A good weekend with Pak Yaw Chee Yoke to end it all.

Weekends are meant for relaxing and catching up with household chores at the same time - this has been a very good weekend for me.  Due in part to the extra public holiday we had on Friday - creating a long weekend.  We had lunch with my in-laws at New Paris in SS2 to celebrate my father-in-law's 71st birthday, and it was good to catch up with my cheery sister-in-law who fears nothing and no one.  This is one lady whom you should never cross but who is an absolute doll when it comes to helping others.

As for the lunch at New Paris, it was only so-so. I had expected better since it has a good reputation for serving great Chinese food.  But it could have been the dishes we ordered that did not seem to gel or it could have been the fact that my palate had been affected by my recovering tastebuds from the cold I had.  Oh well, lunch was nothing to shout about anyway.  Despite what my hubby thought.

Did some grocery shopping this morning and  have decided to make some braised pork now for dinner.  This pork dish is a favourite of the clan - the matriarch of the clan, who passed away a few months ago, had shared with me her simple recipe of 'Pak Yaw Chee Yoke'.  But don't dismiss it as it is great with white rice.  Add chinese mushrooms and even hard-boiled eggs if you wish to bulk it up even more.  For me, the simplicity of the dish speaks for itself.

Pak Yaw Chee Yoke (Tau Yeu Bak)

                                            At the beginning ... (note the garlic)

                                      After an hour of simmering... (garlic is now soft, nearly mushy)

                                           After nearly two hours of simmering...

                                            The finished dish - fit for a good family meal!

Ingredients:
Streaky pork (Sam chaang) - 3 long strips cut into bite sized pieces
Garlic - one chinese rice bowl of peeled garlic - don't chop/mince
water - enough to cover the pork in the pot
Soya sauce - about half a chinese bowl
a few drops of dark soya sauce, to taste
Half a teaspoon of sugar - add after an hour of simmering


Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce flame to simmer.
Stir occasionally.
Add sugar after an hour.
The garlic will add to the flavour of the gravy as it dissolves and thickens it.
Once a layer of oil forms on the surface and the pork is tender, turn off flame.
Voila! That's it - no frying and splattering of oil everywhere in the kitchen.
Enjoy!

My Oreo Butter Cake

This was my first attempt at an Oreo Butter Cake.  I got this recipe from the internet and it was just as good as it sounded.  So for those who love oreos, this is the cake for you.  It is very easy peasy to make - just my kind of cake - as I have absolutely no patience in fiddly recipes.  Below is the baked cake, just out of the oven.

So here's the recipe from Angie's My kitchen, My laboratory -

Oreo Butter Cake

225g cake flour (or Top Flour)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
170g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup(240ml) nonfat unsweetened yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
80g Oreo cookies, roughly crushed (I use mini Oreos)

Whole Oreo cookies for decorating

1) Preheat oven to 180C and grease or line a 8-inch round tin.
2) Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3) Cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Dribble in eggs slowly, about 1 tbsp at a time, beating constantly for about 2 mins.
4) On LOW speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in ½ of the yogurt. Then beat in 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining yogurt, and vanilla extract. Finally beat in the remaining flour mixture.
5) Lastly, fold in the crushed cookies.
6) Pour into prepared tin, arrange whole Oreos on top and bake for about 40 - 50 mins till skewer inserted comes out clean.
7) Cool in pan for 5 mins. Unmould and cool completely.

Note:
I use a stand mixer for this, which can ‘fold in’ the flour and yogurt gently on its lowest speed. If you cream the butter manually or with a hand-held mixer, after the eggs have been incorporated, use a spatula to gently fold in the flour and yogurt.

Madness at work

Utter chaos and stress at work now due to the post.  Scary though it may be, it is challenging.  While I don't look forward to the line of people coming in to see me to seek help or clarifications, it keeps the adrenaline going.  Some days are rougher than others, especially when deadlines are due.  Worse yet is the need to be diplomatic while trying to get everyone on the same page.

I have not been able to pick the son up from school since my school term started - so poor hubby has to rush from his college to get him.  No matter what I tell him, he still insists on rushing to pick up the son; never mind that the son can wait for a while.  Just don't understand that man, never will I guess.  Darn annoying too when he starts to blame me for his rush - go figure!!