Wet market vs night market- Southeast Asia

Library Cooking Workshop

Library Cooking Workshop

Jean Food Stylist

Steamed Nian Gao with Coconut

Steamed Nian Gao with Coconut

2 tbsps water

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup grated dried coconut

1 -2 big nian gao, cut into bite size pieces

1. Mix 2 tablespoons water and salt with coconut and steam for about 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2. Steam the nian gao for about 8 minutes.

3. Coat the nian gao with grated coconut. You can make it into small ball and served into pandan leave cup or with banana leave.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Time flies, I can’t believe Christmas is just around the corner and another year has almost gone by. Festive season are always my favorite. I was growing up in a very big family with 49 cousins then, now about triple in size, and festive seasons have been the best time to get together. We normally enjoy cooking, eating, sharing and celebrating. After married abroad and travelling and living few years in different countries, there are more and more celebrations to enjoy in life.

Since moving to Melbourne, things are a bit quiet, sometimes both our parents have to remind us or send us photos to show what they celebrate. It makes me miss them so much for the good times we used to have. Well, I have to face it. I am not quietly sitting and tearing missing. In here I try to catch up as much as possible and teach my children what Australian festivals have to offer. Of course, one of the best festivals ever is Christmas. I am very grateful we are surrounded by nice and friendly neighbors. We have already celebrated the big event together, one day with the back neighbor and the next with few front neighbors. Our tables were full of different food from different origins: European, Aussie and Asian. What more can I ask for? Friends and neighbors are the closest ‘relative’ we have here. Thanks for their supports and friendship for so many years. Thank you.

For all of you who are reading, I wish you and your entire family a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Health Star Rating

Health Star Rating

It is a cold start for the Spring in Melbourne. I hope you all have a great week. I keep myself warm indoor and far away from the pollens which I am sensitive to. Besides, starting from this week I have a new challenge to complete. It is to improve a few packaging products to achieve the higher health star rating as possible. Well, the target is 4 stars rating. It is not easy but it is possible since I had done it before. I just need to use my ‘magic’ formulas to turn it right! Fingers crossed!

So, what is health star rating system anyway? It is basically designed to help customers easily compare similar products to make healthier choices. The more stars it has, the healthier the product is. You can find more information at http://healthstarrating.gov.au

Kimchi Recipe

Napa Cabbage Kimchi – Tongbaechu Kimchi

I would say Korean diet is not complete without kimchi, either eating at a Korean family home or at a Korean restaurant. It is a staple food in Korean cuisine. There are so many types of kimchi in Korean cuisine. Today, I am going to introduce a common kimchi called napa kimchi. It is best described as a spicy, slightly sweet, sour and fermented cabbage.

It is definitely a time commitment to making kimchi, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. Overly fermented kimchi will become very sour. Please do not through it away because it can be used to cook pancake or soup like delicious kimchi and tofu stew called kimchi jjigae (I will post it next time when left over). 

I was first tried kimchi when I met my Korean roommate more than 2 decades ago. Later on, I learned my first kimchi from my dearest Korean friend, Sung (an ex-restaurateur). I failed a few times due to storing and temperature reasons. I have learned from the mistakes, after many times of practice, it makes perfect after all.

Every household has its own method of making kimchi. I’ve established a simple method which is slightly different from Sung’s kimchi. I would use easy ingredients that I can find wherever I live, in South East Asia or in Melbourne. Sung had no complains about it. When she came over to visit my family 5 years ago, she suggested and wanted to help me to dig a hole in my garden to store my kimchi. It likes the traditional method using the earthen jar buried in the ground. She explained that is now not common practice any more due to the limited of land and the modern kimchi fridges. This was a good advice but I told her that my kimchi only lasts for a week, normal fridge would do the job. I normally make Korean feast for the week when I make kimchi. By the way, when talk about Korean food, I really love and miss her mum’s Korean cuisine. I called it master of masters of Korean food. I was thinking of flying to Korea one day and truly to learn from her. I am sure, it will be one day.

Here finally so many years of making kimchi with old school method, I’d written my simple family kimchi for the first time.

(Note: My kimchi is a bit spicy)

Kimchi Recipe

1 large (2 kg) Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage)

6 tablespoons sea salt or rock salt

4 liters water

Ingredients B:

5 tablespoons Korean chilli powder

2 tablespoons Korean chilli paste (optional)

½ tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoons grated garlic

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned

1 daikon radish, peeled and julienned

1 cup spring onion or Chinese chives, cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths

1.    Cut cabbage into eight pieces lengthways. Put the cabbage in a large container and sprinkle with salt evenly over the cabbage and between the leaves. Add about 4 liters of water or enough to cover the cabbage. Leave it overnight.

2.    Next day morning, rinse the cabbage under the running water 2 times and drain well. Squeeze any excess water from the cabbage. Cut cabbage into small pieces.

3.    Mix ingredients B well in a big bowl. Add the cabbage and mix well. Tightly pack each cabbage in a glass container. Keep at room temperature for 2-3 days, after this the kimchi must keep in the refrigerator at all time.

4.    Serve the kimchi into bite pieces to eat into a serving bowl.

I hope you will like too!