My Plate

I'm really not doing terribly well with this whole food blogging thing am I?  I hope one day that I can focus on it a little bit more.  In the mean time, I have started facebooking food photos when I'm out socialising...that is one consistency with me...I take photos of food, not your everyday meal, but when I'm dining out or when I cook something special.

The past few months have been crazy....i'm slowly getting back on my feet.  I am moving AGAIN but this will be the last time (for a long time)...I grounded myself by purchasing some property...it's small, but it's big enough for me.....and I finally will have my own kitchen again (meaning lots of cooking again!)

So a new little project is to post them here to.  If I don't get a post up on the whole meal, at least a photo will be something!

Bucket of Prawns - Blue Fish, Darling Harbour

Bobur (Cambodia Rice Porridge)

Rice porridge is a staple in Asian countries all having different names but basically the same dish…the Chinese name, congee is probably the most recognised name, but it goes by many others. Bobur (Cambodia), jok (Thailand), cháo (Vietnam), san byohk (Burma), Okayu (Japan), khào piak (Laos), bubur (Indonesia) and lugao (The Phillipines). Korea, India and Bangladesh also have their own versions. The list could continue….there are many other countries that have their own version of rice porridge. Typically eaten at breakfast, along with some fish, it can however be eaten any time of the day. Where Westerners turn to chicken noodle soup (typically your dehydrated packet stuff!) when they are unwell, Asians turns to rice porridge.

It’s comfort in a bowl. It’s my get well bowl of soup. It’s my new hangover cure! I can honestly say I am an absolute convert…. I have eaten it with dried fish, chicken and ginger, pork and century egg, plain and many other ways. I have eaten it for many years and find that I am craving it more and more.

My recent time in Cambodia, I ate more bobur than I ever have. A small set up around the corner from my guest house, the lovely old lady made it by the potful, welcomed me with a huge smile every morning (and I ate there at least 3-4 times a week). It was made with chicken and a handful of vegetables (not so common) and the rice still had a bit of bite to it. At 50 cents for a huge bowl, it kept me going to lunch time. My guesthouse also made a version that I fell in love with and I usually had it at night when I wasn’t terribly hungry. It was served plain and the daughter of the owner used to hand me a piece of her fathers dried fish stash to go with it….dash of soy and lots of white pepper…yum. Some of my favourite memories are attached to bobur.

The past couple of weeks I have been craving a good bowl of bobur. So this weekend I had a look in the fridge to see what I could put with it and I made a plain version, with a few simple toppings. Can I just say it perked up my morning (as I was feeling a little seedy from a big night before).

Ingredients:

½ cup of long grain rice
2 cups of water
1 tsp of chicken stock powder/ half a cube (I used Knorr Chicken powder from South East Asia which is similar)

Rinse rice to wash away some starch.
Place all ingredients in a saucepan.
Bring to the boil.
Simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until consistency is gluggy (but rice still has some shape).

Toppings:

3 Shallots, slicely finely
1 tbs ginger, finely grated
2 tbs Peanut oil
1 tsp salt
Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil

Toppings and ingredients are endless which could be covered under a separate post. Today I chose a very simple, classic topping plus a chinese inspired shallot and ginger sauce.

In the meantime, prepare the shallot/ginger sauce. (I am addicted to this salty, gingery, shallotty goodness at the moment!).

In a bowl place 2 shallots, finely sliced, the ginger and the salt.
In a frying pan place the peanut oil and heat until just smoking. Immediately pour over the shallot/ginger mixture (be careful as the hot oil will splatter!). Mix and let cool (and the flavours will meld together).

Once the rice porridge is ready, ladle into a bowl. Top with shallots, a few peanuts, drizzle with fish sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce (just a splash or two of each) and drizzle with the shallot/ginger sauce.

Cookbook Addict: Heston at Home; Mexican Street Food and Movida Rustica

I have a secret. A secret that I don't think I have shared here yet. I have a cookbook addiction. Particularly ones full of food, photography, travel and information about anything food and travel related.



I admit that my collection is growing (groaning) yet I find I can still add more.


I have recently added 3 more to the collections and I am excited about trying out some of the recipes in them.





So what has been added to the collection?

At the moment I am "dream" planning my trip to Central America. Hoping next year I can take some time out to go. I find that I am reaching for Mexican flavours at the moment. They are exciting, palate tingling flavours, using new ingredients..





Now I just have to source some in Sydney.

Epcot F&W Festival 2010 - Day 1 Part 2

and the feasting continues in Part 2 (the afternoon session!)

Singapore: Shrimp Cake with Singapore Noodle Salad

I didn’t like the shrimp cake (oddly as I usually love them). I found this very bland, cold and spongy…the cold noodles however were tasty with the sesame oil tossed through them.

