A Fan of Leftover Recipes

There is always leftover rice in the house because I usually cook more than I need for the day.  I am exploring other ways to eat them.

I discovered that I can make rice roti or rice ball to pan fry by blending the rice. 

Here is the recipe for rice roti (click on the link provided to watch how it is made): 

I can also make spicy strips by pounding it up into a dough, flatten and cut it up into strips to steam before stir frying them with spices.

Love reading anything about gardening

Though I love reading about gardening, I cannot say that I am proud about the way I landscape my garden.  But I am definitely prouder than neighbours who have weeds growing all over their gardens.

Currently, my favourite job at gardening is weeding.  I like to weed barefooted.  I then collect them and throw them in the compost pit I have dug in my garden.  Once I have covered that pit with soil, weeds will start growing over that patch.  If I am lucky, sometimes seeds from my kitchen waste grow out from it.  

If you follow the correct procedure for creating compost, you will know that you have to aerate it by turning the material in the pit occasionally. However, I have never done that for my compost pit but cucumbers managed to grow out from it successfully.

I am happy if they grow but I am fine if they do not as they make great compost.

This winter melon was another surprise I found in my compost pit. It was harvested just in time before it turned into compost.

I like the idea of planting over raised beds and through my experience, the cheapest way to build a raised garden bed is to dig a compost pit at the spot where most of the weeds are growing in my garden.  These are information I shared on Quora in my answer to, "How do I build a raised garden bed cheap and easy?".

As I dig the pit, I will pile the weeds I have dug out on one side and the soil on the other. Once the hole is at least 3 feet deep, I will dump any of the following waste I have on hand:

-weeds that I have dug out or pulled out by the roots.
-cuttings from my garden.
-grass clippings.
-dried leaves and twigs
-kitchen waste, such as, fruit and vegetable peels or scraps, egg shells, coffee or tea grounds or bags.
-shredded paper like newspaper or used paper towels or napkins or empty egg cartons.
-cardboard from my bike shop or from shopping online.

If I want to increase my collection of green or yard waste, I can look out for them along road sides or at parks in your neighbourhood.  Sometimes, the municipal workers cut grass in our neighbourhood and leave bags of the clippings behind for collection later.  I can also tell my neighbours to keep their cuttings and grass clippings for me the next time they trim their plants or mown their lawns.

There are other ways I can increase the composting material.  I can be friendly with the staff at food stalls I often eat at or at grocery stalls I tend to buy from. From such places, I should be able to collect:

-coffee or tea grounds.
-egg shells.
-kitchen waste.
-coconut shells and husks.
-pet shops (ask for pet/fish food that have expired)
-cardboard boxes.
-ash or small bits and pieces of charcoal leftover in bag or grill (eg, satay stalls or Korean BBQ restaurants that use charcoal for grilling)

I found out from reading the following article that adding charcoal to a compost pile quickens the composting process. You can also burn coconut shells or wood to create your own activated charcoal:

4 Surprising Ways to Use Charcoal in Your Garden, According to Experts

I like this composting guideline provided by the City of Yellowknife in Canada. You can learn how to layer your composting material by looking at this diagram they shared:

Since the intention is to create a raised bed, once the pit is heaped full with compost material, I will place sheets of cardboard to cover it before adding the soil I have dug out. Then I will add potting soil over it so that plants can be grown over it right away. You can save on buying fertilizers as over a period of time, the material in the compost pit will have degraded to add more nutrients for your plants. The sheets of cardboard will prevent the top soil from sinking too much into the pit as the material degraded. Once the plants you have grown have taken roots, they will hold the top soil together. You can add more soil over the raised bed as it sank further into the pit over time.

You can watch this video if you want to follow the right procedure for creating compost for your raised bed. By following the instructions, you will also be able to speed up the process of composting.

Do you know anyone in the timber industry? Check with them if they have any of the following timber waste from logging or from processing their end product:

-sawdust

-bark

-chips

-slabs and offcuts

One of my neighbours had a company building wooden furniture and gazebos. I had received many free bags of wood chips from his factory. I use them as mulch in my garden to prevent weeds from growing in my planter box. All such timber waste can also be added to the compost pit.

