Dark Sauce Chicken

I seem to have found my blogging mojo again. Maybe, I am more settled now in my routine as it has been 3 weeks since school started. I am now used to waking at 6am although I wished I could sleep in longer. I still cannot go to bed early and the earliest is at 11pm and even then, you will more often than not, find me tossing and turning in bed. Each time I drag myself out of bed in the mornings, I plan to go back to it once the princess leaves for school. Unfortunately, that plan has not materialised. I can't fall back to sleep again once I am awake!

I usually spend some time online reading on (FB)wall updates, catching up on playing with my games such as feeding my pets, tending to my farm, cafe etc. ;)

For the past 2 days, I have diligently tried to keep my house clean, cook healthy meals for the family, etc. I think the reason for my motivation in the kitchen department is my acquisition of a slow cooker. :) I cooked winter melon soup in it yesterday, and today, I decided to cook a braised dish. I love that I do not have to keep watching over it boiling on the stove top.

I am very thankful that my girl appreciates the food I cook for her. She tells me that she only eats mummy's food, because they are yummy! I don't think it's so much that it is yummy, more because it is the taste that she grew up with. Just like last Friday when I needed to go for my routine check up at the hospital, my uncle and aunt took care of her. They picked her up after school, gave her lunch and wanted to know what to cook for her dinner. I wasn't sure she'd be used to their taste, so in the end I made her a simple dinner when I went over to their place. You see, it's very difficult to say she likes fish, or chicken, or beef, as she likes neither. But if I cook it in a way she likes, she will eat them. So at the end of the day, it's the cooking method that's important. She doesn't like meat very much as they can be a bit tough and she doesn't like chewing on them. She once described chicken breast as giving her 'goose pimples' each time she ate them in her chicken rice. She knows it herself that she might not like everything I give her for her meals, but yet she told me this, that 'if I don't eat Mummy will force me to', so at the end of the day, she still needs to finish up what I put on her plate. Well, at least, I am able to 'force' her. Any parents with picky kids will identify with the frustration of trying to change their child's eating habits. I have been blessed with one who is not particularly fussy with her food, and most of the time she eats what she is given, although her favourite foods of all time are Japanese and Italian. If in doubt, just give her pasta or sushi any day and she'd be over the moon!

This dish I cooked today wasn't following any recipe. I based this on the memory of how my grandma used to cook her dao you bak. In this case, I substituted chicken for pork. I had meant to add in some eggs to the stew, but I decided to fry a side dish of fishmeat omelette instead, thus the hardboiled eggs were omitted.

Ingredients -

6 pieces chicken wings
1 chicken breast (for hubby who only likes breast meat)
6 dried shittake mushrooms, soaked till soft and cut in half

Seasoning -

1 dsp brown sugar
1 lengkuas (galangal) 4cm, sliced thickly
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp thick black sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
sesame oil
white pepper
star anise - I forgot to add these

Method -

1. Fry ginger till fragrant, add brown sugar and stir till melted.
2. Add garlic cloves and chicken.
3. Add sufficient water to cover the ingredients.
4. Transfer to pot and simmer till cooked and meats turn soft. In my case, the dish was transferred to the slow cooker and left to cook for 2hrs.

hAPpY Australia DAy, dear sis, family and friends!