Tomato

I've added a new Category called *FoodScoop, where I will post some food facts starting with the humble Tomato!

I got these beauties from Sixth Avenue Cold Storage! Very juicy and not the slightest bit acidic! The less red/orange ones are usually rather tasteless. These are On-Vine Tomatoes, the ones you see in the local supermarket are usually plucked before they are fully ripe, then ripened artificially with ethylene.

I also love Japanese Momotaro Tomatoes, but they're really expensive... I like them chilled and eaten raw, as an appetizer or dessert. Cherry Tomatoes may be sweet or sour, depending on the quality and specie, but the recent stock of yellow cherry tomatoes proved to be delightfully sweet! (:

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Mum's Recipes: Red Yeast Chicken

One of our usual home food: Chicken in Red Yeast Gravy (红糟)! My favourite part is the knuckle (pictured in the centre!) Another great accompaniment to rice!

Recipe from Mum:

Ingredients:
Sesame Oil
Cooking Oil
Light Soy Sauce
Ginger Juice
8-10 cloves Garlic
2 - 3 Tbsp Fermented Red Yeast Paste
Red Wine/Cooking Sherry
Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Season chicken meat with sesame oil, a dash of light soy sauce and ginger juice. Keep in the fridge for a few hours.

2. Add 1 part cooking oil and 1 part sesame oil to wok, crush 8 to 10 whole cloves of garlic (lightly smash, do not chop).

3. Fry Red Yeast Paste over slow fire until fragrant (around 3 minutes).

4. Add chicken and stir-fry.

5. Add Red Wine/Cooking Sherry and a little water if it gets too sticky.

6. Simmer over slow fire until chicken is cooked.

7. Add salt to taste.

Note: It's a good idea to taste the Red Yeast Paste before adding salt because some brands of paste can be extremely salty. We bought ours here from:

Foo Chow Fishball Noodles
33/35 Sultan Gate
Kampong Glam Conservation Area

p.s. I love their Foo Chow Fishballs and Wanton (燕皮) too!

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Home-Cooked: Unagi Don

While at Isetan @ Scotts, we also picked up one serving of Unagi! This is already grilled and packed, ready to eat. Just pop it in the toaster or microwave oven to heat it up. When choosing Unagi, look out for the fatter, meatier ones.

This sure is comfort food! It comes with a packet of "herbal pepper spice" and Unagi sauce. Just add a drop of that sauce and mix it with the rice. I also drizzled some roasted Nori on top. This went really well with some hot "home-made" Miso Soup using just a dash of Less Salt Miso Paste! After eating the Unagi Don, down it with a cup of hot Miso Soup and your stomach feels so warm and fuzzy! (:



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MarketWatch: Isetan Umaimono Fair

I recently went to Isetan Umaimono Fair @ Scotts, and found some interesting goodies! There were refreshing Fruit Juices (do try the peach and grape!), succulent Mentaiko, delicious Udon and Soba, crispy and chewy Ijima Shoten (Fried Squid) and yummy Sardine Ball soup!

This is Multi-coloured Kelp, which I made into a chilled salad with Wakame.



The Udon and Soba is really good! They have a Wakame version of the Udon too! (It is green in colour because they added Wakame powder)

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DIY: Kurobuta Teppanyaki

Whilst eating around Orchard yesterday, we decided to look around Isetan especially since they had a Nigiwai Japanese fair going on currently. The Shittake Mushrooms blew me and Mum away-- Juicy, Aromatic and full of Umami. And that wasn't the only reason it blew us away; the price tag did as well. :P I also discovered a little gem: カゴメ野菜生活100 Kagome 100% Fruit and Vegetable Juice I tried the Pink Version, and it was really surprisingly delicious! Without salt, sugar or sweeteners, it still tasted sweet and delightful! Tasted a little like berry yoghurt juice; this drink gets a two thumbs up from a Anti-Veggie teen like me! :P

Anyway, you came here to look at Kurobuta Teppanyaki, so here it is:

I was surprised when I saw this on sale at Isetan-- It looked uncannily like... BEEF! Kurobuta refers to meat from the Berkshire Pig, and you can get them from US, Taiwan and Japan. This one came from US. I marinated it in a little Tare, and sizzled it on a hotplate.



This was so good! It had a good bite to it, yet not tough, and went very well with fluffy white rice! Very flavourful, and though rather oily, this kind of fat is the epitome of guilty pleasure! :P

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MarketWatch: California Peaches

My relatives recently bought some delicious peaches from the florist shop at Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Mum says they are available at leading fruit stalls too. The peaches are from California, and each peach is quite pricey. They emit a subtle fragrance and are incredibly sweet, soft and juicy! Almost as good as Japanese peaches!

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MarketWatch: Sakura Chicken!

I have seen this "Kami Sakura" Chicken sold in supermarkets like NTUC since a long time ago, but I never really gave them much notice... until Ieat of ieatishootipost introduced and explained the difference of Kami Sakura Chicken.

This chicken is farmed in Malaysia, and grown using Japanese farming technology so it is hormone-free and antibiotic-free. They are fed with live probiotics (beneficial bacteria like LB) in their diet and also given enough running space.

Upon hearing ravings about its tender breast meat and non-fatty flesh, we decided to taste-test it for ourselves. Mum easily got hold of the Sakura Chicken from NTUC, a relatively large-size chicken for around $8. We decided to cook it plain and simple: No flavourings, salt, pepper or seasoning. Without any condiments, the steamed chicken will truly test the quality of this chicken.

So was it really that good? The answer is: YES!

It's plump, tender and juicy but not fatty at all! It is almost like having the best qualities from the Kampong Chicken (Less Fat) and Local Chicken (Tender and Tasty). The drumstick had to be my favourite part for its juicy and tender meat! It was tasty on its own, and the broth that we cooked with it was also fantastic. The breast was rather tender, and not too "siap" (Dry). Mum and I will be sure to try out their Sakura Chicken Eggs soon!



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MarketWatch: Hokkaido Cheese

My aunt and uncle just came back from their visit to Hokkaido, and brought back some delicious Limited Edition Hokkaido Scenery Cheese by Snow (brand). The cheese is delicious and had a creamy full-bodied flavour, and at a really low sodium content at 224 mg per 100g! The calcium is not bad for a cream cheese at 115 mg per 100g. Pity the inevitable high phosphate for all diary products, though.

Every cheese has a label with an illustration of parts of Hokkaido on it! Could be a collector's item. ;)

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