Hops and Barley: Boston-style Crab Cake with Cabbage Slaw and Rémoulade

I love crab cakes but being from Australia were seafood is super expensive, especially crab (and lobster) I was eager to sink my teeth into them. (are you surprised that our seafood is expensive considering we are the biggest island in the world?...yeah it’s a huge issue here)…I digress….

I have to say I was disappointed.Why? mainly because of the dill mixed through it. I am not a fan.

Hops and Barley: New England Lobster Roll

Again, was disappointed due to the amount of dill sprinkled through it.

Hops and Barley: Boston Lager (I think)

Enough to wet my lips….

US: Bison Chili with Wild Mushrooms, Cabernet, and Pepper Jack Cheese

Well hello Bison Chilli! I am moving to Bison country and to meet me a cowboy, where I can eat chilli and saddle up a horse….this chilli was get my whip out delish!.

US: Heirloom Tomatoes with Oregon Blue Cheese, Red Onions, and Basil

Really loved this dish. Cold and tasty with a wonderful bite from the Oregon Blue….I am hunting down the recipe!

US: Red Stag by Jim Beam

Cold and icy refreshing, just what I needed as it was getting hot and I was parched! The glass was empty very quickly!

Spain: Seared Albacore Tuna with Romesco Sauce

Another dish that I wasn’t overly impressed with. The tuna was way overcooked and the romesco sauce was gluggy.

Ireland: Lobster and Scallop Fisherman’s Pie

Yum, yum and yum….the lobster was sweet and the scallop tender…nothing overcooked here! An absolute winner!

Desserts & Champagne: Strawberry Angel Verrine

The only reason I ended up with this was because I wanted the tasting plate of all three but they had run out of dark chocolate sensation. It was light and tasty enough. I am not usually a huge dessert person, but occassionaly I will indulge.


Desserts & Champagne: White Star Impérial

Sweet, crisp and lovely…Thanks Moet…

Puerto Rico: Medianoche Sandwich

A choice just to say I had something from the country….I only took one bite…to much bread for me and at this point I was feeling rather full….I should have had the Asopao de Pollo (Chicken Soup with Rice)

Puerto Rico: Bacardi Frozen Torched Cherry Colada

But this! Wow….an adult slurpee that was very cherry tasting……..yum

So what's next.....more days of the F&W Festival?

Singapore: Food Tour

Before returning to Australia, after living in Cambodia for 4 months (and more on that soon), I had a week in Singapore back in November 2011.  Previously I had spent a good amout of time in Singapore before....so this time it was ALL about the food...........Hey it's Singapore, what else would you do!

It literally felt like the whole week was spent in search of dishes that I had not tried before and sometimes I went back two or three times to make sure I like it.  There were a few dishes that have now become a comfort food for me and I am craving them as I am typing.  I could so go a bowl of fish porridge with a raw fish salad from Zhen Zhen Porridge at Maxwell Food Centre right now!

Please forgive me as my memory is not exact on some dishes.  I know I wrote down the dishes, but somewhere on my return I have lost my notes *insert sad face*

I visited many hawker centres for these finds.  I was staying in the heart of Chinatown and alot of eating was done "locally".  Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown Complex, Temple Street and People's Park Complex, but Singapore is a big place and there are dozens of hawkers centres to discover.  There are pockets of different cuisine around the city.  Chinatown, Little India, Muslim Quarter, The Quays to name just a few.

So here are the dishes!

Kangkong in Chilli

Hairy banana prawns (front) and siu mai (back)

Oyster cake

Chilli Crab

Wanton Soup (with pick and mix sides with incredible pork cracklins!)

Kaya Toast

Mutton Curry 

Roti Canai

Pork Hock in soy sauce

Kueh pie ti

(deep fried flour cup filled with prawn, chilli sauce and steamed turnip)

chee cheong fun with hoisin sauce and chilli sauce

yu sheng salad (raw fish salad)

Fish porridge

Pick n mix meats

Cereal prawns

Singapore noodles

otak otak

noodle dish

Black Pepper Crab

unidentified sausage bites

Chee cheong fun (prawn rice noodle rolls)

Beef and Chicken Satay Sticks

oyster omelete

These dishes only really skimmed the surface of a city that is world reknown for its cuisine.  Singapore is a hub of foodie delights just waiting to be discovered.  I will certainly be returning to Singapore in the future for more tasty delights and of course a big bowl of fish porridge and raw fish salad!

New Design?

As part of the new RooFood and returning to blogland I have decided to have a play around with the look of my blog and start using some of my (amateur) food photography....

What do you think?

Slack Blogger and Foodie!

Wow, so much for my big return to the blog world! 

I do plan to make it back here with lots of food and market reviews from my recent 4 months in Cambodia plus all the other reviews and photos I want to put on here...

when I do not know, but I am working on it....I don't even now why I am so busy!

for now.....

Keep eating!