I have seen logs like these in my former neighbourhood park before.

Some are from trees cut from the homes of residents living there. Sometimes municipal workers cut or trim trees by the road side that would pose a hazard to public safety as they have overgrown to obstruct traffic signals, streetlights, and signs. If you can get your hands on logs like these, you can build a raised bed the German way. It does not matter even if the logs have rotted to a crumbly pulp as it will help to retain more water for growing your plants so you do not have to water your plants as much.  The technique is known as Hugelkultur and you can learn how to go about it by watching this video.

If there is space constrain in your garden, you can build your raised bed upwards in a spiral manner with:

-bricks

-stones

-cinder blocks

-chunks of concrete

-logs

-bottles

Though it is called a herb spiral, you can grow flowering plants if that is what you prefer. If you do a search at Pinterest for “herb spiral”, you will find many methods to build one. Here is one I found built with stones and cardboards laid down at its base, to prevent weeds from growing through the spiral.

This diagram shows the type of plants that should be grown around the spiral to optimise growth.

This is how the herb spiral will look like if you use bricks or cinder blocks.

Watch this video to see if this is what you would like to do as it provides a very clear tutorial on how it should be build.

You can then refer to GrowOrganic blog for written information about the material you need and the steps to do it.

If you use your creativity, you can re-use many material that would have been discarded to build your raised beds. These are how raised beds can be made with coconut husk.

Are you good at woodworking? If you are, see if you are able to get your hands on pallet.  You maybe able to find them discarded at factories or at industrial estate. If you can get them free, you can build a raise bed with the planks. Here is a good example I found on Pinterest.

You can learn how to make one by following the instructions provided at the following link:

DIY Wooden Planter

You can easily find other designs on Pinterest by doing a search for “make raised bed with pallet”. I like this design as PVC buckets are more durable than liners.

If you are bad at woodworking, you can just lay the pallets on ground and fill them up with potting soil. You can also place your pallet vertically against a wall to grow your plants. You can watch this video to learn how to prepare it for your garden.

You can use the planks from the pallet to build a 4’ by 4’ bottomless box to grow your plants, the square foot gardening way.

You are good to start, once you have located a spot that has good drainage and 6-8 hours of direct sun per day. This simple concept will make it easier for you to harvest what you need. It will also help you to:

-cut down on your gardening chores.

-save space, money, water and seed.

-grow healthier plants.

You can learn how to go about it at the following link:

Easy steps to square foot garden success

I usually save (pin) articles, useful hacks or tips about it on my Pinterest board about Gardening.  

Here is a tip that you should take note of.

Do you know that coarse builder's sand used for mixing concrete or laying paving can be added to garden soil to improve drainage and aeration? Buy them bagged from a plant nursery that you trust. It is not a good idea to take them from construction sites. My husband took back some leftover sand for his job site and spread it all over our garden. He was not aware that there were seeds in them. Within a few days, weeds that we have never seen in our garden before started growing.

Do you have a fulfilling hobby?

Have anyone praised you for what you have made? Being acknowledged for your efforts can be fulfilling. So, work on what you are good at doing and explore ways to make it better or unique. And, what do I mean by that? For example, everyone can take a photo but you can make it unique this way.

As with any hobby, to be able to get to that stage takes time and practice.

So, if you think that taking photos as a hobby could be relaxing for you, make your photos stand out by picking up tips on ways to take your shots creatively. You can easily find them online by doing a search for “unique ways to take photographs” or “photography hacks”. That was how I found the above video.

What is considered a relaxing hobby for one person could be a struggle for you if it is something new to you, especially if, you have issues with attention or focus. Some creative hobbies require a significant amount of mathematics. Crochet is one of them that I enjoy working on since I was a kid. I enjoy making my work unique by making it versatile. This fanny pack that I crochet is a good example as I can use it in 4 different ways.

For me, writing is a very relaxing hobby. I find it very fulfilling to be able to share useful information or teach what I have made. It is nice to know that one day when I am no longer around, my children will still be able to learn from my blogs. Are you curious to know how I am able to use the fanny pack in four different ways? I shared the information and instructions on how I make it at the following link:

Create a Versatile Bag

If you take up crochet and there is a mistake in one of the stitches half way through, you will have to unravel your work because even a missing stitch can be obvious.

