances that cause cancer as well as to toxins in the body, thus eliminating them and keeping them from attaching to the colon wall.
8. A Slow-Release Sugar
Brown rice helps stabilize blood sugar levels; therefore, it’s an excellent food choice for those suffering from diabetes. Studies show that those who consume one half cup of brown rice daily reduce their risks of developing diabetes by 60%. On the other hand, those who consume white rice regularly increase their chances of developing diabetes 100 fold.
9. Perfect Baby Food
Brown rice cereal or brown rice itself is the perfect baby’s first food due to the dense natural nutrition and fiber it contains. This is a much better choice than refined white rice cereal products as rapidly growing babies and toddlers require nutrient rich diets to help maintain rapid growth cycles.
10. Candida Yeast Infections
Brown rice is the perfect adjunct for  candida yeast infection treatments given that high glycemic and otherwise sugary/starchy foods are prohibited during most candida treatment protocols. The natural digestibility of brown rice coupled with the high fiber content can help sensitive digestive systems heal from an overgrowth of candida organisms.
Extract from: Veg Kitchen

When she was younger,  I would gind the rice with a bullet grinder and cook it with as porridge.  As she grew older, we skipped the grinding part and let her have it as rice.

Groceries Shopping for Si en's Weaning Journey

Usually I like to go Meidiya supermarket to shop for Si en's weaning food.  There is a wide choice of imported items as well as organic food items which are also fresher then local supermarkets. 
Did a google search recently and realised that now they even have delivery service.  So you might want to consolidate and order for delivery once a while.  Here's the link:  Meidiya.

Sharing some good buys that I'll usually get there:
Yoplait yogurt which is suitable from weaning onwards which is after 6months.  They have a variety of flavours, the ones in the pic is apricot & strawberry, raspberry & strawberry. I prefer not to let the child have cold food when she's still so young, so I'll leave it outside for about 1hr before feeding it to her.

 

I also chanced upon japanese soup base for her noodles too.  I tasted it before feeding her and it wasnt salty at all.  The one on the left is vegetable soup stock for 5months old and above.  The one on the right is udon soup stock for 7months and above.  Its pretty good, she's still having them now as soup stock for her udon or ramen noodles even though she's already 3!

Groceries shopping trip for her weaning journey at 7months old.

Here's a pic of her enjoying her first experience of having yogurt.

Quote of the day

Just love how apt the description is to my motherhood journey.

Si En's Weaning Diary: Vegetable Soup Stock

Everytime I'm cooking this, I feel like I'm a witch brewing a cauldron of potions away. Haha!!!
Anyway, I simply love to stock vegetable stock in the house as Si en's always coughing and she has to abstain from chicken.  So I thought I'll just let her have double boiled chicken soup on days that she's not coughing instead. 

I find soup stock very useful in weaning kids, especially cooking porridge or using for stir fries.  I guess not many kids would reject a much more flavorful soup?

Here's my recipe for the stock:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 Leeks(white part)- Slice into chunks
2 Stalks of celery- cut the stems into chunks
1 Large white onion- Cut into slices
2 Large Carrots- cut into slices
2 Corns- I like to slice of the corn kernels from the kob as I find it much sweeter
10 dried mushrooms- pre-soak
4 Tomatoes- cut into chunks and remove seeds
2 Litres of water

Method:
- Heat oil, saute the onion, celery, carrot, leek.  
- Place the remaining ingredients into the pot and boil for 2hours
- Sieve the soup and set aside for cooling
- After cooling, u can place in stock bags or ice cube trays to freeze and store. 

Here's how I keep my soup stock:

 

After I've discovered the thermal pot, I've changed to using a thermal pot to boil the soup stock instead.

For thermal pot, usually I'll boil over the stove for about 20mins at night and place it in the outer pot to let it boil overnight. 
Wake up the next morning and boil it for another 20mins. 
About noon time, when my girl naps then I'll take it out to cool and store.
Maybe you might want to consider working around that timeline if you're usually busy with work or handling the child alone like I do. :p

Si En's Weaning Diary: Beetroot Puree

Beetroot! It's another vegetable that I've never eaten all of my life but discovered it during Si en's weaning journey.

I was so happy to stumble upon it as it would have made the rainbow diet so much easier. 
If you havent heard of it before, rainbow diet means choosing fruits and vegetables of every color in the rainbow.

Eating the full rainbow of foods regularly helps give your body the nutrients it needs. In addition to fiber, vitamins and minerals, naturally colored foods contain what are known as phytochemicals. These powerful nutrients are the disease-fighting substances that also give fruits and vegetables their array of colors.
Research has shown that eating a variety of these nutrients can work together to:

• Strengthen your immune system
• Lower your risk for certain cancers
• Help ward off type 2 diabetes
• Reduce high blood pressure
• Prevent some eye diseases
• Maintain urinary tract health
• Maintain heart health
• Improve memory
• Help build strong bones and teeth

Another thing that I stumbled upon is that beetroot has high soluble fibre content, making it the most ideal natural laxative.  So if your child has constipation problems while adjusting to semi solid food or bad digestion days you'll know what natural remedies you could take.

How to cook:
- Skin the beetroot
- Dice into small cubes and steam for 15mins
- Remove the water and blend/mash it into puree.
- If you would like to freeze it, wait for it to cool down before spooning it into the ice cube trays to freeze.  Try to finish the frozen food by a week if possible.

Sidenote:  Please do not be alarmed to see your baby's poo red colour the next day though.

Si En's Weaning Diary: Rice Cereal

I delayed her weaning even though she had obtained the pd's clearance at 4mths old that she could have started on semi solids.  Partly because we were intending to bring her travelling at taiwan when she was 5mths old.  Also I felt that there was no rush to let her start on semi solids since I was enjoying the convenience of breastfeeding and a lighter diaperbag. Haha!

