Quickie one pot dish

Came back from visiting on first day of CNY. Put together this one pot meal from whatever I had in the fridge. Not bad with a glass of white wine (acidic).

The rice is basmati. Mirepoix from carrots, onions sauted with fennel seeds, cumin seeds, tumeric and a dash of chili powder - garlic and spring onions added last.

Savory from 3 slices of frozen bacon, fried to render the oil, which is then used for the veg.

Sunday lunch

Sunday lunch for a change at our place with mw's parents and brother+family instead of her dad's cooking.


Did a coleslaw, beef stew, a basmati pilaf and, for dessert, caramelized pumpkin puree. The basmati rice (and all its variations) is fast becoming my go-to easy to do carb dish.

First time doing coleslaw, and its quite nice. The pumpkin puree was well received, as was the rice.

Pumpkin Puree. 2/3 of a pumpkin (abt 550g peeled) is just about right for a small portion for 7 people. I cut the pumpkin into small pieces. Half the pumpkin was put into a pressure cooker with 0.5% by weight of baking soda (well mixed) and a little water cover (enough to provide steam). Then pressure cooked for 20 mins - this process caramelizes the natural sugars in the pumpkin. Then I pressure cooked the remaining pumpkin with sugared dried orange powder, some cinnamon powder and a bit of water. I only caramelized half the pumpkin coz otherwise it would be too caramel and sweet. All of the pumpkin was then blended to a puree with a bit of coconut cream and a dash of salt (to taste). I suspect a little bit of lemon juice might have been nice to lift this a bit - will try next time.

Coleslaw. I made a slightly more sour mayonnaise with 3/4 of a small lemon, 1 egg (including white), djion mustard, salt. I then used this on a mixture of shredded cabbage (slightly less than half a head), carrots (4 small carrots), 2 celery stalks (minced), 1 medium raw shallot minced, minced wan sui, raisins, toasted sesame seeds, and alfalfa sprouts. Added more salt, a couple of teaspoons of castor sugar, some powered coriander as well.

Almost there

My crackling is better now. Almost to my target state. It took me a bit of time - the key may have been the purchase of the multi-pronged instrument (Sia Huat calls it Roast Pork docket) to poke many holes in the skin.

Can't see the holes. But I also scored it across to make it easier to cut.

Not bad this time. By the way goes well with a dab of balsamic vinegar.

Supper with yu tiao as crouton replacements

Small supper from microwaving frozen chickpea and lentil soup plus frozen yu tiao recovered by grilling under the broiler.