Similar for craft like quilting. Precise measurements is required to calculate the amount of fabric you need to complete your project. Lots of measuring is required to get the geometric shapes, patterns, and proportions right. To make your finished work stands out, you must also have an eye for mixing fabrics of different colours and patterns. If you lose your focus and have sewn mismatched patches together, the mistake will stand out due to the patterns or orientations. Do you like the idea of ripping the seam of the incorrect pieces to reposition and re-stitch them correctly?

If quilting is what you are aiming for, you can start by:

-choosing project with patches in similar shapes and sizes.
-working on a smaller projects.
-copying what others have already made.

But before you start buying all the tools and materials you need for whatever hobby you want to venture into, try to improvise with what you have on hand. For example, when I wanted to learn to weave to create a necklace, I managed to make my own weaving tool. Instead of buying yarn, I used cut strips of plastic bags. It is very fulfilling for me, when I am able to use material, that would otherwise be discarded, in my craft project. I call my efforts, “Creating Abundance from the Abandoned”.

My favourite source for crafting ideas is at Pinterest. It is where I go to if I need inspirations to start a project. I will save (pin) on my board “Abundance from Abandoned” at the following link, any craft ideas that can be made with discarded material:

After looking through them, you will realise that you do not even have to buy craft books to learn because you can find many free instructions for craftwork there. Beware! It can be addictive. I can get locked up there as I am an information hoarder for DIY projects and anything that interest me.

If you want to start sewing or quilting as a hobby, you can consider upcycling clothes that you or your family members have outgrown.  Are you able to get your hands on leftover fabric from friends who sew?  There are also many types of hobby you can consider starting with leftover materials that you have on hand.  You will find crafting ideas by doing a search for "create craft with leftover scraps" on Pinterest.

You will never lack material to work in your hobby if you work with PVC material. I am sure your friends and neighbours will gladly give you their empty PVC bottles if you tell them that you want them for your craft projects.  Trust me, it can be very fulfilling if you can use your creativity to create practical things for your home without spending money on materials. 

Check out this video if you need more inspirations to start.

Your relatives and friends will be amazed by your new found hobby when they visit your home. Likely, some may even request you to make them the same. See if they are willing to pay you for your time and efforts because making extra income can be fulfilling too.

Cooking with Air Fryer

My first airfryer was a gift from my sister because she does not know how to make full use of it.  My son was the first one who experimented cooking with it and I got hooked.  When he moved out, I gave him that unit and got him to buy me a unit in larger capacity since I am cooking for three in the family.

Many people think that an airfryer is just a gimmick.  I can only say that they are just not playful enough to create interesting fusion of Asian or Western dishes with it.  I use my airfryer to:

-thaw and cook frozen food and ready to eat meals.
-reheat food and continue to keep it warm by leaving it inside.
-deep fry frozen food without oil.
-toast my bread, pancakes, pizzas and wraps.
-melt my butter.
-make my deep fried food crispy again.
-roast.
-bake.
-grill.

Any dishes you can cook in an oven can be cooked in your airfryer and in a shorter time too, even though you have not preheated it.  It is more economical to use an airfryer, especially if, you have a smaller portion to bake.   This video gives you a general idea how you can use the airfryer to cook which is possibly why you think cooking with it is such a hassle.  

However, you may reconsider using an airfryer if you use the tips I shared below:

Try to avoid cooking food directly in its basket by using a metal container.

From the video you can see that the ingredients are placed on the basket to be cooked.  I don't do that.  I have many round stainless steel food containers with lids like these.  

They are handy for storing food in the refrigerator and for steaming food over a pot of soup or in my airfryer.  Most of my meat are marinated ahead and stored in such round metal containers.  When it is time to cook, I just remove its cover and place the container on the basket to airfry.  Once the meat has thawed enough, I separate them to cook further.  By doing that I save the time and hassle of cleaning up a my heated airfryer to cook the next dish, 

Spread oil in your metal container. 

