Millet Congee

I love millet. It's a great substitute to rice once in a while. It's healthy, a good energy and protein source... BUT I did read somewhere that like everything that we eat, we should always do so in moderation.

Usually when I'm sick I eat congee. If you're like me and you like the rice to be soft, you know how long it takes for the rice to boil before they soften up. Plus when you're sick, even watching the stove can be hard. Millet cooks and softens quite fast. So that's what I eat when I'm sick. I boil up a huge pot of water with millet and that's my three meals for the next few days. Pathetic, I know... but when you live by yourself and you're ill, you just have to make do :(

When I'm ill I usually use a normal metal pot; however, I prefer to use clay pots. Especially when making something where I want the flavour to be retained best. Claypots are best when you wish to retain nutrients and it has even heating. There are many different dishes you can make with claypots and they are versatile in the sense where they can be over the gas stove or in the oven.
I just wish I had a bigger claypot.

Ingredients:

Millet
Chicken Stock 
Bak Choy (or any other vegetables you would like eg. broccoli)
Shao Xing Wine
Chicken breast pieces

• Step 1, in the pot (clay or metal) add in the chicken stock and boil

• Step 2, cut up the vegetable and throw in the stem parts into the pot to cook. Cover the pot. 
• Step 3, when the stems are of a different shade of green and are partially cooked, add in the millet (read the below) and the leafy parts of the vegetables. Cover the pot. (ensure there is enough liquid)

Okay, this step is up to you whether you want to throw it in from the start, in the middle or when it boils. There are many many many methods cooking millet and rice. Be it whether you like to use the rice cooker, you like to cook it manually and whether you like to allow it to steam for a while before eating it. It all depends on personal taste. However in this case, since you're eating the millet with soup, I don't think it really makes a difference. 

• Step 4, when the millet has turned a slight translucent colour, add in a tablespoon of Shao Xing wine, mix and add in the chicken. Cover the pot. 
• Step 5, when everything is cooked, it's time to eat!

The important part of the dish is the chicken stock which is where the dish mainly gets its flavour from. Shao Xing wine is used to give that extra depth and flavour to the dish. You can even add carrots and mushrooms if you want to this dish. It's really up to you :)

Hugs for everyone~ Nomz away!

Banana Dessert

First thing's first, I apologise for not posting up recipes for the past two months. I've been super busy working 6 days a week and juggling uni assignments and exams. After that, I had a whole bunch of drama happening and I basically was too depressed to even cook! But I'm back and I'm going to start on a sweet sweet note!

I had super ripe bananas and at first I was thinking of making banana muffins... then I got lazy :p Plus I wanted to try something new so I surfed around the web and found a recipe for caramelised bananas. Click to view the recipe I got my inspiration from :)

From the photographs you can see that my recipe and the one I gained inspiration from are very different. I used similar ingredients. So here it is!

Ingredients:

Butter (2 tablespoon)

2 Ripe Banana (mine were really really soft)

Light Brown Sugar (3 tsp or more if you want it sweeter)

A pinch of cinnamon

• Step 1, melt the butter in a pot 
• Step 2, add in the sugar and stir till melted and well combined
• Step 3, add in the banana and mix till all bananas are coated
• Step 4, continue to stir the mixture till warm (to ensure the bottom doesn't burn)
• Step 5, move the mixture into a bowl and add in the pinch of cinnamon and mix 
• Step 6, DONE!

I haven't been cooking much and today was my first day cooking proper meals again. I gobbled this dessert up in 5 minutes. It's a great way to use up ripe bananas. Another recipe I was thinking of doing was making goreng pisang which is basically deep fried bananas. However I don't often deep fry because of the busy clean up and the need to store the excess oil. So if you're thinking of using ripe bananas for a quick dessert, you could give this recipe a go :) 

 Hugs for everyone~ Go bananas!