I guess for most of us we'll start the weaning journey with cereals, but with so many types and brands of cereals we'll probably be too overwhelmed by what to choose and give. 
Generally I'll usually follow my guideline of organic food, especially since she just started trying the food and also of the convenience of getting organic food in small amounts too since its so expensive!

I started out with Bellamy's rice cereal:

I would prefer to start on rice cereals for the following reasons:
- Provides the necessary iron as its iron-fortified
- Less allergenic
- Easily digested
- Easy to blend with milk or formula 

I tried before Nestle's rice cereal too, but I didnt give it to Si en as I found it too sweet for my taste buds.
In Singapore we could usually request for samples during food fairs, and bb fairs so you might want to collect samples or email the manufacturers for some samples that both you and your baby could taste or try before you get the full packet.

Si En's Weaning Diary: Butternut Squash Puree

I've never taste butternut squash before and was to amazed to have stumbled upon it when I was looking for suitable food ingredients to wean Si En when she was 7months old. 

If you are as puzzled as I was to how it looks like, here's a picture for you:
 

After cooking I realised that it tastes as similar as a pumpkin because, it comes from the family of pumpkins. Haha!

The nutrient value of a butternut squash exceeds the pumpkin though. 

• Butternut squash contains many vital poly-phenolic anti-oxidants and vitamins. Similar to other Cucurbitaceae members, this too is one of the low-calorie vegetables, which provides just 45 calories per 100 g. It contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; however, is rich source of dietary fiber and phyto-nutrients. Squash is one of the common vegetables that often recommended by dieticians in the cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
  
• It has more vitamin A than that in pumpkin. At 10630 IU per 100 g, it is perhaps the single vegetable source in the Cucurbitaceae family with the highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 354% of RDA. Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. It is also an essential vitamin for good eye-sight. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin A help the body protected against lung and oral cavity cancers.
  
• Furthermore, butternut squash has plenty of natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds like α and ß-carotenes, cryptoxanthin-ß, and lutein. These compounds convert to vitamin A inside the body and deliver same protective functions of vitamin A on the body.
  
• It is rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, and pantothenic acid.
  
• It has similar mineral profile as that in pumpkin, containing adequate levels of minerals like iron, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
  
• Butternut squash seeds are a good source of dietary fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids that benefit for heart health. In addition, they are rich in protein, minerals, and numerous health-benefiting vitamins. The seeds are an excellent source of health promoting amino acid, tryptophan. Tryptophan converts to health benefiting GABA neuro-chemical in the brain.
  

The upper part of the tray contains the butternut squash puree.

How to do:
- Peel the skin and remove the seeds
- Dice into small cubes and steam for 7mins
- Remove the water and blend/mash it into puree.
- If you would like to freeze it, wait for it to cool down before spooning it into the ice cube trays to freeze.  Try to finish the frozen food by a week if possible.

Drunken Cockles 醉酣

Ingredients:

500g Cockles
2 Red Chilli, de-seed and chop finely
2 tablespoon Minced Garlic
1/2 tablespoon Sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon Mirin or Chinese Cooking Wine
1/2  tablespoon Fish Sauce
A sprig of spring onion

Method: 

1- soak the cockles in salt water to let it spit out the sand
2- scrub clean the shells of the cockles
3- in a bowl, mix the seasonings; sesame oil, cooking wine/ mirin, fish sauce, spring onion and chop garlic.  Set it aside.
4- Boil a pot of water that is sufficient to cover all the cockles.
5- Throw in the cockles when the water is boiling
6- Count to 5 and drain away all the hot water.
7- Submerge it straight into a pot of cool or tap water
8- Remove half of the shell and arrange it nicely facing up in a container.
9- Place the prepared seasonings on top of the cockles
10- Leave it to chill in the fridge for about 1/2an hr before serving

Thermal Pot

The thermal pot is also otherwise known as the magic cooker.
I found it especially handy for the working mum who wishes to have home cooked food for their family, thus I wish to promote the use of it as well as how to cook with the thermal pot as I start to explore it.

How does it work?
The thermal pot comes with an inner pot and an outer pot.
Place the food ingredients into the inner pot and bring to boil for about 15mins and then place into the outer pot to let it continue cooking.

Some bigger thermal pots come with a small inner pot that allows you to even steam rice or cook an additional dish at the same time.

Feel free to explore my blog for recipes that I attempt to cook with thermal pots. 

here's how a thermal pot looks like:
 
The benefits of the thermal pot
- There's no need to have long hours of monitoring the pot over the stove or worried that the crockpot will dry up.
- No more washing up of burnt pots either!
- Saves electricity or gas as it only requires 15mins of cooking time over the stove.
- You can prepare meals ahead of time and let it cook which is useful for working mums or even SAHMs who are alone at home.  *Tip as a working mum: I usually boil the ingredients at night after my girl sleeps, and heat it up again over the stove in the morning while I wash up.  By the time I knock off, we'll have good quality boiled soup/ stew for the dinner.
- You can also use it as a warmer as it can keep food warm for 8hours.

Baked crabsticks

Baked crabsticks

Method:

1) roll out the crabsticks and tear into strips. 

2) lay it out flat on kitchen towels and air dry. Alternative methods, place under direct fan to blow dry to speed up drying.

Or place them into the fridge uncovered overnight. 

3) preheat the oven at 180 degrees.

4) Place the crabsticks flat across baking tray on baking paper. Bake at 180 degrees for 10mins

5) flip the crabsticks and bake at 180 degrees for another 7mins. 

6) leave it to cool before storing in an airtight container.