If I am cooking room temperature raw ingredients like meat or fish, I will spread garlic oil in the container before I place the food inside it to cook.  The oil will prevent the ingredients from sticking to the container which will make it easier for me to turn them over to cook further.

To avoid burning raw minced garlic, use garlic oil instead.

I prefer my greens with sauce, so, I will not consider cooking them in an airfryer.  Also, instead of adding minced garlic in to airfry, consider using garlic oil.  You make it by deep frying minced garlic in a pot of oil.  When it is time to cook, just place the ingredient in a metal container and spread 1-2 tablespoon of garlic oil over it before airfrying.

Use a piece of bread to catch oil drips.

It will be easier for you to clean your airfryer if you place a piece of bread below the basket to catch oil dripping out of food like bacon or fried chicken you are airfrying. 

Don't wash the airfryer to cook the next dish.

You can use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe down and remove any bits of food still sticking to the basket.  That will also help maintain the heat of the airfryer to cook the next dish.

You can easily find recipes for dishes that you can cook in your airfryer.  Webspoon World shared 7 such recipes that have gone viral on TikTok that should interest you to try making.

These are the ingredients he used:

Cloud Bread in AirFryer 

● 3 pcs egg whites 

● salt

● 80g cheddar cheese 

● 1 tbsp bagel seasoning 

Air Fryer Rice Paper Feta Burek 

● 100g feta cheese 

● 1 egg 

● 50g mozzarella

● egg

● 3 rice paper 

● sesame

Crispy Gnocchi Caprese Salad 

● 250g gnocchi

● 1 tsp paprika 

● 1/3 tsp salt 

● 1/2 tsp Italian herbs 

● olive oil

● 100g mozzarella cheese

● 100g сherry tomatoes 

● basil

Air Fryer Garlic Tortilla Crackers 

● 3 tortilla 

● 1 tsp dried parsley

● 1/2 tsp salt 

● 1/3 tsp chili flakes 

● 50ml butter (melted) 

● 1 clove garlic 

Viral Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

● 500g chicken wings 

● 1 tsp salt

● 2 tbsp honey

● 2 tbsp ketchup

● 3 tbsp soy sauce

● 1 tsp garlic powder

Apple Pudding in Air Fryer

● 2 apples 

● 2 eggs 

● 60g sweetened condensed milk

● 1 tsp cinnamon

Air Fryer Chicken Sticks

● 500g chicken breast 

● 1/2 tsp coriander powder 

● 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

● 1 tsp salt

● 1 tsp paprika

● 1/3 tsp chili pepper 

● olive oil

If you want more recipes and tips on how to use the airfryer efficiently, you can find them on my Pinterest board at the following link:

Air Fryer

You can also find dishes I have cooked with my airfryer if you do a search for airfyer on this blog. 

Cooking with Spare Ribs

As a frugal mom, unless I am cooking Bak Kut Teh, I will not consider using spare ribs to boil soup since it is the more expensive cut compared to soup bones or chicken carcasses.  Moreover, I boil soup on a daily basis.  

On days when I want to cook a dish with spare ribs, I will add about 6 to 8 pieces of them to the pork or chicken soup I am boiling for the day as this will help me save time. I like it that the additional spare ribs added will also enhanced the flavour of my soup.

If you do not plan on making soup or soup stock, you can just boil the spare ribs in a pot of water. You want to boil them till they are soft enough to bite into but not falling apart, which is about 30 minutes on high heat or about 45 to 60 minutes on low heat.

Once they are ready, you can remove them from the soup or stock and stir fry them in a wok with:

-8 to 10 table spoons of water (or soup/stock)
-1 Tbsp of white or brown sugar (or honey)
-1 Tbsp of garlic oil.
-1/2 Tbsp soya sauce.
-1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce
-Dash of black or white pepper or
-1 Tbsp BBQ Sauce

Stir fry till the liquid is reduced and the sauce thickens to glaze the ribs. If you have been too heavy with the sauce, just add more water. You can then thicken the sauce by whisking together 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 2 tablespoons of water to create a slurry. Once the sauce starts to boil again, add the slurry in bit by bit while stirring till it thickens.

Here is another way to reduce cost to purchase a larger quantity of spare ribs if you plan on cooking for more people to eat. Boiled spare ribs can be kept in the freezer. Each time you use them to make your soup stock, you can store them in an airtight container. Once you have accumulated enough in your freezer, you can thaw them to marinate for at least an hour or store it overnight in the fridge a day before you airfry them to serve.  Watch this video to see how it is cook in the airfryer.

You can watch the video from the beginning if you would like to know how the Char Siu Sauce (BBQ Sauce) is prepared and how it can be used to cook other dishes.  These are the ingredients used in the video to make the Char Siu Sauce (BBQ Sauce) for 1kg pork spare ribs:

This is how you prepare the spare ribs to airfry.

If you plan on using BBQ sauce from Lee Kum Kee, watch this video and learn some Cantonese phrases along the way.

This sauce can also be used to make char sui with the following parts of the pig:

-pork butt or shoulder 
-pork collar
-pork belly (very fatty)
-pork loin (leaner option can turn out dryer when cooked)

How to Make Potato Tart

A tart is a pastry dish with opening so that you can bake it filled with sweet or savoury ingredients like:

-fruit
-custard
-chocolate
-cheese
-mushrooms,
-curry
-pastry cream, also known as, crème pâtissière

Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or flan.  To make a basic shortcrust pastry you require:

-plain flour
-butter
-milk
-a pinch of salt

Sugar can be added for sweet shortcrust pastry.  Some recipes use an egg yolk to to create a richer, more tender, and flavourful crust with a golden hue.  A thin layer of egg yolk can also be brushed on the blind-baked shell to seal it and prevent the filling from leaking.

You can watch this video to learn how to make it.

You can learn more about tart from Hali, a French-trained baker, at the following link:

A guide to tart crust

Do you know that you can make your "tart" with mashed potatoes?  You can learn how to make it and cook the fillings from this video:

I prefer the simpler version as shown in the following video:

Crispy Potato Tart recipe

I will use pork instead of chicken to cook it.  These are the ingredients required:

I will consider using my sardine with onion dish as fillings:

 Or my peppers, onion and carrot dish:

I wonder if it will taste good with scrambled eggs and tomatoes added as fillings.

Should I can mash the potato from my curry dish to make the tart and tear apart the chicken to add as filling?

I can also use this filling for making chicken curry puff.

Stewing My BBQ Chicken with Mushroom

I have discovered another way to cook my Marinated Chicken with BBQ Flavour from CP.

I airfry the frozen BBQ chicken in a metal container according to the setting for cooking it on my airfryer.  Half way through cooking, I will turn the chicken over.  Once the cooking cycle is over, I will cut up the drumsticks into bite size pieces.  It is alright if my chicken is not well cooked as I will be stewing it in a pot with:

-1 cup of water
-a few slices of ginger
-4 cloves of garlic
-3 seeds from a pod of star anise
-4 white flower mushroom (Bai Hua Gu)
-1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
-1 tablespoon of sugar or 1 to 2 pieces of rock sugar

Once the liquid is boiling, I will turn down the fire and let it simmer till the mushroom is tender enough to eat.  If the mushroom is not tender enough, I will add half to a cup of water to the pot to continue simmering it further.  I will add cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.

This is what white flower mushrooms (Bai Hua Gu) look like.

You can see from this video how the mushroom is prepared to be cooked the traditional way:

I do not use flour to wash them though.  I just rinsed them clean and soak them in hot water to soften them so that I can cut the stems off.  The stems can be included to add flavour to the stew.  You can omit them when it is time to serve the dish.  Before adding the mushroom to the pot to cook, you can decide if you prefer to quarter it.  As for the water for soaking mushroom, I will sieve it into the pot to stew. 

This is how you can marinate your chicken if you are not using the prepacked BBQ chicken:

If I have leftover Ginger Soy Sauce Chicken, I can cook the mushroom the traditional way to add to the dish.

  

You can check out the other ways I mix and match this BBQ chicken to cook other dishes at the following link:

Mix and Match Dish with Potato

The story behind Jianbing

I enjoy looking at how food is being prepared.  Have you heard of Jianbing?  It is a popular street food for breakfast in China.  The first time I saw this pancake being made was at the wet market in Balakong (Batu 11, Cheras).  The vendor was a lady from China.  

It also has a very interesting story on how it was first made by soldiers fighting a war in Shandong Province 2,000 years ago.  Check out how it is made by a street vendor in China:

It is a very cheap breakfast meal, which is why in the Shandong Province, jianbing (aka the Chinese crepe) vendors are on almost every street corner.  So, if you plan on starting your own Jianbing store in Shandong Province, what can you do to beat the competition and draw customers to you?  From a free course I took, sponsored by eHomemakers; "Science of Product Innovation", one of the ways, is to make your product different from others.  

Check out the Jianbing created by these innovative vendors.

What will you wrap in Jianbing to localise the flavour?  That will make it different too.

I read from Woks of Life that instead of making the batter, I can use store bought frozen pancake.  The one that I can think of is this Paratha with Onion from Kawan that I often buy.  

Oil is not require to fry this Paratha but I will add a little oil to the pan since I usually cook it with an egg and cheese added.  Here are the steps:

-cook one side on a non stick frying pan till it is golden brown.
-turn it over and spread egg over it (you can scramble the egg if you want to). 
-turn it over again to cook the egg side.
-(optional) cut a slice of cheddar cheese in half and place in the middle of Paratha.
-once the egg is cooked enough, fold the sides up to cover the cheese.
-the heat will melt cheese.
-remove from pan to serve.

If I want to make it Jianbing style, I can add chopped scallions and cilantro and spiced it up with chillie sauce of my choice.  The one used at Woks of Life is spicy bean sauce.

I read from Reddit that the traditional Tianjin-style Jianbing’s made with pure mungbean.   These are the ingredients you need if you want to make their version:

Ingredients for the batter:

180g All purpose flour
60g Millet flour
or Fine Cornmeal
1 tsp Five spice powder
1 tsp Salt
420g Water

The toppings and sauce required for Jianbing are:

8 Eggs (2 per Jianbing)
Guobie (crispy fried dough)
or deep fry dumpling skins
Handful Cilantro or Green Onion
2 Tbsp Tianmianjiang Sweet Bean Paste with 2 Tbsp Sugar added 

Optional toppings for Jianbing:

3 Tbsp Chili Sauce
Lettuce
Meat (“王中王火腿肠” from the brand Shuanghui (双汇), spam, American hotdog)
Black Sesame Seeds  

Watch their video and you will also learn about the utensils you need to make it properly.

I think if I make, it I will use the batter recipe that I have shared earlier for making Onion Paratha:

An interesting way to prepare Salmon

It will be easier to remove the skin of the salmon by attaching it under the pot cover and heating it over water, as shown in this video. 

I wonder if it will work just as well by placing it on a steamer try to steam.  

Also check out the tips for cooking restaurant style salmon shared in a short video by Sonny Hurrell on his "That Dude Can Cook" YouTube channel.  If you have the time, watch this video for the full recipe.

Rock Sugar Egg Syrup (冰糖鸡蛋糖水)

When I was younger, my mom used to make Rock Sugar Egg Syrup (冰糖鸡蛋糖水).  She used a double boiler to gently cook the raw eggs which she added one by one into the pot of rock sugar syrup that she had prepared. In that way the yolk will be cooked but the whites will not break away from it too much. They looked like poached eggs but the yolks are well cooked.

I found an image of the enamel double boiler, she used at What To Cook Today.  Marvellina is the publisher of this website.  She also develops her own recipes which she shares with clear instructions and lots of photos.  

If you do not have a double boiler, you can use a pot and a glass or metal bowl to do the job, as shown in the following video. However, the bowl must have a lid for it.

Drinking rock sugar water or syrup has a cooling effect on the body. I was told that it can become heaty to consume if it has been cooked over fire for a period of time. I guess that must be why my mom used the double boiler. Read the following articles if you are curious to know what I mean about cooling and heaty food and their effects on the body.

Heaty’ vs ‘Cooling

What Do ‘Heaty’ and ‘Cooling’ Really Mean?

These are the steps for making a bowl of 冰糖鸡蛋糖水 (Rock Sugar Egg Syrup) if you use the above makeshift double boiler:

-boil water in the pot.

-place a glass or metal bowl over the pot as shown in the video.

-the base of the bowl should not be touching the boiling water.

-place rock sugar (a small piece) in the glass or metal bowl.

-add a bowl and a 1/4 of boiling water to the rock sugar.

-stir till rock sugar has dissolved.

-cover the glass or metal bowl.

-lower heat and continue to boil.

-add a raw egg when the water in the bowl starts steaming up and is hot enough.

-cover the glass or metal bowl and continue heating.

-it is ready to be served once the egg looks like poached egg.

It is alright to add hot water to the syrup if it is too sweet for you. However, do not make it with too little rock sugar or the 糖水 (sugar syrup) will taste too bland.

You can read how rock sugar nourish the body from the following article:

糖水鸡蛋

From there, I picked up 3 other methods to prepare it without a double boiler:

I can even use a rice cooker to make it with red dates and brown sugar:

I also like eat my eggs with white fungus cooked as a dessert or soup. These are the ingredients for the dessert:

-White fungus

-Wolfberry

-Red dates or dried longan

-Hard boiled chicken eggs and/or quail eggs

You can see how it is made by watching this video:

However, when I use white fungus, especially, in my soup, I like it to have a more gelantin texture. Watch this video if you like it slimy too. The hard boiled eggs, if required, can be added to the dessert with the white fungus.

Though it is suggested that you leave the dessert overnight in the fridge for the gelantin texture, it can be eaten as soon as it is cooked.

These are the ingredients for making the soup:

-White fungus (wash and prepare as shown in video)

-Wolfberry (for me it’s optional)

-Red dates (I just soak them in water and rinse them out twice)

-Yok chok (soak in water till soften and clean)

-Chicken (my choice drumsticks cut into 3 sections)

-Hard boiled chicken eggs (1 for each person) or quail eggs (15 per pack)

-1 Soup bowl of water

-Salt to taste

When I use my slow cooker for boiling soup, I prefer to boil the meat (chicken or pork) in a pot of water (1 1/2 soup bowl) first. In that way, when I pour the water into the slow cooker, I can sieve out any impurities from the boiled meat. Then I will add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook it on low for 3 to 4 hours.

I made a nice discovery from reading, "5 Tricks That Make Your Slow Cooker Even More Useful, If That's Even Possible". You can also turn your slow cooker into a double boiler to brew herbal soup in this manner.

Asam Pedas Fish

I have seen my sister cooked asam fish from scratch and it was quite a tedious effort.  First she must prepare the paste by pounding with a pestle, the following ingredients in a mortar.  That is because we did not have an electric grinder:

Garlic
The white part of lemongrass
Shallots
Dried chillies
Belacan or prawn paste (we knew what she was going to cook when we smelled that)

Then she has to prepare the following ingredients to be added to the dish:

Okras
Tomato 
Daun kesum 
Tamarind pulp

You can watch how it is cooked from scratch in this video.  This cook used more flavouring ingredients in her dish.

So, I am glad I found this Asam Pedas Ikan ready made paste from Mak Nonya.  You can learn how to use the paste from their website.  

Asam Pedas Ikan can be cooked stir fried or steamed.  So, what type of fish are suitable for steaming?  I like the suggestions shared at Mira Gas.  The fish should have less bones and do not have a strong fishy odour.  These are what they recommended:

cod fish
grouper
snapper
sea bass
tilapia
halibut
salmon

If you are steaming a whole fish, look out for fish that has clear eyes, firm flesh and red gills.  However, if you are worried about the muddy flavour or fishy odour of other type fish you use, you can remove it by coating the fish well on all sides with any of the following:

-lime juice
-vinegar
-tamarind juice

You can also remove the odour by soaking the fish in diluted saltwater or rice washing water for about 15 minutes before rinsing it with clean water.  I prefer to rub the fish all over with coarse salt and rinse it off after 15 minutes.

This is how the ingredients are prepared to be steamed:

As I did not boil soup for the day I decided cook the dish by stir frying it.  I used siakap by cutting it into three sections.  I made some changes to the standard instructions given.  I sliced my onion thinly and fry it with garlic oil before adding the paste to fry.  As I do not want to break up the flesh of the fish as I stir fry the vegetables, I added it to cook only after I have poured water into the wok.  The fish will be infused by the flavours of the paste as long as it is completely immersed in the sauce as it cooks.  

3-Ingredient Cakes

I like keeping recipes that requires three or less ingredients to make.  

Here is one for baking sponge cake. 

I can add flavouring essense to the batter if I want to.

I prefer this recipe which I found on YouTube as less sugar is used.

Sponge cake can also be steamed to cook.  The preparation method is the same except that the base of the cake pan need to be lined but not be greased.

This method is a little different as the egg york is separated from the white before it is beaten with sugar.

I would also like to try making 3-Ingredient Greek Yogurt Cake.

It can be baked in an airfryer too.

Soup the Catonese Way

I am Hainanese and the type of soup my family members boil are very basic with just meat or seafood and vegetables.  My mother-in-law (MIL) was a Hakka but she often boiled soup the Cantonese way.  So, her soups were more flavourful compared to what were served by my side of the family.  You will understand by looking at the additional ingredients she used in boiling her ABC soup compared to only the basic ingredients we use to boil ours.

When I boiled the ABC soup my MIL way, my sister who is the cook in the family, said that it is too fishy for her taste.

My MIL was also very good at boiling herbal soups which my family do not fancy drinking.  These are some of the ingredients she used in her herbal soups.

So, I am expected to be able to take care of my family's health by boiling nutritious and nourishing soups.  But instead of buying the herbs in large quantities separately, I tend to buy prepackaged Chinese herbal soup mix from herbal shops or from the grocery. 

When my children were younger, my favourite soup to make was Bak Kut Teh because it is herbal and a great all-in-one meal.  I will serve it with rice and fresh lettuce.  If I boil it the way my MIL boiled it, it will take 2 to 4 hours and require about 15 herbal ingredients.  You can see how it is done by watching this video by Grace of Nonya Cooking.

I tend to use pre-packaged Bak Kut Teh sachets.  One of the brands I use is A1.  All prepackaged Chinese herbal soup mix comes with cooking instructions printed on the packaging. This one is from A1 Bak Kut Teh. 

Ten bowls of water is about 1.8L but I would rather use less and add accordingly after tasting the soup.  It is suggested that the soup be left to simmer for 30 minutes after the water is boiling.  This is because the herbs in the pack have been grinded into powder form. The other brand I prefer is from Mo Sang Kor as not all the herbs in the pack have been grinded. You do not have to follow the instructions to a tee.  You can boil it further if it is not tasty enough or if the meat is not cooked tender enough.  You can also add water if you think that the soup flavour is too herbal for your liking. You can apply this principle to any soup you boil. 

You can refer to the list of ingredients and useful tips shared by Grace on her website for boiling Bak Kut Teh.  These are the ingredients I like to add when I use the pre-packed herbs.  

I was taught to use a whole garlic to clean the intestine but I prefer to smash it first before inserting it through.  You can watch this video to see the cleaning process.

The intestine boiled in the soup, can be removed to cook another dish.  My favourite way to cook it is with:

-garlic oil
-soya sauce
-dark soya sauce

-sugar
-white pepper

I cook it with 2-3 tablespoon of water till the sauce is reduced and thickened, because the sugar has  caramelized, to coat the intestine. 

As I made the soup to serve 4 in the family, I added 4 boiled eggs to it.  You can add as many as you want as it will not affect the flavour of the soup.  Just make sure that there is enough liquid to boil the additional ingredients you added to the soup.  Take note that too much liquid added will reduce the flavour of the herbal soup mix.

There are many ways to boil Chinese soup.  You can find many more techniques and useful tips from The Chinese Soup Lady.  Their information are very clear as shown in this chart the Tong sisters shared.